Support NeoGAF

Maklershed · Apr 1, 2014

Maklershed · Apr 1, 2014

Kindle

The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson

Hard copy

The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein

duckroll · Apr 1, 2014

I finished On Blue's Waters recently, the first entry in Wolfe's Book of the Short Sun.

Several things about the narrative format took me by surprise. I wasn't expecting it to be such a direct sequel to the Book of the Long Sun. With that story still somewhat fresh in my mind since I only read it last year, it felt really familiar right from the start, which is somewhat rare for any Wolfe story. Not only was the narrator a familiar face, but the terms, language, customs, etc all felt like I was coming home to an old friend. There's a surprising amount of meta-commentary in the narrative as well, with references and comments on the Long Sun story itself, both in terms of context, and in terms of the story actually being a book in the world of the narrative itself. It's really fun when good writers do fun stuff like that with their stories, and Wolfe ranks among the best.

As for the story itself, it's a pretty fun adventure tale told in a double narrative frame - the book is being written after the main adventure, but the author writing it is also experiencing dramatic events at the point of writing which is frequently mentioned and detailed as he writes. The main themes in Short Sun differ quite a bit from both New Sun and Long Sun due the setting being a somewhat recent human colonization of a new planet, and in that sense it actually reminds me a lot more of the stories told in Fifth Head of the Cerberus. It touches a little on post-colonial theory, as well as migration concerns - both economical and cultural, and on the fear of aborigines, fear of the unknowns in a new world, and the possible threat of shapeshifters. Being a huge fan of the Fifth Head of the Cerberus stories, I'm really happy that he found the time and interest to return to some of these themes and expand on them in a way which a much longer story would allow.

I'm making my way through In Green's Jungles now, and it just keeps getting better. Maybe when I'm done with Short Sun, I'll finally find the motivation to go through New Sun again some time this year. I've been meaning to for the last couple of years, but just lacked the push to really do it.

ymmv · Apr 1, 2014

Now reading:

Not much to tell, since I'm only on page 50.

BTW I just noticed that the atmospheric cover art was created by Darrell K. Sweet. He used to be a pretty good artist, but the quality of his work deteriorated rather rapidly in his later years, yet he was still kept on for those horrid Wheel of Time books.

Vice · Apr 1, 2014

Only a handful of pages in.

Ð¯AW · Apr 1, 2014

Been long time since I have read Russian classics so I decided finally give Gogol a shot. I bought one short story collection and Dead Souls. They should arrive today, hopefully I like 'em.

Bazza · Apr 1, 2014

The Stormlight Saga was suggested to me in the last thread so i will be reading The Way of Kings first this month, after flying through every one of Jim Butcher's book last month and ignoring every other form of entertainment I'm gonna try and pace myself April and place reading sessions between gaming sessions, barely got round to turning the PS4 on last month.

British Monsoon · Apr 1, 2014

I read the first couple of books in Tom Lloyd's Twilight Reign series and it didn't entirely hook me, but when I saw his new stand-alone effort I thought I'd give it a try and overall I'd say I enjoyed it. The writing is good and the world building is intriguing (though not of the same scope as the Twilight Reign series), but the pacing was a bit off in places. Lloyd writes action well, which is handy as what starts with the investigation of a mystery at the behest of a god soon becomes a much more standard fantasy, action-orientated affair. That's not a knock, though, as (barring a lull of pace or two in the middle) I found this an easy and enjoyable read and the world building was good enough that I'd certainly read any returns to this universe from Lloyd.

Meanwhile, I'm continuing to read through all those lovely Discworld Collector's Library reprints - up to Guards! Guards! at present. Definitely one of my favourites. I'd forgotten how wonderful Small Gods is, as well, and very much enjoyed Pyramids and Reaper Man.

Marcovaldo · Apr 1, 2014

ЯAW;106519796 said:
Been long time since I have read Russian classics so I decided finally give Gogol a shot. I bought one short story collection and Dead Souls. They should arrive today, hopefully I like 'em.

his short stories are great, dead souls kinda lost me towards the end though

Nymerio · Apr 1, 2014

Reposting from the old thread.

Started with Fool's Fate.

I understand why Fitz doesn't want to take Nettle into the castle and train her in the skill, on the other hand though I don't understand why he doesn't realize that this would probably be the best thing he could do to protect her. Her skilling doesn't seem safe and the dragon has already found her once. I have a feeling that he will come to regret not having her close and training her in the skill

Pookmunki · Apr 1, 2014

Maklershed said:
Kindle

The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson

I'm about 60% through book one and really enjoying it - does it remain interesting?

monome · Apr 1, 2014

Foreworld SideQuest - Blood and Ashes.

51B9f2wSDAL._AA278_PIkin4,BottomRight,-46,22_AA300_SH20_OU15_.jpg

it's a short story.

next up is either Influx

or More than Human

GRW810 · Apr 1, 2014

Only 100 pages in but enjoying it so far. I like how he's handling the premise.

tim1138 · Apr 1, 2014

Books I will be starting this week:

Still working on:

AngmarsKing701 · Apr 1, 2014

I'm about 1/3 through Brilliance By Markus Sakey and so far I'm loving it.

hEist · Apr 1, 2014

40% into it.
Couldn't wait for the german translation, so started the english one.

Seanspeed · Apr 1, 2014

Finished Words of Radiance over the weekend. Very fun book. Wont go into a huge review as I'm sure a million people are talking about it at the moment. I'll just say that it was worth the wait and I'm looking forward to the next one!

Started this yesterday

Nearly finished reading. Its......ok. Some interesting insights into the behind the scenes stuff from a non-star player. The injuries, the constant fight to stay on a team, some of the brief, flash relationships people form in the NFL due to all the trading/shuffling/cutting/etc. I love football, so its a decent short read for me, but just a warning - don't go into this expecting a gripping tale or great writing or anything. Its a little weird because it feels very amateur most of the time but then you get these occasional blurbs where he's trying very hard to write something poetic and more meaningful. Its not terrible or embarrassing or anything, it just clashes a bit with the general tone(light-hearted and plainly written) in my opinion.

Not sure what to read next.

ShaneB · Apr 1, 2014

tim1138 said:
Books I will be starting this week:

Had this pointed out to me by a coworker, interested to hear what you think. Much like last summer, I got in a baseball book mood, and I'm sure I will sometime too. I'm really interested in checking out Bigger Than the Game: Restitching a Major League Life by Dirk Hayhurst (and apparently he's written a few books now that I see), liked what I read in the preview, and seems highly acclaimed.

Seanspeed said:
Slow Getting Up

Nearly finished reading. Its......ok. Some interesting insights into the behind the scenes stuff from a non-star player. The injuries, the constant fight to stay on a team, some of the brief, flash relationships people form in the NFL due to all the trading/shuffling/cutting/etc. I love football, so its a decent short read for me, but just a warning - don't go into this expecting a gripping tale or great writing or anything. Its a little weird because it feels very amateur most of the time but then you get these occasional blurbs where he's trying very hard to write something poetic and more meaningful. Its not terrible or embarrassing or anything, it just clashes a bit with the general tone(light-hearted and plainly written) in my opinion.

A fair review, I don't think any of us going into that book expected high literature. Nate was always pretty blunt and didn't hold much back. I remember in my review I stated that it good to know Nate wasn't pulling any punches, and was telling it pretty straightforward.

I'm still deciding on what to read next as well. I'm pretty sure I've moved on from I Know This Much Is True, I've lost all interest in trying to trudge my way through all of it, but I still want to know what happens, so I'll just wiki it or something maybe, although I hate doing that. (edit: Did indeed just wiki the plot, that seems like it's all over the map with what goes on. Seems like it could've been alright if it trimmed off about 400 pages.) I'll see what to read next on my break here shortly I think.

Squalor · Apr 1, 2014

Brick · Apr 1, 2014

Audible:

Kindle:

Jayayess1190 · Apr 1, 2014

Crazy and over the top, I love it:

ShaneB · Apr 1, 2014

Jayayess1190 said:
Crazy and over the top, I love it:

Ok, this sounds like an absolute riot and something I'm definitely in the mood for. I will have to check this out soon, thanks for pointing it out!

Filthy Slug · Apr 1, 2014

80 pages in and the Marcus' writing style is the only thing making it difficult for me to keep going. The story is actually fascinating so far.

tim1138 · Apr 1, 2014

ShaneB said:
Had this pointed out to me by a coworker, interested to hear what you think. Much like last summer, I got in a baseball book mood, and I'm sure I will sometime too. I'm really interested in checking out Bigger Than the Game: Restitching a Major League Life by Dirk Hayhurst (and apparently he's written a few books now that I see), liked what I read in the preview, and seems highly acclaimed.

Check out all of Hayhurst's books, he is a fantastic writer. It's probably the best account of a player's struggles through the minors I've ever read. A few years back I want to say the Rays posted him a contract with a provision he not write about the team, because other than changing some names he really doesn't hold anything back. I'd also recommend RA Dickey's book of you haven't read it yet.

Plasticine · Apr 1, 2014

Finished Dennis Cooper's Closer a couple of days ago. It's a really deceptive book. It's very short and I managed to tear through it quickly, but it's taken me a couple of days to digest it. I honestly loved it, but it's so nihilistic it left me feeling really empty. It's sort of the feeling I get after I read something by Bret Easton Ellis. There's a lot of common ground between Ellis and Cooper, but while Ellis is rather mainstream, Cooper is more punk rock and aggressive. I had intended to tear through the rest of his George Mills cycle, but don't think I will. I'll wait a bit before I move on to the next book, Frisk.

Definitely not a heavy book. After Closer I need something that is fast, ugly and won't send me into an existential crisis after I'm done. I think Rex Miller's Slob fits that bill.

Mumei · Apr 1, 2014

I am reading The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy, Russian Conservatism and Its Critics: A Study in Political Culture by Richard Pipes, Ultimate Spider-Man by Brian Michael Bendis, and Batman: Elegy by Greg Ruck (and John H. Williams III *art swoon*).

I also have Words of Radiance out from the library. I wasn't even looking for it, but it was prominently displayed with the other new books so I grabbed it. I'll try to read it this week.

duckroll said:
I finished On Blue's Waters recently, the first entry in Wolfe's Book of the Short Sun.

Several things about the narrative format took me by surprise. I wasn't expecting it to be such a direct sequel to the Book of the Long Sun. With that story still somewhat fresh in my mind since I only read it last year, it felt really familiar right from the start, which is somewhat rare for any Wolfe story. Not only was the narrator a familiar face, but the terms, language, customs, etc all felt like I was coming home to an old friend. There's a surprising amount of meta-commentary in the narrative as well, with references and comments on the Long Sun story itself, both in terms of context, and in terms of the story actually being a book in the world of the narrative itself. It's really fun when good writers do fun stuff like that with their stories, and Wolfe ranks among the best.

I was sure I posted a response to this, but I can't seem to find it now. Weird.

Anyway, I think that sounds quite interesting. Wolfe has a very different narrative voice from book to book; The Urth of the New Sun is nothing like main tetralogy, which is very different from Latro in the Mist, which is very different from The Fifth Hand of Cerberus, which is very different (again) from Peace. I never feel like I'm coming to something familiar when I read a new Wolfe novel, aside from the presence of his usual conventions (e.g. unreliable narrators, hidden meanings (especially in names), and general abstruseness). I haven't read Wolfe since 2011, so it's probably time that I get There Are Doors and continue with it.

geestack · Apr 1, 2014

Any good recommendations for detective fiction? Been reading a bunch of non-fiction lately, so I wanted to get back into the fiction groove.

joeyjoejoeshabadoo · Apr 1, 2014

geestack said:
Any good recommendations for detective fiction? Been reading a bunch of non-fiction lately, so I wanted to get back into the fiction groove.

James Ellroy's L.A. Quartet is really good. It's a series of four books that are loosely tied together in a sort of history of the LAPD. It starts with the Black Dahlia murder in the 40's and spans to the late 50's/early 60's. You can read them from the beginning or just pick a book that interests you the most. A little bit of a warning, Ellroy can get dense. His books feature lots of characters and they are all important.

Nuke Soda · Apr 1, 2014

Jayayess1190 said:
Crazy and over the top, I love it:

Good to hear, will check it out down the road.

ShaneB · Apr 1, 2014

tim1138 said:
Check out all of Hayhurst's books, he is a fantastic writer. It's probably the best account of a player's struggles through the minors I've ever read. A few years back I want to say the Rays posted him a contract with a provision he not write about the team, because other than changing some names he really doesn't hold anything back. I'd also recommend RA Dickey's book of you haven't read it yet.

I've never really thought about checking out Dickey's book, but I suppose it makes sense to do so, and considering that I'd like to read it before the movie adaptation comes out whenever that will be.

Guess I shall check out Hayhurst's books from the beginning, thanks for the rec whenever I get around to a baseball book mood again! Sounds like they'll share a lot in common with "Slow Getting Up", mentioned above, which I really loved. edit: Looks like Bullpen Gospels is the first one he put out, so I guess I will read that one first eventually.

geestack · Apr 1, 2014

joeyjoejoeshabadoo said:
James Ellroy's L.A. Quartet is really good. It's a series of four books that are loosely tied together in a sort of history of the LAPD. It starts with the Black Dahlia murder in the 40's and spans to the late 50's/early 60's. You can read them from the beginning or just pick a book that interests you the most. A little bit of a warning, Ellroy can get dense. His books feature lots of characters and they are all important.

I've read LA Confidential (thanks to the great adaptation that was the movie), but I've yet to read anything else. Maybe I'll start that this weekend.

Mackenzie 92 · Apr 1, 2014

anyone have any recs for political thrillers along the lines of House of Cards or something?

aidan · Apr 1, 2014

For those interested, I published a fairly critical and conflicted review of The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson today.

tl;dr It's too long, too meandering, too bloated... but so enthusiastic and fun that I couldn't put it down.

tariniel · Apr 1, 2014

I'm reading the "Mistborn" trilogy by Brandon Sanderson. I finished book 2 and started book 3 yesterday, titled "The Hero of Ages"

It's really, really good. I'm sad that it's nearly over.

obin_gam · Apr 1, 2014

Just started reading The Martian by Andy Weir.

It's a hard realistic sci-fi where an astronaut gets left on Mars after and accident and has to survive in hope of that NASA will somehow get knowledge of his situation.

It is very exciting and very very funny and entertaining.

Best line:

"I'm fucked and I'm going to die"

fuzzyset · Apr 1, 2014

Pookmunki said:
Maklershed said:

Kindle

The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson

I'm about 60% through book one and really enjoying it - does it remain interesting?

Click to expand...

YES. It is an amazing trilogy. The ending is fantastic and the world is just great. I would love a movie adaptation if I knew it wouldn't be underfunded and botched.

Pau · Apr 1, 2014

Still working on Litany of the Long Sun. Also started Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat.

Teptom · Apr 1, 2014

I just finished up The Martian and it was a really fun read. Even though he was thrown into shitty situation after shitty situation, the main character stayed a self-deprecating jokester the entire time, and that made him extremely easy to root for. If he was just a dour scientist, I'm not sure I would have liked it as much.

I'll be starting this sometime today:

NekoFever · Apr 1, 2014

92% of the way through Words of Radiance. I feel the same as I did about The Way of Kings, which is...

aidan said:
tl;dr It's too long, too meandering, too bloated... but so enthusiastic and fun that I couldn't put it down.

Basically that. Sanderson would benefit from cutting them down by at least a third. Still enjoyable, though.

Seanspeed · Apr 1, 2014

ShaneB said:
A fair review, I don't think any of us going into that book expected high literature. Nate was always pretty blunt and didn't hold much back. I remember in my review I stated that it good to know Nate wasn't pulling any punches, and was telling it pretty straightforward.

I did enjoy that he was very straightforward with his thoughts. But I wouldn't go as far as saying he was entirely honest about it all. That bit about

killing a mountain lion with a pocket knife? C'mon.

. Not buyin it. I hate it when people do that cuz it instantly makes me question anything else they say. There was also a fair amount of double standards and contradictions. His beef with the 'meat selling' culture of the sport yet he wholly admits that he's an entirely unemotional and unempathetic individual himself. Its a very 'I can dish it, but cant take it' case, not that this is uncommon.

I liked it because of the insights mainly. Was interesting to hear about a different side to the sport and will definitely make me look differently at things.

Linkhero1 · Apr 1, 2014

I decided to finally jump on board. The details are freaking ridiculous.

Mackenzie 92 · Apr 1, 2014

Seanspeed said:
I did enjoy that he was very straightforward with his thoughts. But I wouldn't go as far as saying he was entirely honest about it all. That bit about

killing a mountain lion with a pocket knife? C'mon.

. Not buyin it. I hate it when people do that cuz it instantly makes me question anything else they say. There was also a fair amount of double standards and contradictions. His beef with the 'meat selling' culture of the sport yet he wholly admits that he's an entirely unemotional and unempathetic individual himself. Its a very 'I can dish it, but cant take it' case, not that this is uncommon.

I liked it because of the insights mainly. Was interesting to hear about a different side to the sport and will definitely make me look differently at things.

Pretty sure that was a dream sequence.

Mumei · Apr 1, 2014

aidan said:
For those interested, I published a fairly critical and conflicted review of The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson today.

tl;dr It's too long, too meandering, too bloated... but so enthusiastic and fun that I couldn't put it down.

I just read this, and I didn't see anything I really disagreed with.

Oh, and "Too long, too meandering, too bloated... but so enthusiastic and fun that I couldn't put it down" is probably a good description of the Mistborn trilogy, too. Perhaps not as long, meandering, or bloated, mind, but the tendency is clearly there.

Freeza Under The Shower · Apr 1, 2014

currently reading (for realsies this time): 'A time for empathy' by Frans de Waal.

RatskyWatsky · Apr 1, 2014

I like it so far, and it's super funny, but I think a lot of it is going over my head. I mean, it's a satire, and I while can tell when he's directly satirizing something or when he's using a metaphor (or simile or whatever it is), I have a hard time figuring out what it is exactly that he's satirizing. i r dum

Also, getting ready to read

Marcovaldo · Apr 1, 2014

Squalor said:

i need to re-read this

tanooki27 · Apr 1, 2014

just finished it. the filthiest thing i've ever read. an intensely awesome book.

Tragicomedy · Apr 1, 2014

For those discussing the R.A. Dickey book (which I haven't read), allow me to highly recommend the documentary Knuckleball! It came out a couple of years ago and he is the central protagonist in the story. It's super enjoyable.

Coppanuva · Apr 1, 2014

Going to try to get through this finally. It's been a goal of mine for about... a year and a half now. Think I'm going to finally do it this time. Wish me luck.

TTG · Apr 1, 2014

Finished All The King's Men a couple of days ago. Inconsistent and those low points may be too egregious for some(justifiably so), but there are so many things it hits out of the park as well. First of all, the writing is very, very good. So, a couple of quotes to illustrate my point:

"For life is a fire burning along a piece of string--or is it a fuse to a powder keg which we call God?--and the string is what we don't know, our Ignorance, and the trail of ash, which, if a gust of wind does not come, keeps the structure of the string, is History, man's Knowledge, but it is dead, and when the fire has burned up all the string, then man's Knowledge will be equal to God's Knowledge and there won't be any fire, which is Life. Or if the string leads to a powder keg, then there will be a terrific blast of fire, and even the trail of ash will be blown completely away.”

"A man's virtue may be but the defect of his desire, as his crime may be but a function of his virtue."

But, it's not as serious as all that, it's also amusing and funny in places. Anyway, it goes to bolster an interesting central character, a governor of Louisiana in the 1930s based on Huey Long. It is a story of the ends justify the means and ambition and vanity, but it somehow manages to come off without seeming like a trope, quite the feat. I also particularly enjoyed the setting, those opening pages set the atmosphere so well. I would recommend everyone to get the Kindle sample if possible, I don't know how long it actually is(the sample), but those opening scenes do such a great job of introducing the type of people, time and place.

The low points come when the author decides to go on long diversions, the worst of them being the narrator's love interest, Anne Stanton. It has that The Sun Also Rises flavor, which isn't so terrible in itself. What makes it borderline insufferable is the length to which the romance is described, from childhood on; there's probably some 50-80 pages of this stuff when all is said and done and they are a chore to read. More importantly, they eat up an appreciable chunk of the novel to the detriment of Willie Start, the governor. I wish there was more time spent on his ideology, the nuts and bolts of how he runs a campaign and the subsequent regimes, but it was not to be.

Now it's on to Cryptonomicon. I'm about 80 pages in and haven't quit yet, mostly because it's amusing. But we know how these 900+ page books are, first sign of trouble and I'm out, no compromises or reprieves.

Support NeoGAF

What are you reading? (April 2014)

Member

Member

Member

Banned

Member

Banned

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Banned

Member

Junior Member

Member

Member

Member

Crowd screaming like hounds at the heat of the chase/ All the colors of the rainbow flood my face

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Hugo Award Winning Author and Editor

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Banned

Member

Member

Member

Member

Hunky Nostradamus

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Similar threads