So what is everybody reading? Hit me with some reviews.

Just re-read John Ringo and David Weber's March Upcountry, March to the Sea, and March to the Stars, though I just realized I don't have the last book in the series (March to Empire, I think). Good books if you are both a history buff and enjoy military sf. A bit much on the info dumps, but that's unfortunately part of the genre.

Going to take a bit of a vacation from reading, though--been doing too much of it lately. Gotta get back in the habit of working for a living, now that school's finally over.

quote:

---

Verily, the chocolate bunny rabbits doth run and play while Greenlit gently hums:
I just finished off a stack of Discworld and Warhammer 40k novels, but there are still more to go. Taking a break from both settings to plow through House of Leaves at the moment.

---

How do you find 40K stuff that doesn't suck? The Eisenhorn series is the only one I've found that stood up to even a cursory look in the bookstore, in terms of writing style.

The downside? Aside from it being an alternate universe and having sorcerors, there's not much particularly fantastic about it. No monsters, no other races, nothing. Also, as the book grows later, almost every male character starts dreaming of or hinting at their love of gay sex. Seriously.

Across the Nightengale Floor: A fantasy book based off of medieval Japan that centers around a kid who loses his family and develops preternatural senses.

It's decently-written. The scenario is pretty original and the characters are merely okay. There's a lot of psuedo-godmodding, so to speak (read The River God to see what I mean), as everything always goes right for the main character and he has all the magical powers and blah blah. Also, he alludes to gay sex.

Beg Me by Lisa Lawrence: An erotic thriller about a girl who gets wrapped up in a BDSM cult.

You know, I don't think I've read a book that didn't have anything noticeably sigh inducing since George R.R. Martin's stuff.

The first Gaunt's Ghost omnibus (The Founding) was a decent read, but given the overall length of the series I just decided to stop there. I saw no good coming of the next six books.

Ciaphas Cain novels are my favorites so far. There's an omnibus (Hero of the Imperium) and two standalone novels (Death or Glory, Duty Calls). Told from the same first-person memoir style as the Eisenhorn novels, Cain's are a lot more humorous.

Faith & Fire was a short little Sisters of Battle novel I snagged on a whim and wasn't entirely disappointed with, but it wasn't up to par with Abnett or Mitchell's novels above.

Think of a WW2 submarine novel, but set in space. The ship type the story is set in is cramped, completely functional, and serving on them is VERY high stress. It is a Sci-Fi novel not so much about crazy technology and weird races as it is about the front line "seaman" in humanity's war against another space faring race. Very grim, but highly entertaining.

I also just recently finished The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, which was very good, and The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom, which was a quick read that I loved. And if you like Kurt Vonnegut, I also recently read Slapstick which was one of my all time favorite Vonneguts.

I read a lot over the past couple months. Being stuck in a small town where you don't know anyone, and being unable to get a job leads to quite a bit of reading time.

Extremely good read. The series is very "palace intrigue" but as the books go on, magic and monsters are gradually phased in. The result is characters who feel very human, very realistic and sympathetic, with things bizarre and alien happening to them. It's a recipe for fantasy that I haven't seen pulled off quite as well anywhere except maybe Tolkien.

My only gripe is that Martin describes food so well and so frequently that the books are always leaving me with implacable cravings.

It's like... where the hell am I going to find honeyed duck in this day and age?

Finished Lukyanenko's Night Watch a while back. It's vastly superior to the movie (duh). The novel paints an interesting picture, is a fairly light/easy read, and you can get into it quickly. Only think remotely irritating is the (apparently Russian) tendency to call someone by both their given name and their surname. Otherwise, solid stuff.

Finished Brooks' World War Z. Can hardly wait to see how they do the movie. It was a suprisingly fresh take on the topic, with lots of juicy details. Brooks has a gift for giving personality to characters that, due to the format of the book, you only see briefly.

I got a mad hair for end of the world material after World War Z, so I re-read Gaiman and Pratchett's Good Omens. That book is always worth a read. Next up is the original I Am Legend.

Comic Books I'm currently reading ongoing:
Ultimates -
Now that Civil War is over and they aren't stealing the Ultimate line's writers (and especially their artists), the "Grand Theft America" storyline was finally finished and the trade is out. Worth picking up, if for no other reason than the Hulk returns and is always fun to see in action.

Ultimate Spider-Man-
Catching up on Ultimate Spider-Man. Bendis is God.

Civil War, Annihilation, Planet Hulk-
Marvel had an interesting summer. While everyone was pushing the "Which will be better, Infinite Crisis or Civil War", Marvel was not just running one major storyline. The "Annihilation" storyline took place entirely in space, and dealt with a vast restructuring of the universal politics, powers, and balances. VERY solid writing, a FANTASTIC war storyline against a VERY nasty foe, and it sets things up for the continuation. Likewise, everyone knew that the Planet Hulk storyline was going on out there, but very few people read it, assuming that there wasn't really anything new going to happen with the big guy. How wrong. This is the freshest take on the Hulk that I've seen in a very long time, and it makes for a good solid read.

All three are in collected trades now. Even if you didn't like Civil War, give Planet Hulk and Annihilation a chance. I was surprised just how good they were.

Marvel Followups-
I'm reading all the Initiative stuff. The Initiative (the actual comic) is GOOD. The implications of all that's going on are going to be a SERIOUS issue for a good LONG time. Mighty Avengers is fun...has some of the classic Avengers feel, decent eye candy. New Avengers has just uncovered what will purport to be the next major storyline following World War Hulk...the Skrulls have been planting spies on Earth. Look for the return of the Skrull Kill Krew (apparently going to be a major element). Annihilation will have it's followup, keeping events on Earth from going Cosmic for a while. THOR HAS RETURNED, very cool. Getting back to his roots...hope he smashes Pym and Richards' nuts with his hammer for making that clonebot abomination...asshats...

WORLD WAR HULK-
Yeeeeeees friends. Opening round, Hulk fucks Black Bolt up. Second round, Tony "I'm too cool for school, I'm a futurist, I know what people want/need" Stark got his ass handed to him in his new and improved Hulkbuster armor, and despite Stark offering non-registered heroes amnesty during the shitstorm, a surprising number of major heroes (some of whom were on Stark's side of the Civil War) are scheduled to take the Hulk's side.

Invincible-
Yes Scott Kurtz (of PvP) gushes about this book. Get over it. This is a FANTASTIC comic, with lots of fun action, over the top graphic violence, character-driven stories and subplots. Reminds me of classic Spidey in some respects, mixed with what a Superboy comic could have been like. Solid writing, solid artwork, hordes of interesting character.

Walking Dead-
Zombie post-apocalypse. MY FUCKING GOD. This is quite probably the coolest zombie survival story ever told, completely driven by the characters and their struggle to survive not just the undead, but also their fellow survivors. Get used to the gore and horror...or try to. The gore you can get over, but the horror is more than just zombies. It's out in collected trades. It's worth it. Don't let the black and white nature fool you. Get it. Read it. Love it.

Exiles-
This is one of those series that just can't win. It was put on a temporary hiatus, has had numerous writers and artists, and the cast rotates frequently. Quite probably the best use of the thousands of alternate Earths and "What If" worlds Marvel's acquired over the years. Tasty stuff, and I'm thrilled it's made a comeback. It's obvious the writers love some of the long-lost alternate universe stuff (the team's Spider-Man is Spider-Man 2099, for instance).

Lone Ranger-
No. I'm not kidding. Stop laughing. This new take on the Lone Ranger is solid. Black Bart is a fucking psycho and I'm glad he got what he had coming...the initial six-issue arc is due out as a trade any day now. For ten, fifteen bucks you simply cannot go wrong. Excellent western.

Fallen Son-
TECHNICALLY it's a follow-up to Civil War...but it deserves independent mention. Five comic miniseries (each dealing with a stage of loss) dealing with what the death of Captain America means to the Marvel Universe, ending and culminating with the funeral of Captain America. My God.

Moon Knight-
Remember how hardcore Batman was in Dark Knight Returns? Remember how DKR2 didn't live up to the original? Moon Knight. Ouch. Painful to read, some of the stuff this guy does to people. Worth a read.

Irredeemable Ant-Man-
It's funny. It's light-hearted. And it isn't Hank Fucking Pym (did I mention I hope Thor whacks him in the nuts with his hammer?).

Young Avengers-
Assuming they can get this series back on track, faaaaaaantastic. Excellent series. Well worth reading, especially if you read what I consider to be the companion series...

Runaways-
The Young Avengers are on the path to being Avengers. The Runaways are in many ways the ones who'll always have their feet on the ground. Now that Whedon is writing the series, I'm hoping to see an excellent series go even farther.

IDW Transformers-
I was bummed out when Dreamwave lost the rights to Transformers, but when IDW took over, they grabbed me from the start. They started by establishing an elaborate backstory for the Transformers before starting the Earth story. It's been collected in trades, and it's all worth reading. Any fan of Transformers would do themselves a great service catching this stuff.

Nextwave-
I make everyone I know read this comic. Pirate Superheroes taking on a government agency backed by an insidious corporation. And heaven help Tony Stark, he's sucked the Nextwave unit into the Intiative. Worth it just for Machine Man.

Just finished The Tipping Point.
Book dealing with the anatomy of a social epidemic, analyzing how you could start, prevent, or handle one. A few places where the author trips over his own shoelaces, but a fun pop-psychology book if you're looking for something new.

I went on a kick of reading fairy tale retellings recently. Read the beginning of a nice series, first book is The Goose Girl, and it's an interesting take on the story, involving people with talents over the elements and a war between two kingdoms.

Then I re-read Ella Enchanted, discovering it has a sequel based on Snow White called Fairest, which is about Areida's adopted older sister Aza in Ayorthaia.

Picked up Neverwhere to re-read and Stardust to re-read in preparation for the movie, since it's been a while since I read both.

I'm intending to go through the So You Want to Be a Wizard series after Xanth, since there's another new book out and I've dropped behind. I've also dropped behind in Terry Pratchett, since like, Wee Free Men I think (Night Watch I think was last) so I've got some catching up to do there, too.

quote:

---

Lyinar Ka`Bael had this to say about pies:
Areida's adopted older sister Aza in Ayorthaia.

---

Get the fuck out.

Is it so much to ask that today's stories have pacing? Good God, you can't just have people learning everything about each other by looking into their eyes! You can't have characters falling in love at first sight! It's boring!

Parcelan walked along the dirt road, his shoes kicking up clouds of dust. He espied a young man opposite of himself, leading with a leash a solitary swine. He knew by the cut of his cloth and the demeanor with which he held himself that this was Stalwart Steve, the Scourge of Swine, Purveyor of Pigs, and his eyes held naught but cruelty and malice as surely as his calloused hands clenched the swine's leash.

"Excuse me," the young man said, politely, though Parcelan knew by the inflection of his voice that he was suffering from anal pox, "my pig and I must pass."

"You shall release the pig," said Parcelan, and Stalwart Steve knew from his voice that he was seriously not kidding around. "And perhaps I shall let you live."

"I can see by your sword that you are very well-skilled in the sword."

"Yes, I devoted six God damned chapters to training montages."

"WE MUST KUNG FU FIGHT!"

That, in a nutshell, is Across the Nightengale Floor. Good God. If you want a good Japanese story, read Shogun.

Here's a hint for future writers: there are three scenes that you must never, ever write in any detail greater than half a page, because they are extremely boring. They are feasting, training and reciting poetry/songs.

Fuck you, Brian Jacques.

Also, some stuff about communism.

Nightwatch was really not that great. Neat concept and all, but the writing was just too bland for me.

quote:

---

Pvednes's account was hax0red to write:
Just reread The Hobbit, a few Discworld books and some Tom Sharpe books.

---

On the seventh hour of the fourth day of the twelfth month of the second year of the Age of Australians, they came upon a broad, green hill. Beyond, and into the leagues of eternity, the blue skies stretched and clouds gathered overhead so as to form a halo of bliss upon the endless azure that sprawled in the eaves of the heavens. The hill itself was solid, made entirely of dirt and grass, soft as summer cheese and damp with dew that felt cool upon the feet, vaguely akin to the October ales they had drank so plentifully back at Sean's house, whistling the days away with songs that went a little something like this.

Then a winged demon came down and Pvednes shat himself.

Tolkien was awesome for coming up with the entire idea, but lord he wasn't a very good writer.

quote:

---

Maradon! painfully thought these words up:
A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin. I'm on the third book out of four.

---

I almost wish I hadn't read these books. Book five was supposed to be out last year, but there's still no release date. Plus, with the upcoming HBO series who knows when he'll ever finish the series.

quote:

---

Talonusing:
I almost wish I hadn't read these books. Book five was supposed to be out last year, but there's still no release date. Plus, with the upcoming HBO series who knows when he'll ever finish the series.

---

I waited six years between installments of the Dark Tower series, bub.

quote:

---

Verily, Maradon! doth proclaim:
I waited six years between installments of the Dark Tower series, bub.

---

I wouldn't find that comforting considering how Dark Tower ended.

quote:

---

Azakias thought about the meaning of life:
I forever recommend anything written by Jennifer Fallon. She is my favorite author. Forever.

---

The best authors are all men.

quote:

---

Talonusing:
I wouldn't find that comforting considering how Dark Tower ended.

---

Yeah, the series was pure gold up until the final twenty five pages.

Bringing a story like that to a proper close is not an easy thing to do, and I think King went for a "safe" ending rather than risk cheesing the whole series up.

I decided that a book was so bad, so inexcusably horrible, the writing so bland and the characters so singularly boring, that I closed the book after struggling through almost 150 pages.

I didn’t finish a book. I have rarely NOT finished a book on purpose.

It has only happened once or twice in my life. Usually I will read to the very end of a bad book or even series, in the hopes that even though the writing and characters suck beyond measure, that the story will at least come to a satisfactory conclusion.

I don’t even have this impulse. I have no care to see the story's end, nor to even know if the main character makes his goal. I don’t even care enough about the story to want the main character to die!

This is depressing..

It looked like a promising story too.. but trust me.

Stay away from "Prince of Shadow".

quote:

---

And I was all like 'Oh yeah?' and Greenlit was all like:
Hey that Sandy Mitchell broad isn't too bad

---

Is that the chick with the fucked up voice?

quote:

---

As the nuclear device detonated, President Mr. Parcelan was quoted to say:

On the seventh hour of the fourth day of the twelfth month of the second year of the Age of Australians, they came upon a broad, green hill. Beyond, and into the leagues of eternity, the blue skies stretched and clouds gathered overhead so as to form a halo of bliss upon the endless azure that sprawled in the eaves of the heavens. The hill itself was solid, made entirely of dirt and grass, soft as summer cheese and damp with dew that felt cool upon the feet, vaguely akin to the October ales they had drank so plentifully back at Sean's house, whistling the days away with songs that went a little something like this.

Bash the dishes,
Crack the plates,
That is what Sean Kelley hates.

Spill the ales,
Mop the floors,
Smoke cigars,
And rape the whores.

That is what Sean Kelley hates,
So carefully, carefully
With
The
Plates

Then a winged demon came down and Pvednes shat himself.

Tolkien was awesome for coming up with the entire idea, but lord he wasn't a very good writer.

---

The Hobbit is just fantastic.

The Silmarillion however...I just can't bring myself to read it, so I wouldn't really know.