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Messages - Bookstore Guy

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106
Books / Re: Atonement
« on: August 05, 2010, 04:43:21 PM »
Quote from: guessingo on August 05, 2010, 12:42:12 PM
There is a new fantasy author named Mary Robinette Kowal who writes fantasy that has a similiar tone to Atonement. I have not read either, but I read reviews about them. Her first book just came out. She is now blogging on whatever.scalzi.com while Scalzi is on vacation.

If anyone reads her book, please post about it. It am curious what people think of it. It is a different type of book from what I would normally read.

Her new book is Jane Austin fantasy.  It's really good if you like that sort of thing.  I hate that sort of thing and still thought it was solid.

107
Brandon Sanderson / Re: I Love Goodreads
« on: August 05, 2010, 04:41:04 PM »
Quote from: Peter Ahlstrom on August 05, 2010, 04:20:28 PM
guessingo: Yes. Oh, once WoK has been out for a few weeks they'll posh TofM, but it won't get any ARCs. Not that there's time for any.

There's no point in pushing TofM.  It has its own legs--over 1 million English-language Edition legs.  Why waste extra finds on a novel that will already sell millions of copies when you can put that same money into "the next big series" to bump the sales of its first book.

And yeah, as I understood from Publicist Justin at Tor, there won't be any WoT ARCs.  Again, what would be the point.

Elitist Book Reviews will probably be giving away the ARC we received, signed of course, at the release signing.  (Peter: remind Brandon to respond to that email from me!)

108
Books / Re: So I'm reading A Feast for Crows...
« on: August 03, 2010, 05:23:53 PM »
Quote from: guessingo on August 03, 2010, 01:28:15 PM
@Peter: Looks like GRRM is back into Song of Ice and fire mode due to his excitement about the new series. He is posting lots of updates on his blog. He may also have a contract with HBO that requires him to finish the series in a certain amount of time or they may void his contract. So that HBO can make it into a series.

HBO has no bearing on his writing contracts.  More likely he got through the part that was giving him trouble, and now sees a measure of direction for the story.  I don't doubt the interest in the TV series (since he worked in Hollywood for years) has helped him, but to say HBO has any say over his writing the book series is much too hard to believe. 

Edit:  And I too find the story and characters very well done in GRRM's series.  I like that there are characters I love and characters I hate (in my opinion, it's by design--you can tell when he wants you to start liking or disliking a character).  And yeah, a character doesn't need to have entire novels dedicated to their PoV for them to be important, or for the reader to care about them.  So, when Martin kills them off, or cripples them, that sense of danger if fed off onto the other characters.  That's what I like.  That gritty sense of danger pervading the series.

109
Movies and TV / Re: Inception
« on: July 30, 2010, 04:27:34 PM »
I can see a little of that comparison, though I think I liked it better than the first Matrix (which I am actually a huge fan of).  To me it was more of an SF Ocean's Eleven (again, a movie I love).  It was a smart movie that, to me, was very easy to follow (which my wife appreciated, causing her to love it).

Can't wait until it is on blu-ray.  It will look so good on a nice TV.

110
Books / Re: review: The Windup Girl
« on: July 30, 2010, 04:21:42 PM »
We had a lot of the same problems with the book.  Superficial is the word that describes most of it (the book, not your review, which is good).

I kept thinking, "Man, when is the actual Windup Girl going to actually be more than a side character?"  Never really happened for me.  In essence, to me, the title of the book was a tease, or a bit of a bait-and-switch.

111
Books / Re: What are you reading, part 3
« on: July 30, 2010, 04:17:31 PM »
Quote from: Nessa on July 30, 2010, 12:20:06 AM
Quote from: Silk on July 26, 2010, 12:45:52 AM
Hmm. I'll be curious to hear what you think of Under Heaven. :)

Whoa boy, I HAD to write a review after reading that one, cuz I had to vent. Dunno when the EBR Overlords will get around to posting it. But here's the gist:

Awesome setting.
Awesome characters.
Beautiful prose.
Stupid ending.

Have I mentioned how much I like how I am called on these forums?  I'm either an EBR Overlord (who DOESN"T like being called an Overlord?), or BSG (Battle Star Galactica?  I will take that association any day of the week).  Makes me feel all sort of warm and squishy inside.

Gonna try to get your Under Heaven review in next week along with a George Mann review, and an Interview with Ed Greenwood, and maybe more...next week may have more than the customary quantity of content.

But yeah, I don't like Kay very much.  He has really solid ideas, and write soooo well, but I typically detest his pacing, and (to me) the arrogance that comes through his writing.  Of course, that last bit may have been colored by actually hearing him talk...

Shiver: Lynch is full of awesome.  All the time.

112
Movies and TV / Re: Inception
« on: July 26, 2010, 05:23:15 PM »
I thought the movie was great.  Was it a masterpiece?  No.  It isn't even Nolan's best film (that belongs to Memento).  But Inception was a very very good movie.  Easily better than any of the other crap out this year.

113
Books / Re: What are you reading, part 3
« on: July 23, 2010, 03:55:04 PM »
Quote from: Peter Ahlstrom on July 21, 2010, 05:53:33 PM
Seeing as I found the first Honor Harrington book to be decidedly blah, I don't really care what Weber fans think. But I do have a friend who likes the Safehold books a lot, which is what prompted me to check them out.

Your criticisms are legitimate so far, which is why I only classified the books as entertainment. (Though I don't have a problem with talking to come up with solutions.)

I just finished the newest Honor book MISSION OF HONOR.  I thought it was entertainment.  Thing is, he writes a bit like a epic fantasy writer, and often is subject to the same criticisms as a Jordan, Erikson or Martin.  Sometimes he just gets too wordy.  Conversations and political meetings go for too long.  Weber's character internalizations are used to relay info dumps.  But regardless, I still enjoy his novels.  This latest one was pretty crazy with a huge body-count.  It was a solid book.  Plus it came with a cd of ebooks of every Weber book published through Baen.

But now I finally get to read something that has been on my shelf taunting me.  CRY OF THE NEWBORN by James Barclay.  My Import of the Month.  So excited...

114
Books / Re: What are you reading, part 3
« on: July 22, 2010, 03:59:03 PM »
Depends on if you want Guy Urban Fantasy or Chick Urban Fantasy.  Most girls can read both, but most guys don't (in my experience).  DragonFly's recommendations are good Chick Urban Fantasy.  Guy-ish stuff has Lightbreaker by Mark Teppo is pretty interesting.  The Devil You Know by Mike Carey.  Something from the Nightside by Simon R Green as well as The Man With the Golden Torc by the same author (2 different series).  Monster Hunter International by Larry Correia.  Stuff like that.

115
Books / Re: Malazan Book of the Fallen
« on: July 15, 2010, 06:12:10 PM »
You should all know this, but over at Tor.com they are doing an in-depth read-through of the series.  So far it has been terrific.

116
Books / Re: What are you reading, part 3
« on: July 15, 2010, 06:11:00 PM »
Ahhhh, Swords & Dark Magic.  Just posted the review.  So delicious.

Reading Discord's Apple.  I went into it blind, and expecting that I was going to want to vomit every page.  Turns out it is pretty decent so far.  Who wudda thunk.

117
Books / Re: Question about ARCs
« on: July 15, 2010, 06:08:50 PM »
Pyr's arcs are usually pretty decent (since I know what you are reading).  Though a lot of that has to do with many of their books having already been published in the UK.  I'm not near as good as Peter, but I usually find several misplaced quotes, repeated words, wrong spacing, etc.  But really nothing that is major or a deal breaker.  I'm sure Peter would go through and find way more, but he's trained for it.  I'm just a reviewer. 

118
Books / Re: What are you reading, part 3
« on: July 07, 2010, 04:28:22 PM »
Quote from: Silk on July 06, 2010, 09:19:39 PM
I just finished The Windup Girl. I honestly can't decide how I feel about this book.

Yeah.  Really cool setting and idea, but executed with zero emotion.  With how many people were going bonkers over the book, I expected to at least, you know, CARE about what was happening.  Didn't happen.  I felt all sorts of "meh" after reading.  And I thought the ending was completely flat.

119
Books / Re: What are you reading, part 3
« on: July 01, 2010, 04:18:00 PM »
Quote from: Silk on July 01, 2010, 01:41:05 AM
Speaking of extreme content (or so I've heard?), I just started The Windup Girl by Pablo Bacigalupi. Only a couple pages on so far...

Yeah, there is some Richard K Morgan/R Scott Bakker shock value stuff in there.  But really, my problem with the book was its utter lack of emotion in character, plot and setting.

But maybe that was just me.

120
Books / Re: What are you reading, part 3
« on: June 30, 2010, 10:33:57 PM »
Quote from: Patriotic Kaz on June 30, 2010, 06:47:15 PM
The Malazan Books don't have rape committed by a POV

Except Karsa.  But it is glossed over.  But yeah, can't say content is very extreme in any case with the Malazan series.

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