I found Cryptonomicon to excruciatingly slow and actually rather boring...stopped about 3/4 through it Reamde is better....imho.
I loved the plot of Cryptnomicon, but Stephenson's schizophrenic writing style was hard to digest. The story itself was pretty epic, and one that I still think about from time to time nearly a decade after I read the book.
Just finished all the George Smiley books by John le Carre (The Spy Who Came In From the Cold, A Murder of Quality, Call for the Dead, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Smiley's People; still need to read Honourable Schoolboy). Before those, I'd read Battle Cry of Freedom. Great Civil War book. Which led me to just start (yesterday) "Team of Rivals", about Lincoln and his cabinet members. Part of this book inspired the film "Lincoln". I love my Amazon Kindle. And Amazon? They're loving me.
The Norman Maclean Reader, a collection of essays and letters by the author of A River Runs Through It and Young Men and Fire. Man, the guy is a beautiful writer.
Been waiting on this book for a couple of years and it finally came out this week... The Esperanza Fire: Arson, Murder, and the Agony of Engine 57 If you're at all interested in Wildland firefighting, Maclean (son of Norman) has some great books out. Here's my in order fire reading list for laypeople: Young Men and Fire by Norman Maclean Fire on the Rim: A Firefighter's Season at the Grand Canyon by Stephen Pyne Fire on the Mountain: The True Story of the South Canyon Fire by John Maclean
I just started reading the Star Force Series by BV Larson. I'm not a big reader but after reading these threads all these years I decided to pick up the hunger games (since the movie was out and all too) and knocked out the trilogy in a week. Then I picked up game of thrones and read that (took much longer than a week, lol). Thought I'd try something sci-fi after that. I've really liked the writing by Larson, it's a pretty easy read and he keeps things moving along well. Read the first book, "Swarm", and almost done with the 2nd, "Extinction". Good stuff.
Spoiler Just finished this book though I am a recent reader of this series having just started about a year ago. I thought it was mostly enjoyable, but some of the tactics and plot resolutions did irk me. For instance, why in the world were all these heroes completely surprised and outmaneuvered by the Forsakens' use of compulsion? They have suffered its devastating effects in the past, so why would they not anticipate this? Also, Perrin's sudden ability to phase in and out of the dreamworld was basically glossed over. Or maybe I missed something, but it just seemed like a lot of hand-waiving even in the context of a fantasy series. The manner of Egwene's death seemed a bit out of character for someone who is supposed to have so much discipline and control. I suppose it can be justified due to the desperation of the situation, but it just didn't sit right with me. One of the worst plot resolutions though, was the death of Padan Fain. This is a character who has been a thorn in the side of everyone for the entire series and is supposed to be extremely dangerous. Then he's disposed of like some sort of annoying bug. Very anti-climactic and disappointing. Demonadred was also kind of an idiot to me. I don't know why he couldn't conceive of Mat being the general behind the battle. I thought he knew who he was, but maybe he didn't know he was gifted with all the battle experience? Still, sitting there demanding a duel with Lews Therin for half the book got a bit irritating. Despite these flaws I still couldn't put the book down, and I still ended up with a decently satisfied feeling after reading it.
Just finished "A Little Princess" by Frances Hodgeson Burnett. One of the best stories ever. I've seen so many adaptations of it but never read the book and it was even better. Sara's a much more powerful character.
I should finish The Book Thief within the next day or two. It's really picked up after what I thought was a somewhat disappointing start. Very much enjoying it now. I saw a mention of "The Fifth Assasin" one night on CNN and ordered it on a whim. Anyone read it? I'll be moving to it next. Reviews on Amazon are less than stellar.
I read "The Talisman" by Stephen King and Peter Strauss about 25 years ago and liked it. I was wondering if anyone has ever read this AND more importantly the sequel "Black House". If so would like to hear your thoughts before I take the plunge. Thanks!
Just started it. If you haven't read The Inner Circle, you should read it first as this is a sequel. Meltzer does a good job of reminding you what happened, however, for character development and more details, you should read this one second. It is a typical Brad Meltzer book. If you like him and the original story, I suspect you will like this one.
