Ugh. That right there is a huge warn-off for me. I won't be going anywhere near his blog!
Thanks! I was thinking of getting the Hyperion/Endymion books for myself for Christmas. From what you've said about them, I should enjoy them.
What we're reading, the SFF edition
- Thread starter Fenika
- Start date
Ugh. That right there is a huge warn-off for me. I won't be going anywhere near his blog!
Thanks! I was thinking of getting the Hyperion/Endymion books for myself for Christmas. From what you've said about them, I should enjoy them.
The Sapphire Rose, by David Eddings, 3rd in The Elenium.
The pacing did not improve. I've been trying to finish this book since March. While I appreciate the telling of a story about a fully formed, adult, confident protagonist, he's still a Gary Stew with an impenetrable amount of plot armor to protect him.
I'm reading Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky, and boy is it weird. And good. And weird. I heard through the grapevine that the author likes spiders, and the grapevine was not wrong. That's part of what makes it so good, though. The aliens are so...alien, yet somehow I can relate to them thanks to the excellent writing. Fans of sprawling hard SF, I recommend!
The Wizards of Once by Cressida Cowell.
I haven't read anything else by this author, so I can't compare. I read this with my elementary school aged children, and they all loved it. It's really cute, and deep in ways that are meaningful and important in children's stories. If you want a good fantasy for kids, this is a great pick.
I haven't read anything else by this author, so I can't compare. I read this with my elementary school aged children, and they all loved it. It's really cute, and deep in ways that are meaningful and important in children's stories. If you want a good fantasy for kids, this is a great pick.
Opinion, no more no less follows.
I'm going to have to try another book by Gaiman before giving up because I just tried Eternity's Wheel and it was awful. I couldn't get past the lame exposition that started the book.
OK, yeah, it's the third in a series and I didn't read the first two. But even if it weren't for the inept way Gaiman catches the reader up, the story was stupid. The protagonist relayed a story about the good guys and the bad guys, he was a fighter and there was no story beyond that.
If you are going to start a book with poorly managed exposition in the first place, and you choose to focus on all plot and no story, it comes across like there is no story there. Good guys fight bad guys while jumping through the multiverse. Color me unimpressed.
One of the best sci-fi books ever.
After reading it I went on a Dan Simmons binge and read Drood and The Terror. Loved them both.
His books are very different from each other. The man's a prolific writer so I have quite a few more on my 'to read' list.
Currently reading The Rise And Fall Of D.O.D.O. by Neal Stephensen and I'm really liking it so far.
CR: Dividing Eden. First chapter is a info dump, but I see potential! Recently sped through the Shadow and Bone trilogy--pick it up if you haven't!!!
Menagerie and Spectacle by Rachel Vincent.
Very dark, violent, and creative. A trigger warning for threat of rape. I was not familiar with this author before reading these books, but it looks like she has quite a few published.
Very dark, violent, and creative. A trigger warning for threat of rape. I was not familiar with this author before reading these books, but it looks like she has quite a few published.
If you're judging Gaiman by Eternity's Wheel, you're not really judging Gaiman at all -- he didn't write that book. He contributed some of the concept ideas, but the book was actually written by Mallory Reaves.
Definitely give him another shot. The Graveyard Book is a good one. American Gods. My favorite of his (so far) is Anansi Boys.
Currently reading "Chimera" by N.J. Tanger. I'm only about 20% into the book, so don't have much of an opinion. Shifting character POV is a bit distracting though.
ETA: Just finished this last night (it was a longer read than usual because I got distracted and started something else) - anyway, this was a pretty good book. I enjoyed the characters, the world they lived in was interesting, and the story was not something I've read a thousand times before.
ETA: Just finished this last night (it was a longer read than usual because I got distracted and started something else) - anyway, this was a pretty good book. I enjoyed the characters, the world they lived in was interesting, and the story was not something I've read a thousand times before.
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Everybody loves Gaiman. Me, I started American Gods twice and couldn't get past the first few chapters. Maybe I'll try The Graveyard Book.
All Systems Red, first of the Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells. It's really short, about 150 pages, so it's a great, quick read. It's also a great study in world-building.
Been about a month, so another SF/F read update:
Recently Read SF/F:
The Woods (Volumes 1 - 3, James Tynion IV with illustrations by Michael Dialynas, graphic novel/horror/sci-fi, Nook via Hoopla): A Wisconsin high school is suddenly and inexplicably transported to an alien world, arriving in the middle of a deadly primeval forest. The only sign of civilization or purpose is an arrow-like artifact... but only six students follow it into the wilds, the rest struggling just to survive. What is the mysterious force behind the arrow-stones? Why were they brought here? And will they ever get back to Earth?
A dark, sometimes violent and gory tale creates decent, flawed characters in an extreme survival situation, adding human and alien complications as the tale unfolds. The art's decent and imaginative. More volumes are available on Hoopla, so the story's far from finished, but thus far I'm enjoying it.
Crap Kingdom (D. C. Pierson, YA fantasy/humor, in paperback): Tenth-grader Tom always dreamed he'd someday be whisked away to a magical kingdom like in a book, fulfilling a Chosen One destiny and getting cool powers and accolades and and maybe getting a kiss from a beautiful princess in the bargain, but he's sure his life's too ordinary for that... until the wizard Gark shows up, temporarily (and incompetently) impersonating his estranged father. Turns out Tom's been named in a prophecy, all right, but the kingdom he's whisked off to (via a donation bin behind the K-Mart) is no Narnia or Oz. It's a junk heap - literally, full of cast-off junk from Earth cobbled into houses and rattletrap car-analogues. The people hold depression and misery as virtues, none more than their king, who takes an instant dislike to Tom. And not only are there no magical powers or hero's welcome, but the princess is a jerk, the wizard's not the brightest flame in the candelabra, and the job he's offered involves cleaning snot out of rat noses. No, thanks. When Tom's best friend Kyle is offered the job of Chosen One instead, and seems to actually enjoy the gig, Tom realizes he may have been too hasty... only he forgot that part of being a Chosen One is almost always facing down a grave, impending threat - a danger that might well crush Tom, Kyle, and the whole of the nameless land Tom has privately dubbed Crap Kingdom.
An often-hilarious send-up of Chosen One portal fantasies and general teen angst and awkwardness, Crap Kingdom examines what happens when the "Chosen One" walks away from their destiny... or may not have been that well suited for it to begin with. Kyle makes a much better Chosen One, even winning over the skeptical king - and it's jealousy as much as anything else that draws Tom back to Crap Kingdom to try reclaiming the title he walked away from... but you don't just turn your back on Destiny and expect no consequences. He pays many times over for having given up too soon, on Crap Kingdom and himself. Pierson manages to make me actually care for the often-awkward, sometimes selfish Tom, with amusing inner monologue that captures (if in an exaggerated fashion) that uneasy blend of self-hatred and self-aggrandizement and general uncertainty about oneself and life in general that so many of us went through as teens - and still go through, in some ways, throughout life. There's a solid story structure under the superficial silliness, and more to Crap Kingdom and the characters than is initially apparent. Quite enjoyable, though the ending feels just a little awkward, almost like it was trying to set a hook for a sequel that doesn't need to happen. Would make a good companion with Brandon Sanderson's fun YA fantasy/humor Alcatraz Versus... series, which also skewers fantasy and literary tropes while creating a decent story and characters worth rooting for.
Currently Reading SF/F:
Walk the Earth a Stranger (The Gold Seer trilogy, book 1, Rae Carlson, YA Fantasy/Historical Fiction, on Kindle): A teen girl on the American frontier has a secret ability to find gold.
I literally just started reading this, but I'm getting a good vibe off it so far, and the teen girl MC's fairly competent.
Recently Read SF/F:
The Woods (Volumes 1 - 3, James Tynion IV with illustrations by Michael Dialynas, graphic novel/horror/sci-fi, Nook via Hoopla): A Wisconsin high school is suddenly and inexplicably transported to an alien world, arriving in the middle of a deadly primeval forest. The only sign of civilization or purpose is an arrow-like artifact... but only six students follow it into the wilds, the rest struggling just to survive. What is the mysterious force behind the arrow-stones? Why were they brought here? And will they ever get back to Earth?
A dark, sometimes violent and gory tale creates decent, flawed characters in an extreme survival situation, adding human and alien complications as the tale unfolds. The art's decent and imaginative. More volumes are available on Hoopla, so the story's far from finished, but thus far I'm enjoying it.
Crap Kingdom (D. C. Pierson, YA fantasy/humor, in paperback): Tenth-grader Tom always dreamed he'd someday be whisked away to a magical kingdom like in a book, fulfilling a Chosen One destiny and getting cool powers and accolades and and maybe getting a kiss from a beautiful princess in the bargain, but he's sure his life's too ordinary for that... until the wizard Gark shows up, temporarily (and incompetently) impersonating his estranged father. Turns out Tom's been named in a prophecy, all right, but the kingdom he's whisked off to (via a donation bin behind the K-Mart) is no Narnia or Oz. It's a junk heap - literally, full of cast-off junk from Earth cobbled into houses and rattletrap car-analogues. The people hold depression and misery as virtues, none more than their king, who takes an instant dislike to Tom. And not only are there no magical powers or hero's welcome, but the princess is a jerk, the wizard's not the brightest flame in the candelabra, and the job he's offered involves cleaning snot out of rat noses. No, thanks. When Tom's best friend Kyle is offered the job of Chosen One instead, and seems to actually enjoy the gig, Tom realizes he may have been too hasty... only he forgot that part of being a Chosen One is almost always facing down a grave, impending threat - a danger that might well crush Tom, Kyle, and the whole of the nameless land Tom has privately dubbed Crap Kingdom.
An often-hilarious send-up of Chosen One portal fantasies and general teen angst and awkwardness, Crap Kingdom examines what happens when the "Chosen One" walks away from their destiny... or may not have been that well suited for it to begin with. Kyle makes a much better Chosen One, even winning over the skeptical king - and it's jealousy as much as anything else that draws Tom back to Crap Kingdom to try reclaiming the title he walked away from... but you don't just turn your back on Destiny and expect no consequences. He pays many times over for having given up too soon, on Crap Kingdom and himself. Pierson manages to make me actually care for the often-awkward, sometimes selfish Tom, with amusing inner monologue that captures (if in an exaggerated fashion) that uneasy blend of self-hatred and self-aggrandizement and general uncertainty about oneself and life in general that so many of us went through as teens - and still go through, in some ways, throughout life. There's a solid story structure under the superficial silliness, and more to Crap Kingdom and the characters than is initially apparent. Quite enjoyable, though the ending feels just a little awkward, almost like it was trying to set a hook for a sequel that doesn't need to happen. Would make a good companion with Brandon Sanderson's fun YA fantasy/humor Alcatraz Versus... series, which also skewers fantasy and literary tropes while creating a decent story and characters worth rooting for.
Currently Reading SF/F:
Walk the Earth a Stranger (The Gold Seer trilogy, book 1, Rae Carlson, YA Fantasy/Historical Fiction, on Kindle): A teen girl on the American frontier has a secret ability to find gold.
I literally just started reading this, but I'm getting a good vibe off it so far, and the teen girl MC's fairly competent.
The Assassin's Blade by Sarah Maas, Throne of Glass novellas #0.1-0.5.
On par with her other writing, these novellas shed light on a lot of the events in book 5 especially.
On par with her other writing, these novellas shed light on a lot of the events in book 5 especially.
Waiting on all 3 of these to arrive before I start. I took a long break from Sanderson but I'm ready.
Ocean at the End of the Lane
Had to try another Neil Gaiman book after not getting into Eternity's Wheel when it began with a boring info-dump. He has such a great reputation.
It took a bit of patience but I stayed with Ocean at the End of the Lane and at mid-point I am very impressed by Gaiman's skill. He weaves incredible aspects, describes the world in a way I wish I had the skill to do.
This book is definitely thumbs up.
Had to try another Neil Gaiman book after not getting into Eternity's Wheel when it began with a boring info-dump. He has such a great reputation.
It took a bit of patience but I stayed with Ocean at the End of the Lane and at mid-point I am very impressed by Gaiman's skill. He weaves incredible aspects, describes the world in a way I wish I had the skill to do.
This book is definitely thumbs up.
Just Finished The Last Magician by Lisa Maxwell. I really liked it. Time Travel and Magic in one book!
The School for Good and Evil trilogy by Soman Chainani - The School for Good and Evil, A World without Princes, and The Last Ever.
I think these are YA - I'm never really sure. I picked them up after hearing an interview with the author. They were surprisingly nuanced and deep in places I wasn't expecting. A fun read, and totally appropriate for younger children as well. The world was well built and the re-imagining of the old fairy tale heroes and linking of them all together was fantastic.
I think these are YA - I'm never really sure. I picked them up after hearing an interview with the author. They were surprisingly nuanced and deep in places I wasn't expecting. A fun read, and totally appropriate for younger children as well. The world was well built and the re-imagining of the old fairy tale heroes and linking of them all together was fantastic.
I've been making slower progress than I'd like with Oathbringer. It's still good, but it's not blowing me away the way Words of Radiance did. I'm sure it will pick up toward the end. Right now, although I'm enjoying it, I feel like Sanderson probably could have trimmed down the word count a bit without losing anything vital.
Started and finished Amanda Bouchet's A Promise of Fire, the first in her Kingmaker Chronicles. I thoroughly enjoyed that (clearly, since I accidentally stayed up until 3am reading it). Loved the MC's voice and interested to see how she expands her world in books 2 and 3.
Helios, second of the Universe Eventual Series. Fun read - but the POV flips around enough that I often have to pause to figure out whose head I'm in. The story is more interesting than the characters.