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Posted: Wed Jun 23, 2010 4:47 pm
by Holsety
I've recently started reading the Chung Kuo series by author David Wingrove. It's not easy to find except online, but it's a pretty good book so far (i'm only on #1 of IIRC 7 or 8 books). It's one of those "china dominates the future" books.
Vraith wrote:Here's a NO-gestion: At all costs, avoid Cook , anything related to the "Black Company."
Partial agreement. I didn't like the "Black Company" or "Dread Empire" very much, even though both seem to have been partial inspirations for the Malazan series. However, I did read a book called Passage at Arms, a sort of Das Boot in space, and I thought it was one of the best single-entry sci-fi novels I've ever read. It's about a journalist covering a war between humanity and an alien race who comes aboard a stealth ship filled with soldiers on minimum accommodations. There are a few elements the importance of which I was unable to grasp, but as a whole it's an excellent work IMO. Cook has his moments and in Passage at Arms they dominated the work.
Hiro wrote:Not a series (although a new volume seems to be in the work), but a long and extraordinary novel:
'Jonathan Strange and Mr Norell', Susanna Clarke.
One of the best if not THE best of the past decade.
Agreed! I loved it a great deal. The book of short stories she published to accompany it, The Ladies of Grace Adieu, is also very good, even if it's proabably an attempt to milk the original for cash from fans like me.
Posted: Wed Jun 23, 2010 5:45 pm
by wayfriend
Holsety wrote:I've recently started reading the Chung Kuo series by author David Wingrove.
Loved the first couple books. Went downhill. Then more downhill. Then more more downhill. I eventually gave it up after eight or so. Great worldbuilding, great characters, but soap-operaish.
Posted: Thu Jun 24, 2010 5:01 am
by Avatar
Oh damn, that sucks...I've read the first 3, and book 7 or 8, and really enjoyed them. Haven't found the others yet...sorry to hear that they get worse.
--A
Posted: Thu Jun 24, 2010 1:01 pm
by wayfriend
Well, let me clarify: what I disliked about Chung Kuo is similar to what I disliked about Malazan - storylines don't resolve, they just go on and on, and new storylines are added, which go on and on. I like long stories, but man it's got to resolve at some point or I get no satisfaction. All the stuff with Karr in it I liked - there is actually a lot of gripping story in the first four or five books. But when Wingrove really wandered away from the central storyline, like one book about nothing but some guy in politics, I found it hard to stay interested. It sort of turned into "Random Stories in Chung Kuo". Eventually I stopped caring about the series.
People who love Malazan a lot would probably love Chung Kuo a lot more than I did.
Posted: Thu Jun 24, 2010 3:31 pm
by Holsety
wayfriend wrote:Well, let me clarify: what I disliked about Chung Kuo is similar to what I disliked about Malazan - storylines don't resolve, they just go on and on, and new storylines are added, which go on and on. I like long stories, but man it's got to resolve at some point or I get no satisfaction. All the stuff with Karr in it I liked - there is actually a lot of gripping story in the first four or five books. But when Wingrove really wandered away from the central storyline, like one book about nothing but some guy in politics, I found it hard to stay interested. It sort of turned into "Random Stories in Chung Kuo". Eventually I stopped caring about the series.
People who love Malazan a lot would probably love Chung Kuo a lot more than I did.
I used to love Malazan, however recently reading Malazan has been difficult. Dust of Dreams I'm about 70 pages into and I can barely take it. I don't know why. It's just...oppressive.
That makes me go "uh oh" about reading more Chung Kuo
Posted: Thu Jun 24, 2010 4:27 pm
by Avatar
Well, I love Malazan, (and I even have a soft spot for WoT (Except book 10) so I'm probably alright. I really do love the first two...they're the one's I own, and I've read them several times.
--A
Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2010 7:31 pm
by SoulBiter
Holsety wrote:
Vraith wrote:Here's a NO-gestion: At all costs, avoid Cook , anything related to the "Black Company."
Partial agreement. I didn't like the "Black Company" or "Dread Empire" very much, even though both seem to have been partial inspirations for the Malazan series.
Interesting.. I loved the Black Company books. I read them all within the last year.
Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2010 8:00 pm
by Holsety
SoulBiter wrote:Holsety wrote:
Vraith wrote:Here's a NO-gestion: At all costs, avoid Cook , anything related to the "Black Company."
Partial agreement. I didn't like the "Black Company" or "Dread Empire" very much, even though both seem to have been partial inspirations for the Malazan series.
Interesting.. I loved the Black Company books. I read them all within the last year.
Well...
Maybe I should give it another try!
(The black company anyway. I'm not touching dread empire for a year at least, it's too long to "give a try".)
Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2010 8:53 pm
by SoulBiter
I didnt like 'Dread Empire' at all... it just seemed to drag.