What Are You Reading?

Nody · 05-06-2018 03:57PM

Started (after a very long break from the first book) to read The Desert Spear by Peter Brett (read the first book before the second was even out; another example of why it's worth starting to read series before it's done :P ). Found the first book interesting in concept but a tad inconsistent

for example the rape scene in the last quarter of the book

but liked it overall. It feels good to finally read a book I don't want to put down again as it was a while since I had that feeling; I have lacked that feeling without knowing it for the last couple of books.

shrapnel222 · 05-06-2018 04:18PM

Sleepy wrote: »

On to The Broken Eye, the third book in Brent Week's Lightbringer series and getting painfully aware that I'm going to be waiting until next summer at the earliest to read the conclusion of the series...

And unlike the Gentlemen Bastards series, where each novel can almost be treated as a stand-alone adventure with a recurring cast, Lightbringer is more of a serial than a series...

Hopefully, unlike the gentleman bastards, it doesn't get progressively worse as the series goes on.

Trojan · 05-06-2018 04:47PM

shrapnel222 wrote: »

Hopefully, unlike the gentleman bastards, it doesn't get progressively worse as the series goes on.

Until the 4th book, it was great. Then things got A Bit Weird.

05-06-2018 05:27PM

Trojan wrote: »

Until the 4th book, it was great. Then things got A Bit Weird.

Lightbringer? Did it??

Thargor · 05-06-2018 07:00PM

Forcing myself to clear some backlog instead of constantly accumulating new books, so I launch into The Magicians' Guild by Trudi Canavan, first in a fairly well known and well regarded fantasy trilogy. Oh my God it is one of the most boring and bland fantasy novels Ive ever read. Utterly generic female protagonist shows some magical potential so she hides with an utterly generic thieves guild from an utterly generic Magicians guild in an utterly generic medieval city, constant repetition, flat one-dimensional characters, I just cant wait for it to be over, this is one of the more famous trilogies with a permanent spot in every book shops sci-fi/fantasy section and it is just soooo boring. No way am I bothering with the other 2 books, Ill read the Wikipedia summaries at work sometime.

05-06-2018 07:02PM

Thargor wrote: »

Forcing myself to clear some backlog instead of constantly accumulating new books, so I launch into The Magicians' Guild by Trudi Canavan, first in a fairly well known and well regarded fantasy trilogy. Oh my God it is one of the most boring and bland fantasy novels Ive ever read. Utterly generic female protagonist shows some magical potential so she hides with an utterly generic thieves guild from an utterly generic Magicians guild in an utterly generic medieval city, constant repetition, flat one-dimensional characters, I just cant wait for it to be over, this is one of the more famous trilogies with a permanent spot in every book shops sci-fi/fantasy section and it is just soooo boring. No way am I bothering with the other 2 books, Ill read the Wikipedia summaries at work sometime.

Yeah I read them but wasn't a fan

Mr Meanor · 05-06-2018 07:55PM

Finally getting around to reading an older Scalzi novel and enjoying it very much,
'The Android's Dream'

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7081.The_Android_s_Dream

"A human diplomat kills his alien counterpart. Earth is on the verge of war with a vastly superior alien race. A lone man races against time and a host of enemies to find the one object that can save our planet and our people from alien enslavement...

A sheep."

keane2097 · 05-06-2018 07:55PM

Life's too short for bad fantasy.

Ave Sodalis · 05-06-2018 08:02PM

Thargor wrote: »

Forcing myself to clear some backlog instead of constantly accumulating new books, so I launch into The Magicians' Guild by Trudi Canavan, first in a fairly well known and well regarded fantasy trilogy. Oh my God it is one of the most boring and bland fantasy novels Ive ever read. Utterly generic female protagonist shows some magical potential so she hides with an utterly generic thieves guild from an utterly generic Magicians guild in an utterly generic medieval city, constant repetition, flat one-dimensional characters, I just cant wait for it to be over, this is one of the more famous trilogies with a permanent spot in every book shops sci-fi/fantasy section and it is just soooo boring. No way am I bothering with the other 2 books, Ill read the Wikipedia summaries at work sometime.

I've read the first one because I spotted it on one of our bookshelves randomly. It was okay. I'll probably read the others at some stage just to finish it but I keep forgetting about it to be honest.

wyrn · 05-06-2018 08:53PM

Thargor wrote: »

Forcing myself to clear some backlog instead of constantly accumulating new books, so I launch into The Magicians' Guild by Trudi Canavan, first in a fairly well known and well regarded fantasy trilogy. Oh my God it is one of the most boring and bland fantasy novels Ive ever read. Utterly generic female protagonist shows some magical potential so she hides with an utterly generic thieves guild from an utterly generic Magicians guild in an utterly generic medieval city, constant repetition, flat one-dimensional characters, I just cant wait for it to be over, this is one of the more famous trilogies with a permanent spot in every book shops sci-fi/fantasy section and it is just soooo boring. No way am I bothering with the other 2 books, Ill read the Wikipedia summaries at work sometime.

I quite liked this trilogy although I did really hate 1 thing about it.
There's a sequel trilogy and it's AWFUL.

lordgoat · 06-06-2018 01:13PM

Thargor wrote: »

Forcing myself to clear some backlog instead of constantly accumulating new books, so I launch into The Magicians' Guild by Trudi Canavan, first in a fairly well known and well regarded fantasy trilogy. Oh my God it is one of the most boring and bland fantasy novels Ive ever read. Utterly generic female protagonist shows some magical potential so she hides with an utterly generic thieves guild from an utterly generic Magicians guild in an utterly generic medieval city, constant repetition, flat one-dimensional characters, I just cant wait for it to be over, this is one of the more famous trilogies with a permanent spot in every book shops sci-fi/fantasy section and it is just soooo boring. No way am I bothering with the other 2 books, Ill read the Wikipedia summaries at work sometime.

Snappy name with decent cover art... bu i agree really really generic. No idea how it's as popular!

I'm onto Gridlinked (Polity) ... **** just got really good/bad for Ian Cormac! over three quarters through and was enjoying it but guessed it was building to something!

Still have the new Feist sitting at home, will get around to it at some stage. Also there's a new fancy Magician special edition out. Grim Oak Publications I think. Have a few books on there mentioned in here. $100 with $65 for shipping to ireland a pop...

Jayd0g · 06-06-2018 03:35PM

lordgoat wrote: »

I'm onto Gridlinked (Polity) ... **** just got really good/bad for Ian Cormac! over three quarters through and was enjoying it but guessed it was building to something!
...

I've read a few of the other polity novels,nothing with Ian Cormac though. Will have to give them a look now!

06-06-2018 06:48PM

Finished the extracted trilogy now. Great trilogy but unsatisfying ending by far.
Apparently it was edited... Not well enough anyway

What's next??

ixoy · 11-06-2018 09:25PM

78% into "Anansi Boys" by Neil Gaiman, the second book in his American Gods world.
I wasn't a big fan of "American Gods" but I decided to read this having bought it ages ago (December 2013!). I'm enjoying this one a lot more - it's actually got a character, isn't trying to be too clever and is light and breezy.

Thargor · 11-06-2018 10:44PM

Thanks to whoever recommended the End of the World Running Club, good read.

lordgoat · 12-06-2018 06:59AM

ixoy wrote: »

78% into "Anansi Boys" by Neil Gaiman, the second book in his American Gods world.
I wasn't a big fan of "American Gods" but I decided to read this having bought it ages ago (December 2013!). I'm enjoying this one a lot more - it's actually got a character, isn't trying to be too clever and is light and breezy.

I loved American Gods, the ambition and the way to kinda stuck to Norse myths in a modern setting personally I really enjoyed.

Loved the Spiders too though... great books.

Started Fahrenheit 451 about 50 pages in and i like the style so far.

nhur · 12-06-2018 03:19PM

Most of the way through the third Mistborn book - defo easy reading - I'd probably like them a lot more if I hadn't read so many other fantasy books! Overall it's grand - I'll stick with it but won't be on my list for re-reading. Plenty of folk here said to ditch them and read a different one (Stormlight perhaps?) - are Sanderson's other ones more of the same?

mcgovern · 12-06-2018 03:34PM

nhur wrote: »

Most of the way through the third Mistborn book - defo easy reading - I'd probably like them a lot more if I hadn't read so many other fantasy books! Overall it's grand - I'll stick with it but won't be on my list for re-reading. Plenty of folk here said to ditch them and read a different one (Stormlight perhaps?) - are Sanderson's other ones more of the same?

I've only read Mistborn (first 3) and Stormlight (first 2). Stormlight Archives are on another level to Mistborn, though they do have their own problems, mainly a very slow start followed by a very fast paced ending.

nhur · 13-06-2018 09:06AM

mcgovern wrote: »

I've only read Mistborn (first 3) and Stormlight (first 2). Stormlight Archives are on another level to Mistborn, though they do have their own problems, mainly a very slow start followed by a very fast paced ending.

might take a break from Sanderson after this then

Trojan · 13-06-2018 11:33AM

Started and finished "Viral" by Piers Platt. This one is a bit outside of my normal reading comfort zone. Without the Kindle special discount and knowing the author's other work, I probably wouldn't have bought this based on the description. So going in I had low expectations, and was very pleasantly surprised.

I found it compelling reading. After a slow start, the plot moved well. The backstory to the war streaming concept is well constructed, and the protagonist is flawed and self-aware enough to be likeable. It's a little light, YA style and I found the ending to be a little contrived.

Overall it's definitely worth a read for sf fans if you're looking for some light, easy reading. If you're more of a Greg Bear, Alastair Reynolds fan, steer clear.

Sleepy · 15-06-2018 10:06AM

Half way through The Blood Mirror. It's definitely taken a turn for the weirder in this but Kip and Teia's stories are still strong enough to keep me riveted.

shrapnel222 · 18-06-2018 10:13AM

Just finished Feist's new book King of Ashes. First off, it's very difficult to judge it on its own merit, as this is really just an introduction to the series and F*ck all happens in the whole 389 pages. For the rest, it's very standard fantasy, but what grated me a little, is he feels the need to repeat certain things ad nauseum for emphasis.
Disappointing overall, and I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and read the 2nd one in due course, but it better be good!

Sleepy · 18-06-2018 10:23AM

Just finished The Blood Mirror on the train in this morning. Struggling to choose something to follow it up with, I've been engrossed in Lightbringer for the past few weeks. I think it's fair to say that the 4th book is the weakest of the series so far but it still has it's moments and nice touches

Tisis's suffering from vaginismus was, imo, one of the most humanising things I've seen for a character that's not much more than a plot device / love interest in fantasy

Is The Fitz and The Fool Trilogy anywhere as good the original Farseer Trilogy?

EDIT: just realised I need to read the Tawny Man trilogy before I can progress to Fitz & The Fool!

lordgoat · 19-06-2018 06:37AM

Sleepy wrote: »

Just finished The Blood Mirror on the train in this morning. Struggling to choose something to follow it up with, I've been engrossed in Lightbringer for the past few weeks. I think it's fair to say that the 4th book is the weakest of the series so far but it still has it's moments and nice touches
Tisis's suffering from vaginismus was, imo, one of the most humanising things I've seen for a character that's not much more than a plot device / love interest in fantasy

Is The Fitz and The Fool Trilogy anywhere as good the original Farseer Trilogy?

EDIT: just realised I need to read the Tawny Man trilogy before I can progress to Fitz & The Fool!

I'd have the Liveships way ahead of any of the Fitz books which for me just got weaker and weaker as it goes along. The phrases "milking it" and "flogging a dead horse" spring to mind.

nhur · 19-06-2018 01:06PM

lordgoat wrote: »

I'd have the Liveships way ahead of any of the Fitz books which for me just got weaker and weaker as it goes along. The phrases "milking it" and "flogging a dead horse" spring to mind.

Agree - Liveships defo the best. By far.

(though I still enjoyed the other fitz books)

Thargor · 19-06-2018 03:09PM

I thought the dragon expedition up the river was okay aswell.

19-06-2018 03:59PM

I quite enjoyed liveships though i dont know that I would put it ahead of the others.
I thought the final trilogy was lovely

smacl · 24-06-2018 02:00PM

About two thirds the way through "The Windup Girl" and really enjoying it. Set in a future Thailand with a dystopian slightly steam-punk feel, and excellent development of multiple conflicting characters. I can see why it picked up awards, very compelling and entertaining reading.

ixoy · 24-06-2018 02:26PM

60% into "River of Stars" by Guy Gavriel Kay, the 2nd book in his "Under Heaven" series. Not really a sequel to "Under Heaven" as such, but it's set in the same country - not very loosely modelled on old China - several centuries on.

As ever with his novels, it's beautifully written. There's no real good or bad characters, just people with different motivations. Kay's got a great skill with putting you in the frame of mind of how people of that era might have thought rather than just giving them a modern perspective. There's some strong characterisation as a result and it's a novel where great events can hang on a word rather than depicting large battles. Very good so far - one of his strongest works IMO.

shrapnel222 · 25-06-2018 07:39AM

ixoy wrote: »

60% into "River of Stars" by Guy Gavriel Kay, the 2nd book in his "Under Heaven" series. Not really a sequel to "Under Heaven" as such, but it's set in the same country - not very loosely modelled on old China - several centuries on.

As ever with his novels, it's beautifully written. There's no real good or bad characters, just people with different motivations. Kay's got a great skill with putting you in the frame of mind of how people of that era might have thought rather than just giving them a modern perspective. There's some strong characterisation as a result and it's a novel where great events can hang on a word rather than depicting large battles. Very good so far - one of his strongest works IMO.

He's definitely one of my favorite writers, and one of the few i track to see when his next book is coming out. Only 2 which i've found disappointing, Ysabel and the last light of the sun (and children of earth and sky was slightly weaker but still enjoyable), and would not recommend, but his Chinese based ones are superb. One thing he manages to do, almost better than any author i can think of, is to draw you in to the story from page 1.

What Are You Reading?

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