Hey!! Let's get some action going! What are we reading?

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next: Swords Against Death by Fritz Leiber.

The second in his Fafhrd ('Faf-erd') and the Grey Mouser series, that I bought back in December 2009. The first was interesting, and the second is also shaping up that way.

There are many references to this series in other fantasy books, especially "The Colour of Magic" by Terry Pratchett (which manages to refer an amazing number of other fantasies).

The Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser series are considered classic "sword and sorcery" fantasy. Leiber would have a well deserved place among the top names in SF/fantasy if he had never written anything else, and these are arguably a minor part of his canon.
______
Dennis

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I just finished The Virginian by Owen Wister. For all intents and purposes, this book can be said to have spawned the Western (cowboy) genre. I really enjoyed it, but it required me to slow down considerably while reading it--language and phrasing have changed considerably since the late 1800's early 1900's.

But once I adjusted to the writing style, it became quite captivating... and it romantically (while still somewhat accurately) portrayed almost every aspect of the "cow-boy" of the American West: every hard-workin', card-playin', straight-shootin', tall-tale tellin', rustler-hatin', woman-lovin', code-of-the-west honorin' ounce of him.

Wister's style does take adjustments, but it's a lovely story. It also spawned several movies, and nine seasons of a TV series by the same name starring James Drury.

And yes, it's arguably the progenitor for the whole Western genre.
______
Dennis

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

and nine seasons of a TV series by the same name starring James Drury.

I still watch the re-runs.

[maianhvk]

the broken kindle made me stop halfway through Riyria Revelations 04. which made me come back to The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson, a paperback I bought last month.

[Fbone]

Finished Vortex by Denning. Didn't really enjoy it. Moved too slowly for my taste. It's an action/adventure after all.

Oh, and the author employed my least favorite device:

Spoiler:

The reader was told convincingly a character was dead. Battle scene and all. But it was all an illusion and after 363 pages the storyline starts at the beginning again when the character returns to life.

Think I'll take a break from reading and spend some time catching up on movies I planned to view.

[Iridal]

Too little reading and too much working these days, I have to get my priorities straight I managed to finish book 27 this year, Proven Guilty, a Dresden Files book by Jim Butcher.

Just 5 more books to go in this series. Now starting the next one: White Night. But this one will be put aside as soon as Percepliquis, the final book in the Riyria Series is released. Which should be VERY soon

[Latinandgreek]

Originally Posted by Iridal

But this one will be put aside as soon as Percepliquis, the final book in the Riyria Series is released. Which should be VERY soon

I hope so it is released soon, but on wikipedia, it says that it is being released in 2012. Please tell me it isn't so!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael...ia_Revelations

[Iridal]

Originally Posted by Latinandgreek

I hope so it is released soon, but on wikipedia, it says that it is being released in 2012. Please tell me it isn't so!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael...ia_Revelations

I hope that's not true ...

This is my source: http://www.ridanpublishing.com/percepliquis.html

[Latinandgreek]

Originally Posted by Iridal

I hope that's not true ...

This is my source: http://www.ridanpublishing.com/percepliquis.html

That's today! I'm going to see if I can snag a copy somewhere!

[Iridal]

Originally Posted by Latinandgreek

That's today! I'm going to see if I can snag a copy somewhere!

I already checked smashwords and amazon, and found nothing ... Let me know if you manage to get a copy!

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Swords Against Death by Fritz Leiber.

We learn more of our heros, and more of their magical patrons. We see them move on from the events of the last book. A fund read, in what I'm guessing were originally short stories, but all tying together into a coherent overall narrative.

I'm probably over-analysing here. I liked it.

On to another Agatha Christie now. Her 8th book, The Big Four, featuring Hercule Poirot.

[BenG]

I'm putting aside Sin Killer for a day to read Philip Pullman's Once upon a Time in the North. It's a short story or novella about how a young Lee Scoursby met Iorek Byrnison for the first time.

[maianhvk]

Originally Posted by Iridal

I hope that's not true ...

This is my source: http://www.ridanpublishing.com/percepliquis.html

Originally Posted by Latinandgreek

That's today! I'm going to see if I can snag a copy somewhere!

Originally Posted by Iridal

I already checked smashwords and amazon, and found nothing ... Let me know if you manage to get a copy!

oh come on! don't you see they say it's released on April 1st??

[bZkindle]

The Greek Seaman by Jacqueline Howett

http://www.amazon.com/The-Greek-Seam...cm_cr-mr-title

A modern-day James Joyce, March 31, 2011
This review is from: The Greek Seaman (Kindle Edition)

Ostensibly a seafaring adventure set in the bustling Greek port town of Piraeus, this debut novel is a postmodern exploration of the fractured nature of the nation-state in the early 21st century. Underlying the dazzling prose is a deep sense of anxiety and concern for the growth of Islam, and how this might threaten European life.

The Greek seaman of the title is a metaphor for ancient Europe: he tries to control the ship but newer Arab forces contend with him. Fish is a leitmotif, running through the book and connecting the characters and plotlines. Why fish? It is a mystery the reader struggles to comprehend:

" "Do you like fish Katy?"

Katy nodded.

"But you have to clean out the bones first," said Don."

Just like Joyce, who is clearly her spiritual father, the author is unafraid to break from the conventions of English grammar and sentence structure:

"All the different kinds of characters wearing various fashions going about their lives brought about a harmonious buzz of voices that mesmerized her while she spooned her ice cream."

What does it mean? Ultimately, the reader is left alone to decide for him or herself.
-Nabokoviette

[Iridal]

Originally Posted by maianhvk

oh come on! don't you see they say it's released on April 1st??

Apparently it isn't ... There's still a button 'notify me' so they let you know when the book is released. I asked them to notify me a month ago, and didn't get any emails from them. So far ...