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Whats everyone reading?

Started by Paul faplad Finch, 30 March, 2009, 10:04:36 PM

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TordelBack

Quote from: wedgeski on 02 April, 2021, 05:31:22 PM
I'm in the midst of a Gap re-read as it happens. Almost impossible to put down, Donaldson at his best.

Gap is excellent: the first one is probably his best single book (although I have a soft spot for The Mirror of her Dreams), and the swerve into TechnoNorse is all the better for having it as a foundation. The Covenants lost me somewhere around The One Tree, and I've never really regained my one-time enthusiasm for the series.

Tjm86

Nice to know that Gap is worth the effort.  Perhaps I'll appreciate it more than I did when I tried it back in the day.  Same recollections of Mirror so should be good.

Century Rain is proving an interesting little read.  Find Reynolds much more gripping these days.

As for Turtledove's alt-history, IIRC its a fairly easy read, a little predictable in places and perhaps goes on a little longer than it really should have.  Then again there is far worse stuff out there.  I'd peg it as 'brain candy' personally (a nice light read that doesn't really tax you too much ...), not that that is necessarily a bad thing.

Jade Falcon

I remember reading the Thomas Covenant books years ago and while Covenant could be an ass of a character which I believe is the intention I could never get into the Gap series.  I gave it a chance, four or five books in but just couldn't.

I've just finished rereading the Star Wars Thrawn trilogy by Zahn that was published years ago and have started the Elenium series by David Eddings.  I want to take a break from crime at the moment.
When the truth offends, we lie and lie until we can no longer remember it is even there, but it is still there. Every lie we tell incurs a debt to the truth. Sooner or later, that debt is paid. That is how an RBMK reactor core explodes. Lies. - Valery Legasov

Barrington Boots

Massive love for the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant here. I think I first read my Dad's copies around the age of 12 or 13 and was drawn in by the world they build which enabled me to be less impacted by Covenant's awful actions. I think as a fantasy trilogy it's superior to pretty much anything out there. The second series I enjoyed far less. I made sure my wedding ring was a white gold band though just in case.

I haven't re-read the Gap series for a long time but I don't think it's as good as tCoTC. Great, complex plot and imagination but the characters are a struggle: Angus and Nick are just monsters, Morn is nuts (understandably so) and everyone else is betraying each other and I always find it a bit of a slog. I agree that the first book is the best one. I should probably give it another read sometime soon (after I wash all the 40k grimdark out of my system)
You're a dark horse, Boots.

TordelBack

#6904
I would have been reading Covenant around 11 or 12, coming off the back of my first go throughs of LotR and Earthsea and in my nascent D&D phase, at around the time the Second Chronicles were coming out. Pivotal rape aside, I loved the first three - I used to play out the battles in The Illearth War with my Prince August casts about as often as Helm's Deep or Pelennor Fields. However I never stopped loathing Covenant himself, which may be why I've never re-read them.

As part of a focused campaign against mounting stress and ongoing depression, I've started a proposed complete re-read of my beloved LeGuin, starting with her self-curated 2-volume short story collection The Unreal and Real. She is every bit as marvelous as the first time I read a word of hers. Most of these are stories I've read many times in many formats, but they remain captivating: and some are ludicrously short for the space they take up in my memory.  For example, The Ones who walk away from Omelas is 6 pages long. What a gem she was.


ming

I'm currently getting stuck into Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel - really very enjoyable to far.  Brought Zone One to mind but only because it's well-written post-apocalyptic stuff (global flu pandemic rather than zombie hordes).

After that I think Sleeping Giants (Sylvain Neuvel) has worked it's way to the top to the to-read pile.

zombemybabynow

IDW Usagi yojimbo reprints BUT in colour !

so gorgeous, plus if you've read usagi, you know how you learn whilst reading too eg. how sake is made, japanese feudal law etc..
Good manners & bad breath get you nowhere

Colin YNWA

Quote from: zombemybabynow on 09 April, 2021, 11:20:51 AM
IDW Usagi yojimbo reprints BUT in colour !

so gorgeous, plus if you've read usagi, you know how you learn whilst reading too eg. how sake is made, japanese feudal law etc..

I've used these as my 'in' to Yojimbo and man its wonderful stuff - have a LOAD of digital stuff lined up.

Tjm86

Well, finished Century Rain.  An interesting little piece.  You can see some of Reynolds' standard tropes in it but it does feel a little like a one-trick pony.  An easy enough read but not his best so far.  There we go though.

... and on to the Gap series ....

Okay, so the first volume definitely should have included a trigger warning!  F***!  I don't think I've read anything this brutal since the first volume of Bio of a Space Tyrant.  A fast paced and easy read on some levels but not one I'm going to be revisiting for a loooong time. 

It also got me thinking about Donaldson as a writer.  I mean, I get that there was a purpose to a lot of the plot but at the same time there was also something disturbing this time.  Arguably something that seems to crop up from time to time in his writing.

Barrington Boots

Yeah, that first Gap book is absolutely brutal. It's the worst of the lot on that front, if that helps.

Donaldson's work does include a lot of sexualised violence I think. I'm pretty sure I've read a comment by him saying he sees it as a metaphor for pure evil and I'm sure I've also read some stuff by him, or about him, where it's argued it's not exploitative and that his approach was fairly progressive at the time of writing in exploring the trauma around it, rape survival and other such themes. I'm not sure I can really comment myself without a lot more thought on the matter, but certainly in his writing the acts of sexualised violence, and the men who perpetrate it, are things of sheer horror and not throwaway as they can be in other fiction of the same time.

In lighter reading circles I've just read the 5th Flintlock comic (lettered by Bolt-01 himself!) and I've just ordered Beast Hunting Battle Badgers book 6.
You're a dark horse, Boots.

Bolt-01

Splutter - there is a new battle Badgers comic! I'm getting that!

And I hope you enjoy Flintlock - I really enjoy working on these books, they are a lot of fun.

Barrington Boots

Battle Badgers came out yesterday I think and arrived this morning. So great!

I very much enjoyed Flintlock. I was drawn in by the lovely John Burns cover on this one and the comic was terrific. I'm looking at back issues now. I haven't gone too deep into the indie comic scene as i find it a bit hit and miss but these two really worked for me.

You're a dark horse, Boots.

Bolt-01

I was table neighbours with Steve at Lawgiver back in 2019 where I picked up the first two issues in a 'trying something I've never seen before' situation.

I absolutely adored them and when I was again next to Steve at True Believers in January 2020 (yup, just pre-lockdown and the last gig for FQP) I happily snaffled the rest of the available issues and some stickers too.

Steve is an astonishingly good artist and this series is highly recommended.

Best Huntin' Battle Badgers!

As for Flintlock - If you enjoyed the latest issue, then you should get a lot out of the earlier ones. Fingers crossed Steve (Tanner) will do you a good deal.

Of course if you are curious about what to look for in the Small press - ask. A lot of folk around here have worked on various titles and if FQP sales are anything to go by, we could all do with the interest.

Barrington Boots

Cheers Bolt. I would like some small press recommendations, perhaps I should start a new thread.

To everyone else - Battle Badgers is excellent and well worth trying out. The art alone is, as Bolt says, astonishingly good.


You're a dark horse, Boots.

paddykafka

This one sounds like it would be worth checking out. There's an interesting Judge Dredd connection as well.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/artsandculture/arid-40262234.html