Fantasy / Horror Reading in September 2017
- Thread starter Hobbit
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Just finished the graphic novel adaptation of George R R Martin's novella "The Mystery Knight" (Adapted by Ben avery, Art by Mike S Miller).
Really enjoyed this. (And thought the earlier two graphic novel adaptation in same series of novellas about Ser Dunk and Egg were also excellent.) I've not read the novella itself yet...but given the quality of this adaptation I find it difficult to believe that the source material wasn't top notch.
I know I must be in a fairly small minority but it wouldn't worry me in the slightest if George RR stopped battling to complete A Song of Ice and Fire...not if it meant we got more of his short stories and short done in one novels. He's a wonderful writer...deep down I think the first two or three novels in Song of Ice and Fire should have been contenders for major literary fiction awards outside the specific fantasy genre.
Really enjoyed this. (And thought the earlier two graphic novel adaptation in same series of novellas about Ser Dunk and Egg were also excellent.) I've not read the novella itself yet...but given the quality of this adaptation I find it difficult to believe that the source material wasn't top notch.
I know I must be in a fairly small minority but it wouldn't worry me in the slightest if George RR stopped battling to complete A Song of Ice and Fire...not if it meant we got more of his short stories and short done in one novels. He's a wonderful writer...deep down I think the first two or three novels in Song of Ice and Fire should have been contenders for major literary fiction awards outside the specific fantasy genre.
Bigchipper
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Just finished the first two in the Songs of Shattered Sands trilogy by Brad Beaulieu (Twelve Kings in Sharakhai and With Blood Upon the Sand). Wow, they were really good. Just got the last Bakker book The Unholy Consult. Hope it's not as bad as book 3...
Like you I enjoyed the two Shattered Sands books.
But you're a braver man than I if you faced down two Bakker books, and are willing to consider reading another. I was defeated well before the half way stage of the only book of his I tried.
Bigchipper
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This is book 7....haha
Ryan Mueller
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I made it through the first book. I've never felt even the slightest urge to pick up the next. It's just not the type of story I enjoy reading at all.
Contrarius
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I finished Age of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan -- #2 in the Riyria prequel series, whose official name I've forgotten. ;-)
This was often fun, but I also think I sprained my eye-rolling muscles. Unfortunately, the plot depended in large part on several new "inventions" mostly made or discovered by our intrepid girl heroes (I'm not being dismissive of women -- these were actual girls in their teens). I won't spoil the story by detailing all the inventions involved, but one example is the supposed invention of the wheel during the story, on page. Supposed to be this wonderful newfangled thing that's going to save them all sorts of trouble with transporting goods. Except that Gifford the potter already uses a -- get this -- potter's WHEEL (they call it a potter's table), and soon after the wheel is "invented" we see a mention of a woman from the same village using a spinning WHEEL. Yet supposedly they don't have wheeled carts yet, because nobody has had the idea of turning a wheel up on end.
Uhhhhhhh-huh. Sure.
This sort of anachronism drove me batty, especially since things like the wheel (and the other inventions) would likely have been invented long before these folks got to the general level of tech that they are already living at. Other inventions mentioned would have taken years or centuries to develop (instead of "poof! an invention!"), and others would have taken much longer to physically create after coming up with the idea (instant ore smelting, anyone?). Also, other nearby cultures -- cultures that they were already trading with regularly -- already had some of these "new inventions", yet supposedly the humans had never even heard of them.
Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh-huh. Sure.
So I was very annoyed about that -- and since it happened several times, I got multiple injections of annoyance.
But if you can get past that, it's still a pretty fun tale. Not nearly as good as either the Riyria books or book #1 (umm -- Age of Myth? is that right?), but not really a bad read.
This was often fun, but I also think I sprained my eye-rolling muscles. Unfortunately, the plot depended in large part on several new "inventions" mostly made or discovered by our intrepid girl heroes (I'm not being dismissive of women -- these were actual girls in their teens). I won't spoil the story by detailing all the inventions involved, but one example is the supposed invention of the wheel during the story, on page. Supposed to be this wonderful newfangled thing that's going to save them all sorts of trouble with transporting goods. Except that Gifford the potter already uses a -- get this -- potter's WHEEL (they call it a potter's table), and soon after the wheel is "invented" we see a mention of a woman from the same village using a spinning WHEEL. Yet supposedly they don't have wheeled carts yet, because nobody has had the idea of turning a wheel up on end.
Uhhhhhhh-huh. Sure.
This sort of anachronism drove me batty, especially since things like the wheel (and the other inventions) would likely have been invented long before these folks got to the general level of tech that they are already living at. Other inventions mentioned would have taken years or centuries to develop (instead of "poof! an invention!"), and others would have taken much longer to physically create after coming up with the idea (instant ore smelting, anyone?). Also, other nearby cultures -- cultures that they were already trading with regularly -- already had some of these "new inventions", yet supposedly the humans had never even heard of them.
Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh-huh. Sure.
So I was very annoyed about that -- and since it happened several times, I got multiple injections of annoyance.
But if you can get past that, it's still a pretty fun tale. Not nearly as good as either the Riyria books or book #1 (umm -- Age of Myth? is that right?), but not really a bad read.
Age of Swords is on my to-read list.
I took 4 books on vacation and only finished 2-1/2.
Lanark by Alasdair Gray which I had started previously I finished my last day (I was simultaneously reading a non-fiction book).
I read The H-Bomb Girl Stephen Baxter on the plane back. Quick read. Leans to YA.
Then started Eocene Station by Dave Duncan.
I just realized these are all more scifi than fantasy (well Lanark is whatever)
I had started Whispers Under Ground by Ben Aaronovitch before vacation so I'll finish that when I finish Duncan.
I took 4 books on vacation and only finished 2-1/2.
Lanark by Alasdair Gray which I had started previously I finished my last day (I was simultaneously reading a non-fiction book).
I read The H-Bomb Girl Stephen Baxter on the plane back. Quick read. Leans to YA.
Then started Eocene Station by Dave Duncan.
I just realized these are all more scifi than fantasy (well Lanark is whatever)
I had started Whispers Under Ground by Ben Aaronovitch before vacation so I'll finish that when I finish Duncan.
bard`s song
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Finished Shadowmarch and started Shadowplay. I really do not understand the critics Williams got for this series.
Very strong in case someone is looking for some traditional High Fantasy stuff.
Very strong in case someone is looking for some traditional High Fantasy stuff.
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I think the usual complaint is "slow to start."
Ryan Mueller
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That complaint doesn't make much sense to me. Shadowmarch starts much more quickly than Memory, Sorrow, Thorn (or his Otherland series for that matter, which basically goes through the entire first book without much of anything happening).
Agreed. Very good series.
Westy
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I finished reading Beyond Redemption by Michael Fletcher, on a whim from seeing it at the top of the list in the Grimdark thread.
The high priest Konig grooms a young boy, Morgen, to be a god that he can control. Three misfits (Bedeckt, Stehen, and Wichtig), who band together to make profit illicitly, decide to kidnap the boy for ransom. What follows is a dark, gritty, yet absorbing and imaginative journey through this inventive world Fletcher has created.
Among the strange inhabitants are those called Geisteskranken, or The Delusional, whose insane delusions manifest into reality - most of which are based on real syndromes or phobias. For example there are Mirrorists who appear within mirrors, and are based on eisotrophobia, or Cotardists - linked to Cotard's Syndrome - who believe they are dead.
Although the novel is very nihilistic and brutal, there are aspects that offset this and offer some hope - there are hints that the three miscreants have some feelings for each other, there is plenty of black humour, and there is such a range of different and weird characters that I felt immersed in the story to the end.
Beyond Redemption is a very dark novel, but it is written with such imagination that I'd recommend it to any fantasy reader (though you have to have at least some stomach for the grimmer side of things) - 4.5/5.
The high priest Konig grooms a young boy, Morgen, to be a god that he can control. Three misfits (Bedeckt, Stehen, and Wichtig), who band together to make profit illicitly, decide to kidnap the boy for ransom. What follows is a dark, gritty, yet absorbing and imaginative journey through this inventive world Fletcher has created.
Among the strange inhabitants are those called Geisteskranken, or The Delusional, whose insane delusions manifest into reality - most of which are based on real syndromes or phobias. For example there are Mirrorists who appear within mirrors, and are based on eisotrophobia, or Cotardists - linked to Cotard's Syndrome - who believe they are dead.
Although the novel is very nihilistic and brutal, there are aspects that offset this and offer some hope - there are hints that the three miscreants have some feelings for each other, there is plenty of black humour, and there is such a range of different and weird characters that I felt immersed in the story to the end.
Beyond Redemption is a very dark novel, but it is written with such imagination that I'd recommend it to any fantasy reader (though you have to have at least some stomach for the grimmer side of things) - 4.5/5.
suciul
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Curious about Beyond Redemption so will take a look - noticed that two more novels in that universe have been published in the meantime (Mirror's Truth and Swarm and Steel) though not sure if they are direct sequels or not.
Finally KJ Parker's serialized Two of Swords new installment (16th) has been out (after more than one year since #15) and it seems that there are 3 more installments only to be published weekly until the end of the month after which the 3 volumes that bring them together will be published in Oct-Dec; anyway read #16 and loved it still as we meet again Telamon and Oida; lots of things happen and a cliffhanger ending but #17 appears tomorrow so that's fine
Finally KJ Parker's serialized Two of Swords new installment (16th) has been out (after more than one year since #15) and it seems that there are 3 more installments only to be published weekly until the end of the month after which the 3 volumes that bring them together will be published in Oct-Dec; anyway read #16 and loved it still as we meet again Telamon and Oida; lots of things happen and a cliffhanger ending but #17 appears tomorrow so that's fine
Bigchipper
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Mirror's Truth is a direct sequel. Swarm and Steel is a standalone set in the same universe.
Westy
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I have them "to read", though will be weeks/months away as I generally like to have breaks between books in series.
There's also a novella Fire and Flesh: A Manifest Delusions Short Story set in the same universe, written before Beyond Redemption.
Westy
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I read The Hike by Drew Magary after seeing Phil Geo mention it on this forum.
As per the blurb, Ben goes for a walk while away from home on a work trip, and finds himself stuck on a path with very strange inhabitants, dangers to dodge and challenges to meet to pass further down the path.
It's very weird - things happen that don't make sense or explanation (especially initially) - but at the same time it becomes quite heartfelt and emotional.
I liked it overall; the writing is good, character dialogue feels natural (and often funny), and it ends well. As Phil said, it's not the type of book for everyone, but it does get points for originality and a strong moral message.
As per the blurb, Ben goes for a walk while away from home on a work trip, and finds himself stuck on a path with very strange inhabitants, dangers to dodge and challenges to meet to pass further down the path.
It's very weird - things happen that don't make sense or explanation (especially initially) - but at the same time it becomes quite heartfelt and emotional.
I liked it overall; the writing is good, character dialogue feels natural (and often funny), and it ends well. As Phil said, it's not the type of book for everyone, but it does get points for originality and a strong moral message.
suciul
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Read Two of Swords #17 by KJ Parker
"He thought for a moment. “Might as well,” he said, “to be going on with. When I’ve got five minutes, I’ll have them make me one of those, what’s the word, what you keep saints’ bones in.”
“Reliquary?”
“That’s it, reliquary. I saw just the sort of thing once, it was a fair-sized box carved out of a lump of coal. Working hinges and everything. Of course, traditionally it ought to be a drinking cup made from his skull. Or I read in a book somewhere about someone who made a bow out of the bones and sinews of his enemy, which I’m not sure is actually possible, but it’d be great to hang on the wall.”
*** gave him a bleak smile. “Wasn’t it a chair?”
“Different book.” Suddenly he liked ***; shared taste in literature, presumably. “A chair would do fine, actually, though you couldn’t rely on it. A footstool would be better. You could always rely on *** to fold up in a heap whenever the pressure was on.”"
I thought installment 16 was excellent despite the cliffhanger as it clearly sped things up, but this was even better and then the dialogue above appeared somewhere towards the end (deleted a few words to avoid spoilers, though if one read 16 the above will make clear sense) and the bow/chair reference just cracked me up (they refer to the author's first trilogy second volume and its bow homage to the famous IM Banks novel Use of weapons chair); anyway the story continues, plot thickens up, many old characters appear again, some mysteries are solved, some are introduced - I am fairly sure that the obvious person whom Telamon was once shocked to meet somewhere must be the mastermind of all but will see - the short excerpt from #18 ends at a great point and reveals even more...
Highly, highly recommended and I hope that once the story is finished and published in complete book form in the next 3 months it will get the recognition it richly deserves; no cliffhanger here but a continuation
"He thought for a moment. “Might as well,” he said, “to be going on with. When I’ve got five minutes, I’ll have them make me one of those, what’s the word, what you keep saints’ bones in.”
“Reliquary?”
“That’s it, reliquary. I saw just the sort of thing once, it was a fair-sized box carved out of a lump of coal. Working hinges and everything. Of course, traditionally it ought to be a drinking cup made from his skull. Or I read in a book somewhere about someone who made a bow out of the bones and sinews of his enemy, which I’m not sure is actually possible, but it’d be great to hang on the wall.”
*** gave him a bleak smile. “Wasn’t it a chair?”
“Different book.” Suddenly he liked ***; shared taste in literature, presumably. “A chair would do fine, actually, though you couldn’t rely on it. A footstool would be better. You could always rely on *** to fold up in a heap whenever the pressure was on.”"
I thought installment 16 was excellent despite the cliffhanger as it clearly sped things up, but this was even better and then the dialogue above appeared somewhere towards the end (deleted a few words to avoid spoilers, though if one read 16 the above will make clear sense) and the bow/chair reference just cracked me up (they refer to the author's first trilogy second volume and its bow homage to the famous IM Banks novel Use of weapons chair); anyway the story continues, plot thickens up, many old characters appear again, some mysteries are solved, some are introduced - I am fairly sure that the obvious person whom Telamon was once shocked to meet somewhere must be the mastermind of all but will see - the short excerpt from #18 ends at a great point and reveals even more...
Highly, highly recommended and I hope that once the story is finished and published in complete book form in the next 3 months it will get the recognition it richly deserves; no cliffhanger here but a continuation
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