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

[Athena]

Storm Front should be the first in the Dresden series, I specifically put the first one on my wishlist (unless I made a mistake). That's what I was wondering about, if they were connected in any way.

[Karsa Orlong]

Storm Front is the first Dresden book, yeah.  The two series aren't connected at all.

 

Great to hear you enjoyed it, Tim.  I'll definitely look into it once I'm up to date with Dresden

[bobblybear]

I'm glad you enjoyed Under The Dome. Is that a picture of your cover? If so, you're right - it is very uninspiring! What did you think of the ending?

[Timstar]

Yeah that was my copy, they released four different ones in the UK... all equally bad. (Spines are the same as the front). Nothing on the back either, not even a synopsis :S

 

 

 

I really enjoyed the last 100 pages but the very end felt very abrupt and I was just kinda left saying "oh...ok then". Not particularly awestruck.

[bobblybear]

I've only seen the cover with the old man on it; I never realised there were others.

 

My cover was this one, which is much nicer to look at than the others.

 

 

I remember not liking the ending much, though I can't remember the specifics of why. There are quite a few of King's books where I have been disappointed by the ending, but a huge part of that is because I didn't want them to finish.

[Ooshie]

Yours is a much nicer cover, bobblybear.  The one I have is the one to the left of Timstar's picture, with the young girl - uninspiring is exactly the right word for it!

[Devi]

It's the old guys cover that made me originally believe the book was a biography on Stephen King!

[Athena]

Same here ^.

 

I own the cover with the old man, I didn't know there were others, too.

[Timstar]

Read Dr. No which is probably my favourite Bond book so far (6/12). 

 

Just bought Declare by Tim Powers for 99p on Kindle

 

Started the second half of A Storm of Swords by GRRM, but I might have to take a break as my Wise Man's Fear library reservation is ready.

 

Plan update:

 

Sharpe's Battle - Bernard Cornwell (Sharpe 12)

Under the Dome - Stephen King

Storm of Swords: Blood and Gold - Geroge R.R. Martin (Song
of Ice and Fire 3) - Begun

Dr. No - Ian Fleming (James Bond 5)

No Country for Old Men - Cormac McCarthy

Diary of Anne Frank - Begun

Wise Man's Fear - Patrick Rothfuss (Kingkiller Chronicles
2)

The Desert Spear - Peter V. Brett (Demon Cycle 2)

The Pheonix Rising - Richard Sanders (Pheonix
Conspiracy 2)

WarBreaker - Brandon Sanderson

Retribution Falls - Chris Wooding (Tales of Ketty Jay 1)

Furies of Calderon - Jim Butcher (Codex Alera 1)

Cabal - Clive Barker

The Great Hunt - Robert Jordan (Wheel of Time 2)

The Heroes - Joe Abercrombie

The Wind Through the Keyhole - Stephen King (Dark Tower 8)

Edited March 11, 2013 by Timstar

[Karsa Orlong]

Good to see another plan going well!

 

You're persevering with Rothfuss, then?

[Timstar]

Yeah, I am interested to see where the story is going, might not carry on if the next one isn't an improvement though.

[Timstar]

The Lies of Locke Lamora - Scott Lynch (Audio book read by Stephen Page)

 

Synopsis

 

They say that the Thorn of Camorr can beat anyone in a fight. They say he steals from the rich and gives to the poor. They say he's part man, part myth, and mostly street-corner rumour. And they are wrong on every count.

 

Only averagely tall, slender, and god-awful with a sword, Locke Lamora is the fabled Thorn, and the greatest weapons at his disposal are his wit and cunning. He steals from the rich - they're the only ones worth stealing from - but the poor can go steal for themselves. What Locke cons, wheedles and tricks into his possession is strictly for him and his band of fellow con-artists and thieves: the Gentleman B******s.

 

Review

 

I can't remember where I first heard of this book but I instantly fell in love with the title, despite it sounding like a Scottish murder mystery. I wanted to know more about it, I was even more intrigued when I heard it was a début fantasy with nothing but glowing reviews and the first in an on-going series. In my effort to reduce my TBR pile I didn't want to buy another fantasy series so I checked audible and snapped it up.

 

I wasn't too sure with it to begin with, it seemed all over the place and lacked any real heart, on top of that the narrator reading voice lacked energy and his voice range wasn't particularly vast. It also seemed a bit ambiguous as to whether or not I was supposed to like the characters, none of them seemed to be good people. Although I was never close to quitting I wasn't quit gripped... but all that changed. It just kept getting better and better and by the end I was doing anything I could just to be alone so I could listen to more.

 

The story is told through a mixed chronology, jumping between the present day and Locke's younger years as well as some of the side characters stories. The story moves at a steady pace but it is very well thought out with previous events paying off many chapters later, the character development is second to none. Locke begins off very naive and every mistake we see him learn and grow and understand the seriousness of his actions. The land and history is steeped in fascinating and original mythology, you won't find any standard fantasy elements in here.

I was definitely too harsh on the narrator to begin with, it certainly didn't lack energy in the correct places and he was able to switch between various accents (of which there were many) seamlessly. He was able to do old and young Locke similar enough to know they are the same person but still distinct with their age, Locke also puts on numerous accents that are all distinct from each other. The only criticism I now have is that he wasn't particularly good with female voices (which is probably common) and at some points I didn't realise it was a woman was talking, although there weren't many female characters so it wasn't an issue

The group of Gentlemen B******s also deserve a mention as they are a brilliant group of support characters that Lynch makes so tangible you genuinely care about them (Carlo and Galdo being my favourites). The second half of the book was far superior, not that the first half wasn't good but it was no where near as good as the second, but it did serve the set up the second half. There were times when I realised I had been sat there for a good ten minutes with my mouth hanging open in suspense and disbelief. It also had moments that left me tearfully sad and gleefully happy with plenty of laughs in-between.

Towards the end I was starting to think that the book doesn't need any sequels, it works very well as a stand alone novel. It certainly does but when I got to the end I was very happy there is more as I did not want it to end, and I now can't wait to read more. I was also thinking that the book would make a brilliant TV series if done correctly, no film could ever do it justice.

First half 8/10
Second half 10/10

Overall 10/10
(I know 9 would seem more logical but it is such a good second half that it pushes the overall score to 10.)

Edited March 14, 2013 by Timstar

[Timstar]

Half way through The Wise Man's Fear, it's ok, still waiting for something exciting to happen.

 

Also getting near the end of A Storm of Swords which is consistently brilliant.

[Karsa Orlong]

Half way through The Wise Man's Fear, it's ok, still waiting for something exciting to happen.

 

 

I know that feeling

 

 

Also getting near the end of A Storm of Swords which is consistently brilliant.

 

 

That's what I loved about that book - something important seemed to happen in every chapter, especially in the second part

[Timstar]

Finished A Storm of Swords last night, it was brilliant! did not want it to end and can't wait to read the next. One thing that upset me about it is, due to the format style, a certain character may have a major cliff hanger a good 150 pages from the end which obviously urged me on even more then I find out that was the last chapter of that character in the whole book!   Obviously this doesn't make the book any worse whatsoever but it is upsetting, which can only help to denote the books brilliance.

 

There were chapters that left me gaping at the page not quite believing (and sometimes not wanting to believe) what I had just read. But it turns out no matter how many times you shout 'NO! You can't do that!' at the pages it won't change the outcome. Overall 10/10 (of course).

 

On a completely book I have just finished The Diary of Anne Frank which was incredibly moving and gave a good insight into the her life in hiding. This was also on a list of 50 books to read before you die that I was given and I definitely agree that everyone should read it at sometime.

 

I have been listening to Great Expectations audio book but the narration is very dull and the book isn't exactly full of action so I am giving up on that for now (I do have the paperback so will give that a go sometime soon, although I did read it in school). I started Needful Things by Stephen King which is the first audio book I've listened to that is also read by the author.

 

I am now gonna focus more efforts on A Wise Man's Fear.

[Karsa Orlong]

Finished A Storm of Swords last night, it was brilliant! did not want it to end and can't wait to read the next. One thing that upset me about it is, due to the format style, a certain character may have a major cliff hanger a good 150 pages from the end which obviously urged me on even more then I find out that was the last chapter of that character in the whole book!

 

 

Bits that stick in my memory:

 

 

The Red Wedding (obviously), Littlefinger shoving Lysa out the Moon Door, Tyrion killing Shae and then Tywin, and finding out his father doesn't s-hit gold   And then that final page, one of my favourite finales to a book ever   I remember Clegane whacking Arya around the head as well, and not seeing her turn up for ages after that.  I was very worried he'd killed her off, too  

 

[Timstar]

Bits that stick in my memory:

 

 

The Red Wedding (obviously), Littlefinger shoving Lysa out the Moon Door, Tyrion killing Shae and then Tywin, and finding out his father doesn't s-hit gold   And then that final page, one of my favourite finales to a book ever   I remember Clegane whacking Arya around the head as well, and not seeing her turn up for ages after that.  I was very worried he'd killed her off, too  

 

 

I have a feeling they will be sticking in mine as well!

 

 

also the battle at the wall with giants riding mammoths, and Joffery choking to death at his own wedding!

 

I had to skim through the book to see if there was another Arya chapter or not, I was very relieved lol.

 

[Karsa Orlong]

I have a feeling they will be sticking in mine as well!

 

 

also the battle at the wall with giants riding mammoths, and Joffery choking to death at his own wedding!

 

I had to skim through the book to see if there was another Arya chapter or not, I was very relieved lol.

 

 

 

 

I'd totally forgotten Joffrey happened in that book but, of course, it had to be because of Sansa ending up with Littlefinger  

 

 

 

Shows how much happened in it.  The read/reward ratio in that book is off the scale.

[Timstar]

Went into town today... was inevitiable that I came back with a few books.

 

Before They Are Hanged (Signed) and Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie

The Player of Games - Iain M. Banks

Kraken - China Miéville

 

The latter two are based on recommendations from here.

 

Also narrowly avoided:

 

Chasm City - Alastair Reynolds

Lonesome Dove - Larry McMurty

[Karsa Orlong]

Went into town today... was inevitiable that I came back with a few books.

 

Before They Are Hanged (Signed) and Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie

The Player of Games - Iain M. Banks

Kraken - China Miéville

 

The latter two are based on recommendations from here.

 

Also narrowly avoided:

 

Chasm City - Alastair Reynolds

Lonesome Dove - Larry McMurty

 

 

Great haul!  Shame you didn't get Chasm City, though

[Timstar]

The Wife said I'm not allowed any more...

 

probably next time though   

[Timstar]

Finally gave up on the Kingkiller chronicles, it annoyed me a lot. The first half of A Wise Man's Fear was ok, not a lot of was happening but it seemed to be leading somewhere. Then he just ups and leaves the town and all his friends to start a completely different life... for no apparent reason, starts a job there then ups and leaves that to carry out a side mission which is fine but then just runs away again afterwards never going back to any of the previous places.

 

I got to about 600 pages before I realised how bored I was but I was determined to finish it, convincing myself that something will pay off soon. But no, nothing, got to around 800 pages with still nothing and started skipping pages to see if anything happens, nope. Finally gave up and chucked the book across the room after 870 or so.

 

Massive waste of time, I have no idea what other people see in it, every time something interesting starts to happen it just leads to nothing, time and time again. The characterisation is terrible, other then the main character, Kvothe, none of them are significant characters that you care about, and as soon as it looks like a character is starting to be important they are never mentioned again! 

 

It is sooo slow, with so much pointless filler, whole chapters devoted to mindless babble between characters, that is neither interesting, witty or relevant  The main problem I had though was that Kvothe has no reason to do anything he does, he has no drive or purpose, no quest to complete, no evil to beat or good to save. Which means I have no drive or purpose to keep reading. He is just trying to learn absolutely everything there is to learn in the most arrogant way possible, and become rich doing it. Speaking of money, far, far, far too much emphasis is placed on it. Everything he does or can't do is spelt out in terms of how much money it will cost him or how much he could earn if he did this or that and no matter what he does why does he never, ever have any! 

 

The writing isn't great, it doesn't grab you or make you want to keep reading at all, everything is spelt out. The magic system is stupidly complicated to the point that no one bothers to learn it  except Kvothe of course, but then never uses it as it serves no purpose. The world building is non-existent, I wouldn't describe it as a high fantasy at all, in-fact I would recommend it for people for don't like high-fantasy... and have a LOT of spare time.

 

I will be interested to see what others on here make of it, although most reviews on Amazon say the opposite of me I have found a few people who think the same which is encouraging.

 

Overall - 

Edited March 30, 2013 by Timstar

[Karsa Orlong]

I will be interested to see what others on here make of it, although most reviews on Amazon say the opposite of me I have found a few people who think the same which is encouraging.

 

 

Pretty much the same happens for me with Brandon Sanderson - I just don't get all the fuss.  I thought maybe it was just me refusing to follow the masses, but a few other people said similar about him on the Malazan forums, so I guess not 

 

I've steered away from Rothfuss for so long it really doesn't look likely that I'll get to reading his stuff any time soon.  Sorry to hear you didn't enjoy it - it's no fun when something becomes a chore to read.  Life's too short for that - says he, wishing he'd given up on The Way of Kings (which has gone straight to the local Cancer Research shop).

[Timstar]

Yeah I noticed the similarities with what you said about The Way of Kings, life definitely is too short. I will have ago at Stormlight at some point but will keep in mind it's length and stop if it's no good.

 

Now started Retribution Falls, the first in the Ketty Jay series which seems to be exactly what I needed after The Wise Man's Fear. Great fun

[Timstar]

Retribution Falls - Chris Wooding

 

Synopsis

Frey is the captain of the Ketty Jay, leader of a small and highly dysfunctional band of layabouts. An inveterate womaniser and rogue, he and his gang make a living on the wrong side of the law, avoiding the heavily armed flying frigates of the Coalition Navy. With their trio of ragged fighter craft, they run contraband, rob airships and generally make a nuisance of themselves.

 

So a hot tip on a cargo freighter loaded with valuables seems like a great prospect for an easy heist and a fast buck. Until the heist goes wrong, and the freighter explodes. Suddenly Frey isn't just a nuisance anymore - he's public enemy number one, with the Coalition Navy on his tail and contractors hired to take him down.

 

It's going to take all his criminal talents to prove he's not the criminal they think he is . . .

 

Review

 

This was exactly what I was expecting and exactly what I needed after the annoyance of The Wise Man's Fear. A good, enjoyable, light-hearted escapism story that doesn't get bogged down under it's own weight. I recall earlier in this thread that I was looking for a book or series along the same lines as the brilliant TV show Firefly, and I happened to be reading this along side yet another Firefly re-watch and the similarities were very apparent. I don't know Wooding's inspiration for Ketty Jay but others have also made the comparison. This is by no means a bad thing though! It leans more towards the fantasy side then Sci-fi like Firefly.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed it, the story moves a good pace, occasionally broken up to tell the characters back story, all of whom are great and interesting individuals. Simply good fun, looking forward to reading more

 

Overall 8/10
 

Edited April 5, 2013 by Timstar