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What Are You Reading?

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Gary kk

Xofpod wrote: »

Agree with you completely on "this is how you lose the time war". Also failed to spark much in my cold, dead heart....
Also, really never sure about the co-authoring thing. Off the top of my head, Good Omens is the only one I can think of that worked.

The Expanse is co-author and while some books were slow in general is good.

Blowfish

ixoy wrote: »

"This Is How You Lose the Time War" by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. This award-winning novella didn't really do much for me. It's a romance done in epistolary form with two people on opposing sides of a time war leaving notes for each other at different points in alternating time lines. It sounds good in theory but there's no real plot here and we never get much of an insight into the periods they visit. Maybe there's just not enough romance in me but it all felt more clever than having any real emotional heft.

Ah good, glad it wasn't just me, I felt the same about that one. If you read for the love of poetry and prose, I'm sure it's a fantastic book, but to me it just felt surface level and shallow and came across much more as infatuation than actual romance. It ended up feeling like I was reading endless variations of the poems/sayings in valentines cards more than anything else.

ixoy

Xofpod wrote: »

Also, really never sure about the co-authoring thing. Off the top of my head, Good Omens is the only one I can think of that worked.

Broadly I'd agree but here's some that do work:

* The Dragonlance series by Margaret Weis and Tracey Hickman. For people of a certain age like me, it was often a gateway into fantasy.

* The Empire Series by Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurts. Probably the best in all of the many Midkemia / Kelewan novels.

* The Expanse series by James S.A. Corey. Not a big fan myself but it's very populat.

Xofpod

ixoy wrote: »

"This Is How You Lose the Time War" by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. This award-winning novella didn't really do much for me. It's a romance done in epistolary form with two people on opposing sides of a time war leaving notes for each other at different points in alternating time lines. It sounds good in theory but there's no real plot here and we never get much of an insight into the periods they visit. Maybe there's just not enough romance in me but it all felt more clever than having any real emotional heft.

Agree with you completely on "this is how you lose the time war". Also failed to spark much in my cold, dead heart....
Also, really never sure about the co-authoring thing. Off the top of my head, Good Omens is the only one I can think of that worked.

ixoy

"Memory" by Lois McMaster Bujold - another instalment in her excellent Vorkosigan Saga and one of the best too. It very ably does a great mix of espionage, character development, major plot shifts but also great mundane moments, humour and great writing. Everything I like about the series.

"Blackflame" by Will Wright, the 3rd book in his Cradle series. As bluewolf above will attest to, he's a fun writer whose got a strong sense of how to pace and world build. A lot of fun.

"This Is How You Lose the Time War" by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. This award-winning novella didn't really do much for me. It's a romance done in epistolary form with two people on opposing sides of a time war leaving notes for each other at different points in alternating time lines. It sounds good in theory but there's no real plot here and we never get much of an insight into the periods they visit. Maybe there's just not enough romance in me but it all felt more clever than having any real emotional heft.

"The Ballad of Bad Jack" by Anthony Ryan, the fourth in his Slab City Blues. It's an average enough scii-fi novella here. The detective noir element from earlier in the series is missing here in favour of more boilerplate action. All a bit forgettable overall.

[Deleted User]

More will Wight, travelers gate series. I think he has another series as well which I'll move on to next
Love these books, light enough, very readable, and interesting magic system

Thargor

Have the first one on the pile from your previous rec, looking forward to it.

Paddy Samurai

Breaking Chaos (part 3 The Chasing Graves Trilogy)

The battle for the emperor’s throne grows ever fiercer. The City of Countless Souls cowers behind locked doors as the whims of the downtrodden and the powerful bring the great game of Araxes to its chaotic conclusion.

To say that the concept of Chasing Graves is grimdark would be an understatement... The world building is fantastic and reminiscent of Michael Moorcock's Elric series."- Grimdark Magazine

Has anyone else read this series?.
I'm about 50 pages into the last book in the trilogy and enjoying this series big time.It has some unique characters/world building.

keane2097

keane2097 wrote: »

Starts off fairly ropy, some equally terrible character behaviour to the first one but half way through it's starting to be good craic and compulsive too

It wasn't great in the end.

Thargor

Thargor wrote: »

Ive started Alpha and Omega by Harry Turtledove, his usual cast of characters style following a journalist, an archaeologist, an Israeli soldier etc at the Temple Mount in Israel as the end times seem to be starting.

That was abysmal, shockingly bad.

Moved on to A Boy and his Dog at the End of the World, seems more promising.

keane2097

keane2097 wrote: »

Ready Player 2 landed in my audible library this morning. Will Wheaton again. I'm not optimistic for some reason but let's see how it goes

Starts off fairly ropy, some equally terrible character behaviour to the first one but half way through it's starting to be good craic and compulsive too

Fian

ixoy wrote: »

"A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World" by C.A. Fletcher. It's a bit of another "literary post-apocalyptic sci-fi" where there's a sole character wandering around an empty world. It's fine. A big deal is made of a twist - it's mentioned in the intro - but it's nothing spectacular and the world isn't all that interesting. The benchmark for me in this genre is "The Road" and this doesn't really add a huge amount. Not boring or anything, just not memorable either.

tbh "no advance on the road" is a good enough recommendation for me to add this to me "to be read" list

I'm currently reading the trouble with peace which I am really enjoying. Next will be rhythm of war.

Working from home has significantly slowed down my reading progress. Too many other potential distractions instead of e.g. taking my kindle out when I am eating my lunch.

keane2097

Ready Player 2 landed in my audible library this morning. Will Wheaton again. I'm not optimistic for some reason but let's see how it goes

ixoy

Just finished "The Labyrinth Index", the ninth book in Charles Stross's Laundry Files series. Quite enjoyed this one as it was made more refreshing by switching to a new lead, taking a more of a "Mission Impossible" vibe and dealing in a new world where the consequences of previous books have now had a huge toll. It gave the series a bit of a kick. Switching to the perspective of a vampire former HR-manager also changed the humour a bit (less IT-jokes for example) and there was some decent, if not outstanding, characterisation. It won't win any converts (it is book 9!) but an improvement on the previous one showing there's life in the series yet.

"A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World" by C.A. Fletcher. It's a bit of another "literary post-apocalyptic sci-fi" where there's a sole character wandering around an empty world. It's fine. A big deal is made of a twist - it's mentioned in the intro - but it's nothing spectacular and the world isn't all that interesting. The benchmark for me in this genre is "The Road" and this doesn't really add a huge amount. Not boring or anything, just not memorable either.

And I forgot I read:
"Embers of War" by Gareth L. Powell, the first book in his Embers of War series and the last one of his I'll be reading. Didn't care much for this at all. The writing was plain, the characters rather dull but also inconsistent (sometimes pacifists, sometimes switching to being violent) and the plot forgettable. There's yet another big alien object but I wasn't inclined to care to discover what it is. It is, if nothing else, short but I won't read the next in the series despite having bought them already (very cheaply in Kindle sales).

titan18

bluewolf wrote: »

rhythm of war is awesome
i need more
it was awesome

i feel like i need to re read all of them together though

I thought it was the weakest of the 4 in Stormlight Archive, by a long way. Way too depressing, flashback scenes got annoying as I don't feel like they were giving us any new information, outcomes were clearly telegraphed

Shallan and her spren, Navani and bondsmith, Adolin and Maya

so didn't hit like a surprise to me. Way too long between chapters for some characters too, the gap between

Adolin/Shallan

chapters was quite big, likewise

Dalinar

, and we barely got any

Jasnah,Renarin or non Tower bridge 4

Gary kk

bluewolf wrote: »

rhythm of war is awesome
i need more
it was awesome

i feel like i need to re read all of them together though

That should get you to xmas.

[Deleted User]

rhythm of war is awesome
i need more
it was awesome

i feel like i need to re read all of them together though

The White Feather

ixoy wrote: »

I found the series got progressively weaker.. Just like the TV show did..

I was exactly the same! Loved Altered Carbon, thought Broken Angels was just ok and then I didn't like Woken Furies.

I find Morgan hit and miss. I loved Thin Air but hated Market Forces.

ixoy

The White Feather wrote: »

Recently read Woken Furies by Richard Morgan. The third book in the Takeshi Kovacs trilogy. I didn't like it at all.

I found the series got progressively weaker.. Just like the TV show did..

The White Feather

Recently read Woken Furies by Richard Morgan. The third book in the Takeshi Kovacs trilogy. I didn't like it at all.

keane2097

I picked up Reamde the other day, in fairness there seems to be little or no sci-fi element of it but it's really good. This Neal Stephenson guy is really doing it for me.

shootermacg

Just finished the Night's Dawn Series. I feel like I've been reading it forever.
Conclusion: It is very long...too long.

Buford T. Justice XIX

bluewolf wrote: »

I've been reading for (what feels like) ages and I'm only 31% through. Hefty enough I'd say. Not sure how to get the pages on the kindle

Ah yes here
Paperback 1232 pages

Jaypers

I started Joe Abercrombies First Law trilogy and it's a similar length on Kindle.

Though you can reduced the length of the book by making the text smaller:p

[Deleted User]

I've been reading for (what feels like) ages and I'm only 31% through. Hefty enough I'd say. Not sure how to get the pages on the kindle

Ah yes here
Paperback 1232 pages

Jaypers

keane2097

I listened to the first few of those on Audible but while I enjoyed the world building at the start, over time it began to wear me out how much they dragged on and on. The ratio of pages to important plot developments is diabolical.

ixoy

Thargor wrote: »

Why are all the epubs for the new Stormlight all ~100mb? It couldn't be that big surely!

Illustrations might add to it. He was always good at including pieces from Shallan's notebook.

I'll be starting into this over Christmas - anyone spoils it here, without using spoiler space, I'll make them go bye bye

RMDrive

Thargor wrote: »

Why are all the epubs for the new Stormlight all ~100mb? It couldn't be that big surely!

I bought the Audible version today. 60 hours!!!!! :eek:

Thargor

Why are all the epubs for the new Stormlight all ~100mb? It couldn't be that big surely!

Ave Sodalis

bluewolf wrote:

new brandon sanderson, rhythm of war. yay

I pre-ordered it off book depository so I'm gonna have to wait on this. I've to unfollow all of the Facebook pages!

Xofpod

Really enjoying Last Ones Left Alive, Sarah Davis-Goff, Irish post-apocalyptic zombie type stuff.