Fantasy Book Club discussion
What are you reading in...
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What are you reading in April 2011?
I have a stack of books to get through but yesterday I finished Assassin's Apprentice & Iam trying to read Last Argument of Kings but just not getting into it. I keep thinking about what happens next in Fitz world. I think this might be a Robin Hobb month for me.
Joseph wrote: "Charles wrote: "Kevin wrote: "Just starting the what are you reading thread for the month of April. I am doing a reread right now of Foundation and Empire, just finished part 1, onto..."Excellent news, Joseph! All of Asimov's Robot and Foundations stuff has been collected -- somewhat.
FOUNDATION SERIES (in chrono. order of the plotline)
Prelude To Foundation
Foundation Trilogy (Found/Found & Emp/ 2nd Found)
Foundation and Earth
Foundation's Edge
Forward the Foundation
(All in stock in mass paperbacks @ Amazon.com)
Plus there are two "post mortem" Foundation Books by other authors, which I have not read.
Foundation and Chaos (Greg Bear)
Foundation's Fear (Beneford)
ROBOT SERIES (also at Amazon)
The Complete Robot (ALL the Robot Stories)
(By the way, the other collection is Robot Visions ...er.. not Dreams [my bad], but the Complete Robot is more, er, complete.
The Robot Trilogy [the detective robot novels]
Caves of Steel, The Naked Sun, and Robots of Dawn
Robots & Empire
Also, look to see robots at the very end of the Foundation Series
Charles wrote: "Excellent news, Joseph! All of Asimov's Robot and Foundations stuff has been collected -- somewhat."Thanks! I'll have to look up Complete Robot. I last read Asimov several years ago -- my parents were driving to Oregon to visit my brother, so I hitched a ride with a backpack full of Robot & Foundation books, which helped to pass the time as we drove endlessly through Montana. I have to say the original Foundation trilogy is probably my favorite. Prelude to Foundation made Hari Seldon into a little too much of an action hero for my taste. The post-mortem books (there was also a third, Foundation's Triumph by David Brin) were good but they were definitely 1990's galactic empire space opera as opposed to the 1950's feel of the originals.
One of these days I need to go back and revisit the original trilogy, at least.
Foundatin's Triumph is actually the third book of the Second Foundation Trilogy, with Foundation and Chaos by Greg Bear as the second, and Foundation's Fear by Gregory Benford the first book. They were published from 1997-1999, from the authorization of the Asimov estate.
Joseph wrote: "Charles wrote: "Excellent news, Joseph! All of Asimov's Robot and Foundations stuff has been collected -- somewhat."Thanks! I'll have to look up Complete Robot. I last read Asimov several years..."
Thank you for the update. The robot stories and novels are actually quite good, and they do have that 50's feeling, despite the future tech. I grew up in the 50s, and read Asimov in the 60s.
I am reading Kings of the North by Elizabeth Moon. Also a new book by Margaret Weis Shadow Raiders, it is the start of a new series, the Dragon Brigade. Raiders is a great read, not a quick on because there is so much going on and if I read it too quickly I find I have to go back because I missed something.
I'm reading Daughter of the Forest for our bookclub and I have my "to read" bookshelf full with books I must read. But I can't make my mind where to start =) wish me luck with deciding
So far this month I've read Enchanters' End Game - It didn't work well for me at all. I gave it 2/5 stars.Ysabel - This was my first Guy Gavriel Kay book and, though it had some flaws, I enjoyed it a lot. 4/5 stars.
The Angel's Game - This one wasn't quite as good as the first but still very enjoyable. 4/5 stars.
I'm now reading Thirteen by Richard K. Morgan
Mare wrote: "I have my "to read" bookshelf full with books I must read. But I can't make my mind where to start =) wish me luck with deciding"Good Luck :).
I can't decide between my "to read"-books either. Sometimes I just go by the prettiest cover (or, if I'm really lazy, the book closest to my current position^^).
But finishing up series always seems to be a good options ... otherwise those will stand around for a long time when you still have only read book one ;).
I finished Elric: The Stealer of Souls and moved right into Elric: To Rescue Tanelorn. Still not sure if I'm going to read all six volumes of the series in one go, but I'm really enjoying revisiting Elric.
Finished reading Never Knew Anotherand started The Collected Stories: The Legend of Drizztbut since I have read most of the stories have put that on hold for The Temple of Yellow Skullsand Sword of the Gods (Forgotten Realms). After I finish those two, I will get back to Drizzt.
I'm reading The Abhorsen trilogy by Garth Nix right now. On my 'to read' list in April, I've got The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud
Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay
The Magicians by Lev Grossman
The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
This should keep me going until the end of the month and then back to the big city for my monthly book shopping.
I am almost finished with
. I am enjoying it, although it's nothing like I thought it would be. I'm excited to see the new HBO series adaptation that starts next weekend.
I think that so far, I am most interested in Dany. Interesting character that has already grown so much.
I finished up Thirteen and liked it a lot. I'll definitely be checking out more of Morgan's work in the future.Next will be Palimpsest and I hope it's as good as The Orphan's Tales were.
Finished up Wolves of the Calla. Reading some more Sherlock Holmes before I either start the next Dark Tower book or whatever takes over my mind at the time.
Just finished Spiral Hunt and found it a refreshingly different urban fantasy. Still working on Silverthorn, but started Heavy Time for a stimulating Cherryh read. Love her science fiction.
SilverRaindrops wrote: "Good Luck :).
I can't decide between my "to read"-books either. Sometimes I just go by the prettiest cover (or, if I'm really lazy, the book closest to my current position^^). "
Good idea for choosing =)
Going to reread "Game of Thrones" before the HBO series starts. I am going to start on the rest of 'Song of Fire and Ice' before book five makes it's appearance(hopefully) in July. Also going to read:
The Dragon's Path by Daniel Abraham
Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson (correction from earlier...oops!)
A Kingdom Besieged by Raymond Feist
The Dragon's Path by Daniel Abraham
Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson (correction from earlier...oops!)
A Kingdom Besieged by Raymond Feist
Hmm I think I wasn't completely awake earlier this day, march is already over...I have a tendency to change my plans on what to read next, except when I'm not finished reading a series.
But I do have plans to read the Drenai series by David Gemmel.
And something by Janny Wurts.
But if that will be somewhere this month or another I couldn't say :P
I just finished part I of the amazing The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay WOW!I'm not sure what genre this will be, but it has so far become a favorite novel. I could spend a week looking up all the references in part I that I didn't get which vary from great authors to comic book history to Nazi's vs Jews in Czechoslovakia. It is amazingly written and flows through one's mine like creek water during the Spring thaw. It will surely deserve the Pulitzer it won.
I promised myself when I finish this I will get back to WoLaS, next up Traitor's knot, Withdrawal is setting in.
I'm just starting "Green Rider" by Kristen Britain.Penny
I finished Palimpsest and it was an uneven read for me. It was genuinely intriguing at times but I had to force myself to keep reading at others. I feel like I should have enjoyed it more than I did, it just never quite hooked me.Next up is Black Sun Rising which I've heard a lot of good things about.
Trevor wrote: "I finished Palimpsest and it was an uneven read for me. It was genuinely intriguing at times but I had to force myself to keep reading at others. I feel like I should have enjoyed ..."I felt that way about Palimpsest also Trevor. At times it just blew me away and at others things threw me out of the story. The writing is truly beautiful.
I started Black Sun Rising: The Coldfire Trilogy #1 yesterday. So far it's pretty intriguing.
I just finished The Hawk And His Boy, which I absolutely loved. I'm now reading the sequel. Not sure what I'll read after that. Probably Tad William's Shadowmarch. Any thoughts on that series from anyone?
Finished Black Sun Rising and while it had some cool ideas, such as the fae magic being part of the planet, it also had some dull parts.I'll read the next in the series soon, but for now I've started The Lions of al-Rassan.
Trevor wrote: "Finished Black Sun Rising and while it had some cool ideas, such as the fae magic being part of the planet, it also had some dull parts.I'll read the next in the series soon, but fo..."
I'm about halfway through Black Sun Rising and am just bored with all the monsters and such.
I guess I'll be reading Dune series and Kraken.
Just started reading The Historian and I will start Alice in Wonderland because I finally bought that book =)
wow...so many titles new for me......
Currently I am amassing quite a hall on the to read list. I'm finishing up A Game of Thrones(started before I knew there was a tv series coming out) and The Great Hunt(still got a long way to go in the series but right now a good change of pace!)... I have also finished reading The Lost Gate which I found was a good read during the week when I don't have a lot of time to spare. Looking forward to participating in the May book/discussion since i'm new here!
I'm currently reading Nicolae by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, but once I'm done with it I'm planning on a Patricia A. McKillip marathon!
Currently reading The Shadow Rising. Read the 1st 3 ages ago but gave up as I found the books quite difficult to get hold of. Determined to get a bit further through the series in the next month!
Jordan WOT series is kind of a hallmark in fantasy land...glad you guys are partaking! It bogs down a little bit in the middle but it gets itself straightened out so no worries.Veronica I recently read the The Bards of Bone Plain and found it very enjoyable.
Just finished reading Trail of Deceit by Ken Enderby and Greg Rickards. This is a mystery, set in a fantasy world, and a really good mystery too. It got me in from the start and wouldn't let me go. The mystery kind of creeps up on you, till you're totally hooked. These two authors really can write. The last third of the book is probably the best, especially the answer to the mystery, which wasn’t at all what I was expecting. It's a real surprise, and satisfying too. There's also a lot of action at the end, which fits well with the resolution to the mystery.
This is a really good book - good characters, good plot, well written. The maps are good too, which satisfies one of my pet hates. Many fantasy maps are terrible, though I've never managed to work out why. How much effort can there be in drawing a decent map? The website's good too (www.lastsafeseasons.com), with an interesting interview with Ken Enderby about his co-author, who died before the book was finished. Just how he died is also a bit of a mystery, and Enderby tells it like a detective story. I enjoyed the interview almost as much as the book.
Ken Enderby
You've gotten me curious, so I checked and here's what I've read so far this month:
I'm currently reading
and listening to
. Also started
and
- both looking very good indeed. All in all a productive month!
Sandra aka Sleo wrote: "You've gotten me curious, so I checked and here's what I've read so far this month:[bookcover:Daughter of the For..."How to you find time to read all these books =D I'm jelous. It's great month for my if I read 3 books =D
I jut can't find time beetween studying and going to school
Mare wrote: "Sandra aka Sleo wrote: "You've gotten me curious, so I checked and here's what I've read so far this month:[bookc..."Well, I'm semi retired and other than work four days a week, I read, walk my dogs, and piddle around at home.
Finished The Lions of al-Rassan and I enjoyed every minute of it. It's easily a new favorite of mine.Next up is Behemoth.
So far this month, I've read:
I read two Firefly graphic novels and am pages away from finishing
. For someone who hasn't read much if any Urban Fantasy before, I think this month makes up for it!BTW - the Harry Dresden books are phenomenal!
I am currently reading George R.R. Martin's A Feast for Crows (at long last; am finally catching up with the series). I finished A Storm of Swords a few days ago while waiting for my bus and was like =O for most of it (not in a bad way, of course; GRRM twists and turns just caught me by surprise, lol). I'm not far in with FoC yet but I can't wait to just sit down at one point and read it, lol.
Trevor wrote: "Finished The Lions of al-Rassan and I enjoyed every minute of it. It's easily a new favorite of mine.Next up is Behemoth."
Oh, I LOVED Lions!
Dang Laurel-you are going to go through Harry withdrawals!and Li-I wouldnt read the Martins TOO fast...god only knows when the next one will come out even
Sandra aka Sleo wrote: "Trevor wrote: "Finished The Lions of al-Rassan and I enjoyed every minute of it. It's easily a new favorite of mine.Next up is Behemoth."
Oh, I LOVED Lions!"
I have yet to read a bad Guy Gavriel Kay book. One of the things I loved about Lions (and I've seen him do this in other books as well) was the way that he kind of talked around a couple of crucial scenes -- scenes that defined the relationships between the main characters, but which we never actually saw; we only heard about them second-hand.
Behemoth and Leviathan were also excellent; I look forward to the third.
Along the same lines, I'd also recommend Kenneth Oppel's Airborn and its sequels and Philip Reeve's Larklight: A Rousing Tale of Dauntless Pluck in the Farthest Reaches of Space and its sequels.
And although they don't actually have any fantastical elements, Bloody Jack: Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary "Jacky" Faber, Ship's Boy et al. by L.A. Meyer.
Maggie wrote: "and Li-I wouldnt read the Martins TOO fast...god only knows when the next one will come out even "lol, very true; while DoD is coming out on July, I have to wait until it hits paperback (so that it will match the rest of the copies I have) and that might take ages in itself xD
Joseph wrote: "Along the same lines, I'd also recommend Kenneth Oppel's Airborn and its sequels and Philip Reeve's Larklight: A Rousing Tale of Dauntless Pluck in the Farthest Reaches of Space and its sequels.And although they don't actually have any fantastical elements, Bloody Jack: Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary "Jacky" Faber, Ship's Boy et al. by L.A. Meyer."
Nice, thanks for the recommendations. The Leviathan series is the only steampunk I've read but I definitely want to read more in the future.
Maggie,I probably have 50 books on my to-read bookshelf, but it took my a day and a half to decide on anything. I want more Dresden!! It was pretty great to read them all back to back. I don't know that I've read a longer series like that before.
I'm going to work through the Mercy Thompson series to battle the withdrawal...
@Laurel & Sandra: you two should look into another group that I'm part of (All the Pages You Read) where you can track your "pages read" counts for the year. I've gotten some great (non-fantasy) recommendations and had some good conversations about favorite books. It's amazing to see how much you actually do read over 12 months!
Li wrote: "Maggie wrote: "and Li-I wouldnt read the Martins TOO fast...god only knows when the next one will come out even "lol, very true; while DoD is coming out on July, I have to wait until it hits pape..."
aaaaaaaaaaah--I see a library trip in your future!
Slightly late here, but I finished Elric: To Rescue Tanelorn and started Kraken by China Miéville. Not very far along but I'm enjoying it immensely. And it seems almost completely unlike anything of his I've read previously.
Fantasy Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
The Imperfectionists (other topics)The Name of the Wind (other topics)
The Iron King (other topics)
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I Am Number Four (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
China Miéville (other topics)Kenneth Oppel (other topics)
Philip Reeve (other topics)
L.A. Meyer (other topics)
Ken Enderby (other topics)
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In addition to Robot Dreams, there's also Robot Visions.
Plus, I have a hard-to-find copy of Isaac Asimov: The Complete Stories, Vol. 1 which had a few I'd never seen before; but I have never been able to locate a copy of Isaac Asimov: The Complete Stories, Vol. 2 or The Complete Robot.
If anyone knows of a source for those two books, I would love to know about it!