Signor Finzione

Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell.

Not all, unfortunately. I've read the earlier ones (Riftwar saga, Empire trilogy, Serpentwar saga, Krondor's sons and Riftwar legacy) but none after that. I own a few of them, but not all in the right order, so am waiting till I have them all. I suspect a good part of my 2015 TBR will be taken up by the entire works of Raymond E Feist. I probably don't have nearly as many books as you do. I have 3 full bookcases in my spare room at the moment, and a load of random piles of books knocking around in the kitchen/living room. Hope to acquire a new bookcase within the next few months. I also have an attic if things get desperate. Spoken like the snake from The Jungle Book?

Thank you! I'm always glad to hear that it's not just me who buys books and then doesn't get around to reading them. I would have waited for the paperback of 'Magician's End', too, but it was only £3.50 and I couldn't resist! Now I just have the buy the rest of the books that come before it . . . That's exactly the problem I usually have! This is the first time I've EVER found fantasy books in a charity shop. Then again, I never donate any myself (I could never bear to part with them) so I can't exactly complain. The British Heart Foundation put stickers on their books saying "read it, then bring it back again!". I shuddered at the thought and peeled them off. They're mine now, preciousssss. When I finally get around to reading some Gemmell I'll let you know if I agree. Good idea! I think I'm going to put it on my TBR for 2014, so maybe we could do it then? Athena, you're more than welcome to coordinate too.

Even in a charity shop? Thanks for the info! I'm looking forward to meeting this Sparhawk - according to the book's cover he's the 'best-realised hero in modern fantasy'. Belgariad book 1 has been on my wishlist since you first recommended it - I have a feeling it'll get bought at Christmas time with my grandma's annual festive gift of 'money in the card'. Or sooner, if the upstanding individual who donated these books to the shop carries on feeling charitable. I wonder which of us will eventually read it first? I already have the second one in the series (I got confused when I went on my birthday money spending spree) so I'll be able to see if they do get better as they go on. Although, I also have the first two books of the Ascendants of Estorea by Barclay - I'm not sure which to read first.

I paid a little visit to a local BHF charity shop yesterday, and was delighted to find three books that I actually wanted to buy. (Charity shops near me hardly EVER seem to have my kind of books, so finding three that I fancied was nothing short of a small miracle). The books are: Dawnthief - James Barclay The Diamond Throne - David Eddings Magician's End - Raymond E Feist I've never read anything by Barclay or Eddings, so opinions from people who have would be nice. I'm especially pleased with the Feist acquisition - it's his latest novel (the final instalment in the Riftwar saga), and is a mint condition hardback. All three books came to £6.50 - we northerners do love a good bargain.

Congrats on finishing your reading plan! I look forward to hearing your thoughts on 'Feast for Crows' and 'Last Argument' (and all the others, of course). I'll also be interested to hear what you think of 'Frankenstein' - I remember it wasn't exactly what I expected it to be when I read it. Also, I love how you have several plans on the go and that you mix-and-match between them.

Nah, sometimes your brain just needs a bit of a break. Taking a book holiday is better than forcing yourself to read - absence makes the heart grow fonder.

That looks like an interesting article Janet - but, like you, my eyes glazed over a bit after reading the word 'science' more than twice. Steve, your new list looks interesting. It's funny that you'll probably end up with even more books on your TBR after reading some of them (like the new Lynch after you've finished 'Red Seas').

Well done on finishing your plan! Time to make another one.

I'm a red wine gal myself. I'm no expert or anything (I tend to just buy whatever's on offer in the supermarket) but at the moment I've been drinking Shiraz, which is very nice. I can't stand drinking white or rose wine, though - bleh!

EXCELLENT Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

Well said - me too!

Review: 'Red Seas Under Red Skies' by Scott Lynch Thief and con-man extraordinaire, Locke Lamora, and the ever lethal Jean Tannen have fled their home city and the wreckage of their lives. But they can’t run forever and when they stop they decide to head for the richest, and most difficult, target on the horizon. The city state of Tal Verarr. And the Sinspire. The Sinspire is the ultimate gambling house. No-one has stolen so much as a single coin from it and lived. It’s the sort of challenge Locke simply can’t resist . . . . . . but Locke’s perfect crime is going to have to wait. Someone else in Tal Verarr wants the Gentlemen B*stards’ expertise and is quite prepared to kill them to get it. Before long, Locke and Jean find themselves engaged in piracy. Fine work for thieves who don’t know one end of a galley from another . . . So you’ve just finished reading The Lies of Locke Lamora. You loved the devilish characters, witty dialogue and clever plotting. You can’t wait to read the next instalment in the series, yet at the same time you’re thinking to yourself: it can’t be as good as Lies. Can it? It can indeed. And it’s not only just as good: it’s better. Red Seas under Red Skies, the second instalment in the Gentlemen B*stard Sequence, is everything that the first book is and more. The central characters are much more fleshed-out and complex, their interaction with each other is more diverse and entertaining, and the plot – involving the usual schemes within schemes within schemes – is unbelievably elaborate, and yet somehow never confusing. Lynch has an incredible knack for keeping details from the reader, feeding us just enough information to make us feel complicit with the grand plans of our favourite thieves, yet at the same time keeping us ignorant of their final twists of genius until the time comes for the great unveiling. The book has a much closer focus than its predecessor on the relationship between Locke and Jean, which is being sorely tested by the fallout of the events from Lies. Their loyalty is heart-warming, their banter is (as always) natural and funny, and their disagreements, while hurtful, seem to make their friendship that much more realistic. Their schemes are also much more ambitious, this time involving card tricks, pirates, unbreakable vaults and the most powerful figures in the city of Tal Verarr, as well as a few hidden players to complicate matters. The plotting is nothing short of brilliant. As with Lies, though, the payoff comes at an enormous cost. Lynch never lets our heroes simply walk off into the sunset unscathed, and there’s pain and heartbreak here that somehow feels more personal than the characters’ losses in Lies. The characters – all of them – are so well-written that it’s difficult not to empathise with them (or hate them). Red Seas contains many of the same elements as Lies – daring cons, gallows humour, loveable rogues and complex opponents – and yet has a very different feel. This is largely to do with its setting. Choosing to set a large amount of the book at sea creates a completely new atmosphere and works as a brilliant mechanism to illustrate that our two thieves are perhaps, figuratively and literally, out of their depth. It allows for a novel source of humour, particularly Locke and Jean’s sea-training and the shambles of their fraudulent ‘captaincy’, and also endows the story with a fresh new feel rather than simply recycling the ideas of the first book and placing them in a different city. I also take pleasure in noting that the author is very skilled at including certain ghoulish elements to his stories, elements that work to create an amazingly macabre backdrop for otherwise ordinary events. Some of these grim little touches are the Midden Deep (a bottomless hole into which prisoners are thrown, possibly to fall forever), the death-lanterns (boat-sized jellyfish that absorb your blood through your skin), and of course the eerie Ghostwind Isles (a pirates’ haven consisting of volcanoes, jungles, suicide-inducing fog and mysterious forces that can cause entire villages to disappear). I first read this book around six years ago and remembered it as being very good; I’ve read it again now and realised that it’s actually brilliant. Now, onto the newly-released book #3 . . . My rating: 5/5

Update: RoT is now just over £8 on Amazon. (I'm not on commission or anything . . .)

Probably Steven Erikson for me (fantasy author), although it feels less 'fangirl' and more 'promoting the cause' - lots of people either haven't heard of him or don't give his books a chance, and I always feel obliged to try and persuade them otherwise (much to their annoyance, I'm sure!). I had to read 'The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox' for uni. Not my kind of book at all, I thought, but it turned out to be one of the best I read on the entire 3-year course and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Yeah, there's something childish about the voices. That's probably how I'd have pronounced it too. But then again, I spent most of my Ancient History A-level thinking 'Pericles' was pronounced like 'clavicles'.

That is pretty horrendous . . . not least because I always thought Kruppe was pronounced "Krup" not "Krupper".

Apparently there is an audio version of Gardens of the Moon! (Book #1) I haven't listened to it myself - I don't really 'do' audiobooks, since my attention tends to drift whilst listening. Definitely make sure you have great mojo . . . and a comfortable chair!

Nice to meet you catwoman! I'm a teacher too.

Hi Enyo! Welcome to the forum - always glad to meet a fellow fantasy fan. I've never read Eddings, Sanderson or Jordan, but love the other books you've listed here. I recently read the Name of the Wind by Rothfuss - it's the best book I've read this year - and have the second one on my shelf ready to read. I look forward to seeing your reading log if/when you start it!

Hi Nightmare. I look forward to reading your thoughts on the books you're currently reading. I really want to read Good Omens too - I've never read anything by Neil Gaiman, but am a huge Pratchett fan, and this collaboration is supposed to be pretty good. Why not pop over to the introductions thread and start a new topic? It's a great place to say hi and make some new friends.

Very attractive books there Tim. You your wife must be very proud of them. I wish I could do this with my husband, but he just doesn't do books at all. He thinks that reading the plot summaries on Wikipedia means that he's read the entire Song of Ice and Fire series.

I'm like Athena: I don't really like this sort of thing, but I watched the first series of the UK version, where the judges were Will.I.Am, Jessie J, Tom Jones and Danny something (from the Script). I enjoyed it at first, especially the blind auditions, since it made it different from the X Factor . . . but I don't watch it any more because the judges were so attention-seeking. They made it more about them than about the singing or the contestants, and it really wound me up!

I quite agree, my dear!

I've pre-ordered it for about a tenner on Amazon - I'd never pay the full retail price no matter how much I loved the author.