Reading in July 2011

[Randy M.]

Randy, if you haven't read Kij Johnson's Fox Woman, you may want to add that to your list. Also really nice....very earthy and evocative.

Thanks, Erfael. I'll keep that one in mind, too. It looked interesting when it was published but for some reason I never did pick it up.

Randy M.

 

[JustaStaffer]

Randy, if you haven't read Kij Johnson's Fox Woman, you may want to add that to your list. Also really nice....very earthy and evocative.

That one's been on my list for a while also.

 

[Loerwyn]

Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence arrived this morning. It's a bit of an odd one. Going by the size, the cover and the way it's printed, I'd say it's YA. Upon reading it, it's not. Very confusing.

I'm only a couple of chapters in, and I can't say I dislike it. The writing style is a little hard to follow at times, and it's grating with me a little. I'll have to spoiler some thoughts.

Spoiler

I didn't understand why Jorg killed one of his men in the second chapter, because it seemed completely out of the blue. Maybe it's to show he's unpredictable, but I still felt that it wasn't lead up to brilliantly.
I'm also unsure about the setting. The map reminds me a lot of the Northern coast of France (Even down to a province called Normany), it has the Christian religion and both Latin and "Romano" languages, and mentions of the Hundred Year war. At this rate, it wouldn't surprise me of Jorg was the Prince of somewhere called Danmerk.

 

[Erfael]

I finished up Bernard Cornwell's The Winter King tonight. This one has been on my to-read list for years, but I only managed to get a copy two or three months ago. I'd heard lots of good things about it.

Happy to say, it lived up to them. It's the first in a trilogy retelling the Arthur myth in a pretty well-researched 5th-6th Century pre-Britain. It's well researched in that the tribes, customs, way of life is well-drawn. Cornwell includes an afterword detailing the evidence or lack of evidence for an actual Arthur and explains some of the choices he made outside of the historical record.

What we end up with is a story told from first-person perspective of an aged monk writing of his youth, when he was a soldier sworn to Arthur. We get to meet many of the famous characters of Arthurian legend through his eyes, and each of them are compelling, yet different than what we're used to seeing in other sources. (In theory, this is the true story which was later embellished, exaggerated, retold until it is what we now know more commonly as the Arthur legend). For instance, Lancelot is a vain, savvy coward(?) who never (at least thus far) engages in battle, but knows how to play the game so the bards and common people think of him as a wonderful fighter and war hero. The relationships between the main players are very interesting and well-drawn.

This is pure historical fiction, though the way the characters feel about magic really brings it alive, even if it doesn't do anything (though there does seem to be a little bit of fortune-telling that is either very perceptive and lucky or something is actually going on there). Another interesting aspect of things is the interplay between the pagan Gods of Britain, the early Christian Church, and leftover Roman beliefs, all of which exist side-by-side.

This book takes us through Arthur (still only a warlord) cementing the Briton's together against the growing Saxon threat. I'll try to get to book 2 in the next month or two.

 

[Erfael]

Oh, and next up, even though I should be reading F&SF July/August for this month's review, I'm going to treat myself to some Carol Berg, Transformation. Maybe I'll throw a short in each day so I don't get too far behind on that review.

 

[suciul]

I finished Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence and here is my C-rating mini review :

This book is a perfect example of two distinct facts about books that I've seen repeatedly across the years. First is that until you open a book by a new author you won't know how you will like it however enticing the blurb is; second is that first person narration is so strongly dependent on the voice that the rest - plot, world building, secondary cast - can be exceptional, but the book will still be meh if the voice does not resonate.

And here lies my main issue with the book and why despite the enticing storyline and fast and very well flowing prose, the book was a big meh and I have no intention about reading more in the series; namely I just could not care a jot about Jorg and his narration; hard to pinpoint why, but I thought the narrator was taking himself too seriously and the moments of self-deprecating humor a la Joe Abercrombie sounded false and the book does not work without appreciating the humor since its grimness is over the top.

 

[Zappster]

Finished A Dance with Dragons after savouring it for as long as I could possibly hold out. It was good, and I enjoyed it more than Feast in part due to my favourite characters being present in this book. There are some cool little touches throughout that add to the experience. In the end though I was disappointed with the pacing, most notably in Daenerys' chapters and to a lesser extent Tyrion's. Plus the way the book ends and not knowing how long it will be until we get the next book. So I'd rate it above Feast but below the first three books.

Now back to Bloodshot by Cherie Priest, which I had set aside when Dance arrived. Also I'll be dipping into Sum: Tales from the Afterlives at the same time.

 

[Rob B]

I closed out July by finishing Small Favor by Jim Butcher. A solid entry in the series and it's becoming more clear with each volume there are some big baddies with long term plans for our hero and his world.