I have the Barlowe, Bledsoe and Monette/Bear books on my shelf, all only available in hardcover editions sofar. I've read the first and last one and I'd say the last one is worth reading. People will undoubtedly complain about not keeping the many similar names straight and there will be commentary about the graphic nature of the sex, as well what sort of sex it is. But it's got a cool northern setting and a nice plot.
The Barlowe book is very good, very cool Heaven and Hell story.
I checked out both the Monette/Bear and the Bledsoe book. I love the Mirador series by Ms. Monette and some of Ms. Bear short fiction though I never warmed at her novels (tried quite a few), but this one did not work for me. The human/animal type story just is not my type.Originally Posted by Mithfânion
I really wanted to like The Sword Edged Blonde but I just could not; hard to know if it's the style or the subject but I will steer away from this author.
Regarding Monsters of Templeton I posted more in Reading in February thread. There is a superb review on the Fantasy Book Critic blog which made me buy the book and I am very happy I've read it.
Regarding G. Norminton's book - Arts and Wonders is about an Italian artist/forger dwarf around 1600, his (mis)adventures at the court of Rudolf 2, in Italy, Germany and his quest for peace and redemption. An extraordinary book though only UK release. Made me a Norminton big-time fan
Ship of Fools is after P. Brueghel's painting; I have it but not read it yet tough I will sometimes for sure
Ghost Portrait is about a blind painter who commissions a younger one to paint a portrait of his dead wife in Charles 2' England in return for patronage and his daughter's hand and reminiscences about the Revolution. Very good book, shorter and more poetic than AandW
Serious Things is contemporary mainstream with 2 boys and a secret, but it's in the mail so I know only what I saw in the blurb and excerpt on Mr. Norminton's web page; based on previous books and excerpt I ordered it on publication and I expect it this week. Also on his blog (link from the Website below) there are some cool 6 word short stories.
Link:
http://www.gregorynorminton.co.uk/
I picked up the Justin Gustainis book Black Magic Woman the other day, based on the fact that I love Butcher and he does a blurb on the front of it. I am really looking forward to this one. On the TBR pile.
A lot of good stuff in thereI would definitely recommend "Sharp Teeth" and "The Monsters of Templeton". "The Somnambulist" is not far behind, and I really enjoyed "Singularity's Ring", which I think is worth a peek. I'm about finished up with "Whitechapel Gods", and that one is a lot of fun! "Immortal" is sitting on my pile along with "The Dragons of Babel" and "A Rush of Wishs", and I really want to read "The Devil's Footprints"
Nice thread Mithf.
I've got a copy of Wastelands waiting for the ol' read and review.
Whitechapel Gods by S.M. Peters sounds interesting with a very eye-catching cover.
Recent arrivals here include:
Empress
Karen Miller | www.karenmiller.net
In a family torn apart by poverty and violence, Hekat is no more than an unwanted mouth to feed, worth only a few coins from a passing slave trader. But Hekat was not born to be a slave. For her, a different path has been chosen. It is a path that will take her from stinking back alleys to the house of her God, from blood-drenched battlefields to the glittering palaces of Mijak. This is the story of Hekat, precious and beautiful.
Blood Ties
Pamela Freeman | www.castingstrilogy.com
A thousand years ago, the Eleven Domains were invaded and the original inhabitants forced on the road as Travelers, belonging nowhere, welcomed by no-one.
Now the Domains are governed with an iron fist by the Warlords, but there are wilder elements to the landscape which cannot be controlled and which may prove their undoing. Some are spirits of place, of water and air and fire and earth. Some are greater than these. And some are human.
Bramble: a village girl, whom no-one living can tame… forced to flee from her home for a crime she did not commit.
Ash: apprentice to a safeguarder, forced to kill for an employer he cannot escape.
Saker: an enchanter, who will not rest until the land is returned to his people.
As their three stories unfold, along with the stories of those whose lives they touch, it becomes clear that they are bound together in ways that not even a stonecaster could foresee — bound by their past, their future, and their blood.
I'm annoyed I didn't get this from The Book Depository when it first came out - it seems unavailable now. I may actually have to pay for shipping!
I think many people here are looking forward to Stover's third Caine novel. There is now a publication date (october 14 2008) for this book. Of course these dates can't always be trusted but after seven years of waiting for a new Caine adventure every sign of hope is welcome !
I'm looking forward to this one:
Anne Bishop - Tangled Webs
http://www.annebishop.com/s.b.tangled.html
yet I'll have to wait for paperback, as I don't buy hardcovers. (too expensive and to unhandy (big, heavy, you know what I mean))
I'm doing re-reading her Black Jewels Trillogy though
That's funny. I just finished my review of "Whitechapel Gods" on Monday and that was exactly how I described the cover--eye-catchingWhitechapel Gods by S.M. Peters sounds interesting with a very eye-catching cover.
As far as the book, it was pretty good. It's kind of like watching a movie, or playing a videogame, or even reading a comic book, and it kind of suffers from some of the same problems as they do, but it was definitely entertaining and if you like steampunk then you'll probably like "Whitechapel Gods"...
Yeah, I just heard about Whitechapel Gods. Sounded interesting. So Empress is not in the same series as Innocent Mage for Miller, or yes?
Another one that's come up is Brian Cullen's Seeker of the Chalice, don't know if it's any good, but it's being talked about. They're looking for a magic cup, but not the Holy Grail.
Also being buzzed about is Waking Brigid by Francis Clark, which sounds very interesting. Set in the post-American Civil War in recovering Savannah, Georgia, an Irish girl who's had to give up her pagan ways is sent to be a nun. A man in a mental asylum is murdered mysteriously while alone in his padded cell and it's a fight between magic forces for the fate of the city. The Civil War period seems to be popular lately, and Victorian England always.
Last edited by KatG; February 13th, 2008 at 07:28 PM.
According to the ARC and the accompanying press release, it is a new world. It is a big fat bug-killer of a book, to borrow a phrase from Andrew Wheeler.
I think Karen posts 'round here so maybe she can clear it up.
Yep, Empress is part of the brand new Godspeaker series which is unrelated to the Kingmaker, Kingbreaker duology. Personally, I think I'm going to enjoy this more than the author's first duology
Just got my copy of "The Unblemished" by Conrad Williams. It's not really fantasy, but I've heard nothing but praise for it. It's being re-released as a mass market paperback by Virgin Books. April 2008 for the UK, June 10, 2008 for the US.
Check out his website HERE.
The "Unblemished" artfully interweaves the stories of a serial killer who believes he is the rightful son and heir to an ancient dynasty of flesh-eating monsters, and a mother determined to protect her only daughter from the stuff of nightmares. The fate of each of them and the survival of the entire human race depends on one man, Bo Mulvey, who possesses the ancient wisdom the blood thirsty evil needs to achieve its full and horrifying potential.
Well I finished this one the other day and must say that it was good. If you like the Dresden Files you will more than likely like this book. The only complaint I really had with it was the ending. It just seemed to wrap up to neatly and quickly. But I will get the next in the series and see if it improves.
I'm also looking forward to the new Karen Miller book "Empress". I really liked the Kingmaker, Kingbreaker duology and this one sounds even better. As for the Anne Bishop book "Tangled Webs" I will be there to get it the day comes out along with Jim Butchers new Dresden book "Small Favor". For me both of these authors are an automatic buy. It seems like there are so many books coming out in the next few months (Thank God
I'm not happy with this book. The period detail is excellent and nicely presented -- it's blended rather than dumped.
But I started rolling my eyes early on, during Luca's first day at Silvano's brothel. Why would Silvano take Luca, clean him up, beat him so badly that he pukes and then present him to a customer? Why beat him at all? When you want to turn a starving urchin into a whore, you seduce him -- good food, warm bed, special treatment. You don't do the same things to him that were done to him when he was on the street, not unless you plan to watch him 24/7 so he doesn't run off.
I also rolled my eyes at the older boy who immediately decides to befriend Luca and advise him on how to survive in the brothel. Luca is competition for him. It seems like the more natural inclination would be to make Luca miserable or ignore him. It really bugged me that the older kid tells Luca (paraphrased) "I'm going to help you and be your friend and this is why".
This is the kind of stuff that the author should keep hidden for awhile, let us figure it out for ourselves.
So early on, the book gives me the impression that Slatton is going to tell us everything. That takes all the fun out of it.
Of the books mentioned earlier, I finished Serious Things by G. Norminton and I liked it a lot; I do not remember being so absorbed in a pure mainstream (no historical, no fantastic elements) novel in a long time. I have no idea why since we roughly know the plot pretty early though the resolution is both a little surprising, but also quite in tone with comes earlier. The narrative is intertwined between:
Early 1990's - 2 boys at a boarding board, one upper class cool, handsome, arrogant, the other middle class, overweight, closeted gay, coming from a childhood spent overseas in the tropics and having a crush on the other one, plus the socially awkward English professor (liberal at a still quite conservative school) that befriends them, tragedy, a dark secret, no see for the next 14-15 years...
Now - the overweight boy is a civil servant like his father though in another domain, and even more overweight, the aristocratic one is a successful lawyer, with a cool trophy wife, a chance encounter...
Still it's as gripping a read as I've had this year though it's not light; The title encompasses the tone pretty well.
I am still reading Immortal and still liking it, I expect to finish it this week or next since several other books that demanded reading came.
Last edited by suciul; February 19th, 2008 at 12:03 PM.
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