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

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by ATDrake

Finished another library book and another purchase from Poisoned Pen Press' 99 cent introductory mystery sale.

Changes by Mercedes Lackey is the latest in her "Collegium Chronicles" series-within-the-Valdemar-series. And it does seem to be intended as an ongoing, rather than the standard trilogy these things used to be, as once again we get slow-burn "development" of Mags and his friends' issues, and some form of progression on the "mysterious foreigners who have it in for the Valdemarans in general and Mags in particular" plot.

Actually, this can be best summed up by a thoroughly ironic passage within the actual book:


Three books in, I totally agree with this assessment, and I freely admit I've been continuing to read the new volumes in the series out of sheer morbid trainwreck curiosity.

This is not to say that the book is a total retread, because while the plots and character points are being drawn out and extended and recycled (and they've even re-invented that polo/volleyball/field hockey game they used in the Alberich books), you do find out some semi-nifty background details, such as the fact that there's a CSI: Haven team out there investigating mysterious causes of death and more of what happened to magic and the knowledge of it between Vanyel's death and Selenay's reign. And there is some actual baby-steps-forward progress on the overarching mysterious assassin/saboteur plot and the characters' personal issues.

But aside from that, the protagonist's continuing use of phonetically-spelt dialect in word and thought is seriously annoying, since he's started talking and thinking and internal-monologuing more, and I just want to club him like I was actually working in a goth club. Bartending. In the dark.

Speak proper Valdemaran; I know you can because you made a point of it in one passage. I don't care if you keep up the spoken-word pretense to fool people into thinking that you're dumber and worse-educated than you actually are. But I don't want to see that many needless eliding apostrophes and quaint folksy mispellings in your stupid thoughts, dammit!

Can't recommend, especially as it looks like they're going to keep dragging out the story over even more volumes. But okay for a library read if you're curious about developments to the setting.

I read this book last month and regretted it. Either I've outgrown Ms. Lackey, or she's gotten hopelessly lazy. Which is too bad, since I used to be able to enjoy her books, and she certainly produces a lot of them. But the last couple I really just haven't thought were all that good, and I confess this series was extremely disappointing. I think I'm going to have to just give it up, certainly the Valdemar books at least. The last book of hers I really enjoyed was Reserved for the Cat, so I may try to see if my Library has the newest Elemental Masters volume. I'm not willing to pay $12.99 for it.

[alansplace]

Originally Posted by caleb72

Oooh - tell me what you think of it.

Well, first off the final movie in The Millennium Trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest arrived today from Netflix, So I spent a couple of hours watching that. Thus I'm only 25% into reading Let The Right One In. What I will say is that IMHO, it doesn't quite come up to the standard of The Millennium Trilogy, but I'm putting the trilogy on a pretty high pedestal. It's been an enjoyable read thus far and I have seen the American movie version, Let Me In, which does a pretty good job following this original story even though they've transplanted it to New Mexico. I'd recommend it, but I'll perhaps have more insights when I've finshed it.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by cassidym

Just finished 11/22/63 by Stephen King. Not quite up to The Stand or It but, nonetheless, one I couldn't put down and flew through.

I'll have to disagree. 11/22/63 is up to the level of The Stand.

[JSWolf]

Earlier today I finished Ice Cold by Tess Gerritsen. I flew threw it in just three days. It was quite good. The 8th book in the Rizzoli & Isle series.

Today I have started The 8th Confession by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro. It's the 8th book in the Women's Murder Club series.

[melmac]

Originally Posted by ATDrake

I just want to club him like I was actually working in a goth club. Bartending. In the dark.

Thankyou for taking the time to post your indepth reviews. I always enjoy reading them and find them very useful especially for finding the diamonds in the rough of the neverending cheapies and freebies

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by melmac

Thankyou for taking the time to post your indepth reviews. I always enjoy reading them and find them very useful especially for finding the diamonds in the rough of the neverending cheapies and freebies

This time, the review is offensive and inappropriate. The baby seal line is wrong and I've reported it.

[melmac]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

This time, the review is offensive and inappropriate. The baby seal line is wrong and I've reported it.

I found it entertaining and honest. Sometimes people need to just lighten up

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by melmac

I found it entertaining and honest. Sometimes people need to just lighten up

Not in that case. The idea of clubbing baby seals is not funny at all. It's not entertaining or honest. It's just disgusting.

[banjobama]

I just started Harm None by M. R. Sellars. Reviews on Smashwords and Amazon were good, and though I'm only 3 chapters in I'm liking it a lot.

[ATDrake]

Originally Posted by CRussel

The last book of hers I really enjoyed was Reserved for the Cat, so I may try to see if my Library has the newest Elemental Masters volume. I'm not willing to pay $12.99 for it.

If you are speaking of Unnatural Issue, then you are indeed wise to save your money.

I read it last year, and while it wasn't the worst book in the series, it was also not one of the better ones, and thus perfectly suited to a library read and nothing more, unless one has very deep attachment to the series/characters and wants a complete collection of such.

Personally, I think that Lackey's Valdemar books pretty much peaked, quality-wise, somewhere around By the Sword and while there were a lot of fun mind candy books after that, they've been on a slowly accelerating spiral o'doom since then.

Originally Posted by JSWolf

This time, the review is offensive and inappropriate. The baby seal line is wrong and I've reported it.

I'm sorry you feel that way, and I apologize for causing you disgust and offense. In the future I will try to remember not to make such remarks in your presence.

However, as a Canadian, I naturally feel compelled to make comments incorporating our cultural practices* and institutions†. Perhaps I could substitute remarks involving our other national animal, the beaver‡, instead.

* Which happens to be rather more humane overall than a number of other widespread practices which put food on North American tables, unless one happens to be strictly vegan. But then, what measure is a non-cute?

† One of which is Parliament, which happens to serve seal meat right in its cafeteria. Admittedly not to many, but it's there if they want to eat it and not disrespect the animal's sacrifice by letting perfectly useful protein go to waste.

‡ "No furbashing, plz".

[The Terminator]

Originally Posted by maianhvk

I'm still reading A Tale of 2 Cities. No big deal, I've been reading it for only a month now... Only if I could keep my eyes open from the 5th minute on...



It was so hard. It took me a very long boring while to plow through the miscellaneous details of Bishop Myriel's life, including his habits, sister, home decorations... even his meeting an outlaw, if I remember it right.

So you can see, after all the efforts, I was resentful to discover that Bishop Myriel plays no big role but merely a sleeping beauty to look at in less than a minute

I think you already made it to the later parts, but I put this in spoiler in case you didn't.

Spoiler:

Why Hugo couldn't just say,
"Valjean met this Bishop named Myriel. Valjean happened to have a sneak peek when the bishop was sleeping and his pure, kind face (under the moonlight) changed the ex-prisoner's nature completely: Valjean suddenly turned good, etc."
and save us some hundred pages, remains a mystery to me Was he paid by word count?

But from that on, things went very smoothly and easily. The story became interesting, truly touching, and of course had less nonsense.

Yes it's much better now,

Spoiler:

I had trouble with that part too, it was just so boring, and it only takes like two minutes for the movie to be done with the whole part with Jean Valjean and the Bishop

[The Terminator]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Not in that case. The idea of clubbing baby seals is not funny at all. It's not entertaining or honest. It's just disgusting.

Really? I think you might be over reacting a liiitle bit. (I've never read the book and in no way am I insulting the book or the author)

[mlewis78]

I'm reading Roger Ebert's memoir, Life Itself, and enjoying it.

[coderserdar]

jack higgins - day of reckoning

an excellent sean dillon novel again

billy salter
blake johnson and a good challange with mafia

[mikaelalind]

Right now I am on a Allison Brennan glomp. It started with that I read Love me to death, the first in the Lucy Kincaid series, which was good, but I realised it would be much better if I read the backlist. And it doesn't cost me a dime, since I get them from the library . I probably will buy the Lucy Kincaid series, though, since it is shifted publishers after book three (from Random House to St Martin).