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Kerela



Joined: 10 Sep 2005
Posts: 372
Location: Germany

PostPosted: Sun Jan 06, 2008 4:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrel

It's well strange Laughing and also quite thick and heavy. I know that sounds stupid, but it's really a bit difficult to read a book, that weights more than 1 kg Confused but apart from that I somehow like it.
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Alia



Joined: 17 Sep 2007
Posts: 246

PostPosted: Sun Jan 06, 2008 4:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well, in Poland we got "Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell" in three tomes, so it was pretty easy to read. I even got the authograph on book one. And I must admit it was fun to read - but then I am quite a fan of 18th and 19th English novels, so something written in this tradition appealed to me greatly.
"The Ladies of Grace-Adieu", a collection of stories, is still waiting on my bookshelf, but it's a hardcover edition, difficult to read on the bus.
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Mantyluoto



Joined: 21 Sep 2005
Posts: 573
Location: Somerset, UK

PostPosted: Sun Jan 06, 2008 6:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

currently reading Conn Iggulden's "Wolf of the Plains"

A really great read, full of depth and excitement, it has me longing to be a Mongol horse warrior......

Lizzy can i borrow a horse?!!!
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Kerela



Joined: 10 Sep 2005
Posts: 372
Location: Germany

PostPosted: Mon Jan 07, 2008 9:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Alia wrote:
Well, in Poland we got "Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell" in three tomes, so it was pretty easy to read. I even got the authograph on book one. And I must admit it was fun to read - but then I am quite a fan of 18th and 19th English novels, so something written in this tradition appealed to me greatly.


Well, there's also a three Volume-edition (at least in English, I didn't look forthe German one), but I accidentially stumbled across the one Volume hardcover for only 4,50 ? so I couldn't resist Rolling Eyes . Anyway now I got through the Mr. Norrel-book, and now I'll take a break with it and start with 'Brother Grimm'. It's a crime-story written by an american author but plays in Hamburg, Germany, so the author uses the German terms for all the police-related stufflike Landeskriminalamt, Spurensicherung or Hauptkommisar, which sounds quite funny (and somehow reminds me of non-German Bands, playing in Germany, that try to speak at least a bit German, and usually and in some strange Englisch-German Mixture Laughing )
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Deornoth



Joined: 08 Oct 2007
Posts: 446

PostPosted: Tue Jan 08, 2008 12:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just finished reading 'Wastelands', a collection of post apocalyptic tales edited by John Joseph Adams. Not all of the stories were to my taste but every single one of them held my attention and kept me reading until the end. I didn't realise that there were so many ways in which the world could end! What was also interesting were the ways in which different people reacted to events, you get the whole spectrum ranging from fight plus flight to a guy just sat drinking gin on someone elses porch. A book that's entertaining and thought provoking with something for everyone. My full review is Here
Jim Butcher's latest Harry Dresden book ('White Night') is up next...
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Deornoth



Joined: 08 Oct 2007
Posts: 446

PostPosted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 1:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just finished reading 'White Night', the latest in Jim Butcher's 'Harry Dresden'. I loved it while it was just a 'supernatural detective thriller', Butcher's Chicago is a very atmospheric setting and his characters are interesting enough to want to stick with. Good story too! What spoiled it for me though was when the story went from being 'detective pulp' to 'kick the crap out of monsters'. It didn't quite work for me, should have stuck with either one or the other... My full review is over Here .
Next up is Mike Resnick's 'Starship:Mercenary'?
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Deornoth



Joined: 08 Oct 2007
Posts: 446

PostPosted: Sun Jan 13, 2008 12:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ate a dodgy curry on Friday night so ended up waking up really early on Saturday morning... I ended up reading Anne & Todd McCafferey's 'Dragonharper' which was a nice light read with some decent characters that I wanted to get to know more. The only thing was that the plague (that the blurb made so much of) didn't come across as threatening at all and more than a bit anti-climatic. There was also the fact that a pretty important plot point was given away right at the very beginning... Rolling Eyes Probably one for fans of the series rather than anyone else, my full review is over Here.
I'm now finishing off 'Starship: Mercenary' (Mike Resnick) and I've also got Charlie Huston's 'The Shotgun Rule' on the go as well.
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Deornoth



Joined: 08 Oct 2007
Posts: 446

PostPosted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 11:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've just finished 'Starship: Mercenary' (Mike Resnick), the third in a series of a starship crew on the run from the law and very much like the A-Team with laser guns! It's a great read in a 'pulp sci-fi space opera' kind of way; loads of exotic locations, vicious space pirates and tense cliffhanger moments. It was let down though by an ending that you won't see coming purely because it should never have happened! The book also came across as not knowing whether it was a novel or a collection of short stories... My full review is over Here.
I'm finishing up with Charlie Huston's 'The Shotgun Rule' and then it's onto Tom Lloyd's 'The Twilight Herald'.
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Tk421



Joined: 06 Jan 2005
Posts: 275
Location: United Kingdom

PostPosted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 11:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've just recently finished The Twilight Herald. Lots more action, which is never a bad thing. Zhia Vukotic and Major Jachen are now firmly amongst my new favourite characters.

I've moved onto Making Money by Terry Pratchett. First few pages have had me laughing out loud so that can't be bad.
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Deornoth



Joined: 08 Oct 2007
Posts: 446

PostPosted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 12:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've got the house to myself so finished up with Charlie Huston's 'The Shotgun Rule' last night. There wasn't a vampire in sight this time but the book was still full of all the goodness I've come to expect from Huston. A teenage 'rites of passage' tale that meets gang warfare in small town America, fast paced and action packed. The ending really blew me away as well Shocked My review is over Here.
I'm now working my way through Liz Williams' 'Snake Agent' (for the train to work) and Tom Lloyd Williams' 'The Twilight Herald'.

TK421 - I'm about a hundred pages into 'Twilight Herald' and there's not a lot happening so far. Tell me that things pick up?
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Tk421



Joined: 06 Jan 2005
Posts: 275
Location: United Kingdom

PostPosted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 2:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

yes it does pick up a fair bit. The city of Scree is where it truly kicks off.
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Deornoth



Joined: 08 Oct 2007
Posts: 446

PostPosted: Thu Jan 17, 2008 11:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just finished reading Liz Williams' 'Snake Agent', a near future tale where a human police officer has to work with his demonic counterpart (from Hell) in order to solve the case of a missing ghost. The worldbuilding can sometimes be a bit sparse (usually at times when you want to know more) but the story itself makes up for this with concepts that kept me reading and a plot that unfolded at a decent speed. My review is over Here. I was having trouble getting into 'The Twilight Herald' so I've picked up Chris Wooding's 'The Fade' instead.
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Selik



Joined: 20 Jan 2005
Posts: 1524
Location: South Shields

PostPosted: Fri Jan 18, 2008 1:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You? Having trouble getting into a book? But...but, you are the ultimate book reader. Mere mortals cannot keep up!!

How has this occurred? Razz
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Deornoth



Joined: 08 Oct 2007
Posts: 446

PostPosted: Fri Jan 18, 2008 4:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Selik wrote:
You? Having trouble getting into a book? But...but, you are the ultimate book reader. Mere mortals cannot keep up!!

How has this occurred? Razz


Embarassed

You know those days when you grab a burger for lunch then suddenly realise you wanted a salad instead? That's kinda what happened here Wink
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Alia



Joined: 17 Sep 2007
Posts: 246

PostPosted: Fri Jan 18, 2008 7:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Have just finished Pratchett's "Wintersmith". And it was real fun to read - but then, I'm a fan of Discworld's witches, so I may be a little biased.
Now I can't decide whether to start with Clarke's "Ladies of Grace-Adieu", or with a Polish novel (book one was fun, book two is waiting to be read, book three hasn't been written yet and we may wait for another two-three years for it).
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