December's Delights in Reading

[ratsy]

Just finished Forest Mage and have moved on to Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson

[kale]

Originally Posted by sloweye

I'm back on Simon Clarke's Blood crazy. not the best book but I like it, for me its a nice easy read.

Is that the one with the barge or the one with the wall and the family under seige? Hope I'm making sense.

[Connavar]

I have started reading Snake Agent by Liz Williams.

Enjoying everything so far, Inspector Chen is my kind of hero in this kind of story,the chinese mythology,the worlds everything !

I didnt expect anything other than some hazy picture of a good urban fantasy.

Im so glad i started reading Williams with this book and not one of her sf books i saw in the store earlier.

Shame there isnt a thread about this author.....

P.S Thanks Murphy i only checked out this book in fantasticfiction because your post about in this thread which led to the interesting synopsis to an even better story.

[sloweye]

Originally Posted by kale

Is that the one with the barge or the one with the wall and the family under seige? Hope I'm making sense.

there is a barge in there, there are quite alot of location changes through the book.

[Rosemary]

I'm still trying to finish Toll The Hounds. It seems to get better towards the end. Is it just me or has anyone else noticed that this book is not written as well as his previous books?

[Kettricken]

As an easy in-between read I've read 'Bitten' by Kelley Armstrong. It was a bit formulaic, but entertaining if you don't expect too much of it. It seems all those paranormal romances start to look a bit too similar...

I'm also still reading 'Gardens of the Moon', which still has its confusing moments, but I'm enjoying it a lot. I really like Kruppe and his gang!

[Quokka]

The Mote in God's Eye - Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, there's a good story here except that the human characters all seem like they'd be more at home on an old english sailingship.

[Taltos]

Just finishing Butchers Academ's Fury - this book starts of even more cliched than the first book in these series. Still Butcher manages to draw me in and I was thinking about ordering the rest three books in these series - just to discover that the fifth book isn't available in paperback It'll just have to wait.

[Soulstar]

The Foundation and Empire by IA, working my way through the entire series this month.

[Siberian]

Originally Posted by Taltos

Just finishing Butchers Academ's Fury - this book starts of even more cliched than the first book in these series. Still Butcher manages to draw me in and I was thinking about ordering the rest three books in these series - just to discover that the fifth book isn't available in paperback It'll just have to wait.

Yeah, Academ's Fury reminded me somewhat of Harry Potter (and other magical school book although I loved the history examination, it was very tongue-in-cheek).

I read all five books and Cursor's Fury was the one that made me a fan of the series. Tavi finally comes into his own and I enjoyed the Roman military feel of that book).

Also, although the main story about an simple orphaned farm boy has been a cliche since I think Arthurian legends Butcher still manages to make it feel fresh and original in other ways. For starters, everyone has magical powers except the central character - where else in epic fantasy have you seen something like this? Also, the setting is more Roman than medieval and the magical system is not very cliched either (no powerful artefacts, thank the gods).

I guess the jury is still out until the final book but so far I've enjoyed it immensely. It may not be the deepest or most original fantasy out there, but it was fun and entertaining without becoming fluffy and I'm glad Butcher is not obsessed with writing a mammoth multivolume fantasy series and going to stop at book six.

[Taltos]

Originally Posted by Siberian

Yeah, Academ's Fury reminded me somewhat of Harry Potter (and other magical school book although I loved the history examination, it was very tongue-in-cheek).

Don't know - I've read only the first Potter book - and that to prove somebody that it's a bunch of cliches in new binding Well the person wasn't very happy, when I pointed out from where most of the stuff was taken. And what seemed so cliche at the start of Academ's was not the school setup, but the bullying of the richer and stronger students - but that was just the start of the book.

Originally Posted by Siberian

Also, although the main story about an simple orphaned farm boy has been a cliche since I think Arthurian legends Butcher still manages to make it feel fresh and original in other ways. For starters, everyone has magical powers except the central character - where else in epic fantasy have you seen something like this?

A boy without parents, who is different from other boys in his neighborhood - where have we read something like that It doesn't matter what is the difference, it still seemed "oh boy, here we go again..." start - nothing of this is really original, but Butcher manages to create good characters and a lot of excitement - so the lack of originality doesn't matter, these are still very good books. I'm not saying that it's all unoriginal - but with high-fantasy, you have to realize that the same subjects have been used by other authors.

Originally Posted by Siberian

Butcher is not obsessed with writing a mammoth multivolume fantasy series and going to stop at book six.

Hmmm, and I read from somewhere that the fifth book should be the last - oh well, I can manage to wait another year - still they should release the paperback at the same time as the hardcover - it's frustrating having to wait a year for that release.

[Nikitta]

I've been home with a cold, so I'm already done reading Before They are Hanged. It was really good and had quite a few things in it that I really enjoyed.

Switching directly from Lynch to Abercrombie gave me a few confusing moments of mixing up the worlds as I read, but eventually I got it sorted out

Now it's on to Last Argument of the Kings.

[Siberian]

Originally Posted by Taltos

Don't know - I've read only the first Potter book - and that to prove somebody that it's a bunch of cliches in new binding Well the person wasn't very happy, when I pointed out from where most of the stuff was taken. And what seemed so cliche at the start of Academ's was not the school setup, but the bullying of the richer and stronger students - but that was just the start of the book.

Bullying is quite typical for school environments. It's something that we all can relate to and gives us another cause to root for Tavi and his friends. I'd be more surpized if everyone was nice and polite to each other.

A boy without parents, who is different from other boys in his neighborhood - where have we read something like that

Yes, but did you read another books where this difference puts him at a disadvantage?

It doesn't matter what is the difference, it still seemed "oh boy, here we go again..." start - nothing of this is really original, but Butcher manages to create good characters and a lot of excitement - so the lack of originality doesn't matter, these are still very good books. I'm not saying that it's all unoriginal - but with high-fantasy, you have to realize that the same subjects have been used by other authors.

Considering that fantasy draws heavily from mythology and religion nothing is very original in the fantasy genre, especially when it comes to the basic plots. The difference is in details. Yes, we've all read a story about a seemingly ordinary youth rising to power - in fact, it's one of the most popular stories in mythology and fiction - the question is, is the boy's journey different enough to make it more fresh and less predictable? I think in this case the answer is 'yes'.

Hmmm, and I read from somewhere that the fifth book should be the last - oh well, I can manage to wait another year - still they should release the paperback at the same time as the hardcover - it's frustrating having to wait a year for that release.

Well, he still writes faster than Martin

[annis]

Originally posted by Connavar
I have started reading Snake Agent by Liz Williams.

I love Liz Williams- she has such an original style, and all her stories are quite different but equally compelling . I'd probaly call her style sci/fantasy.

I've just finished Poul Anderson's "Rogue Sword", a rare straight historical fiction novel from him, about the latter stages of the Christian Byzantine Empire.
I've posted a review at the Historical Novels Info website if anyone wants to know more about it
HistoricalNovels.info/Rogue-Sword.html

[BookStop]

I just finished The Tale of Edgar Sawtelle. It's an Oprah bookclub book, and for the most part her picks are outstanding. Although the book was a little dry in the middle and I found myself reading really fast, probably skimming more than I should've, it was very good and I'd recommend it to almost anyone, especially if you like dogs.