After so much Dakka Dakka from the Horus Heresy books, I've decided to delve into some Inquisition stories, hoping for more subtferuge and a closer in-depth look at the Imperial system.
Safe to say, it's Dan Abnett. Not much else needs to be said...although I'm not digging the first person narrative (only the Ciaphas Cain books REALLY pull off 1st person narrative), the plot more than makes it up for it.
Probably nothing you haven't already heard of or looked into.
Neal Stephenson is good, though hit or miss. Cryptonomicon is excellent, however.
William Gibson
Don DeLillo
David Foster Wallace, though I think Infinite Jest is not as great as everyone else does. His short stories and non-fiction are where it's at. The Pale King, though, has moments of incredible insight.
Ruth Ozeki is interesting: My Year of Meats and A Tale for the Time Being
Danzy Senna's Caucasia
Rebecca Lee's Bobcat and Other Stories is the best short story collection I have read in years.
Probably nothing you haven't already heard of or looked into.
Neal Stephenson is good, though hit or miss. Cryptonomicon is excellent, however.
William Gibson
Don DeLillo
David Foster Wallace, though I think Infinite Jest is not as great as everyone else does. His short stories and non-fiction are where it's at. The Pale King, though, has moments of incredible insight.
Ruth Ozeki is interesting: My Year of Meats and A Tale for the Time Being
Danzy Senna's Caucasia
Rebecca Lee's Bobcat and Other Stories is the best short story collection I have read in years.
Since we're on the topic of recommendations, I just looked at Slate's book podcast itunes page. I've been subscribing to it for a while, but because they seemingly only cover new or fresh/popular stuff I haven't payed too much attention. Well, looking at their entire history, when they first started they did episodes on a wide variety of books. We got: Beloved, All the King's Men, Infinite Jest, Anna Karenina etc.
These are all full of spoilers, but the selection itself is worth looking at. Scroll to the bottom and you have an interesting curated list. I've been playing the episodes for books I've read on and off all day and they know their stuff:
Finished Johnny Gruesome by Gregory Lamberson. This was one of the first books I bought on my Kindle, but I never got around to reading it. I only decided to give it a read after I saw the awesome looking hardcover edition at a bookstore. I'm glad I finally gave it a shot. Fast-paced, with a very visual style and a traditional three act structure, Johnny Gruesome feels like a long lost 80s horror flick. The action is fun, the blood is plentiful and the characters are all well sketched. It's definitely about as straightforward as you can get. If the idea of an 80s metalhead coming back from the grave to get revenge on the world sounds up your alley, I really don't see how this could disappoint. I loved it enough to go back and get the hardcover.
I also read The Mountain King by Rick Hautala. Mark and Phil are hiking Mount Agiochook. After Phil falls into a ravine, he's dragged off by Bigfoot before Mark can come to his aid. When nobody believes his version of events, Mark decides to set out on a quest to save Phil. Unfortunately for Mark, he has drawn the ire of the legendary creature. He soon discovers that he's being hunted by the beast. This was a good read, but a flawed one, The plot stretches a bit too far at times and the characters are all over-heated drama queens. The proceedings are helped out by the level of violence Bigfoot is capable of. The creature rips people in half, scoops out their guts and cracks opened their skulls. The zeal with which Hautala writes the Sasquatch carnage goes a long way toward making up for the book's various shortcomings. Still, an entertaining book but one I would recommend only to fans of Bigfoot horror.
While entertaining, I think I paid too much for it. The steampunk is light and there is no real mystery or character development. It's more like action and grit set-pieces strung together by the quest to take down the main villain. The Epilogue is a little bit too short and to the point I am left a little bit unsatisfied.
I hope you like what you grab... Nothing worse than giving shitty recs. And thanks for the link!
I forgot to add that Michael Chabon's Yiddish Policemen's Union is great. And Jonathan Letham's Dissident Gardens was pretty good. Also, Jeffrey Eugenides The Marriage Plot, too, but I think that one gets a bad rap here.
I need to read that again at some point. I was in high school the first time and knew absolutely nothing about Jewish culture, I remember being confused a lot of the time. I don't remember anything about the plot.
Read it right after The Amazing Adventure of Kavalier and Clay, which remains one of my favorite books, and was mostly just baffled by it.
All the Pretty Horses was pretty good. Not an incredible page turner like No Country or The Road, but just a thoughtful book that was calming to read. Very enjoyable.
Still slogging through Lies of Locke Lamora and once I'm done with that I think I'm going to read
motha
fuckin
SPLINTER CELL TIE IN NOVELS
WHICH COMES FIRST? I DON'T KNOW IT DOESN'T MATTER GUNS AND STEALTH TOM CLANCY'S SPLINTER CELL NOT WRITTEN BY TOM CLANCY
I read one once a million years ago and it was thoroughly OK but I just need something fluff as fuck.
I need to read that again at some point. I was in high school the first time and knew absolutely nothing about Jewish culture, I remember being confused a lot of the time. I don't remember anything about the plot.
Read it right after The Amazing Adventure of Kavalier and Clay, which remains one of my favorite books, and was mostly just baffled by it.
Wife is Jewish so she filled me in on some of the more obscure parts, and I have yet to read Clay. It's on my shelf, but I always find something else I'm dying to read first.
Finished A Mote In God's Eye today. It was quite good though I felt it was longer than it needed to be. And somehow the characters felt flat. Still, a very interesting premise, though I don't think I'll be reading the sequels to find out how the story continues.
I think my next book will be Philip K. Dick's Ubik. Starting tonight.
Guys, it's been so long since I've read a book. I'd like to go back and read Snow Crash again. Can you all recommend me stuff? I'm mostly into stuff like The Name of the Wind, Prince of Thorns, the Earthsea books, etc.
I was just looking at that on my bookshelf. I need tips on how to read it without losing interest. The world is super cool to me, but the way it's written just puts me to sleep.
I was just looking at that on my bookshelf. I need tips on how to read it without losing interest. The world is super cool to me, but the way it's written just puts me to sleep.
I think my biggest problem is that there seems to be so much stuff to keep track of. And unknown words, but that's something I suffer in with many books. Always keep my phone with me for a quick to access dictionary.
Guys, it's been so long since I've read a book. I'd like to go back and read Snow Crash again. Can you all recommend me stuff? I'm mostly into stuff like The Name of the Wind, Prince of Thorns, the Earthsea books, etc.
Guys, it's been so long since I've read a book. I'd like to go back and read Snow Crash again. Can you all recommend me stuff? I'm mostly into stuff like The Name of the Wind, Prince of Thorns, the Earthsea books, etc.
Range of Ghosts by Elizabeth Bear. A fascinating epic fantasy that eschews the tired medieval tropes the genre is known for and replaces with a vivid world based on the Turkish-Mongolian khanates of 13th century Asia.
City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett. A noir-ish, epic fantasy wrapped in the veneer of a murder mystery set in a dying city cleaved in half when its gods were killed by the colonial force that now rules their country.
Ok so I'm in about a quarter way in the first mistborn trilogy. This book just gets better and better.. I'm totally hooked. I wish I have more chance to read it other than 30 min in bed and 10 min in the bathroom.. Ok, 15 min min the bathroom. 😄 what I love about this book is everything is so unpredictable.. Really a page turner
Finished Shards of Honor which was a fun romp - looking forward to reading more. But for now I'm reading The Fifth Heart. Absolutely loved Drood and hoping this is just as good.
I'm about halfway through Ender's Game and I'm really liking it so far. I've really liked the sudden reinclusion of Val and Peter, I would probably like it more if they were the main characters, but so far I'm liking it.
The amount of times the book goes out of its way to say that a bunch of kids are laying around naked is really weirding me out though. It was also weird that it noted the only girl in one army was either the only one naked at the time or the only one not naked. Why the fuck is this even a thing that has to be noted?!
Started reading this the other day, expecting a late/recent Clancy book that drones on and on in technical details that bore the reader. Instead, this book is fast paced with enough technical stuff to help you understand but not so much to turn you off.
I haven't read any of his early books so this is pretty interesting for me. Much more entertaining than the movie at this point.
Also, I doubt its target audience has a significant representation on gaf, but I found this at Walmart marked down from ~$20 to ~$6. Haven't found that beat anywhere. It'll probably be the next one I read.
First book from my library sale that I finished was obviously Ocean at the End of the Lane. Since it's just over 150 pages.
I have to say that while I liked it, it's really cut and dry Gaiman. You can tell that he started it as a story for a friend but got into it and kept going.
- clever boy who is totally not neil
- even more clever girl
- witches
- specifically the trio (maiden, mother, crone)
- fantasy land
- tea
- classic smoke and mirrors style magic
-
tough god-like creature who is so powerful that they humble other god-like creatures and is almost always an old woman
Not a criticism, but really was hoping for something a bit more creative like Gods or Graveyard or Coraline (who also fit into the top list, but not as directly), but it's really just a companion to Sandman, Death, Stardust, his short stories, etc. It just feels so Gaiman that I recommend it if you're fiending for very specifically Gaiman-like writing.
Edit: I wasn't going to note that I cried at the end, but he does a brilliant job with the last major scene in the book (before we shift back to the present). You could almost say there was an...ocean...of tears...*dr. evil laugh*
City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett. A noir-ish, epic fantasy wrapped in the veneer of a murder mystery set in a dying city cleaved in half when its gods were killed by the colonial force that now rules their country.
Sounds fucking brilliant. This is exactly what I'm looking to read. I think I bought it from Amazon a week or so ago - I hope so, I've spent enough this week.
I'm about halfway through Ender's Game and I'm really liking it so far. I've really liked the sudden reinclusion of Val and Peter, I would probably like it more if they were the main characters, but so far I'm liking it.
The amount of times the book goes out of its way to say that a bunch of kids are laying around naked is really weirding me out though. It was also weird that it noted the only girl in one army was either the only one naked at the time or the only one not naked. Why the fuck is this even a thing that has to be noted?!
Because they are lying around naked and are NOT homosexuals. You can be naked and JUST BE FRIENDS because remember, kids, OSC knows that gays are the devil's playthings. Naked, fine. Gentle misogyny, fine. Homosexuality? BURN, you shit.
My mom had to literally pay me to read that book back when I was 13. I think I got $15 for it? Took me all summer to slog through, and it was one of those teeny-tiny-print paperbacks too so it was like almost reading the bible.
Almost finished with the first Johannes Cabal book. The tone of the beginning did not hold through to the end which saddens me. It started so promisingly - like a book written by Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry with some Monty Python thrown in for good measure - but by the middle it lost some of that soul (no pun intended) and it's practically gone now.
What a slump I am in. No idea what I'm in the mood for. Just skip through things on my kobo endlessly. Pointed out Nunslinger and bought the ebook and I think I'll read that sometime soon, but I think I wanted something to feel a bit more of an escape, and not sure about some fantasy or sci-fi without feeling like I had to get into a trilogy or long series or something.
What a slump I am in. No idea what I'm in the mood for. Just skip through things on my kobo endlessly. Pointed out Nunslinger and bought the ebook and I think I'll read that sometime soon, but I think I wanted something to feel a bit more of an escape, and not sure about some fantasy or sci-fi without feeling like I had to get into a trilogy or long series or something.
Can I recommend The Legend of Jig Dragonslayer by Jim C. Hines? It's a trilogy, but it's fantasy humor and goes down easy. The little gob grows on you!
3/5
Some good moments, but often i found myself frustrated while reading it.
3/5
Heard half a year ago, that Samantha Shannon could be the "new JK Rowling" (loved the Harry Potter Books). Well, i think because she is British and it will be also a 7 Books series, but thats all. Loved the idea, maybe the sequels are much better.
Can I recommend The Legend of Jig Dragonslayer by Jim C. Hines? It's a trilogy, but it's fantasy humor and goes down easy. The little gob grows on you!
Holy shit The Fifth Heart is so damn good. I'm only 20% in right now but it's right alongside Drood and Hyperion in quality. Loved the part with Sherlock venturing through Foggy Bottom.
What a slump I am in. No idea what I'm in the mood for. Just skip through things on my kobo endlessly. Pointed out Nunslinger and bought the ebook and I think I'll read that sometime soon, but I think I wanted something to feel a bit more of an escape, and not sure about some fantasy or sci-fi without feeling like I had to get into a trilogy or long series or something.
Like one reviewer said, it's like Douglas Adam's remaking Lord of the Rings. Don't think there's anything offensive in it, cept some goblin humor and eating habits!
Can I recommend The Legend of Jig Dragonslayer by Jim C. Hines? It's a trilogy, but it's fantasy humor and goes down easy. The little gob grows on you!
A Song for Arbonne sounds intriguing, and I'd like to read your book someday, but perhaps fantasy just doesn't grab me much lately. So I doubt I'll go in that direction, tried to read Mistborn, and even the First Law books, but just never made it far without feeling like I'd rather read something else.
Bah! I'll finally pick something tonight... I hope. Just don't want to feel like I'm reading something just to read something. I'd like to read a quick blurb and feel like I have to keep reading.
Appreciate the rec, but maybe a little too fantastical At least for right now
A Song for Arbonne sounds intriguing, and I'd like to read your book someday, but perhaps fantasy just doesn't grab me much lately. So I doubt I'll go in that direction, tried to read Mistborn, and even the First Law books, but just never made it far without feeling like I'd rather read something else.
Bah! I'll finally pick something tonight... I hope. Just don't want to feel like I'm reading something just to read something. I'd like to read a quick blurb and feel like I have to keep reading.
What a slump I am in. No idea what I'm in the mood for. Just skip through things on my kobo endlessly. Pointed out Nunslinger and bought the ebook and I think I'll read that sometime soon, but I think I wanted something to feel a bit more of an escape, and not sure about some fantasy or sci-fi without feeling like I had to get into a trilogy or long series or something.
I just finished The Fractal Prince by Hannu Rajaniemi.
It's such a fantastic series. It's tricky to withhold exposition, especially in a world like this, but Rajaniemi does it so spectacularly. It's a difficult read but extraordinarily satisfying. I'm taking a bit of a break before jumping into the final book of the trilogy, and so this is next up on the docket:
Changed my mind on what I planned to read, I was going to read the Bachman Books but looking over King's other books I completely forgot about the Dark Tower books, I read the 1st two and possibly the 3rd in school so I thought I better start from the beginning.
Still waiting for Whispering Nickel Idols to be delivered but in the mean time I will continue with book 4.
Holy shit The Fifth Heart is so damn good. I'm only 20% in right now but it's right alongside Drood and Hyperion in quality. Loved the part with Sherlock venturing through Foggy Bottom.
I'm reading a Feast for Crows, and I have been stuck on the same Brienne chapter for 2 weeks XD I've enjoyed all the chapters that aren't Brienne or the Greyjoys, but man those can be so boring.
And thanks for the link!
