Reading in June 2011

I finished the fourth Destroyerman novel by Taylor Anderson on Monday and while not bad, it didn't hold my attention quite as strongly as previous volumes. Not bad, but some of the narrative was a bit clunky. Then again, sometimes after I read a book that completely blows me a way (like Kings of Eternity), the next immediate book has a tough time holding my attention. Still, a fun series and one that seems to be doing well for Mr. Anderson, so kudos to him.
 
read embassytown was ok. did I already say that? should finish The Quantum Thief tonight with any luck. Quantum Thief is going to need two reads and I'm tempted to do it back to back because it's very short. Maybe The Golden Age next.
 
About 150 pages through Leviathan Wakes and really enjoying it so far. Great characters and the pace doesn't really let up.
 
Westsiyeed said:
About 150 pages through Leviathan Wakes and really enjoying it so far. Great characters and the pace doesn't really let up.
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I really, really want to read this but have a long-standing policy of staying away from a series until all the books have been published (thanks GRRM!). Do you, or does anyone, happen to know how many books The Expanse is likely to have?
 
Chrysippus said:
I really, really want to read this but have a long-standing policy of staying away from a series until all the books have been published (thanks GRRM!). Do you, or does anyone, happen to know how many books The Expanse is likely to have?
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I'm not sure; it doesn't seem to say anywhere on their website.

(Isn't GRRM an exception though as far as length of time between series?)
 
Yeah. I was sure it was set to be a trilogy but I couldn't find an exact quote. The closest I came was the Q&A in Publisher's Weekly back in April:

Publisher's Weekly said:
How much of the whole tale is already mapped out? Are you hoping to expand the Expanse into more than three volumes?

TF: We know where this is all going, and what the next two books are about in the broad strokes. The details will get filled in as we write them. But our mandate is to make an enjoyable reading experience no matter how many books we wind up writing, or how many the reader winds up reading. We hope Leviathan Wakes is satisfying as a standalone, but also satisfying as part of the trilogy. And if we wind up writing more than three, that each book will stand up as a solo novel, and also as part of the larger story we want to tell. And the story we ultimately want to tell is very large.

DA: We named it the Expanse partly because we wanted to signal that it’s a big, big story. And the variety of stories that are available to tell in this setting, even with what we’re planning to do with it, leaves me pretty excited about the possibilities.
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from http://blogs.publishersweekly.com/blogs/genreville/?p=1136

Don't really know how helpful that is. I suspect they may want to try and sell more books in the universe if the initial three do well. On the plus side, they have handed in book 2 already and are waiting on editorial notes for it, so it would seem that is on course for a release next year.
 
Westsiyeed said:
I'm not sure; it doesn't seem to say anywhere on their website.

(Isn't GRRM an exception though as far as length of time between series?)
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Yeah. I hate when an author's website is not clear about their books or plans. I was thoroughly pleased when I saw that Alastair Reynolds (another author I've long been meaning to read) specified quite clearly on his website how his already-published books related to one another.

And yeah, GRRM is definitely an exception. But sometimes there are unexpected snags. Also, I have a terrible memory and do not typically re-read books unless they were fantastic, so I prefer to read entire an entire series without interruption.

Yeah. I was sure it was set to be a trilogy but I couldn't find an exact quote. The closest I came was the Q&A in Publisher's Weekly back in April:

Quote:
Originally Posted by Publisher's Weekly
How much of the whole tale is already mapped out? Are you hoping to expand the Expanse into more than three volumes?

TF: We know where this is all going, and what the next two books are about in the broad strokes. The details will get filled in as we write them. But our mandate is to make an enjoyable reading experience no matter how many books we wind up writing, or how many the reader winds up reading. We hope Leviathan Wakes is satisfying as a standalone, but also satisfying as part of the trilogy. And if we wind up writing more than three, that each book will stand up as a solo novel, and also as part of the larger story we want to tell. And the story we ultimately want to tell is very large.

DA: We named it the Expanse partly because we wanted to signal that it’s a big, big story. And the variety of stories that are available to tell in this setting, even with what we’re planning to do with it, leaves me pretty excited about the possibilities.
from http://blogs.publishersweekly.com/bl...eville/?p=1136

Don't really know how helpful that is. I suspect they may want to try and sell more books in the universe if the initial three do well. On the plus side, they have handed in book 2 already and are waiting on editorial notes for it, so it would seem that is on course for a release next year.
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Thanks for this. Definitely helpful!
 
Actually the Quantum Thief tied up nicely and doesn't need a re-read. The golden Age or Windup Girl next?
 
Now plowing through the Otherland series, by Tad Williams. Great plotting, great descriptions, and great synthesis of a bunch of stuff that earlier authors came up with, as is the Tad Williams norm. ;)

This one is about 3300 pages long, so should keep me occupied for quite some time.
 
nquixote said:
Now plowing through the Otherland series, by Tad Williams. Great plotting, great descriptions, and great synthesis of a bunch of stuff that earlier authors came up with, as is the Tad Williams norm. ;)

This one is about 3300 pages long, so should keep me occupied for quite some time.
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I read this series when it first came out. I had a hard time getting through the first book, but kept at it. As the books went on, they became more engaging for me and by the time of the last book, I didn't want to put it down. Definitely well worth reading.
 
I'm reading Degrees of Freedom by Simon Morden, the third book in his "Metrozone" trilogy. It's a very good series, I might have to re-read the books back to back soon.
 
Just joined up so please forgive me if I'm ignorantly stomping all over the thread etiquette! This month I read three books and enjoyed them all. The last one was "Hull Three Zero" by Greg Bear. I was a little apprehensive at first, as Bear has always been a little hit or miss with me but this one got me right from the start. I would recommend it even if not a Greg Bear fan. The second one was "Spook Country" by William Gibson. I've always liked Gibson though I haven't read any of his work since "Burning Chrome". This effort shows the man is still on his game with a story about ex-cold warriors freelancing on opposite sides of a deadly secret from the past (trying to keep it vague here, don't want to give the story away). The remaining story was "Blackout" by Connie Willis. It's a time-travel story; if anyone out there has read "The Doomsday Book", "Blackout" follows the same premise and many of the same characters. However I found it a much better read than the "Doomsday Book" and am planning to get a hold of the sequel, "All Clear".
Though I enjoy time-travel stories its hard to find good ones. Any suggestions out there (maybe someone should start a new thread...)?
Anyway, I'm currently reading "The Dreaming Void" by Peter Hamilton (I really liked "Pandora's Star" and "Judas Unchained", this story is set about 1,000 years following the events of "Judas Unchained"). So far so good...
 
Though I enjoy time-travel stories its hard to find good ones. Any suggestions out there (maybe someone should start a new thread...)?
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I think The Chronoliths by Robert Charles Wilson is pretty good. I mostly read fantasy, but I suspect that it's a bit different than your typical time-travel fare, with some interesting characters.
 
DDCOrange said:
The remaining story was "Blackout" by Connie Willis. It's a time-travel story; if anyone out there has read "The Doomsday Book", "Blackout" follows the same premise and many of the same characters. However I found it a much better read than the "Doomsday Book" and am planning to get a hold of the sequel, "All Clear".
...
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since I liked Doomsday Book, you have just offered me a reason to check this new duology. Thanks.
 
After almost a month of not being able to get into any book at all I'm finally making progress on two!

First is The Departure by Neal Asher, the first book in his Owner series, an origin story of the man we've seen in the short stories based on the Owner of Worlds character. I loved the shorts, they just had this extra something about them that really hti the spot, but this novel is nothing like them - this is a near-future story set 150 years down the line. It's different to anything Neal has written before, but it's starting to really get going and I'm liking what I'm reading. I'll reserve judgement until the end though...

The other book I'm reading, or rather listening to, is Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi. Funny and very easy to get though, but Wil Wheaton is doing a sterling job on the narration :)
 
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