Reading in May 2011

I finished Mechanique: Tales of the Circus Tresalti by Genevieve Valentine which could be considered either sf or fantasy and i was disappointed to a large extent maybe because I had huge expectations for a book like say Desideria by N. Kornher-Stace which was easily one of my top books of several years ago; that one was theater and pre-industrial, this is circus and post-apocalyptic and while the writing flows well, the book did not engage me at all in content and the writing was not that good (say on par with something like Tiger's Wife) to make up for my lack of interest in the goings on.
 
Just started Jhereg by Steven Brust. Decent so far, I like the main character, the unemotional-ness of it is a little strange, but then I was just reading Tigana so that may be the reason. It's good. When I read that scene with Vlad and his egg, it reminded me a lot about the same sort of scene from Eragon--weird, but it was very very similar. I didn't really like Eragon, I don't know why it was on my mind. Anyhow, the book's pretty good right now. :)

Looking into Retribution Falls next, or The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, or The Crown Conspiracy (assuming I can get it).
 
Two books:

Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay. It's only the second Kay book I've read, behind The Lions of Al-Rassan, and I liked it better than Lions.

The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway. An intelligent, very different sort of book. It is by no means a quick read, and I spent lots of time re-reading paragraphs and bits of paragraphs. Sometimes this annoyed me, most of the time it did not. The book probably also deserves to be re-read with the ending in mind (which I haven't done) in order to fully appreciate it. Overall, I really enjoyed it, and found it to be a refreshing change of pace.

Next up: To Ride Hell's Chasm by Janny Wurts
 
Decided to do a re-read of A Song of Ice and Fire before Dance with Dragons hits, and I'm surprised how quickly Game of Thrones is sucking me back in again, especially having seen all this recently on the TV show.
 
Decided to do a re-read of A Song of Ice and Fire before Dance with Dragons hits, and I'm surprised how quickly Game of Thrones is sucking me back in again, especially having seen all this recently on the TV show.
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Seems to be a lot of people doing this at the moment, Rich. George is doing quite well on the Times Bestsellers lists at the moment, not to mention Amazon et al.

Mark
 
Well, as I can't be fussed with Geist at the moment, I'm now reading L.E. Modesitt, Jr.'s Imager's Challenge.

I'm past page 100 now, and it's really just more of what he started in Imager. That's not a bad thing, though. This one seems to be more politically oriented, though, and there's some prompts for thinking which appear in character dialogue.
 
I finished up River of Shadows by Redick yesterday and thought it was really good.

BIG SPOILERS
Some things that had been hinted at were finally revealed, and a big dramatic ending. To be honest, I didn't expect the death of Arunis until the last book, so it really took me by surprise. I get the feeling that this is going to be a series where all good prevails, with minimal main character deaths. I fully expect Neeps to make it. I could see Thasha dying, though, and maybe Hercol.

I'm looking forward to the final book in the series.

I started on The Fade by Chris Wooding, only about 30 pages in, and it seems pretty good so far. A little darker than I expected, with quite a bleak beginning. And the chapter numberings are odd, so I'll have to try and figure out where he is going with that, too.
 
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I was reading Nights of Villjamur by Mark Charan Newton, got 1/3 of the way in, and then put it down. I don't know what it was about the book - plot, writing style or something - but it just didn't grab my attention and I was getting annoyed with it.

So, I am now reading A Cavern of Black Ice by JV Jones, and so far, I'm enjoing it.

Next up, probably Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay - I haven't read any of his work, but comments here seem positive, so I am going to give it a try.
 
Just finished The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie. Liked it, but man that's a grim tale. I thought the same about his Best Served Cold but somehow it was more appropriate since it had a theme of revenge. War is no picnic, sure, but here the portrayal sometimes feels a bit over the top with everybody being blacker than black and filled to the brim with either hate or guilt or both.

Next in line is Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay. Looking forward to some top class prose as only GGK can deliver.
 
Finished Merciel's Heaven's Needle this afternoon and loved it. Merciel has 'it.' You know, the intangible thing you can't explain but can easily recognize.

I have been putting around between starting Sullivan's series, Tchaikovsky's series, reading Eddison's Zimiamvia omnibus that has sat unread on my shelf for 2+ decades, but, in the end, I'm just going to have to go with The White Luck Warrior. Werthead's review of it has been scratching at that reading itch in the back of my mind since I read the post. Now....it's on.
 
Toll the Hounds

FINALLY finished Toll The Hounds (Book 8 of Erikson's Malazan series)...

This one took me 6 weeks (sigh). I entered the book with cautious optimism, but unfortunately the negative reviews were correct. This was undoubtedly the worst book of the series so far. :(

It was well-written... but when a book is nearly 1,300 pages long, well-written isn't nearly enough.

I'm used to Erikson's pattern of slow build-up followed by massive climax... but usually it's about 50/50 (500 pages of build up, 500 pages of pay-off). I knew this one would be slower than usual, but was astounded to discover the truth: Toll the Hounds is basically 1,100 pages of VERY slow buildup, followed by less than 200 pages of action/climax (and, contrary to what I'd heard, the climax wasn't even one of Erikson's best. It was... just okay).

It had some great moments... but there's just no way to justify a few great moments in 1,300 pages. I really wanted to like it, but man... big disappointment. I feel like I basically wasted six weeks of my life. I'm really hoping the final two books are less excruciating.
 
Evil Agent said:
FINALLY finished Toll The Hounds (Book 8 of Erikson's Malazan series)...

This one took me 6 weeks (sigh). I entered the book with cautious optimism, but unfortunately the negative reviews were correct. This was undoubtedly the worst book of the series so far. :(

It was well-written... but when a book is nearly 1,300 pages long, well-written isn't nearly enough.

I'm used to Erikson's pattern of slow build-up followed by massive climax... but usually it's about 50/50 (500 pages of build up, 500 pages of pay-off). I knew this one would be slower than usual, but was astounded to discover the truth: Toll the Hounds is basically 1,100 pages of VERY slow buildup, followed by less than 200 pages of action/climax (and, contrary to what I'd heard, the climax wasn't even one of Erikson's best. It was... just okay).

It had some great moments... but there's just no way to justify a few great moments in 1,300 pages. I really wanted to like it, but man... big disappointment. I feel like I basically wasted six weeks of my life. I'm really hoping the final two books are less excruciating.
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You nailed it. I finished Toll last November-ish and I still haven't started Dust of Dreams. I know it will be good, I even miss the characters and writing...but I keep putting it off.
 
Seak said:
You nailed it. I finished Toll last November-ish and I still haven't started Dust of Dreams. I know it will be good, I even miss the characters and writing...but I keep putting it off.
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Erikson could have trimmed AT LEAST 500 pages off that behemoth, and I'm not even exaggerating.
 
suciul said:
I finished Mechanique: Tales of the Circus Tresalti by Genevieve Valentine which could be considered either sf or fantasy and i was disappointed to a large extent maybe because I had huge expectations for a book like say Desideria by N. Kornher-Stace which was easily one of my top books of several years ago; that one was theater and pre-industrial, this is circus and post-apocalyptic and while the writing flows well, the book did not engage me at all in content and the writing was not that good (say on par with something like Tiger's Wife) to make up for my lack of interest in the goings on.
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I bookmarked a sample of Mechanique: Tales of the Circus Tresalti a few days ago, but I have not gotten around to reading it yet. Honestly, I would have gotten to it sooner, but the name strikes me as being vaguely steampunk-ish and since I have no interest in that sort of thing, it has put me off of it.

I am surprised that I have even heard of it though, what with it being published by Prime Books. Their books tend to fly so far below the radar that stumbling upon them is more a matter of chance than anything. I wonder if they do any marketing at all...
 
warfitz45 said:
I'd picked up a copy of Terry Brooks' Magic Kingdom for Sale. Brooks work, as w/ anyone who's put out as much stuff as he, can be hit or miss w/ my favorite series from him being the Word and Void. However, 2 chapters into MK4S and I've found he has been able to suck me into it quite effectively. Here's to hoping it continues!
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I really enjoyed that series when I read it, I hope you do too!

I have been reading a bit of Urban Fantasy these last few weeks. I read the entire Mercedes Thompson Series by Patricia Briggs. Overall, I liked them, I'd read more but I think the most recent one River Marked wasn't as enjoyable for me as the others.

I have also just finished Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris, the 11th Sookie Stackhouse novel.

I have just started The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch, this has been on my book shelf for about 6 months now, time I finally got a round to reading it.
 
Paks said:
I really enjoyed that series when I read it, I hope you do too!

I have been reading a bit of Urban Fantasy these last few weeks. I read the entire Mercedes Thompson Series by Patricia Briggs. Overall, I liked them, I'd read more but I think the most recent one River Marked wasn't as enjoyable for me as the others.

I have also just finished Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris, the 11th Sookie Stackhouse novel.

I have just started The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch, this has been on my book shelf for about 6 months now, time I finally got a round to reading it.
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I agree with you, River Marked overall was quite dull particularly because the mystery was lame. I liked Coyote though, and it was nice to see more of a background for Mercy, but other than that it's one of the books I least liked in the series.
 
It's been a while since I've mentioned what I've been reading, so here's a bit of a list:

Tome of the Undergates by Sam Sykes - I enjoyed it somewhat, but I wouldn't recommend that book. It was weak in many places, and I doubt people here would enjoy it.

Midnight Riot & Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch - I thought both books were really good, particularly if you enjoy a bit of procedural and British humor.

I Don't Want to Kill You by Dan Wells - Last book in the John Cleaver trilogy, and my favorite in the series. Really enjoyed being inside a teenage sociopath's mind.

Department 19 by Will Hill - YA book, and I really enjoyed it. Good use of the myth of Dracula, Frankenstein, Van Helsing, etc. Lot's of action and violence, worth a look I think even if you're not much of a YA reader but can enjoy them once in a while.

The Gathering Storm & Towers of Midnight by Brandon Sanderson and Robert Jordan - Great reads for me, two of my favorites in the series. I enjoyed The Gathering Storm more though, but looking forward to the conclusion of the series. Glad Sanderson continued the series that's for sure.

Tangled Threads by Jennifer Estep - Fourth book in the Elemental Assassin series, and overall one of my favorite in the series. I think this is a UF that might appeal to some here as it has quite a bit of action.

Uncertain Allies by Mark del Franco - Fifth in the Connor Grey series, which has recently become one of my favorite UF series. This installment was a bit of a let down though, but the final third was good for me and it ended in an interesting place. Feels more like a setup book for the next portion of the series, so looking forward to what comes next.

Right now I'm reading Hounded by Kevin Hearne which looks to be an interesting UF series, first of The Iron Druid Chronicles.
 
Winter said:
I bookmarked a sample of Mechanique: Tales of the Circus Tresalti a few days ago, but I have not gotten around to reading it yet. Honestly, I would have gotten to it sooner, but the name strikes me as being vaguely steampunk-ish and since I have no interest in that sort of thing, it has put me off of it.

I am surprised that I have even heard of it though, what with it being published by Prime Books. Their books tend to fly so far below the radar that stumbling upon them is more a matter of chance than anything. I wonder if they do any marketing at all...
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The book is more post-apocalyptic sf than anything else, though it has a strong fantasy feel and of course it is very circus-oriented; I really cannot point out why I felt so meh about it - did not hate it and I kept turning the pages though hoping to get more excited and never really did - since it has a lot of stuff I enjoy in its prose at least - shifts of tenses, shifts of narrative mode (first person, third person...) and the prose flows well enough; I just did not care for the goings-on, while the prose was not quite at the level to make me enjoy the novel only because of it...

Overall I think that if it were a theater book I would have enjoyed it more, but I am kind of meh about circus in general and the two books I read and enjoyed with it beyond books in my childhood were either darkly funny (Eliott Pilo's Family Circus, contemporary dark sff) or were written by one of my all time favorite authors (Tangle by G. Jennings, historical fiction)
 
Continuing with The Fade (I haven't decided if this is sci-fi or fantasy, but I know it isn't bucklepunk), made decent progress last night. The tone in this book is so far quite grim, but it seems to be shooting towards a more positive ending. I'm enjoying it quite a bit so far, the quality is definitely in line with what I expected based on other books I read by Chris Wooding.
 
Yes: not bucklepunk but a definite great read. Reviewed it HERE long while ago.

Watch that chapter numbering!

Mark
 
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