Reading in May 2010

[Ras Gonzo]

I just started Before They Are Hanged, after just finishing the excellent Mistborn.

 

[Apathy]

Looking for Christopher Priest's The Affirmation, in the meantime, while looking for it I found Rob Thurman's next Cal Leandros book, Roadkill. Suppose I will finish that, and then The Affirmation when I find it. I hope Roadkill does not have the characters moping around as in the previous Deathwish.

 

[MattNY]

Started re-reading A Feast For Crows.

That is what I am reading right now as well, though it is for my first time. I imagine you will likely finish well before myself as well.

 

[hobbs525]

Gosh I am just buried in several right now

The Emerald Storm
The River King's Road
A Woman Worth Ten Coppersand to start Secrets of the Sands

I did just finish Incarceron and I enjoyed that.

I do not have time to work a full time job!!!!

 

[Bastard]

Gosh I am just buried in several right now

The Emerald Storm
The River King's Road
A Woman Worth Ten Coppersand to start Secrets of the Sands

I did just finish Incarceron and I enjoyed that.

I do not have time to work a full time job!!!!

I may start Secrets of the Sands myself soon.

 

[Evil Agent]

That is what I am reading right now as well, though it is for my first time. I imagine you will likely finish well before myself as well.

I read very slowly these days, so maybe not.

Incidentally, it's interesting diving into AFFC immediately after ASOS. Last time I waited five years, which is probably why AFFC was a tad disappointing for many readers. This time, however, there was no wait. Also, I already know that the best characters are missing, so I'm not going to be disappointed. Instead, I'm enjoying the chance to take a leisurely look at what's happening in Dorne, King's Landing, The Iron Islands, and Oldtown. It's almost like a breather after the crazy War of Five Kings.

 

[MattNY]

I read very slowly these days, so maybe not.

Incidentally, it's interesting diving into AFFC immediately after ASOS. Last time I waited five years, which is probably why AFFC was a tad disappointing for many readers. This time, however, there was no wait. Also, I already know that the best characters are missing, so I'm not going to be disappointed. Instead, I'm enjoying the chance to take a leisurely look at what's happening in Dorne, King's Landing, The Iron Islands, and Oldtown. It's almost like a breather after the crazy War of Five Kings.

That is a good point. I will be interested in how I view it as well, but thus far, 3 chapters in, I really enjoy AFFC. It will be tough to top ASOS, but I said the same about ACOK, and before that, AGOT.

 

[Evil Agent]

That is a good point. I will be interested in how I view it as well, but thus far, 3 chapters in, I really enjoy AFFC. It will be tough to top ASOS, but I said the same about ACOK, and before that, AGOT.

Well, the first three do get better and better. But as much as I enjoyed AFFC, there is no way that it tops any of the previous volumes. I wouldn't say that it's "worse", it's just not as jam-packed with insanely awesome major events. That's why it gets a bit of a bad reputation. How do you follow one of the best fantasy books of all time (particularly with the best characters missing altogether)? Just enjoy it for what it is.

 

[Luke_B]

Well, the first three do get better and better. But as much as I enjoyed AFFC, there is no way that it tops any of the previous volumes.

Don't agree. AFFC was similar to a ACoK - a transition novel, a slight but necessary lull in the overarching story. I like both books very much but I don't agree the first three books get better and better. AGoT is a stronger book than ACoK on many counts.

 

[Evil Agent]

Don't agree. AFFC was similar to a ACoK - a transition novel, a slight but necessary lull in the overarching story. I like both books very much but I don't agree the first three books get better and better. AGoT is a stronger book than ACoK on many counts.

I used to prefer AGOT (mostly because of Ned Stark), but Tyrion really made ACOK great. I guess I could go either way. However, ASOS is undoubtedly the high point of the series so far.

 

[Luke_B]

ASOS is certainly my favourite. AFFC is best approached as a puzzle book. There's lots of little mysteries and foreshadowing and you have to read carefully to pick up those tidbits. Reading it gave me the sense the series is building to a fantastic second half - if Martin can get keep the story on the rails and if it ever gets written.

 

[Bastard]

You guys are driving me nuts with all the acronyms... can't keep up hehe.

 

[the gozzfather]

Just finished Gene Wolfe's The Shadow of the Torturer and I really enjoyed it. Wolfe created one of the most interesting fantasy worlds I ever read about and his prose is very beautiful. I know his works are supposed to be heavily symbolic and I wonder if anyone knows any good sites that explain the deeper meanings of his work.

 

[mjolnir]

After a while not reading much and a very short genre break spent reading a Stieg Larsson crime novel -- amazingly absorbing, these things, particularly considering how expository the writing is and all the ways in which they technically shouldn't work and yet do -- I've gotten quite a bit read recently:

Finished White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi, a book from several not-entirely-reliable points of view about a malevolent house in Dover England. Some may find it irritating trying to keep track of what's going on, as the style [which is beautiful] can be slightly obtuse, and none of the characters has the full picture, but this is an excellent book in my opinion. One of the most engrossing things I've read in a while that both kept me completely engaged on a plot level and also made me think. In a similar unreliable / supernaturally creepy vain, though perhaps slightly more tilted toward outright genre horror, everyone who has any time at all for tales of terror in which an unreliable narrator is slowly pushed nearer and nearer the edge really needs to read Caitlin Kiernan's The Red Tree, which I also finished recently.

Then read Jim Butcher's latest Dresden Files novel Changes:

Dang.

That is all.

And, most recently, I've just finished Canticle, the second book in Ken Scholes' Psalms of Isaak epic fantasy. Any comments wouldn't mean much to those who haven't read Lamentation and would spoil for those that have, but I thought the book was about as strong as its predecessor up until the end, which, though a little rushed, elevated the whole endeavor a notch or two. There are still a couple things -- and characters -- that I'm not totally convinced by, but once I got back into the spirit of the thing I enjoyed my second visit to the Named Lands quite a lot.

And now, though I know it shall hurt me, I shall next attempt Raymond Feist's new Midkemia novel, At the Gates of Darkness. Because I am a sucker, a fool, and a hopeless addict. The steady decline of the series -- with only one or two stuttering moments of hope -- might reverse itself, ... maybe, ... right? In fact I hold no hope whatsoever, and read the new book because, well, it is springtime, and every spring I read the new Midkemia book. Perhaps I hate myself. In last year's installment -- apologies to the spoiler-averse but it really honestly doesn't matter at this stage -- Feist killed off a character who has been a central protagonist in his novels for over ten years in a scene which had all the emotion of a grocery list; could've sworn it came from a Wiki plot summary. Can he top this tonight? Oh, my good people, I rather think he can.
________
Dispensaries

 

[DarthV]

Looks like this is Harry Potter month for me. Or at this pace 2 weeks

 

[MattNY]

I used to prefer AGOT (mostly because of Ned Stark), but Tyrion really made ACOK great. I guess I could go either way. However, ASOS is undoubtedly the high point of the series so far.

That is exactly my thought. I loved Ned Stark and what he brought to AGOT, but by the time I finished ACOK, I think it just barely edged AGOT because of the incredible character portrayal of Tyrion. He had easily become by favorite character by the end of the book.

You guys are driving me nuts with all the acronyms... can't keep up hehe.

Sorry about that.

Looks like this is Harry Potter month for me. Or at this pace 2 weeks

That sounds like a good time. I enjoyed the series, and would like to go back and reread them once more. There are just so many books I haven't even gotten to yet for a first time, that I struggle with spending time on items I have already read.

 

[Daddy Darth]

I found this for really cheap so I bought it because of you. Thanks. It sounds a bit like Heroes Die, which is pretty dang good.

Oh the pressure!!! I picked it up in hardcover for like 6 bucks.

Hope you like it - any book that starts with "Who the f%$# was Jet Boy" is off to a good start IMO.

I'll keep my eyes open for Heroes Die.
Cheers

 

[Apathy]

Roadkill by Rob Thurman was a novel that could have been much better. For one thing the whole book was a repetition of an "event" and then psych evaluation and thinking about the situation. Sadly, this book had very few fun events, and it seems like they same stuff from the previous novels. Cal listens to his brother. Niko is still strict and brother-caring. Robin is as horny as ever. Over 300 pages there was only a couple of fights (like around 3 or 4), most of it was the characters speaking or thinking. I like my novels to include more killing thank you very much, and less whining and thinking. Oh well, women authors tend to be all in-touch-with-your-feelings-and-like-contemplating-instead-of-killing-as-is-the-usual (there were a lot of phrases in the book with hyphens). Another thing that bothered me was the fact that the latest enemy's fate was a foregone conclusion. A pity, I expected better, but Deathwish was like this as well.

 

[Seak]

Oh the pressure!!! I picked it up in hardcover for like 6 bucks.

Hope you like it - any book that starts with "Who the f%$# was Jet Boy" is off to a good start IMO.

I'll keep my eyes open for Heroes Die.
Cheers

Yeah, I picked it up for 6 bucks in hardcover too and that was just settled it.

I really think you'll like Heroes Die by Stover. Amazingly plotted and Caine is just awesome.

 

[Evil Agent]

Well, I'm really enjoying my re-read of A Feast For Crows so far. I had planned to wait until ADWD was finished, but couldn't wait. Until now, AFFC was the only book in the series that I had not re-read.

I remember really enjoying this book the first time I read it, and have defended it on these forums in the past, but I think the criticism had seeped into my subconscious over time and swayed my opinion somewhat. But based on my re-read so far, I once again firmly believe that there is no drop in quality. The writing is fantastic, especially in the early Cersei chapters (I love the sense of sheer overwhelming paranoia, and the conflict between her and her uncle Kevan).

If I had to give some criticism, I'd say that the Iron Islands storyline is a little more bloated than it needed to be (i.e. fewer chapters and POV's would have been good), and that I'm not really enjoying the Brienne chapters, which just seem totally pointless; I think it's a shame GRRM felt the need to tell her story firsthand. Aside from that, I think that A Feast For Crows is still very high quality writing. It definitely suffers by comparison to the sheer eventfulness of A Storm of Swords, but I find the contrast refreshing.