Timstar Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 Thanks but I was thinking of something more contemporary, and more adult. Like a Jack Ketchum meets Rory Clements/Bernard Cornwell sort of thing. Not sure there is any out there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted January 29, 2013 Author Share Posted January 29, 2013 Ah right - I thought you wanted authors/books from that period. Well, going back to mine and frankie's challenge lists, you could do worse than The Terror by Dan Simmons. C C Humphreys has been on my radar for a while now, might be worth checking out Vlad: The Last Confession. John Courtenay Grimwood's The Fallen Blade might be worth a look, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timstar Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 Thanks I added them to my wishlist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted January 30, 2013 Author Share Posted January 30, 2013 Feeling sorely tempted to go and get the C C Humphreys one myself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted January 30, 2013 Author Share Posted January 30, 2013 Hmm, I should know better than to start browsing on Amazon - I now have to read these as a matter of urgency The Kingdom of Bones by Stephen Gallagher. It must be the best part of 25 years since I've read any of his books, and this one sounds intriguing. The Aylesford Skull by James P Blaylock. Onto the wishlist they go. Actually, I don't think they'll stay there very long Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted January 30, 2013 Author Share Posted January 30, 2013 All my good intentions are suddenly flying out the window before January has even ended. My TBR pile is starting to grow at an alarming rate once again. Just picked up The Middle Kingdom, Book 3 of David Wingrove's 'Chung Kuo' series, for Kindle for £1.19. I've already got the previous book, so couldn't really miss out on this one at that price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devi Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 I've added Rory Clements to my author list! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted January 31, 2013 Author Share Posted January 31, 2013 ^^ Enjoy! I've read over 100 pages of Traitor so far today. His books are so easy to read I don't like having to stop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted January 31, 2013 Author Share Posted January 31, 2013 I'm not normally one for planning my reading ahead of time, but for some reason I decided to list the next few books I want to read in the hope of a ) making some progress on the TBR pile, b ) making some progress on the multiple series I have on the go, and c ) still buying and reading a couple of new books in the process (and not buying any other than those two!!). It probably won't work, but these are the books I came up with, although I won't necessarily read them in this order: Marathon Man - William Goldman The Kingdom of Bones – Stephen Gallagher The Mozart Conspiracy – Scott Mariani (next in Ben Hope series) The First Men In the Moon – H G Wells The Great Hunt – Robert Jordan (next in Wheel of Time series) Heresy – S J Parris (first in Gordiano Bruno series) Post Captain – Patrick O’Brian (next in Aubrey/Maturin series) The Heresy of Dr Dee – Phil Rickman (next in Dr Dee series) Dead Beat – Jim Butcher (next in Dresden Files series) Let's see how long I can stick to the plan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 May the force be with you, I'm sure frankie can give you some willpower tips.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 Good luck Steve, I tried to do it last year and wasn't entirely successful but it wasn't a total disaster either .. I veered off the path a few times that's all. Will you just read them randomly or do you have a system or will it be a case of whatever takes your fancy? I need to know these things Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timstar Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 No don't start The Great Hunt too soon! I am getting close to starting The Eye of the World. I have a plan that I am mostly sticking too lol. 1. Finish Current book (A Kindle Horror) 2. Read A Thriller 3. Read A Non-Fiction 4. Read Dexter 5. Read Eye of the World Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted February 1, 2013 Author Share Posted February 1, 2013 May the force be with you, I'm sure frankie can give you some willpower tips.. frankie is our Yoda Jeez, I hope yoda isn't a Finnish swear word Good luck Steve, I tried to do it last year and wasn't entirely successful but it wasn't a total disaster either .. I veered off the path a few times that's all. Will you just read them randomly or do you have a system or will it be a case of whatever takes your fancy? I need to know these things Probably whatever takes my fancy, so long as it's something in that plan. There's a decent mix there so I'm hoping it'll stay interesting enough to work! No don't start The Great Hunt too soon! A 'please' would've been nice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timstar Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 A 'please' would've been nice Hehe you'll be lucky! Don't worry anyway, at the rate I read series I will never keep up lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted February 1, 2013 Author Share Posted February 1, 2013 I wasn't worried Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timstar Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted February 1, 2013 Author Share Posted February 1, 2013 Why is it that, just as I decide to try and stick to a plan, Waterstone's send me two '£5 off if you spend over £20' vouchers ot be used this month and next month? Curses Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timstar Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 It's a conspiracy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted February 2, 2013 Share Posted February 2, 2013 Why is it that, just as I decide to try and stick to a plan, Waterstone's send me two '£5 off if you spend over £20' vouchers ot be used this month and next month? Curses Sucked in! You're going up with your TBR, I'm going down. It's the natural book scales of the world You'd better accept it sooner than later! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted February 2, 2013 Author Share Posted February 2, 2013 Sucked in! You're going up with your TBR, I'm going down. It's the natural book scales of the world You'd better accept it sooner than later! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted February 2, 2013 Share Posted February 2, 2013 frankie is our Yoda Jeez, I hope yoda isn't a Finnish swear word I guess it isn't seeing as frankie is still speaking to you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted February 2, 2013 Author Share Posted February 2, 2013 (edited) Book #7: Traitor by Rory Clements From Amazon: The Elizabethan navy has a secret weapon: an optical instrument so powerful it gives England unassailable superiority at sea. Spain will stop at nothing to steal it and seize the two men who understand its secrets - William Ivory, the 'Queen's Eye', and the magician Dr Dee.With a second Armada threatened, intelligencer John Shakespeare is sent north to escort Dr Dee to safety. But he finds Dee's host, the Earl of Derby, dying in agony, apparently poisoned. Who wants him dead and why? What lies behind the lynching of a recusant priest, and how is the mysterious and beautiful Lady Eliska involved? While Shakespeare attempts to untangle a plot that points to treachery at the very highest reaches of government, he also faces serious accusations far closer to home. With so much at stake, must he choose between family and his duty to Queen and country? Thoughts: This is the fourth of Clements's 'John Shakespeare' novels. I've really enjoyed the previous three, which have been fast-paced, gripping conspiracy thrillers set in Elizabethan England. The publishers seem to love comparing these books to those of C J Sansom, plastering quotes such as "Does for Elizabeth's reign what C J Sansom does for Henry VIII's" across the covers. I don't think that Clements is as good a writer as Sansom, but his books are faster-paced, more action-packed, and don't involve a main character who spends most of the time feeling sorry for himself. Clements's style is efficient, almost brusque. He doesn't mince words, or spend pages telling you a character's innermost thoughts. This is a plus and a minus. It means the characters are sketched quickly, and then you are left to build a more detailed image of them from their words and actions. Some readers don't like this sort of thing, but it works well, imo. He manages to convey atmosphere with brutal economy. It also means that, to me, his stories have felt more streamlined, more focused, more exciting. Up until now, this series has stuck to conpiracy thrillers, and there is much of that in Traitor. But this is the longest book in the series so far, and the reason for this seems to be that Clements wants to change things up. In order to do this he has expanded the landscape for this story, brought in a host of new characters, and - most tellingly - thrown a bewildering amount of plots and sub-plots into the mix. As a result, the story leaps around like a rabbit on a spring, and barely pauses for breath. When I say it's fast-paced, it's almost Usain Bolt. And, rather than sticking to the conpiracy elements of the tale, it also veers into Bernard Cornwell war story territory. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, I just wasn't expecting it (which, again, isn't necessarily a bad thing). But part of me would like Clements to stick to being Clements. If that makes it sound like I didn't like it, nothing could be further from the truth. Shakespeare is a tough-talking, ruthless spy, and Boltfoot a hard-bitten, loyal companion. They spend little time together in this novel, and you can almost sense that each feels vulnerable without the other. Of the new characters, Ursula is a pigging joy (her words) - a member of a group of vagabonds who leaps off the page. I think Clements must've had a lot of fun writing her. I am disappointed that the wonderfully evil Richard Topcliffe - the scenery-chewing villain of previous stories - barely appears here. The battle scenes are exciting, the red herrings many, and - to Clements' credit - he somehow manages to juggle them all and bring them together in a surprisingly downbeat conclusion. I don't think it's his best book and, for a while, I was worried that it was lurching far too close to Sansom's disappointingly silly Heartstone in the situations it was throwing at its characters (you certainly have to suspend your disbelief a lot more than in the previous books), but he just about manages to keep his head above water. I hope - for the next book, The Heretics - he scales it back a bit but, for now, this is a huge amount of fun. 8/10 Edited February 2, 2013 by Karsa Orlong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted February 2, 2013 Share Posted February 2, 2013 I guess it isn't seeing as frankie is still speaking to you! Yo, duh! Or maybe I just ignore most of his posts. (I wouldn't dare ) Edit: On a more serious note: I'm really behind on reading everyone's reading logs, due to computer problems, then I had to do some reviews myself, and now I'm visiting parents, so I've just been too busy to fully read everyone's new posts. I'll get to it a bit later! And what's a succotash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted February 2, 2013 Share Posted February 2, 2013 Fine. I was just at the library and bought five books off the sale eventhough I'm not supposed to buy any. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted February 2, 2013 Author Share Posted February 2, 2013 The natural book scales of the world are obviously broken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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