posted
Oh, Nancy, have you ever read Lucifer's Hammer? It is my second favorite post-apocalyptic book, right after The Stand. Excellent and most recommended. It was written by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle.
And since I'm mentioning my favorite sub-class of sci-fi, the end-of-the-world story, I have to mention the classic by Nevil Shute, "On The Beach", and the also classic "A Canticle for Leibowitz" by Walter M. Miller, Jr. It may be time for me to re-read both if not all four of these books while I'm on a rare reading kick.
quote:Originally posted by Semi Transparent Fellow: I've just started "Shadow of the Wind" by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. It's set in Barcelona in the 30's and 40's. It's a mystery about an ellusive author's writings being all bought up and destroyed - at least that's what the jacket says, since I'm only on page 30.
I bought that book for my boyfriend for Valentine's Day (OK I'm not very good at getting romantic gifts for people) and he read a few pages then put it aside saying he just couldn't get into it (yes - I thought that was insensitive of him too).
So I'd be very curious to see what you thought of it STF. I'm tempted to borrow it off him and read it for myself so that at least one of us gets some enjoyment out of it.
From: Australia | Registered: Dec 2003
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Ain't been on this thread since January... Let's see. I read Star Wars: Labyrinth of Evil which is the prelude to the upcoming Episode III movie. Pretty decent read. It was tough to get into, Luceno really has a way of wrangling the espionage and politics into the foreground, but it tends to be very... dry. Nature of the beast kinda thing I guess. The last part of the book was fast paced action though. It was hard to put the book down once that started.
Since then, I've started in on the New Jedi Order series. I've read...
Vector Prime Dark Tide: Onslaught Dark Tide: Ruin Agents of Chaos: Hero's Trial Agents of Chaos: Jedi Eclipse Balance Point Edge of Victory: Conquest Edge of Victory: Rebirth Star by Star Dark Journey Enemy Lines: Rebel Dream and I'm half way through Enemy Lines: Rebel Stand.
What can I say? I got a lot of New Jedi Order books for Christmas. The fact that I've read that many books over the last two months bodes well for them. Every one of them kept my interest. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.
-------------------- Something Filthy!
From: NOVA by way of NOIN | Registered: Jul 2003
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Sorry to hear that you didn't get into the Dark Tower series Scott. I had a hard time getting into The Gunslinger when I read it the first time years ago. I didn't really get drawn into the series until the last part of Drawing of the Three. From there I was hooked. Kind of lost track of it during the long wait between The Wastelands and Wizard and Glass, but I picked it up again over the winter and read through to the end. Then I went back to the beginning and read them through again. Knowing a little more about Roland's world and how it relates to ours made the first two books that much more understandable and fun to read.
I'd still have to say Wizard and Glass is my favorite of the seven books, and probably one of my favorite books ever. That one deals mainly with Roland's youth and the great love of his life and fills in a lot of the details about how and why Roland set out on his quest for the Tower to begin with. And, if you're a fan of The Stand, Randall Flagg makes an appearance in W & G and ends up playing an important part in the series. I won't say any more than that, because I don't want to spoil anything for you if you ever decide to give the series another shot.
[plug]Oh, and if you're into The Stand, take a peek at page 21 over in my gallery in Bits. I posted a Flagg pic that I colored over the weekend that I'm pretty proud of. [/plug]
-------------------- The LMB Archives
From: The Loser Cave | Registered: Jul 2003
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Flagg is one of the best villains and one of the reason I really wanted to get into the Tower series. I'll probably retry at a later time. Maybe even skip right into book 3. Off to see the Flagg pic now.
From: Utah | Registered: Jul 2003
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I've heard that skipping around really isn't the best idea, and I'd probably have to agree. If you think it's confusing reading from start to finish you'll really get lost if you miss out on some of the details. Besides, I thought the ending of the second book (the drawing of The Pusher) was the best part of that book. I think that's the point where I really started to get into it way back when I read it the first time. I agree that the Odetta/Detta stuff was a bit annoying, but once the focus kind of shifts off of her a bit it gets a little better.
-------------------- The LMB Archives
From: The Loser Cave | Registered: Jul 2003
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The Illustrated History of World War I, by John Keegan. Keegan is the best war historian I have ever read. Witty, thoroughly researched, and very British. The numbers from WWI are staggering. 40,000 dead in one day at the Somme. Hundreds of thousands at Verdun. Absolutely insane!
I'm also listening to James Lee Burke's Bitterroot. If you enjoy mysteries, RUN to the library. Burke wrote a series of novels set in Louisiana about a recovering alcoholic ex-New Orleans cop who always seems to get involved in apocalyptically messy situations (Black Cherry Blues, Heaven's Prisoners, Cadillac Jukebox,etc.). GREAT writing--not just great mysteries. Bitterroot is set in Montana and features a classic cast of f---ed up James Lee Burke characters. It can be pretty dark sometimes, but I can't get enough of him.
-------------------- The only consistent feature of all of your dissatisfying relationships is you.
Don't judge me!
Registered: Aug 2003
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I second the Burke books. Caroline and I both read through all of his Dave Robicheaux novels a few years back. Along with vampires, anything to do with Louisiana and New Orleans usually wind up on our lists.
From: Utah | Registered: Jul 2003
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Don't think I've read Lucifer's Hammer or The Stand - how did I miss those? But I'll add 'em to the library list!
The Burke books are great, they seem to always end with good food and music - after dragging you through a few hundred pages of Louisiana scum and lowlife. Dave Robicheaux and Billy Bob Holland are complex - and overall appealing - characters, but I must confess that Clete Purcell is one of my favourites, even though he's violent, macho, a little psycho and would probably disgust me in real life.
Now I'm reading A Fortune Teller Told Me by Tiziano Terzani - an Italian journalist/foreign correspondent who worked for Der Spiegel, mostly out of Asia. A fortune teller in Hong Kong told him not to fly in 1993 - and he decided to follow the warning. This book chronicles his travels and work throughout that year. A travel book, but also lots on the politics and economics of the Far East. (Unfortunately, I only discovered this author because his obituary was in the paper a few weeks ago.)
posted
I'm reading "First Knight" by Peter David of comic book fame.
I just finished "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time". That was as great as all the reviews say.
From: NJ | Registered: Dec 2003
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Clete rules! I want an old junker convertible just so I can be like him! I always want to go wherever Burke sets his novels--I was dying to go to Louisiana when I was reading the Robicheaux books, and Bitterroot is making me want to drive the family to Montana this summer.
-------------------- The only consistent feature of all of your dissatisfying relationships is you.
Don't judge me!
Registered: Aug 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Semi Transparent Fellow: I've just started "Shadow of the Wind" by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. It's set in Barcelona in the 30's and 40's. It's a mystery about an ellusive author's writings being all bought up and destroyed - at least that's what the jacket says, since I'm only on page 30.
I bought that book for my boyfriend for Valentine's Day (OK I'm not very good at getting romantic gifts for people) and he read a few pages then put it aside saying he just couldn't get into it (yes - I thought that was insensitive of him too).
So I'd be very curious to see what you thought of it STF. I'm tempted to borrow it off him and read it for myself so that at least one of us gets some enjoyment out of it.
Blacula, I'm only about 100 pages in but I'm enjoying it. So far it's not really fast paced, but that 's not a problem for me. I'll post again about this book once I've made more of a dent in it.
Registered: Aug 2003
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I just finished MYRREN'S GIFT, the first installment of a new series called THE QUICKENING by Fiona McIntosh.
It's a fairly standard fantasy with a revenge-quest as its plot.
NOT standard is the featured twist on mind/body switching that I've never encountered and find quite fascinating.
I believe the author is Australian, though I'm not sure if the book was published there earlier. I've noticed there's been a mini-wave of Australian fantasy writers 'crossing over' to the USA, lately.
Anyone who's a fan of politically oriented fantasy (as opposed to magic as the central driver of plot) might enjoy this one.
From: Knoxville, TN | Registered: Jul 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Lightning Lad: Flagg is one of the best villains and one of the reason I really wanted to get into the Tower series. I'll probably retry at a later time. Maybe even skip right into book 3. Off to see the Flagg pic now.
You might try the first volume on audiobook. King's revised version is supposed to be a little easier to get into, but before it was published the first book was supposedly pretty daunting. I listened to it on tape, which pulled me in better than reading it might have. From that point on I read the rest in reasonably short order.
From: Douglasville, GA | Registered: Jul 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Lightning Lad: I second the Burke books. Caroline and I both read through all of his Dave Robicheaux novels a few years back. Along with vampires, anything to do with Louisiana and New Orleans usually wind up on our lists.
Hey, buddy, have you guys ever read Fevre Dream by George RRR Martin?
Registered: Aug 2004
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But I'll add 'em to the library list!
