Thanks a lot for the recommendations guys!
I'll get them on my iPad
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What are you reading? (September 2014)
- Thread starter Maklershed
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Thanks a lot for the recommendations guys!
I'll get them on my iPad
This is what's been putting me off reading this book. I really don't like that kind of thing, and I wouldn't bother reading it, but I really want to read Shriek: An Afterword, and I'm wondering if it would, I don't know, reduce it somehow, if I didn't read City of Saints and Madmen first.
All finished and what a ride. I didn't expect to love these books so much.
I expected more typical fantasy and I got very little of that until the ending of the third book, which I swear was written in the 70s (in a good way) and sent forward in time. Other than a few types of "magic" that come into play every chapter or so, plus a dragon and some mindless not-undead people, it's very low fantasy. Think GRRM.
The characters are all unique and feel real, with the exception of the main villain, who is a stereotype of the evil aristocrat, ambitious-no-matter-what. But even he has a few quirks, a bit of character history, to set him apart. His fate was not what I expected, but felt fair.
Every person is treated fairly, even when they're not. How do I mean? They are written as human beings - every one has faults, quirks, moments they regret, the hero himself, Fitz, most of all. While he occasionally feels a bit Mary Suish at first, with how easily he becomes this beloved but still outcast character who is able to fix any situation and stumble into the solutions to all problems, as he grows up and becomes a teenager you see where his lucky breaks end and the hero, the human, has to come out. He whines, he overlooks things that hurt people he loves though we're screaming at the page to look, look, look. But he acts his age and pays for it. He ends fairly.
I loved the books, mostly because of the emotional ride we went through with Fitz, the Fool, Molly, Burrich, Verity, Bettricken, Starling, etc. I ended up dreaming about these people, unable to sleep until I finished the last pages.
Great books.
I love Robin Hobb. If you're going to carry on reading her books, you should read the Liveship books next, and then the Tawny Man books. I say this because people seem to leave out the Liveship books for some reason and go straight to Tawny Man, but you miss so much...
Not to say some of the criticism levelled at her books isn't perfectly valid. I don't trust her as much as I used to, and I've certainly read lots of criticism about how convincing Fitz is, but I guess it's about what you want out of a story.
(I read the first Soldier Son book and didn't bother with the rest, they're pretty rubbish in comparison.)
BrokenFiction
Member
I enjoyed the hell out of her first two Fitz books, but the third one really fell off the cliff for me. Yet, I'm still going to read more, because I like the characters and the world in general.
The first time I read Assassin's Quest I was really disappointed, it felt like it didn't fit with the first two books at all. But I re-read the trilogy and the second time I loved it. The same with Fool's Fate, I felt let down at first, then I re-read the series and it worked much better for me. I don't know if it was because I'd lowered my expectations, or if I was misreading it the first time (and it's hardly a recommendation, I know!) But imo Golden Fool is up there with A Storm of Swords, so yeah. I love Robin Hobb.
I don't have that much of an issue with the framing sequence, given that this was originally a collection of short stories. That said, if you want to start with Shriek, that's what I actually did. It doesn't require knowledge from CoSaM.
Finch, on the other hand, would be difficult to understand without reading Shriek.
bennywhatever
Member
A lot of people here recommending Snow Crash - what do you like about it?
I see the audiobook is narrated by Jonathan Davis, who is my favorite narrator (Star Wars novels ftw).
I see the audiobook is narrated by Jonathan Davis, who is my favorite narrator (Star Wars novels ftw).
Audible question! I've finished up with Red Country, making me caught up on Abercrombie's works. I'm digging the dark fantasy vibe though, what should I conitnue with?
Book of the Fallen are really dense, I'd probably be able to better track it with actual reading.
Already have Lightbringer and Way of Shadows books by Brent Weeks.
I have Prince of Thorns, but haven't really dug into it yet.
And I'm caught up on Peter V. Brett's work.
Anyone got some good suggestions for more dark fantasy?
Book of the Fallen are really dense, I'd probably be able to better track it with actual reading.
Already have Lightbringer and Way of Shadows books by Brent Weeks.
I have Prince of Thorns, but haven't really dug into it yet.
And I'm caught up on Peter V. Brett's work.
Anyone got some good suggestions for more dark fantasy?
K.J. Parker's The Etched City or C.S. Friedman's Black Sun Rising.
That's good to know, thanks
I'll probably go straight to Shriek then.I'd not heard of this one so I looked it up. Do you mean K. J. Bishop?
Tanooki_Suit_Up
Neo Member
"Reading" three things at once generally:
The eBook on my phone is Hyperion, by Dan Simmons. Still very early in this one.
The audiobook is the first Wheel of Time book, The Eye of the World, by Robert Jordan. I was very bored at first, and then things picked up very quickly. Going to be devoting much more time to this one.
And the last print book I just finished was Touchstone, by Melanie Rawn. I found this last one very frustrating, because it felt like the stakes were very low throughout the book, and I kept waiting for a big finish that never came. Only in the last five pages did it start to become clear that it was only the first in a series, and was essentially Rawn's long, drawn out introduction to characters she would more fully utilize in the next book. After such a long hiatus from her, it was very frustrating to have such an unsatisfying reading experience.
The eBook on my phone is Hyperion, by Dan Simmons. Still very early in this one.
The audiobook is the first Wheel of Time book, The Eye of the World, by Robert Jordan. I was very bored at first, and then things picked up very quickly. Going to be devoting much more time to this one.
And the last print book I just finished was Touchstone, by Melanie Rawn. I found this last one very frustrating, because it felt like the stakes were very low throughout the book, and I kept waiting for a big finish that never came. Only in the last five pages did it start to become clear that it was only the first in a series, and was essentially Rawn's long, drawn out introduction to characters she would more fully utilize in the next book. After such a long hiatus from her, it was very frustrating to have such an unsatisfying reading experience.
The Etched City sounds interesting, but no Audible audiobook for it. Black Sun Rising sounds promising, but a a few of the reviews mention that it is tedious. I assume you've read it, what's your views on it?
RubxQub
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Just started reading this:
...loved the Mistborn series, just got an iPhone 6+ which actually enables a good reading experience on the go, so decided to pick up the next series by Mr. Sanderson.
So far so good!
...loved the Mistborn series, just got an iPhone 6+ which actually enables a good reading experience on the go, so decided to pick up the next series by Mr. Sanderson.
So far so good!
Whoops. Yeah, I meant Bishop. Mixed up my KJs!
Yeah, I've read it. I consider it a pretty foundational science fantasy trilogy that features a fascinating world (alien planet that actively acts against the human colonists that are stranded there after leaving Earth for the stars), iconic characters, a great magic system, and one of the genre's best antiheroes.
I started this, but had to stop less than a quarter through. It just tries way too hard.
I like the premise and I love the idea of the main character Miriam, but I can't stand the execution. She feels less like a young vagrant woman and more like an immature 30s male or a 13 year old boy who just learned the words fuck, dick, and shit. Her rants could not be less natural. One of her earliest lines of dialogue is I love to talk, but after hearing a little about Wendig's vulgar blog I think she meant Chuck Wendig loves to write me in his voice.
The prose and scenes try way too hard to be gritty. There aren't yellow streetlights in Blackbirds. They're all piss-yellow. A guy doesn't just suddenly keel over and die. A cockroach immediately crawls into his nose.
Meh.
Anyone read these books? Do the second and third books get better?
In the meantime I started the Southern Reach trilogy, finishing the first quick. I like it a lot.
bengraven
Member
Interesting -so it helps cover that 15 year gap between the trilogies? Are there any returning characters? I guess I could see Chade at least show up.
charlemagne
Member
I've read the first two, and it's pretty much more of the same. So if you're not liking the first much I wouldn't keep reading.
Christoff Yurievich
Member
Reading some horror pulp with The Complete John Thunstone by Manly Wade Wellman. So far it's really good!
Manly Wade Wellman. *looks at wikipedia* Ah, I see.
I have a credit at Audible and I'm looking at maybe Blood Meridian but the reviews for both editions say it's not very good, mostly because of the content not translating off the page very well. Anyone have an experience with it?
Mackenzie 92
Member
New Peter Hamilton coming in a couple weeks.
The Abyss Beyond Dreams: A Novel of the Commonwealth by Peter F. Hamilton
Might give it a go. Looks more contained than most of his other stuff at only 640 pages.
The Abyss Beyond Dreams: A Novel of the Commonwealth by Peter F. Hamilton
Might give it a go. Looks more contained than most of his other stuff at only 640 pages.
I wouldn't really say it covers the gap, as the six duchies are hardly mentioned. But a character from the Farseer trilogy plays a role, and as this person is important in the Tawny Man trilogy, I think Liveship is necessary to really understand their character and motivations. I don't think I would have understood the priorities given to some things if I hadn't read Liveship.
Maybe I'm overstating it a bit, I just like to read things in order if I can.
Haven't started it yet but I'm glad I finally own this:
Not my picture and I didn't get the hardcover, but when I saw this at my local bookstore and saw the price I couldn't resist this 900 page beast. I've been wanting to get into Lovecraft for a good long while.
I have this same phonebook worth of Lovecraft, and let me tell you: you're about to enhance the shit out of your vocabulary. I really, truly love his work, and I'm sure you'll enjoy them too. Good buy.
I just finished the 4th book in Daniel Abraham's Dagger and the Coin series. It was disappointing and poorly edited. There's a portion a few chapters apart where a character's inner monologue is duplicated nearly word for word. It's like he wrote the chunk out and had it sitting separate, then accidently plugged it into two spots of the narrative.
Sounds promising. I'll give it a shot. Thanks!
Finished:
Whipping Girl is amazing and everyone should read it. Everyone. Yes, you!
Currently Reading:
Dickinson is on hold at the library! Now I just have to pick it up. <3
And read it after I finish Transparent Things, by Vladimir Nabokov, and Acceptance, by Jeff VanderMeer.
Whipping Girl is amazing and everyone should read it. Everyone. Yes, you!
Not you, besada. The Story of the Stone first!
Currently Reading:
Dickinson is on hold at the library! Now I just have to pick it up. <3
And read it after I finish Transparent Things, by Vladimir Nabokov, and Acceptance, by Jeff VanderMeer.
I don't see Wolf in White Van on that list, Mumei.
Speaking of which, to anyone looking for a great, if dark, read -- pick up Wolf in White Van by John Darnielle. Darnielle is the lead singer of The Mountain Goats, and known for the quality of his lyrics. His prose is also remarkably good.
The story is about a young man whose face was destroyed in a childhood trauma, and about how difficult life became when he became a walking horror show. It's also chock full of the things that filled my childhood, from Conan riffs to play by mail games.
It's been nominated for the National Book Award, and it's a genuinely gripping and fascinating read.
Go get it!
Speaking of which, to anyone looking for a great, if dark, read -- pick up Wolf in White Van by John Darnielle. Darnielle is the lead singer of The Mountain Goats, and known for the quality of his lyrics. His prose is also remarkably good.
The story is about a young man whose face was destroyed in a childhood trauma, and about how difficult life became when he became a walking horror show. It's also chock full of the things that filled my childhood, from Conan riffs to play by mail games.
It's been nominated for the National Book Award, and it's a genuinely gripping and fascinating read.
Go get it!
Read Arthur C. Clarke's first published scifi novel, The Sands of Mars. Well, re-read it really, Finnish translation i had on my shelf, been some time since i last read it.
Definitely not one of Clarke's best works, i find pretty much all of his full novels i've read better. The main characters are... boring, the more interesting characters are side characters, and the plot... well the main plot, main "thing", kind of just appears near the end and suddenly concludes too. But then the book is written before scifi started to become more literary genre, many older scifi books often have a piece of technology and story built around it, usually with thin characters and little attention paid to writing. Perhaps this affects the book?
It is short though, if anyone needs a short scifi book.
Naturally very outdated (published in '51), Mars (and Moon) but it doesn't actually matter much since the book is kind of "soft scifi", in a sense that it doesn't concentrate on technology much, many other Clarke's works seem to put technology to more important role, not saying it isn't important here but less than in his other works.
I should probably re-read some other works by Clarke, though somewhat unfortunately i remember them rather well even though i haven't thought about them in years, i read more than once when i was younger, and they have made a big impression on me. Earthlight is probably my favorite.
Definitely not one of Clarke's best works, i find pretty much all of his full novels i've read better. The main characters are... boring, the more interesting characters are side characters, and the plot... well the main plot, main "thing", kind of just appears near the end and suddenly concludes too. But then the book is written before scifi started to become more literary genre, many older scifi books often have a piece of technology and story built around it, usually with thin characters and little attention paid to writing. Perhaps this affects the book?
It is short though, if anyone needs a short scifi book.
Naturally very outdated (published in '51), Mars (and Moon) but it doesn't actually matter much since the book is kind of "soft scifi", in a sense that it doesn't concentrate on technology much, many other Clarke's works seem to put technology to more important role, not saying it isn't important here but less than in his other works.
I should probably re-read some other works by Clarke, though somewhat unfortunately i remember them rather well even though i haven't thought about them in years, i read more than once when i was younger, and they have made a big impression on me. Earthlight is probably my favorite.
Maklershed
Member
Finished Perfidia. Good work as always from Mr. Ellroy. Now on to Gone Girl.
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
SniperHunter
Banned
Almost done with, "The Strain." First fictional book I have read since the Mass Effect novels, I thought it sucked. Has anyone read the full trilogy? Does it get better? Hype for the show deflated after reading it :/
Also reading a bunch of brain books by Daniel Amen - some great info, but a lot of marketing for his clinics. Anyone got any recommendations for books on the human brain? I just love reading them
Also reading a bunch of brain books by Daniel Amen - some great info, but a lot of marketing for his clinics. Anyone got any recommendations for books on the human brain? I just love reading them
TimeEffect
Member
Hey guys...
So, I know very little about the middle east history and I'm interested in learning more... any recommendations? I just really enjoy books like A Thousand Splendid Suns, Persepolis, and movies like A Separation and Argo... I don't mind reading non fiction or fiction, but I just want a better understanding of how religion, war, everyday life, and politics intertwine.
Similarly, the same goes for India.
So, I know very little about the middle east history and I'm interested in learning more... any recommendations? I just really enjoy books like A Thousand Splendid Suns, Persepolis, and movies like A Separation and Argo... I don't mind reading non fiction or fiction, but I just want a better understanding of how religion, war, everyday life, and politics intertwine.
Similarly, the same goes for India.
I was reading "Cats Cradle" in public today and people kept asking me about it.
"well its satire"
"so its funny?"
"well kinda funny, I cant find books to be funny usually"
"so its not funny?"
I read it front to back today. Can't decide which I like more, Cats Cradle, or, Sirens of Titan.
"well its satire"
"so its funny?"
"well kinda funny, I cant find books to be funny usually"
"so its not funny?"
I read it front to back today. Can't decide which I like more, Cats Cradle, or, Sirens of Titan.
Just started reading this:
...loved the Mistborn series, just got an iPhone 6+ which actually enables a good reading experience on the go, so decided to pick up the next series by Mr. Sanderson.
So far so good!
I'm liking it, too, except I'm not sure I like how all the fauna in this universe seem to be variations of crabs or lobsters. I guess there's skyeels and horses, too, but....ehh. Maybe I'm expecting too much world-building/ecological explanation from a free e-book.
Herpes Reasons
Banned
What are some good books in the vein of The Stand, The Road, One Second After? I'm going to eventually read Canticle For Leibowitz. Basically your post apocalyptic dystopian non fiction. I've checked out the Good Reads list but would like to get GAF's recommendations as well.
Easystride
Member
If you can get past the weird narrative of The Dog Stars by Peter Heller, it is a good read.
About halfway through this. Gibson's writing style took me a little bit to get used to. It's quite good so far.
I started this one this week. It's long, but it's reading pretty fast so far. I can't wait to see what twists and turns Stephenson has ready for me.
I'm audiobooking this one. At first I thought this wasn't nearly as good as The Shadow of the Wind, the first book of the series (though this one is actually a prequel), but the characters, emotions conveyed, and of course the enormously appealing setting of a gothic Barcelona make it a great read (or listen). It hits a lot of different beats than the first book did too, which speaks to Zafon's skill as a writer.
The series does explain this. At least, some hints have been given. And it isn't quite the same everywhere, only mostly.
(Sanderson has noted elsewhere the world's gravity is some 60% of Earth's if i recall correctly. I think he noted he was inspired by coral reefs and some other things.)
EDIT some level of general Cosmere knowledge (Sanderson's greater fantasy universe, includes The Stormlight Archive, Mistborn, Elantris and Warbreaker, and others) explains some things too. Horses are not native to the world (not a spoiler, and also pretty irrelevant piece of information).
Also read this recently (first book only.) I enjoyed it on a very superficial level. It was fun, action packed, and I thought it was a great take on vampire mythology, but the characters were incredibly one dimensional.
IMO, the show is actually way better than the book, mostly because the characters are much more fleshed out. It's still cheesy, but in a way that appeals to me a lot more.
Mackenzie 92
Member
Reading Swan Song by Robert McCammon now and it's in the same vein as The Stand, very good too.
Yeah, for anyone who's a fan of The Stand, Swan Song is almost a must read. I personally prefer The Stand, but Swan Song is definitely in the same league and has a very different (darker) take on the same basic concept.
Finished Bujold's The Hallowed Hunt. Gonna move on to her sci-fi stuff soon.
Currently reading:
Currently reading:
Colleen Coover's art is too damn cute.
I'd recommend Palestine by Joe Sacco. It's a journalist's account of his stay in the Gaza Strip and West Bank during the '90s. In comic form.
Honestly, I think that's the best tale in the whole book.
Infernostew
Member
Just finished this:
Gonna start this soon:
Gonna start this soon:
Maklershed
Member
On the hard copy side I'm starting up State of Fear again. I started it a year or more ago but only got 38 pages in and stopped to read something else and then forgot about it. Time to clear it from my backlog.
State of Fear by Michael Crichton
State of Fear by Michael Crichton
j0hnny_385
Member
Having recently finished the whole 4 books, all I can say is...you're in for a treat. One of my favorite series ever. Simply amazing. Enjoy!
I just started it last night, so I'm not very far into it yet. I'm just at The Priest's Tale.
My favourites were that, the Scholar's Tale, and the Consul's Tale.
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