Reading in March 2011

I'm about 200 pages in on Wise Man's Fear, and though I can see where some people are coming from saying it's a bit slow, I'm actually really enjoying it because I'm so interested in the characters. It's also definitely a need to read TNOTW first book, too I think.

And I'm not going near the dedicated WMF thread until I'm finished; too many spoilers. :)
 
Finished Wise Man's Fear. The last 150 did indeed pick back up for me and close things off reasonably, if a little flatly, for me.

Looking for something shorter next, so pulled out a McKillip book and Katherine Kurtz's Deryni Rising as possible next reads, though I'm feeling sick right now and can't bring myself to dive into either of them.
 
suciul said:
Yes, so does City Hope Despair starts; as an aside a copy of Shadow's Lure by Jon Sprunk has just appeared today in my inbox from Pyr (due in June) and it is very tempting too since I liked Shadow's Son quite a lot...
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Very much interested in Shadow's Lure too, but it's still a few months away so won't give it too much thought at the moment.
 
I've just finished Modesitt's Imager, and it was absolutely superb.

However! Whilst I think it's a 5/5 book, there's still a few things about it worth mentioning. Firstly, it's rather 'filling' due to Modesitt's style and rather large vocabulary. Secondly, it's not an action novel. It's set in a highly political & economics 'based' setting, it's a coming-of-age tale based around an unusually mature character (Who in turn seems to be very reminiscent, at least at the start, of Lerris from The Magic of Recluce), and it's not a standalone novel. Whilst it does end, it's not what I'd call a 'true' ending, and is much more of a cliffhanger or at least it's really open for the next book. The main plot line does not get resolved in this book, but a major one is still resolved.

Loved it, and now just waiting for Easter so I can get stuck into the next one.
 
I finished City Hope Despair by Ian Whates and I put some longer thoughts on Goodreads with a full review late next week on FBC; it is a middle book of a trilogy - at least this is what it says there and it was surprising since i thought there will be 4 books in the series - with City Lights and Shadow to end it in fall 2011; it kind of shows the middle book aspect but it is still a page turner and one of the threads is very good, one is more typical UF though the characters made it worth. Overall I liked it - a little less than the debut mainly because of its transitional nature and of the UF thread - but it was not quite what i expected and the last book will decide where the series stands for me; this is clear fantasy though, while the first book could be read as a mixture of sf and f, here the tropes tilt heavily towards fantasy

Edit: I also started Shadow's Lure by Jon Sprunk, though for some reason it tempts me less than the debut which i opened and could not put down; so I will probably finish an indie The Burning Sky by JR Lewis (fast and fun alt-hist steampunk in a world in which Europe is still in the Ice Age, so most civilization is outside of it and the action happens in North Africa though there are Aztecs, Incas and characters from South Asia too) and then go on to one of River of Shadows, Among Thieves, Camera Obscura, depending on how much reading time I will have....If a copy of White Luck warrior comes, I may read that also
 
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I have recently started reading Romance of the Three Kingdoms. You know, the really old Chinese epic. Anyways, it is pretty good. A little confusing with all the names they toss at you, and sometimes he rushes past stuff you really want him to dwell on, but overall, it is an interesting read.
 
Just finished The Wise Man's Fear from Rothfuss and have started on Val Gunn's In the Shadow of Swords. After that is The Sea Watch by Adrian Tchaikovsky.
 
I finished reading Tyrant's Blood, book 2 of the Valisar Trilogy by Fiona McIntosh earlier in the week and quickly started on King's Wrath, the third volume. I just finished that last night. Overall, I liked the trilogy, parts however felt a little forced to me (all the characters suddenly deciding to go to the same place for example) and I thought the very ending could have been fleshed out a little more.

Not sure what I will start on next, most likely something Urban, although I did pick up the new Feist book so maybe I will try that, still deciding.
 
Finished The Fox Woman by Kij Johnson. A favorite for me, and I will check out other works by the author. I already mentioned this is not epic or "gritty", so it would not be for anyone. But if you like poetry, or japanese / chinese fairytales or the books of Patricia McKillip - try Kij Johnson.

Next book I finished this morning is Bloodsucking Fiends by Christopher Moore : good tongue-in-cheek fun with a high ration of jokes per page and plenty of pop-culture references.

Now I'm back to Garret P.I. sleuthing in Cold Copper Tears and such pearls of wisdom :

"I had a thought. That happens. So do lunar eclipses"

"Thinking just confuses me"
 
I started Sanderson's Warbreaker last night, and I was pleasantly surprised by how well written it is after the prologue.

One problem I've had with Sanderson in the past is I don't think he's that good at explaining things, or when he does it's sometimes a little too late.
 
I'm reading The Crippled God by Steven Erikson right now. I'm finding it a bit difficult remembering who is who, and all the various plot lines - I should have done a re-read first :(

Next up is The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss - looking forward to this one as I really enjoyed the first one.

Finally, if the month doesn't run out, I will be reading The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie. I really enjoyed his other works, didn't get too much into Best Served Cold, but I'm thinking I would have enjoyed it more if I read the trilogy first, but meh.
 
Just finished Joe Abercrombie's The Heroes. Though not as good as Best Served Cold, it was a doozy!

Also recently finished L. E. Modesitt, jr.'s Imager's Challenge. It's another solid effort by one of the most underappreciated SFF writers of his era.

Patrick
 
I'm in the middle of Deryni Rising by Katherine Kurtz. So far I'm finding it quite enjoyable. Aside from the first chapter, the entire book takes place over the span of about a day. It mainly has to do with political maneuverings in the wake of the assassination of a king, leading up to his son's coronation. The story takes place in a liege/vassal political structure in a setting much like 12th(?) Century England. There is a powerful church (with Latin) that is the Christian church transplanted into a fantasy setting. There is also a second race, the Deryni, who are capable of powerful magics. This is Kurtz's first book, and at the halfway point here, I'm really interested in seeing where this trilogy goes. So far, very pleasantly surprised.
 
I have finished The Girl Who Played with Fire (Millennium, #2) by Stieg Larsson.
This book is a lot more interesting than the first one. In hindsight The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo looks like a prequel, an introduction to the story.
I like Salander a lot. She deserves respect. A person who follows her own rules of morality (humane ones), regardless of what society is trying to impose on her and her surroundings. She is a very likeable young lady.
Hats off to her.
I am looking forward to reading The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest in the near future.


Right now I am reading The Book of Tea by Kakuzo Okakura, before I plunge into The Malazan Book of the Fallen.
 
Spent the afternoon being wonderfully immersed (like a lot of people at the moment, I believe) in Rothfuss's Wise Man's Fear.

Think he's a great story teller: and don't mind the pace at all. Love it so far.

Mark
 
LOL. Thanks, Peter. I'm available for weddings, night clubs...... Can't see where Joe got his inspiration from though... ;)

Might need to talk to Joe about the axes: :D

Joe+the+Warrior.JPG


.... having said that, nice idea for the Gemmell's! Hmmmmm.....

Mark
 
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pat5150 said:
Also recently finished L. E. Modesitt, jr.'s Imager's Challenge. It's another solid effort by one of the most underappreciated SFF writers of his era.
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Excellent to hear; I'll be getting it in April and I'm really looking forward to it. Apparently Modesitt's sci-fi work is better, do you know if that's true? I can sort of imagine him being a bit like Weber.
 
I'm currently racing through Peter V. Brett's The Painted Man. An absolutely superb read so far, and I can't wait to continue reading it.
 
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