RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
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"To Say Nothing of the Dog", by Connie Willis.
I'm an enormous Connie Willis fan. She can write simple two-people-talking-and-only-kinda-listening conversations brilliantly.
After "To Say Nothing of the Dog", you might try "Doomsday Book" which is about the same time-travelling project.
My favorite story is "Bellwether". It's funny, it's realistic, it's beautifully poignant. And it's not too long, either.
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RPG Superstar 2010 Top 32
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New China Mieville? Whoa! Did he write something after Iron Council?
I knew nothing about it either! I just walked past it in the book shop last week and immediately bought it. It's for "young adults" though and not another Bas-Lag book.
Oh yeah, it's about an alternative London and it's called Un-Lun-Dun.
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I was trying to read Undead by Richard Lee Byers. Its the second book in the Haunted Land Trilogy, dealing with the big civil war in Thay.
The first book was enjoyable, with a lot of the intrigue and behind the scenes magic and manipulation you'd expect from a war among powerful wizards. There were also several very interesting characters, besides the usually enjoyable Szass Tam.
The second book has, so far, been less enjoyable. The writing seems kind of forced.
-Szass Tam using an artifact to enslave a fellow Zulkir. Why couldn't he do that to all of them? He starts to with one, but is interrupted by the Spell Plague.
-In a large battle, two wizards flee towards a fortress ahead of Tam's besieging army. They are allowed inside and claim to be allies, but are actually Tam's servants. In a kingdom of scheming wizards at war, no one in this fortress would think to question these two?
-The Spell Plague itself. None of the Zulkirs or major characters are driven insane or destroyed, just the nameless, faceless many. Who knew the chaotic forces of magic could be so descriminating.
I've stopped reading the book for now, and I honestly cannot say whether I'll pick it up again.
This also throws into question, for me at least, whether I will buy any future FR novels. If the storylines of other books will be heavily affected by the transition to these "re-imagined" Realms, then I may just have to say 'adios'.
Oh yeah, it's about an alternative London and it's called Un-Lun-Dun.
That book! Cool. Didn't know it was out yet. Thanks.
I just finished Hammered by Elizabeth Bear. Really, really good post-cyberpunk book. Can't wait to get the rest of the trilogy.
I'm reading A Certain Slant of Light, by Laura Witcomb. It's turning out to be pretty good. I really like her righting style, and I couldn't put it down until 4am.
I'm reading a Corporate Finance text book. Gotta get through chapters 4 and 5 today.
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I read the beginning of the ninth Foreigner/Atevi book by C.J.Cherryh on the train this morning. "Deliverer" continues where the eighth entry "Pretender" stopped with a nearly calm world at the beginning, trying to straight out the upheavals of Book 7 and 8. These books are one of the best depictions of truly alien mindsets I have ever read.
Truly Salads.
Highest possible recommendation to fans of seemingly slow buildups, dialogues with more levels of meaning than you can shake a stick at, very astute descriptions about alien relationships (Man'chi) and something similar to loyalty. But please, start at the beginning... with "Foreginer", the first book of the series (there have been 3 trilogies of yet, but they form a continous series of events and a tenth book with the name "Conspirator" is being written).
The last Argument of Kings, by Joe Abercrombie,the last book in a trilogy:)
it's very Logue...
Amrita , by Banana Yoshimoto
Various books by Shaun Hutson. I used to read a lot of him when I was in my early teens and recently rediscovered him during a long train journey to London in which I tore through Deathday in a couple of hours. Reading him now its funny how much I (my writing style) was influenced by these books. Ah well, whatever.
The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian, the first in the Del Rey series that collects Howard's Conan stories.
I'm re-reading Paul Edwin Zimmer's 'A Gathering Of Heroes'- which means I'll be re-reading the Dark Border books as well. I checked the published date on 'heroes'- it's 1987. That means I've read this at least 15 times.
I've got the fourth Blood Bowl novel (Rumble in the Jungle) waiting by the bed as well. They're not literature, but I enjoy reading game world fiction (and its a more fun version of GW's fantasy world). It helps that I occasionally play Blood Bowl as well.
The book I was reading previous was 'Whitechapel Gods' by S. M. Peters which was odd. I'm not sure yet if I'll keep it on my shelf.
Of course, right now I'm trying to keep up with the Pathfinder RPG messageboards. I don't know how the Paizo staff keeps on top of the discussions- they must all multi-task and not need sleep.
Starting Scardown by Elizabeth Bear, sequel (and trilogy middle book) to [/i]Hammered[/i]. Just finished the latest Orson Scott Card novel Invasive Procedures which he wrote with Aaron Johnston. Very dramatic and cool story.
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At one time, I'm usually reading between three and eight books. Right now, I'm reading:
- Cugel's Saga by Jack Vance
- Perdido Street Station by China Mieville
- A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess (for the fourth time)
- Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett (for the third time)
- Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut
and
- Deep Storm by Lincoln Child
INFECTED by Scott Sigler.
It's a disease that thinks . . .
It's a disease that talks . . .
Pray that it kills you before it becomes
A disease that WALKS.
I'm in the middle of Malleus from the Eisenhorn Omnibus edition (Warhammer 40K) by Dan Abnett. A really good reading for those who want to play the Dark Heresy RPG...
lets see, at this moment I am reading:
"Great American Folklore: Legends, Tales, Ballads, and Superstitions from All Across America" Compiled by Kemp P. Battle
"Dynamics of Faith" by Paul Tillich
and
"Glacial Lake Missoula and its Humongous Floods" by David Alt
Done with Scardown and Worldwire. Both excellent. Finished Pete Seeger's Storytelling Book, which was a fast and furious read. Good stuff. Just started Jack the Giant Killer by Charles de Lint.
Next up will be The Complete Joy of Homebrewing (3rd Ed) by Charles Papazian. Mmmmm......beer.
Excellent piece of literature! Mmm...homebrew.
I just read the Briar King by Greg Keyes. I liked it, even if I can see that a lot of the material isn't particularly new. Awakening evil (that might be more than it seems), a bunch of common fantasy archetypes such as the rebellious princess, the earnest young hero, the hardbitten woodsman, the stubborn peasant girl with a heart of gold (many of which I've even seen him use before in The Waterborn and The Blackgod). But that's fine by me. Keyes can write very well and even points that I knew were trite and well-trod affected me despite that criticism. Strong imagery and a recurrent theme of the power of myth and its interpretation carried the story through the archetypal characters (who, to be fair, did have some surprises in them and enough flaws to seem real). I also like that everyone has a relatively normal sounding name. "Neil", "James","Stephen", etc. are a refreshing change from ridiculous and tongue-twisting names common in some fantasy stories. I'm glad that he seems to have settled on a relatively small group of characters that usually interact with one another in small coteries; the major thing I didn't like with Robert Jordan and similar ambitious world builders was just how overly complex the Dickensian cast of characters became. It's only the first book in the series, though.
So, yeah, I liked it and would recommend it as long as you don't expect the wheel to be reinvented.
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Just started Butcher's "Small Favor" today. I normaly detest reading hardback books. Just too large and clunky. I like small easy to handle paperbacks. Butcher is probably the only author out there that could get me to shell out bucks for a hardback. I just couldn't wait to start this book.
I've also got his fantasy series but have not yet started reading those.
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel. Fantastic novel of the return of magic to England in the 1800's, during the Napoleonic wars.
Lively, amusing, and dark in undertone, it is VERY strongly reminiscent of John Bellairs' The Face in the Frost--one of the best novels of wizardry ever published, and cited by Gygax as a major inspiration for D&D.
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RPG Superstar 2010 Top 32
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Just finished Joe Abercrombie's "Last Argument of Kings" - it was as excellent as the first two in the series. His antiheroes are fantastic - who'd have a group of PCs comprising a crippled torturer, a mutilated fop swordsman, a sociopathic female killer and a ageing-yet-vicious berzerker.
Awesome fight scenes, nasty magic, dirty politics - I loved it.
Just started the new Alistair Reynolds "House of Suns". Like everything he's written - spectacular and clever hard SF.
Reading Elizabeth Kostova's "The Historian". Good book, vampire story thrown in with a european tour guide.
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Jane M Auel'S "Earth's Children" - finshed "The Clan of the Cave Bear" and now starting with "The Valley of the Horses".
I am reading them in German, as my gf lent me the books, but I am not enthused about the translation. It has a very interesting take on the differences between Neanderthals and Cro Magnons. But Ayla is a bit too superhuman for my tastes. It is very good for setting the mood about the Stone Age. Perhaps I will use it to DM a one-shot or part of a "Sliders" campaign.
Lively, amusing, and dark in undertone, it is VERY strongly reminiscent of John Bellairs' The Face in the Frost--one of the best novels of wizardry ever published, and cited by Gygax as a major inspiration for D&D.
Now I read The Face in the Frost just a few months ago and I can't for the life of me figure out why a) it's considered such a classic, and b) why it inspired Gygax to make D&D. It's a moderately interesting story of two semi-competent wizards having a few uninspiring misadventures. I guess I missed the Big Picture or the Deep Allegory?
I'm reading The Conference of the Birds, by Farid Attar, a Persian Sufi mystic.
I am reading Will Durant's "The Story of Civilization: Our Oriental Heritage". Pretty good so far.
After finishing Mieville's Bas-Lag Trilogy, I've moved on to one of my cherished Lovecraft collections. Yay!
May I ask which collection you would recommend to someone who has only read a few of his stories? I haven't been able to find any to look through at bookstores, and choosing one collection from the myriad online is daunting (I tend to be rather obsessive about my books).
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After finishing Mieville's Bas-Lag Trilogy, I've moved on to one of my cherished Lovecraft collections. Yay!May I ask which collection you would recommend to someone who has only read a few of his stories? I haven't been able to find any to look through at bookstores, and choosing one collection from the myriad online is daunting (I tend to be rather obsessive about my books).
"Tales of H.P. Lovecraft," edited by Joyce Carol Oates. It's even got a nice shiny Mike Mignola cover, too.
Thank you Mr. Shiny.
Just finished Dead Beat by Jim Butcher, and debating whether to start The Bonehunters by Steven Erikson, or read the whole darn Malazan Book of the Fallen over again from the beginning first.
... debating whether to start The Bonehunters by Steven Erikson, or read the whole darn Malazan Book of the Fallen over again from the beginning first.
Jump straight into The Bonehunters - you'll remember the factions from Memories of Ice, House of Chains and Midnight Tides.
Coincidentally, I'm reading Night of Knives, the prequel novella written by Erikson's writing partner and gaming buddy, Ian Cameron Esselmont. It's a little weird seeing the Malazan world before Kellanved became Shadowthrone, but the writing style is good.
After that...Reaper's Gale, most likely. Erikson is authoritative.
