What are you reading?

[Mereel Ma'viin]

What the title says

I read really fast, and I can usually pretty nearly memorize a book by the fifth read-through. Needless to say, I'm always on the lookout for fresh reading material

At the moment, I've got two or three different books going. I recently started re-reading Terry Brooks' Voyage of the Jerle Shannara trilogy. Pretty standard fantasy, but no less enjoyable for it. The good thing about it is that it ties into his previous works, but it doesn't require that you read them beforehand.

At the same time, I'm also reading the novelization for The Force Unleashed. It follows the storyline of the PS3 version pretty closely, with a few really minor plot points omitted along the way.

Also, I'm working on whatever detective novel happens to be handy. I just finished reading one of Elizabeth George's Inspector Lynley mysteries, and I've been reading Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe books off-and-on as well (also watching the for-television adaptions that A&E did a few years back).

Finally, I just ordered a copy of Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove, which should arrive in a few days. I saw the miniseries a couple of weeks ago, and the miniseries version of the prequel Comanche Moon, and since I enjoyed both, and I've heard that the books are better still, I figured that would be something worth buying.

So, if anyone else is reading something really interesting, I'd love to hear about it ;D

[Jos Nelsh]

Amazingly, every time a book topic comes up, I happen to be reading Jack Vance.

Right now I'm reading his Tales of the Dying Earth, which is actually a collection of all his books from the Dying Earth era. It contains The Dying Earth (a collection of short stories), the two Cugel books; The Eyes of the Overworld, and Cugel's Saga, and last but not least Rhialto the Marvellous (which includes the brilliant story Morreion).

I have all these books in their Dutch translations, but I'm making an effort to collect all Vance's books in English, because his style and vocabulary are absolutely unrivalled. One of my best friends spotted this English volume and bought it for me! So, I'm finally reading these books in English!

Before this, I was reading Vance's Cadwal Chronicles, which includes the three books Araminta Station, Ecce and Old Earth and Throy.

I would post a sample of these book for your enjoyment, but I can't seem to find a good fragment online (in English).

After finishing the Tales of the Dying Earth, I will be hunting bookstores for an English version of the Lyonesse trilogy. (Suldrun's Garden, The Green Pearl, Madouc).

I also have some Star Wars books lying around that I still need to read; Darth Maul - Shadow Hunter, The Approaching Storm and (an oldie:) Han Solo at Star's End. I'm actually more interested in other Star Wars books though, like the Republic Commando novels, but I can't find them anywhere.

Are the 'Coruscant Nights' books any good?

[Mereel Ma'viin]

Mar 19, 2009 15:01:46 GMT 1 Jos Nelsh said:

Amazingly, every time a book topic comes up, I happen to be reading Jack Vance.

Haha, cool ;D I've never read anything by Vance, but sci-fi/fantasy is one of my favorite genres. I own or have read most of the more recent Star Wars novels, all but the most recent Dune novels (including the prequels written by Frank Herbert's son), Isaac Asimov's Foundation and Robot books, Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, etc.

Which reminds me. The last book of the Wheel of Time is due out late this year. Jordan died last year (I think), so it's being completed by Brandon Sanderson. I recently read a short story of his, and I have to say that it sounds pretty good. According to his blog, the book is already longer than any of the previous novels, and may end up being split into two volumes.

About the Republic Commando novels, if ever you should come across them, get them if at all possible. IMO, they're some of the best of the Clone Wars-era books. The characters feel like real people, with personalities that are utterly unique, despite (or perhaps because of) the fact that most of them are genetically identical. Some people are put off by the fact that the novels present the Jedi Order in a less-than-complimentary light, but for me it adds a new dimension, and shows how it was that Palpatine could get away with one of the greatest cons in galactic history.

For other SW books, Legacy of the Force is good, as is Millennium Falcon which delves into the backstory of the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy. The ending is a little bizarre, but the story itself is very interesting. I haven't read any of the Coruscant Nights books, but I think that they've got the same authors as the MedStar duology, so if you've read them that might give you an idea of what to expect.

[Jos Nelsh]

I absolutely recommend Vance. His fantasy works are unlike any other fantasy I've read. His settings, his themes, his way of describing situations, his marvellous dialogue is totally different from anything I've ever read. The incredible dry sense of humour.. he implies more than that he is explicit. It's simply fantastic.

The same goes for his Sci-Fi. It's unlike anything else in the genre. The fact that it's in the future is more of a backdrop for the stories than anything else. The stories hardly involve technology, and don't revolve around scientifical themes or plotlines. Vance's storytelling is more about the human nature, and all the bizarre forms it may take.

More or less all of his works can roughly be divided into two eras...

1) The Gaean Reach - I'd say this is about 85 % of his work. It's set far in the future.. mankind has developed interstellar travel long ago and has spread out through the universe... a sizeable portion of the galaxy has been colonized for a long time. In fact the Reach has become so big, that large parts have become ungovernable. Isolated clusters of stars at the edges of the Reach are under the rule of tyrants, and then there is also a region totally lawless, known as 'The Beyond'. Earth still exists inside the Reach, and is referred to as 'Old Earth'.

2) The Dying Earth - This is set even further in the future... the dying sun is feeble and red and Earth is ancient beyond knowledge. A million cities have fallen to dust. Magic and science have become one... the people make the most of now, for the sun might extinguish any moment!

As far as I know, about the only major exceptions to these two settings, are Tschai, Planet of Adventure (which takes place in the future, but closer to the present than the Gaean Reach era), and the Lyonesse trilogy, which is the only story that takes place a few thousand years in the past, on Earth.

Some of Vance's older works, which were written for old scifi magazines in the fifties, read like detective stories - some of his later works have more literary layers and themes in them, but never does it take away from his amazing storytelling. Analysis of his style and vocabulary has shown that Vance has an extraordinarily big vocabulary which is only matched by Sir Walter Scott, and even surpasses such writers as Thomas Hardy and Jack London.

What's also great, is that his way of storytelling often leaves you guessing for some time at what the story is all about... it's like a movie that comes to life before your mind's eye, but you have no idea what is going to happen and you're not even sure who the main characters are. And once you think you know it, everything suddenly changes and the story turns out to be about something totally different, or even several things at once. A great example of this is the Cadwal Chronicles trilogy.

[ORJ_Pyro]

I am re reading the first two books of the wheel of time series (all I own at the moment), Also reading Raymond E. Fiest's Riftwar books as well, Along with a new author which I am loving!!!!

Brent Weeks - Night Angel Trilogy

I will re-write the blurb here.


For Durzo Blint, assassination is an art. And he is the city's most accomplished artist, his talents required from alleyway to courtly boudoir.

For Azoth, survival is precarious. Something you never take for granted. As a guild rat, he's grown up in the slums, and learned the hard way to judge people quickly - and to take risks. Risks like apprenticing himslef to Durzo Blint.

But to be accepted, Azoth must turn his back on his old life and embrace a new identity and name. As Kylar Stern, he must learn to navigate the assassins' world of dangerous politics and strange magics - cultivate a flair for death.


I aboslutely loved it.

But other than that anything by Anne Rice, her series takes on twists and turns depending on the book you read, some get very deep into diffrent aspects of life and time and views during those diffrent area's.

[Mereel Ma'viin]

I just finished Lonesome Dove, and I'd have to agree with the general consensus that the book is much better than the miniseries. The time constraints of film make it difficult to explore personalities, motivations, environments, backgrounds, and all the other little nuances that enrich any work of fiction. Overall, while the story is distinctly depressing, it was more than absorbing enough to keep me reading to the end. My only real complaint is that the ending was extremely abrupt and dissatisfying, even more so than that of the miniseries.

Next order of business is to acquire and read the other three books in the series, two prequels (Dead Man's Walk and Comanche Moon) and a sequel (Streets of Laredo).

[Lord of Hunger]

the Necronomicon...


not really...

[Jos Nelsh]

I chanced upon an English copy of Vance's Araminta Station. ;D

So now I can quote a passage for your enjoyment!

On Verd morning the satyr Latuun jumped upon an abutment near the lyceum, jerked his knotted brown arms, stamped goatish legs, then blew a skirling flourish on his pipes, to signify the beginning of Parilia. Jumping down into Wansey Way, then, blowing a melody of reedy phrases and rasping groundtones, he led a parade up Wansey Way, kicking out his hairy legs, leaping, stamping, strutting like a young animal. Costumed celebrants followed close behind, jigging and cavorting to the urgent music of Latuun's pipes, along with a score of decorated wagons, mechanical monsters, gorgeous ladies and stately gentlemen in sumptuous carriages. Musicians accompanied the procession, marching or riding on wagons; a phalanx of eight Bold Lions in costumes of tawny fur reared, charged and pounced on pretty girls along the way. Lines of gleeful children: small Pierrots and Punchinellos ran back and forth throwing handfuls of of flower petals, darting sometimes under the rearing legs of Latuun himself.

And who might be this satyr under his leering mask? Latuun's identity was supposed to be a profound secret, but clearly Latuun and the man who represented him were quite comfortable with each other's personalities. (...)

From: Araminta Station (Book One of the Cadwal Chronicles)

By Jack Vance

[Jos Nelsh]

I found two Republic Commando novels;

'True Colors' and 'Order 66', so I bought them. ;D Too bad that these are sequels though. Unfortunately they didn't have the first two books in the series; 'Hard Contact' and 'Triple Zero'.

Should I start reading True Colors right away or should I wait until I've read the first two?

[Mereel Ma'viin]

Wait. Definitely wait. I assure you that it won't make a bit of sense unless you read Hard Contact and Triple Zero first. Hard Contact establishes the characters, and Triple Zero builds on them, while the last two carry the story on to its conclusion (which, by the way, isn't precisely a conclusion, since the first novel of the Imperial Commando series is on its way). There are also two short stories, Omega Squad:Targets and Odds, that are not strictly necessary to read, but are referenced several times in the main books. Chronologically, the order is thus:

• Hard Contact
  
• Omega Squad: Targets
  
• Triple Zero
  
• Odds
  
• True Colors
  
• Order 66

[Jos Nelsh]

Thanks a lot, I'll wait then. It shouldn't be too hard to get a hold of the other ones. And it'll be worth it.

*starts on a new Vance book instead*