What Are You Reading, Part 2

[Silus - Shard of Flame]

I started Startide Rising a while ago, but I couldn't get through it. The pacing was too slack for me.

[Ryan]

I just finished Mockingjay. And I just have to say that the ending was

awful.

SPOILERSNOSERIOUSLYTHERESFREAKINGHUGESPOILERS

So she sets up these really high stakes. Get to and kill Snow, or else Gale, who's been captured, is a goner, probably Peeta too. The tension is crazy high. She gets to the President's mansion, and there's the kids outside, the human shield and I'm like, "that JERK!" totally waiting for Katniss to get in there and push through and kill him off, probably having to confront some major moral obstacle, which she'll overcome by a show of character growth (probably involving Peeta, who also overcomes his challenges up to that point in such a scenario). And then they drop the parachutes. BOOM. The kids die, shocking, but I'm thinking, "Now she REALLY needs to get in there and take him out!" Then Prim rushes in as a medic. Then the second bombs go off. "NOOO WAAAAAY." Chapter break.

So what am I expecting? Her to get through it! To go in there and avenge her sister, kill the President and rescue her friends! Does ANY of that happen?

NO

She wakes up in a hospital after an extended dream sequence. The good guys won, the President is waiting to be executed, and all that happened while she was asleep. WHAAAAAAT!?!?

So there's depressing stuff. Then a revelation of who actually got her sister killed (the new person in charge, OF COURSE). Then a vote as to whether to have another Hunger Games-

WAIT JUST A GOSHDARN MINUTE. WHAT IS THAT BULLCRAP.

The districts are mad, calling for the Capitol's blood, and the new President comes up with the amazing[/sarcasm] idea to have another Hunger Games using the children of high ranking Capitol officials as tributes.

Peeta, as usual, is the voice of reason, echoing my sentiment of "WHAT IS THAT BULLCRAP!?" So the seven remaining tributes are allowed to vote on it.

The established sadistic ones vote yes, two votes. Peeta and the two other nice people vote no, three votes. That leaves Katniss and Haymitch. I expect Haymitch, being the bitter old guy he is, to vote yes here, leaving Katniss to show her character growth HERE and vote no. Who votes next? Katniss, voting YES.

WUT

Then Haymitch votes yes.

WUT

AND THEY GO ON THEIR MERRY WAY.

(needless to say, my sympathy for Katniss is now shot)

Then there's Snow's execution. Katniss, instead of shooting Snow, shoots the one responsible for killing her sister. Fair enough, expecting that. Then she decides to commit suicide, but is thwarted, repeatedly. The following pages are SUPER DEPRESSING. And she's basically exiled to District 12, along with Haymitch. *shrug*

More SUPER DEPRESSING. Now Peeta's moved in. Okay, I guess.

MORE SUPER DEPRESSING. District 12 is now repopulating. Peeta and Katniss get together, but it feels, really, really hollow. They have a couple of kids.

THE END

Yeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaah.

Yeah, spoilers:

I was actually okay with the way that all played out. Katniss was set up as the Mockingjay, the symbol of the revolution, but she was always a broken teenaged girl. Sending her in with a small teem of soldiers against the worst the Capitol could muster and expecting her to succeed was just asking too much. She broke under the strain, and I can't say I blame her.

To do otherwise considering the setup would have made her inhuman.

What pissed me off was actually the second book, "Catching Fire". It was a complete waste. All Collins did was retread the ground she trod with The Hunger Games. I wanted to see Katniss and Peeta as mentors. I wanted to see the war start in book 2. I wanted to see the war actually play out, instead of spending most of book 3 watching Katniss get over a nervous breakdown (which she wouldn't have had if Collins hadn't put her back in the arena) in District 13 while the war is fought offscreen.

Maybe my expectations were just off the mark...but I do believe that I only wanted what The Hunger Games set me up to want. I wanted a dystopian sci-fi military thriller, but all along Collins was doing a character study. Nice for what it is, but I would have enjoyed the other so much more.

Oh, and I'm still reading A Night of Blacker Darkness. I just can't seem to muster the motivation to stick with it. I mean, yeah it's amusing, but the plot just doesn't carry its own weight. I bet it would make a good movie, though.

[Yados]

I quite liked Infinity Blade.

I'd never played the game so I have no idea how well it ties in to anything, but I loved the magic as technology angle as well as the humor. A nice, light adventure that left me hungering for more. Shame that more would have to be acquired in game form.

[Silus - Shard of Flame]

Yeah, spoilers:

I was actually okay with the way that all played out. Katniss was set up as the Mockingjay, the symbol of the revolution, but she was always a broken teenaged girl. Sending her in with a small teem of soldiers against the worst the Capitol could muster and expecting her to succeed was just asking too much. She broke under the strain, and I can't say I blame her.

To do otherwise considering the setup would have made her inhuman.

What pissed me off was actually the second book, "Catching Fire". It was a complete waste. All Collins did was retread the ground she trod with The Hunger Games. I wanted to see Katniss and Peeta as mentors. I wanted to see the war start in book 2. I wanted to see the war actually play out, instead of spending most of book 3 watching Katniss get over a nervous breakdown (which she wouldn't have had if Collins hadn't put her back in the arena) in District 13 while the war is fought offscreen.

Maybe my expectations were just off the mark...but I do believe that I only wanted what The Hunger Games set me up to want. I wanted a dystopian sci-fi military thriller, but all along Collins was doing a character study. Nice for what it is, but I would have enjoyed the other so much more.

Oh, and I'm still reading A Night of Blacker Darkness. I just can't seem to muster the motivation to stick with it. I mean, yeah it's amusing, but the plot just doesn't carry its own weight. I bet it would make a good movie, though.

More Hunger Games spoilers.

I also wanted to see the war play out in Catching Fire, and then come back to the arena in Mockingjay, subverted. Like, the Capitol put someone like Gale in the arena and they need to get him out, so they have to figure out where the Games are and how to get in. Something like that.

One thing I dislike about Mockingjay's ending was that she pulled the punch right at the end. She set it up as a tragedy, but she gave Katniss a mostly happy ever after ending, which just didn't work, it felt false.

I don't think that the bulk of Mockingjay was bad, on the contrary, I was really enjoying it up until about the last forty or fifty pages. Except I didn't want Finnick to die, I thought he would be a better match for Katniss than either Gale or Peeta, at least on par with Peeta. (I never really liked Gale)

[almeldiel]

Re: The Hunger Games (Silus/Ryan)

Yeah, Catching Fire was a waste. She didn't really have to put them back into the Arena for another rehash. I think she could've thought of something else to make the War "catch fire".

As for the end of Mockingjay, I thought it was appropriately poignant. It wasn't entirely happy; I don't think Katniss will ever be as (reasonably) happy as she was before she became a Tribute. But I concede that this will really come down to personal preference.

I never was a Gale fan, even from the start.

[EHyde]

I just read "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" which is a children's book that I somehow managed to avoid in elementary school (it's a Newberry winner, which translated to "a dry book that grown-ups like"). But this one, despite being children's lit from the 50s, was quite enjoyable...though I guess I am a grown-up now. It's a fictionalized biography of Nathaniel Bowditch, who published a book on navigation in 1802, and I suspect the book might make readers almost as interested in math as in sailing--though, not if you tell them that beforehand.

[Captain Cosmere]

Currently reading The Winds of Khalakovo, The Cardinal's Blades, and Legacy of Kings. On deck, there is The Dragon's Path, The Affinity Bridge, and A Fire Upon the Deep. All of that, however, is only to cleanse the palate for The Alloy of Law next month. Good lovin'.

[WriterDan]

Reading Fenrir by MD Lachlan. Step down from Wolfsangel, which is too bad.

Saw an ad up to get the first eBook in Daniel Abraham's urban fantasy series for $4. Something to do with ComicCon. Anyhow, thought that was way cool. I already own it, and would recommend it to anyone that likes the Urban. Apparently there are a couple handfuls of other book that are going for the same price as well. I love me a good sale. $4 books

[Silus - Shard of Flame]

I'm about halfway through The Black Prism by Brent Weeks, and I'm REALLY liking it. There's a reveal about a third of the way through that just blew my mind, it was so awesome. Like, Brandon awesome, it was that good. We'll see how the rest of it is before I make a judgment on it, though.

Also, I got Name of the Wind from the library today. Will start that after Black Prism.

[whynaut]

Finished The Lies of Locke Lamora. It was good. Like Mistborn they are both heist set-ups in a fantasy setting. I think a major difference is that The Lies of Locke Lamora is more of a con than a heist and the theme holds the whole way through while Mistborn becomes a straight epic fantasy novel.

Edited November 1, 2011 by whynaut

[Joe ST]

Well I read Harry Potter last night, wasn't amazing...

[guess]

I keep hearing great things about Scott Lynch and I read his blog sometimes. I have been avoiding reading his books since I don't know if he will write any more books due to his medical issues. Looks like he update his online story(I have not read it) so he may be feeling better and he went to some Cons. Does anyone know if he is close to finishing his 3rd book? He seems to be updating his blog more lately.

[Sigyn]

I finished The Sun Sword by Michelle West. I really enjoyed this series, and I'm excited to start the next one. Right now I'm reading All Men of Genius by Lev AC Rosen. It's a mix of Twelfth Night and The Importance of Being Earnest. I'm really liking it so far.

[Shivertongue]

Currently reading Zoo City, by Lauren Beukes, and enjoying it quite a bit. It's a bit odd in the way it's set up - second chapter consists entirely of a spam 'Nigerian prince' style email scam - but the writing is great, and the setting is very intriguing.

[mycoltbug]

Finally broke down and started reading the 2nd ASOIAF. It's ok, I find that I'm finally starting to enjoy a few of the characters but he is way to slow for me.

[WriterDan]

Finished Fenrir. Poor ending, as expected. Oh well.

Started The Crimson Pact, Vol 2, today. Steve's got a couple of stories in it.

[Yados]

I keep hearing great things about Scott Lynch and I read his blog sometimes. I have been avoiding reading his books since I don't know if he will write any more books due to his medical issues. Looks like he update his online story(I have not read it) so he may be feeling better and he went to some Cons. Does anyone know if he is close to finishing his 3rd book? He seems to be updating his blog more lately.

Yeah, apparently he's doing much better and Republic of Thieves will be out some time next year. Which is awesome as Gentlemen Bastards is a series that I can't wait to reinvest in.

[HiccupGreyjoy]

I´m now reding Boneshaker by Cherie Priest and it´s mixed experience. The story is told by two POV´s, one quite stupid/naive, the other boring most of the time. I´m in 30% of it and considering giving up.

I´m also on the crossroads of epic Fantasy. As I said on the other thread, I will read Way of the kings in the near future but as of now it is more about deciding between "Twilight reign" (more traditional fantasy after long time) and Bakker´s "The Second apocalypse" series.

Edited November 6, 2011 by HiccupGreyjoy

[Jasnah the Hidden]

Yeah, apparently he's doing much better and Republic of Thieves will be out some time next year. Which is awesome as Gentlemen Bastards is a series that I can't wait to reinvest in.

I am so looking forward to his next book Republic of Thieves. This is definitely a series to read. Even if he were unable to continue the series what he has written is a great read.

[Joe ST]

WOOOOOoOOOO didnt notice that The Kingdom of Gods (in the kingdom of the hundreds and thousands) was out. back to reading I go *celebrates by reading* XD

[HiccupGreyjoy]

So, I have finally given up on Boneshaker and decided to fight in Hunger games.

[Demosthenes]

So, I have finally given up on Boneshaker and decided to fight in Hunger games.

Interesting, considering that I gave up on I gave up on Boneshaker too. The Hunger Games series was pretty good, though I have yet to finish the third book.

Anyway, right now, I'm reading Going Postal by Terry Pratchett, which is the funniest Discworld book I've read (out of five, including this one and Pyramids which I put off half-way through.) I'm also reading Steampunk!: An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories, edited by Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant. So far, the stories I've read have been quite good, and it gets bonus points for having a nifty clockwerk device on the front cover and uneven page edges, just like A Series of Unfortunate Events.

edit: Oh yeah, and two of the stories are comics - awesome!

Edited November 10, 2011 by Demosthenes

[Silus - Shard of Flame]

I picked up the last Inheritance book, and in order to finish it before I go into the MTC, I'm picking back up on my reread, I'm about two thirds of the way through Eldest right now.

I also read the Maze Runner last week, it was really good.

[Joe ST]

I wonder who here isn't reading or hasnt already read Alloy of Law XD, basically AWESOME <3

[FeatherWriter]

I lately finished the latest Heroes of Olympus book, The Son of Neptune. I'm really liking this series. I was afraid it was going to be another let's-write-more-books-because-I-like-money sellout, *cough*MaximumRide*cough*, but Riordan has done very well in making this series intriguing and unique.