Reading in November 2009

[Evil Agent]

Originally Posted by Astra_

I stand corrected. I confused her with Anne Rice.

That's funny, somehow I had a feeling you might be thinking of Anne Rice!

[BrightStar]

Bah. I just can't seem to make my mind up about A Rose Red City at the moment. First, I didn't much like it, then I began to warm to it and thought it was pretty fun (even spent some time at Amazon looking for more books by the author) then, in the space of a chapter, I'm starting to dislike it again.

I've noticed a recurring trend when it comes to my taste in fantasy---I tend to be very, very picky about those that are set in the "real world". Not that I dislike all such books-in fact, there are a few titles that are amongst my favorite fantasy books-but it seems that I struggle to enjoy a lot of the majority of these such books.

[DurzoBlint]

Just finished A Storm of Swords by GRRM. Already 100+ pages into Jonathan Maberry's Patient Zero. Digging it, so far it reads like a good Vince Flynn hero with zombies thrown into the mix. Can't complain.

[Gilgamesh]

Originally Posted by metalprof

I just read Gardens of the Moon myself a couple of weeks ago.

Is there any advantage / disadvantage to going right into Memories of Ice
(while characters and events from GotM are fresh) and temporarily skipping Deadhouse Gates? Or do events in DG have an impact on MoI even though they take place in a different locale?

Ken

Hi Ken,

I apologize I just saw your message. I've been very busy these past weeks...
I think it's possible to enjoy very much MoI without reading DG, however, as you probably noticed, Erikson reveals the secrets of the Malazan world slowly. So little pieces that you pick along the way start to make sense in future books. So I'd recommend reading DG, not because it's necessary but because it completes the experience. Furthermore, one of the many story thread in DG is about some of the characters that we met in GotM.

In case you're curious, here's what I thought of the first two books:
Gardens of the Moon
Deadhouse Gates

[Evil Agent]

I DEFINITELY recommend reading the books in their proper order. The series is confusing enough as it is, and skipping books or changing the order will only make a mess of things.

[Seak]

Originally Posted by Evil Agent

I DEFINITELY recommend reading the books in their proper order. The series is confusing enough as it is, and skipping books or changing the order will only make a mess of things.

With the addition that you read Night of Knives (I.C.E.) before The Bonehunters. I just finished The Bonehunters and I was thinking that I'm glad I read NoN first, not because it really had a whole lot to do with the book, but just because there were some characters and places that popped up that I already had some info about. And it was nice for once to be ahead of the game.

And I think you recommended this order to me, Evil, so thanks!

[Evil Agent]

Originally Posted by Seak

With the addition that you read Night of Knives (I.C.E.) before The Bonehunters. I just finished The Bonehunters and I was thinking that I'm glad I read NoN first, not because it really had a whole lot to do with the book, but just because there were some characters and places that popped up that I already had some info about. And it was nice for once to be ahead of the game.

And I think you recommended this order to me, Evil, so thanks!

No problem. Someone else on here recommended the same order to me, and I felt the same way afterwards.

[Shayna]

I finished reading a few books in the last month or so. First, Wolves of the Calla! I have been savouring these books sice he finshed the dark tower series...so slowly reading them! lol I had fun reading that one!

Next...China Mievilles' Un Lun Dun. I can't seem to get enough of his books! What a great story!

Now...on the same kind of stroyline, I started reading Scott westerfields' leviathan! I thin I am going to enjoy this alot!!

[metalprof]

Originally Posted by Gilgamesh

So I'd recommend reading DG, not because it's necessary but because it completes the experience. Furthermore, one of the many story thread in DG is about some of the characters that we met in GotM.

Thanks for your reply, and to Evil Agent, too.

I just started into Deadhouse Gates yesterday, so the question I asked has become irrelevant anyway!

Ken

[algernoninc]

finished Teckla by Steven Brust - still very entertaining and well paced, but it contained a little too much social commentary [not a bad thing in itself, but i was looking for a lighter read]. I decided to switch to epic fantasy, and leave the rest of the Vlad Taltos adventures for alternate reading material.

So now I'm more than halfway through Diplomacy of Wolves by Holly Lisle - a very pleasant surprise so far with decent writing. likable characters and well paced plot. Worldbuilding is somewhat patchy with a lot of names thrown in without any frame of reference, but it will probably becaome clearer as I advance. If I were to compare it with other series it will be Rai Kirah or Second Sons.

[Obtuse]

Finished up Tigana late last week and I am actually quite disappointed with it. If this book had been my first taste of Kay, I would never have read more (much to my chagrin, obviously).

I mentioned previously not enjoying the first section that focused on Dianora and that never changed. I don't know if Kay intended for her to be so unlikeable, but she was to me. That in and of itself is okay, of course, and in fact I admire writers who can pull off unlikeable characters. Kay didn't. Dianora was not only unlikeable, but often boring and regularly unrealistic.

What bother me most, however, was when the part of the story I was enjoying, Devin, Alessan, Catriana and Co., took a turn for the worse. There were a number of things I thought fell apart down the stretch, but the worst was this...

After all those years of planning the downfall of the two Tyrants, the success of the whole thing comes down to Catriana's chance encounter with a horny ambassador. Without that event the final battle never happens.

I just can't get on board that ship.

I'm still a fan and all, but I'm disappointed to learn that Kay is not perfect.

After that I started Corsair by Bunch. I only got about 20 pages in so I can't say much more than that it was just sub-par writing. A whole lot of telling and not much showing. So I responded with a whole lot of put-that-back-on-the-shelf and not much reading.

With that one discarded I found myself on the edge of a vast forest named Robin Hobb. I will be reading The Tawny Man and The Soldier's Son trilogies back-to-back. I just started Fool's Errand tonight and while I'm only 23 pages in, I'm already in love again. It has been a long time since I read The Farseer and The Liveship Traders trilogies and I had forgotten how much I enjoy Hobb's writing.

[Johnny B]

Originally Posted by Obtuse

.... and I had forgotten how much I enjoy Hobb's writing.

I'll have to second that! I was just introduced and am reading Royal Assassin. I absolutely love her writing and wish I had the time to read more.

[DarthV]

Finished off Brandon Sanderson's The Well of Ascension over the weekend. Damn, a definitely step up in the writing compared to The Final Empire. Now on to the last book of the trilogy.

Definitely one bone to pick so far:

Couldn't he have handled telling us why the sun is red in a better way?

[Evil Agent]

Originally Posted by Obtuse

Finished up Tigana late last week and I am actually quite disappointed with it. If this book had been my first taste of Kay, I would never have read more (much to my chagrin, obviously)

For me, my first taste of Kay was the Fionavar trilogy (which I was hugely disappointed with), but I forced myself to read Tigana based on what I'd heard, and although it was a big improvement, I was still fairly disappointed for the same reasons as yourself. However, I continued to force myself to read some more Kay, and finally found some books that I truly enjoyed all the way through. Nevertheless, Kay has always been a very mixed experience for me.

[Obtuse]

I'll be skipping The Fionavar Tapestry, mainly because I'm not a big fan of portal fantasy, but also because I've heard bad things about it. I've still got A Song for Arbonne, The Last Light of the Sun and the upcoming Under Heaven on my list, however, and I'm hopeful that they will be better than Tigana.

You mentioned earlier in this thread that you enjoyed Arbonne. What about Last Light; is that one you read and enjoyed?