Reading in January 2010

[DurzoBlint]

Just finished The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway. I liked parts of the book and didn't care for some as well. Overall, I thought it was an average book with quite a few humorous parts.

Since BD has supplied me with a copy of The Red Wolf Conspiracy By Robert VS Redick without 30+ missing pages, I will be picking up where I left off in this book.

 

[Bastard]

So, I didn't go with Twelve by Kent after all, I'm going to wait a bit.

Instead I decided to read Wolfbreed, and I thought it was really good. After that I went with The Book of Jhereg by Brust and absolutely loved it. Seems like another Dresden type of story to me, and I really like Dresden so I'm going to keep marathoning the Vlad Taltos series in the coming days.

 

[Bastard]

I’d savor RSURS and take your time. The only other things written by Lynch since are the prologue to the 3rd book Republic of Thieves and about 5 chapters of an online pulp style sci-fi serial (Queen of the Iron Sands) both can be found on his website. Since that he’s dropped off the face of the earth again and it’s anyone’s guess as to when Republic of Thieves will see the light of day (hey it’s only nearly 2 years later than the originally scheduled date).

At least in May an omnibus called The Bastards and the Knives, which is a prequel to the series, is coming out... of course, assuming that the dates in Amazon and Bookdepository are accurate...

These two novellas tell the story of how Locke, Jean and the other gentleman bastards acquired the Austershalin brandy that played such a key role in the con at the centre of THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA and how they managed to avoid being killed by the elite assassins known as the Choir of Knives. These two novellas will fill in the backstory of the Bastards and allow fans to revisit the pleasures of the banter and antics of Caldo, Galdo and Bug as well discover how Locke and Jean forged their gang. They will also serve as an excellent introduction to Locke and his world for new readers. And because these are novellas by Scott Lynch they will also provide 100,000 words full of devious con-work, high adventure, razor sharp dialogue and rich atmopshere.

I wonder if we'll see Sabetha.

 

[Winter]

I just finished Devil's Cape by Rob Rogers, twas a good book, but there were rather glaring technical flaws that should have been red-flagged by someone during the editing processes. Do not know what I will be starting next. I am hoping that J. Robert King's Angel of Death will arrive today. I will be starting that if it does, otherwise it will probably be Zoran Zivkovic's Steps Through the Mist or Liz Williams' Snake Agent.

 

[Rob B]

Instead I decided to read Wolfbreed, and I thought it was really good. After that I went with The Book of Jhereg by Brust and absolutely loved it. Seems like another Dresden type of story to me, and I really like Dresden so I'm going to keep marathoning the Vlad Taltos series in the coming days.

Nice batch of books Bastard. There is a definite similarity between Dresden and Vlad, and to an extent Bob and Loiosh.

 

[Bastard]

Nice batch of books Bastard. There is a definite similarity between Dresden and Vlad, and to an extent Bob and Loiosh.

Will need to start looking for more series like these one. They really seem like the ones I enjoy the most, but I'll leave that to the recommendation thread when the time comes.

 

[BrightStar]

Spirit Lens - Carol Berg (FBC Rv tbp) A
My goodreads minireview
" I bought this one on its release day (Jan 5th) with high hopes, but though it intrigued me, i felt that it was too dependent on its quirky humor and light gags for its enjoyment so I kept putting it down; however I still planned to decide soon either to immerse into it or fast read and drop and after a while the novel drops its lighter pretense, picks up considerably and it gets extremely good; though fully concluding its main thread, it sets up a very, very interesting sequel

A solid A and highly recommended, keep going since after 100 pages or so it will start gripping you and then from about 1/2 in it will be not possible to put it down"

I haven't gotten around to starting my copy of Spirit Lens (I want to, but my current read is taking a while to finish due to my busy schedule) but that was encouraging: sounds like I might find it a little tough going at first, but should certainly stick with it.

 

[suciul]

I haven't gotten around to starting my copy of Spirit Lens (I want to, but my current read is taking a while to finish due to my busy schedule) but that was encouraging: sounds like I might find it a little tough going at first, but should certainly stick with it.

I think that you will find it quite different at least to start with from earlier Carol Berg books, seemingly much lighter and without the doom and gloom that pervades Flesh and Spirit for example, almost a humorous fantasy, but then it truly starts picking up and the second half is hard to put down with a great ending to boot.

Back on topic, I finished Thirteen Years Later by Jasper Kent and I am a bit mixed; it was absolutely great for 2/3 and it had some nice twists and turns, but anytime it went beyond Aleksey vs enemies of both kinds, I felt it went off the rails; the portrait of Tsar Alexander I was extremely unconvincing, the "science and vampires" thingy was superfluous or annoying - experiences with mirrors and vampires made me think of pulp 50's sf- the novel tried to go beyond historical thriller/adventure with vampires where its greatest strengths lie and imho it did not quite succeed; a B and I hope the third book will be more interesting, though I fear it will go the "stake escalation" - you know, end of the world and all - route

 

[Sapph]

Just finished Sorrow's Light by Freda Warrington, definitely one of the better books I've read lately, I've been a bit jaded by the books I've been reading lately, but I finished this one in two sittings (first session was mostly slogging through opening 50 pages). It's a relatively short book but a little gem as far as I'm concerned, I'd give it an 8.5/10.

I felt sorry for the person (Meridi Myers?) constantly mentioning Titus and Atreus on the forums, and since I had money to blow, I've picked it up among other stuff and I've decided to give it a go. It's been pretty unspectacular so far, beginning to regret my pity buy. I always try and finish a book though, so I'll stick with it and see how it goes.

 

[Bastard]

Just finished Sorrow's Light by Freda Warrington, definitely one of the better books I've read lately, I've been a bit jaded by the books I've been reading lately, but I finished this one in two sittings (first session was mostly slogging through opening 50 pages). It's a relatively short book but a little gem as far as I'm concerned, I'd give it an 8.5/10.

I felt sorry for the person (Meridi Myers?) constantly mentioning Titus and Atreus on the forums, and since I had money to blow, I've picked it up among other stuff and I've decided to give it a go. It's been pretty unspectacular so far, beginning to regret my pity buy. I always try and finish a book though, so I'll stick with it and see how it goes.

Wait, so it's not the best novel you've read in your life? Damn.

 

[Rob B]

Tonight, I began my Wheel of Time re-read with The Eye of the World

 

[Evil Agent]

Tonight, I began my Wheel of Time re-read with The Eye of the World

Have fun! I recently did a re-read, and was thoroughly enjoying it until about Book 5. The flaws, during the re-read, seemed worse and more glaring than I remembered; good luck getting through the later volumes.

 

[Loerwyn]

Still chugging away through Left Hand of God. It's only about 400 pages I think so it shouldn't take me too long, considering I've done ~100 since Thursday evening.

And when that's done I'm going to have to finish Wolves of the Calla before it gets too late.

 

[NickeeCoco]

Well, I'm still reading Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. I'm not finding it as entertaining as Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. I guess I just find zombies and ninjas far more entertaining than giant squids and sea witches. Also, I'm not a huge fan of the original book. I far prefer some of Austen's other work over Sense and Sensibility.

I'm finding this book slow going, to be honest. Normally, I'll probably read about 50 pages before bed. (and when it's particularly good, I've been known to stay up until 5am when I finish it. Much to my dismay when my alarm goes off two hours later.) With this book I read about five before I put the bookmark in and shut the light off. As soon as the books I ordered come in (I'm expecting them on monday), I'm going to set this one aside.

 

[Gilgamesh]

Still chugging away through Left Hand of God. It's only about 400 pages I think so it shouldn't take me too long, considering I've done ~100 since Thursday evening.

How are you finding it?
My copy is on its way. I'm going to read it soon.

 

[Loerwyn]

How are you finding it?
My copy is on its way. I'm going to read it soon.

So-So. I'm finding it a bit hard to read, and a bit confusing, but I'm one of the few who isn't really enjoying the book.

So far I'd probably say 6/10 or 7/10. The text size in the hardback is absolutely perfect though There's a topic about it, but there's probably too many spoilers in it for you.

 

[Seegee]

Tonight, I began my Wheel of Time re-read with The Eye of the World

I do intend to do that, but not until they've brought out the final one.

 

[DurzoBlint]

Just finished The Red Wolf Conspiracy by Robert VS Redick. Really enjoyed the book and look forward to the second book in the series. my review is here

Starting my read of Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card should get me in the mood to read Peter F. Hamilton's tomes.

 

[ladyinspring]

I do intend to do that, but not until they've brought out the final one.

I'm with you. It's just way too much to re-read without an ending, especially now that I know one is coming. I have been patient and I can continue to be patient.

I just finished the Riddlemaster series by Patricia McKillip. Very pleasant surprise. The trilogy featured one of the better "middle books" of a series and managed this even with a change in character viewpoint. I found everything difficult to follow at times but mostly engaging. I often found myself reading the same page over and over, either because I had no idea what just happened (she packs a lot of magic in this little story) or because I really enjoyed what I had just read.

The most difficult thing for me was the names; there are a lot of them and many of them are unpronounceable. I still can't pronounce the name of one of the main villains. One thing she got right was her world-building; the world seems a relatively small one but each land has a distinct makeup and personality that she reveals in both subtle and majestic ways, and each has its own variation of the magic. All of the rulers of the lands are interesting and none of them are evil, in fact, they all seem to genuinely like each other and they don't war with each other. People work together in these books, talk, ask questions (the incessant riddles). There is plenty of conflict in the story but I like the way she handled it.

 

[NickeeCoco]

Well, I gave up on Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. It just didn't sit with me. I think one of the things that bothered me was the fact that Willoughby has a wet suit. There was no such thing as wetsuits in the regency period. I know, it's a ridiculous reason to set a book down, but I feel that this book just strays from the original too much. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies stays with the original and keeps it firmly set in its own time period.

Well, I'm sick so I've been spending a lot of time in bed. Without anythingnew to read I decided to re-read Harry Potter. I've re-read the first two books so far. It's been years since I've read them and they're still delightful. They still make me giggle in all the right spots.