Author Topic: What are you reading, part 3  (Read 311170 times)

guessingo

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Re: What are you reading, part 3
« Reply #1575 on: October 15, 2010, 06:06:25 PM »
David Weber's Off Armageddon Reef.  Having a hard time getting through it, even though I've liked lots of his books.

if you look at the amazon reviews, alot of his fans don't like this series. The idea is better than the execution. Later books seem to have alot filler so he can punch out a book/year. I think the idea of his series is good enough to make me keep read them  just to see where he is going. His writing is lacking. Plus long stretches in future books where literally nothing happens. Just people sitting around talking.

Peter Ahlstrom

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Re: What are you reading, part 3
« Reply #1576 on: October 15, 2010, 10:47:23 PM »
I quite enjoyed Off Armageddon Reef, but the first sequel had no climax whatsoever, which was a letdown. Though there was exciting stuff about the quarter-through mark, it wasn't enough to carry to the end to make me judge the book a success.
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Shivertongue

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Re: What are you reading, part 3
« Reply #1577 on: October 15, 2010, 11:41:03 PM »
Just finished Boneshaker by Cherie Priest. It was good. Not great, and it certainly could have been better, but it was enjoyable enough.

Picked up a copy of Julian Comstock, by Robert Charles Wilson today, and also a used copy of Dragonflight by Anne McCaffery (I probably spelled that wrong, but I'm too lazy to go look up the proper spelling).
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Patriotic Kaz

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Re: What are you reading, part 3
« Reply #1578 on: October 17, 2010, 06:59:29 AM »
Just bought This Crooked Way (James Enge) and The Epic of Gilgamesh (the Assyrian creation myth that Genesis is argued to have it's roots in)
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Sigyn

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Re: What are you reading, part 3
« Reply #1579 on: December 15, 2010, 07:44:44 PM »
I've been missing TWG so much, because of this section. It's nice to have it back.  But I wonder, will the posters return?

Anyway, I'm reading Pegasus by Robin McKinley.  Her structure is so interesting.
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Nessa

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Re: What are you reading, part 3
« Reply #1580 on: December 15, 2010, 08:46:08 PM »
I'm reading Pegasus by Robin McKinley.  Her structure is so interesting.

I just finished that myself. I know what you mean by 'interesting'. I see how it was necessary in order to tell the story without exposional tedium, but it affects the forward movement of the story and makes the pace much slower. Which, actually, is nice sometimes.
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Salkara

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Re: What are you reading, part 3
« Reply #1581 on: December 16, 2010, 12:30:26 AM »
Let's see... I'm in the middle of Malazan: Book of the Fallen. A friend turned me onto it, and I've stuck with it because of the nonlinear plot. I'm rather unaccustomed to it and find it intriguing.

My "To Read" list is already so long, but I'm always looking for more to add to it. I've been studying for my CPA exam for half a year, and I've just been loading books onto the list for when I finished, which happened 16 days ago.

readerMom

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Re: What are you reading, part 3
« Reply #1582 on: December 16, 2010, 04:36:00 AM »
I've been catching up on the Dresden Files, I like them better when I have the previous one still in my head.
I am also reading the Malazan books, though I find them slow going. I can't just jump through them while keeping an eye on the kids. They require concentration.
I just moved to a much bigger place so I am enjoying the new library system.

Bookstore Guy

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Re: What are you reading, part 3
« Reply #1583 on: December 16, 2010, 05:26:09 PM »
Geez.  What have I read...

Horns of Ruin
Cardinal's Blades
Elfsorrow
Shadowheart
Walking Dead Book 1
Scar Night
Tyranny of the Night (re-read)
Deadman's Road
The Fall
Rot & Ruin
Ragged Man (after a re-read of the 3 novel before it)
...and a handful of others.

Doing a re-read on the last 2 Erikson novels and also the first 2 Esslemont novels (my copy of Stonewielder by Esslemont got lost in the mail).  I'm reading 3 different manuscripts that are set to be published over the next year or 2.  I have the next 2 Alan Campbell novels, some Daniel Abraham, the 2nd Walking Dead book, some imports, and a dozen other novels in my pile to be read.

Yeah, that just about sums up my last couple of months, and the coming few.

The End.
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Peter Ahlstrom

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Re: What are you reading, part 3
« Reply #1584 on: December 16, 2010, 05:52:47 PM »
I read Cryoburn by Bujold. I enjoyed it, but it wasn't GREAT. I've been calling Bujold my favorite author for years, but she seems to have lost some of the magic. Mirror Dance and Memory were the pinnacle of the Vorkosigan series. It's been merely good since then. And Paladin of Souls is her most recent truly great book. So if I don't think she's writing masterpieces anymore, is she still my favorite? Though, counting the first two Sharing Knife books as one book, I do consider it a great book. Separately, not so much. Splitting was wrong.

Miles' most exciting conflict was right at the beginning when he was hallucinating. Roic was a boring POV character; I really did not care about him. Jin was OK—I liked the animals stuff—but not great. I liked the reversal when they revived the wrong corpse (except they never used pictures of her to verify?), but then they found the right one very easily.

I did like the understated way she rejected the white knight who was going to swoop her off to safety and instead was interested in the guy who was taking care of her kids (for a few days, at least).
All Saiyuki fans should check out Dazzle! Emotionally wrenching action-adventure and quirky humor! (At least read chapter 6 and tell me if you're not hooked.) Volume 10 out now!

Sigyn

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Re: What are you reading, part 3
« Reply #1585 on: December 16, 2010, 06:26:21 PM »
Peter, I think you must look for very different things in Bujold than I do.  I really liked Cryoburn, but I think my favorite part about Miles is his manic-ness rather than the difficult choices he often has to make.  Miles doesn't make any life-changing decisions in this one, true, but that wasn't a big deal for me.
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Peter Ahlstrom

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Re: What are you reading, part 3
« Reply #1586 on: December 16, 2010, 07:27:27 PM »
He didn't have any particularly manic moments in this book either though.

I value my strong emotional reaction to Bujold books. That didn't really happen for me in this one.

I still LOVE the end of Shards of Honor (before the aftermaths part, which is an interesting short story). Not because of any difficult choices people make, but because of what people say. It just gets me.

Also, there was a life-changing moment at the very end of Cryoburn. A friend of mine thinks Lois punted on it by not really dealing with it in the book because it was too hard for her to address directly due to her own father dying recently.
« Last Edit: December 16, 2010, 07:29:18 PM by Peter Ahlstrom »
All Saiyuki fans should check out Dazzle! Emotionally wrenching action-adventure and quirky humor! (At least read chapter 6 and tell me if you're not hooked.) Volume 10 out now!

maxonennis

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Re: What are you reading, part 3
« Reply #1587 on: December 16, 2010, 09:08:48 PM »
I'm reading Ronin by Frank Miller (a comic from the early 80's). An entertaining story, but everyonce in awhile one of the characters does or says something that just throws me right out of the story.
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Shi

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Re: What are you reading, part 3
« Reply #1588 on: December 16, 2010, 09:21:47 PM »
Yay, the forum is back! Alright, what have I read?

Speak - Laurie Halse Anderson: Fantastic!
Glimpses - Lynn Flewelling: Any nightrunner fan's wet dream.
Deathwish - Rob Thurman: Urban Fantasy fluff. Title got me lots of weird looks at work.
Totally Joe - James Howe: Good heart, but utterly forgettable, and WAY too many exclamation points.
and... oh, finished the Fruits Basket manga. So good!

Right now I'm working on Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood. Very intriguing so far. And Ash, by Malinda Lo.

andygal

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Re: What are you reading, part 3
« Reply #1589 on: December 18, 2010, 12:49:43 AM »
Currently Reading
The Way of Kings
and Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident (yes it's a children's book, shut up, you)