chaliepud Posted December 26, 2013 Share Posted December 26, 2013 Great haul! Which will you read first do you think? I have the Mistborn books on my wish list but I'm not sure why as it's not my usual genre. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted December 26, 2013 Share Posted December 26, 2013 Awesome presents, Laura! I've been wanting the Paul Kearney one for ages Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted December 26, 2013 Author Share Posted December 26, 2013 Great haul! Which will you read first do you think? I have the Mistborn books on my wish list but I'm not sure why as it's not my usual genre. Thanks! Oh, I have no idea - I want to read them all, right now. Maybe the Bernard Cornwell one, since it's winter . . . I've never read anything by Sanderson, even though it is my usual genre (well, pretty much my only genre ), but have heard mixed things from others. I just thought the cover was very pretty - I'll have to let you know how it goes. Awesome presents, Laura! I've been wanting the Paul Kearney one for ages Thanks! Yeah, I realised today that Erikson's blurbed it, so I'm doubly excited to read it. I think it's two books in one, too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted December 26, 2013 Share Posted December 26, 2013 Great haul! The books look amazing . I hope you enjoy them! I have Good Omens on my TBR as well as the Mistborn series and the Belgeriad series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted December 26, 2013 Author Share Posted December 26, 2013 Great haul! The books look amazing . I hope you enjoy them! I have Good Omens on my TBR as well as the Mistborn series and the Belgeriad series. Thanks! They're pretty, aren't they? Especially the Belgariad one! I haven't read a Pratchett book for ages, and am really excited to read Good Omens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted December 26, 2013 Author Share Posted December 26, 2013 I also got a bit of Christmas money off my grandparents, so have just pre-ordered four books: Blood Song (paperback) by Anthony Ryan (released in Feb) Valour by John Gwynne (April) Prince of Fools by Mark Lawrence (June) The Broken Eye by Brent Weeks (August) I also want Doors of Stone by Patrick Rothfuss, but it doesn't have a firm release date yet. Still: bring on 2014! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted December 26, 2013 Share Posted December 26, 2013 Nice ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted December 26, 2013 Share Posted December 26, 2013 Thanks! Yeah, I realised today that Erikson's blurbed it, so I'm doubly excited to read it. I think it's two books in one, too! Yeah, it's a four book series in two volumes Blood Song (paperback) by Anthony Ryan (released in Feb) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timstar Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 Hope you had a great Christmas! some awesome books there. I really enjoyed Mistborn and Belgariad. Glad to see Ketty Jay and Warlord Chronicles amongst them as well I will post my new acquisitions soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devi Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 Love your new books! Some I have heard of, others I haven't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted December 27, 2013 Author Share Posted December 27, 2013 Cheers guys, hope you both had a great Christmas too! some awesome books there. I really enjoyed Mistborn and Belgariad. Glad to see Ketty Jay and Warlord Chronicles amongst them as well Yeah, you recommended Ketty Jay to me ages ago, and after reading yours and Steve's reviews of the first Warlord book I really wanted to give them a go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted December 27, 2013 Author Share Posted December 27, 2013 (edited) Review: 'Waylander' by David Gemmell The Drenai King is dead - murdered by a ruthless assassin. Enemy troops swarm into Drenai lands. Their orders are simple - kill every man, woman and child.But there is hope. Stalked by men who act like beasts and beasts that walk like men, the warrior Waylander must journey into the shadow-haunted lands of the Nadir to find the legendary Armour of Bronze. With this he can turn the tide. But can he be trusted? For he is Waylander the Slayer. The traitor who killed the King... This is my first outing with David Gemmell, and I have to say I’m ashamed I waited this long to read his work. Gemmell is one of the legendary forerunners of modern fantasy, and has influenced many of my favourite authors, particularly those who write gritty ‘grimdark’ fantasy such as Joe Abercrombie. I expected big things from David Gemmell, and for the most part Waylander delivered them. My first impression of Waylander was that there wasn’t much detail. Gemmell wasn’t telling me much about the characters – how they were feeling, what they’d been doing, why they were there – and I felt somewhat disconnected from them, particularly as we’re thrown into the action without being introduced to any of the characters involved. However, about 50 pages into the novel I realised how clever this was: we don’t necessarily need to know everything about the characters in order to empathise with them. It’s very much a case of judging characters by their actions during the current and ongoing events. Gemmell shows us how his characters act, providing limited or no information about their background; it’s up to the reader to witness their actions and decide for themselves how they feel about each character. This makes it particularly interesting, since there are characters whose reputation or situation would make them appear to be villains, yet whose actions define them otherwise, and vice versa. The characters are not blank slates, created by the author to be gradually filled in for us through the course of the story; rather, we get the feeling that they exist independently of the reader, and we just happen to catch glimpses of them at certain points in their lives. We are unaware of each character’s ‘normal’ behaviour: we simply see them as they are, and this makes our connection with them feel natural and unforced, our own choice rather than the author’s manipulation. Events in the novel are presented in a similar way. Gemmell shows rather than tells, and has a way of writing that is fairly minimal. His narrative is somewhat brisk in tone, and yet the action is vivid and the characters are well-drawn. His understated yet captivating style is surprisingly hard-hitting, and his ability to create moments of emotion and tragedy in just a page or two is astounding. An example of this is the tale of the old general Gan Degas. We only meet this character once – his entire character arc spans about four or five pages at the most – yet his sad story completely choked me up (and stuck in my memory so much that I remembered his name without having to look it up). The book isn’t perfect. I felt that Waylander’s shift from ‘Slayer’ to ‘hero’ would have been a lot more effective if it hadn’t happened right at the beginning (literally during the first couple of pages). We aren’t really shown much of him as the ruthless Slayer; as such I felt that his inner conflict – the pitiless man he was vs. the compassionate man he now is – isn’t quite as powerful as it could be. I also felt that some of the events – particularly the various battles – felt a bit disconnected from the rest of the story, and that the side-plot with the armour (and its importance in the grand scheme of things) was a little bit tenuous and contrived. However, there are many, many books in the overall series aside from this one, and it’s highly likely that I’m not seeing the full picture yet; and despite these minor complaints, I really was blown away by this writer. Although I am ashamed not to have read his work sooner, I’m excited to know that it’s all laid out before me now, waiting to be read. My rating: 4/5 Edited December 27, 2013 by Signor Finzione Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 Great review, Laura I'm glad you enjoyed it. His characters do have a way of sneaking up on you, don't they? I agree about the detour for the armour. I can't remember the detail, just that the Drenai armies were supposed to rally to whoever was wearing it, or something Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted December 27, 2013 Author Share Posted December 27, 2013 Great review, Laura I'm glad you enjoyed it. His characters do have a way of sneaking up on you, don't they? I agree about the detour for the armour. I can't remember the detail, just that the Drenai armies were supposed to rally to whoever was wearing it, or something Thanks. Yeah, that was basically it, but it ended up being fairly pointless. Ah well! It's true about the characters sneaking up on you. I still dislike Danyal, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 I still dislike Danyal, though. Why, whatever has she done to you?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted December 27, 2013 Author Share Posted December 27, 2013 Why, whatever has she done to you?? She's done nothing to me, but she did abandon her kids in a doomed village so that she could trek across the country after Waylander. I don't know, there's just something about her I didn't like. Although . . . did she have red hair? Because I never liked Ygritte either . . . and I don't much like Tauriel in the new Hobbit film . . . maybe it's just me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted December 27, 2013 Author Share Posted December 27, 2013 I know I've already posted a picture of my new book haul, but I couldn't resist this one of a very disapproving Fili sitting beside them. She isn't a big reader; she's more of an Xbox girl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 She's done nothing to me, but she did abandon her kids in a doomed village so that she could trek across the country after Waylander. I don't know, there's just something about her I didn't like. Although . . . did she have red hair? Because I never liked Ygritte either . . . and I don't much like Tauriel in the new Hobbit film . . . maybe it's just me. Ah that explains it. I am a bit partial to redheads Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 I know I've already posted a picture of my new book haul, but I couldn't resist this one of a very disapproving Fili sitting beside them. She isn't a big reader; she's more of an Xbox girl. Aw Is it wrong of me to hope she ate the Sanderson book after that photo was taken? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted December 27, 2013 Author Share Posted December 27, 2013 Ah that explains it. I am a bit partial to redheads Now that I think about it, the whole 'fiery red-headed woman' thing has become a bit of a fantasy cliche, don't you think? Aw Is it wrong of me to hope she ate the Sanderson book after that photo was taken? Yes, yes it is! You awful man. He would have given her indigestion, or at least have possessed her with an urge to create rules for everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 Great review of Waylander! I'm glad you enjoyed the book, for the most part at least. I have three books by David Gemmell on my TBR, Waylander is on my wishlist. Great photo of Fili with your books . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 Now that I think about it, the whole 'fiery red-headed woman' thing has become a bit of a fantasy cliche, don't you think? Noooo, I'm pretty sure I'm still okay with it Yes, yes it is! You awful man. He would have given her indigestion, or at least have possessed her with an urge to create rules for everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted December 28, 2013 Author Share Posted December 28, 2013 Great review of Waylander! I'm glad you enjoyed the book, for the most part at least. I have three books by David Gemmell on my TBR, Waylander is on my wishlist. Great photo of Fili with your books . Thanks Gaia, I look forward to hearing what you think when you read him. Noooo, I'm pretty sure I'm still okay with it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timstar Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 Cute cat Great review as well, Drenai series is on my list for next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted December 28, 2013 Author Share Posted December 28, 2013 Cute cat Great review as well, Drenai series is on my list for next year. Thanks Tim. It'll be good to hear what you think of him. Fili is cute, but also evil. Kili is even cuter, and much less evil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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