Books 2nd Edition, Foreword by m0r1arty Options

[maian]

It's brilliant. Really exciting and darkly hilarious.

[monkeyman]

I think I may buy it. I recall Logger saying it's better than Band of Brothers and I love that series.

[Outatime]

After devouring the miniseries, I've spent the week reading Generation Kill by Evan Wright, which is every bit as good as the series in terms of really taking you inside the world of Recon Marines and really making you care about them even when they say or do things that you might not agree with. It also nicely complements the series since it does a much better job of explaining why the Marines were so angry at their commanding officers, and how they were utilised in an antithetical way in the invasion of Iraq. It also shows that the best lines from the show are taken straight from real life. Really fascinating and engrossing.

I'm glad it's good, I bought it for my brother for Christmas.

[Sostie]

It's very very early days yet, but I'm not liking the new Fforde.

[Ade]

I have to say I'm really liking the 'Eyre affair', I'm up to the bit where Thursday has returned to swindon, argued with the students, and has found the car she saw at the hospital. (Sorry, I know a lot of people here have read it, just spoiler tagged it for those that haven't).

If it keeps up like this I'll love this series of books. I've got 'Lost in a good book' sitting at home waiting to be read when I've finished this, so can get straight into that then.

It does, and you will.

Widdy speaketh fact. 'The Eyre Affair' is excellent, and 'Lost In A Good Book' is even better. As I recall, I enjoyed 'The Well Of Lost Plots' the most.

I can't comment on 'Something Rotten', as I still haven't read it. Not wanting to put you off, but I stalled about 2 chapters in, and I desperately want to get back into it. I think at the time I was just a little thrown by the change in perspective with regards to the narrative style, and I just couldn't get into it. I'm sure the other Ffordephiles here who have read it will set me straight - how does it compare with the rest of the series, folks? (he asked, anticipating a resounding "excellent!")

Also, on the subject of Fforde, who else was miffed by the complete change in style of the sleeve artwork for First Among Sequels ? I believe the hardback was the same, but the paperback edition is something completely different. And, frankly, rubbish. It's a minor thing, but I like continuity on my bookshelves, especially with a connected series of books. (This may not apply to US fans, as I know the sleeve art there is totally different anyway).

It's very very early days yet, but I'm not liking the new Fforde.

Bums. Disappointed to hear this. It's an entirely new premise isn't it? Something about colours, and all that? I read the summary blurb on the back cover in t' shop, and I have to say I wasn't particularly inspired to make a purchase.

[Everlong]

It does, and you will.

Widdy speaketh fact. 'The Eyre Affair' is excellent, and 'Lost In A Good Book' is even better. As I recall, I enjoyed 'The Well Of Lost Plots' the most.

Yay!

'Lost plots' is number 3 isn't it? If I'm onto 'Lost in a good book' by payday I'll buy that, if not I can wait. 'Treat for self' priorities are new Trainers plus the other 3 Scott Pilgrims. Plus I have 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' which I'd like to read soonish.

[Sostie]

Bums. Disappointed to hear this. It's an entirely new premise isn't it? Something about colours, and all that? I read the summary blurb on the back cover in t' shop, and I have to say I wasn't particularly inspired to make a purchase.

I think I'm going to come back to this one. The Mark Kermode book on my pile seems a much more enticing prospect.

[mcraigclark]

Our Fforde covers were consistent too, until First Among Sequels. I really hate when publishers do that.

[maian]

I think I'm going to come back to this one. The Mark Kermode book on my pile seems a much more enticing prospect.

Is that "It's Only A Movie"? I read the introduction to that in Waterstones the other day. It was quite entertaining, if a bit heavy on in-jokes.

[maian]

I finished reading Iron Council by China Mieville last night and, rather the finding it "dull as fuck", as one A. Davison described it, I really enjoyed it. Set in the Bas-Lag universe of Mieville's earlier novels, Perdido Street Station and The Scar, Mieville this time introduces his bizarre and wonderful steampunk/epic fantasy fusion to the world of the Western, as he spins a story about the eponymous Iron Council, a collection of rebels and prisoners who stole a train years before the main events of the story and, by laying down track and travelling through the harshest environments in the world, escaped the fascistic reach of New Crobuzon. Now, with civil unrest and war threatening to tear New Crobuzon apart, a group of political activists set out to find the Council in order to warn it of impending doom.

As I said, I really enjoyed Iron Council: I felt that Mieville was able to synthesise the Western iconography of trains, deserts and high plains drifters into his vibrant and imaginative world, and the introduction somathurgy - the creation of golems from earth, wood, metal, and even light and time - allowed him to create some fantastically inventive action sequences that frequently had my heart racing. I also felt that he managed to make the book political, with critiques of colonialism that piss over anything in Avatar, without losing sight of the story and wiorld-building. However, I would still say that the book was a disappointment because it falls short of either of its predecessors, both in content and in form.

Considering how I often think of fantasy literature as quite stale and uninventive, it seems counter-intuitive of me to criticise a book for having too many ideas, but sadly that is the case with Iron Council. Mieville puts so much on the table that it becomes indigestible. Perdido Street Station and The Scar were not simple books, but they never felt so crowded as Iron Council does at times. More importantly, I didn't feel any emotional connection to the story in the same way that I did with either of the previous books. The scenes of rebellion and fighting in the streets were genuinely rousing and had me feeling for the people trying to change things, but I never felt that same involvement with the individual characters in the story. It doesn't help that one of the main characters, Judah Low, is essentially a saintlike figure that is intentionally inscrutable and is hard to really identify with.

I also felt that, even if I wasn't bored, Mieville was. There's a terseness to his writing that wasn't in the other books. This is meant to match the Western motif. Comes off as half-finished. Not good for description. There's a sense that, whilst he loves the world he created, he perhaps feels confined by it, as evidenced by his general unwillingness to describe creatures that appear in the previous books.

Still, it's a very good book, but a somewhat flawed final entry into a trilogy that is otherwise so fantastic.

[gulfcoast_highwa...]

Well, I read the first two 'His Dark Materials' books in quick imte, and who ever told me I'd enjoy them wasn't lying. They are a cracking good read.

I went to the cheap book shop and bought the third part today. I can't wait.

And Serafina Pekkala is a mystery no more!

Please beware of spoilers in any replies.

This post has been edited by gulfcoast_highwayman: Feb 15 2010, 05:29 PM

[Shack]

The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks

A strange but enjoyable read. Got a lot better as it went along, with extra intricacy towards the end, creating some nice and some not so nice mental pictures in my head.

Pretty good, but not as good as The Crow Road for me.

This post has been edited by Shack: Feb 17 2010, 11:37 AM

[Sostie]

Is that "It's Only A Movie"? I read the introduction to that in Waterstones the other day. It was quite entertaining, if a bit heavy on in-jokes.

Yes, and quite an entertaining read it was too. Nothing new learnt, other than his obsession since childhood with Jason Isaacs.

Just started "Renegade" by Mark E Smith. So far a surprisingly entertaining rant. Thank-ah, God-ah, it is not-ah, written in his "singing" voice-ah.

[maian]

I stayed up til 2 in the morning last night finishing The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson, which was terrific. A gripping, complex crime novel with intriguing characters - Lisbeth Salander, in particular, is really fascinating - great pacing and a murky, political subtext that adds a real weight to its story of a journalist hired to uncover the truth behind the mysterious disappearance of a young girl 36 years earlier.

Highly recommended for anyone who like intelligent crime writing.

Edit: I also finished reading Raymond Carver's Would you please be quiet, please?, a terrific collection of short stories, each of which perfectly captures moments in the characters' lives when things go ever so slightly awry. By turns hilarious and intensely sad, it's a really beautiful series of stories.

This post has been edited by maian: Feb 28 2010, 02:19 PM

[Ade]

I stayed up til 2 in the morning last night finishing The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson, which was terrific. A gripping, complex crime novel with intriguing characters - Lisbeth Salander, in particular, is really fascinating - great pacing and a murky, political subtext that adds a real weight to its story of a journalist hired to uncover the truth behind the mysterious disappearance of a young girl 36 years earlier.

Highly recommended for anyone who like intelligent crime writing.

The film is getting some promising write-ups too.