Author Topic: What are you reading, part 3  (Read 311493 times)

Valkynphyre

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Re: What are you reading, part 3
« Reply #1350 on: June 21, 2010, 09:25:17 PM »
Just finished reading The Name of the Wind. Fantastic, even though it really didn't go anywhere. Absolutely awesome.

Question: I read book one of A song of Ice and Fire, and there are only two characters I still like (John Snow and The tomboy/princess). And it doesn't look like they'll be able to survive much longer. And I'm also not really a fan of incest (go figure). My question is this: Is the series worth continuing?

I just realized I asked this question to a Fantasy book forum, and the response will be undoubtably yes.
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Peter Ahlstrom

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Re: What are you reading, part 3
« Reply #1351 on: June 21, 2010, 09:55:49 PM »
Spoiler statute of limitations is past, so I'll say that Jon and Arya are not dead yet in the latest book. If you like those characters (as I do), then you should like their stories in the rest of the series.

Of course the main issue with that series is that no one has any idea when the next book will come out, not to even contemplate the two books that are supposed to come after that. It would not surprise me if it's 10 years or more before the last book comes out.
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Patriotic Kaz

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Re: What are you reading, part 3
« Reply #1352 on: June 21, 2010, 10:27:08 PM »
I really didn't care for Game of Thrones but the rest of the series is much much better.
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Re: What are you reading, part 3
« Reply #1353 on: June 22, 2010, 02:37:30 AM »
If you are looking for period realism and a big world with lots of cultures then yeah.  If you want a cute little gothic romance full of elves, magic and swashbuckling then you'll be disappointed.  I just wish Martin would finish the series.
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Re: What are you reading, part 3
« Reply #1354 on: June 22, 2010, 04:19:12 AM »

Guns of the South is one of the few Turtledove books I haven't read, mostly because I don't care much for alternate histories where things are changed by time travel. Have you read the Timeline 191 books? That series is among my favourite of his.

Guns of the South is Turtledove's best novel. I have read about 15 of his books. This is by far the best. Time Travel is a mechanism similiar to the invasion of aliens during world war 2 in his world war books. I think the concept would make a great movie. They have to make sure not to turn it into too much of an action flick.

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Re: What are you reading, part 3
« Reply #1355 on: June 22, 2010, 07:40:16 PM »
I'm reading Shadow in Summer by Daniel Abraham. For some reason I thought this was going to be science fiction. I'm really enjoying it. I just finished Magic Below Stairs by Caroline Stevermer, which was fluffy fun.
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Re: What are you reading, part 3
« Reply #1356 on: June 22, 2010, 11:28:13 PM »

Guns of the South is one of the few Turtledove books I haven't read, mostly because I don't care much for alternate histories where things are changed by time travel. Have you read the Timeline 191 books? That series is among my favourite of his.

Guns of the South is Turtledove's best novel. I have read about 15 of his books. This is by far the best. Time Travel is a mechanism similiar to the invasion of aliens during world war 2 in his world war books. I think the concept would make a great movie. They have to make sure not to turn it into too much of an action flick.

I don't see the mechanism as the same, because when time travel is involved, it's generally someone coming back to change a specific thing. The alien invasion is not the same sort of thing, which is probably why I enjoyed the Wordlwar series as much as I did. I prefer the change that causes the alternate history to be something more natural, such as in Timeline 191, when Robert E. Lee's battle plans were recovered shortly after being lost (unlike in our time, where the Union found them). A small change, but one that had massive consequences.
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Re: What are you reading, part 3
« Reply #1357 on: June 23, 2010, 02:28:25 AM »
@Shivertonge: If you read the book, you will see it in Turtledove's style. He likes to make a change to history then write what he thinks will have happen after that. He uses time travel the same way. It is a very good book. You may not see it that way, but you will see the same pattern in Guns of the South as in other books. It is his best and I think most popular book.

It is also smart. Robert E. Lee gets 100,000 AK-47s, but he has these guys act realistically after he gets them.

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Re: What are you reading, part 3
« Reply #1358 on: June 23, 2010, 02:59:50 AM »
@Shivertonge: If you read the book, you will see it in Turtledove's style. He likes to make a change to history then write what he thinks will have happen after that. He uses time travel the same way. It is a very good book. You may not see it that way, but you will see the same pattern in Guns of the South as in other books. It is his best and I think most popular book.

It is also smart. Robert E. Lee gets 100,000 AK-47s, but he has these guys act realistically after he gets them.

I'd disagree that it's his best, personally, and I don't know enough to know if it actually is his most popular. I've read a little of it, and while the writing was as good as his other books, the method of the change didn't appeal to me. Time travel always feels cheap to me, and while I understand the every concept of the book relied on it (how else could the Confederacy get AK-47s?) because of it, it just didn't work for me. I've read over thirty of his novels and several collections of his short fiction which I enjoyed much more than I did what I read of Guns of the South. The Darkness series, where World War 2 is played out in a world where magic works, or Southern Victory (the previously mentioned Timeline 191) were far more enjoyable, I thought.

Just a difference of opinion. Not saying it's bad, I just don't agree that it's his best.
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Peter Ahlstrom

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Re: What are you reading, part 3
« Reply #1359 on: June 23, 2010, 07:12:21 AM »
I agree it's his best. :) Other books of his I've read tend to get bogged down. Also, his YA books (Crosstime Traffic) all have horrible deus ex machina endings or someone other than the protagonists solving all the problems.
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Re: What are you reading, part 3
« Reply #1360 on: June 23, 2010, 07:37:55 AM »
I agree it's his best. :) Other books of his I've read tend to get bogged down. Also, his YA books (Crosstime Traffic) all have horrible deus ex machina endings or someone other than the protagonists solving all the problems.

I didn't really see them as being bogged down, personally. I do agree completely, however, about the Crosstime Traffic books. I tried to read The Disunited States of America, because I thought the concept was awesome, but couldn't get through it. The premise intrigued me greatly, but the execution... just didn't work for me.

I'll probably get around to Guns of the South at some point. I have a signed copy of Liberating Atlantis on my to-read pile first, though.
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Re: What are you reading, part 3
« Reply #1361 on: June 23, 2010, 02:49:35 PM »
Finally finished House of Chains. By far my favorite of the series. The ending of the Tavore vs. Felisin arc, wow! Absolutely heart wrenching. Book was full of awesomeness but I really enjoyed the scenes with Pearl and Lostara. Just a fantastic book. Midnight Tides is next. Hopefully Ganoes shows up in the next one.
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Peter Ahlstrom

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Re: What are you reading, part 3
« Reply #1362 on: June 23, 2010, 05:16:07 PM »
I think Harry just doesn't know how to write a YA book—maybe he couldn't wrap his mind around kids being able to do anything effective, so didn't write that. Which does mesh with the real world, since in the real world adults generally solve problems, not kids, but doesn't make for compelling reading when kids are your main characters.

However, it's not too much of a problem since his strength is writing for adults and he does plenty of that. I just know to avoid his YA books.
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Re: What are you reading, part 3
« Reply #1363 on: June 23, 2010, 05:45:03 PM »
I'm reading Shadow in Summer by Daniel Abraham.

Ah, one of my favorites.  Enjoy it.   And read the rest of the series.  :)  In fact, buy them.   ;D  Well worth it.

Finally finished House of Chains.

I so need to get to this one.  After finally making it through the first three in the series and getting completely smashed by Erikson's awesome factor, the fact that I've so much else to read has been bothering me to the extreme.  Maybe in a month or so.

Close to finishing up the Adamantine Palace by Stephen Deas.  Lots of good here.
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Re: What are you reading, part 3
« Reply #1364 on: June 23, 2010, 07:16:10 PM »
House of Chains is next on my list.  Glad to hear it was awesome.
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