Funny, I just finished reading The Art of Racing in the Rain book and was wondering if anyone on CF had said anything about it. I stumbled upon this book on my own after browsing through Amazon. I started reading, stopped just once midway, and then continued reading through to the end. Great read. And you experience just about every emotion. Good books are fun to read. It's the great ones that get you to actually feel. I took your advice and read The Shadow of the Wind and I've been grateful ever since. Maybe you might enjoy this one
Finally finished book 6 of Malazan Book of the Fallen, The Bonehunters. Overall a good book with some epic plotlines, but this book once again fell into the two biggest weaknesses of this series. People talk about how the cast is so damn big and how Erikson throws you in without explanation. I think it's grown too large and the magic\gods are too convoluted. It seems every few hundred pages we learn about another new warren or god or dragon or something that is going to shake things up, but lo and behold there's another warren or god or something we've never heard of that is even more badass. It almost seems like a deus ex machina device. Throw a heavy supernatural being in the mix to resolve a sticky mess. The other problem with the large cast is that Erikson has to shuffle between many POV's. I'm fine with that in theory, but he often does this in very small chunks. 5 pages to this group, the story gets interesting but not even partly resolved, move on to another set of characters, and return to that first group 50-100 pages later. You're excited to return to those characters, but you've lost the flow of their story. Hands down my favorite portion of this series was the first quarter of book 4, when Erikson focused on one character for over 250 pages. Then he went back to the scattershot approach, and the last 3/4 was perhaps the most taxing part of this series to read. I'm hoping there's a pretty epic conclusion to this series because I'm a bit underwhelmed by it so far. While I love the squad-based, gritty nature of the characters, the flaws of this series are starting to pile up and magnify. There have been some epic showdowns that were memorable to read, but there have also been other climaxes that fizzled out or failed to materliaze. I don't mind reading long books, but I keep feeling that Erikson's novels could lop off 40-50% of their length with good editing and be better stories. All that being said, I have high hopes for Book 7, Reaper's Gale. The plotlines seem like they are drawing together some of the most interesting characters of the series so far.
Last night I finished 'The Art of Racing in the Rain.' LOVED it. Whoever on here recommended it, thanks you! For anyone out there that loves a good dog book every once in a while, you should put it on your list. It was awesome.
I'm finishing up World Without End, which is excellent. Do you have any other Ken Follett recommendations (or anything else in the historical fiction genre)? I have several books I'll be reading next, but I keep an active "books I want" list that I'm always adding to.
My Dad is raving about Ken Follett's newest novel, The Fall of Giants, which is the first book of a planned trilogy taking place in the twentieth century. I'm a bit leery of starting an incomplete trilogy, but I've also been told it's most like reading Pillars and World as a series. You can enjoy the first book all on its own even though the two are part of an epic tale. I also highly recommend Robert McCammon and his Matthew Corbett series (check the first post of this thread). They're set in colonial America right around 1700. Matthew Corbett is being set up as a gritty American version of Sherlock Holmes. He crosses paths with some very unsavory characters, and McCammon does not flinch from vividly describing some intense scenes. But the story is great, and I love the detailed historical context the books are set in. I also thought Kane and Abel by Jeffery Archer was an excellent historical novel set in the twentieth century that reminded me quite a bit of the scope of Follett.
The Last Kingdom - Bernard Cromwell Cornwell also deserves praise for his mesmerizing narrative finesse and his authentic historical detailing. Here he introduces a new multivolume saga set in medieval England prior to the unification of the four Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Northumbria, East Anglia, Mercia, and Wessex. Weakened by civil war, Northumbria is invaded by the fearless Danes, and Uhtred, the rightful heir to the earldom of Bebbanburg, is captured by the enemy. Raised as a Viking warrior by Ragnar the Terrible, his beloved surrogate father, Uhtred is still torn by an innate desire to reclaim his birthright. Fighting as a Dane but realizing that his ultimate destiny lies along another path Cromwell is a great story teller. This is the first part of a five (soon to be six) part series. I highly recommend.
I'm leery of anything in a modern setting....and I have no good reason as to why. I'll definitely check out the Matthew Corbet series, though. Thanks.
Just to clarify, The Fall of Giants covers the early 1900's and the first World War. So not a real modern setting.
I've read them all and couldn't agree more. I buy everything he's writes. What am I reading at the moment? A Conspiracy of Paper, by David Liss. It's fantastic and winner of the Edgar Award for Best First Novel. Can't put it down! If you love historical fiction and mysteries, you'll love this.
Right smack dab in the middle of the last Malazan book from Erikson. Also reading off and on the Elric series from Moorcock. I also just finished a couple classics: The Good Earth (first read), Grapes of Wrath (re-read), a Robert Burns poetry book (went to a Burns supper), and Alas, Babylon (one of my favs). After the Malazan book, I'm going to read Les Mis, which I've never actually read, but love the movie/play.
Thanks! I recently read and can highly recommend: Year of the Hyenas: A Novel of Murder in Ancient Egypt by Brad Geagley Another but more literary historical fiction recommendation would be: A Soldier of the Great War by Mark Helprin And finally a historically challenged fiction recommendation: Bridge of Birds : A Novel of an Ancient China That Never Was by Barry Hughart
Thank you! - Have you read the Roman Blood series by Austin's Steven Saylor? It takes place during the late Republic and early Empire. The main character is a Roman citizen who makes his living working as a detective, although it's not called that, of course. Most of the famous figures of that era make an appearence, often frequently, during the course of the series, which spans decades. It was mentioned in last year's Scribo thread (and A Conspiracy of Paper may have been, as well, but if it was, I had forgotten it). The first novel is, naturally, Roman Blood. Good stuff and very effectively gives a view of the era from an angle seldom seen.
I'm not reading it at this moment, but Audie Murphy's To Hell and Back is one of the greatest books I've ever read. It's an autobiography of the most decorated soldier in WWII; a true American hero. I've mentioned it a few times here and wanted to do so again. Do yourself a favor and read this book.
Gordianus The Finder ... I have read three of those books, recently finishing _A Murder on the Appian Way_. I like this series but not as much as Cornwell's Saxon Chronicles Series. I have been reading a lot of historical fiction over the last few years. probably every book I read. There are some high quality authors out there like: I. J. Parker, Laura Joh Rowland, James Clavell, Dale Furutani, Umberto Eco, Steven Pressfield , Lynda S. Robinson, Takashi Matsuoka, ...
I tend to agree with you to an extent. It's impossible to connect the dots in one read. It's a much more enjoyable re-read. And these gods/characters/warrens aren't just created tossed in, Terry Goodkind style. The seeds are planted in earlier novels and are alluded to. It's just impossible to remember everything. I also agree with you on the first part of book 4- Karsa Orlong's story is the best.
I like Saylor, but his work can be a bit uneven. He isn't in Cornwell's league as a writer of any kind of fiction, but not a lot of writers are, in my opinion. Count me as someone who can't wait for the next book in the Saxon series! So I'll mention someone else. Have you read anything from Wilbur Smith? I recently finished Assegai, which takes place in East Africa during the years leading up to WWI. It was very good and a bit different from much of the historical fiction I've read (which is usually a plus).
