# What are you reading (Feb 08)?



## Starman (Feb 5, 2008)

I just finished _The Darkness That Comes Before_. It was excellent so I will be diving into the next book, _The Warrior Prophet_. I won't be able to read it as quickly as I like because of school, but I'm sure I will be staying up late a lot to read a few pages.


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## sckeener (Feb 5, 2008)

I'm catching up on my Pathfinders.


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## Darkwolf71 (Feb 5, 2008)

Just ran across _Blaze_ in the grocery store over the weekend. It's the last book Stephen King wrote as Richard Bachman. It's about a small time criminal trying to make a big score. Not bad, but not his best either. I'd only recommend it if you're a fan.


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## S. Baldrick (Feb 5, 2008)

"The Secret of Sinharat" by Leigh Brackett.


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## bento (Feb 5, 2008)

"Star Wars: Heir to the Empire" by Timothy Zahn.  In all my 40+ years I've never read a Star Wars novel, and I heard that this series was one of the best.  

I'll say this about it, when I read the characters' dialog, it sounds like the movies.  The plot so far is so-so, not gripping, but then again, not a snooze-fest.


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## Darkwolf71 (Feb 5, 2008)

bento said:
			
		

> "Star Wars: Heir to the Empire" by Timothy Zahn.  In all my 40+ years I've never read a Star Wars novel, and I heard that this series was one of the best.



It's been years since I read a Star Wars novel, but Zahn is the best at it. Hands down.


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## Shade (Feb 5, 2008)

I just finished "Black God's Kiss" by C.L. Moore from the Planet Stories line.   Good stuff.

Next up is either Brandon Sanderson's "Elantris" or the Elric series.


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## cignus_pfaccari (Feb 5, 2008)

Darkwolf71 said:
			
		

> It's been years since I read a Star Wars novel, but Zahn is the best at it. Hands down.




Yep.  He's very good.  Michael Stackpole writes very serviceable novels as well.

OTOH, anything Kevin Anderson writes is, um, bad.

Brad


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## cignus_pfaccari (Feb 5, 2008)

I'm currently re-reading the Anita Blake books.  I'd be starting # 4 if I hadn't left it at home.

Just finished _Manxome Foe_, by John Ringo and Doc Travis.  Third book in the Looking Glass series, and is pretty good, especially the 



Spoiler



pretty obvious BSG shout-out


.  It's funny and things blow up, both aliens and spaceships.  Quite fun.

I need to pick up David Gemmell's last book, dagnabbit.

Brad


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## Ahzad (Feb 5, 2008)

Just finished REH's Almuric, about 3/4 the way through the Complete Cal Macdonald stories by Steve Niles, and getting ready to start REH's Beyond the Black River the Weird Works of REH #07.


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## Klaus (Feb 6, 2008)




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## Tolen Mar (Feb 6, 2008)

I realised I have outgrown my interest in Stephen King novels, so that whole stack I have is going to the local bookstore.

Instead, I've gotten a copy of 'Good Omens' by Pratchett and Gaiman.

Two of my favorite authors, working on the same book?  This has been on my 'to read' list for some time.


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## Wombat (Feb 6, 2008)

Recently read _Wintersmith _and a collection of Green Man short stories; last night finished a re-read of _His Majesty's Dragon_ with an eye towards reading _Throne of Jade_.


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## BadMojo (Feb 6, 2008)

Shade said:
			
		

> I just finished "Black God's Kiss" by C.L. Moore from the Planet Stories line.   Good stuff.




Wow, you're the second person to recommend that book.  I'll definitely have to check it out.

I'm currently reading China Mieville's "The Scar" but I'll be starting up the third Del Rey Conan collection (Bloody Crown of..., or something like that).


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## Starman (Feb 7, 2008)

BadMojo said:
			
		

> I'm currently reading China Mieville's "The Scar"...




I think that _The Scar_ was probably the best of the Bas-Lag books. _Perdido Street Station_ was great, but there were parts that could drag and the deus-ex-machina ending was a slight let down. _Iron Council_ was likewise excellent, but there were times it felt more like a political tract than a novel. I can't think of anything I didn't like about _The Scar_, though.


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## Mark (Feb 7, 2008)

Lots of Shakespeare.


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## Thunderfoot (Feb 7, 2008)

Hey Mark - I'm currently reading the Norton Anthology of Shakespeare....weird


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## Galethorn (Feb 7, 2008)

Flashman's Lady, for the time being.

Next, I'm going to try to find a copy A Game of Thrones and start rereading the series.


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## Starman (Feb 7, 2008)

bento said:
			
		

> "Star Wars: Heir to the Empire" by Timothy Zahn.  In all my 40+ years I've never read a Star Wars novel, and I heard that this series was one of the best.
> 
> I'll say this about it, when I read the characters' dialog, it sounds like the movies.  The plot so far is so-so, not gripping, but then again, not a snooze-fest.




Zahn's Thrawn trilogy _is_ the best. Just thinking about it makes me want to read it again.


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## Mark (Feb 7, 2008)

Thunderfoot said:
			
		

> Hey Mark - I'm currently reading the Norton Anthology of Shakespeare....weird





Likewise.  Just finshed Titus Andronicus (more bloody then I remembered!) and Antony and Cleopatra (Antony's death cracks me up).  Getting into Richard II, then Henry IV, Part I, and Henry V. After that, Hamlet, Othello and Macbeth.


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## Pozatronic (Feb 7, 2008)

_Lords of the North_ by Bernard Cornwell. The third (fourth is out now) in a series of historical novels set during 9th century England. It's ostensibly about Alfred the Great, but it focus's on a Saxon raised Danish warrior named Uhtred. A great series so far, reads like an adventure novel.

Has anybody heard anything about the novel _Last Dragon_ by J.M. McDermott. It's published by Wizards of the Coast, which would normally make me run the opposite way (sorry, but I can't stand rpg based books, original Dragonlance trilogy exempted). One of my favorite writers, Jeff Vandermeer, has been talking about it on his blog . It's be getting great reviews here and here.


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## Steve Jung (Feb 8, 2008)

I just finished_ Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban._ Now I'm reading_ Glory Days: Bruce Springsteen in the 1980s_ by Dave Marsh. On deck, I have_ The Map that Changed the World: William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology_ by Simon Winchester.


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## replicant2 (Feb 8, 2008)

Pozatronic said:
			
		

> _Lords of the North_ by Bernard Cornwell. The third (fourth is out now) in a series of historical novels set during 9th century England. It's ostensibly about Alfred the Great, but it focus's on a Saxon raised Danish warrior named Uhtred. A great series so far, reads like an adventure novel.




Post your thoughts about this after you've read it, if you wouldn't mind. I've read the first two books and thought they were excellent. The battles are worth it alone.


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## Avarice (Feb 8, 2008)

I just finished the first two books of Jim Butcher's _Dresden Files_ series, and am now kicking myself for not picking them up sooner.  Compulsively page-turning stuff.  Next up is _Desolation Island_, the fifth book in Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series.


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## BadMojo (Feb 8, 2008)

Pozatronic said:
			
		

> Has anybody heard anything about the novel _Last Dragon_ by J.M. McDermott. It's published by Wizards of the Coast, which would normally make me run the opposite way (sorry, but I can't stand rpg based books, original Dragonlance trilogy exempted). One of my favorite writers, Jeff Vandermeer, has been talking about it on his blog .




Wow.  I haven't heard of this book, but you just blew my mind, man.  Didn't know Jeff Vandermeer had a blog, either.  Cool.


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## Pozatronic (Feb 9, 2008)

replicant2 said:
			
		

> Post your thoughts about this after you've read it, if you wouldn't mind. I've read the first two books and thought they were excellent. The battles are worth it alone.




I enjoyed it, although not as much as the previous two. The ending seemed kind of rushed, with some victories being given to some very minor characters (although it made me love one of them just a little bit more). Some of the newer characters he introduces need to be a bit more fleshed out, but I still enjoyed them. I wouldn't call it anti-climactic, but it's not far from that territory. Still, it's worth the read, especially if you liked the other two. There aren't as many battles...in fact, there aren't ANY big battles, but there are several skirmishes that pull the plot along. If the first two were four stars, this one would be three. Far from bad. 

Have you read Cornwells "Warlord" series? They're a more historically bent re-telling of the Arthurian myths and the "Saxon" series is reminding me a lot of that other one. It's better than this is, so far, and if you haven't read it yet, I recommend picking them up as soon as you can. Bernard himself thinks they're the best books he's written.


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## BadMojo (Feb 11, 2008)

Starman said:
			
		

> I think that _The Scar_ was probably the best of the Bas-Lag books. _Perdido Street Station_ was great, but there were parts that could drag and the deus-ex-machina ending was a slight let down. _Iron Council_ was likewise excellent, but there were times it felt more like a political tract than a novel. I can't think of anything I didn't like about _The Scar_, though.




Bellis is becoming an oddly likable protagonist, which is pretty shocking.  It's also nice not to be reminded, every third or fourth  paragraph, how filthy and disgusting New Crobuzon is.  Having read Perdido Street, it's weird to see a sentimental take on NC.


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## Wombat (Feb 13, 2008)

And in a fit of nostalgia, I re-read _Lord Valentine's Castle_ and _Valentine Pontifex_.


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## Tetsubo (Feb 13, 2008)

Monitor: The Story of the Legendary Civil War Ironclad and The Man Whose Invention Changed the Course of History by James T. Dekay


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## Andrew D. Gable (Feb 13, 2008)

_Trials of Hex_ by J. Ross MacGinnis, a lawyer in York (Pa.).  About the witchcraft-inspired murder of Nelson Rehmeyer in 1928 in southern York County.


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## Mallus (Feb 13, 2008)

Wombat said:
			
		

> And in a fit of nostalgia, I re-read _Lord Valentine's Castle_ and _Valentine Pontifex_.



How is Valentine Pontifex? I loved LVC... but couldn't get into Pontifex at all when I tried to read it. I guess I wanted more charmingly exotic travelogue.

Also, I am still reading Pride and Prejudice. 

Also redux: Nova Swing, which I recently finished,  by the sometimes-maligned-around-these-parts M. John Harrison, is a tremendously well-written book, and one of the best SF novels I've read in the past year. I don't think SF readers often associate their genre with nostalgia, but they should...


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## GoodKingJayIII (Feb 13, 2008)

Pozatronic said:
			
		

> _Lords of the North_ by Bernard Cornwell. The third (fourth is out now) in a series of historical novels set during 9th century England. It's ostensibly about Alfred the Great, but it focus's on a Saxon raised Danish warrior named Uhtred. A great series so far, reads like an adventure novel.




I read the first of this series and the style and plot seemed awfully similar to Cornwell's King Arthur trilogy (Winter King, Enemy of God, and Excalibur).  I didn't pursue the rest because I hold his Arthur books in such high regard and I didn't want to find Cornwell was ripping from himself.  If you happen to have read the Arthur series, how do the later books compare?

Currently reading _Eyes of the Dragon_ and _Salem's Lot_.  I am a little obsessed with the Dark Tower, so Stephen King is in right now.  Earlier this month I finished up _One L_ by Scott Turow, a memoir account of his first year at Harvard Law School.


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## GoodKingJayIII (Feb 13, 2008)

double post


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## Pozatronic (Feb 14, 2008)

GoodKingJayIII said:
			
		

> I read the first of this series and the style and plot seemed awfully similar to Cornwell's King Arthur trilogy (Winter King, Enemy of God, and Excalibur).  I didn't pursue the rest because I hold his Arthur books in such high regard and I didn't want to find Cornwell was ripping from himself.  If you happen to have read the Arthur series, how do the later books compare?





Uhtred could be Derfel's rambuncious younger brother. I wouldn't say he's ripping on himself, but the time period can't help but make it a little similiar. I love the Warlord Trilogy, and Bernard Cornwell himself says they are the best books he's ever written. So is it as good? Well, no. But it's still a very good series so far. I say stop comparing it too the other series, and enjoy it for it's own merits.


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## GoodKingJayIII (Feb 14, 2008)

Pozatronic said:
			
		

> Uhtred could be Derfel's rambuncious younger brother. I wouldn't say he's ripping on himself, but the time period can't help but make it a little similiar. I love the Warlord Trilogy, and Bernard Cornwell himself says they are the best books he's ever written. So is it as good? Well, no. But it's still a very good series so far. I say stop comparing it too the other series, and enjoy it for it's own merits.




Cool.  I may give them another shot.  It's tough for me not to compare though; I've reread the Warlord Trilogy a few times now, so I know them pretty well.


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## Wombat (Feb 14, 2008)

Mallus said:
			
		

> How is Valentine Pontifex? I loved LVC... but couldn't get into Pontifex at all when I tried to read it. I guess I wanted more charmingly exotic travelogue.
> 
> Also, I am still reading Pride and Prejudice.




VP is not as good as LVC, but it is very pleasant.  The problem with LVC is that it is obviously incomplete on its own (I won't go into spoilers at the moment) and while VP (and _Majipoor Chronicles_) fill out the story and help complete the vision of the world, none of them are nearly as charming as the first.  OTOH, they are very quick reads.

And P&P is a great book, too.


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## HeavenShallBurn (Feb 16, 2008)

I just lucked across a couple of rarish OOP history books at a Half-Price Books.

Currently on _Prehistory of Australia_ interesting stuff even if it's dated.  Still more info on the topic than I've been able to catch in a single chunk anywhere else.  Doesn't get nearly enough attention.

Next up is _A complete History of Europe_ oxford press printed in the 30s.  That one will probably be a riot at times but Oxford press histories tend to be some of the best and I have enough of a base in current knowledge to weed through the period stuff for diamonds.

And another newer one that looks both controversial and interesting.  No dust-jacket, title or ISBN.  Talks in great detail about oddities in the archaeological record in the Americas and the possibility that various peoples may've had failed temporary settlements in the Americas pre-Columbus.  Reads like an extended academic paper or maybe a doctoral thesis.


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## Lazybones (Feb 16, 2008)

Just finished Varley's _Steel Beach_. Very thought-provoking book about life in a society with an all-powerful "benevolent" computer running things.

I'm about to head to the library to pick up Glen Cook's _Annals of the Black Company_ and _Shaman's Crossing_ by Robin Hobb. I have Brandon Sanderson's _Well of Ascension_ on order; while I did not enjoy _Mistborn_ as much as I did _Elantris_, the series did interest me enough to decide to move forward with it. I think the downfall of the series is that the protagonist and primary foes are so all-powerful that all of the other characters (and to some degree, the setting) seem uninteresting by comparison. I've heard some interesting things about book 2 so we'll see how it goes.

I'm also reading a very interesting non-fiction book called _The Overachievers: The Secret Lives of Driven Kids_ by Alexandra Robbins. I've read a lot of books about how screwed up our education system is for the poor, but this book casts a hard look at the challenges rich kids often face as they are driven to succeed (often in highly destructive ways).


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## Ebon Shar (Feb 16, 2008)

I've just finished "Dies the Fire" and "The Protector's War" by SM Stirling.  Though it took me a while to get into these books, I'm glad I stuck with them.  They are excellent.  I'd love to play in a good D20 Modern campaign in this world.

I've also just started reading "Mistborn" by Brandon Sanderson.  After hearing that he will be finishing Jordan's bloated epic, I was curious as to his style.  So far, the world-building and magic system are pretty interesting, but the character's seem right out of a bad Eberron book.  We'll see....


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## Wombat (Feb 17, 2008)

GAK!  The Reading Bug is really in me -- now on to a re-read of _Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell_!


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## Panthanas (Feb 17, 2008)

I just started Feast of Souls by C. S. Friedman.


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## Krug (Feb 18, 2008)

Ebon Shar said:
			
		

> I've also just started reading "Mistborn" by Brandon Sanderson.  After hearing that he will be finishing Jordan's bloated epic, I was curious as to his style.  So far, the world-building and magic system are pretty interesting, but the character's seem right out of a bad Eberron book.  We'll see....




I'm reading that as well. The world is intriguing, though the whole 'assemble-a-team' thing is kinda cliche. 

Probably will pick up Dan Simmons' *The Terror* before I go off on a trip to China. Cold nights so would be best to be holed up with a book.


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## Bloodcookie (Feb 18, 2008)

Well, I finished _The Code of the Streets_ (nonfiction, sociology; a well-done, extensive, if not _extremely_ deep, ethnography of Philadelphia's poor and the underground economy) and _The Rite_ (part 2 of the Year of Rogue Dragons trilogy of Forgotten Realms novels; I found the two primary protagonists beginning to annoy me, though I still enjoy most of the supporting cast, and this book seemed to have more game-terminology creeping into it than the first one - here's hoping part 3 improves).

I'm now reading _A Brief History of the Druids_ by Peter Berresford Ellis (nonfiction, history). It seems to be a good analysis of classical and modern historical (mis)conceptions of various aspects of Celtic culture.


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## KaosDevice (Feb 18, 2008)

_99 Coffins_ by David Wellington. A decent follow up to _13 Bullets_ , with some fun historical stuff thrown in.


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## Pants (Feb 18, 2008)

Working my way through Erikson's _The Bonehunters_.

Much, much better than _Midnight Tides_ and _House of Chains_ so far.

Next up, Cormac McCarthy's _The Road_. Been hearing good things about it.


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## Umbran (Feb 18, 2008)

I'm a few stories into Harlan Ellison's anthology _Shatterday_.  Wonderful book, and the introductory material with the stories is as good as the stories themselves.


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## S. Baldrick (Feb 18, 2008)

"Black God's Kiss" by C.L. Moore from Paizo's Planet Stories line.


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## Ebon Shar (Feb 18, 2008)

Pants said:
			
		

> Next up, Cormac McCarthy's _The Road_. Been hearing good things about it.





I loved it, but it took me a few chapters to get my head around his writing style.


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## Mistwell (Feb 18, 2008)

Blood Follows by Stephen Erikson.  Almost done with it (it's short).


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## Mistwell (Feb 18, 2008)

Pants said:
			
		

> Working my way through Erikson's _The Bonehunters_.
> 
> Much, much better than _Midnight Tides_ and _House of Chains_ so far.
> 
> Next up, Cormac McCarthy's _The Road_. Been hearing good things about it.




I am about to move on to Midnight Tides.

House of Chains was, sometimes, a rough going.  Overall I still liked it.  I hope I like Midnight Tides.


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## Mallus (Feb 18, 2008)

Mistwell said:
			
		

> House of Chains was, sometimes, a rough going.  Overall I still liked it.  I hope I like Midnight Tides.



Midnight Tides has two of Erickson's best... well, most likable/entertaining characters, plus an interesting new venue for the action. I found it much easier to get into than the daunting "All Karsa, all the time ("Attend! I'm parodying Conan. Sort of!")" first act of HoC. Actually, I enjoyed MT far more overall.


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## Pozatronic (Feb 19, 2008)

Let me ask all you Erickson readers a question: Do you need to read these books in order? Is it a full fledged series, or is it more episodic?  Can you start with any one of them, or do you need to read "Gardens of the Moon" (or whatever it's called) first. Because I couldn't get through that one. I just could not get into it. But I keep on hearing how great it is from everybody, and I know all the descriptions I read of the various titles make it sound interesting, but man, after the first twenty or so pages of that first one it went downhill fast for me, and by the time that little animated doll started walking around I closed it's covers.

And speaking of covers, I won't even mention how awful that first one is. I try not to let that effect my opinion of the book, because I know it's not the authors fault.


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## Mistwell (Feb 19, 2008)

Pozatronic said:
			
		

> Let me ask all you Erickson readers a question: Do you need to read these books in order? Is it a full fledged series, or is it more episodic?  Can you start with any one of them, or do you need to read "Gardens of the Moon" (or whatever it's called) first. Because I couldn't get through that one. I just could not get into it. But I keep on hearing how great it is from everybody, and I know all the descriptions I read of the various titles make it sound interesting, but man, after the first twenty or so pages of that first one it went downhill fast for me, and by the time that little animated doll started walking around I closed it's covers.
> 
> And speaking of covers, I won't even mention how awful that first one is. I try not to let that effect my opinion of the book, because I know it's not the authors fault.




First, I had the same problem you did.  The first half of the first book was really bad in my opinion (though in retrospect better than I thought at the time).   I just grit my teeth and bared it until I finally got to the good part about half way through (though I also failed the first time through, and restarted it years later).  I now love the series however, despite it's many flaws.

You do not need to read them all in order.  However, some are directly related to others.  They are continent-themed for the most part.

You could start with Deadhouse Gates, then go to House of Chains, then Bonehunters (I believe).  Those are all "subcontinent of Seven Cities" themed.

Meanwhile, Gardens of the Moon and Memories of Ice are "continent of Genabackis" themed.

A third possible entry point is apparently Midnight Tides, which is apparently on yet a third continent (and earlier than the first book in the series).


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## Tolen Mar (Feb 19, 2008)

Ebon Shar said:
			
		

> I loved it, but it took me a few chapters to get my head around his writing style.




See...I just couldn't get past his style long enough to enjoy any of his work.


On the other hand, I have a clear slate for now, more or less.  I just finished Good Omens by Pratchett and Gaiman.  Every bit as fun as I expected from those two.  I wish they'd work together more often.

That leaves me with my stack of Alternity books.  I've been eying this game for some time now, and I am going to switch to it for our last four sessions as a group before the split.  We've been running SilCORE lately, and we've found it to be TOO simple.  So I've redrafted the PC's as closely as the rules allow (which wasn't all that hard), and we'll continue the same setting and story arc.  I've been just loving the Dark*Matter book so far.  I figure my next read will be 'Beyond Science,' on the off chance we need arcane powers.


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## megamania (Feb 19, 2008)

The Dreaming dark Trilogy by Mr. Eberron himself.


First book was okay.   Second is getting better.   Hope third is better yet.


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## Knightfall (Feb 19, 2008)

Well, I'm going to be writing a forensic argument for my Rhetoric class on the death of Julius Caesar so I've been reading parts of _Caesar: Life of a Colossus_ by Adrian Goldsworthy and a website version (English translation, of course) of _The Life of Julius Caesar_ by C. Suetonius Tranquillus, which is Book I of his _The Lives of the Caesars_.


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## Megaton (Feb 19, 2008)

I'm reading the complete works of Edgar Allan Poe. Some of the stories have a hard time keeping my attention, but I really enjoy most of it.


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## Bloodcookie (Feb 20, 2008)

Well, I finished _A Brief History of the Druids_, and now I'm reading Ed Greenwood's _The Temptation of Elminster_. I really have to be in a certain mood to enjoy Greenwood's fiction, but when I am, I really do


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## BadMojo (Feb 20, 2008)

Megaton said:
			
		

> I'm reading the complete works of Edgar Allan Poe. Some of the stories have a hard time keeping my attention, but I really enjoy most of it.




If you're skipping the poems (I hope not), give "Ulalume" a try.  That's a good one.  One of my favorites, actually.

It never really clicked for me until I heard Jeff Buckley read it on "Closed on Account of Rabies", a very cool two CD set of various famous folks reading Poe.  Christopher Walken reads "The Raven".  Seriously.


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## Tolen Mar (Feb 20, 2008)

Anyone here read 'Crystal Rain' by Tobias Buckell?  I picked it up from the library yesterday.  I'm hooked, though I haven't made it very far.

My internal reader keeps stumbling over the 'native' accent, bit I can push past that I think, especially since I just read a seriously creepy chapter earlier.  I mean I kept imagining how it would play out on screen.  Way cool.

First impression:  I will definately have to look for the sequal.


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## Banshee16 (Feb 20, 2008)

I just finished Midnight Tides, and am working on Shadow Games, by Glen Cook.

Banshee


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## Banshee16 (Feb 20, 2008)

HeavenShallBurn said:
			
		

> And another newer one that looks both controversial and interesting.  No dust-jacket, title or ISBN.  Talks in great detail about oddities in the archaeological record in the Americas and the possibility that various peoples may've had failed temporary settlements in the Americas pre-Columbus.  Reads like an extended academic paper or maybe a doctoral thesis.




Such as the the Viking settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland?

Banshee


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## HeavenShallBurn (Feb 21, 2008)

Banshee16 said:
			
		

> Such as the the Viking settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland?
> 
> Banshee



One among many.  It points out a series of unattributable stone ruins and paved street on Cape Breton Island.  They aren't from any of the early settlements and were in fact remarked upon by Cabot who discovered them as well as the next two explorers to stop there well before Europeans began using the location.  A couple more ruins whose origin doesn't match up.  Also the potential for a short-lived Chinese settlement on the West Coast.  Haven't reached as far as the last part yet.  This is really dense reading.  I think it's somebody's doctoral thesis re-edited into book form.


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## Tetsubo (Feb 21, 2008)

The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts by Maxine Hong Kingston


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## Megaton (Feb 22, 2008)

BadMojo said:
			
		

> If you're skipping the poems (I hope not), give "Ulalume" a try.  That's a good one.  One of my favorites, actually.
> 
> It never really clicked for me until I heard Jeff Buckley read it on "Closed on Account of Rabies", a very cool two CD set of various famous folks reading Poe.  Christopher Walken reads "The Raven".  Seriously.




Don't worry, I'm reading everything, but I'm going through the short stories first. I haven't heard of those CDs, but Walken reading Poe must be awesome.


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## Richards (Feb 23, 2008)

_Mars_, by Ben Bova, detailing the first manned expedition to the red planet.  I'm over halfway done, and it's been really good thus far.

Johnathan


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## Liminal Syzygy (Feb 24, 2008)

_Brasyl _by Ian McDonald. I decided to read it as it's made an appearance on several best of the year list. McDonald throws in a lot of Brazilian Portuguese terms, which can make it tough going at times, but I'm about a 100 pages in -- and I can see why people are making a fuss about it now. There are three threads, one hundreds of years in the past, one in modern times, and one in the 2030s. I assume at some point they will intersect.

I wasn't very excited by _River of Gods_, his "India in 2049" novel, but after reading a short story prequel in one of the Best of... anthologies and then this, I know what's next on my list.


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## S. Baldrick (Feb 25, 2008)

"Iron Kissed" (Mercy Thompson, Book 3) by Patricia Briggs.


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## Hand of Evil (Feb 25, 2008)

Rebel Fay - book 5 of the Noble Dead by Barb & JC Handee


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## Tolen Mar (Feb 26, 2008)

Robert A. Heinlein 2X: Revolt in 2100 / Methuselah's Children


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## Mistwell (Feb 26, 2008)

Banshee16 said:
			
		

> I just finished Midnight Tides, and am working on Shadow Games, by Glen Cook.
> 
> Banshee




So how did you like it?

I am working on it...slowly.  I liked Trull Sengar from the prior books, so I am happy to see him.  But, still, I am struggling to get into the book (which is typical for me with Erikson).


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## Mallus (Feb 27, 2008)

Mistwell said:
			
		

> I liked Trull Sengar from the prior books, so I am happy to see him.  But, still, I am struggling to get into the book (which is typical for me with Erikson).



How do you like Tehol and Bugg?


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## Shag (Feb 28, 2008)

Readin the Night Watch series by Sergei Lukyanenko, I was really surprised how good it is, and by page 88 was amazed that white wolf hadn't bought the rights to the series. 

The movies based on the book are pretty bad though, especially compared to the books.


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## Tolen Mar (Feb 28, 2008)

We (my wife and I) just tried to watch Night Watch.  We didn't make it more than halfway through.  It looked like it was a solid concept, but we just couldn't understand most of the dialogue.  It seemed like they spent most of the time either whispering or with way too much echo for us to understand it.

It looked cool though.

Maybe I'll look around for the books.


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## Chaldfont (Feb 28, 2008)

If you like Mike Mignola's Hellboy, you'll like his new book _Baltimore, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire_. He and Christopher Golden wrote it. I don't know which had a greater hand in the writing, but it really captures the feel of Mignola's art. The many illustrations don't hurt either. I started this book yesterday and I'll probably finish it today--it's just that good.


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## KaosDevice (Feb 29, 2008)

I just finished '99 Coffins' by david Wellington and enjoyed it. A worthy follow up to '13 Bullets'. I am still working my way through the 'High Seas Cthulhu' collection which has been mixed but occasionally great.


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## Jakar (Feb 29, 2008)

I picked up the new Culture book by Iain M Banks today called "Matter".  I am just about to have tea and then sit down for a Friday night of reading and music.


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