Return of the Book Thread

[NowhereMan]

Stormlight is still going to take him eons to finish.  He is a writing machine, but the problem is he has like 20 projects going on at the same time.  I "liked" him on Facebook and in one post he detailed everything he's working on at the moment.  It's staggering.

Oh yeah definitely, he's got about 5 novels going currently I think and also writes DVD style director's commentaries on all his writings as well as teaching a writing class (somewhere or other). I believe he wrote what ended up being a regular length novel (100,000 or so words) in his spare time while finishing up WoT and everything else. He will take a long ass time to finish but I'm fairly confident he'll at least be putting books out at a regular pace and is able to prevent novels turning into massively overstretched monstrosities.

As far as finishing, most of the opinions I've seen on Mistborn had the ending being the strong part of the book, though everyone seems to agree he lets things drag on in the middle before tying everything up at the end. Mistborn also isn't quite finished, there are two more trilogies set in the same universe the current one (I think book 1 is out) is set in a 19th century steampunk (or possible modern day?) setting and the final one will be sci-fi futuristic setting.

[Reg]

The second trilogy starts with the Alloy of Law and it's more like a Western than steampunk. It's also really good.

[Chimpy]

Sanderson has an army of people working for him now. If you check out the copyright on his newest book(s) they are assigned to his company, not him.

That is not to say that he is not writing the books, but he has quite a few people working with him on what appears to be a permanent basis.

[RhyssaFireheart]

The second trilogy starts with the Alloy of Law and it's more like a Western than steampunk. It's also really good.

Actually, Allow of Law is the first of a side trilogy of books and not the first of the second Mistborn trilogy.  Which sounds weird, I know.

I know he's mentioned on his FB page that he's got 2 full-time assistants (Peter Ahlstrom I think and someone else) so I owuldn't be surprised if he's got a lot of folks doing clean up and proofreading and continuity checking while he's putting down more words.

[Reg]

Man he really does have too many projects going on. He writes fast but it'd be nice if he'd finish one megaproject before starting another.

[Chimpy]

Most of the guys who write like that actually need to have multiple projects going at once or they stagnate. I am not overly concerned with him working that way as he has kept a decent pace of pages released that are free from Modessitt levels of non-proof reading.

[Maven]

I'm currently reading Plato at the Googleplex written by Rebecca Goldstein. The premise is that Plato is resurrected in the modern era and goes on a book tour, which finds himself engaged in philosophical discussion with various contemporary stereotypes, starting with a visit to the Googleplex (arguing with a 'practical-minded media escort' and a 'Googler') and moving on to such situations as being scanned by a neuroscience machine and arguing with a mother and Freudian about the best way to raise children. Thematically, the goal is to look at philosophy's importance in an increasingly scientific society.

It's fantastically well-written and is serving as a aid in my philosophy studies and the refining of my thought on controversial issues.

(Edit: corrected summary)

[Khaldun]

Weir's The Martian is a good read. Science geeks will love it. It's a bit spare on personality but that's ok. A less science-centric author would probably have the main character masturbate while weeping at day 400 and wander out into the Martian desert, end of story.

[Ironwood]

Odd you should mention Mars.  I'm currently on Green Mars in my re-read of the Mars Trilogy and I'd forgotten how much I like it, even if it is just a science nerd re-write of The Martian Chronicles.

[RhyssaFireheart]

I've been trying to get into the ERB's John Carter books and they just aren't grabbing me yet.  I don't know what it is but I'm more engaged in my reread of Gardens of the Moon than I am in this first read of a new book.

[Khaldun]

Basically if you read the first two ERB Mars books, you have read them all. He very quickly recycled the formula and only occasionally added a new element here and there. I'm not sure ERB holds up very well unless you have an enormous affection for the pulp era.

Robert E. Howard in the end had way more going on in his stuff.

[Viin]

I'm currently reading Plato at the Googleplex written by Rebecca Goldstein.

Thanks for mentioning this, it *is* interesting and well written. Been listening to it on Audible this week.

[Ingmar]

I'm about halfway through the second to last Erickson Malazan book. I think they're a good "idea" series - the world building and the big picture stuff is mostly pretty interesting - but the character writing is really uneven, especially when he tries to write romantic relationships. He's really bad at those. I also feel like at times he isn't sure what to do with or just loses track of his plan for a given character so he just kills them off kind of anti-climatically, sometimes even off-screen; he could stand to learn a bit from the George RR Martins of the world about how to make main character deaths actually serve a narrative purpose.

[Venkman]

Malazans: I loved the series so much, but felt like I forgot so much, that halfway through the tenth book, I went back and reread it. I got stuck in the middle of the ninth book and haven't been back yet. I personally like how the characters progressed over that, what, 10 year period? made sense, at least insofar that when a character does something you don't expect, there's some shout out to why they did it in some throwaway fashion. This is whether it's Quick Ben doing something you don't realize he can do or Sinn becoming pure evil. You can kinda see the progression to that point, but only if there's that throwaway line that then makes you rethink the progression, and then if you happen to read the series again you see the signs ahead of time

Shit though does he Tolkien up some of the and-then-they-wandered-here/here's-every-fucking-step-they-took stuff though, particularly in I think book four when they're in that wierd dimension with all the tile floors, and in the eighth or ninth (or probably both) when they're still in that goddamned desert.

Bugg and Tehol, their dialog was awesome. I always looked forward to the next time they'd show up. But as a whole, I'd say they were not only the most colorful characters, they were about the only colorful ones aside from Quick Ben. Though eventuall Karsa become interesting.

Just finished the three Axis books that began with Spin, from Robert Charles Wilson. I thought the first was absolutely excellent; however, the second one was kind bland, and while the third picked up, and got really good near the end, it wasn't as good as the first to me.

I also just finished all the available Expanse novels (that began with Leviathan Wakes) and pre-ordered the next. At first these characters seem kinda inconsistent too, but then I felt like they were actually even more believable because some of the stuff they did was just so normal as in sometimes even good people do stupid and niave things. Corey seems very ok with not having straight up heroes, but instead fallible people who occasionally are, and often by accident.

Also waiting for the next installment of Dresden Files. Series took a very interesting turn into straight up fantasy, kinda (temporarily?) shedding all those real world trappings like being a wizard for hire by normal people in abnormal situations. The last two books were very fun though, so I'm not worried.

Currently reading Atopia. Not entirely sure i like it. Like Metagame, it has some very interesting concepts, particularly in what becomes "normal" for that kind of technology for the people that use it. The people really do change, unlike, say, Peter F Hamilton books where no matter how cool the tech and universe, the people are still going to act like 21st people act today. But at the same time, also like Metagame, the storytelling is told in this sort of cheerleader-y style hyper positiveness about how cool all the tech is. "Everything is awesome" detracts from any real drama attempted.

[Viin]

Just finished two Culture books: Look to Windward and Surface Detail. I enjoyed both but Look to Windward was a much longer winded book - ending was good, but took awhile to get there.

Not sure what I'm reading next, going to poke around whatever Kindle purchases I've made in the last 12 months but haven't bothered to read yet ..

[Chimpy]

So I just finished Next by Michael Crichton. While it is consistent with his other works in being a bit heavy handed on the premise, it does make you ponder the current state of medical ethics and patent law which is something people should ponder.

[Goldenmean]

I'm about halfway through the second to last Erickson Malazan book. I think they're a good "idea" series - the world building and the big picture stuff is mostly pretty interesting - but the character writing is really uneven, especially when he tries to write romantic relationships. He's really bad at those. I also feel like at times he isn't sure what to do with or just loses track of his plan for a given character so he just kills them off kind of anti-climatically, sometimes even off-screen; he could stand to learn a bit from the George RR Martins of the world about how to make main character deaths actually serve a narrative purpose.

A lot of that is because Malazan was his and Esslemont's AD&D and later GURPS campaign world. He had years to build up the universe before he ever thought about setting pen to paper to make a series of books out of them, and they're more fleshed out than many fantasy worlds because he had players running around in them. They didn't exist entirely in his head.

I assume that's why so much happens offscreen as well. He and Ian Cameron Esslemont share the world, and ICE is a much, muuuuch slower writer than Erickson is. It seems like there was originally a plan for the action to flow back and forth between their books, but Erickson finished his entire ten book first series when Esslemont had barely finished his third. I've got to say that hearing how Assail is really bad news since Memories of Ice without ever seeing it got a bit old.

Looks like I've fallen behind on the ICE books. Maybe I'll pick those up once I'm done with finally reading The Laundry Files stuff.

[Rasix]

I feel like I should just read through a synopsis of the remaining books. I don't think I'll ever have enough time (or desire) to reread it, and reading through, I encounter a similar problem as Darniaq where I forget what happened just a few books ago.   It's just all so dense and detailed.

Still interested in how it all turned out.   I had finished through 7.  The end of that book pissed me off some.    

edit: The synopsis that are available are pretty terrible. 

[Goldenmean]

There's always http://www.tor.com/features/series/malazan-reread-of-the-fallen

But it's still pretty damned wordy.

[Ingmar]

I'm not sure I'm going to bother with the ICE books or not. Are they less rapey? That would be a major plus. On the beginning of book 10 now.

[Goldenmean]

I'm not sure I'm going to bother with the ICE books or not. Are they less rapey? That would be a major plus. On the beginning of book 10 now.

He's not as good an author as Erickson, but he's about on par with other schlocky fantasy authors. Night of Knives isn't great but the second one was better. I got distracted after that one.

As for the subject matter, it's certainly not as grim as Chain of Dogs or the like, but that isn't saying much. I honestly can't remember how rapey it is, but I don't know if that 's because there wasn't any or because it didn't have much impact because I didn't care about the characters.

[Maven]

Sex at Dawn by Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jethá.

Read this. The book was recommended to me by a female friend after I showed overt signs that I was checking out Red Pill / Men's Right Advocate / PUA ideology as part of my continuing education. Annnnnd she was right. This book serves as a perfect foil.

[Engels]

For audiobook listeners, all three books of Apocalypse Z has come out on audiobook now, finally. The narrator is a very good one that did the Name of the Wind Kingkiller Chronicles.

Its a 'standard' zombie apocalypse story but very well drawn, with a great main character. Its set in Galicia, and the author is spanish, but zombies are the great unifier, so it doesn't matter where its at. If you want the series in just book format, you can see 'em here (http://www.amazon.com/Manel-Loureiro/e/B003JZNR4Y/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1)

[lamaros]

I should say that I read the most recent Alex Bledsoe book and it was a great disappointment. The one prior to that was probably his best yet, but this one (He Drank, and Saw the Spider) was pretty bad.

[dd0029]

Just finished up a duology, The Cleveland Portal, by S. Andrew Swan. It's an "early" urban fantasy from 2001. It's set 10 years after a portal opens to a fantasy world in the Cleveland Browns stadium. All sorts of elves, dwarves and dragons have fled through the portal to take up residence in northern Ohio.  The portal "lets" magic through into the surrounding areas. The main character is semi-grizzled political reporter Kline Maxwell. The first book - The Dragons of the Cuyahoga - starts with the death of a dragon and balloons into all sorts of thriller and political thriller tropes. If you can ignore the authors fundamental misunderstanding of federal supremacy and the rather inactive nature of the protagonist, it's an entertaining read. The second book - The Dwarves of Whiskey Island - is better, there's less to ignore and Kline is a bit more active instead of bouncing from incident to incident.

[Rendakor]

Just finished up a duology, The Cleveland Portal, by S. Andrew Swan. It's an "early" urban fantasy from 2001. It's set 10 years after a portal opens to a fantasy world in the Cleveland Browns stadium. All sorts of elves, dwarves and dragons have fled through the portal to take up residence in northern Ohio.  The portal "lets" magic through into the surrounding areas. The main character is semi-grizzled political reporter Kline Maxwell. The first book - The Dragons of the Cuyahoga - starts with the death of a dragon and balloons into all sorts of thriller and political thriller tropes. If you can ignore the authors fundamental misunderstanding of federal supremacy and the rather inactive nature of the protagonist, it's an entertaining read. The second book - The Dwarves of Whiskey Island - is better, there's less to ignore and Kline is a bit more active instead of bouncing from incident to incident.

I might have to check that out; the premise sounds like the anime Outbreak Company but in reverse.

[dd0029]

Finished up Defenders by Will McIntosh and gave up about 80% through on The Lives of Tao by Wesley Chu.

Defenders is a set of interesting ideas mixed with a set of really derpy ones hung all over a workman like frame of writing. The hook is that mind reading aliens invade and proceed to take over guerrilla style. Humanity is losing badly because the aliens always know what we are going to do because telepathy. Somehow in the midst of losing horribly, we figure out how they are reading our minds and design giant half robotic super soldiers who's minds can't be read. Super soldiers super soldier and that's the first 30% of the book. The next 70% is what do we do with millions of slightly over the borderline sociopathic 17 foot tall cyborg super soldiers. The derpiness of some of the ideas didn't really hit me until after I'd gotten most of the way through the book. The first two thirds of the book have this really enjoyable feeling of subtle dread. If you can get it from your library or if Amazon still has cheap kindle copies, I'd recommend it.

The Lives of Tao is another alien invasion book, but the aliens invaded long, long ago and live as immortal symbiotes, dispensing guidance and advice. They have shaped the course of human development in order to encourage us to progress to a place where we can build ships they can use to "go home." Things wouldn't be interesting if there weren't two factions who disagree on the best ways to encourage this development. So, to begin one of the key symbiont operatives has his host die in a shoot out and flees to our nominal hero, Roen Tam, who's your stereotypical overweight IT schlub. Thus begins a book version of Chuck just with immortal alien life coach instead of head internet. This would be another neat idea in the hands of a mildly competent writer. Instead, we get the nerd version of Pants. The main character is a complete non-entity. Things happen because plot. It was a real let down.

[Maven]

48 Laws of Power. All part of my grand strategy to become an asshole.  But the historical perspective it provides is an excellent compliment to my U.S. History education and a better understanding of politics. With the number of players I've encountered in my life, the insights found in this book have helped me to see what exactly is going on around me.

[Evildrider]

Only 8 days left til Dresden Files: Skin Game!   

[Mazakiel]

I'm looking forward to that as well.  I wish that the timing between releases wasn't getting longer.  But, he's apparently working on a new series of non-Dresden books. 

[dd0029]

I'm looking forward to that as well.  I wish that the timing between releases wasn't getting longer.  But, he's apparently working on a new series of non-Dresden books. 

That's good to know. I mostly enjoyed the Codex Alera books.

[Evildrider]

It's steampunk, but he said the feel would be more like the Codex series.

[Khaldun]

I absolutely fucking hated Lives of Tao. I wish I'd spent the time I invested in that book reading shitty fanfic on the Internet or deviantart sites or some such. It was an oozing sore of a book.

[dd0029]

Just finished Zombie, Ohio by Scott Kenemore. This came in from the library. I don't remember placing the hold, but I did and I'm glad I did. That was unexpectedly good, really better than it had any right to be. So, a guy wakes up after getting thrown through the windshield in his car in an accident. He can't remember much of anything and decides he's suffering from amnesia. In short order he discovers he's Pete Melior, a high functioning alchoholic college professor at a small liberal arts college in Ohio. He also discovers he's woken up in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. Shortly thereafter he discovers he didn't exactly "wake up" after that car accident. Thus begins his adventures as an anomaly in the zombie apocalypse, a thinking, talking shambler. I felt a bit awkward at times cheering for the zombie horde, but things were generally light enough to go with it. I see my library has a couple of follow ups. I will definitely check out the next one, cleverly titled Zombie, Illinois

[Xilren's Twin]

I absolutely fucking hated Lives of Tao. I wish I'd spent the time I invested in that book reading shitty fanfic on the Internet or deviantart sites or some such. It was an oozing sore of a book.

Sadly agreed.

On a better note, Jim Butcher did an AMA recently and you can read the first 5! chapters of Skin Game if you are tied of waiting on his website...