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Post by DarkKnight on Jan 13, 2013 0:03:57 GMT -5
Haven't made it to The Hunger Games yet, but I did finally read The Man Who Was Thursday, by G.K. Chesterton. I wanted to give myself a break from books with swordfights, and guess what it had in Chapter 10? Overall, I enjoyed the book and the writing, although I'm not sure I get the ending.
Right now, I'm also reading The Scar, by Sergey and Marina Dyachenko. So far, I'm enjoying it - it's an interesting premise.
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Post by Solana on Feb 17, 2013 9:33:30 GMT -5
I've been reading 'Trickster's Queen' again after not touching it for a year and a half due to Tamora Pierce's signature on the title page. ;D (Insert fan's squeal of joy.) I've forgotten how awesome this book is. It's delightful to read a good fantasy book told from the viewpoint of someone who isn't a strict warrior or mage, but a spy working on a rebellion. The costs in human lives is never shied away from, and the pacing is excellent. Tamora did mention that it was harder to write, because with a spy protagonist, you can't just add a fight where you need to pick up the action. Spies point out targets, not go after them themselves. (Although Michael Westin might have to disagree.) Even so, I'm being VERY CAREFUL with the book with its treasure. I told her when she was signing it that I wanted to do the same for her with one of my books one day.
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Post by Solana on May 24, 2013 17:43:58 GMT -5
Ah, so good to be in a bookstore again to sample so many delights. ;D
My latest pick has been the Phoenix Wright manga. I haven't played the games yet, but the manga is proving a good mix of comedy and analysis, interjected with plenty of hardcore 'Objection!'s. I might have to look for the games after this, or at least enjoy the beloved 'Boot to the Head' parody on youtube.
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Post by DarkKnight on May 28, 2013 9:34:19 GMT -5
Have you seen the sped up version?
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Post by Anon Mous on Jul 31, 2013 23:24:51 GMT -5
So I don't read too often, but it's something to do on break time. I've been reading Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, and am liking the style, but getting close to the finish. So, I need a recommendation from you book readers as to which Gaiman book to pick up next.
So far I have only read Neverwhere and Good Omens, so the field is open.
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Post by Solana on Sept 24, 2013 12:24:59 GMT -5
Aryn is passing out earmuffs to everyone. The thickest, heavy-duty ones. Caesar- Is Auntie Solana going swimming with the dolphins today? Aryn- Nope, but good guess. Skylark- The next season of Castle started, and the newest book came out. Aryn- True, but that's a piece of it. Ambrienne (examining the muffs)- There's only one book that these would need. A new Tamora Pierce. Aryn- Bingo! ;D (The Shrine's hotel door opens, and brisk footsteps are heard.) Muffs up, everyone. Solana ran in happily, book already open in her hands to read. Squeals of joy could be heard until she made it to her room and shut the door. Aryn (after giving the 'all-clear')- I hope no one needs her today. She won't be out until the book is done. Yes, my friends. After being delayed for five months, a new book by my favorite author has come in. It worked out great because even though I'm cashing in vacation days, my manager asked me to come in a few hours last night for time and a half. The book was due out today, but was set out early. And it's already amazing. There's also the newest 'Richard Castle' book and new books by Jim Hines about an organization that gets their magic from books, (with a Browncoat protagonist). It's a good time to be working in a bookstore! ;D (Not that there's a bad time, just varying levels of awesomeness.)
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Post by Rune Lai on Sept 25, 2013 16:55:58 GMT -5
I've yet to read anything by Jim Hines, but I follow his blog/Twitter and the man is simply awesome. One of these days I'll remedy the not reading his stuff part since it seems a good way to pay for all the other entertainment he's given me.
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Post by Solana on Sept 26, 2013 14:07:56 GMT -5
Have you seen the photo shoot where he tried to replicate (often ridiculous) poses on book covers? (Note to self, find his blog!)
His Princess series is fantastic. Yes, so many have been dipping their pen into the fairy tale well lately, but it's different, well done, sometimes dark and sometimes funny.
His Magic Ex Libris series is mostly great. Amazing idea and lots of references to great fantasy authors (and a Tamora Pierce nod in his second ;D), but I'll be honest, the endings on both books have felt rushed. As if he's playing in the beginning, enjoying drawing things out, then, "Oh, crap, I have to wrap this up." I would also love to hear your thoughts on the character Lena as a writer, but won't say more than that for spoilers.
I didn't read the Goblin series, but my best friend loved it. I'll have to hunt it down as well.
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Post by Rune Lai on Sept 27, 2013 11:44:14 GMT -5
I'll one-up seeing the photos of him replicating cover art with seeing him posing in person. When I was at Worldcon last year I went to the cover art panel where he got up in front of the audience to demonstrate one of the ridiculous poses. (Thankfully he did not hurt himself, though he and the other panelists joked about it.) I want to pick up his Princess series since I've heard good things about it, but I'm not quite as certain about his Magic Ex Libris books just because sounds like I'd enjoy it better if I was really into pop culture, but I'm not. I've read his blog posts about Lena though, and I like what he's trying to do with her. He also has my admiration for pushing to get as close a repesentative of her on the cover of the second book as possible.
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Post by Solana on Sept 27, 2013 19:51:18 GMT -5
You got to see him in person?! Niiiiiiiiiiiice! Was he as cool in real-life as he is in his writing?
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Post by Rune Lai on Oct 4, 2013 18:42:18 GMT -5
Yes, Jim Hines is every bit as cool in person as he is on the web.
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Post by Rune Lai on Oct 13, 2013 15:50:49 GMT -5
I'm a bit of a WWI buff, but it's hard to find many contemporary stories set during the time period, let alone science fiction/fantasy stories. So when I attended an author reading at a bookstore and spotted By the Blood of Heroes on the shelves (not by the author in question) I was intrigued.
I'm not a big zombie fan, but zombies in WWI sounded better than nothing. The book was listed in the horror section though, and I don't like being scared or disgusted so for a long time I didn't buy it.
But eventually I started writing a story involving the Red Baron and decided I should purchase the book as research so I could see someone else's fictional take on him (the Red Baron is the main bad guy in the zombie book).
By the Blood of Heroes is pretty much a summer movie flick in book form. There are a few gruesome moments, but the story never gets bogged down in them, favoring the action side of things instead.
There are Hollywood style inaccuracies (getting the German airplane models confused when a quick visit to Wikipedia will show that the Fokker D.VII was clearly not a triplane) and the Red Baron comes off as a caricature. The real Red Baron was a pretty complex person. While he was a brutually efficient opponent, he was also the kind of guy who refused a desk job because he believed if the men in the trenches had no choice in facing the enemy, neither should he. (High Command was worried about the morale blow if he was killed.) The real Red Baron was respected enough by friend and enemy alike that when he died on their side of the lines the British buried him with full military honors.
The novel's Red Baron... well, he's a summer movie bad guy, which means all he cares about is taking over the world (no, seriously...). He's crazy (probably because he's now undead) and ends up in a lot of situations that the real Red Baron would likely have nothing to do with. His personality is a Prussian stereotype and he obsesses about things the real Red Baron would not have cared about. I suspect he was selected as the main bad guy because nobody else on the German side is notorious enough to register in the eyes of English speaking audiences. Whereas the Red Baron will endure as long as Peanuts comics are printed. (Thank you, Snoopy.)
Probably the novel's greatest weakness is trying to see anything from the German point of view. Even if I buy into the movie bad guy version of the Red Baron by assuming being undead turned him crazy, who in Germany thinks that making zombies out of their own dead soldiers is a good idea? High Command might like it on the strategic level (don't have to worry about troop supply), but you'd think after three years of turning their dead sons and husbands into zombies there would be a civilian revolt.
There's a scene where one of the characters discovers the Red Baron is writing to his brother Lothar. It's just an extraneous comment, Lothar never appears in the book, but it made me wonder: "What does Lothar think of his brother being undead? How has their relationship changed?" We don't get the human side of any of the German characters, who are mostly throwaway mooks, sadistic POW camp administrators, and evil scientists. What makes undead Red Baron so confident that if his plans to defeat the Allies work he would have the popular support to take over the throne of the German Empire? Is he dreaming or is the German public really in favor of an undead emperor?
That said, the book was decent popcorn fun. I completely lost it when the Red Baron got into a fistfight with one of the heroes who was wearing a funky Tesla-designed vest that was supposed to enhance his strength for X seconds (which I pictured as an inflatable life jacket). After that I was pretty much laughing through the rest of the book. The Red Baron got run over by a two ton truck! Oh snap he's getting up again! The Red Baron's plane crashed, it looks like he's dead, but in the final epilogue scene a hand comes out and grabs a nearby rat! Oh noes!
It looks like the next book is coming out next year and I will most likely pick it up. It's not a good book for historicial accuracy (even allowing for the deviations that account for zombies), but it's not that bad if you just need some B-movie action-adventure.
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Post by Solana on Mar 6, 2014 22:13:35 GMT -5
Well, Rune, I have found more reasons to fall in love with Jim Hines. At work, we are encouraged to each pick a title and try to handsell 100 copies of it. I have chosen 'Libriomancer', due to its sheer awesomeness. I've sung its praises to many co-workers and have a copy always by my register. Usually when they're interested, mentioning the beginning scene where Isaac is working in a library trying to fend off Stephanie Meyer vampires leaked from 'Twilight' books and reciting Star Wars quotes is enough to make the sale. It's not an easy sell, and I do have to be very careful. I've had a lot of parents look at the sweet cover shot of Isaac in a long brown coat (Firefly for the win!) pulling Excalibur out of a book, and mention that they'd like it for their kids. I then have to explain some of the adult themes with Lena, especially the polyamory portions, and let them decide if the kids are ready for it. I'll take fewer sales over pissed off parents storming in. I won't tell people how to raise their kids, but will tell them frankly what's in it so that there aren't unpleasant surprises. I've also picked up the Jig the Goblin series. My best friend loved it, and more Jim Hines is always a good thing.
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Post by Ambrienne on Mar 7, 2014 14:13:03 GMT -5
You guys make me wonder if I should try looking up his books next. Not that I have any shortage of books yet. There's a couple of reasons why. First off, when my mother died, she left a sizable number of unread books behind. Some of them were in the middle of a series, and me, being the type of person I am, wanted to start at the beginning of the series. The thing is, Cleo Coyle (author of Coffeehouse Mysteries and Haunted Bookshop Mysteries) and Kate Collins (Flowershop Mysteries) are very prolific authors. Thank you, local library/inter-library loan system. I think it's one of the few things a person can be sure that their tax dollars are not wasted on. I just finished the last currently released book in each of those three sets this past week. If you care to look the authors up on Amazon or something for giggles, you can see that I read more pages over the past four months that most people read in four years. The mysteries would fall into the 'cozy' category, but the characters are pretty fun. I have to say that I'm impressed at the sheer amount of work/sourcing that goes into getting a decent cup of joe. Not that I can drink coffee. Ahem. The second reason is that the local bookstore, which has been in this area longer than I have, is going out of business. So, I went in there... and tried not to tried not to drool at the selection. It reminded me of when I was a kid. There's something awesome about seeing all these huge stacks of books everywhere. I managed to get about 7 or 8 books for the same price today's new paperbacks are going for. One of them was Esther Freisner's Wishing Season. Yes, this is the book with the genie who gets stuck answering unlimited wishes because he forgot the 'however' clause. ::makes a fort out of books still to be read and runs off to start on the next one::
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Post by Solana on Mar 9, 2014 9:30:28 GMT -5
Ooh, an Esther Freisner title I haven't read yet? I'm going to have to check that one out. If you like, I'd be happy to set you up with some Jim Hines goodness, my friend. Call it a thank you for introducing me to Angelique.
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