The Sword and Laser discussion
note: This topic has been closed to new comments.
What Else Are You Reading?
>
What Else Are You Reading - October 2014
Finished The Heart of Valor. It was good, but not as good as the first two books of the series. It tended to bog down a bit in the middle.On the verge of finishing both Lock In and the audiobook of The Mad Ship. Will move on to City of Stairs next.
Currently reading Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer while I wait for my copy of Ancillary Justice from the library to be ready. I wasn't expecting Annihilation to be so weird and creepy. But I am really enjoying.I am also listening to the Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan. This is my third time with this book, and I have to say it is one of my favorite books of the Wheel of Time series.
Jennifer wrote: "I just finished Zoe's Tale. It was not my favorite Scalzi book ever, but an okay read. I've moved on to Pretties by Scott Westerfeld. The second in his Uglies series...."So would you say it added much to the story? It's been a while since I've read the Last Colony... and I'd like to read more of the Old Mans War books... but I haven't been able to get myself to take the time to read Zoe's Tale. Something about retelling the story just from a different point of view is putting me off. I don't usually care/like to reread books. Case and point- I 5 starred Name of the Wind when I first read it, and lemmed my reread of it with the group. Is there anything big I'm missing if I just skip it and move on in the series? Or is it really that interesting that I should just knock it out?
Kristina wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "I just finished Zoe's Tale. It was not my favorite Scalzi book ever, but an okay read. I've moved on to Pretties by Scott Westerfeld. The second in h..."I don't think there's anything major. You basically see the story of The Last Colony through Zoe's eyes. You get to see her insights and what happened to her when she was away from the colony for that little bit of time. To me that little part was the only part that added any thing major to the story. I'm guessing they don't really deal with any of that in Human Division since it's about a whole set of different people. (Or at least that's what I gathered.) As I read it I kind of felt is was just an enhancement to The Last Colony. I could be wrong though, because I haven't read any further yet.
Since Alif the Unseen is an easier read than Ted Chiang, I will continue my Malazan series read. by the way, Goggle playbook has Annihilation for $2.99.
I started Lex Talionis by R.S.A. Garcia but it keeps dragging so I set it aside for Vicious by V.E. Schwab, which moves along at a steady clip, mostly because each chapter is about 3 pages long as you jump back and forth over a 10-year period.The first one is about a genetically engineered woman who is found battered and broken due to an assault and is revived from death by some weird Gollum-like (or perhaps Stitch-like) alien. She has no memory of who she is due to amnesia but is healing super fast. Kind of a video game idea rendered in an average way so far.
The second is a superhero story that's every bit as implausible as any other superhero story but the characters are interesting because of the way they get superpowers and what it does to them. Or more precisely, their souls. Oooh.... Anyway, I'm already halfway done with Vicious even though I just started it two days ago. (I had to take time out to watch Edge of Tomorrow, the best movie of the summer, finally out on disc.)
I'm going to take anther look at Alif the Unseen since it's the book of the month for both S&L *and* SF&FBC -- has that ever happened before?
Lindsay wrote: "CatBookMom wrote: "That's quite a recommendation, thanks. I've liked her work that I've read as posts and reviews on the Tor Fantasy website "She did a prequel on the tor.com website for [book:Ch..."
Thanks! I better zip on over and pick up that book, or at least add it to my WishList at Amazon.
Finally starting Sanderson's Warbreaker, then back to catching up on Dresden Files. Think I'm up to Blood Rites next. Hoping to fit in The Magician's Land at some point as well.
Fauxley wrote: "Finally starting Sanderson's Warbreaker, then back to catching up on Dresden Files. Think I'm up to Blood Rites next. Hoping to fit in The Magician's Land at some point as well."Warbreaker is good, and if you like Sanderson it really helps to understand what is going on at the end of Words of Radiance.
Also Magician's Land is my favorite of the three books, Quentin so SO much less whiny.
Good choices all around.
I finished Nexus. I really enjoyed it. My review.I'm going straight into Crux and starting Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
Just finished Alif the Unseen. Like City of Stairs it took me a while to get into the book, but once I did I really liked it. I agree otheres there is no way you are going to sit there and rewrite a computer to operate on metaphors instead of "ones and zeros" in a few hours (or days or weeks), but i didn't mind suspending my disbelief as I I thought the comparison of metaphors holding multiple simultaneous contradictory meanings with quantum computing was a cute trick. Intisar was not actually that far off the mark I thought. Better than a lot of cyberpunk and techno-thriller stuff out there, imhohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFUlA...
Started Off to Be the Wizard, and I am loving it. Only in chapter 4 but I am having flashbacks to jr high and Ultima IV and reversing the save game file by modifying random bytes to see which character attributes/inventory items they changed. I can tell this will be a fun read.
Finished Alif the Unseen. Like others I found the first 20-25% kind of boring but after they met Vikram I really got into it and enjoyed it quite a bit.Starting Dave Barry Is from Mars and Venus.
Maybe it should be a whole new topic but I have to get this off my chest before I stick my head in a bucket of salami and run screaming down the street wearing nothing more than a loincloth of kippers.I love Robin Hobb. This makes reading Dragon Keeper more painful. I am nearing the half way point of the book and so far not a lot has happened. Much of the story so far seems to consist of one character telling another character what has happened elsewhere.
Not so bad per se, but when we have already had other characters telling the same story to other characters which had already been told in the narrative, it gets a tad infuriating.
The book also suffers from a slight case of Serialitis, one symptom being the need to provide some context for those people who enter into a series part way through. (Listen to what the wise Julie Andrews says. Always start at the very beginning, it's a very good place to start!)
This aspect of Serialitis is a bit like a suppository. You know it is there to help and you get used to it, but the insertion is a little embarrassing and uncomfortable.
Perhaps more serious in this case is that the book was split into two volumes. With better less repetition of events and better editing, there would have been no need for two books.
My innate cynicism tells me that the publishers are wringing out extra pennies from the fans here
I understand that the third and fourth books were likewise spilt into two volumes so I fear the whole series with be a turgid romp in the swamp.
I will grind my way through being a fan, but if Dragon Haven proves as tedious I am done with the Rain Wilds. So far it is proving far too dank and dark a place for my constitution.
Paul wrote: "I love Robin Hobb."You're not alone in finding her uneven. I thoroughly enjoyed both the first two Assassin series, but I count the third book in the first series as one of the most disappointing books I've ever read and the Ships books to be near unreadable.
I started listening to Stone Mattress by Margaret Atwood. The first story is about an old woman going to get salt for her icy sidewalk, but also a dead husband who gives her advice and a fantasy (? Virtual reality?) world.
Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "I started listening to Stone Mattress by Margaret Atwood. The first story is about an old woman going to get salt for her icy sidewalk, but also a dead husband who gives her advice ..."Can't wait to see what you think about the title story.
Edited because I can't spell.
Just finished Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer. I can't really decide how I feel about it. It was a compelling read. I had a hard time putting it down, but I can't really say that I altogether liked it. The overall tone of the story and sequencing of events were very unsettling and left me feeling uncomfortable. Also, I didn't really like the main character. So I am left wondering if it is truly worth reading the rest of the story or just drop it?Still waiting on my copy of Ancillary Justice from the library.
Joel - the next two books have different characters, and the second takes place within the southern reach organisation rather than Area X. Depends on whether you like the author as a writer for the kind of stories he tells etc. I am still to read them but waiting to have the energy/ time and be in the right mood to read the second one.
The SF Signal podcast recently did an episode on this book. The host can be irritating, but the discussion is good. (Although to be fair, that sentence describes nearly every episode of the podcast).
Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "Reading Nine Princes in Amber, first time!"Oooh, that's been on my list for so long!
terpkristin wrote: "Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "Reading Nine Princes in Amber, first time!"Oooh, that's been on my list for so long!"
Come on fantasy girl! I'm surprised you haven't read these!
Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "Reading Nine Princes in Amber, first time!"Shhhh don't tempt me, I have all 12 of those waiting to be read :)
Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "Come on fantasy girl! I'm surprised you haven't read these! "I know, I really have no excuse!
Ok, that's it, I'm going to buy it using one of my Audible credits and will queue it up as soon as I finish A Midwinter's Tail (which should be today or tomorrow).
That said, I just listened to the sample from Audible and the scene is a dude in a hospital bed, broken and doped up...that sounds uncomfortably familiar, a setting I'm not sure I want to re-visit. :\
terpkristin wrote: "That said, I just listened to the sample from Audible and the scene is a dude in a hospital bed, broken and doped up...that sounds uncomfortably familiar, a setting I'm not sure I want to re-visit. :\ ..."He's out of there pretty quickly ...
mPhilip K. DickPhilip K. Dickreading Marian Time-Slip(ISBN 978-0-547-57257-4)
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
Ivi_kiwi wrote: "Just started on The Left Hand of Darkness. I also began listening to The Man in the High Castle."
Also reading Left Hand of Darkness right now, and loving it. I put it off for so long, and now I'm eating it up. Now I know why it was one of the precious few books mentioned in the Real History of Science Fiction tv documentary.
I was going to start The Curse of Chalion this morning but the Downpour App screwed up so I had to switch to The Maltese Falcon that I had preloaded in the Audible App.Half way through Ancillary Justice and concur with Terps' feelings on this book.
Mod
I really enjoyed Under the Dome(My Review)
I quickly worked in Mitosis this morning, that was (is?) free from Audible. It was OK. Can't complain too much about free though. (My Review)
I also listened to The Dreaming Void, which I liked but not as much as the previous Commonwealth series. (My Review)
Finished up the first 3 iron druids I had gotten in a bundle..Up next: Blook of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski
I finished up The Honor of the Queen this afternoon. I didn't enjoy it as much as the first book in the series.Now I'm going to resume the Dresden Files with Death Masks.
I read the first Rat Queens trade. They are not safe for work. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished re-reading A Night in the Lonesome October. I'll try to write up my thoughts for a review. Now it's on to House of Leaves.
Sean wrote: "Finished re-reading A Night in the Lonesome October. I'll try to write up my thoughts for a review. Now it's on to House of Leaves."House of Leaves is my favorite novel. I hope you enjoy it.
Reading This Will Make You Smarter: New Scientific Concepts to Improve Your Thinking, a collection of short essays (some less than a page long) by "today's leading thinkers" addressing the question, "What scientific concept would improve everybody's cognitive toolkit?" Edited by John Brockman, founder and publisher of the online science salon Edge.org.
** some minor spoilers ahead **I'm around 70% into Mistborn: The Final Empire and since around 1/3 or 1/2 into the book, I've been building a sneaking suspicion that "The Lord Ruler" is probably not how he's being described by Kelsier, Vin & Co...
Everything the reader knows about him up to this point is given through the perspective of the protagonists and the log book. The reader hasn't actually "seen" The Lord Ruler at all. So I think there's some big twist or revelation regarding him towards the end of the book that will come from the log book.
My hunch is that Rashek is The Lord Ruler. Maybe the original writer of the log book failed in his quest or was killed by Rashek & Co. and Rashek himself rose to power. That would make sense considering how: (1) Kelsier told Vin how similar (yet different) allomancy and feruchemy are, which would open up the possibility that The Lord Ruler is really a feruchemist even though everyone thinks he's an allomancer. Also, (2) Elend mentioned that The Lord Ruler wears a lot of metals, which would also support the theory that he's a feruchemist.
Anyway, aside from that, I pretty much agree with the usual sentiments regarding Brandon Sanderson's writing: He does write in a very workmanlike and academic manner. No frills, not much style or prose. However, his plotting and especially his world-building are amazing.
I particularly liked how he opened each chapter of The Final Empire with enigmatic excerpts and then weaved it into the story when the log book was translated. The only part of the book that I'm not sold on so far is this relationship between Elend and Vin. I feel that it's somewhat rushed or half-baked. Everything else though, is ace.
Excited for the final act of this book. I would be terribly disappointed if there was no big twist or reveal regarding The Lord Ruler at the end.
Paolo wrote: "** some minor spoilers ahead **I'm around 70% into Mistborn: The Final Empire and since around 1/3 or 1/2 into the book, I've been building a sneaking suspicion that "The Lord Ruler"..."
Enjoy! The final bit of the book was the most exciting for me to read.
And just wanted to state that I like when authors write with that "no frills" style :) I'm just a get-to-the-point kind of person. I like reading Stephen King, but sometimes I get exasperated and I'm like "Quit dancing around and tell me what happens!!" I'm supposing most people's opinion regarding this, is that they dislike Sanderson's style in that regard. Guess I'm just the oddball. End rant.
^ Interesting that you mention Stephen King, Ally. Because in my mind, Stephen King is sort of the opposite to Brandon Sanderson's "no frills" style. SK's writing is so filled with figurative language and flowery prose.(I am currently reading The Stand as well btw)
LOL I keep on referring to Feruchemy as "Pheromancy" (it's not even a -mancy!) :p Sorry I was listening to the audiobook so I'm off regarding the spelling of the names of things :)
Paolo wrote: "^ Interesting that you mention Stephen King, Ally. Because in my mind, Stephen King is sort of the opposite to Brandon Sanderson's "no frills" style. SK's writing is so filled with figurative langu..."That's pretty much why I mentioned it, because that's exactly my opinion on the matter to. Stephen King is the "King" of frills! I love his work, but like I said, sometimes I just want him to give up the goods! All that said, that style of his definitely builds anticipation in the reader.
Finished Dragon Age: Last Flight and now it's time to revisit a classic: Elric: The Sleeping Sorceress by Michael Moorcock.
I finished up some more of the Magical Cats mysteries, (Cat Trick, Final Catcall, and A Midwinter's Tail) the other night and queued up Nine Princes in Amber at Jenny's prodding.But work and some stomach thing have kept me down. Damn the man ;) And my gut. :P
I also just bought Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography and I'm kind of stoked to read it.
>_< how did you get it? I tried to get a pre-release at NYCC... they said they wanted to pre-release it but they weren't allowed to. I'm afraid to read your review.
Mod
I suspect he got it the same way I did. Review copy. I didn't like it nearly as much as he did, but I haven't written up my review yet.
I finished The Element of Fire by Martha Wells. It was quite entertaining. 3.5 stars. I look forward to reading the next Ile-Rien story The Death of the Necromancer.I'm nearly 1/3 of the way through Horus Rising and so far I think it is just OK.
This topic has been frozen by the moderator. No new comments can be posted.
The Sword and Laser
Books mentioned in this topic
Click-Clack the Rattlebag (other topics)Click-Clack the Rattlebag (other topics)
A Night in the Lonesome October (other topics)
Secret of a Thousand Beauties (other topics)
Alif the Unseen (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Ian Whates (other topics)Jodi Taylor (other topics)
Orson Scott Card (other topics)
Shirley Jackson (other topics)
Alexandre Dumas (other topics)
More...
And Jorg does get better as the trilogy progresses. Never quite heroic, but by the end he's at least less of a bastard. "
I finished King of Thorns last night and my opinion of Jorg improved as the book went on, and improved a lot since I wrote that post. He expressed some human emotions other than just rage and desire for revenge (justified but one note in Prince of Thorns). Jorg is broadening out as a character without getting weak or indecisive.
I look forward to the next book when I get a chance.