Book Hauls!

[ravenus]

Will be traveling so got myself Jingo by the almost frighteningly dependable Terry Pratchett. Keeping it under wraps because I don't want to end up finishing the thing before I actually get on the train

[j. d. worthington]

Originally Posted by HoopyFrood

The Knight of the Swords - Michael Moorcock
The Queen of the Swords - Michael Moorcock
The King of the Swords - Michael Moorcock
(Well, I thought, seeing as they were all there, I might as well get them all...because they were only £1.50 each! And they're the crazy retro covers from the 70s!)

I must admit that I'd put the Corum books rather far down on my list of Moorcock; this was a period when he was pounding out things at an unbelievable pace (sometimes as much as three books in a week or two!) in order to keep New Worlds magazine afloat, and it often shows with continuity problems and the like. However, they do have some good things about them, and I like the character of Corum. But I think I'm more interested, really, in Prince Gaynor the Damned and his relationship to the Champion..... I'll be interested in hearing your thoughts on this one, Hoopy; but I will warn you that, if you find this one lacking, it's far from Moorcock's best.....

[HoopyFrood]

I shall bear that in mind, thanks J.D

But at that price, I wasn't going to say no! And the great thing about this little bookshop is if I really do hate the books, I can return them and get half my money back (not that I probably would, how could I ever return a book?! (well apart from back to the library, of course )) Blimey, I love that shop.

[nixie]

I'm drooling, had a delivery from Amazon yesterday had forgot I'd ordered anything, it has been a few month since the order was placed.I got, The King of Elflands Daughter, The Iron Dragon's Daughter, Lud in the Mist and Imperial Assassin.

[j. d. worthington]

Originally Posted by nixie

I'm drooling, had a delivery from Amazon yesterday had forgot I'd ordered anything, it has been a few month since the order was placed.I got, The King of Elflands Daughter, The Iron Dragon's Daughter, Lud in the Mist and Imperial Assassin.

That's quite a nice haul there, Nixie! Should definitely have you doing a little happy dance by the time you've gone through those.....

[Aleksei]

I bought quite a lot of books last week, I just can't keep away from them . Well, here's the haul, small "review" included!

Command Decision - Elizabeth Moon | Not read
Fearless - Jack Campbell (John G Hemry) | Not read
The Elysium Commission - L E Modesitt | Not read
The Lighthouse Land - Adrian McKinty | Not Read
The Road - Cormac McCarthy | Really good
The Tower of Shadows - Drew Bowling | OK
Plague of Memory - S L Viehl | Good
Crystal Rain - Tobias Buckell | Good
A Taste of Magic - Andre Norton and Jean Rabe | Good
Midshipwizard Halcyon Blithe - James M Ward | OK
Crossover - Joel Sheperd | Really good
The Finest Creation - Jean Rabe | Good

[Stenevor]

Originally Posted by HoopyFrood

But in the end I opted for:

The Knight of the Swords - Michael Moorcock
The Queen of the Swords - Michael Moorcock
The King of the Swords - Michael Moorcock
(Well, I thought, seeing as they were all there, I might as well get them all...because they were only £1.50 each! And they're the crazy retro covers from the 70s!)

After digging about in my loft last weekend I turned up about 40 Moorcock books(unseen for 10 years) and by coincidence have just started rereading the Corum books too. Theyre enjoyable enough but there doesnt seem to be a lot of detail there, as JD says he must have been writing at a hell of a pace and it shows.

Last week I read the Dancers at the End of Time trilogy and I think it would be right up your street if you like Hitchhikers, very funny especially the first 2 books even if it is pretty much the same joke over and over.

[j. d. worthington]

Oh, yes, the Dancers at the End of Time are wonderful little books; and they get absolutely insane before the end of the original trilogy of novels (The End of All Songs). The other two books (Legends from the End of Time and The Transformation of Miss Mavis Ming; or, the Return of the Fireclown) are a little less frenetic, but still very good satire. However, as with so much of Moorcock, there are serious points beneath the fluff; and often his tableaux are quite stunning (if sometimes overly chromatic). As someone else noted on one of the other threads, some of his fantasies really do read like the old mediaeval morality plays, complete with almost (or genuine) cardboard-level symbolism in novels where other aspects are often very detailed or textured.

The thing is, he's such a variable (and varied) writer... from the potboiler to the very textured, from light and frothy to extremely meaty, from irony to almost the almost Wagnerian (and sometimes a blending of the two); so it's sometimes difficult to suggest just one Moorcock to someone, because it all depends on what they're looking for, or in the mood for at that point. They all tie together, but they aren't necessarily dependent on one another.

[Nikitta]

A package arrived to me at work today, containing the first 3 books I had ordered friday evening. That was fast! I had asked them to split up my order, so I could get the books as fast as possible, but I'm still impressed.

[Aleksei]

I bought Shogun (Hardback), by James Clovell, today, and it only cost me 5 quid. Ah book sales are a great thing.

[Who's Wee Dug]

Originally Posted by Nikitta

If you like it and can think of something else in a similar vein, will you let me know?

You may like Mary Gentle's GRUNTS it is an Orc one, lot of dark humour and one liners.

[Who's Wee Dug]

Originally Posted by HoopyFrood

Right, here we go, minor rant (a good one, though!) coming up...

I went into the city centre to some shopping today and my friends told me of a great independent book shop, so we decided to visit it. It was amazing, so many books and all so cheap! Needless to say I had to take a moment to compose myself when I first walked in! Damn, that is exactly the kind of shop I'd love to own, with huge shelves stocked full of books. And so many books!! I couldn't decide what to buy!
But in the end I opted for:

The Knight of the Swords - Michael Moorcock
The Queen of the Swords - Michael Moorcock
The King of the Swords - Michael Moorcock
(Well, I thought, seeing as they were all there, I might as well get them all...because they were only £1.50 each! And they're the crazy retro covers from the 70s!)
Dragonsdawn - Anne McCaffrey (for a mere £1.90!)

Boo yah! I will definitely be visiting that shop again!

Hoopy can you tell me what was the name of that shop and where it is, if I'm down that way it may be worth a look in.

[HoopyFrood]

It's in good old Exeter city centre, along the high street and beyond (don't know the street name, sorry!) It's called Read and Return.

And ah, man, I am so weak! I keep saying I can't buy more books because I have to go home on the train and thus have to have as little in my bag as possible. But the book stall man was back on campus today and I just can't resist his cheap books! So I bought:

The Elder Gods - David and Leigh Eddings.
Interview with the Vampire - Anne Rice
To the Lighthouse - Virginia Woolf

And the next time my mum 'phones me, rest assured that I will be furiously trying to persuade her to pick me up from Exeter, so that I can transport all these books back home!

[pyan]

Originally Posted by HoopyFrood

The Elder Gods - David and Leigh Eddings.

To the Lighthouse - Virginia Woolf

Hoopy! how can you put these in the same sentence!

[HoopyFrood]

Ha, well apparently I just did



I'm a girl of eclectic tastes, anyway.