Hey!! Let's get some action going! What are we reading? - Page 653

lestatar · 06-19-2011, 11:54 AM

Well, I just finished Chris Wooding's "Braided Path" 3 book fantasy series. Got to say I was so sad to see it end.

One of the finer, more memorable fantasy storylines I have read recently [though I am no expert]. Very well written IMO with strong characters I cared about. Moments of very lyrical writing as well.

On many levels, similar to the reaction I had after reading Bakker's excellent "Prince of Nothing" cycle.

FWIW, I highly recommend this series from Wooding for fans of the genre.

Iridal · 06-19-2011, 12:01 PM

I just finished Extremely loud and increbibly close by Jonathan Safran Foer. I really liked the book, although I think the ending was a little weak. I guess I just didn't expect that kind of ending. It also felt a bit 'rushed', if that makes any sense. But I would definitely recommend this book.

I'm now starting another fantasy series: Kingmaker, Kingbreaker by Karen Miller. The first book is called The innocent mage.

zespectre · 06-19-2011, 01:42 PM

I've had a LOT of downtime just recently (and I just plain read fast) and somehow I've done 4 full length novels in 6 days

The Shadow Sorceress - LE Modesitt
Fourth book in the "Spellsong" series, shifting focus to some of the established secondary characters while maintaining the "look and feel" of the rest. On the whole a decent book though the paths are, by the fourth book, fairly well trodden and that makes it a slightly weaker book than the previous three though still enjoyable reading.

NOTE: Much like the rest of the series, don't read if you are on a diet because the magic users must eat...a LOT...to have the energy for their work so there is non-stop mention of food, snacking, eating, and hunger. I'm not joking, if you are dieting AVOID this series!

The Emperor's Edge - Lindsay Buroker
An entertaining start to Ms. Buroker's Steampunk series with just enough mention of "steam" to make the genre but well focused on story rather than "tech". While the character archetypes are somewhat predictable, and some of the "motivations" that bind the characters are a little weak at times, this is still a book well worth your time for fans of fantasy and steampunk.

Oryx and Crake - Margaret Atwood
This book was recommended to me several times, and considering that I very much enjoyed "A handmaid's tale" I was looking forward to reading it. Unfortunately it just didn't work for me. Told from the disjointed perspective of an only slightly sane survivor/hermit (Jimmy AKA Snowman) it was just too, I guess rambling is the best term, for my mood.

The Last Centurion - John Ringo
A post-apocalyptic novel of a different stripe. A focus on "how it all happened" and "how people reacted" with occasional action thrown in. Lots of strong political and social opinion and a lot of profanity (NOT for kids). Interestingly I found myself sucked in (much like reading "World War Z") and had to occasionally remind myself that this was fiction, not a true historical account of some disaster. The narritave has a similar "rambling" mode somewhat like "Oryx and Crake" but for whatever reason it held my attention a lot better.

DiapDealer · 06-20-2011, 07:30 AM

I finished up Lou Aronica's Blue. I can't really complain; it was a little more sweet/maudlin/YA than I'm used to, but it didn't suck by any means... and it didn't turn me into a wuss.

It was a rather nice change of pace, actually.

I really, really enjoyed Peter Watts' short story; "The Things" (Finalist for the Theodore Sturgeon Award). A really cool treatment of The Thing from the Thing's POV. If you haven't seen Carpenter's 1982 classic film or read the 1938 novella that inspired it all (Who goes There?) then there's really not much point in reading "The Things." But if you have, and you're a fan... well, then I highly recommend it.

I'd also like to point out an adrenaline-filled, Mil-SF short by Michael Ehart called "What the Bullet Sang" on the primarily space-opera oriented eZine Ray Gun Revival. Very polished... hope to see more.

I'm going to start filling in some missing pieces of my sci-fi education, starting with the first book in Bujold's Vorkosigan Saga; Shards of Honor.

zespectre · 06-20-2011, 07:39 AM

Quote:

I'm going to start filling in some missing pieces of my sci-fi education, starting with the first book in Bujold's Vorkosigan Saga; Shards of Honor.

I really enjoyed that entire series.

pdurrant · 06-20-2011, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I'm going to start filling in some missing pieces of my sci-fi education, starting with the first book in Bujold's Vorkosigan Saga; Shards of Honor.

I hope you enjoy them. I'm 99% sure you will. That's a good place to start. LMB's recently done a blog post with her thoughts on reading order:

http://www.myspace.com/loismcmasterb...blog/543224694

The meat of the post is this:

The novels in the internal-chronological list below appear in italics; the novellas (officially defined as a story between 17,500 words and 40,000 words, though mine usually run 20k - 30k words) in quote marks.

Falling Free
Shards of Honor
Barrayar
The Warrior's Apprentice
"The Mountains of Mourning"
"Weatherman"
The Vor Game
Cetaganda
Ethan of Athos
Borders of Infinity
"Labyrinth"
"The Borders of Infinity"
Brothers in Arms
Mirror Dance
Memory
Komarr
A Civil Campaign
"Winterfair Gifts"
Diplomatic Immunity
CryoBurn

Caveats:
Falling Free takes place 200 years earlier in the timeline and does not share settings or characters with the main body of the series. Most readers recommend picking up this story later. It should likely be read before Diplomatic Immunity, however, which revisits the "quaddies", a bioengineered race of free fall dwellers, in Miles's time.
The novella "Weatherman" is an out-take from the beginning of the novel The Vor Game. If you already have The Vor Game, you likely don't need this.
The original 'novel' Borders of Infinity was a fix-up collection containing the three novellas "The Mountains of Mourning", "Labyrinth", and "The Borders of Infinity", together with a frame story to tie the pieces together. Again, beware duplication. The frame story is slight, does not stand alone, and generally is of interest only to completists.

DiapDealer · 06-20-2011, 08:46 AM

@pdurrant: Thanks for the tips and warnings. Much appreciated.

I have the entire Cryoburn CD from The Fifth Imperium, so I'm under the impression that I have everything I need (if I'm missing something vital, someone feel free to enlighten me). I'm actually starting with the Cordelia's Honor Omnibus that contains Shards of Honor and Barrayar, so it sounds like I don't have any huge decisions to make for at least two books.

pdurrant · 06-20-2011, 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

@pdurrant: Thanks for the tips and warnings. Much appreciated.

I have the entire Cryoburn CD from The Fifth Imperium, so I'm under the impression that I have everything I need (if I'm missing something vital, someone feel free to enlighten me). I'm actually starting with the Cordelia's Honor Omnibus that contains Shards of Honor and Barrayar, so it sounds like I don't have any huge decisions to make for at least two books.

I think the only one missing from the Cryoburn disk is "Memory". It is available from webscription.net, but also from Fictionwise, which might be cheaper if you get it with a good discount code.

With the Omnibuses added in, the reading order is:

Falling Free
Cordelia's Honor (Shards of Honor & Barrayar)
Young Miles (The Warrior's Apprentice, "The Mountains of Mourning", "Weatherman"/The Vor Game)
Miles, Mystery and Mayhem (Cetaganda, Ethan of Athos, "Labyrinth")
Miles Errant ("The Borders of Infinity", Brothers in Arms, Mirror Dance)
Memory
Miles in Love(Komarr, A Civil Campaign, "Winterfair Gifts")
Diplomatic Immunity
CryoBurn

Nyssa · 06-20-2011, 10:02 AM

Heh. My husband made the exact same suggestions to me about this series. I really need to get started on them, he's convinced that I will love them.

caleb72 · 06-20-2011, 10:36 AM

Just finished Turn of the Screw by Henry James. It was a bit meh! I think the language itself made it difficult for me to get into the story.

I'm going to start Generation Loss by Elizabeth Hand now. I've only read 2 books in the past by Hand, but I have a profound fascination for her. It's about time I read this novel.

birdbrainbb · 06-20-2011, 12:26 PM

I finished Wanderlust! The first 10% or so was rough, but I'm glad I pushed through because the other 90% was really good, especially after the author started being more introspective about her life/her choices/etc.

Am now reading Zoo City by Lauren Beukes. I bought this back when Angry Robot discounted it to celebrate it winning the Arthur C. Clarke award-- so far it's great! Someone just got murdered and now it's turning into a sort of sci-fi/dystopian mystery thing.

DiapDealer · 06-20-2011, 12:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by birdbrainbb

I bought this back when Angry Robot discounted it to celebrate it winning the Arthur C. Clarke award

That reminds me... I love Angry Robots. I keep forgetting that I mean to recommend them more often. ePub, DRM free, and they actually recommend that you use calibre (they even provide a link) to convert their titles for use on the Kindle!

phenomshel · 06-20-2011, 05:26 PM

Finished "Unraveled" by Maggie Sefton Saturday. It's the latest in her Kelly Flynn knitting mystery series. She left us with quite the cliffhanger regarding Kelly's personal life in the last one, so I was anxious to see how that was going to turn out. Well, not to spoil anything, but it's still not completely resolved, though in a better place than it was at the end of the previous book.
Now reading "Dire Threads" by Janet Bolin. Debut mystery series about a town on Lake Erie devoted to fiber crafts: knitting, sewing, embroidery, etc. She keeps referring to things that happened before the main character moved from NYC though, makes me wonder if there might be a prequel in the future sometime.
I noticed that Debbie Macomber has come out with "The 21st Wish" in the Blossom St. series, so I guess I'll have to pick that up while I'm back on this crafty mystery kick.

Still trying to wade my way through "Magic Bites" by Ilona Andrews (the first Kate Daniels). I was so looking forward to reading this series, but it's not holding my interest as I'd hoped it would. I think it's me, not the book, though, because they're getting rave reviews and I know that several people here love them.

naql · 06-20-2011, 06:31 PM

I just finished rereading Tailchaser's Song by Tad Williams and now I'm going to reread his Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy.

Fbone · 06-20-2011, 08:41 PM

Finished Unwind by Neal Shusterman. He definitely wrote it for young teens. I found the idea of "unwinding" teenagers unusual and original. Although, to be honest, I didn't quite think the events leading up to how such actions became legislated were credible. Also, his political views were too in-your-face. I get the feeling he was encouraging his young readers to be aggressive activists.
Overall, it was good. Grade it a C+.

Next is Three Men in a Boat by Jerome.

06-19-2011, 01:42 PM	#9783
zespectre BookMonkey Posts: 90 Karma: 18008 Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Shenandoah Valley Device: NOOK, iPod Touch, Asus Netbook	On a reading roll...four books reviewed briefly I've had a LOT of downtime just recently (and I just plain read fast) and somehow I've done 4 full length novels in 6 days The Shadow Sorceress - LE Modesitt Fourth book in the "Spellsong" series, shifting focus to some of the established secondary characters while maintaining the "look and feel" of the rest. On the whole a decent book though the paths are, by the fourth book, fairly well trodden and that makes it a slightly weaker book than the previous three though still enjoyable reading. NOTE: Much like the rest of the series, don't read if you are on a diet because the magic users must eat...a LOT...to have the energy for their work so there is non-stop mention of food, snacking, eating, and hunger. I'm not joking, if you are dieting AVOID this series! The Emperor's Edge - Lindsay Buroker An entertaining start to Ms. Buroker's Steampunk series with just enough mention of "steam" to make the genre but well focused on story rather than "tech". While the character archetypes are somewhat predictable, and some of the "motivations" that bind the characters are a little weak at times, this is still a book well worth your time for fans of fantasy and steampunk. Oryx and Crake - Margaret Atwood This book was recommended to me several times, and considering that I very much enjoyed "A handmaid's tale" I was looking forward to reading it. Unfortunately it just didn't work for me. Told from the disjointed perspective of an only slightly sane survivor/hermit (Jimmy AKA Snowman) it was just too, I guess rambling is the best term, for my mood. The Last Centurion - John Ringo A post-apocalyptic novel of a different stripe. A focus on "how it all happened" and "how people reacted" with occasional action thrown in. Lots of strong political and social opinion and a lot of profanity (NOT for kids). Interestingly I found myself sucked in (much like reading "World War Z") and had to occasionally remind myself that this was fiction, not a true historical account of some disaster. The narritave has a similar "rambling" mode somewhat like "Oryx and Crake" but for whatever reason it held my attention a lot better. Last edited by zespectre; 06-19-2011 at 02:58 PM. Reason: fix typo

06-20-2011, 07:30 AM	#9784
DiapDealer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 28,578 Karma: 204127028 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD	I finished up Lou Aronica's Blue. I can't really complain; it was a little more sweet/maudlin/YA than I'm used to, but it didn't suck by any means... and it didn't turn me into a wuss. It was a rather nice change of pace, actually. I really, really enjoyed Peter Watts' short story; "The Things" (Finalist for the Theodore Sturgeon Award). A really cool treatment of The Thing from the Thing's POV. If you haven't seen Carpenter's 1982 classic film or read the 1938 novella that inspired it all (Who goes There?) then there's really not much point in reading "The Things." But if you have, and you're a fan... well, then I highly recommend it. I'd also like to point out an adrenaline-filled, Mil-SF short by Michael Ehart called "What the Bullet Sang" on the primarily space-opera oriented eZine Ray Gun Revival. Very polished... hope to see more. I'm going to start filling in some missing pieces of my sci-fi education, starting with the first book in Bujold's Vorkosigan Saga; Shards of Honor. Last edited by DiapDealer; 06-20-2011 at 07:36 AM.

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06-19-2011, 11:54 AM	#9781
lestatar LB's lolz Mutt Minion Posts: 2,902 Karma: 5700001 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Hong Kong now but NYC forever Device: Kindle3, GalaxyTab, BB Bold9700, BB 8300, Sony Clie, Palm Vx, Palm III	Well, I just finished Chris Wooding's "Braided Path" 3 book fantasy series. Got to say I was so sad to see it end. One of the finer, more memorable fantasy storylines I have read recently [though I am no expert]. Very well written IMO with strong characters I cared about. Moments of very lyrical writing as well. On many levels, similar to the reaction I had after reading Bakker's excellent "Prince of Nothing" cycle. FWIW, I highly recommend this series from Wooding for fans of the genre.

06-19-2011, 12:01 PM	#9782
Iridal Mysteriarch Posts: 1,422 Karma: 26606984 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: The land of impossible deadlines Device: iPhone 4, Kindle 3	I just finished Extremely loud and increbibly close by Jonathan Safran Foer. I really liked the book, although I think the ending was a little weak. I guess I just didn't expect that kind of ending. It also felt a bit 'rushed', if that makes any sense. But I would definitely recommend this book. I'm now starting another fantasy series: Kingmaker, Kingbreaker by Karen Miller. The first book is called The innocent mage.

06-20-2011, 08:46 AM	#9787
DiapDealer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 28,578 Karma: 204127028 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD	@pdurrant: Thanks for the tips and warnings. Much appreciated. I have the entire Cryoburn CD from The Fifth Imperium, so I'm under the impression that I have everything I need (if I'm missing something vital, someone feel free to enlighten me). I'm actually starting with the Cordelia's Honor Omnibus that contains Shards of Honor and Barrayar, so it sounds like I don't have any huge decisions to make for at least two books.

06-20-2011, 10:02 AM	#9789
Nyssa Series Addict Posts: 6,180 Karma: 167189477 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Florida, USA Device: Kindle Paperwhite (2nd Gen)	Heh. My husband made the exact same suggestions to me about this series. I really need to get started on them, he's convinced that I will love them.

06-20-2011, 10:36 AM	#9790
caleb72 Indie Advocate Posts: 2,863 Karma: 18794463 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Melbourne, Australia Device: Kindle	Just finished Turn of the Screw by Henry James. It was a bit meh! I think the language itself made it difficult for me to get into the story. I'm going to start Generation Loss by Elizabeth Hand now. I've only read 2 books in the past by Hand, but I have a profound fascination for her. It's about time I read this novel.

06-20-2011, 12:26 PM	#9791
birdbrainbb Addict Posts: 287 Karma: 2191035 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Anaheim, CA Device: Kindle Oasis, Kindle Paperwhite 5	I finished Wanderlust! The first 10% or so was rough, but I'm glad I pushed through because the other 90% was really good, especially after the author started being more introspective about her life/her choices/etc. Am now reading Zoo City by Lauren Beukes. I bought this back when Angry Robot discounted it to celebrate it winning the Arthur C. Clarke award-- so far it's great! Someone just got murdered and now it's turning into a sort of sci-fi/dystopian mystery thing.

06-20-2011, 05:26 PM	#9793
phenomshel ZCD BombShel Posts: 4,793 Karma: 8293322 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: The Frozen North (aka Illinois, USA) Device: iPad, STB Kindle Oasis	Finished "Unraveled" by Maggie Sefton Saturday. It's the latest in her Kelly Flynn knitting mystery series. She left us with quite the cliffhanger regarding Kelly's personal life in the last one, so I was anxious to see how that was going to turn out. Well, not to spoil anything, but it's still not completely resolved, though in a better place than it was at the end of the previous book. Now reading "Dire Threads" by Janet Bolin. Debut mystery series about a town on Lake Erie devoted to fiber crafts: knitting, sewing, embroidery, etc. She keeps referring to things that happened before the main character moved from NYC though, makes me wonder if there might be a prequel in the future sometime. I noticed that Debbie Macomber has come out with "The 21st Wish" in the Blossom St. series, so I guess I'll have to pick that up while I'm back on this crafty mystery kick. Still trying to wade my way through "Magic Bites" by Ilona Andrews (the first Kate Daniels). I was so looking forward to reading this series, but it's not holding my interest as I'd hoped it would. I think it's me, not the book, though, because they're getting rave reviews and I know that several people here love them.

06-20-2011, 06:31 PM	#9794
naql Member Posts: 19 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Saint Petersburg, FL Device: Kindle 3, iPad, iPhone 4, Mac	I just finished rereading Tailchaser's Song by Tad Williams and now I'm going to reread his Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy.

06-20-2011, 08:41 PM	#9795
Fbone Is that a sandwich? Posts: 8,296 Karma: 101697116 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: Nook Glowlight Plus	Finished Unwind by Neal Shusterman. He definitely wrote it for young teens. I found the idea of "unwinding" teenagers unusual and original. Although, to be honest, I didn't quite think the events leading up to how such actions became legislated were credible. Also, his political views were too in-your-face. I get the feeling he was encouraging his young readers to be aggressive activists. Overall, it was good. Grade it a C+. Next is Three Men in a Boat by Jerome.