Didn't notice this before. Anyways it shouldn't be too much trouble. I haven't read too many books in my life and I'm doing fine. Plus, English isn't my first language so that was another hurdle. You'll find yourself reaching for a dictionary every now and then but that's no problem at all.
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What are you reading? (May 2015)
- Thread starter Maklershed
- Start date
Didn't notice this before. Anyways it shouldn't be too much trouble. I haven't read too many books in my life and I'm doing fine. Plus, English isn't my first language so that was another hurdle. You'll find yourself reaching for a dictionary every now and then but that's no problem at all.
I really don't like either, and my main problem with both are characters. I think the characters in both are very weak (only got about 100 pages into New Sun). For Malazan, I simply didnt care about the plot twists and world building when I viewed the characters not as real people, but as two-dimensional characters whose purpose were to react, not push the epic plot.
As for New Sun, well, I stopped reading it when it started getting weird as hell. I had no desire to figure out what was going on when I was not invested in the novel thanks to the weak characters.
So yea, if you are like me and need good characters to make the novel feel real and believable and suck you into it, I would pass up on both.
Christoff Yurievich
Member
I've been reading the superhero web serial Worm.
Really enjoying it, although I'm reading in chunks and then taking breaks with other stuff, because it gets to be a little much. Things go from bad to worse pretty frequently in this world. Just finished the Slaughterhouse Nine storyline, which gets pretty damn dark. You can tell the author used to write horror.
There's a lot to like about the story. All the characters, both villain and hero (and anti-hero or anti-villain) have their own goals, their own ideas, their own plans. The story moves forward in a way that feels organic and natural, with characters taking the actions that make sense to them and everything going from there.
I love the huge variety of superpowers. It's not just flying bricks and superspeed (though some of those characters are in there). Even just early on in the first storyline, you've got a guy who progressively transforms as he fights into an incredibly tough dragonlike creature, so you have to beat him quickly; a girl whose power is essentially Sherlock Holmes-level intuition; a girl who can turn nearby dogs into monstrous murderbeasts; a guy who generates clouds of darkness in an area around him. And everyone--well, the smart characters, at least--uses their powers in ways that are creative and clever. Even seemingly minor powers like the ability to trigger reflex movements in other people are used to great effect.
Oh, and our heroine's superpower? The ability to control insects, extending in a several block radius around her. So far, in response to the constantly escalating threats, she hasn't really gotten more powerful or gained any new abilities. She's just thought up more and more clever applications for her single power, enabling her to rise to the challenge. I love this kind of clever usage of a limited toolset. Enough so that I'm trying to do something similar in the story I'm working on now.
There are a few downsides to the story. One, it's really fucking long. Nearly two million words in total. Thus the occasional breaks for other stuff. Two (sort of a corollary to one), it's not tightly written. It was written as a serial, so the guy didn't exactly go back and do a lot of editing. Everything feels a bit overwritten and stretched out (the Slaughterhouse Nine storyline just kept going and going). Three, the guy didn't start out as a great writer. A lot of the early stuff isn't up to his later standard, and he makes some poor choices in both storytelling and prose early on, though nothing irrevocable. To me the story really hits its stride around Arc 8, Extermination, which is a sizable chunk of story to get through.
I should also mention that one thing I really appreciate is that the author makes use of "wham!" moments far more than cliffhangers. Meaning, he'll end a chapter with a new surprising bit of information that makes the reader excited (or scared) to find out what happens next, rather than a cheesy withholding of information. (One of my favorites: the moment when a character says "hey, no swearing!" and you are totally shocked.)
I haven't finished it yet--I'm somewhere around halfway through by arcs, not so far by wordcount. But from what I've seen so far, if the author follows through and lives up to what he's promised in these early chapters, it'll be worth the read.
Huh. That sounds prety interesting and as a bonus it isn't caught by work filters.
The 2nd book was a bit better.
Wish he would return to the Rev Space or do something like Pushing Ice.
Head of Vengarl
Banned
I'm about to start two things at once:
1. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
I wanted something on the shorter side after recently finishing the 47-hour whopper The Count of Monte Cristo, and I've heard good things about this book. I checked out the sample on audible and it really caught my attention; that narrator sounds great.
2. Dan Carlin's Hardcore History — Blueprint for Armageddon VI
Hardcore History is a podcast but at this point (as Dan himself says) these episodes are basically audiobooks. The final episode of this WW1 series has finally come out!
1. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
I wanted something on the shorter side after recently finishing the 47-hour whopper The Count of Monte Cristo, and I've heard good things about this book. I checked out the sample on audible and it really caught my attention; that narrator sounds great.
2. Dan Carlin's Hardcore History — Blueprint for Armageddon VI
Hardcore History is a podcast but at this point (as Dan himself says) these episodes are basically audiobooks. The final episode of this WW1 series has finally come out!
What I read of Blood Meridian made The Road look like a trip to Disneyland.
Well, now I know what I will be doing at work.
I had exactly the same reaction, except I didn't manage to finish the second book. It was better, but I could tell the series wasn't for me.
It was way too dry and most of the characters were kind of flat.
Burger
Member
-Mars (Red/Green/Blue) and I have an odd history. I read Red and most of Green when I was younger and since then I've tried to pick it up again twice, only to fail at finishing Red. I picked up Red again earlier this year and made it about 60% through only to put it aside. It's just too... realistic. It's like trying to read a history book. Interesting, but not that interesting.
-Hyperion is fantastic. Enjoyed The Terror more though.
-Culture is great, although I've tried to read The Algebraist twice and failed.
-Fire Upon The Deep is way better than Rainbows End. I even enjoyed his Realtime books more.
Yeah that pretty much sums up my fears. Passing.
Thanks for the recommendation! Read the first few chapters and went through the Wiki. The superpowers and arcs seem really enticing!
I always thought that in the time of self-publishing, this kind of web serial would be a cool idea. You could basically write a TV series with weekly episodes.
The author could write an Arc and bundle it up in an edited ebook with extra content. I'm sure you could make money from it.
Ugh. Piecake, stahp. The Book of the New Sun has great characters, and especially Severian. At its heart, The Book of the New Sun is a Bildungsroman, and Severian is very well-developed. Piecake has just gotten impatient in his old age and doesn't like fiction books that make him work.
I had to google that word, you know. Why you do this? You're only proving Piecake right
Ahahaha. I'm sorry, but it's the perfect word!
GasProblem
Member
I'm reading Bone Clocks before moving on to the Misborn books.
I'm a bit bored by Bone Clocks to be honest. I really liked the first Holly Sykes chapters, at the end the fantasy element kicked in and I wanted to read further. But the rest of the book has been kind of boring. Every character has the same type of witty humor. The fact that every page is filled with wittiness makes it a bit tiring to read sometimes. I also don't like the other leads. I'm around page 377 out of 600 and still don't give a shit about the Horologists and the Anchorites. I don't know, I'll keep reading, maybe I'll start liking it more.
Really excited to start the Mistborn books when I'm finished with Bone Clocks
I'm a bit bored by Bone Clocks to be honest. I really liked the first Holly Sykes chapters, at the end the fantasy element kicked in and I wanted to read further. But the rest of the book has been kind of boring. Every character has the same type of witty humor. The fact that every page is filled with wittiness makes it a bit tiring to read sometimes. I also don't like the other leads. I'm around page 377 out of 600 and still don't give a shit about the Horologists and the Anchorites. I don't know, I'll keep reading, maybe I'll start liking it more.
Really excited to start the Mistborn books when I'm finished with Bone Clocks
Lionheart1827
Member
I finished the entire John Corey series (starting with Plum Island and ending with The Panther). I really liked the books, though some of the humor was very "Dad humor," but I still enjoyed them.
I'm almost done with the first Odd Thomas book and its pretty good so far.
I'm almost done with the first Odd Thomas book and its pretty good so far.
Ugh. Piecake, stahp. The Book of the New Sun has great characters, and especially Severian. At its heart, The Book of the New Sun is a Bildungsroman, and Severian is very well-developed. Piecake has just gotten impatient in his old age and doesn't like fiction books that make him work.
That is true, but I did say that I only read the first 100 pages or so! The characters could have gotten more fleshed out later on, but I certainly didn't see it in the first 100 pages, and then that whole Arboretum thing happened...
Thought I'd take a break from The Name of the Wind and start this:
Wow! Thanks! It's been really great to see so much support from the GAF community. Hope you enjoy it.
Incandenza
Banned
Re: the Malazan discussion earlier, I'm about halfway through Book 6 right now, and Erikson definitely does get better at making you care about the characters, but there's no doubt that for every character you get attached to there will be 4 or 5 more that you know by name only. These books are world-driven and not character-driven because Erikson's themes and arguments throughout the series are about societies on a macro scale and not about individuals. He would much rather spend a few pages analyzing the culture a character lives in than analyzing the character themselves. That's probably why a lot of people find the series unrelatable. Personally I've grown to be okay with this, because these are the areas where Erikson's anthropological and archaeological background really shines through. He's a very intelligent dude with a lot of interesting stuff to say.
While it's tough going at times I'm enjoying the series more and more with each passing book. There's a lengthy chapter in Bonehunters that I just read through recently -- anyone who's read it will probably know which one -- that is just a stunning bit of epic fantasy action. I felt exhausted when it was over.
While it's tough going at times I'm enjoying the series more and more with each passing book. There's a lengthy chapter in Bonehunters that I just read through recently -- anyone who's read it will probably know which one -- that is just a stunning bit of epic fantasy action. I felt exhausted when it was over.
Forearm Star
Member
Book 3 a storm of swords.
So much is different from the TV show
So much is different from the TV show
TouchMyBox
Member
Who would've guessed that the great American novel would be so homoerotic?
You mean the book about the world's most phallic-looking creature with "Dick" in the title?
Dedication Through Light
Member
oh nice one of the books I recently read was recently the #1 in nanostructures, and in metallurgy. Definitely my #1 nonfiction book of 2015 (and 2015 isnt even over).
Rust the Longest War is a fascinating read. The writer presents an enthralling easy to read book on a topic that is typically approached as a nuisance in our daily lives. Many of the stories chosen in it start off in a compelling manner. By this he introduces the key players immediately, dives deep into their history, often sprinkled with witty humor that does make one chuckle, and wrap it up with some huge climax that ends up being resolved. The stories chosen have interesting setpieces that are familiar to most people, for example the Statue of Liberty and its rust situation, the history of Stainess Steel, the Trans Atlantic Pipeline, and shopping for Rust products at a local hardware store. Other less familiar topics include the governments role in rust as well as an avid photographer interested in it.
I was wholly absorbed into this nonfiction book for the past three days as it was just a really interesting topic to me. Often structural problems are only focused on massive disasters due to oversight issues in building design or natural disasters, but never before have I encountered someone approaching it from a materials/chemical engineering standpoint of a nuisance that can eventually lead to a major problem. As I was reading it, I began to wish that I could switch fields and become a Corrosion Engineer to pursue and assist in a future of preventative measures against rust. I was inspired by many of the people chosen in the book, for example the remarkable integrity manager of Aleyska and the pipeline issues as they combated and tried to stay onestep ahead of rust. I was additionally excited to hear about the vanguard of outreach and governmental oversight for Corossion, Dunmire, who with the Dunmire Process appears to be inspiring the governments military divisions to find ways to combat rust and even approach it in a new manner.
There are many great stories in this book that make it one to keep talking about for months. The Can School story was one of my favorite parts due to how it showed that even in the Rust field, that there can be some people who are mean spirited about the pursuit of knowledge. Im glad the writer was able to attend and get some key details on how rust is combated in the packaged goods area as well as providing great information on how cans handle sodas and food. Ill also never forget the many lines about the bright green/yellow battery acid during these soda moments.
There is really quite a bit to say about this book but definitely check it out. I can truly say that it will do well to provide new interesting knowledge about rust, structures, integrity of packaged goods, arts, and even mustaches.
This is one of the finest products from the countries investment in journalism and fellowships for it.
Rust the Longest War is a fascinating read. The writer presents an enthralling easy to read book on a topic that is typically approached as a nuisance in our daily lives. Many of the stories chosen in it start off in a compelling manner. By this he introduces the key players immediately, dives deep into their history, often sprinkled with witty humor that does make one chuckle, and wrap it up with some huge climax that ends up being resolved. The stories chosen have interesting setpieces that are familiar to most people, for example the Statue of Liberty and its rust situation, the history of Stainess Steel, the Trans Atlantic Pipeline, and shopping for Rust products at a local hardware store. Other less familiar topics include the governments role in rust as well as an avid photographer interested in it.
I was wholly absorbed into this nonfiction book for the past three days as it was just a really interesting topic to me. Often structural problems are only focused on massive disasters due to oversight issues in building design or natural disasters, but never before have I encountered someone approaching it from a materials/chemical engineering standpoint of a nuisance that can eventually lead to a major problem. As I was reading it, I began to wish that I could switch fields and become a Corrosion Engineer to pursue and assist in a future of preventative measures against rust. I was inspired by many of the people chosen in the book, for example the remarkable integrity manager of Aleyska and the pipeline issues as they combated and tried to stay onestep ahead of rust. I was additionally excited to hear about the vanguard of outreach and governmental oversight for Corossion, Dunmire, who with the Dunmire Process appears to be inspiring the governments military divisions to find ways to combat rust and even approach it in a new manner.
There are many great stories in this book that make it one to keep talking about for months. The Can School story was one of my favorite parts due to how it showed that even in the Rust field, that there can be some people who are mean spirited about the pursuit of knowledge. Im glad the writer was able to attend and get some key details on how rust is combated in the packaged goods area as well as providing great information on how cans handle sodas and food. Ill also never forget the many lines about the bright green/yellow battery acid during these soda moments.
There is really quite a bit to say about this book but definitely check it out. I can truly say that it will do well to provide new interesting knowledge about rust, structures, integrity of packaged goods, arts, and even mustaches.
This is one of the finest products from the countries investment in journalism and fellowships for it.
Christoff Yurievich
Member
Wow! Thanks! It's been really great to see so much support from the GAF community. Hope you enjoy it.
I was looking at your amazon page and noticed your tweet about the possible film/tv rights. Very cool.
I also bought the book while I was there. I had meant to do it awhile ago but needed to wait for a new card from my bank before I could.
Dedication Through Light
Member
Yeah is there a list of the episodes?
The Shadow
Member
Finished All-Star Superman. Debating on whether to continue my comic backlog, or pick a novel to read. I wish I could find something like Scott Pilgrim, but in novel form.
whatevermort
Member
Just started. Loved Robopocalypse and enjoying this so far.
Anyone know of some good hard scifi coming out soon?
t.
I accidentally read Half A King before I realised it was Young Adult
First, I just got sent Stephenson's SEVENEVES, which is what you will want to read for your SF fix.
Second: it's YA. So? It's still excellent.
Finished "Little Bee", good read. About to start reading Neuromancer.
Btw; are there any other novels like Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan?
I loved the seamless combination of crime noir and scifi. The later Kovacs novels are entertaining yet vastly different. Basically I'm looking for detective novels that take place in a plausible futuristic setting.
Btw; are there any other novels like Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan?
I loved the seamless combination of crime noir and scifi. The later Kovacs novels are entertaining yet vastly different. Basically I'm looking for detective novels that take place in a plausible futuristic setting.
Maklershed
Member
Finally having an iPhone is really eating into my reading. I have to get back to my kindle and focus and get back on track again.
The Fair Fight: A Novel by Anna Freeman
Finished it last week. Nice historical fiction about a woman boxer in late 18th century England and the lives of her patron & family/friends.
macfoshizzle
Member
Here you go..
http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/21677.Great_Sci_Fi_Detective_Stories
Gotta love goodreads.
I finished The Civil War as a Theological Crisis by Mark A. Noll, and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. I'm working on finishing my reread of Frank Herbert's Dune, which I stalled on at the end of Book I a few month or two ago.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was wonderful. It was almost too... uplifting for my current mood, but I loved the detail and the characters were memorable.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was wonderful. It was almost too... uplifting for my current mood, but I loved the detail and the characters were memorable.
I just finished Chasm City by Alastair Reynolds (after having read House of Suns and Revelation Space) and am moving onto Redemption Ark, which continues the story in Revelation Space. Good, dark, "gothic" sci-fi...right up my alley.
I also just started On Writing by Stephen King, and it's very entertaining so far. At its best, King's writing is absolutely delightful, so I look forward to learning more about his process.
I also just started On Writing by Stephen King, and it's very entertaining so far. At its best, King's writing is absolutely delightful, so I look forward to learning more about his process.
Recently I've become a huge fan of Inio Asano, his disaffected sort of storytelling really resonates with me. First one I read is Solanin, which is about an unemployed 23 year old girl who is struggling to come to terms with her place in the world while her boyfriend crashes at her apartment. It's an interesting meditation on young disaffection, and I get the same feel out of it as I did when I read something like Norwegian Wood by Murakami. Highly worth looking into, especially if you're in your 20's and feeling a little bit overwhelmed by the world.
Nijigahara Holograph is utterly fantastic (although I still like his other work Solanin better) and is worth looking into if you like a non-linear sort of horror story with plenty of symbolism. It's hard to really type out my thoughts on this because a lot is left to interpretation and you get more out each time you read it, but I highly recommend it.
The artwork is also fantastic (not my picture):
Also Mumei I took your recommendation and ordered the entire series of Urasawa's Pluto, should be arriving later this week!
O.DOGG
Member
You see this, Cyan? Side-eyeing you right now. Go buy The People in the Trees and A Little Life. And Six Memos for the Next Millennium, while you're at it.
And mdubs, nice to hear you enjoyed Solanin so much. I've owned it for months now but I haven't read it just yet. I have read Nijighara Holograph, which was .... interesting but I've only read it once so I feel like there's more there that I didn't get. And yes, it is gorgeous.
By the way, this is ordinarily the point in the conversation when Necrovex runs by to inform us that we desperately need to read Oyasumi Punpun, but if he's been reading A Little Life like he should, perhaps he won't see this through his tears.