What Are You Reading?

keane2097

nhur wrote: »

wow - just finished the second Hyperion book (?the fall of hyperion?) - blown away - the reason I didn't love the first book is that it was building up to the major event and never delivered... but the major event is the _entire_ second book. Absolutely loved it. They should have been one book - the split is artificial as the first one is not a stand-alone book.

So good. will read a bit more of Bad Science and then on to the 3rd Hyperion book!

TBF now that you mention it I remember being slightly aggravated at the end of the first book for the same reason but when you take the two of them together they're pretty great.

Dades

keane2097 wrote: »

TBF now that you mention it I remember being slightly aggravated at the end of the first book for the same reason but when you take the two of them together they're pretty great.

I loved the first one and have been meaning to get around to the second. It's jumped a few places on the list now!

nhur

Dades wrote: »

I loved the first one and have been meaning to get around to the second. It's jumped a few places on the list now!

go for it.. the second has everything that you expected from the first (but didn't get) and more. unputdownable

mickmac76

Read the magicians trilogy by Lev Grossman. Quite good without being great. Three books each around 400 pages so they are a quick read. The story concerns a teenager growing up in New York who is admitted to a college for magicians. It has been described as harry potter for adults which seems fairly accurate. The magic system is developed well and the story line is pretty good with a small set of characters. Overall I'd reccomend the series for anyone looking for a quick read.

Mick.

wyrn

mickmac76 wrote: »

Read the magicians trilogy by Lev Grossman. Quite good without being great. Three books each around 400 pages so they are a quick read. The story concerns a teenager growing up in New York who is admitted to a college for magicians. It has been described as harry potter for adults which seems fairly accurate. The magic system is developed well and the story line is pretty good with a small set of characters. Overall I'd reccomend the series for anyone looking for a quick read.

Mick.

I read the first book and bought the second, must give it a go. I actually got quite frustrated with the first book. I hated every single character, especially the main guy - he was a terrible terrible friend. The kind that Personal Issues would be telling you to drop. It always felt like it was building up to something but it just sort of fell away. I'm sure there is a big giant plot but the whole story just felt convoluted. I did hear (from here) that it does get better. Just psyching myself up for it.

keane2097

I'm a huge fan of the Corwin Cycle of the Amber books but never bothered to get the second five. Anyone (SHRAAAAAAAAAAAAAP) read them and recommend them or otherwise?

david75

Up all night to finish the inheritance trilogy. Like a massive punch to the jaw. Huge cinematic ending but all focused on a small few characters she's made you love. I hope she goes back to this world. So brilliantly constructed and written perfectly each character. Actually upset about how it winds up but let's not. If a writer can make you feel that about a character these days, then she's doing something great.

mickmac76

wyrn wrote: »

I read the first book and bought the second, must give it a go. I actually got quite frustrated with the first book. I hated every single character, especially the main guy - he was a terrible terrible friend. The kind that Personal Issues would be telling you to drop. It always felt like it was building up to something but it just sort of fell away. I'm sure there is a big giant plot but the whole story just felt convoluted. I did hear (from here) that it does get better. Just psyching myself up for it.

Agreed the main character was annoying in the first book but does improve. Also book two spends about half the time on a different character who is only really in the beginning and end of book one and her story line is developed which I taught was more interesting than the main character from book one.

Mick.

wyrn

Just finished Bloody Acquisitions, it's book 3 in the Fred, the Vampire Accountant series. It's one of those books I randomly picked up in a deal, I think Bookbub, and from there on I was hooked.

The main character, Fred as you may have guessed is a pretty straight laced accountant who gets turned into a vampire and his sire has fecked off. Becoming a vampire doesn't change Fred's personality at all and in fact is delighted that he can now do more accountancy work as he doesn't really have to sleep any more. Slowly but surely he gets pulled into the paranormal world, but Fred holds turn to himself. It's quite a fun and enjoyable read. I'd definitely recommend the series if you are looking for something light to read.

shrapnel222

keane2097 wrote: »

I'm a huge fan of the Corwin Cycle of the Amber books but never bothered to get the second five. Anyone (SHRAAAAAAAAAAAAAP) read them and recommend them or otherwise?

you know what? i read them so long ago, that when i think back to the series, all i really remember is the Corwyn cycle. Had a quick check there on wikipedia, and i've definitely read them, but doesn't look like they left that big an impression on me, unlike the first 5!

hopefully someone comes along with a clearer picture and opinion for ya!

nhur

david75 wrote: »

Up all night to finish the inheritance trilogy. Like a massive punch to the jaw. Huge cinematic ending but all focused on a small few characters she's made you love. I hope she goes back to this world. So brilliantly constructed and written perfectly each character. Actually upset about how it winds up but let's not. If a writer can make you feel that about a character these days, then she's doing something great.

Quite the endorsement - I've added them to my list, thanks!

Fian

nhur wrote: »

Quite the endorsement - I've added them to my list, thanks!

Me too - though I have a fairly long list to get through before I reach them.

I am continuing a second reading of tales of the malazan atm, re-read the first three, took a break with some other authors, back on house of chains now.

I am honestly amazed how much I missed on the first reading, maybe its because I had the whole series ahead of me and I rushed through them too quickly. Taking my time now and actually enjoying them more than i did first time round.

machalla

Fian wrote: »

Me too - though I have a fairly long list to get through before I reach them.

I am continuing a second reading of tales of the malazan atm, re-read the first three, took a break with some other authors, back on house of chains now.

I am honestly amazed how much I missed on the first reading, maybe its because I had the whole series ahead of me and I rushed through them too quickly. Taking my time now and actually enjoying them more than i did first time round.

The Malazan was a series I read the first book of and just went "No" after that to the rest of it. I remember it as overly epic in tone with unbelievable characters and motivations.

I'd be interested to hear more about what drew people into it but for me I was sick of it entirely by the end of the first book, just hoping for it to end.

On a complete aside has anyone read Crooked? I read it a while back and liked it as an interesting take on a historical character. I don't believe it was meant to reflect Nixon in reality but I enjoyed the character of Nixon as someone deserving sympathy despite his own actions causing most of his problems.

keane2097

machalla wrote: »

The Malazan was a series I read the first book of and just went "No" after that to the rest of it. I remember it as overly epic in tone with unbelievable characters and motivations.

I'd be interested to hear more about what drew people into it but for me I was sick of it entirely by the end of the first book, just hoping for it to end.

The Malazan books are pretty far down the list of fantasy series to level that particular accusation at

I thought the ten main books were the best fantasy I've read by a distance FWIW.

Haven't given any of the other books a go yet, but I think several people here are pretty happy with them.

Fian

machalla wrote: »

The Malazan was a series I read the first book of and just went "No" after that to the rest of it. I remember it as overly epic in tone with unbelievable characters and motivations.

I'd be interested to hear more about what drew people into it but for me I was sick of it entirely by the end of the first book, just hoping for it to end.

On a complete aside has anyone read Crooked? I read it a while back and liked it as an interesting take on a historical character. I don't believe it was meant to reflect Nixon in reality but I enjoyed the character of Nixon as someone deserving sympathy despite his own actions causing most of his problems.

I can agree with you that many of the characters (Not all!) are kind of overpowered. So powerful that it could tend to unbalance the story. but then they are contending with other extremely powerful characters so in the end they actually face real jeopardy. the characters are definitely well rounded and developed in terms of motivation and personality though. Then you have characters like the grunts/soldiers who are struggling to survive and caught in the machinations of far more powerful characters.

It is very complex, which is part of the attraction in the long run and probably part of what I didn't enjoy the first time round.

Gardens of the moon throws you in at the deep end though, and tbh if I had not heard/read high praise of the series and assurances that it was worth persevering with I would probably have dumped it pretty quick. Demands alot of effort and I would not have bothered investing in it if I had no reason to believe it would pay off. I did persevere though and am glad I did. Like i said reading it a second time, when I can better understand what is going on, is more enjoyable than the first time round.

I think I read a forward by Steven Erikson which seemed to suggest he is proud of not "hand-holding" his readers. TBH he shouldn't be and some proper explanation/foundation laying in the first book would make the series better imo. I don't have patience for the idea that this is a series for "hardcore" fans - that is a deficiency not an achievement. It could retain the complexity without requiring you to guess (or internet) wtf is going on, or worse give you information you need to understand what is going on in the first book midway through the third book. Having laid that criticism it is still a great series and there is a "payoff" / satisfaction to solving what is going on and subsequently having it confirmed.

It does keep you focussed as well - i can tend to skim read books a bit sometimes. For example I would often not bother reading the "quotes" at the opening of chapters etc. , with these book s you not only have to read them you have to really think hard about them and what they mean as you read. These are hints/clues to help you understand what is happening.

machalla

Its been several years since I read the first book but all I can recall of it was incredibly overpowered characters facing down even more incredibly overpowered characters with the shock surprise of even more incredibly overpowered characters popping up in a mish mash that really didn't interest me at all by the end. A bit like that last sentence.

It seemed the book equivalent of Dragon Ball Z.

Which isn't to say its awful just not for me. Although if you need 10 or more large books (by pagecount) to tell your story thats probably why its not for me. I never bothered with the Wheel of Time series either.

Its interesting to hear what people get from it though.

david75

nhur wrote: »

Quite the endorsement - I've added them to my list, thanks!

You'll be glad you read it. First one seems a chore but I wanna read it again now having read all three. She weaves a deep tapestry.

Love to know if you can figure out how my favourite character was

nhur

Malazan series is the best. The best! I can't wait to re-read - with all that I know now from the rest of the books. They are unlike any other. Undoubtedly the best and most enjoyable fantasy books I have read.

Part of the attraction is the way that the books and characters tie together in a very non-linear way. Part of the attraction is the sweeping epic nature of the stories through time and space, along the various levels of existence humans/quasi-immortals/demigods/gods etc. which all interact in a well-thought out, rich tapestry. Part of the attraction is the empathy that you feel for each of the many characters as you learn their history and see the part they play (if any) in the grand scheme of the Malazan tale.

As Fian said... the first one hits the ground running and expects you to catch up ... but so do the rest. In one of the forewords Erikson says that he reckons he'd be doing people a disservice if he now wrote a prologue to help set up the first book - as it stands, people read it and either love it or hate it early on and then they don't waste their time or money on books they don't want to read.

p.s. FTR I'm also a fan of Dragonball Z but I think that's because I watched it when I was younger. There's since been a version released with almost all the filler cut out... Dragonball (Z) Kai.

machalla

nhur wrote: »

Malazan series is the best. The best! I can't wait to re-read - with all that I know now from the rest of the books. They are unlike any other. Undoubtedly the best and most enjoyable fantasy books I have read.

Part of the attraction is the way that the books and characters tie together in a very non-linear way. Part of the attraction is the sweeping epic nature of the stories through time and space, along the various levels of existence humans/quasi-immortals/demigods/gods etc. which all interact in a well-thought out, rich tapestry. Part of the attraction is the empathy that you feel for each of the many characters as you learn their history and see the part they play (if any) in the grand scheme of the Malazan tale.

As Fian said... the first one hits the ground running and expects you to catch up ... but so do the rest. In one of the forewords Erikson says that he reckons he'd be doing people a disservice if he now wrote a prologue to help set up the first book - as it stands, people read it and either love it or hate it early on and then they don't waste their time or money on books they don't want to read.

p.s. FTR I'm also a fan of Dragonball Z but I think that's because I watched it when I was younger. There's since been a version released with almost all the filler cut out... Dragonball (Z) Kai.

Thanks Nhur and Fian. It interests me to understand why I dislike a book or series while others love it.

I'm not really wild about an author making a book or series deliberately difficult though that is their prerogative. The best authors in my view write in an engaging but concise way.

Having said that I did enjoy Iain Banks - Feersum Endjinn, where the author made much of the speech phonetic.

I would say that for me the best modern fantasy work I've read in a while is Richard K Morgans "A land fit for heroes" for how it takes apart a lot of typical epic fantasy approaches and makes them interesting again. Plus its homage to Moorcocks Elric series. It probably overstayed its welcome a bit by the third book.

But I am sick of trilogies and multi book series. I had enough of them when I was younger. The Belgariad, Feists Magician series and so on.

Anyway, I'm still working my way through the 100 thousand kingdoms and overall I'm enjoying it. Thanks for the suggestion to the original poster.

nhur

machalla wrote: »

I'm not really wild about an author making a book or series deliberately difficult though that is their prerogative. The best authors in my view write in an engaging but concise way.

I don't think that he was deliberately making it difficult ... it just happened that way... and now he's just saying that he's not going to change it.

Try the Sky Lords... (though it's a trilogy!)

Kal El

Fian wrote: »

I can agree with you that many of the characters (Not all!) are kind of overpowered. So powerful that it could tend to unbalance the story. but then they are contending with other extremely powerful characters so in the end they actually face real jeopardy. the characters are definitely well rounded and developed in terms of motivation and personality though. Then you have characters like the grunts/soldiers who are struggling to survive and caught in the machinations of far more powerful characters.

It is very complex, which is part of the attraction in the long run and probably part of what I didn't enjoy the first time round.

Gardens of the moon throws you in at the deep end though, and tbh if I had not heard/read high praise of the series and assurances that it was worth persevering with I would probably have dumped it pretty quick. Demands alot of effort and I would not have bothered investing in it if I had no reason to believe it would pay off. I did persevere though and am glad I did. Like i said reading it a second time, when I can better understand what is going on, is more enjoyable than the first time round.

I think I read a forward by Steven Erikson which seemed to suggest he is proud of not "hand-holding" his readers. TBH he shouldn't be and some proper explanation/foundation laying in the first book would make the series better imo. I don't have patience for the idea that this is a series for "hardcore" fans - that is a deficiency not an achievement. It could retain the complexity without requiring you to guess (or internet) wtf is going on, or worse give you information you need to understand what is going on in the first book midway through the third book. Having laid that criticism it is still a great series and there is a "payoff" / satisfaction to solving what is going on and subsequently having it confirmed.

It does keep you focussed as well - i can tend to skim read books a bit sometimes. For example I would often not bother reading the "quotes" at the opening of chapters etc. , with these book s you not only have to read them you have to really think hard about them and what they mean as you read. These are hints/clues to help you understand what is happening.

Id be in the same boat as the other poster. Tried the first book and just didnt enjoy it so left the series. Like you were saying I had read all the reviews but was just left disappointed

nhur

Kal El wrote: »

Id be in the same boat as the other poster. Tried the first book and just didnt enjoy it so left the series. Like you were saying I had read all the reviews but was just left disappointed

Erikson did you a favour so - by being clearly dislikeable from the start so you didn't waste time on the other books. It's all a matter of taste - there are loads of books that other ppl swear by that I can't get through even a few chapters. Different strokes and all that

Kal El

nhur wrote: »

Erikson did you a favour so - by being clearly dislikeable from the start so you didn't waste time on the other books. It's all a matter of taste - there are loads of books that other ppl swear by that I can't get through even a few chapters. Different strokes and all that

I get that totally. There is plenty I didnt get into. Although Eriksons series is a big one

keane2097

Started A Fire on the Deep (think that's what it's called - it's Vinge) a couple of days ago.

I didn't think much of it for maybe 50 pages but really enjoying it since. It has excellent reviews on goodreads so I'm expecting it to be good.

Nody

Finished first and second book of Space Carrier Avalon (Castle federation series); interesting series but not overly deep so far.

machalla

keane2097 wrote: »

Started A Fire on the Deep (think that's what it's called - it's Vinge) a couple of days ago.

I didn't think much of it for maybe 50 pages but really enjoying it since. It has excellent reviews on goodreads so I'm expecting it to be good.

Its years since I read it. One of the great books within SF.

There's three books in the series Zones of Thought

From that link

Some say "The first book can be read as a stand-alone. Book 3 is the continuation of book 1, and has less of the space opera element. Book 2 can be skipped from the story, or can be read as it's own book. In the timeline it is a prequel but it is loosely related to book 1."

Fian

keane2097 wrote: »

Started A Fire on the Deep (think that's what it's called - it's Vinge) a couple of days ago.

I didn't think much of it for maybe 50 pages but really enjoying it since. It has excellent reviews on goodreads so I'm expecting it to be good.

I really liked this book, and the first sequel. Really interesting concepts.

machalla

Across Realtime is worth a read as well, from the same author.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/167844.Across_Realtime

I didn't finish Rainbows End at the time, his most recent Hugo winner. Its quite a prescient view of where we are going from a technological perspective in the near future. Some of its already coming to pass (auto driving cars, VR technology, etc).

Trojan

machalla wrote: »

Its years since I read it. One of the great books within SF.

There's three books in the series Zones of Thought

Oh, didn't know there was a 3rd one. Must give that a go. I loved the first one, thought the second was decent enough.

smacl

david75 wrote: »

The first one is all set up and can meander a bit. Could be a bit tighter. But as I said, the payoff at the end and th switch of perspective in the second is brilliant. Hope you enjoy it.

Finished the first one last night and just started the second. Thoroughly enjoyable, thanks again.