What are you reading (Feb 08)?

[Mallus]

And in a fit of nostalgia, I re-read Lord Valentine's Castle and Valentine Pontifex.

How is Valentine Pontifex? I loved LVC... but couldn't get into Pontifex at all when I tried to read it. I guess I wanted more charmingly exotic travelogue.

Also, I am still reading Pride and Prejudice.

Also redux: Nova Swing, which I recently finished, by the sometimes-maligned-around-these-parts M. John Harrison, is a tremendously well-written book, and one of the best SF novels I've read in the past year. I don't think SF readers often associate their genre with nostalgia, but they should...

 

[GoodKingJayIII]

Lords of the North by Bernard Cornwell. The third (fourth is out now) in a series of historical novels set during 9th century England. It's ostensibly about Alfred the Great, but it focus's on a Saxon raised Danish warrior named Uhtred. A great series so far, reads like an adventure novel.

I read the first of this series and the style and plot seemed awfully similar to Cornwell's King Arthur trilogy (Winter King, Enemy of God, and Excalibur). I didn't pursue the rest because I hold his Arthur books in such high regard and I didn't want to find Cornwell was ripping from himself. If you happen to have read the Arthur series, how do the later books compare?

Currently reading Eyes of the Dragon and Salem's Lot. I am a little obsessed with the Dark Tower, so Stephen King is in right now. Earlier this month I finished up One L by Scott Turow, a memoir account of his first year at Harvard Law School.

 

[GoodKingJayIII]

double post

 

[Pozatronic]

I read the first of this series and the style and plot seemed awfully similar to Cornwell's King Arthur trilogy (Winter King, Enemy of God, and Excalibur). I didn't pursue the rest because I hold his Arthur books in such high regard and I didn't want to find Cornwell was ripping from himself. If you happen to have read the Arthur series, how do the later books compare?

Uhtred could be Derfel's rambuncious younger brother. I wouldn't say he's ripping on himself, but the time period can't help but make it a little similiar. I love the Warlord Trilogy, and Bernard Cornwell himself says they are the best books he's ever written. So is it as good? Well, no. But it's still a very good series so far. I say stop comparing it too the other series, and enjoy it for it's own merits.

 

[GoodKingJayIII]

Uhtred could be Derfel's rambuncious younger brother. I wouldn't say he's ripping on himself, but the time period can't help but make it a little similiar. I love the Warlord Trilogy, and Bernard Cornwell himself says they are the best books he's ever written. So is it as good? Well, no. But it's still a very good series so far. I say stop comparing it too the other series, and enjoy it for it's own merits.

Cool. I may give them another shot. It's tough for me not to compare though; I've reread the Warlord Trilogy a few times now, so I know them pretty well.

 

[Wombat]

How is Valentine Pontifex? I loved LVC... but couldn't get into Pontifex at all when I tried to read it. I guess I wanted more charmingly exotic travelogue.

Also, I am still reading Pride and Prejudice.

VP is not as good as LVC, but it is very pleasant. The problem with LVC is that it is obviously incomplete on its own (I won't go into spoilers at the moment) and while VP (and Majipoor Chronicles) fill out the story and help complete the vision of the world, none of them are nearly as charming as the first. OTOH, they are very quick reads.

And P&P is a great book, too.

 

[HeavenShallBurn]

I just lucked across a couple of rarish OOP history books at a Half-Price Books.

Currently on Prehistory of Australia interesting stuff even if it's dated. Still more info on the topic than I've been able to catch in a single chunk anywhere else. Doesn't get nearly enough attention.

Next up is A complete History of Europe oxford press printed in the 30s. That one will probably be a riot at times but Oxford press histories tend to be some of the best and I have enough of a base in current knowledge to weed through the period stuff for diamonds.

And another newer one that looks both controversial and interesting. No dust-jacket, title or ISBN. Talks in great detail about oddities in the archaeological record in the Americas and the possibility that various peoples may've had failed temporary settlements in the Americas pre-Columbus. Reads like an extended academic paper or maybe a doctoral thesis.

 

[Lazybones]

Just finished Varley's Steel Beach. Very thought-provoking book about life in a society with an all-powerful "benevolent" computer running things.

I'm about to head to the library to pick up Glen Cook's Annals of the Black Company and Shaman's Crossing by Robin Hobb. I have Brandon Sanderson's Well of Ascension on order; while I did not enjoy Mistborn as much as I did Elantris, the series did interest me enough to decide to move forward with it. I think the downfall of the series is that the protagonist and primary foes are so all-powerful that all of the other characters (and to some degree, the setting) seem uninteresting by comparison. I've heard some interesting things about book 2 so we'll see how it goes.

I'm also reading a very interesting non-fiction book called The Overachievers: The Secret Lives of Driven Kids by Alexandra Robbins. I've read a lot of books about how screwed up our education system is for the poor, but this book casts a hard look at the challenges rich kids often face as they are driven to succeed (often in highly destructive ways).

 

[Ebon Shar]

I've just finished "Dies the Fire" and "The Protector's War" by SM Stirling. Though it took me a while to get into these books, I'm glad I stuck with them. They are excellent. I'd love to play in a good D20 Modern campaign in this world.

I've also just started reading "Mistborn" by Brandon Sanderson. After hearing that he will be finishing Jordan's bloated epic, I was curious as to his style. So far, the world-building and magic system are pretty interesting, but the character's seem right out of a bad Eberron book. We'll see....

 

[Wombat]

GAK! The Reading Bug is really in me -- now on to a re-read of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell!