Dragons & Jetpacks discussion
Book Discussion - Non BotM
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The last book I read was...
Well, one of the main characters is called Valyn training to be part of an elite group of investigators so it already is pretty similar to Anthony Ryan books.
Its odd how close they came out together with similar characters with similar names. They diverge though once they both hit the second book. Providence of Fire is an unbelievably good sequel.
Paul wrote: "Its odd how close they came out together with similar characters with similar names. They diverge though once they both hit the second book. Providence of Fire is an unbelievably good sequel."Yes they are similar but at least the world building is different. Kind of has an Asian feel to it right now.
I got that from it as well . Its not completely Asian but there is certainly a strong element of it.
I read The Six-Gun Tarot. Based on the description, I was prepared for some fun weird-western pulp. But I was surprised to find a lot of substance in the dark-fantasy-horror vein. Plenty of unique and fleshed out characters. And a surprising side-story on the dawn of creation, the fall of angels, and other myths and theologies given nods. It felt like if Stephen King and Neil Gaiman made a dedicated western.Really enjoyed it and will be looking forward to picking up the sequel soon!
I loved "The Martian." I didn't care much for "The Emperor's Blades." I just didn't like the characters.
Meera wrote: "Anthony wrote: "I havent read Lock In yet, but I read Old Mans War by John Scalzi. It is one of my favorite books."I've requested Redshirts from the library since it's a standalon..."
Redshirts was more of a funny story than anything else, but i still thought it was great:-)
I read The Killing Moon. Great world building and characters. Plot line was a little blah until the last 100 pages, which were awesome.
I"m about half way through Queen of Fire by Anthony Ryan, The last part of his trilogy. Still not sure what to make of it. Really enjoying it so far but its so much going on I'm curious as to how it can be wrapped up in whats left.
I finished Ender's Game yesterday - really enjoyed it. Would recommend and think I'll check out rest of series at some point!
Kirsty wrote: "I finished Ender's Game yesterday - really enjoyed it. Would recommend and think I'll check out rest of series at some point!"
It it one of my all time favorite books, not sure if you know or not but the rest of the series is much less military/fighting...
It it one of my all time favorite books, not sure if you know or not but the rest of the series is much less military/fighting...
Finished Falling Kingdoms and now listening to Rebel Spring. They are pretty good though they aren't quite as good as the 7 Kingdoms series by Cinda Williams Chima.
I finished The Emperor's Blades and it was mixed bag for me. The main characters kept making not so smart decisions which was very annoying. I will read the next one hoping the characters will be smarter. Meanwhile, I've picked up Days of Blood & Starlight which is another one where the characters keep doing stuff that annoys me but I have faith the author is going somewhere better with it.
Paul I agree, just finished part 3 and am still wondering how it will end up. I just hope it's not a rushed mess.
My last book was At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft.I really struggled to finish it and it's only a short book. To much detail and not enough story.
Did not finish Dreams and Shadows. It is described as "part Neil Gaiman, part Guillermo Del Toro, part William S. Burroughs" on the blurb. The brief preview I read actually had that quote seem to make sense. But after a promising start, 100+ pages later it never goes anywhere, and just feels like a ho-hum imitation. I'd been picking at it here and there for days now, and decided to just put it aside for something that really grips me.It didn't help that it constantly introduces a new character from their perspective. Like, constantly. There's no time to get grounded in the world or getting to know anyone. I'm not a fan of this to begin with, but here it is often just to kill them 10 pages later. Other times it is confusing because of the changeling/swapping/double-swapping status of characters from chapters ago.
Maybe it just wasn't for me. Maybe others have gone further into and can attest for it being a good read.
Moving onto some sequels to enjoyed works, which should hopefully guarantee a better experience ;)
I quite enjoyed enjoyed Dream and Shadows. It is a little rambling at the start but really gets going. I quite like the fairy land world building and the genie set up. In saying that I actually preferred the sequel , Queen of Dark Things as its a much more straight forward plot to match the world building
Just finished Witch of the Demon Seas by Poul Anderson written under the pseudonym A.A. Craig. I got it as an ebook on my kindle and it wasn't too bad at all
I finished The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski which was almost as good as the first one. Now reading The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson which I'm liking more than the first one.
Just finished Queen of Fire by Anthony Ryan. I really enjoyed the first two books, and even though I still liked this instalment u felt it was the weakest of the three. I am a fan of Ryan's writing style so I will keep reading whatever comes next from him.
Now moving on to The Emperors Blades by Brian Stavely
Now moving on to The Emperors Blades by Brian Stavely
I'm nearly there with Queen of Fire as well Lancer , about 50 pages to go and I agree with you. Its just not holding me as much as the first two. I think there is just too many characters alongside the complex plot that it gets a bit overwhelming at parts. Names keep getting hurled about and it takes a minute to figure out who it is . Its generally quite good but a trim would have helped.
One of the things that really bothered me was the Queen CONSTANTLY disregarding the advice given to her by advisories, battle lords, captains, friends, you name it and no one seems to have an issue with it. You would think people would start to get pissed off or doubt her but no one seems to bat an eye.
My last was Mars Up Close: Inside the Curiosity Mission . This was a fascinating book with gorgeous pictures, about the Curiosity mission on Mars. It's hard science, specifically a good bit of geology, so if you're not into that, skip it, but I found it fascinating.
I finished Old Man's War and I was disappointed. Lot went into world building but not much of a plot IMHO. I know I'm in the minority for not liking it as much.
Just finished Guards! Guards! And now back to more grimdark to finish up Broken Empire Series. Gotta get some humor in between all the grit.
Just finished Guards! Guards! And now back to more grimdark to finish up Broken Empire Series. Gotta get some humor in between all the grit.
Finished Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith on Sunday. I'm not entirely sure I read the same book as everyone else in my reading group though. Also finished a short story by Lester Del Rey called Pursuit which had an interesting storyline and concept where people could travel through time and space at just the thought of it.
I finished The Heresy Within this morning. Whoever, told me that it couldn't be that good because you didn't remember anything about it....I can see why.
Not bad but not good. Mediocre is the term I'm attaching to it.
Very glad that I only spent $0.99 on it.
Not bad but not good. Mediocre is the term I'm attaching to it.
Very glad that I only spent $0.99 on it.
Finished The Shotgun Arcana. Really enjoyed it. Gave a quick review here.I think my biggest complaint is that when I came across slightly tongue-in-cheek, over-the-top references to unseen events such as, "And then there was that time with that four-hundred year old Renaissance alchemist and his army of clockwork people," I was left saying "...I want to read that story!" Which of course, isn't a complaint at all haha
Andrew wrote: "Finished The Shotgun Arcana. Really enjoyed it. Gave a quick review here.
I think my biggest complaint is that when I came across slightly tongue-in-cheek, over-the-top referenc..."
Haha. That happened to me with The Six-Gun Tarot. I want to know why one day there were just rat people running around!
Tom - you are braver than I good sir!
I think my biggest complaint is that when I came across slightly tongue-in-cheek, over-the-top referenc..."
Haha. That happened to me with The Six-Gun Tarot. I want to know why one day there were just rat people running around!
Tom - you are braver than I good sir!
Ijust finished The Vagrant by Peter Newman , which a few of us had discussed when it was coming out.It was a really good grimdark novel, great nightmare atmosphere and really intetesting to see a book with the main character mute throughout. Some funny touches done very well as well.
I just finished Delia's Shadow, a paranormal mystery; fairly good;
also How to Seduce a Band Geek, which was written by a friend of mine, so nothing to do with sci fi or fantasy;
and City of Bones, which I have mixed feelings about.
also How to Seduce a Band Geek, which was written by a friend of mine, so nothing to do with sci fi or fantasy;
and City of Bones, which I have mixed feelings about.
So, ijust finished the First Law trilogy from Joe Abercrombie. Loved the story, but hated the ending:-)
Anthony it was a great series. Check out the three stand alone novels that follows. All three are set in the same universe but follow different characters.
Red country may just be my favourite of all six.
Red country may just be my favourite of all six.
Rinn wrote: "I need to carry on with that series... have the 2nd and 3rd books waiting on my shelf :)"
This seems like your most frequent post "waiting on my shelf"
This seems like your most frequent post "waiting on my shelf"
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There is just to little time!!