Kevin's Watch

Started Robert Redick's 'The Red Wolf onspiracy' last night. Never heard of author or book, but I spotted it in a cheap bookshop at £2 and it's a fantasy/sailing ship setting and it's a meaty read, so thought it was worth a try.

It's got me hooked so far! A little bit cliched maybe - so far we have a boy with magic talents he can't control, a beautiful girl with an evil stepmother, various talking animals, a misunderstood (I think) 'demi' race, a scheming uncle etc., but still, I like his writing style, I like the potential for politics, the author seems to understand his sailing ships, the characters are interesting.....

so far so good!

Just finished Holly Phillips' The Engine's Child.

Killer premise, vivid prose, but poor, poor execution. . .

Check out the blog for the full review.

Patrick
www.fantasyhotlist.blogspot.com

Finished Red Wolf Conspiracy. great potential, shame about the plot.

Got Bonehunters, Reapers, and Hounds for the b-day. Only 20 pages into Bonehunters; I have trouble lifting it up.

Finished the annual re-read of WOT. Now I'm reading Childe Morgan from Katherine Kurtz. Then it will be Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke, and perhaps then it will be time for Tolkien.

...Gardens of the Moon...

Just finished reading Brandon Sanderson's The Hero of Ages.

Lots of revelations, cool concepts, unexpected plot twists, but crappy characterization shoots this one in the legs. A pity, as it could have been one of the fantasy books of the year. . .

Check out the blog for the full review.

Patrick
www.fantasyhotlist.blogspot.com

Wyldewode wrote:Finished the annual re-read of WOT. Now I'm reading Childe Morgan from Katherine Kurtz. Then it will be Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke, and perhaps then it will be time for Tolkien.

Is it any good? I read the first in that series (King's Service, I think) and remember liking it, but it's been a long time.

Just getting into The Crystal Cave - the first book in Mary Stewart's Arthurian saga. Very good so far.

Gemmel's The Swords of Night and Day.

--A

Erikson. The first book...what's it called (Gardens of the Moon). Thought it was about time I indoctrinated myself!

OH DAMN, SEA!!!!!! Excellent choice!!!!!!!

*tears eyes away from avatar*

Oh, yeah, good book, too. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

And Sea, remember -- don't throw it across the room in frustration until you're at least 100 pages in. By then you should be properly hooked.

aliantha wrote: And Sea, remember -- don't throw it across the room in frustration until you're at least 100 pages in. By then you should be properly hooked.

meh

I'm on 184 and still awaiting the "hook..."

...although I admit, Tattersail is growing on me.

Fist and Faith wrote:OH DAMN, SEA!!!!!! Excellent choice!!!!!!!

*tears eyes away from avatar*

aliantha wrote: And Sea, remember -- don't throw it across the room in frustration until you're at least 100 pages in. By then you should be properly hooked.

I'm almost 100 pages in (been reading it for about a week...I'm a slow reader!). But, I'm already hooked. I was hooked after

Spoiler

... the young girl on the road meets the wax witch and then the other dudes on the road...

That, for what ever reason, really did it for me. I remember thinking "oooh...cool". And I'm assuming

Spoiler

that the girl is actually Sorry?????? ...but don't tell me if I'm right!

I know I'll probably struggle a bit with remembering who is who (although I'm doing ok now)...and at the moment, geographically I have no idea where anything is and...um...it's full on! But I didn't mind being thrown in in the deep end and I'm sure the further I go the more it'll all make sense.

Oh, Tattersail is a BRILLIANT character name! Love it! Wish I'd thought of it!

I hear the books get longer as you get further in into the series? At this rate I'll be reading Erikson for the next couple of years!

Seareach wrote:I hear the books get longer as you get further in into the series? At this rate I'll be reading Erikson for the next couple of years!

That's why I put it off since Albuquerque.

Time to dig in and entrench myself for awhile...

Mortice Root wrote:Just getting into The Crystal Cave - the first book in Mary Stewart's Arthurian saga. Very good so far.

Ha, I remember reading that back when I was in college...a million years ago.

Seareach wrote: I know I'll probably struggle a bit with remembering who is who (although I'm doing ok now)...and at the moment, geographically I have no idea where anything is and...um...it's full on! But I didn't mind being thrown in in the deep end and I'm sure the further I go the more it'll all make sense.

I have read most of the series, and I still have problems with most of the characters. Fortunately the good ones stay with you, Tattersail is a good example of one of the good names.

IMO the biggest problem with the series is that is has such a wide scope that it is impossible to follow all of it closely without using a lot more effort than I have put into it. This is especially noticeable in some of the later books (Reapers Gale), fortunately by that time you can usually manage to keep most of the major players straight in your head.

And as far as hooking is concerned I wasn't really hooked until halfway through Deadhouse Gates.

Currently I am reading "Toll the Hounds" but I have kind of stopped and is wondering how to get started again. I am considering reading "Heroes Die" by Matthew Woodring Stower and "Making Money" by T. Pratchett in the meantime.

Ryzel wrote:And as far as hooking is concerned I wasn't really hooked until halfway through Deadhouse Gates.

I totally agree. (Nice to see you around Ryzel.) I was just about to post that I thought Gardens was much better after I'd already re-read books 2-4. (Then I reread GotM, since I hadn't had it with me.) Made more sense then, since you actually know what is being "portended" as it were.

--A

*shrug* I think I remember enjoying GotM more than the rest. Maybe I was wowed by the world.