[October] What are you reading?

[Mercutio01]

How many of the Cornwell novels have you (or anyone really) read and what would you say are the best?

I've read all the Arthurian books, and I have to say that they are excellent reads. Beyond the historical plausibility (which is intensely interesting), the stories themselves are well-written and perfectly paced. I read them way back when I had to wait for each to be released, and I ended up buying all the hardcovers on release day.

I think that pretty much sums up the way I feel about those books. I haven't read anything else.

 

[Wombat]

Due to a variety of factors, I ended up reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

DANG!

This is a great read! Pulling a riff on the Theseus & the Minotaur legend, every year the twelve districts of the nation of Panem (apparently what is left of the United States) must send forward 2 teens (1 boy, 1 girl) to fight to the death, with the survivor covered with glory and food (in a land that is largely starving). The characters are incredibly well-drawn, the action is taut, and while nothing is overly graphic, it gets the feeling of terror and hunger across strongly.

Folks, after reading this, I am convinced it will be a classic "young adult" read that crosses over into adult hands as well, much like Island of the Blue Dolphins, Ender's Game, A Wizard of Earthsea, and a handful of others. Yay, I am that impressed.

 

[coyote6]

I'm currently reading Eisenhorn, a collection of three Dan Abnett-written WH40k novels & a couple of short stories about an Imperial Inquisitor. Definitely increasing my interest in Dark Heresy.

I'm also reading a few indie RPGs one of my groups is talking about trying -- Shotgun Diaries & 3:16 so far, Agon now, and Dogs in the Vineyard & Houses of the Blooded after that.

 

[Mark]

I've read a bunch.

Cornwell is probably most famous for the Sharpe novels, which were adapted into the tv series starring Sean Bean. The series is very good at capturing the feel of the books, so if you liked that, you'll probably like his various series.

I've only actually read two of the "Sharpe" novels (of which there are about 20), plus the "Arthur" trilogy, the unrelated "Grail Quest" trilogy, the four books to date of the "Alfred" series, and now most of the stand-alone "Azincourt".

The two Sharpe's I've read are "Sharpe's Fury" and "Sharpe's Enemy" (I think). Of the two, the former was the more enjoyable - the characters just seemed stronger, and it 'felt' just like an episode of the series in novel form.

The Arthur trilogy ("The Winter King"/"The Enemy of God"/"Excalibur") are perhaps the most accessible to fantasy fans, as they have the strongest fantasy elements. I would also place them as my favourites to date. (As the name implies, they're his take on a King Arthur legend that almost could have happened.)

The Grail Quest trilogy ("Harlequin"/"Vagabond"/"Heretic") are actually set during the Hundred Years' War, and follow the adventures of an English archer, Thomas of Hookton. There's lots of action, lots of historical battles, and lots of travelling around France laying waste to the place. (At about the same time as I read these, I was regularly being sent to France by work, to most of the same places in the novels. That was fun. )

The Alfred series currently runs to four books, with another due next year, and some more beyond that. (The books so far are "The Last Kingdom", "The Pale Horseman", "Lords of the North" and "Sword Song".) This time, it's about Uthred, a Saxon lord who was captured by Norsemen as a boy, and who now serves Alfred the Great. It's another really good series, IMO, featuring lots more action, lots of historical battles, and lots of travelling around England laying waste to the place.

Finally, there's "Azincourt", which is about the battle of Agincourt. This one features Nicholas Hook, another English archer, and involves plenty of action, a few historical battles (notably Agincourt, though I haven't got to that yet), and lots of travelling around France laying waste to the place.

I haven't yet read one of his novels that I haven't enjoyed. They all have plenty of action, and are very good on historical details, but they're also strong on charactisation, and tend to have protagonists who are at least somewhat admirable.

I think the strongest ones I've read are the Arthur trilogy and "Azincourt", followed by the Alfred series, "Sharpe's Fury", the Grail Quest trilogy, and finally "Sharpe's Enemy". I think I'd probably recommend reading them in that order, too - I might be tempted to skip most of the Sharpe books, both because the series seems to capture them so well, and also because his later books do seem rather more polished.

I've read all the Arthurian books, and I have to say that they are excellent reads. Beyond the historical plausibility (which is intensely interesting), the stories themselves are well-written and perfectly paced. I read them way back when I had to wait for each to be released, and I ended up buying all the hardcovers on release day.

I think that pretty much sums up the way I feel about those books. I haven't read anything else.

Thank you both. I was thinking about the Alfred series but didn't want to funnel the conversation. I very much enjoyed the Sharpe tv series and my buddy thalmin has enjoyed all of the Cornwell novels, so I was really looking for some additional viewpoints. I'm stocking up on some books as they come along for after grad school and think I will add the Arthur series to the Alfred series (and maybe the Grail series and Azincourt novel, too).

 

[amethal]

Some parts of the Arthur trilogy were too downright nasty for my taste. I guess I'm getting squeamish in my old age - or possibly its just that I prefer my Arthurian legends to be a bit more "knights in shining armour" and a bit less "people getting tortured and/or mutilated".

I enjoyed Eisenhorn, and also the sequel trilogy, Ravenor. As well as being a great WH40K read, it also shows the contrast between the way Eisenhorn deals with problems and the way Ravenor does.

The last WH40K book I read was Grey Knights, which is kind of similar (the Grey Knights fight demons). Normally I am not a fan of Space Marines, but I really enjoyed that one.

I'm not currently reading anything, as I finished re-reading Larry Niven / S Barnes Dream Park Its every bit as good as I remembered it.

 

[Brandigan]

Object-Oriented JavaScript: Create scalable, reusable high-quality JavaScript applications and libraries by Stoyan Stefanov. It's kind of like reading George R.R. Martin, but without the incest.

 

[S. Baldrick]

Nightingale's Lament by Simon R. Green

 

[drothgery]

Finished LoC, now about halfway through A Crown of Swords.

Finsihed aCoS, now re-reading The Path of Daggers. Which in my memory is badly in need of a rewrite and feels somewhat rushed to print, but I guess that became more apparent later in the book.

I just might get my re-read done before The Gathering Storm comes out.

 

[Eridanis]

A Shakespearean Actor Prepares by Adrian Brine and Michael York. I'm only about 70 pages in, and it's fantastic. There have been many insights where I've had to just put down the book and think about what's been said - lots of good, common sense and knowledge. I checked this out of the library, but it's gone on to my Amazon wish list fora hopeful Christmastime purchase.

 

[Desdichado]

I've got a ton of books on my bookshelf at home that I should be reading, but instead I'm burning through library books. To whit: the third Vampire Earth book by E. E. Knight, The Tale of the Thunderbolt, the second (I'm re-reading this, in preparation for a new volume this April) Dresden Files novel, Fool Moon by Jim Butcher, Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie and the first book or two of Julian May's Saga of the Pliocene Exile series.

Once I'm done with this current crop, I'm putting the serieses on hold and reading some of my own stuff that's gathering dust. But that probably won't happen in October.