Return of the Book Thread

[Chimpy]

I think people who are listening to the audio books instead of reading them the old fashioned way may very well be subjecting themselves to more pain than they would have.

[dd0029]

I had run across Justin Gustainis with his Occult Crimes Investigation Unit books. They're fairly fun urban fantasy CSI books set in Pennsylvania. He throws in a fair bit of local character which elevates the somewhat bland books to something much better. I noticed he had another earlier series, Quincey Morris Supernatural Investigations, so I was curious. My local library has ebook copies so I decided to check them out when I noticed a cover blurb from Jim Butcher. Yeah not so much. Part of my problem with the books is a me problem. The books are set up as being about the investigative team, however about a quarter of the way through he seems to have gotten more interested in the villains and the side characters. That gets even more prominent in the second book. The other thing that bothered me was the sex. I don't ususally notice crass and objectifying, but when you have your female "participants" refer to themselves unironically as fucktoys, even I'm going to notice. Then there's the scene in the second book where:  All because the good guys have to be lilly white instead of adding some grey.

[Signe]

I was just thinking (yes, it hurt) and since there seems to be a few writers on f13, both professional and hobbyists, I thought I would find out if anyone was interested in submitting work to some of the things my brother in law edits and runs.  Some are webby things and some are booky things.  The one he's created (he doesn't publish his own stuff in it) asks for submissions from both writers and artists and it's about bugs.  Yeah, yeah... I know.  You're all afraid of bugs.  There's also one starting up about architecture.  The other one, unfortunately, ends today and is about weird erotica.  Bleh.  This was the latest request for submissions:

Submissions for The Flesh Made Word - erotica about writing (and being written) come to a close tonight. I received a flurry of subs yesterday, and hope there's another today. http://www.circlet.com/?p=4395

Submissions for Issue 5 of the Journal of Unlikely Entomology run through April 1st. If you have a buggy story in you, send it here! http://www.grumpsjournal.com/subs.html

Submissions for The Journal of Unlikely Architecture remain open until filled. We have filled half the slots and are looking for another 3-4 stories, depending on length. We're aiming for an early August release. JoUA will feature stories in which architectural structures (buildings, bridges, etc) are significant parts of the tale.

We'll be announcing our next Unlikely Adventure soon, once we finalize the guidelines and figure out what to call it. Stay tuned..."
Call for Submissions: The Flesh Made Word: Erotic Tales About Writing | Circlet Press: Welcome to Ci
www.circlet.com
Call for Submissions: The Flesh Made Word: Erotic Tales About Writing Edited by Bernie Mojzes Deadline: March 1, 2013 In the age of communication – where words are cheap, easy, and disposable – it’s easy to forget the sheer physicality of the written word. The inscription, through will and intention...

Sorry about the pervy one.  I'm sure they'll have more requests later.  For some reason, outside of Haemish, I didn't think of asking anyone here.  Oops.  So if you are interested, both writers and artists, there's stuff in that thingy I quoted up there.

[Khaldun]

I don't know why I hadn't really read any Pratchett for a long time--I read a Discworld book ages ago, don't even remember which, but I thought it was decent and forgettable. I just happened upon the Tiffany Aching books though while looking for a new series to read with my 12-year old and read them all in a week. Really great--not just funny but often wise.

[Morat20]

I don't know why I hadn't really read any Pratchett for a long time--I read a Discworld book ages ago, don't even remember which, but I thought it was decent and forgettable. I just happened upon the Tiffany Aching books though while looking for a new series to read with my 12-year old and read them all in a week. Really great--not just funny but often wise.

Pratchett did straight parody for like three books. Then he moved into good, solid fantasy where humor was still omnipresent, but not the point, kinda like a more prolific and focused Douglas Adams. Then somewhere around Reaper Man and Small Gods he just said "Fuck it, I'm gonna be goddamn awesome" and started writing top-notch shit.

The Tiffany Aching books are by far his best, IMHO. Nightwatch is fantastic, but loses some of it's punch if you haven't read the other Guards books.

Good Omens is also pretty damn good. I kinda wonder if writing with Gaimen is what really pushed him to another level -- his style abruptly matured and deepened around that time.

[Rasix]

Finally finished the Mistborn trilogy.  I had such a hard time getting through these books.  I don't know why.  Sanderson does build up and the finish rather well, but I found the middle sections of 2 and 3 to be a bit tedious.

I didn't see that ending coming at all.  Well done on that front.

[Quinton]

Finally finished the Mistborn trilogy.  I had such a hard time getting through these books.  I don't know why.  Sanderson does build up and the finish rather well, but I found the middle sections of 2 and 3 to be a bit tedious.

I didn't see that ending coming at all.  Well done on that front.

I think he's got a gift for interesting world concepts, magic systems, epic battles, etc, but have found his characters and storytelling to be kinda flat.

[Ceryse]

So I pretty much stopped reading a decade or so but have gotten back into it pretty heavily in the last year and have been at a pretty big loss of things to read lately (local selections aren't great and no one I know is into reading so not getting a lot of recommendations there). Looking for recommendations from you guys since a few of the suggestions in this thread have been great.

Right now I'm mainly looking for fantasy (high or otherwise) or science fiction that's decently put together in terms of world/universe building and preferably heavy on either combat/war or intrigue (both ideally, but I don't expect much there). I've read the Black Company (really enjoyed the first half, the second half a bit less so), every Modesitt book out there (I find him a great read for this sort of thing if I want something light) and Butcher's Codex Alera, of which the middle couple were its peak (also got the Dresden series which was better than I expected, though Ghost Story was a let down, so more akin to the Dresden books would be nice, as well). Also went through most of the Feist books.. with wildly varying opinions book to book. Also got the Night Watch series and working through it presently. Other than that, I think my collection is pretty much down to older books from before I stopped reading (Forgotten Realms pulp, Tolkien, Goodkind and so forth that were decent to read growing up but haven't aged well at all).

Picked up a few of the Culture novels but found the first one somewhat 'meh'.

Tried asking around at some local book stores and generally got blank stares. If it matters.. nothing that's e-book only. I prefer having an actual book in my hands.

[Morat20]

If you like sci-fi military porn, you can try Weber -- his Honor Harrington books are basically Horatio Hornblower IN SPACE, and his Safehold books are, well, Protestant Reformation in the Age of Sail with a cybernetic adviser.

Fantasy, um...Williams Memory, Sorrow and Thorn is high fantasy with heavy world building.

You might enjoy Stross' Laundry novels which is Cthulu crossed with IT support by way of James Bond -- or Accelerando or Halting State are pretty good sci-fi.

Scalzi's Old Man's War wasn't bad.

Definitely try Neil Gaiman. American Gods is a good one, as is Neverwhere.

PC Hodgell's God Stalk is well worth it. I think you can even find paper copies now, although i get the e-books from Baen.

[proudft]

The early Honor Harrington books are awesome.  Later on the proportion of political meetings to spacebattles starts to get too high, and you can bow out wherever it crosses that boredom line for you.  But the first five or six are great.

[Hammond]

Kevin Hearne Iron Druid and Richard Kadrey Sandman are decent in the dresden vein.  As is Ben Aaronovitch Moon over Soho and other in that series.
Gene Doucette Immortal and followup Hellenic Immortal are also pretty good modern fantasy. (although the paperbacks are pretty expensive). The monster hunter series by Larry Correia are ok although fairly violent and the guy has a hardon for guns like no other author I have read.

For science fiction? Ugg I have not read much good sci-fi in the last few years. I like the culture novels but they are a acquired taste to a certain extent. I get my popcorn reading (filling but no substance) from reading warhammer 40k books.  Michael G. Thomas Star Crusades is decent although fairly long and ongoing series (10 books now?).

Peter Hamilton's Fallen Dragon was a good one off story. His series like the Nights Dawn is a fairly long read and its just so so.

[lamaros]

China Mieville has some stuff that is ok. Embassytown is the one I've enjoyed most so far (have not read The City & The City)

[Viin]

A good popcorn Sci-fi read would be Simon R Green's Deathstalker series.

[Quinton]

I massively enjoy Alastair Reynolds' stuff -- pretty epic medium-future world building of the throw you in the deep end and let you figure it out as the story unfolds style.  Not for everyone, but I'd suggest giving Revelation Space a look, and if you don't hate it, check out his other stuff.

[Abagadro]

I like Reynolds' stuff a lot too.

[K9]

I just read Larry Niven's Ringworld and though that it was a pretty fun story.

[Khaldun]

I like Reynolds.

Ken McLeod writes interesting space opera that's more hard SF with a bit of political theory mixed in (McLeod is an old-line Marxist).

John C. Wright, who is a very weird dude in real-life, wrote a far-future series called The Golden Age that I really liked. The rest of his work not so much.

Mark Van Name's Jon and Lobo series is fun military-ish SF--reminds me a bit of the Stainless Steel Rat for some reason.

I think the Honor Harrington books are dumb and bad from beginning to end but I think I'm in the minority on that score.

Scott Westerfeld's The Risen Empire (two books that have now been published as a single volume) is good space opera.

A lot of YA fantasy is these days better imho than the standard 800 pg. 'epics'. I really really like Ysabeau Wilce's Flora Segunda books (three of them now) and Garth Nix's Abhorsen series.

[Shannow]

Garth Nix's Abhorsen series.

+1 on these and not just because Garth is my cousin. 

[Teleku]

Along with Natlie Portman, amirght?

 

[Morat20]

Garth Nix's Abhorsen series.

+1 on these and not just because Garth is my cousin. 

Feel free to tell your cousin he wrote some seriously good shit. :)

The world he created was just fantastic and imaginative.

[Shannow]

He started writing as a D&D dungeon master.

[Morat20]

He started writing as a D&D dungeon master.

That's...not really surprising, actually. If you do your own modules, you get pretty good at world building. Or your players humor you. :)

I cheerfully stole a ton of his world for a D&D campaign (mated it with another module). In fact, one of my players still has one of my Abhorsen books....I wonder if they're available on kindle?

I wanted a slightly different feel to undead --- creepier than the stock D&D skeletons and liches. It fit well. And of course, there were steampunk robots. It was a Warmachines module...

[Shannow]

So my brother puts me onto Rothfuss's Kingkiller chronicles, what he doesn't tell me is that the third book isn't out yet. Should I punch him first then hug him or the other way round?

[Sky]

Peter Hamilton's Fallen Dragon was a good one off story. His series like the Nights Dawn is a fairly long read and its just so so.

Agreed. And it gets really bizarre. Lots of potential but I wouldn't bother reading it again. He's got some massive novel that he just put out, but after Night's Dawn I'm hesitant.

Ceryse, try Erikson's Malazan series.

I'm between stuff so decided to pick up Zahn's Night Train to Rigel.

[pxib]

I just happened upon the Tiffany Aching books though while looking for a new series to read with my 12-year old and read them all in a week. Really great--not just funny but often wise.

China Mieville has some stuff that is ok. Embassytown is the one I've enjoyed most so far (have not read The City & The City)

Recommending Pratchett's Nation as well as Mieville's The City & The City. Both are marvelous ventures into considerably more real-world venues than either author typically explores, and both are about the weird and mysterious beauty of culture clash. It's a delight to read Pratchett's mastery of plot and story rhythm and Mieville's subtle eye for intimacy and the alien... each without the easy crutch of mere fantasy.

[Salamok]

So my brother puts me onto Rothfuss's Kingkiller chronicles, what he doesn't tell me is that the third book isn't out yet. Should I punch him first then hug him or the other way round?

IIRC it is even worse than you think the 3rd book is only the end of the first trilogy which brings you up to "present" day, it is my understanding there will be a 2nd trilogy that takes it from there.

[JWIV]

Amazon did a huge sale on PKD novels a month or so ago and I'm finally getting around to digging into them.  So far, I'm working my way through Ubik and enjoying it.

[dd0029]

Just finished up what the current four books of Barbara Hambly's James Asher series. These are Edwardian vampire mysteries centered around James Asher, former British spy. James is not a vampire, but he does get mixed up with them and the stories center around his knowledge of them and his desire to keep them out of the coming war, WW I. This series has an odd publication history. The first, Those Who Hunt the Night, was written in 1988 and seems to have been intended as a stand alone. However, she wrote a second Traveling with the Dead in 1995. This one builds on the first and is a bit open ended. She waited 15 years to write another pair. With the early start to the series, there's none of the sparkly vampire.  Her's are a bit more traditional. However, past the first, you can see the more popular seductive vampire creep in over top. I would definitely recommend the first. If you like it, try the second. Only continue past that if you like where you can see the second heading. It only gets stronger in the more recent pair.

[shiznitz]

The last post reminded me of Brian Lumley's Necroscope series which I read in the early 1990s (originally written in the late 80s I believe).  Apparently they were released for the Kindle in 2009.  I really enjoyed them, even though the hero becomes almost ridiculously superhuman by the end.  Lumley's take on vampirism was fun and novel.

[WayAbvPar]

Order this book, you deadbeats. And then someone make me something from it. I am starving.

[satael]

Order this book, you deadbeats. And then someone make me something from it. I am starving.

Make sure to remind us (me atleast) closer to the publication date and I'll probably order it   

[murdoc]

Finally finished "The Twelve" and after really liking "The Passage" I was pretty disappointed. Thought it was a pretty bad book overall and had way to many convienent coincidences and just an overall stupid plot that didn't make a whole lot of sense. Totally felt like a contractual obligation book.

[dd0029]

Finally finished "The Twelve" and after really liking "The Passage" I was pretty disappointed. Thought it was a pretty bad book overall and had way to many convienent coincidences and just an overall stupid plot that didn't make a whole lot of sense. Totally felt like a contractual obligation book.

It really was a let down. I think it was one part uninteresting new characters and one part a focus on people being the real bads, while trying to redeem the monsters.

Anyway, for work we have this genre study group where we read different genre's so that those of us not doing the book recommending all of the time can have some experience to fall back on. This round, we are doing memoirs and the chosen "benchmark" book was Wild by Cheryl Strayed. I can't honestly suggest this to anyone as a good read, but it is a great book group book. It's Strayed's story of how she detonates her life after her mother dies and how she decides to cap off this portion of her life by hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, the much less developed west coast version of the Appalachian Trail. It's an interesting book, but you have to power through the first 1/4 where she destroys her life. The rest of the book when she is on the trail and only occasionally flashing back to her earlier life is much better. Plus, if you dropped out that early you would miss the real high point of the book, recreational cannibalism.

[Phred]

So any hope I had of reading another GoT book in my lifetime was dashed last week when I stumbled across an article that said HBO had signed up George RR Martin to pen a new series for them next season.  http://www.worstpreviews.com/headline.php?id=27821

[WayAbvPar]

Finally finished Cold Days after my re-read of the whole series. I really liked it. About halfway through I was not really enthused, but it picked up speed and finished quite interestingly.