That's exactly how I felt. It's quite disturbing and creepy considering what's really going on, but it really was so well written.Originally Posted by mae
It's such a beautifully-written book dealing with such a dark subject. I still can't believe my high school English teacher let me write an essay about it as one of my elective summer reading books.
Only the gentle are ever really strong.
Kris, I'm about half-way through the first (sometimes listening to the audiobook, sometimes reading on a Kindle). Really enjoying it so far, and I'm glad to hear the second is as good!I am no on the second book in Broken Earth AND just as good as the first one. I cannot wait to see how this trilogy ends....
HBJ
“If you don't know what you want," the doorman said, "you end up with a lot you don't.”
― Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club
Looking for SubPress Lettered::
Angel's Game and Prisoner of Heaven (Zafon)
Ilium (Simmons)
Nice!!! Glad to see someone else on this ride!Kris, I'm about half-way through the first (sometimes listening to the audiobook, sometimes reading on a Kindle). Really enjoying it so far, and I'm glad to hear the second is as good!I am no on the second book in Broken Earth AND just as good as the first one. I cannot wait to see how this trilogy ends....
HBJ
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Just finished For Rosemary by Gene Wolfe. It's his only book of poetry. I didn't "get" it. I mean, I don't like poetry but I'll read it if it's by my favourite writers. This went completely over my head.
I started Pebbles from the Mountain by Harlan Ellison. This collection was available (still is?) as a part of the two book set of Ellison Wonderland from PS Publishing.
Man, PS Publishing needs a new proofreader. This Ellison is BRUTAL. I'm okay with typos, and really, most books have them. This though ... next level. They even misspelled HarlEn right on the dust jacket. Full-on savage mode with repeated sentences, random capitalization, wrong words, or even those typos that change the meaning of the sentence or better yet, make it meaningless. What does "Tried to keep Death way" even mean? I'm sure it was "Keep Death away." Surely they're not relying on autocorrect?
Only books I've seen botched worse than this were some Brian Keene's and David J. Schow's collections. Those were actually unreadable.
Harlan Ellison - Deadly Streets. This is the real deal. No s.f., no fantasy, just gritty stories of and from the streets.
I'm reading Seventh Decimate by Stephen Donaldson, in preparation for the next volume, The War Within, coming out in April. I hope to receive an ARC in a few days though.
“If you don't know what you want," the doorman said, "you end up with a lot you don't.”
― Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club
Looking for SubPress Lettered::
Angel's Game and Prisoner of Heaven (Zafon)
Ilium (Simmons)
Just finished this one the other day. Loved it! So I've only read The Silence (which might be my favorite read of last year) and this one which I also thoroughly enjoyed. What other Tim Lebbon books do you guys recommend?
Also just started The Shuddering by Ania Ahlborn to continue with my winter horror themed reads.
Only the gentle are ever really strong.
He's best at short form so any of his collections are your best bet. I came across him by accident; I ordered a grab bag from Cemetery Dance 7-8 years ago and they sent his collection Fears Unnamed. That blew me away because it reminded me of Stephen King - he didn't seem too interested in happy endings but true ones. I like when writers do that.
My favourite collections of his are Fears Unnamed, White and Other Tales of Ruin, As the Sun Goes Down, Nothing As It Seems, Last Exit for the Lost. He also has The Apocalypse Trilogy: Borrowed Time available from PS Publishing. That's three formerly limited hardcovers now in an affordable paperback.
As for his novels, the earlier the better. I just looked at Amazon and noticed a lot of his Kindle Singles available for a buck or two. That might seem cheaper but it's really not, all those stories are available in collections for dirt cheap on eBay.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/WHITE-OTHER...MAAOSw68NZe-BP
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Fears-Unnam...YAAOSwgd1atyBk
Awesome, thanks. I'll definitely be checking them out.
Only the gentle are ever really strong.
Hey all. I was wondering if anyone has read the Snowman by Jo Nesbo? I want to read it cause another friend said they LOVED IT.. but I then heard from another that it would not make sense if you don't read the Harry Hole novels in order.. this true?
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Kris you can read The Snowman without trawling through the complete series. There is enough recap during the book for you to become engaged.
AS.
Thanks good buddy!!!
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Finished the millionth reread of The Gunslinger, and first re-read of The Hellbound Heart. The truly good books get better the more you read them. I think some vintage Bradbury is next.
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Now reading The War Within by Stephen Donaldson. Liking it so far.
“If you don't know what you want," the doorman said, "you end up with a lot you don't.”
― Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club
Looking for SubPress Lettered::
Angel's Game and Prisoner of Heaven (Zafon)
Ilium (Simmons)
Liberation!
Today I finished Dune.
The words that come to mind are "dry" (sorry for the pun) and "competent": though the plotting, world-building, and dialogue were competently executed (there's no actual weakness to be described, as with F. Paul Wilson), I found the writing quite dry and sterile, utterly unengaging. However, given the strengths I just listed, I am not surprised that Dune has a following; I can say this is intelligent, imaginative fiction that stylistically is just not for me.
Because I wasn't enjoying it, and because I've been reading it for so long (I started it on Dec 18 ), it felt like I was stuck in it forever. The drag was due to my time away from work (I only read on the train to and from work), and with time off after the holidays and for the birth of a grandchild, that really stretched out. Frank Herbert isn't to blame for my schedule, of course, but the discouragement of knowing Dune was still in my damn bag after so long returned me to the reading fatigue by which I'd been seized late last year (which culminated in the collection of one-note horror stylings of M.R. James).
Put another way - Dune was the best book I ever hated reading...
It seems I'm miles above the surface of the Earth
I can see across the whole of London and beyond
Just started The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.
Epistolary novel set in 1946 on a small island in the English Channel formerly occupied by German forces.
It looks light and engaging, which seems just the thing as I attempt to recover from the mind-numbing drudgery that was Dune.
Although not normally the type of thing I would read, it was an option because my daughter has it.
[FWIW, I came really close to re-reading Peter Straub's Ghost Story (which I've read before at least twice, but not for well over a decade, and of which I recently bought a used hardcover for <$4) instead of this; perhaps that will be next.]
It seems I'm miles above the surface of the Earth
I can see across the whole of London and beyond
Sorry to hear you didn't like Dune. Given your comments, I expect you will not like Dune Messiah, the next in the series, either. It has the same writing style that put you off Dune, only more so.
Personally I love the series, and books that I originally found a hard slog are now my favorite. But the characters are very cold and hard; the appeal of the series to me is really the ideas, setting and grand vision of a future. And the intrigue - plans within plans.
HBJ
“If you don't know what you want," the doorman said, "you end up with a lot you don't.”
― Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club
Looking for SubPress Lettered::
Angel's Game and Prisoner of Heaven (Zafon)
Ilium (Simmons)
This. Dune is not an easy book to digest but I wouldn't have it any other way. The language is perfectly suited for the setting, something livelier and flowery (Vance, Bradbury) wouldn't work here. I still need to read Herbert's short stories before I re-read the entire series.
I'll check some of that out later. I'll post a link to what I'm working on right now if you're interested.
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Subterranean Press is publishing Dead Pig Collector by Warren Ellis and that reminded me that although I bought the e-book years ago, I still haven't read it. When I finally did read it, I was reminded why I kept postponing it; Warren Ellis can't actually write. Or, more specifically, he can't write prose. He's a master comic writer, his non-fiction is on point too, but when it comes to describing scenes and events, I get the feeling that the years of having an artist draw them for him had stilted his own ability to do it with words. Dunno, maybe I'm overthinking a 40-page novella.
I started Zombie Jam by David J. Schow (for you Wrightson fans, this books is illustrated and signed by him), and The Urth of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe.
Also, a big fat DNF on The Disease of Language by Alan Moore. I just don't have enough time, patience, and desire to parse every damned sentence. I don't want to sound negative, but I'm getting to the point where instead of thinking, Oh man, I regret not reading that book, I'm thinking, Man, am I ever glad I read something I actually enjoyed.
Oh, yeah. Atmosphera Incognita (Neal Stephenson) is available in an anthology called Hieroglyph. Just saying in case you don't want to wait on the SubPress edition. It's a lot cheaper too, especially if you just want to read it.
Damn...I miss when this thread was more active. I discovered some pretty good books based off of recommendations here.
Started Thrust by Tom Piccirilli.
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