Reading in October 2006

[zorobnice]

Hey there Liathano

I've started Gardens of The Moon and am still trying to get into it. I think this is the longest I've ever taken to read a book. Should I just keep reading, does it really get better?

I felt the same way, but I'm almost finished and I am glad I did not hold to my "If it sucks in the first fifty pages, put it down" rule. I am now anxious to get to book two, but not too anxious to enjoy this one to the end.

 

[ravenlynne]

Hey there Liathano



I felt the same way, but I'm almost finished and I am glad I did not hold to my "If it sucks in the first fifty pages, put it down" rule. I am now anxious to get to book two, but not too anxious to enjoy this one to the end.

What about if it's ok 50-100 pages in but gets mind-numbingly boring around 250? A book I'm reading has done that...

 

[zorobnice]

Tough call. I decided to carry on because other readers on this forum, that seem to like the same authors as I do, have highly recommended this book. Maybe you should check out what others say about the book you are reading.

 

[Liathano]

Thanks all, I'll keep reading.

 

[Jack]

Nearing the end of the monstrous third volume in Erikson's Malazan series, Memories Of Ice. I am shocked I haven't yet encountered Malazan burn-out, as I just started the series not to long ago and have ripped straight through the third book, which is unusual for me. I have, however, in the final 200 pages or so, began to encounter Malazan fatigue. I probably could have used a break after Deadhouse Gates.

So, after I finish this one, I'll be moving onto something else! I don't know how I will. At this point, its like all I can ever remember reading is Malazan.

My post here is misleading, I just wanted to make it clear how very much I have enjoyed the series so far, including Memories of Ice. I just need a break after this.

 

[kron]

LOL, thanks!

Did you just finish Fool's Errand, or the entire trilogy?

The entire trilogy. Finished it yesterday and it left such an imprint that I had dreams of being Fitz all night. It was excruciating. I couldn't sleep. Ah, such a series!

 

[Evil Agent]

The entire trilogy. Finished it yesterday and it left such an imprint that I had dreams of being Fitz all night.

I know what you mean. I bought a cat and named him Fitz right after reading those books.

 

[annabelle]

I know what you mean. I bought a cat and named him Fitz right after reading those books.

lol ! oh poor cat, i hope he would not suffer the same fate, it's a bastard's name after all !
no offense, Evil Agent, i'm joking

 

[Blog_the_troll]

Reading Armageddons children by Terry Brooks too early to say

 

[Eventine]

I finished Lud-in-the-Mist and found that after reading a quarter of the book I really got into it. Considering some of the similarities in subject matter and style I really wished I'd read this before Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. I'm pretty sure it would have greatly changed the way I read that book. I really like the way that both approach the idea of fairy encroaching on the modern(ish) world.

Now I'm on to The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie.

 

[Evil Agent]

Reading 3 Books!

I usually don't even try to read 2 books (I usually can't do it), but now I'm actually reading 3!

Still working on The Stand, Stephen King, getting slowly near the end.

Finished my re-read of Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb, just started my re-read of Royal Assassin.

Just started Black Sun Rising by C.S. Friedman for November's Book Club. Good prologue.

I'm not sure how long I can sustain this. I'm sure at least one book will fall by the wayside soon (probably Hobb, since it's a re-read, and I know she'll always be there for me to return to).

 

[algernoninc]

just finished re-reading "The Far Pavillions" by M.M. Kaye - which belongs in the historical section, not in fantasy.
too much to do at work, so i wasn't in the mood to start another heavyweight - I prefered Melanie Rawn's "Dragon Prince" over "Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell" - so far [150 pages] it's a nice yarn with romantic accents.

 

[Raule]

I've been reading the etext of James Branch Cabell's Jurgen, A Comedy of Justice, mainly at work during some of my slower periods. I hope to finish that this week if work remains slow.

I'm almost done with Steven Pressfield's Last of the Amazons, which more aptly fits the historical fiction category. It's an interesting twist on the Amazon legend, full of Pressfield's trademark battle scenes, but his narrative style leaves a little to be desired. It switches from one 1st person account to another, which makes it unncessarily awkward and choppy in places.

I've also been re-reading Mary Renault's books about the Theseus legend: The King Must Die (which I finished last week) and The Bull from the Sea. I'm now more aware of the extent to which Jacqueline Carey must have been inspired by Renault in her Kushiel Legacy series. I'm reminded of one scene in particular in Kushiel's Avatar that was clearly modeled on an important scene in The King Must Die. There are other more subtle influences, too. It's been fun to read these again.

Once I'm finished with these, I hope to start Ash by Mary Gentle. I just received my order with this book. That should keep me occupied for quite some time.

 

[FuzzBunneh]

I finished Lud-in-the-Mist and found that after reading a quarter of the book I really got into it. Considering some of the similarities in subject matter and style I really wished I'd read this before Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. I'm pretty sure it would have greatly changed the way I read that book. I really like the way that both approach the idea of fairy encroaching on the modern(ish) world.

Glad you liked it! I didn't have much trouble starting the book but it took me about a quarter of it to really get into it, as well. Having said that, I loved the language and every page was a pleasure to read. I didn't mention Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell[/url] because it was the 'easiest' comparison to make, but it wasn't without difficulty.. that book was in the back of my mind all the way through Lud-In-The-Mist.

 

[Blackadder]

In the shadow of the Storm of Swords - Part 1 reading, comes the "Gates of Fire" of Steven Pressfield. I can't afford more time than a couple of pages (!) each day, but it has begun nicely so far.

And that was my post 100, and the people and forum is getting better and better. Love it here

 

[s271]

Read all three books of Deeds of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon. First book is a miliatry fantasy, the next two is more classical paladin-D&D-quest fantasy. Stile is rough and uneven often, skipping from scene to scene, plot details sometimes hard to follow. However it's becoming better by book two. I liked book two most, though I generally not a fan of high fantasy. Overall it was a good read.

 

[Psylent]

Speaking of of the Deeds of Paksenarrion...I've heard that the omnibus version edits out parts of the series that were in the original releases. Anyone know if that is true?

 

[Hobbit]

Having spoken to Elizabeth Moon about it, she says 'No', although I think the summaries at the beginning of each book may have gone. No need in an omnibus!

Hobbit

 

[intensityxx]

I'm beginning Anansi Boys, having just finished the marvelous The Prestige. I highly recommend reading the latter before the film comes out later this month!

The Washington Post called this "a dizzying magic show of a novel, chock-a-block with all the props of Victorian sensation fiction: seances, multiple narrators, a family curse, doubles, a lost notebook, wraiths, and disembodied spirits; a haunted house, awesome mad-doctor machinery, a mausoleum, and ghoulish horrors; a misunderstood scientist, impossible disappearances; the sins of the fathers visited upon their descendants." Winner of the 1996 World Fantasy Award.

 

[Jack]

Finished Memories Of Ice by Steven Erikson, and it took all of my already depleted willpower not to move directly on to House Of Chains. I haven't been this hooked on a series since grade school.

So I grabbed a short one off the shelf to change up the pace a little: Jonathan Carroll's White Apples. I have read The Wooden Sea and really enjoyed it, though it seems to not be a Carroll favorite around here. I'm reading Apples swiftly, but am having a really hard time giving a rat's tookus about either Vincent or Isabelle, not because I necessarily dislike them, but because they are both horribly uninteresting. What is keeping me going is that "what-the-heck-is-going-on?!" tone that Carroll is so good at, as well as the ambience/atmosphere Carroll is able to drum up in certain scenes that can almost leave me breathless with wonder at having such a strong feeling of "being there".

I am hoping that the characters' drabness will somehow come into play when Carroll wraps this up in 150 pages or so, otherwise this book will end up with 2/5 Jack Stars, one star for Caroll's use of language, and the other for his tone.