Now Reading...

Just finished The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski... I didn't get the "cynical wit" which is supposedly characteristic of Andrzej's style -- certainly it doesn't hold a candle to the same quality in GRRM's or Scott Lynch's work -- but this may be due to the quality of translation than the actual writing. Perhaps it sounds more cynical in Polish. I thought The Witcher's game dialogue was darker, more cynical, and better written than anything in this book. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it. This first book is a series of short stories recounting some of Geralt's earlier adventures, of which some are alluded to in the video game.

Next up is Blood of Elves, the next book in the series. This is the beginning of a multi-volume epic story, and it will be the true test of Andrzej's abilities (or his translators, LOL). Considering I don't go much for fantasy these days unless it has something new to offer, this is pretty decent stuff so far.
 
Now reading -- well, RE-reading -- the Corum books by Michael Moorcock, since I found a used copy of the old White Wolf compilation hardback at McKay's in Chattanooga. I hadn't read these in quite some time, and it's amazing that MM wrote these books in about 3-4 days, each. (!)
 
Now reading Dante's Divine Comedy. Yes, all three books. :)

I have the Longfellow translation, and I'm having a bit of trouble understanding what is going on at times. I have to go back and re-read stanzas. Has anyone else read this translation? Did you have the same trouble, or was it easy for you? I'm not sure if the Longfellow translation is highly regarded or not.
 
Just finished Inferno and I'll be hunting down the others. But I got the version by John Ciardi. It is NOT a word-for-word translation. It is a "transposition". Just as a piece of music can be played on a piano (Italian) and can be played on a violin (English) the two versions can be the same yet sound different. He considered this, and instead worked to preserve the context of what was being said, instead of just the words being used. It flows, much like music. He retained the rhythmic flow, most of the stanzas rhymed properly, but certain straight translations were changed to make the flow of the poem work. He first took into account that this was POETRY. Not merely a text or dialogue. And John Ciardi is, after all, a poet first, then a translator.

Also, before each Canto, he gives a synopsis of what is actually happening in layman terms. So you can appreciate the poem for its poetry, by knowing what the hell is going on first! Kinda like going to the opera and getting the translated notes, so you know what will be sung, and then you can sit back and appreciate the music for what it is.

I suggest you at the very least, go find a copy and read the introduction and first Canto. You'll see what I'm talking about and then understand. And probably, appreciate his efforts! Because to merely translate such a work is a daunting and frightening feat. To retain a poem's poetry in a translation, surely is difficult work.

So I'll snag Purgatorio and Paradiso before the end of the month.


But first.... HYPERION!!!! The priest's tale already had me mind-fucked as I finished it. I'm halfway through the soldier, and this is BRUTAL stuff to picture mentally. Truly visionary, imagination-sparking reading.
 
Bryan316 said:
But first.... HYPERION!!!! The priest's tale already had me mind-fucked as I finished it. I'm halfway through the soldier, and this is BRUTAL stuff to picture mentally. Truly visionary, imagination-sparking reading.
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The first book sets the stage really well.....and the second book confirms the series in its greatness. I'm still surprised that the first book won the Hugo and the Nebula since it's more of a stage-setter than a complete work in itself, but clearly the voters (which might have included me, back then :)) saw the brilliance early. Great series, and the Endymion follow-ups are also excellent.
 
Reading "Faerie Tale" by Raymond Feist. I read this way back when I was in college. I was reading a Michael Moorcock book (can't remember which one). I knew I would finish it that night, so I went to the mall to get another book, and ended up picking up this book. I finished the other book sometime during the evening. When I went to bed, I started reading this book. After reading it for a while, I put it down, took a shower and went to my morning class. Then I came back home, finished the book, and went to sleep.

When I started reading it now, I kept thinking, "What's so compelling about this book? I can't believe I couldn't put it down." Well, after a couple more short chapters, I got to the compelling part. Now, I'm carrying it around with me in case I have a couple of minutes to read a chapter or two. Most of the chapters are very short. It's a great book.
 
Yippee38 said:
Reading "Faerie Tale" by Raymond Feist...... Now, I'm carrying it around with me in case I have a couple of minutes to read a chapter or two. Most of the chapters are very short. It's a great book.
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I really need to dig out my copy of that and read it. I'm fairly sure I have it, but never read it, and I like almost everything I've read by Feist.*

Nice guy, too. My friend Jim and I met him back at the 1986 Worldcon, when he was still 'small,' and insisted on paying for his cab-fare to a book signing. :)




-=-=-=-=-
* except for that one Midkemia book I kinda hated.....
 
Pellaz said:
I really need to dig out my copy of that and read it. I'm fairly sure I have it, but never read it, and I like almost everything I've read by Feist.*

Nice guy, too. My friend Jim and I met him back at the 1986 Worldcon, when he was still 'small,' and insisted on paying for his cab-fare to a book signing. :)




-=-=-=-=-
* except for that one Midkemia book I kinda hated.....
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This book was published in '88. It's funny because it's filled with dated technology. I keep thinking, "Whip out your cell, and call somebody." "Oh yeah. They didn't have those back then."
 
Now re-reading: Michael Crichton, State of Fear. I'd been skimming it for the temperature graphs and charts, and just decided to say fuck-it and just re-read it entirely. :)

Yippee38 said:
This book was published in '88. It's funny because it's filled with dated technology. I keep thinking, "Whip out your cell, and call somebody." "Oh yeah. They didn't have those back then."
Click to expand...

LOL. It -is- jarring when you read something nowadays and think "Damn. This entire plot could NEVER have happened after, say, 1998...."
 
Just finished reading "Sarah's Key" by Tatiana De Rosnay. Utterly shocking, gripping book on France's participation in the Holocaust, particularly the Vel' d'Hiv' roundup. I have to admit, I honestly was not aware that this had happened. The characters and plot are fictioinal, but the events on which the story is based are real. This book was a real eye opener. A must read imo.
 
Pendergast is back!

fever-dream-douglas-preston-hardcover-cover-art.jpg
 
Working on Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn books - I don't care enough about Jordan to want to read his take on that, but I figure if he was selected to write 'em, odds are he's at least a decent writer.

Which he is, but the whole malevolent-entities-called-mistwraiths is disturbingly close to Janny Wurts...
 
Working on "Atlas Shrugged" again. Haven't read it in 20 years. Amazing how the ideas and philosophies appear even more current now then when I first read it.
 
AMBR said:
Working on "Atlas Shrugged" again. Haven't read it in 20 years. Amazing how the ideas and philosophies appear even more current now then when I first read it.
Click to expand...

Yep. It had been a while since I'd read it too, and I was actually more impressed with it this time around than I was the first time...and not only because so much of the book's plot is being mirrored by the "Legislature" and the "Chief Executive" (as Rand puts it) today.

I still freely admit to just skimming over John Galt's speech. :D
In fact, I wanna see someone actually read it during the timeframe given in the book. I'm not sure it's humanly possible. :)

Francisco d'Anconia's speech, however, is still absolutely brilliant.


I'm about 2/3 of the way through State of Fear and I really have to wonder...when he was doing his extensive research for it, did author Michael Crichton actually discover that Big Environment was deliberately falsifying temperature data to "hide the decline" (their own words) in global temperatures? The book was released several years before the news broke about the E. Anglia data being (ahem) massaged and the UN I.P.C.C. using "grey" journalism to justify its statements, and Crichton's notes seem to actually imply it.

Sadly, we may never know. R.I.P.
 
I'm looking for a few suggestions. I'm about to wrap up the Raymond Feist series and don't feel like rereading any of the other series I've read:

David Eddings
Robert Jordan
R.A. Salvatore
George RR Martin
Tolkien, of course
Terry Goodkind
Piers Anthony (about 1/4 of the Xanth novels but lost interest)
Frank Herbert

I'm sure I've missed an author or two. I usually like to read series versus standalone novels. Anything along the fantasy/wizard/magician stuff is pretty good for me. Never got too much into Anne McCaffrey but probably should give it another try. I'm too lazy to go back through the 49 pages here looking for good suggestions.....
 
I'm re-reading the Belgaraid, by David Eddings. I read it back in high school, but I recently purchased The Mallorean, so I wanted to refresh my membory about the characters and their background. It's like reading the books for the first time, because I've forgotten so much. Though I'm still not looking forward to the introduction of Ce'nedra.
 
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