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Martin's epic saga continually breaks new philosophical and epistemological ground, and like Wittgenstein shows the reader that we've been too long concerned with answering the wrong questions. What we really need to know is 'Where do whores go?'.

Actually, Martin will probably kill them all off before they get there, anyway!

"Hodor," said Hodor. Hodor has spoken for the first time. The question is, do I play a Hodor drinking game - can anyone stand that much alcohol?

If perchance he happens to die, I wonder what Hodor's last words are likely to be?

Half way through already? Only 50% more and it will be all gone :(

I'd forgotten how much I adore early Dickens. This is just too much fun. Dick Swiveller ftw - I'm embarrassing myself roaring with laughter on the tube...

NEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLL. She's sossss peeeeerrrrffffffect and woooonderfuuuull.

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!

I walk past The Old Curiosity Shop on the way to work. Hope that the novel lives up to the building.

A strong start, I'm really digging this one.

One of those occasions when I'm reading something and I realise that I'd much rather be reading Charles Dickens. One can't hold that against McDermott but he really ought to be Charles Dickens right now.

I was sold on Last Dragon in about 3 pages. This one so far ... I'm not really enjoying yet. The poetry of the narrative isn't there.

That said, I'm barely at the beginning of a three book cycle and I trust McDermott not to let me down!

Whole heaps of ripping yarns already and I'm only a third of the way through. It's possible a little more Indiana Jones than the first, but Vaillancourt is well aware of the problems with this kind of narrative and doing a good job of keeping it PC as well as fun and feisty.

I first read this when I was 19 to a resounding "eh, I don't really get this. Well, maybe I get it a little bit. But not really"

I get it now, I really think I do.

Goodness. Purely inspirational.

Can't quite in down my thoughts about this one. It feels both clever, but also a little bit staid. An easy pick for Sword and Sorcery fans, though.

What is essentially a prologue to the main story has more than outstayed its welcome now and my goodwill towards this is slowly evaporating. It's Ok, occasionally well written, but at the moment it all adds up to a big vat of nothing.

I'm enjoying this so far a lot more than I thought that I would. King writes in a self-consciously lowbrow way and it actually works in his favour here. No nonsese, fairly compelling individual character pieces that dovetail into a worldwide catastrophe. I like it, I hope it continues to be this strong.

Well, here we go. Mr Stephen King, this is your chance to shine in the sun. Wow me with your apocalyptic beast.

Grand Admiral Thrawn. Greatest ever tactician in the universe.

"Leia is on that ship" "How do you know?" "Because she's not on the other one" "How do you know she's not on the other one?" "Because she's on that one."

"How on Earh does he do it? The man's a genius" Thought the Captain.

*StArwArgaSms*

According to Daniel Davis, this puts me at about 10. Oh well, there's plenty of time to grow-up yet...

i'm close to the finish. Will I ever make it? Stay tuned to find out. *Exciting*

For Dostoyevsky all men are deeply flawed, selfish individuals. All women are whores with hearts of gold who offer the men redemption.

Well, he's 50% right.

These days the less I understand something the more I like it. This is not the book I expected to read and somehow that intrigues and interests me. Fyodr shifts styles from light to dense, philosophical to romantic at the drop of a hat all the while hinting at what's to come and teasing out the larger picture. A fucking difficult read. I'm hooked.

I've just struck the point where I've realised that this is going to be a brilliant novel (weld, duh). Old Fyodor doesn't hurry his hurry the pace and I'm now acquainted with the histories of about 15 characters that I've forgotten... but I'm intrigued by this drama of family rivalry and brilliant - sometimes hilarious - religious philosophy. Can't wait for the shit to hit the fan in later chapters.

Holy sweet mother of fucking Jesus this book is good.

This is a carbon copy of Gene Wolfe. A CARBON COPY. It's like McDermott read a Wolfe novel and said "I'm going to re-write that word for word it's so awesome."

/bullshit

I feel cheated. I'd been hoping for a Magic: The Gathering novelisation and some bastard fobbed me off with a really interesting, well-written novel. Oh well, I suppose it will have to do.

Sometimes when a book is this good you wonder why you aren't reading more... Eddison has the ability to make everything feel fantastic and wondrous. This is fantasy as it should be.

Truthfully, I couldn't even hazard a guess as to who the culprit is. But damn, if I don't really want to know...