Just finished Under the Dome by Stephen King and Too Big to Fail by Andrew Ross Sorkin. Enjoyed both immensely and plan on downloading the A Dance with Dragons to the nook shortly.
I'm still plowing through Martin's series, which kind of leads me to a February topic of book conversation: What incomplete series of books are you most looking forward to seeing concluded? As a rule, I generally don't read series until they are finished. Robert Jordan killed that desire in me for over a decade with the maddening derailing of that series after the masterful fourth book. However, I find myself in the midst of a half dozen series all of a sudden. George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire Robert McCammon's Matthew Corbett series Scott Lynch's Gentelmen Bastards Patrick Rothfuss's Kvothe series Joe Abercrombie's First Law and then some series Carlos Ruiz Zafon's Cemetary of Lost Books series Jim Butcher's Dresden Files I can safely throw out Jim Butcher's series, since they are so trash pulp fiction without the sense of a real overriding narrative to the books. I'm going to nix Lynch and Rothfuss. Both had masterful openings followed by not a successful second novels. I think they both have an opportunity to redeem themselves and produce epic series. We're also too early in both to have a true feel for where they are going. Obviously I still have 1.5 books left with Martin, but I'm getting weary of the series a bit at this point. It seems like the pace has slowed to a crawl over the last few books. I do want to know what happens with everyone, and I hope that Martin ends this well. That leaves me with the three epic series to choose from. My ranking for these three are: 1) Carlos Ruiz Zafon 2) Joe Abercrombie 3) Matthew Corbett I wouldn't have put Zafon on this list a month ago. Shadow of the Wind is my favorite novel, but the sequel (really a prequel) underwhelmed me with a confused ending. The Angel's Game also seemed like it had only a weak tangential connection to Shadow of the Wind, making these books not feel like a true series. However, details from his third novel in this planned tetralogy make me optimistic that it will provide clarity to the second novel as well as providing a richer context for scenes of the first two novels. The Prisoner's of Heaven is my most anticipated novel of the year, and if it lives up to the review I read, I think Zafon is going to have an epic masterpiece on his hands when it's complete. And as always, Zafon is a master of words with a hauntingly beautiful tone. Joe Abercrombie is a bad ass author with some wickedly entertaining novels. When I sat down to write this, I did not expect to place him second, but he's set up so many delicious characters who are bound to come into conflict in unexpected ways. So far he has a trilogy followed by two standalone novels with another standalone novel and a trilogy to follow. I have no idea if he intends to stop writing in this world after that trilogy or if he's going to set up shop and continue to write here for a few decades. Neither would bother me at this point. There are definitely confrontations that I expect will come to fruition over the next four novels he writes, and I cannot wait to see them. Robert McCammon is three books into his planned 10 book Matthew Corbett series. It began with a seemingly standalone novel, but the last two books have developed Matthew Corbett into a colonial American Sherlock Holmes, complete with a professor nemesis and his own colonial era Q. This is a gritty series with very macabre action and twisted and gruesome foes. The fourth book really looks like it's the opening moves of the second act and will start to illuminate the road this series will take. I expect my anticipation for the rest of the series will ramp up quite a bit after this next novel. We will see May 31 when the Providence Rider is released.
Maybe my standards are lower, but I'm on the 6th book and I don't see what all the fuss is about. It seems OK to me. Still good. Still interesting. I've heard than Brandon Sanderson is a big improvement over Jordan, too (books 12+).
It was after the 8th book, that I gave up on the series. I had noticed a decline, and then just couldn't take it anymore. The things I liked about it were all changed or underused, and the characters had always been kind of one dimensional and it just started getting too far out from the what I liked about the series to start out with. It would be hard for me to finish it now, even if the follow up author improved it. I'm so far behind
I was told by someone else it sucked after book 6. You say after book 8. Scribo says after book 4. I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO BELIEVE ANY MORE! Hey, maybe it won't suck for me at all!
I thought the first four books were great, with each one improving on the previous installment. The Shadow Rising was an excellent epic book with great plotlines for all the major characters. The fifth book was good, but the worst of the series at that point. That trend continued with a sixth book that was just okay followed by utter wretchedness with the 7th and 8th books. That's where I bailed as well. I started reading this series in 1991, and I have to say I'd like to know how it ends after devoting so much time to it. I just don't think I have the patience to slog through the whole series. I'll probably read a summary of the books I missed and read the three Sanderson books once the final book comes out.
I might do that as well. I think the first four were definitely the strongest of the ones I'd read and both 7 & 8 were horrible as well. I too feel like I might like to read the ending of the series. Perhaps I'll find some summaries and pick up with the Sanderson books as well. Do you know any sites that have good summaries?
It might not suck for you at all. I know some people who love every book in the series. It actually sucked before book 8(for me), but I just gave up after that point.
RE: WOT- I'm with you guys. I made it through book 8 as well. With the fanbase these books have, I'm surprised that there isn't a fanedit.
I thought it went downhill after book 1, but really fell off the cliff after book 6. I don't know if I could bear going back to it at this point. I have really been enjoying Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series, though. Just finished book 3 last night and am looking forward to starting A Feast for Crows.
Yes, I love that series. I'll say that for me and many others that I've talked to A Feast for Crows is somewhat of a let down. It isn't sucky, but not near as good(to me). I went back and listened to the audio book version of it before book 5 came out, and I enjoyed it more the second time through. That is probably my favorite fantasy series of all time.
There's a WOT encyclopedia with chapter by chapter summaries on ye olde internet - and a glossary of EVERY character. Note that it's massively spoiler laden, so read cautiously. EDIT: link I've disputed with scribo about WOT many times here, suffice to say that I think it gets a bad rap. Books 1-7 are awesome IMO. Book 8 is slow. Book 9 is hugely awesome. Book 10 is the worst ever. Books 11-13 have been epic. Everything is nicely coming together. If you were annoyed by the pacing, Sanderson just let's it fly...and it's great. lol - and I even wrote this same pitch earlier in this thread. Tschmal: It's a good series, but books 8 and 10 are definitely tedious. 10 especially.
Thanks for the link. I'll use that as a summary for the books I haven't read yet, and then maybe pick up the series with the Sanderson books
1984 is really good. Especially if you compare it to some of the totalitarian regimes today, Orwell predicted all that.
So I finished Salt by Kurlansky and that is one of the most interesting "history" books I've read in a while. An enjoyable read, well written and engaging. I also finished James Carroll's Constantine's Sword. Just an absolutely fantastic book. A true masterpiece of history and sociological insight. He links such an immense amount of material through not just time, but also the development of civilization, epochs, and even delves into introspection on the human psyche. It's a freeking tome though - long and complex. My only complaint is his tendency to wax entirely too long on his personal memories from his youth, but I forgive him that since they link well with the historical context. I'm also not a fan of authors that, within the text, ask rhetorical questions of the reader. It always feels like a cheap method to introduce your own POV. Still, this was incredible. 20 centuries of history about the church's relation to the jews. From the crucufixion to the holocaust - why it happened, what it means, and what we can do about it.
Last two books read were both by Sam Lipsyte. I enjoyed 'Home Land' so much I had to have more and picked up 'The Ask'. Lipsyte has a truly unique style that is smart and often hilarious and absurd. Both are great reads but 'Home Land' is a real gem.
