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Tim's Horror, Fantasy and Sci-Fi Reads from 2012


Timstar

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When I first saw that SK book, I actually thought it was a biography about himself, and the title meant it was about the goings on in his mind. :giggle2:

 

I feel rather embarrassed about it now :blush: The picture of an elderly gentleman on the cover fooled me.

I am ashamed to admit I thought the exact same thing :blush2:.
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TNOTW.jpg The Name of the Wind - Patrick Rothfuss

 

Synopsis

 

 

'I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep.

 

My name is Kvothe.

You may have heard of me'

 

Review

 

Before reading this I had only read the synopsis above, so I was expecting the book to follow the life of Kvothe and slowly begin to understand how he became the man he is and accomplished all above. Instead what happens is a slow and detailed recollection of the events of Kvothe from the age of 11. We meet him living a simple life of an innkeeper in the middle of nowhere, when he begins to tell his life story to a 'journalist' called Chronicler. We follow him from his youth as a poor street urchin to his impressive entry to University, where most of the book takes place.

 

Although a fantasy the book uses fantasy elements quite sparingly, a large proportion of the lessons he takes are history and chemistry but the mythical power of 'naming' keeps arising but eluding Kvothe. His time at University, although more interesting than others experiences, not a great ideal occurs. An ongoing feud with another student, misunderstandings and whippings but not a lot else. Although a bit tedious, it wasn't too bad as the writing flowed quite nicely but I do think it could of been 100 pages shorter with no negative effects.

 

As it is told from his point of view we get to learn everything about Kvothe, this is ok as he is such a great character but it does mean that there is no air of mystery about him. But I suppose this has been seen many times before in other fantasies. I do think this was a detriment to the supporting characters as other than the main antagonists done of them are used particularly well in the story, they are not memorable or important. Kvothe also meets too many different women which I had trouble remembering who they were, he takes a quick shine to each of them but then just as quickly forgets about them without any meaningful relationship building.

 

The magic system, although not fully explored, seems fairly complicated. As well as the 'naming' which isn't explored in any great depth in this book but obviously will be in the sequels, there is also 'sympathy' which I didn't think was explained very well but seems to be similar to voodoo :rolleyes: .

 

Throughout reading I couldn't decide whether I was enjoying it or not, which is never a good sign. I enjoyed enough elements to keep me reading but I couldn't tell where it was going or why it was taking so long to get there. However when I got to the last 150 pages I couldn't put it down. All the elements came together and it truly stepped up a gear.

 

Overall I did enjoy it, it could have been better but according to the reviews on Amazon a lot of people enjoyed it more than I did. If it was 100 pages shorter and achieved better characterisation if would have been brilliant.

 

Overall 7/10

Edited by Timstar
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I'm glad i've read it, I will read the sequels at some point but not rushing out to get them. It started off very similar to The Painted Man and what I imagine Wheel of Time is like but not for long which is good cause I couldn't handle three similar fantasies in a month. I am gonna read some non-sci-fi, horror and fantasy for a while, including Dexter and a Bernard Cornwell and a thriller among others. I will be picking up Eye of the World from the library shortly though.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Nice find! What's the second last one? I can't see it because of the reflections. I think it's no. 7?

Edited by Devi
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I_Robot_-_Runaround.jpg I, Robot - Isaac Asimov

 

Synopsis

 

I, Robot is a collection of nine science fiction short stories by Isaac Asimov, first published by Gnome Press in 1950 in an edition of 5,000 copies. The stories originally appeared in the American magazines Super Science Stories and Astounding Science Fiction between 1940 and 1950. The stories are woven together as Dr. Susan Calvin tells them to a reporter (the narrator) in the 21st century.

 

Review

 

If you have ever seen the film I, Robot, first of all i'm sorry to hear that, second you'll be glad to hear it is nothing like the book. The book been an interconnected series of short stories based around the principles of robotics and having robots run our lives as well the 3 Laws of Robotics for which Asimov is famous for. These being:

 

  1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
  2. A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
  3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.

On paper these laws seem fairly absolute but Asimov explores a number of scenarios in which the laws break down. One such being: A human steps into a gamma radiation field (which is harmful but ok for short periods), a Robot sees this and attempts to rescue them as they know it is harmful and they themselves are destroyed (Gamma rays being instantly fatal to them). Even though this conflicts with the Third Law, to not attempt the rescue would conflict with the First Law which takes priority.

 

Other similar loop holes are explored and how they can be overcome is an interesting exploration. The title and it's origin in the book was also fairly clever, it is play on 'I think, therefore I Am' and is explored in a story in which a Robot refuses to believe he was created by Man.

 

In a similar manner to Arthur C. Clarke this is clearly an 'ideas' driven book as oppose to character driven, which most you will know I enjoy thoroughly, and this one was no exception. A thought provoking and intriguing catalogue of ideas and stories.

 

Overall 8/10

Edited by Timstar
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I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it. I've been meaning to buy it but I haven't gotten around to it yet. While short stories are normally not my favourite thing, if they're good short stories I have no problem with them (ie. I love some of Arthur C. Clarke's short stories). It sounds like a book I would enjoy.

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My bf just bought me this book! Check my reading thread to see which edition I got. I am really excited to read it now thanks to your review!

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My bf just bought me this book! Check my reading thread to see which edition I got. I am really excited to read it now thanks to your review!

Cool, hope you enjoy it :D

 

I finished the audiobook of Moby Dick which was brilliant, 10/10. Started listening to Red Country by Joe Abercrombie, it's good so far, quite funny with great characters. Didn't realise it was the same heroine from the First Law Trilogy which I haven't read yet so I hope it doesn't matter too much.

Edited by Timstar
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Started listening to Red Country by Joe Abercrombie, it's good so far, quite funny with great characters. Didn't realise it was the same heroine from the First Law Trilogy which I haven't read yet so I hope it doesn't matter too much.

 

Do you get your audiobooks from the library, Tim?  I keep thinking I might try one or two, but they seem horribly expensive to buy.

 

I think I got more out of The Heroes for knowing the background, but I'd imagine it works well without.  Be interesting to see what you think of Red Country.  I've been hearing nothing but good about it so far.  I'm holding out for the paperback, though - there's something about his books that is so tactile.  The covers make it feel like you're holding an old map on parchment.  I've got Best Served Cold to read in the meantime  :smile:

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Do you get your audiobooks from the library, Tim?  I keep thinking I might try one or two, but they seem horribly expensive to buy.

No I have an audible subscription, it's not the cheapest but it is a great service and I have a lot of time to listen at work. It does bring the price right down from £40+ to £7.50 for any book regardless of length. If you find one with a good narrator it is definitely worth it.

 

I know what you mean about the books, they are very nice covers. If I like them a lot I will buy them, but I have The Blade Itself on Kindle still to read, as it was very cheap at one point.

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Adding this to my wishlist!

 

:lol:  I tried to read that last year, emphasis on 'tried'.  I would offer to send it to you, but I gave it to the local hospice with a load of other books just before Christmas.  Hope you like it more than I did. :smile:

 

One thing to note - the sequel is expensive to get hold of, which was another thing that put me off.

Edited by Karsa Orlong
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:lol:  I tried to read that last year, emphasis on 'tried'.  I would offer to send it to you, but I gave it to the local hospice with a load of other books just before Christmas.  Hope you like it more than I did. :smile:

 

One thing to note - the sequel is expensive to get hold of, which was another thing that put me off.

Oh dear, well the first one looks pretty rare as well. 

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