What Are You Reading?

keane2097

I don't think fantasy authors get worse with time but fantasy readers seem to be willing to forgive an enormous amount of terrible writing, poor characterisation etc if a book has some cool idea or other in it. I suspect this willingness to forgive wears off over time.

Thargor

keane2097 wrote: »

I don't think fantasy authors get worse with time but fantasy readers seem to be willing to forgive an enormous amount of terrible writing, poor characterisation etc if a book has some cool idea or other in it. I suspect this willingness to forgive wears off over time.

Thats what I think whenever I read Brandon Sanderson stuff and see everyone on here and Goodreads praising him.

BlaasForRafa

I think one of the problems that fantasy writers have to hit deadlines (GRRM being the exception to this rule obviously) where they have to get a book out every year to 18 months by hook or by crook and this means they have to go with whatever they've got and they don't have time to work on ideas sufficiently.

The same thing happens in music thus the term "the difficult second album".

keane2097

BlaasForRafa wrote: »

I think one of the problems that fantasy writers have to hit deadlines (GRRM being the exception to this rule obviously) where they have to get a book out every year to 18 months by hook or by crook and this means they have to go with whatever they've got and they don't have time to work on ideas sufficiently.

The same thing happens in music thus the term "the difficult second album".

I'm pretty sure it's that most of them are just bad at writing. That's a large part of the reason why they all need ten books to write a story arc in the first place.

matrim

matrim wrote: »

Picked up The Skull Throne from Peter V Brett. The first in the series was a great book but the others have been going downhill so I don't have high expectations for this one, but am going to give him one more chance.

Finally got to read this. Better than the last book but still to much time spent on secondary storylines and not enough on the main one.

ixoy

41% into "Caliban's War" the second book in the Expanse Series by combo-author James S.A. Corey. It's pretty much sci-fi pulp but it moves along at a good pace and it's easy to see why SyFy are adapting it.

Thargor

The fifth Expanse book "Nemesis Games" will be released in about a month:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22886612-nemesis-games

Raging_Ninja

Thargor wrote: »

The fifth Expanse book "Nemesis Games" will be released in about a month:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22886612-nemesis-games

Let's see what 2-dimensional bad guys they wheel out for this one.

ixoy

Raging_Ninja wrote: »

Let's see what 2-dimensional bad guys they wheel out for this one.

Having just finished "Caliban's War", I'm puzzled as to the success of the series. I've found both books to be clichéd with lots of cheesy dialogue and a fairly risible "vomit zombie". There's much better out there, such as Neal Asher's work.

In fact I'm surprised the writing is as weak as it is - my suspicion is that it's Ty Franck's writing that I'm not enjoying. It was evident because, just as I finished this, I read a short story by Abraham and found it much stronger as I also did with his Dagger and Coin series and the excellent Long Price Quartet.

I'll watch the TV series, as I think it might do well here, but unless there's a massive jump in all areas - plot, writing, characters - I doubt I'd bother with more books in the series.

OwaynOTT

Just finished words of Radiance and I enjoyed it quite a bit. It's definitely for those you like the Wheel of Time books, so not for everyone!
Sanderson annoys me at times though. The use of the word awesome, just doesn't sit right in a fantasy setting for example.
The constant attempts at humour is very irritable too. It's like watching reading an Avgeners movie, except this time all the quips fall flat.

Started Emperor's Blade by Brian Staveley. It's been quite hyped and well received, so I thought I'd see it a whirl.

Dan_Solo

I've just got to the alien world bit of Asimov's The Gods Themselves. Finding it hard to picture them myself from the description provided, sort of ethereal jellyfish or something. I'm also left thinking that they are still fairly anthropomorphic (in mindset). I remember Wittgenstein's line "If a lion could speak, we could not understand him." but that wouldn't make for much of a novel!

Paddy Samurai

Flying through this since the weekend ,a real page turner IMO and about 50% read.
Highly entertaining off the wall "Mad stuff" that should'nt work or make sense ,but does.:D

Thargor

Im reading the Powdermage trilogy, its.. alright, I think if I read it a few years ago I would have loved it but I think I need a holiday from fantasy now, its just all blurring into the same mush in my head. Think Ill take a break after Powdermage and wait for Patrick Rothfuss or GRRMs next books, until then Ill read more mainstream stuff that you see in "100 books to read before you die" type lists.

daUbiq

Hi All, I'm currently reading Dreamsnake by Vonda D. McEntire, it's very unusual but well written. Recently read the accidental time machine by Joe Haldemann and Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie. Accidental time machine is a typical Haldemann book, lots of action with a fast moving plot.. still not sure what to make if Ancillary Justice, but will definitely read the sequel...

daUbiq

Dan_Solo wrote: »

I've just got to the alien world bit of Asimov's The Gods Themselves. Finding it hard to picture them myself from the description provided, sort of ethereal jellyfish or something. I'm also left thinking that they are still fairly anthropomorphic (in mindset). I remember Wittgenstein's line "If a lion could speak, we could not understand him." but that wouldn't make for much of a novel!

That sounds about right.. I imagined them as gaseous beings!

keane2097

Dan_Solo wrote: »

I've just got to the alien world bit of Asimov's The Gods Themselves. Finding it hard to picture them myself from the description provided, sort of ethereal jellyfish or something. I'm also left thinking that they are still fairly anthropomorphic (in mindset). I remember Wittgenstein's line "If a lion could speak, we could not understand him." but that wouldn't make for much of a novel!

Is it any good?

Ditto Ancillary Justice for those who have read it...

Dades

ixoy wrote: »

Having just finished "Caliban's War", I'm puzzled as to the success of the series. I've found both books to be clichéd with lots of cheesy dialogue and a fairly risible "vomit zombie". There's much better out there, such as Neal Asher's work.

I've tried twice to read the third book and failed for the reasons you mention. The character of Holden just annoys me now he's so inconsistent.

TwoShedsJackson

keane2097 wrote: »

Is it any good?

Ditto Ancillary Justice for those who have read it...

Ancillary Justice is definitely worth a read, it's not your typical scifi tale I found, it's an odd but interesting tale, not the easiest read, needs a bit of concentration. That reminds me I must get Ancillary Sword (the sequel).

Dades

daUbiq wrote: »

Recently read the accidental time machine by Joe Haldemann and Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie. Accidental time machine is a typical Haldemann book, lots of action with a fast moving plot..

Thought this sounded good so I went to check it out on Amazon... then realised I've read it already. Quite good, now that I recall it. I like Haldeman's stuff for the most part.

daUbiq

Dades wrote: »

Thought this sounded good so I went to check it out on Amazon... then realised I've read it already. Quite good, now that I recall it. I like Haldeman's stuff for the most part.

Camouflage is pretty good too.

Dan_Solo

daUbiq wrote: »

That sounds about right.. I imagined them as gaseous beings!

One of the aliens does

"melt" into a rock, so you might be right there. I know the universe is a big place full of weird and wonderful things but Asimov better have a damn good explanation for that at some stage!

shazzerman

Returned to a couple of old favourites this week: Ringworld (Niven) and Footfall (Niven and Pournelle). The former is a classic, and the latter has great fun with an alien invasion theme (it's like Independence Day crossed with Operation Dumbo Drop).

daUbiq

shazzerman wrote: »

Returned to a couple of old favourites this week: Ringworld (Niven) and Footfall (Niven and Pournelle). The former is a classic, and the latter has great fun with an alien invasion theme (it's like Independence Day crossed with Operation Dumbo Drop).

Footfall sounds like fun! I shall check it out.

Dan_Solo

shazzerman wrote: »

Returned to a couple of old favourites this week: Ringworld (Niven) and Footfall (Niven and Pournelle). The former is a classic, and the latter has great fun with an alien invasion theme (it's like Independence Day crossed with Operation Dumbo Drop).

I'm not going to claim I'm that well read myself, but I wonder from this thread how many people have dipped into the SF+F classics? Most of the discussion is about fairly recent stuff. I like to alternate between new and old. Maybe everybody's read the classics already so only the new comes up here.

OwaynOTT

Dan_Solo wrote: »

I'm not going to claim I'm that well read myself, but I wonder from this thread how many people have dipped into the SF+F classics? Most of the discussion is about fairly recent stuff. I like to alternate between new and old. Maybe everybody's read the classics already so only the new comes up here.

I dip into the classics every now and then, when I see one cheap somewhere.

Picked up Ringworld recently in Charlie Byrne's in Galway and got Neuromancer for a pound on kindle.
Enjoyed both of them quite a bit.
I find the masterworks collection to provide some excellent reads - incredible shrinking man, I am Legend, replay, The Chronicles of Amber, The First Book of Lankhmar, Elric, The Anubis Gates, forever war, martian time slip, man in the high castle, Flowers for Algernon,

Sleepy

Picked up Sarah Lotz's The Three as an airport read and tearing through it atm. It's written in a similar style to World War Z and would remind me of a (not nearly as good) Douglas Coupland. It's OK but I can't see myself reading much more from her.

Thargor

Sleepy wrote: »

Picked up Sarah Lotz's The Three as an airport read and tearing through it atm. It's written in a similar style to World War Z and would remind me of a (not nearly as good) Douglas Coupland. It's OK but I can't see myself reading much more from her.

Looks like just what I'm looking for, any idea how long the series is or expected publication dates?

Sleepy

The second book is out but apparently it's more a "set in the same world" than a direct sequel... Not sure I can be bothered reading it unless this one ends very well. There are some nice ideas, the format is great but the writing itself is rather cliché laiden and with only about 50 pages to go, I can't see how she plans to finish the book with any level of explanation...

I'll update when I'm finished it but as it stands, I couldn't say I hate it but I wouldn't be recommending it either.

keane2097

Chronicles of Amber is brilliant. If you can find the original audiobook with Zelazny himself reading it I heartily recommend you do so. His reading of it makes Corwin the coolest character in any book I've ever read. Tried the Audible version and couldn't hack the difference that reading made to the character.

As an aside, the World War Z audiobook is amazing with the likes of John Turturro, Alan Alda, Mark Hamill etc doing parts of it. Superb.

Raging_Ninja

Am about half way through Footfall by Pournelle and Niven. It's fairly decent so far.