What Are You Reading?

Lady Haywire · 10-02-2019 1:17pm

Was laid up with my back for a bit so was working through the books I had to hand so it's an eclectic mix

Shadow Falls series of 6/7 books- Ugh.....teen drivel. No depth. Enough for me to be interested to finish the series but don't recommend.
The Nanny- Chick lit extraordinaire. Grand but there's about a million others just like it.
The Importance of Being Aisling: Country Roads, Take Her Home. I'd actually read this while abroad. Was surprisingly a page-turner & finished it in about 2 days :eek: Very easy reading though, the Irish mammies will love it.
Mad About the Boy (Bridget Jones, #3)- Found in a 2nd hand shop and was surprised I'd not read it before. Usual Bridget read, entertaining and actually made me cringe/laugh in parts. I doubt there' anyone who's not heard of the Jones escapades at this stage but this book might have slipped under the radar.
Chicken Soup for the Soul: Christmas Cheer: 101 Stories about the Love, Inspiration, and Joy of Christmas- Crap. Utter crap. Only for I hate leaving a book unfinished I'd have put it down after the first story..... (Again another 2nd hand store find so shouldn't have expected much:pac:)
Winternight Trilogy (Bear & the Nightingale et al.)- Absolutely loved this. I was a bit skeptical when I started it, especially with all the Russian referencing, names etc as I like to know I'm pronouncing things in my head correctly

but I got sucked into the story so quickly it didn't matter. First book that has made me actually cry in a while too.

Solovey

:(

Next up is The Grisha Trilogy.

nhur · 11-02-2019 8:37am

Lady Haywire wrote: »

Was laid up with my back for a bit so was working through the books I had to hand so it's an eclectic mix
.

More fantasy than Sci fi would you say?

Thargor · 17-02-2019 11:52pm

Well I am seriously loving he Wheel of Time anyway, cant put it down tbh, nearly finished Book 5 and its some of the best fantasy Ive read in a long time, feels like it was written last year not decades ago aswell.

EDIT: Although theres no denying it is dragged out a good bit, they get to a location like The Stone of Tear and they just hang around there for chapter after chapter...

ixoy · 18-02-2019 12:57am

78% into "The Magician's Land" by Lev Grossman, the final book in his Magicians trilogy. As a fan of the SyFy show, I'm enjoying seeing the elements they've lifted from this. The principal characters are much easier to relate to than the first books (when they were pretty horrible). The world building is a bit more solid but there's still the feeling that Grossman is sometimes skimping over the interesting bits in fleeting descriptions than diving into them. I know it's as much about the character's journey, but I'd still like to see more of Fillory or the mechanics of the magic (I ain't expecting Sanderson but even so).
Still, it's probably the best of the series so far so hopefully going out on a high.

lordgoat · 18-02-2019 6:38pm

Thargor wrote: »

Well I am seriously loving he Wheel of Time anyway, cant put it down tbh, nearly finished Book 5 and its some of the best fantasy Ive read in a long time, feels like it was written last year not decades ago aswell.

EDIT: Although theres no denying it is dragged out a good bit, they get to a location like The Stone of Tear and they just hang around there for chapter after chapter...

Really looking forward to the mighty warrior Thargor's journey with Bob Jordan!

I'm on book 2 of the malazan. It's great.

nhur · 19-02-2019 12:13am

OK.. The Culture novels... I'm reading them in order and am about a third rhe way through Excession... I don't get the appeal... Player of Games was entertaining if a bit one dimensional... Am I missing something? Do I need to stick with them to see what everyone else appears to see in them?

A friend who's mad for the Culture read the Alistair Reynolds books at my behest and thought them inferior to the Culture! Am _I_ the crazy one here?

wyrn · 19-02-2019 12:20am

I've tried Player of Games twice and I just can't get into it. I don't hate it or anything, I just have this feeling that I'm missing something.

nhur · 19-02-2019 9:47am

wyrn wrote: »

I've tried Player of Games twice and I just can't get into it. I don't hate it or anything, I just have this feeling that I'm missing something.

Ha... That's the one I thought was bearable... Good to know I'm not alone

coffee_cake · 19-02-2019 10:00am

I never got into those books either. I was surprised

homosapien91 · 19-02-2019 11:44am

Am halfway through the last book of The Wheel of Time, after investing so much time into reading the series I am excited to finish but also a bit sad as I've really enjoyed it!

I will be moving on to The Magicians trilogy by Lev Grossman next, got the trio as a present for Christmas but didn't want to start until I had finished TWOT

Dades · 19-02-2019 3:09pm

nhur wrote: »

OK.. The Culture novels... I'm reading them in order and am about a third rhe way through Excession... I don't get the appeal... Player of Games was entertaining if a bit one dimensional... Am I missing something? Do I need to stick with them to see what everyone else appears to see in them?

A friend who's mad for the Culture read the Alistair Reynolds books at my behest and thought them inferior to the Culture! Am _I_ the crazy one here?

Of all the Banks' Culture (or Culture universe) novels, Excession was the only one I couldn't finish. I hated it.

Did you not read Use of Weapons, or Against a Dark Background (not officially Culture)? They come before Excession and, for me, are the two best of the lot. No "shipspeak" just cracking sci fi adventure. Unlike Player of Games, too, there is a serious about of action.

Don't give up on Banks (just on Excession)! :P

Thargor · 19-02-2019 8:39pm

I think if there was one sci-fi series I could have wiped from memory just so I could read it all again it would be The Culture tbh, they're on another level.

nhur · 20-02-2019 8:08am

Dades wrote: »

Of all the Banks' Culture (or Culture universe) novels, Excession was the only one I couldn't finish. I hated it.

Did you not read Use of Weapons, or Against a Dark Background (not officially Culture)? They come before Excession and, for me, are the two best of the lot. No "shipspeak" just cracking sci fi adventure. Unlike Player of Games, too, there is a serious about of action.

Don't give up on Banks (just on Excession)! :P

UoW was a fun read.. Havent read the other... And good news re excession cos I'm struggling with it!

Thargor wrote: »

I think if there was one sci-fi series I could have wiped from memory just so I could read it all again it would be The Culture tbh, they're on another level.

This is what most people say about thr culture... And what I'm trying to see but can't and feel like I'm missing something

Nody · 24-02-2019 9:09pm

Nody wrote: »

Finished book 2 (more of the same; if you like book 1 you'll like book 2 basically) and started on Heresy by Anselm Audley, book 1 in the Aquasilva trilogy.

Finished Aquasilva book 1 but instead of continuing the series (which book 1 I found rather boring esp. the main character) I instead returned to "Theirs not to reason why" series to finish of the last 3 books. Honestly I hardly could put them down; not the most in depth series out there but highly enjoyable and a wonderful universe with some interesting time travel aspects etc. involved as well.

Now going back to Anthony Ryan and finishing the Draconis Memoria trilogy with The Empire of Ashes.

shrapnel222 · 07-03-2019 6:38pm

just finished "the monster Baru Cormorant" book 2 of the masquerade.

I'm so impressed with this series. book 1 was amazing, and in book 2 they've carried on this amazing world building with fantastic political systems, great vocabulary and interconnecting relationships, and just set up for a phenomenal finish to the trilogy. really hope book 3 delivers, and in a way i have no doubt it will. best books for me of 2018 with the Jemesin broken earth trilogy.

nhur · 08-03-2019 10:10pm

shrapnel222 wrote: »

just finished "the monster Baru Cormorant" book 2 of the masquerade.

I'm so impressed with this series.

Ringing endorsement. I'll add them to my list.
Is the Broken Earth Trilogy better than the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms? The first book of BE didn't spark anything for me.

I've gotten sick of Excession and have pressed pause on the Culture and reading Whirlwind by Clavell

shrapnel222 · 08-03-2019 10:40pm

nhur wrote: »

Ringing endorsement. I'll add them to my list.
Is the Broken Earth Trilogy better than the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms? The first book of BE didn't spark anything for me.

I've gotten sick of Excession and have pressed pause on the Culture and reading Whirlwind by Clavell

As a whole, broken earth is much stronger imo and keeps delivering as the series goes on, but book 1 of the 100k kingdoms is pretty special it has to be said.

coffee_cake · 09-03-2019 3:38pm

Just read senlin ascends book 1.
It was a great read but irritatingly full of spelling mistakes and typos. Still, I might read the next one.
New jeff wheeler book out now and lined up next

smacl · 10-03-2019 1:59pm

shrapnel222 wrote: »

As a whole, broken earth is much stronger imo and keeps delivering as the series goes on, but book 1 of the 100k kingdoms is pretty special it has to be said.

Broken earth is also very different, more heart felt and far bleaker. I'd agree it is a stronger trilogy that the hundred thousand kingdoms but loved both and the few side novellas.

Igotadose · 10-03-2019 3:07pm

Finished "The First Law" series by Joe Abercrombie, as well as the companion short-story collection "Sharp Ends." Now working on "Best Served Cold", a companion novel set a few years after these.

The series is entertaining, not too deep a thought. My complaint with the trilogy is too many characters and not a lot of development, plus a lot of very similar writing (main characters seem to spend some time spitting in every chapter they're in. I suppose that's realistic.)
The short story compendium was entertaining and light.

"Best Served Cold" has fewer characters so hopefully I'll see what the author can do for character development.

Recommended as light reading, maybe 4 on a 1-5 scale.

ixoy · 10-03-2019 3:13pm

69% into "The Red Knight" by Miles Cameron, the first book in "The Traitor Son" cycle. I'm enjoying it - it's quite grounded, despite the interesting magic system. Cameron's big into re-enactments, and it's evident from his description not only of weaponry but in the fighting - I find his descriptions of battles, especially one-on-one to be very clear. However, sometimes he gets too deep and uses words and terms that my Kindle dictionary doesn't recognise and sometimes not even Google easily!

On the slightly negative side, I find the use of "real world" elements distracting - mentioning Christ, having a London, "Galle" for "Gaul" and so on. Yes, it's somewhat like an alternate earth but I'm not sure of the reason behind it. And on a professional level, the book has a bit too many typos!

Enough here though to keep my interest to investigate the remainder of the series.

lordgoat · 10-03-2019 10:17pm

Malazan - Book 3.

There's a lot of eating in these books!

coffee_cake · 18-03-2019 10:00pm

Well, i have been watching the shannara on Netflix. It's a terrible show but made me decide to try giving the books a go again. I never liked them originally.
On the first one now - certainly well written and I'm enjoying it. I've read so much mediocre modern writing (full of typos and unedited) lately, i forgot what a pleasure it was to read something like this.
Only downside is the complete lack of women anywhere yet

Thargor · 18-03-2019 10:42pm

Just saw Xeelee: Redemption newly released in Dubrays earlier, the 17th book in the Xeelee sequence. Great series.

homosapien91 · 19-03-2019 10:34am

Finished The Wheel of Time over the weekend, not sure how I feel about the ending to be honest, O have a lot of unanswered questions but that's for another thread I suppose!

Started the Magicians be Lev Grossman yesterday and could not put it down, really enjoying it even now thinking I can't wait to get home from work so I can read it

Xofpod · 19-03-2019 10:43am

Finally got around to starting the Hod King. Only 60 pages in but this series always immediately conjures up a very strong and unique sense of place, straight off the bat...

Lady Haywire · 19-03-2019 11:37am

Daughter of Smoke & Bone, (Laini Taylor) #1 & 2, must find the third one now to see what happens. Very good book, totally different concept to books I'd read before. Angels & chimera are underused in fantasy!

The Keys to the kingdom 1-7. (Garth Nix) These were ok, thought it started off very good & lulled a bit in the middle. Surprising end though, bit of a curve ball at the end & didn't expect it would end so abruptly.

Now onto The Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa. Again more young adult than anything else but I'm just going with Goodreads suggestions at the moment as i've not been to a bookstore in a long time. Easy reading & enjoyable so far. Don't know how she's going to stretch seven books out of it though.

Dades · 21-03-2019 3:38pm

Just started Revenger (Alastair Reynolds) last night.

Had taken a break from SF and read a couple of newer Stephen Kings (Elevation and The Outsider). Made me remember why I lapped up all his early stuff when i was younger - he can still tell a yarn.

Anyway, back to space ships and laser beams.

Paddy Samurai · 21-03-2019 4:54pm

'This series promises to be the standout epic fantasy for the ages' Fantasy Book Critic

Took me a while to get into this one but really not sure why.Once I got stuck in, it flew and ended up been a real winner for me.This series overall IMO is a step up on Traitor Son Cycle and that's saying something.
Roll on part 3

Only fools think war is simple.
Or glorious.

Some are warriors, some captains; others tend to the fallen or feed the living.
But on the magic-drenched battlefield, information is the lifeblood of victory, and Aranthur is about to discover that carrying messages, scouting the enemy, keeping his nerve, and passing on orders is more dangerous, and more essential, then an inexperienced soldier could imagine . . . especially when everything starts to go wrong.
Battle has been joined - on the field, in the magical sphere, and in the ever-shifting political arena . . .

Paddy Samurai · 21-03-2019 4:58pm

shrapnel222 wrote: »

that's just mean!

pretty sure almost everyone in this thread has read it and is still waiting for the 3rd instalment 10 years on.

thanks for reminding us! :pac::(

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What Are You Reading?

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