191 replies to this topic

[Ogul]

Just finished A Way of Kings Part 1 by Brandon Sanderson last night. It's left me conflicted. For a start, it's only half the book, yet is 600.

It is a MASSIVE book. I gave some thought a year or so ago to how they could make a movie of it, and decided that it could best be broken up into two theatrical releases with a TV miniseries in the middle, and two animated short-story projects like the Animatrix.

I read it in a single hardcover, so I didn't face your angst, but I very much recommend you stick with it. I can't promise a resolution (after all, he intends this to be book one of twelve or some ludicrous thing), but there are some resolutions, some very shocking ones, and each characters story comes to some sort of personal climax, including some excellent battle scenes too. I came out of it with the same "damn this was long" opinion you had, but also "and it was totally worth it," afterwards going on to read Elantris and all the Mistborns.

[Chris Fenton]

I just started reading Inferno... I think it may take some time...

[Martin Smith]

I'm having another attempt at the Big Sleep. I bought it two or three years ago, but struggled through about a third of it before giving up. Saw it the other day while rearranged a bookshelf and thought I'd give it another go, starting last night. Loving it this time. Don't know why, but it's clicking for me in a way that it really didn't the first time.

[Ben the Obiwomble]

I think Way of KIngs does pay off very well Martin but like Ogul I read it as 1 hardback.

[Ogul]

Holy Crap! I was tooling around a Mistborn wiki, and found out something crazy! Apparently all of Sanderson's books are in a shared universe, Crossgen-style! They each seem to take place on different planets, but with a shared meta-model overlaying them, and apparently even some interaction between them in a subtle way. Nuts.

[Lucian Von Dooom]

Currently reading The 12th Planet by Zecharia Sitchin. Sitchin attributes the creation of the ancient Sumerian culture to the Anunnaki, which he states was a race of extra-terrestrials from a planet beyond Neptune called Nibiru. He believed this hypothetical planet of Nibiru to be in an elongated, elliptical orbit in the Earth's own Solar System, asserting that Sumerian mythology reflects this view.

It's really quite brilliant. I can't put it down.

[Ulf Imwiehe]

After weeks of reading on psycholinguistics (mostly Noam Chomsky and Steven Pinker) I’m famished for some lighter and, yes, more riveting fare. So I’m reading Sandman Slim – Kill the Dead, the second book in Richard Kadrey’s series about a supernatural hitman who comes back from hell to take revenge on those who sent him there. The premise sounds simple enough but things are getting ever more complex as the story progresses. I read the first novel a year ago and liked it just fine, the occasional line of clunky dialogue and some wonky plotting notwithstanding. This one is much better so far.

[Rory Abel]

After weeks of reading on psycholinguistics (mostly Noam Chomsky and Steven Pinker) I’m famished for some lighter and, yes, more riveting fare. So I’m reading Sandman Slim – Kill the Dead, the second book in Richard Kadrey’s series about a supernatural hitman who comes back from hell to take revenge on those who sent him there. The premise sounds simple enough but things are getting ever more complex as the story progresses. I read the first novel a year ago and liked it just fine, the occasional line of clunky dialogue and some wonky plotting notwithstanding. This one is much better so far.

I definitely felt it was the best of the series so far.

Edited by Rory Abel, 09 February 2012 - 09:15 PM.

[Ulf Imwiehe]

Yeah, I’m enjoying it a great deal and am very much looking forward to the third novel, Aloha From Hell, which I hope is set in Hawaii, one of the most intriguing settings for horror stories as far as I’m concerned (Hawaiian Dick anyone?)…

[Arjan Dirkse]

I'm reading bits of the Tao te Ching. It's a real nice version, with beautiful photos and calligraphy.

[Rory Abel]

Yeah, I’m enjoying it a great deal and am very much looking forward to the third novel, Aloha From Hell, which I hope is set in Hawaii, one of the most intriguing settings for horror stories as far as I’m concerned (Hawaiian Dick anyone?)…

Aloha from Hell is good but not great. I think part of the problem is that I read his other novel Butcher Bird first, and there are a bunch of similarities between the two making Aloha a little disappointing. There's nothing inherently bad about it though but honestly, I'm more interested in seeing what the next book is (which I'm willing to bet is going to be called Part Time Devil.)

[Paul F]

I'm reading I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution by Craig Marks and Rob Tannenbaum. It's a history of the first decade of MTV. It's done in the same fashion as Live From New York, the SNL history from a few years ago, with a brief intro to each chapter and the rest told through interview quotes from people involved.

There's a lot of interesting behind the scenes stuff about the struggles to get the station up and running, as well as bits about the creation of some early/important videos like this:

Spoiler

[Ulf Imwiehe]

Polished off Sandman Slim – Kill the Dead and it was really good. Now I have to get the third novel asap. In the meantime I’ll reread Stephen King’s Cujo. It’s been ages since I first read this book so it should be interesting to see how it holds up.

[David Meadows]

Slogging my way through chapter 1 of Voice of the Fire. It's hard work, but in a good way. I love language, and I'm fascinated by the way Moore uses it here. It's understandable (with work) and consistent to a specific set of rules.

It also seems a logical extrapolation for what a proto-language might have been like, before sophisticated grammar was developed. I don't know what the scientific thinking is on how early language was structured, but reading this has made me want to look into the subject.

[Rory Abel]

Finished The Lost Goddess and sure enough it turned out to be a christian thriller. That element didn't rear its head until the final act but, holy crap, once it did did it. The villain's dastardly plan is perform surgeries on people to removed the part of the brain that makes us believe in god. Meanwhile, the coda is that we developed eyes because there are light rays to see, ears because there are soundwaves to hear so we must have developed the part of the brain that makes us believe in god because there is a god. However since all this doesn't show up until the end the rest of the book can be read as a straight thriller. Sadly, the rest of the book isn't very good.

I'm at a loss for why christian thrillers aren't very good. The only thing I can think of is that publishers believe that there is a core audience that will buy them no matter what so quality isn't an issue.

Edited by Rory Abel, 12 February 2012 - 10:42 PM.

[Adam Wednesdays]

I find it depends if you like the narrators. The world itself is still interesting, but I do miss certain characters.

Ok, I got another one for you Mark: is "The Silver Spike" the fourth book, or is it "Shadow Games?" Because they were both published the same year, and all the reading lists in the books are in different orders... so I'm a wee bit confused.

[kieranbeech]

Just finished reading, Up Pohnpei.



Here is a review I wrote:

I initially bought Up Pohnpei for the idea of how funny it would be to give into childhood fantasy’s of wanting to play for or coach an International side, and also being a coach myself I wanted to get an insight of what other coaches do, think and feel at times.

The book initially started on that comedic tone as Matt and Paul, mainly Matt obsesses over the idea of playing football internationally, Paul starts to give into Matt and his urges to and desire to follow a childhood fantasy, and then the guys go from the sane to brave (possibly deemed insane by others,) by giving up a stable life to go and coach the tiny Micronesian Island of Pohnpei football.

After a first visit to the Island, Paul and Matt realise the task at hand is so much bigger than going over to Pohnpei and coaching a team, they have to set up a whole football infrastructure, to even achieve getting a National team in place. Things don’t go Paul’s way as Matt has to take a life changing career opportunity. So for the most part of the book the two man army become one, Paul has to do the leg work himself, he does have the help of a very enthusiastic football mad local Dislhan who becomes Paul’s biggest asset during the battles he faces in Pohnpei itself. Paul also has bigger battles as he tries everything he can to get funding and aid from various football and sporting organisations and help from the local Micronesian states, but each time he tries he comes across more hurdles, a few of those hurdles are created by the very thing that should help him, FIFA.

Eventually Paul makes headway and with the return of his good friend Matt, they manage to get the Pohnpei national side to play in their first international fixtures.

The book to me is a very heartfelt piece; the book becomes a very uplifting story of trials and tribulations and goes from being a story about Paul Watson and Matt Conrad to a story about the Pohnpei players and battles to gain them respect and love throughout their out Nation and in the eyes of the world football. Paul also drags you in, to not only believe in the good he’s doing, but you also feel his frustration and his angst as he tries to overcome the obstacles in his way, it’s a superbly written book, and one that can be enjoyed by all, not just the football fans among us.

[Christian U]

Finished Shades of Grey. Loved it.

[Will]

Just finished Devils In Exile by Chuck Hogan, which was as awesome as the name implies.

Carte Blanche by Jeffrey Deaver starts tonight.

[GordonM]

Kraken by China Mieville.

A giant squid goes missing. Turns out to be a god. A lot of fun so far.