What fantasy/science fiction book are you reading RIGHT NOW?

[Encryptic]

Finished "Gardens of the Moon" and will be starting "Deadhouse Gates" today.

[Phantasm]

Finished "Thud!", now started "Going Postal"

It's been ages since I last read Pratchett, now 2 in a week

[Lady Revel]

Reading the Farseer Trilogy, by Robin Hobb, am on Assassin's Quest at the moment.

[Dragonlily]

Greg Bear's STRENGTH OF STONES.

[Nav]

I'm about two-thirds of the way through Pushing Ice by Alastair Reynolds. I only bought the book on Wednesday, so that's seriously fast reading for me! Perhaps by the nature of the book, the new universe Reynolds has created isn't quite as rich as the one we were introduced to in Revelation Space, but his writing is slicker than ever. Hard and soft SF are blended effortlessly and Reynolds handles political intrigue and factional squabbling so elegantly that anyone familiar with the Gap series will weep with joy!

[Encryptic]

Finished "Deadhouse Gates" and started "Good Omens" by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.

[duke]

Finished Memory, Sorrow and Thorn book 1, The Dragonbone Chair. It had some good moments, but it is loooooongwinded. Williams seems to be aiming for big and epic and a coming of age story, but its a little too big and slow. The coming of age parts of the story work best so far, and that's what is keeping me reading. Also, it seems a weird mix of styles. Binabik reminds me of Yoda, the Norns (evil from the icy north) and the war for the throne remind me of ASOIAF.

I've just started book 2, Stone of Farewell.

[lucimay]

i can't finish anything. i'm distracted with writing.
now i've just been handed Dylan's Chronicle and told i must also read that! i've never read four books at once. it's weird!

[Dragonlily]

I'm about two-thirds of the way through Pushing Ice by Alastair Reynolds. I only bought the book on Wednesday, so that's seriously fast reading for me! Perhaps by the nature of the book, the new universe Reynolds has created isn't quite as rich as the one we were introduced to in Revelation Space, but his writing is slicker than ever. Hard and soft SF are blended effortlessly and Reynolds handles political intrigue and factional squabbling so elegantly that anyone familiar with the Gap series will weep with joy!

Nav, this is excellent news, since I just bought REVELATION SPACE.

Now reading STATES OF GRACE, the latest Count Saint-Germain vampire book by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro. She writes very well, and better yet, has a strong feel for the social forces that would press a noble vampire in 1530 Europe.

[MsMary]

I just finished reading a book called Moving Mars by Greg Bear. I found it a fascinating read, about human settlers on Mars. Has anyone ever read it?

Just as an aside, this was a book I never would have picked up if it hadn't been pushed on me by a friend at a book exchange last year.

[Dragonlily]

I asked Greg Bear what book he would recommend I start with, when I switch from his more-or-less fantasy to his high tech novels. MOVING MARS is the one he recommended.

So I got a copy. It's only 23 books down in my tbr stack.

[MsMary]

It's only 23 books down in my tbr stack.

You sound as bad as me.

And how did you come to ask Greg Bear for a book recommendation?

[I'm Murrin]

Halfway through Iron Council. Wanted to say something about M John Harrison - In Viriconium was definately the best story in the collection, and A Young Man's Journey to Viriconium the hardest to understand. I was constantly at a loss while reading the book, but for some reason I liked them. I liked them a lot. In fact, when I started reading Miéville again, I'd become so used to having to wrest meaning from every bit of the writing that it almost seemed simplistic in comparison. I've adjusted to Miéville's style, however, and though the first part suffers from lack of expostion (it takes him almost 100 pages to finally tell you enough about what's going on in NC to understand what the hell's happening in the story), it's starting to seem pretty good.

[Dragonlily]

And how did you come to ask Greg Bear for a book recommendation?

He has a message board similar to the Gradual Interview
www.gregbear.com/A55885/Contact.nsf/Blog?OpenView
so I went there to let him know RCR had reviewed another of his books. While I was writing to him, I thought I may as well ask. Actually, I was only musing, but I hoped he would answer, and he did.

[Encryptic]

Finished "Good Omens" and am about half-way through "The Year of Our War" by Steph Swainston.

[Roland of Gilead]

I blew through an old Parker novel called Slayground in a day. Parker, in yet another botched armored car robbery, ends up trapped in an amusement park by the mob and some crooked cops. Not bad - told in Richard Stark's usual lean and mean style.

Now I've started John Twelve Hawks' The Traveler. It's pretty good so far - reminds me of Highlander, with the rituals, the gifted individuals, the "secret history" going on all around us, etc.

Now we'll see if Hawks has the ability to sustain his plot and develop the characters.

[Encryptic]

Finished Memory, Sorrow and Thorn book 1, The Dragonbone Chair. It had some good moments, but it is loooooongwinded. Williams seems to be aiming for big and epic and a coming of age story, but its a little too big and slow. The coming of age parts of the story work best so far, and that's what is keeping me reading. Also, it seems a weird mix of styles. Binabik reminds me of Yoda, the Norns (evil from the icy north) and the war for the throne remind me of ASOIAF.

I've just started book 2, Stone of Farewell.

Sorry to hear that. I personally think MS&T is a fantastic trilogy, but to each his own.

I hate to say it, but it may not get better for you if you didn't like "The Dragonbone Chair", in particular if you feel it drags out too much. The final book in particular (To Green Angel Tower) is very long (if good, IMHO), and even Williams himself refers to it in the acknowledgements for TGAT as "The Bloated Epic" and "The Story That Ate My Life".

[Encryptic]

Halfway through Iron Council. Wanted to say something about M John Harrison - In Viriconium was definately the best story in the collection, and A Young Man's Journey to Viriconium the hardest to understand. I was constantly at a loss while reading the book, but for some reason I liked them. I liked them a lot. In fact, when I started reading Miéville again, I'd become so used to having to wrest meaning from every bit of the writing that it almost seemed simplistic in comparison. I've adjusted to Miéville's style, however, and though the first part suffers from lack of expostion (it takes him almost 100 pages to finally tell you enough about what's going on in NC to understand what the hell's happening in the story), it's starting to seem pretty good.

So...would you honestly recommend "Viriconium"? I've been wanting to read this for a while, but I'm waiting for the local libraries to get it in so so I can give it a try, since I've heard so much about Harrison's influence on Mieville, et al.

As far as "Iron Council" goes: I thought it was decent, but definitely a step down from the previous two books. It's definitely worth reading, of course, just not the high mark that "Perdido Street Station" was, IMHO. I definitely need to re-read it, though.

[I'm Murrin]

Viriconium is... dense. It's probably worth it for the quality of his writing and the imagery used, the atmosphere he creates, but it can be frustrating to read a story beginning to end and find you still have no idea what it was about. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the longer stories (The Pastel City and A Storm of Wings, to be specific) can seem to drag on a little as well.

[MsMary]

And how did you come to ask Greg Bear for a book recommendation?

He has a message board similar to the Gradual Interview
www.gregbear.com/A55885/Contact.nsf/Blog?OpenView
so I went there to let him know RCR had reviewed another of his books. While I was writing to him, I thought I may as well ask. Actually, I was only musing, but I hoped he would answer, and he did.

Hmm, that's an interesting site. I had no idea he'd written so many books. Wonder what else of his is good.