What Are You Reading?

TwoShedsJackson

Just finishing up 'New Model Army' by Adam Roberts. Suffers from his usual problem, great plot ideas, starts really well, then goes off the rails in the last quarter.

This is prevalent in almost all his books, some more so than others, but I feel I have to read his stuff anyway because his initial ideas are so damn good

mcgovern

The Passage had a good beginning, a decent end, and a completely unnecessary and drawn out middle. Chapter after chapter devoted to character building, which didn't really work, and wasn't needed anyway.
Now reading A Storm of Swords part 2.

ixoy

Reading "The Quiet War" by Paul MacAuley. Decent so far but I haven't been dragged in yet by any of the characters.

Johnny Storm

ixoy wrote: »

Reading "The Quiet War" by Paul MacAuley. Decent so far but I haven't been dragged in yet by any of the characters.

I thought it was a bit long winded and repetitious but I liked it anyway. The sequel "gardens of the sun" is more of the same but better IMHO.
I have always enjoyed McAuley's writing. He seems to be able to write equally well in a wide variety of styles

ixoy

Johnny Storm wrote: »

I thought it was a bit long winded and repetitious but I liked it anyway. The sequel "gardens of the sun" is more of the same but better IMHO.
I have always enjoyed McAuley's writing. He seems to be able to write equally well in a wide variety of styles

A bit too much talk currently about soil and how complex it is. Having said that I'm generally enjoying it.
When you say he writes in a variety of styles, can I expect different tones to some of his other books? Most sci-fi authors have a fairly consistent writing style.

AnCapaillMor

Finally got past page 200 on the malazan books, i'm about 400 pages into the 2nd now. He really lands you in the deep end, no gradual introduction to the magic\gods\beliefs etc, once you get your head around it, its a pretty good series(so far).

Johnny Storm

ixoy wrote: »

When you say he writes in a variety of styles, can I expect different tones to some of his other books? Most sci-fi authors have a fairly consistent writing style.

Wellllllll .... as far as I can remember .... (and have resorted to an on-line bibliography)

400 billion stars (and its sequels) is serious hard sf (with a suicidally depressed heroine)
Red Dust (my favourite) is whacky cyberpunk
Pasquales Angels. Alternative history where Leonardo's inventions have been implemented and caused a technological revolution.
Fairyland -(my least favourite) really creepy **** about artificial lifeforms called "dolls", seems to verge on paedophilia
Cowboy Angels - Thriller style conspiracy theory with multiple alternative worlds.
Mind's Eye - Horror/X-files type stuff.
Quiet war/gardens of the sun. Serious SF again but with the oddly languid writing style.

Reading book two of the Malazan series and the first of Jim Butcher's Codex Alera series.

mcgovern

mcgovern wrote: »

The Passage had a good beginning, a decent end, and a completely unnecessary and drawn out middle. Chapter after chapter devoted to character building, which didn't really work, and wasn't needed anyway.
Now reading A Storm of Swords part 2.

Well now I know why people are always talking about the red wedding!

Rhalliord

Just finished WHeel of Time book ten, just about to start book eleven!! Am on the home straight now

OwaynOTT

Rhalliord wrote: »

Just finished WHeel of Time book ten, just about to start book eleven!! Am on the home straight now

Well you passed the litmus test that is Crossroads. Your lucky you weren't waiting for that to come out back in the day.

Macca3000

Finished The Blade Itself last week and really enjoyed it. Did take me a ee while to get into it though. Looking forward to book 2.

First though, The Last Watch. Enjoyed the original trilogy so hoping this is as good as well.

Zapp Brannigan

Took a break after House of Chains to read The Hunger Games. Finished the first book in 3 nights but didn't really feel any inclination to continue the series (weak ending in the first book) so I'm back on the Malazan series. Midnight Tides here we come!

Black Sheep

Finished John Dalmas' 'Soldiers'. Surprisingly enjoyable meld of 'golden age' SF style and military SF. The ending rushes somewhat, but some interesting ideas. Dalmas did appear to bolt on a couple of deus ex machina

(if that's the right phrase?) in order to tie things up neatly. A human fleet, appearing outmatched, for example, suddenly discovers a savant super-mutant in its midst which can effectively plan unbeatable space combat strategies

, for example.

Reading 'Patriots' by James Wesley Rawles. Originally a shareware novel that circulated in the survivalist community in the U.S it ended up achieving a fair measure of commercial success (at least on that side of the Atlantic). It's horrendously badly written, but equally quite an effective scare tale given the current climate. The situation Rawles sets-up to trigger the 'collapse' of U.S society is almost identical to the one we currently find ourselves in. His U.S, perilously close to default, loses the confidence of the market and after the U.S dollar stops being used as a reserve currency by some countries it triggers a run that sees huge U.S inflation and subsequent rioting and looting that results in a quick collapse of transport infrastructures, food distribution, power and whatnot. Cue Rawles' gun-toting survivalist band holed up in an Idaho farmhouse with a bunch of .45s and bibles.

It's turgid stuff but I've always found post-apocalyptica very compelling, no matter how badly written. And Rawles' plot is quite close to the bone given current events.

giftgrub

ALmost finished SM Stirling's Island in the Sea of Time.

Picked it up without knowing anything about it....really excellent stuff.

Can't wait to get my teeth into more of it.

Before that it was Robopocalypse by Daniel Wilson....good stuff as well, an interesting way of telling the story of a robot uprising.

Some of the writing was a little clunky though.

FewFew

I was reading Dance With Dragons... but then moved house and I can't find it! Too many boxes to search! Getting withdrawal symptoms :P

Hatgirl

Last week I read "Elantris" by Brandon Sanderson (the guy who's finishing off The Wheel of Time). It was OK, but a little... simple.
Yesterday I finished "Dracula", by Ireland's own Bram Stoker. It was so much fun! Two thumbs up.
And I've just started "Of Blood and Honey" by Stina Leicht. Set in Northern Ireland in the 70s and by an American author, but I have been reliably informed it doesn't descend into Oirish-ness. We'll see...

sentient_6

Finally finished Reaper's Gale. Very much a mixed bag of a book for me. First two thirds absolutely tedious & mostly pointless in my opinion(the awl, udinass story, & the shake), but it picked up big time in the end.

On to Toll the Hounds. Very tempted to take a break & start to read Prince of Nothing instead, but i fear i'll never get back, so ill soldier on.

meditraitor

sentient_6 wrote: »

Finally finished Reaper's Gale. Very much a mixed bag of a book for me. First two thirds absolutely tedious & mostly pointless in my opinion(the awl, udinass story, & the shake), but it picked up big time in the end.

On to Toll the Hounds. Very tempted to take a break & start to read Prince of Nothing instead, but i fear i'll never get back, so ill solider on.

Have to agree, reapers gale was the first and only time in the book of the fallen serious that I found hard going, TTH gets back on track.......

sentient_6

I've been reading & thinking alot the last hour about picking up Return of the Crimson Guard instead, plot wise it's supposed to be the right stage. Loads of people complaining about his writing style though.

Zapp Brannigan

sentient_6 wrote: »

I've been reading & thinking alot the last hour about picking up Return of the Crimson Guard instead, plot wise it's supposed to be the right stage. Loads of people complaining about his writing style though.

I don't think he's as good a writer as Erikson but something awesome does happen in RotCG that makes it worth reading.

BlaasForRafa

sentient_6 wrote: »

I've been reading & thinking alot the last hour about picking up Return of the Crimson Guard instead, plot wise it's supposed to be the right stage. Loads of people complaining about his writing style though.

I read Night of Knives a few years ago and enjoyed it quite a lot. Its definitely a different style from Erikson, not as epic by any means, but thats not a bad thing.

Bits_n_Bobs

Zoo City by Lauren Beukes - picked it up in the shop based purely on the fact that it had won the Arthur C Clarke award.

Interesting and fairly compelling read, somewhat let down by patchy dialogue - I kept wanting it to be a bit snappier. Nevertheless I definitely enjoyed it and have no problem in recommending it.

ixoy

Currently reading "A Shadow in Summer" by Daniel Abraham, the first book in his "Long Price" quartet. Quite enjoying it so far - interesting idea with magic here and the characters have promise.

BlaasForRafa

ixoy wrote: »

Currently reading "A Shadow in Summer" by Daniel Abraham, the first book in his "Long Price" quartet. Quite enjoying it so far - interesting idea with magic here and the characters have promise.

Ah the first hardcover of that series is in my "to be read" pile, it looks interesting alright.

Hatgirl

Bits_n_Bobs wrote: »

Zoo City by Lauren Beukes - picked it up in the shop based purely on the fact that it had won the Arthur C Clarke award.

Interesting and fairly compelling read, somewhat let down by patchy dialogue - I kept wanting it to be a bit snappier. Nevertheless I definitely enjoyed it and have no problem in recommending it.

Ooh, yes. Zoo City gets two big thumbs up from me.

mcgovern

Finished part 2 of A Storm of Swords which was brilliant as usual, and also read The Strain by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan. One of the better "modern vampire" novels but still missing something.
Just started The Player of Games by Banks.

OwaynOTT

ixoy wrote: »

Currently reading "A Shadow in Summer" by Daniel Abraham, the first book in his "Long Price" quartet. Quite enjoying it so far - interesting idea with magic here and the characters have promise.

Keep eying that series every time I walk into a book store that has it but for some reason I never pick it up. Might have something to do with his short story collection, Leviathan Wept, in which I put down by the third story.

Would love to know if its worth a read.

meditraitor

OwaynOTT wrote: »

Keep eying that series every time I walk into a book store that has it but for some reason I never pick it up. Might have something to do with his short story collection, Leviathan Wept, in which I put down by the third story.

Would love to know if its worth a read.

Not great imho,

AnCapaillMor

A memory of ice, book 3 of the malazan series, awesome awesome books.

Corsendonk

sentient_6 wrote: »

I've been reading & thinking alot the last hour about picking up Return of the Crimson Guard instead, plot wise it's supposed to be the right stage. Loads of people complaining about his writing style though.

I actually think his style is easier to follow than Erikson.

OwaynOTT

Has anyone else read 'Prince of Thorns' by Mark Lawrence? I'm about 100 pages in and its just not captivating me at all. I thinks its because of the the main character and only having his point of view.
Also the switching from present back to how her got there is a bit grating.
Anyone had views on it?

Getting 'Ghost Story' BY jim Butcher today so think ll just jump ship to that.

InReality

BlaasForRafa wrote: »

I was thinking of starting reading the Destroyermen series soon but after hearing about the monkey sex I might think again lol.

There really isn't any "monkey sex" !. I found the series pretty good so far , esp the first book.

Reading a few thrillers now , was going to start the game of thrones last book but me kindle broke.

ixoy

Reading "The Well of Ascension" by Brandon Sanderson, the second book in his Mistborn trilogy. His books are really easy to get into - no problem picking up where he left off. The pacing is still good as he jumped straight into the action.

BlaasForRafa

InReality wrote: »

There really isn't any "monkey sex" !. I found the series pretty good so far , esp the first book.

Reading a few thrillers now , was going to start the game of thrones last book but me kindle broke.

Just read the first book of the Lost Fleet series by Jack Campbell, very straightforward readable stuff, finished it in 3 days. I'm currently reading Retributions Falls: Tales of the Ketty Jay book 1 by Chris Wooding, its enjoyable stuff, kind of like Lies of Locke Lamora-ish in a sci-fi setting.

Gerry.H

Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy, a trilogy in five parts---for the third time.

mcgovern

Finished Player of Games which was very enjoyable, considering going back and re-reading Consider Phelbas as that was the first Banks novel I read and put me off him.
In the meantime, started The Blade Itself, seems to be taking a while to get going...

AnCapaillMor

ixoy wrote: »

Reading "The Well of Ascension" by Brandon Sanderson, the second book in his Mistborn trilogy. His books are really easy to get into - no problem picking up where he left off. The pacing is still good as he jumped straight into the action.

Good books, the one thing i like about him is there's rarely any dull moments, and the story\plot keeps twisting. He's a 4th mistborn coming out in november looking forward to it. Just checking him there on amazon, he has 3-4 books out coming out this year.

Gearheart

Just finished the second Commissar Cain Omnibus "Defender of the Imperium" and started on the Grey Knights omnibus.

groovie

I got The Gates Of Anubis by Tim Powers some time ago after it was recommended on here. Just getting through it now, it's superb.
Each chapter builds on the last, and it's one of those books that you want to start reading again once you are finished (I'm not finished yet, but I reckon that's how I'll feel).

AnCapaillMor

Book 4 now of the malazan, bloody hell that was a wind down and half on the end of a memory of ice. Got 3 and 4 on the kindle as 1 book, so i'd no idea when i was near the end of book 3 got to what i felt was near the end of the book. so i said i'd finish it before i went to sleep, bloody 2.30 by the time i got to sleep. Great book though.

meditraitor

AnCapaillMor wrote: »

Book 4 now of the malazan, bloody hell that was a wind down and half on the end of a memory of ice. Got 3 and 4 on the kindle as 1 book, so i'd no idea when i was near the end of book 3 got to what i felt was near the end of the book. so i said i'd finish it before i went to sleep, bloody 2.30 by the time i got to sleep. Great book though.

House of chains is my favorite of the whole series, its a follow on from book 2(deadhouse)..... amazing story.

Johnny Storm

groovie wrote: »

I got The Gates Of Anubis by Tim Powers some time ago after it was recommended on here. Just getting through it now, it's superb.
Each chapter builds on the last, and it's one of those books that you want to start reading again once you are finished (I'm not finished yet, but I reckon that's how I'll feel).

I also recommend The Drawing of the Dark and Dinner at DEviants Palace.,
FWIW If you have ever read VALIS by P K Dick, the character of his friend (the Catholic one) is based on PKD's reallife friendship with Tim Powers

astonaidan

Reading the latest Game Of Thrones, But really struggling to get into it, The other books flew through and really enjoyed, I just cant seem to get into it as Im just waiting for another of my favourite charaters to ve killed off again

mcgovern

mcgovern wrote: »

Finished Player of Games which was very enjoyable, considering going back and re-reading Consider Phelbas as that was the first Banks novel I read and put me off him.
In the meantime, started The Blade Itself, seems to be taking a while to get going...

Thought The Blade Itself was ok, nothing special really.
Started Peridio Street Station, by China Mieville, struggling to get into it so far.

Dades

Finally finished ADWD last night - great stuff as always.

Just started Ready Player One by Ernest Cline.

Geeky!

BlaasForRafa

Dades wrote: »

Finally finished ADWD last night - great stuff as always.

Just started Ready Player One by Ernest Cline.

Geeky!

That looks interesting actually, think I'll throw it on the wish list.

This is another one is a slightly similar vein that I'm considering Cory Doctorow

sentient_6

To say im contemplating throwing Return of the Crimson Gaurd into the fire after only a hundred pages would be an understatement. :mad:

Toll the Hounds is looking at me here & i dont think it will be sitting for long.

ixoy

Alongside a bigger book, I'm reading "Oceanic", a short story collection by Greg Egan. I've read three so far and they've varied in quality but "Crystal Nights" (about the birth of AI) is the best so far.

sentient_6 wrote: »

To say im contemplating throwing Return of the Crimson Gaurd into the fire after only a hundred pages would be an understatement. :mad:

Why the rage? I enjoyed it.

Zapp Brannigan

Stick with RoTCG, especially for the ending :eek: