What Are You Reading?

Dan_Solo

keane2097 wrote: »

Also, finally got around to finishing the second Black Company book Shadows Linger by Glenn Cook. It's pretty damn superb.

I've been eyeing up these books, and I was wondering if they're a bit like Joe Abercrombie? I could certainly do with some more of that!

ixoy

keane2097 wrote: »

Also, finally got around to finishing the second Black Company book Shadows Linger by Glenn Cook. It's pretty damn superb.

I began this but put it down after a bit and haven't gone back. I've never really been able to get into the Black Company books despite being a big fan of the likes of Erikson and Abercrombie.

keane2097

Dan_Solo wrote: »

I've been eyeing up these books, and I was wondering if they're a bit like Joe Abercrombie? I could certainly do with some more of that!

I've not read any Joe Abercrombie I don't think. He's very like Erikson but not as tough going.

growler

ixoy wrote: »

I began this but put it down after a bit and haven't gone back. I've never really been able to get into the Black Company books despite being a big fan of the likes of Erikson and Abercrombie.

same here, about 100 pages in to Black Company and I feel like it should have been 7 Erikson books already, it just flies along, almost too fast to keep up with, which is so radically different to most books in this genre that my brain is rejecting in. Its almost like reading a book through twitter or something.

giftgrub

keane2097 wrote: »

Finished The Player of Games by Iain Banks, thought it was good, borderline very good. Looking forward to reading more Culture stuff having only read Consider Phlebas up to now.
.

I'd recommend Use of Weapons, best Culture novel in my opinion.

Ronanc1

Currently reading Richard k Morgans Altered carbon and enjoying it immensely! Certainly look forward more

ixoy

growler wrote: »

same here, about 100 pages in to Black Company and I feel like it should have been 7 Erikson books already, it just flies along, almost too fast to keep up with, which is so radically different to most books in this genre that my brain is rejecting in. Its almost like reading a book through twitter or something.

Actually, you've summed it up well there. In the first book I felt that events - battles or a confrontational scene - seemed to be skimmed over really quickly before racing on to the next one. I didn't get time to feel depth in it before we moved on, almost a series of set piece that were being summarised.

Playboy

I have started the Black company series and am a couple of hundred pages into it so far. It hasn't hooked me yet and I feel there hasn't been enough context given to any of the places, events or peoples. I feel like I have been dropped into the middle of something and no one has bothered explaining what the hell is going on! Will stick with it but if it hasnt improved by the end of the first book then I wont be reading the rest of it. Hope it improves as it seems to be really highly rated by some.

Valaquenta

Was a toss up between the Black Company and NK Jemison's Inheritance Trilogy. Went with the latter. Anyone familiar. Not far into it but not mad about the writing style thus far. We'll see how it goes....

jcrowbar

A little over halfway though Nod by Adrian Barnes.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17348100-nod

It's on the short list for the Arthur C. Clarke award this year and I can see why. It's well worth a look.

http://www.clarkeaward.com/2013-clarke-award/2013-shortlist/

Dan_Solo

Playboy wrote: »

I have started the Black company series and am a couple of hundred pages into it so far. It hasn't hooked me yet and I feel there hasn't been enough context given to any of the places, events or peoples. I feel like I have been dropped into the middle of something and no one has bothered explaining what the hell is going on! Will stick with it but if it hasnt improved by the end of the first book then I wont be reading the rest of it. Hope it improves as it seems to be really highly rated by some.

Synchronise watches.... now.
I just started book one myself, and I'm getting exactly this. TBH it reads like a Dungeons and Dragons game transcript . All the characters are doing this that and the other already but I've still pretty much no image in my head what any of them look like. Abercrombie it ain't.

Daroxtar

After ploughing through the first 6 books of Wheel of Time , taking a break from them for a few weeks (Until book 7 comes back into the library anyway). So I started on Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman's Good Omens today.
What a great change. Love it already

fenris

I am reading "14" by Peter Clines at the moment, nicely enjoyable lightweight read so far, I am definitely feeling the Malazan urge again, as the latest season of GoT hasn't triggered a desire for a full reread yet, but I know it will as soon as I get stuck into Gardens of the Moon again!

bonkey

Coming to the end of reading the Foreworld stuff…have read the Mongoliad, and am about to finish the last of he (currently published) "side quests"

Not sure what's next.

ixoy

Reading "Tigana" by Guy Gavriel Kay, my first exposure to his work. At 26% in I'm very much enjoying it, reminding me most of Daniel Abraham's Long Price quartet series in tone: interesting characters, twisting plots, low-key magic, etc. Certainly an encouraging sign to read more of his works.

Raif Severance

ixoy wrote: »

Reading "Tigana" by Guy Gavriel Kay, my first exposure to his work. At 26% in I'm very much enjoying it, reminding me most of Daniel Abraham's Long Price quartet series in tone: interesting characters, twisting plots, low-key magic, etc. Certainly an encouraging sign to read more of his works.

Excellent Choice! One of the Best Fantasy Books for me.

I also suggest reading his A Song for Arbonne and The Lions of Al-Rassan.

Dan_Solo

ixoy wrote: »

Reading "Tigana" by Guy Gavriel Kay, my first exposure to his work. At 26% in I'm very much enjoying it, reminding me most of Daniel Abraham's Long Price quartet series in tone: interesting characters, twisting plots, low-key magic, etc. Certainly an encouraging sign to read more of his works.

That is a great book, one of the best I've read in the last few years. Much better than the Fionavar Tapestry trilogy, which was an bit overblown on the "emotional" side and I don't think the earth/Fionavar transition was particularly credible. Mild spoiler, nothing specific...

I didn't find the magic particularly low-key myself, just that there weren't many wizards about. Some of the ones that are in it are immensely powerful, as important in their own right as entire nations.

growler

Finally found the required 45 minutes to read and finish the Black Company (don't think I'll be coming back for more of it either) and starting in to Ian Esselmont's Blood and Bone, what a pleasant change :-)

mcgovern

Finished Feersum Endjinn, didn't find it near as good as some of his culture novels, but it wasn't bad. About 15% in to Last Argument of Kings, pretty good so far.

Dan_Solo

growler wrote: »

Finally found the required 45 minutes to read and finish the Black Company (don't think I'll be coming back for more of it either) and starting in to Ian Esselmont's Blood and Bone, what a pleasant change :-)

Same here. I'm a good bit into the first book and I always finish them no matter how bad. I can't believe he got another 9 books off the back of this mess...

old hippy

Game of Thrones. Meant to be quite good, apparently

bradyle

I just finished The first Malazan book and am wondering where to go next.

Options:

• Finish WoT series (Finished up to book 10)
• Read more Discworld (Witches Abroad is next)
• Start the Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
• Start Micheal J Sullivan's first series Theft of Swords
• Continue Malazan (dont have any more at the moment though)

Any thoughts or advice?

Valaquenta

bradyle wrote: »

I just finished The first Malazan book and am wondering where to go next.

Options:

• Finish WoT series (Finished up to book 10)
• Read more Discworld (Witches Abroad is next)
• Start the Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
• Start Micheal J Sullivan's first series Theft of Swords
• Continue Malazan (dont have any more at the moment though)

Any thoughts or advice?

Did book 1 of Malazan not inspire you to continue? It didn't for me anyhow. If you're that far into WoT I'd prob try and see that out

Arawn

I quite liked the theft of swords

OwaynOTT

Lies of Locke lamora, do it!

keane2097

bradyle wrote: »

I just finished The first Malazan book and am wondering where to go next.

Options:

• Finish WoT series (Finished up to book 10)
• Read more Discworld (Witches Abroad is next)
• Start the Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
• Start Micheal J Sullivan's first series Theft of Swords
• Continue Malazan (dont have any more at the moment though)

Any thoughts or advice?

Carry on with Erikson IMO. On book 6 now and it's the best yet, which is saying a lot.

bradyle

Valaquenta wrote: »

If you're that far into WoT I'd prob try and see that out

Arawn wrote: »

I quite liked the theft of swords

OwaynOTT wrote: »

Lies of Locke lamora, do it!

keane2097 wrote: »

Carry on with Erikson IMO. On book 6 now and it's the best yet, which is saying a lot.

Any one wanna go for Discworld just to complete the series :P

Thanks though!

@keane2097 is it true that the 2nd book has none of the same characters as the first?

keane2097

bradyle wrote: »

Any one wanna go for Discworld just to complete the series :P

Thanks though!

@keane2097 is it true that the 2nd book has none of the same characters as the first?

Not a spoiler beyond page one of Book 2 but just in case,

Kalam, Fiddler, Crokus and Apsalar

are in it. Think that's all, but there are a few people you'll have heard about before as well.

You will be routinely pissed off at the start of books as you go along the series that he's switched to a different branch of the story when all you want is to carry on with the crowd you spent the last book, but it will fade quickly.

Book 2 has some characters that will make you fistpump massively.

bradyle

keane2097 wrote: »

Not a spoiler beyond page one of Book 2 but just in case,

Kalam, Fiddler, Crokus and Apsalar

are in it. Think that's all, but there are a few people you'll have heard about before as well.

You will be routinely pissed off at the start of books as you go along the series that he's switched to a different branch of the story when all you want is to carry on with the crowd you spent the last book, but it will fade quickly.

Book 2 has some characters that will make you fistpump massively.

And Malazan is back in contention...they're the ones I am most curious about

I dont have the book yet though so might launch into WoT till I can get them

PADRAGON

bradyle wrote: »

And Malazan is back in contention...they're the ones I am most curious about

I dont have the book yet though so might launch into WoT till I can get them

I would go with Malazan
Its like a rollercoaster that keeps jumping tracks
But he always makes the corners

AnCapaillMor

PADRAGON wrote: »

I would go with Malazan
Its like a rollercoaster that keeps jumping tracks
But he always makes the corners

Jumping tracks onto rollercoaster on a different side of the word. Fantastic books once you get into them.

giftgrub

Just finished Peter F Hamilton's Great North Road.

Took me ages to read...not a reflection on the book at all, just didnt have the time over the last month or two. I cant even go to the jacks anymore without one of my kids coming in to say hello....

Starting Neil Asher's Gridlinked today

ixoy

Reading a book called "Particle Horizon" by Selso Xisto, which I got for the high price of €0.00 a few months back. It's actually quite good and pretty impressive for a first-time author. The tale of religious fanatics rejecting the technocrats isn't entirely new but it's done well and there's a decent dash of hard sci-fi in there too.

donegal_man

Just finished the first of the Hawk And Fisher Series by Simon R Green. Weird stuff, a mixture of fantasy and police procedural featuring a husband and wife team of captains in the Haven city guard. I got the first three as a Christmas present and they've been lying around ever since. I'll probably read the other two at some stage but doubt if I'll look for any more of them.
About to start the e-book version of Roman Games by Bruce McBain. Pliny the Younger finds himself investigating the murder of an imperial informer during the reign of Domitian.

Johnny Storm

Redshirts by John Scalzi - meh.....

Sideshow Mark

Finished The Martian, very likeable and undemanding stuff. Wouldn't have found it with the recommendations earlier in this thread, so thanks all.

Fair play to the author who scored a publishing deal after its success on Amazon. Only downside is that it's gone off Amazon until its officially published next February, bet it will cost more than the couple of euro I paid for it.

(Also finished The Sisters Brothers - very Good, a gold rush western - you could see The Coen Brothers turning it into a film.)

Next up - The Player of Games

keane2097

^^Player of Games is pretty good.

Just finished The Bonehunters (book 6 of the Malazan series). Much faster paced than the rest of the books, I think maybe the series is gathering pace as it heads towards a conclusion now, but it was maybe my favourite yet.

mcgovern

I finished Last Arguments of Kings, which was pretty good. He's created a very memorable bunch of characters, all of whom are more flawed than you normally see.
Zero Point dropped in price enough for me to try it next (~€5). Though I didn't really like the first one, seeing as it's Neal Asher I'm willing to give the series another chance.

Paddy Samurai

Wool by Hugh Howey

About 30 % through ,and liking it big time.

AzN

Lies by Michael Grant

3rd book in the gone series and it's getting better each book.

Dan_Solo

I finished Book 1 of The Black Company by Glen Cook yesterday. I felt it started off incredibly badly, with an almost useless level of information about the characters and locations being given to the reader with which to form any sort of attachment/antipathy or even know what the hell was going on. Then finding out it was being written as a sort of a guild history just seemed like a total cop out to explain away the lousy story telling.
I did warm to it a bit more in the middle, but then the ending seemed utterly out of place where the more mundane action seemed more authentic. All a bit overblown, like a series finale landed into episode 4 of a TV show when you weren't expecting it.
I still can't believe there's 10 books of this, or that it's received so much glowing praise.

ixoy

4% into 'Magicians End' by Raymond E. Feist. Early days yet but hoping it ends well as I've been reading this series for over twenty years!

Bits_n_Bobs

ixoy wrote: »

4% into 'Magicians End' by Raymond E. Feist. Early days yet but hoping it ends well as I've been reading this series for over twenty years!

Kind of curious enough about the end of the series to get this. However I only read the first 3/4 way back when - do you think it's possible to just read this last one or would I need to read the intervening ones?

shaneor

ixoy wrote: »

4% into 'Magicians End' by Raymond E. Feist. Early days yet but hoping it ends well as I've been reading this series for over twenty years!

Same with me. Like a lot of people this was the first series that really hooked me into Fantasy so its the end of an era. My expectations have been lowered from the recent books so hopefully he can end on a high.

Also read Good Omens (the brilliant Pratchett & Gaiman collaboration) and First Shift by Hugh Howey recently.

Trojan

Dan_Solo wrote: »

I finished Book 1 of The Black Company by Glen Cook yesterday. I felt it started off incredibly badly, with an almost useless level of information about the characters and locations being given to the reader with which to form any sort of attachment/antipathy or even know what the hell was going on. Then finding out it was being written as a sort of a guild history just seemed like a total cop out to explain away the lousy story telling.
I did warm to it a bit more in the middle, but then the ending seemed utterly out of place where the more mundane action seemed more authentic. All a bit overblown, like a series finale landed into episode 4 of a TV show when you weren't expecting it.
I still can't believe there's 10 books of this, or that it's received so much glowing praise.

The later books do get better.

I also think there's a of of Malazan-type fans who like to be confused when they're reading

ixoy

Bits_n_Bobs wrote: »

Kind of curious enough about the end of the series to get this. However I only read the first 3/4 way back when - do you think it's possible to just read this last one or would I need to read the intervening ones?

No I don't really think it's possible to be honest. Nearly everyone from the early books is dead (it's well over a hundred years later in the timeline) so you won't recognise nearly anyone. There's a whole bunch of extended plot lines involving gods and higher dimensions, etc that won't make sense either.

keane2097

Trojan wrote: »

The later books do get better.

I also think there's a of of Malazan-type fans who like to be confused when they're reading

Yeah that was my impression when starting out - you could see how much Erikson had been inspired by how Cook just drops you into the middle of the story and lets you gradually get to know what the characters are like by their words and deeds rather than the usual "Oxly was a blacksmith, who despite being enormously muscled and the strongest of all the villagers, was a gentle and timid lover of poetry".

Black Company doesn't spoonfeed you anything, and is a damn good yarn IMO.

endacl

About to start Consider Phlebas and The Wasp Factory again. Have the three latest Bankses sitting on a shelf, unread, for quite a while now. Too busy studying. When I heard the bad news, I decided to make the summer a Banksfest, starting at the beginning, and finishing with what will sadly be his last book, which is being published ahead of time. My way, I suppose, of paying tribute and saying thanks Iain. Love your work.

appiuscrispus

Childhood's End by Arthur C Clarke.

The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley

Admittedly not my choice but sci-fi book club's.

Raging_Ninja

Just finished Shadow of Freedom by David Weber - was ok and a bit rushed in the last quarter, but a lot of his books can be.

Have started The Algebraist by Iain M Banks.