# [October] What are you reading?



## Nellisir (Oct 1, 2012)

You know the drill.


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## delericho (Oct 1, 2012)

Just finishing up "Master and Commander" by Patrick O'Brian. Next up will be the latest Pathfinder, "Curse of the Lady's Light", which arrived at the weekend.

The rest of this month's books are "Guards! Guards!" by Pratchett, "Jane Eyre" by Bronte, "Winter Witch" by Cunningham, and (hopefully) "Post Captain" by O'Brian.


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## Dioltach (Oct 1, 2012)

Just finished _A Dance with Dragons_ by GRRM and _Agent of Rome: Siege_ by Nick Brown. Now I'm reading _Lord Foul's Bane_ by Stephen R. Donaldson (I tried to read it years ago as a teenager and didn't enjoy it, but I'm hoping that it will be more to my taste this time round) and _Among Thieves_ by Douglas Hulick.


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## John Q. Mayhem (Oct 1, 2012)

I just finished a reread of _The Princess Bride_. Good stuff!


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## Stumblewyk (Oct 1, 2012)

_Dies the Fire_, by S.M. Stirling.  Then _Blackout_, by Mira Grant.


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## Nellisir (Oct 1, 2012)

Has anyone read _Agnes Grey_?  I read _Wuthering Heights_ last week, and _Jane Eyre_ is always on the list...but what about the third sister?  I've never heard of anyone reading Anne Bronte's novel, but I haven't heard that it was terrible either.


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## Altamont Ravenard (Oct 1, 2012)

Deep into Forge of Darkness (Steven Erickson's 1st book from his new Tiste Andii trilogy). Not sure after that one is done. Been meaning to read a music theory book.

AR


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## Crothian (Oct 1, 2012)

John Q. Mayhem said:


> I just finished a reread of _The Princess Bride_. Good stuff!




Hopefully the original by S. Morgenstern and not that cut up version William Goldman put out.  



Stumblewyk said:


> Then _Blackout_, by Mira Grant.




Best Zombie books I've read and I've read a lot of them.  Seanan McGuire (real name of Mira Grant) is also fast becoming one of my all time favorite authors.  

I'm currently reading _Thirteen_ by Kelley Armstrong, it is the last in her Otherworld series that has been a good series of urban fantasy characters.  What I like about many of her books in the series is they can be read as stand alone books as the meta plot is very light in most of them.


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## Stouthart (Oct 1, 2012)

I'm currently reading two books:

-The Hammer and the Blade by Paul S. Kemp
-The Archer's Tale by Bernard Cornwell

The Hammer and the Blade is fun brain-candy fantasy. It has a very strong 'RPG Adventure/Module' vibe. Pretty one-dimensional across the board but enjoyable.

The Archer's Tale is set during the 100 Years War and is about a young archer who set's out on a mission of revenge after his whole village is wiped out by raiders. Pretty good so far. I'm a fan of Cornwell's other historical fiction series. I've read all of the Saxon Chronicles and Starbuck Chronicles, and a handful of the Sharpe books.

Also reading numerous comic book trades.


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## Stouthart (Oct 1, 2012)

Dioltach said:


> Just finished _A Dance with Dragons_ by GRRM and _Agent of Rome: Siege_ by Nick Brown. Now I'm reading _Lord Foul's Bane_ by Stephen R. Donaldson (I tried to read it years ago as a teenager and didn't enjoy it, but I'm hoping that it will be more to my taste this time round) and _Among Thieves_ by Douglas Hulick.




I enjoyed Among Thieves and can't wait for the next book in the series. 

And I would recommend you hang in there with Lord Foul's Bane. The original Thomas Covenant trilogy is outstanding.


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## Desdichado (Oct 1, 2012)

Just finished (today!) _Voracious_ by Alice Henderson, which I freely admit I mostly only read because it takes place in Glacier National Park, which is one of my favorite places in the whole world.

After that, I've got a re-read of Jim Butcher's _Turn Coat_ scheduled.  I might go on and finish the series after that, or I might turn aside and read the Monster Hunter International series, which a friend just lent to me.

If I finish all that and there's still time left in the month, I'll probably read the Soloman Kane or Kull collections by Robert E. Howard, and then the Vampire Wars trilogy set in the Warhammer World by Steven Savile (I've had the omnibus version sitting on my shelf for quite some time.)


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## John Q. Mayhem (Oct 1, 2012)

Crothian said:


> Hopefully the original by S. Morgenstern and not that cut up version William Goldman put out.




You don't want to know how long I spent as a young teen trying to find an unabridged version of that book.


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## Stumblewyk (Oct 1, 2012)

Crothian said:


> Best Zombie books I've read and I've read a lot of them.  Seanan McGuire (real name of Mira Grant) is also fast becoming one of my all time favorite authors.



 Oh, absolutely.  It's readily apparent that Grant/McGuire did more than her fair share of research into virology and pathology before diving into the books, and there's so, so, so much more to the storyline than "zombies rise, humanity fights back and tries to preserve what normalcy it can."

And the best part is that they're quick reads too.  I blazed through most of _Deadline_ in a weekend.


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## delericho (Oct 2, 2012)

Nellisir said:


> Has anyone read _Agnes Grey_?  I read _Wuthering Heights_ last week, and _Jane Eyre_ is always on the list...but what about the third sister?  I've never heard of anyone reading Anne Bronte's novel, but I haven't heard that it was terrible either.




She also wrote "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall". I haven't read either, but we have a copy of Wildfell here, so I may get to it at some point.

Edit: Okay, I asked my wife (to whom it belongs) about it, and she says its, eh, all right. Not great, not rubbish. Just all right.


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## Nellisir (Oct 2, 2012)

I finished _The Unincorporated Man_.  Don't read it.  I will not lend you my copy.  I will very soon not have a copy. 

Started _The Talented Mr Ripley_, but only a few pages in and don't know if I'll stick with it right now.  Also started _The Neverending Story_, ditto.  Not really in the mood for either of them.


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## Libramarian (Oct 2, 2012)

I've just started reading Jack Vance's _Lyonesse_, and every now and then a collection of Gene Wolfe's short fiction. After that I am thinking _Fevre Dream_ by George R.R. Martin.

Although I also want to read some cyberpunk, as I haven't read anything in that genre and I have a copy of Cyberpunk 2020 that wants to be played some day. Anyone have a few books to recommend? Is there anything good/important not written by William Gibson?


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## Krug (Oct 2, 2012)

Just finished *Gone Girl*, a bestselling thriller that's pretty well-written and has some very good, if contrived, twists. Things almost get satirical at the end, and I like the book's wicked edge. 

Next up is Katherine Boo's *Behind The Beautiful Forevers*. Also have the first isue of Nightmare Magazine, which I contributed to in a Kickstarter campaign.


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## Nellisir (Oct 3, 2012)

Libramarian said:


> Although I also want to read some cyberpunk, as I haven't read anything in that genre and I have a copy of Cyberpunk 2020 that wants to be played some day. Anyone have a few books to recommend? Is there anything good/important not written by William Gibson?




Well, _Neuromancer_ is the classic starting point, and its sequel (_Count Zero_, _Mona Lisa Overdrive_) are excellent as well.  I'd also look for _Burning Chrome_, a short-story collection that includes Johnny Mnemonic and a number of other stories in the same universe.  After that?  _Snow Crash_, _When Gravity Fails_, and _River of Gods_.  I'd throw in _Rainbow's End_, by Vernor Vinge, as well. 

There's a very fine line between cyberpunk and "AI" fiction.  _Neuromancer_ and _Snow Crash_ fall on the hacker end; _River of Gods_ and _Rainbow's End_ are on the other.  _When Gravity Fails_ is somewhere in between.

_When Gravity Fails_ is probably an excellent resource for a cyberpunk campaign, now that I think about it.  The characters are a lot grittier and lower-class than the other books go (transgendered prostitute dancers, thugs, and crooks, among others).  It's the first book in a series, but the strongest and stands well alone.


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## Nellisir (Oct 3, 2012)

Started _Soulless_, the first book of the Parasol Protectorate, by Gail Carriger.  Good so far.


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## Gilladian (Oct 3, 2012)

Just read the graphic novelization of A Wrinkle in Time, done by Hope Larson. It's very good, preserves the tone and feel of the novel quite well. Also read most of Mark Siegel's Sailor Twain or The Mermaid in the Hudson. Didn't care for it. Despite the fabulous reviews, I thought it was trite and predictable, and I couldn't keep the characters straight. But it was very nicely drawn, I'll say that.

I'm two-thirds of the way through Skyfall by Meagan Spooner. It's another dystopian YA, a sort of Hunger Games variant in a loose sense; the heroine escapes from her enclosed nation into wilderness and is pursued by evil government forces; will she find the survivors before she's dragged down? Of course it is the first of a series... but so far the heroine is good, if a little feckless, and I like the world-building.


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## Stouthart (Oct 3, 2012)

Nellisir said:


> Well, _Neuromancer_ is the classic starting point, and its sequel (_Count Zero_, _Mona Lisa Overdrive_) are excellent as well.  I'd also look for _Burning Chrome_, a short-story collection that includes Johnny Mnemonic and a number of other stories in the same universe.  After that?  _Snow Crash_, _When Gravity Fails_, and _River of Gods_.  I'd throw in _Rainbow's End_, by Vernor Vinge, as well.
> 
> There's a very fine line between cyberpunk and "AI" fiction.  _Neuromancer_ and _Snow Crash_ fall on the hacker end; _River of Gods_ and _Rainbow's End_ are on the other.  _When Gravity Fails_ is somewhere in between.
> 
> _When Gravity Fails_ is probably an excellent resource for a cyberpunk campaign, now that I think about it.  The characters are a lot grittier and lower-class than the other books go (transgendered prostitute dancers, thugs, and crooks, among others).  It's the first book in a series, but the strongest and stands well alone.




I agree with Nellisir on these recommendations. I would also add the Takeshi Kovacs novels by Richard K. Morgan. Especially the first one, _Altered Carbon_- one of my favorite cyberpunk novels.

And while not strictly cyberpunk, _Ready Player One_ by Ernest Cline does take place almost exclusively in a virtual universe (i.e.cyberspace.) Very fun read, doubly so if you are a child of the 80s.

Stouthart


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## Nellisir (Oct 4, 2012)

Stouthart said:


> I would also add the Takeshi Kovacs novels by Richard K. Morgan. Especially the first one, _Altered Carbon_- one of my favorite cyberpunk novels.




I've read one of those, and quite enjoyed it.  Unfortunately, I can't remember which one, which is frustrating at the bookstore.

Getting even further away from cyberpunk, the Cassandra Kresnov books by Joel Shepherd are, I think, in the same vein as the Takeshi Kovac books.  Probably heavier on the combat (she's a kickass android.  Falls out of high buildings, runs 100+ mph, throws small vehicles).


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## Mercutio01 (Oct 4, 2012)

Still reading _11/22/63_ (a little over halfway through). The Derry stuff was more interesting to me than the part about Jodie, TX. I'm losing interest in _The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo_ and might just give up on it and move into the other books next to my bed. Jim Butcher's _Academ's Fury_ is on top of that stack.


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## Stouthart (Oct 4, 2012)

Nellisir said:


> Getting even further away from cyberpunk, the Cassandra Kresnov books by Joel Shepherd are, I think, in the same vein as the Takeshi Kovac books.  Probably heavier on the combat (she's a kickass android.  Falls out of high buildings, runs 100+ mph, throws small vehicles).




I read the first book in this series when it was released a few years ago. Another good read I would recommend.

Stouthart


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## Crothian (Oct 4, 2012)

I finished _Bones are Forever_ the latest Temperance Brennan novel that the Bones TV show is loosely based on.  It was pretty good, but not great.  It was quick and dealt with what some would call tough subjects.


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## Richards (Oct 5, 2012)

I picked up about a dozen of the _Destroyer_ novels for a dime apiece.  Remo Williams, Chiun, Sinanju - they're as enjoyable (in a mindless fun sort of way) as they were a few decades ago when I read them voraciously.

Johnathan


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## LeStew (Oct 5, 2012)

I just recently started The Dresden Files.  (i've been under a rock for the past.....life) so I'm reading those as fast as I can...  Currently on Summer Knight (book 4)  Might get through Book 4 and book 5 before November comes


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## Karak (Oct 5, 2012)

Working through David Gemmels books one by one. For like the 100th time. I love his characters.


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## John Q. Mayhem (Oct 5, 2012)

I realized a while back that despite owning many copies of LotR and the Silmarillion, neither my wife nor I owned The Hobbit. I rectified that situation yesterday with the gorgeous green collector's edition. I'm only a couple of chapters in. Awesome stuff


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## Dioltach (Oct 5, 2012)

Stouthart said:


> I enjoyed Among Thieves and can't wait for the next book in the series.




I enjoyed it immensely, too. The description of darkvision is very good, perhaps the best I've come across.


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## Ebon Shar (Oct 6, 2012)

Richards said:


> I picked up about a dozen of the _Destroyer_ novels for a dime apiece.  Remo Williams, Chiun, Sinanju - they're as enjoyable (in a mindless fun sort of way) as they were a few decades ago when I read them voraciously.
> 
> Johnathan




I got pretty heavy into the Mack Bolan books in my youth.  Same mindless violence.  Each book has essentially the same plot, just more and creative ways for Mack to kill people.


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## Nellisir (Oct 7, 2012)

I finished _Soulless_ a few days ago, and then read _Daybreak Zero_, book two of a post-apocalyptic trilogy by steven barnes.  Both good books.  I bought _Ready Player One_ and started it, but left it at home yesterday, so it'll be a few days before I can finish it.


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## Stouthart (Oct 8, 2012)

Nellisir said:


> ...I bought _Ready Player One_ and started it, but left it at home yesterday, so it'll be a few days before I can finish it.




If this is your first time reading this, I believe you are in for a treat. I _loved_ this book. It's one of the few where I finished it the first time and I immediately turned back to the first page for a second read... and then did the same for a third. Yes, I read this book *three* times in a row.

Also, finished _The Hammer and the Blade_. Moving on to _Dead City_ by  Joe McKinney- I'm a sucker for zombie fiction. See if it can compare to some of my genre favs- Brian Keene's zombie novels and the _Day by Day Armageddon_ novels by J. L. Bourne.

Stouthart


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## Elodan (Oct 9, 2012)

Fished Deathwish by Rob Thurman; the 4th Cal Leandros novel.  Thought is was an improvement on the 3rd  but feel that the series is losing steam.

About 100 pages into Citadels of the Lost: The Annals of Drakhis Book 2 by Tracy Hickman.  Picks up right were book one left off.  Fun read so far.


Also picked up a bunch of volume ones of  DCs new 52 that interested me:
 * Superman: Action Comics.  My favorite of the bunch.  Interesting to see a somewhat powered down Superman.
 * Batman.  Haven't read a Batman story in a while.  Really liked it although I felt the story dragged a little at one point.
 * Superboy.  Good take on a familiar story.  
 * Batgirl.  Villains were a letdown but I liked Barbara's internal struggles while trying to reclaim her cowl and her new roommate.


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## Stouthart (Oct 9, 2012)

Elodan said:


> Also picked up a bunch of volume ones of  DCs new 52 that interested me:
> * Superman: Action Comics.  My favorite of the bunch.  Interesting to see a somewhat powered down Superman.
> * Batman.  Haven't read a Batman story in a while.  Really liked it although I felt the story dragged a little at one point.




I am thoroughly enjoying both of these titles-  especially Grant Morrison's _Action Comics_.

I would recommend you check out _Batman, Inc._ If you decide to, start with the pre-New 52 volumes (i think there are two.) They lead directly into the new series that just started a few months ago.


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## Krug (Oct 9, 2012)

Liked *Behind the Beautiful Forevers*. Brutal look at the lives of slum dwellers in Mumbai.

Finished Guy Delisle's *Jerusalem*, which I didn't like as much as his *Burma Chronicles*.

Next up is Colson Whitehead's literary zombie novel *Zone One*. Heard him speak recently at a festival in Bali, and was intrigued.


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## Someone (Oct 9, 2012)

Just finished _"El enredo de la bolsa y la vida"_, fourth in the series written by Eduardo Mendoza about a destitute felon forced by various circumstances to solve crimes in Barcelona from the late 70s (first book) to now (fourth book).

As always, a hilarious and excellent read. I recommend it if you can read Spanish. The other books are _"El misterio de la cripta embrujada", "El laberinto de las aceitunas"_ and _"La aventura del tocador de señoras"_.


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## Nellisir (Oct 10, 2012)

Finished _Ready Player One_ last night; read _Marsbound_ today.

I'll be blunt: I thought RP1 was a decent freshman effort, but lacked character depth, any really interesting plot twists, and the shoehorning in of current popular geek culture topics and personalities was annoying (Cory Doctorow and Wil Wheaton as official elected leaders of the Internet?  Really?).  The token black female lesbian was so token as to possibly be intentional.  And the setting was...thin.

That sounds fairly harsh, but it wasn't terrible, just...average.  A solid C+ or B-, maybe.  Definitely not _Neuromancer_, _Snow Crash_, or _When Gravity Fails_, despite obvious similarities to the first two.

_Marsbound_ was better.


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## Razjah (Oct 10, 2012)

I'm reading _A Game of Thrones_ because I am late to the Song of Ice and Fire series, very late. Really enjoying it so far, and about half way.

I'm also working on Machiavelli's _The Prince_. I just want to read it and I don't have a great reason. 

I've blasted through book 1 of the Dresden Files, in one day, and want to find the rest of the series.

When I finish _A Game of Thrones_ I think I will move onto _Dracula_, the original Bram Stoker work. I need to wait until Christmas to stock up on Dresden Files and the SOIAF series.


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## Nellisir (Oct 10, 2012)

Razjah said:


> I'm also working on Machiavelli's _The Prince_. I just want to read it and I don't have a great reason.




You want to - that's the best reason there is.


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## Stouthart (Oct 10, 2012)

Nellisir said:


> Finished _Ready Player One_ last night; read _Marsbound_ today.
> 
> I'll be blunt: I thought RP1 was a decent freshman effort, but lacked character depth, any really interesting plot twists, and the shoehorning in of current popular geek culture topics and personalities was annoying (Cory Doctorow and Wil Wheaton as official elected leaders of the Internet?  Really?).  The token black female lesbian was so token as to possibly be intentional.  And the setting was...thin.
> 
> ...




Sorry to hear you didn't enjoy it. I found it to be thoroughly entertaining- it was funny, fresh, exciting and a quick read. It's no literary masterpiece, I'll give you that, but I still think its the highest level of brain-candy/popcorn fiction.


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## Nellisir (Oct 10, 2012)

Stouthart said:


> Sorry to hear you didn't enjoy it. I found it to be thoroughly entertaining- it was funny, fresh, exciting and a quick read. It's no literary masterpiece, I'll give you that, but I still think its the highest level of brain-candy/popcorn fiction.




Different strokes for different folk n' all that.  I think I was expecting more out of it, having heard of it from several sources.


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## Nellisir (Oct 10, 2012)

Razjah - re: your family, screw with their mind and read _Bridget Jones' Diary_ after _The Prince_.  It's really good, and their heads will blow off try to make sense of it.


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## Razjah (Oct 10, 2012)

Nellisir-It is either that or _Twilight_. And I needed the laugh from your comment, thanks.


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## Zaukrie (Oct 10, 2012)

Into thin air....I have had it for years, but just started last night.


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## Nellisir (Oct 11, 2012)

Razjah said:


> Nellisir-It is either that or _Twilight_. And I needed the laugh from your comment, thanks.




I've got to say, the idea that someone's family would make fun of them for reading, let alone for reading Machiavelli's _The Prince_, sort of blows my mind.  My family would look at the book, think a moment, and then give you a related-reading list.


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## Razjah (Oct 11, 2012)

Nellisir said:


> I've got to say, the idea that someone's family would make fun of them for reading, let alone for reading Machiavelli's _The Prince_, sort of blows my mind. My family would look at the book, think a moment, and then give you a related-reading list.




The short version is that when I read things like _The Prince_ or _The Art of War_ or the type of books read in literature classes they view it as being arrogant, or being an ass. This has been building up for a couple year and since graduating in May, it has gotten worse.


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## Nellisir (Oct 15, 2012)

Started Poul Anderson's _The Broken Sword_.


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## Stumblewyk (Oct 15, 2012)

Almost done with _Dies the Fire_, and then I'm on to one of a couple of Phillip K. Dick stories that I got on Amazon for my Kindle Fire last week.  Amazon was selling a number of PKD's books at $1.99 a piece, so I snagged up _The Simulacra_, _The Man in the High Castle_, and _The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch_.  Not sure which I'll dive into first.


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## Jhaelen (Oct 17, 2012)

Razjah said:


> The short version is that when I read things like _The Prince_ or _The Art of War_ or the type of books read in literature classes they view it as being arrogant, or being an ass. This has been building up for a couple year and since graduating in May, it has gotten worse.



Oh, dear 

Why is it that these days for the general populace every sign of intelligence, education, or even just inventiveness or interest in anything beyond food, sports & sex is regarded as nothing but arrogance and elitism? This is a worrisome trend. Although sometimes I think it's starting to get better because 'geekness' is on its way to be considered cool by some.

Anyway, having read both books you mention, I can definitely warmly recommend 'The Prince'. It is very readable and modern in both language and content. It even got me interested in reading more from Machiavelli.

'The Art of War', however, didn't really do much for me. Maybe I wasn't in the right state of mind to grasp the greatness of it, but most of it didn't strike me as overly profound. At least it didn't take much time to read ^^.


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## Mercutio01 (Oct 17, 2012)

So much of Sun Tzu is in the cultural zeitgeist that it really might not seem as profound as it once was. I found Musashi's _Book of Five Rings_ better on that account. But for actual warfare, I think von Clausewitz's _On War_ is a better treatise than Sun Tzu.


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## Nellisir (Oct 17, 2012)

Finished _The Broken Sword_.  The early D&D influences are stunningly clear (gnomes), and the story is not much harsher in plot and language than is typical today.  I love the atmosphere of it, but I'm not sure it's a pleasurable read.  I'll have to reread _Three Hearts & Three Lions_ soon.

Have moved on to _The Jane Eyre Affair_, by Jasper Fforde.  A very...different sort of book.  _Soulless_ might be more fun, but _The Jane Eyre Affair_ might be better.  I'm not sure.


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## Mercutio01 (Oct 20, 2012)

Finished _11/22/63_ the other day. Worth a read, but it certainly wasn't my favorite Stephen King novel. My favorite part was the time spent in 



Spoiler



Derry, ME just after the events of _It_.



Currently reading the second book of Jim Butcher's Codex Alera, and borrowed the first 6 _Walking Dead_ trade paperbacks, and as much as I enjoy the show, I'm already enjoying the books more.


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## Nellisir (Oct 20, 2012)

Finished _The Jane Eyre Affair_ and _Hunter of Worlds_ (by CJ Cherryh).  Have not committed to anything new and am hoping not to, as have a ton of school-related reading to get through.


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## Ebon Shar (Oct 20, 2012)

Stumblewyk said:


> Almost done with _Dies the Fire_, and then I'm on to one of a couple of Phillip K. Dick stories that I got on Amazon for my Kindle Fire last week.  Amazon was selling a number of PKD's books at $1.99 a piece, so I snagged up _The Simulacra_, _The Man in the High Castle_, and _The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch_.  Not sure which I'll dive into first.




I just finished The Scourge of God by SM Stirling.  I'm loving the "Emberverse" and I really wish that the TV show Revolution had never been made, as it makes an Emberverse-based series highly unlikely.

I'm ready to start Red Country by Joe Abercrombie and I can't be more excited.  Abercrombie is my current favorite writer and I can't get enough of his dark humor and dry wit.


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## Mark CMG (Oct 20, 2012)

I finished Turtledove's _Beyond the Gap_ and the subsequent two in the series earlier this month, and I do NOT recommend them.  There is a nice premise behind the whole series, and I'm not giving anything away to explain that a glacier melts to the point of splitting, leaving a gap, through which a band of "adventurers" can be tasked to explore.  They set out from a quasi-Medieval culture (perhaps more like Dark Age with barbarian lands adjacent; it's a mix), ostensibly to search for a "Golden Shrine," but discover a good deal more, plunging their land into a multi-nation, multi-cultural war.  This is fantasy, with magic of several different varieties, and might be tempting to gamers--should be tempting to gamers--but it's so clunky with repetitiveness and colloquial anachronisms that I was jarred out of immersion nearly every other page.  There are some elements that I enjoyed, mostly to do with the magic in use, but the great majority of ideas were retreading old ground and not with new twists to make the familiar fresh.  Some of the repetitiveness might be contributed to Turtledove following just one hero.  I understand his wheelhouse is using many woven story lines to tell an over-arching tale but I recall jumping into his Worldwar/Colonization series in the Nineties and enjoying the first book only to find him repeating himself once it continued in book two.  I dropped that series at that point.  Once I was into this Opening of the World series, I felt the need to finish, not just the book but the whole three-book series, but it was in that can't-look-away-from-a-train-wreck feeling, not compelled by enjoyment.  I really wanted to like it but was ultimately disappointed.

Due to a thread in the General Forum, I took a break in September from Turtledove to revisit Horace Walpole's _The Castle at Otronto_.  I knew it had been a slog to read back in the day but it's a short book, a novella actually, so I figured I could grit my teeth and have at it.  The attraction, I suppose, was because  [MENTION=1645]mmadsen[/MENTION] dug a quote up from _Fantasy: The 100 Best Books_ regarding the so-called "iceberg principle" of castle construction in novel(las) like it from the Gothic genre that I never felt was quite accurate.  To join that discussion, I felt a re-reading of _Otronto_ was in order.  I think the reading, along with some knowledge of the novels _Dracula_ and _Frankenstein_, supported my objection to the claim though it might be worth delving into some other Gothic novels to understand whence they might have derived the notion that spawned the theory.  Maybe there are other Gothic novels that include vast subterranean complexes of which I am yet unaware.  Please enlighten me if you know.

Fortunately, I followed it up all that chore-like reading with Bernard Cornwell's _Stonehenge_.  I'd been seeing so much praise for his work in these threads over the years that I figured it was time I did something about it.  I looked over his bibliography and chose a number of books to add to my list (I like to keep things Ancient through Medieval for period/setting, or fantastical offshoots along those lines).  I started adding into my eventual-reading list with his standalone works like _Stonehenge_ and _Agincourt_.  I figured if those suited my tastes I'd add The Saxon Stories, The Warlord Chronicles, and The Grail Quest novels.  Well, I very much enjoyed _Stonehenge_ and it was refreshing to read smooth, simple prose after that choppy Turtledove text.  Cornwell has a gift for using language to just the extent necessary.  He gets his story across by giving a firm sense of place, then letting the characters develop without trying to foist them upon the reader.  There was a time early in the novel where he violates POV but once he narrows the focus, he remains mostly consistent throughout the remainder.  I think one of the eyeopeners was how well the characters can be drawn in a approx 2000 BC setting (the abbreviation used in the subtitle).  Obviously, the title lets the reader know time and place, so my first fear was that aside from a main character or two, most of the supporting characters would blend together.  These are borderline-Bronze Age cultures, so diversity would be tough to engender.  I was mistaken.  The characters, both male and female, from beginning to end kept me invested.  This is certainly assisted by Cornwell launching into the events of the story right from the outset.  There's no lengthy exposition to coddle the reader, nor is it necessary.  Cornwell weaves plenty of description into other passages to keep a reader engrossed.  There are a few places where exposition is a definite necessity in the narrative, particularly when describing some of the engineering of the titular location, but it is done concisely and in a manner that feels logically accurate, though I cannot personally comment on the precise nature of what it would really take to execute such engineering feats.  I think I am going to find that Cornwell is an author I can regularly read without worrying if I'm throwing away my leisure time.  I should be able to get to _Agincourt_ in November.

However, next in the queue is Ken Follett's _World Without End_.  The mini-series has been produced and will air soon and though I likely won't catch it until it comes to DVD, I want to read this before viewing the series.  I know myself well enough to realize that I often won't go back to read a text once I've seen a version of the story in a visual medium.  To my mind, I'm in for the stories and having absorbed the story in the condensed form of a movie or television, I find it hard to then place the text higher on my list than the countless other stories I would like to experience in my lifetime.  It might seem to be a strange dichotomy, but the reverse isn't true.  I often will read a book and still be able to enjoy a movie based on it, and I rarely quibble over liberties taken to bring what an author has done on the written page to the screen, large or small.  I can be quite forgiving in that way.  Anyway, I'm a couple chapters into _World Without End_ and so far it is holding up to my expectations.  I saw _Pillars of the Earth_ when that series came out and, uncharacteristically, decided to follow up and read that Follett novel earlier this year which I enjoyed immensely, so I have high hopes.


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## Jhaelen (Oct 22, 2012)

Mark CMG said:


> I started adding into my eventual-reading list with his standalone works like _Stonehenge_ and _Agincourt_.  I figured if those suited my tastes I'd add The Saxon Stories, The Warlord Chronicles, and The Grail Quest novels.



I read 'The Warlord Chronicles' a long time ago (a retelling of the legend of King Arthur) and liked it quite a bit (well enough that I recognized the author's name ).

I'm currently about halfway through the second book of the Malazan series (Deadhouse Gates). So far I like it a bit better than the first one since it seems to be less over-the-top-epic than its predecessor. 
I'll probably continue reading the next installments even though I find the series' pervasive 'grimdark' nature a bit jarring at times.


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## Zaukrie (Oct 22, 2012)

Finished Into the Air, makes you wonder why anyone climbs mountains. Reading one of the pathfinder books now.


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## Karak (Nov 1, 2012)

Since posting last, on the 5th I think. I have finished 12 of David Gemmels books all of them on countless rereads. I must say though many may think his writing doesn't stretch any real literary muscle; his characters and written dialogue are simply masterful.


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## Chairman7w (Nov 2, 2012)

Love, love, love me some David Gemmell!!



Karak said:


> Since posting last, on the 5th I think. I have finished 12 of David Gemmels books all of them on countless rereads. I must say though many may think his writing doesn't stretch any real literary muscle; his characters and written dialogue are simply masterful.


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