Karsa Orlong Posted February 28, 2012 Author Share Posted February 28, 2012 I absolutely hate giving up on books - it makes me feel like I've failed in some way - but I got 150 pages into Silverthorn and put it back on the shelf. I wasn't getting into it at all, and life's too short to spend time reading something I'm not enjoying. I think if I'd read it straight after reading Magician I probably would've liked it more, but it's so 'fantasy-by-numbers' it was just washing over me without any meaning or effect. Yes, I confess: I am a fantasy snob So I've started Ken Grimwood's Replay this morning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted February 29, 2012 Author Share Posted February 29, 2012 Ah well, all good intentions and all that nonsense. I got my TBR list down below 90 so naturally I had to go and buy two more books to rectify that Revenger by Rory Clement (John Shakespeare series book 2) Harlequin by Bernard Cornwell (Grail Quest series book 1) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian. Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 I absolutely hate giving up on books - it makes me feel like I've failed in some way - but I got 150 pages into Silverthorn and put it back on the shelf. I wasn't getting into it at all, and life's too short to spend time reading something I'm not enjoying. I think if I'd read it straight after reading Magician I probably would've liked it more, but it's so 'fantasy-by-numbers' it was just washing over me without any meaning or effect. Yes, I confess: I am a fantasy snob So I've started Ken Grimwood's Replay this morning I used to feel bad about giving up on books but its not something I give any thought to anymore. 150 pages is more than enough to give any book a good shot at catching your attention. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted February 29, 2012 Author Share Posted February 29, 2012 I used to feel bad about giving up on books but its not something I give any thought to anymore. 150 pages is more than enough to give any book a good shot at catching your attention. Thanks Brian! I'm not feeling so bad about it now - at least it's another book off the TBR list ... ... and I've just added another one: they had an imported copy of Jack McDevitt's The Engines of God in Waterstones in Oxford Street. Total impulse buy, I know nothing about it and it wasn't on my wish list, but it sounded intriguing, so ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted March 1, 2012 Author Share Posted March 1, 2012 (edited) Replay by Ken Grimwood From the back of the book: "Jeff Winston was forty-three and trapped in a tepid marriage and a dead-end job, waiting for that time when he could be truly happy, when he died. And then he woke up and he was eighteen, with all his memories of the next twenty-five years intact. He could live his life again, avoiding the mistakes, making money from his knowledge of the future, seeking happiness. Until he dies at forty-three and wakes up back in college again ..." First off, Grimwood - what a great name! I'd never heard of him until a few weeks back, never heard of this book. To say more about the story than what's above would, I think, be to damage it beyond repair. Replay is a fantasy novel. It's the sort of fantasy novel that gives the lie to those who think the genre is just about swords, sorcery, orcs, goblins, elves, dwarves, dragons, wizards and farmboys with a destiny. Instead, it's about life, about learning to live with failure and regrets and loneliness, and love and joy and freedom, about how one word in the wrong place can change a life forever. In fact, it's how Jeff chooses to live each of his 'replays', the mistakes he makes, the triumphs he has, that makes him and all the characters from his life that we're introduced to along the way so endearing. You live through all their highs and lows with them, and marvel at the way Grimwood portrays them with subtle (and not so subtle) differences each life through. It may sound a bit like Groundhog Day but trust me: it is so much more than that. I found Replay witty, sad, scary, uplifting and heartbreaking. Every time I thought I knew what was going to happen it pulled the rug out from under my feet. It never resorts to schmaltz or is even vaguely sentimental. In fact, at times it is downright brutal, and it is constantly surprising. I loved it from start to finish - in fact I don't think it makes a single misstep. It's just a wonderful, wonderful story, brilliantly told, and its message is clear. I can't believe I hadn't heard of it before. 10/10 Edited April 11, 2012 by Karsa Orlong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissy Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 There's a distinct possibility that I may have just bought this cos of your review. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pickle Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 yeah me too and I was gonna try and be good this month Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted March 1, 2012 Author Share Posted March 1, 2012 Wow, I hope you both enjoy it as much as I did Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 This one sounds like a must have. I will read this and soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidsmum Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 Definitely a must have, good job Mother's day is coming up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted March 2, 2012 Author Share Posted March 2, 2012 (edited) It occurred to me that there was one aspect of Replay that I should have mentioned - there is some sex in the book, particularly when Jeff decides to embrace the 'free love' part of the 60s. It's not particularly graphic, but I know some people don't like reading that sort of thing so thought I should mention it Decided to go with Neal Asher's Cowl next. Edited March 2, 2012 by Karsa Orlong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 Sounds awesome - have added it to my Wishlist. If it were available on Kindle I would have bought it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted March 6, 2012 Author Share Posted March 6, 2012 (edited) Cowl by Neal Asher I have come to the conclusion that Neal Asher is quite mad - or, at least, his books are insane. In his hands it's science fiction with the dial turned up to 11, in a Spinal Tap stylee. He writes with real verve and drags you along for the ride, kicking and screaming If you're looking for an inventive, wild, exciting ride, he's the man for the job, just be prepared to have all your preconceptions of stuffy old sf books ripped up and thrown back in your face I have no idea how to even start describing Cowl. Most of his novels are set within his 'Polity' universe, but Cowl is that awkward beast that is the stand-alone story. Set on Earth, we first meet Polly, a 22nd century prostitute, whose friend Marjae has recently died through drug abuse. When Marjae's brother Nandru, an ex-military type, turns up blaming Polly for his sister's death, he in turn drugs Polly and implants her with an AI device. When she awakes he tells her (in her head, through the device) that some people will turn up looking for her and he will tell her what to do when that happens. Sure enough, within minutes, U-Gov agents, led by a genetically engineered super-assassin called Tack, turn up and demand to know where Nandru has left a particular item. Through the AI device, Nandru gives Polly directions and she leads the agents to a mysterious item that looks something like a thorny vambrace, called a tor. Nandru has been waiting to ambush them and, as he sets about killing the agents, a rip in the fabric of reality occurs beside the tor and reveals a vast maw which munches on Nandru. With him dead, Tack comes hunting Polly and, in desperation, she grabs the tor, which immediately (and bloodily) fixes itself to her arm. Turns out it's a time travel device, and it promptly drags her and the nearby Tack back in time. That all happens in the first 20 or 30 pages, and it gets even madder after that, as Polly and Tack get dragged into a future war between genetically enhanced breeds of super-human called Heliothanes and Umbrathanes, who are travelling back through time to finish their war by hunting down and killing the eponymous Cowl, who himself has travelled back through time, killing millions in the process, to a time and place before the birth of mankind, and ... Oh hell, just read the blimmin' thing, it's brilliant fun 8/10 Edited March 6, 2012 by Karsa Orlong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted March 7, 2012 Author Share Posted March 7, 2012 I have no willpower whatsoever. I went into Smiths on the way home cos I noticed yesterday they had the 2nd and 3rd books in Cornwell's 'Grail Quest' trilogy and they were in great condition. So I went in to get those, then also found they had two other books I wanted in the 'buy 1 get 1 half price' deal So ... Vagabond by Bernard Cornwell Heretic by Bernard Cornwell Prince by Rory Clements Hannibal: Enemy of Rome by Ben Kane Just when I'd got my TBR list down a bit Although, to be fair, I would have bought the first three of them sooner or later anyway, it's just the Ben Kane one that was an impulse buy. I saw it the day before and liked the look of it. Oh, and none of them are science fiction, which is just wrong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Wow Steve I will read Cowl for sure thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted March 7, 2012 Author Share Posted March 7, 2012 Wow Steve I will read Cowl for sure thanks Good man! Would it be your first Asher, James? If it is, I would probably recommend starting with The Skinner instead, as I think it's a better book - although it is the first book in a sequence, whereas Cowl stands on its own ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shelley.s Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Cowl sounds really good! I havent been on here for a while but you'll be pleased to know I have just ordered The Annubis Gate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted March 7, 2012 Author Share Posted March 7, 2012 Yay, I really hope you enjoy it, Shelley. More time travelling fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shelley.s Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Yay, I really hope you enjoy it, Shelley. More time travelling fun! I'm really looking forward to it, plus it can be any more boring than The Night Circus lol so I think I'm on to a winner! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted March 11, 2012 Author Share Posted March 11, 2012 Harlequin by Bernard Cornwell This is the first of Cornwell's 'Grail Quest' trilogy, set near the beginning of The Hundred Years War. It begins at Easter 1342, when French raiders, led by Guillaume d'Evecque, land at Hookton in Dorset. There, a young man named Thomas, who secretly yearns to be an archer in the king's army, has been pushed to follow his father into the priesthood. He and his friends are standing the Easter guard at the church when the French begin to burn the village. Thomas snatches up his bow and escapes, and takes his first life soon after, as the raiders retreat from the village with their prisoners and loot. He sees and memorises Sir Guillaume's crest, and also sees another man dressed in black armour who is known only as the Harlequin. When he returns he finds his father dying in the church, from where the raiders have taken a great treasure. His father begs him to retrieve the relic. That's the prologue. The story then skips forward in time, and Thomas is making a name for himself as an archer in King Edward's army in Brittany, and most of what happens involves actual events from the period, told through the eyes of various characters. Through various twists and turns, Thomas's quest gets ever more complicated, and his own involvement in it is thrown into question. This is my fourth Cornwell book, after his marvellous Arthurian trilogy 'The Warlord Chronicles'. If Harlequin isn't quite as good it's understandable - the bar had been set very, very high. I think this book gets pretty close. Unlike 'The Warlord Chronicles', this isn't told in the first person, and the viewpoint jumps around quite a bit. Most of the time this works really well, although it did get a bit confusing in some of the later battles, particularly at Crecy, where I had to re-read a couple of passages to clarify who was doing what. That aside, this is another winner. Cornwell seems to have that innate ability to make you care about his characters. Jeanette, Will and Guillaume, particularly, leap off the page. There's a boo-hiss bad guy by the name of Sir Simon Jekyll who's maybe just a little bit too bad - some shades of grey might've been welcome here - but he fits in with the general sweep of the story. Thomas himself is likeable enough and I look forward to seeing him develop over the next two books. It's hard to doubt Cornwell's ability to evoke the atmosphere of the period, and his writing style is so fluid and easy to read that he is able to convey characterisation, plot and historical fact without it seeming at all clunky. There are some nice touches of humour, too, generally involving Will and Father Hobbe, which were very funny. The action - and there is a lot of it - is pretty brutal. Bear in mind here that it involves cavalry, so some horses don't come out of this very well, which can be distressing (this coming from the person who stopped watching the Grand National years ago because he couldn't bear to see the horses fall). Also, there is a rape, although it is not described in any detail. Looking forward to reading the next one, Vagabond. 8/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted March 13, 2012 Author Share Posted March 13, 2012 The Crucifix Killer by Chris Carter Amazon blurb (because I can't be bothered to sum up the 'plot' myself!): "When the body of a young woman is discovered in a derelict cottage in the middle of Los Angeles National Forest, Homicide Detective Robert Hunter finds himself entering a horrific and recurring nightmare. Naked, strung from two wooden posts, the victim was sadistically tortured before meeting an excruciatingly painful death. All the skin has been ripped from her face - while she was still alive. On the nape of her neck has been carved a strange double-cross: the signature of a psychopath known as the Crucifix Killer. But that's impossible. Because two years ago, the Crucifix Killer was caught and executed. Could this therefore be a copycat killer? Or could the unthinkable be true? Is the real killer still out there, ready to embark once again on a vicious and violent killing spree, selecting his victims seemingly at random, taunting Robert Hunter with his inability to catch him? Hunter and his rookie partner are about to enter a nightmare beyond imagining." I saw this going cheap when I first got my Kindle, saw it had 4.5 stars on Amazon, read a few of the reviews and thought I'd give it a go. Oh dear. For a while, I didn't think I'd get past the first few pages. Some of the dialogue is atrocious (the 'bang-your-head-against-the-wall-was-this-written-by-a-12-year-old' kind of atrocious). The characterisation, if there is any, is purely accidental. The plot is from the join-the-dots and colour-by-numbers school. You've seen it all before in every bad cop show and movie ever made. The characters are truly just stereotypical cardboard cut-outs. Some of the time it seems they are just there to talk back and forth, spouting the author's thoughts as he tries to get the 'plot' clear in his head. Eventually, as these conversations progress, one of the characters will inevitably say "are you kidding me?" or "are you out of your mind?". Then they'll suddenly start using contractions where none appear elsewhere ("ain't" crops up a lot, although it doesn't fit in with the way the rest of the dialogue is written in any way shape or form). The main character, Hunter, is apparently obsessed with the case, which has been haunting him for years, yet he's quite happy to take time out and go on a lunch date. Erm, okay. His partner, Garcia, is just there to ridicule and then worship Hunter's ways. I don't even want to start on the pimp, D-King. And yet I kept reading. The thing with this book is that it's a very fast read (probably because half of it is unnecessary). It's not exciting or tense (pre-requisites for a thriller, I would have thought) but it does have one fairly good twist towards the end, and the reasoning behind it is quite clever. However, when you stop to think about it, the twist is only a twist because the author withholds vital information until he wants to spring said twist, which is a pretty cheap trick. The crimes involve sex and torture. It's unpleasant and yet somehow laughable, because it's written like a teenage boy's sick fantasies. I'm starting to worry about the art of thriller writing. Some of the books I've read in the last couple of years seems to be going down the Hollywood blockbuster shock-and-awe route, rather than crafting genuine plot, atmosphere and thrills. This is one of the worst culprits I've come across so far. Avoid. 4/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pickle Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 one to avoid then but I know what you mean sick for the sake of sick rather than the sake of the plot read too many of these myself. btw you tempted by the new Nesbo yet?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted March 13, 2012 Author Share Posted March 13, 2012 (edited) btw you tempted by the new Nesbo yet?? I don't think I'll pay the current price on Amazon for it, no. When The Leopard came out for Kindle is was reduced to £4 almost straight away, so I'm hoping that might happen again You?? Not like I haven't got enough to read anyway Edited March 13, 2012 by Karsa Orlong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian. Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 I'm glad I opted not to pick up 'The Crucifix Killer' when I saw it a few weeks ago. I read the blurb in the back and flicked through it but nothing jumped out so I put it back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted March 13, 2012 Author Share Posted March 13, 2012 Good choice, Brian! The only positive I can find is that I only paid £1.99 for it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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