First of all I got a lot of books in my reading pile, but I narrowed down the list to 10 I might read soon. Just wondering if the three of you who follow this blog have any particular interest in learning my reaction to any of them to give them priority:
The Warlord's Legacy by Ari Marmell
No Hero by Johnathan Wood
Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep
Skulls by Tim Marquitz
The Soul Mirror by Carol Berg
Among Thieves by Douglas Hulick
The President's Vampire by Christopher Farnsworth
Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence
Black Prism by Brent Weeks
City of Hope & Despair by Ian Whates
Also of interest, last night and today the essay titled Boys and Reading: Is There Any Hope? posted in the NY Times has raised a bit of a controversy. And although I don't agree with the essay as a whole, and he mentions a lot of misguided crap, I think he raises some good points that are quite valid and are worth considering. Yet, what I've found more troubling is the reaction to the essay, in part completely ridiculing the issue. It makes little sense to me, and completely devalues all the female authors who have lodged similar complaints, in other areas of fiction, and have struggled to position themselves as they are currently (and still do). I don't know, a lot of hypocrisy going around in my opinion, and that pisses me off more than what some ass-hat in the NY Times has to say. It's like no one is willing to do a bit of listening for understanding and the only interest is furthering selfish agendas using straw-man arguments, whatever they may be.
Here are some links of interest/relevance (had some others, but can't find them now damnit):
Through a Forest of Ideas
Sundra Mitchell's Blog
Currently reading Skeleton Crew by Cameron Haley and it's been quite good so far. More on that later.
And lastly, some George Carlin because I love him:
My vote's for 'Skulls' by Tim Marquitz. This is in no way motivated by the notion that you might have lost your copy :)
ReplyDeleteLOL, I just found it. It was under the bed collecting dust.
ReplyDeleteNormally, I would second Mark's suggestion, but I'm not sure it's your thing. I would definitely choose Prince of Thorns over Skulls, were I you.
ReplyDeleteThis is just great, of the 3 people that follow this blog, 2 of them are authors with hidden agendas. You guys are not fooling me with your mind games!
ReplyDeleteAmongst the ones above, "Among Thieves" & "Skulls" are good options. Touch of Frost is a fun YA read, in the HP mould. Very entertaining and leaves you wanting to read the next book.
ReplyDeleteMihir
I'd say Among Thieves. I just recently finished the book myself and would be interested in seeing what you think of it.
ReplyDeleteIf you've ever read The Lies of Locke Lamora you'll enjoy this, but you will be left feeling it was a bit lacking. It's a shame, but it's hard not to compare the two. Still, it's a good book.
Yep, I've read Lynch's books. Everything being said about Among Thieves leads me to belief it'll be a favorite of mine. I also like that it's in first person as it's currently my favorite type of narrative, which also gives me hopes for Prince of Thorns... and from all I heard, it's a book you might want to check out of you're a fan of Lynch and Among Thieves.
ReplyDeleteYes! The first person narrative really made Among Thieves wonderful. I'm definitely loving that perspective the most these days as well. It definitely added a neat level to this kind of story.
ReplyDeleteI read a sample of Prince of Thorns, albeit a short one, and I'm not sure how I feel about the main character. I just don't really enjoy reading about kids and the one in this is what? ten? twelve? I can't remember. I liked what I was able to see of the world in the sample, but I'm not sure that justifies the price of the book right now. I'll probably end up getting this though despite what I think now.
I really liked Brent Weeks Night Angel trilogy so I would love if you read the Black Prism next.
ReplyDeleteI thought the Black Prism book was interesting. It had the same kind of charm that the Night Angel books did, but I thought the focus was better.
ReplyDeleteI still think, due in part to my having only read a couple of the others, that Mark's book is a good choice. It's dark, and while the protagonist is young, he doesn't come off that way. There's nothing childish about him.
It was a good read, and fast, lots of violence with an MC who doesn't pretend to be a victim.
I think I'm going to go with Prince of Thorns soon, not sure if it'll be next one, but i'll prioritize it. Been reading too much UF.
ReplyDeleteAnd I have to stop visiting this blog, every time I come to check it out, even when I know there's no new content I get the compulsion to watch the George Carlin video. Seen it about 10 times since last night.
Quite a week in books here! I've been adding to my WANT list to go shopping for here soon. But I'm going to have to save up as there are several on the list. lol. Hope you have a great week and enjoy all these books. There are a few here I do want to get at some point.
ReplyDeleteOkay, so I've been thinking on the next read... You have some tough choices here.
ReplyDeleteI have Warlords Legacy on my want list. But I think it's part of a series, is it? But I'm curious about hearing more on it.
AND
I've heard great things of Estep. And of Touch of Frost. So curious there as well.
AND
Black Prism. Just wonderful fantasy sound here. I want it. Haven't got it yet. But one that I need. Have heard a little slow here, but I remind myself it's the start. So curious there too.
See, not much help. lol. Best of luck picking!
Yes, part of a series that started with Conqueror's Shadow. I also have his Goblin Corps book, which I don't know if it takes in the same world. The latter is the book I'm more interested in, but want to read Warlord first.
ReplyDeleteI've enjoyed the Estep UF series Elemental Assassins, so I'm curious about her YA book particularly since Mihir enjoyed it. But not a fan of psychometry (which is another reason I didn't like Blue Diablo among other things)
I have Estep's UF series here. (Needing more time to get to them though.) And Mihir did enjoy her YA book. Now I'm curious too.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to remember you're not much a fan of psychometry. That's nice to know.
I bet you will.
ReplyDeleteSince I'm hitting the big time now, two books for review arrived, so I'll tackle those first. Then it'll be Prince of Thorns time.
I'm gonna say Prince of Thorns, mainly because I like your spin on these things and I want to read that myself. Have you read Dead Iron by Devon Monk? I'm reading that at present and I quite enjoy her take on the whole steampunk concept.
ReplyDeleteI have Dead Iron, haven't had the chance to read it yet. Don't know when I will, but I'll try to fit it in next month somewhere. Heard good things about it though.
ReplyDelete