View Full Version : Read a good book lately?
We had fun with this on the ol' Baloo, so...
Read a good book lately?
I just finished THE FORTRESS OF GLASS by David Hadless. Er, rather, that would be David Drake. It's another in his King of the Isles series, so I was hoping he'd spark some life into a series of tales that have tended to become very repititious of late.
To put it charitably, I'd say my impression of THE FORTRESS OF GLASS was that it was yet another a tedious potboiler.
Miros1
06-17-2007, 04:44 AM
The Harlequin by Laurell K. Hamilton. Less smut, more plot development than her other recent Anita Blake books. Yes, a series can be pulled out of a rut!
That's the first I've heard of Laurell K. Hamilton. What kind of books does she write?
Miros1
06-17-2007, 07:45 AM
Her very first book was a fantasy called Night Seer. The series she's known for are Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter and the Meredith Gentry Novels. I think she was a writer on the TSR line of D&D novels for a while as well.
The Anita Blake series is about a woman necromancer and vampire executioner in a modern US populated by humans, vampires, lycanthropes, and the odd fey. The last several books have been close to pornographic, to the point where fans have been complaining "more staking, less screwing." This one still has quite a bit of sex, but there's a lot of plot and character development happening!
The Meredith Gentry Novels are set in a slightly different world and focus on the fay. They were soft core pornographic from the get-go, but at least have the excuse that the main character, Merry Gentry, is trying to get pregnant in order to become queen. At this point, it's a forgone conclusion that she will become queen; it's just a matter of how many books the author can drag it out through. Since the last two books have taken 400 pages to get through 5 hours time (each), I don't really want to make any estimates.
*blink*
It sounds like Laurell K. Hamilton has a writing style that includes quite a bit about the sex lives of her characters. The part I don't understand is why readers would complain about it. I'd think that if they don't like it, they'd simply buy someone else's books.
:asking06:
Miros1
06-17-2007, 01:48 PM
What the fans are complaining about is that the Anita Blake series didn't start that way. Even when Anita became involved with two of the male characters, the sexual aspects were still not graphically depicted and not the majority of the pages of the book. Due to a metaphysical plot development several books ago, the sexual content escalated until there was one book that was almost nothing but graphic sex. That particular book, I was to the point where I was thinking, "Put your pants back on and go do something else!" By the way, my friend, Tori, did quit reading when things got graphic.
In the earlier books, Laurell was known for what she herself describes as "no-sex sex." The first Merry Gentry book contains a scene which contains nothing that would be described as sexual contact -- but that scene curled my toes!
BTW, Nightseer was your basic conventional fantasy novel. Adequate, but nothing special...
Miros1
06-17-2007, 01:56 PM
Next book topic: Jim Butcher's White Night, a Harry Dresden book.
Let's not discuss the glaring metaphysical errors in the SF Channel's version...
homerette
06-18-2007, 08:01 AM
I need to get my sister on here. She reads Laurell K Hamilton and Jim Butcher, among many others of course. She loved to point out the mistakes while watching the Dresden Files.
I've enjoyed the Dresden Files television show. Would reading the Harry Dresden spoil that? There's one on my night stand at this very moment but I haven't read it yet.
Miros1
06-18-2007, 02:00 PM
Hm, good question. My husband watches it and picks nits right and left, but he enjoys that! I watched it once and couldn't deal with the inconsistencies.
Since the tv show was apparently written from a list of characters and props without reading any of the books, I guess you could mentally compartmentalize them as two entirely different works and enjoy both.
homerette
06-18-2007, 09:58 PM
My sister loves to pick nits as well and I just watch the show. I have yet to pick up a single book myself.
The only books I seem to read are the Uncle John's Bathroom Reader series, and no, not in the bathroom! They're full of usless and useful trivia, history and a host of other things.
Miros1
06-18-2007, 10:32 PM
Hubby recommends not reading the books if you're enjoying the series...
There might be wisdom in that! For me, it's usually the other way around; I read the book first and then hate the movie.
On the other hand, the movies are usually abysmal regardless of their titles. Dune comes to mind. Starship Troopers would have been OK if it hadn't been a rip-off of Heinlein's novel.
I think the Dresden Files television series is pretty well done by itself, which makes it an exception.
Miros1
06-19-2007, 01:12 AM
Well, I suppose the show is internally consistent, but it's not consistent with the books.... Like I said, they got the list of character names and Harry's magical toys, and never read the books!
After the show finally goes to the big Rerun in the Sky, you can read the books and we'll pick it to bits!
shorty943
06-28-2007, 12:21 AM
There might be wisdom in that! For me, it's usually the other way around; I read the book first and then hate the movie.
On the other hand, the movies are usually abysmal regardless of their titles. Dune comes to mind. Starship Troopers would have been OK if it hadn't been a rip-off of Heinlein's novel.
I think the Dresden Files television series is pretty well done by itself, which makes it an exception.
I feel the same way. Read the book, the movie is just plain wrong.
Never bothered with the movie Dune, the books where great.
Starship Troopers, I saw the movie first, but, Heinlein is a damned good tale spinner.
Another absolute mess Hollyweird made was with I Robot.
Asimov would be my favourite author. The Federation series was awesome.
And what a mountain of pure science, that man produced as well, in his spare time.
In general, these days, I am a bit like Homerette. Doesn't seem to be time enough for me to pick up a book these days. So I flick through, peruse a chapter or two, and if it doesn't get me in pretty well straight away, it has lost me. Ah, the good old Readers Digest, condensed novels. God bless their little cotton socks.
Miros1
06-28-2007, 12:48 AM
Do not refer to that abomination as I, Robot! Its proper name is I, Will Smith, and will be refered to as such from this day forth, or Angelita will send imaginary goons to break your kneecaps. The Good Doctor had to be spinning in his grave. I'm sure Harlan Ellison was frothing at the mouth, since he wrote a wonderful script years ago that was rejected.
Yes, I boycotted that thing and threatened my husband with bodily harm if he even got it from Blockbuster as an employee-benefit-free-movie!
Hmmm... I, Will Smith... given that name, it's not such a bad flick! :lol:
B'b'but... if you've never seen it, how would you know how bad it was?
Miros1
06-28-2007, 02:02 PM
I saw the trailer. When the car chase and the explosion happened, I knew it wasn't I, Robot! Since it was clearly false advertising, I knew I should vote with my money and not pay for drek.
You were even listening on the MOO Commons channel when I stated that it was likely to be drek and that I wasn't going to see it!
I hope enough other people did the same and I, Robot 2 will never happen. Or that Janet and Robin Asimov had moments of clarity and refused to sell the rights again.
I hope you at least waited until the Monday after release to go see it, or I won't respect you in the morning.
I think I watched it on television. Might have been a DVD. The basic plot line was a robot who becomes increasingly human and is finally declared to be human on the day he dies.
Miros1
06-28-2007, 06:15 PM
Um, no, that's Bicentenial Man, another Asimov story. I think Robin Williams was in it.
Oh. Right. Yes, Robin Williams was in it. Maybe I haven't seen I, Robot.
Miros1
06-29-2007, 02:42 AM
Good boy. I can respect you in the morning.
shorty943
06-29-2007, 10:20 AM
Huh?Hang on, back a page.
Oh, now I get it.
Yes, I saw bit's of, Bicentennial Man. No comment.
I, Will Smith. Most of his movies could be titled similarly?
And, Harlan Ellison, I recall the name, please refresh my mind.
Miros1
06-29-2007, 11:50 AM
I think Wikipedia did a good job on him: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlan_Ellison
In this particular case, he was hired to write the script for I, Robot. Asimov loved the script. It bounced around Hollywood for a while, changing directors and other personel, then someone else wrote a new script. At that point, the script was published as a serial in Asimov's, along with commentary by Ellison and Asimov. At that point, the whole project vanished from my personal radar, only to resurface as... I, Will Smith.
shorty943
06-29-2007, 01:50 PM
A Bradbury, a Hugo, a Nebula. Thought I recalled the name. Thank you.
My favorite Harlan Ellison story: At the 1961 World Science Fiction Convention, held at the Hyatt hotel at the Seattle airport, Harlan Ellison introduced himself to the guest of honor, Robert Heinlein.
"My name is Harlan Ellison and I've sold a million words of science fiction!" he said.
Without missing a beat, Heinlein replied, "There aren't that many words in the English language. You must have sold some of them more than once!"
Miros1
07-06-2007, 11:02 PM
Lol, like Heinlein very carefully sold each word exactly once?
Naw. The key plot point is that Heinlein didn't boast about how many words he had sold. :lol:
Miros1
09-01-2007, 04:33 PM
Off Armageddon Reef by David Weber. Mr. Weber's arm must have gotten better so he can type enough to edit himself. This one doesn't have the wordiness of the other recent books. Of course, it's a brand new world and culture, so he's gotta explain everything and the wordiness is necessary! It starts with a space battle and ends with a canvas-and-cannon battle.
Currently reading Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman. Really creepy!
Yikes! A David Emdash book that I haven't read yet! Gotta have it!
yuppiesim
09-07-2007, 03:39 AM
I'm in the process of reading a real page turner, SQL Server 2005 for Dummies by Andrew Watt. Its a real must read. :googlyeyes:
But at least I'll finally be able to put it on my resume.
Oh right! I've had that one on my nightstand for a long time! It's a murder mystery, right? :lol:
Miros1
09-07-2007, 02:37 PM
Yeah. The engineer did it.
I think it was the middle eastern busboy in the refectory with a screwdriver.
yuppiesim
09-07-2007, 11:52 PM
Oh right! I've had that one on my nightstand for a long time! It's a murder mystery, right? :lol:
Yeah. The engineer did it.
Don't spoil it for me. :trout:
:laugh:
At the moment I'm merrily reading a new series by David Gemmel. It started with Legend and then the second book is The King Beyond the Gate. If you enjoy tales of heroism in a desparate fight to the death against the forces of evil in a medieval fantasy setting, I think you'll like these. If you don't, you won't.
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