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What are you reading? (August 09)
- Thread starter ItAintEasyBeinCheesy
- Start date
Zeouterlimits
Member
Reading "Consider Phlebas" by Iain M. Banks.
My first Banks novel, having them on the shelf for so many years and always been intrigued.
Enjoying it so far, about a quarter of the way through, hard to know where it'll go.
My first Banks novel, having them on the shelf for so many years and always been intrigued.
Enjoying it so far, about a quarter of the way through, hard to know where it'll go.
Finished 'Humboldt's Gift' last night. Greatly pleased by it. Finished a curious Biggles/Jules Verne hybrid called 'Bringing Down the Air Pirate' this morning, and am about to make a move on a reread of 'Bech: A Book' and George Steiner's 'Language and Silence'.
I also have Fred Crews' 'Follies of the Wise' to reread. I just read Richard Pollack's devastating biography of Bruno Bettelheim, and I'm ready for some anti-Freudian polemic.
I also have Fred Crews' 'Follies of the Wise' to reread. I just read Richard Pollack's devastating biography of Bruno Bettelheim, and I'm ready for some anti-Freudian polemic.
ItAintEasyBeinCheesy said:You should read The Tawny Man series straight away
I'm sorry to say this IAEBS, but I'm currently experiencing Hobb burnout. This last book took me WAY too fucking long to trudge through. At times it was a chore. I think her characters are all quite rich, but there is so much that could have been sped up to make this a breezier read. In the end, it was worth it, despite feeling that her handling of Regal was a little disappointing after all of the hate she builds up in the reader towards him, but I am not ready for another thick, character-heavy book with no revelations for hundreds of pages at a time. @_@ Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.
Just started The Road, which does seem to be a GAF rite of passage, and I'm enjoying it so far. The lack of quotations doesn't take much getting used to. You just have to pay attention. Anyway, I will likely polish it off quickly, as the font size seems enormous in comparison to Hobb's books.
lordfroakie
Member
Haven't started it yet...
J-Roderton
Member
The Lightning Thief
ItAintEasyBeinCheesy
it's 4th of July in my asshole
Photon said:
Nah i meant read the Tawny Man series, sure Live Ships is chronologically infront of the Tawny Man series but i dont think its necessary to read it before reading the Tawny Man books.
The only real things that come up are Lord Golden, Jeckt and some money and they are brief things indeed.
ItAintEasyBeinCheesy said:
Any comments on the Farseer Trilogy overall?
What did you think of the way Regal was handled?
turned the hero story on its head a bit, especially since Fitz didn't end up with Molly, but the handling of Regal felt a little cheap, though expected, given how Hobb was setting everything else up.
joeyjoejoeshabadoo
Member
I read about half of it then stopped. It's a really uneven book. The pacing is off and there are moments when you just want to shake the characters for being so dumb. Then there are moments when it becomes awesome. I think I'll pick it back up again in a month or so.CiSTM said:
It's hard to say if I recommend it or not. It's not a bad book but it's not great either. If you got time to kill get it but don't seek it out.
Cerebral Assassin
Member
ItAintEasyBeinCheesy said:
What about the fact that
Dragons exist at the beginning of the tawny man, the mutation of the Dragon riders(can't remember the name) & you will already know that Amber =The Fool
I've nearly finished my read through of D.F. Wallace's work, only got A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never do Again & Signifing Rappers(which seems to be impossible to get in the UK) to read after I finish off Girl with the Curious Hair.
CiSTM said:
I finished it, but I agree with joeyjoejoeshabadoo. It's fairly uninteresting, characters are blah and at times just plain silly. There are times when it gets everything right, but those are few.
If you're a big Del Toro fan, well, go for it, but I can't see myself recommending it to anyone else.
ItAintEasyBeinCheesy
it's 4th of July in my asshole
Alucard said:
Well its my favorite trilogy over all with Hobb being my favorite author so i may be bias
anyways i have gone through the series a couple of times and enjoyed them immensely both times.
With Regal he should have been punished a bit more severely but i think what happened to him was necessary, it showed Fitz as being a bit more mature and level headed. If he killed Regal outright i'd say there would have been a civil war whereas forcing him to pledge fealty to the Kettricken and Dutiful stopped any revolt. Molly was a bit of a downer as well but endings aren't always happy, especially if its a Hobb book . Wont go to much into detail but i will say the other books are worth reading and thats bout it cause i wont spoil it for ya.
. Wont go to much into detail but i will say the other books are worth reading and thats bout it cause i wont spoil it for ya.Cerebral Assassin said:
Elderlings. Hrmmm yer i suppose, i guess im just going for impact with the events from the Tawny Man series. Liveships is a really good series as well but eh.......... THE EVENTSSSSSS!!!! lol especially from the first Tawny Man book.
Verdre said:
I think that The Strain was meant to be a TV show originally, dunno how well scripts turn into books.
ItAintEasyBeinCheesy said:Well its my favorite trilogy over all with Hobb being my favorite author so i may be biasWith Regal he should have been punished a bit more severely but i think what happened to him was necessary, it showed Fitz as being a bit more mature and level headed. If he killed Regal outright i'd say there would have been a civil war whereas forcing him to pledge fealty to the Kettricken and Dutiful stopped any revolt. Molly was a bit of a downer as well but endings aren't always happy, especially if its a Hobb book
After a day of reflection, I'm okay with the ending, but I still feel Hobb should write shorter books. The first one in the trilogy was fine, at under 500 pages. The other two felt a little drawn out to me. Again, I really enjoy her characters, but I was getting really annoyed any time Fitz was in the middle of a bad situation and would start thinking about his possible future, and Hobb would always use "Molly." That Molly with a period really started pissing me off because she would fucking use it everywhere, as if the reader was stupid and didn't know what Fitz was fighting for. It was especially noticeable in Royal Assassin. Anyway, I know she's your favourite, so I won't rain on your parade too much, but I don't think her books are near perfect. I mean, really...
no one figured out how to wake up the Elderlings any sooner? No one thought that blood was the answer, even after the boar had speared that man? They couldn't have sped that up a bit? Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.
The Road is pretty good so far. 130 pages into it. It does a great job of depicting desolation and hopelessness.
