|
Joined:
6/16/2010
Total Posts:
136
0
|
|
RE: What are you reading now?
|
|
|
Posted:
7/26/2010 8:27:01 AM
|
|
You're officially hooked now.
Ha, you're right. I'm now half way though the "The Lady of Shadows" section and I found "The Prisoner" section was awesome.
In my completely objective opinion, the greatest finished epic fantasy ever written. 
|
|
Joined:
6/16/2010
Total Posts:
136
0
|
|
RE: What are you reading now?
|
|
|
Posted:
7/26/2010 8:28:29 AM
|
|
I finished Gutshot Straight by Lou Berney. It wasn't quite what I was expecting from the descriptions, but I enjoyed it well enough. His dialogue style hung me up a few times, but it just made me pay closer attention. I think I was expecting a little more action and hilarity. Ultimately, it feels like screenplay that was adapted to a novel. This is one of those rare cases where the movie (if done right) would be better than the book.
Thanks, Doug. I may still buy it as a paperback in a few months, but I don't think I'll start searching for the hardcover.
|
|
Joined:
6/16/2010
Total Posts:
136
0
|
|
RE: What are you reading now?
|
|
|
Posted:
7/26/2010 8:29:57 AM
|
|
I've just begun The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo to see what all the fuss is about.
Fifty pages in, slow and steady build-up, but pretty good.
|
|
Bush League Critic
Joined:
3/15/2007
Total Posts:
4,169
12
|
|
RE: What are you reading now?
|
|
|
Posted:
7/26/2010 8:37:14 AM
|
|
I've just begun The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo to see what all the fuss is about.
Count me as one who didn't see what all the fuss was about. 
It was enjoyable, but I didn't feel compelled to continue the series. I'll be curious to hear your overall opinion.
- Doug
"Philosophy does not promise to secure anything external for man, otherwise it would be admitting something that lies beyond its proper subject-matter. For as the material of the carpenter is wood, and that of statuary bronze, so the subject-matter of the art of living is each person's own life."
The Bush League Critic - Speculative Fiction News and Reviews
|
|
Joined:
4/6/2003
Total Posts:
2,879
9
|
|
RE: What are you reading now?
|
|
|
Posted:
7/26/2010 4:14:28 PM
|
|
I loved that series, but then I read it in Norwegian which is very similar to the original language it was written in; Swedish. I very much enjoyed the Swedish movies made of the series too.
currently reading The Great Shark Hunt by Hunter S. Thompson
~Cara~
Toasted toad's truth!
|
|
The Beauty With In
Joined:
1/20/2007
Total Posts:
3,650
4
|
|
RE: What are you reading now?
|
|
|
Posted:
8/1/2010 6:28:33 PM
|
|
hands of flame by c. e. murphy
|
|
Joined:
6/16/2010
Total Posts:
136
0
|
|
RE: What are you reading now?
|
|
|
Posted:
8/2/2010 6:57:57 AM
|
|
Count me as one who didn't see what all the fuss was about.
It was enjoyable, but I didn't feel compelled to continue the series. I'll be curious to hear your overall opinion.
Gotta agree with you one this one, Doug. I think the novel was pretty decent, but I don't really understand why it's a publishing phenomenon.
Interesting characters and story, but way longer than necessary, and slow-paced for the most part. Also, the real climax of the story occurs hundreds of pages from the end, if you ask me, and after the last big surprise, there is a long section of falling action that was, quite frankly, just boring.
Last but not least, SPOILERthe female lead has almost unlilmited computer hacking powers, which is akin to a deus ex machina at times.
Good, not great, would be my analysis. Which pretty much sums up my reading year so far. 
|
|
Bush League Critic
Joined:
3/15/2007
Total Posts:
4,169
12
|
|
RE: What are you reading now?
|
|
|
Posted:
8/2/2010 7:25:05 AM
|
|
Good, not great, would be my analysis.
That was my assessment too, but I'm willing to chalk it up to translation issues. Maybe Larsson was a fantastic author in his native language... I'll never know. That's why I'm always hesitant to read translated works... success relies too heavily on the translator's writing skills.
Also, I'll always wonder if Sweden is as obsessed with coffee as Larsson seemed to suggest in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Almost every paragraph has someone: making coffee, drinking coffee, or talking about making or drinking coffee.
- Doug
"Philosophy does not promise to secure anything external for man, otherwise it would be admitting something that lies beyond its proper subject-matter. For as the material of the carpenter is wood, and that of statuary bronze, so the subject-matter of the art of living is each person's own life."
The Bush League Critic - Speculative Fiction News and Reviews
|
|
Joined:
6/16/2010
Total Posts:
136
0
|
|
RE: What are you reading now?
|
|
|
Posted:
8/2/2010 7:34:48 AM
|
|
That's why I'm always hesitant to read translated works... success relies too heavily on the translator's writing skills.
I have that same problem with translated works, so much so it was almost the deciding factor in whether I would ever read this book.
For instance, Arturo Perez Reverte is considered a master craftsman in his native Spain, but I've read two of his novels and found them both only so-so.
That's funny you mention the coffee obsession. That's similar to one of my few complaints about Tim Powers. Every character, in virtually every scene, is imbibing some sort of alcohol beverage. I don't mind the drinking on any sort of moral level, it just seems to be a cheap way for Powers to have his characters "doing something" while in dialogue mode.
Either that, or Powers is saying, "Hey, none of this crazy stuff these characters are experiencing in my tales is real, they're all just drunk on their asses."
|
|
Soylent Green is people!
Joined:
1/12/2009
Total Posts:
937
2
|
|
RE: What are you reading now?
|
|
|
Posted:
8/2/2010 8:09:50 AM
|
|
I'm now on the Key and Rose section of The Waste Lands. 
No matter how cold the Winter, there's a Springtime ahead.
|
|
Joined:
4/6/2003
Total Posts:
2,879
9
|
|
RE: What are you reading now?
|
|
|
Posted:
8/2/2010 9:37:51 AM
|
|
Also, I'll always wonder if Sweden is as obsessed with coffee as Larsson seemed to suggest in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Almost every paragraph has someone: making coffee, drinking coffee, or talking about making or drinking coffee. Laughing
Actually, yes. We scandinavian do drink buckets of coffee. Maybe it's the long dark winters
~Cara~
Toasted toad's truth!
|
|
Joined:
4/6/2003
Total Posts:
2,879
9
|
|
RE: What are you reading now?
|
|
|
Posted:
8/2/2010 9:40:34 AM
|
|
Oh, I agree with what you wrote in the spoiler, Roland. SPOILERThat was a bit over the top, but if she was partially authistic and hung up on computers, well...maybe it could almost be believable
~Cara~
Toasted toad's truth!
|
|
Bush League Critic
Joined:
3/15/2007
Total Posts:
4,169
12
|
|
RE: What are you reading now?
|
|
|
Posted:
8/2/2010 9:50:47 AM
|
|
Actually, yes. We scandinavian do drink buckets of coffee. Maybe it's the long dark winters
See, I learn something new everyday... thanks Cara!
- Doug
"Philosophy does not promise to secure anything external for man, otherwise it would be admitting something that lies beyond its proper subject-matter. For as the material of the carpenter is wood, and that of statuary bronze, so the subject-matter of the art of living is each person's own life."
The Bush League Critic - Speculative Fiction News and Reviews
|
|
Joined:
6/16/2010
Total Posts:
136
0
|
|
RE: What are you reading now?
|
|
|
Posted:
8/2/2010 10:17:23 AM
|
|
Cara, I assume we find out in the later books why Lisbeth is the way she is?
|
|
Joined:
4/6/2003
Total Posts:
2,879
9
|
|
RE: What are you reading now?
|
|
|
Posted:
8/2/2010 10:22:37 AM
|
|
Yes. More or less 
~Cara~
Toasted toad's truth!
|
|
Joined:
6/16/2010
Total Posts:
136
0
|
|
RE: What are you reading now?
|
|
|
Posted:
8/2/2010 1:40:32 PM
|
|
Cara, I guess part of the answer is something SPOILERyou inadvertently gave away, because at no point in Tattoo are we told that Lisbeth is autistic. My assumptions have been that she was horribly abused as a young child and this was directly responsible for her behavioral problems and inability to relate to other humans.
|
|
Joined:
4/6/2003
Total Posts:
2,879
9
|
|
RE: What are you reading now?
|
|
|
Posted:
8/2/2010 2:26:46 PM
|
|
Well, SPOILERshe's been abused,in all ways by all sorts of people. your assumptions about that is correct, but I don't know how much I can tell without giving even more away, which will just ruin it all for you. Now that I think about it, I'm not even sure where that little tidbit info was given, it may even be in one of the movies only. It's been over a year since I read the last book in the series and they are all at my parents now, so I can't go check either...
~Cara~
Toasted toad's truth!
|
|
Joined:
6/16/2010
Total Posts:
136
0
|
|
RE: What are you reading now?
|
|
|
Posted:
8/2/2010 2:50:10 PM
|
|
Yes, I would rather you leave me in the dark as to any more details, because it's always possible I may continue the series someday.
I just didn't feel compelled to run right out and buy Played with Fire at the moment.
|
|
Kazz D'Avore ....................... Anabar Thy'lend
Joined:
7/15/2003
Total Posts:
4,295
3
|
|
RE: What are you reading now?
|
|
|
Posted:
8/2/2010 3:15:14 PM
|
|
Roland,
I'd say you can wait around and get the next two books from the library - or I could send you my copies after Mrs. Colon finishes up. Needless to say, they won't be "saved" for a future re-read. I thought they were entertaining and a different mystery than typical - but absolutely nothing earth-shattering or particularly compelling. I've said it before (possibly in this thread) but the series lacks anything like "The Da Vinci Code"'s big shocker or anything like that which I would think could justify the massive hype - its a good series, overall, but that's it.
As for the "reveal" about Lisbeth - the first book really doesn't do justice to that character (especially in light of the title!), but the next two books are really all about her in essence, and much of her behavior/personality make sense when you read the rest of the story. Of course, that doesn't quite explain the hacking expertise, but that's just my belief.
CADRE OF THE FALLEN
"I love those who can smile in trouble, who can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but they whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves their conduct, will pursue their principles unto death." Leonardo Da Vinci
"Some believe in Destiny, and some believe in Fate, but I believe that Happiness is something we create" - Sugarland
|
|
Joined:
11/11/2007
Total Posts:
385
0
|
|
RE: What are you reading now?
|
|
|
Posted:
8/2/2010 5:01:19 PM
|
|
Finished the first three volumes of Glen Cook's Black Company series. Very impressive, considering these books were written in the eighties. I had only read Cook's The Sword Bearer before, which didn't impress me much and made me hesitate to try some of his other works. Luckily, the Black Company novels turned out to be a big improvement in style and content. Erikson wasn't kidding when he said that Cook's series influenced him. I was reminded of the Malazan books constantly when reading the BC novels.
Life is so simple...Press the button and watch the robot jump. But I'm not a robot. I'm a freak of the universe...a thinking animal. - The Stars my Destination by Alfred Bester.
Bow down: I am the emperor of dreams;
I crown me with the million-colored sun
Of secret worlds incredible, and take
Their trailing skies for vestment when I soar,
Throned on the mounting zenith, and illume
The spaceward-flown horizons infinite.
- From The Hashish Eater by Clark Ashton Smith
|
|
Joined:
11/11/2007
Total Posts:
385
0
|
|
RE: What are you reading now?
|
|
|
Posted:
8/6/2010 3:49:52 PM
|
|
Finished the Swords & Dark Magic anthology edited by Lou Anders and Jonathan Strahan. I thought that several authors relied too much on established settings and series, making their stories less accessible to newcomers. Despite this, the overall quality of the collection is quite high. While I didn't enjoy all stories to the same degree, I did enjoy all of them. Highly recommended.
Life is so simple...Press the button and watch the robot jump. But I'm not a robot. I'm a freak of the universe...a thinking animal. - The Stars my Destination by Alfred Bester.
Bow down: I am the emperor of dreams;
I crown me with the million-colored sun
Of secret worlds incredible, and take
Their trailing skies for vestment when I soar,
Throned on the mounting zenith, and illume
The spaceward-flown horizons infinite.
- From The Hashish Eater by Clark Ashton Smith
|
|
Bush League Critic
Joined:
3/15/2007
Total Posts:
4,169
12
|
|
RE: What are you reading now?
|
|
|
Posted:
8/6/2010 7:33:57 PM
|
|
I finished Taylor Anderson's Distant Thunders, the latest in his Destroyermen series. I loved the first trilogy (Into the Storm, Crusade and Maelstrom) which I like to describe as The Phildelphia Experiment meets The Land of the Lost. But in a good way.
A WWII destroyer gets swept into an alternate reality where evolution took a slightly different tack. The Destroyermen struggle to survive, make friends (and enemies) in a savage environment.
Taylor is a ballistics forensic archaeologist with a Master's Degree in History. He writes some pretty tense and realistic naval (and land) battles, that kept me riveted. His prose may not be anything amazing, but he makes up for it with a lot of characters that I give a damn about and a plot that is very compelling.
This book is the start of a new sub-series and didn't give me any indication that Anderson has lost the gift to entertain me.
I'm now reading Savages by Don Winslow. I read a lot of crime stuff, but this is the first time I've read Winslow. I've been assured that it's "visceral." 
EDIT: Forgot the link to my review/plug for the Destroyermen series.
- Doug
"Philosophy does not promise to secure anything external for man, otherwise it would be admitting something that lies beyond its proper subject-matter. For as the material of the carpenter is wood, and that of statuary bronze, so the subject-matter of the art of living is each person's own life."
The Bush League Critic - Speculative Fiction News and Reviews
|
|
Author of DYING MOON
Joined:
9/22/2003
Total Posts:
6,620
3
|
|
RE: What are you reading now?
|
|
|
Posted:
8/8/2010 9:37:39 AM
|
|
Just picked up The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo by Stieg Larrson. I haven't started it yet, but I am looking forward to delving into this book.
The figure slashed again and again in a frenzy of blood and gore. The blood flew from the blade in tiny crimson drops hitting the concrete floor in a steady pitter-patter cadence much like the rain still falling outside... - An excerpt from my debut novel Dying Moon
|
|
Joined:
11/11/2007
Total Posts:
385
0
|
|
RE: What are you reading now?
|
|
|
Posted:
8/8/2010 10:23:01 AM
|
|
Finished Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut. It was pretty much what I've come to expect from the author. The book raises some interesting questions concerning the relation between science and religion. In addition to that, it's funny as hell at times. Cat's Cradle is my fourth Vonnegut novel and once again the man hasn't disappointed me.
Life is so simple...Press the button and watch the robot jump. But I'm not a robot. I'm a freak of the universe...a thinking animal. - The Stars my Destination by Alfred Bester.
Bow down: I am the emperor of dreams;
I crown me with the million-colored sun
Of secret worlds incredible, and take
Their trailing skies for vestment when I soar,
Throned on the mounting zenith, and illume
The spaceward-flown horizons infinite.
- From The Hashish Eater by Clark Ashton Smith
|
|
Joined:
8/6/2010
Total Posts:
4
0
|
|
RE: What are you reading now?
|
|
|
Posted:
8/9/2010 6:32:45 AM
|
|
I own the first in this series. I probably need to bump it up the list.
|