Now Reading...
- Thread starter Rakosh
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kittybeast
Member
Take a walk on the dark side- the myths and legends of rock n rollhttp://search.barnesandnoble.com/Take-a-Walk-on-the-Dark-Side/R-Gary-Patterson/e/9780743244237
I'm in the middle of that now. I'm not as impressed with it as I was with the first one - it's a lot sloppier in writing - but still engrossing.
Pellaz
Tigron of Immanion
I always thought Arthur C. Clarke was a classic example of this. GREAT sci-fi concepts, and oftentimes a decent plot, but the character development is all-but-nonexistent. I seem to recall one of his books (might have been Rendezvous With Rama) where one of the main characters is never physically described. (!)
This is makes the truly great SF storytellers stand out -- good SF concepts, gripping plots, and characters that you can really "dig into."
Pellaz
Tigron of Immanion
Just finished Dies the Fire by S.M. Stirling (who's a guest at Dragon*Con this year, I've just noticed).
Pretty good, although the last quarter of the book seems a bit rushed and some of the increasingly significant battles are surprisingly glossed-over. And I'm still wondering if real Wiccans do act that silly all the time.
Now reading 1633 by Eric Flint.
Pretty good, although the last quarter of the book seems a bit rushed and some of the increasingly significant battles are surprisingly glossed-over. And I'm still wondering if real Wiccans do act that silly all the time.
Now reading 1633 by Eric Flint.
AngraRULES
Member
I am revisiting what could possibly be my favorite book ever, by one of the funniest and more clever writers of this century:
A Walk in the Woods, by Bill Bryson. The *PERFECT* travel book, period.
A Walk in the Woods, by Bill Bryson. The *PERFECT* travel book, period.
dionysus11
MSTmike3K
IDW comics just released a crossover series The X-Files : 30 Days of Night, the first issue was just released this month and it is great
progmetalprincess
Member
That book is fantastic! I loved it. Couldn't put it down. He has other books that are great as well although "Devil in the White City" remains my favorite.
"Thunderstruck" is about Guglielmo Marconi, the inventor of wireless telegraphy, and Hawley Crippen, a mild-mannered homeopathic doctor in turn-of-the-century London.
"Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History" is about the 1900 hurricane that decimated Galveston.
metalprof
Ken Luther
Just finished Dies the Fire by S.M. Stirling (who's a guest at Dragon*Con this year, I've just noticed).
Pretty good, although the last quarter of the book seems a bit rushed and some of the increasingly significant battles are surprisingly glossed-over. And I'm still wondering if real Wiccans do act that silly all the time.
It's a good thing that in Stirling's world, almost every single survivor was either
(a) A Wiccan
(b) A member of SCA who knew how to handle a sword or crossbow for real
(c) someone who happened to have a hobby related to pre-technology maunfacturing, blacksmithing, or animal husbandry.
Ken
OrbWeaver
BECAUSE FALCONER
It's a good thing that in Stirling's world, almost every single survivor was either
(a) A Wiccan
(b) A member of SCA who knew how to handle a sword or crossbow for real
(c) someone who happened to have a hobby related to pre-technology maunfacturing, blacksmithing, or animal husbandry.
Ken
I read a trilogy of books by Sterling and noticed the same thing. However, he did indicate that the people that COULDN'T do any of that stuff (in B and C) ended up dying in the first years of the Change.
Pellaz
Tigron of Immanion
Yep. Given the premise of the series, a story about 'normal' people would be a VERY brief one.
guardian26
Mike the Cop
Wandrail
I'm your Huckleberry
Just finished Abercrombie's First Law trilogy last night. These books weren't quite what I was expecting, but they were entertaining. I think I was expecting something of a bit darker tone, whereas the writing here is actually rather lite, despite the violence.
Reading Enemy Glory by Karen Michalson. Its pretty good fantasy. The characters have complexity, and the author plays with philosophical ideas. I'm about half way through right now.
guardian26
Mike the Cop
I found this to be a great series...but I thought it was fairly dark. Or maybe I found it to be a reflection of reality, with the characters just being who they were, not improving or rising up? Loved it, regardless.
Just finished: The First Rule by Robert Crais -- While I dig Elvis Cole, this 2nd stab at a Joe Pike novel was a lot of fun...gritty, dark, and violent. No one does LA crime like Crais.
Just started: 61 Hours by Lee Child -- 14 books in and Jack Reacher hasn't gotten old yet...always a goofy complex story, but it seems to work...such a guilty pleasure!
Rock on!
Just started: 61 Hours by Lee Child -- 14 books in and Jack Reacher hasn't gotten old yet...always a goofy complex story, but it seems to work...such a guilty pleasure!
Rock on!
Yippee38
Living the dream!
I did too, but I suppose that's because it is a bit more gritty than your typical fantasy stuff. I too loved it, and can't recommend it highly enough.
I'm reading A Cruel Wind by Glen Cook. That's the first compilation book of "The Dread Empire" novels. I read A Shadow of All Night Falling. As with all Glen Cook stuff, it is good. It strikes me as a trial run on "Instrumentalities of the Night." It's not as humorous as the Garret P.I. book or even any of "The Black Company" books. It's not as complicated as "Instrumentalities of the Night." I'm about half way through October's Baby. It's a whole different book although many of the characters remain.
It's funny with Glen Cook's novels that there is always an overarching plot going on that you find out about tidbits at a time over the entire series. That's the way this one is.
I'm loving the book so far even though it's not as good as some of his other stuff. However, I am an admitted fan boy.
Wandrail
I'm your Huckleberry
I enjoyed it don't get me wrong, but I guess what I mean by "lite" is that they were actually pretty humorous books. I laughed a lot more than I found myself enthralled by the drama or the grimness of it all. Compare it to something like George R.R. Martin's stuff...
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