I'm two chapters in and I can see why it splits people.
It's... eeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaarghhhhleeeeeeeee I think that's the only way I can describe it (you have to imagine a lot of uncomfortable squirming at the same time). The paragraphs are really short, and there seems to be so much switching between everything
I am now reading Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed. A few chapters so far, and liking it a lot. If I had a chance to sit down for a couple of hours, I could see myself blowing through this book, lots of fun.
Good to know - I've just recently ran across this title (as I was following a trail of "if you bought you mike also like" trail from Amazon. So I've added it to my TBR pile.
I finally got around to finishing up The First Law trilogy and read The Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie. I have to say that I haven't enjoyed a fantasy book this much in a long time. I had been hearing how the ending was bittersweet, so I was very curious to see for myself how things would finish up. I had no problems with the ending and I'm looking forward to seeing where some of the loose threads lead to in Best Served Cold and The Heroes.
Finished up Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. I found it "weird" but really good all the same. I'd like to see Gaiman make a sequel. Have American Gods in my TBR pile and will definitely get to it later this year.
Started my re-read of A Clash of Kings last night in anticipation of season 2.
Just finished Ken Grimwood's Replay and thought it was very good; read it in three sittings.
My comments would probably be spoiler-ish so will hide them:.
It's interesting that from the start I was hanging out to find out why/what was causing the replays, but by the last third I didn't mind, and didn't care at the end that this wasn't explained. I was also initially put out when the alien explanation came into it with the third replay character, and was glad that it was just his delusion/justification.
Grimwood's building of the characters relationships was so well done that I felt real heartbreak towards the end when Jeff and Pam know the final replay is close and they'll never see each other again. Then the shock of the "replay Pam" appearing only minutes before the end, whilst Jeff was getting to know the "normal Pam" was also a shock.
I loved the ending and how it really reinforces the importance of living now to the fullest. A great read.
Just finished Blood Rites by Jim Butcher. I loved it. The last two have easily been the best in the series I think, with book 3 coming in third. Michael and Thomas are great characters, and Thomas' more prominent role here really made the book for me.
Good to know - I've just recently ran across this title (as I was following a trail of "if you bought you mike also like" trail from Amazon. So I've added it to my TBR pile.
Just finished Ganymede the third book in Cherie Priest's "Clockwork Century" steampunk series. While I didn't like it as much as the first two books I'm giving it a mild recommendation due to Priest's usual array of strong characters; some with connections to the two earlier novels and the battle sequences with the war machine of the title near the end of the story.
Two things about the book bugged me however. First, the zombies (yes there is a horror element in this alternate 19th century America though the existence of zombies have a cause and the stories are not populated by supernatural creatures a la True Blood or Twilight) in this story behave inconsistantly from the zombies in the first two stories. If they had, they would have been over-running the streets of New Orleans instead of sticking to the docks by the river in ever-increasing numbers. Didn't make any sense.
The other problem was with Ganymede itself. Here is a stolen war machine that has killed nearly everyone that has tried to figure out how it works and four airmen waltz in and get it working without a hitch. While you can't kill off your characters and have a story, I wasn't expecting it all to go so easily.
Still the climatic battle at the end of the story was satisfying and I'll stick with the series for now.
Just finished Apocalypse Rag by GRRM. A very good book. He had such an eclectic start to his career. His first three novels were Dying of the Light (it's in my TBR stacks), a science fiction about love on a far off, dying world, Fevre Dream, a gothic/mississippi river steamboat/vampire book (a great book!), and Apocalypse Rag, a present day (when it was written) horror that would probably be termed urban fantasy today. His agents and publishers must have been tearing their hair out wanting him to settle into one genre.
I'll likely be starting Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence today. It arrived in the mail yesterday .
Just finished Ken Grimwood's Replay and thought it was very good; read it in three sittings.
My comments would probably be spoiler-ish so will hide them:.
It's interesting that from the start I was hanging out to find out why/what was causing the replays, but by the last third I didn't mind, and didn't care at the end that this wasn't explained. I was also initially put out when the alien explanation came into it with the third replay character, and was glad that it was just his delusion/justification.
Grimwood's building of the characters relationships was so well done that I felt real heartbreak towards the end when Jeff and Pam know the final replay is close and they'll never see each other again. Then the shock of the "replay Pam" appearing only minutes before the end, whilst Jeff was getting to know the "normal Pam" was also a shock.
I loved the ending and how it really reinforces the importance of living now to the fullest. A great read.
I'm glad you enjoyed Replay! I agree with everything you said in your post.
I thought the
rampant philandering of his first couple replays was a bit dull, but I think anyone in his shoes would do the same.
From there things got really great, and Grimwood took things in some directions I didn't expect. I also didn't expect there to be such a powerful love story. Good stuff.
Well at least one of mine came in under 300 and most were/are 320 so I'm a fan of the "shorter" form rather than the 700-1,000 page volumes so this bodes well for me liking it. I'll let you know what I think once I'm done.
I hope you enjoy Prince of Thorns - it really says something about the quality of the book when someone like me, who generally hates dark and gritty, was able to enjoy it as much as I did.
I hope you enjoy Prince of Thorns - it really says something about the quality of the book when someone like me, who generally hates dark and gritty, was able to enjoy it as much as I did.
I've started it and I'm sold. Great premise and very strong prose. I'm sure I'll have more to say about it when I'm done.
Well at least one of mine came in under 300 and most were/are 320 so I'm a fan of the "shorter" form rather than the 700-1,000 page volumes so this bodes well for me liking it. I'll let you know what I think once I'm done.
Finished Wise Man's Fear today. Great book! It felt like a seamless continuation of TNotW. I'm hungry for book three (and I'll be hungry for a long time).
Congrats on finishing. It's a massive tome and I'm starting to resent it's length a little.
I've been reading the part about Kvothe tracking bandits through a forest with four mercenaries. Rothfuss did a good job of portraying the tediousness of the task to the reader; in fact, he did it a little too well and I couldn't wait for something to start happening. Luckily, the payoff was pretty good and the scene depicting the battle with the bandits was very well done.
Anyway, I reckon I've got another week of reading before I finish the book.
I'll tell you that you might find the next section to be a little bit of a slog as well. But keep going. By the end of the book you may well be looking for more (as I was).
Finished Among Others by Jo Walton. An instant favorite, begging for a re-read - next time with pen and paper nearby, so I can jot down all the titles mentioned here, see what I've read and what I still need to track down. Like Carlos Ruiz Zafon, the author managed to write a book for book afficionados (or bibliotropic persons, as they are defined in the text), infused with a deep love for the written word and for libraries in general. We can never have enough of them:
"I have books, new books, and I can bear anything as long as there are books."
If I had managed to read them last year, both Among Others and The Kings of Eternity (I'm almost finished with that too) would have made my top picks of the year list. Having to restrain myself to only 5 titles eligible for voting was really hard in 2011.
I'm relaxing now with another fun urban fantasy : the second Ben Aaronovitch - Moon Over Soho.
As David Weber's War Maid's Choice (Bazhell #4) earc appeared last week, I revisited the series which to date was my least favorite of DW ones (first 3 books are free online at BaenCD in all newer Weber cd's like say Torch of Freedom or Mission of Honor); the first two books are weakish though readable while the 3rd is better but has a very incomplete feeling despite sort of wrapping up its immediate threads.
On the other hand War Maid's Choice which is published 8 years after Wind Rider's Oath and ends its main arc while taking place also about 7-8 years later, is just excellent. Finally DW puts together a great novel in this series too and I became much more interested in Bazhell, Leanna, Brandark and Wencit's adventures. All the trademark stuff of DW is present (the scheming villains, nefarious plots, heroes trying to save the day in the last minute, brutal battles with lots of casualties including of main characters...)
I had a go at The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. Comparisons to The Shadow of the Wind masterpiece are inevitable and well... the Angel just can't compete. I greatly enjoyed the first half for the characters, the atmosphere and the writing. On the other hand, as the plot progressed, it disintegrated into a mess of convoluted ideas and shades of a B-grade horror flick. It's a pretty strange beast of a book.
Throne of the Crescent Moon was superb, tons of fun, great narrative energy, wonderful characters and terrific world. I can see this book ending up on many award shortlists.
I think that's the only way I can describe it (you have to imagine a lot of uncomfortable squirming at the same time). The paragraphs are really short, and there seems to be so much switching between everything 
