[LadyMTL]

QuickTidal, on 11 June 2012 - 04:00 PM, said:

HiddenOne, on 11 June 2012 - 03:46 PM, said:

Read Gaiman's "Anansi Boys" yesterday. pretty good, light stuff. This was my first foray into his books, will read probably read more if the opportunity presents itself. I saw someone earlier in this thread compare an author to 'Stephen King meets Simon Green" - not sure if they were referring to Gaiman but that's exactly what I thought of when I read this book.

Wow, your first Gaiman book is ANANSI BOYS? Holy shitsnacks! Dat's Brave. Especially considering it's a spinoff from AMERICAN GODS...if you ever remotely liked ANANSI (one of his weakest books), then you should be certainly in for a treat with his other work! Enjoy!

Ahhh, the timing of this post is most excellent as I was just debating whether or not to buy Anansi Boys. I definitely enjoyed American Gods but I'd heard both good and bad things about Anansi so I was holding off. And I shall continue to hold off if it's one of his weakest.

[polishgenius]

Tattersail, on 11 June 2012 - 10:16 AM, said:

Just finished the first in the Hunger Games. It took me under a day to finish.

I also read "The Elder Gods" which was simple but refreshing. It was the first book in a trilogy though and i'm not sure I want to buy the second. I only read this one as it was on a shelf in the villa I stayed at on my honeymoon.

Don't read the second. It literally broke me. It was the first book I never finished and since I read it, overnight, I started not finishing books overnight, even quite good ones that just don't drag me in at that moment.


If you enjoyed it and fancy more Eddings, read The Belgariad and maybe the other books set in that universe, and then leave the rest.

[yuna_anomander25]

polishgenius, on 11 June 2012 - 09:42 PM, said:

Tattersail, on 11 June 2012 - 10:16 AM, said:

Just finished the first in the Hunger Games. It took me under a day to finish.

I also read "The Elder Gods" which was simple but refreshing. It was the first book in a trilogy though and i'm not sure I want to buy the second. I only read this one as it was on a shelf in the villa I stayed at on my honeymoon.

Don't read the second. It literally broke me. It was the first book I never finished and since I read it, overnight, I started not finishing books overnight, even quite good ones that just don't drag me in at that moment.


If you enjoyed it and fancy more Eddings, read The Belgariad and maybe the other books set in that universe, and then leave the rest.

yah, i can vouch for Belgariad, it is maybe his best, the subsequent books he has done were all derived from this, from Malloreon to the Sparhawk trilogies - Elenium and Tamuli, albeit a more mature tone,
but still i enjoyed it, me love knights, especially Bevier - that Lochaber Axe wielder,
funny, i'm thinking of reading and finishing my Younger Gods book, as i haven't touched this since i bought it,
Eddings' always had nice concepts and ideas, he just regularly comes back to his witty banters and everything, that you will say, this sounded like someone from - insert name - yah, always that one,

on topic: currently reading my Crossroads of Twilight book 10 of the Wheel of Time - Robert Jordan, which i also haven't touched since its purchase,
man, this must be the longest prologue i have yet to read or read, its 100 pages long for a prologue?
i'm so used to SE's style of wrting that this one comes out - simple
sometimes i think his wife really is writing this, as those POVs concerning women/Aes Sedai are more pronounced, like a woman who just voiced them out loud,
i'm looking forward to finishing this series as we are already seeing the Light at the end, i'll just have to be patient(struggle) with this one,
the best points for me in this whole WoT series? the Forsaken, they are what kept me interested in this series,
special mention goes to - Moghedien, Mesaana, Semirhage, Moridin/Ishamael, and of course Lanfear/Cyndane,

[amphibian]

Tiste Simeon, on 11 June 2012 - 06:55 PM, said:

Anyone read the Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson? Any good? Thoughts?

If you're familiar with Stephenson's prior work, think of the geekier parts of Cryptonomicon combined with the multi-cultured adventurism of The Diamond Age.

If you are not familiar with Stephenson's prior work, go read Snow Crash. If you like that, work through Cryptonomicon and The Diamond Age. Then read Anathem, Reamde and/or The Baroque Cycle.

After having re-read The Baroque Cycle, I truly love it. It's a stronger series than it appears to be on the first read and improves vastly when you're more familiar with Stephenson's research/brain dump style, as well as knowing that this or that terrifically entertaining part is around the corner.

Good luck, whichever way you go, Simon.

[Serenity]

Over the last week I finished Jack Whyte's The Skystone and Walter Tevis's Mockingbird, both of which were pretty good, and Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, which was fantastic. Started Jack Vance's Suldrun's Garden this morning.

[Binder of Demons]

Just read TRICKED by Kevin Hearne, the latest in the Iron Druid series. Having really enjoyed the previous 3, i was a bit disappointed with this one. In particular, I found some of the attempts at humour to be very forced.

For those who haven't read any of these books, think of them as Dresden Files-lite, except that Hearne isn't nearly as good a writer as Butcher to this point. Whereas the first 2 Dresden Files books were good, and then the series continued to improve with every installment, there has been no major improvement in the writing of TRICKED. The single greatest irritation I found with this book, was the interaction of Atticus and Oberon (his hound) which again draws comparisons to Dresden and Mouse. I think Butcher got it right, with Mouse and the less is more philosophy, whereas Hearne feels the need for Atticus and Oberon to have a constant wise-cracking dialogue throughout the book and it's just not necessary.

No idea when the next book comes out, and despite the shortcomings of this one, I'll definitely be getting it. There are some great characters in this series, and I'm interested to see where the story goes.

Curious to see if anyone else here has read it and what their impressions are?

[Captain Beardface]

Reading Moses Siregar's The Black God's War, at about Ch 44 and I am really ripping through it.

[yuna_anomander25]

just started on Dresden Files: Summer Knight - Jim Butcher
modern setting w/ fantasy elements, i know its the 4th in the series, but its good, its keeping me interested and will likely to continue, and i'm looking forward to reading the rest,
i like how he references stuff in real time, like Batman and Superman,
i'm trying out new stuff i haven't had time to read before, and this one just made me to explore more in the fantasy genre, i'm really glad i browsed the recommendations forums,

[Tiste Simeon]

amphibian, on 12 June 2012 - 02:37 AM, said:

Tiste Simeon, on 11 June 2012 - 06:55 PM, said:

Anyone read the Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson? Any good? Thoughts?

If you're familiar with Stephenson's prior work, think of the geekier parts of Cryptonomicon combined with the multi-cultured adventurism of The Diamond Age.

If you are not familiar with Stephenson's prior work, go read Snow Crash. If you like that, work through Cryptonomicon and The Diamond Age. Then read Anathem, Reamde and/or The Baroque Cycle.

After having re-read The Baroque Cycle, I truly love it. It's a stronger series than it appears to be on the first read and improves vastly when you're more familiar with Stephenson's research/brain dump style, as well as knowing that this or that terrifically entertaining part is around the corner.

Good luck, whichever way you go, Simon.

Thanks for this. I have a huge reading list & I think all his books are on there so I can do them in that order. :-) Will probably read the Dresden books first though...

[HiddenOne]

Maia Irraz, on 11 June 2012 - 09:39 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 11 June 2012 - 04:00 PM, said:

HiddenOne, on 11 June 2012 - 03:46 PM, said:

Read Gaiman's "Anansi Boys" yesterday. pretty good, light stuff. This was my first foray into his books, will read probably read more if the opportunity presents itself. I saw someone earlier in this thread compare an author to 'Stephen King meets Simon Green" - not sure if they were referring to Gaiman but that's exactly what I thought of when I read this book.

Wow, your first Gaiman book is ANANSI BOYS? Holy shitsnacks! Dat's Brave. Especially considering it's a spinoff from AMERICAN GODS...if you ever remotely liked ANANSI (one of his weakest books), then you should be certainly in for a treat with his other work! Enjoy!

Ahhh, the timing of this post is most excellent as I was just debating whether or not to buy Anansi Boys. I definitely enjoyed American Gods but I'd heard both good and bad things about Anansi so I was holding off. And I shall continue to hold off if it's one of his weakest.

You want my copy?

[Morgoth]

Tiste Simeon, on 13 June 2012 - 09:33 AM, said:

amphibian, on 12 June 2012 - 02:37 AM, said:

Tiste Simeon, on 11 June 2012 - 06:55 PM, said:

Anyone read the Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson? Any good? Thoughts?

If you're familiar with Stephenson's prior work, think of the geekier parts of Cryptonomicon combined with the multi-cultured adventurism of The Diamond Age.

If you are not familiar with Stephenson's prior work, go read Snow Crash. If you like that, work through Cryptonomicon and The Diamond Age. Then read Anathem, Reamde and/or The Baroque Cycle.

After having re-read The Baroque Cycle, I truly love it. It's a stronger series than it appears to be on the first read and improves vastly when you're more familiar with Stephenson's research/brain dump style, as well as knowing that this or that terrifically entertaining part is around the corner.

Good luck, whichever way you go, Simon.

Thanks for this. I have a huge reading list & I think all his books are on there so I can do them in that order. :-) Will probably read the Dresden books first though...

I disagree somewhat with Amphibian here. Snow Crash turned me off Stephenson for quite some time. It is a book with a good idea and a great first half, but loses itself past the halfway point and becomes rather tiresome in my opinion.

The Diamond Age is another cyberpunk novel with an army of interesting ideas, while Reamde is an entertaining but not too special action thriller. Anthem is the kind of love/hate book that I wouldn't suggest to someone who've not read and enjoyed Stephensons' other works.

The Baroque Cycle is a different beast altogether. I think i've referred more to parts I read in this trilogy than pretty much any other work of fiction. It's bulging with great little tibits of historical information and anecdotes, and as a guide to the times it is brilliant. This is Stephenson's best work by far and should be read. It is however not the light reading provided by our typical fantasy fare. If all you're looking for is a distraction though you might be better of going for something else.

[Salt-Man Z]

Finally my ARC of Orb Sceptre Throne that I won from Tor.com back in the beginning of April arrived yesterday! I couldn't keep myself from diving right on in.

[amphibian]

Morgoth, on 13 June 2012 - 01:04 PM, said:

I disagree somewhat with Amphibian here.
[...] This is Stephenson's best work by far and should be read. It is however not the light reading provided by our typical fantasy fare. If all you're looking for is a distraction though you might be better of going for something else.

The idea is that if he reads Snow Crash, it's a good enough introduction to Stephenson's general style - vivid characters who are abnormally smart and do really bizarre/smart/awesome things while providing somewhat entertaining info-dumps on this esoteric topic or that esoteric topic. And it's short, in comparison to the other books.

The shortness and the introduction to the style is what makes Snow Crash the correct beginning for a Stephenson neophyte. After that, one usually proceeds to The Diamond Age or directly to Cryptonomicon. After that, the option tree branches and he should be able to make his own quite informed choices at that point.

That's why I said what I said.

Anyways, lutefisk, skal and I hope your legal job isn't too terrible.

[Abyss]

I see why some Mieville fans aren't loving the RAILSEA, but i have to say, as settings go, it's brilliant, and while jarring at first, i'm digging his change of writing style for this book.

That and i'm more than a little in awe of how different his style is here from KRAKEN and that from the BAS-LAG books.

[Morgoth]

amphibian, on 13 June 2012 - 06:32 PM, said:

Morgoth, on 13 June 2012 - 01:04 PM, said:

I disagree somewhat with Amphibian here.
[...] This is Stephenson's best work by far and should be read. It is however not the light reading provided by our typical fantasy fare. If all you're looking for is a distraction though you might be better of going for something else.

The idea is that if he reads Snow Crash, it's a good enough introduction to Stephenson's general style - vivid characters who are abnormally smart and do really bizarre/smart/awesome things while providing somewhat entertaining info-dumps on this esoteric topic or that esoteric topic. And it's short, in comparison to the other books.

The shortness and the introduction to the style is what makes Snow Crash the correct beginning for a Stephenson neophyte. After that, one usually proceeds to The Diamond Age or directly to Cryptonomicon. After that, the option tree branches and he should be able to make his own quite informed choices at that point.

That's why I said what I said.

Anyways, lutefisk, skal and I hope your legal job isn't too terrible.

Well, your opinion is stupid and you are stupid, stupid!

Ahem.. We've had some computer issues the last few days. I need to get out some pent energy. Anyways. The main reason I disagree with anyone starting on Snow Crash is that I don't think Snow Crash is a particularly good book. About halfway in, and especially for the last third, the book loses its way and becomes annoying rather than entertaining in my opinion. So, I'd suggest another book simply because Snow Crash turned me off Stephenson for several years.

[Fist Gamet]

I really liked Snow Crash, thought it was very good, though I found The Diamond Age very dry and boring as hell. Quicksilver just wasn't for me...found it every easy to put down and send to a good home in a charity shop.

[Use Of Weapons]

Just finished Feist's latest, _A Crown Imperilled_. Billed as the 'penultimate' Midkemia novel.

Awful. Aside from dreadful writing, there are also huge editing problems -- including an entire chapter where Magnus is replaced by Pug. Story is still workmanlike, and I want to know the end of the Midkemia saga, so I'll read the next one. But I'm glad I got this from the library rather than buying it.

[Vengeance]

I just finished Heroes die and am diving into the Blade of Tyshalle. Loving it.

[QuickTidal]

Approaching page 400 of SHOGUN, and damn if this isn't a totally immersing book to read! It's REALLY, really good and I can see why it was so lauded when it came out and has such a devout following. Wonderful characters, situations, action scenes and plot threads. So far Mariko is my fave character.

[Vengeance]

QuickTidal, on 15 June 2012 - 04:32 PM, said:

Approaching page 400 of SHOGUN, and damn if this isn't a totally immersing book to read! It's REALLY, really good and I can see why it was so lauded when it came out and has such a devout following. Wonderful characters, situations, action scenes and plot threads. So far Mariko is my fave character.

Shogun is a brilliant book I suggest that you continue and read Taipan also. It is a smaller read but just as good. The only one of his books that I wasn't able to get into was Whirlwind.