What book are you reading...

j.col said:
I just finished the first Sharpe book, i really enjoyed it, i have wanted to read these for ages but have never got around to doing so, now i am glad i finally did.
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Awesome. I think the first three (chronologically) are probably my favourites, but there are great books throughout the whole series. There were very few I didn't enjoy. :)

Having failed to get into any of the books I picked up lately, I finally decided to get on with reading A Dance With Dragons instead. Need me some more GRRM.
 
Just finished Royal Assassin (book 2 of the Farseer Trilogy) by Robin Hobb, and I'm quite relieved that I can now read something else. It is a very frustrating story.
750 pages, of which a good 300 aren't needed. Not sure why it is called Royal Assassin when there is very little in the story about being an assassin. I don't mean to compare it to Game of Thrones, but the scheming characters, politics and twists in this don't come close to anything in the GoT world, they are very simple and predictable. The good characters just seem too good, unable to even consider doing anything sneaky or backhanded to Regal. The Rosemary twist was so obvious, just because Hobb couldn't resist unneeded detail of her every time she was in the room with Kettricken. To top it all, Fitz is incredibly frustrating. I don't mean to have a go at Hobb, but it just screams a teenage boy/young man written by a woman. Thankfully the ending of it could almost be seen as the end of the story full-stop. I have the third book, but don't think I'll be reading it any time soon.
 
molinari said:
Just finished Royal Assassin (book 2 of the Farseer Trilogy) by Robin Hobb, and I'm quite relieved that I can now read something else. It is a very frustrating story.
750 pages, of which a good 300 aren't needed. Not sure why it is called Royal Assassin when there is very little in the story about being an assassin. I don't mean to compare it to Game of Thrones, but the scheming characters, politics and twists in this don't come close to anything in the GoT world, they are very simple and predictable. The good characters just seem too good, unable to even consider doing anything sneaky or backhanded to Regal. The Rosemary twist was so obvious, just because Hobb couldn't resist unneeded detail of her every time she was in the room with Kettricken. To top it all, Fitz is incredibly frustrating. I don't mean to have a go at Hobb, but it just screams a teenage boy/young man written by a woman. Thankfully the ending of it could almost be seen as the end of the story full-stop. I have the third book, but don't think I'll be reading it any time soon.
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Each to their own, I personally think GoT is massively over rated, the only other books I've ever struggled to actually finish was Donaldson's Thomas Covenant series. The Farseer Trilogy was a far more enjoyable read when I read it last.
 
molinari said:
Just finished Royal Assassin (book 2 of the Farseer Trilogy) by Robin Hobb, and I'm quite relieved that I can now read something else. It is a very frustrating story.
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You just made me laugh. I bought six Hobbs books for only a few quid, so I can't complain. But after a very promising start with the first book, Royal Assassin has got me wondering what's ahead. I haven't looked at your spoiler, but I'm about 70% through and have really struggled to give a monkey's until things (very recently!) started to pick up.

This is a dangerous thing to say in public, but I've been bitten too many times by female fantasy authors, and I took a long time to try Hobb. The first book was a very pleasant surprise, but this... this reminds me there's a left brain/right brain thing going on which stops me reading much Mills & Boon.

Ok, any Mills & Boon.

Having said that, Rothfuss is no better, dragging a thin plot over the emotional coals for a thousand pages; he just throws in more set pieces to make the journey entertaining. So maybe I should be more careful with my criticism.

Anyway, I look forward to reading your spoiler in a few days' time. :-)
 
molinari said:
Just finished Royal Assassin (book 2 of the Farseer Trilogy) by Robin Hobb, and I'm quite relieved that I can now read something else. It is a very frustrating story.
750 pages, of which a good 300 aren't needed. Not sure why it is called Royal Assassin when there is very little in the story about being an assassin. I don't mean to compare it to Game of Thrones, but the scheming characters, politics and twists in this don't come close to anything in the GoT world, they are very simple and predictable. The good characters just seem too good, unable to even consider doing anything sneaky or backhanded to Regal. The Rosemary twist was so obvious, just because Hobb couldn't resist unneeded detail of her every time she was in the room with Kettricken. To top it all, Fitz is incredibly frustrating. I don't mean to have a go at Hobb, but it just screams a teenage boy/young man written by a woman. Thankfully the ending of it could almost be seen as the end of the story full-stop. I have the third book, but don't think I'll be reading it any time soon.
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Without revealing your spoiler I completely agree.

One of the worst series I have read in my life (up there with the later Feist books)

the complete inaction and uselessness of Fitzgerald is just boring to read. Never read a more lacklustre character lead in my life. I don't mind what shape or form my protagonist comes in as long as he/she isn't a dithering pansy wreck who can't make a decision. That's not a fun read, Christ I can read about that everyday reading the political pages in a paper.
 
Dano said:
the only other books I've ever struggled to actually finish was Donaldson's Thomas Covenant series.
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I struggled to enjoy Covenant himself as a character, but as soon as I decided that The Land was the real 'hero' of the books and Covenant's just a (rather annoying) catalyst, I found the motivation to keep going and enjoyed the ride.

I still have the last two to read, but that's partly because the first has a bad reputation, partly because I got it cheap as a huge, heavy hardback, and partly because I want to start from the beginning again.

One day. :-)
 
Well, after all that negativity I just ploughed through the last 20% and if I wasn't in need of some sleep I'd start the third volume. This doesn't mean I forgive her for the first half+ of the book, and I agree with a lot of the spoiler points, but there's enough meat on the scrawny bones to stop me straying to another book.
 
Finished the Mongoliad series today, I can highly recommend it, even if the last book is massive.

Now back to The Human Division short story for a catch up.
 
Master Guns - Raymond Pile, fictional stpry about a Master Gunnery Sgt in the USMC during 1967 Vietnam. His 3rd book about a fictional Vietnam marine, each better than the last. Good page turner.

8/10
 
Just finished Republic of Thieves. I liked it a lot better than the first two and I felt it flowed a lot better.

The ending seemed a little random with the whole

could be a magi, but you're not a magi, but you once were, though that's no guarantee. Seemed a little flimsy and the Falconer thin was a bit burgh

All in all though I enjoyed it.

Probably read second half of the Long Price Quartet now.
 
Currently reading:

Eyes wide open by Noreena Hertz

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Eyes-Wide-Open-Decisions-Confusing/dp/0007467109

Fascinating book so far on how the deluge of information we are now bombarded with and how it affects our decisions and thought processes. Loads of facts and research on how social media is crippling our working day productivity and the part Powerpoint had to play in the columbia disaster.

I think Glaucus would really enjoy this book as I have seen him touch on the amount of decisions and media we now process in a day.
 
Reading, The Deadalus incident. But I don't think I can stick with it. I just can't cope with sailing ships have battles in space. Its doing my head in why. Got spaceships using solar sails, even ignore the physics. And they're using old fashioned cannons. arggghhhh its doing my head in.
Shame as the first chapter was good.
 
Just finished Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson, interesting take on the idea of superheroes, feels slightly influenced by 'The Boys' but different enough to be coincidence perhaps.

I would recommend the Mistborn trilogy by him as well.
 
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