Return of the Book Thread

[Morat20]

Just finished I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett. I was heartened to find that the odd feeling I'd had the first half of the book -- that the Tiffany Aching character was just off somehow -- was not, in fact, Alzheimer's causing him to lose his touch which characters, but actually part of the plot.

Which I suppose says something about his craft as a writer, that he wrote the character so well that I spent the first half of the book feeling something was wrong with the character, but couldn't pinpoint what or why I felt that way.

Still not as as good as Wee Free Men -- but that and Hat Full of Sky -- were stellar simply because he conveyed, in every word about the Chalk, his absolute love of that part of England. 

[Sky]

I am leery about the House of Chains only because it seems to bounce back and cover the Seven Cities continent again.

Yes, some parts of that focus drag a bit. But it's really all about Karsa. The first whole section that's pure Karsa is one of my favorite things I've ever read, like Robert E Howard and Glen Cook had a baby and named it Karsa.

[Reg]

Damn Sky. That was the craftiest Black Company reference at the beginning of a new page I've seen yet.  Four stars!

[Sky]

 

[Ironwood]

Just finished I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett. I was heartened to find that the odd feeling I'd had the first half of the book -- that the Tiffany Aching character was just off somehow -- was not, in fact, Alzheimer's causing him to lose his touch which characters, but actually part of the plot.

Which I suppose says something about his craft as a writer, that he wrote the character so well that I spent the first half of the book feeling something was wrong with the character, but couldn't pinpoint what or why I felt that way.

Still not as as good as Wee Free Men -- but that and Hat Full of Sky -- were stellar simply because he conveyed, in every word about the Chalk, his absolute love of that part of England. 

This was Pratchetts Finest Book Ever.

True Literature. 

[Morat20]

This was Pratchetts Finest Book Ever.

True Literature. 

Wee Free Men? Yeah. No doubt. Good Omens, Reaper Man, and Small Gods were all good. Very good.

But something about Wee Free Men pushed it a bit further. I think it really is that he based it on his favorite part of England, the part that's home to him.

[Ironwood]

No.  I Shall Wear Midnight.  Pratchett knocked the whole thing out of the park - His finest.

Another facet ; There are not many childrens books out there that have a teenage girl getting a beating abortion in the second chapter.  The way he refuses to nicen the olden days for Children is extremely refreshing.

[Morat20]

No.  I Shall Wear Midnight.  Pratchett knocked the whole thing out of the park - His finest.

Another facet ; There are not many childrens books out there that have a teenage girl getting a beating abortion in the second chapter.  The way he refuses to nicen the olden days for Children is extremely refreshing.

Eh, I'll have to read it again. Like I said, I spent the first half wondering if his Alzheimer's was affecting his writing. (Of course, reading Nation was like being kicked in the guts. It's hard not to read that and think about him dealing with his illness. Although he handled it in a much better way than Stephen King did).

But the abortion thing -- that's part and parcel of the whole witch thing. They know all the dirty secrets, deal with all the private horrors behind closed doors. Because someone has to. Someone has to heal the teenage girl, bury the...remains...and deal with the father who beat her (and try to keep the villagers from lynching him -- no sense making more monsters). The fact that Tiffany herself is only sixteen and is doing all this --- from caring for the sick, helping the elderly, and cleaning and laying out the dead -- well, damn.

I do admit the scenes with her father were pretty heartbreaking.

[Ironwood]

I don't disagree - But bear in mind these books are specifically for Children.  These are written with his younger readers in mind.  It's nice for an author not to mollycoddle them and actual deal with harsher topics that, let's face it, are sadly as relevant now as they were then.

[tgr]

Speaking of books specifically for children, does harry potter fall into that category? Because I've only read the first book (I think), and I seem to remember it being oddly bipolar, with the cutesywutesy magic and various explanations ... and the pretty graphic ways of killing stuff.

[Samwise]

The Harry Potter books kind of "ramped up" chronologically, with the idea that the same kids who read the first book when it came out would be old enough to handle all the horrible shit in the later books by the time they were published.  Not sure how well that theory holds up now that you can buy them all at once.

[Ironwood]

Fuck, by the time they've finished that shitty doorstop of a last book and actually decoded what the fuck it is Rowling was talking about, the average teen will be at retirement age.

[WayAbvPar]

I am leery about the House of Chains only because it seems to bounce back and cover the Seven Cities continent again.

Yes, some parts of that focus drag a bit. But it's really all about Karsa. The first whole section that's pure Karsa is one of my favorite things I've ever read, like Robert E Howard and Glen Cook had a baby and named it Karsa.

I am only 40 pages or so into it, but so far it is interesting. Karsa kind of a one note anti-hero so far- maybe he will show some traits that make me not loathe him later in the book.

Fuck, by the time they've finished that shitty doorstop of a last book and actually decoded what the fuck it is Rowling was talking about, the average teen will be at retirement age.

That made me actually laugh/yelp WAY too loudly in my cube here. Now everyone is wondering what (or more likely, what ELSE) is wrong with me.

[tgr]

I dunno about that logic, as I've only read the first book, and I still thought there was a weird disconnect somewhere. I've no idea what the later books are like.

[K9]

No.  I Shall Wear Midnight.  Pratchett knocked the whole thing out of the park - His finest.

Another facet ; There are not many childrens books out there that have a teenage girl getting a beating abortion in the second chapter.  The way he refuses to nicen the olden days for Children is extremely refreshing.

I've been giving the Tiffany Aching books a miss, but I guess I'll have to pick them up now.

Nation was a massive let-down though...

[Ironwood]

Didn't read Nation.  The back cover just didn't yank my bits.

[K9]

I consoled myself by re-reading the entire Bromelaid. Even as an adult it is still utterly brilliant.

[Khaldun]

Just read the Hunger Games trilogy. I know it's getting a lot of hype, but it's pretty warranted in this case, imho. Way way better than most other stuff labelled as YA, with a lot of subversive stuff for those middle-schoolers and high-schoolers who get their hands on it.

[Morat20]

Didn't read Nation.  The back cover just didn't yank my bits.

It's...unusual, for a Pratchett book. Like I said, I think he wrote it while he was dealing with his diagnosis and it's pretty dark because of it. And Pratchett Dark is a bit...weird.

Khaldun:

My wife teaches junior high English (and by "teaches" I mean "has a double Master's" and "is writing the curriculm for all the junior highs in the district" so she basically teaches what she wants to teach, and not what someone else told her based on hype) and has spazzed about those books. That and The Book Thief and has been browbeating me to read them.

Her job requires her to stay up to date on teen literature, because it's a lot easier to get kids to read if you can utilize peer pressure, but it's rare for her to get this behind a book. The Hunger Games and The Book Thief got stuck with The Wee Free Men, Ender's Game and a small handful of others as "top notch shit".

As we live in Texas, she also spends a lot of time giggling over how much subversive shit ends up in English classrooms without the conservative fuddy-duddies ever noticing. She finds it hilarious that the morons screaming about biology and trying to ban Harry Potter books seem to have no fucking clue as to what they're missing in the ELA curriculms.

Not that she takes advantage of it. She takes her job seriously. I've come to the conclusion that teaching is more of a vocation than a job. Or at least should be.

[dd0029]

Just read the Hunger Games trilogy. I know it's getting a lot of hype, but it's pretty warranted in this case, imho. Way way better than most other stuff labelled as YA, with a lot of subversive stuff for those middle-schoolers and high-schoolers who get their hands on it.

The hype is definitely worth it for the first one.  The Running Man with 12 to 18 year old contestants is   .  The second is good, but the third is loaded down with the angsty teen thing and then takes a decided turn into wtfistan near the end, but does wrap up fairly well.

[Khaldun]

Yeah, I agree the middle book is kind of weak. But I liked the conclusion a lot, went to some new places. I was expecting the first book to just be "Battle Royale for Americans" but really, despite some superficial resemblances, it's not. Among the subversive things going on in the first book is an absolutely brutal critique of social class in contemporary America, and a pretty blunt condemnation of fake meritocracies and how they elevate selected members of the underclasses.

[Quinton]

I am leery about the House of Chains only because it seems to bounce back and cover the Seven Cities continent again.

Yes, some parts of that focus drag a bit. But it's really all about Karsa. The first whole section that's pure Karsa is one of my favorite things I've ever read, like Robert E Howard and Glen Cook had a baby and named it Karsa.

I am only 40 pages or so into it, but so far it is interesting. Karsa kind of a one note anti-hero so far- maybe he will show some traits that make me not loathe him later in the book.

Once Karsa starts interacting with the world outside of his homeland, his storyline gets quite a bit more complex. 

[Chimpy]

Went to the library, decided to pick up at random something that people talk about in this thread that I have not read.

Tried to check out the Mistborn books....Second two were on the shelf, first book checked out 3 days ago.

Tried to pick up the Malazan books....All but the first book on the shelf, first book due back in a week.

So I picked up some newer Glen Cook books.

[FatuousTwat]

Just finished Dust of Dreams...

[Ironwood]

Don't resist The Book Thief.  It's a staggering book.

[WayAbvPar]

I am leery about the House of Chains only because it seems to bounce back and cover the Seven Cities continent again.

Yes, some parts of that focus drag a bit. But it's really all about Karsa. The first whole section that's pure Karsa is one of my favorite things I've ever read, like Robert E Howard and Glen Cook had a baby and named it Karsa.

I am only 40 pages or so into it, but so far it is interesting. Karsa kind of a one note anti-hero so far- maybe he will show some traits that make me not loathe him later in the book.

Once Karsa starts interacting with the world outside of his homeland, his storyline gets quite a bit more complex. 

Yeah, this is really picking up- I still hate him, but his story is certainly compelling. Definitely the best start to any of the books so far.

[RhyssaFireheart]

Personally, nothing about Karsa is particularly likeable, but he is a very compelling character. 

[FatuousTwat]

Witness.

[dd0029]

Most of the way done with Brent Weeks' new door stop The Black Prism.  Its an interesting world with a kind of interesting magic system (though nearly lifted wholesale from Sanderson's Warbreaker) saddled with an atrocious main character.  Its pretty much the same guy from the last series, but with much less reason for his cocky, asshole attitude.  It's really jarring reading his sections as most of the supporting characters are pretty good.  I'd only recommend picking this one up from somewhere you don't have to pay for it, ie the library.

On an unrelated note, just got an email from Tor that the first chapter of Towers of Midnight is up on their site.

[FatuousTwat]

Finished Gemmel's Legend last night. It was pretty good.

[Ozzu]

I just finished 'On A Pale Horse' by Piers Anthony and while it was somewhat entertaining, there is just something about his writing style that I can't quite get into. And since this one is supposedly the pinnacle of this particular series, I think I'm going to consider it a one book deal and just skip the others.

[Reg]

That's generally the best bet with any Piers Anthony series. He gets some really interesting ideas, starts out strongly and then drives them thoroughly into the ground so that by the time you finish you hate them.

"A Spell for Chameleon" was actually not a bad little story either. Decades later it has morphed into the horror that is the Xanth series.

[Morat20]

I just finished 'On A Pale Horse' by Piers Anthony and while it was somewhat entertaining, there is just something about his writing style that I can't quite get into. And since this one is supposedly the pinnacle of this particular series, I think I'm going to consider it a one book deal and just skip the others.

In between beating a dead horse and his deep interest in pedophilia, Anthony is a bit hard to read. Although, I have to bear in mind something Jack Chalker once said when a fan asked him why all his books ended up with people changing gender -- he said the ones that didn't didn't sell.

On A Pale Horse wasn't bad -- it's just gotten a bit dated, it was (as Reg said) another of his "interesting ideas, semi-decent execution, followed by beating it into the ground with an increasingly awful series of sequels). Other people have done it better -- noteably Gaiman.

I'll take perky Goth over emo guy any day.

[Reg]

Hah, I haven't thought of Jack Chalker in years. I still remember his original Well of Souls trilogy and how new and original they were. Little did I know that his entire career would be spent writing those same books over and over again.

[WayAbvPar]

The ideas behind the Incarnations of Immortality and the Apprentice Adept series were both really interesting. I loved them both- when I was 13. I am sure they would be awful now. If only a talented writer had come up with them...