Signor Finzione Posted April 8, 2015 Author Share Posted April 8, 2015 ..very soon! Hope you enjoy your new books Thanks. Yeah, I was holding out in case I saw something I wanted more whilst out shopping, but I didn't, so it was straight on Amazon when I got home. Although, I'm reading book 2 of the Ketty Jay series now, and kind of wish I'd ordered the third one of that instead. Oops. A friend on a blog said that he felt much the same way as you did about the first Expanse book, but that the second one was fantastic. I'll let you know. Great review ! And well done for trying a new genre, I'm glad you liked the book. I believe it's on my wishlist/want-to-read-list (to be sorted). Yay for new books! I own Unseen Academicals but I haven't read it yet, and I loved The Ambassador's Mission. I hope you like all your new books (and that the ordered ones will arrive soon). Lucky for winning some money in the lottery, that's great . Thanks Gaia! I remembered you saying you really enjoyed the Canavan, and I already have the second book in the series (I must have bought it cheap somewhere!), so it made sense to buy it. And it will probably be years before I finally get around to the Pratchett - I believe it's book number 37 in the series, and I'm only up to number 5 in my big re-read. I'll let you know if it's any good in, say, 2023? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Thanks Gaia! I remembered you saying you really enjoyed the Canavan, and I already have the second book in the series (I must have bought it cheap somewhere!), so it made sense to buy it. And it will probably be years before I finally get around to the Pratchett - I believe it's book number 37 in the series, and I'm only up to number 5 in my big re-read. I'll let you know if it's any good in, say, 2023? Yes, I did . Haha ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted April 9, 2015 Author Share Posted April 9, 2015 Review: 'The Black Lung Captain' by Chris Wooding Darian Frey is down on his luck. He can barely keep his squabbling crew fed and his rickety aircraft in the sky. Even the simplest robberies seem to go wrong. It's getting so a man can't make a dishonest living any more.Enter Captain Grist. He's heard about a crashed aircraft laden with the treasures of a lost civilisation, and he needs Frey's help to get it. There's only one problem. The craft is lying in the trackless heart of a remote island, populated by giant beasts and subhuman monsters.Dangerous, yes. Suicidal, perhaps. Still, Frey's never let common sense get in the way of a fortune before. But there's something other than treasure on board that aircraft. Something that a lot of important people would kill for. And it's going to take all of Frey's considerable skill at lying, cheating and stealing if he wants to get his hands on it... It’s been a year since I read the first Ketty Jay novel, Retribution Falls, and to be honest I can barely remember a thing about it. I re-read my own review of the first book before starting The Black Lung Captain to try and refresh my memory, and came away with a vague impression of a fairly enjoyable story but with characters that fell sort of flat. Whether this is in fact true or not, I’m delighted to say that whatever misgivings I had about the first book, I thought the second one was bloody fantastic. The Black Lung Captain immediately re-introduces us to the crew of the Ketty Jay doing what they do best: exhibiting a collective lack of morality whilst bumbling through a failed money-making mission, in this case being chased by an angry horde after robbing an orphanage. The book starts with a bang – an incredibly funny one – and continues in pretty much the same vein for the rest of the book. It’s action-packed and very fast-paced, and there is a lot of hopping about from place to place, as you might expect from a book about an airship crew. There are always good reasons for them to head to these places – usually because they’re either chasing something or running away from someone – and it keeps the story lively and the reader on their toes. The Black Lung Captain is also packed full of kickass aerial battles. Wooding never seems to run out of spectacular settings for them, whether it’s the middle of a thunderstorm on a pitch black night, or beneath a supernatural maelstrom in cloudy, frozen skies. With each battle you can virtually see the flash of the guns and hear the bullets ricochet off the ships, and it makes for a continually exciting read. The thing that really makes The Black Lung Captain really come to life is the characters themselves, namely the crew of the Ketty Jay. Each and every member of the crew gets the page time they need to round them out and help the reader get to know them better, and there wasn’t a single character I disliked reading about – which is ironic, given that my main criticism of the first book was that the characters were two-dimensional. The author uses regularly shifting POVs within chapters, choosing to show events through the alternating viewpoints of the five or six main characters. This frequently provides levity in the midst of otherwise serious situations, usually due to the incongruity between many of the characters’ outlooks: for instance, during a dogfight with the enemy, the POV often shifts back and forth between shell-shocked, gibbering veteran Harkins, who is terrified of fighting, to the youthful daredevil Pinn, who is described as having no fear of death since he lacks the imagination to conceive of it. The shifting POVs are used to even better effect in depicting the rivalry between Harkins and Slag, the fearsome cat who dwells aboard the Ketty Jay. However, it’s Frey’s segments that pull the whole thing together and drive the plot forward, which is rather fitting seeing as he’s the one in charge. The unscrupulous, down-on-his-luck captain becomes something more than just a loveable rogue here, and his character arc is both rewarding and immensely entertaining. Another real strength of The Black Lung Captain is in the interactions between the crew: they bicker and argue and sometimes don’t speak at all, and when they do it sounds coarse and sometimes unfriendly. But there’s also the casual and hilarious friendly banter, the gentle jibes, and the occasional rough and affectionate hug. Some lines actually had me laughing out loud, while there were also moments that almost had me in tears (there was one moment in particular involving Crake, who is also, incidentally, my favourite character). It’s realistic and funny and moving, and the relationship between Frey and his crew is pretty much the focus of the novel just as much as the events of the main plot are. There’s not much more to say about this book. I loved the story, I loved the characters more, and I’m now officially in love with this series. Also, when I grow up I want to be a Century Knight. 5/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 Great review! And a 5/5! You're reading a lot of enjoyable books lately . I quite like that cover, blue is my favourite colour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timstar Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 I was hoping you'd like the second one more. I remember that's when I fell in love with the characters too, he really finds the right pitch in the second book. I loved the opening scene, one of the best I've ever read. Onto the third book? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted April 10, 2015 Author Share Posted April 10, 2015 Great review! And a 5/5! You're reading a lot of enjoyable books lately . I quite like that cover, blue is my favourite colour. Mine too! Yes, I'm having a pretty good year all in all - so far I've given twelve books 4/5, three books 5/5, and only one book 3/5. I was hoping you'd like the second one more. I remember that's when I fell in love with the characters too, he really finds the right pitch in the second book. I loved the opening scene, one of the best I've ever read. Onto the third book? The opening scene was hilarious. I love that Frey kept trying to justify the robbery by shouting "I'm an orphan too!" at their pursuers. And yes, I may have just spent the remainder of my money on the third and fourth books. I'm quite sad that there are only two more to read, though, and might hang fire on reading them so that I have something to look forward to. Are any of Wooding's other books worth reading, do you know? I remember you read one last year - The Fade? - but can't seem to find your review. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timstar Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 And yes, I may have just spent the remainder of my money on the third and fourth books. I'm quite sad that there are only two more to read, though, and might hang fire on reading them so that I have something to look forward to. Are any of Wooding's other books worth reading, do you know? I remember you read one last year - The Fade? - but can't seem to find your review. You'll find it here. I didn't enjoy it as much as any of the Ketty Jay books but it was very unique and interesting. I have his Braided Path trilogy on Kindle which I am hoping to read soon, but just seem to keep starting other series instead Apart from that he has only done YA stuff which I haven't bothered looking into. It was a shame he didn't keep going with Ketty Jay, I think the format would have been perfect for an ongoing series Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted April 10, 2015 Author Share Posted April 10, 2015 You'll find it here. I didn't enjoy it as much as any of the Ketty Jay books but it was very unique and interesting. I have his Braided Path trilogy on Kindle which I am hoping to read soon, but just seem to keep starting other series instead Apart from that he has only done YA stuff which I haven't bothered looking into. It was a shame he didn't keep going with Ketty Jay, I think the format would have been perfect for an ongoing series Ah, thanks for the link. The Fade definitely sounds interesting enough to add to the wishlist. I did look into his Braided Path series, but at first glance it seems pretty generic. I want more about the crew of the Ketty Jay! Like you said, it would have been perfect for an ongoing series - a different adventure for every book, maybe getting a new crew member from time to time. I guess he wanted to end it on a high point, though, which is laudable I suppose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timstar Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 (edited) Ah, thanks for the link. The Fade definitely sounds interesting enough to add to the wishlist. I did look into his Braided Path series, but at first glance it seems pretty generic. I want more about the crew of the Ketty Jay! Like you said, it would have been perfect for an ongoing series - a different adventure for every book, maybe getting a new crew member from time to time. I guess he wanted to end it on a high point, though, which is laudable I suppose. Yeah I think so, he felt he'd gone as far as he could with it and wanted to try something new. He's not a particularly fast writer or active online so it's hard to know what's coming. He updated his blog in February (for the first time in ages) to basically say he has nothing in the works Edited April 10, 2015 by Timstar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 Mine too! Yes, I'm having a pretty good year all in all - so far I've given twelve books 4/5, three books 5/5, and only one book 3/5. That's pretty good ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted April 10, 2015 Author Share Posted April 10, 2015 Yeah I think so, he felt he'd gone as far as he could with it and wanted to try something new. He's not a particularly fast writer or active online so it's hard to know what's coming. He updated his blog in February (for the first time in ages) to basically say he has nothing in the works How inconsiderate of him! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted April 11, 2015 Author Share Posted April 11, 2015 My new books arrived already! And, as always, you can't have anything in our house without the cats trying to take over it . . . Bit miffed about the Wooding covers not matching my copies of the first two, though I already knew they were different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 Great new books, I hope you enjoy them ! (sorry about the mismatching covers though, that's annoying ) I love the photos with your cats ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 Your cats are adorable!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted April 12, 2015 Author Share Posted April 12, 2015 Great new books, I hope you enjoy them ! (sorry about the mismatching covers though, that's annoying ) I love the photos with your cats ! Your cats are adorable!! Thank you both! They're also very lazy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted April 12, 2015 Author Share Posted April 12, 2015 Review: 'Sourcery' by Terry Pratchett Once upon a time, there was an eighth son of an eighth son who was, of course, a wizard. As if that wasn't complicated enough, said wizard then had seven sons. And then he had an eighth son . . . a wizard squared . . . a source of magic . . . a Sourcerer. Sourcery is the fifth Discworld outing, and also one of my least favourites, although I did find it more entertaining than I remembered. A young but powerful child, Eskarina Coin is preparing to give the wizards of Unseen University the shock of their lives: for the first time in History, and against all the rules of the Lore, a girl a sourcerer has arrived in Ankh-Morpork, and her his presence is about to turn the conservative wizarding world upside down. The Discworld is suddenly threatened by ancient and devastating magic, with only the hapless Rincewind and his trusty Luggage there to prevent Trymon the sourcerer from unleashing the Things from the Dungeon Dimensions and initiating the dreaded Apocralypse (i.e. apocryphal apocalypse). As you can see, a large part of my problem with Sourcery is that it feels too much like a rehashing of both Equal Rites and The Light Fantastic, with nearly all its plot elements being ‘borrowed’ from one or the other. To be fair, in many respects it is better and more coherent (well, kind of) than either of those two books, yet it also suffers from many of the same flaws. For instance, it’s populated with unnecessary secondary characters who, although fairly likeable, have no real impact on the events of the story. It also follows the same routine as many other Discworld novels with regards to plot. There’s a nice quick prologue to set up the story, and then we’re thrown straight into events, which is great. Fast-paced and funny, saturated with chuckle-worthy one-liners, the first half of the story races by. From thereon in, however, it suffers from Pratchett-itis, as both story and momentum lose their thread and subsequently unravel in a series of pointless events and irrelevant sub-plots. Nonetheless, as with most of the Discworld books, no matter how much mud there is there are still plenty of diamonds to be found. The sheer amount of throwaway comments, witty one-liners and godawful yet hilarious puns is, as always, thoroughly impressive; and I’m willing to overlook any amount of thin plot and mediocre characters for a book involving the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse getting drunk in a bar, having their horses stolen, and subsequently not turning up for their own apocalypse because they were too busy having ‘one for the road’. 3/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Great review! It's a shame you didn't like this one as much as the earlier ones, though I think I would agree with you on that. And @ The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, I loved that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted April 13, 2015 Author Share Posted April 13, 2015 Great review! It's a shame you didn't like this one as much as the earlier ones, though I think I would agree with you on that. And @ The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, I loved that! Thanks Gaia. Yeah, I tend to find his books are a bit hit and miss, and this one just happened to be a miss! I'm excited for the next one though - it's Wyrd Sisters, a Granny Weatherwax one. The Horsemen are awesome. I love that War and Pestilence were getting drunk, and Famine was eating all the peanuts in the bar, and Death refused to let them all on his horse because of 'the look of the thing'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Ah I think I quite liked Wyrd Sisters when I first read it . I hope you enjoy it when you re-read it! I agree! Hilarious . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timstar Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Adorable cats as always! It was irrtating with the Ketty Jay covers, they started with 1 type, re-released them in a new style then went back to the old style for the final book. Sourcery is the next Pratchett book I am planning on reading, shame you didn't like it as much but there is always plenty more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted April 14, 2015 Author Share Posted April 14, 2015 Adorable cats as always! It was irrtating with the Ketty Jay covers, they started with 1 type, re-released them in a new style then went back to the old style for the final book. Sourcery is the next Pratchett book I am planning on reading, shame you didn't like it as much but there is always plenty more Thanks Tim! Yeah, much as I know it's 'what's inside that counts', it still bugs the hell out of me when my books don't match. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted April 14, 2015 Author Share Posted April 14, 2015 Review: 'Caliban's War' by James S.A. Corey On Jupiter’s largest moon, a Martian marine watches as her platoon is slaughtered by a monstrous supersoldier. On Earth, a high-level politician struggles to prevent interplanetary war from reigniting. And on Venus, an alien protomolecule has overrun the planet, wreaking massive, mysterious changes and threatening to spread out into the solar system. Once again, Jim Holden and the crew of the Rocinante find themselves in the eye of the storm. A missing child may hold the key to humanity’s survival – but only if they can find her first. The protomolecule, a mysterious and dangerous alien entity, has landed on Venus and is doing god-knows-what on the surface of the planet. Earth, Mars and the Belt are continuing to ignore this threat and are instead concentrating on their own petty conflicts. Captain Jim Holden is engaged in policing the depths of space against pirates on behalf of the Outer Planets Alliance, until the war between Earth and Mars suddenly escalates and he finds himself caught in the middle once more. Caliban’s War is set about a year after the events of Leviathan Wakes, and once again follows the unlikely yet exciting adventures of Jim Holden and his rag-tag crew. Oh, and don’t forget the vomit zombies. Caliban’s War is structured in the same way as its predecessor, with each chapter told from alternating characters’ points of view. However, while the first book only had two POV characters, this one has four, including one returning character and three new ones. I was a bit leery when I realised there were so many new characters – especially as the first book felt so intimate and focused with just two – but it quickly became apparent that there was nothing for me to worry about, as I actually found all three of the new characters to be even more engaging that the ‘main’ character Holden. Whereas Holden and Miller were kind of quite similar, the new cast are wonderfully varied. Chrisjen Avasarala is an elderly, foul-mouthed, no-nonsense politician and grandmother; Bobbie Draper is a Martian Marine torn between loyalty to her planet and her own conscience; Prax Meng is a scientist hellbent on rescuing his missing daughter; and of course Holden is the self-righteous yet brave pilot of the Rocinante and star of the first Expanse novel Leviathan Wakes. Out of all the characters, I found Bobbie in particular to be very sympathetic and likeable (think Brienne of Tarth in a spacesuit), and Avasarala’s chapters are also thoroughly entertaining to read (I can’t wait to see Shohreh Aghdashloo playing the role in the TV series - she’s perfect). One surprising upside of having so many new characters is that it allows us get to know the supporting cast a lot better too: the crew of the Rocinante seem to get more page time in Caliban’s War, largely because some of the new characters spend a lot of time with members of the crew who were somewhat sidelined in the first book. So, while Holden spent a lot of time with Naomi in Leviathan Wakes, here we learn a lot more about Amos (who was just engineer-slash-muscle in the first book) through his growing friendship with Prax. Similarly the underdeveloped character of Alex the pilot is given a bit more personality (albeit only a tiny bit) as we see him develop a tentative relationship with his fellow Martian Bobbie, who is seemingly out of his league in every way. In terms of plot, I think that the reason the shifting POVs work so well is because the actual story is so tightly focused. Despite the fact that they are occasionally separated by thousands of kilometres of empty space, the characters are all ultimately working on the same page and towards the same goal. After a certain point they all become threads of the main story, and this gives the book focus and coherence – especially when compared to other series that use the same method to switch between disparate and sometimes unrelated storylines, which is not only jarring but also totally kills the momentum (yeah, GRRM, I’ve got my eye on you). Caliban’s War also manages to weave in half-forgotten threads from the first novel, which I found both unexpected and delightful; and the main plot is wrapped up nicely whilst also paving the way for the continuation of the underlying protomolecule saga, ensuring that Jim Holden and his crew will have plenty to occupy them for a few more books at least. Even more so than its predecessor, Caliban’s War is a fun, fast-paced and accessible SF adventure. It’s exciting and occasionally silly, and it’s not ashamed of being a bit over-the-top, which is probably what makes it so enjoyable. That’s also probably why I wasn’t ashamed at gasping out loud at a shocking revelation on the very last page, and why I’m exceedingly glad that I have the sequel, Abaddon’s Gate, immediately to hand. 5/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 (edited) Great review! I'm glad you liked this book , a 5/5! I hope to read the first book one day, unfortunately my library doesn't have a lot of SF. EDIT: I just looked it up, it appears they have ordered the Dutch translation of the first book, so I should be able to borrow it once it arrives and is available . Edited April 15, 2015 by Athena Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted April 15, 2015 Author Share Posted April 15, 2015 Great review! I'm glad you liked this book , a 5/5! I hope to read the first book one day, unfortunately my library doesn't have a lot of SF. EDIT: I just looked it up, it appears they have ordered the Dutch translation of the first book, so I should be able to borrow it once it arrives and is available . Thanks Gaia! I'm glad you'll get to read this series at some point. Yes, I'm not that strict with my ratings at all. Even though this book objectively isn't as good as, say, the Malazan books, I still enjoyed it a lot and couldn't think of anything to criticise. So, full marks it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 Review: 'Caliban's War' by James S.A. Corey 5/5 Nope, still can't be arsed <-- <<denial>> Have you seen the trailer for the upcoming tv series? I'm not sure what to make of it. On the one hand it will be good to have a new space-based sf series around, on the other it looks a bit . . . cheap. And having Thomas Jane as the star isn't going to sell it to anybody Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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