Steve's Bookshelf 2013

[Athena]

I'd say one year is pretty good , though I understand you want to read the new book as soon as possible .

[Karsa Orlong]

Yeah, you're right.  At least he might have some quality control, unlike some others I could mention *cough* Brandon Sanderson *cough*

[Signor Finzione]

Ooh!  Publication date for Mark Lawrence's next book, Prince of Fools (Red Queen's War Book 1)

 

Oooohh! Exciting . Amazon's not giving much away about it, though, eh?  (I wonder if the second one will be called King of Fools? And the third one Emperor of Fools?)

[Karsa Orlong]

Oooohh! Exciting . Amazon's not giving much away about it, though, eh?  (I wonder if the second one will be called King of Fools? And the third one Emperor of Fools?)

 

 

Could it possibly be about William, with Miana being the Red Queen?

 

[Signor Finzione]

 

Could it possibly be about William, with Miana being the Red Queen?

 

 

Ahh, I wonder . . . I do actually seem to remember there being a Red Queen in Emperor (in Vyene - I think we met her?). I wasn't even thinking along those lines until you said that: I'd assumed that, when he said he wasn't going to write about Jorg any more, that meant he was also done with the Broken Empire world. It'll be great if he hasn't.

[Signor Finzione]

Oohh, more info on Goodreads.

[Karsa Orlong]

Oohh, more info on Goodreads.

 

Oh thanks for that!

 

I notice he's halfway through the second book.  So publish the first one already!  

[Signor Finzione]

Oh thanks for that!

 

I notice he's halfway through the second book.  So publish the first one already!  

 

It's so frustrating when you've just finished reading everything available by a good author, isn't it.

[Karsa Orlong]

It's so frustrating when you've just finished reading everything available by a good author, isn't it.

 

Yes it is!  Mind you, I've got so many series on the go it doesn't happen to me very often

[Little Pixie]

Yes it is!  Mind you, I've got so many series on the go it doesn't happen to me very often

 

 

And do you find yourself looking for new series, in case you need  back-up plan books ?

 

BTW, were you planning to upgrade your Kindle, or are you waiting for any new Paperwhite bugs to get ironed out ?

[Karsa Orlong]

 

And do you find yourself looking for new series, in case you need  back-up plan books ?

 

I don't think there's a plan for that, it just happens

 

 

BTW, were you planning to upgrade your Kindle, or are you waiting for any new Paperwhite bugs to get ironed out ?

 

I would like to upgrade, yes.  Maybe at Christmas    I think the 'bugs' are fairly isolated.  You know what it's like with Amazon reviews, people generally only comment if they're going to rave about something or complain about it, whilst most others just keep quiet and enjoy what they've bought

[Little Pixie]

I don't think there's a plan for that, it just happens

 

Free style reading.

 

I would like to upgrade, yes.  Maybe at Christmas    I think the 'bugs' are fairly isolated.  You know what it's like with Amazon reviews, people generally only comment if they're going to rave about something or complain about it, whilst most others just keep quiet and enjoy what they've bought

 

Good point.

 

I expect it`ll be a while till the ` mine doesn`t last for 8 weeks ` stuff kicks off, if it even does. 

[Karsa Orlong]

Book #61:  Desolation Island by Patrick O'Brian

 

 

From Amazon:

 

Commissioned to rescue Governor Bligh of Bounty fame, Captain Jack Aubrey and his friend and surgeon, Stephen Maturin, sail the Leopard to Australia with a hold full of convicts. Among them is a beautiful and dangerous spy – and a treacherous disease which decimates the crew.

 

 

Thoughts:

 

This is the fifth of O'Brian's books in his 'Aubrey/Maturin' series.  In this one, Captain Jack Aubrey is delighted to have been awarded command of the Leopard, with a mission bound for Australia.  What he doesn't know, at first, is that he is to transport a hold full of convicts, something which infuriates him as a navy man.  But his friend Stephen Maturin, ship's surgeon and spy, twists his arm before he can reject the commission.  Maturin has his own reasons, for amongst the convicts is a woman who has been charged with espionage on behalf of the Americans, and Britain and America are on the verge of war.

 

I'm starting to find O'Brian's books to be the perfect remedy when I feel in need of a complete change of pace.  I read a fair amount of historical fiction, I suppose, but - apart from Hilary Mantel - I'm finding his writing more immersive than any other in its evocation of a time and place, its grasp of character, and dialogue that just seems right.  It doesn't mean that I suddenly have a grasp of all the nautical terms, though - I still struggle with those, but I'm less concerned with it now, and don't find myself stopping reading to find out what it all means.

 

Desolation Island has some thrilling moments (especially one prolonged sequence where the Leopard is fleeing from a Dutch Man of War in the midst of a ferocious storm), some great surprises, several laugh out loud moments, and a brilliant ending.

 

Loved it.

 

 

9/10

[Signor Finzione]

Nice review. Would I really not like these books if I didn't like the film?

[Karsa Orlong]

That's a hard one for me to answer, cos I loved the film    On the other hand, the trouble with the film is that it takes story elements from at least two of the books and chucks them in together, and - having read five of the novels now - there's no way Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany should have been cast as these characters  

 

I guess, in the end, it depends whether you can get past the nautical terms, because the books are mainly about the characters once you strip that stuff away.  You could always try reading a couple of the samples on Amazon

[Signor Finzione]

I just had a little look at Desolation Island. I love that it has a diagram of a ship at the beginning - that must help a lot.

[Karsa Orlong]

To be honest, since the first book I've never really looked at it.  When I read Master and Commander I did have to buy a separate guidebook to help   And it did help, but I haven't referred to it at all whilst reading the last two or three novels, which is a sign that I've settled into them now and am not so worried that I'm missing anything important through not understanding every single reference 

[Karsa Orlong]

Book #62:  Bleak Seasons by Glen Cook

 

 

From Amazon:

 

Having risked their lives and souls to capture the fortress of Stormgard, a band of weary soldiers known as the Company witnesses their commander's descent into madness and await the reemergence of their ancient gods.

 

 

Thoughts:

 

This is the seventh of Cook's 'Black Company' novels, and the first of a four book sequence called 'The Glittering Stone'.  It follows on from the 'Books of the South' and the spin-off novel 'The Silver Spike', all of which I thought were excellent.  The novels are presented, effectively, as extracts from the Company annals and have until now been largely told by Croaker, the Company medic and, later, Captain.  There have been a couple of deviations from this which have worked well and, for large chunks of its length, this one does, too.  At this point, the duty of keeping the annals has fallen to Murgen, the Company's standardbearer, for reasons far too spoilery to go into here, although he does observe that he's doing it because "One-Eye won't, and hardly anyone else can read or write".  The proverbial short straw, then.

 

The novel begins with Murgen on his knees amidst the burning remains of the annals.  He has lost them, lost the Company's history, and with them his reason for being.  Seems a bit extreme, you might think, and you'd be right, but the reasons for his despair only become apparent later in the story.  For this one, Cook has adopted quite a challenging narrative structure.  His prose is sparse at the best of times, and takes some following, which I love, but here he adds even more challenge by having Murgen, for unknown reasons, jumping forward and backward in time, reliving crucial moments of his life over and over again.  These episodes, as he calls them, come upon him without warning and often last for days.  Nobody knows why it is happening to him but, through his eyes, we begin to piece together what has happened since Croaker and the Lady were last involved.  Shadow Games and Dreams of Steel both ended on mighty cliffhangers and it is only now that the aftermath starts to fall into place.

 

The bulk of Bleak Seasons takes place in the city of Dejagore, finding the remains of the Black Company under siege from Shadowspinner and his army.  The Company has divided into factions, with Mogaba and his Nar trying to take control whilst Murgen and the old-timers try to keep him in place long enough to survive.  Among the returning characters (thankfully!) are the wizards One-Eye and Goblin, who once again proceed to steal the show.  New characters include the Nyueng Bao and the especially brilliant Uncle Doj, master of the Path of Swords and wielder of Ash Wand, which I imagined as some kind of katana, as Uncle Doj comes across as some kind of Samurai.

 

So it's mostly all good stuff, but I did find that it dragged a little in places.  The idea of telling of the siege from inside the city walls is great, along with all the power games going on, but Cook obviously felt some limitations in this and so found some rather contrived ways of getting out of the city and telling other parts of the story.  These bits didn't work so well, imo, because it took me out of the tension of the siege.  Also, I did find that Murgen himself wasn't as engaging a narrator as his predecessors in the telling of the tale.  Lastly, the book does seem to halt in mid-flow, like a candle being blown out.  It felt like a very unnatural and abrupt ending to me, and obviously a hook to get you to dive straight into the next book, which I won't do just yet.  Overall, I think this was the weakest book in the series so far.

 

I do love the title of the next one, though:  She Is the Darkness.  Oh yes   

 

 

6/10

[Athena]

I've got some books of this series on my wishlist, shame you didn't enjoy this one as much as some of the other ones (I'm glad to hear you thought those were excellent, though). I hope your next read will be even more enjoyable .

[Signor Finzione]

I'm really looking forward to re-reading the Black Company books I've already read (the first three, I think) - I remember liking One-Eye and Goblin too. I'd like to read more in the series, but they always seem really over-priced on Amazon. Where do you buy yours from?  

[Karsa Orlong]

Amazon

 

I didn't mind paying those prices for them, as they're omnibus editions, with at least two novels in each

[Devi]

I'm really looking forward to re-reading the Black Company books I've already read (the first three, I think) - I remember liking One-Eye and Goblin too. I'd like to read more in the series, but they always seem really over-priced on Amazon. Where do you buy yours from?  

Do you know about the Book Depository site?

[Signor Finzione]

Amazon

 

I didn't mind paying those prices for them, as they're omnibus editions, with at least two novels in each

 

Well I suppose that makes the price more reasonable, then . I'll have to decide if the price is worth it judging on how much I enjoy my re-reads! Or, I could just save myself a lot of money in the future and move house near to where you live.

 

Do you know about the Book Depository site?

 

I only found out about it relatively recently - from a friend who actually referred to it as 'Book Suppository', which isn't good  - and I haven't used it yet. A lot of the books I've looked at on there seem to be a similar price to Amazon, though. Do you use it a lot?

[Karsa Orlong]

Or, I could just save myself a lot of money in the future and move house near to where you live.

 

That's a lot of expense to go to only to find I wouldn't lend them to you

 

 

 

I only found out about it relatively recently - from a friend who actually referred to it as 'Book Suppository', which isn't good  - and I haven't used it yet. A lot of the books I've looked at on there seem to be a similar price to Amazon, though. Do you use it a lot?

 

One of the Vernor Vinge books I ordered from Book Depository is currently 'missing in transit'.  They sent it out last Wednesday and it hasn't arrived, whereas they sent out one of the others on Thursday and it arrived on Saturday.

 

I find BD are best for imported books

[Devi]

I only found out about it relatively recently - from a friend who actually referred to it as 'Book Suppository', which isn't good  - and I haven't used it yet. A lot of the books I've looked at on there seem to be a similar price to Amazon, though. Do you use it a lot?

Yeah i use them 95% of the time. For the price of one brand new book here, I can get two or three from BD UK (there is also a BD in the US).

 

When I can afford it I buy books from the local bookshops. Otherwise i go to the op shops and book barn here in town.