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Currently reading The Savage Knight by Paul Lewis. A pretty cliche story, but done with an easy reading style and good fun. Finished Fatal Colours by George Goodwin. Not exactly a great account of the Battle of Towton, Osprey Books do it much better. Still some interesting facts for War of the Roses fans.
Peter Bramley's A Companion & Guide to the War of the Roses. Great book as it lists all the sites to visit that have a connection to the War of the Roses. And here I am on vacation in Midland England! Off to Warwick and Kenilworth Castle the weekend. :) Also reading Col Buchanan's Farlander. A little bit formulaic so far but managing to hold my interest.
R Scott Bakker's stuff. Some good ideas, but the books are just painful to read. Way too much philosophy pushed on the reader. Tried three times to read The Darkness That Comes Before, but gave up each time. Steven Erikson. There's some good writing and ideas there, but really not worth wading through all the dry sawdust. I have certainly come way too particular with fantasy writing. Martin, Abercrombie, Lynch and Rothfuss have set the bar really high. A long time fan of Robert E. Howard and Jack Vance, most of the current authors don't hold a candle. I found Mark Lawrence's Prince of Thorns enjoyable but not great. That don't mean I won't try new authors. I found Caitlin R. Kiernan through the Swords and Dark Magic collection with the great story, The Sea Troll's Daughter. Always nice to find a story that resonates through all my exacting expectatons.
Currently reading A Storm of Swords, my third re-read of ASOIAF to prepare for A Dance With Dragons. :)
Currently reading Stephen King's On Writing because I figured if I wanted to learn this stuff, I may as well learn from a master. 'On Writing' has to be one of the most entertaining 'how to' books ever. I love his reaction when he hears the money coming his way on publishing 'Carrie'. And his wife's reaction is even better. A great story.
The Plantagenet Chronicles by Elizabeth Hallam and The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman. That should cover my reading of the English dynasties for a while. Tried reading the The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, but found the writing stilted and maybe a little dated. Probably will read Richard Matheson's version of it in Hell House instead.
George RR Martin's and Gardner Dozier's Warriors 1 after just polishing off The Hedge Knight and Sworn Sword, Martin's adventures of Dunk and Egg. Great stuff. Also Poul Anderson's Three Hearts and Three Lions.
And to Paul McCarthy: Belit was always one of my favorite characters in the books. Yeah, it's funny how much of an impression she made as she only appeared in one of the Conan tales, "Queen of the Black Coast." (Just doing some minor research here.) That was a heck of a story though. The scene where Valeria (not the Valeria of the Red Brotherhood) in the movie version of Conan saves Conan from the attacking snake priest of Thulsa Doom is taken from Belit saving Conan in said tale. Valeria of the Red Brotherhood ("Red Nails")and Belit are pretty well interchangable given they both have pirate backgrounds and are deadly swordswomen. I remember Belit better though, probably because of that epic speech Conan gives, already quoted.
A few authors of multiple history books I found engrossing: Tom Holland, Adrian Goldsworthy, Alison Weir and Trevor Royle. Holland is especially high on my list. It depends on what you are looking for I guess.
when a barbarian thirsts......it is a thirst for blood.So in the REH novels did Conan ever actually refer to himself as a "barbarian"? I don't remember him doing so but it could have been so prevalent that I never noticed if he did. I remember some speech about barbarism in the "Beyond the Black River" but I am not sure if Conan referred to himself as a barbarian or not. I also recall he made a rather eloquent speech on the deck of a ship with Belit as they sailed a jungle river. I believe barbarism was a subject touched on there too. Maybe some other REH fans can confirm.
I might be over thinking this but as I finish the first book and start on the second I can't help but wonder ** spoiler omitted ** Spoiler: Well, winter is coming. :)
George is also a big fan of Vance's Dying Earth as well. It's been a topic of much discussion on the Westeros forum.
Hang in there. :)
I think it's amazing that guy can react like it's an actual death. Really illustrates how well Martin's characterization is and what a fine job they are doing with the TV show. I remember being shocked and a little numb when I read that part in the books. And then the chapter with Sansa and Joff on the wall, as if the execution wasn't bad enough. Martin is relentless. It also makes me reflect on all those public executions back in medieval ages. Things like hanging, drawing and quartering, burned at the stake, or broken on the wheel and watching a family member go through that ordeal. When you read about them in the history books, it's one thing. But get to know the people, their family, their character and you realize how brutal an age it was. It definitely had smackings of the Braveheart execution scene which left me feeling the same way.
As a side note, Vecna is also an anagram of Vance: Mr. Jack Vance.
It has had many release dates and they all sailed by without a book. He reminds me very much of Whilce Portacio, a comic book artist that made his fame in the X-men books and went with so many others to start Image Comics then fell apart as soon as there was no one riding him to do his job. Which also isn't fair about Scott Lynch. He was diagnosed with clinical depression and suffered a painful divorce which left him in a bad state. He is only recently getting back on track. Writing is a very mental exercise and if you are not in a good way, it must be hard to motivate and focus while suffering in this form. Here is an interview in which Scott speaks (under Extras on the Orion Site) very openly about Republic of Thieves and other considerations, including his depression on part 3. He's a pretty sharp pencil and a great speaker, as this interview reveals:
Canadian Inventions: • Able Walker The walker was patented by Norm Rolston in 1986
So, yeah: really. There's a world beyond the border, bub.
I think the "Riddle of Steel" is a movie thing. I've read the Conan stories more than a few times over and don't remember the phrase. Momoa probably rolled his eyes at it's mention because it was immortalized in the first movie and like Wert said, he's trying to seperate his take on the Conan movie from the original.
"The Pointy End", Episode 8. Written by GRRM himself. "In the aftermath of Nedʼs capture, Syrio and Arya face off against Lannister guards, while Cersei manipulates Sansa to her own ends. Robb rallies his fatherʼs northern allies against Tywin Lannister and heads south to war. Tyrion forms an uneasy alliance with the hill tribes and reunites with his father. Jon lashes out at Ser Alliser Thorne and battles a mysterious attacker from beyond the Wall. Dany is forced to reconcile her desire to conquer Westeros with Drogoʼs savagery after the Dothraki raid a peaceful village." So, yes; Ayra, Syrio and Tyrion will all be in Episode 8.
The War of the Roses by Trevor Royle. Stephen King's Nightmare and Dreamscapes for the third time. Stephen Lawhead's Byzantium for the second time. Also Pathfinder's excellent Descent into Midnight from the Second Darkness Adventure Path.
Thanks Wert! Been looking for that since one of your country's Midland babes told me about it.
Be aware 'The Keep' is only the first book of Wilson's Adversary Cycle and that the other books of the cycle are being re-written. The cycle includes Repairman Jack novels as well as others. Why is he rewriting them? To tie them all in?
Thanks for the reference, Aaron, I'll check them out. Currently reading the horror classic, The Keep by F. Paul Wilson. Very entertaining so far, involving Nazis against a long hidden evil awoken in a keep in Romania. Inspired Michael Mann's 1983 film, The Keep, starring Jurgen Prochnow, Ian McKellan, Gabriel Byrne and Scott Glenn. About halfway through, hope it maintains it's horror goodness.
Braveheart
As for the take on women, I can see how this might be a turn-off. Women are indeed objectified and the political power seems to be male-dominated. Still, looking at the young Stark girl, one can see a bucking of the male dominated power structure. Likewise, the young trophy wife of the queen appears to be calculating and intelligent (if rather...well, perverse. Don't worry, several women come into their own later in the series. George RR Martin used the War of the Roses as a reference for a lot of the series (with a little Hundred Years War and other Middle Age/ Renaissance eras thrown in for good measure). If one has done a background study of those times, women were indeed repressed and it was certainly a male dominated society back then. Only a few strong women, like Isabella "the She Wolf" of France or Margaret of Anjou managed to throw off the yoke somewhat and attain a degree of real power. If one uses these eras as a guideline, it's probably a realistic portrayal of how women were considered (probably a great deal better than how they were actually treated). Especially considering a Mongol-like barbarian society such as the Dothraki. If it were the Mongols, Dany would have probably been one of many nomadic chieftain's "wives". It's our modern sensibilities that make it so confronting and have us take issue with it. And rightfully so.
I'm sure Drogo will warm up to Dany. You can tell the Dothraki are not exactly the sensitive type by the wedding ceremony. She'll bring him around. I thought that was very well done. Maybe illustrate the changes they will both have on each other with Dany being bullied by Viserys and constantly crying and being scared. We all know how she ends up. Great production! Love Ned's closeup when Cat receives the note from her sister. You can tell he is thinking: What the hell have I got myself into?
Just finished The Man Eaters of Tsavo and other East African Adventures by Colonel John Henry Patterson. A true story account about the construction of a railroad through East Africa and the author's encounter with two man eating lions. Spawned the movie The Ghost and the Darkness. An fast, great read, picked it off in two sittings. Also some interesting background on his other big game hunting and adventures with African wildlife. Up next, Joe Hill's Horns. Thanks's for the Morrell advice, Kirth. Just went to the bookstore and picked up Brotherhood of the Rose. Doodlebug: Read Cinnamon Kiss, A Little Yellow Dog and Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosely. Enjoyed the books and really enjoyed the movie, DIABD. Don Cheadle was great as Mouse. Will check out those nonfiction spy books. Sound good.
I've been meaning to try MacDonald, especially after reading Stephen King was an avid fan. It was also King who recommended Ed McBain. Also have a few Hammet books, but never gotten around to reading them yet. I read MacLean's Navarone stuff and Where Eagles Dare. Where Eagles Dare is definitely one of the best WW2 flicks ever. The Navarone movies hold up pretty well too with amazing casts (including an almost inrecognizable young Harrison Ford in Force 10). Have you tried Ken Follet's Eye of the Needle, Kirth? One of the best spy and assassin novels ever written. Up there with Forsyth's Day of the Jackal, the Bourne stuff and one of my own personal faves, Solo by Jack Higgins. Follet's writing never again touched the greatness he accomplished in this book. Also a movie with Donald Sutherland and Kate Nelligan, but not nearly as great as the novel (as expected). I'll have to try Absolute Power. There's so much of Baldacci's stuff around, it's hard to know where to start. I own the movie; didn't know Baldacci wrote it. My father is a huge fan of Lee Child. I'll have to start on his stuff too with two glowing recommendations.
I have read Vachss stuff, Kirth. I think Flood, the very first book, and Mask Market are my favourites. The guy throws everything but the kitchen sink at you in Flood. He's hard boiled, just like Ellroy. Have you read the guy's background, Kirth? He has had a lifetime and a half of different experiences. He actually wrote a Batman comic too; something about child sexual abuse which was a bit hardcore for the average Batman reader. I like Robert B Parker's Jesse Stone novels. Tom Selleck portrays him in the made for TV movies. His Spenser novels are not as good, but have great dialogue between Spenser and Hawk. He also wrote Appaloosa, the cowboy flick with Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen. How about Ed Mcbain, Kirth? His 87th Precint novels are what started me on crime fiction. His 80's writings, topped by Ice, are the cream of the crop. Carl Hiassen is another favourite. Not hard boiled, but contain so much zippy humour and a wild cast of characters, every book is a treat. Dennis Lehane's Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro stuff is incredible. Hardcore as they come too. The movie, Gone, Baby, Gone is based on one of Lehane's books about the private investigator team. He also wrote Mystic River and Shutter Island. James Lee Burke's early Dave Robicheaux stuff is good. The Neon Rain and Heaven's Prisoners were great, the latter a much underrated movie starring Alec Baldwin. Also Val McDermid's The Distant Echo, Michael Connelly's Echo Park and Robert Crais's LA Requiem are fine books. I don't think I forgot anyone did I? LOL.
The Bourne Identity I recently reread The Bourne Identity and I think they restructured the book into a different type of movie to make it politically correct. I don't know how many times Bourne slapped around Marie St. Jacques. If he did that on the big screen, he certainly wouldn't be a hero anymore. Although it is probably more realistic to assume an assassin would behave closer to the book portrayal than in the screen representation, it's a different form of media. You can get away with a lot more in the book than on the screen. I admit it's a great book, but I think the movie is superior. I feel the second half of the book is weak compared to the first, whereas the movie maintains it's momentum. I feel The Holcroft Convenant is Ludlum's best work, hands down. I am huge James Ellroy fan, and it's hard to capture on the big screen what the "Demon Dog of American Crime Fiction" manages to portray in his writing. LA Confidential is a superior movie, but the book is better. Along with McCarthy's No Country for Old Men and Harris's Red Dragon and The Silence of the Lambs, it's the cream of the crop of the modern crime genre.
Yes, the movie, Last of the Mohicans is one of my faves too. Not many movies are better than the books. The Silence of the Lambs, No Country for Old Men, We Were Soldiers, The Bourne Identity, and LA Confidential are close though, to name a few I have read.
Anybody else read any of Simmon's other horror besides The Terror and Drood? Was going to try Drood next but been persuaded otherwise. A Winter Haunting? Carrion Comfort?
You're your a hard sell on that movie, Kirth. LOL. That sounds like really bad time to read it, Doodlebug.
Finished The Terror by Dan Simmons. Quite the undertaking, over 950 pages on an Arctic expedition gone bad. I enjoyed it, Simmons is a great writer, but certainly a bleak ending. Which should come as no surprise, given the history of the HMS Terror. I will be checking out his other books. Picked up Douglas Hulick's Among Thieves. Read the first chapter online and was grabbed. Seems to be the cream of the crop in regards to all the new "fantasy thief" series being released this year. Up to Chapter Three and seems good. I couldn't stand the book, Kirth. Thought it hugely overrated. The movie on the other hand....A good solid film. I think the convincing performances, despite being a sub-titled film, won me over.
Picked up Girl with the Dragon Tattoo mostly because of the original film's popularity, and the fact that they're making an English speaking version. I haven't seen the movie yet.I highly recommend watching each movie before reading the corresponding novel. Doing so let me fully enjoy the movie without comparing it to the book while the books have so much more to them you don't feel like you know everything that is going to happen. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is one of the few cases where the movie was better than the book, imo. Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth Salander just owned the role.
Dan Simmon's The Terror. And my hot streak with horror continues.... Absolutely great. Something's stalking the men on the ships, The Terror and the Erebus, while they are locked in the ice searching for the Northwest Passage in the Arctic. I was locked in the ice for a month in the Arctic myself while bringing cargo to a nickel mine in Deception Bay, Northern Quebec. Not nearly as bad as these poor b******s have it though. Yeeshhh!!!
Joe has popped in and out of the boards on sffworld, and when confronted with that burning question he repeatedly goes all closemouthed and disappears. Interpret that as you will. ;)
38.) The Vinland Saga by Makoto Yukimura
Hmm. I hadn't noticed this until just now, but our distributor seems to have stopped carrying new WotC novels. The last time they added a new listing for one was November 2009. Though they did list "Everything I Need to Know I Learned from Dungeons & Dragons." Apparently "Dungeons & Dragons" didn't teach them business savvy.
I am politely bowing out of this conversation. Carry on, sirs.
If she's 14 and sufficiently mature, I don't see anything creepy about it. She's old enough. I hope you are talking about this in regards to the story. If not, what country are you from?
I'd agree on the whole, but Westeros isn't our world by any stretch of the imagination. In fact as a species(and I stress, as a *species*), it's been therorized that we are facing a population problem forecasts possibly because we're finding our young women unappealing at an age when they are more likely to survive multiple child births over a long period of time. That said, Sansa also seems to be a practical clone of her mother- she got very little of the Stark look. Sure, it's a little creepy, but I can see him being attracted to her, even though I certainly wouldn't be on several levels. I know where you are coming from Freehold DM, but it just struck me as a storyline that really didn't need telling. So many different directions it could have went instead. How about Littlefinger taking advantage of a vulnerable Catelyn after Ned's death? Still not a nice thing, but it would certainly aptly illuminate Littlefinger's capable powers of manipulation rather than taking advantage of a lonely, scared little girl. I know he is setting up Sansa as the new heir of Winterfell, but Martin could have done that a dozen ways. Do I feel more inclined to despise Littlefinger after such a story arc? Yes, I do. Is this Martin's intention? Maybe. Granted, it does demonstrate the different notions of morality in the Middle Ages than present day. Maybe it's just Martin adding more colour to his world. I have the feeling there is more to Littlefinger's name than meets the eye though. It's a touch appropiate, don't you think? I may be way off too. :-{
I think Sansa was around 13-14 in the novel around that time. I can understand marriages of conveinences in regards to joining noble blood, but Littlefinger puts the move on Sansa through attraction. It might have been "appropiate" in the day but just damn creepy thinking about it. We know Littlefinger had the hots for Catelyn, which makes this even more weird. Why even go there? Regardless if it is not frowned upon at the time, how would you like a grown man kissing your thirteen year old daughter? Yikes!!!
Velcro, I can only say; I never saw anything so raw, visceral, violent, unflinching and thoroughly mesmerizing than this. The only thing that compares to it are the brutal battle scenes in Braveheart. And this movie is 2 1/2 hours long and doesn't let up.
Any fans of Oldboy will love this. Electrifying! Warning: Red Band Trailer has some graphic content!
I liked Littlefinger too, until he went all creepy with that Sansa thing. I wonder is his name a pun? Like Shorteyes for child molesters. I give it up for Brienne of Tarth for being truly original. I'm a big fan of Arya and she does seem to have the best storylines. Who am I kidding; they are all good! Except for Samwell. I hate hearing his bleating and whining. I liked the scene where he met Arya in Braavos though. Direwolf describes her to a tee.
DeJesus Christus! That gotta be half the Amazon Rainforest there!
Thanks for the recs guys. Will definitely be checking out Shadow Prowler, niel, especially with the "Thief" tie in. Sounds good! Read everything you recommended, Jit. Not a fan of Bakker, too heavy on the philosophy for me. I read all of Joes's and Lynch's stuff. I started reading Retribution Falls by Wooding but put it aside as it's a little too "lite" I found. Still, the Firefly aspect is great and I plan to go back to it one of these days. I pretty much have any well known fantasy author covered so I am looking for some newer talent. That being said, I can understand the hype over Justin Cronin's The Passage. Lots of fully fleshed characters, different settings and an a-one plot involving a plaguelike vampiric virus that starts in a jungle temple and then is developed in the US to create a strain of super soldier. I think it is a deeper book than any of Del Toro's and Hogans vampire trilogy and certainly less traditional. But I enjoyed both on their merits. It will keep me busy for a while
Charles Dance, Wert. Charles Darwin is slightly past his prime to play Tywin Lannister. ;) I am sure he would be playing a maester instead.
Finished Jeff Long's The Descent. Really enjoyed it. A mash of horror/sci-fi/apocalyptic/survival story. Certainly enough genres covered there. Got about halfway through Patrick Rothfuss's The Wise Man's Fear and lost interest. Found it bloated, self indulgent and boring. Was a big fan of The Name of The Wind, but this book was a huge let down. Currently reading Justin Cronin's The Passage. Enjoyed the first third, hopefully the fine storytelling will continue. Switching genres from fantasy to horror as most of the fantasy books I have started such as Jemesin's The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, Rothfuss's WMF, Sam Sykes Tome of the Undergates and Dea's The Adamantine Palace couldn't maintain my interest. Probably will go with Joe Hill's Horns next. Somebody recommend a good, recent, fantasy novel please!
I think I'll hold off on this one. I really don't like the way Bioware has changed, espcially with DLC content available on release date not being included in the game. That just bespeaks of greed. The reviews seem to be extreme for DA2; some love it, others hate it and no in between. Unlike the original, where just about everybody agreed it was a great game. I think the user reviews are important; after all, aren't they the ones buying the game? I can't help but feel a little deceit has crept into the professional's reviews. Especially with such an extreme margin of difference. I never check out a professional reviewer's book recommendation, I hit the forums and boards and listen to the general public. They seem to have taken some great aspects out of the original and changed it just for the sake of making it different. The inventory aspect is what really rankles me; I love to micromanage and best suit my heroes in the best gear possible. Why would they even go in the direction they did? Is it to introduce an inventory DLC mod that allows full use of armors and items for extra cost? That wouldn't surprise me one bit with the direction Bioware has recently taken. |
