Whats everyone reading?

[Emperor]

Just read Zoo City by Lauren Beukes.

Just won the Arthur C. Clarke awar. That's another onto the teetering space elevator of Stevie's To Read list.

Yes I just heard that too and someone had already spoken highly of it so I think I'll be picking it up in eBook form (Angry Robot have been doing a good job with their pricing there making it well worth it).

[Richmond Clements]

Seriously. As endings go, it's an absolute cracker, and it deserves to be read cold. You won't see it coming.

I'd echo that. It was the ending I thought was coming at the end of book two or three.

[TordelBack]

Seriously. As endings go, it's an absolute cracker, and it deserves to be read cold. You won't see it coming.

I'd echo that. It was the ending I thought was coming at the end of book two or three.

I'm only about a fifth of the way in now, but even at this point I have to give hearty thanks to all on this thread who recommended, nay insisted, I give it a go.  I thought I was completely done with fantasy novels (bar Pratchett), but this is just supoib, and I have no idea where it is going. 

[Robin Low]

Just finished Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion in a great big, back-breaking omnibus edition.

Read these about ten years ago and thought they were excellent. Have just finished reading Simmon's Ilium, which is smart, brilliant, and not at all what I expected. Immediately ordered the continuation, Olympos, which is a hugely chunky tome. However, I will be finishing The Circus of Dr. Lao and Marco and the Blade of Night before I make a start on it.

Regards

Robin

[HdE]

Thanks to all who chipped in on the Astonishing X Men stuff.

Agreed, its OK and got some of the Whedon fans into checking out AXM but I didn't really feel like there was much new in there, where Morrison had really thrown wild ideas in and pushed the envelope.

It probably isn't a good place for a non-superhero reading 2000AD fan to dip their tow into the world of capes.

I really only picked the books up to see what (if anything) I was missing in superhero books, and also because I'm a fan of Joss Whedon's writing.

I'm gonna continue witht he run, because Whedon's weaving what looks like a neat over-arcing story. I plan to pick up the Warren Ellis penned books as well - mostly coz Ghost Box looks amazing - but no more after that.

[TordelBack]

I enjoyed Astonishing X-Men a lot, but boy did they make us wait for the final issue.  When you're done with Whedon's run you might be interested to know that the great Kieron Gillen is currently returning much the same team to the Breakworld over in Uncanny X-Men. 

[Colin YNWA]

Just about finished reading Alan Davis' run on 'Batman and the Outsiders'. His wonderful art aside nothing interesting enough to comment about here, just pretty standard superhero fare (which of course means I'm enjoying it quite a lot!). What has peaked by interest however is the letters columns. Its seems that Mr Davis was far from an instant hit over in the US.

The readers of the title seem overall to have taken quite some time to settle in with his work. Now admittedly he was was following on from Jim Aparo, who many regard as one of the definitive Batman artists (while I like his work I've never been that excited about it). So maybe I shouldn't be so surprised by how tepid his reception seems to have been as they adjusts to his style, or maybe he adjusts to the American's style whichever way around that should be.

Anyway I personally always loved his work here and thought he really hit the ground running with this series. I also thought (clearly quite wrongly) that his style was one that would be an instant hit in the US market... not so, how interesting...

...well to me at least!

[John Caliber]

I read 'Wolfen' a few weeks ago. It's probably the movie version that most people know, but the book - while quite different - is equally enthralling. With the 1970's level of SFX the novel would have been unfilmable. It's a brutal but beautiful clash of civilisations, between human and Wolfen.

[SmallBlueThing]

Great to see some love for Wolfen- i read that long, long before i saw the film, and was therefore massively hyped to eventually buy it on sell-through video at the arse-end of the eighties. While it's a pretty good little film in its own right, it's relationship to the novel is roughly equivilent to that of stallone's dredd to the source material.
Now, excuse me as ive just had a cup of tea from a mug that hadnt been washed up properly, and as a result my hands and mouth are entirely coated with washing up liquid. Bleuuh!
SBT

[HOO-HAA]

And keeping with the retro vibe, in today's DCS post, I review BLOODSHOW by Guy N Smith...

'I'm a pulp horror fan. Always have been, always will be. I went to school in the 80s, a boom time for pulp horror fiction. All of the lads I hung about with read horror. It was the thing to do. But not just any horror: You were expected to choose one writer only, stand by them and fight their corner – much like a football team – slamming everyone else's choice. I chose King, at the time. Others chose James Herbert or Guy N Smith, while the most extreme thrillseekers chose Hutson. And while I've long since given up my King exclusivity, I've only just this very second finished my first Guy N Smith novel...'

(READ MORE: http://darkcentralstation.com/?p=1534)

[Radbacker]

I've avoided all press for potential spoilers on this show, quite intentionally, so I don't know, but is this series a proper adap or 'based on' in the same way as the likes of Dexter, wildly diverging the longer it runs? Do we know what they are planning?

The only comment I have read (in an interview with Martin, cos I figured he would be savvy enough to not give anything away) was that they had done Game of Thrones in one season and could do Clash of Kings in one if they get the go ahead. This would seem to suggest a faithful adap.

All of which is just my really long winded way of saying, if it is faithful, people need to finish the book before they see the final episodes. Seriously. As endings go, it's an absolute cracker, and it deserves to be read cold. You won't see it coming.

from the first couple op episodes I'd say Game of Thrones is gonna be a pretty close adaptation of the first novel at least so i'd say read em before the TV series spoils the supprise (oh and as mentioned a cracker of a supprise it is too)

finally the last book in the Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erickson
"The Crippled God" - this has been one of my favorite series ever and hopping the final book lives up to the epic build up (10 books 800+ pages each, though its only the last few books that really need to be read in sequence).  You know how most fantasy series deal with big world ending threat but you never really know what goes on on other continents in the world its set, this series does the whole world. Also contains some of my favorite characters ever.

CU Radbacker

[Mikey]

While in the US of A, I picked up two smashing comics - Achewood - worst song played on ugliest guitar (Chris Onstad) and Safe Area Gorazde by Joe Sacco. Two wildly different titles...

'Achewood' is mental and hilarious. I don't know how to describe it really - it's about a bunch of animals (three cats, a bear, a squirrel, an otter who was posted there by mistake, a tiger, a robot...) hanging out an stuff, told in stark line work. It reminds me a bit of 'Red Meat'. I love it to bits...here, read about it first if you like http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achewood...and have a chuckle at this 'un! http://achewood.com/index.php?date=01102002  [spoiler](I can reveal that Teodor says 'Shivering anus!')[/spoiler]

'Safe Area...' is a much more sombre tome as I'm sure you can imagine! I've read 'Palestine' by Sacco, plus a few singles, and I really like what he does, taking a personal route to tell people's story. His art is sublime and the subject matter is heavy going at times, naturally. I recall the events, but to hear or see some of the details again makes me angry, exasperated and grateful all at once. He can come accross as a bit of a tube, but I take that as him being honest about himself and his own place in these things.

M.

[Spaceghost]

Game of Thrones is bloody good isn't it? I'm about 200 pages in and enjoying it tremendously.

I don't read fantasy novels much, I read Lord of the Rings about 10 years ago and I've read all the Elric books (brilliant) but that's it.

It's got me all excited about fantasy again and I've ordered The Blade Itself by Joe Abacrombie and book one of The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson as recommended by Radbacker.

[Keef Monkey]

While in the US of A, I picked up two smashing comics - Achewood - worst song played on ugliest guitar (Chris Onstad) and Safe Area Gorazde by Joe Sacco. Two wildly different titles...

I picked up that Achewood book for my girlfriend one xmas after I found her leafing through it in the shop and laughing so hard she might break! The first book (The Great Fight) is pretty surreal and quite fun but 'Worst Song...' is just hilarious. The whole french frie saga is mental. We actually only just got the 3rd book through last week after unsuccessfully ordering it from various places for months on end, haven't read it just yet. A really unique wee series.

[Mikey]

I picked up that Achewood book for my girlfriend one xmas after I found her leafing through it in the shop and laughing so hard she might break!...The whole french frie saga is mental.

Funnily enough, Mrs Mikey had the same reaction which is why I bought it - the clincher was Ray's lost poster and the follow on. I'm going to pick up the other books soon...and yes, the French frie saga was muchly chortlesome; "Heellllppp!" 

M.