Steve's Bookshelf 2013

[Karsa Orlong]

Book #47:  The Thousandfold Thought (The Prince of Nothing Trilogy, Book 3) by R. Scott Bakker

 

 

No blurb this time, it'd be way too spoilery - and I won't go into much detail about it myself, either (everybody's relieved, I can tell   ).

 

Just the basics, then:  I thought this one was good, but it didn't quite measure up to the promise of the terrific first book or the outstanding second book.  There are a couple of reasons for this, I think - the main one being that he jumps into the philosophising with both feet in this one.  The main characters are separated from each other for a lot of the time, the result being that it spends a lot of time in their heads, exploring their thoughts.  And, in a shock (to me at least) result, it confused the hell out of me at times, which didn't even happen with Erikson when his characters' philosophising went completely OTT (and that was some of the most challenging reading I've ever had to do). 

 

So, although the characters continue to develop (one goes insane, another comes to power, another finally sees the truth etc etc) the big climax to the story seemed to get a little lost somewhere.  The action is there, for sure, but I felt kind of remote from it.  I'm thinking this may yet again be down to me reading the books in too quick succession, and that I burned out on it a little by the end.  I should know not to do that by now.  But, even if that is the case, this book didn't kick me out of that frame of mind like I think it could - and should - have done. 

 

A HUGE plus, though, is that the reasons behind all Esmenet's suffering in the previous books finally seems to have a pay-off here.  I was pretty pleased about that, after all my misgivings.

 

So the trilogy has a good ending, nevertheless, I'd just hoped for a bit more.  I will most definitely read the follow-up 'Aspect-Emperor' trilogy once it's complete.

 

 

7/10

 

 

Going to have a bit of a break from fantasy for a while now, starting with some historical fiction

 

 

[Timstar]

This seems to be a running theme with you and trilogies, get your hopes too high after the second just to be disappointed by the third but not enough to ruin it lol.

[poppyshake]

Going to have a bit of a break from fantasy for a while now

    .. somebody call an ambulance

 

Do you know? .. I've never heard To Kill a Mockingbird called historical fiction before  

[Karsa Orlong]

This seems to be a running theme with you and trilogies, get your hopes too high after the second just to be disappointed by the third but not enough to ruin it lol.

 

  I blame the authors - sometimes they don't have the ability to carry through on the promise they showed

 

Actually, I think there is some truth in that, plus I do get author burn-out quite quickly, whereas other people seem to be able to read book after book by the same author and really enjoy them

[Karsa Orlong]

    .. somebody call an ambulance

 

Do you know? .. I've never heard To Kill a Mockingbird called historical fiction before  

 

I knew you'd say something like that

 

I actually started it this morning  

[Karsa Orlong]

Tim, in answer to your question upthread, Bakker's 'Aspect-Emperor' trilogy follows on directly from 'Prince of Nothing'.  And apparently it's less heavy on the philosophy . . .

[Timstar]

Actually, I think there is some truth in that, plus I do get author burn-out quite quickly, whereas other people seem to be able to read book after book by the same author and really enjoy them

 

Yeah that could be it, I need a short break between the books by the same authors then after a trilogy or something similar I would need a longer break.

 

 And apparently it's less heavy on the philosophy . . .

 

A good or bad thing? In your opinion.

[Karsa Orlong]

Yeah that could be it, I need a short break between the books by the same authors then after a trilogy or something similar I would need a longer break.

 

Yeah, it's a mistake I've made so many times, reading them too soon after one another    On the plus side, the fact that I went on to the third book so quickly is a sign of how much I enjoyed the first two    If I ever re-read them I might get a better idea whether my slight disappointment in the last book was down to burn-out or that Bakker's ambition wasn't matched by his ability.

 

 

A good or bad thing? In your opinion.

 

A good thing, for me.  It was making my brain hurt to the point where I ended up not taking it in

[poppyshake]

I actually started it this morning  

Yay!!           ... how's it going?    

[Karsa Orlong]

Yay!!           ... how's it going?    

 

I'm about 80 pages in.  It's alright, I suppose

[frankie]

Now there's an idea! <<makes note>> 

 

I may have painted myself in a corner.... It'll be my own fault!

 

I feel really bad about this year's challenge... I haven't read anything off the list so far! But I promise, I've tried. You know I've tried reading Replay I just wish I got my mojo back...

 

The Arnie movies are quite good fun, actually, but they didn't particularly resemble any of the stories I've read so far.  I prefer the character in the stories to that on film (although I haven't seen the recent Jason Momoa version yet) 

 

I did actually consider, even if just for the shortest second ever, if I ought to suggest we watch the Conan movie, but then I came to my senses...

 

 

    .. somebody call an ambulance

 

Do you know? .. I've never heard To Kill a Mockingbird called historical fiction before  

 

 

I knew you'd say something like that

 

I actually started it this morning  

 

You did not Oh boy! You know we're going to harass you just as much as you harassed the ladies about Replay

 

I'm about 80 pages in.  It's alright, I suppose

 

I think you're only playing it cool. I bet you like it more than you let on

 

 

[Karsa Orlong]

I feel really bad about this year's challenge... I haven't read anything off the list so far! But I promise, I've tried. You know I've tried reading Replay

 

Replay was on last year's list    Just sayin'

 

 

You did not Oh boy! You know we're going to harass you just as much as you harassed the ladies about Replay

 

Ha!  As if!  I didn't harass anybody

[frankie]

Replay was on last year's list    Just sayin'

 

It was? Oh crap Then what's on this year's list I'd better go and check

 

Ha!  As if!  I didn't harass anybody

 

Yeah and cows don't fly...

 

Oh, wait...

 

 

Edit: This can't be right... I've only read one book from the two lists combined, and you've read 3.

Edited August 14, 2013 by frankie

[Karsa Orlong]

Yeah and cows don't fly...

 

See, now what actually happened was I recommended it to Janet.  Janet then read it, and then she started pestering everyone else to read it

 

 

Edit: This can't be right... I've only read one book from the two lists combined, and you've read 3.

 

I already knew that

[frankie]

See, now what actually happened was I recommended it to Janet.  Janet then read it, and then she started pestering everyone else to read it

 

Jänet doesn't pester, she recommends 

 

 

I already knew that

 

Well in my defense I tried to make the library get a copy of Storm Front but they never did   And I bought a book in the series, I just didn't know it was the umpteenth book...

 

It's not my fault that the books you read are so abnormal and marginalized that we just don't have any copies of them!!

 

I should've gotten a copy of Bitter Seeds when I had the chance to order it for less than 4e ...

[Karsa Orlong]

It's not my fault that the books you read are so awesome that my tiny imagination can't handle them

 

Very true!

 

 

 

that we just don't have any copies of them!!

 

That's what Book Depository is for  

[Janet]

See, now what actually happened was I recommended it to Janet.  Janet then read it, and then she started pestering everyone else to read it

I resemble resent that comment! 

 

Jänet doesn't pester, she recommends 

Thanks, frankie - words of wisdom!   

[Karsa Orlong]

Completely OT, but does anybody else have a Sky Protect insurance policy for their Sky equipment?  I've just received a renewal reminder from them and they've put the price up 15% from last year  

[Timstar]

Completely OT, but does anybody else have a Sky Protect insurance policy for their Sky equipment?  I've just received a renewal reminder from them and they've put the price up 15% from last year  

 

That's how they sting ya, I don't have Sky anymore, went with Virgin, their broadband is brilliant as is the TiVo box which they replace for free if it breaks.

[Karsa Orlong]

That's how they sting ya, I don't have Sky anymore, went with Virgin, their broadband is brilliant as is the TiVo box which they replace for free if it breaks.

 

Yeah, I looked into Virgin, but it was going to cost me about the same to get the same channels, but with nowhere near as many in HD

 

I'm sorely tempted not to renew the insurance, but I did that about three years ago and my Sky box promptly developed a fault, which then involved much wrangling with Sky to get fixed.  The cynic in me says that, if they know someone hasn't taken their insurance, they send a kill signal to your box.  Knowing them, it's probably true

[Timstar]

Yeah, I looked into Virgin, but it was going to cost me about the same to get the same channels, but with nowhere near as many in HD

 

I'm sorely tempted not to renew the insurance, but I did that about three years ago and my Sky box promptly developed a fault, which then involved much wrangling with Sky to get fixed.  The cynic in me says that, if they know someone hasn't taken their insurance, they send a kill signal to your box.  Knowing them, it's probably true

 

I wouldn't be surprised! I never took out insurance and had the same Sky+ box for 3 years with no problems. Not as many HD channels and no Sky Atlantic is the biggest issue! but overall I'm happier with Virgin.

[Karsa Orlong]

Book #48:  To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

 

 

From Amazon:

 

'Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.'

A lawyer's advice to his children as he defends the real mockingbird of Harper Lee's classic novel - a black man charged with the rape of a white girl.  Through the young eyes of Scout and Jem Finch, Harper Lee explores with exuberant humour the irrationality of adult attitudes to race and class in the Deep South of the thirties. The conscience of a town steeped in prejudice, violence and hypocrisy is pricked by the stamina of one man's struggle for justice. But the weight of history will only tolerate so much.
 

To Kill a Mockingbird is a coming-of-age story, an anti-racist novel, a historical drama of the Great Depression and a sublime example of the Southern writing tradition.

 

 

Thoughts:

 

I probably didn't need to post that blurb, did I?   I'm sure everyone on here has read the book - even me, now   So I'm not sure exactly what I can say about it that hasn't already been said before. 

 

I thought the main storyline was in itself quite simplistic - it was the more subtle touches that I really enjoyed, little things like the alienation of those who refuse to follow the pack, the loss of childhood innocence, the gentle humour, and - above all else - the story of a widower trying to raise his children with the values he holds so dear.  For me, Atticus Finch towered above all else in the book, to the point where I wanted to know more about him than about anyone else.  In telling the story from Scout's point of view (I loved Scout, also - her movie incarnation is one of many reasons why Arya has always been my favourite character in George RR Martin's books) we are allowed to see Atticus and his struggles with an innocence, charm, and not a little fear.  That is probably Lee's masterstroke, although I did feel it also allowed things to get a little preachy, when adults felt the need to explain things to Scout which were already apparent to me.  Those bits disrupted the flow a bit for me.

 

And the flow of the story is generally great.  It has a gentle pace to go with its gentle humour, which makes the ingrained attitudes of the time all the more difficult to read about.  I very much like the way the two main storylines dovetailed, and the way the book starts by almost telling you what happens at the end.  Very neat, and very clever.  For me, there was something of a dead patch once the trial was over and done with, but things picked up again at the end.  Lee's ability to create tension and fear at certain times gave it the unexpected feel of a thriller in places.  These parts were few and far between, but I thought the change in atmosphere worked really well.

 

Overall, I really enjoyed the book.  I think I would have drawn more from it had I read it when I was younger, but that's a side issue.  It's a bit of a shame that I had seen the film some time ago, and pretty much knew what was going to happen.  Coincidentally, the movie was shown on ITV2 last week, so I recorded it and shall probably watch it again this weekend.  It was hard, throughout the book, not to picture Gregory Peck as Atticus. 

 

 

8/10

[frankie]

Great review, Steve I didn't know you'd already seen the movie and were familiar with the story   I wonder if you'd rated the book higher had you not seen the movie first... Or if you'd read it when you were younger. 8/10 from you is pretty great, still, so I can't complain

[Karsa Orlong]

I don't think it's a question of rating it higher in either case.  The film is also very good, and pretty faithful to the book - condensed, of course, but most of it's there (I re-watched it last night).  I think I would have got more from the book had I read it when I was younger in terms of the main plotlines, but maybe not so much from the more subtle aspects that I really liked now

 

 

Right, some historical fiction now: have made a start on Cornwell's The Last Kingdom

[poppyshake]

Book #48:  To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

 

Thoughts:

 

 I'm not sure exactly what I can say about it that hasn't already been said before.  

.. but you haven't let that stand in your way      .. good man

 

No, seriously .. great review Steve  Glad you liked it because it's a great book and if you hadn't liked it then we'd probably never get to see the one we never saw coming again  (what's it going to be btw? ) Have you read any of the great Russian novels .. have you read Crime and Punishment for instance?