What Are You Reading?

Paddy Samurai

shrapnel222 wrote: »

that's just mean!

pretty sure almost everyone in this thread has read it and is still waiting for the 3rd instalment 10 years on.

thanks for reminding us! :pac::(

Just like Game of Thrones you will probably see the Film series before you read the final book.

lordgoat

Paddy Samurai wrote: »

Just like Game of Thrones you will probably see the Film series before you read the final book.

Fully ok with this as like GRRM I have no confidence in his ability to write a good ending to it.

Thargor

I wonder what the story is with Doors of Stone or whatever the final Name of the Wind will be called though? Surely he must have had an idea for an ending when he started and he hadnt written himself into a corner like GRRM. If he genuinely is writers-blocked theres about 50 good theories a week over on the Reddit for him to look through...

lordgoat

Thargor wrote: »

I wonder what the story is with Doors of Stone or whatever the final Name of the Wind will be called though? Surely he must have had an idea for an ending when he started and he hadnt written himself into a corner like GRRM. If he genuinely is writers-blocked theres about 50 good theories a week over on the Reddit for him to look through...

I think it's to do with time lines. Been ages since I read book 2 but I think he has made it difficult to reconcile the plot line. I should point out I love the these books. Great story.

Trojan

Thargor wrote: »

I wonder what the story is with Doors of Stone or whatever the final Name of the Wind will be called though? Surely he must have had an idea for an ending when he started and he hadnt written himself into a corner like GRRM. If he genuinely is writers-blocked theres about 50 good theories a week over on the Reddit for him to look through...

I expect a fanfiction author to publish a full and complete book 3 before Rothfuss ever will.

Trojan

Just finished "Dangerous To Know: The Chronicles of Breed: Book One".

I read this by accident as I mistook the author, K.T. Davies, as Miles Cameron, because they both have a book called "The Red Knight". This got suggested to me as "by the author of...", and given the 99 pence price I went for it.

Breed is a murderous, likeable son of a bitch. Certainly an interesting character. This reminded me a bit of the grittiness of Joe Abercrombie, and I see that some of the Amazon reviews are calling it grimdark - that's on point.

I was fine with the first book at the entry level pricepoint, but 50-50 on getting into books 2 & 3 at a fiver each. I recommend you check out some of those reviews before getting into it. I'll call this one a 3/5.

pixelburp

Started Senlin Ascends the other day: it has some really rich, enjoyable prose that evokes a great sense of place. Great writing that puts all the sights and sounds of the Tower in your minds eye. That protagonist though, ooof. Senlin himself is a bit of an insufferable gít & and almost tragically inept - it's a long book so a bit concerned about following his dithering through the Tower itself

coffee_cake

pixelburp wrote: »

Started Senlin Ascends the other day: it has some really rich, enjoyable prose that evokes a great sense of place. Great writing that puts all the sights and sounds of the Tower in your minds eye. That protagonist though, ooof. Senlin himself is a bit of an insufferable g& and almost tragically inept - it's a long book so a bit concerned about following his dithering through the Tower itself

It actually gets better

shrapnel222

Paddy Samurai wrote: »

Just like Game of Thrones you will probably see the Film series before you read the final book.

speaking of TV series, anyone given The passage a go? it seems to be getting mixed reviews, and i have to say the books kind of grew on me, so there is definitely potential there for a pretty cool show if done well.

Jayd0g

pixelburp wrote: »

Started Senlin Ascends the other day: it has some really rich, enjoyable prose that evokes a great sense of place. Great writing that puts all the sights and sounds of the Tower in your minds eye. That protagonist though, ooof. Senlin himself is a bit of an insufferable gít & and almost tragically inept - it's a long book so a bit concerned about following his dithering through the Tower itself

I've added this to the reading list on basis of a recommendation in this thread, will be keen to know how you get on as it progresses, for a second opinion ....

pixelburp

bluewolf wrote: »

It actually gets better

It, as in the book, or the character? Cos like I said, the actual writing so far is really rich and evocative. Just the titular Senlin is a bit of a knob.

lordgoat

shrapnel222 wrote: »

speaking of TV series, anyone given The passage a go? it seems to be getting mixed reviews, and i have to say the books kind of grew on me, so there is definitely potential there for a pretty cool show if done well.

This is watched in the house. I do not enjoy it. The characters are idiots and do things that make zero sense all the time. I can normally give this kind of stuff a pass as let's face it we watch these shows for entertainment, but this was so so bad. 2/10 for me.

Smegging hell

Dogs of War by Adrian Tchaikovsky, the first book of his I've read. Really enjoyed it, short strong read. Looking forward to reading Children of Time by the same author which I've heard good things about

coffee_cake

tiamat's wrath ahhhh

Thargor

7 books in the Wheel of Time done and dusted, Im going to read it straight through I think, sometimes it annoys me but overall I love it, the repetition of certain things is way over the top especially concerning the 3 main female characters, not just the braid-tugging, its the blushing, adjusting skirts, sighing etc, it veers into parody territory sometimes how often that stuff is copied and pasted into every paragraph. Im tearing through them though, it is a really good tale. For something that was written so long ago its not cliched or predictable at all, feels a lot fresher than a lot of the trash being released nowadays, theres a lot of surprises and decent plotlines.

mcgovern

It's been awhile since I updated here, since then I finished The Soldier by Neal Asher. This looks like being the start of another strong series by Asher.
A Darkness Forged in Fire by Chris Evans, it's fairly generic Fantasy which isn't to say it was bad, it's just not anything special.
I finished listening to Redemption's Blade by Adrian Tchaikovsky, normally I love all his work but this was his weakest yet I think. The concept was interesting, it's set after the great battle between good and evil is over and people try to come to terms with their role in it, but the story was fairly predictable.
Then Revenant Gun by Yoon Ha Lee, the third and final book in his Machineries of Empire series. Like the others before it, it was super confusing at times but once you start to get your head around everything it's very good and satisfying conclusion.
Then read Orconomics by Zachary J Pike. This is kind of a satire of the genre, heroes must level up in the heroes guild by killing monsters etc, and all blends in ecomomics. I really enjoyed this one and the sequel is definitely high up my To Be Read list.
I'm now listening to Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson, I read the first two rather than Audible and I think I prefer that. It suffers from the usual issues with Sanderson where not much happens for most of the book, but hoping the eventual payoff will be worth it.
And finally I've started reading Permafrost by Alastair Reynolds, it's only a novella but seems good so far.

Dades

mcgovern wrote: »

And finally I've started reading Permafrost by Alastair Reynolds, it's only a novella but seems good so far.

I started that last night!

RMDrive

Thargor wrote: »

7 books in the Wheel of Time done and dusted, Im going to read it straight through I think, sometimes it annoys me but overall I love it, the repetition of certain things is way over the top especially concerning the 3 main female characters, not just the braid-tugging, its the blushing, adjusting skirts, sighing etc, it veers into parody territory sometimes how often that stuff is copied and pasted into every paragraph. Im tearing through them though, it is a really good tale. For something that was written so long ago its not cliched or predictable at all, feels a lot fresher than a lot of the trash being released nowadays, theres a lot of surprises and decent plotlines.

*mumbles* it wasn't that long ago .... feeling old

pixelburp

Finished Empire Games by Charles Stross, and felt a little cheated; a book whose structure came across almost entirely like preamble and table setting, the big teased character meet happening in the last couple of pages as a by-the-by.

I get that these days a lot of novels are sold to publishers as multi book deals, but this was the most nakedly open about this method. I could almost feel Stross' attention drifting to book 2 halfway through this first book, content to kick the narrative can down the road instead of giving the reader something to latch onto in the here and now.

Manach

Doing a nostalgia re-read of some books. Finished "The Mote in God's eye", an old-school First Contact novel and now starting off a re-read of the Harry Dresden series in the vain hope that by the time I'm finished the author will have a released a new book.

Thargor

Manach wrote: »

Doing a nostalgia re-read of some books. Finished "The Mote in God's eye", an old-school First Contact novel and now starting off a re-read of the Harry Dresden series in the vain hope that by the time I'm finished the author will have a released a new book.

Mote in Gods Eye really stayed with me, I can remember it perfectly 20 years after reading it, great sci-fi

Fian

I'm doing something similar, reading the "daughter of empire" series, which i read previously about 25 years ago. I remember it being good, but it has really stood the test of time and since i read it so long ago I don't really remember most of the intrigue/machinations. Really enjoying it and encouraging my daughter to read it too.

Fian

Thargor wrote: »

Mote in Gods Eye really stayed with me, I can remember it perfectly 20 years after reading it, great sci-fi

That and "a fire upon the deep/a deepness in the sky" are perhaps my favorite sci-fi.

Igotadose

Fian wrote: »

I'm doing something similar, reading the "daughter of empire" series, which i read previously about 25 years ago. I remember it being good, but it has really stood the test of time and since i read it so long ago I don't really remember most of the intrigue/machinations. Really enjoying it and encouraging my daughter to read it too.

IMNSHO, good writing holds up over the years. As a curmudgeon soon to enjoy his 60th birthday, I grumble that most of the modern SF and fantasy writers are mediocre. No different than Niven was writing about Moties. There were plenty of bad writers then, too, but Niven holds up.

One good writer I enjoyed back in the day was Stephen Donaldson and his chronicles of Thomas Covenant. Though, a lot like Frank Herbert, he kind of dragged it out too far and the more recent sequels I just couldn't get through. The first 6 books though, were great. Beyond great storytelling and "the gift of names," good writing is just that. Good. Mark Twain and Hemingway are great reads, too.

Glebee

The Long Walk - Richard Bachman (Stephen King)
Im amazed I had not heard of this King book until recently. Would make a good movie im sure...

Dades

Glebee wrote: »

The Long Walk - Richard Bachman (Stephen King)
Im amazed I had not heard of this King book until recently. Would make a good movie im sure...

I still think of this book every time I buy a pair of shoes. :pac:
Shoe choice is crucial!

Thargor

Fian wrote: »

That and "a fire upon the deep/a deepness in the sky" are perhaps my favorite sci-fi.

Yeah they're very similar, to the point where I cant remember which are the moties and which are the errr.... gerbil colony things from Deepness sometimes. Maybe what makes them so good is that they're proper alien species with alien biology instead of just brow ridges like Star Trek, or maybe it was just cute seeing little gerbil creatures using tools and weapons

Theres a third book after Deepness/Fire btw:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Children_of_the_Sky

Still haven't read it yet.

Thargor

Glebee wrote: »

The Long Walk - Richard Bachman (Stephen King)
Im amazed I had not heard of this King book until recently. Would make a good movie im sure...

I think about it all the time aswell even though its probably 20 years since I read it, on long hikes I always wonder how long I could go before I got shot, Ive said it before but Kings stories stick in your head like nothing else.

ixoy

57% into Tad William's "The Dirty Streets of Heaven", the first book in his Bobby Dollar series about an angel who gets caught up in some very large events during his standard day job of guiding souls for judgement. It's been sitting on my "to read" list for ages (bought it in a deal years ago) and I fancied some urban fantasy. It's grand so far - nothing special but pretty easy to read through. Not sure I'll rush for the sequel yet but there's time for it to grab my attention - certainly it hasn't unlike his "Memory, Sorrow and Thorn" and "Otherland" series.

Before that I read "Kellanved's Reach (Path to Ascendancy, #3)" by Ian C. Esslemont, the next (last?) in his prequel series. Very enjoyable - sure it's a huge amount of fan service as you see the early careers of major Malazan characters but Esslemont is great at portraying Kellanved and Dancer - they're a lot of fun. Nice nods elsewhere too. This series is Esslemont at his strongest.

As a side book I read Patrick Rothuss's "The Slow Regard of Silent Things" and found it a lot of self indulgent crap. Ugh, best avoided.
Little bit disappointed in Adrian Tchaikovsky's "Ironclads" which I also read. It's nowhere as strong as his novella "Dogs of War" or "The Expert System's Brother". It's good to see him branching into different themes but it didn't really work for me.

Fian

Glebee wrote: »

The Long Walk - Richard Bachman (Stephen King)
Im amazed I had not heard of this King book until recently. Would make a good movie im sure...

I finished daughter of empire yesterday and when i saw this post i remembered i had this on my kindle waiting to be read. 68% in already, it is an easy read and not very long. Thanks for the recommendation.

I thin there is actually a movie in the works. Though so much of the book is inner monologues/thoughts, after all there is nothing much happening but kids plodding along a road as long as they can, that i am not too sure how well it would translate to a film tbh. They walk until they can't anymore and then they get shot.

Then again that is how my wife describes the lord of the rings movies, just endlessly walking along.