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[Azrael]

Finished:

Currently reading:

I've meant to read Lord of the Rings for a long time. I bought the book several years ago and stopped reading for whatever reason around 300 pages in. About six months ago, I finally read through The Hobbit, and now I'm giving Lord of the Rings a second go. I've read a little over 200 pages after one week, so I expect it will take me about a month.

 

[NekoFever]

I finished Metro 2033 this morning. I stand by my concerns about the writing, whether it's the author or the typo-ridden translation, but I quite liked it in the end, for all its flaws. The premise is fantastic and that made me willing to overlook some of the problems, so it gets a recommendation with reservations.

I don't want to seem like someone who only reads novels related to games, but seeing the new Halo 4 stuff at E3 has me wanting to catch up on the extended universe stuff, so I'm now working on Halo: Cryptum.

I've generally enjoyed the other books and heard good things about this one, so hopefully it's decent.

As the above looks like quite a short read, I also picked up a Lovecraft omnibus. I've been wanting to read some of his work for a while and so have high hopes.

 

[mike23]

 

[ultron87]

I was curious, at 40% does it seem like the concept has enough depth to warrant a full book? The premise felt like a good short story or novella, but I enjoyed Old Man's War.

He takes it to an interesting enough place that it works. Of course it really isnt a terribly long book.

 

[Pepboy]

He takes it to an interesting enough place that it works. Of course it really isnt a terribly long book.

Okay great. I'll probably make it my next book after Wuthering Heights. Thank you!

 

[I love Kitties]

I'm trying to get caught up for next season on HBO.

 

[nakedsushi]

Okay great. I'll probably make it my next book after Wuthering Heights. Thank you!

Ugh no, why are you reading Wuthering Heights? I couldn't stand that. If you want some dark brooding bronte guy, at least go for Jane Eyre.

 

[Quote]

Dang, I'm only a few chapters into Altered Carbon and I love the writing style. Everything that he describes is detailed but not tedious. I can't wait to delve more into this story.

 

[Attackthebase]

After much discussion with some friends, I am picking up a novel that I should have read a while ago.

I'm a little in it, and I am in love with the protagonist. From what I have read, I can tell that I shall love this story.

 

[dr3upmushroom]

I've been reading Game of Thrones and something is really bothering me (pretty minor spoilers, something that happens within the first hundred pages or so)

Spoiler

Why exactly didn't Bran tell everyone that it was the Queen's brother who threw him off the tower? Catelyn seemingly still accuses Tyrion at this point, and no one else seems to be calling out the Queen's brother (can't remember his name). Maybe I'm just totally missing something here, or maybe Bran has amnesia from the fall, but it's been really bothering me. Letters got sent to everyone telling them that Bran had woken up, why didn't it include the information of who threw him?

Good book so far though, I wasn't expecting I'd like it but I got the first four books for like $6 or something crazy during an Amazon sell, so I decided to give them a try since I just had them sitting there. About half done with the first, and then I'm on to The Long Ships.

 

[Piecake]

I've been reading Game of Thrones and something is really bothering me (pretty minor spoilers, something that happens within the first hundred pages or so)

Spoiler

Why exactly didn't Bran tell everyone that it was the Queen's brother who threw him off the tower? Catelyn seemingly still accuses Tyrion at this point, and no one else seems to be calling out the Queen's brother (can't remember his name). Maybe I'm just totally missing something here, or maybe Bran has amnesia from the fall, but it's been really bothering me. Letters got sent to everyone telling them that Bran had woken up, why didn't it include the information of who threw him?

Good book so far though, I wasn't expecting I'd like it but I got the first four books for like $6 or something crazy during an Amazon sell, so I decided to give them a try since I just had them sitting there. About half done with the first, and then I'm on to The Long Ships.

amnesia

 

[dr3upmushroom]

amnesia

Alright, that's sort of lame, but I figured that's what it was. I wish the author had found a way to say that outright. It's pretty easy to figure out but was such a lazy way to extend the plot that I thought maybe I had missed something.

To me Bran may as well have

Spoiler

fallen without seeing who was talking and then fallen on his own while trying to get a better vantage or something. The Lannisters would still have an incentive to kill him, only know Bran didn't actually see the Queen's brother's face

and the fact that Bran didn't know who he was eavesdropping on could be handwaved by him being a stupid kid. The reader is still able to put two and two together and realize who the two people were and we avoid the lame amnesia accuse.

I mean, I guess it's not that lame considering what happened to him

Spoiler

memory loss is understandable after falling off a tower

but the amnesia is a little too convenient, and seems lazy to me.

Can't remember the queen's brother's name at all. I'm always forgetting who different characters are too, I basically have no idea which house a lot of the minor characters belong too, or who they're related too. I've heard that the author doesn't shy away from killing main characters, I'm kind of hoping something happens soon just so I have less characters to try to keep track of.

 

[An-Det]

I finished Deadhouse Gates earlier today. I read the last 10% of it today, fantastic stuff.

Spoiler

The end of Coltaine's Chain of Dogs, goddamn. And Duiker.

I immediately bought Memories of Ice and will be starting that tomorrow.

 

[tauroxd]

Alright, that's sort of lame, but I figured that's what it was. I wish the author had found a way to say that outright. It's pretty easy to figure out but was such a lazy way to extend the plot that I thought maybe I had missed something.

To me Bran may as well have

Spoiler

fallen without seeing who was talking and then fallen on his own while trying to get a better vantage or something. The Lannisters would still have an incentive to kill him, only know Bran didn't actually see the Queen's brother's face

and the fact that Bran didn't know who he was eavesdropping on could be handwaved by him being a stupid kid. The reader is still able to put two and two together and realize who the two people were and we avoid the lame amnesia accuse.

I mean, I guess it's not that lame considering what happened to him

Spoiler

memory loss is understandable after falling off a tower

but the amnesia is a little too convenient, and seems lazy to me.

Can't remember the queen's brother's name at all. I'm always forgetting who different characters are too, I basically have no idea which house a lot of the minor characters belong too, or who they're related too. I've heard that the author doesn't shy away from killing main characters, I'm kind of hoping something happens soon just so I have less characters to try to keep track of.

Those books don't work that way XD you'll learn to remember all the names and houses... And I said that they don't work that way because, yes, some characters die, but at the same time a lot of new ones are brought to your attention. Anyway, you'll learn to love the way those books are written and you're in for an awesome treat. Enjoy!

 

[Mumei]

I finished The Purity Myth: How America's Obsession with Virginity is Hurting Young Women. It's a pretty great primer / introduction.

And I am now on page 1623 out of 3115 (mind you, half of those pages are in Chinese; it is half the work it sounds like) of Three Kingdoms. Kongming the best. He sort of reminds me of Merlin in Mary Stewart's trilogy, which is probably a really odd comparison that I will regret making upon further reflection, but it just sort of popped into my head just now.

So whatever.

Also, yesterday I finished Modern Poetry of Pakistan. It was pretty great, but I wish that the editor hadn't made a conscious decision to go so light on the annotations (insisting that if we were interested, we could do further research on our own), since I wouldn't even know where to begin looking for further information about random Pakistani poets and the subtexts and cultural allusions in their poems.

So, it would have been really nice if some of them were explained better for the uninitiated. That said, there more than a few poems that I thought were inspired or beautiful (either the message or the imagery or what have you).

 

[dr3upmushroom]

Those books don't work that way XD you'll learn to remember all the names and houses... And I said that they don't work that way because, yes, some characters die, but at the same time a lot of new ones are brought to your attention. Anyway, you'll learn to love the way those books are written and you're in for an awesome treat. Enjoy!

Hopefully there's not too many new characters, there really is a ton of them. I just noticed today that there's an appendix at the back of the book and I glanced through it a bit. It's intimidating reading through pages and pages of just names and relationships, but I cleared up a few things and I'll probably read through a bit of it every time I pick up the book until I get a good grasp of things.

Even not knowing the history of each and every character the book is still entertaining though. The large cast is nice too, I'm really liking the flow between threads. Spend some time with Ned as he plays detective, flash to Winterfell to see how Bran's doing, found out how things are going with Dany, a chapter on how Jon is doing at the Wall... I would call any of the threads boring but it keeps things really interesting bouncing back and forth like that.

Non-fiction simulreads:

Awesome book, I've read in a few places and heard from science-y friends that a lot of stuff in it is really simplified or occasionally flat-out wrong, but it seems like it's at least a good introduction to just about anything. Ever since I got my Kindle about a year ago I'm all for digital books, but this is one of the very few I'll always have a physical copy of. I try to read a chapter a month just to have a basic knowledge of the hard sciences, and all of the anecdotes of scientists screwing each other over for credit on a breakthrough or ones where someone found a fossil or something that was a huge deal but sat around in a university basement for years before anyone looked at it are really interesting. It makes a decent coffee table book too, some awesome pictures in there.

 

[Jintor]

I want to just sit down so badly and just read the whole thing in a night but I need to budget out my time to finish assignments right now

It's so good, so bittersweet and melancholy. It feels like reading Solanin again.

 

[Mumei]

Hopefully there's not too many new characters, there really is a ton of them. I just noticed today that there's an appendix at the back of the book and I glanced through it a bit. It's intimidating reading through pages and pages of just names and relationships, but I cleared up a few things and I'll probably read through a bit of it every time I pick up the book until I get a good grasp of things.

Even not knowing the history of each and every character the book is still entertaining though. The large cast is nice too, I'm really liking the flow between threads. Spend some time with Ned as he plays detective, flash to Winterfell to see how Bran's doing, found out how things are going with Dany, a chapter on how Jon is doing at the Wall... I would call any of the threads boring but it keeps things really interesting bouncing back and forth like that.

Don't be intimidated by the character lists. He names damn near everybody, no matter how pointless they ultimately are.

The appendices are good for a reminder about the relationships between people, though.

I want to just sit down so badly and just read the whole thing in a night but I need to budget out my time to finish assignments right now

It's so good, so bittersweet and melancholy. It feels like reading Solanin again.

Oh, I loved reading this.

I don't really remember the plot or the characters after finishing a Murakami novel. I'm not sure I can really tell you what they were about. I just remember how I feel reading them, and I had that same wistful feeling of nostalgia and melancholy when reading Norwegian Wood.

 

[Jintor]

That's alright by me. Novels can be different things.

Feels almost carthartic.

 

[Mumei]

That's alright by me. Novels can be different things.

Feels almost carthartic.

If you're open to a suggestion, you might like Natsume Soseki's Kokoro. I read the Edwin McClellan translation in high school, but I saw another translation by Meredith McKinney that apparently makes it stylistically modern (the McClellan translation was originally from 1957).

 

[Maklershed]

Are there any Star Wars books that are a) canon b) good?

Seeing all this stuff for 1313 has me interested in the franchise again but all I know of Star Wars is what I've seen in the movies.

(Curoscant has thousands of levels? Who knew!)

 

[Ratrat]

If you're open to a suggestion, you might like Natsume Soseki's Kokoro. I read the Edwin McClellan translation in high school, but I saw another translation by Meredith McKinney that apparently makes it stylistically modern (the McClellan translation was originally from 1957).

I read this and it was kind of depressing? Got pretty dark but I did like it overall.

 

[brianjones]

beginning was rough but i'm well into it now at the 4th story

the structure of it reminds me of the eternal darkness game

 

[Salazar]

The Art of Fielding was good. Humorous. Affecting.

Some tremendously acute description of how physical exertion and dexterity feel. It sounds like a relatively minor stylistic achievement, but he completely nailed it. Also, Schwartzy is a fine character: worthily the central weight of the book.

 

[ultron87]

Are there any Star Wars books that are a) canon b) good?

Seeing all this stuff for 1313 has me interested in the franchise again but all I know of Star Wars is what I've seen in the movies.

(Curoscant has thousands of levels? Who knew!)

None of them are super deep amazing literature or anything like that, but they are fun popcorn sci fi. I think the gold standard for this is the Timoth Zahn Thrawn Trilogy. It has all the characters you know and love from the original trilogy. First book is Heir to the Empire.

I also am a big fan of the X-wing series which follows an X-wing squadron and has lots of space battles and that kind of deal. First book is Rogue Squadron.

 

[kinn]

None of them are super deep amazing literature or anything like that, but they are fun popcorn sci fi. I think the gold standard for this is the Timoth Zahn Thrawn Trilogy. It has all the characters you know and love from the original trilogy. First book is Heir to the Empire.
.

This.

 

[Keen]

Alright, that's sort of lame, but I figured that's what it was. I wish the author had found a way to say that outright. It's pretty easy to figure out but was such a lazy way to extend the plot that I thought maybe I had missed something.

He does, p. 135 hardcover.

Spoiler

first Bran chapter after he falls:

"He tried to remember. A face swam up at him out of the grey mist, shining with light, golden. "The things I do for love," it said. Bran screamed. The crow took to the air, cawing. Not that, it shrieked at him. Forget that, you do not need it now, put it aside, put it away. It landed on Bran's shoulder, and pecked at him, and the shining golden face was gone."

edit: Regarding Star Wars novels: I've heard good things about Matthew Woodring Stover's novels.


Traitor (The New Jedi Order) (2002)
Shatterpoint (A Clone Wars Novel) (2004)
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)
Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor (December 2008)

 

[nakedsushi]

Finished this from a co-worker's recommendation:


The Tortilla Curtain by T.C. Boyle
It was pretty good if you forgive the hamfistedness of some things. I enjoyed it because he pretty much described the valley accurately.

Reading this for the first time:

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
I really like some parts, like when they go under-water hunting for the first time. But other parts kind of drag on with all the technical classification jargon. Uneven so far, but enjoying it.

 

[W1SSY]

Still working on this. Hopefully when I finish it I will find something non fantasy to read.

 

[Fjordson]

GAF, recommend me a finished comic/graphic novel .Haven't read one in a long time. I hate how expensive it is to get through a complete series, but oh well. Already read Preacher, Transmetropolitan, Watchmen, Sandman, Sin City, Y the Last Man, and a few other big ones.

I was looking at Planetary and 100 Bullets. 100 Bullets could be sort of expensive, but I can get like 1000 pages worth with the first two hardcover collections for about $55 and the premise with the untraceable bullets and whatnot sounds pretty intriguing.

 

[Emerson]

Alright, that's sort of lame, but I figured that's what it was. I wish the author had found a way to say that outright. It's pretty easy to figure out but was such a lazy way to extend the plot that I thought maybe I had missed something.

It's definitely stated outright a few times that Bran doesn't remember what happened.

Anyway, the books are definitely intimidating but after the first half of book 1 or so I never felt overwhelmed, even when new characters and cultures are introduced. It's done relatively seamlessly.

 

[RiccochetJ]

24 years later, Dave Duncan puts out book 4! I just discovered this today! Apparently it was released back in April and I had no clue.

 

[8bit]

Just got 100 by Bill Drummond but it's going in the holiday vault.

 

[Sotha Sil]

Quite disappointed with Abraham's King's Blood. I think this series is not for me. Epic fantasy is definitely not his thing, and I'd almost swear he seems bored with his own world. I usually love his characters, but few of them "ring true" this time around. The heroins' blunt honesty is becoming tiresome ("look at me! I'm a strong character and I tell it like it is!"), and I really can't understand why Abraham thought giving a POV to Samwell Tarly's sociopathic twin brother was a good idea.

Ah well.

 

[Blue Ninja]

got my hands on Stieg Larsson's "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest" (simply called "Justice" in dutch). It's 3AM, and I had hoped to be asleep by 1. :lol just couldn't stop reading, it's that good. I went through about 150 pages in 2 to 3 hours. Only have 50 or so pages to go now, but I'm saving those for tomorrow evening, after I'm done studying. Looking forward to seeing how it all ends.

 

[Dresden]

Quite disappointed with Abraham's King's Blood. I think this series is not for me. Epic fantasy is definitely not his thing, and I'd almost swear he seems bored with his own world. I usually love his characters, but few of them "ring true" this time around. The heroins' blunt honesty is becoming tiresome ("look at me! I'm a strong character and I tell it like it is!"), and I really can't understand why Abraham thought giving a POV to Samwell Tarly's sociopathic twin brother was a good idea.

Ah well.

I like most of the cast, but the world building, the more I think about it, is so dissatisfying. It's not the vivid eastern phantasmagoria of the andat-controlled cities, that's for sure. Not to mention the disappointingly evil fascist regime--I mean, where's the nuance? In going for a more mundane setting he seems to have settled for a more mundane plot as well, and that's disappointing.

Anyways, I finished:

Enjoyed most of it, but the last sixty pages or so turns into a mix of Armageddon + Dead Space and the pacing is shot to hell. Events happen inexplicably, weeks pass without a mention, and I'm very, very unhappy with the direction it went.

 

[Piecake]

Alright, that's sort of lame, but I figured that's what it was. I wish the author had found a way to say that outright. It's pretty easy to figure out but was such a lazy way to extend the plot that I thought maybe I had missed something.

To me Bran may as well have

Spoiler

fallen without seeing who was talking and then fallen on his own while trying to get a better vantage or something. The Lannisters would still have an incentive to kill him, only know Bran didn't actually see the Queen's brother's face

and the fact that Bran didn't know who he was eavesdropping on could be handwaved by him being a stupid kid. The reader is still able to put two and two together and realize who the two people were and we avoid the lame amnesia accuse.

I mean, I guess it's not that lame considering what happened to him

Spoiler

memory loss is understandable after falling off a tower

but the amnesia is a little too convenient, and seems lazy to me.

Can't remember the queen's brother's name at all. I'm always forgetting who different characters are too, I basically have no idea which house a lot of the minor characters belong too, or who they're related too. I've heard that the author doesn't shy away from killing main characters, I'm kind of hoping something happens soon just so I have less characters to try to keep track of.

Well, not really a spoiler, but a further explanation.

Spoiler

I really wouldnt call it amnesia in the sense that the physical trauma made him forget. My sense is that Bran is making HIMSELF forget because its just too emotionally traumatic and he just wants to forget it - like it never happened

 

[Fjordson]

I like most of the cast, but the world building, the more I think about it, is so dissatisfying. It's not the vivid eastern phantasmagoria of the andat-controlled cities, that's for sure. Not to mention the disappointingly evil fascist regime--I mean, where's the nuance? In going for a more mundane setting he seems to have settled for a more mundane plot as well, and that's disappointing.

Anyways, I finished:

Enjoyed most of it, but the last sixty pages or so turns into a mix of Armageddon + Dead Space and the pacing is shot to hell. Events happen inexplicably, weeks pass without a mention, and I'm very, very unhappy with the direction it went.

I really enjoyed this, but yeah, parts of the ending were goofy.

Still, I like the universe that was set up, so I'll be checking out the sequel in two weeks.

 

[eosos]

GAF, recommend me a finished comic/graphic novel .Haven't read one in a long time. I hate how expensive it is to get through a complete series, but oh well. Already read Preacher, Transmetropolitan, Watchmen, Sandman, Sin City, Y the Last Man, and a few other big ones.

I was looking at Planetary and 100 Bullets. 100 Bullets could be sort of expensive, but I can get like 1000 pages worth with the first two hardcover collections for about $55 and the premise with the untraceable bullets and whatnot sounds pretty intriguing.

V for Vendetta?

 

[lightus]

I just finished No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy. It was good! I liked The Road better, but that's some stiff competition.

I've just started The Fountainhead. I read Atlas Shrugged awhile back and I loved how inspired it made me feel. I got some of my best grades in school while reading that book. I need to get focused again, so hopefully The Fountainhead will help with that.

I wish I had the cool cover edition as posted above, but I got the tiny paperback as a gift.

My copy of Stephen King's On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft came in today. The cover is actually rather classy and feels sorta rubbery. I want to start reading it now, but I'm a one book at a time kinda guy.

I gotta question for bookGAF: Do any of you like forewords or introductions? I don't even glance at them unless they are written by the author and even then I'm cautious. They have a habit of assuming you've already read the book and often spoil plot points. Some times after finishing a book I'll go back and read the intro, but other than that I wish they'd just stick with afterwords.

 

[RiccochetJ]

Is that self-pubbed? Looks weirdly amateurish.

Apparently it's being published by E-Reads? I do know that he worked hard to digitize his out of print books. I picked up the first 3 books from Amazon for $1.50 each before they disappeared and then came back later for $7. I don't know the full history.
When I was looking him up, it appears he's fully embraced digital print.

Anyways, I found it on Amazon. I just grabbed an image from elsewhere so it didn't have the 'look inside' graphic as the outline.

Edit: I just checked the older books in the series. Apparently they changed the covers. I liked the originals better.

And here's the original cover: (Changed to a link because it does show a story plot)
Original Cover

 

[Attackthebase]

I've just started The Fountainhead. I read Atlas Shrugged awhile back and I loved how inspired it made me feel. I got some of my best grades in school while reading that book. I need to get focused again, so hopefully The Fountainhead will help with that.

I wish I had the cool cover edition as posted above, but I got the tiny paperback as a gift..

I plan to read through Atlas Shrugged shortly after I finish Fountainhead. I'm really liking Rand's writing style, and I agree with some of the philosophy she has presented (I've only read the foreword by her, and the first few chapters).

I gotta question for bookGAF: Do any of you like forewords or introductions? I don't even glance at them unless they are written by the author and even then I'm cautious. They have a habit of assuming you've already read the book and often spoil plot points. Some times after finishing a book I'll go back and read the intro, but other than that I wish they'd just stick with afterwords.

It depends on the novel. If I am purely seeking to read the novel for its plot and characters, I'll avoid the foreword. If I am interested in the philosophy, such as my interest in Objectivism, I'll read the foreword.

Though, the foreword/preface has the ability to alter your opinion of the novel before you ever read the source material.

 

[DesertEater]

I gotta question for bookGAF: Do any of you like forewords or introductions? I don't even glance at them unless they are written by the author and even then I'm cautious. They have a habit of assuming you've already read the book and often spoil plot points. Some times after finishing a book I'll go back and read the intro, but other than that I wish they'd just stick with afterwords.

Until recently, I stopped reading forwards or introductions. That is only because some of them
contain spoilers
Thought to be fair, most of them are a great and usually have interesting information about
the book you're reading.

 

[sparky2112]

I'm really liking Rand's writing style, and I agree with some of the philosophy she has presented

This post originally had a (very) mild anti-Rand caution, which had no place here, so I've edited it.

 

[thecouncil]

 

[nakedsushi]

I gotta question for bookGAF: Do any of you like forewords or introductions? I don't even glance at them unless they are written by the author and even then I'm cautious. They have a habit of assuming you've already read the book and often spoil plot points. Some times after finishing a book I'll go back and read the intro, but other than that I wish they'd just stick with afterwords.

I never read forwards or introductions because of the spoiler-potential. And I like to come into a book without too many outside influences of how I should read it or what it's about. Sometimes I'll read the forward and intros after I read the entire book.

 

[aidan]

Speaking of Rand, Terry Goodkind is self-publishing his next novel, The First Confessor.

 

[sparky2112]

Why wouldn't an anti-Rand warning have a place here? Rand is a memetic hazard.

Well, it's been done before / to death, and the original poster isn't a junior, so I can only assume they either 1) don't visit the monthly reading threads and aren't aware of the generalized Rand hostility of GAF, or 2) relishes swimming against the tide, or 3) is in that stage of life when black is black and white is white and there is not one micon's bit of room for grey, or 4) thinks that unbridled capitalism is just swell and contains no flaws whatsoever and is captained by mighty individuals whose ruthless self-interest would never, ever, ever tempt them to do anything unethical and/or of an illegal nature, or 4) is just a basically heartless human being. Or, they're an architect or they run a railroad.

See? Wasn't that all just better left unsaid?

 

[Dresden]

Speaking of Rand, Terry Goodkind is self-publishing his next novel, The First Confessor.

Good for him. No longer will he be at the mercy of his publishers.

I gotta question for bookGAF: Do any of you like forewords or introductions? I don't even glance at them unless they are written by the author and even then I'm cautious. They have a habit of assuming you've already read the book and often spoil plot points. Some times after finishing a book I'll go back and read the intro, but other than that I wish they'd just stick with afterwords.

Doesn't really matter for me, I read them all. I prefer the sort of forewords which introduces the work while explaining their relationship to the said work (ala Chabon's intro to the Long Ships, for example) moreso than the more 'scholarly' stuff, but either way, if they're good, they're good.

 

[Kuraudo]

GAF, recommend me a finished comic/graphic novel .Haven't read one in a long time. I hate how expensive it is to get through a complete series, but oh well. Already read Preacher, Transmetropolitan, Watchmen, Sandman, Sin City, Y the Last Man, and a few other big ones.

I was looking at Planetary and 100 Bullets. 100 Bullets could be sort of expensive, but I can get like 1000 pages worth with the first two hardcover collections for about $55 and the premise with the untraceable bullets and whatnot sounds pretty intriguing.

Give From Hell a go. It's probably the best writing Alan Moore's done in his entire career with starkly beautiful art by Eddie Campell. Really meaty and complex story, but it's all printed in one volume so it won't break the bank the way some multi-volume series will.