Author Topic: What are you reading, part 3  (Read 311143 times)

flex

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Re: What are you reading, part 3
« Reply #450 on: January 03, 2009, 07:02:46 PM »
It's more along the lines of the Made for TV Movie's the Librarian with just a pinch of Potter. I also just finished The Time Machine. Its one the the first classic's that I've read and I found it enjoyable.
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Re: What are you reading, part 3
« Reply #451 on: January 04, 2009, 11:00:32 PM »
Nicholas Flamel was a historical figure (an Alchemist).  Like much of Harry Potter, it isn't a Rowling original.

I've justed started Covenant Hearts (non-fiction).  Nothing too exciting so far, but that's to be expected, as it was a gift from my father.
« Last Edit: January 05, 2009, 01:57:34 AM by The Roasting Chestknight »
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flex

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Re: What are you reading, part 3
« Reply #452 on: January 05, 2009, 02:29:42 PM »
I just took a moment to look up some info on Nicholas Flamel and it seems to me that the author follows the supposed historical figure almost exactly. Its one of the cases that history is more interesting than fiction.
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CSmythe

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Re: What are you reading, part 3
« Reply #453 on: January 05, 2009, 06:50:06 PM »
I am just finishing up The Hero of Ages and have to say that it was the most fun book in the series. I have just been flying through it, unable to put it down and happily missing out on sleep to read.

After that I have Empire in Black and Gold by Adrian Tchakovisky which I am really looking forward to.

Right before HoA I tore through Princep's Fury, the 5th book in the Codex Alera which was a bit slow to start but once it kicked in it just flew.

I picked up 7 new books with Christmas GCs so am looking at a nice long run with some exciting new authors to get me through these brutal cold months (-50 outside today, I need to move).

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Re: What are you reading, part 3
« Reply #454 on: January 06, 2009, 02:24:26 AM »
I just finished a series by Cinda Williams Chima (new writer). Good books (although the editing is HORRIBLE).

The Warrior Heir, The Wizard Heir, The Dragon Heir
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Re: What are you reading, part 3
« Reply #455 on: January 06, 2009, 10:28:23 PM »
Right now I'm reading a book out of DragonLance that my uncle recommended. He has a really nice library full of fantasy so even though I'm not the biggest fan of DragonLance or ForgottenRealms (except Drizzt/Salvatore) I'm giving it a try.

Its called Chronicles volume 1: Dragons of Autumn Twilight by: Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
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Re: What are you reading, part 3
« Reply #456 on: January 07, 2009, 12:09:02 AM »
Quote
Its called Chronicles volume 1: Dragons of Autumn Twilight by: Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
I had a hard time getting through that one, never continued the series.
 I just finished The Lies of Locke Lamora, I can't decide if I want to read the next one or not. It had good writing, great characters and an interesting plot, but really foul language and a few plot devices that were so implausible I had to stop reading the book for a bit to think about why it was so ridiculous.  Has anyone read the second book? I think it is called Red Skies Over Red Seas.

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Re: What are you reading, part 3
« Reply #457 on: January 07, 2009, 12:16:11 AM »
Is it set in modern times?
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readerMom

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Re: What are you reading, part 3
« Reply #458 on: January 07, 2009, 04:31:19 AM »
No, an imagined universe that was quite amazing actually.  It was one of the reasons I kept reading.  There are huge glass building made by a lost race, a fallen empire and a huge amount of background that is only referred to in bits.  Describing how humans have made themselves at home in an alien city that they cannot explain nor duplicate was very good. 
The details that got me were more mundane, like how much abuse can a person take and still be able to win a knife fight?  How far can a person with severe bloodloss, to the point of being dizzy, walk without bleeding out and dying?  Those kind of things.  They kept the main characters alive to further the plot, but after this miraculous stamina was an important plot device three times in so many chapters I started to get annoyed.
And the name is Red Seas Under Red Skies.

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Re: What are you reading, part 3
« Reply #459 on: January 07, 2009, 04:16:43 PM »
Oh, sounds interesting. Maybe I'll check it out if I ever find the time (not likely).
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Re: What are you reading, part 3
« Reply #460 on: January 07, 2009, 06:35:17 PM »
Its called Chronicles volume 1: Dragons of Autumn Twilight by: Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

That was the first book that I ever bought.  Loved it then, and just recently went back and re-read the entire series.  It's quite possible that I liked it this last time through because of all the memories of reading them back when I was in 5th grade, but I still think that they're great books.  Some awesome characters in there, and they're pretty quick reads to boot.

**********

I just finished The Lies of Locke Lamora, I can't decide if I want to read the next one or not.   Has anyone read the second book? I think it is called Red Skies Over Red Seas.

I read that one ReaderMom.  The writing was very similar, the vulgarity was just as rampant, and there were a few story-telling devices that he used that I didn't care for.  Didn't like the way the first one was put together.  Red Seas was guilty of hiding information from the reader on purpose to build tension in a couple scenes, and after the cool ending of the first one, the ending of the second was a big let down for me.  That being said, the story was still fun; he fleshed out a world a bit more, spent a lot of time on pirate ships (which was fun to read for a change), and in the end left me with a feeling much similar, if maybe just a bit less content, as the first one.  The third comes out in March supposedly, and there are a proposed seven in the series.  I'll probably read the third one, if just for the fun of it.  These days I'm not finding much that is perfect, but a lot of stuff that does a decent job of making me a happy reader.

**********

Finished Sword from Red Ice by JV Jones.  It was essentially an exercise in world building, and bit of character development (but just a bit).  Wasn't too happy about that.  Especially after learning that instead of this being the final volume in a trilogy, she's stretched it out to five books now.  Don't know if I'll read the fourth.  Definitely won't be high on the priority list though.

Just picked up Perdido Street Station by China Mieville.  It's supposedly part of the New Weird genre of fantasy.  And I'll definitely give it that--it's weird.  At this point, I'm hoping that there's more to it than just the weird.  He's gearing up to be a pretty good writer in my mind at this point.
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Re: What are you reading, part 3
« Reply #461 on: January 07, 2009, 06:44:03 PM »
WriterDan–what exactly is the 'New Weird' genre of fantasy?
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Re: What are you reading, part 3
« Reply #462 on: January 08, 2009, 06:00:09 PM »
You know, other than the definition that it's weird, I don't know what much to say.  Apparently, it's a term coined my Mieville himself, but lots of other authors have been bunched into the category.  This book that I'm reading has stuff like humans with beetle heads and compound eyes as a different race, viably mixing inorganic material with biological hosts, and all placed in a world like something you'd expect out of Gormenghast-like, but modern-day London.  There's a wikipedia article on it apparently.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Weird

If I had to put it to a term, I'd say--Urban fantasy and sci-fi to the extreme.  I've heard lots of good stuff about the guy, so I decided to check it out.  Definitely good writing, and an interesting story.  Into it a hundred pages now.  But man, just freaking...weird.  :)
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Re: What are you reading, part 3
« Reply #463 on: January 08, 2009, 07:02:35 PM »
Yeah. It's weird.

I wasn't entirely satisfied with the ending to Perdido Street Station, but it was certainly a well-written book and got pretty dang tense.
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Re: What are you reading, part 3
« Reply #464 on: January 08, 2009, 11:01:56 PM »
Oh, I get it…sort of. Thanks, though.
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