Bulldrek v3.0

Just finished Michael Stackpole's Dragoncrown Series.

Read the prequel many years ago and just recently read the series.

If you are a fan of fantasy novels I would highly recommend them. Good stuff.

For anyone who wants to be environmentally conscious without damning corporations to hell, and who would like to know about alternative, environmentally friendly ways of producing, read Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things.

Man, I hated Dragoncrown - too epic and confusing for me, like he'd been reading Robert Jordan - but read it all anyway. I'm working on the second book of the new series, now - Cartomancy - and while it doesn't have the flair and cohesion of his older works, I mostly can keep track of who is whom and why they're doing what they're doing. Imaginative world, just a plot that's a little too turgid for me.

Just finished At the Edge of the World, a 1970's reprint of Lord Dunsany's fantasy stories, and currently starting on Shadow Kingdoms, the first in a series reprinting the weird fiction of Robert E. Howard.

3278 wrote:Man, I hated Dragoncrown - too epic and confusing for me, like he'd been reading Robert Jordan - but read it all anyway. I'm working on the second book of the new series, now - Cartomancy - and while it doesn't have the flair and cohesion of his older works, I mostly can keep track of who is whom and why they're doing what they're doing. Imaginative world, just a plot that's a little too turgid for me.

I was tempted to try that series. Let me know how it is.

I myself enjoy the huge epic stories, just a matter of taste I suppose.

Well, I loves me some epic, but...it's like fight scenes in some kung fu movies, where there's so much happening, and you're so close to so much of it, that you can't really tell who you're seeing. Now, the Age of Discovery books have some of that, but it's just enough to keep you reading to figure out what's going on, and just enough to make re-reading worthwhile.

I would say the new books are more Raymond Feist and less Circle of Time, which I think is a good thing. Just don't get me started on what's happened to Raymond Feist.

Albus Severus Potter...

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

3278 wrote:Well, I loves me some epic, but...it's like fight scenes in some kung fu movies, where there's so much happening, and you're so close to so much of it, that you can't really tell who you're seeing. Now, the Age of Discovery books have some of that, but it's just enough to keep you reading to figure out what's going on, and just enough to make re-reading worthwhile.

I would say the new books are more Raymond Feist and less Circle of Time, which I think is a good thing. Just don't get me started on what's happened to Raymond Feist.

He had such a great thing with his original series (which I loved) everything after that just seems like a copy of the original though, and a poorly faded one at that.

Bang-on. He kept trying so hard not to write the same story again that he couldn't write any story at all. Then he and his wife split up - half the books are dedicated to her, or thank her in some touching way - and now it seems like he can't write, period. I started reading the new Feist/Forstchen book - far more of the latter than the former - and haven't finished it yet. And I like Forstchen, too.

Apparently, there are three other books already out that I haven't heard of. I know I've been out of it, but it's like they just dumped out six books in a few years. Come on, now. How much money do you need? How much before you're willing to sell all that made you great?

Ahum.. Reading the Necroscope series now. Already at Necroscope: The Lost Years part 1.
Thinking about going for the full thing:)

Just finished Ender's Game and the Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Both were solid, but not quite as good as I expected, due to popular opinion on them. I'm thinking I might skip the rest of the Ender's series and jump over to the series on Bean (Ender's Shadow series). I've heard a few too many folks (and from the descriptions I've read) that said things went a bit too wacky after Speaker of the Dead.

Jeff Hauze wrote:Just finished Ender's Game and the Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Both were solid, but not quite as good as I expected, due to popular opinion on them. I'm thinking I might skip the rest of the Ender's series and jump over to the series on Bean (Ender's Shadow series). I've heard a few too many folks (and from the descriptions I've read) that said things went a bit too wacky after Speaker of the Dead.

There is effectively no action after Speaker, although they 're cool in their own way.

32, you should pick up the Song of Ice and Fire series, by George R. R. Martin, if you haven't already. First book is A Game of Thrones. It's exceptionally good, low-magic fantasy, and it strikes me as a reasonably accurate picture of what a fantasy world would actually be like. Less Tolkein, more Thomas Hobbes; that is, less epic fairy-tale land and more "Nasty, brutish, and short." Very, very, very fucking good.

I'm thinking I might skip the rest of the Ender's series and jump over to the series on Bean (Ender's Shadow series).

Yeah...the books after Speaker blew (except for Ender's Shadow).

Salvation122 wrote: 32, you should pick up the Song of Ice and Fire series, by George R. R. Martin, if you haven't already. First book is A Game of Thrones. It's exceptionally good, low-magic fantasy, and it strikes me as a reasonably accurate picture of what a fantasy world would actually be like. Less Tolkein, more Thomas Hobbes; that is, less epic fairy-tale land and more "Nasty, brutish, and short." Very, very, very fucking good.

Those are great books.

However do not get attached to any of the characters.

Many Authors when they write you can tell love their characters that they make.

George treats his characters like they raped his daughter, killed his dog, and then pee'd on him.

Very good writer though.

No one else has mentioned it, so the latest Harry Potter.

It's good!

There goes my respect for you.

Everybody talks about how cool Crazy Elf is, but he plays World of Warcraft, sucks dicks, and reads Harry Potter. No wonder no one thinks I'm cool.

Hey hey hey! <i>They</i> were sucking <i>my</i> dick.

I've been on a real reading kick lately. So here's the current selections, some finished and some still in progress.

Cigar City Mafia - A history of the Mob in Tampa. Obviously, I started reading it for some historical reference for the Tampa setting I'm working on for SR. And it was absolutely wonderful for that. It's a fairly easy read, though I'll admit that I was surprised by the number of grammatical and spelling errors in it. The author's writing style leaves a bit to be desired, but the subject matter was really damn interesting. It showcases pretty clearly how underrated the Trafficante family was in the popular history of the Mafia, and how very different the mob scene developed in Tampa (compared to other commonly recognized Mob hot spots). Paul, it's worth picking up.

Daywatch - The second book in the Russian Watch series. It starts out as strong as the first, and the first main novella/short story holds the same solid mix of action, mythology and political games. Unfortuantely, that doesn't stay quite through the whole book. The second and third parts falter quite a bit. The resolution at the end is decent, but overall, the first book is definitely superior. It's still a good read, just not quite as good as the first. This setting needs an RPG, badly. Like yesterday.

Duskwatch - The third book in the same series. I've only just started it, but so far, it seems to be holding about the same as the second in terms of quality.

The Physics of the Buffyverse by Jennifer Ouellette - This one I just picked up on a whim. But damn was it a good choice. It's as weird as it sounds, using the setting of the Buffyverse to look at and explore the concepts of physics. There's definitely a marked emphasis on quantum physics but even the building blocks of traditional physics gets decent coverage. The writing style is fairly light, with a fair amount of geek humor thrown in. But the idea of comparing Willow's potions to chemical engineering and electromagnetic radiation signatures to the spell signatures left through the usage of magic was enough to keep me interested so far. I'm still working on it, but I think I may start following the author and some of her online writing a bit more. Earl, this one may particularly interest you.

Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card - Bleh. I know people told me that this series went downhill after Speaker...but shit they weren't kidding. Speaker is just fucking boring. Not like Aasimov boring, as in just really dry. It's more like "please god make the hurting stop!" boring. I'm still trying to finish it, but I'm not sure I'll make it. I'm not even sure if I'll give the Ender's Shadow series a try now, even though I really did enjoy the charactere of Bean.

I'm drawing a blank on the title at the moment, but I'm also working on a biography of Santo Trafficante Sr by the same author who wrote Cigar City Mafia. It's not quite as fascinating as the latter, but still a fairly interesting read. Only just started this one.

Various graphic novels/trade paperbacks (X-Men: The End Vol 3, Dark Knight Returns, Batman: Face the Face) - I don't recall if I ever read all of the Dark Knight Returns before, so that was just bought on a whim. It's as good as I remember from the individual issues I read back when it was released. The X-Men: The End series had one hell of a disappointing ending. Lame, lame, and more lame especially after the loveliness of seeing lots of X folks get toasted and Greywalkin Lane get toasted. Face the Face...ehh...pretty ambivalent to that one. I bought it on the recommendation of a friend, and I'm thinking he's just a lot bigger DC fan than unbiased judge of quality comics. Then again, it might have made more sense if I actually stayed current on the DC storylines. When the whole Infinite Crisis thing happened with Superboy busting out of that alt universe, I pretty much stopped my DC reading. Maybe I was just spoiled with Hush and the Long Halloween.

Jeff Hauze wrote:Cigar City Mafia

If anyone has the misfortune of coming down this way, you'll see this book proudly displayed in every single fucking bookshop. Not just in the local section, but somewhere out in the aisle-ends, too. Be that as it may, I'll second Jeff that it's a decent read with great material.

It's bound to happen with any local boy who gets published. We had some local boy do a short biography (and a really poor one) on Carl Spaatz a few years back. Couldn't turn around without seeing the damn thing. You didn't read his book on Santo Sr, did you AH? Digging through the old news updates on Scott's site seemed to indicate he'd be working on a book in conjuction with a former mobster. That might be worth it as well.

No, I missed that one. Turns out Jeff Shaara's parents-in-law go to my church, though. Met him once. Awkward.

Salvation122 wrote:32, you should pick up the Song of Ice and Fire series, by George R. R. Martin, if you haven't already. First book is A Game of Thrones. It's exceptionally good, low-magic fantasy, and it strikes me as a reasonably accurate picture of what a fantasy world would actually be like. Less Tolkein, more Thomas Hobbes; that is, less epic fairy-tale land and more "Nasty, brutish, and short." Very, very, very fucking good.

I'd definitely second that. So low-magic that it's practically marginal at best a lot of the time plus whilst there is a fair amount of blood and guts, it concentrates a lot on the political scheming and maneuvering rather than mostly just the battles that a lot of fantasy books fixate on.

FlakJacket wrote:

Salvation122 wrote:32, you should pick up the Song of Ice and Fire series, by George R. R. Martin, if you haven't already. First book is A Game of Thrones. It's exceptionally good, low-magic fantasy, and it strikes me as a reasonably accurate picture of what a fantasy world would actually be like. Less Tolkein, more Thomas Hobbes; that is, less epic fairy-tale land and more "Nasty, brutish, and short." Very, very, very fucking good.

I'd definitely second that. So low-magic that it's practically marginal at best a lot of the time plus whilst there is a fair amount of blood and guts, it concentrates a lot on the political scheming and maneuvering rather than mostly just the battles that a lot of fantasy books fixate on.

Count me as a third for George "just get on and write the next book dagnabbit" Martin - Although as you can tell by his name a number of people are waiting for the next in the series (and have been for a few years).

Also I really enjoyed The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss - first in a trilogy with the next two still to come but one of the few books in a while that I couldn't put down.

Oh and His Majesty's Dragon - Naomi Novik - first in a series with dragons during the Napoleonic Wars. Actually very good if you can deal with the premise.

I've finished a whole lot of historical books on Pirates and Mongols, both very good. The Republic of Pirates by Colin Woodard, and Genghis Kahn and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford.

Song of Ice and Fire is preeeety much War of the Roses plus extra fantasy fun. Its cool.

I've actually enjoyed the Eragon series so far.

And Anathema, it made my brain hurt in good ways.[/quote]

I've been enjoying Simon Singh's Big Bang: The Origin of the Universe, as well as the Horus Heresy series that I can heartily recommend anyone who likes the Warhammer 40K universe.

DV8 wrote:...as well as the Horus Heresy series that I can heartily recommend anyone who likes the Warhammer 40K universe.

Except for part six Descent of Angels which sucks...most other parts are nice...again, if you're into the 40K universe that is.

I'm actually reading The Three Musketeers at the moment, which is pretty awesome (and the moral is the everyone in France is an idiot). On top of that I'm working on Keating: The Inside Story, which would be inexplicable to anyone outside of Australia or at least someone without any knowledge of Australian politics.

They did do a musical about him, though.

I finished The Baroque Cycle by Stephenson a few months ago. I really liked it, until the epilogue. Fucker.

Heavy_D wrote:

DV8 wrote:...as well as the Horus Heresy series that I can heartily recommend anyone who likes the Warhammer 40K universe.

Except for part six Descent of Angels which sucks...most other parts are nice...again, if you're into the 40K universe that is.

The reason that book sucks is because it doesn't seem to play a part at all in the rest of the Heresy series. Well that and the writing. Apparently they're going to be following it up later on.

I recommend the Ciaphas Cain series by Sandy Mitchell. It's got your 40k goodness and a bit of humor. The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever by Stephen R. Donaldson are a real good read to. Though I only have the first trilogy so I don't know how well the series rolls on after that. And there's always the fun of H.P. Lovecraft stories.

Big Jim wrote:I finished The Baroque Cycle by Stephenson a few months ago. I really liked it, until the epilogue. Fucker.

I told you! Dumbass.

I'm trying my best to finish <i>Mediated</i>, which is making me feel stupider by the chapter - something I don't like my book to do. Every chapter breaks down into three parts:
1. "Ok, I get this. Clever. Interesting."
2. "Hm. I think he means x. Ok... Alright..."
3. "Jiggawhat?"

And the weird part is that I borrowed the book from my ex, whose English is not nearly as good as mine. So how the hell did he ever get through it?

I have to read The Baroque Cycle now, I ended up finding a hardcover of System of the World for a buck in a Dollar Tree in a Houston suburb on vacation. I have no idea, but Neal Stephenson, $1, duh choice.

Currently however I am rereading The Belgariad in memoriam of sorts.

I can't believe how long it's been since I read any fiction that wasn't for young girls. [What? You have to know what your kids are reading. And the Ven Polypheme books are awesome!] I've basically switched to reading nothing but non-fiction, after many years of reading little but fiction. Education withdrawl, I guess.

Right now I'm re-re-reading Collapse, by the oft-overrated Jared Diamond. All humans should be forced to read this work. At, like, gunpoint. Some people won't need to, of course, because they'll...somehow...know everything there is to know about soil fertility by listening to the radio.

Eva wrote:

Big Jim wrote:I finished The Baroque Cycle by Stephenson a few months ago. I really liked it, until the epilogue. Fucker.

I told you! Dumbass.

What? I was supposed to just stop reading before the epilogue?

Big Jim wrote:

Eva wrote:

Big Jim wrote:I finished The Baroque Cycle by Stephenson a few months ago. I really liked it, until the epilogue. Fucker.

I told you! Dumbass.

What? I was supposed to just stop reading before the epilogue?

Well, I think that's kind of customary for veteran Stephenson readers.

I knew what I was getting into, but I couldn't not read it.

Everyone needs to read Essays In Love by Alain de Botton at some point.

I'm halfway through The Pleasures and Sorrow of Work at the moment, it's beautifully done.

Sam wrote:Everyone needs to read Essays In Love by Alain de Botton at some point.

I'm halfway through The Pleasures and Sorrow of Work at the moment, it's beautifully done.

Isn't it Essays On Love? My copy is with Moulsari right now and I guess I'm too lazy to look it up. EDIT: I do agree that everyone should read it at some point.

Re. beautifully done: is that enough to warrant reading a book? It seems to speak more to the skill than to the art. This sounds all very poofy, I realise. Do you know what I'm trying to say, though?

I do, yes. And it is, yes. Why would I want to read a book about biscuit manufacture under normal circumstance? The melody of de Botton's words, and his slightly quirky eye make reading his work like slipping into a warm bath after a long day.

Learning + palatable presentation of the facts = teh win

DV8 wrote:

Big Jim wrote:

Eva wrote: I told you! Dumbass.

What? I was supposed to just stop reading before the epilogue?

Well, I think that's kind of customary for veteran Stephenson readers.

Okay, it's been a few years since I read that series, so could you remind me what's so bad about the epilogue before I start rereading the whole thing?