[August 2015] What Are You Reading?

[delericho]

Another month, another thread. So, what are you reading this month - and is it any good?

I'm currently getting caught up on reading Pathfinder - I finished "Anvil of Fire" this afternoon, and will proceed directly into the final volume in Giantslayer: "Shadow of the Storm Tyrant". I've been rather enjoying Giantslayer, so maybe this is the one that I finally make the time to run.

After that, I'll be reading "Princes of the Apocalypse".

My next novel, which I'll be reading in parallel with the above, is "Captain Corelli's Mandolin", about which I know almost nothing. So that should be interesting. After that, I'll read "Slip of the Keyboard", the anthology of Terry Pratchett's non-fiction writings. Though every time I read something by him will now be a melancholy experience, I fear, as there is so little left to discover.

 

[Jan van Leyden]

I started with The Legacy of Lord Regret by Sam Bowring, but put it down after 100 pages or so. The concept of the plot is quite interesting, but Bowring's writing style just leaves me cold.

My next stuff will be more of Andzrej Sapkowski from his Witcher cycle plus rereading some old Dragonlance stuff.

 

[Ravenwind]

A friend had recommended Fire in the East by Harry Sidebottom. Since my friend is studying Roman history for his MA in that time period, I found a used copy on Amazon for cheap, and settled into it, pretty much sight unseen.

It's set in the 200s AD. The main character is the son of an Angle chieftain (the Angles are still in Germania at this time period), who was taken as a hostage for the good behavior of his father, and brought to Rome when he was young, whereupon he entered the Legion, rose to the rank of Dux, and was sent to the Syria region to, officially, defend a city there against a Sassanid Persian advance.

The author gives a lot of the feel of the period well. He's very, very good at showing the tactics of a battle scene (as he should be, since he seems to have a doctorate in Roman military history). Unfortunately, like almost all military historical fiction I've read, the characterization is thin, and the writing is without style. "He rinsed some of the thin, sour beer round and spat over the wall. The liquid landed on a Sassanid corpse. He felt disgusted. He drank the beer."

That's a direct quote.

I was engaged enough to consider looking for the other books in the series at my local library (they seem not to have caught on much in the US, so that might be difficult). I'm told the writing gets better. I suppose I'll see. . . .

 

[Jhaelen]

I finished reading 'Ancillary Sword' by Ann Leckie. Unfortunately, the third installment of the trilogy isn't out, yet

So, I'm now continuing my reading of the complete bibliography of Christopher Priest with 'The Affirmation', written in 1981.

 

[delericho]

I finished reading 'Ancillary Sword' by Ann Leckie. Unfortunately, the third installment of the trilogy isn't out, yet

Ah! You fell victim to one of the classic blunders - The most famous of which is "never get involved in a land war in Asia" - but only slightly less well-known is this: "Never start a multi-volume fantasy series until the last volume is available"!

/PrincessBride

 

[Ryujin]

Finally received my copy of Felicia Day's memoirs "You're Never Weird on the Internet."

 

[Jhaelen]

I've meanwhile finished 'The Affirmation' by Christopher Priest - awesome book, although it's neither Fantasy nor Science Fiction, really. I've yet to read something from him that isn't great!

I'm also still playing through Joe Dever's Lone Wolf series. I'm currently in the middle of #15(?) 'The Darke Crusade'.

And yesterday I started reading 'God's War' by Kameron Hurley, which seems to be quite weird: bug-technology?! Umm, yeah, we'll see...

 

[Asmo]

The Bonehunters by Steven Erikson. Outstanding work, probably the best modern fantasy I've had the pleasure to read.

 

[Kramodlog]

I finished reading 'Ancillary Sword' by Ann Leckie. Unfortunately, the third installment of the trilogy isn't out, yet

How is it compared to the first one? Reviews and critics said it wasn't as good as Ancillary Justice. What I really liked about Ancillery Justice was the structure of the story. We kept going back and forth between the past and the present, with the plot masterfully unraveling before us. The universe, specifically the Lord of the Radch, was rather flavorful, but I'm guessing the second books doesn't have the structure of the first and flavor can only carry novels so far (I'm looking at you Perdido Street Station!).

Anyway, I just started reading Accelerando by Charles Stross. So far it looks smart and funny.

 

[Jhaelen]

How is it compared to the first one?

Well, it certainly lacks a bit of the 'wow-factor' of the first novel, because its scope is much reduced: Basically, the entire action revolves around a single space station. The narrator's viewpoint is also less effective because it's no longer really an Ancillary. Still, even though it's not as groundbreaking or exciting as the first novel, it's well-written, and I'm eager to know how where the story will lead.