Which book are you reading currently? #6

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troy lord of the silver bow by david gemmell
going to get the follow up book tomorrow
just found out that the author has passed away before he could finish the third book of the trilogy but apparently his wife is following the character blueprints he left behind and is finishing it.
man, no more gemmell books. major bummer

 

I finished A Fist Full of Charms yesterday and I started on Star Wars: Allegiance by Timothy Zahn. It is kind of unusual and nice to see a small scale story. It takes place shortly after A New Hope.

SPOILER: The only real problem that I have is that Mara Jade seems a little too good as the Emperor's Hand. I just don't see how she could have failed in her mission at Jabba's palace during Return of the Jedi if she was this good then.

 

I liked Allegiance. A light, worthwhile read.

 

I just started Shadowplay by Tad Williams, the sequel to Shadowmarch. So far it's OK, but it always seems as if Tad is telling the same story over again in a slightly different version. I will probably break off on it, once my copy of Al Gore's new book, The Assualt on Reason, arrives in a day or two from Amazon; then I will pick it back up again.

 

I finished Allegiance. It was o.k. but I had two big complaints.

1) Mara Jade has moved very strongly into Mary Suedom and

2) The Luke/Han/Leia portions really seemed stuck in solely because Zahn felt obliged to include them in the story somehow. The plot would have run far smoother if they had been left out.

Oh well, I started yesterday reading Danse Macabre by Laurell Hamilton and then realized that I don't seem to have read the previous book so this morning I went back and started reading Incubus Dreams. So far they have both managed to live down to my low expectations for Hamilton's books these days. I don't know why I keep holding out hope that she will return to the form of her older work but I guess I am a glutton for punishment.

 

Bah. Read Off Armageddon Reef if you want to see a bad example of Mary Suedom. Allegiance is mild in comparision.

Pushing Ice by Alastair Reynolds was rather good - somewhat Clarke/Heinlein-ish.

Reading Reaper's Gale now.

 

The Pale Horeseman - Bernard Cornwell.

 

Great book, Dinsdale. Cornwell's writing is direct and fast-paced, with no bloated filler. Plus, he appears to research his historical subjects very well. Good stuff.

 

Chandos - I like it so far. The Anglo-Saxon period is my favorite historical period. I agree with you about his research and writing style. This is the first of his books that I've read. I definitely plan on reading more.

 

Bonehunters rocked.

I'm now starting Dune by Frank Herbert for the first time, I'm not really into Sci-Fi but my friend keeps pushing me to read it. Seems pretty interesting so far.

 

fear the night...................by john lutz

 

The Gossamer Plain by Thomas M. Reid. A new Forgotten Realms book, and a good one at that

 

Is that the FR book with the Alu-fiend Aliisza or something from the WotSQ series? Damn, should've picked it up when I saw it, it's all gone now

 

Dinsdale - I recommend the Last Kingdom, which is the first book in the series, and it explains a lot of what's happening with Uthred because of his backgroud with King Alfred and the Ragnars.

 

Chandos - I'll have to get that one. Maybe I'll stop reading this for now until I do. Fortunately I haven't gotten too far. I'm having some trouble understanding why Uthred is so angry. It must be more than just not getting credit for killing Udda (I think that's his name, anyway). I'm sure that the first book will help me there. Thanks for the info.

 

@Enagonios: Indeed it was. Try the Amazon link, perhaps they have it.

 

I finally managed to plow through Incubus Dreams yesterday and I have got back to reading Danse Macabre. It is as bad as the Gentry series, I am up to page 280 and there has been nothing that even remotely resembled a plot. Comparing the last three books to the first five is enough to make you weep. How could a series that started out so good end up being this bad? Why do I keep getting these books? I guess for the same reason that I keep getting Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time books.

 

I quit reading the Pale Horseman and got my hands on The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell. Now I'll read them in the proper order.

 

I think that will work out better for you, Dinsdale. Lords of the North is the third and most recent installment.

 

Don Quixote, or "El Ingenioso Hidalgo de la Mancha", in the original version.

Talk about being overrated... It sucks.