What Are You Reading, Part 2

[Sol Invictus he/him]

I finished reading The Way of Kings (which was a massive undertaking), so, to spice things up a bit I'm going to read Books 4 and 5 of Shadows of the Apt, by Adrian Tchaikovsky. This series is very alien in feel, but is still comprehensible and entertaining.

Edited July 16, 2015 by Sol Invictus

[Briar King]

Yes Apt is a very fun read. I really need to knock out bks 9 & 10 of it.

[Argent he/him]

Done with Witches Abroad. This puts me halfway through the Witches subseries of the Discworld books, and already I find them noticeably superior to the Wizards. Which, of course, in a meta turn of events, is how the witches feel about wizards, so everything is right in the world. 

 

I am going to finish the second half - reading Lords and Ladies now - before I go back to more traditional fantasy for a bit.

[Sol Invictus he/him]

Yes Apt is a very fun read. I really need to knock out bks 9 & 10 of it.

I'm fascinated by how both simultaneously human and alien Shadows of the Apt really is. It's such a very bizarre concept, and yet, the pacing is fast, the action is intense, everything fits into the rather foreign, alien framework of the setting, and, above all else, Mr. Tchaikovsky follows the old writing adage, "Show, don't tell, the setting".

[Sol Invictus he/him]

I just got done reading Salute the Dark, but that not as impressive a feat as you might think: It was a "mere" 300+ pages long. So, tomorrow, or maybe the day after, I'll plunge into the significantly longer Book 5, The Scarab Path. Once I'm done with Book 5, I shall go read Words of Radiance.

[Briar King]

I just got done reading Salute the Dark, but that not as impressive a feat as you might think: It was a "mere" 300+ pages long. So, tomorrow, or maybe the day after, I'll plunge into the significantly longer Book 5, The Scarab Path. Once I'm done with Book 5, I shall go read Words of Radiance.

Have you ever read Malazan? I think both bk 5's are very similar in that they both bring a new element and change of pace from what came before. My advice is to be patient reading it as it's very different from 1-4 but totally worth it in the end.

[Pestis the Spider she/her]

Well, I'm done with Brett's The Skull Throne. I have to say I'm kind of disappointed. The fact that

the guy that was supposed to be dead was not dead, but everyone else died and those who didn't die got pregnant

really makes me wonder where the author is going with the series.

I also finished Bakker's Prince of nothing trilogy. Not as enjoyable read as I expected, since it lacked some more interesting action, in my opinion. But still pretty good. After I'm done with the book I'm currently reading (really good Polish epic fantasy), I'll probably start his Aspect-Emperor series. Or maybe I'll read White Sand. I don't know yet.

But I have to say that you really make me want to read Shadows of the Apt.

[KeenBlade]

I finally decided to get back into the Drizzt books with Neverwinter! It's been so long since I read Gauntlgrym that there are about six more books to read at this point.

 

Of course, that's what I call a good problrm.

 

Other than that, I recently began the second volume of the Chronicles of Chrestomanci.

[StormingTexan he/him]

Just finished Armada. Pretty disappointing. I think Cline is a victim of his own success. Ready Player One was so good I had huge expectations for his second book. I wouldn't say it was horrible just far from greatness.

[Kestrel she/her]

FINALLY finished Eye of the World, starting The Great Hunt.

[Briar King]

FINALLY finished Eye of the World, starting The Great Hunt.

Hunt was my favorite. GL tackling the other 12 bks afterwards

[Orlion Blight he/him]

Just finished Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin. An excellent read and also heartbreaking. 

[vietnamabc]

Just finished Golden Sun by Pierce Brown: Katniss ain't got a thing compared to Darrow. Currently reading The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner: I've always had a soft spot for 1st person smart chull rogue story.

[Zea mays]

Just finished the quartet "A Man of His Words" by Dave Duncan. Overall it was a very fun and engaging fantasy runaround (A little shaky on the dismount though). I appreciated the approach to fantasy "races", they were all some sort of sub-species of human, and there were no plain vanilla 'human' humans to be found  (The two main protagonist were both hybrids).

 

 

[Sol Invictus he/him]

Just finished The Scarab Path (Book 5 of Shadows of the Apt, written by Adrian Tchaikovsky). It was a damnation fun read. Next, I'm going to dive back into The Stormlight Archive with Words of Radiance.

[Who Sharded?]

Just finished The Scarab Path (Book 5 of Shadows of the Apt, written by Adrian Tchaikovsky). It was a damnation fun read. 

 

This was the last book in the series that I read, and I found it to be a big step up from the previous books.  It just seemed like it was written with a lot more confidence, and you really got to know the characters well.  I also agree with Briar King on how it is similar to Malazan's book 5 in a way.

[Left he/him]

Currently working through Armada, aaaaand yeah, it's disappointing how little Cline's changed from Ready Player One. It feels like he's milking the nerdish references for all it's worth, when it's really almost detrimental to the story and characters.

I've also started On Basilisk Station, by David Weber, and am actually enjoying it more than I thought I would. It's slow ish, deliberate might be a better word, but still quite readable and interesting.

[Sol Invictus he/him]

I loved how it radically expanded the world. Everything felt a little claustrophobic, hyperfocused on the Lowlands. Now, after The Scarab Path, I have a strong feeling that setting is large. The Wasp Empire invading the Lowlands is, in my opinion, now in a better perspective. Further east of Khanaphes lie lands that've never even heard of the events in the novels. It, as a setting, feels more "alive" now.

[Briar King]

Just finished Rome 6 30 seconds ago and jumping straight into the last book Antony and Cleopatra. I'm happy it's the smallest of the 7 and I admit to being burned out after reading these massive 750-1100 pg books back to back but if I had broken up the reading names and places would've been forgotten by me. Glad my Rome journey is almost done.

[StormingTexan he/him]

Currently working through Armada, aaaaand yeah, it's disappointing how little Cline's changed from Ready Player One. It feels like he's milking the nerdish references for all it's worth, when it's really almost detrimental to the story and characters.

Yeah pretty much how I felt. Worst part is it's not like the overall story is that original in the first place and then this just adds insult to injury. I'd love to tell you it gets better and there is this awesome twist that saves the book but it never comes. Pretty much RPO 2 without even a hint of originality.

[Dunkum he/him]

Hunt was my favorite. GL tackling the other 12 bks afterwards

dragon reborn is my favorite, and the series doesnt really slump until book 6 or so...though it akws from then to 11 or 12 to get going again

[vietnamabc]

Just finished Half a War by Joe Abercrombie, Father Yarvi is my new favorite deep-cunning man.

[Left he/him]

I just finished Harper Lee's new book, Go Set a Watchman. It didn't make me feel like to Kill a Mockingbird did, and it wasn't very intellectually engaging for me. I thought that a lot of the pre-release buzz really focused on the wrong things, and I feel like this books going to be interpreted in so many different ways that the good parts of it, might get sunk under other criticisms. I'm really not sure whether I liked the book or not.

[Dunkum he/him]

I just finished Harper Lee's new book, Go Set a Watchman. It didn't make me feel like to Kill a Mockingbird did, and it wasn't very intellectually engaging for me. I thought that a lot of the pre-release buzz really focused on the wrong things, and I feel like this books going to be interpreted in so many different ways that the good parts of it, might get sunk under other criticisms. I'm really not sure whether I liked the book or not.

I've not read it, but one of my favorite quotes from someone who has runs "There is a good book buried somewhere deep within Go Set A Watchman, the recently unearthed manuscript by Harper Lee. And that book was To Kill A Mockingbird."  I think when people read it and/or talk about it, they have to remember that it was an unpublished first draft of what eventually turned into To Kill a Mockingbird, not an actual planned sequel or anything like that.  it requires a different attitude going in.

[Left he/him]

I've not read it, but one of my favorite quotes from someone who has runs "There is a good book buried somewhere deep within Go Set A Watchman, the recently unearthed manuscript by Harper Lee. And that book was To Kill A Mockingbird."  I think when people read it and/or talk about it, they have to remember that it was an unpublished first draft of what eventually turned into To Kill a Mockingbird, not an actual planned sequel or anything like that.  it requires a different attitude going in.

That's not entirely accurate to my understanding, although in gist it's true. Expecting a follow up to Mockingbird will definitely leave you dissapointed, I mean, a fair amount of background details were rewritten so it's fairly obvious that it's not meant to be. I think my biggest problem with the book is actually just that it doesn't tell a story really. It's also very.....meander ish....but not in a good way like Mockingbird, or another favorite of mine, Way Down Yonder by Richard Peck.