Which book are you reading currently? #7

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I finished The Grantville Gazette. It was incredibly boring. On the flight from Beijing to Guangzhou I started The Briar King by Keyes. So far it has been o.k. but it still very much feels like I am in the introduction phase of the story.

 

So far Erikson has five plot threads going, with characters I know nothing about, a bunch of people/creatures have either died or are about to die, the scenes leave off nowhere -- and that's only the first 40 pages. I love it!

 

The Brothers Karamazov- Dostoeyevsky (sp?)

 

I read the first 2 books around 6 months ago. I didn't really like them either and was only waiting for the 3rd so I could finish it out, but after recently finishing Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead, I've realized that it is Athans' attempt to bring The Fountainhead into a fantasy setting. Albeit with nowhere near as much skill in characterization and description/explanation of motivation. By the end of the 2nd book, I was still: wtf?

Try reading the Fountainhead.

 

Chinghiz Aitmatov - The White Ship

 

Spook Country - William Gibson... Good one.

 

Just finished The Gilded Chain by Dave Duncan. Nothing great and only mildly entertaining imo.

Starting The Ambler Warning by Ludlum

 

Crystal Rain - Tobias Buckell

Above average so far. Weird steampunkish book where, essentially, Aztecs and a mishmash of Carribean culture fight each other with rifles and airships.

Oh, SF, how I love thee.

 

Stonehenge - Bernard Cornwell. It's pretty good so far.

 

and again a D&D trilogy. Spellfire by Ed Greenwood. so far very good. D&D all over. But what to expect from the creator of Forgotten realms.

 

Spin - Robert Charles Wilson

Well, it didn't deserve the Hugo, but it's still quite good.

Crystal Rain was not; above average light entertainment, and not much more.

 

Rules of Prey by John Sanford. Great book, I recommend it to any and all.

 

Richard Adams - Watership Down.

Kept having people tell me how much of a classic it is, though I've yet to see why.

 

Robin Hobb "Forest Mage" actually like it but jeez, why must she be so horribly evil to her characters? She just keeps piling up the doom and gloom.

 

1632 & 1633 by eric flint & david weber
extremely entertaining alternative history, very well thought out so far. will start on 1634 baltic war come monday

also recommend the march upcountry series by david weber & john ringo. 4 book series, would love to see a 5th to see how things turned out.

 

I just finished Shaman's Crossing by Robin Hobb and found it very, very typical. Not to mention slow - blow by blow detail of every single little thing is not necessary, and doesn't add very much except to page number. The foreshadowing (or at least, if it's not foreshadowing then I don't see why it's there) is extremely heavy handed as well.
Still, it was decent. Far from being anywhere near as wonderful as The Farseer Trilogy, though. Above all I would describe it as typical.

 

hmm, maybe I'll pass on this new Hobb trilogy, from what I've been hearing on the boards it doesn't seem up to snuff.

am now reading Carioca Fletch by Gregory MacDonald. Like all his Fletch stuff it's hilarious.

 

I finished Assassin's Apprentice last week and am halfway through Royal Assassin. Good reads so far...

 

If you liked her other work I wouldnt recommend passing the newest. No, it isnt as good as the Farseer books but I would still say it is better than most fantasy out there.