Last five books

Nigel Kneale, The Quatermass Experiment (screenplay)

Matthew Hughes, The Gist Hunter and Other Stories (collection)

Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

James Fox, White Mischief (non-fiction)

Edmund Crispin, The Case of the Gilded Fly (mystery)



Randy M.
 
1. Bill Bryson - A Short History of Nearly Everything - 4/5
Fascinating, although a little over simplified (I'm nuts for science, and I want more detail!) - a good beginner's/dummy's guide to science.

2. Frank Schatzing - The Swarm - 3.5/5
Excellent first half/three-quarters, but the end was a bit of a let down. Still, a great story overall. If you haven't heard of it, think a cross between The Abyss, The Day After Tomorrow, Contact, Jaws, Deep Blue Sea, Independence Day and others like that.

3. Stephen King - Salem's Lot - 4/5
Pretty damn good, not as scary as it's made out to be... I'm still searching for a genuinely scary novel.

4. Stephen King - The Stand (Complete & Uncut edition) - 5/5
Loved, loved, loved it. Took me 3 months, but 7 weeks of that time I was in Africa and didn't take it with me. Probably my favourite book I've ever read. Pity the miniseries sucks.

5. China Mieville - Perdido Street Station - 4.5/5
Second read through for me. I picked up so much more this time around, and anyway I'd forgotten most of it, since I last read it in 2002.

Next up either Lies of Locke Lamora, The Red Wolf Conspiracy or A Clash of Kings.
 
Last edited:
The Summer Witch (Lousie Cooper)
Mirage (Louise Cooper)
The Avenger Chaos Gate Trilogy, book 3 (Louise Cooper)
The Pretender - Chaos Gate Trilogy, book 2 (Louise Cooper)
The Deceiver - Chaos Gate Trilogy, book 1 (Louise Cooper)

Yup, I've been reading a lot of Louise Cooper lately.
 
Catherynne M. Valente "In the Cities of Coin and Spice": very beautifully woven tapestry of tales which connect and overlap sometimes hinting at a still hidden agenda
Michelle West "The Hidden City": It lays its stress on psychological exploration of the characters. I appreciate that, others could find it rather slow paced.
Elizabeth Haydon "The Assassin King": Probably the best of the series so far, less romance, more interesting creatures.
Mark Ferrari "The Book of Joby": I liked the book very much, something for Orson Scott Card fans.
Chris Wooding "The Fade": Nice book, although quite predictable ending.
 
this thread rocks :)

Here's mine (from the most recent down):

The Merchant and The Alchemist's Gate by Ted Chiang (review upcoming)
The Inferior by Peadar Ó Guilín
Die!Vampire!Die! by Hal Duncan
Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Master and Margarita by Mihail Bulgakov

With exception of The Merchant and The Alchemist's Gate I've written and posted reviews at length (they should be lying around the forum if you are interested)
 
Arthur Machen, The Three Imposters -- enjoyable collection of stories with thin connective narrative between them

Sarah Monnette, The Bone Key -- another enjoyable collection, all revolving around Kyle Murchison Booth, a young man who dabbled in necromancy and now pays a price for it

Graham Greene, A Gun for Sale -- a fine novel of crime and espionage from the late 1930s; holds its power to grip the reader and convince her/him this is how things were

Cormac MacCarthy, No Country for Old Men -- powerful crime story, bleak and melancholy, with a tinge of the Old Testament to it

M. John Harrison, The Course of the Heart -- a romance (ha!) springing off from his short story "The Great God Pan" which springs from Arthur Machen's "The Great God Pan"; fascinating so far -- I still have 40 or so pages left


Randy M.
 
Immortal by Traci L. Slatton very enjoyable after the first 50-75 pages.

Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson - I thought this was better than the first book of the series. Very original concept of magic in this series. Highly recommended.

Before they are Hanged by Joe Abercombie - Again, I thought it was better than the first one. More character development, relationships between the characters were more developed. Plus, Abercrombie has a very good sense of humor.

Wrath of a Mad God by Raymond Feist - glaring mistakes and story lines that didn't progress made it less enjoyable than past books. Good ending, thats about it.

Sharpe's Havoc by Bernard Cornwell - standard Sharpe novel, if you like the series you will like this book.
 
Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson -- I had the idea that this was fantasy, but it's mostly a straight-up historical

Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O'Nan

The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson (nonfiction about a cholera epidemic in London in the 1850's)

No Country for Old Men (Hi Randy!) by Cormac McCarthy

Lush Life by Richard Price (the story of a street mugging -- heavy on characterization)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Sponsors


We try to keep the forum as free of ads as possible, please consider supporting SFFWorld on Patreon


Your ad here.
Back
Top