What Books Are You Reading Right Now?

[Feytalist]

I picked up the Book of Atrus from a second hand book store. Not going to lie, probably not the best book ever. Katherine could have been fleshed out more, for example. Still, dammit, I love that universe. The whole concept of Writing and Linking Books and Descriptive books just strikes this chord within me.

I know those books well. Not the best books ever, I agree. But some of the descriptive passages are just stunning. The descriptions of the different ages, in particular. Also the whole start of the book struck a chord with me, I'm not sure why.

I just love the whole Myst universe as well.

[Ravens_cry]

I know those books well. Not the best books ever, I agree. But some of the descriptive passages are just stunning. The descriptions of the different ages, in particular. Also the whole start of the book struck a chord with me, I'm not sure why.

I just love the whole Myst universe as well.

I agree, the descriptions were indeed the strongest part. Which is appropriate, yes?

[warty goblin]

Continuing the Season of Eastern European/Russian Genre fiction, it's on to Day Watch. Also, for something completely different, Vanity Fair.

[Piggy Knowles]

Haven't been inspired to start anything new, so I'm going on a re-reading tear. Re-reading Lonesome Dove (yes, I just finished it, but now I'm eager to return to it after plowing through the disappointing sequel and prequels), Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and Lies of Locke Lamora. I also just picked up a new copy of 100 Years of Solitude - I somehow keep losing this one - so I'll probably start re-reading that as soon as I finish one of these.

This is actually fairly normal for me - in many ways I like re-reading books even more than reading new works.

[Lord Ruby34]

I just downloaded Sanderson's Words of Radiance on my Kindle. I've been looking forward to this one for a while.

[Gnoman]

Okay, I lied. Echoes of Honor turned out to be awesome. But, I'm now 77% through #10 War of Honor, and literally nothing has happened. Nearly every single Chapter is people sitting around a table and talking to each other about the other people sitting in another room talking to each other about the people sitting around a table talking to each other.

If I'm remembering the order right, those are essential to setting up the entire rest of the series, and are critical in setting up the future of the Star Empire of Manticore.

[Cheesegear]

If I'm remembering the order right, those are essential to setting up the entire rest of the series, and are critical in setting up the future of the Star Empire of Manticore.

Oh. Don't get me wrong, I know. But it's not what I want to read in an Honor Harrington book, especially when very little of the book actually has the titular character in it.

It's like Episode 1and 2. What do you want to see in a Star Wars movie? If you said 'senate hearings', you must like a different Star Wars than I do.

[Gnoman]

Quite true, although I much prefer this method. Incidentally, now is when you might want to dip into the Saganimi Island sub-series if you haven't done so already. That series eventually merges fully with the main line, and the first book is mostly (there's some spillover at both ends due to the fact that it is a spinoff) chronologically next, dealing with the new Junction terminus.

[Feytalist]

Continuing the Season of Eastern European/Russian Genre fiction, it's on to Day Watch.

The Night Watch series is good, innit. But although the translations are pretty well done, I keep thinking in places there are some nuances I'm not getting that I would have gotten in Russian.

Also I just love that moral ambiguity. As you continue reading, you'll go "wow, there really isn't any right choices in this world at all, is there".

[BWR]

Agreed, that is a good series. Some of the issues may by with Russian not working so well in English but I also get a feeling there are plenty of instances where it's lack of cultural, historical and political knowledge that make it read a bit weird at times.

Otherwise, The New Watch gets bonus points on top its large amounts of awesome points for a Planescape: Torment reference, even if the translator (probably) back translated it incorrectly.

[banjo1985]

I'm giving Perdido Street Station by China Mieville a go. The City and the City was a fantastic idea that bowled me over, but stylistically the writing left me cold. It's reasonable, and the style of writing feels better, but the story isn't anything special yet. Mr Motley is a great character, but that's about the only standout so far.

[Piggy Knowles]

For whatever reason, I've never been able to get into China Mieville. Part of it is genre - a lot of the writing kind of circles around the steampunk genre, which I've always had difficulty getting into. But even the books whose concepts I've enjoyed, like the City and the City, left me cold for some reason. My wife likes that one and Embassytown a lot, so I might give it a try again one day.

[Werekat]

Chiming in as an Eastern European reader: it's a shame that it's Lukyanenko who gets translated. He used to be good (before he began repeating himself quite endlessly), but not nearly as good as several other author duos - Henry Lion Oldi comes to mind (pseudonym of Oleg Ladyshenzky and Dmitry Gromov) and the Dyachenko couple. And even a few unpublished authors that simply don't fit the regular publishing house formulae - Anna Korosteleva and Elena Kleschenko being my personal favorites.

I haven't seen the translation of Night Watch/Day Watch, though: is there any place online one could take a look at a chapter or so?

If I remember the text correctly, yes, some things are culture-specific, but far more are author-specific. Lukyanenko is the most scandalous fantasy writer in the FSU for a reason.

For my part, I finally got to Bujold. And I've been enjoying her work immensely! The woman does everything I'd ever want to do as a writer: playing with genres, playing with expectations, being great at succinct yet evocative descriptions... So if anyone wants to talk The Vorkosigan Saga up to Cryoburn, I'm all for it.

[banjo1985]

For whatever reason, I've never been able to get into China Mieville. Part of it is genre - a lot of the writing kind of circles around the steampunk genre, which I've always had difficulty getting into. But even the books whose concepts I've enjoyed, like the City and the City, left me cold for some reason. My wife likes that one and Embassytown a lot, so I might give it a try again one day.

Never tried Embassytown, I may have to give it a go. I know what you mean about The City, though. The basic idea of that book was one of the best and imaginative curveballs I'd ever come across, but the writing didn't live up to it. It was decent, don't get me wrong, but it didn't read right.

I don't have any issues with steampunk, it's just the writing which lessens my enjoyment.

[warty goblin]

Chiming in as an Eastern European reader: it's a shame that it's Lukyanenko who gets translated. He used to be good (before he began repeating himself quite endlessly), but not nearly as good as several other author duos - Henry Lion Oldi comes to mind (pseudonym of Oleg Ladyshenzky and Dmitry Gromov) and the Dyachenko couple. And even a few unpublished authors that simply don't fit the regular publishing house formulae - Anna Korosteleva and Elena Kleschenko being my personal favorites.

From what little I've read of Russian genre fiction - which isn't much since I don't read Russian - I wouldn't put him at the top of the heap either. Very good, but nowhere near, say, the Strugatsky brothers.

If I remember the text correctly, yes, some things are culture-specific, but far more are author-specific. Lukyanenko is the most scandalous fantasy writer in the FSU for a reason.

Odd, I wouldn't say scandalous is a word that comes to mind. Perhaps I've been completely desensitized by way too much Martin.

For my part, I finally got to Bujold. And I've been enjoying her work immensely! The woman does everything I'd ever want to do as a writer: playing with genres, playing with expectations, being great at succinct yet evocative descriptions... So if anyone wants to talk The Vorkosigan Saga up to Cryoburn, I'm all for it.

I've never read Bujold's sci-fi. I did read the first three and a half books of the Sharing Knife. The first two were good (seriously, who hasn't fantasized about running away from home and having lots of steamy sex with Aragorn?), the third was well written but suffered from an utter lack of plot, and the half of the fourth book I read seemed similarly devoid of purpose.

[Piggy Knowles]

I don't have any issues with steampunk, it's just the writing which lessens my enjoyment.

I'm not really one to just slam a whole genre, so I guess that came off as harsher than I meant it to. I guess I just find a vast majority of the steampunk I've tried very repetitive, and too obsessed with being clever. I don't find the concept compelling enough on its own to ignore its faults, and for whatever reason most of what I've read has been lazy writing.

That said, there are certainly good examples of the genre that I've come across. I try to break out of my box periodically, and dive into genres I would ordinarily avoid, since I'm convinced good writing is independent of genre. I've been diving into westerns for that reason lately, and having a ton of fun with it. So, I fully plan to make a more concerted effort with steampunk one day.

[Werekat]

Odd, I wouldn't say scandalous is a word that comes to mind. Perhaps I've been completely desensitized by way too much Martin.

The man's been growing increasingly xenophobic and pro-Imperialist in the last seven years or so, and a lot of that filtered into his latest books. He also has a record of utterly disgusting online and off-line behavior, enough that there's been a recent flashmob consisting of "Mail Lukyanenko his books back if you ever bought them."

The Strugatsky brothers were, of course, amazing, especially by the standards of their own time. If you could read that without the cultural differences making them too strange to read, you should have no problem with Lukyanenko on that point.

How many of their books have actually been translated, by the way?

[T-Mick]

Just finished "Paradise Lost"; starting to read "The Four Loves", by C.S. Lewis. I also have a e-book of "Tremendous Trifles", by G.K. Chesterton, and "On Nothing and Kindred Subjects", by Hilaire Belloc, both of which are a real pleasure to read. And of course I read Andrew Lang's fairy books when I have nothing better to do.

[GloatingSwine]

I'm giving Perdido Street Station by China Mieville a go. The City and the City was a fantastic idea that bowled me over, but stylistically the writing left me cold. It's reasonable, and the style of writing feels better, but the story isn't anything special yet. Mr Motley is a great character, but that's about the only standout so far.

Perdido Street Station takes ages to go anywhere, but when it does it really takes off.

The Scar is the best of the Bas-Lag books though.

[warty goblin]

The man's been growing increasingly xenophobic and pro-Imperialist in the last seven years or so, and a lot of that filtered into his latest books. He also has a record of utterly disgusting online and off-line behavior, enough that there's been a recent flashmob consisting of "Mail Lukyanenko his books back if you ever bought them."

That's good to know, and not something I'd have ever found out on my own. Thanks.

The Strugatsky brothers were, of course, amazing, especially by the standards of their own time. If you could read that without the cultural differences making them too strange to read, you should have no problem with Lukyanenko on that point.

Roadside Picnic is the only Strugatsky book I've actually read, although for odd reasons I know a good bit of the plot of Prisoner of Power. I can't say I think I necessarily got everything in Picnic exactly as it was intended, but that's OK with me. I'd rather read something interesting and not fully grasp it than something so easy to understand I lose interest.

How many of their books have actually been translated, by the way?

Quite a bit of the Strugatsky's work was translated at one time or another. Sadly quite a lot of it hasn't been reprinted in forever, so even the used paperbacks are rather ludicrously expensive.

[Cristo Meyers]

The Night Watch series is good, innit. But although the translations are pretty well done, I keep thinking in places there are some nuances I'm not getting that I would have gotten in Russian.

Also I just love that moral ambiguity. As you continue reading, you'll go "wow, there really isn't any right choices in this world at all, is there".

I honestly thought the series was a pretty steady downward trend from start to the end of Last Watch. Readable, sure, but whatever charm Night Watch and Day Watch had just seemed lacking from the next two. The fact that Twilight Watch (?, number three in the series) was where he apparently decided was the perfect time to get his hate-on for the US didn't help.

[Telonius]

Just got done with several.
Boneshaker, by Cherie Priest
The Half-Made World, by Felix Gilman
The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins
Goddesses: Mysteries of the Feminine Divine, by Joseph Campbell
Professor Borges: A Course on English Literature (collection of lectures by Jorge Luis Borges, based on class notes)

Next up: I really, really need to re-read Don Quixote.

[Cristo Meyers]

Next up: I really, really need to re-read Don Quixote.

I should do that again. I was honestly amazed at how entertaining and almost full-on cartoonish the first part was.

[Werekat]

That's good to know, and not something I'd have ever found out on my own. Thanks.

You're welcome. :) That's what us multi-linguals are here for. ;-)

Roadside Picnic is the only Strugatsky book I've actually read, although for odd reasons I know a good bit of the plot of Prisoner of Power. I can't say I think I necessarily got everything in Picnic exactly as it was intended, but that's OK with me. I'd rather read something interesting and not fully grasp it than something so easy to understand I lose interest.

The Strugatsky brothers are in many ways writers that first and foremost get an atmosphere across. Their greatest strength is in creating the feeling that there's a huge world behind their relatively short pieces. You never quite get all of it - there's tons of mysteries that are only referenced and remain unsolved in each book - but that's part of the charm.

My personal favorites are Predatory Things of the Century and Monday Begins on Saturday. The latter is available on the Internet in a fan translation, AFAIK, and it is hilarious.

Spoiler: A short quote

Show

"Present your documents!"
"Mercy, governor, what's that for?"
"Why the goat? Why a goat in the house!"
"Now you stop that; this is not a beer hall."
"I don't know about your five-kopeck piece, and it's no business of
mine."
"Me-eh-eh!"
"Citizeness, remove the goat!"
"Stop it! The goat is registered!"
"Registered? How?"
"It's not a goat! He is our colleague!" -
"Then let him present-- "
"Out the window and into the car!" ordered Roman.

Quite a bit of the Strugatsky's work was translated at one time or another. Sadly quite a lot of it hasn't been reprinted in forever, so even the used paperbacks are rather ludicrously expensive.

Ouch. I wish they were: those books have aged very well.

[BWR]

On the subject of "Roadside picnic", I must recommend "Nova swing" by M. John Harrison. A follow-up to his excellent "Light", Nova Swing is a homage-***-almost rewrite of Roadside Picnic and works beautifully.
Actually, I have to recommend Harrison in general.

[Werekat]

Nova Swing sounds interesting. I'll grab it if I can find it in my local library, which is my main source of Western sci-fi. :)

On that subject, I've also been reading a lot of Larry Niven. Previously I'd only read his collaboration with Mercedes Lackey. The hard SF details are indeed very interesting, both in Integral Trees and in Destiny's Road. The descriptions of local plant and animal life are awesome, and the many ways humans coexist with these species are also great.

The characters, however, and what would be hard SF concerning cultural details... Good grief, man, you have two different worlds, one of them is a series of mostly isolated societies only barely connected by a single road, and the other is a bunch of people living on different space trees. Why is pregnancy called "carrying a guest" everywhere? Even if we assume the Earth from which the two groups departed oh-so-long ago are the same Earth, it is quite improbable. Yeah, he tries to play with local dialects some, but he isn't very successful.

He is also pretty repetitive in some aspects of his protagonists' lives, the most prominent of which is his penchant for inserting lovemaking in the dark into every few chapters, breaths mingling and all that. And, of course, for the many and varied hot women that jump on his protagonist, whoever he may be.

I enjoyed the books, but these two aspects were rather jarring.

[happyturtle]

I love Niven's stories, but one thing that really really REAAAAALLY bugged me about him was his handling of gender. He had three different species of alien (Kzinti, Puppeteer, and Thrintun) that had non-sapient females.

The Kzinti thing was walked back when more books about the Kzin-Man wars were written, but as originally designed, their females couldn't even talk.

One can be overlooked, two is suspicious, three is enemy action well, I don't know what it is. Unpleasant for women readers, at least.

[Wardog]

I've finished the first two books of the Game of Thrones septilogy (is that a word?).

I've decided to take a bit of a break before starting the third, because there is only so much "You know those people who's plans you were following for half a book? Well they're all dead and/or raped now" that I cope with in one go.

I'm currently re-reading Retribution Falls (from Chris Wooding's Tales of the Ketty Jay series). For those that don't know it, imagine a steampunk/magitech version of Firefly, but with a less ethical (or competant) crew (and aircraft rather than spaceships).

[CarpeGuitarrem]

I've finished the first two books of the Game of Thrones septilogy (is that a word?).

I've decided to take a bit of a break before starting the third, because there is only so much "You know those people who's plans you were following for half a book? Well they're all dead and/or raped now" that I cope with in one go.

All I'm gonna say is...good call on your part. Take the breather.

[GloatingSwine]

I took a five year "breather" after the first three because that's all there were back then, and when the fourth one came out discovered I couldn't be bothered any more.


(Fun fact: In the time since A Storm of Swords, Jim Butcher has published 13 Dresden Files books, all but the first one, and the entire Codex Alera.)