Which book are you reading currently? #2

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Lol, HB! Well, I admit it really is somewhat of a passion for me at the present time. But I have not grown a beard yet - just the long hair.

 

"Dragon's Blood" by Jane Yolen.

And I am still trying to finish "That Hideous Strength" by C. S. Lewis. It's so hard to read; I am afraid that I will have to start from the beginning again.

 

Just finished Winter's Heart, Book 9 of WoT and it was great!!

On to the final Book 10, Crossroads of Twilight -- finally!!

 

Finished the andromeda strain by michael crighton. 'Twas a nice read.

Now for a bit of a laugh 'Wyrd sisters' by pratchett. So far I laughed really hard when Granny weatherwax went to the play, really funny.

 

I have just finished "Fevre Dream" by George RR Martin, not as good as his fantasy but still a very good vampire/historical novel.

 

The Cornish Trilogy, by Roberson Davies
Solaris, by Stanislaw Lem

I usually have one book at work (for lunch time) and one at home.

 

Ugh, I can't believe it has taken me this long but I finally finished There Will Be Dragons. I think that this was the longest that it has ever taken me to finish a book that I actually enjoyed - I just haven't had enough time lately.

Oh well, I am starting Emerald Sea (by Ringo again - sequel to There Will Be Dragons). Looking at the synopsis on the jacket I would have to say that it doesn't look like it will be as good as the first book but hopefully it will be better than the cover makes it appear.

Oh, and before anyone brings up cliched phrases, I have historically been quite successful at judging books by their cover, thank you very much.

 

Crap, I've misplaced my "Warrior's Tale again! Until it turns up, I'm going to read this book that I have to do a book report on in 2 days: "My brother. My Executioner" by Siosnil Jose(sp?). After that, maybe I'll start Abarat.

 

The Pratchett Trilogies, currently the Rincewind one.

 

Emerald Sea was decent, but not anywhere as good as the first book.

I don't think that I have ever seen an author have his characters find a copy of the previous book and proceed to complain about how the author was a hack, the writing was terrible, the facts were greatly exaggerated etc before threatening to committ acts of violence against the author if they ever found him.

Then I got to the end of the story and found that there were 80 pages left in the book. Puzzled I flipped to the next page and found a do not read this if you are at all prudish warning followed by an additional 80 page short story about the sexual escapades of the evil dictator's harem girls

I don't know whether I should actually read this piece of drivel in case something significant actually happens in it or if I should just say to hell with it.

 

"The Far Side of the Stars" - David Drake.

Mmm. Must. Read. More. Drake. *salivates*

Hmm. I think another author did something similar, but the specifics aren't coming to mind. All I remember is that it left a really bad taste in my mouth.

 

I am readin "Sinner" By Sara Douglas as of yet it feels like it should be a lot better than it actually is. I have identified a ton of things which usually makes me really enjoy a fantasy book but this one still just manages to feel like average. Could be because Douglas writes all the nice twists and turns and how nuanced her characters are on the nose of the reader.

Anyone read her?

 

Her writing style seems to me ... well, a little dull. Then, I haven't read her Battleaxe trilogy for a damn long time now. It seems kind of flat as I remember, along the lines of: 'they fought for hours' to describe climatic (if predictable) battles.

And I'm rereading The Farseer Trilogy. Need to find myself some new books one day...

 

That is it! It is very flat! And even though she tries so very hard to make her characters faceted and understandable it just ends up with you not liking anyone of them. She tries to do what Martin suceeds in doing.

I am reading the redemption trilogy which seems to be a second trilogy in the same world so there are a lot of references back to the events in the previous trilogy.

 

I just finished Year's Best Fantasy 2, working on Year's Best Fantasy 3 & Year's Best SF 8.

@ AMaster
David Drake is good. David Drake is wise. Two words--Hammer's Slammers. Oh yeah...

 

Just finished Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land.

Really excellant. Not sure what I'll read next though.

 

Finished Drake's book, onto "Forbidden Knowledge" by Stephen R. Donaldson. I'm really liking the Gap series, but I never managed to finish the first book about Thomas Covenant. I don't get it.

@Timtor
I think I have somewhere between 30-40 of Drake's novels; pretty much all that are still in print, as well as a few that aren't. His fantasy series isn't anything special, but every other book of his I've read (with the exception of "Fortress") has been vastly entertaining. And yeah, the Slammers series is wonderful--though disturbing. Lord, is it ever disturbing.

 

@AMaster
I believe that most of Drake's military SF is based on his experiences in Viet Nam. Having served in the military (though I haven't seen combat), I can understand most of what he refers to. But yeah, Hammer and his boys (and girls) are not a nice bunch.

@Kam
If you want more Heinlein, how about "The Cat Who Walks Through Walls" or "Starship Troopers"?

 

Sea of Swords 4 me now... not far, but hey... At least I recently finished 'Servant of the Shard'. Great book, especially the finale...

 

Sea of Swords is a far cry from Servant of the Shard imo. I just finished the Warrior's tale. Finally finished it may be a better description though. It hasn't taken me this long to get through a book in years. I'm planning to start Abarat in a week, the moment exams are done.