Reading in December 2008

[Apathy]

Today I Destroyed Mike Carey's Felix Castor in his third appearence in Dead Men's Boots. Final Verdict: Not Enough Breasteses.


.htruof eht teg llits lliw I esoppus I tuB

 

[Mithfânion]

If you're a fan of tough-supernaturally-attuned-wiseguy-in-big-city fiction and are looking for something somewhere between Jim Butcher and Charlie Huston on the grit scale, Mike Carey's novels might well be worth checking out. I'm on board for at least one more installment.

I would list John Connolly's Charlie Parker with this as well and then you have 4 series doing some interesting Urban Fantasy with male leads, and all 4 very gritty stuff, if you're looking for those sort of stuff. Less gritty, but Dean Koontz's Brother Odd series has some similarities.

 

[PeterWilliam]

Finished Bloodstone and am onto, that's right, The Great book of Amber. I made it through the first four chapters last night before sleep finally beckoned.

 

[Justin2209]

Just finished Dragon Strike (the last book in the Age of Fire series from E.E. Knight) and I decided to wade back in the the urban fantasy pool with Kat Richardson's Greywalker. We'll see if I can read it and not be constantly comparing it to The Dresden Files.

 

[Tanaros]

I finished Return of Munchausen and it was not what I had expected. It is, in fact, a very good book but not as "fantastical" as I had hoped. The writer seemed to have used the main character to satirically describe Russia after the October Revolution, when the reality was so unbelievable that it resembled Munchausen's stories. Interesting but nothing 'revolutionary'
I am now in the SF mood, so no fantasy until January.
Merry Christmas everybody

 

[bio]

I am lost between the pages of John Ajvide Lindqvist Let me in. Maybe this book is an side effect of great crime books explosion in scandinavian literature ? Let me in is a book for this kind of readers, who are looking for an new perspective in old theme of interactions between a men and vampire. Very sad novel , painted in dead colours of late Autumn, and Winter, without mercy for all creatures longing for better life.

 

[Winter]

Just finished Trial of Flowers by Jay Lake, which I enjoyed very much, and am starting on The Great Book of Amber by Zelazny.

 

[suciul]

I finished the Outremer series by C. Brenchley with books 5/6, Hand of the King's Evil and The End of all Roads. I loved the ending and as with all the books in the series these last two did not disappoint overall either. Action, magic, great characters, great writing, the books have it all.

I hope that the series will get a reissue soon in the original trilogy format since it truly deserves to be much better known.

 

[BrightStar]

I finished reading Luck in the Shadows Christmas day, (figured I'd better get to finishing it up so that I could start on the stack of books I received as Christmas gifts) although after a three day break, I had a hard time really enjoying it all that much. Not too bothered about reading book two, though as I already ordered it last weekend, I'll probably aim to give it a go when it arrives.

With Luck in the Shadows finally out of the way, I made a start on The Dreaming Place which was amongst many of the books I received (and asked for) for Christmas. Unfortunately, I didn't like it very much at all and couldn't bear it any longer by page 50.

Currently, I'm reading a book called Gods Behaving Badly which is some sort of comedy story about the gods of old (Greek, I think; Ares and Apollo and Zeus etc). I thought it sounded fun to read, so I've been eager to give it a go. Though so far, not finding it all that many and the gods spend a bit too much time thinking about sex for my tastes. I'll stick with it and hope it gets better, though reviews have been quite mixed as to whether it's any good or not. I felt like a change from the norm though, so I guess it's certainly that.

 

[Ravenwing]

I finished book 4 and 5 of the Kushiel Saga by Jacqueline Carey. Picked up a completely unknown author (to me, been out of the fantasy mix for a few years but have picked it up again a few months ago) Scott Lynch's The lies of Locke Lamore which i enjoyed immensely and am now reading book 2, Red seas under red skies. Which continues on a level the first novel ended, great reads.

 

[Gilgamesh]

Finished A Game Of Thrones and I'm half way through the 4th book of The Chronicles of Amber.

I thought A Game Of Thrones was amazing. I love medieval fantasy with intriguing characters and court politics. And in my opinion this was a fine example. I loved the world, the story, the story-telling, the characters... I was so eager to start the second book... but I decided to stick to the plan and to read more Zelazny.

 

[BrightStar]

Well, Gods Behaving Badly is proving to be an entertaining enough read so far. I'm not sure if I'd exactly recommend it - there's a bit too much talk of sex, and a few too many characters with not enough development for my liking - but it's fun enough.

Since it's Christmas and the sales are now on (not to mention people are busy listing unwanted gifts at Amazon Marketplace) I've been scouting the internet this evening looking for some nice deals. Found a couple of books for an excellent price, so ordered those since I'd been wanting to pick them up for a while now (and I'm looking forwards to reading them since they're of a "war in heaven" nature - and I love anything like that)

I thought A Game Of Thrones was amazing. I love medieval fantasy with intriguing characters and court politics. And in my opinion this was a fine example. I loved the world, the story, the story-telling, the characters...

How much politics is there? I've been wanting to give this series a try, but have been put off so far out of fear that it'd be too political for my tastes.

 

[Ravenwing]

How much politics is there? I've been wanting to give this series a try, but have been put off so far out of fear that it'd be too political for my tastes.

About as much politics as there are burgers at a McDonalds.

 

[Gilgamesh]

How much politics is there? I've been wanting to give this series a try, but have been put off so far out of fear that it'd be too political for my tastes.

I'm sorry, I remember that, I should have answered before...

I'm afraid there'd be too much politics to your taste... However it's not the only thing, thankfully. There are well-balanced parallel story lines... Very good story-telling... A very well paced story... So it may still be worth your while to give it a try if you can borrow a copy... Alternatively there's a short excerpt on Amazon.com.

 

[BrightStar]

I'm sorry, I remember that, I should have answered before...

You might have (and sorry if you did). I tend to have a habit of forgetting what people tell me about books sometimes, especially since a few of GRRM's books are on my "to buy" list.

Since so many people seem to love A Game Of Thrones, I've really been wanting to give it a go. But I know that I really don't get along with books that are centred largely around politics (or wars) unless those books happen to be extremely character driven. What I dislike most about these books is often the "faceless" way that opposing political sides can be portrayed. Without a character to dislike, I just don't get the same sense of involvement or interest in the plot.

I'm still reading Gods Behaving Badly at the moment. About 8 chapters (I think possibly even 6) from the end, and less than 100 pages to go. I should have it finished up by the end of the day (assuming I set aside an hour or so to do so) and then...

...I don't know what I'm going to read next. I was planning on sci-fi for a change, but that was before Christmas when I had a lot of books due and I didn't want to start a new series in the meantime. But now the Christmas gifts have been received, and I have a stack of books to read (not to mention the ones I still have from before!) and no idea where to start!

 

[Evil Agent]

Since so many people seem to love A Game Of Thrones, I've really been wanting to give it a go. But I know that I really don't get along with books that are centred largely around politics (or wars) unless those books happen to be extremely character driven. What I dislike most about these books is often the "faceless" way that opposing political sides can be portrayed. Without a character to dislike, I just don't get the same sense of involvement or interest in the plot.

Well, then, I think you will enjoy the books (or should at least try reading the first one). Yes, they contain a lot of politics/intrigue... but it's nearly 100% character driven! The politics are driven by the ambitions of the different characters (and their families) and all the noble or ambitious decisions they make. Also, the characters are very engaging and realistic, and are all highly flawed (it's very difficult to totally like or dislike anyone, because many of them have both good and bad qualities). Highly recommended, if you enjoy character-driven plots. Don't be afraid of the politics!

 

[pat5150]

Just finished Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman's Bones of the Dragon. . .

A seven-figure advance for the series, and a 200,000$ national campaign to promote this book???

A MAJOR disappointment, to say the least. Could well be the most disappointing fantasy title of 2009.

Patrick

 

[BrightStar]

I finished Gods Behaving Badly yesterday. Turned out to be a pretty okay book, nothing all that remarkable (save for the Greek Gods, perhaps) about it.

I'm reading Black Ships at the moment. With so many books on my to read list, it's been difficult choosing what to read next. Black Ships looked to be a standalone book though, so I thought it best to get all standalone title's out of the way first before I start worrying about getting into a new series. That just means more books, and right now, I just don't have enough room for any more!

 

[Hobbit]

Black Ships is a nicely written, rather romantic novel, BrightStar; there are others to follow soon, but it reads well as a standalone, I think.

Mark

 

[Gilgamesh]

Also, the characters are very engaging and realistic, and are all highly flawed (it's very difficult to totally like or dislike anyone, because many of them have both good and bad qualities).

A story has many facets... probably as many as the number of people involved. I thought this was one thing that was noticeable very early in the story. Who is good and who is evil? No one? Some amount of both in everyone? I'm sure if one reads some preselected chapters, one has a totally different opinion on who rules or used to rule on the other side of the sea...