Sofia Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Yap! And I really love the movie as well. A bit long, but definitely worth a watch. I love Tom Hanks and David Morse I agree...this is one of those rare instances where the movie is as good as the book Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted January 31, 2012 Author Share Posted January 31, 2012 Ack, I can't watch the movie. It was on tv the night my dad passed away, so I'll forever associate it with that moment, sadly. I shall read the book at some point, though - just don't want to add it to the list just yet when I've got 90 others already on there Going to attempt to reduce that pile a bit before buying any more ... good intentions and all that nonsense ... I think I'm right in saying that Ridley Scott is after or has got the film rights!! I expect they'll beef it up a bit for the screen. [Marion voice on] I didn't know that [/Marion voice off] (That only makes sense if you've watched Mongrels ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 Ack, I can't watch the movie. It was on tv the night my dad passed away, so I'll forever associate it with that moment, sadly. I shall read the book at some point, though - just don't want to add it to the list just yet when I've got 90 others already on there Going to attempt to reduce that pile a bit before buying any more ... good intentions and all that nonsense ... Aww, I'm sorry about that, I didn't know. Okay, I suppose you could first read a few off your current TBR before getting into The Green Mile... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted January 31, 2012 Author Share Posted January 31, 2012 Aww, I'm sorry about that, I didn't know. Hey, no worries, I didn't mean to say it for effect, I just always link that film to that day, whenever anyone mentions it Okay, I suppose you could first read a few off your current TBR before getting into The Green Mile... Not just The Green Mile but anything, lol. I want to get that list down considerably, cos it scared me when I typed it up. It's well over a year's worth of reading if I get through them at my usual rate. I've already had to stop myself from buying another Brian Aldiss book today Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 Not just The Green Mile but anything, lol. I want to get that list down considerably, cos it scared me when I typed it up. It's well over a year's worth of reading if I get through them at my usual rate. I've already had to stop myself from buying another Brian Aldiss book today If you get too overwhelmed, go and look my or Kylie's TBR list on our reading logs. Mine, if you are a bit overwhelmed, Kylie's if you need drastic measures to feel good about your own TBR list again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted January 31, 2012 Author Share Posted January 31, 2012 If you get too overwhelmed, go and look my or Kylie's TBR list on our reading logs. Mine, if you are a bit overwhelmed, Kylie's if you need drastic measures to feel good about your own TBR list again. Yeah, point taken And no Steven Erikson on either of your lists. Tut tut. Oh right, yeah, I was going to shut up about him, wasn't I? Still, 91 books on my list (now 89) is about 30 more than I thought I had, so it was a bit of a shock ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pickle Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 See the joys of never writing a list (sorry Frankie/Kylie) just read as you go along and hey presto no worries. Mind you I have enough trouble remembering what I have read as opposed to what I am going to read, thank god for the kindle list Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted January 31, 2012 Author Share Posted January 31, 2012 LOL, yeah, it was amazing how quick it was to type the Kindle TBR list as opposed to the treebook one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted February 1, 2012 Author Share Posted February 1, 2012 VF will be pleased: I am starting February with Jack Vance's The Dying Earth. This is part of the Fantasy Masterworks 'Tales of the Dying Earth' edition, which I didn't realise actually contains four separate novels. I'd only counted it as one book in my TBR list, so separating them out means I've added another three books to the pile! It's been on the shelf since VF first brought Jack Vance to my attention, so high time I read them. Thirty pages in and I'm enjoying it already I'm quite pleased that I managed to read six books in January, especially seeing as The Stand took me the best part of two weeks to get through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted February 1, 2012 Author Share Posted February 1, 2012 Non-Stop by Brian Aldiss Hmm, how do I explain this book without totally spoiling it? Very difficult. The blurb on the back says this: "Curiosity was discouraged in the Greene tribe. Its members lived out their lives in cramped Quarters, hacking away at the encroaching ponics. As to where they were - that was forgotten. Roy Complain decides to find out. With the renegade priest Marapper, he moves into unmapped territory, where they make a series of discoveries which turn their universe upside-down ... " I think this was Aldiss's fourth or fifth novel. It was written in 1958, so you can guess that the writing style is slightly old-fashioned. For me, this added to its immense charm, rather than detract from it. The characters are great, particularly Marapper, who I could see and hear quite clearly from the first time he speaks. The Greene tribe are fairly primitive in their ways, constantly on the move through a world of corridors filled with overgrown vegetation. Roy Complain is a hunter, who ventures beyond the guard barriers into the ponics, where he kills pigs to trade for bread and such. The tribe is threatened by other tribes, and by the Forwarders, and the Outsiders, and rumours of the Giants, who were once thought extinct but have been seen again. When 'his woman' follows him on a hunt she is taken by another tribe in an area called Sternstairs and Complain, flogged for losing her, Marapper and three others decide to escape and try and find the mythical Control. All this probably gives good indication that the jungle in which they live is not a natural environment, which becomes apparent right from the start. But the exact nature of their world, who the other races are, and why they are there is slowly deciphered by the characters as the story progresses. Much of it is easy to guess, but the pace of the novel, the charm with which it is told, and the steadily deloping characters meant I didn't begrudge that at all. My one problem with the book is the brevity of the ending. Where I was expecting another chapter the story just ends, and very abruptly at that. It's the only part of the book that feels rushed, which is a real shame, almost like he wasn't quite sure how to conclude it. Still, I suppose that's nothing new in sf with big ideas. Apart from that, it's a great read. And I haven't mentioned the rats ... 7/10 (would've been an 8 but for the ending - this is the new, harsh-scoring me!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Still, 91 books on my list (now 89) is about 30 more than I thought I had, so it was a bit of a shock ... Well okay, I'll have to give you that. Your TBR increased by 50% so yeah, that does hurt, if I'm serious for once. See the joys of never writing a list (sorry Frankie/Kylie) just read as you go along and hey presto no worries. Mind you I have enough trouble remembering what I have read as opposed to what I am going to read, thank god for the kindle list No worries pickle, we all have our own ways and lists are not for everyone VF will be pleased: I am starting February with Jack Vance's The Dying Earth. This is part of the Fantasy Masterworks 'Tales of the Dying Earth' edition Just be careful you don't turn into a giant and start choking on lil' Finns! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Finns are too chewy they make my jaws tired. Hey Steve that is briliant. The Dying Earth is so good . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted February 1, 2012 Author Share Posted February 1, 2012 Hey Steve that is briliant. The Dying Earth is so good . Well I really enjoyed what I read of it this morning Does the same story run through all four books, or are they different stories just set in the same world? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Different stories. But sometimes the same characters will pop up, like Cugel the Clever. To be honest this series of books has been so chopped about , re-titled and re-packaged over the years it is hard to remember what is in what. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted February 1, 2012 Author Share Posted February 1, 2012 Ah okay, thanks. I'm definitely going to count them as four separate books, then. Cos I'm a rebel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted February 2, 2012 Author Share Posted February 2, 2012 (edited) Couldn't decide where to post this: VF's thread, where the original conversation took place? Pickle's thread, cos we were the ones talking about it? Nah, didn't feel right hijacking other people's threads with it. So ... I was watching Mongrels last night and they were taking the pee out of Twilight: Sorry, couldn't resist posting it ... Edited February 2, 2012 by Karsa Orlong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted February 3, 2012 Author Share Posted February 3, 2012 The Dying Earth by Jack Vance I love it when a book turns out to be something I didn't expect at all, and this is one of those. It's actually a collection of short stories, set in the same world, with some characters crossing back and forth or just being mentioned in more than one, which gives the whole book a nice sense of continuity. I don't think any of the stories dipped in quality, I liked them all, although 'Mazirian the Magician' and 'Ulan Dhor' particularly stood out. The latter in particular was interesting because it clearly shows how technology has been forgotten and is regarded as magic as the world dies, where this had only been hinted at in the previous stories. One of the stories - I won't say which - ends on a really poignant and thought-provoking note: when so much knowledge from the past has been lost to time, what would you do with it if you found it again? In fact, anyone who understands technology is regarded as a wizard, which is a view that I really liked. The writing has a classic, old-fashioned feel to it. It flows wonderfully, and Vance throws out information about people and events like there's not tomorrow. At times, his imagination and invention made my head spin. I particularly liked the Twk men, tiny people who ride dragonflies and barter information for salt. There's also a couple of great stories that deal with cloning, without naming it precisely, and what can happen if it goes even slightly awry. Great stuff. Straight on to the next one. 8/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 Phew....I am so happy that you liked your first Jack Vance book Steve! I was holding my breath all this time. Now I am waiting to see what Poppyshake thinks of hers.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted February 3, 2012 Author Share Posted February 3, 2012 Yeah, loved it - Emphyrio was my first, though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted February 4, 2012 Author Share Posted February 4, 2012 The Eyes of the Overworld by Jack Vance I guess this could be described as the first part of Cugel's saga. Cugel the Clever has a stall in a market. His business is failing and a prosperous neighbour suggests that he might go to the manse of Iucounu, the Laughing Magician, and steal some of his magical possessions. Cugel is caught in the act and, in order to gain his freedom, Iucounu sends him far to the north to retrieve a magical cusp. The rest of the tale then takes the form of a series of linked short stories as Cugel undertakes his mission and then sets out on his long journey home. I didn't like this as much as The Dying Earth, I think because the variety in the stories isn't so great. Each involves Cugel getting himself into some predicament or other and then working his way out of it by all manner of trickery and deceit. Cugel is a complete anti-hero. He's arrogant, a thief, a coward, a liar, he murders without a second thought and he thinks of no-one but himself. At times this is fun, but at other times I found it a bit wearing, and I did wish that he would get his come-uppance. Whether he does or not, I shall not say! Anyway, as a whole, I thought it lacked some of the charm of the first book. This may also be due to me reading it straight after The Dying Earth, and I always seem to struggle with the second book when I read two on the trot from the same series, so it may have done this one a disservice in my eyes. So I'm going to read a few other things before coming back to read the next book, Cugel's Saga. 6/10 I'm quite pleased cos, since writing up my TBR list, I've knocked four books off it! Next up is one of the following: Terminal World by Alastair Reynolds, Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny, Grass by Sheri S Tepper, or The Dancers at the End of Time by Michael Moorcock (which I've just realised is three books in one volume - gaagh! ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 You have some good sci fi lined up Steve. Yes Cugel is a naughty boy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ooshie Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 I like lots of the same books as you do, Steve; I have read and enjoyed: The Belgariad - David Eddings. Cujo - Stephen King Die Trying - Lee Child Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep - Phillip K. Dick Feersum Endjinn - Iain M. Banks I Am Legend - Richard Matheson Salem's Lot - Stephen King Sovereign - C J Sansom Stinger - Robert McCammon The Dead Zone - Stephen King The Osterman Weekend - Robert Ludlum The Redbreast - Jo Nesbo The Satan Bug - Alistair MacLean The Shining - Stephen King The Stars My Destination - Alfred Bester Maybe I should just use the rest of your list as a wish list! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted February 4, 2012 Author Share Posted February 4, 2012 We should swap lists, Ooshie! You'd probably have loads that I want to read, or should read I've decided to go with Grass next, as it's been on the shelf the longest. I've not read any Sheri S. Tepper before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ooshie Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 We should swap lists, Ooshie! You'd probably have loads that I want to read, or should read I've decided to go with Grass next, as it's been on the shelf the longest. I've not read any Sheri S. Tepper before. I need to get better at doing lists! I usually need a bit of a lie down when I think of starting one (especially a tbr list, that would just terrify me, I much prefer just kind of knowing books are there waiting for me) but a list of some of my favourite books shouldn't be too hard, should it? Just googled Sheri S Tepper and I'm pretty sure I haven't read any of her books either, I will be interested to see what you think of it - the blurb looks intriguing! Have you read either Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury or The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood? I'm nearly finished my current book, and they are both contenders for my next read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted February 5, 2012 Author Share Posted February 5, 2012 especially a tbr list, that would just terrify me Tell me about it! a list of some of my favourite books shouldn't be too hard, should it? It definitely made me think hard. The last three years were easy because I'd made lists on here, but the books I read before that were disappearing in the mists of time Have you read either Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury or The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood? I'm nearly finished my current book, and they are both contenders for my next read. No, I haven't! I remember inheriting Farenheit 451 when I was a kid, but I don't recall ever reading it, and I certainly don't have it anymore. Let me know what you think of it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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