Kevin's Watch

Haha, we await your arrival in the Stephen King forum...

Anyway, I'm busy with Gap 3: A Dark and Hungry God.

--A

Balon, Wizard and Glass as the high point of the series is up for debate. Personally I consider it number two, with the finale, Dark Tower VII, as the best. And V and VI, although not quite on the level of Wizard and Glass, are still tremendous reads and way above the norm in epic fantasy.

So keep on readin'.

I am reading John Scalzi's The Ghost Brigades. While he is a relatively new writer, he is quickly becoming one of my favorite science fiction writers.

The Ghost Brigades was great; very enjoyable action story featuring human special forces in a very dangerous galaxy. Lots of deep stuff to think about, but never ever preachy.

Now reading Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. One chapter in, and it is a lot different (and a lot better) than what I was expecting.

Re-reading The Mirror Of Her Dreams.

1/2 way through Gap 5: TDAGD! Wow. Hashi, thee art MACHO!

Just finished Sean Williams' The Crooked Letter.

Well, what can I say? Another Pyr title, and another quality offering. They might still be the new kids on the block, yet Pyr have certainly demonstrated that they will establish themselves as one of the best speculative fiction imprints out there. The powerhouses should take heed, because this smaller publishing house is creating waves that will soon be impossible to ignore.

The Crooked Letter is a superior tale, one that should satisfy even jaded readers. Surreal, imaginative, captivating, unique -- there's a lot to love about this one. Add this novel to your "books to read" list.

Check the blog for the full review.

Patrick
www.fantasyhotlist.blogspot.com

I'm a third of the way through "The Uplift War" right now. This book is freaking awesome! The series has gotten better with each book, imo. "Sundiver" was a bit too nerdy for me; I liked it, but I'm not into the uber-geek branch of sci-fi. It felt like it was written by an astrophysicist. Oh, wait, it was! "Startide Rising" had better characters, and I liked the narrative better. But "Uplift War" is just great. These are the only Brin books that I've read, and it seems to me that he really improved as a writer as the series progressed. I'm really glad that I decided to read these books. I had no plans on reading the 2nd trilogy, but I'm thinking that I could do a lot worse.

Roland of Gilead wrote:Balon, Wizard and Glass as the high point of the series is up for debate. Personally I consider it number two, with the finale, Dark Tower VII, as the best. And V and VI, although not quite on the level of Wizard and Glass, are still tremendous reads and way above the norm in epic fantasy.

So keep on readin'.

DT VII is not for the faint of heart. Prepare thyself!

Finally finished Latro in the Mist. Great books - out of all the Wolfe I've read--Latro, Book of the New Sun, and Wizard Knight--these books are probably my favourite. I'll definately read the new book, Soldier of Sidon, sometime in the next year.

I'll probably be starting The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana by Umberto Eco next.

Shadow of Ararat by Thomas Harlan. I'm totally loving it so far. Unfortunately I accidentally left it in Bloodguard Bob's minivan last night so I had to ride the train and stare at the other passengers....grrrr... I just finished the Age of Misrule series by Mark Chadbourn and I loved the story and the charactors but the sentence structure was often a bit confusing so I found myself re-reading sentences often to make sure I was putting the emphasis correctly....

Surprisingly, I wasn't too fond of Soldier of Sidon. Maybe the next one will be better.

Last year, I read the first 90 or so pages of Gardens of the Moon, got sidetracked and didn't pick it up again until yesterday, when I had a day off. I restarted the book and am now 170 pages into it.

I'm reading Neal Asher's Prador Moon.

An alien invasion of an interstellar human society. The aliens are giant sentient crabs with a taste for human flesh, and extremely hard to kill.

Asher is very good with xenobiology run amok, and this one's no exception. Lean and mean, just over 200 pages - not for the squeamish, but very fast-paced, entertaining sf.

I've previously read The Skinner and Gridlinked, set in the same universe, more detailed but similar in plot and theme. Asher is worth a look!!

Just finished a re-read of The Princess Bride. Don't know what's next!

I've finished Gardens of the Moon and have moved on to the second book Erikson's series, Deadhouse Gates.

Im almost done 'The Darkness That Comes Before' and i recieved 'The Warrior-Prophet' today.

Syl wrote:Surprisingly, I wasn't too fond of Soldier of Sidon. Maybe the next one will be better.

Actually, I did not like that book as much as the two original ones, either. I love the character of Latro, so was expecting to really enjoy the book, so perhaps it just did not live up to my high expectations?

Warmark - you are in for a serious treat! That series got better with every book. I wish I could read Bakker again for the first time - it was a truly magical experience.

Ducky - I love both the book and movie for Princess Bride.

I've watched the movie more times than I can count but this was only the 2nd read on the book. This was one of those rare examples of the movie being almost equal to the book. And what was cut and what little was changed was well chosen.

Just finished Peter Watts' Blindsight. If you're looking for a fascinating and thought-provoking novel, this one is for you!

Check the blog for the full review.

Patrick
www.fantasyhotlist.blogspot.com