Kevin's Watch

Will do Avatar, once I'm done with the Last Chrons. I've avoided spoilers so far...

I have finished The Way of Kings and am almost done with She.

Chronicles of Pern: First Fall

Gabaldon's Drums of Autumn is in at the library. Will probably pick it up at some point this weekend when I need a break from Passover prep.

Just about finished Fiona McIntosh's, The Scrivener's Tale. Even though it's not bad, I can't really recommend it. It's like it has all the elements of a good fantasy novel and just can't quite get them to gel. I previously read Myrren's Gift, but I got tired of the way the magic usurped the plot and reduced it to 'and then the next thing happened' (The Scrivener's Tale is suffering from this as well).

u.

Menolly wrote:Chronicles of Pern: First Fall

Gabaldon's Drums of Autumn is in at the library. Will probably pick it up at some point this weekend when I need a break from Passover prep.

I have to ask...have you ever tried Patricia Keneally [sp?] "keltiad" books?
It's basically 'King Arthur really IS once/future king...IN SPACE!!!"
I mention it cuz a good friend [formerly closer than that] loves Pern...and also Keneally [forget her supposed wiccan marriage to Jim Morrison and the crap around that...IIRC, there are Faster than Light Spaceships built to look like DRAGONS!].
Pern is lost Earthlings...Keltiad has Celt's who long ago fled from the Christian invasion/tyranny.
Other similarities too...though obviously huge differences.

Also have to ask...have I asked this before?? It seems like something I might have already said/asked...

Doesn't sound familiar, Vraith. But, I believe Murrin had suggested something to me based on my love of Pern. It may have been that, but I never got to whatever it was he suggested.

I do like Lawhead's Pendragon Cycle, so the King Arthur angle sounds good.

Finished Chronicles of Pern. Moving on to Red Star Rising (aka Dragonseye), which arrived today with the rest of my own set of Pern through The Skies of Pern.

Still reading Doctor Who novels. Up to book 43 of The Eighth Doctor adventures. I've enjoyed the last several books of that series quite a bit.

Today I read Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer. Very weird, very good.

I'm currently halfway through The Last Weekend by Nick Mamatas. I like Mamatas' work mainly because it's completely unlike most of the other things I read.

I finished a couple of Anne McCaffrey books recently:

• - Dragonsong
  
  - The Death of Sleep (with Jody Lynn Nye).

Dragonsong was enjoyable and I am finally getting used to the faux-Menolly of the novels. The real Menolly is, of course, our own gracious Concierge of the Watch

The Death of Sleep was an odd book. It's the second book in the Planet Pirates series which McCaffrey co-wrote with other authors (I haven't read the first book, Sassinak) It has a very pedestrian and almost imcomprehensibly soap-opera-ish first half. (If anyone has read this book and can explain to me why nothing happened for a full half of a novel I'd be happy to hear it ) The second half was much better, but then ended on a massive cliff-hanger which felt really miffing

u.

Are you reading Pern according to the suggested reading order chart Anne McCaffrey published on her site many years ago, u.? It's not complete, but I think only Skies is missing of the Anne written novels, and that one should currently be read last of the Ninth Pass story arc anyway.

ussusimiel wrote: The Death of Sleep was an odd book. It's the second book in the Planet Pirates series which McCaffrey co-wrote with other authors (I haven't read the first book, Sassinak)u.

OK...dude, you can believe me or not. Anne is OK, with Pern...sometimes quite good, sometimes not so much.

The "crystal" books are sometimes better than the best of Pern...but more often worse than the worst of Pern.

THAT series SUCKS. Sassinak isn't really the first [depending on how one counts]. She did 2 by herself before that one...that one...and 2 after [one I think with the same co-writer, one with a different one]
STOP reading them unless they are free and you have nothing else to do...or if your preferred "just cuz" reading level is an advanced 10 year old.

If you dare ask me how I know about that series...I'll track you down, whisper the answer in your ear, and slowly throttle you while you read every word of it aloud to random passers-by who don't speak English.

Finished Brain Wave by Poul Anderson. I thought it was fantastic.

Now to make my way (finally) through The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F Hamilton

Vraith wrote:

ussusimiel wrote: The Death of Sleep was an odd book. It's the second book in the Planet Pirates series which McCaffrey co-wrote with other authors (I haven't read the first book, Sassinak)u.

OK...dude, you can believe me or not. Anne is OK, with Pern...sometimes quite good, sometimes not so much.

The "crystal" books are sometimes better than the best of Pern...but more often worse than the worst of Pern.

THAT series SUCKS. Sassinak isn't really the first [depending on how one counts]. She did 2 by herself before that one...that one...and 2 after [one I think with the same co-writer, one with a different one]
STOP reading them unless they are free and you have nothing else to do...or if your preferred "just cuz" reading level is an advanced 10 year old.

*nod*

Pern is my favorite series, and I like the Killashandra series. I will also admit to liking the Acorna series, but will blatantly say that is written with the prepubescent tween in mind. Other than those three, I have not cared for the other series I have tried.

That said, I have yet to read the Tower and Hive series, which I understand is Av's favorite McCaffrey. Much more s/f oriented, I'm sure. I am now in possession of several of those books, so I will be starting that journey upon my completion of my Pern reread, which is currently on hold as I wade through Gabaldon's Outlander series. Currently on The Fiery Cross, which was the last published when I last attempted the series. Am hoping to make it through all the current books before her newest one in the series comes out later in the year.

Orlion wrote:Now to make my way (finally) through The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F Hamilton

Now that's a hefty tome. I enjoyed it, way back, but found the early chapters (and they are very long chapters) a bit dull. (IIRC the early bits seemed to jump around introducing the various characters in very different places but without giving any hint of a connecting plot, and they dragged.)

I'm Murrin wrote:

Orlion wrote:Now to make my way (finally) through The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F Hamilton

Now that's a hefty tome. I enjoyed it, way back, but found the early chapters (and they are very long chapters) a bit dull. (IIRC the early bits seemed to jump around introducing the various characters in very different places but without giving any hint of a connecting plot, and they dragged.)

I mostly love that series, except for one particular plot point, which I won't share here for spoiler reasons.

--A

Intervention, Julian May.

--A

Menolly wrote:Are you reading Pern according to the suggested reading order chart Anne McCaffrey published on her site many years ago, u.? It's not complete, but I think only Skies is missing of the Anne written novels, and that one should currently be read last of the Ninth Pass story arc anyway.

I'm not really reading them according to the recommended order, Menolly. I just happened to pick this one up in a thrift store. I've read The White Dragon and so I recognised some of the characters and events to come. I think I'm happy enough to do it piecemeal and I already have enough of an idea of the whole story not be put out by spoilers. Thanks for the info. though!

Vraith wrote:

ussusimiel wrote: The Death of Sleep was an odd book. It's the second book in the Planet Pirates series which McCaffrey co-wrote with other authors (I haven't read the first book, Sassinak)u.

THAT series SUCKS. Sassinak isn't really the first [depending on how one counts]. She did 2 by herself before that one...that one...and 2 after [one I think with the same co-writer, one with a different one]
STOP reading them unless they are free and you have nothing else to do...or if your preferred "just cuz" reading level is an advanced 10 year old.

Now here's a surprise, of all people, you are not the one I would have expected to have this kind of knowledge I wouldn't go as far as to say that the book sucked, but it did exert a low level negative pressure on my poor brain! I suppose I was hoping that someone would say that the second half of the book was written by McCaffery and that the first half sucked because it wasn't written by her

u.

P.S. (for Vraith)

I can't help myself, at the risk of slow strangulation I need to know!

Did you do your Master's Dissertation on Speculative Fiction, focusing specifically on McCaffery's Planet Pirates series? Did you steal the whole series out of the library as a teen thinking they were genius? Did you have a secret affair with McCaffery and actually write the series with her? Do you have a fetish for women called Lunzie (one of the stupidist, clumsy and graceless names for any character *growl* ) so that your copy of The Death of Sleep is dog-eared and suspiciously stained? I have a burning need to know! Your dirty little secret may finally give me the necessary insight into your twisted soul!?

ussusimiel wrote:
P.S. (for Vraith)

I can't help myself, at the risk of slow strangulation I need to know!

Did you do your Master's Dissertation on Speculative Fiction, focusing specifically on McCaffery's Planet Pirates series? Did you steal the whole series out of the library as a teen thinking they were genius? Did you have a secret affair with McCaffery and actually write the series with her? Do you have a fetish for women called Lunzie (one of the stupidist, clumsy and graceless names for any character *growl* ) so that your copy of The Death of Sleep is dog-eared and suspiciously stained? I have a burning need to know! Your dirty little secret may finally give me the necessary insight into your twisted soul!?

Hee...this isn't the place to discuss that educational stuff, but I WISH I'd been able to do it on Speculative Fiction. SF was right out, magical-realist work is as far as most programs will go...though there are exceptions, and it seems to be changing, mine wasn't one of them. [[I did in several classes/papers at various times insert lengthy and pointed arguments demonstrating SF was better written and just as relevant culturally, theoretically, critically, etc. as the boring junk they "respected" and included in "the canon." I was particularly vicious to "The Satanic Verses."...probably cuz it ended up being discussed in 3 different freaking classes on 3 different topics!! ]]

Anyway: I had a long-time girlfriend who was an absolute freak for all things dragon, and everything McCaffery. Though there were other exposures [[a friend of mine roped me into a failed attempt to tie several of her series together into a table-top RPG. I THINK he got the idea cuz there were some MUSH's and/or other games based on Pern]]