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

[JSWolf]

What I find is I go back and reread the footnotes as the footnotes can be just so silly. But they are a fun read.

Has anyone purchased any Discworld novels from Connect Store? How are they handled?

[Dr. Drib]

Has anyone read (or bought from the Connect Store) Vikram Chandra's novel, Sacred Games: A Novel?

I'm very curious about this, as it seems to bridge the literary novel with genre fiction.

Thanks,
Don

[paulkbiba]

I just finished Peter Watts Blindsight. Wonderful read and quite thought provoking. It plays with the idea of intelligence without sentience. Interesting. All of Watts' books are available for free at www.rifters.com

I consider his other books, Starfish, Maelstrom and Behemoth, to be must-reads, also. I've read all his stuff as ebooks, but am going to buy them all in hard copy to add to my permanent library.

[NatCh]

Just downloaded (from the ConnStore) The New World, by Michael Stackpole, it's the third in his Age of Discover series (started with Cartomancy). I liked the first 2 and I've been looking forward to the third.

I do wish someone would release an e-version of his Talion: Revenant, that's a seriously good book.

[The GreatGonzo]

You know, not wanting to cause any trouble or anything, but -
purely in terms of language - not even talking about plot or characters - but purely in terms of using the English language in an enjoyable, inspired and fresh way - is not anything by Pratchett automatically better than anything by Rowling?



(ducks & covers)

[Nate the great]

Originally Posted by The GreatGonzo

You know, not wanting to cause any trouble or anything, but -
purely in terms of language - not even talking about plot or characters - but purely in terms of using the English language in an enjoyable, inspired and fresh way - is not anything by Pratchett automatically better than anything by Rowling?


(ducks & covers)

I would not say automatically, but in general, yes.

[NatCh]

I'd probably agree with that too, generally speaking.

[nekokami]

I'm not sure it's a fair comparison. Rowling has only published 7 books (even if they are longer than any of Pratchett's) and has had less experience with editors. Pratchett has 30+ Discworld books alone. I wouldn't say all of Pratchett's stuff is better than all of Rowling's, even in terms of language use, but proportionally his work might still be better. Still, after 30 books (not all written for kids) we'll have to see where she's gone.

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by andyafro

has anyone got a copy of vintage season by cl moore?
one of the books i really want

I don't believe any of Moore's work is available in electronic editions. The last paper version of "Vintage Season" I recall was a Tor "double novel" release in 1990, paired with Robert Silverberg's "In Another Country". There's an eBay listing for it, and it may be up as a used book on Amazon as well.

Some of her husband Henry Kuttner's work is now in the PD and available in electronic format, but I haven't seen Moore yet.
______
Dennis

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by cherdman

I've just begun reading The Night's Dawn trilogy by Peter F. Hamilton (The Reality Dysfunction, The Neutronium Alchemist, The Naked God). I've heard that they're the George R.R. Martin books of science fiction. I hope that's true because this is A LOT of reading...

They are splendid, chock full of casually tossed off ideas other writers would make whole books of. There is also a short story volume set in that universe.

The series even ends with a Deus Ex Machina, but Hamilton makes it work. The volumes were big enough that they were published as two mass market paperbacks a piece. A friend started "The Reality Dysfunction" on my recommendation. Unfortunately, the publisher made no indication of the first PB that it was part one of a two book series. My friend was so upset at running into the metaphorical wall at the end of the first half that he refused to read anything else by Hamilton. That was a publisher's stupidity that Peter had no control over, but my friend was unmoved. Pity, as he's missing good stuff.

I've met Hamilton, and he's a neat guy. He estimated he'd made perhaps a couple of hundred dollars on royalties for ebook editions, and didn't see it as a significant force in publishing. Well, no surprise, as his publisher didn't make it obvious back then that there were electronic editions, or make it easy to find and buy them. That was a few years back. I wonder if he's seen more electronic sales since?
______
Dennis

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by NatCh

I've been intrigued by the looks of The Phoenix Guard for years, but I've always had something else I wanted to read when I ran across it.

Your recommendation increases the odds of my actually picking up a copy, though.

Note that _The Phoenix Guard_ and its sequel _500 Years After_ are set in the Drageara universe, but are unlike the other novels Brust has written in that setting. They are pastiches of Alexander Dumas and "The Three Musketeers", and written in that style.

I read it, and complained to a fellow Brust fan "His characters are idiots!" "Of course they're idiots!", my friend replied. "Dumas' characters were idiots, too!". I thought about it, and realized he was right. They were young, with fine tailoring, exquisite manners, and sharp swords. Why did they need brains?

Fun, but as mentioned, unlike the other books in the setting.
______
Dennis

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by Azayzel

[/indent]Be advised, if you've never read Piers Anthony's before, don't judge his other titles by the subject matter of this book, they are nothing alike and he's very careful to keep his other novels teen-friendly. He has sold millions of books and they are a blast to read (his Xanth novels are full of silly, and many times dumb, puns, to you always get a good chuckle).

<sigh>

Piers Anthony is one of the best in the genre at taking an idea and running with it. Unfortunately, he's one of the worst at knowing when to stop, and tends to run things right into the ground, with Xanth a prime example.

I'll recommend the first one or two of the Xanth books, but not beyond. I do highly recommend early books like _Macroscope_ and the "Orn, Omnivore, 0X" trilogy.

Anthony uses the profits from his writing to buy undeveloped land near him in Florida and keep it undeveloped. Xanth books sell, so he writes Xanth books. I admire the motive, but can't read the work.
______
Dennis

[NatCh]

I liked Xanth up through Golem in the Gears (~13 I think), after that he gets too interested in telling the stories (and doling out the puns) and forgets to tell the stories of the characters, at which point, he loses me.

[alophind]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

I want a sense of community!!! (Yes, I'm very needy!)

I'm currently reading my first Hobb book, "Assasin's Apprentice," and I'm loving it.

I just bought the newest bundle of her books, and plan to buy the earlier bundle, and also the other 2 in the immediate series that I'm reading.

Her work is very engaging and thoughtful. The pace is leisurely and thought-provoking, and her characters seem real: they reflect and think.

I highly recommend the book I'm reading. From what I've read about the other 8 titles in the overall series, she is not to be missed!

So let's talk about BOOKS!!!!!


Don

The first Assassin Trilogy is amazing.
I've heard that the second trilogy (with the ships) is boring , and the 3rd one (Tawny man...) is the best.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by alophind

The first Assassin Trilogy is amazing.
I've heard that the second trilogy (with the ships) is boring , and the 3rd one (Tawny man...) is the best.

I'm now reading the first book of the Second Series (about the Live Ships). I'm about 1/3 through it and thorougly enjoying it. I find it fully engrossing.

Don