What Are You Reading, Part 2

[EHyde]

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.)

Going Postal is my second-favorite Discworld book, after Night Watch, but I think Going Postal is definitely the funnier of those two.

I recently read The Lies of Locke Lamora as well, and I really enjoyed it. Sometimes fantasy novels feel like their entire world was invented just for the sake of the story, but with this one I really got the feel that the world was there, and the story just happened to take place inside it. If that makes any sense. I have not read the sequel, but honestly, LoLL has a satisfying ending on its own. I'm glad there will be more, but even if there weren't, I wouldn't let that stop you from reading what's there.

[HiccupGreyjoy]

I have finished the first book of Hunger games and read a few chapters of "Catching fire", so far looks promisning. Colinns might not have the best style in the world but she is still pretty readable and I am ready for the movie.

And also, I´m in the first book of "Second Apocalypse." Where have you been my whole life, baby?

Edited November 19, 2011 by HiccupGreyjoy

[Joe ST]

I have finished the first book of Hunger games and read a few chapters of "Catching fire", so far looks promisning. Colinns might not have the best style in the world but she is still pretty readable and I am ready for the movie.

I dunno about that, it wasn't that great a story either, and I came out of it without really caring much about the characters. I read it on Wednesday and it was a very standard story, no really juicy or original bits to it, its very obvious why it's being made into a film.

I started the Dresden Files yesterday, half way through Fool Moon now >.> it's very reminiscent of Castle lol.... still, very enjoyable (I totally splurged and bought all 13 of them this morning XD)

NB: I'm strangely down and a little cranky at the moment, so I hope my opinions are overly critical. :\

EDIT: damnation it Eric, now I've read 3 of them ....

[guess]

Plague Year, Plague War, Plague Zone by Jeff Carlson: Nanotech virus gets out of a lab and wipes out most of humanity. Only people that survive are people above 10,000 feet . There is a failsafe built into the nanotech where it explodes at low air pressure. These are pretty good. The author is familiar with the mountains and spends alot of time there. I actually found the attention to detail on the environment and the world more interesting than the action/adventure plot. For example, if all mammals are dead below 10,000 feet then there are not enough predators for ants which end up exploding in population and destroying the forests. They were short and fun. If you have any interest in these, google the author to find his web page. He has some pretty good video blogs on his books. They are not great, but fun and relatively short. I would have liked them more if he focused more on the people and how they survived than the action/thriller plot. I am not sure if that is fair, since they are action/thriller books.

Currently:

Robopocalypse: Read the first 2 chapters last night. Has Isaac Aasamov style prose. I don't really like it so far.

Best Served Cold Joe Abercrombie: About 200 pages in. GREAT BOOK. He really brings his characters to life. He gets so dark and violent sometimes that its funny. Lord tries to murder a mercenary. She survives. Brother does not. So she gets a bunch of murderers to go kill him. I like how the book is loaded with minor characters from the First Law Series so you can learn more about them. The crazy, ex-con Day is a new favorite of mine. I think he is autistic, but no one in a fantasy would would know what that is (do any other fantasy authors have characters with issues like this? )

Audio:

Hunger Games: About 1/3 through. Arena just started. Pretty good. However, as an adult, I feel that the dark treatment is treated too lightly. I think the subject would have been better for an adult book. Then again, I like darker books. This probably would not sell as well. I keep thinking it would be better if it was more of a cross between 1984, Lord of the Flies, and Gladiator. I would also up the violence 10x. Its a horrible world, don't protect the reader. I generally avoid childrens books because the material is too light. Collins prose is very good. She has a very good voice for her main character.

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood: Started this, but got Hunger Games from the library. Hunger has a waiting list so I can't renew it. Post Apocalyptic book. Too soon to tell how good it is. I have seen Atwoods books for a while and read reviews. She seems to be critically acclaimed. So I gave her book a shot. I really like her prose so far.

Way of Kings: Trying the audio. If its too long for me to follow, I'll read the book. I like audio cause I can take a walk when I listen to it and keeps me off the couch. Don't hate on me for not getting to this for a while. I don't read or audio as much as some of you.

[guess]

I recently read The Lies of Locke Lamora as well, and I really enjoyed it. Sometimes fantasy novels feel like their entire world was invented just for the sake of the story, but with this one I really got the feel that the world was there, and the story just happened to take place inside it. If that makes any sense. I have not read the sequel, but honestly, LoLL has a satisfying ending on its own. I'm glad there will be more, but even if there weren't, I wouldn't let that stop you from reading what's there.

Can someone tell me if the two books by Scott Lynch leave you hanging? I have heard great things about them, but I don't want to get left with a cliff hangers where I really want to find out what will happen next. Since we don't know when or even if there will be any more books.

[Sigyn]

I wish I could help you, Guess, but I only made it a few chapters into Lies of Locke Lamora before giving up because of the language. My tolerance for that sort of thing is pretty low.

Right now I'm reading Switched by Amanda Hocking because I won a free copy. It seems like decent YA so far.

[Yados]

I started reading the Belgariad over the break, but it offended me to the point of putting it down (which never really happens).

It was just so unapologetically anti-Islamic/Semetic.

Did this bother anyone else?

[Joe ST]

Up to, like, Dresden #9 or something...running out noooooo

[Kelek]

Finished the hungergames after burning through AoL. Must reread Elantris next! Oh, and posting random semi-legit theories here.

[whynaut]

I am about halfway through Goliath by Scott Westerfield. If you've read it, don't give away the ending.

All in all the whole Leviathan trilogy has been very satisfying. I would say that it was the model steampunk book, but it takes place after the Victorian era and therefore it is actually a dieselpunk book. Still, I would say a lot of potential steampunk writers could learn from the trilogy.

[Arcanist Lupus]

Can someone tell me if the two books by Scott Lynch leave you hanging? I have heard great things about them, but I don't want to get left with a cliff hangers where I really want to find out what will happen next. Since we don't know when or even if there will be any more books.

The second book definitely leaves you hanging. The third book should be coming out soon, but on the other hand, it's been "almost out" for several years now. I don't know what the deal is.

[Zhevir]

There is a set date for the third book, it is only in a week or so if I remember correctly.

[Arcanist Lupus]

There is a set date for the third book, it is only in a week or so if I remember correctly.

I'll believe it once it's actually out. At one point, Amazon claimed it was already out, just not in stock.

Edited December 5, 2011 by Sir Read-a-Lot

[guess]

Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie: Joe Abercrombie is a god. He talks Dark and Twisted fantasy and takes it to a new level. His characters are incredibly rich and detailed. None of them are perfect and they all have issues. Another thing I like about him is that none of his characters are the super hero type. Most authors will make a super hero type, then use a few sentences here and there to say to you that no they are not. However, they act like super heroes. When his anti-hero was captured and tortured, she did not go ninja and escape or cast some spell. She screamed and cried. As you would expect someone to. Many of her characters are disturbed, one is clearly autistic (he can't figure out why he doesn't have any friends), and another is so centered he thinks everyone else is self centered (he is a poisoner). Abercrombie writes the best action scenes I have seen. I usually get bored in fight scenes and just want to skip over the details to see who won. His are fascinating. What he does best are large battles. His battles are chaotic and a mess and he makes you feel like everything is a mess. He has a few interesting video interviews on the web about this book. He set it in an area of his world that he modeled after the politics of Renaissance Italy (constantly warring city states that hire mercenaries that only want to loot and plunder). This is a stand alone book that takes place a few years after the First Law Series ends. It focuses on new characters and some minor characters from his first series. I thought the book was incredible. It is basically a revenge book. Mercenary leader gets betrayed, so she goes on a murder fest to get even. This is not a typical action movie type revenge fest. She is not a good person, a lot of innocent people get hurt and its her fault. On top of that no one really cares. I like this, because when people get upset, it makes the book morally easy to read. Historically, monarchs and mercenaries are petty, self centered, violent, and basically a bunch of thugs. This is something that is often glossed over in fantasy. The evil people are this way,but we have our good guy kings too.

[Joe ST]

Just finished catching up with the Dresden Files. what an awesome series, I totally enjoyed them all so much .

[Yados]

Over the weekend I've finished Aether of Night (interesting look into how the cosmere used to work... probably doesn't anymore) and Desden Files- Small Favors.

Next on my plate are White Sand and The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (by NK Jemisin) though those might have to wait until after graduation.

[Yados]

Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie: Joe Abercrombie is a god. He talks Dark and Twisted fantasy and takes it to a new level. His characters are incredibly rich and detailed. None of them are perfect and they all have issues. Another thing I like about him is that none of his characters are the super hero type. Most authors will make a super hero type, then use a few sentences here and there to say to you that no they are not. However, they act like super heroes. When his anti-hero was captured and tortured, she did not go ninja and escape or cast some spell. She screamed and cried. As you would expect someone to. Many of her characters are disturbed, one is clearly autistic (he can't figure out why he doesn't have any friends), and another is so centered he thinks everyone else is self centered (he is a poisoner). Abercrombie writes the best action scenes I have seen. I usually get bored in fight scenes and just want to skip over the details to see who won. His are fascinating. What he does best are large battles. His battles are chaotic and a mess and he makes you feel like everything is a mess. He has a few interesting video interviews on the web about this book. He set it in an area of his world that he modeled after the politics of Renaissance Italy (constantly warring city states that hire mercenaries that only want to loot and plunder). This is a stand alone book that takes place a few years after the First Law Series ends. It focuses on new characters and some minor characters from his first series. I thought the book was incredible. It is basically a revenge book. Mercenary leader gets betrayed, so she goes on a murder fest to get even. This is not a typical action movie type revenge fest. She is not a good person, a lot of innocent people get hurt and its her fault. On top of that no one really cares. I like this, because when people get upset, it makes the book morally easy to read. Historically, monarchs and mercenaries are petty, self centered, violent, and basically a bunch of thugs. This is something that is often glossed over in fantasy. The evil people are this way,but we have our good guy kings too.

Best Served Cold is one of the best single fantasy books I've read. That said, it was somewhat of an anomaly for me. Joe Abercrombi usally comes up short for me and, while I like much of the stuff in his books, there always seems to be something bugging me.

But Best Served Cold is flawless and, by far, Abercrombi's best.

[Tulir]

Is there any place online that I could read Aether of Night, Drogansteel, or White Sand? I keep on seeing people mention them but I haven't found them at all. Please help!!!

[EHyde]

I'm currently reading (maybe a third of the way through) Stephen King's new book, 11/22/63. Before this the only book of his I'd read was Carrie, and that was in fourth grade, so going into this I pretty much knew only his reputation as a horror writer. Normally I don't much go for horror (you know, that may have something to do with reading Carrie in fourth grade...) but I was intrigued by the premise (time travel, and the title tells you which historic event is the focus) and thought I'd check it out. It's quite good so far--characters are really well done. If I had to put it in a genre I'd probably say "magical realism" (though usually I don't like that as it seems like just a convenient way for English majors to say they're not reading fantasy).

[Catalyst21]

Is there any place online that I could read Aether of Night, Drogansteel, or White Sand? I keep on seeing people mention them but I haven't found them at all. Please help!!!

Look at these posts:

AoN and WS are historically available from Brandon.

Asking how to get AoN & WS

My reply to the above post

There is one known copy of DragonSteel in existence. It is Brandon's master's thesis, and kept at the BYU library. Supposedly you are able to inter-library loan it, but I have not been able to. (I have heard rumors of digital copies of it, but the people that supposedly have them won't share, and I have not actually seen copies)

[EHyde]

Well, I finished 11/22/63 and it stayed good all the way through (evidence: that I've finished it when yesterday I was less than halfway done). A satisfying ending, and not the one I was expecting, either. I would definitely recommend it. I only wish we knew more about the how and the why of the time travel mechanics ... but I suppose that's the curse of spending too much time in these forums. It was a first-person narrative, and we knew what the narrator knew about it, and we knew enough to know why the story had to go the way it did, so I guess that's enough.

[HiccupGreyjoy]

Yesterday I have finished The Hunger Games trilogy, final book being definitely underwhleming for one reason or another. Now I´m going to read China Miéville´s "Embassytown", first book of him I´m going to try since "Iron Council" (which I haven´t finished and sometimes must do).

At the same time Im´in the beginning of Terry Pratchett´s "Snuff" (so far it didn´t catch me. but we´ll see) - and Glen Duncan´s "The Last Werewolf" (good reading but best to experience in a small doses).

Edited December 16, 2011 by HiccupGreyjoy

[Joe ST]

Yesterday I have finished The Hunger Games trilogy, final book being definitely underwhleming for one reason or another.

IMO, the first book was underwhelming, considering it's being made into a film... it just didnt tickle me at all...

[WriterDan]

I don't know what I last updated on. So

Low Town (Daniel Polansky): Pretty mid-level. Lots of stuff mashed together and a really linear story.

Run (Michaelbrent Collings): Didn't much care for this one. Mostly mediocre until the end, which brought it down.

Killing Rites (M.L.N. Hanover--Daniel Abraham): Absolute awesome. I can't say enough good about this author and his stuff. Burned through it.

Eyes to See (Joseph Nassise): Bout halfway through. Pretty good so far. Vaguely reminds me of Dresden in voice.

[guess]

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood: Post Apocalyptic sci-fi. Told in backstory from the viewpoint of a survivor. Dark, parts of it were good. The ending is very annoying. Atwood seems to be a bit stuck up. She said here work is not science fiction, it is speculative fiction and science fiction involves space ships. Strikes me that she just doesn't want to be 'associated' with sci-fi nerds.