Reading in June 2009

[Seak]

For June I hope to finish "Dragonflight" (I unfortunately did not like this - and will be glad to be "over with it".)

Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb

Age of Hereos by Brandon Sanderson

I definitely support Lies of Locke Lamora!

I also had a hard time with Dragonflight. I wasn't a huge fan even though a friend of mine said you feel really close to the characters. Not my cup o tea.

 

[pat5150]

Just finished Jonathan Maberry's thought-provoking and balls-to-the-wall Patient Zero. Quite an entertaining read, and I'm not usually into zombies.

Patrick

 

[Aurian]

Current reading Tim LeBron's Fallen.

Interesting and a bit different so far, but both main characters have become rather unlikeable by the mid-point of the novel. I find it a bit hard to relate to their actions (although Ramus is more understandable than Nomi) and I hope that this changes with some might insight into them.... I don`t need heroic characters, but I guess I do want to understand flawed characters and I find the escalating fued between the two main characters a bit over the top.

 

[sic's mom]

Found out Diana Gabaldon has a new book coming out in Sept in her Outlander series, so was in the mood for those. Reading A Breath of Snow and Ashes right now. Also picked up Welcome to the Jungle the graphic novel the Dabel Bros did for the Harry Dresden series. Will get to that next. Maybe this way I can get my son to read the series.

 

[NickeeCoco]

I've now started Pyramid Power by Eric Flint and Dave Freer. I read the prequel, Pyramid Schemee a few years ago. It had been circulating through the Classics department. Horribly written and the editing was pretty much non-existent, but it was absoloutely hilarious. Flint and Freer's depictions of Ancient Greece and Egypt were spot on. This book, Pyramid Power, is using Norse myth and again, spot on and well researched. The writing is to be desired, but it's just as funny as the first, so I'm forgiving of the faults.

 

[NickeeCoco]

Found out Diana Gabaldon has a new book coming out in Sept in her Outlander series,

Oooo!!! That excites me. Gabaldon is very much one of my secret pleasures.

 

[beniowa]

I finished the new Abercrombie book, Best Served Cold, last night and it was pretty darn good.

Now I'm going to finish up A Canticle for Leibowitz, which I was reading when Best Served Cold arrived.

 

[Winter]

I am currently reading The Tooth Fairy by Graham Joyce.

 

[suciul]

I have finished several more books that are (can qualify) as fantasy; the highlight was the highly awaited The Osiris Ritual by George Mann (tbp early July UK, full rv tbp same on FBC)

Excellent sequel to The Affinity Bridge and second book in a loose three novel arc that will end in the next installment THE IMMORALITY ENGINE. After that there will be at least three more novels comprising another arc.

The story of Sir Maurice Newbury as Sherlock Bond with an addiction to opium and the arcane and his plucky assistant Veronica Hobbes with a very unusual sister and secrets of her own continues magnificently here.


In The Osiris Ritual there are three seemingly unrelated threads:

- Lord Winthrop famous Egyptologist has returned from the Middle East with an unusual mummy and intends to unveil it a party for the cream of London society; Sir Maurice and young journalist Purefoy of The Times are in attendance; it is said that the mummy has dark curses laid upon those who will touch it; what will happen to Lord Winthrop?

- Veronica Hobbes is on the trail of a presumed serial killer; girls are disappearing and that is connected with a traveling performer, the stage magician Alfonso

- Sir Maurice gets an express order from the Queen to bring agent Caspian in; formerly undercover in St. Petersburg but returning unauthorized to London, Caspian is a very weird personage as Sir Maurice discovers

And over this hovers the long shadow of Newbury's predecessor as Queen's expert agent on the occult, one Dr. Knox who seemingly loyal and dedicated to the Empire, had a gruesome agenda; discovered some 5 years ago, he used his arcane knowledge to escape and murder the agent in charge of his arrest and the Queen and Sir Charles fear constantly that Sir Maurice will cross that line too.

Just great stuff!!

I also read David Keck Eye/Time and I was mixed; loved the writing, fast paced, entertaining, never bored me, but I am getting more and more tired of the destined young man story and the naming conventions and the whole setup did not quite work for me.

 

[Julian]

I have finished several more books that are (can qualify) as fantasy; the highlight was the highly awaited The Osiris Ritual by George Mann (tbp early July UK, full rv tbp same on FBC)

(...)

Just great stuff!!

Interesting! I've been eyeing this series a little while now. Thanks, Suciul!

 

[evulsifer]

It's only the 10th of June and already I've come across two great fantasy releases this month. No-one will be surprised by Joe Abercrombie's Best Served Cold, and since Joe hangs out on these forums I've got say it's good!
The First Law trilogy is a hard act to follow but Best Served Cold is a pretty impressive follow up. It's dark, gory, cynical and Abercrombie's prose gets better and better.

Less well known is Tim Stretton's The Dog of the North which is out in TOR paperback. I really enjoyed this book, which is at once epic but personal in scope, and written with a cool wit which reminded me of Jack Vance. I think Stretton is every bit as cynical as Abercrombie but he hides it under a very polished veneer. If you haven't heard of him I'd say this one's worth checking out.

 

[thrinidir]

Malazan. Malazan? Malazan!

After more than a year I returned to the sprawling Malazan Book of the Fallen Saga with Reaper's Gale and I must say I'm not disappointed. Not nearly as disappointed as I have been with Midnight Tides and The Bonehunters that is. There's nothing tangibly different, but it somehow just feels stronger than the previous two efforts, and with tighter plotting.

Next book will be...well, nothing. At least for a couple of weeks yet . Because this book is absolutely huge. Epic in all senses that is, the size of the book reflects its content.

 

[suciul]

Interesting! I've been eyeing this series a little while now. Thanks, Suciul!

It's always a great idea to check an extract (or browse if possible) to make sure the author style matches your taste; in this case Snowbooks is offering free online a short story with Maurice Newbury set before Affinity so no spoilers for the novels in both pdf and audio formats:

http://www.snowbooks.com/

Also as Mr. Mann let me know in a special author note (no spoilers and will be published in full with the Osiris Ritual rv on FBC in early July)

"The format of the books, of course, is to have a 'standalone' mystery - or a new case - each book, but the real arcs are the character arcs and the overall stories that make them who they are. So whilst they can be read as standalone mysteries, there's really two three book arcs, with major themes and a few underlying story arcs."

This series which started as a big expectations one with a very enjoyable first novel that was a personal favorite in 08, is starting to kick in high gear as a deeper, more convoluted one than simply Sherlock Bond super-steampunk detective and secret agent

 

[SallyC]

I've just read Robin Hobb's Renegade's Magic, last of the Soldier's Son trilogy.
I confess to slight disappointment. I don't believe this series has been in any way as strong as her previous ones.

It seems to me to be a one book concept stretched out over three books; certainly this concluding episode felt repetitious and lacking in scope. After the narrator repeating the same argument with himself many times, the climax was reached and told in about ten pages, leaving me feeling a little flat.

Not that I didn't enjoy it at all - even on an off day Hobb's writing is still better than many other authors at their best - just a bit of a let down.
My verdict (to quote all too many of my own reports) - could do better!

 

[Winter]

I finished The Tooth Fairy late last night and have started on The Limits of Enchantment, also by Graham Joyce.

 

[Aurian]

I finished The Fallen, and it is apprently the beginning of a trilogy that I will not be reading. I guess I just couldn`t connect to any of the characters and the rest of the book just didn`t keep me interested enough to continue.

Currently reading Ice Song by Kirsten Imani Kasai. This is a rather different-feeling book, with interesting setting and characters (including the main character who is a "trader" - someone who physically and mentally shifts between genders magically). My only real gripe so far is the cover - it looks like it belongs to some female fantasy/romance lit. I almost passed the book by (judging a book by its cover, I know, I know!) I would have liked to see something that fit the book a bit better.

 

[Alexandria]

I was a bit reluctant to start this one because of the "talking ships" thing. However, I really like it, and it certainly has something to do with Hobb's writing, which, once again, is amazing.

I can't wait for you to find out why the "talking ships" talk. The trilogy is superb.

^_^
Alexandria

 

[BrightStar]

I've just read Robin Hobb's Renegade's Magic, last of the Soldier's Son trilogy.
I confess to slight disappointment. I don't believe this series has been in any way as strong as her previous ones.

It seems to me to be a one book concept stretched out over three books; certainly this concluding episode felt repetitious and lacking in scope. After the narrator repeating the same argument with himself many times, the climax was reached and told in about ten pages, leaving me feeling a little flat.

Not that I didn't enjoy it at all - even on an off day Hobb's writing is still better than many other authors at their best - just a bit of a let down.
My verdict (to quote all too many of my own reports) - could do better!

I loved the Farseer Trilogy, but after being very dissapointed by the Liveship Traders, I haven't dared to try anything else of hers. I looked into the Soldier's Son trilogy when it was released, but it didn't sound all that very interesting to me. I thought I'd probably be dissapointed again, so never did give it a go.

Of the comments I've seen made by others, I don't think I'm missing out on all that much.

I'm still reading book three of Outremer at the moment. Feel like I've been reading this series for ever!

 

[anthonyjohn]

Completed the Malazan Book of the Fallen series up to Toll the Hounds. Now await the last in the series to be published. I was very fortunate to discover the series late on, so I got to read them all in one go. Probably the best Fantasy series I have ever read of it's type.

Starving for something to read I nipped down to the library and found a couple of new paperbacks in the Fantasy section. The first two books in the Merchant Princes series by Charles Stross.
After such a heavy dose of the Malazan series they make very enjoyable light reading, and I do find the concept of the world walkers between alternate realities and times to be interesting. They are quite well done, but do lack a bit of meat, even so, I would recommend them as a entertainment.

 

[BrightStar]

I'm ill at the moment, so have spent a lot of time recently in bed, reading. Nothing passes the time (and helps makes being sick a bit more pleasant than it would otherwise be) than reading a great book, but unfortunately Outremer is failing to do the job quite as well as I wish it would.

So I loved the first book, and couldn't wait to read the rest of the series. As I've said before, maybe it was just because I had a lot of worry going on whilst I read book two, but the second book failed to captivate and interest me as much as the second book did. Even though the story was surely stronger than the first book.

I was hoping that with the third book, now that I was able to give the series my full attention once again, I'd enjoy it as much as the first. But I've struggled equally to really be drawn into this one too. And I just don't know why!

Anyone ever experienced the situation where you're reading a series that you're sure you aught to love, and yet something about it just seems to get in the way. And you don't know what?