Who's reading what? September's selection...

[Pyan]

Wow! September already? Where does the time go?

 

[Interference]

Currently, I are being reading the calendar with Mute Horror and Disbelief (my cats )

 

[AE35Unit]

About 3/4 of the way thru White Fang by Jack London. 1000 pages out of 1445

 

[Hilarious Joke]

I'm reading:
- Deadhouse Gates by Steven Erikson
- The City of Dreaming Books by Walter Moers
- The Magician's Apprentice by Trudi Canavan
- The Way of Shadows by Brett Weeks
- The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant by Stephen Donaldson

 

[j d worthington]

Finished off The Caller of the Black, Brian Lumley's first collection. A mixed bag, really -- as one would expect with a young writer. I can see why I had mixed feelings about it all these years, though I was myself still in my teens when I last read the thing. Some things are mediocre, some things have some very good points, but don't quite make the grade, some are just bad, and some are really rather good and well told. His style isn't graceful or memorable; the way I'd describe Lumley (even in his more recent work) is very much "pulp"; not the high-end of those who wrote for the pulps, such as Whitehead, Lovecraft, etc., but mid-range: enjoyable little adventure tales with a weird spin, but hardly great literature.

However, when I'm in the mood for something like that, Lumley fits the bill... even here; though I must admit that I was disappointed with the lengthy "In the Vaults Beneath". It's markedly derivative (which I expected), but it also has some genuine promise... yet the ending descends into sheer pulp-cum-Grand-Guignol silliness which completely robs it of any horrific effect (though, perhaps ironically, it does make it work as something of a parody of the form). Ah, well, I still had fun reading the thing, and the final tale is a nice piece of nastiness....

I'm also giving it another try with A Century Less a Dream, a book of critical essays on the work of HPL. Not that I wasn't interested the last time around; just that too many things were going haywire, and I didn't have the time to read more than a page or so at a time... not the best way to read such. Making better progress this time, and definitely worthwhile....

 

[Nikitta]

Still on American Gods, on page 130 and enjoying it. If it keeps it up, it's a very good book and I'll thank Gollum for recommending it to me.

 

[Ian Whates]

Nearly finished Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon
Partway through Memoirs of a Master Forger by William Heaney (aka Graham Joyce)
Dipping in and out of The New Space Opera (ed Gardner Dozois and Jonathan Strahan)

Oh, and I'm line-by-line proof-reading the manuscript for The Mammoth Book of Alternate History Stories which I've co-edited (due out Feb 2010).

The publishers seem to have relied on some form of editing softwear for the latter, as a few of the frequently recurring errors are mind-boggling.

 

[Fried Egg]

"Way Station" by Clifford D. Simak

 

[AE35Unit]

"Way Station" by Clifford D. Simak

Have read that one,good book.

 

[GOLLUM]

Still on American Gods, on page 130 and enjoying it. If it keeps it up, it's a very good book and I'll thank Gollum for recommending it to me.

The usual commission will be fine....

If you like American Gods which IMO is Neil's best adult novel then you may want to try his YA books Coraline and The Graveyard Book, which recently received the Newbury Medal and the Hugo.

Smoke and Mirrors is his best collection and his ground breaking graphic novel sequence Sandman shouldn't be missed.

Look forward to your final report....

 

[Fried Egg]

Smoke and Mirrors is his best collection...

I just saw that for a fiver...tempted to pick it up, especially after your glowing report. I've not read any of his other collections. In fact I've only read "Stardust" and was wondering what to read of his next...

 

[gully_foyle]

I just saw that for a fiver...tempted to pick it up, especially after your glowing report. I've not read any of his other collections. In fact I've only read "Stardust" and was wondering what to read of his next...

He was definitely my revelation of 2008. I'd recommend any of the novels.

Still on Perdido Street Station, it's a big book and at the end of the day I'm too tired to hold it up. It's pretty good tho...

 

[Fried Egg]

He was definitely my revelation of 2008. I'd recommend any of the novels.

"Stardust" didn't blow me away to be honest so I haven't been fired up to read anything else of his but I want to give him another go...

Still on Perdido Street Station, it's a big book and at the end of the day I'm too tired to hold it up. It's pretty good tho...

Yeah, I read that recently. Good but long...

 

[GOLLUM]

"Stardust" didn't blow me away to be honest so I haven't been fired up to read anything else of his but I want to give him another go....

Whilst entertaining Stardust is not one of his better works IMO.

Definitely check out American Gods, possibly Smoke and Mirrors colection although I'm not sure if it reflects well enough his highpoints BUT definitely check out the seminal Graphic novel series Sandman and other classics like 1602 and Neverwhere as they are quite dark as is frankly most of his stuff. Coraline and Graveyard are VERY worth looking into for YA fiction.

 

[GOLLUM]

Met China last week and got a signed personalised copy of Perdido which was nice. He's dropped into Chrons occasionally but more anonymously I think.

If you like China's dark take on fantasy or someone like Vandermeer or Swanwick you would like the majority of Gaiman's stuff Fried Egg.

 

[ratsy]

I just finished Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch and I really enjoyed it. It kind of felt like it was two books in one but still flowed nicely. I am looking forward to the next one!

I have now started Winterbirth by Brian Ruckley. Only a few pages in but I can sense the mood is going to be cold and dark. Should be good!

 

[LaMattie]

Just started The Black Swan by Mercedes Lackey. I hope to finished it by the end of the week and embark on George RR Martin's latest Song of Ice and Fire book.

 

[nj1]

I have now started Winterbirth by Brian Ruckley. Only a few pages in but I can sense the mood is going to be cold and dark. Should be good!

Read that in July, good book. The religous aspects were most interresting for me. haven't managed to find the second book yet even though its already out but it's on my list to look out for. Had to put things on hold when STEVEN ERIKSON'S DUST OF DREAMS arrived at my door. Half way through and man it's good!

 

[Lady of Winterfell]

Still working my way through Promise of the Wolves by Dorothy Hearst. It is slow going so far.

 

[ktabic]

Just finished My Work is Not Yet Done by Thomas Ligotti. Very dark, very good.
Now on Artifact by Gregory Bear.