The Sword and Laser discussion
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What Else Are You Reading?
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What Else Are You Reading - May 2017
Aaron wrote: "John (Taloni) wrote: "I'm reading Eragon. Soooooo not my first choice, but I don't have anything else teed up, so I tagged it at the library and it came off hold fast. Well, that's not totally tr..."
It's not the best series, and the later books meandered about a lot. But wasn't Paolini a teenager when he wrote Eragon?
Margaret wrote: "It's not the best series, and the later books meandered about a lot. But wasn't Paolini a teenager when he wrote Eragon? "Eragon isn't that bad for a first book considering when he wrote it, even the 2nd book was forgivable, but the 3rd got even worse and the 4th worse than that. Generally authors go the opposite direction. Part of the problem was I could almost feel the author trying to answer and respond to his critics especially in book 4 and some in 3, instead of just embracing it and writing something entertaining.
I don't cut him any slack for being 15 when he wrote it. It still costs me the same amount of money and same amount of time to read it. Just like I wouldn't forgive a first time director for making a crappy movie I won't forgive a first time writer for writing a crappy book.Rather than publishing the book for him, his parents should have got him the mentoring he needed to make it better.
Yeah, it does surprise me his parents apparently believed in him so much that they had him go around the country hawking it before it got picked up by Knopf ( I guess that guy had a good eye for what will SELL, but good lord).I ended up reading the first two books before getting annoyed with the concept. "The Hero with a Thousand Faces" is not supposed to be a damned checklist.
(Side note: One of the things that annoyed me about the Eragon books was that he describes this ancient forest where the elves or whomever lived and who kept it static... I just remember thinking--that's not healthy for the forest! You need fires and the whole process of ecological succession! Haha, what can I say, I was a geography major.)
David wrote: "Side note: One of the things that annoyed me about the Eragon books was..."For me it was in the second book, I think. "Barges? We don't need no stinking barges." Groan!!
^ I really, REALLY need to see "Treasure of the Sierra Madre."
Finished The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. I loved this book! It was so nice to read a book that had a positive/hopeful feeling rather than being grim and/or dark. Some called it a character study and I was pleased to find characters that I liked and that liked each other. This is the first club pick in a year and a half that I'm giving 5 stars.Starting Gods from Outer Space.
Finished A Closed and Common Orbit as my May alt pick since I have read LWSAP already. A thematic sequel which is in keeping with the style of the first book. Does an excellent job of exploring the social and philosophical implications of the society in a humane and engaging story ★★★★☆.Now for something completely different, Greg Egan's latest exploration of alternative space-time, Dichronauts, SF does not get any harder than this , nor for that matter alien. Fascinating, even if it makes my head hurt.
Iain wrote: "Finished A Closed and Common Orbit as my May alt pick since I have read LWSAP already. A thematic sequel which is in keeping with the style of the first book. Does an excellent job of exploring the..."I did this too, and I dare say I enjoyed it even more than LWSAP.
Mod
Iain wrote: "Finished A Closed and Common Orbit as my May alt pick since I have read LWSAP already. A thematic sequel which is in keeping with the style of the first book. Does an excellent job of exploring the..."I'm doing the same thing, but so far not liking it as much as LWSAP. I'm only 30% in or so, but the twin storylines haven't really grabbed me.
Checking Watership Down off my way-overdue-to-read list.Finished with Parable of the Sower. More Butler please. And Assassin's Fate. So emotionally taxing (a book that needs to be read slowly) but I am content. Big applause for Robin Hobb. I hope her next series will be as good.
"Now I'm reading Sourcery as part of my ongoing attempt to work out what everyone seems to love about Discworld. I saw a reading order chart somewhere and thought I'd better read through a storyline, but maybe I picked the wrong one? So far the Rincewind books have been okay, but not really laugh-out-loud funny. Are the later books better? If they're basically the same, it may just be that I don't have the right taste for Pratchett's humour."I'd stay away from the earlier books - I really love TP's DW so it's hard to call his earlier work without the guilt! But some of the earlier books just were not as funny - certainly not as clever.
Guards series are a good start - or even Witches. The writing is a lot deeper and the characters better developed.
Going postal was one of my favourites
That said I will always place good omens above any DW book!
It's been a while since my last update. So, I finished:Written in Red: ★★★★☆ This was an enjoyable, light read. Anne Bishop has a way of discussing serious topics without sounding preachy.
The Falconer: ★★☆☆☆ Read this one with Vaginal Fantasy. It's ok, not great. Very trope-y. Kind of a Buffy the Vampire Slayer with faeries, but not as well executed as it could have been. The second book in the series was on sale for 1.99, so I picked it up for whenever I get really, really bored and have nothing else to read.
The Collapsing Empire: ★★★★☆ I'm prolonging my finishing of the Dresden series on audible by listening to other things. Thoroughly enjoyed this one. Only other Scalzi I've read is Old Man's War, and I'm working on rectifying this. Wil Wheaton is, as always, an excellent narrator.
The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are: ★★★☆☆ Meh. I was waffling between two and three stars on this one, so I settled with 2.5. It has very valid points, but came across as: "This is what you shouldn't do. This is where you should be." but didn't exactly give guidelines or tips on how to get from A to B.
Other than reading LWSAP in dead tree edition, I'm finishing up N.K. Jemisin's Inheritance Trilogy with The Kingdom of Gods on Kindle. Completely taken by surprise by the narrator of this one so far. Looking forward to seeing how this series wraps up.
In audio I'm still putting off book 15 of Dresden and listening to The Boy on the Bridge. Since this one is a prequel to The Girl with All the Gifts, which I enjoyed, I'm pretty sure I know how this is going to end. Just looking forward to the journey in the world again.
(One of these days I'll actually start doing actual reviews and just link them. :/)
Paul wrote: ""Now I'm reading Sourcery as part of my ongoing attempt to work out what everyone seems to love about Discworld. I saw a reading order chart somewhere and thought I'd better read through a storylin..."HI,
Early Pratchett humour is based on puns and running gags. They are a send up of Classic fantasy tropes. The first couple of books are very episodic and the characters are often little more than cliche.
His writing develops quickly and the characters fill out. The plotting is much more developed as well.
I would suggest picking a few highlights to try out (the Watch
and Witches series are tremendous but require a lot of reading).
For me, Small Gods is simply the best of his work. Combining the best of his puns along with an interesting exploration of religion and belief.
Guards Guards introduces his best Character, Sam Vimes, who expresses the rage at the core of the best Pratchett works.
Another entry point is the YA Tiffany aching books which show off his development as a writer (The Wee Free Men).
Iain wrote: "[...]..."Second all that - except that I would rate Guards Guards as his best!
I am currently reading Necrotech. Wow is it violent and flavored with LOTs of profanity. It is a solid read, though one of those that I have a hard time deciding who to recommend it to. I have been reading a lot, but not loving many books lately. One exception is The Last Days of New Paris which like much of China Mieville's work will not leave my head. I keep thinking about the book even weeks after I read it.
Just started Linesman, which has an interesting concept behind it. Apparently it's a debut novel by two sisters, two things I wasn't aware of when I bought it. Whenever I encounter a book that's written by two people, I try to figure out who wrote what. So far I can't discern any change in voice.I'm hoping for some cool space action. The universe they've created is pretty cool so far.
I finished The Iliad, which was a struggle for me, but I feel like I leveled up in my literary intelligence, so I guess I just had to grind out that XP. Ding!Now reading London Falling and I'm having a tough time getting into it. I'm in the "modern day Cthulhu" part of it; hopefully it resolves better than the original. It's still capturing my attention, I just find it dense and a bit hard to follow.
Get a taste of Discworld by reading some of the greats - Wyrd Sisters, Mort, Going Postal. Then if you like them, start in publication order.I didn't particularly enjoy the first two - they make essentially one story - so if I'd started there I don't know if I would have continued. But there are some great books coming after that.
Sourcery was my least favourite of all the Discworld novels.I finished reading A Closed and Common Orbit. First half was very slow but it picked up near the end. I couldn't figure out if Sidra was supposed to be a stand-in for the neuroatypical, a freed slave, or both. ★★★☆☆.
Currently reading: Planet of Exile.
Currently reading Echoes of the Great Song by David Gemmell.
Still trying to get through The Mysterious Island and have come to the conclusion that there is something wrong with the Kindle page numbering. I read for 40 mins last night and according to my kindle only read 12 pages. The only explanation I can think of is that my version is a direct copy from an edition with an incredibly small font.
AndrewP wrote: "Still trying to get through The Mysterious Island and have come to the conclusion that there is something wrong with the Kindle page numbering. I read for 40 mins last night and accord..."Yeah, Kindle page counts, especially on the public domain/Gutenberg stuff, are dubious at best.
I finished Assassin's Fate yesterday. I wrote a very short review for it but it isn't worth linking to it. Now I want to re-read Farseer, Liveship, and Tawny Man. So I'm reading Assassin's Apprentice.
Just finished Ancillary Mercy.. I think I liked Ancillary Sword the best of all of them. It says that was the conclusion of the series.. though I didn't feel like it was very concluded. Anyway on to some book candy with A Court of Wings and Ruin... yay!
Anyone else have trouble with the beginning of Imperial Radch? The blurb sounds really interesting but I felt like my eyes were trying to cross when I started to read it. Basic whiplash from he/she/whatever when I don't even have a good idea on who the main character is.
Soo wrote: "Anyone else have trouble with the beginning of Imperial Radch? The blurb sounds really interesting but I felt like my eyes were trying to cross when I started to read it. Basic whiplash from he/she..."I found the book pretty dry and boring until the last 1/3??? where things picked up. I think it took me to like page 50-60 or something to get in the flow of reading it so give it a bit more time.
Aaron wrote: "Soo wrote: "Anyone else have trouble with the beginning of Imperial Radch? The blurb sounds really interesting but I felt like my eyes were trying to cross when I started to read it. Basic whiplash..."Is this like the Magician trilogy? I may hate most of it but the ending is worth it? Cause that series was a piece of work but it had some cool concepts that kept me going even if I disliked most of the characters. The writing was good in parts.
Soo wrote: "Aaron wrote: "Soo wrote: "Anyone else have trouble with the beginning of Imperial Radch? The blurb sounds really interesting but I felt like my eyes were trying to cross when I started to read it. ..."I would finish the first book at least. I can't really compare as I only read the first book of each of those series then dropped. However, I still plan to read the later Magician books because people I trust tell me the last one is great and the 2nd one is actually good.
@Aaron, I thought the second book was so-so. I only managed to finish the last one because I tried it as an audiobook. 3rd is good but it takes a while to get there. Audiobooks (with a decent narrator) work well for me because I can do something else while listening. Anything that I feel like I need to pay attention to, I tend to read in print. I also had a ton of friends rave about the books. I kinda see where they are coming from but I think it's silly to read almost 3 books to get to a place where you can actually appreciate a series.
I just read a book where my own conception of what the book was about totally hoodwinked me to the end. It wasn't the best written book ever but it's rare for a story to surprise me to that extent. So, it got 5 stars from me. =)
Soo wrote: "Anyone else have trouble with the beginning of Imperial Radch? The blurb sounds really interesting but I felt like my eyes were trying to cross when I started to read it. Basic whiplash from he/she/whatever when I don't even have a good idea on who the main character is."I liked Ancillary Justice for the concepts (holy cow can she write about language!) but it just didn't mesh for me as a story. I am told that the plots get stronger and more cohesive as the series progresses but I can't confirm yet. It's gonna be awhile before I gear up for the second book--there are too many things to read out there that don't require I work for the pleasure of the experience.
That said, several friends seem to have been the niche audience and they "got" the whole thing. Maybe the whole book is like one of those optical illusions from "Magic Eye" or something? I was always rubbish at those, too.
What was the book that caught you off guard?
@Allison - Follow Me Back - I think I got hoodwinked because I had some solid ideas that I kept in my mind for a review. I keep thinking about the 5 stars I gave it and then shrug. Like, Dark Matter, The Silent Corner & Slaughterhouse-Five are better books but none of them surprised me like Follow Me Back.
Soo wrote: "Anyone else have trouble with the beginning of Imperial Radch? The blurb sounds really interesting but I felt like my eyes were trying to cross when I started to read it. Basic whiplash from he/she..."For me, the most interesting part of the first book (Ancillary Justice) was the mixup/confusion of gender pronouns and the multiple perspective, er, perspective. Both really put you in an truly alien setting at least they did for me. It is a lot of world building and a slow burn.
Sword was good but to me the weakest of the 3 in the sense that it's very much the middle of a trilogy - you don't get the "wow, cool alien setting" thing that a first book gives you nor can it really resolve everything once and for all because it's the second in a trilogy and in this kind of series where there's a through arc along with the smaller plots, that can be a little disconcerting. I thought Mercy tied everything up quite well.
Soo wrote: "Anyone else have trouble with the beginning of Imperial Radch? The blurb sounds really interesting but I felt like my eyes were trying to cross when I started to read it. Basic whiplash from he/she..."The first book is odd in that it feels like you're spinning your wheels for the vast majority of the tale, but by the end you realize that you need all of that set-up in order to understand the climax. In that sense, there's no fluff in the story at all.
It reminds me mainly of those very mannered stories by Edith Wharton like The Age of Innocence, which have specific cultural nuances applicable only to that limited milieu.
Thanks for the feedback! I will have to put the book back on "Try Again" list. =)
Finished Gods from Outer Space by Erich Von Daniken. This is a follow up to Chariots of The Gods. Boy, what a steaming pile of horse shit. I occasionally enjoy reading some pseudo-science trash just for a laugh but this went beyond the pale. Even my 11 year old would have picked out the bad science and logic in every paragraph. At least it was only 160 pages long.Don't know what I'll read next. I assume Veronica will announce the June pick tomorrow. If nothing else comes up I may do a reread of Callahan's Crosstime Saloon in honor of Joanna. She gave it 5 stars and I think it has an appropriate theme: "Shared pain is lessened, shared joy is multiplied."
AndrewP wrote: "Still trying to get through The Mysterious Island and have come to the conclusion that there is something wrong with the Kindle page numbering. I read for 40 mins last night and accord..."Ooh my favorite of Verne so far! I guess I need to finish more Voyages Extraordinaires books...
Dara wrote: "I finished Assassin's Fate yesterday. I wrote a very short review for it but it isn't worth linking to it. Now I want to re-read Farseer, Liveship, and Tawny Man. So I'm reading [bo..."
I found the book really sad I can't read more than five chapters a day I need to phase it.
Trike wrote: "Just started Linesman, which has an interesting concept behind it. Apparently it's a debut novel by two sisters, two things I wasn't aware of when I bought it. Whenever I encounter ..."Ugh, this book is a mess. Disappointed.
You know it's bad when a character wonders why he hasn't met another character yet, when they had an interaction two chapters earlier.
Trike wrote: "You know it's bad when a character wonders why he hasn't met another character yet, when they had an interaction two chapters earlier."That's....pretty bad. Maybe you can pretend the character's an unreliable narrator with selective amnesia?...
Or just drop the book and move on to something better.
Soo wrote: "Anyone else have trouble with the beginning of Imperial Radch? The blurb sounds really interesting but I felt like my eyes were trying to cross when I started to read it. Basic whiplash from he/she..."I just finished the series and realized I forgot about the pronoun thing and so everyone in the world is a female in my head .. lol.
Kristina wrote: "Soo wrote: "Anyone else have trouble with the beginning of Imperial Radch? The blurb sounds really interesting but I felt like my eyes were trying to cross when I started to read it. Basic whiplash..."Ha! If I could have done that, I could have gotten farther than a few chapters. I imagine pretty much everything when I read and it was hard to do that with the back and forth.
Finished Assassin's Fate. An excellent finish to the Fitz and Fool trilogy. I might have to finish the Rainwild Chronicles sometime to figure out how (view spoiler). Part of me is tempted to start back over with Assassin's Apprentice.
Shad wrote: "Part of me is tempted to start back over with Assassin's Apprentice."I just did that. My re-read review.
I recommend finishing Rainwild Chronicles. I enjoyed them. Now I'm moving on to Royal Assassin.
The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold. The first in her "World of Five Gods" setting. This was a great fantasy story--loved the treatment of not only the theology, but the main characters are just so nice to hang out with. A slightly slow start, but definitely ramped up over time. I don't know why I wasn't sure about Bujold's fantasy offering, considering how much I love her Vorkosigan stuff.The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle. I wouldn't've finished this if it hadn't been for a real-life book club. A "classic" from the '70s, it's pretty sexist but not only that, it's just boring for half the book. Characters are pretty boring and the sole romance is just dumb. The alien species was interesting, but we get so little from their point of view, and they don't really show up for a long time. If you just want to read a book with interesting aliens, I'd recommend James L. Cambias's A Darkling Sea instead.
Galactic Empires edited by Neil Clarke. This anthology collected stories involving galactic empires or federations in some way. Lots of good stories in here--in fact, good enough that I'd already previously read like 5 of the 22 stories. Definitely recommend it--I also liked Kristine Kathryn Rusch's story "The Impossibles" which was a courtroom setting for her Retrieval Artist series, it made me think about James White's Sector General series (hospital in space).
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 128 edited by Neil Clarke. The May issue. The original stories were pretty decent though "Baroness" was way too confusing. The best stories were probably the reprints--the Kage Baker story was a great alt-history mystery with Shakespeare, and the James Tiptree Jr was awesome. (My first Tiptree story I've read I think). All stories free here: clarkesworldmagazine.com/issue_128/
Asimov's Science Fiction, May/June 2017 edited by Sheila Williams. The May/June issue. They put in a "Diving Universe" novella (really a short novel) by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. What a contrast to her story in Galactic Empires... There just something about her Diving books that I can't stand or bore me--I read "Diving into the Wreck" six years ago, and never bothered to continue the series. This novella just reconfirmed that. Anyway, the other short stories were decent, though a couple seemed pointless/plotless ("Triceratops" and "Persephone of the Crows"). I did like "The Best Man" by Jay O'Connell, though some of that might just be because it reminded me of a Ken Liu-style story, haha! (Sorry, Jay). I liked the Leah Cypess story, too.
Finished The Book of Joan, which I didn't like. I really wanted to, but it was just too weird and disjointed with pretty poor world building. I finished the book still having no idea what was going on.Finished Second Foundation. I really loved the trilogy as a whole despite some flaws. Taking a break before I think about trying Foundation's Edge. The audiobook time is a lot longer so it makes me a little wary of a change of style.
Currently reading Shadow Run. So far it's full of obnoxious characters, some bad dialogue, and lots of cliches. I keep waiting for it to get better, but I'm getting pretty far in for that.
Jordan wrote: "Finished Second Foundation. I really loved the trilogy as a whole despite some flaws. Taking a break before I think about trying Foundation's Edge. The audiobook time is a lot longer so it makes me a little wary of a change of style."The Foundation Trilogy is "old" Asimov, before he took a 25 year break from writing fiction and just wrote nonfiction. Then after Star Wars hit and there was money in SF, they waved a huge paycheck in his face and he wrote more. They aren't all that good. Stick to the old stuff at first if you liked the Foundation books.
Just off the top of my head, read I, Robot, Caves of Steel, The Naked Sun, and if you're feeling adventurous the related-but-not-quite-sequels "Galactic Empire" books. Those are Pebble in the Sky, The Stars, Like Dust, and The Currents of Space. But whether or not you read the Galactic Empire books, read a few more Asimov and then The End of Eternity. That's an informal capstone to his earlier works and, read in the proper sequence, is a smashing conclusion.
The later books, for me, are add-ons that mean little. I read them after thoroughly enjoying the other works, often multiple times. I've never reread a later Foundation or Robot book, but regularly reread the earlier works.
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The Sword and Laser
Books mentioned in this topic
The Reality Dysfunction (other topics)Newt's Emerald (other topics)
The Prose Edda: Norse Mythology (other topics)
London Falling (other topics)
The Collapsing Empire (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Michael Kramer (other topics)Kate Reading (other topics)
Glen Cook (other topics)
Michael Moorcock (other topics)
Drew Karpyshyn (other topics)
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In other words The Dragon Keeper and Dragon Haven are like 2 halves of book 1
and City of Dragons and Blood of Dragons are 2 halves of book 2.
It does get better as it goes on too.