Timstar Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 (edited) Welcome to my 2014 reading log, as before I will only be the reviewing Horror, Fantasy and Science Fiction books I read this year. I do read other books of course, and may occasionally post my thoughts about them. My previous reading log Books read and reviewed: Horror Night Shift - Stephen King (7/10) Cujo - Stephen King (6/10) Fantasy Best Served Cold - Joe Abercrombie (10/10) The Dragon's Path - Daniel Abraham (7/10) Legend - David Gemmell (10/10) The Way of Kings - Brandon Sanderson (7/10) The Fade - Chris Wooding (7/10) Shaman's Crossing - Robin Hobb (7/10) The Dirty Streets of Heaven - Tad Williams (10/10) The Ace of Skulls - Chris Wooding (9/10) Happy Hour in Hell - Tad Williams (10/10) Guardians of the West - David Eddings (9/10) Steelheart - Brandon Sanderson (9/10) Under Heaven - Guy Gavriel Kay (9/10) Words of Radiance - Brandon Sanderson (6/10) Gospel of Loki - Joanne M. Harris (4/10) Something More Than Night - Ian Tregillis (7/10) The Heroes - Joe Abercrombie (8/10) Gardens of the Moon - Steven Erikson (8/10) Promise of Blood - Brian McClellan (5/10) The Malloreon - David Eddings (10/10) Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrel - Susanna Clarke (6/10) Sleeping Late on Judgement Day - Tad Williams (9/10) The Steel Remains - Richard Morgan (7/10) SF Player of Games - Iain M. Banks (7/10) Dune - Frank Herbert (8/10) Judas Uncahined - Peter F. Hamilton (8/10 Replay - Ken Grimwood (9/10) The Day of the Triffids - John Wyndham (8/10) Pebble in the Sky - Isaac Asimov (6/10) Misspent Youth - Peter F. Hamilton (9/10) Leviathan Wakes - James S.A.Corey (6/10) The Dreaming Void - Peter F. Hamilton (9/10) The Temporal Void - Peter F. Hamilton (10/10) Edited October 29, 2014 by Timstar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timstar Posted December 29, 2013 Author Share Posted December 29, 2013 (edited) My TBR list is far too long to post here, so here are the authors of which I have at least 1 book on the list: Horror Stephen King Jack Ketchum Clive Barker Adam Nevill James Herbert Robert Kirkman Sean Platt Paul Jones Jack Kilborn Chris Carter John Everson Fantasy George R.R. Martin Robert Jordan Brandon Sanderson David Eddings Terry Brooks Tad Williams Anne McCaffrey Chris Wooding David Gemmell Robin Hobb Neil Gaiman Joe Abercrombie Roger Zelazny James Clemens Brent Weeks Matthew Stover Neal Stephenson Raymond E. Feist Tim Powers Gene Wolfe Chine Mieville Daniel Abraham Julian May Rob J. Hayes Terry Pratchett Science Fiction Arthur C. Clarke Edgar Rice Burroughs Peter F. Hamilton Jack Vance H.G Wells Isaac Asimov Robert Heinlein Kim Stanley Robinson Ray Bradbury Philip K. Dick John Wyndham James S. A. Corey Vernor Vinge Walter M. Miller Jr. Aldous Huxley Iain M. Banks Alfred Bester Frederik Pohl J. G. Ballard John Scalzi Walter Tevis Daniel Keyes If you're interested in which books I have for any specific author/s just let me know and I can list them. Edited January 3, 2014 by Timstar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timstar Posted December 29, 2013 Author Share Posted December 29, 2013 (edited) 50 books to read before you die challenge. There are many lists which state 1000 books you must read or something along those lines, which is a ridicolous amount. I think 50 is quite achievable. So I am slowly working through this list, although there aren't many horror, fantasy or SF on there I will post thoughts when I read a book on the list. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by JR Tolkien 1984 by George Orwell Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte A Passage to India by EM Forster The Lord of the Flies by William Golding Hamlet by William Shakespeare A Bend in the River by VS Naipaul The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath Brave New World by Aldous Huxley The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes The Bible The Cantebury Tales by Geofrrey Chaucer Ulysses by James Joyce The Quiet American by Graham Greene Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks Money by Martin Amis Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling Moby Dick by Herman Melville The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pulman Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon On the Road by Jack Kerouac Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope The Outsider by lbert Camus The Colour Purple by Alice Walker Life of Pi by Yann Martel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley The War of the Worlds by HG Wells Men Without Women by Ernest Hemingway Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey Catch 22 by Joseph Heller The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden The Divine Comedy by Alighieri Dante The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde Only 16 read so far, but I try to put at least one on every or every other reading plan. ETA: Books marked in red I have finished this year. Edited March 28, 2014 by Timstar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timstar Posted December 29, 2013 Author Share Posted December 29, 2013 (edited) Like last year I have made an series plan for the year and my aim is to at least start most, if not all of them and finish a few of them. The Wheel of Time - Robert Jordan Malazan - Stephen Erikson Book of the New Sun - Gene Wolfe Lord of the Rings - J.R.R Tolkien (Re-read) Drenai - David Gemmell Night's Dawn Trilogy - Peter F. Hamilton Gentlemen Bas-tards - Scott Lynch (re-read) Saxon Chronicles - Bernard Cornwell Malloreon - David Eddings Braided Path - Chris Wooding Soldier Son - Robin Hobb Memory, Sorrow and Thorn - Tad Williams Expanse - James S. A. Corey Galactic Empire - Isaac Asimov My current reading plan: A Dance With Dragons - George R. R. Martin Enemy of God - Bernard Cornwell Excalibur - Bernard Cornwell The Shadow Rising - Robert Jordan A Fire Upon the Deep - Vernor Vinge Replay - Ken Grimwood The Dragon's Path - Daniel Abraham Misery - Stephen King King of Thorns - Mark Lawrence Pebble in the Sky - Isaac Asimov A Farewell to Arms - Ernest Hemingway The Player of Games - Iain M. Banks Isaac Newton Biography - Michael White Space/Ranger Trilogy - C.S. Lewis The Way of Kings - Brandon Sanderson Emperor of Thorns - Mark Lawrence Edited May 13, 2014 by Timstar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timstar Posted January 3, 2014 Author Share Posted January 3, 2014 That's enough of lists for now, please feel free to comment. I look forward to lots of great reading and discussions this year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Happy reading in 2014, Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Lots of good books in your list! The Player of Games is my favourite Iain M. Banks book so far (I've read the first four Culture books). I love the Wheel of Time series, as you know. I quite liked Replay too. Some of the other books are on my TBR too or I have other books by those authors on my TBR. Happy Reading in 2014, Tim ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 MALAZAN! Happy reading in 2014! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timstar Posted January 11, 2014 Author Share Posted January 11, 2014 Apologies for the lack of updates on here, I am working seven days a week at the moment, finding very little time to read and struggling to get into anything. Not a great start to the year but I'm sure it will pick up soon. I am really enjoying Best Served Cold audio book though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 Glad you're enjoying BSC - it's my favourite Abercrombie. Hope your workload eases off soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 I hope your workload gets less soon . I'm glad you're enjoying your audiobook (it's on my wishlist). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timstar Posted January 14, 2014 Author Share Posted January 14, 2014 I'm doing the reading club for March and decided to do Hugo Award winners for best novel (SF and Fantasy), please check it out if you're interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Just had a bit of a look, what a great idea. I'd love to give Dune a go some time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Ooh, just noticed your 'reading now' - what d'you think of it so far? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timstar Posted January 14, 2014 Author Share Posted January 14, 2014 Just had a bit of a look, what a great idea. I'd love to give Dune a go some time. Me too, it's just been nominated as well Ooh, just noticed your 'reading now' - what d'you think of it so far? Enjoying it so far! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timstar Posted January 16, 2014 Author Share Posted January 16, 2014 Best Served Cold - Joe Abercrombie (Audio book read by Steven Pacey) Synopsis There have been nineteen years of blood. The ruthless Grand Duke Orso is locked in a vicious struggle with the squabbling League of Eight, and between them they have bled the land white. While armies march, heads roll and cities burn, behind the scenes bankers, priests and older, darker powers play a deadly game to choose who will be king.War may be hell but for Monza Murcatto, the Snake of Talins, the most feared and famous mercenary in Duke Orso's employ, it's a damn good way of making money too. Her victories have made her popular - a shade too popular for her employer's taste. Betrayed, thrown down a mountain and left for dead, Murcatto's reward is a broken body and a burning hunger for vengeance. Whatever the cost, seven men must die.Her allies include Styria's least reliable drunkard, Styria's most treacherous poisoner, a mass-murderer obsessed with numbers and a Northman who just wants to do the right thing. Her enemies number the better half of the nation. And that's all before the most dangerous man in the world is dispatched to hunt her down and finish the job Duke Orso started...Springtime in Styria. And that means revenge. Review I wasn't originally going to get the audio book of this, I already have the paperback and was planning on reading it soon, but I remembered how brilliant Steven Pacey's narration of Red Country was and couldn't resist getting this as well. Very glad I didn't resist, this is a superb book but not comfortable reading/listening at all. The characters are dragged through the mud kicking and screaming, Monza worst of all, yet they never lose their wit and charm. Their motives are clear and logical, and even though the good guys are a collection of criminals, mercenaries, drunks, poisoners or just outright insane I never stopped routing for them, I was never irritated by their actions whether they helped or hindered the plot or other characters. It was great to see Cosca back and with a lot more to do than he did in the trilogy, He and Sergeant Friendly particularly stand out as my favourite characters, Morveer, the poisoner, also deserves a special mention as a finely crafted character. The battles and violence are ruthless and bloody but never too complicated. As with his other books, Abercrombie makes you feel every punch, kick and eye gouging. There were a few bits that were predictable but not in a bad way, it is part of Abercrombie's intended humour but seen through the eyes of his characters it is irony. There were also a few unpredictable bits which were simply great. The first law trilogy was good but this is a vast improvement. Can't wait to read The Heroes and his new YA stuff. Overall 10/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 I'm glad you enjoyed Best Served Cold, great review ! Some of Joe Abercombie's books are on my wishlist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marie H Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Yup, that was great review! . (Oh heck, I might have to just have a browse of these Joe Abercrombie books in the library.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Yeah, great review, Tim - it's an awesome book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 Great review Tim! BSC is my favourite of all Abercrombie's books (so far), and Friendly was one of my favourites too (as were Morveer and Cosca and Shivers). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timstar Posted January 18, 2014 Author Share Posted January 18, 2014 (edited) My purchases today: I couldn't decide which doorstopper to get, and I knew I would get them all eventually so... I got all three Carrying them home was a workout though. Dune has been on my wishlist for a while and saw it on offer 2 for £5 along with Bring Up the Bodies which I've heard good things about but need to read Wolf Hall still. The two at the end I had no intention of getting but they were giving them away free with any purchase, they are probably terrible though. Edited January 18, 2014 by Timstar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 Awesome purchases! Where did you get them from? Not our favourite discount book store The Works? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timstar Posted January 18, 2014 Author Share Posted January 18, 2014 (edited) Awesome purchases! Where did you get them from? Not our favourite discount book store The Works? No, The Works is having a massive clearance in preparation for new stock, unfortunately they are not clearing anything I want. The Classics were from Waterstones the rest from Fopp ETA: Hehe, the height of the three classics stacked is the same as Dune standing up... Edited January 18, 2014 by Timstar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Pixie Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 Aw, I hope you enjoy Dune - and the rest of the lovely Dune series. I can still remember certain scenes from reading it almost 30 years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 I hope you enjoy all your new books! I loved Dune, the three doorstoppers are on my TBR too. Of those, I'd particularly like to read War and Peace but we'll have to see how I get on. It's such a daunting book! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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