I had been reading Great Expectations for weeks, and was getting near the end... and then I lost the book, and I haven't seen it since Sunday or so. >.<
I've recently fallen down the wishing well back in dragon land with Naomi Novik. Just read the first 3 books of the Temeraire series. I'm usually not much on alternate histories unless it's Harry Turtledove doing the writing, but I'm having a nice time with her books so far, and her reimagined Napoleonic dragon world. What's funny is I can't figure out what I like about the series. It just sucked me into it. It's not the best thing I've ever read. That said, I just eagerly ordered the next 2 books on kindle. It's got those hooks into me, making me WANT to know what happens next
Ah, I forgot about this! I did find Great Expectations some time ago... or actually, I think my mother did. And I finished it! It was an interesting experience. The book is divided into three volumes, with I think around 20 chapters each. For the first 16 chapters or so, I didn't enjoy it too much. Nothing that was happening really made sense, and nothing was exciting me. But from the 17th chapter onward, it started getting interesting. Then, the second volume was actually really fun to read. And nearing the end of the second volume, the plot actually got very interesting and exciting, and the third and final volume was amazing. I guess this is caused by Dickens having very well thought-out, intricate, plots. He needs to set them up first, though, and while they are getting set up, you don't yet see any relations, as they are to be revealed bit by bit later. Oliver Twist also had a complicated plot, and a story that got more interesting as it went on. However, that book was interesting in the first stages as well, as Oliver Twist's personal story was one full of adventures, in the beginning. Besides, that book wasn't as long, I think. As Great Expectations is quite a long book with a very intricate story, it takes a while for the story to really take off. But I think it's worth it, as once more plot pieces start getting connected, it gets really interesting and exciting. And even though the first chapters might not be too exciting plot-wise, they are still very well-written, as Charles Dickens is a very skilled writer, using a beautiful language!
Having recently finished the sprawling four-book epic by Tad Williams, Otherland, I'm still trying to decide if it's worth recommending... On the one paw, parts of it rank right up there with some of the best SF I've ever read. Many of the characters are fascinating, well-developed, and even if you don't like all of them Williams still does a fantastic job of making them interesting enough to follow through four (thick) volumes. However, it's also one of the most intensely frustrating series I've ever read. The plot is kept shrouded in mystery, questions unanswered (or worse, answered only to raise ten new ones in their place), so that you are stumbling along through each chapter just as confused as the characters you're following. And if that weren't enough, there are between three and six different groups/perspectives that the books try to follow, and every single chapter switches to a new one. Usually with the preceding chapter ending on a cliffhanger, or tempting some great revelation. ...Basically, imagine trying to watch four or five exciting TV shows all at once, except someone keeps flipping the channel between them every time it starts to get really interesting. As for the story itself: In the not-too-distant future (roughly somewhere around 2100+) the internet as we know it has been largely replaced by interactive VR networks. The titular "Otherland" is a hyper-realistic network constructed in secret by the most wealthy and powerful individuals on the planet - and somehow, it's putting children all over the world into comas. If you decide to read it, I highly recommend taking multi-colored post-it notes or a few highlighters and tagging each chapter by the characters involved. That way, when things start picking up and you're left hanging at the end of a chapter ("Paul Jonas" is the worst offender here), you can skip ahead to their next appearance, rather than starting the rollercoaster/cliffhanger process all over again with the next set of characters. ...This applies to all four books. It does not get better except towards the end of each volume.
Currently reading Operation Paperclip: The Secret Intelligence Program that Brought Nazi Scientists to America by Annie Jacobsen. Considered to be the most in-depth account of the Paperclip recruits and their American counterparts. She had access to the various documents declassified by the Nazi War Crimes Disclosure Act of 1998. "Jacobsen tracks 21 of these Nazi scientists and technicians. Eight of her subjects had worked directly with Hitler, Himmler or Göring; 15 were active Nazi Party members; 10 served in paramilitary squads like the SA and SS; and six were tried at Nuremberg. A few familiar figures pop up, including several pioneers in space exploration — Wernher von Braun, Hubertus Strughold, Walter Dornberger and Arthur Rudolph."
The Bridge on the Drina by Ivo Andrić. For some context; Ivo was a Yugoslav poet and novelist, whose writings mainly dealt with Bosnia's occupation under the Ottomans. In 1914, he was arrested by Austria-Hungary under suspicion of being involved with the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, and was released in 1917 as they couldn't find evidence. He eventually became the Yugoslavian ambassador to Germany in 1939, but this was quickly ended by 1941 when Nazi Germany decided 'hey, screw it, let's invade the Yugoslavs and genocide the Serbs because they had the courage to still fight us after we've steamrolled their country!'. He spent the remainder of World War II in his friend's apartment under house arrest by the Nazis, which is when this book was written. He was also given the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1961 over the likes of Tolkien and John Steinbeck. Pretty cool, I guess. Anyway, the book is about exactly what the name implies: a bridge on the river Drina, located in the Bosnian town of Višegrad (pronounced vi-chi-grad). The bridge stands as a silent witness to events from the mid-16th century when it was built by the Ottomans, until its partial destruction in World War I. It covers Bosnia's Ottoman rule, and Austro-Hungarian rule. It describes the lives, destinies, and relationships of the local inhabitants - the Orthodox Serbians and Muslim Bosniaks - over around four centuries. The part where hundreds of Bosnians are massacred by Serb forces on the bridge in 1992 aren't a part of this book as it was published in 1945, but yeah, testament to this bridge's history. Its seen some things, man. It opens up with a young Serbian boy being taken by the Ottomans as part of the blood tax program - where the Turks would take young Christian South-Eastern European boys aged 8 to 18 and force them to serve the state. They were forced to convert to Islam, and usually served as Janissaries. Anyway, the mum of the boy cries on the river and calls out for her son: a memory which haunts him. He grows up to become the Grand Vizier - essentially becoming the ruler of the empire - and oversees Ottoman rule in Eastern Europe, and orders the construction of a bridge where he and his mother were separated. I have no idea if the last part is true or not, but the rest is historical fact and he did order construction of the bridge, which, as the book details, was quite bloody and the workers didn't particularly enjoy their working conditions: the Ottomans solved their revolt by impaling them on weapons, which the book also details. During the rest of the book, its a central point of the important parts of Višegrad resident's lives. It sees much of the Austrian invasion of Southern Europe, the First Serbian Uprising - the Turks put the heads of Serbian rebels on stakes on the bridge, the formation of trade unions and Socialism's arrival to the town, newspapers infecting the townspeople's brains with nationalism, the Balkan wars, and a little bit of the Great War until the Austrians destroy the bridge to stop the Serbians kicking their ass even more. Really interesting if you're into history, and especially the history of the Balkans. Ivo was a commie and played a part in the government that made Yugoslavia pretty successful for a Communist state tho so you Americans might not wanna buy into this red propaganda (/s)
Queer by William S. Burroughs. It was written between 1951 and 1952, after William had shot his wife in the head and killed her while playing a game of William Tell and intoxicated. A lot of the guilt he experiences from that drips into the book. It was published in 1985, held back for many years due to the themes of homosexuality displayed within the book being deemed unsuitable for publishing. It's about a man named Lee, an American expat living in Mexico City, who survives off part-time jobs and G.I Bill benefits alongside others around him. He's addicted to drugs, is insecure, and just overall lacks confidence. He desires a man named Gene Allerton, a discharged Navy serviceman from Florida. Contains humour, some pretty dark stuff, and a quest to South America to go find a drug called Yage, which ties the book in with his previous novel, Junkie, which I haven't read yet.
Well, I haven't seen these mentioned : Excellent SF : the Mars trilogy, by Kim Stanley robinson Distress, by Greg Egan great fun : changing places, by David Lodge but his other books are good too. The discworld serie, by Terry Pratchett, had me laughing out loud in the public transportation system. the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy serie was even more funny and I cried with laughters a few time reading it. enthralling : Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel's legacy serie (warning : 18+) The talisman (Stephen King and Peter Straub) treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson horror : Clive Barker's books and of course heaps and heaps of french litterature but I don't know how well these were translated and if it's worth reading them in another language, especially with the 'nouveau roman' where style is of preeminent importance. try Jules Verne's " l'île mystérieuse (= the mysterious island)", but the translations of Verne's work in english are usually absolutely horrible... abridged passages, misstranslations, etc. abunds here...
Would it be appropriate for children? I mean, I'm not a kid, but I rather only read books young people could endure, too. As far as things happening or general tone go. But I guess I did also enjoy Oliver Twist, which has got some rather dark events, so I suppose I'm not that sensitive. (I feel like the quality of my English was a bit poor in this post, but oh well.)
I would recommend it for children. In fact, Jules Verne was wrongly thought as a writer of books for children, as his stories are full of adventures (e.g. 20.000 leagues under the sea, or around the world in eighty days), but avoid anything that could have appeared gross or uncouth to his 19th century bourgeois peers. Some even have children as leading characters. No "gallivanting" here. Verne was also a strong believer in the power of science (as you can see in some of his characters, like Captain Nemo with his Nautilus submarine and electricity-powered diving suits, etc.) as a tool to conquer nature and improve the conditions of human life. 'Mysterious Island' reminds of the "swiss family robinson ", for example, but with five marooned men instead of a family, that apply their respective knowledges to survive and find a way to go back to civilization.
Got a few books for Christmas, one of them being All Systems Red by Martha Wells - the first of "The Murderbot Diaries." Essentially, "SecUnit" - an android Security guard, who privately refers to itself as Murderbot - has disabled its control systems. Rather than going on a murderous rampage, SecUnit prefers to veg out on the galactic-network equivalent of Netflix, and just wants to be left alone to watch tv. ...Of course, when you're a lethal security android, "life" has other plans... -I kinda enjoyed this one, it's a fun read. But at the same time, it's quite short, and written in a very casual tone. Combined with first-person perspective, it feels more like sitting on a couch listening to SecUnit recount its tale over a couple of beers. Maybe that was the intent? Hard to differentiate between "lazy" writing as a stylistic choice, and just plain lazy writing.
It's a good thing Keph still posts here or I'd keep losing this thread! If you're tired of waiting for the next Harry Dresden, I found a series that closely resembles it. Alex Verus by Benedict Jacka. Is it as good as Harry Dresden? No. Jim Butcher is the master. Alex Verus is a fun read though. I think what I liked most about it was watching it get better as the series went along. Book 1 is definitely "the cheap knockoff". Books 2-4 is "hmm, it's getting better". Books 5-8 are "heh, this really became more of its own thing, much better... Oh no! The author fumbles! Inconsistency! He's trying to fix things from earlier books that he now wishes he'd written differently!" There's things to like about the series and things to dislike. I was overall amused by it, and had a nice ride lasting 8 books and there's a 9th on the way I think. If you have no idea who Harry Dresden is, I highly recommend fixing that. I also would be surprised if you liked Alex Verus without first having read Dresden. Just like you should see Star Wars before you see Spaceballs. While it's not a 100% comedic spoof of Dresden, there are MANY fun nods in it.
Post 200! uhh... uhh... i need to post a book recommendation or book review? ok. I recommend Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark T. Sullivan. Here's the description, straight from Goodreads: Based on the true story of a forgotten hero, Beneath a Scarlet Sky is the triumphant, epic tale of one young man’s incredible courage and resilience during one of history’s darkest hours. Pino Lella wants nothing to do with the war or the Nazis. He’s a normal Italian teenager—obsessed with music, food, and girls—but his days of innocence are numbered. When his family home in Milan is destroyed by Allied bombs, Pino joins an underground railroad helping Jews escape over the Alps, and falls for Anna, a beautiful widow six years his senior. In an attempt to protect him, Pino’s parents force him to enlist as a German soldier—a move they think will keep him out of combat. But after Pino is injured, he is recruited at the tender age of eighteen to become the personal driver for Adolf Hitler’s left hand in Italy, General Hans Leyers, one of the Third Reich’s most mysterious and powerful commanders. Now, with the opportunity to spy for the Allies inside the German High Command, Pino endures the horrors of the war and the Nazi occupation by fighting in secret, his courage bolstered by his love for Anna and for the life he dreams they will one day share.
If you all know me, I love dragons, every series I've read for the past 4 years includes a plot point involving dragons and the series I just finished is no exception. For all the dragon lovers, I suggest Wings of Fire (link below for now). Simply put, Wings of Fire follows the journey of 5 dragons known as The Dragonets of Destiny. They're destined to stop the SandWing war and declare a queen after years of fighting between the 7 tribes due to the SandWing queens' inability to negotiate. Each book comes from the point of view of a different dragonet. Clay, the MudWing for book 1, Tsunami, the SeaWing for book 2, Glory, the RainWing for book 3, Starflight, the NightWing for book 4, and Sunny, the SandWing for book 5. In addition to this, the series is filled with political intrigue, plot twists you'll never see coming, and interesting characters in a fantasy world in turmoil. It's a great series for young adults and even adults, the plot, though it may sound cliché (and it can be at times) changes and alters the prophesied hero storyline in ways you may not expect. On a final note, Wings of Fire has also started a graphic novel series recently, so if that interests you, book 1 is available. As well, the series is still going strong. Once you finish series 1 (books 1 - 5) there is series 2, which introduces new characters and a new plot. Series 3 starts this year as well with book 11. So, I hope you do give Wings of Fire a read! https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13228487-the-dragonet-prophecy
