[Aug] What Are You Reading?

[Richards]

I just picked up The Cabinet of Curiosities by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child at the library. It's another of their horror/mysteries featuring FBI agent Pendergast. I've really enjoyed their previous novels, so I'm looking forward to this one.

Johnathan

 

[Readerbreeder]

I needed a break after a spate of RPG books (I loved both Draconomicon and Libris Mortis, looking forward to getting the Aberrations book), and am currently reading "The Elegant Universe" by Brian Greene, a layman's level book on superstring theory. I'm really enjoying it, though some of the concepts leave me about like this:
Next up: either King's "The Dead Zone" or Jack Vance's "The Demon Princes".

 

[Anime Kidd]

Just finished the Dragonlance War of Souls trilogy and I started Hiroshima until I get American Gods.

 

[Chaldfont]

I just found a ton of good graphic novels at the library. Read all of these in two days:

The Road to Perdition: The movie is based on this book. Its got great B&W art. Some of the frames look like photographs from the 30s. It kind of reminded me of Lone Wolf & Cub only with a gunslinging gang enforcer instead of a samurai.

1602: Neil Gaiman's take on classic Marvel superheroes in an alternate universe where their origins are set in the early 17th century. Very fun stuff.

BPRD: The Soul of Venice & Other Stories: A Hellboy comic without Hellboy? Still, it's pretty cool. Great super-short stories.

Aliens vs. Predator vs. The Terminator: This one SUCKED. But how could I not read it with a title like that?

 

[ShadowDenizen]

Re; Elantris: You'll have to let me know how this one is. It caught my eye the other day but didn't pick it up.

Well, I just finsihsed this the other day, and I very much enjoyed it.
I've been looking for stand-alone stuff to read lately, and this really fit the bill. It was definitely "Epic", but it didn't require 12 books to complete.

I think the author shows definite promise: this book really dragged me right in, from the first page on: highly recommended.

I don't want to say anything else, for fear of spoilers.

I'd also highly recommend:
The Ring trilogy (Ring, Spiral and Loop): The first book is the basis for the movie, but the sequels create their own universe. Eaach are stand-alone, but you only realize the full complexites when you read them together.

"A Rumor of Gems" by Ellen Steiber. One of my current favorite novels, this is one of the few books that really entrhalled me, to the point of losing sleep to finish it. Also higly recommended. (They have an exceprt from the first chapter on her web-site.)

If anyone else reads/has read any of these, I'd be curious to get their opinions about the books I just listed.

 

[Desdichado]

Hominid by Robert Sawyer. A sci-fi novel about a Neanderthal physicist from an alternate reality in which Homo sapiens went extinct 10,000 years or so ago and Homo neanderthalis went on to inherit the earth is somehow transported to our world.

Nice premise. I don't know how good it is yet. I'm not sure I buy the idea of Neanderthal culture as being a combination of Seattle granolas and bonobos or not. But I'm not very far into the book yet.

 

[The Grumpy Celt]

Oh, I am so in love with Wicked. And I hear there's gonna be a sequel.

It's called Son of a Witch and it is the story of Liir, Elphie's probable son, in the decade following the death of the Witch. It is due to be released in October and a sample chapter is in the back of new copies of Wicked out at stores currently.

 

[Wyn A'rienh]

It's called Son of a Witch and it is the story of Liir, Elphie's probable son, in the decade following the death of the Witch. It is due to be released in October and a sample chapter is in the back of new copies of Wicked out at stores currently.

Thanks for the info!

 

[Psychic Warrior]

Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold. Great fantasy novel. It has both a prequel, Curse of Chalion and a sequel The Hallowed Hunt. Curse takes place 3 years before Paladin and only a few secondary characters return. Bujold was, however, able to make me love a character I had disliked from the first book. Took her about 40 pages to do it but I was impressed.

Before this series I started Gardens of the Moon by Erikson but quit after about 250 pages - just didn't grab me.

 

[Desdichado]

Before this series I started Gardens of the Moon by Erikson but quit after about 250 pages - just didn't grab me.

Same here, although I didn't get past page 150. Too bad; the premise seemed quite good, but the writing sucked, IMO. I'll probably just grit my teeth and power through it one of these days; supposedly subsequent books improve significantly.