What Are You Reading?

shootermacg

Dragging it out? For me, these books were page turners. I absolutely loved them.

nicowa

shootermacg wrote: »

Dragging it out? For me, these books were page turners. I absolutely loved them.

Oh they keep me hooked but the just seem so much longer than anything I've read recently.

Could be my fault and what I'm reading lately...

Raif Severance

nicowa wrote: »

Oh they keep me hooked but the just seem so much longer than anything I've read recently.

Could be my fault and what I'm reading lately...

If you don't mind, can you List those Books? I'm mighty curious.

Don't take this wrong. It's just that Feist's Books for me are some that I would Classify as Easy-Reads.

The only ones Easier for me would be from Eddings, Gemmell, Modesitt, and the like.

ixoy

5% into Brandon Sanderson's little book "The Way of Kings", the first in a planned 10 book series. It's the first book I've read this year with a four figure page count, beating out a 912 page book earlier this year by.. Brandon Sanderson. His books could be lethal weapons.

Enjoying it so far and some creative world building. Once more his magic system is already showing more imagination than most authors manage in entire careers. Also like the further touches here as he builds up a full world, introduces different creatures and takes on concepts like sprites manifesting from various emotions. Looking forward to reading more (just as well as it's going to take weeks to finish).

OwaynOTT

ixoy wrote: »

5% into Brandon Sanderson's little book "The Way of Kings", the first in a planned 10 book series. It's the first book I've read this year with a four figure page count, beating out a 912 page book earlier this year by.. Brandon Sanderson. His books could be lethal weapons.

Enjoying it so far and some creative world building. Once more his magic system is already showing more imagination than most authors manage in entire careers. Also like the further touches here as he builds up a full world, introduces different creatures and takes on concepts like sprites manifesting from various emotions. Looking forward to reading more (just as well as it's going to take weeks to finish).

Enjoyable book but it could have done with a more drastic edit, as there is some bloat. Despite this, I still think it's the most polished book out of all his current bibliography and the years he spent on it show. Unlike some others, like Towers of Midnight.
The next instalment has a spring 2014 release date. Shorter word count and a main protagonist shift to Shallen, which is the tact for all future books with Dalinar being the next to get this treatment.
Sanderson's whole Cosmere idea really begins to shine through in this series as well.
Coincidentally, I'm also currently reading a Brandon Sanderson book or rather two novellas shoved between the boards of one hardcover. The two stories being Legion and Emperor's Soul.
Only about 17 pages into Legion, yes no percentage as it's not a kindle version, and it's too early to say much about it. I will say that Sanderson's attempts at 'comedy' can be cringe inducing at times, this isn't as bad as Mistborn's witty humour.
One good line though:
'... he had the eyes of a killer. Or so he claimed. Perhaps he kept them in his pocket.'
It does however seem familiar, maybe in a Stephen King book?

fenris

I am stuck into "The Beating of His Wings" by Paul Hoffman, the third Thomas Cale book.
Not as dark as the earlier books but very enjoyable.

shaneor

OwaynOTT wrote: »

Enjoyable book but it could have done with a more drastic edit, as there is some bloat. Despite this, I still think it's the most polished book out of all his current bibliography and the years he spent on it show. Unlike some others, like Towers of Midnight.
The next instalment has a spring 2014 release date. Shorter word count and a main protagonist shift to Shallen, which is the tact for all future books with Dalinar being the next to get this treatment.
Sanderson's whole Cosmere idea really begins to shine through in this series as well.
Coincidentally, I'm also currently reading a Brandon Sanderson book or rather two novellas shoved between the boards of one hardcover. The two stories being Legion and Emperor's Soul.
Only about 17 pages into Legion, yes no percentage as it's not a kindle version, and it's too early to say much about it. I will say that Sanderson's attempts at 'comedy' can be cringe inducing at times, this isn't as bad as Mistborn's witty humour.
One good line though:
'... he had the eyes of a killer. Or so he claimed. Perhaps he kept them in his pocket.'
It does however seem familiar, maybe in a Stephen King book?

TWOK could definitely have been trimmed down a good bit but it was still one of the most interesting & creative new worlds in a while. I'm very much looking forward to the sequel.

I haven't read Legion but "Emperor's Soul" is excellent. Another really interesting and innovative magic system and a good (if short) read.

TwoShedsJackson

fenris wrote: »

I am stuck into "The Beating of His Wings" by Paul Hoffman, the third Thomas Cale book.
Not as dark as the earlier books but very enjoyable.

Didn't even know this was out!! Off to the bookshop I go..

da_hambo

Finally gotten round to reading Battlefield Earth by L Ron Hubbard. Im only around a fifth of the way through but is a good post apocalyptic read. The film of the book is supposed to be one of the worst movies of all time. Ill check that outonce ive finished the book.

shootermacg

I hated the book, the author thinks he's so bloody clever and advertises the fact at every available opportunity, there is no place for that smug aren't I clever crap in my bookcase. The only reason I finished it was it was all I had on holiday with me.

ixoy

da_hambo wrote: »

Finally gotten round to reading Battlefield Earth by L Ron Hubbard. Im only around a fifth of the way through but is a good post apocalyptic read.

Oh it entertained me but it's a terrible book. The science makes 'Star Wars' seem like a Greg Egan novel - alternate periodic tables? Hah.

OwaynOTT

shaneor wrote: »

TWOK could definitely have been trimmed down a good bit but it was still one of the most interesting & creative new worlds in a while. I'm very much looking forward to the sequel.

I haven't read Legion but "Emperor's Soul" is excellent. Another really interesting and innovative magic system and a good (if short) read.

Definitely a bit different than the whole Western European setting or the new trend that is the middle eastern setting.
Also looking forward to Words of Radiance.

Legion is definitely his funniest book and the whole multiple imaginary friends has potential. Also most of the books characters being hallucinations really helps Sanderson with the trouble he has with his characters being one dimensional, look at Mistborn.

shootermacg

OwaynOTT wrote: »

Definitely a bit different than the whole Western European setting or the new trend that is the middle eastern setting.
Also looking forward to Words of Radiance.

Wow I'm pretty new to the eastern setting, but I love the Prince of Nothing series and am finishing off the last book. I know Feist too a stab at it, but other than that I haven't seen it anywhere, I'd be interested in reading more, although I doubt it'd be as well written as the PoN.

OwaynOTT

shootermacg wrote: »

Wow I'm pretty new to the eastern setting, but I love the Prince of Nothing series and am finishing off the last book. I know Feist too a stab at it, but other than that I haven't seen it anywhere, I'd be interested in reading more, although I doubt it'd be as well written as the PoN.

Featured heavily in Joe Abercrombie's First Law Trilogy, Mazarkis William's Tower and Knife trilogy set there, Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed, Peter V Brett's Desert Spear, Paolo Balcigalupi's novella The Alchemist and isn't Richard Morgan's most recent novel set in a similar setting.
Heck George RR Martin's series has been set in a more middle eastern setting. I'm sure there's more but that's what I have on my bookshelf.

Bradley P Beaulieu's The Winds of Khalakovo has a very unique or unusual setting for most mainstream fantasy and that is its majorly influenced by Russia and other cultures of that part of the world. It's part of a trilogy and if books two and three are as good as one its a cracking series.

shootermacg

OwaynOTT wrote: »

Featured heavily in Joe Abercrombie's First Law Trilogy, Mazarkis William's Tower and Knife trilogy set there, Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed, Peter V Brett's Desert Spear, Paolo Balcigalupi's novella The Alchemist and isn't Richard Morgan's most recent novel set in a similar setting.
Heck George RR Martin's series has been set in a more middle eastern setting.

haha, I forgot George RR Martin. Thanks, for the list, looks like I've got some nice reading ahead. Which would you suggest I start with?

OwaynOTT

shootermacg wrote: »

haha, I forgot George RR Martin. Thanks, for the list, looks like I've got some nice reading ahead. Which would you suggest I start with?

Throne of Crescent Moon is a light read, which you might need after Baker

Raif Severance

shootermacg wrote: »

haha, I forgot George RR Martin. Thanks, for the list, looks like I've got some nice reading ahead. Which would you suggest I start with?

I'll add the Empire Trilogy by Raymond Feist and Janny Wurts. One of the Best Fantasy Books for me.

shootermacg

Raif Severance wrote: »

I'll add the Empire Trilogy by Raymond Feist and Janny Wurts. One of the Best Fantasy Books for me.

Read them ages ago although it seems more Asian than middle eastern, no that I mind those either.

OwaynOTT wrote: »

Throne of Crescent Moon is a light read, which you might need after Baker

I didn't find this hard going at all, quite the contrary, I loved the characters, the Nietzschian philosophy and the story.

OwaynOTT

shootermacg wrote: »

Read them ages ago although it seems more Asian than middle eastern, no that I mind those either.



I didn't find this hard going at all, quite the contrary, I loved the characters, the Nietzschian philosophy and the story.

Actually another would be Fractal Prince by Hannu Rajaneimi (spelling could be wrong here), which is the follow up to Fractal Prince, which being based on Mars doesn't share much with the middle east.
Fractal Prince has a definite 1001 Arabian vibe to it and is a really unique book. Very much a scifi book and has doesn't help you at all with the ideas being bandied about and can be a bit too knowingly clever at times but still an excellent read.The first book is a vital prerequisite though.

nicowa

Raif Severance wrote: »

If you don't mind, can you List those Books? I'm mighty curious.

Don't take this wrong. It's just that Feist's Books for me are some that I would Classify as Easy-Reads.

The only ones Easier for me would be from Eddings, Gemmell, Modesitt, and the like.

Chick Lit... Not in a bad way but you can't really get easier reading than that.

I'm meaning to get back into proper reading now. I really need to get my brain active again.

sentient_6

I started Wool. Really liking it.

Manach

Warbound by Larry Correira.
Set in an alternative world - 1930s.

Turbo-Powered Zeppelins : check.
Vast ultra-evil N-th Dimensional entity : : check.
Zombie hordes : check.
Robotic Samurai exo-skeletons : check.
Cameo appearances by FDR, Churchill etc. : check.
Guns, lots and lots of high-velocity guns : check.
Pirates (of the airship variety) vs Ninjas : check.

Overall, safe to say I enjoyed it.

Dan_Solo

A bit past half way now in Time and Again by Jack Finney. I really like the time-travel "mechanics" (if that's the right word) in this, and I'm hoping the plot around it doesn't turn into a damp squib. This can happen in older (this is 1970) novels, where it's like there was a feeling that a great science idea would make up for poor quality fiction. This also has to be probably _the_ most amazingly well researched book I've ever read, a real labour of love I'd say.
Reserving judgement until it's over (but a sneaky 7/10 so far!).

fenris

Manach wrote: »

Warbound by Larry Correira.
Set in an alternative world - 1930s.

Turbo-Powered Zeppelins : check.
Vast ultra-evil N-th Dimensional entity : : check.
Zombie hordes : check.
Robotic Samurai exo-skeletons : check.
Cameo appearances by FDR, Churchill etc. : check.
Guns, lots and lots of high-velocity guns : check.
Pirates (of the airship variety) vs Ninjas : check.

Overall, safe to say I enjoyed it.

That works for me, I read the first two and hadn't realised that it was out, starting it tonight!

Nody

Nody wrote: »

ixoy wrote:

Personally I think so. I like the core concept of different species of human each with different traits/abilities based around insects - it works well. Also fond of it not being typical medieval but with automotive engines (sort of steampunk) but still elements of magic. It's refreshing.
As to getting through a 10-book unfinished series, book 9 is published this year and book 10 next year. He's been consistent in outputting at least 1 each year unlike other authors we could mention.

I'll hold you personally responsible now after having ordered the first six books (added to my ever growing pile of "things to be read one day") :P

Well you survived the pitch forks for now (first book finished this morning)... I can only echo earlier comment (forgot from whom, sorry!) that it's setting things up to come but was not brilliant.

I do hope there will be more fleshing out of the universe in the books to come (such as the Revolution, the development of the Empire to be what it is, how Kinden were created originally / how hybrids work in powers etc.).

Johnny Storm

Tim Powers - Hide me among the graves.
I generally like Tim Powers but this one was not my cup of tea. 3/5

mcgovern

Finished The Escapement, it was ok but not as good as the previous two. Started Markus Heitz's The Dwarves. 15% in but it hasn't really got going yet.

AnCapaillMor

Emperor of Thorns, meh but i've got to finish the series.

salacious crumb

Robert A Heinlein - JOB

shootermacg

mcgovern wrote: »

Started Markus Heitz's The Dwarves. 15% in but it hasn't really got going yet.

Yeah, that one is pure pulp, read it and forgot it as fast.

Did anyone read the vampire earth series by E. E. Knight? Great concept, fairly light reading, I have to say I enjoyed it for what it was, recommended if you don't mind the "boy's own" style, where the hero gets out of everything alive.

Just started the Aspect-Emperor trilogy, really loved the Prince of Nothing trilogy, so I'm expecting great things from this!