What are we reading?

Started by Martok, March 05, 2012, 01:13:59 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 2 Guests are viewing this topic.

Arctic Blast

Quote from: Gusington on April 25, 2012, 07:47:48 PM
^I've been interested in those for a while. You enjoy them? I guess it's pretty obvious since you've already read 3 of them.

Most definitely. Like I said, rather than being alternative historical fiction, this series could best be described as narrative fiction. A few liberties taken here and there, but it generally plays out the story of what is known (or suspected) to have happened.

TheCommandTent

Quote from: Martok on March 11, 2012, 02:45:29 PM
Quote from: TheCommandTent on March 11, 2012, 02:35:53 PM
Quote from: Martok on March 11, 2012, 02:11:18 PM
Quote from: republic on March 10, 2012, 03:56:54 PM
I'm kind of an A.D.D. reader.  I'm currently in the middle of:


  • Eye of the World - Robert Jordan (Friend has begged me to read this series for awhile)

Fair warning:  Some folks find the pacing of Eye of the World to be rather...glacial.  I personally didn't have that problem, but I know a number of folks (including those who are fans of the series) have said they found the first book to be among the slowest.

I read this book and came away thinking along the same lines and have not read another book in the series since.  Should I give the next book a try?
I would, yes.  EotW (sadly) isn't a very good introduction to the series. 

Now if The Great Hunt (the second book) doesn't grab you, *then* I would go ahead and walk away.

On the advice of Martok (several pages ago) I am starting the second book in The Wheel of Time series, The Great Hunt.
"No wants, no needs, we weren't meant for that, none of us.  Man stagnates if he has no ambition, no desire to be more than he is."

Gusington

Well I'm 100 pages in to Kagan's Peloponnesian War and it is lighter than expected, which is a good thing. I know nothing about Greek history and don't enjoy it as much as other areas because everything is so foreign sounding to me, but reading the book while playing Hegemony is at least keeping my interest up til Diablo III comes out.


слава Україна!

We can't live under the threat of a c*nt because he's threatening nuclear Armageddon.

-JudgeDredd

meadbelly

I'm on a Charles Stross kick right now. Just finished Saturday's Child and Accelerando. Am working on Iron Sunrise and will probably tackle Halting State or Glasshouses yet.

The guy is clearly good, and his imagined worlds are a nice change of pace from the usual "hard-sci-fi" stuff. (Not all of Stross is hard scifi. Accelerando/Iron Sunrise take place and are informed by hard scifi.) I want to like him, and I do in some places. But I couldn't get into the Family Trade, and I find he has an occasional penchant to go light hearted in places that break immersion for me.

The breadth and quality of his writing is definitely worth checking out for any scifi fan. If he wasn't american, he'd be the fourth Big Scot writing at the moment (the big three being Iain Banks, Ian Macdonald, and Ken Macleod. Macleod is worth reading alone for his exploration of anarchic capitalism and the apartment complex that established a MAD nuclear capability in order for independence. It has nothing to do with my letters to Kyrgistan, btw.)

Also recently finished Jon T. Williams' Implied Spaces. Spectacularly fun beginning. The rest of the novel doesn't pay off as well, but is nonetheless an entertaining read. And I just like the concept of Implied Spaces, frankly.

R. Scott Bakker continues to maintain the high quality of his second trilogy in the Prince of Nothing series, and I would put the work in a top 5 and possibly top 3 fantasy list. I think any fan of different-perspective fantasy literature should give this series a go. It's not easy, but it is tremendously rewarding. Sranc deserve a place in the pantheon right next to orcses.

Martok

Well going on recommendations you guys made over at the old site a while back, I'm finally reading The First Man in Rome by Colleen McCullough.  Definitely a good read thus far. 




Quote from: TheCommandTent on April 30, 2012, 09:07:12 PM

On the advice of Martok (several pages ago) I am starting the second book in The Wheel of Time series, The Great Hunt.
Good luck!  I hope you enjoy it. 

"Like we need an excuse to drink to anything..." - Banzai_Cat
"I like to think of it not as an excuse but more like Pavlovian Response." - Sir Slash

"At our ages, they all look like jailbait." - mirth

"If we had lines here that would have crossed all of them. For the 1,077,986th time." - Gusington

"Government is so expensive that it should at least be entertaining." - airboy

"As long as there's bacon, everything will be all right." - Toonces

MIGMaster

I was just thinking - it's probably a real good sign that so many of us can read !  ;)

W8taminute

#141
Having just finished Fulgrim I now move onto Descent of Angels. 

Fulgrim paints a picture of horror, treachery, despair, and the anguish associated with betrayal like no other book I've ever read.  So far of all the books I've read in the Horus Heresy series, Fulgrim illustrates just how wretched Horus's treachery is.  Before I read this book, I use to think those Chaos Marines are really cool in their funky armor, I really want to play them in Dawn of War II.  Now I realize just how monstrous Chaos really is.  I feel it is of utmost urgency that those loyal to the Emperor of Mankind triumph over Horus.  The galaxy is at stake. 

As you can tell I just finished Fulgrim and my mind is racing into overdrive over the series of calamitous events I read.  It's a terrible tragedy.  Will good triumph?  Is what we think good not so good after all.  I'm tortured and I can't stop reading this series. 
"You and I are of a kind. In a different reality, I could have called you friend."

Romulan Commander to Kirk

Staggerwing

Within the rest of the WH3/4K multiverse, what are the titles, in some kind of thematic order, that comprise the Horus Heresy story arc? I'm thinking of starting up the series soon and I want to do it right.
Vituð ér enn - eða hvat?  -Voluspa

Nothing really rocks and nothing really rolls and nothing's ever worth the cost...

"Don't you look at me that way..." -the Abyss
 
'When searching for a meaningful embrace, sometimes my self respect took second place' -Iggy Pop, Cry for Love

... this will go down on your permanent record... -the Violent Femmes, 'Kiss Off'-

"I'm not just anyone, I'm not just anyone-
I got my time machine, got my 'electronic dream!"
-Sonic Reducer, -Dead Boys

TheCommandTent

Quote from: Martok on May 01, 2012, 01:13:06 AM

Quote from: TheCommandTent on April 30, 2012, 09:07:12 PM

On the advice of Martok (several pages ago) I am starting the second book in The Wheel of Time series, The Great Hunt.
Good luck!  I hope you enjoy it.

I am almost done with The Great Hunt, I warned you I was a slow read with limited reading time :)

I have enjoyed it so much more then the first book.  I will be getting the next one out of the library when I finish this one.
"No wants, no needs, we weren't meant for that, none of us.  Man stagnates if he has no ambition, no desire to be more than he is."

W8taminute

^Very good question.  A lot of people will tell you that the order doesn't matter, just pick up any book in the series but after reading the first 5 books I disagree with that philosophy.  Like you say do it right and start from the beginning.  Currently there are 23 books in the series from what I remember but I'll give you the first ten in order along with what my opinion of the authors' writing style for the book in question:


  • Horus Rising (Dan Abnett, very talented)
  • False Gods (Graham McNeill, talented)
  • Galaxy in Flames (Ben Counter, talented)
  • The Flight of the Eisenstein (James Swallow, talented)
  • Fulgrim (Graham McNeill, very talented in this book)
  • Descent of Angels (Mitchel Scanlon, have just started no opinion yet)
  • Legion (Dan Abnett)
  • Battle for the Abyss (Ben Counter)
  • Mechanicum (Graham McNeill)
  • Tales of Heresy (Nick Kyme and Lindsey Priestly)

This should get you going.  I've found 3 of the books I read at used booksellers and the other two from Barnes and Noble.
"You and I are of a kind. In a different reality, I could have called you friend."

Romulan Commander to Kirk

Staggerwing

Quote from: W8taminute on May 25, 2012, 08:50:00 PM
^Very good question.  A lot of people will tell you that the order doesn't matter, just pick up any book in the series but after reading the first 5 books I disagree with that philosophy.  Like you say do it right and start from the beginning.  Currently there are 23 books in the series from what I remember but I'll give you the first ten in order along with what my opinion of the authors' writing style for the book in question:


  • Horus Rising (Dan Abnett, very talented)
  • False Gods (Graham McNeill, talented)
  • Galaxy in Flames (Ben Counter, talented)
  • The Flight of the Eisenstein (James Swallow, talented)
  • Fulgrim (Graham McNeill, very talented in this book)
  • Descent of Angels (Mitchel Scanlon, have just started no opinion yet)
  • Legion (Dan Abnett)
  • Battle for the Abyss (Ben Counter)
  • Mechanicum (Graham McNeill)
  • Tales of Heresy (Nick Kyme and Lindsey Priestly)

This should get you going.  I've found 3 of the books I read at used booksellers and the other two from Barnes and Noble.

Thanks, W8t. Chrono is the way to go. I'll start scouting for used copies forthwith.   :)
Vituð ér enn - eða hvat?  -Voluspa

Nothing really rocks and nothing really rolls and nothing's ever worth the cost...

"Don't you look at me that way..." -the Abyss
 
'When searching for a meaningful embrace, sometimes my self respect took second place' -Iggy Pop, Cry for Love

... this will go down on your permanent record... -the Violent Femmes, 'Kiss Off'-

"I'm not just anyone, I'm not just anyone-
I got my time machine, got my 'electronic dream!"
-Sonic Reducer, -Dead Boys

bob48

Retreat to the Reich.
Player of Games (Iain M Banks - Culture)
Deceiver (C J Cherryh - Foreigner series)
Irelands Narrow Gauge Railways.
'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers'

'Clip those corners'

Recombobulate the discombobulators!

undercovergeek

Quote from: W8taminute on May 25, 2012, 08:50:00 PM
^Very good question.  A lot of people will tell you that the order doesn't matter, just pick up any book in the series but after reading the first 5 books I disagree with that philosophy.  Like you say do it right and start from the beginning.  Currently there are 23 books in the series from what I remember but I'll give you the first ten in order along with what my opinion of the authors' writing style for the book in question:


  • Horus Rising (Dan Abnett, very talented)
  • False Gods (Graham McNeill, talented)
  • Galaxy in Flames (Ben Counter, talented)
  • The Flight of the Eisenstein (James Swallow, talented)
  • Fulgrim (Graham McNeill, very talented in this book)
  • Descent of Angels (Mitchel Scanlon, have just started no opinion yet)
  • Legion (Dan Abnett)
  • Battle for the Abyss (Ben Counter)
  • Mechanicum (Graham McNeill)
  • Tales of Heresy (Nick Kyme and Lindsey Priestly)

This should get you going.  I've found 3 of the books I read at used booksellers and the other two from Barnes and Noble.

its not that it isnt a great book, but i found after the trauma of fulgrim that i had difficulty with descent of angels - its just so far removed from fulgrim that it took a while to adjust to the new tale

W8taminute

Quote from: undercovergeek on May 26, 2012, 08:22:58 AM

its not that it isnt a great book, but i found after the trauma of fulgrim that i had difficulty with descent of angels - its just so far removed from fulgrim that it took a while to adjust to the new tale


That is one thing I noticed with the first 4 books.  The stories begin in a manner as to seem to have nothing to do with anything, but as the reader advances through a particular book the backstory starts to tie in.  That seems to be how they're writing this series. 

I've read only the prologue of Book 6 and read the negative reviews online.  You are not alone in your feelings.  I still need to dive in further before making a comment, but so far I believe what they're trying to do is give the backstory of Lion El'Johnson and the planet he was deposited on.  Remember what happened in Fulgrim, the book before Descent of Angels?  Horus's plans are starting to advance now, and a lot of the players have not made it.  To fill in the void of characters, we must learn of what happened to the other Primarchs when they were scattered across the galaxy at birth.  If that is the intent, I get it and I don't understand why the WH40K fans who had difficulty with Descent of Angels don't.
"You and I are of a kind. In a different reality, I could have called you friend."

Romulan Commander to Kirk

Martok

Am currently halfway through (re)reading The Last Kingdom, the first book in Bernard Cornwell's "Saxon Tales" series.  After I finish that one, I'll be finally starting How Firm a Foundation, the fifth novel in David Weber's "Safehold" series. 





Quote from: TheCommandTent on May 25, 2012, 08:47:37 PM

I am almost done with The Great Hunt, I warned you I was a slow read with limited reading time :)

I have enjoyed it so much more then the first book.  I will be getting the next one out of the library when I finish this one.
Sweet!  I'm glad you're liking it.  :) 

Now you know what I mean when I talked about it being a much better representation of the series than Eye of the World, and how there's a world of difference between the two.  The first novel acts more like a massive introduction to the characters and the world, whereas the second one consists of actual, ya know...story.  ::) 


"Like we need an excuse to drink to anything..." - Banzai_Cat
"I like to think of it not as an excuse but more like Pavlovian Response." - Sir Slash

"At our ages, they all look like jailbait." - mirth

"If we had lines here that would have crossed all of them. For the 1,077,986th time." - Gusington

"Government is so expensive that it should at least be entertaining." - airboy

"As long as there's bacon, everything will be all right." - Toonces