Which book are you reading currently? #4

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I finally finished The Wind-up Bird Chronicle - which was good, but I couldn't really recommend it to anyone. Something which I couldn't pinpoint that really irritated me about it was 'What was the point of writing this story?' - there just didn't seem to be a reason for it to exist. It wasn't that it was poorly written or executed - I just don't see why the author wrote it at all, if that makes any sense...

I also have recently read The Phantom of the Opera, which was funky, and am now reading Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie, which hasn't made a great impression thus far.

*sigh* Why can't all magical realism be as brilliant as One Hundred Years of Solitude?

 

thus spoke zarathustra and drizzt series "passage to dawn"

edit

i'm thinking of reading "a feast for crows" by martin

 

I just read Odd THomas by (I think) Dean Koontz, which was great, and I highly recommend it. There's a strong fantasy element to it, enough to satisfy buffs, but not enough to annoy non-fans.

I'm now reading Prey, by Michael Crichton. It's good too, but I'm waiting til the end to make a judgment.

 

Someone (Amaster iirc) also mentioned that book Daie. He said it had "the most traumatizing ending" I think. I may pick it up

(Referring to Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz)

 

Traumatizing is the word. I almost cried..... Um, in a manly way *sheepish grin*

 

Just started "The Darkness that comes Before" by R. Scott Bakker. Hope it's as good as everyone says it is and helps me fill the gap before Bonehunters and A Dance with Dragons show up.

 

Kurt Vonnegut - Play Piano

Just started it.

 

I finished Old Tin Sorrows - I really liked it. I have moved on to book 5 - Dread Brass Shadows.

 

Just started Atlanta Nights by Travis Tea

http://www.sff.net/people/rothman/atlantanights.htp

 

I just got my amazon order from sunday night....

New books:

Forever Odd, Dean Koontz, the sequel to Odd Thomas. Looks good

Gardens of the Moon, Steven Erikson. You guys cnvinced me to try his stuff. Here goes nothing...

Edit: New Gem! Yay! I can;t beleieve its taken me 4 years to get 450 posts!

 

Daie - good luck with Gardens of the Moon.

I'm about 20% of the way through "The Darkness that Comes Before" by R. Scott Bakker. So far, it seems OK. The epic scope reminds me of Erikson but without Erikson's amazing ability to breath life into the most minor characters. The only dubious thing so far for me is that the plot seems to revolve around that tired old device of the second coming of a Dark Lord (the Lord of the Rings plot so often copied by others, especially Terry Brooks). But still seems pretty good so far.

 

After the praise you guys gave Erikson, I picked up Gardens of the Moon and DeadHouse Gates myself. Pretty good read so far (Gardens of the Moon); a bit too militaristic and structured for my taste but I give the man credit for his attention to detail and complex characters. A lot of work went into this world.

I also just finished The Briar King which was good stuff as well. It dragged a bit at the start (I know he was laying the foundation down), but then it got grim and dirty in the middle and the end was as rousing as any good fantasy novel.

I also have a Guy Gavriel Kay novel "The Summer Tree" which I started but kind of lost me and I picked up Erikson instead. Anybody out there recommend Kay?

 

Just finished Hobb's Farseer Trilogy. Now moving on to the Liveship Traders Trilogy.

 

Why does everyone go from Farseer to Liveship Traders?

Does no-one move onto Fool's Errand?

 

I second that.

I would read them in the order Farseer - Liveships - Tawny Man. It just seems like the right order to me, chronologically, even though Liveships happens miles away from the other two.

 

I'm going to read Fool's Errand by the sounds of things. I'd rather carry on with Fitz and the guys I know rather than read a complete new series of books with new characters. Fool's Errand supposedly clears up a lot of the loose ends at the end of Assassins Quest, that appeals to me. The end was awfully rushed IMO.

 

Newfie - Sorry, I have not read Kay. But I agree with you on Greg Keyes. The second book, The Charnel Prince, is almost as good as the Briar King. It would be just as good were it not for the ending. Unfortunately, the Blood Kinght, book 3, will not be out until this summer.

 

*throws stuff at Barmy*

The ending of Assassin's Quest is perfect - so bleak and depressing. The 'clearing up' which The Tawny Man does cheapens it IMO.

Also: Liveship Traders would be best to read first anyway - seeing that the plot of that is closely related to the plot of The Tawny Man (though it might not be obvious straight away - since it takes two books of waffle for Hobb to get to the actual point of the trilogy).

 

@Newfie: I've only read "Tigana" from Gabriel Guy Kay. It took some time to pick an interesting pace, but I found the narrative quite good at all times.

I'm starting Paolini's "Eragon" now.

 

I just started reading The Crystal Shard (by you probably know who). I borrowed the first three books from a friend, finaly I get to read about the most amazing world I know.