Timstar

Guy Gavriel Kay's books are all (mostly) £2.99 on Kindle at the moment. What would be the best one to start with? Tigana?

Yes, yes it does

How do you know what sounds they make?

I know, a bit of a shock! but I guess it can happen to anyone.

Welcome! Hope you find the forum useful, you'll certainly find it friendly

I finished The Bourne Identity audio book which wasn't as good as I was hoping for. The narrator, Scott Brick, was almost terrible, any worse and I wouldn't have been able to listen, it took me much longer than normal cause I wasn't bothered about it. He was just so slow at reading it... and without much enthusiasm or particularly good voices. This certainly lowered my opinion of the book but even putting that a side it still wasn't great. Far too slow moving to be a thriller, and even though it is a complex story everything is spelled out.. several times. There were times when characters were talking and as the reader I have fully grasped the implications of what was being said but the characters haven't so when they say 'explain that to me' or 'I don't understand...' I would sigh in frustration. Unlike in a normal book you can't really skip ahead without knowing you haven't missed anything important. There are also several sentences that must have been repeated 30 odd times... slowly, throughout the book as Bourne tries to remember things. As well as other sentences that characters would repeat what someone else just said...slower! Maybe my opinion would differ if I had read it, I do own the trilogy in paperback but not at my current address so I might give The Bourne Supremacy a go sometime but i'm in no rush. I prefer the film, there I said it! Narrator - 5/10 Story - 6/10

I just heard... very sad news

Final episode of Dexter season 4, brilliant stuff! EDIT: oh my goodness!!!

Oh yeah of course

I approve of the A Game of Thrones purchase, hope you enjoy it! Is that you in your profile pic?

Hope you guys enjoy it!

I started that recently, half way through season 1. It is good but I hear it gets much better.

It's not one I'll soon forget

Domain - James Herbert Synopsis The long-dreaded nuclear conflict. The city torn apart, shattered, its people destroyed or mutilated beyond hope. For just a few, survival is possible only beneath the wrecked streets - if there is time to avoid the slow-descending poisonous ashes. But below, the rats, demonic offspring of their irradiated forebears, are waiting. They know that Man is weakened, become frail. Has become their prey . . . Review The third and final book in Herbert's 'Rats' trilogy really pushes it to the next level. I loved Rats due to his uninhibited brutality to any of the characters, at any time. The sequel, Lair, wasn't anything particularly original but still enjoyable. Domain, on the other hand, introduces a game changing element, the atomic bomb. London is devastated by not one but five atomic bombs, seen through a number of first hand accounts in this continuing style from the previous two. Chapters are devoted to creating an everyday character/s just to have them killed off in the blink of an eye. The story settles down and a few survivors escape to a government facility, but not before being attacked, by giant rats. Herbert is remorseless towards his characters, suffering hardship after hardship, their situations continuously go from bad to worse in cringing-ly horrible ways. For the most part it felt like a horror film, when you know something bad is about to happen but you can't look away. A quick but not easy read at times, if you enjoyed Rats but were put off a bit by Lair, I highly recommend coming back to the series with Domain. Overall 9/10

NOS4R2 - Joe Hill Synopsis Victoria McQueen has a secret gift for finding things: a misplaced bracelet, a missing photograph, answers to unanswerable questions. On her Raleigh Tuff Burner bike, she makes her way to a rickety covered bridge that, within moments, takes her wherever she needs to go, whether it’s across Massachusetts or across the country. Charles Talent Manx has a way with children. He likes to take them for rides in his 1938 Rolls-Royce Wraith with the NOS4R2 vanity plate. With his old car, he can slip right out of the everyday world, and onto the hidden roads that transport them to an astonishing – and terrifying – playground of amusements he calls “Christmasland.” Then, one day, Vic goes looking for trouble—and finds Manx. That was a lifetime ago. Now Vic, the only kid to ever escape Manx’s unmitigated evil, is all grown up and desperate to forget. But Charlie Manx never stopped thinking about Victoria McQueen. He’s on the road again and he’s picked up a new passenger: Vic’s own son. Review I have been following Joe Hill for a while now as he as a great presence on Twitter and Tumblr. I heard about it over ago and followed the release and even went to his first UK talk and signing regarding it. Hill described it as his first epic work, and similar to his Dad's 'IT', is stretched out over a 30 year period. Needless to say I was very excited about this reading this. Although I really enjoyed it, it didn't quite live up to my expectations. The story is remarkably original and complex, I couldn't find any synopsis that was shorter than 3 paragraphs without leaving half the story out. Even though Hill creates a vivid and fascinating picture he still forces you to use your imagination as the bizarre world and events unfold, there was simply no frame of reference in mind to relate it to. Manx is a deliciously evil character who resolutely believes he is doing the right thing, which grounds the character in reality. His 'sidekick', Bing, is also a much more typical evil, who likes his job as it involves hurting others and fulfilling his desires. Bing's devotion to Manx was reminiscent of 'Trash can Man's' to Flagg in King's The Stand. Speaking of Stephen King, Hill has included a few nods to his work including a child eating monster in Derry, and a Man in Black, as well as a few nods to Hill's own work. I think it may have been hyped up a bit too much for me, I was expecting something along the same standard as 'IT' and The Stand. I did enjoy it a lot, but in a easy-to-read sort of way as oppose to epic scale. Hill's characterisation is not quite up to his Father's standard yet but it is improving, especially in his antagonists. There also simply weren't enough characters and events to make the book to the scale I was hoping for. The book was mostly creepy, sometimes terrifying and always fun. His best work yet. Overall 9/10

I have a nice old set of those, with a few of them signed... but I haven't read them yet.

Glad to hear, the graphic novels are also worth checking out, they're based on the young Roland from the fourth book with beautiful artwork.

I am glad I read the last two, just wish I had enjoyed it more. If you look at the dates he wrote them all you can tell he rushed the last three and they suffer greatly for it. I still have his latest, The Wind Through the Keyhole to read which is much shorter than the fifth so I am looking forward to it.

I agree with you about the Dark Tower, the last few books were a big let down, if you haven't already you should read 11/22/63 it's brilliant!

Glad you liked Of Mice and Men and I am Legend, they are both brilliant. I Am Legend film doesn't come close to doing justice to the book.

Reading 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne which is up to his usual standard as well as Domain by James Herbert which is the third in the 'Rats' trilogy and my favourite so far.

Man of Steel, I enjoyed it, much more than any other Superman film i've seen. I am a big fan of Zack Snyder and he hasn't ;et me down yet, Russell Crowe was brilliant as Jor-El. Henry Cavill very much looked the part of Superman but wasn't the best acting ever, though it is clear that his chin was hand carved by God Himself!

Ah that's a shame, I suppose they ride into save the day 5 years after the start of the war.... not that I'm bitter or anything

Almost finished NOS4R2 by Joe Hill, great story with brilliant characters, his best novel so far. Off on holiday tomorrow, taking my Kindle but not sure how much reading I will get done.