Search
Latest topics
» Top 5 Gaming Goals For 2018 (with 2016 and 2017 also mixed in)by BretBaber Wed Jan 30, 2019 3:47 pm
» Now Playing
by volvocrusher Mon Sep 10, 2018 12:27 pm
» General TV Show Discussion
by volvocrusher Mon Jul 02, 2018 3:48 pm
» First Half of 2018 Questionnaire (GotY So Far, etc.)
by volvocrusher Sat Jun 30, 2018 10:35 pm
What have you been reading?
+11
Motinator
CountryRubes
Captain N
AlexC-25
Krubixcube
BretBaber
volvocrusher
TheMatt
avidacridjam
b.b.hagen
TripOpt55
15 posters
Page 8 of 10
Page 8 of 10 • 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Re: What have you been reading?
Checked out Superman: Red Son. Takes place in an alternate universe where Superman landed in the Soviet Union. Fantastic read, Superman vs Lex Luthor was also USSR vs America with both sides being flawed and only focusing on the others' problems, yet still having their own ideals which makes them both flawed heroes rather than good vs evil. Highly recommended even if you don't like Superman
volvocrusher- Goddess of the Seal
- Posts : 3467
Join date : 2013-02-21
Age : 32
Location : Placentia, California
Re: What have you been reading?
Finished A Storm of Swords. Going to take a break and read IQ84 for a change of pace.
Krubixcube- Goddess of the Seal
- Posts : 3582
Join date : 2013-02-25
Age : 35
Location : Colorado
Re: What have you been reading?
Haven't been reading much lately, but I did finish Best Served Cold. Really loved the main character (she was actually an interesting female character which the other books lacked) and it was neat to see other characters from the trilogy show up in various ways. You get an idea of what is going on in the world post-trilogy without diving in too deep.
Re: What have you been reading?
When I saw you reading that I added it to my "to-read" list, so will have to try it out. That said, once I finish A Dance With Dragons I will likely take a break from Fantasy for a while. Read some shorter stuff.
Krubixcube- Goddess of the Seal
- Posts : 3582
Join date : 2013-02-25
Age : 35
Location : Colorado
Re: What have you been reading?
So I finished A Dance With Dragons...I hope George doesn't die before finishing this. And really, he shouldn't because the last 2 books could have been 1 book at half the length. Or, given the number of characters, 2 books at half length each. Common George, more plot less details!
Krubixcube- Goddess of the Seal
- Posts : 3582
Join date : 2013-02-25
Age : 35
Location : Colorado
Re: What have you been reading?
I'm not sure if I'd buy it but it seems interesting.
I started up Catch 22. I must say after reading A Song of Ice and Fire, it's a little hard going back to something that's so densely written. Find myself going back and re-reading pages a lot. Hard to lose track of who's talking and who's who. I love the X-Ray feature on the Kindle though. Life saver for books with lots of characters (A Song of Ice and Fire really could have used it...)
I started up Catch 22. I must say after reading A Song of Ice and Fire, it's a little hard going back to something that's so densely written. Find myself going back and re-reading pages a lot. Hard to lose track of who's talking and who's who. I love the X-Ray feature on the Kindle though. Life saver for books with lots of characters (A Song of Ice and Fire really could have used it...)
Krubixcube- Goddess of the Seal
- Posts : 3582
Join date : 2013-02-25
Age : 35
Location : Colorado
Re: What have you been reading?
I'm debating whether or not World of Ice & Fire should be a Christmas present.
avidacridjam- Beary Bad Joker
- Posts : 885
Join date : 2013-02-22
Age : 43
Location : Arkansas
Re: What have you been reading?
I'll post some impressions once I get it. I added something to my order to get free shipping (or possibly used free shipping as an excuse to get something else) and it was back ordered, so I won't have AWoIaF for another week or so.
Re: What have you been reading?
I read about thirty pages of AWoIaF which was up to the Doom of Valyria. So you get history about both Essos and Westeros to that point. It is definitely dry, but still some interesting stuff. The art is really great. Next up I get into the Targ conquest of Westeros which should be a bit more detailed.
Re: What have you been reading?
Speaking of which, the e-book version of World of Ice & Fire is available from Google Play right now for $6.25. I'd like the physical copy but can't afford it now. This will do in the meantime.
avidacridjam- Beary Bad Joker
- Posts : 885
Join date : 2013-02-22
Age : 43
Location : Arkansas
Re: What have you been reading?
Can't go wrong at that price. I still haven't read a ton of it. I'm somewhere in the middle of the Targ King section, but it is definitely interesting. Helps me understand some stuff better that was alluded to in the books, but not fully explained.
Re: What have you been reading?
I took a break from my Westeros history studies and jumped back into The Way of Kings. It is finally getting interesting.
Re: What have you been reading?
I have been reading Warlock. For those of you who are Deadwood fans this is pretty much Deadwood the novel. That is to say: it's awesome
Krubixcube- Goddess of the Seal
- Posts : 3582
Join date : 2013-02-25
Age : 35
Location : Colorado
Re: What have you been reading?
My friend got me a collection of Philip K. Dick short stories (includes The Minority Report). Never read him before, so I will be working some of these short stories in between other reading.
Re: What have you been reading?
Ended up getting The Heroes, the next First Law standalone, for Christmas so I'll probably take a break from A Way of Kings for that.
Re: What have you been reading?
Yay! I love Phillip K. Dick, Trip! The guy can't end a story to save his life but by that I mean literally the last couple of pages or so always go a bit...weird. But, he's an awesome author.
Krubixcube- Goddess of the Seal
- Posts : 3582
Join date : 2013-02-25
Age : 35
Location : Colorado
Re: What have you been reading?
I read a couple of the stories and I definitely enjoyed them. Any full-length novels you'd recommend?
Re: What have you been reading?
I would say start with either of the following (which are listed from most sci-fi to least sci-fi):
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep
Ubik
A Scanner Darkly
Hope you enjoy them!
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep
Ubik
A Scanner Darkly
Hope you enjoy them!
Krubixcube- Goddess of the Seal
- Posts : 3582
Join date : 2013-02-25
Age : 35
Location : Colorado
Re: What have you been reading?
Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said is also worthwhile.
avidacridjam- Beary Bad Joker
- Posts : 885
Join date : 2013-02-22
Age : 43
Location : Arkansas
Re: What have you been reading?
I finished The Heroes and didn't like it as much as the other ones I read so far. I really liked a couple of the POV characters (Calder who is Bethod's son and Bremer dan Gorst who fought Jezal in the fencing contest in Book 1). He still writes great action sequences, but the overall plot was a bit disappointing. And I felt it kind of just retread too much similar ground to the trilogy in the end. Still pretty good. I hope to get around to the final book eventually, but will be taking a break.
I have the second Veronica Mars book coming this week. The first seemed way better than the usual tie-in novel I've read, so I look forward to this one. I am going to try and squeeze in a book from my unfinished pile before then though. I chose A Matter of Time by Glen Cook. It is like time travel detective type thing.
I have the second Veronica Mars book coming this week. The first seemed way better than the usual tie-in novel I've read, so I look forward to this one. I am going to try and squeeze in a book from my unfinished pile before then though. I chose A Matter of Time by Glen Cook. It is like time travel detective type thing.
Re: What have you been reading?
I saw you were reading some of the Phillip K. Dick stuff on Goodreads. Enjoying it?
I started up the Mote in God's Eye and so far I'm in 2 very distinct modes about it.
1. It is one of the most honest accounts of what aliens might actually be like (i.e. not at ALL like us). So that's been highly enjoyable
2. The characters are dull and uninteresting and speak their mind in that "THIS IS WHAT I THINK" way that some sci fi authors do. The lack of subtlety with the characters is definitely stopping it from being a page turner.
I started up the Mote in God's Eye and so far I'm in 2 very distinct modes about it.
1. It is one of the most honest accounts of what aliens might actually be like (i.e. not at ALL like us). So that's been highly enjoyable
2. The characters are dull and uninteresting and speak their mind in that "THIS IS WHAT I THINK" way that some sci fi authors do. The lack of subtlety with the characters is definitely stopping it from being a page turner.
Krubixcube- Goddess of the Seal
- Posts : 3582
Join date : 2013-02-25
Age : 35
Location : Colorado
Re: What have you been reading?
I've only been reading the short stories still. Other than Minority Report which I liked a lot, none have really blown me away. I did add a couple other full novels to my "To Read" pile. I think the longer form stuff will be more up my alley. I'm going to put them in my next book order. Not sure if that is the intent of the "To Read" section on Goodreads, but I was bored so it became the intent!
Re: What have you been reading?
I ordered The Road, The Man in the High Castle and American Gods today. I also bought The Hunger Games on a whim while out today. So will have plenty of new stuff to read. I just wasn't digging either of the books I still have unfinished that much. Needed something else.
Re: What have you been reading?
The way The Road is written is pretty weird. I only read about 20 pages so far but had no idea what I was in for I guess.
Re: What have you been reading?
McCarthy definitely is a love/hate author with a very unique sense of pacing and style. Read it in a gravely Texan accent and that's how I imagine the man lives. BUT I would never call his style simple, there's some really beautiful stuff in his books. I still think The Road is actually one of his weaker books despite its popularity.
Krubixcube- Goddess of the Seal
- Posts : 3582
Join date : 2013-02-25
Age : 35
Location : Colorado
Re: What have you been reading?
Yeah some other friends on another forum were reading The Road so I jumped on it. The price was just the right amount to get my order to free shipping too so that was a plus. Still not sure how I feel about the style, but I did hop over to The Man in the High Castle for now. Seems a little slow going. It is interesting though. I'm about halfway through.
Re: What have you been reading?
I finished Red Country and thought it was really good. It is a sort of fantasy/western hyrbid. I normally wouldn't be too interested in a Western, but with the fantasy elements and characters I already have attachment too, it ended up really landing for me. They also brought back a pretty major character from the main series and put them in a main role which was cool and the other spinoffs didn't do.
Some thoughts on the whole series. These three were my favorites. Not sure which order:
The Last Argument of Kings: Because it brought the trilogy to an end in a way that felt so appropriate for what it was. Plus just crammed so many major things in it. Kind of crazy thinking back on how much happened in this book.
Best Served Cold: The main trilogy was lacking in good female characters and I think that is one of the reasons I was impressed with this one with Monza at the core of it. The end was a bit more balanced than the main trilogy. Like I just praised the trilogy's ending because it feels perfect for what the series was and yet it was borderline depressing.
Red Country: All that stuff I said up there. And after thinking I knew what to expect with the end he managed to surprise me again.
The Blade Itself: A slight step back from these other three but still quite good.
Before They Are Hanged: The ending here is where his whole cutting down tropes thing just ended up working against him I think. Having said that Logen and Jezal bonding on the journey was as good as anything in the series, so I like it for that a lot.
The Heroes: I love the idea of just focusing on a single battle, but this one loses something in the process. It feels like it retreads too many of the main trilogy's themes too where as the other spin-offs seem like their own thing.
Kind of like I prefer the long-form storytelling of TV to movies, I like getting into a book series like this as opposed to one-off stuff. I was actually sad upon reaching the end because it was over. It sounds like he might do another trilogy that takes place some time after these books though which I will definitely check out.
Also thanks Twolf as you and a few other friends of mine mentioning these books made me take the plunge and they were good fun. And these dark types of fantasy are the ones I seem to like.
Some thoughts on the whole series. These three were my favorites. Not sure which order:
The Last Argument of Kings: Because it brought the trilogy to an end in a way that felt so appropriate for what it was. Plus just crammed so many major things in it. Kind of crazy thinking back on how much happened in this book.
Best Served Cold: The main trilogy was lacking in good female characters and I think that is one of the reasons I was impressed with this one with Monza at the core of it. The end was a bit more balanced than the main trilogy. Like I just praised the trilogy's ending because it feels perfect for what the series was and yet it was borderline depressing.
Red Country: All that stuff I said up there. And after thinking I knew what to expect with the end he managed to surprise me again.
The Blade Itself: A slight step back from these other three but still quite good.
Before They Are Hanged: The ending here is where his whole cutting down tropes thing just ended up working against him I think. Having said that Logen and Jezal bonding on the journey was as good as anything in the series, so I like it for that a lot.
The Heroes: I love the idea of just focusing on a single battle, but this one loses something in the process. It feels like it retreads too many of the main trilogy's themes too where as the other spin-offs seem like their own thing.
Kind of like I prefer the long-form storytelling of TV to movies, I like getting into a book series like this as opposed to one-off stuff. I was actually sad upon reaching the end because it was over. It sounds like he might do another trilogy that takes place some time after these books though which I will definitely check out.
Also thanks Twolf as you and a few other friends of mine mentioning these books made me take the plunge and they were good fun. And these dark types of fantasy are the ones I seem to like.
Page 8 of 10 • 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Page 8 of 10
Permissions in this forum:
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
|
|