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Just finished Sword and Sorceress I, edited by Marion Zimmer Bradley. Joydit.I think I have number 2 or 3 at home, and I must say it was possibly my favorite fantasy anthology book. I hear the series is pretty big, but I can never find more then just the one at used book stores. kind of a shame.
I was really impressed with the consistency of this anthology, which is not a mark of anthologies. I hope the later volumes are able to hew to the same standard.
Let me know what Un Lun Dun's like, would you? It's in my pile but I wasn't in the mood for it when I started it and need a push to get back in there!
It was published as a young adult's/big kid's book... but it is worth reading. I certainly enjoyed it. Weird parallel reality fantasy. Story well told.
I wasn't crazy about The Gunslinger, but I picked up Drawing of the Three anyways and I thought it was pretty good, so I'm reading The Waste Land now.
The original Gunslinger, pre-1999, is choppy, disconnected and written in a style and tone at once amateurish and excessive--you can tell he wrote it over several years of college, in bits and pieces. In '99, King rewrote the first novel to not only correct for changes in the Dark Tower plot (names and events, etc), but he also reworked the novel to read well. If you pick up a new edition of the work, you'll find it subtly and significantly (strange, right?) different from the original 70s book.
I actually read the 1999 version and found it to be so-so at best. Felt kind of like a hundred other epic fantasy novels I had read with a lot of Western cliche thrown in for good measure. Good foreshadowing and all and some decent ideas, but a lot of it just fell flat for me. In contrast, I think Drawing of the Three pulled off something more unique and modern, something more his own and The Waste Lands seems to be continuing that.
Radavel
(Pathfinder Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Roleplaying Game, Campaign Setting, Companion, Modules Subscriber)
Radavel
(Pathfinder Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Roleplaying Game, Campaign Setting, Companion, Modules Subscriber)
I'm on the last book(s) of Tad Williams' Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy. I picked it up because I'd read it was quite an influence on Martin's Song of Ice and Fire, and you can really see it. Still it is quite an interesting series in itself, and I love how Williams reimagined the traditional fantasy races. I'd recommend it, especially as it is a Finished Series! So few of those around, and the waiting for Dance of Dragons is painful.
Empires of Trust, by Thomas F. Madden. It's an interesting book, with a unique premise -- Madden compares and contrasts Rome and the US, but explicitly shies away from the ususal simile of America as a new Roman Empire, decadent, dying and brutal. Instead, he looks to the Roman Republic (trad. 509 BC-49 BC) and argues that in both Rome and America, an empire was built accidentally, unwillingly -- and one that would endure better than an empire built on conquest. Madden argues that in Both Rome and the US, the impetus for empire was a desire to be left alone, to explicitly NOT have to engage with the world as much as possible, and to do that, they paradoxically found themselves having to go to war to defend their interests -- and then striving to turn their defeated enemies into fast allies and friends as a means of security. This, Madden calls the empire of trust -- one built by alliance and treaty, albeit one with a prima inter pares nation.
- Currently reading: "Ciaphas Cain; Hero of the Imperium"
- Up next is "Eric", "Reaper Man", "Witches Abroad" and "Small Gods" by Pratchett (Unless I get "Pyramids" and "Moving Pictures" in the interum, then it's just the first two of those and the two I just named), "Eon" by Greg Bear, "Good Omens" by Gaiman and Pratchett and then possibly on to "Case for Christ" by Lee Strobel depending how I feel at that point.
Ok, time for my almost monthly update.
- Finished: "Ciaphas Cain; Hero of the Imperium", "Fifteen Hours" , "Eric", "Reaper Man", "Witches Abroad" and "Small Gods" by Pratchett, "Eon" by Greg Bear, "Good Omens" by Gaiman and Pratchett and "The Kobold guide to Game Design Vol. 1" by Wolfgang Baur et al.
-Curerently Reading: "The Cat who walks through Walls" by Robert Heinlein
-Up Next: "Lords and Ladies", "Interesting Times", "Soul Music" and "Maskerade" by Pratchett, The first 2 "Gaunt's Ghosts" Omnibi by Dan Abnett and hopefully I'll get to start on the Red Dwarf novel I piced up and "The Wooden Sword" (I think was the title).
-Up Next: "Lords and Ladies", "Interesting Times", "Soul Music" and "Maskerade" by Pratchett, The first 2 "Gaunt's Ghosts" Omnibi by Dan Abnett and hopefully I'll get to start on the Red Dwarf novel I piced up and "The Wooden Sword" (I think was the title).
Interesting Times, is, IMO, one of the best books in the series. "Hong Fang, Tung, Sung and McSweeney" "McSweeny?" "An old, established family..."
Interesting Times, is, IMO, one of the best books in the series. "Hong Fang, Tung, Sung and McSweeney" "McSweeny?" "An old, established family..."
-Up Next: "Lords and Ladies", "Interesting Times", "Soul Music" and "Maskerade" by Pratchett, The first 2 "Gaunt's Ghosts" Omnibi by Dan Abnett and hopefully I'll get to start on the Red Dwarf novel I piced up and "The Wooden Sword" (I think was the title).
Well, I do have a fondness for the Rincewind novels (of which I think this is one)!
Just recently picked up Anathem, by Neal Stephenson. I'm over halfway through, and am enjoying it. That said, you have to like Stephenson's style, or this one will not be for you.
It's a parallel world story, and it takes a while to quite 'get it' as to what is going on. I'd say it took about 200 pages before things really came together for me. And, as is also typical of Stephenson, he occasionally goes on reasonably long digressions, though they're often amusing ones (so far nothing quite as good as the 'How to eat Captain Crunch cereal' of Cryptonomicon.) This is not Snow Crush, the writing style has a lot more in common with his more recent historical fantasies.
But, if you liked Cryptonomicon and the Baroque Cycle, I think you'll also really like this one. I certainly do so far.
Drew Garrett
I just finished Eater of Souls by Lynda S. Robinson.
It was good, but dragged at places. I didn't guess who the killer was until the third to last chapter, which is good for a mystery novel but not Agatha Christie good.
I also read "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead" by Tom Stoppard.
It was brilliant.
I am starting Ursula LeGuinn's The Telling and I also have Dashiel Hammet's The Maltese Falcon on my list.
Nonfiction on my list: Robert Graves' Goodbye to All That and Shakespeare's Kings by John Norwich (wich compares Shakespeare's history plays to the real histories).
Heroes Die - Matthew Woodring Stover
Awesome & fun!
Oh, that's a good one! The sequel Blade of Tyshalle starts with a bit of a different feel (at least to me) and then just progressively built to an ending that blew my socks off. There's one moment I could literally feel chills going up my spine as Caine grins his grin. I highly recommend it if you like HD so far.
Patrick Curtin
(Pathfinder Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Roleplaying Game, Campaign Setting, Companion, Battles Case Subscriber)
Just got the first of an old series called the Timeliner trilogy by an obscure 70s SF author Richard C. Meredith. Actually just learned of it and it is supposedly beloved as a classic by alt. history fans. So far, very interesting, especially for a 37-year-old SF novel.
here is a little sample of the fun stuff in an Uncle John's book; pg 149 under Gator Aid:
Members of the Georgia State Game Commissin were fiercely debating the pros and cons of regulating 'alligator rides' when one alert member noticed a typographical error on the agenda - the commission was actually supposed to be discussing whether or not they should regulate 'alligator hides'.
it has all kinds of fun things; here is one you can do onine; from page 125.
go to an internet translation page; type in a phrase in English; translate it to one or more other languages; then translate it back; the results can be quite amusing.
they have many examples that are quite humorous.
Uncle John's Unsinkable Bathroom Reader; if you havent; you guys have to check out the Uncle John books; their worth every penny and moment.
Uncle John's Unsinkable Bathroom Reader; if you havent; you guys have to check out the Uncle John books; their worth every penny and moment.
Indeed! I picked up the extraordinary book of facts for my brother a while ago. I still haven't been able to finish it. They're awesome for killing time. I highly reccommend them as gifts.
Recently finished the last couple of Planet Stories books. The Dark World was interesting, though too short, I really would have liked to read something about what happened after Ganelon was defeated. I really did like Swordsman of Mars! Also recently went back into the archives and re-read the first two books in Donaldson's Gap series, which gets a lot better after book 1. Just finished His Majesty's Dragon, which was decent, but I'm not sure what all the fuss is about.
I'm darting back and forth between all eight of these books these last couple weeks:
A Rough Guide to Graphic Novels by Danny Fingeroth
The Everything Guide to Writing Graphic Novels by Mark Ellis and Melissa Martin Ellis
Writing and Illustrating the Graphic Novel: Everything you need to know to create great graphic works by Mike Chinn
Creating Your Own Graphic Novel Using Digital Techniques by Mike Chinn and Chris McLoughlin.
Web Video: Making It Great, Getting it Noticed by Jennie Bourne with Dave Burstein
Photoshop CS3 All-In-One Desk Reference for Dummies by Barbara Obermeier
Photoshop CS4 for Dummies by Peter Bauer
Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and (a cook whose incredible food I can personally vouch for) Terry Hope Romero.
I'm darting back and forth between all eight of these books these last couple weeks:
A Rough Guide to Graphic Novels by Danny Fingeroth
The Everything Guide to Writing Graphic Novels by Mark Ellis and Melissa Martin Ellis
Writing and Illustrating the Graphic Novel: Everything you need to know to create great graphic works by Mike Chinn
Creating Your Own Graphic Novel Using Digital Techniques by Mike Chinn and Chris McLoughlin.Web Video: Making It Great, Getting it Noticed by Jennie Bourne with Dave Burstein
Photoshop CS3 All-In-One Desk Reference for Dummies by Barbara Obermeier
Photoshop CS4 for Dummies by Peter BauerVeganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and (a cook whose incredible food I can personally vouch for) Terry Hope Romero.
How are those Photoshop books? I've been using the Visual Quickstart Guides for Dreamweaver and Photoshop with decent results, but I'm interested in other references.