Jump to content

What Are You Reading, Part 2


Chaos

Recommended Posts

I would stay away from the Recluse books, even though they're his most famous, because the first ones are written SO badly, and they don't follow a continuing plot.

 

Think I've shared this story in this thread before, but it bears repeating because I like whining.

 

I started with Recluse because my best friend recommended them. Read most of them, maybe 70-80%, and I can't bring myself to finish them or try anything else by him. He has interesting ideas (though I found the magic system there no particularly interesting), but the writing felt atrocious. One of the very few authors I just can't read...

 

Edit: Look at what you've done, I came here to give an update of my reading progress, and instead I ranted about Modesitt Jr... again.

 

I finished Thief of Time, the book I consider to be the end of the Pratchett reread I vowed to do about a year ago, soon after his death. I expected it to be good (it was actually the only Death book I hadn't read back in middle school), and was definitely not disappointed - it was great. Everything I could ask from it. Fantastic book, fantastic end of its series, and a fantastic end of my reread.

 

I'll probably go back and finish the short stories and Tiffany Aching sometime, but for now I'll go back to epic fantasy for while.

Edited by Argent
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just realized I got so caught up in commenting on other things that I haven't updated what I've been reading.

I've finished the re-read of D.Gray-Man, and am almost finished with the new chapters I've never read.

I'm almost done with Blood of Tyrants. It's gotten SO much better than the middling Temeraire books, although it's still not quite as good as the first two.

I went ahead and read the first chapter of Otherland, and it was interesting. I'm looking forward to actually starting it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just realized I got so caught up in commenting on other things that I haven't updated what I've been reading.

I've finished the re-read of D.Gray-Man, and am almost finished with the new chapters I've never read.

I'm almost done with Blood of Tyrants. It's gotten SO much better than the middling Temeraire books, although it's still not quite as good as the first two.

I went ahead and read the first chapter of Otherland, and it was interesting. I'm looking forward to actually starting it.

 

The Otherland series by Tad Williams? Goooooood series.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know I am in the minority, but I actually like Fool Moon. I think it is better than Storm Front.

 

I just finished Promise of Blood. I didnt love it but it was good. I shall still finish the series.

 

I decided to take a break from Perdido Street Station to read either The Wise Mans Fear or The Blinding Knife, but I cant make up my mind on which I want to read... Perdido Street Station is great by the way. I recommend it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Think I've shared this story in this thread before, but it bears repeating because I like whining.

 

I started with Recluse because my best friend recommended them. Read most of them, maybe 70-80%, and I can't bring myself to finish them or try anything else by him. He has interesting ideas (though I found the magic system there no particularly interesting), but the writing felt atrocious. One of the very few authors I just can't read...

 

Edit: Look at what you've done, I came here to give an update of my reading progress, and instead I ranted about Modesitt Jr... again.

I don't remember Recluse being that bad, but it has been years since I read them, and the few things I've reread from that time have generally not aged well, so I won't actually try to refute that. 

 

that said, to ScottLeft's point, the fact that Recluse skips around mean the poor writing at the beginning generally matters less, not more.  you can skip to 3 or 4 books in and you aren't really missing anything simply because there isn't a single overarching narrative.  I always kind of liked that about them: some of the books take place centuries apart from each other, giving glimpses into the history of the world.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So I finished The Infinite Sea today, and I thought it was just kinda meh. Although I liked the portion of the story that centered on Ringer, I didn't like that her storyline eclipsed that of the other characters. Also, too much death.

 

Also read through the first few chapters of Flamecaster, and after I finished chapter 2 these were my thoughts toward Cinda Chima:

 

tumblr_m6nf0r5edN1rxevt4o1_400.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I finished A Blade Itself and its sequel Before they Are Hanged. Both are good solid books, but nothing amazing. I made an attempt at Jack Vance's Lyonesse and discovered that it is totally lacking in plot and character and stopped.

 

Currently reading the third book in the First Law series, Last Argument of Kings.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I finished A Blade Itself and its sequel Before they Are Hanged. Both are good solid books, but nothing amazing. I made an attempt at Jack Vance's Lyonesse and discovered that it is totally lacking in plot and character and stopped.

Currently reading the third book in the First Law series, Last Argument of Kings.

How so? I'd say Lyonesse had too much plot and character!
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I finally finished Blood of Tyrants. Shwoo, I maybe should have paced myself better. I took the last third of the book at a sprint, which really doesn't work well with Noviks writing, so it kinda wore my brain out. It was good, but I think I'll be glad when I've finished this series, it's gone on long enough.

I only have a very few chapters left in the manga series I'm reading, which is very sad. It's been very confusing though, which is also sad :(

I'm going to jump into Otherland tonight, and I'm going to read some Modesitt afterwards. I might read Good Omens at the same time as I read Otherland, because I think I'm going to need a smaller book to help pace. Otherland is about 800 pages, and I'll just end up quitting if it's the only thing I try to read.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I finally started reading Brandon's White Sand manuscript. I've been putting this one off for practically as long as I've been reading him (not sure why, to be honest), but decided that I need to be able to feel smug about having read the prose when the graphic novels start coming out, and I am having a convenient gap in my reading schedule. I am maybe 15-20% and loving it so far. I can see the quality is not quite there, the character dialogue is... a little cringeworthy at times. The worldbuilding is obviously still there and good, but the way it's presented is a little confusing at times. All in all, I still think I would pay money for it, but I can definitely see why he felt it needed serious revision.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So I finished The Infinite Sea today, and I thought it was just kinda meh. Although I liked the portion of the story that centered on Ringer, I didn't like that her storyline eclipsed that of the other characters. Also, too much death.

 

Also read through the first few chapters of Flamecaster, and after I finished chapter 2 these were my thoughts toward Cinda Chima:

 

tumblr_m6nf0r5edN1rxevt4o1_400.jpg

 

This post got a downvote? Did I say something offensive, or did somebody's finger slip on their mouse?

 

And now for the reason I originally came in here: I finished Flamecaster and thought it was pretty awesome. The end had a few twists that caught me by surprise. I'm now about 60% into Truthwitch by Susan Dennard, since it seems to be getting a lot of hype. I'm enjoying it (thought the sea foxes were super cool creatures), but it hasn't AMAZED me yet.

Edited by Sunbird
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Read a really awesome book today: "Got Luck" by Michael Darling. It kind of feels like a mix of the Dresden Files and the Iron Druid Chronicles, but cleaner than either of them. The main character, Goethe Luck, is really funny and uses "curse words" like "Son of a poodle" and "Nuggets!" Here's one of my favorite quotes from his inner monologue:

 

"The Robaccio Restaurant was one of those places that sounded like a nice Italian trattoria--and it was. The funny thing about the place was the name: a blend of two Italian words. The word "robaccia" meant "trash" in Italian and "bacio" was "kiss." Putting the two words together was like naming a British pub the Rubbish Smooch, which someone in London really needs to do."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So, White Sand has been a fun experience. On one hand, yay for Cosmere and a flashy magic system. On the other, the characters can be downright abysmal at times. If there is one thing Brandon must've learned since he wrote this, it's how to write characters, character arcs, and dialogue. That, and foreshadowing - I saw some of the reveals coming from a mile away, and I am notoriously bad at spotting those things. Still, overall I enjoyed it. 

 

I am now reading Empire Ascendant and am a little concerned I'll be lost for more than half of the book. It hasn't been that long since I read the first book in the series, but it was not a book I remember very well, so after a couple of hours of reading, I am more than a little confused about who exactly everyone is, and what they have been doing all of the first book.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...