Reading in Fantasy and Horror January 2015

[jackdaw]

Realistic plot based on peacemaking require a lot more skill then plot based on war, hatred and greed. Mostly because there weren't many ambiguously successful peacemakers in our history (if any). Author may need Dostoevsky level talent to pull it through, and there is no any Dostoevsky around now.

Didn't notice Anthony Ryan handicapping himself by writing about peace makers in Tower Lord...practically all the main characters are fighters. Although Vaelin did win allies by carefully choosing who to fight and when...which makes him more intelligent than many epic fantasy characters.

Gave a quick thought as to any epic fantasy that did prominently feature a peace maker. The only one that sprang immediately to mind was Alain in Kate Elliot's Crown of Stars series. I thought his journey from fighter to peace maker was impressively done.

In general I thought Crown of Stars was a wonderful series, and I'm surprised it's reputation isn't even higher than it is.

 

[Hobbit]

Gave a quick thought as to any epic fantasy that did prominently feature a peace maker.

James Barclay had a tax collector as one of his key characters...

The only one that sprang immediately to mind was Alain in Kate Elliot's Crown of Stars series. I thought his journey from fighter to peace maker was impressively done.

In general I thought Crown of Stars was a wonderful series, and I'm surprised it's reputation isn't even higher than it is.

I think Rob's about to reread the series. What I read (up to Book 3) I enjoyed.

 

[Westy]

Finished another Graham Joyce novel, The Limits of Enchantment, which tells the story of Fern Cullen, a young woman growing up with her unconventional grandmother in the English countryside.

I really liked this story and Joyce's writing is excellent as usual. It only subtly borders on the fantasy side when it delves into witchcraft and alternative methods, and it is also peppered with humour throughout.

A thought-provoking and enchanting novel.

 

[Raule]

In general I thought Crown of Stars was a wonderful series, and I'm surprised it's reputation isn't even higher than it is.

That's good to know. I've been reading Jaran, which is the first I've tried by this author.

Over new year's weekend read Burn for Me by Ilona Andrews and enjoyed it. This is also a first for me by this husband-wife writing team. I thought it might make a good introduction since it's the first in a planned trilogy.

 

[Spears&Buckler]

Finished up Robert Jordan's Winter's Heart on the 3rd and then I started Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence. I'm really enjoying Prince of Thorns, more than halfway done already.

 

[Erfael]

On my daily walks, I usually listen to NPR podcasts or relatively easy books. Today I finished up the first Harry Potter book on audio. Jim Dale narrates and is really wonderful with voicing, pacing, overall presentation. It's not a surprise, given how popular these books are, that they would go all out for the audio productions. I was still pleasantly surprised with how good it was. Worth checking out for anyone who can get their hands on them.

 

[Ryan Mueller]

Finished The Broken Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin. I liked The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, and I thought this one was even better. It's still not quite among by favorites, but these are refreshing stories to read. They don't feel like something I've seen before in fantasy.

 

[Erfael]

In my ongoing quest to catch up on fantasy and SF that I missed in my college and grad school years, I've started Kate Elliott's King's Dragon. I really enjoyed the first sixth of it last night. I'm hoping it keeps holding me. If so, I think it'll be a really good find and something to look forward to (working through the rest of the series. It's the first book I've read by her, and she's made a really nice impression so far.

 

[Whitleyrr]

I don't know if this qualifies as horror or not, but I am reading Marisha Pessl's new novel, Night Film, and it is awesome so far. It's about a questionable death and, in part, horror films of a certain type, so there are some horror elements. One of the things that makes the book awesome, in addition to Pessl's precise command of language and witty deployment of idiom, is the inclusion of images that make the book more of an experience than just a read. Instead of describing, for example, a webpage the narrator is looking at we get to see the webpage (and for an extra bonus, if you're reading the e-book version, you can click on it and go to the webpage, specially created for the book!). Likewise, we see text message phone screens, copies of police reports, etc. Nothing new to that, there are other examples (Roberto Bolano's 2666, Umberto Eco's The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana, and Mark Danielewski's plays with that to some extent in House of Leaves.) But something about the way this is done is Pessl's book just works for me. I find myself reading about a piano concerto a character was playing, and then looking it up and listening to it. The book is an experience, and it's a fun one.

In addition to that, (and I'm only 140 pages into it out of about 500) it's a break-neck, edge of your seat, must read the next chapter type of story too. I recommend it!

 

[Seak]

I most recently finished up a couple great books, Prince of Fools by Mark Lawrence, Stoneweilder by ICE, and Olympos by Dan Simmons. PoF took me three attempts to start because I hated the main character, but I ended up loving it and in the end I pushed through my initial dislike because I know what Lawrence is able to do with a character like that.

Stonewielder was long and unwieldy at times, but overall a great addition to the Malazan universe. Lots of buildup to an epic ending and I love reading about the Crimson Guard and they are quite involved in this one.

Olympos is the conclusion to what's begun in Ilium. Simmons is a genius. I loved reading this story about the Greek gods and the future of mankind, post-humans, Shakespeare, robots, and survival. There's so much going on and so much to these novels, I look back and I'm astounded at what Simmons pulled off.

For my current reads, I'm trying to finish up a couple I started last year: Blood and Iron by Jon Sprunk has been really fun and fast if only I had more time. On audio, I'm listening to Of Bone and Thunder by Chris Evans. So far I've been impressed. The description of Apocalypse Now meets Lord of the Rings is pretty spot on as long as you consider the LotR reference someone's description of any fantasy ever.

 

[jackdaw]

Quite often enjoy reading Children's fantasy/ young adult fantasy for a change of pace. Decided to give Susan Cooper's "The Dark is Rising" series a chance, as it has an excellent reputation.

Local library...as usual...has second and third in series, but not first. They seem to have a firm policy to never have first in a fantasy or sci-fi series.

So get Susan Cooper's Ghost Hawk instead...this is a stand alone, and I figure it will tell me if the Dark is Rising is worth seeking out.

Looks like it is, Ghost Hawk is a marvellous read, really wonderful that anybody can write such an engrossing and moving tale in such simple elegant prose.

 

[algernoninc]

I'm reading The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (for the first time) . I'm expecting some horror elements, but the first chapters are more about witticism and bromances. Excellent stye, though.

 

[Ryan Mueller]

Finished Traitor's Blade by Sebastien de Castell. This book had tons of action and a main character I felt like rooting for. It's so refreshing to see new talent in fantasy that isn't so set on making everything Grimdark. Don't get me wrong. There's some grittiness in this story. But it's also fun.

 

[Ryan Mueller]

Quite often enjoy reading Children's fantasy/ young adult fantasy for a change of pace. Decided to give Susan Cooper's "The Dark is Rising" series a chance, as it has an excellent reputation.

Local library...as usual...has second and third in series, but not first. They seem to have a firm policy to never have first in a fantasy or sci-fi series.

So get Susan Cooper's Ghost Hawk instead...this is a stand alone, and I figure it will tell me if the Dark is Rising is worth seeking out.

Looks like it is, Ghost Hawk is a marvellous read, really wonderful that anybody can write such an engrossing and moving tale in such simple elegant prose.

Just so you know, you can easily read The Dark is Rising without reading Over Sea, Under Stone. Apart from one character who crosses over between the two, there isn't much connection between the stories. That is, you won't be lost. I can't say if this holds for the rest of the series, as I've only read the first two.

 

[jackdaw]

Just so you know, you can easily read The Dark is Rising without reading Over Sea, Under Stone. Apart from one character who crosses over between the two, there isn't much connection between the stories. That is, you won't be lost. I can't say if this holds for the rest of the series, as I've only read the first two.

I thought that might be the case, and did think about "side-stepping" "Over Sea, Under Stone".

But it came on order from another library a couple of days ago, and started reading it last night. Got through about a 100 pages, and enjoying it. Pleasant surprise since going by reputation alone the rest of the series is even better. So will have a wander down to library today, and see how many of rest of series I can get out.

 

[jackdaw]

Finished Traitor's Blade by Sebastien de Castell. This book had tons of action and a main character I felt like rooting for. It's so refreshing to see new talent in fantasy that isn't so set on making everything Grimdark. Don't get me wrong. There's some grittiness in this story. But it's also fun.

Read about 2 weeks ago...agree completely with your comments. (As soon as I'd read it checked Kindle to see if second in series was available..I'd have been happy to pay up immediately for download without even plodding down to library to see if they had got a copy...rare stuff from me. Not out yet, anyway, of course.)

 

[Westy]

I finished reading The Incorruptibles by John Hornor Jacobs, a western / steampunk / fantasy hybrid novel, about two mercenaries 'Fisk' and 'Shoe' who end up having to help defend the noble Cornelius family.

It was set in an interesting world, where daemons power lights and engines (as well as some guns through 'hellfire'), there are the strange vaettir creatures (10 foot tall, smooth white skin, incredibly fast and murderous), all set within the diverse 'Ruman' empire. The characterisation was well done and very diverse, and even though the story was set in a relatively small time frame and world, it was still an enjoyable read.

A good original read 4/5.

 

[TalesOfTheGlass]

I'm reading The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (for the first time) . I'm expecting some horror elements, but the first chapters are more about witticism and bromances. Excellent stye, though.

It's certainly one of the most brooding books I've ever read.

 

[TalesOfTheGlass]

This is probably very very old news, but belatedly, I'm coming to the end of the most recent Game of Thrones book

 

[Andrew LH]

Quite often enjoy reading Children's fantasy/ young adult fantasy for a change of pace. Decided to give Susan Cooper's "The Dark is Rising" series a chance, as it has an excellent reputation.

Local library...as usual...has second and third in series, but not first. They seem to have a firm policy to never have first in a fantasy or sci-fi series.

Just so you know, you can easily read The Dark is Rising without reading Over Sea, Under Stone. Apart from one character who crosses over between the two, there isn't much connection between the stories. That is, you won't be lost. I can't say if this holds for the rest of the series, as I've only read the first two.

I read the lot, a lot of years ago. The second one is the best of the bunch - one of the best children's fantasy novels I've ever read, at least that's how I remember it. I remember being a bit sniffy about Harry Potter at around the same time, and considering The Dark is Rising (book 2, not the whole series) far more weighty in terms of the way magic works and the central story in general.

I wasn't as impressed with the other books, though I think the series was pretty good overall. The first book had an Enid Blyton, Famous Five feel to it, and the third book (which comes back to the same main characters) seemed very thin - almost like the series was cobbled together out of two different series. Totally worth it for book two, though!