Return of the Book Thread

[murdoc]

Just finished 'The Magicians' and was disappointed. It ended up turning out to what I imagine the writers at WB would come up with if they tried to create 'The Harry Potter Diaries' or something. It tries very hard to be an adult version of Potter, but fails well short of the mark imo.

Been working through 'The Kindly Ones' but I have to keep putting it down and taking a break.

[dd0029]

Just finished up another YA adventure novel.  Mortal Engines by a Phillip Reeve.  This one is a sort of future steampunk or maybe Sky Captain thing.  We have our two sides, the Municipal Darwinists and the Anti-Traction League.  The book is set way, way in a future where some time way in the past there was something called "The Sixty Minute War" and civilization was nearly wiped out in some sort of terrible holocaust.  Someone back then had the great idea to essentially put cities on wheels so that if something goes wrong, say a new mountain range springs up or England is about to be swamped, your city can just roll away.  Not only can your city roll away, if it comes upon another city it can eat it courtesy of the giant jaws you inexplicably engineered onto your city just for this possibility.    Thus municipal darwinism.

Anyway, the story itself is pretty YA with (fortunately not terribly angsty) teen protagonists and some ancillary cardboard characters.  There are some interesting ethical and moral questions sort of vaguely hinted at and the end has a grimness reminiscent of older children's and YA stuff, things like Lloyd Alexander and Ender's Game.

[Ingmar]

The sex change.

OH MR DARCY

[Draegan]

Started reading, "Across the Face of the World" by Russell Kirkpatrick.  Not sure if this will be any good.  It's apparently a formulaic Tolkien novel.  Farm boy saves the world sort of thing.  It's also written by a new author that has a real job as a geologist or something.

His maps are incredibly "accurate".  As in I know the elevation and topography of everything.

[Cyrrex]

Just started book 1 of the Wheel of Time series.  I'm not sure why, except that I've heard the first 4 or 5 are pretty good.  Still reading on just my iPhone, which is not annoying me at all.  It's actually fairly convenient, I'm finding, and not at all a strain on the eyes.  The only drawback I'm finding is that it's more difficult to flip ahead a few pages and find out when your next break or end of chapter is coming.  Other than that, I may prefer it.

[Rasix]

Just started book 1 of the Wheel of Time series.  I'm not sure why, except that I've heard the first 4 or 5 are pretty good.  Still reading on just my iPhone, which is not annoying me at all.  It's actually fairly convenient, I'm finding, and not at all a strain on the eyes.  The only drawback I'm finding is that it's more difficult to flip ahead a few pages and find out when your next break or end of chapter is coming.  Other than that, I may prefer it.

Book 6 has a pretty awesome scene that makes the book for me.  As I'm currently in the middle of a reread, I can verify that books 7-10 (so far, about 300 into 10) aren't nearly as fun. 8-10 and most of 7 were new to me as my previous reads had stalled out in the prologue of 7.  Narrative stalls out a bit in parts and you're left with a lot of hanging plot lines and thumb twiddling.

Still, 1-5 are a lot of fun to read. 

[dd0029]

Book 6 has a pretty awesome scene that makes the book for me.  As I'm currently in the middle of a reread, I can verify that books 7-10 (so far, about 300 into 10) aren't nearly as fun. 8-10 and most of 7 were new to me as my previous reads had stalled out in the prologue of 7.  Narrative stalls out a bit in parts and you're left with a lot of hanging plot lines and thumb twiddling.

Still, 1-5 are a lot of fun to read. 

This is how you read the crappy ones when re-reading: http://www.encyclopaedia-wot.org/

Click the book titles for chapter summaries.

[RhyssaFireheart]

So I took a break out of my Malazan books reread to pick up the Dresden book Turn Coat.  Read that yesterday and it was enjoyable.  Didn't seem to have as much going on as previous books, though, meaning there wasn't multiple plots and things Harry had to try completing to finish off whatever project he was on.  The changes made to the supporting cast felt about right to me and it sounds as if the overarching, behind the scenes plot is finally taking some shape.  

Now I'm back to reading Midnight Tides again, but I've also started the prologue to The Bonehunters because I'm impatient.  Plus Midnight Tides just seemed to drag a bit for me.  I like the people introduced (well, the "good guys" that is) and don't really have a problem with introducing these characters, but things just seem less exciting for me.  Maybe because Trull Sengar isn't the greatest narrative focus.  Not sure.

Also picked up Last Watch at the store when I got Turn Coat.  Haven't started it yet but I'm glad someone mentioned there was a fourth book in the series or I'd never have known.  Now I want to reread those books as well before getting into the last book.  

I really do think I'm a weird reader.  No one else I know of reads books like I do.

[Rasix]

Book 6 has a pretty awesome scene that makes the book for me.  As I'm currently in the middle of a reread, I can verify that books 7-10 (so far, about 300 into 10) aren't nearly as fun. 8-10 and most of 7 were new to me as my previous reads had stalled out in the prologue of 7.  Narrative stalls out a bit in parts and you're left with a lot of hanging plot lines and thumb twiddling.

Still, 1-5 are a lot of fun to read. 

This is how you read the crappy ones when re-reading: http://www.encyclopaedia-wot.org/

Click the book titles for chapter summaries.

Doesn't help that the crappy ones were new to me.  I figured I should bear through them at least once.

Thanks for the link though, it'll help since I'll be caught up well in advance of the finish of the series.

[Teleku]

I recently read the new Wheel of Time book.  It was surprisingly good!  The pace moved along very well, and I actually like the new writing style.  More concise, and the characters are all a lot more distinctive now.  They always had their quirks before, but the characters all started to meld together as they repeated the same sort of running jokes and mannerisms as the series dragged on.  Now, every time it switch's to a different point of view, it really does feel like a different person.  I actually enjoyed the Matt story stuff again!  I haven't for years.  I enjoyed reading everybody's character as a matter of fact, which is quite an accomplishment (then again, there was no Perrin in this book, heh).

Overall tone seemed a lot more darker, which was a nice change of pace.  I also really liked the ending, and the way they took things with Rand (MAJOR SPOILERS):

So yeah, I walked in with pretty low expectations, having just read book 10 and 11 before this to catch back up (bleh, those were painfully slow and boring), but was very surprised.  I went from not caring about the WoT anymore, to eagerly awaiting the next book.  I'm fine with the fact that Sanderson broke it up into 3 books.  There's a lot of plot threads that need to be tied up that Jordan should have taken care of years ago.  Now that we have an actual writer who's hell bent on finishing it, I'm fine with him taking the time to do so (especially since he's going to be pumping out the books at the pace of 1 a year).

Man, who knew Robert Jordan dieing was the best thing that could happen to his series.   

[Sheepherder]

[Ard]

Okay, I finally finished Dust of Dreams... holy crap at the last two chapters.  I no longer know where he's going.

[FatuousTwat]

Bleh, my library system still hasn't gotten Dust of Dreams. Does anyone else think that the cover art for Toll the Hounds was terrible?

[Ard]

The US cover was a complete abortion.  The UK cover is what it should have stayed as.  That one similar to art on Dust of Dreams, Night of Knives and the Crimson Guard.  But hey, at least they didn't botch the skin color for the guy on the cover this time!

[Arrrgh]

The US cover was a complete abortion.  The UK cover is what it should have stayed as.  That one similar to art on Dust of Dreams, Night of Knives and the Crimson Guard.  But hey, at least they didn't botch the skin color for the guy on the cover this time!

Best cover...

http://www.komarckart.com/new01.html

[HaemishM]

/WHORE ALERT

It took awhile, but I finally got the second book in my series published and available on Amazon. For those who haven't read the first, or don't know WTF I'm talking about, I point you to the post about my first book: Under the Amoral Bridge. The second book is called The Know Circuit and you can get the paperback at Amazon for $9.99, on Kindle for $2.99 (and you can still get the first on Kindle for $.99 cents).

As a special suck up to the f13ers, if you don't mind buying the paperback from somewhere other than Amazon, I can give you coupons for buying the book direct from the Print-on-demand house. You can get both books for $8 each + shipping at the links below. I offer these because I actually make more money if you buy direct than I do if you buy at Amazon, even with the coupons.

Under the Amoral Bridge - S3M97LBV
The Know Circuit - S225MDNB

My apologies if the whoring has offended you.

/WHORE OFF

[Viin]

Is your cut different for the Kindle versions vs the paperback?

[HaemishM]

I actually wrote a blog post about the pricing issue a few weeks ago. In short, yes, I get less money per eBook than a paperback. An Amazon sale on the new book is about $3.20 per book, a Kindle nets me $1.05 right now. In June, Amazon changes their eBook royalty rates for books priced $2.99 & over, meaning I'll get about twice as much on the eBook then (probably around $2). Of course, if you don't have a Kindle but some other book reader, you can get it here, where I currently get 65% royalties.

[Johny Cee]

Okay, I finally finished Dust of Dreams... holy crap at the last two chapters.  I no longer know where he's going.

I just finished Dust of Dreams as well, and I'm currently undecided about whether I even want to read the last book.  DoD was a mess.

Esselmont's The Return of the Crimson Guard is actually a pretty decent read.  Some problems, but it's a big step above the last few Erikson books.  Deals directly with the political fallout on the Malazan home continent following Erikson's The Bonehunters, and really reminds me of the first few Malazan books.


For Bujold fans, it looks like she's returning to her Miles Vorkosigan series this fall with a new book.

[HaemishM]

I finished up Beautiful Red - wholly unsatisfying. It never once got really interesting, despite a world that was rife with story possibilities.

I started on Flash Forward because I like the TV show. The book is nothing like the TV show, other than a few cosmetic similarities. I can't even say I like one over the other because they are two different stories with shared window dressing. One is an action adventure, the other is a drama with sci-fi as the narrative device.

[Sky]

Finished Gardens of the Moon and into Deadhouse Gates right now.

 

Bought the book club hardcover for $7. I don't buy many books.

[Vision]

In Japan, so I thought I would read a light, brainless book to take my mind off of studying and trying to speak a foreign language. Decided to read Tom Clancys Rainbow Six since it boasted New York times 1 best seller.
Terrible. Awful. Largest waste of almost 1000 pages of words ever. It had its moments, but I was wholly un-impressed.
Therefore does anyone have any good espionage book recommendations? Thought about getting a Bourne book, but dont want to piss away another large portion of time for a meaningless story.
Suggestions?

[Quinton]

If you haven't already read it, Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy is some classic cold-war spycraft fun.

[Murgos]

If you haven't already read it, Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy is some classic cold-war spycraft fun.

Yeah, John LeCarre is pretty good.  The books are from another time and mentality though so they can seem a little slow/methodical.  Stuff by Robert Littell is pretty decent, The Company or Legends.

For what it's worth I though the Bourne stuff all pretty much sucked.

[dd0029]

Finished up The Desert Spear by Peter Brett.  It's the sequel to The Painted/Warded Man.  Someone went and got hisself some writin' edjumacation.  This is a much better written book than the first.  The first sort of felt like several loosely connected short stories.  This second book is a solid single story throughout.  Also, as a big plus, while it's a middle book, it does not suffer from middle book syndrome.  It has its own complete story arc with enough teasers left hanging to tie into a third book.  There's some ugly stuff for the light fantasy that it is.  The characters are kind of thin and people are still overly concerned with who should be sleeping with whom.  But, the story is strong and what I can see of the world is very interesting.

[Engels]

Murgos,

LeCarre's still writing, so not all his stuff is that dated. The cold ware stuff, is, but some stands up well. I personally thought the Tailor of Panama was a good one, especially if you know very little of the US invasion of Panama.

[JWIV]

Just finished up Chronicles of the Black Company by Glen Cook.   Absolutely fantastic.

[Sheepherder]

Tom Clancy

Dude has his moments.  They're usually spread few and far between though, and are more frequent before he goes into full-on wish fulfillment mode.

[Stabs]

I would recommend Stella Rimington's spy novels
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stella_Rimington#Novels

She was the director of the British domestic spy service MI5 before she became an author. I've read her first four novels and rather enjoyed them. I saw her speak last year. She said that she wanted to write this sort of fiction because as someone actually doing the job she found the public image created by James Bond rather annoying.

I liked her immensely. Judi Dench based her interpretation of M on Stella Rimington.

[Vision]

If you haven't already read it, Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy is some classic cold-war spycraft fun.

This sounds good. Thanks for the reccomendation.
As far as Clancy goes, during Rainbow Six it was pretty obvious where the authors opinions lie. Not to mention the end sucked.
Plus his extreme obsession with useless details that dont pertain to plot drove me nuts.

[Teleku]

From the little I've read of Tom Clancy, it's best to stick with his earliest stuff (IE, cold war).  Red Storm Rising was good mindless fun.

Also, I too have been reading the Black Company books based on recommendations in this thread.  Holy god, it is great.  I can't stop reading it.  I'm on the 5th book currently (I could only find the big anthology books, so really, I'm halfway through the book of the south, heh).  Took me a little bit to get use to the writing style, but I've come to love it.  It's very ambiguous/non-descriptive, which actually means most of the story is straight on plot advancement (a nice change in fantasy).  At first it seemed almost young adult'ish in its writing, but it hits hard with how brutal the plot plays out.  Anyways, I love the series.  One interesting thing after another.

[Murgos]

Tom Clancy

Dude has his moments.  They're usually spread few and far between though, and are more frequent before he goes into full-on wish fulfillment mode.

Red Storm Rising and Hunt for Red October.  That's the moments.

[Morat20]

Tom Clancy

Dude has his moments.  They're usually spread few and far between though, and are more frequent before he goes into full-on wish fulfillment mode.

Red Storm Rising and Hunt for Red October.  That's the moments.

I enjoyed both of those. Then later I started reading David Weber, and realized Tom Clancy was like Weber, but even more anvillicious with his politics, and covering modern submarines instead of spaceships.

I just finished his (Weber's) A Mighty Fortress and enjoyed it greatly, although there wasn't quite enough military ass-kicking for my tastes. I think he's done a fairly good job of keeping the side with the immortal, future-tech having advisor evenly balanced with their low-tech counterparts. (The future tech side is still restricted to wind, water, and muscle power -- the religion that both sides ascribe to is a very anti-technology one, and while the 'good guys' more or less know it's a bunch of bullshit, their subjects still believe). Having the 'good guys' not only be massively outnumbered, but having to work only the edges of technological advances more or less keeps it balanced.

Quite looking forward to seeing how he handles ironclads without steam power. Because of the whole religious thing, pretty much any innovate the 'good guys' can get away with is one the bad guys can copy. So you're good for about one big surprise per year or two (Galleons facing galleys, rifles w/ring bayonets facing muskets, cavalry, and pikes, then shell-firing galleons facing round-shot ones) before the other side copies them. So now that they have shells, they're going to need to armor their ships with something better than wood....but iron's a little too heavy to be pulled around by sails.

[WayAbvPar]

Finished Gardens of the Moon and into Deadhouse Gates right now.

 

Bought the book club hardcover for $7. I don't buy many books.

About halfway through GotM now, and I am really digging it.

[Abagadro]

Based upon the works that followed from both of them Red Storm Rising was more Larry Bond than Tom Clancy.  I liked Clancy's stuff up through Without Remorse but didn't like much of the next couple so stopped reading him.