Current reading - Page 73

Finished The Unincorporated Man by the brothers Kollin. Enjoyable ‘old School’ science fiction. I had a couple of small issues with some of the writing, but enjoyed the book enough to look forward to The Unincorporated War.

Finished Neuromancer. Can anyone tell me how William Gibson did not sue the Wachowski Bros?

Just started The Lies of Locke Lamora. Liking it so far.

I felt The Unicorporated Man started well but then got bogged down towards the end. I'm interested to see where they're going with The Unincorporated War. Still, it really did use the sci-fi setting to explore the ideas of corporations in modern society in an interesting way.

I just finished reading Stephen Baxter's Ark. While the sequel to Flood started in a bit of a hole (having to climb out from what was basically an uninteresting prequel to Waterworld), it was more space oriented and definitely a more sci-fi book that felt almost Heinlein-ian to me at some point.

I finished up Goodwin's "Team of Rivals". It exceeded every one of my expectations (which were considerably elevated). If you have any interest in historical non-fiction, especially with regard to the politics of the Civil War era, I cannot recommend this enough.

Presently, I'm hunkered down with some Leatherstocking tales as I read "The Last of the Mohicans".

Lamora is AWESOME. Easily one of my favorite of the genre (it's different, but at least as good as the Malazan books). And the sequel's good too.

As for Neuromancer... I've NEVER read it... shame on me...

Finishing up a long-overdue reread of The Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul. After this it's 2666, I think.

Finished BEAT THE REAPER and BIG CITY BAD BLOOD. Both great books, though REAPER is the more taut of the two. Bazzell's a great writer.

Now it's onto KAVALIER AND KLAY.

So good. I keep meaning to do a re-read of the Dirk Gently novels. Maybe this summer.

Loved K and K, but I'm finding YIDDISH POLICEMAN'S UNION a bit of a slog.

Reading the first book of Necroscope...out of a million. I think I'll just finish the first, unless I am compelled to read...a million. Lumley has a billion books and series'.

This book ruined the movie 300 for me.

The Alexander books are alright, but I strongly suggest Killing Rommel, a great WW2 novel, and Tides of War, another Greek novel, featuring the Peloponnesian War. Nothing can beat Gates of Fire, but Killing Rommel sure try and come close.

I felt the same about YPU - I just couldn't get into it at all. People keep telling me to re-read it, though, so I'll sit on it for a few months and then check it out from the library again.

Still plowing through Infinite Jest. It's clicking a lot better now than it did last year.

I think part of my problem is my woeful ignorance on Yiddish phrases, customs and terminology. The book is loaded with them.

I still mark finishing that book as my proudest literary accomplishments, reading-wise, even above Moby-Dick. And like Moby-Dick, the ending is one of most satisfying I've ever read. Keep at it.

I was expressly informed to use two bookmarks, which I wish I had thought of. I'm only on page 100-something, so I can still hopefully catch up on the footnotes before going any further.

Jake, did you finish Do They Know I'm Running? And isn't it amazing?

It's fucking GREAT. I'm trying to fix up my signed copy now.

You should try and go to Bouchercon in SF next October. I'll introduce you to David.

Next October or this October? Either way, I can probably swing it

Thanks to the recommendations made around these parts, I'm currently loving the delightful The Lies Of Locke Lamora.

Great fucking book.

This October.

http://www.bcon2010.com/

As someone who hates fantasy, but likes crime novels, it was great for me

Just started reading it as well! ha ha

NICE. I'll get this, then, since I'm in the same boat.
Hardcore. I'll do my best to be there, I'll update you as the date gets closer. Any deadlines for booking hotels/etc?

Uh, soon? It is in October, and that's kinda close.

I'll intro you to the best people. I'm hoping Rath makes it too.

Yeah, Locke Lamora is a little difficult at first as it is suffers from the usual fantasy author bloat, but not nearly as much as some. It still moves like a bullet though and the con man/heist stuff is great. Its like Leverage/Ocean's 11 in a lot of ways. It's the fantasy series I wish HBO was adapting instead of Martin's way overrated and badly written series.

Exactly what I thought - it'd make the best HBO series, its like renaissance fantasy-meets-the sting with a dash of Dickens thrown in.

Without giving anything away, majorish plot threads are resolved in the footnotes towards the end. Definitely catch up.

The Lamora novels are a bit of traditional fantasy, mixed with a (kinda like Ocean's 11) caper, set in a fantasy-yet-similar-to 16th Century Italian City State.

That's how I sold it to friends. All loved it.

And the sequel is more or less a casino heist in Monte Carlo with some high seas shenannigans thrown in.

I keep seeing Joseph Gordon Levitt as Locke

Funny, the Locke in my head is James McAvoy. Levitts a good one tho.

Absolutely loved "Locke Lamora", but--given that there's only one other book--I'm resisting starting the sequel for a while. If freakin' George R.R. Martin has taught me anything, it's to parse these bad boys out.

And, yeah, Levitt is a great choice for Locke.

To be fair, Lynch has a really good excuse, better than Martin's "Whoops, football is on!" The turn-around between Locke Lamora and Red Seas was pretty reasonable.

I don't understand how so many fantasy writers say this is their career and have so little discipline in their work ethic.

Anyone out there into Ian M. Banks' sci-fi stuff? I dipped my toe into his Culture novels and am finding them a lot of fun. Kinda like Star Wars for grown ups without George Lucas fucking things up.

Fun is not the first word I'd use to describe them...
They're really cerebral and hard to follow (especially if English is not your mother tongue...).

But yes, they are VERY solid.
I really liked The Player of Games, Excession and especially the last one I read, Look to Windward.
Been a bit disappointed by the rest.

A mature and challenging writer, no doubt.
Sometimes it all seems a bit pointless though, while other times the author seems to be trying a little too hard to make a point.

THE ODYSSEY: A MODERN SEQUEL by Nikos Kazantzakis

Why on earth is this out of print? The term "masterpiece" is exceedingly overused, but this truly deserves it. Its beauty and profundity exceeds that of Kazantzakis' other, more renowned works, such as ZORBA THE GREEK and THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST. A breathtaking achievement.

I find his cerebrality is well balanced against the action and ideas he's throwing around. His a bit like Moorcock for adults. Consider Phlebas ended with a pretty big downer but it was a blast getting there. Player of Games was fun too. Against a Dark Background was a disappointing re-hash of Phlebas. Just started Use of Weapons and it seems pretty good so far.

Thus far I haven't found Banks too heavy handed but he has his moments where he comes dangerously close and can see why some people would be turned off. Overall, I'm finding the books miles ahead of his (more recent) genre novels.

I've realised why I see McAvoy, it's cause in reality I reckon the pitch perfect Locke would have been Ewan MacGregor circa 10 years ago.

Levitt is a great choice - as is young McGregor. I felt a bit let down by the sequel, felt it was....flimsy, compared to the first, which was clearly very well worked out. He's over a year (more?) late with the third, and I've heard murmurings about him having difficulty with it/the tight deadline - anyone hear anything to that effect?

Ah. Ignore my rumormongering. A read of his site (my first visit in a couple of months) reveals he has been wrestling with depression and panic attacks for a long time. Get well soon Scott.

Deathstalker: Coda. Finally, the last book in the series.

And the new Eddie Drood book--From Hell With Love--just came out as well (Simon Green is also the author).

Back on Banks for a moment- i'm almost halfway through 'Dead Air' at the moment. It's not part of his SF work (which I haven't got around to, up til now), just straight fiction. It's also the first that I don't flat-out love to bits. I consider both 'The Wasp Factory' and esp. 'The Bridge' as some of the best fiction I've ever read. 'Complicity' and 'The Crow Road' I 'just' really really loved, but Dead Air seems like a rethread of the protagonist from Complicity, thrown in a vaguely BE Ellis-esque scenario that references 9/11 just to be topical. Very little substance, and the self-conscious hipness of about every character gets tiresome after a while. Maybe there'll be some kicker in the second part that puts all of the above in a new & more favourable light, but it doesn't seem to be heading there. I'll finish it since Banks has that kind of effortless style that makes for agreeable commuter reading... unlike Ellroy's 'American Tabloid', which was my previous attempt at reading on the train on my way to work-great book but I had to put it on the nightstand to finish it.

Also: thanks God for some unknown elderly SF/fantasy buff keeling over in the vicinity somewhere, which made his collection end up on the shelves of a used bookstore in town. Apparently he had loads, since regularly they refresh the collection, and I seem to be one of the few takers, cause the finds I do there are just marvelous. I've already managed to pick up all of Harry Harrison's Stainless Steel Rat & Deathworld, early Tanith Lee (fuck you it's great), PJ Farmer's Riverworld series, lots of Bradbury and some classics f.e. Sturgeon's More Than Human. All vintage paperbacks, all at couple of euro's tops. Best of all: the guy had a nearly complete collection of Jack Vance so it seems (which is very hard to come by in original language around here). For the first time since I was fourteen or so, I'm re-reading 'The Demon Princes'. Holy shit what a treat! I've said it before & I'll say it again: most incredibly underrated writer in the whole of SF. Sad to say, that 'll be another guy who'll have to wait till he drops dead to get some appreciation.

Currently in the middle of "The Mysterious Stranger," by Mark Twain. Really enjoying the way that Twain fuses his typically-dry wit with mysticism and religious ideas.

Finished up THE ROAD, currently reading/skimming through the entire 20th century of Nat Geo which is sitting in a giant 200 volume pile in my living room

Just started my first Joe Abercromie, a revenge fantasy called Best Served Cold. Digging it so far. Has anyone read his First Law series?

They're great. Better Fantasy Noir than Richard K. Morgan's fantasy novel.

Has anyone here read Philip Jose Farmer's "Riverworld"? I was really tempted to pick it up today at Borders, but settled on getting "Imperial Bedrooms" by Bret Easton Ellis.

Even though the reviews for "Imperial Bedrooms" have been pretty negative, I thought I should give it a shot. "Lunar Park" got ripped pretty bad too when it came out, and that probably tied for my second favorite Easton novel.

I've only read the first couple of chapters, but I've already gotten a couple of laughs from Clay ripping on the movie adaption of "Less Than Zero."

Gah, just finished The Unincorporated War. I didn't really enjoy it as much as the first and man did they really do some twisted stuff in this one.

Most annoyingly, it ended on a horrible middle part of a trilogy type of cliffhanger. Luckily it was only a bit over a year for the second part to come out so I'm hopeful the final part will come out sooner than it feels.

Still, if you're thinking of reading it I might encourage waiting until closer to the release of the next one, the ending is just that annoying.

Confessions of a Prairie Bitch by Alison Arngrim. Heartbreaking and hilarious show biz memoir. Highly recommended.

Currently halfway through The Strain by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan.

I'm conflicted about it. It was slow to start with but kind of intriguing. Now its all kicked off with the plague taking hold and its gotten a bit better. Still seems to be too many characters though and lacks focus. I keep thinking of The Stand while reading it.

Not a book but I have to get this off my chest. Picked up the last issue of Wired after a long while since it has a Pixar article and they usually get some good stuff detailed. But just from skimming it I have to say. What. The. Fuck. Maybe they should change the title to iPad monthly? Ugh. "The iPad this, Tablet PCs that" shut the fuck up. Reminded me why I stopped subscribing.

Lloyd, I thought The Strain definitely ended on a high note. I can't wait for the sequel. Anyone know what's up with it?

Yeah, is The Strain worth reading? I've avoided it mostly because people here haven't seemed particularly impressed.