Books you've read in 2008 (1 Viewer)

[Andy Sheets]

I just started Ice Station, by Matthew Reilly, and so far it's the funniest book I've read in ages. It's not a comedy, it's a summer action movie on paper, but there's this one "setpiece" involving the heroes and villains falling into a pool filled with wild killer whales who then take the opportunity to have a feeding frenzy on the humans, which makes me laugh because I get the impression no one told Reilly that killer whales aren't really killers and they're not whales, either (or maybe he does know and just said "Screw it, I want my killer whales to be KILLERS"). It goes on for like 45 pages and I think the highlight is when one of them chomps down on a butch female marine's leg and she turns around and starts kicking Evil Shamu on the snout with her good leg while calling him a motherf@#ker. A few pages later, a cute Spielbergian girl and her pet wonder seal get in on the action. I can't really do justice to it but it's a fun read so far

 

[Walter Kittel]

Just finished Excession, the fourth 'Culture' novel by Iain M. Banks. I've been reading the books in order and in some ways this is my least favorite as the ethical considerations of some of the earlier novels aren't as strongly featured in this work. Given the subject matter and many of the protagonists the work feels a little bit 'abstract' but eventually payed off with a very satisfactory conclusion.

Still a lot of fun for the interaction between the Minds and the ship names are invariably enjoyable bits of information within the larger work.

(The section of the novel dealing with the drone from the Elench ship Peace Makes Plenty was particularly compelling.)

- Walter.

 

[DavidJ]

I'm just so glad to see this thread pick up a bit. I thought it was a great idea. It is always interesting to see what others are reading and you sometimes find gems that way. I also set a reading goal for myself this year to try to get back into the habit of reading for leisure (too many books piling up) and thought this thread might be a good way to keep track of things.

 

[Joe D]

I have finished the first Robert E. Howard Conan book, as well as about 3/4 of the Solomon Kane book.

Conan was alright, some stories were great, others good, some bad, but after a while they were very repetitive.

Solomon Kane hooked me immediately, I was much more engrossed in the stories right from the beginning. However, the stories became repetitive after a couple hundred pages.

So, I think I'll read Robert E. Howard story here and there, but not all at once.

I just finished the first novel in the Chronicles of the Black Company, by Glen Cook. I picked up Cook because Steven Erikson has given Cook a lot of praise.

I really enjoyed the first book, Cook throws you into the world without much exposition (similar but different from Gardens of the Moon) but everything is pretty easy to pick up. The book has laughs, tension, battles, etc. I recommend The Black Company.

 

[KurtEP]

Found my old copy of Zelazny's The Chronicles of Amber and read through the first three books. Classic fantasy that I re-read every few years just for kicks. I also read Anthony Bourdain's The Nasty Bits on a long flight a while back. Good, but not page turner that Kitchen Confidential was.


The Black Company is a truly great fantasy series. One of the very best. Unfortunately, like almost all of them, Cook went to the well a bit too often and it kind of fades toward the end. Still, a very, very entertaining read.

 

[Andy Sheets]

Finished Imaro II: Quest for Cush, by Charles R. Saunders this morning. IIRC, Saunders originally wanted to publish at least seven books in this series but he never made it past three (despite the fourth book being fully written) because of low sales. A recent reprinting by Nightshade Books didn't even make it past the first two books. Yikes!

The low sales probably have something to do with the fact that the concept could be very easily described as "a black Conan explores a fantasy version of Africa", which would cause many readers to switch off without giving it a chance (one critic once smugly dismissed Imaro as "a chocolate-covered Conan") but it really doesn't do justice to the story because the African setting really *does* make a huge difference in the feel of the series compared to the zillions of fantasies that use medieval Europe as a basis and Saunders is a very good writer in his own right. He's careful to develop aspects of Imaro's personality that distinguish him from the standard Conan rip-offs (John Jakes's Brak waves hello!).

I found this book a marked improvement on the first one in the series, largely because aside from further maturing as a writer, with more vivid descriptions and characters, and better pacing, Saunders gives Imaro a couple of sidekicks to travel with - a strong-willed girlfriend and an intellectual pygmy - and it does a lot to balance out Imaro's nonstop anger. Not that he's without interest as a protagonist but 200 pages of one guy, by himself, sullenly scowling at the whole world can get a little tedious. Giving him a couple of buddies to travel with at least lets him have someone to chat with while also giving the reader a couple more characters to learn about. I'm looking forward to reading the third book, which I've been told features rhinocerous calvary. Woohoo!

 

[Walter Kittel]

Restarted the Gap Cycle by Stephen R. Donaldson....

Finished a re-read of The Gap Into Conflict: The Real Story a few days ago and still find myself disturbed by the treatment of the main female character Morn Hyland; which is why I never got past the first book in a prior attempt at this series. I guess having been exposed to the first book enabled me to move on to the second book this time.

Started reading the second book The Gap Into Vision: Forbidden Knowledge. IMHO, Donaldson's best attribute as a writer is his ability to create involving and believable worlds for his characters. His creation of The Land in the Covenant series is one of the singular achievements in fantasy literature and once again he does a fine job of creating an intriguing universe for his characters and narrative.

- Walter.

 

[DaveF]

I think I tried to read "Gap" when it first came out -- I liked Thomas Covenant and Mirror of Her Dreams. But I don't think I made it through it. Was this book meant to be a space opera, built around a Wagnerian theme?

I suspect, though, that were I to read Donaldson today, I'd find that my tastes have changed and I wouldn't care for him nearly so much.

 

[Walter Kittel]

Dave,

Yes. In the after word of The Real Story Donaldson describes basing the series on Wagner's Ring Cycle (a reworking if I recall correctly). I'm about 150 pages into Forbidden Knowledge and I'm enjoying the story threads that Donaldson is developing. Curious to see where it goes.

- Walter.

 

[DaveF]

I remember getting that at the town library, back in my college days. Though I was very impressed with Covenant and later Mirror, that series just didn't work for me.

Hope you enjoy it. Let us know how it goes. I'm a little tempted to re-read the TC series now.

 

[PatW]

I just found this thread while perusing this site.

Straken - Book Three of High Druid of Shannara by Terry Brooks

A good read though not as enjoyable as earlier books in this series. My next book will be The Divide by Nicholas Evans.

 

[Walter Kittel]

Completed The Gap Into Vision: Forbidden Knowledge. Interesting how Donaldson is reversing the situations for his characters. Over at Wiki, the page for The Real Story describes Donaldson's intent to present the three classic archetypes of victim, villain, and hero and then interchange them. The technology of the time being one of the key enablers of this aspect of the story in the world of The Gap Cycle.

In the short term the battle of wills and wits between Morn Hyland and Nick Succorso aboard the ship Captains Fancy featured a series of reversals with each character having the upper hand albeit only briefly. Donaldson also sets up a change in roles for Angus Thermopyle (the villain of The Real Story).

It will probably be a few days before I start the next book The Gap Into Power: A Dark and Hungry God Arises; but I'm looking forward to the continuation of this series.

- Walter.

 

[Joe D]

Shadows Linger by Glen Cook.

Book 2 in the Black Company series.

Wow. The Black Company was a great book, fast, fun, tense. But Shadows Linger blows it out of the water in intensity, characterization, and thrills. About the only thing in The Black Company that was better in The Black Company was humor, but Shadows Linger has its moments.

I particularly liked the Shed character and the
I've heard great things about this series and I plan on picking it up soon, I don't know when I'll get time to read it, but it's on the list.

 

[KurtEP]

There's a compilation called the Great Book of Amber or something like that that has the complete series. They fade in quality toward the end, but the first two thirds of the series is great.

 

[David Hobbes]

Some of the books i've read thus far:

The Soul Thief - Charles Baxter
The Sun Also Rises - Hemingway
Christine Falls and The Silver Swan - Benjamin Black
Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
The Eight- Katherine Neville
The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins

 

[Greg_S_H]

I haven't read much of anything this year, but I'm just about to finish Stephen King's Blaze. So far, it's one of the best of his books I've read in a long time and recommended if you like the Shawshank mode of his writing. I'm not actually sure when this one was written. He originally completed it back before he wrote Carrie, but he either punched it up or completely rewrote it recently. I'd lean towards a full rewrite, because the style is mature, the words are right, and the structure is perfect.

 

[PatW]

Well I stopped reading the Divide by Nicholas Evans. I stuck it out for about 100 pages but just couldn't read any more. Crappy book.
I'm now reading The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkein. I started this many years ago but could never get through it. It's a heavy read but I'm determined to get through it this time.

 

[DavidJ]

So, Pat are you making some progress with the Silmarillion? There is some interesting stuff in there, but it is definitely not an easy read. I doubt that I will ever go back to read it again.

I just finished another excellent Agatha Christie, The Peril at End House. Another book I finished about a month ago that might be of interest to other HTF members is Screen Plays: How 25 Scripts Made It to a Theater Near You--for Better or Worse by David S. Cohen. It is more or less a collection of his stories for Script, but it still made for an interesting read.

 

[DaveF]

I finished Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince a few weeks ago, and am now halfway through Deathly Hallows. HBP is probably my favorite of the HP books. And the whole series benefits from a second reading. It's also a lot of fun watching my wife guess and speculate about the story as we read it -- though it's also frustrating as I must give nothing away about whether she's right or wrong.

I also read The Secret (the extremely popular self-help book) for a speech in my Toastmasters club. I do not care for it. I think I may be the only person in the world who feels that way

 

[DavidJ]

Trust me, you're not.