Kevin's Watch

Can't imagine how you put down Zindell without finishing it!!

[Syl] wrote:...after reading Magician's Land.

Haven't read any of Grossman's books, but I've been thinking about it, especially with this new one out. Let us know what you think, Sheriff.

I could never get the books before, Fist. I'd only ever managed to pick up a used paperback of Neverness, and that long after I'd read the first two from the library. Thanks to an Amazon gift card I got for my birthday, I've finally been able to rectify that.

As for Grossman, I've enjoyed the books so far, even if the first was definitely better than the second. I could never get into the Narnia books, but I've enjoyed his modern take on it. His style is appropriate for the times, though I doubt he'll leave any lasting mark on the field. Unless Land turns out to be mindblowing or he uses his modest success to springboard to something better.

Ah, I would be remiss if I didn't also mention having just finished Nick Harkaway's latest, Tigerman. It was a pretty big disappointment for me, though. Not bad, but nowhere near as good as The Gone Away World or even Angelmaker.

[Syl] wrote:Not too long ago I read Shaman by Kim Stanley Robinson. It was good, if a bit strange. Not much of a narrative structure, and really hard to call it sci-fi.

Sheesh, reading the Mars series nearly killed me.

--A

Finished reading Elizabeth Bear's Shattered Pillars today. This continues to be a really excellent series, and I now have the last book ready to go.

Have you all gone and bought Range of Ghosts yet? No? Get moving, then!

fantasy/horror?

Stephen king - Mr. Mercedes

just started

You asking me? It's an epic fantasy trilogy, with a setting based on central Asia; really great worldbuilding with the various cultures of the region; good, varied characters; not much fantasy cliche at all.

Sounds good Murrin, will check it out.

Busy on King of Thorns, book 2 in Mark Lawrence's trilogy. Actually like it a bit better than the first one so far.

--A

[Syl] wrote:I could never get the books before, Fist. I'd only ever managed to pick up a used paperback of Neverness, and that long after I'd read the first two from the library. Thanks to an Amazon gift card I got for my birthday, I've finally been able to rectify that.

The Zindell books were incredibly difficult to get a hold of back when my daughter and I first became aware of them. My daughter found a copy of Neverness while in England for the summer and we both read it, but we've never read any of the other books.

And I have to admit, I wasn't that motivated to look for the books that came after Neverness, as Neverness was a difficult book for me that I never really got or understood all that well.

The trilogy that follows Neverness is, basically, a much more fleshed-out version of it. The son of the main character is the main character of the trilogy. He has amazing adventures and stuff. Extraordinary stuff, imo.

I just checked their availability. There are free pdfs of all four books. The first hit on google of each title with Zindell pdf did the trick.

Legally?

Actually, I have no idea. How does one find out if a given site has legal permission? Or if it's ok for everyone?

As far as I can tell, though, the books aren't in print, and aren't available as ebooks from Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

Emperor of Thorns, last in the trilogy.

--A

I have a couple China Miéville books I keep meaning to get to. I loved the work he did on the DC Comic, Dial H. it was a glorious, complex mess that still has me going back to read and scratching my head at some of it.

the man has a wonderful imagination in that series, so I hope it translates to his novels.

I have the Scar and Iron Council, but I am missing the first in that trilogy, Perdido Street Station.



I read that last weekend and enjoyed it very much. unfortunately the prequel is only available as an e-book. damn technology.

the sequel is set for next year. it was a fun, quick read. I liked how she transformed Oz in the story. I am a sucker for that sort of world changing.

there are rumblings of a tv series and I would love to see that.

Sarge, China Miéville's Bas Lag novels are not strictly a series, so you can really pick up from any of them. There are some very vague references in The Scar to what happened during Perdido Street Station, but it's a whole different setting and characters, completely standalone. Iron Council is partly set in the same city but a decade or two later, so there's a bit where you'll only understand what happened in the intervening time if you've read the first book.

I'd say there's nothing wrong with starting from The Scar, if that's what you have, then reading Perdido second.

thanks Murrin. I will go ahead and start with the Scar then.

and I wish I could buy hard copies of e-books. Stephen King seems to have a bunch in that format. I like curling up with a book while Julie watches her travel shows.

looked up what King has in e-format...

Riding the Bullet
The Plant
Ur
Throttle (w/ Joe Hill)
Mile 81
A Face in the Crowd (w/ Stewart O'Nan)
In the Tall Grass (w/ Joe Hill)
Guns

they need to offer all of that in one collection.

...you could just get a Kindle...

aliantha wrote:...you could just get a Kindle...

no ca$h right now. but if they are cheap enough, maybe Christmas?

Avatar wrote:Emperor of Thorns, last in the trilogy.

--A

How have you liked the series, Av? I thought it was excellent and quite unlike any recent fantasy I've read.

aliantha wrote:...you could just get a Kindle...

Or literally any other tablet that's not locked into the Amazon ecosystem. The prices aren't any different. I hear the Kindle Fire tablets don't even let you use the regular Android app store...

(Ditto Apple, but the prices there are significantly higher.)