[LadyMTL]

Abyss, on 28 June 2012 - 04:35 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 28 June 2012 - 12:54 PM, said:

...
It's NOT a huge disappointment, it merely means that Abyss prefers Zombies to Robots...as ROBOPOCALYPSE is basically WORLD WAR Z with Robots instead of Zombies.

It's decent, but not worth $12 by any stretch...when it's cheaper or you find it used, give it a go as it IS at least entertaining. ...

HERE is the thread. Make up your own mind but note spoilers.


QT you liked it way more than i did and that's fair, it's your opinion and you're entitled to it however wrong and silly and clearly the product of mind-altering drugs and poor street alcohol that it may be.

But my dislike was neither that it is not WWZ, nor that it's robots. While WWZ is an excellent book, i was not expecting WWR and went in with an open mind.

But the story makes leaps of logic that make no sense, key points in the plot are just silly, it falls back on, literally, deus ex machina, more than once, and the narrative is weak.
But that's just my opinion.

For $5>, sure, in an second, why not.... for $12, n'uh-uh. On this i agree w QT. Spend your money on something less frustrating.

Well, I really liked WWZ but if Roboetc is full of inane plots twists and deux ex machina I might pass altogether (no matter how cheap it gets) because I generally loathe stories that rely too heavily on those kinds of things. It's like...don't write it if you can't make it work without falling back on that, bah.

Anyway! Thanks muchly for the opinions! I'll go poke around Amazon to find other books to buy now, hahaha.

[Use Of Weapons]

Today, picked up:

_The Mirror Of Her Dreams_, book 1 in Stephen Donaldson's Mordant's Need duology. I loved this first time round, but haven't read it for about 20 years, so lets see if it stands up.
_Final Days_ by Gary Gibson. I do enjoy Gibson's SF. The premise of this one is intriguing, and somewhat resembles the premise of Robert Reed's excellent _Down The Bright Way_.
_Fated_ by Benedict Jacka. Let's see what all the fuss is about

BTW, I'm assuming 'Jacka' is pronounced 'Yatz-kah' -- anyone know different?

[Tsundoku]

Picked up Michael J Sullivan's "Rise of Empire" (Ririya Revelations omnibus 2) the other day and snagged Kevin Hearne's "Tricked" (Iron Druid 4) today.

Partway through both, good light fun reads.

@UoW
We have a WWI war hero here named Albert Jacka, and AFAIK it's pronounced as it's spelt - "Jack" with a short "a" at the end. May have originally been the way you described, but I have no idea.

A quick Google tells me it's even a word in Swedish, so ask Apt or Morgoth ...

[Tapper]

A Madness of Angels and The Midnight Mayor by Kate Griffin;
The Dragon's Path by Daniel Abraham (one half of James S.A. Corey) - was looking for The Long Price but they only had the second book;
Caliban's War by the two who call themselves James S.A. Corey;
Transition by Iain Banks;
The Party Cookbook by Nobu Miami (a recommendation by Val Kilmer has me fearing the worst);
Medium Raw: A bloody Valentine to the world of food and people who cook by Anthony Bourdain.

and the pride and joy of the shopping trip:

The Annotated Sandman #1-20 by Neil Gaiman (edited and notes by Leslie S. Klinger).

[Baco Xtath]

Just bought Faith by John Love on my kindle. Saw it recommended and needed a space opera to transition from Sarantine Mosaic, which was awesome. Also, bought Vellum by Hal Duncan. Not sure about this one. I've seen a lot of mixed reviews.

[QuickTidal]

Baco Xtath, on 30 June 2012 - 08:12 PM, said:

Just bought Faith by John Love on my kindle. Saw it recommended and needed a space opera to transition from Sarantine Mosaic, which was awesome. Also, bought Vellum by Hal Duncan. Not sure about this one. I've seen a lot of mixed reviews.

My two cents: VELLUM is one of the worst books I have ever read. With no other book have I truly wanted to find the author and throw the book at him as I did with VELLUM.

[Morgoth]

QuickTidal, on 30 June 2012 - 08:42 PM, said:

Baco Xtath, on 30 June 2012 - 08:12 PM, said:

Just bought Faith by John Love on my kindle. Saw it recommended and needed a space opera to transition from Sarantine Mosaic, which was awesome. Also, bought Vellum by Hal Duncan. Not sure about this one. I've seen a lot of mixed reviews.

My two cents: VELLUM is one of the worst books I have ever read. With no other book have I truly wanted to find the author and throw the book at him as I did with VELLUM.

Vellum, and Ink for that matter, can certainly be a struggle. There's a section, about halfway through when the book really bogs down and seems unwilling to get back up. It's obvious that Vellum is Duncan's debut and I'm not surprised that many are turned away by such things as the lack of a cohesive timeline.

Yet the beauty of the book(s) is the lack of a true timeline. The very fabric of time falls apart and from the subsequent chaos a strange and fasinating story emerges. The book has many flaws, I won't deny it. But the prose is beautiful and the idea, the setting or plot (they all sort of meld) so very tantalizing.

Considering how little in the way or original plots that emerge from the fantasy genre, Vellum deserves credits for the attempt even if the execution was a little unpolished.

[yuna_anomander25]

picked up: Empire in Black and Gold (Shadows of the Apt book 1 PB TOR) by Adrian Tchaikovsky,
i read somewhere that for a debut novel/book, it has a slow pace, but it gets better after each book, i'll take their word for it,
i think this is my 5th series that i will begin, since registering here, i hope to complete all of it in the near future,

[Serenity]

I got annoyed with myself because I got rid of my copy of Vernor Vinge's A Fire Upon the Deep years ago and have now suddenly got the urge to re-read it. Quite difficult to get hold of in the UK these days, it seems to me, unless you get the 'Zones of Thought' omnibus edition (which I didn't want - it's HUGE), but I managed to grab AFUtD from The Book Depository, along with A Deepness In the Sky, in US mmpb editions.

[McLovin]

QuickTidal, on 30 June 2012 - 08:42 PM, said:

My two cents: VELLUM is one of the worst books I have ever read. With no other book have I truly wanted to find the author and throw the book at him as I did with VELLUM.

Yeah, to me the book was too long and repetitive. He could have gotten his point across in a LOT fewer pages.

On the other hand, he's published and I'm not, so Duncan 1, McLovin 0.

[yuna_anomander25]

picked up:
Storm Front by Jim Butcher(Yeah!! Finally!!) and Shadow's Edge (Night Angel Trilogy book 2) by Brent Weeks, i'm liking the Night Angel Trilogy now, and i like that dual identity stuff, will focus my read on it, no distractions, and put off my other reads and will pick it up after, just missing Beyond the Shadows and i will be completing it, back to reading The Way of Shadows,

[Use Of Weapons]

Went to the bookshop today and picked up _Naamah's Curse_ and _Naamah's Blessing_, books 2 and 3 in Jacqueline Carey's third trilogy set in the Kushiel universe.

While at the store, there was a book signing going on, and I wandered over to see a guy called A J Dalton signing his new novel _Empire of the Saviours_, which he reckons is an epic high fantasy with touches of philosophy and religious persecution. So I picked it up and will give it a go. He also, somewhat usefully, teaches English at Manchester Uni, and gave me a card and said he'd be willing to read some of my work, a chapter or a short story, which was eminently nice of him, and I will take horrible advantage of his generosity when I have something ready to send out So, all in all, an excellent morning!

[Nocturnal]

Bought a signed copy of Metro 2033 and Metro 2034 by Glukhovsky, I'm really enjoying the post-apocalyptic series.

[QuickTidal]

Bought PERSUADER by Lee Child. Trying out my first Jack Reacher book.

I also picked up Ian Tregillis BITTER SEEDS, which is pretty good so far.

[Serenity]

QuickTidal, on 07 July 2012 - 07:30 PM, said:

Bought PERSUADER by Lee Child. Trying out my first Jack Reacher book.

I'm reading that at the moment. I've read a few of them and it's one of the better ones.

[rhulad]

I haven't bought any new books in a while... I think I may venture to the book store today to remedy this situation. Any suggestions on what I should buy?

[Ukjent]

 Well the latest book buy  Bakker have just been released, and i wold recommend the prince of throne and Among thieves: tales of the kin. Both of them will be receiving a follow up during the fall. 

This post has been edited by Graablick: 09 July 2012 - 05:35 PM

[Baco Xtath]

The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway.

[Nocturnal]

The Catcher in the Rye and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, I've decided that it's time to read those two classics I've been hearing so much about.

[worry]

They're both pretty great, and reputations are well-earned. A lot of fans of Catcher though (especially those who read it only in high school) seem to misunderstand it as a rallying cry around Holden's point of view, so it'll be interesting to see what you get out of him.