Now Reading...

I'm fine with anti-heroes. I like the Elric novels. At least...the first few. After a certain point the novels jump around in time and don't seem to follow the initial story set in the first three (I think) novels.

Nahh, it was worse than that: Michael killed off his best character (Elric) a bit too early. :)
So, he revisited the milieu and reordered things, swapped some of the original stories into full-length novels, etc.

Some of the jumping-around is due to MM's tie-ins to the Eternal Champion cycle, when other aspects of the EC (Hawkmoon, Corum, Erekose) will appear in "cameos" in a few of the Elric books -- and vice-versa.
--And if you think THAT's a bit confusing, try crafting a bibliography out of it. After working on it during the six years I ran Michael's international fan-club, I happily turned it -- and the club -- over to some truly dedicated Brits. :heh:
 
Nahh, it was worse than that: Michael killed off his best character (Elric) a bit too early. :)
So, he revisited the milieu and reordered things, swapped some of the original stories into full-length novels, etc.

I was wondering how he was able to write more Elric books. I've only read the original series (up to "Elric At The End Of Time")

The only other Moorcock I've read is "Nomad Of The Time Streams".
 
I just started The Wise Man's Fear. 1000 pages? Really? That thing weighs 5 pounds. I'm gonna have to start reading another book when I'm on the road as I'm not gonna carry that boat anchor around with me.
 
So...I'm a little weirded-out at Thomas Covenant's apparent obsession with a 16 year old girl at the earlier part of the first novel. Also, Donaldson's writing style is a bit on the dense side for me. I'm slogging through it alright so far, though. It's like the man sat at his typewriter with a thesaurus and a dictionary. On the plus side, I am expanding my vocabulary. :D
 
I just started The Wise Man's Fear. 1000 pages? Really? That thing weighs 5 pounds. I'm gonna have to start reading another book when I'm on the road as I'm not gonna carry that boat anchor around with me.

Another good argument for eBooks. It made it easier to read a book like Anathem (or any Stephenson, for that matter...)
 
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I found the last two Christopher Moore novels I was missing, so this week I'll be reading Bloodsucking Fiends (I ended up reading this trilogy in reverse order) and the Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove. Let the hilarity ensue.
 
I was wondering how he was able to write more Elric books. I've only read the original series (up to "Elric At The End Of Time")

The mere passage of time (and premature killing off of characters) is no bar to someone like Mike, who works in the timestreams like others work in oil or watercolor. :)

The only other Moorcock I've read is "Nomad Of The Time Streams".

They named that one after the fan-club we formed. Kinda gives me a thrill whenever I see that title. :saint:


So...I'm a little weirded-out at Thomas Covenant's apparent obsession with a 16 year old girl at the earlier part of the first novel. Also, Donaldson's writing style is a bit on the dense side for me. I'm slogging through it alright so far, though. It's like the man sat at his typewriter with a thesaurus and a dictionary. On the plus side, I am expanding my vocabulary. :D

I told you! I told you! :)

For me, the first Covenant trilogy was more about glorious world-building than really liking the title character -- normally a dangerous thing for a writer to do, but for me, The Land triumphed over all.
 
I just finished Stephen Colbert's "I am America, and so can you" the other day. Pretty much what you'd expect from him, with his take on many subjects that concern Americans (and lampooning them all). At the end was his White House press dinner bit, which was a bit more tame than the impression I got from the media. I guess some conservatives are easily offended.
 
I just finished Stephen Colbert's "I am America, and so can you" the other day. Pretty much what you'd expect from him, with his take on many subjects that concern Americans (and lampooning them all). At the end was his White House press dinner bit, which was a bit more tame than the impression I got from the media. I guess some conservatives are easily offended.

That was a fun book. Not as funny as the Daily Show's America: The Book, but it still had a lot of laughs.
 
There's a lot of blood flowing in this thread lately. :)

Now Reading: Tanya Huff, Blood Debt and Blood Bank collected in one volume; the latter is 8 short-stories (one new for this edition). All involve her Henry Fitzroy milieu.

Although it had a slow start, 1635: The Cannon Law's ending more than made up for it, with some decidedly non-historical regime change in the See of Rome. :heh:
 
In the "done" file lately:

Legion by William Peter Blatty -- always enjoyed the movie, loved the book
Appaloosa by Robert B. Parker -- finally read the book AND saw the movie. Thumbs up on both!
Betrayers by Bill Pronzini -- (#37 in his excellent Nameless Detective series)
Dress Her In Indigo by John D. MacDonald -- (#11 Travis McGee)

Currently 160 pages in (and only up to the end of '83) in....Enter Night by Mick Wall. 300 more pages to go, and I'm loving the shit out of this book. I've got some pretty good rock-bios in my collection, and my "pending" file keeps filling up with more...but this is a good one. Highly Recommended!
 
Just finished: Best Served Cold, by Joe Abercrombie. It started strong and ended strong, but to me, it dragged in the middle third or so. Once the structure of the plot was revealed early on, there was really no intrigue or mystery to be found, you just end up following a 600 page checklist. There are lots of smaller twists in the story to keep you going, though. And as always, Abercrombie's humor is sharp, and his prose is crisp and efficient. I preferred the First Law Trilogy, but this one also helps set what is hopefully a much larger picture of his world to be revealed over the next several books.

Now reading: Under the Dome, by Stephen King. I'll be done grading final exams by Tuesday, so I wanted to start the summer properly, with a 1000+ page whopper!

Probably up next: The Hero of Ages, by Brandon Sanderson.

Ken
 
In the "done" file lately:

Legion by William Peter Blatty -- always enjoyed the movie, loved the book
Appaloosa by Robert B. Parker -- finally read the book AND saw the movie. Thumbs up on both!
Betrayers by Bill Pronzini -- (#37 in his excellent Nameless Detective series)
Dress Her In Indigo by John D. MacDonald -- (#11 Travis McGee)

Currently 160 pages in (and only up to the end of '83) in....Enter Night by Mick Wall. 300 more pages to go, and I'm loving the shit out of this book. I've got some pretty good rock-bios in my collection, and my "pending" file keeps filling up with more...but this is a good one. Highly Recommended!

I didn't care for that Appaloosa movie at all, and Renee whatsername looked like she had been stung in the face by bees...repeatedly.
 
Just finished: Best Served Cold, by Joe Abercrombie. It started strong and ended strong, but to me, it dragged in the middle third or so. Once the structure of the plot was revealed early on, there was really no intrigue or mystery to be found, you just end up following a 600 page checklist. There are lots of smaller twists in the story to keep you going, though. And as always, Abercrombie's humor is sharp, and his prose is crisp and efficient. I preferred the First Law Trilogy, but this one also helps set what is hopefully a much larger picture of his world to be revealed over the next several books.

Now reading: Under the Dome, by Stephen King. I'll be done grading final exams by Tuesday, so I wanted to start the summer properly, with a 1000+ page whopper!

Probably up next: The Hero of Ages, by Brandon Sanderson.

Ken

Much love for Under the Dome.

I've heard good things about Abercrombie, but haven't tried any of his books. What's a good starting point?

Oh, and I just finished

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and am working on

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