Reading in January 2009

Seak said:
It's just like me to butt in where I'm not wanted, but Exile is in the Dark Elf Trilogy. It's a very fast-paced, action-filled story. I enjoyed it immensely.
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Nice. I guess i will check it out.
 
I forgot to mention it starts with Homeland and ends with Sojourn.
 
Reading a short story by Kim Newman ("Illimitable Domain" in Poe edited by Ellen Datlow) sparked me to dig out one of his older novels, The Night Mayor for my first novel of 2009.

Randy M.
 
I'm reading The Company by K.J. Parker. After that, not sure. Maybe the new Adam Roberts if that hits the bookstores by the time I'm finished.
 
John Birmingham's World War 2.2: Designated Targets. This series started out as a by-the-numbers, Turtledove-esque alternate history romp but this second book really delves much more deeply and fundamentally into how the arrival of an international peacekeeping fleet from 80 years in the future completely changes the course of WW2.

Best moments so far include a far-sighted agent who signs up a 7-year-old Elvis and a 16-year-old Marilyn Monroe; the nations of the Middle-East, mostly relatively benign allies of the Allies in the real history, blowing up at the knowledge of how Israel was founded; the British government releasing movies such as The Dambusters into the cinemas to bolster morale as the Nazis threaten to invade; and, far more soberingly, the sequence in which both the German and Russian high commands brutally murder the 'traitors' exposed by the revelation of future history, such as the 20th July conspirators and those who fought over Stalin's succession (Khruscheve is brutally executed by Beria, for example); Goering nearly gets the chop as well but is spared after Hitler is 'moved' by his defence of Nazism at Nuremberg and his 'honourable' exit of committing suicide rather than being executed, which is mildly queasy.

Anyway, a surprisingly superior second volume in the trilogy. Looking forward to finishing it off in the next few days.

Maybe the new Adam Roberts if that hits the bookstores by the time I'm finished.
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It's out on the 22nd and is excellent. There's a KGB interrogation sequence which is the funniest thing I've read in the last year or so.
 
I've been reading the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series by Laurell Hamilton. Unfortunately, when I got to book 6 things have pretty much gone down the drain :( So starting on Storm Front by Jim Butcher now. I've heard lots of good things about it.
 
Not really fantasy, but I've been meaning to read Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian for a while, and I think I finally will have the time. Other than that, I got (literally) a dozen SF/F books for Christmas, and now I am struggling to figure out which to try first. Probably either Bakker's The Darkness That Comes Before or Anathem by Neil Stephenson. Way too much to read!
 
I just finished The Last Book by Zoran Zivkovic, a fantastic thriller written in the same manner as other Zivkovic's books, a blend of surreal and mundane. Not really my cup of tea but it was interesting enough for me to keep reading until the end.
Then, I started The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters by GW Dahlquist. I have managed to finish only the first chapter and so far I am pretty amazed. Rather detailed descriptions at the beginning but one sentence on the thirtieth or so page was enough to get me interested. It was followed by a couple of quite explicit scenes. All in all, quite promising.
 
Just complted "Entire and the Rose" by Kay Kenyon (was not so impressed as some reviews I've read, but still a decent enough read) and now reading Peter V.Brett's "The Painted Man". Happy New Year all!
 
I am reading Erikson's Toll the Hounds. I can't say that I've been disappointed by any of Erikson's novel and I can surely say that it still stands. I am enjoying the book a lot and perhaps enjoying it a bit too much when it comes to the narrative bits at the end of the chapters (which I look forward to whenever I start a new chapter).
 
Apathy said:
Pimpin. Not familiar with Exile though. Tell me if it is a worthwhile read. You may not like Lord Foul's Bane, it is not exactly the most enjoyable read.
But all the others you got are very good....Heh heh heh heh....
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oh.. sorry, been offline.. Yes, Dark Elf Trilogy by R.A. Salvatore.. once again, my bad :)
 
finished 2008 with Brent Weeks Night Angel books: a bit of a letdown by book 3, with all the tough wetboys and wetgirls getting in touch with their feelings and frequently bursting into tears. Final impression - entertaining but overrated.

started 2009 with 1610: A Sundial in a Grave by Mary Gentle: another entertaining read, a homage to Alexandre Dumas with echoes of Tiger and Dell adventures and of Shogun. Not sure why it is considered fantasy, there's very little magic in the first 300 pages.
 
Still reading Flightless Falcon at the moment. Finding it to be an enjoyable but depressing read so far. Can't comment too much on the book overal, but at least I'm actually reading this one. The last book I read by this author... (Spirit Fox, I think it was) didn't appeal to me very much and I gave it up after a couple of chapters.
 
Although I finished the book in December I only finished my review of "The Book Mammoth Book of Best New Horror" yesterday. I liked this anthology, because it has a great number of good stories.

I am working now at the review of another novel finished in December, "The Secret History of Moscow" by Ekaterina Sedia, and I think it is time for me to start my 2009 readings after the lazy time of holidays :)
 
Halfway through Wizard's First Rule. Decided to read it and see what it's about. It may be a mistake though as I've seen all kinds of feedback on the book, as well as the hokie tv series, which may have poisoned my ability to read it without looking for all the bad things expected to be found. Halfway through however, it seems far better than the silly tv show.
 
Hello there, I'm pretty new here, just found you guys:)

Anyway I'm in the middle of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke and find it absolutely enchanting. Tried to start Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb but didn't really get into it much, I'll give it another try after I finish this one.
 
I'm reading Kushiel's Dart. The worldbuilding is good but now i'm wondering whether or not I'll get tired of the SM stuff by the end of the book :)
 
I just finished The Compass of the Soul by Sean Russell, part two of the River Into Darkness duology. Loved it! It was a perfect mixture of mystery, adventure, suspense, magic, with a bit of romance thrown in for good measure. What I appreciated the most however was the interesting complexity of the characters--it would be impossible to place them into "good" and "bad" categories.

Russell did an especially effective job, I thought, capturing the intense presence of the brooding mage, Eldritch.
 
anna_jean said:
Hello there, I'm pretty new here, just found you guys:)

Anyway I'm in the middle of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke and find it absolutely enchanting. Tried to start Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb but didn't really get into it much, I'll give it another try after I finish this one.
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I recently finished Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell and it's now one of my favorites ever. Loved it.

I'm finally finishing up Gardens of the Moon and even though I can't wait to start Deadhouse Gates, I'm going for Sign of the Unicorn (3rd in Chronicles of Amber). I don't like committing completely to a ten book series so I'm breaking both up.
 
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