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[TTG]

Kingkiller stuff didn't run out of steam for me until like the latter half of the second book. The plot really starts to slow down and the whole Fae world is such an utter mess. I found everything up to that point entertaining and really engrossing.

It's the bieber/nsync of fantasy books...

Then what the hell are those Dresden Files books? They were a daily deal a while back on kindle, so I picked some up. Makes Rothfuss look like JK Rowling.

 

[Haly]

It's Urban Fantasy, which exists in its own dimension.

 

[ZQQLANDER]

Why would anyone read anything related that diving cunt?

Skip Gerrard.

Someone is bitter.

 

[Maklershed]

Steve Gerrard, Gerrard. He'll pass the ball 40 yards!

 

[HerrPalomar]

Really enjoyed the book!

 

[Wiktor]

Then what the hell are those Dresden Files books? .

They're like Michael Jackson, proving you can make something that's primarly made for fun without it being garbage

 

[besada]

It's amazing to think that it was written by Graves as a pot-boiler. I'm really looking forward to seeing John Hurt as Caligula in the series.

He's magnificent. All the acting in I, Claudius is wonderful. It still ranks in my top five shows of all time. For all the people who want more GoT, this is what they should be reading and watching. Livia makes the inhabitants of King's Landing look like a bunch of amateurs.

As for what I'm reading:

I just finished The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter.

I enjoyed it, although it has some pacing issues, particularly in the second half. But it's fascinating to see Baxter, known more for his big sprawling ideas than his characters and prose, married to Pratchett, who' s known for characters and comedic prose. They really complement each other here. And the idea is big, crazy, and ripe for further exploration, which leads me to what I'm reading now:

The Long War

 

[Sheytan]

Just started reading Leviathan Wakes, the first book in the expanse series. my first sci-fi book ever.

 

[Krowley]

The biggest complaint I see for the Kingkiller books is the whole mary sue thing, and it was pretty clear to me that Kvothe was an unreliable narrator.

Rothfuss makes a special point of showing that current-day Kvothe is rather ordinary, which is clearly designed to make you wonder if he's been hyping himself up all along.

In fact, if I'm not mistaken, Kvothe even mentions at one point that a good storyteller always lies a little bit. There are hints all over the place. There are numerous occasions in the story where he admits to exaggerating his accomplishments in the past in order to build up his legend. That sort of exaggeration is fundamental to his personality.

It's practically the whole theme of the book. It's why Rothfuss is switching between first person and a very distant omniscient third person. It's a story about a living legend. We're supposed to ask ourselves how much of the legend is really true. If Kvothe weren't sufficiently larger than life, then the concept wouldn't work. He has to be like someone from a tall tale.

I thought both books were great. Not flawless--they drag at times and some of the romance is kind of weak--but way better than most epic fantasy out there.

As far as tone or maturity or whatever, they're nothing at all like ASOIAF... The tone is much more in the realm of something like Wheel of Time, with a little added sex. And there's nothing wrong with that. All fantasy doesn't have to be dark and ultra-serious.
.

 

[fredrancour]

The biggest complaint I see for the Kingkiller books is the whole mary sue thing, and it was pretty clear to me that Kvothe was an unreliable narrator.

Rothfuss makes a special point of showing that current-day Kvothe is rather ordinary, which is clearly designed to make you wonder if he's been hyping himself up all along.

In fact, if I'm not mistaken, Kvothe even mentions at one point that a good storyteller always lies a little bit. There are hints all over the place.

It's practically the whole theme of the book. It's why Rothfuss is switching between first person and a very distant omniscient third person. It's a story about a living legend. We're supposed to ask ourselves how much of the legend is really true. If Kvothe weren't sufficiently larger than life, then the concept wouldn't work. He has to be like someone from a tall tale.

I thought both books were great. Not flawless--they drag at times and some of the romance is kind of weak--but way better than most epic fantasy out there.

As far as tone or maturity or whatever, they're nothing at all like ASOIAF... The tone is much more in the realm of something like Wheel of Time, with a little added sex. And there's nothing wrong with that. All fantasy doesn't have to be dark and ultra-serious.

Disclaimer: I haven't read A Wise Man's Fear yet.

I'm kind of reminded of a story Brandon Sanderson told on Writing Excuses: The backstory for Mistborn was his original concept for the series: A hero of prophecy attempts to save the world, but the world is ultimately enslaved by an evil empire. He said that he relegated the concept to backstory because it would mean telling a completely by-the-books fantasy story for a full novel before dropping the surprise of the world going to hell. He felt that the people who would enjoy the rote quest would be nearly mutually exclusive with the people who would enjoy something deliberately sabotaging the genre expectations. The people who finished the book would hate the ending; people who would love the ending would never make it that far. He decided he'd rather write an entire book for people who'd like the original ending, and made the switch to the plot of Mistborn as it actually happened.

I'm now wondering if something similar is happening here with The Name of the Wind: Some people who love the idea of an unreliable narrator expected it to have way more consequences by now. The problem is that Rothfuss's vision for telling the story seems to involve delivering them a wish-fulfillment fantasy adventure for longer than their interest in getting to the truth is holding out. The act of saying, "You're probably full of shit, Kvothe" when he makes him sound like a badass isn't enough if the hundreds of pages of boasting aren't inherently interesting on some level. Yeah, he was probably less popular with girls, and more to blame in his conflicts with other students, but knowing this doesn't seem to change the reading experience enough when learning the consequences of things seems to be so far away.

If the ending of the story is basically a giant "GOTCHA, HERE'S HOW HORRIBLE THIS LIAR ACTUALLY IS AT ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING" (or a more subdued version of that) then maybe the people who really enjoy the adventure as it was narrated will be very sad that their favorite parts of the story didn't happen.

Even the third-person segments don't really seem to call Kvothe's prowess into question. I can no longer remember the names of the little monsters he had to deal with in the framing story, but he seemed really on top of it. He took it completely in stride and seemed nearly unphased, capable of singlehandedly conquering a problem of a substantially larger magnitude than the one before him. Due to the interest the interviewer had in him, it really came off more as "legendary famous person is in hiding because he burnt out on fame and adventure," not "legendary famous person is in hiding because he actually wasn't awesome enough to handle what was expected of him" or something along those lines.

Bizarrely, I'm now kind of excited to read Wise Man's Fear.

 

[Haly]

If it turns out in Book 3 that Kvothe was making shit up all along, this doesn't actually justify Books 1 and 2 being a huge waste of time, unless Rothfusss manages to completely recontextualize all the boring money chasing, hawt sex, cultural appropriation bullcrap.

When it comes to literary devices like "unreliable narrator", it's not enough to simply have a tweest, but to have the tweest enhance or accentuate the preceding narrative.

Rothfuss would have to be a pretty fucking amazing author to vindicate 1600 Fantasy Hard Cover™ pages of nonsense. At the same time, he needs to resolve the war plot introduced in the intermissions, resolve Chronicler's story, and Bast's story, and future Kvothe's story. Given these conditions, I see only a few possible outcomes.

1) Rothfuss manages to do everything he needs to do in Book 3 to render Kingkiller Chronicles worthy of all the praise and accolades it's received so far. This would make him one of the greatest Fantasy writers of all time, better at long-form storytelling than Tolkien (Kingkiller already has a higher word count than LOTR), more subversive than Wolfe, and far better at pacing than GRRM.

2) Rothfuss pens a 2000 page doorstop of a tome and succeeds at one or two things described above while failing spectacularly at everything else.

3) Rothfuess realizes he's way in over his head and extends Kingkiller Chronicles to a quadrilogy, or a quintrilogy, or more.

Again, I have to point out that nothing he's done so far indicates he's capable of 1), which means 2) and 3) are far more likely. 1) would only be possible if Rothfuss was not only using the "unreliable narrator" device, but also pioneering a hypothetical "unreliable author" meta-device by overturning my expectations of Kvothe as a character while simultaneously overturning my expectations of him as a writer.

As you can no doubt tell, I'm highly skeptical that he is capable of all the above, and fully expect Book 3 to peter out into nothing of note, or to get extended indefinitely like ASOIAF.

 

[SugarDave]

Finished reading the first Witcher novel, 'The Last Wish' yesterday. I really enjoyed it. Geralt is a character who is as fun to read about as he is to play. I'd heard the translation was supposed to be poor but I felt like I got out of it what the author intended for the most part. Even if you're not into the games, it's a cool little collection of short stories that draws from fairy tales and feels different from your typical fantasy stuff.

Looking forward to reading the others, although I've heard they don't focus on Geralt as much and aren't as interesting which is a shame. I'll have to rely on a fan translation for the second book so I'm going to wait until I pick up a tablet sometime soon so I can read it during my commute and lunch hour.

 

[Tawney Bomb]

I finished Old Man's War and don't know what to read next.

It's either Elantris, The Ghost Brigades or The Way of Kings.

 

[nakedsushi]

This discussion of Rothfuss's intentions with the Kingkiller chronicles is bounds more entertaining than reading his actual book. I have to agree with Haly here in saying that he'll need to pull of an amazing save in the third book for me to think even the first book was worth it.

 

[AngmarsKing701]

Just started reading Leviathan Wakes, the first book in the expanse series. my first sci-fi book ever.

avatar quote?

 

[AngmarsKing701]

I finished Old Man's War and don't know what to read next.

It's either Elantris, The Ghost Brigades or The Way of Kings.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1497571979/?tag=neogaf0e-20

 

[TTG]

It's an odd argument regardless. It doesn't matter how self aware Kvothe is of the trope for that one moment before he launches into another 300 pages of story, what the author's intent is or if the third book has Kvothe turning into Don Quixote himself... It's a matter of tolerance for that sort of character. Personally, I don't take it too seriously. The artifice bothers me in places, but I don't actively loathe every new found ability and success, it doesn't irritate me so much. Well, maybe when he breaks out the lute and all the ladies swoon and hard men cry, that does suck.

The problems I find concerning(as someone who likes the books enough to check out the third btw) are actually shared with ASOIAF in the sense that both series' are bloated and leaking pace. GRRM hasn't had a misstep as big or prolonged as the fae world escapades anyway, talk about rough.

 

[VanWinkle]

Currently reading:

I'm on a Brandon Sanderson kick. I'm already loving this one, too. Great concept (everybody with superpowers are villains, and it's up to a group of normal humans called The Reckoners to fight them).

I finished Old Man's War and don't know what to read next.

It's either Elantris, The Ghost Brigades or The Way of Kings.

Read Way of Kings. I just finished a few days ago and it's the best book I've ever read.

 

[Neffarias_Bredd]

I very much enjoyed Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman, so much so that I may go back and try to re-read American Gods. Something just didn't click on my first read through and I ended up never finishing it, but I have a feeling I'll be diggin it more this time around.

 

[TripOpt55]

I finished The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie and really liked it. Great action sequences. Especially the penultimate chapter. That was thrilling. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series. Been on a fantasy kick, so I ordered the other two in the trilogy as well as the first omnibus of the Dread Empire and The Way of Kings (that one since people here recommended it). Might have said that already... not sure! Looking forward to digging in more.

 

[Shiv47]

Just finished the second Parker novel by Richard Stark, The Man With the Getaway Face. Excellent stuff. Moving on the next one, The Outfit, but also reading The Skies Belong to Us: Love and Terror in the Golden Age of Hijacking by Brendan Koerner, a nonfiction work about the spate of American plane hijackings that took place in the early 1970s, and Leviathan Wakes, because it seems pretty well liked, and I don't read much SF.

 

[Sax Russel]

So this book. I read Perdido Street Station and The Scar about a year ago, really enjoying both, but stalled on Iron Council. Giving it another go now but still having trouble getting into the book. I *want* to like it, I love the world, but it's not clicking, about ~20% in. For those of you that have finished it, what are your thoughts? Keep on truckin? (chuggin? =P)

 

[Haly]

Of all the Bas-Lag novels, Iron Council was definitely the weakest.

Feel free to skip it and try Mieville's Embassytown, which is much better.

 

[jtb]

A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan: very hit and miss for me. some of them were fun, engaging, others, like the much praised/discussed

Spoiler

powerpoint

story/chapter didn't pack the punch I expected it to.

The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro: Remains of the Day is one of my favorite books. wasn't sure if I loved this book or if I was just tricking myself into liking this book because I really really wanted to like it. by far, one of the weirdest, most challenging books I've read in some time. but for all it's non-sensical plotting and shameless surrealness, it's funny and genuinely affecting. and there's one scene at the end of the third (?) day/section that was one of the most vivid, absorbing scenes I've read. I almost wish the book ended there because the final day and the actual concert is anticlimactic (which was expected, since that's the point I guess) but also happens to drag on for another 100 pages.

but I'm pretty sure I love it.

 

[Red Comet]

Finished reading the first Witcher novel, 'The Last Wish' yesterday. I really enjoyed it. Geralt is a character who is as fun to read about as he is to play. I'd heard the translation was supposed to be poor but I felt like I got out of it what the author intended for the most part. Even if you're not into the games, it's a cool little collection of short stories that draws from fairy tales and feels different from your typical fantasy stuff.

Looking forward to reading the others, although I've heard they don't focus on Geralt as much and aren't as interesting which is a shame. I'll have to rely on a fan translation for the second book so I'm going to wait until I pick up a tablet sometime soon so I can read it during my commute and lunch hour.

Heh, I just bought this the other day. Going to start it soon.


Interesting to see discussion of the Kingkiller Chronicles. That's one of my mom's favorite series right now. I read the Name of the Wind back when it came out but I never got around to reading the second one. I'd probably have to go back and reread NoTW at this point.

 

[Pau]

Just started on Her Smoke Rose Up Forever thanks to a GAF recommendation! Finding out in the introduction that the author committed a murder-suicide was very jarring, but I am excited to start on their work.

It took me all last month to read The Warmth of Other Suns since I was very busy, but I gotta get back into this reading thing!

 

[Nymerio]

Finished Promise of Blood yesterday. Enjoyed it very much. I'm now starting the new Dresden Files book. I'll either read the second book in the Powder Mage trilogy or Sanderson's Words of Radiance next.

 

[Paganmoon]

It's an odd argument regardless. It doesn't matter how self aware Kvothe is of the trope for that one moment before he launches into another 300 pages of story, what the author's intent is or if the third book has Kvothe turning into Don Quixote himself... It's a matter of tolerance for that sort of character. Personally, I don't take it too seriously. The artifice bothers me in places, but I don't actively loathe every new found ability and success, it doesn't irritate me so much. Well, maybe when he breaks out the lute and all the ladies swoon and hard men cry, that does suck.

The problems I find concerning(as someone who likes the books enough to check out the third btw) are actually shared with ASOIAF in the sense that both series' are bloated and leaking pace. GRRM hasn't had a misstep as big or prolonged as the fae world escapades anyway, talk about rough.

The fae... oh god, not the fae, almost made me put down the book forever, and I actually liked the rest of it. And I do think we're dealing with an unreliable narrator (or at least I hope), but I'm also a bit worried about how he's going to wrap it all up in one final book, seems like there's too much going on all over to wrap it up, and try to do a proper exploration of the unreliable narrator, other than it being a throwaway line.

But on your point about the lute, I got the impression that it wasn't just cause he's such a great lute player, but that music in that world has power, it's magic, it can pull your strings.

I finished The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie and really liked it. Great action sequences. Especially the penultimate chapter. That was thrilling. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series. Been on a fantasy kick, so I ordered the other two in the trilogy as well as the first omnibus of the Dread Empire and The Way of Kings (that one since people here recommended it). Might have said that already... not sure! Looking forward to digging in more.

You're in for a treat with The First Law series, my favorite fantasy series to date. (Better than asoiaf imo). And as a bonus Joe Abercrombie didn't force extra worldbuilding into the mainline series, instead wrote 3 stand alones after it. (Hey George... you could learn a thing or two from Joe).

 

[Cade]

Currently reading:

I'm on a Brandon Sanderson kick. I'm already loving this one, too. Great concept (everybody with superpowers are villains, and it's up to a group of normal humans called The Reckoners to fight them).

I'm reading this too, though I didn't know it was YA when I borrowed it. It's got some interesting concepts though the references are as heavy-handed as, say, CW superhero shows (every street in this book is named after a comics artist/writer legend).


--
I finished Cibola Burn and thought it was pretty good. I still think I like Caliban's War the best, and some of the ground covered here seemed a little bit samey, but just like the end of Abaddon's Gate, you can see where the series is going to (no pun intended) expand a bit.

 

[Cerity]

Just finished Gone with the Wind, last 10% or so of the book I was reading with a massive smug grin on my face. Aside from character issues, really enjoyed reading about the civil war from the confederate side as well watching how the city grew, fell and grow again.

Going to move onto The Lies of Locke Lamora now, I have an odd feeling I've read it before a few years ago but I'll see how it goes.

 

[Keen]

So this book. I read Perdido Street Station and The Scar about a year ago, really enjoying both, but stalled on Iron Council. Giving it another go now but still having trouble getting into the book. I *want* to like it, I love the world, but it's not clicking, about ~20% in. For those of you that have finished it, what are your thoughts? Keep on truckin? (chuggin? =P)

I've tried twice and have failed twice. Skip it.



Currently reading: Words of Radiance (still) by Brandon Sanderson. Feeling it occasionally, but it hasn't grabbed my interest yet.

Also reading:

Saw it at a bookstore and the premise grabbed my interest. Had good reviews on Goodreads so decided to give it a shot. A few pages in and I'm cautiously optimistic.

Also reading a few short stories from Dangerous Women . Read GRRM and Abercrombie, and reading Sandersons at the moment. Anything else I should read from it?

 

[Mumei]

1) Rothfuss manages to do everything he needs to do in Book 3 to render Kingkiller Chronicles worthy of all the praise and accolades it's received so far. This would make him one of the greatest Fantasy writers of all time, better at long-form storytelling than Tolkien (Kingkiller already has a higher word count than LOTR), more subversive than Wolfe, and far better at pacing than GRRM.

Speaking of, have you read Peace? I think it's probably the tricksiest thing he's written.

Edit: ... That I've read!

 

[Pickman]

I finished Old Man's War and don't know what to read next.

It's either Elantris, The Ghost Brigades or The Way of Kings.

Ghost Brigades is a kind of fun read if you're still feeling like more military sci-fi is the way to go.

Elantris is a good standalone Branderson book so you aren't getting yourself balls-deep into a world building 10 book fiasco.

The Way of Kings is one of the best fantasy books I've ever read, with Words of Radiance (its followup) coming in right behind it just as good. Keep in mind, you'll be setting yourself up for pain though. The two volumes come in just over 2000 words pages combined, and when you're finished you'll be gnashing at the bit for book 3 which just does not exist yet.

 

[Pickman]

Going to move onto The Lies of Locke Lamora now, I have an odd feeling I've read it before a few years ago but I'll see how it goes.

For the love of the thirteen gods, if you finish it and feel the need to continue, work your way into book 2 (its just not the same) and consider it the end of the series. Do not proceed to book 3.

I just made this mistake. I regret it. ;_;...

 

[dionysus]

Rothfuss does some interesting things with his lyrical writing. Lyrical foreshadowing is really interesting and I have never seen it done before. I admit I did not catch on to alot of what he was doing lyrically until someone pointed me to a deconstruction of the his first book.

That being said the 2nd book is horrendous and irredeemable. Unless he is doing a Kojima like MGS2 troll, then I would forgive him.

 

[Tawney Bomb]

Ghost Brigades is a kind of fun read if you're still feeling like more military sci-fi is the way to go.

Elantris is a good standalone Branderson book so you aren't getting yourself balls-deep into a world building 10 book fiasco.

The Way of Kings is one of the best fantasy books I've ever read, with Words of Radiance (its followup) coming in right behind it just as good. Keep in mind, you'll be setting yourself up for pain though. The two volumes come in just over 2000 words combined, and when you're finished you'll be gnashing at the bit for book 3 which just does not exist yet.

I think I'm going with Elantris, just for the sake of not jumping into yet another series. Then I'll read Ghost Brigades, I've heard it's not as strong as Old Man's War, but we'll see. Then I think I'll give Way of Kings a go.

Thanks folks.

Edit: You gus are making me somewhat glad I never read The Wise Man's Fear also.

Edit 2: Do the novellas in The Expanse series add a lot to the story?

 

[Cade]

The two volumes come in just over 2000 words combined, and when you're finished you'll be gnashing at the bit for book 3 which just does not exist yet.

That's not many words, I could read that really quick! Guy needs to write faster.

 

[Pickman]

That's not many words, I could read that really quick! Guy needs to write faster.

I accidentally the wrong word.

 

[Hrothgar]

I am about to start The Foundation trilogy after just finishimg The Reality Dysfunction. Have to keep up my scifi binge reading.

He's magnificent. All the acting in I, Claudius is wonderful. It still ranks in my top five shows of all time. For all the people who want more GoT, this is what they should be reading and watching. Livia makes the inhabitants of King's Landing look like a bunch of amateurs.

As for what I'm reading:

I just finished The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter.

I enjoyed it, although it has some pacing issues, particularly in the second half. But it's fascinating to see Baxter, known more for his big sprawling ideas than his characters and prose, married to Pratchett, who' s known for characters and comedic prose. They really complement each other here. And the idea is big, crazy, and ripe for further exploration, which leads me to what I'm reading now:

The Long War

I am going to pick up The Long Mars soon, the first two books were really enjoyable.

 

[Haly]

Speaking of, have you read Peace? I think it's probably the tricksiest thing he's written.

Edit: ... That I've read!

I've only read Book of the New Sun, some of the other Sun novels, and Soldier of the Mist.

 

[VanWinkle]

I'm reading this too, though I didn't know it was YA when I borrowed it. It's got some interesting concepts though the references are as heavy-handed as, say, CW superhero shows (every street in this book is named after a comics artist/writer legend).

Yeah, I'm reading further, and I still like the book a lot, but the YA aspect really hits a little hard sometimes, and that's one problem I'm having with it. I don't mind YA books for the most part, and I read many of the non-zombie-werewolf-vampire ones, but sometimes they do make me cringe a little.

Still, good book, and I'm enjoying it quite a bit.

 

[Mackenzie 92]

I thought Name of the Wind was pretty good. It was my 2nd fantasy series ever after wading into the genre with Song of Ice and Fire and wanting more. Not sure if I'd like it as much now, but I think Rothfuss spins a good yarn and has good prose. He's also a cool dude and interacts with his fans a lot and helps promote indie authors, so he gets points for that in my book as well.

Wise Man's Fear was definitely a step down, but I thought it was still pretty enjoyable escapism fantasy. Not in the sense that I wanted to be Kvothe, but I was invested in the characters and the world and his journey and found it to be a nice escape from real life at the time.

I think the nitpicking and complaints about him being a "mary sue" are a little silly. I mean the book is about him being some legendary badass, so it's kinda the point. That's not to say it doesn't get a little annoying at times, and I definitely could have done without certain parts, but eh, it never really bothered me so much that it hampered my enjoyment of the book.

I'm pretty easily entertained though haha.


------------------------------------


Finished up 11/22/63 over the weekend. The ending was a little unexpected, but satisfying. At the end of the book, King says that his son Joe Hill helped him come up with the "better ending" so I'm a little curious about King's original conclusion.

All in all a great book and experience. Can't recommend it enough.

Currently listening to


Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick

And reading


The Candidate: A Novel by Paul Harris

 

[Cade]

Yeah, I'm reading further, and I still like the book a lot, but the YA aspect really hits a little hard sometimes, and that's one problem I'm having with it. I don't mind YA books for the most part, and I read many of the non-zombie-werewolf-vampire ones, but sometimes they do make me cringe a little.

Still, good book, and I'm enjoying it quite a bit.

I'm also not a fan of made-up curse words. If you're skewing young that's fine but they take me out of the world every time. Dunno. It's pretty good though, but i'm only ~15% done.

 

[disappeared]

A Tale of Two Cities. First time reading Dickens. Initially, I have to admit it was tough. The man sure loved his commas. But other than the 150+ year old language and prose styles, I'm enjoying it. Had to do a little research into the French Revolution to gain some insight surrounding the story's setting, but otherwise, yeah. So far so good.

 

[ShaneB]

At 40% of Empire Falls. I think I like it? It's not exactly grabbing me per se, but I have to find out how it all plays out, so I guess maybe I am hooked. I just don't think it's exactly what I'm in the mood for with my summer reading mood, and I've already got planned what I want to read next, so that doesn't help.

 

[nakedsushi]

Tomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit by Barry Estabrook

This was a great and depressing read. I'm definitely going to be aware of where and when I buy tomatoes now. It also explains why most tomatoes from the supermarket taste like nothing.

 

[Gaz_RB]

The Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell.

OMG I'm in love. The battle scenes are so well written and entertaining and the hero is such a fucking awesome rogue. I have burnt through the first 4 in like a month. Moving on to Sharpe's Prey right now. Never realized how much I loved this era.

 

[Deified Data]

So this book. I read Perdido Street Station and The Scar about a year ago, really enjoying both, but stalled on Iron Council. Giving it another go now but still having trouble getting into the book. I *want* to like it, I love the world, but it's not clicking, about ~20% in. For those of you that have finished it, what are your thoughts? Keep on truckin? (chuggin? =P)

Finish it. It sort of gives New Crobuzon a feeling of closure.

But yeah, it was rough for me too. Mieville really goes overboard with the politics on this one, to the point where world building (the series main strength IMO) takes a back seat. The book's really not about New Crobuzon so much as the railway commune.

 

[KingGondo]

He's magnificent. All the acting in I, Claudius is wonderful. It still ranks in my top five shows of all time. For all the people who want more GoT, this is what they should be reading and watching. Livia makes the inhabitants of King's Landing look like a bunch of amateurs.

Picked up a copy of I, Claudius for $1.50 or so at Half Price Books yesterday.

I've been immersed in the HBO series Rome recently, plus my wife and I are visiting Rome itself in September.

Looking forward to it.

 

[Mumei]

Do any of you ever look back at what you read, say, three to six months ago and have this complete blank on -any- character names? Once I look at a character list, then it suddenly clicks and I can remember the basic plot and character names and whatnot, but without that prompt it's just ???? for a lot of books - even books I really, really liked.

I've only read Book of the New Sun, some of the other Sun novels, and Soldier of the Mist.

Oh. Well, you should!

At 40% of Empire Falls. I think I like it? It's not exactly grabbing me per se, but I have to find out how it all plays out, so I guess maybe I am hooked. I just don't think it's exactly what I'm in the mood for with my summer reading mood, and I've already got planned what I want to read next, so that doesn't help.

This is how I felt reading it.