Now Reading...

[Kenneth R.]

The American Fantasy Tradition by Brian Thomsen. A collection of short stories by American luminaries from Irving and Hawthorne to Wolfe and Card and all intermediate points. While Thomsen's introduction and argument- for the individualism of American writing as compared to European- fails utterly on his lack of strong evidence and poor choice of example, the collection itself is outstanding. Thomsen is clearly one of those blindfolded Americans stuffed full with patriotism and not much room left for active intellect. The dedication and preface both reference 9/11 (unnecessary & unrelated?), and his writing structure and diction in particular, with special regard to his use of only a handful of references, show his greenness to the literary world. It is a world where he knowingly walks among the Seqouia Giants of the authors he chooses to include in his book.

In short, an excellent read. Just skip the editor's comments.

 

[Dr_Metal]

Dead Beat by Jim Butcher.... Book seven of the "Dresden Files" series.

 

[OrbWeaver]

Dead Beat by Jim Butcher.... Book seven of the "Dresden Files" series.

EXCELLENT series! I love the Dresden Files, and can't wait for a new one to be written and published. My favorite is any of the books in which the werewolves appear.

 

[Rakosh]

Banquet for the Damned - Adam L. G. Nevill

Supernatural horror with everything I love in the genre: Lovecraftian dread without an excess of blood, occult philosophy, references to Crowley, British/Scottish setting, and BONUS-intelligent metal heads from Birmingham, UK, as two of the main characters!

I'm only about 130 pages in, but it's one of the better Brit-horror books I've read in a long time (Ramsey Campbell included). It's well written, and the characters aren't morons (eg: when they hear inhuman screams in the middle of the night, they don't go investigate ). There's tons of atmosphere, and I can't help but imagine those classic psychological horror movies like The Wicker Man as I read it. Horror fans keep an eye out for this when it hits the US in September in paperback!

:Smokin:

 

[Dr_Metal]

EXCELLENT series! I love the Dresden Files, and can't wait for a new one to be written and published. My favorite is any of the books in which the werewolves appear.

I'm enjoying the series so far.... I got the DVD of the TV series which was good so I started with book 1 and now I'm up to 7.... The only annoying thing is the main character gets batted around like a rag doll way too frequently....

 

[OrbWeaver]

It's true, he does. My boyfriend said "This shouldn't be 'The Dresden Files,' it should be 'Harry Gets Screwed Over.'"


Rakosh, that sounds like a very cool novel. I'll have to look into getting it.

 

[Dr_Metal]

It's true, he does. My boyfriend said "This shouldn't be 'The Dresden Files,' it should be 'Harry Gets Screwed Over.'"

And over.... And over.... And over.... LOL So far in this book he's been smacked around by zombies, necromancers, a Chinese ghoul (Shurikens included), and the white councel has taken a severe beating from the red court.... And it's only getting better (Or worse for the main character.... )

 

[KaptainKrude]

Just finished Grab On To Me Tightly As If I Knew The Way by Bryan Charles...

Since I should be grading... from amazon.com

Recent high school grad Vincent Sweeney, though unmistakably sweet, also masquerades as crass, courts his own demise by baiting bar thugs, nurses rock star fantasies with his band, Judy Lumpers (it's grungy in 1992 Kalamazoo, Mich.), and plays indifferent after losing his virginity in a one-night stand. After flippantly quitting his dishwashing job, Vim (from a childhood mispronunciation) runs up against his stepfather's blue-collar bitterness with quiet acceptance and embarks on a short-distance road trip. Fits of rage and exaggerated lust, tinged with self-loathing, erupt from within a searing numbness, which puzzles Vim, and which he parses using lyrics from the like of Jim Morrison, Fugazi and Nirvana. Charles, in this debut, gives Vim an unevenly self-aware first person, making large portions of the book read like a vague, angry diary; they're dull, but come through as convincingly natural and make moments of connection (as with a bandmate's girlfriend) take on a special glow.

If you can overlook the grunge aspect of it and tether your own experiences with teenage angst and music to the general plotline, it's actually a pretty decent read. And quick, too. Mowed it down in one sitting... was only a shade over 200 pages. Still, if you were at all awkward as a teen, it's worth a spin.

Now I'm on to Fargo Rock City by Chuck Klosterman

 

[jaimek]

I finished rereading 2/3 of the Xenogenesis series by Octavia Butler (who died last year), and I'm going to have to get #3 used, because it seems like the trilogy as separate books went out of print in favor of an omnibus.

I'm also in the middle of The Man in the High Castle by Philip K Dick, and will probably reread Electric Sheep after that, just because I haven't in a while.

 

[Ruthven]

Banquet for the Damned - Adam L. G. Nevill

...and BONUS-intelligent metal heads

Sounds great, and one I will keep my eye on. It's always nice when someone actually participates or at least talks to members of a "scene" they are writing about.

 

[JenniferLynn]

I need to stop picking up books and finish one of these bastards!!! (2 being re-read):

Dante's Divine Comedy (still), LK Hamilton's Incubus Dreams, The Jesus I Never Knew - Yancey, William Shakespeare's Tragedies and Henry VIII A King and his Court... and the Hockey News...

.... and there's a stack waiting...

 

[Ruthven]

Sounds great, and one I will keep my eye on. It's always nice when someone actually participates or at least talks to members of a "scene" they are writing about.

Following up on this comment, I just read a novel entitled "Partners" by an associate of mine named Susan Sizemore. It was part of a series of vampire novels titled "Laws of the Blood" but it can be read independently.

It was a good, fast-paced story that was full of cool ideas if you like vampire books, but what was really fun were the multiple references to Queensrÿche, including Sizemore's acknowledgements page that proclaims "Rage for Order" as being "the best album of all time." I don't agree with that, but it's that good kind of disagreement, where I respect her opinion. But this was another book that featured a main character who was a metal fan who was a capable, intelligent person. So yeah...

 

[LunaTEKKE]

Currently re-reading “Work to Live” by Joe Robinson. It’s about how Americans are getting burned out by working more hours and taking less vacation than ever. At the same time, many of our European counterparts have a much more practical view of work/life balance – and they are actually kicking our butt in terms of productivity gains.

 

[sh0kr0k]

Just finished Seize the Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon. I got it for free at the NY Comic*Con a few weekends ago. She signed a copy for me also, which was pretty cool! The book is pretty good, but it's appeal will definitely lean towards women. It has a nice balance of romance and action, and the requisite number (at least 3!) of drop-dead hunky vampires and ancient gods. Her characters develop very well and the story progresses at a nice pace without going too fast. All in all, I give it 4/5 because I couldn't put it for hours and I found myself thinking about the characters when I wasn't reading - and wishing I had more! ..thankfully I DO have more of her novels too read, but I'm really looking forward to her next book Acheron (due out in Aug) which based on one of the main characters from Seize the Night.

 

[Kenneth R.]

Currently re-reading “Work to Live” by Joe Robinson. It’s about how Americans are getting burned out by working more hours and taking less vacation than ever. At the same time, many of our European counterparts have a much more practical view of work/life balance – and they are actually kicking our butt in terms of productivity gains.

A major reason why I'm making plans to leave the country permanently.

 

[Ruthven]

Sherrilyn Kenyon.

She's been a good friend to me for several years. I still haven't read this particular book but am glad you enjoyed it.

 

[sh0kr0k]

She's been a good friend to me for several years. I still haven't read this particular book but am glad you enjoyed it.

Yes, Paul told me actually. I even said hi to her at Comic*Con on behalf of you and Paul at his request. And then I met your roommate too Sherrilyn was very nice and sweet. She hugged me and seemed genuinely happy when I told her that "The Dream-Hunter" is my favorite book! Then she signed Seize The Night and a poster for me, and took a picture. It was very nice to meet her there and it was cool that she was just hanging out at her booth. No need for extra tickets, autograph lines, worrying about what time, blah blah. It was awesome! 'Cept my signed poster got crushed and torn on the flight home :Smug: oh well, a small price to pay! I have a whole slew of her other books that I still have to get to. I just kept buying them as I saw new ones at the store over the last few months. I only read Seize the Night first because I started it on the way home. I can't wait for Acheron!!!! *dies*

 

[Rakosh]

Banquet for the Damned - Adam L. G. Nevill

Supernatural horror with everything I love in the genre: Lovecraftian dread without an excess of blood, occult philosophy, references to Crowley, British/Scottish setting, and BONUS-intelligent metal heads from Birmingham, UK, as two of the main characters!

I'm only about 130 pages in, but it's one of the better Brit-horror books I've read in a long time (Ramsey Campbell included). It's well written, and the characters aren't morons (eg: when they hear inhuman screams in the middle of the night, they don't go investigate ). There's tons of atmosphere, and I can't help but imagine those classic psychological horror movies like The Wicker Man as I read it. Horror fans keep an eye out for this when it hits the US in September in paperback!

As a follow up, I just wanted to say that Banquet for the Damned held up til the end...something a lot of horror novels don't do. Good stuff!

Also I got a cool little email from the author (after I sent a work-related email to Virgin Books' marketing dept about the book) saying I got the influences/comparisons pretty close to his intentions: "I wanted Banquet to be a novel like Peter Straub’s Ghost Story, but with occult horror overtones like M R James’s Edwardian ghost stories, and The Wicker Man (it’s also set in Scotland). "

Nice...Even if I didn't work for Virgin's distributor, I'd still be plugging this book!
:Smokin:

Now Reading: Total Access: A Journey to the Center of the NFL Universe - Rich Eisen (I needed a football fix!)

 

[Ruthven]

occult horror overtones like M R James’s Edwardian ghost stories, and The Wicker Man

I'm sold. Tell him you made another reader.

 

[jaimek]

I plowed through John Varley's "Red Thunder" on a relatively short couple of flights. His stuff has always been lying around my mom's house and I always meant to pick one up, but I expected him to be hardcore sci-fi, which is kind of a snore. The biggest problem with sci-fi is that it often sacrifices the story for science - it just becomes a frame to hang the calculations and theories, and if I can't keep up with the hardcore stuff, it just becomes a chore to skip through the stuff I can't follow. I like David Brin because he can bring all that down to more of a layman's level and still tell a fun story. So can John Varley. I will definitely have to get more of his books.