Holiday reading
Since I've just got back from a couple of weeks holiday; and my family are very very very tolerant of me sitting and reading all day. Just as well really since that's pretty much what I did (no PC & no mobile signal).
This year it was all fantasy stuff. Normally I get to take a mix of genres but this year it was a collection of random fantasy books that landed in my lap last year that I still hadn’t got around to reading.
I’ve put the books in approximate order of least enjoyment to most enjoyment.
Crossroads - Spirit Gate; Shadow Gate; by Kate Elliott
There are some nice ideas in these books (a triology but I only had the first 2 books) that ought to work well but they just didn’t grab me. I can’t quite put my finger on why not. It could have been the sheer number of characters and story threads; or it could have been the way the writing jumps between the various story threads. The two books, when read back to back did get a bit “samey”. I know I got confused between two different groups of people at one point which didn't help.
I’ve read worse, but I won’t be bothering with the 3rd book in the series. If someone wants to PM me an address I’ll quite happily send the books on (first come first serve). Likes and dislikes are always a personal thing so you may find you like them.
Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombe
A well written book of vengeance and betrayal with a reasonable twist at the end. However I found I didn’t like the main character much which kind of spoiled things a bit. The book did drag a little towards the end and I found myself skipping the odd page simply because I didn’t really care about the characters in the story much.
I was left with the feeling that the central character went through a huge amount of effort to accomplish very little. But maybe that was the point.
If someone wants to PM me an address I’ll quite happily send the book on (first come first serve).
Tales of the Malazan Book of the Fallen - Bonehunters; Reaper’s Gate; by Steven Erikson
These books were 2-3 days apiece. They are long, densely worded, and took a while to work through. I’ve not read any other books in what is probably a series (possibly books 6 and 7) so picking things up in the middle was a bit odd; especially as knowledge of some of the terms used was assumed.
The reading of them was fine but at the end of each one I was left with a feeling of “What the hell just happened? And why did it happen?”. The books seem to explain this away by describing it all as “a war between the gods and their motives are unfathomable” which I found most unsatisfactory. Especially as the impacts of the actions of the “mortals” involved were unexplained.
In summary, the ride was great but left me feeling somewhat empty, but not necessarily hungry for more.
If you’ve got the previous books in the series, but not these and you want them PM me an address and I’ll send them on. Otherwise I think I’ll hang on to them just in case I get given one of the others in the series.
Age of the Five triology – Priestess of the White; Last of the Wilds; Voice of the Gods; by Trudi Canavan
I really enjoyed these three books. There were a couple of interesting twists and turns. And even though I’d figured out what the “big plot twist” was going to be sometime during book 2 it was still interesting to see how it got there. Although the book jumps around a bit between threads (the number of which was kept well under control) and characters the jumps came often enough, with enough diversity between characters, that it was easy to follow the story.
The First Law – The Blade itself; Before They Are Hanged; Last Argument of Kings; by Joe Abercrombe
I actually only had time to finish book 1 and get part of the way through book 2 while on holiday but so far I’m really enjoying this series. Especially since I was expecting them to be somewhat lacking given my opinion of “Best Served Cold”.
The King Killer Chronicle – The Name of the Wind; by Patrick Rothfuss
This is by far and away my favourite book out of everything I read while away. I got completely wrapped up in it. To the point where there may even have been a tiny bit of moisture in the corner of one eye at some point during the book (us oldies empathise with loss and suffering more than you youngsters).
I’m totally looking forward to getting the other books in the series when they get released (2011 for book 2 sadly). I might even pre-order it.
Since I've just got back from a couple of weeks holiday; and my family are very very very tolerant of me sitting and reading all day. Just as well really since that's pretty much what I did (no PC & no mobile signal).
This year it was all fantasy stuff. Normally I get to take a mix of genres but this year it was a collection of random fantasy books that landed in my lap last year that I still hadn’t got around to reading.
I’ve put the books in approximate order of least enjoyment to most enjoyment.
Crossroads - Spirit Gate; Shadow Gate; by Kate Elliott
There are some nice ideas in these books (a triology but I only had the first 2 books) that ought to work well but they just didn’t grab me. I can’t quite put my finger on why not. It could have been the sheer number of characters and story threads; or it could have been the way the writing jumps between the various story threads. The two books, when read back to back did get a bit “samey”. I know I got confused between two different groups of people at one point which didn't help.
I’ve read worse, but I won’t be bothering with the 3rd book in the series. If someone wants to PM me an address I’ll quite happily send the books on (first come first serve). Likes and dislikes are always a personal thing so you may find you like them.
Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombe
A well written book of vengeance and betrayal with a reasonable twist at the end. However I found I didn’t like the main character much which kind of spoiled things a bit. The book did drag a little towards the end and I found myself skipping the odd page simply because I didn’t really care about the characters in the story much.
I was left with the feeling that the central character went through a huge amount of effort to accomplish very little. But maybe that was the point.
If someone wants to PM me an address I’ll quite happily send the book on (first come first serve).
Tales of the Malazan Book of the Fallen - Bonehunters; Reaper’s Gate; by Steven Erikson
These books were 2-3 days apiece. They are long, densely worded, and took a while to work through. I’ve not read any other books in what is probably a series (possibly books 6 and 7) so picking things up in the middle was a bit odd; especially as knowledge of some of the terms used was assumed.
The reading of them was fine but at the end of each one I was left with a feeling of “What the hell just happened? And why did it happen?”. The books seem to explain this away by describing it all as “a war between the gods and their motives are unfathomable” which I found most unsatisfactory. Especially as the impacts of the actions of the “mortals” involved were unexplained.
In summary, the ride was great but left me feeling somewhat empty, but not necessarily hungry for more.
If you’ve got the previous books in the series, but not these and you want them PM me an address and I’ll send them on. Otherwise I think I’ll hang on to them just in case I get given one of the others in the series.
Age of the Five triology – Priestess of the White; Last of the Wilds; Voice of the Gods; by Trudi Canavan
I really enjoyed these three books. There were a couple of interesting twists and turns. And even though I’d figured out what the “big plot twist” was going to be sometime during book 2 it was still interesting to see how it got there. Although the book jumps around a bit between threads (the number of which was kept well under control) and characters the jumps came often enough, with enough diversity between characters, that it was easy to follow the story.
The First Law – The Blade itself; Before They Are Hanged; Last Argument of Kings; by Joe Abercrombe
I actually only had time to finish book 1 and get part of the way through book 2 while on holiday but so far I’m really enjoying this series. Especially since I was expecting them to be somewhat lacking given my opinion of “Best Served Cold”.
The King Killer Chronicle – The Name of the Wind; by Patrick Rothfuss
This is by far and away my favourite book out of everything I read while away. I got completely wrapped up in it. To the point where there may even have been a tiny bit of moisture in the corner of one eye at some point during the book (us oldies empathise with loss and suffering more than you youngsters).
I’m totally looking forward to getting the other books in the series when they get released (2011 for book 2 sadly). I might even pre-order it.
