bobblybear Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 I haven't read the spoiler bits, but it's shame you didn't enjoy it as much as the other two. I will definitely be reading it, but like Alexi, I shall wait a while for the price to drop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 It's a shame you didn't enjoy it as much as the other two books. I did like the quotes you posted though ! Great review . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 Yes, that was an odd decision. I kind of understood why he did it in the end, but the humour that seemed forced to me in the early stages made the first half of the book a bit . . . odd, and that particular decision of his didn't help, I felt. I was thinking about this after my post and I only mentioned the number of chapters very briefly - but I think the chapters are so short that it made it difficult to settle into the book. It makes it a very fast read, though, because I was always thinking 'oh, just one more chapter before I put it down'. I checked my book (the second one) after reading your review, and it has 81 chapters (82 with the prologue) in 400 pages, so it appears his chapters are getting shorter! The paperback edition I want doesn't come out until near the end of the year, so it'll be a while before I get to read it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted June 10, 2015 Author Share Posted June 10, 2015 I checked my book (the second one) after reading your review, and it has 81 chapters (82 with the prologue) in 400 pages, so it appears his chapters are getting shorter! Some of them in the latest book are less than a page long - blink and you miss them! The paperback edition I want doesn't come out until near the end of the year, so it'll be a while before I get to read it. Not all that long to go We're almost halfway through the year already - it's going far too quickly for my liking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted June 14, 2015 Author Share Posted June 14, 2015 (edited) The Many-Coloured Land (The Saga of the Exiles Book #1) by Julian May 1981 - Tor ebook - 572 pages In the 22nd Century, a group of misfits and mavericks are preparing to leave behind everything they have known. Advanced technology has created a one-way time portal to Earth’s Pliocene Era – six million years ago. Those seeking a better life are drawn to the promise of a simple utopia, far from the civilised Galactic Mileu. But no one could have predicted the dangers on the other side. The travellers are about to discover that their unspoilt paradise is far from Eden. Winner of the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel. I first encountered this book in the 80s when a new colleague - who had been very quick and vocal in denouncing my choice of reading as I sat in the office one lunchtime with a David Eddings book in hand (one doesn't forget these things, especially where book-snobbery is involved ) - told me it was the best of the best of the best. Naturally, when someone has slagged off something I like, the walls went up and, although I tried to read this first book in the series, I don't think it was possible to go into it with an open mind. I return to it now with an open mind, and I've been very much looking forward to getting my teeth stuck into this initial four books series, The Saga of the Exiles, and following it up with the subsequent Galactic Milieu trilogy and the bridging novel, Intervention. In fact, I tried to start the series again a few years ago, but got distracted by something else and never got further than the first few pages and, in the meantime managed to give my original paperback copy to charity. At the time, the books were out of print, and it was very hard to get hold of them for a while, until Tor came to the rescue and re-issued them with snazzy new covers and ebook counterparts (a lifesaver - they're big books!). It's the 22nd century, and man has been invited into the Galactic Milieu, a confederation, if you will, of alien species who see the potential in humankind. We're also introduced to the idea of metapsychic powers, which can take one of several forms, from telekinesis to coercion. But not all humans like this new universe. Indeed, some people feel out of place, that they'd rather be somewhere else. These people decide to take a chance on a one-way portal that goes to just one destination - six million years into Earth's past, with no communication with or chance of return to their own time. Hmm. It's a leap of logic that doesn't quite seem . . . right. Why didn't they just move to another planet and start another colony there? At least that way they'd have a support network should anything go wrong. Oh well. The book, after a slightly disorientating prologue, then launches into a sequence of chapters that introduce the main characters. It's surprising how many reviews I've seen that say this part of the book is boring, and they nearly gave up, etc etc. For me, this was the best part. Each character gets a one-chapter intro that is effectively a short story in its own right, filling in their backstory and illustrating why they might want to give up their life in favour of one 6 million years in the past. My favourite was definitely Richard Vorhees, a hot-shot space pilot who, in defiance of his family, has become an interstellar courier renowned for making the most difficult deliveries in almost impossible times. The only problem: he's as xenophobic as a UKIP party conference. So, needless to say, when he's on a particularly difficult delivery run and picks up a mayday from an alien craft . . . well, let's just say it doesn't end well. And each character gets a chapter like this, before they are all steadily drawn to a small cottage near Lyon in France, in the basement of which is the portal. They are by no means the first to pass through it. I think it's mentioned somewhere that around ninety thousand people have already passed into Exile at this stage. But still, nobody has any means of knowing what lies in wait on the other side. So, after a surprisingly little amount of survival training, the main characters become Green group, and set off together through the portal and into Earth's past. At first it seems like a strange decision, to have taken this opening 150 pages to build this future which seems so intriguing, and then to take it away and throw the characters back into the past, taking away all the technology and alien encounters. That Julian May will return to that future in the second series of books is quite exciting. What she has done is effectively set up a future history by re-creating the past, with six million years in between. It's a very enticing prospect, original and damn clever. What I will say is don't go into this expecting it to be something akin to Jurassic Park or anything along those lines, because you will be disappointed. The danger that awaits them is not of that nature. Also, I must say that her character-building is brilliant. In those early chapters she makes you feel instantly like you know these people, and you quickly grow to care for them. She's not afraid to kill them off, either. It's not a book without problems, though. It was obviously never intended to stand on its own, and she does something of a George RR Martin by splitting the characters into two groups and then abandoning one of the groups altogether. There were a couple of characters I really liked who disappeared halfway through the book and will not reappear until part two, The Golden Torc. Also, for me, when the book should have been accelerating to its climax, I felt I was being held at a distance from the action and instead of being thrilled I was left feeling a little uninvolved. I'm not entirely convinced by some of the races involved. It's a science fiction novel, but it lurches alarmingly into fantasy territory at times and it didn't always feel quite right to me. Still, when it's good it's brilliant. Anyone with a passing interest in science fiction and/or fantasy could do a lot worse than read this book - just try not to find out too much about the story in advance so that you don't spoil all the surprises (I've deliberately tried not to spoil anything beyond the point where they step through the portal). I thought the first half of the book bordered on amazing, but it just lost its way a little in its latter stages. But writing about it here and remembering some of the events within has reminded me just how much I enjoyed most of it. I'll definitely be returning for more. Memorable Quote: Mishima threw the switch. There was pain of translation and a momentous snap hurtling them into the gray limbo. They hung without breath or heartbeat, each one screaming alone into silence. And then they felt sudden warmth and opened their eyes to a blinding dazzle of green and blue. Hands were pulling them, voices urging them to step forward out of the shimmering area that had been the gazebo, to step down a little, to come out quickly before the field reversed itself, to enter into Exile. Edited June 14, 2015 by Karsa Orlong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 Great review! I've heard good things about this author. The series sounds like something I might want to read some day. It's such a shame it's not that easy to find science-fiction books in the Netherlands. It is a shame the group gets split up and that you don't hear about some of the characters until book 2, but I'm glad you enjoyed the book otherwise . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timstar Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 I bought all 4 books a couple of years ago but haven't gotten around to them. Too many fantasy series It sounds great though, fab review! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted June 15, 2015 Author Share Posted June 15, 2015 (edited) I bought all 4 books a couple of years ago but haven't gotten around to them. Too many fantasy series It sounds great though, fab review! Thanks I vaguely remember you asking waaaay back if I had read any science fiction series that had the same sort of structure/feel as an epic fantasy series - this could be just what you were looking for ETA: okay, it wasn't quite the question you asked, but near enough Edited June 15, 2015 by Karsa Orlong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 Really great review of The Many-Coloured Land, Steve. It's now on my wishlist (the lack of dinosaurs is disappointing, but the fantasy elements sound right up my street ). Out of curiosity, have you ever read Jurassic Park? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted June 15, 2015 Author Share Posted June 15, 2015 I have, yes, many moons ago - before the first film came out, I think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 I have, yes, many moons ago - before the first film came out, I think I love the films, and have been debating whether or not to read the book. Don't suppose you remember if it was any good? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted June 15, 2015 Author Share Posted June 15, 2015 I love the films, and have been debating whether or not to read the book. Don't suppose you remember if it was any good? I remember thinking it was pretty average, tbh. I can't remember an awful lot about it, apart from a particular theory one of the characters had that came to fruition at the end of the book and tied in quite subtly with the closing shots of the movie. Apart from that . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 I remember thinking it was pretty average, tbh. I can't remember an awful lot about it, apart from a particular theory one of the characters had that came to fruition at the end of the book and tied in quite subtly with the closing shots of the movie. Apart from that . . . Hmm, shame. Will just have to wait for this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 I love the films, and have been debating whether or not to read the book. Don't suppose you remember if it was any good? I liked the first film, but I haven't yet read the book . It was a free gift from my boyfriend's mum, she gave me 5 books she didn't want anymore. I'm not saying no to free books . I hope to read it one day . I'll be able to tell you then, though which one of us is quickest I wouldn't know . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted June 16, 2015 Author Share Posted June 16, 2015 Hmm, shame. Will just have to wait for this. "It's like a cross between Jurassic Park and Game of Thrones." I'd take that more seriously if it was someone other than GRRM saying it Also, it appears he's forgotten what his own series is called Seriously, though, epic fantasy with dinosaurs? I might read that Off to read the sample chapters on Tor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted June 16, 2015 Author Share Posted June 16, 2015 Open Season (Joe Pickett Book #1) by C. J. Box 2001 - Corvus ebook - 278 pages I was looking for a blurb for this and I don't think I've ever read one as spoilery as the one on goodreads. It tells you pretty much the entire story. I'm glad I didn't see it before reading the book. I suppose it's kind of a moot point anyway, as I had the plot and the culprits figured out from very early on. It's not so much a whodunnit or a whytheydunnit as it is howlongtilltheheroworksitout-unnit. Joe Pickett is a game warden new to the town of Twelve Sleep, Wyoming, where he has recently taken over the position from his retired mentor. He and his pregnant wife, Marybeth, and their two daughters, Sheridan and Lucy, live in a state-owned house a little outside the town. One morning, six-year-old Sheridan tells him that she saw a monster outside during the night. When he goes outside he finds the body of a hunter. As is usually the case with crime novels, this is just the beginning of a much bigger case, more bodies turn up, and Joe gets dragged deeper and deeper into the mire. So it's not the greatest murder mystery, but I can pretty much guarantee that the motive is quite different from any other I've encountered, and I really liked that. Also, although the plot is straightforward and easy to figure out, it was the characters that kept me reading. In Pickett and his family, and the other inhabitants of Twelve Sleep, Box has created some genuinely likeable (and some genuinely detestable) characters who I quickly grew to care about. And, when the characterisation is so distinct, I found it easy to do what I often do and insert actors into the roles. Andrew Lincoln (in Rick Grimes mode) was Joe, Julie Benz was Marybeth, Jon Voight was Vern, and so on and so forth, and the people and the place really came alive in my mind. It was Box's debut novel, so there are rough edges, repeating of certain words and such, but I found it very readable, quite addictive, and there was a genuine sense of peril. Joe is no Jack Reacher - he's not invincible or omniscient. At the very start of the story we're told how he messed up in the past, and he is a character with fears over his job, money, and his family - and he is flawed and vulnerable. He's a character that really worked for me. It's the second C J Box novel I've read (the first being Blue Heaven a few years ago) and it certainly won't be the last. A few of his books have been in Kindle Deals for 99p recently, including Open Season. At that price, it's well worth a look. Memorable Quote: Mountain towns and out-of-the-way rural communities all had men like Clyde Lidgard in and around them. Stops at the end of the road collected Clyde Lidgards like dams collected silt. To hunt and fish in the State of Wyoming, Joe thought, people were required to buy licenses and , in some cases, pass tests that proved they knew how to use firearms and knew Game and Fish regulations. There were no such requirements for having children. Joe had always considered individual words as finite units of currency, and he believed in savings. He never wanted to waste or unnecessarily expend words. To Joe, words meant things. They should be spent wisely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 I like that last quote, about the words . Nice review! Have you read the Jack Reacher books, since you're comparing this book to them? You might've posted about them before and I don't remember, in that case sorry in advance . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted June 16, 2015 Author Share Posted June 16, 2015 Yeah, I've read quite a few of the Jack Reacher books. I like them, generally, though some a lot more than others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted June 16, 2015 Author Share Posted June 16, 2015 Just had to rescue a tiny little mouse from Pixie. She was running around the garden with it in her mouth, the little bitch I managed to get her away from it, and it was huddled on the ground staring at me. I tried to pick it up to put it somewhere safe but it started moving and eventually made its way across the lawn and into the bushes on the other side. I'm willing to bet Pixie went after it again when I came back inside Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 Awww the poor mouse . I have to say though, I don't mind the mice outside at all, but it's terribly annoying when they keep me awake at night with their chewing on stuff in the office room above the bedroom. We've had quite a problem with our attics with mice. I'm not afraid of mice (unlike some women I know), I don't mind them at all outside and I try to rescue them if one of our dogs gets ahold of one. Upstairs now in the office we have a noise device that keeps them away. It doesn't harm them, but they don't like the noise so they stay away. I hope the mouse in your garden made it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Pixie Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 Aww, poor mouse. Last year, Xiao-Xiao brought in ( separately ) a shrew and a blue tit, placed them both alive in her num-num bowl, and wandered off. Both were released back into the garden unharmed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 I'm not afraid of mice (unlike some women I know). That would be me. Mice outside, grand. Mice inside in a cage (I've had hamsters), grand. Mice running around my bedroom? Traps are going down. I hate the thought of any small fast-moving creature potentially running over me at night. I too have one of those noise things that is meant to discourage them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted June 17, 2015 Author Share Posted June 17, 2015 Oooh no, wouldn't want one running around inside the house. My previous cat, Lucky, brought a little frog into the house once. I managed to catch it (eventually) and took it back outside, and she went and brought it back in again I had to say to her 'you're a cat, not a dog. This isn't a game of fetch' Mind you, she used to bark as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 Last year, Xiao-Xiao brought in ( separately ) a shrew and a blue tit, placed them both alive in her num-num bowl, and wandered off. Both were released back into the garden unharmed. I'm glad they were unharmed . That would be me. Mice outside, grand. Mice inside in a cage (I've had hamsters), grand. Mice running around my bedroom? Traps are going down. I hate the thought of any small fast-moving creature potentially running over me at night. I too have one of those noise things that is meant to discourage them. I've not had one in my bedroom in many years, but I wouldn't want one in there! I won't run around screaming the house down if I see a mouse anywhere, but I'd definitely not want it near me. My previous cat, Lucky, brought a little frog into the house once. I managed to catch it (eventually) and took it back outside, and she went and brought it back in again I had to say to her 'you're a cat, not a dog. This isn't a game of fetch' Mind you, she used to bark as well Haha, that's pretty unique . Steve, the author I've been reading a lot of books of, John Flanagan, said in the Q&A at the end of the book I just finished, that he really liked the books by Patrick O'Brian (he also mentioned several other books and authors). I thought of you, so I'd tell you since I know you're a big fan too (and I'm already making a post here anyway). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 My parents have a rescue cat, named Mog, who mentally resides on an alternate plane of existence. I think that's probably why he doesn't attack anything (and takes a solid 2-3 minutes to decide whether he wants to go through a doorway). It's handy that he doesn't attack anything, though. Can't really stop cats who want to, they are hunters after all, but its nice that my parents don't have to deal with small dead animals as a result of having him. He's lovely really As for mice in my room - I woke up one morning in my old apartment to hear some of my drawings being gnawed. I had to tear apart my room (lined along the walls with all my books, boxes, table, bed etc) and find the hole, then stuff it up, but I could still hear them in the walls and they also kept coming up the back of the kitchen cupboards (inside - they had no backs *inside* where the pipes ran down through the building) so it was a nightmare. Since moving to my new place, I'm fairly sure there's nowhere for them to get in, and I've only ever heard one in the walls once, so fingers crossed I'm free from them! When a friend of mine lived in a student house, she once had a mouse leap from her computer chair to her bed, while we were sitting on the bed. Scarred me for life Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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