Reading in Fantasy and Horror April 2015

[suciul]

Started the serial Two of Swords from KJ Parker and it's vintage work from the author and a must for any fan of (finally I can say it) his; also an arc copy of Savages (the Subterranean July novel from KJP) seems to be on its way to me and based on the excerpt that's another huge asap

 

[Takoren]

I finished Sworn Sword (highly recommended to all Cornwell fans) and I am already halfway through "The King`s Blood" by Abraham.
"Dagger and Coin" is already in my alltime top 5 Fantasy series. Brilliant.

I keep hearing about Dagger and Coin but I must confess, I don't get it. I do want to read it some day but I found it hard to get excited about because the reviews, even while praising it, make it sound fairly stereotypical. Stereotypical isn't necessarily bad but it's easy to get tired of. Could someone explain what it is that sets this series apart?

 

[Ryan Mueller]

I keep hearing about Dagger and Coin but I must confess, I don't get it. I do want to read it some day but I found it hard to get excited about because the reviews, even while praising it, make it sound fairly stereotypical. Stereotypical isn't necessarily bad but it's easy to get tired of. Could someone explain what it is that sets this series apart?

What sets it apart for me is the characters. Abraham has a way of writing compelling characters that you end up liking even when they do the wrong thing. This is high praise for me because I tend to do poorly with such characters. I struggle at times with writers like Martin and Abercrombie. I don't have those struggles with Abraham.

There's also a big focus on economic conflict in Abraham's books. In this series, one of the main characters is a banker. It's not the kind of character or plot you see all that often.

If you're looking for something by Abraham that's a bit more unusual, you could try his Long Price Quartet. It features a very interesting take on magic and an Asian-inspired world. It can be a bit difficult to get into at first, but it's worth it in the end.

 

[Corporal Blues]

I finished reading Glenda Larke's The Dagger's Path, the sequel to The Lascar's Dagger. I really enjoyed the first book, and I found the sequel to be better than the series opener. The plot really thickened up nicely and I'm quite eager to read the series finale. Now I just gotta wait for it to come out...

 

[bard`s song]

I keep hearing about Dagger and Coin but I must confess, I don't get it. I do want to read it some day but I found it hard to get excited about because the reviews, even while praising it, make it sound fairly stereotypical. Stereotypical isn't necessarily bad but it's easy to get tired of. Could someone explain what it is that sets this series apart?

Abraham manages to write in a style that is not as spectacular or bloody or "grimdark" as other authors but still keeps you on the edge of your seat. When something brutal happens he is not shy to get into details.

I really like his worldbuilding and characters. He describes the landscapes, the cities, the politics, the economy system etc. in a quite realistic way. He also keeps (at least until book 2) the magic level very low. There are other races - however they behave more or less like humans coming from different cultures.

Character development is also great and believable. Main characters are not always save - however the bodycount is much lower as in other series.

 

[Takoren]

Sweet.

Like I said, it's on my list, but it was pretty far down. Maybe I should move it up.

 

[Ntschotschi]

Daniel Abraham is a great writer. His dagger and coin is series is unusual because he manages to make a banker the hero of his story,fascinating.
Also this series features the most interesting character on the Fantasy scene at the moment imo, that is Geder Palliako.
There's no precedent for this character, that I know, It's quite unique and intriguing.reading about him. I feel abhorred and at the same time attracted and sympathetic.
Abraham captures this deeply disturbed person so well, his need to be loved on one side and his emotional blindness on the other. So one must pity him in his cruelty and destructivness, one wishes him well and at the same time is shocked by his disasters.
There's no other comparable character that I know of in the field, quite a category on its own.
Maybe you know someone who is similar, I'd like to know?

 

[ZackE89]

I'm currently half way through The Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie and I am loving it. I read the first book and enjoyed it but wasn't blown away. Then when I got to the second that's when I discovered why Abercrombie is a must read. I only have a couple of hundred pages left in the third book and I'm looking forward to seeing how he ends this trilogy.

 

[Murrin]

Currently halfway through A Darker Shade of Magic by V E Schwab. Pretty decent so far.

 

[Rob B]

After having the book sit on Mount Toberead for about a year, I dove into Tower Lord by Anthony Ryan.

 

[Erfael]

I finally finished up Kate Elliott's Prince of Dogs yesterday. I've been at it for a while, but it was worth it. Interesting characters, interesting world, and interesting story. It probably says good things about it that as long as it took me and as long as the book is (600ish pages), I never felt like I wished it would just get on with it. The characters made some interesting growth here. The book did feel a little bit like Book 1, Part 2, as most of the plot threads were things introduced in the first book and tied up in this one. Not sure where the series goes from here.

Next up, and already pushing a quarter finished is NO's (won't bother trying to spell it without looking it up) Who Fears Death. Been looking forward to this one for some time and found a copy used the other day, so I thought I would dive in now. So far, it reads really nicely and contains a lot of other-culture stuff. More as I progress...

 

[Westy]

Read Clive Barker's Books of Blood Volume 2 - not as good as the first volume but starts off with the impressive Dread, about a uni student who meets a strange older student Quaid, who is obsessed with what individual's fear the most. It leads to experiments that aptly show the meaning of the word Dread.

Jacqueline Ess: Her Will and Testament: is also a good story about a woman who has a near death experience and wakes with extraordinary powers over others. The rest of the stories were OK, but overall would probably rate the whole book 3.5/5 (volume 1 would be 4 or 4.5/5).

Started now on Unwrapped Sky by Rjurik Davidson. Starts off well, I especially like the chapters involving the minotaurs, but 80-odd pages in and it needs to get going - there are 3 pov's going in alternating chapters and some are better than others...

 

[mikey101]

I keep hearing about Dagger and Coin but I must confess, I don't get it. I do want to read it some day but I found it hard to get excited about because the reviews, even while praising it, make it sound fairly stereotypical. Stereotypical isn't necessarily bad but it's easy to get tired of. Could someone explain what it is that sets this series apart?

think i'll give that one a go ...

 

[Bigchipper]

Also this series features the most interesting character on the Fantasy scene at the moment imo, that is Geder Palliako.

I agree with this sentiment. Geder is definitely a tragically flawed character, who should elicit hatred, but gets nothing but pity from me. (sidenote: I have a WoW character named Geder)

Just finished Brett's The Skull Throne and am now working on Angus Watson's Clash of Iron (book 2 of his Iron Age trilogy).

 

[bard`s song]

Daniel Abraham is a great writer. His dagger and coin is series is unusual because he manages to make a banker the hero of his story,fascinating.
Also this series features the most interesting character on the Fantasy scene at the moment imo, that is Geder Palliako.
There's no precedent for this character, that I know, It's quite unique and intriguing.reading about him. I feel abhorred and at the same time attracted and sympathetic.
Abraham captures this deeply disturbed person so well, his need to be loved on one side and his emotional blindness on the other. So one must pity him in his cruelty and destructivness, one wishes him well and at the same time is shocked by his disasters.
There's no other comparable character that I know of in the field, quite a category on its own.
Maybe you know someone who is similar, I'd like to know?

Yes that is true. Geder is an outstanding character - similar to Tyrion Lannister or Sand dan Glotka.

I do not want to say that they share any attributes (maybe beside being some kind of outsider) but talking about the depth these characters got from the authors.
You cannot wait for their next chapter.

 

[NickeeCoco]

Well. Finished Crown of Renewal by Elizabeth Moon yesterday. It was a nice ending to the series. Plot lines were all wrapped up, with adventure still on the horizon. I liked the ending.

 

[Ryan Mueller]

Yes that is true. Geder is an outstanding character - similar to Tyrion Lannister or Sand dan Glotka.

I do not want to say that they share any attributes (maybe beside being some kind of outsider) but talking about the depth these characters got from the authors.
You cannot wait for their next chapter.

I think I actually prefer Geder as a character to either of those two. I also like Tyrion, but I've never understood what's so great about Glokta. He was probably my least favorite of the POV characters in the First Law trilogy.

 

[Ryan Mueller]

Finished The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu. This book was a major struggle at times because I didn't care for Liu's choices regarding POV. He wrote it in omniscient and frequently summarized scenes I would have liked to see more in depth.

However, he also created an interesting world with well-drawn characters and good prose. I think fans of Guy Gavriel Kay would find a lot to like here. It's slow at times, but beautiful and poignant at others. Once I got to the second half of the book, I had to know what was going to happen, and I enjoyed it quite a bit.

 

[Luke_B]

Started now on Unwrapped Sky by Rjurik Davidson. Starts off well, I especially like the chapters involving the minotaurs, but 80-odd pages in and it needs to get going - there are 3 pov's going in alternating chapters and some are better than others...

Hey Westy, I just finished that one and will be interested to see what you think (I'm still playing wih a review for this site). I felt all three POVs were reasonably well balanced in terms of my interest, but the delineation between the "goodies" and the "baddies" becomes quite clear as the book goes on. My problem was that some of the characters become obvious ciphers for different themes, rather than real people at certain points. But I think you'll like it - it's very reminiscent of the Bas Lag books. And it was written by a fellow Australian....

I keep picking things up, reading fifty pages, then putting them down again - mostly SF or mainstream crossover. But I've picked up a fantasy book that might be a stayer - A Crown For Cold Silver by Alex Marshall. Marshall is a pseudonym for a writer who's apparently well established in other genres (my theory is it's Tom Holt again ). It's an epic fantasy -- obviously Grimdark from the early chapters, but there's a nice gallows humour, and yes, it reminds me a lot of Abercrombie so far, though maybe a bit weirder, both in worldbuilding and writing. Promising...

 

[Westy]

Hey Westy, I just finished that one and will be interested to see what you think (I'm still playing wih a review for this site). I felt all three POVs were reasonably well balanced in terms of my interest, but the delineation between the "goodies" and the "baddies" becomes quite clear as the book goes on. My problem was that some of the characters become obvious ciphers for different themes, rather than real people at certain points. But I think you'll like it - it's very reminiscent of the Bas Lag books. And it was written by a fellow Australian....

Actually it was your original post that got me onto this! I'm always keen to read a good genre novel by an Australian too.

It's improving a lot now (150 pages in) and I'm enjoying it. I can see the Mieville similarities too - not only in the political/social themes but even some of the language - "thaumatology" and "chymical" being a couple of words I noticed this author uses that were in Perdido Street Station a lot...