May's (Mostly) Marvelous Literary Musings

[murphy]

Originally Posted by AvoidingReality

(snip)

Now I'm reading Dearly Devoted Dexter, which is absolutely hilarious so far. Dexter is such a lovable serial killer and the tone the author uses is brilliant. I really highly recommend this series.

Oh, woe is me. Another book to add to my want list, Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay.

[Nightmare]

Dune Messiah. Not as engrossing as the first one, so far, but I'm enjoying it very much.

[j. d. worthington]

Originally Posted by Nightmare

Dune Messiah. Not as engrossing as the first one, so far, but I'm enjoying it very much.

A different sort of book, I would say. In some ways as strong as the first, perhaps stronger... but a very different sort of thing.

[GOLLUM]

Originally Posted by Nesacat

JD ... sometimes I think that Ellison's foreword to each of his tales might almost be the best part of the whole tale. Same goes for his introductions to the whole collection. He's a splendid writer. I personally like the read the writer's own foreword and introduction to his work. They are like tiny windows of insight.

Also try Dangerous Visions 35th Anniversary Edition (edited by Ellison) and his collection of short stories Deathbird Stories. I've got those ones and they're very good.

[GOLLUM]

Originally Posted by ravenus

Read Of Love and Other Demons by GG Marquez. Still pretty engaging and worth reading on the whole.

I've got everything available in English by Marquez and I'v never really been let down. A shame the film Love In The Time Of Cholera was a dissapointment...

[Nesacat]

Just finished Trans Sister Radio by Chris Bohjalian.
... a newly divorced schoolteacher, Allison Banks, falls in love with the man who teaches a summer course on film in which she is registered. Dana Stevens, the professor she loves, is not exactly what he seems from the outside: this well-manicured, gentle-faced man is in actuality a woman - and he is facing an upcoming sex change. Allison's daughter Carly and her ex-husband Will try to deal with her new passion as best they can. With Will the president of Vermont Public Radio, the book alternates between the transcripts of a public radio conversation about the dilemma and individual chapters narrated by each of the characters in order to tell the tale.

[elvet]

Oh woe is me! I'm on the last book of Michelle West's Sunsword series. I don't want it to end.

[Nesacat]

Ravenus - Have not got this Marguez. However, am very fond of his work and will look out for it. The last one of his I read was Strange Pilgrims.

GOLLUM - Have more Ellison waiting to be read but am taking a tiny break since reading him seems to involve not sleeping.

[Ice fyre]

Just finished John Connolly Nocturnes, a set short Horror stories. He reminds me a lot of Clive Barker, very well written and dark stories, but never decends into waffling as some authors do. You're never sure how his stories are going to end, and there are few happy endings. I loved it.

[Sirathiel]

I was gifted with Dragonflight by AnneMcCaffrey on Saturday and read it in one sitting on Sunday. It has been long that a book has captured me in such a way. I read it years ago in French and remember it as a fun read. This time around though it was more than fun.

But now I'm back to Wolfsblade by Jennifer Fallon which I've got almost completed.

[Nesacat]

Originally Posted by Ice fyre

Just finished John Connolly Nocturnes, a set short Horror stories. He reminds me a lot of Clive Barker, very well written and dark stories, but never decends into waffling as some authors do. You're never sure how his stories are going to end, and there are few happy endings. I loved it.

Read this awhile ago and it indeed is a wonderful collection of stories. A lovely collection of darkness and yes not many happy endings. But I respect that he did not try to push and shove them into uncomfortable happy endings.

He also did The Book Of Lost Things, which was very good as well. I never thought he did fantasy/horror. I first discovered him with murder mysteries of all things, although many had elements of the supernatural, superstition in them.

[murphy]

Originally Posted by elvet

Oh woe is me! I'm on the last book of Michelle West's Sunsword series. I don't want it to end.

I know the feeling and emphasize with you.

[Ice fyre]

Read this awhile ago and it indeed is a wonderful collection of stories. A lovely collection of darkness and yes not many happy endings. But I respect that he did not try to push and shove them into uncomfortable happy ending.

Indeed he takes risk's with his stories that work rather well, some of the stories while being only a page long in some cases are very well paced. I do feel that he reminds me of a cross between Clive Barker and H.P Lovecraft. His stories have a modren and relevant feel that Barker can bring across in his work, but has an intensly chilling effect as Lovecraft was able to put over in his work.

he has shorter versions of one or two of those stories on his website, and one or two new ones.

[Nesacat]

Finished last night, The Charwoman's Shadow by Lord Dunsany
... Set in the Golden Age of a mythical medieval Spain, The Charwoman's Shadow is the story of Ramon Alonzo, the son of the Lord of the Tower and Rocky Forest. The Lord is in need of gold for a dowry for his daughter, Mirandola, and he decides that Ramon Alonzo is to seek out a magician and learn how to transmute metal into gold.

In the magician's house, Ramon Alonzo is visited by the elderly charwoman who warns him about the terrible prices the magician exacts. She has lost her shadow in exchange for an extended life, and she received the bad end of the bargain, for though she is immortal, still she ages. At first, Ramon Alonzo resolves to keep his shadow, even when it turns out to be the price for learning to change metals into gold. He asks instead to learn to read and resolves to find and liberate the charwoman's shadow.

Twined with Ramon Alonzo's tale is that of his sister, who, betrothed to an unpleasant, albeit wealthy neighbour, desires the Duke of the Valley of Shadow. Mirandola works a little magic of her own after the assistance her brother lends goes awry.

[Connavar]

Im reading The Religion by Tim Willocks.

Interesting historical fiction. The saxon main character Mattias Tannhauser is a good lead character.