Reading in January 2009

[xvart]

I just finished The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. It was an enjoyable read, very much so. Light, fun, and quick, you won't find a complex story here, but the simplicity of it is what makes it what it is. And it is good, perhaps really good if I am of the mind to say so. Which I may or may not be.

Anyway, next up is Charlie Huston's Already Dead.

I love Charlie Huston, although I haven't read any of the Joe Pitt books yet. The Caught Stealing trilogy was amazing.

xvart.

 

[Justin2209]

I'm stuck in the middle of Jim Butcher's Furies of Calderon. I think I can finish it but I'm about 170 pages in and it's getting difficult to pick up. Can anyone give me hope? Is it just a late bloomer?

 

[Winter]

I love Charlie Huston, although I haven't read any of the Joe Pitt books yet. The Caught Stealing trilogy was amazing.

xvart.

I've only read Shotgun Rule and I loved it. I wasn't planning on starting any of his series just yet, but I popped into a book store for my yearly visit and decided to pick it up. Now that I have it on my shelf I can't help but start it. I also have The Mystic Art of Erasing All Signs of Death in the mail and I am looking forward to that.

 

[Cranky Hamster]

I'm stuck in the middle of Jim Butcher's Furies of Calderon. I think I can finish it but I'm about 170 pages in and it's getting difficult to pick up. Can anyone give me hope? Is it just a late bloomer?

If you don't like the first 170 pages, you probably aren't going to like the rest. I thought the beginning was appreciably better (or at least more engaging) than the later sections.

FWIW people have said the later novels in the series are an improvement, but I disliked Furies enough that I've never been inclined to find out. I like the Dresden Files books well enough, but Butcher just doesn't work as an epic fantasist for me.

 

[Cranky Hamster]

I also have The Mystic Art of Erasing All Signs of Death in the mail and I am looking forward to that.

Is this out already? I've really been looking forward to it. Huston's great, and I've heard good things about this book in particular.

 

[Winter]

Yeah, it's out, in fact it arrived in the mail just a few minutes ago.

 

[Hellions]

I've just finished Deadhouse Gates by Steven Erikson and well... I guess I'm still on the fence with the Malazan Books of The Fallen.

On the positive side, there were some very intense moments, some fantastically suspenseful scenes and Erikson can write some mighty fine passages, especially those dealing with the Chain of Dogs. I tip my hat to the author for his originality and for straying off the beaten fantasy paths.

And yet there's plenty of criticism to spread around too. Erikson's piling of mythologies upon mythologies muddies everything and becomes tiresome. Chance encounters with ascendants or immensely powerful beings occur with a head-scratching randomness and stretch the credibility of the "normal" protagonists. And maybe his greatest failing in my eyes: his characterizations are terribly flat. There is nothing approaching a personality in the vast majority of these characters (how different is Kalam from Fiddler? Or Icarium from Mappo? etc...).

Despite the above gripes, I didn't slog through the book, quite the opposite. Far more pluses that minuses. I'll pick up Memories Of Ice eventually... in a year or two

 

[algernoninc]

I finished "A Fine and Private Place" by Peter S Beagle, and i would recommend it to anyone who liked Guy Gavriel Kay or Patricia McKillip, or The Time Traveller Wife. Very romantic, but also very honest debate on love, even after death. while it is indeed a ghost story, it read to me more like non-genre. I wonder if Neil Gaiman was inspired by this when he wrote The Graveyard Book ? [it's on my to be read pile]
... and the sarcastic raven cracked me up every time: great sense of humor.

i will start next World Without End by Sean Russell, but not tonight - i want to stay some more with these ghosts.

 

[Apathy]

I'm stuck in the middle of Jim Butcher's Furies of Calderon. I think I can finish it but I'm about 170 pages in and it's getting difficult to pick up. Can anyone give me hope? Is it just a late bloomer?

You are correct. Its odd because there is such a dramatic improvement in the more recent novels of that Jim Butcher series. I remember Furies of Calderon being BY FAR the worst of the lot. The 2nd book got better. the 3rd book was better than the second, the 4th better than the 3rd, and the 5th book is probably better than all of them combined. Loved the..eh...what was the title...whatever. BUT THAT ONE WAS GREAT.

Steady improvements through the books, and if you get through Furies of Calderon (it was hard for me, quite hard) then you can enjoy the others.

 

[Apathy]

The Mystic Art of Erasing All Signs of Death.

Ooo. Sounds kinky. Tell us if its good.

 

[chitman13]

Just finished Justin Gustainis' Black Magic Woman. It's a really addictive story that is written well and with some very engaging characters. It's the first in a series so is well worth a look - I've got book 2 lined up already

 

[sic's mom]

Just finished Justin Gustainis' Black Magic Woman. It's a really addictive story that is written well and with some very engaging characters. It's the first in a series so is well worth a look - I've got book 2 lined up already

I read this one last year when it came out and loved it. Had to get the second one when it came out and read it in a day. Liked it even more than the first. Gustainis will be one of those authors for me that I will pick up his books without a second thought. One of the things that I really like about these two books is that the two main characters being a man and a woman and it isn't sexual. It always seems that authors have to put that tension there if the two main characters are male and female. But he doesn't do this with Quincy and Libby. They like each other, respect each other and work well with each other, but that is it. I really liked both of these books and if you like Butcher, Harrison, Harris or Hamilton or any of the other authors like these you will like these books.

 

[chitman13]

I definitely agree about Quincey and Libby - they were actually the reason I liked it so much, they're such great characters to read

 

[Apathy]

Read Black Magic Woman by Justin Gustainis. I liked the book, but I found it full of cliches and some stereotypes (distracting). Oddly enough the writing was good enough for me to enjoy the book despite the parade of one supernatural thing after another (which annoyed me). There was not much a climax at the end of the book was kind of disappointing, but it was done well enought that I cannot really complain.

I am going to get and read the 2nd book, and I suspect the books will improve since this a relatively new author (the 2nd book of this series is the third book he has written), so I will keep with it. So 4/5 stars for Black Magic Woman.

 

[Tanaros]

I just finished The Glass Book of the Dream Eaters by G.W. Dahlquist:
Here is a short review.
A discarded woman decides to follow her ex fiancée in order to discover the reason for the end of their relationship. Little did she know that this decision would lead her into a series of deadly adventures. She forms an alliance with a professional killer and a spy acting as a doctor, who share her desire to uncover the conspiracy involving strange technology that allows the villains to control the minds of their victims, among other things.
This is Mr. Dahlquist’s first novel and it is the first part of the series, though it can be read as a stand-alone. The characterization is extraordinary, especially when the three lead characters are in question. As regards the others, there are many “bad-guys” and they are depicted quite well but rather difficult to follow at times. Nonetheless, I knew who was who by the end. The composition is excellent and adds to the pace of the novel. Each chapter is dedicated to one of the lead characters so we can see the broad picture of every event. The style of writing, in my humble opinion, is maybe the only negative aspect of this novel. Everything is described in detail, which is not a bad thing in itself, but sometimes I did not have enough patience and I was skipping paragraphs in order to find out what happens next. I think that those suspensful moments did not need so many words. Another thing that made me frown is too many “James Bond” moments when the heroes are apprehended and literally given the opportunity to escape again. Other than that, I was pleasantly surprised and I give this book a very high mark – 4.5/5.
I also read the graphic novel John Constantine, Hellblazer, Dangerous Habits.
He is a great character. I even like the movie.
Next book - Elantris by B Sanderson.

 

[Astra_]

Are books in the Quincey Morris Supernatural Investigation series connected, or can be read as stand alones?

 

[sic's mom]

Well so far there are only two in the series "Black Magic Woman" and "Evil Ways" and yes I would say they could be read as stand alones. But there are characters that cross both that will give you more enjoyment and understanding if you read both.
And yes I will agree with an earlier reviewer and say there are cliches and stereotypes in these books, but as mentioned he is a fairly new author and I see a lot of potential in his stories. Enough so that I will read the next book without thinking twice about it.

 

[Winter]

I just finished Already Dead by Charlie Huston and it was a great read. I will be the first to admit that I have no interest at all in the vampire subgenre that seems to be all the rage these days and after reading this book I can safely say that I still have no interest in the subgenre. I do, however, have a great interest in picking up more from this series and more from Huston. This is the second book I have read from him, the first being the non-genre Shotgun Rule, which I loved. I have The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death waiting to be read and I look forward to it.

For now though, I am about to start Escape From Hell! by Hal Duncan.

 

[Heather]

I'm reading The Divine Talisman by Eldon Thompson. Very bloody, fast paced, lots of action. Love it.

Its a shame what Laurell did to the story line after book five wasn't it? It shifted the book out of the genre and not in a good way!

Halfway through Wizard's First Rule. Decided to read it and see what it's about. It may be a mistake though as I've seen all kinds of feedback on the book, as well as the hokie tv series, which may have poisoned my ability to read it without looking for all the bad things expected to be found. Halfway through however, it seems far better than the silly tv show.

I loved the first several books in this series. It isn't until further into it that the doom and gloom gets tiring. Regardless, the first several are worth the read, he's a gifted writer.

 

[suciul]

After I read and had lots of fun with Jennifer Fallon Tide Lords 1 - Immortal Prince - at the end of 08, I could not resist and ordered books 2-4 form Australia and they finally arrived on Friday, so on Friday night I stayed late to finish book 2 Gods of Amyrantha (US/UK release summer 09) and today I read book 3 The Palace of Impossible Dreams.


The expense of importing these books from Australia was worth every dollar since I am having extraordinary fun reading the series. Witty, smart, funny and a page turner with memorable characters.

Tonight I will do a reread of books 1-3 to prepare for book 4 since it's clear that a grand finale with some more unexpected twists and turns is waiting, considering the revelations at the end of book 1 (did not expect), book 2 (did not expect), book 3 (finally I managed to predict this one)

Without (many) spoilers this is a mini-review of book 2 Gods of Amyrantha since form book 3 on you really do not want to even read the blurb before reading the first two books to avoid major spoilers:

"As the Tide increases in power the Immortals are back to scheming for an easy rule, with the usual suspects from Jaxyn, Dialla to Sirolee, Tryan and Elissa positioning themselves for the richest spoils around.

Even the righteous Brynden may be ready to forgive Kinta's fling after almost 1000 years and get to rule an Empire with her, since an ascetic cult wears thin after a while, while Lukys has his "hands" in so many plots that it's not clear if even his stated goal is actually true...

Only Cayal still wants to die, though Arkady tempts him on and off, but when a thousand year ago seducing the one "honor is all" immortal girlfriend - or being seduced by her - led to asteroids hurled at you and of course to a major Cataclysm, it is not too wise to appear attached to another girl, especially a mortal one this time, since while The Immortal Prince cannot be hurt easily, Arkady definitely can be.

And the Immortal Flame has been extinguished several thousands years ago, so no more new Immortals. Or so most everyone thinks....

And of course the Cabal is trying to do whatever it can to protect humanity, but even the Cabal may be an Immortal plaything after all.

Eternity is boring without fun and games."