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What are you reading? (December 2012)
- Thread starter Maklershed
- Start date
I've only read the character pages so far and I'm already pumped as hell.I think ICE has improved with every book so far, hopefully this continues that trend.Gothos and Osserc, woo!
Woah. Where does this fit into the Malazan timeline? I've been trying to fit in the ICE ones in between the Erikson books where it's timeline-appropriate, so may have to add this one into the list.
You really shouldn't worry about the Malazan timeline, but I think it should go something like this.
GotM>DG>MoI>HoC>MT>NoK>TB>RotCG>RG>TtH>SW>OST>DoD>TCG>B&B>Assail(2013)
Not sure where Eriksons novellas fit in, the Kharkanas books are set before the main series and I think the Toblakai books will be set after it, if he still has the will to write them after all this time.
GotM>DG>MoI>HoC>MT>NoK>TB>RotCG>RG>TtH>SW>OST>DoD>TCG>B&B>Assail(2013)
Not sure where Eriksons novellas fit in, the Kharkanas books are set before the main series and I think the Toblakai books will be set after it, if he still has the will to write them after all this time.
Battle Cry of Freedom by James McPherson.
Excellent stuff. I've always wanted to read a comprehensive history of the Civil War, and this is supposed to be the definitive one-volume treatment.
Excellent stuff. I've always wanted to read a comprehensive history of the Civil War, and this is supposed to be the definitive one-volume treatment.
Adam Blade
WWKC
Malazan... doesn't
Either way, I have B & B in my queue.
Alas, I have no desire to read Erikson's prequels though.
exactly end...
Either way, I have B & B in my queue.
Alas, I have no desire to read Erikson's prequels though.
Cool, that's a big help, thanks very much!
Maklershed
Member
Looking for unknown/unexplored space recommendations again. Read and loved Gateway, Pushing Ice, Ship of Fools, and The Commonwealth Saga. Also read Eon and The Mote in God's Eye.
Mackenzie 92
Member
Ha, only one that comes to mind is another Greg Bear book. Anvil of Stars, one of my favorites, It's not as bizarre as Hull Zero Three, though, more traditional. There was also a prequel, but it's boring as hell and easily skipped.
Anvil Of Stars by Greg Bear
I'll post if I think of anything else.
Maklershed
Member
Thanks, I'll keep this in mind pending further suggestions.
I'll also settle for horror in space - anything Dead Spaceish would be great.
Just finished up Before They Are Hanged (book 2 of the First Law Trilogy). I loved it. Abercrombie is just getting better and better as the series goes on. Can't wait to see how it ends.
I want to move right into book three, but I'm not sure if I get into something else before for a quick diversion. We'll see.
I want to move right into book three, but I'm not sure if I get into something else before for a quick diversion. We'll see.
Just finished:
Quite enjoyable. Slow to start, but Mieville really builds a world. Looking forward to the other New Crobuzon books.
Starting:
Wasn't really the top of my list of what I want to read, but I've had it out from the Kindle lending library for a while and want to get something else.
Quite enjoyable. Slow to start, but Mieville really builds a world. Looking forward to the other New Crobuzon books.
Starting:
Wasn't really the top of my list of what I want to read, but I've had it out from the Kindle lending library for a while and want to get something else.
TestMonkey
Member
Just finished:
This was very good but took me a lot longer to read than I thought it would. Great insights to a historical figure that I thought I new about but really did not. Learned a lot. Had no idea that Mary Todd Lincoln was such a psycho.
Moving onto:
Not the most challenging read but nice urban fantasy to relax the brain after such a deep read.
This was very good but took me a lot longer to read than I thought it would. Great insights to a historical figure that I thought I new about but really did not. Learned a lot. Had no idea that Mary Todd Lincoln was such a psycho.
Moving onto:
Not the most challenging read but nice urban fantasy to relax the brain after such a deep read.
The Orphans trilogy by Sean Williams and Shane Dix might fit the bill.
Echoes of Earth
Orphans of Earth
Heirs of Earth
It starts with a small expedition to a distant planet where some alien structures and technology are found. This leads to consequences for the whole human species and necessitates heading out into the unknown. The scale of the story gets pretty crazy.
I'd suggest not reading the blurbs for the sequels. Each book ends with pretty big game changers.
Maklershed
Member
Hardboiled's great, do it do it doitttt. 1Q84 is a bit iffy tbh.
Been reading this
god I love this man
Mackenzie 92
Member
Not really reading so much as listening to the audio book of Anthony Bourdain's "Medium Raw".
I have a bit of time in commute/gym etc so I'm going to grab a bunch on the audible sale. Kinda bummed yesterday they had 5 books on sale for like 5$ and today it's just one Tom Clancy nonsense for 10$ :/
He does the narration and so far it's pretty great if you're a fan of his.
I have a bit of time in commute/gym etc so I'm going to grab a bunch on the audible sale. Kinda bummed yesterday they had 5 books on sale for like 5$ and today it's just one Tom Clancy nonsense for 10$ :/
He does the narration and so far it's pretty great if you're a fan of his.
I liked it. It does tend to over-simplify things and offer one-size-fits-all advice but I can think of much worse ways of speding 30 min than reading this book.
Cool!
I'm almost done with this:
I absolutely love Camus, I think he might be my favorite writer. The only other book by Camus I've read is the Stranger though. Still. He's so good.
I've been thinking of buying either The Fall or The Myth of Sisyphus. I've read a lot of great things about The Fall, do you have any recommendation?
Mackenzie 92
Member
Just finished the Shadowdance Trilogy by David Dalglish. Not a bad little series; nothing ground breaking, but it had its moments!
Just picked up another series of his, set in the same world and presumably tied in!
Would also like to add, finished Cold Days a few days ago.....already craving the next book! I supposed reading the first 14 books in approx. a week can get you hooked too much!
Just picked up another series of his, set in the same world and presumably tied in!
Would also like to add, finished Cold Days a few days ago.....already craving the next book! I supposed reading the first 14 books in approx. a week can get you hooked too much!
Maklershed
Member
Got a nice hard copy edition of that at a book sale for $1.50. Sitting here right next to me actually. Been meaning to read it for awhile now.
And I just got to a big event in Best Served Cold .... (First Law spoiler!) ...
RIP Cosca 
The Culture Vulture
Member
How are you liking it? I really enjoyed the excerpt that was posted on Grantland about Lost.
http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8670609/alan-sepinwall-origins-lost
Cool!
I'm almost done with this:
I absolutely love Camus, I think he might be my favorite writer. The only other book by Camus I've read is the Stranger though. Still. He's so good.
I've been thinking of buying either The Fall or The Myth of Sisyphus. I've read a lot of great things about The Fall, do you have any recommendation?
The Myth of Sisyphus is one of essentials of Camus. It explains lot of his views on absurdism. I did like Fall but mostly it seems people dislike it and I can understand it even. Monologues aren't for all.
Read The Myth of Sisyphus first then Rebel and Fall after them.
D
Deleted member 1235
Unconfirmed Member
finished the latest dresden files.
great as usual, exactly what fans would expect. now the wait for the next one
great as usual, exactly what fans would expect. now the wait for the next one
The Myth of Sisyphus and The Rebel are probably my favorite essays of all time, dude's just brilliant.
Thanks for the insight. 20 pages left to go in the Plague, then I will venture further down the philosophy of absurdism with The Myth of Sisyphus first, then The Rebel, thanks guys. I think after this, I will need a change of pace with something else, so I will save The Fall for sometime later.
Just finished this, holy fuck did I love the 3rd act. Played with my expectations, lots of very cool and well thought out reveals, and a nice mix or loss and victory for the end. I'm conflicted on whether or not there should be more of these books....but I sure as hell would love to return to these characters. It just seems pretty well and truly wrapped up.
Already got Alloy of Law, can't wait to dig in. Though I get the impression its more of a side story, which is cool too.
AngmarsKing701
Member
I'm about 3/4 of the way through Abercrombie's Red Country. And I'm loving it.
So I started looking at authors who might compare. Saw quite a few whom I've either read already or just don't interest me due to subject matter, etc.
Decided to ask GAF about these two.
1 - David Gemmell. I've never read anything by him. Anyone who also likes Abercrombie care to comment on whether you recommend Gemmell? If so, where to start? Looks like he has several series out there.
2 - Mark Charan Newton. Looks like he has two books set in a sort of militaristic structure similar to Abercrombie. Anyone read him?
So I started looking at authors who might compare. Saw quite a few whom I've either read already or just don't interest me due to subject matter, etc.
Decided to ask GAF about these two.
1 - David Gemmell. I've never read anything by him. Anyone who also likes Abercrombie care to comment on whether you recommend Gemmell? If so, where to start? Looks like he has several series out there.
2 - Mark Charan Newton. Looks like he has two books set in a sort of militaristic structure similar to Abercrombie. Anyone read him?
I'd start with Legend, the first book Gemmell wrote. He writes heroic fantasy, so whatever else they've done, his characters are always trying to be heroes. Abercrombie's work has similarities to his, but they're still rather different beasts.
I can't decide if he's an alien, a robot, or a genetically modified human. There's no way one person can have so many ideas and type so many words so quickly (though to be fair a lot of his work was started over the past 10 years or so and now he's finally gotten the chance to publish it). I got excited that he's finally coming to PA on his next tour, but crappy Philadelphia instead of Pittsburgh...hmm.
HarryHengst
Member
Just finished this, holy fuck did I love the 3rd act. Played with my expectations, lots of very cool and well thought out reveals, and a nice mix or loss and victory for the end. I'm conflicted on whether or not there should be more of these books....but I sure as hell would love to return to these characters. It just seems pretty well and truly wrapped up.
Already got Alloy of Law, can't wait to dig in. Though I get the impression its more of a side story, which is cool too.
Alloy of Law owns a lot, and its not really a sidestory. Its a story in the same world, only a couple hundred years later. Its nice to see how the world developed and some appearances of things from the Mistborn novels.
I envy you! The second half blows away the already excellent first half. One of my favorite books of all time.
Next up for me:
So after finishing up the second Game of Thrones book, I plan on starting a new fantasy series. I'm a real light reader, but I'm trying to change that! With that in mind, I figured I'd try and start reading more about stuff I like in other entertainment (I also love the GoT books, but I feel like those are different beasts anyway.)
So basically, I've been tossing up a few ideas:
-Wheel of Time series
-Dragonlance series
I'm open to completely new suggestions, or suggestions out of these two. Any preferences?
So basically, I've been tossing up a few ideas:
-Wheel of Time series
-Dragonlance series
I'm open to completely new suggestions, or suggestions out of these two. Any preferences?
Maklershed
Member
First Law trilogy!! Easy to read and a ton of action. After reading ASOIAF I never thought I'd read a fantasy series I'd like as much but I was way wrong.
Liking it quite a bit so far, though the characters haven't really hooked me in yet, and the mash up of zombies and steampunk does seem a wee bit gimmicky (for lack of a better word).
I haven't really read anything since A Dance Of Dragons came out which is pretty pathetic. Early new year's resolution is to read more, so have joined Good Reads and will participate in next year's challenge.
Recommendations in this thread seem like a great place to start
That's a great one, I think that's what I read right after ASoIaF when I began reading more several years ago. Honestly I'd go with something shorter and easier to read than jumping into something like Wheel of Time.
First Law or Mistborn would be a great change of pace from ASoIaF. I'd also highly recommend The Name of the Wind & Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss (a much more personal and intimate story), or The Lies of Locke Lamora & Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch (fun urban fantasy of heists and trickery, full of twists and turns).
Mackenzie 92
Member
I'm not a Wheel of Time fan, but I never really gave it a fair shake.
I'd second First Law and add my own suggestion of The Black Company Chronicles. It follows the exploits of a mercenary company in a dark fantasy world.
Liking it quite a bit so far, though the characters haven't really hooked me in yet, and the mash up of zombies and steampunk does seem a wee bit gimmicky (for lack of a better word).
I liked it, it wasn't as gimmicky when it first came out, but zombie books have really exploded the last few years. Anyway the other books in the series are stronger with better characters and stories and the world that Cherie created gets bigger and more interesting.
Oh, and you reminded me that the newest book in the series just came out... The backlog grows.
This is a very good way to look at Dragonlance. If you've just started to get into reading then it's okay. Objectively, at its absolute best it never gets beyond mediocre and it is rarely at its best.
Wheel of Time, well, I can't honestly say I'd recommend it. I enjoy it, but it falters too hard at times to give it a rousing recommendation.
Abercrombie's books are a good. All his books are set in the same world so they're a sort of loose series.