[jjt]

Originally posted by onionroach: <STRONG> [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img] Well, the villain was a little freaky for me, but the story was good, I thought. The misogynist was scary. Actually I thought it him in the latest book (can't remember the name right now).</STRONG>

Yeah the weirdness about the villian is that there wasn't much mention before hand and very little foreshadow for the type of creature he'd be. Very little. So it made the end seem a bit rushed and unreasonable. [Course in NIC we complained that we guessed the bad guy too quickly .. lol .. so I guess LKH went to extremes on those two books.

And totally agree .. when the first vic of CS was introduced .. I thought .. hmmmm looks like something Olaf would/could do. Dear God please don't let him go were. He's dangerous enough as a human.

========================================

Speaking of this type of dark fantasy .. has anyone read any of the White Wolf publishing books? The Kindred Clan books? I've only read a few but quite like them. I signed up for a bookbox of this type of fiction thru bookcrossing a while back so should have lots of new books to talk about soon.

[img]smilies/smile.gif[/img] jjt

[onionroach]

I love trilogies. It gives the reader more but not to the point where we're tired of the story or characters. I've yet to find a series that is still strong after the fifth or sixth book. Truth be told, it's hard for me to read a series after the fourth book unless I see an end on the horizon. The Anita Blake series is different because they are separate books. It's not a long quest stretching through several of them. That I can handle because I can pick them up anywhere in the series. Same with Harry Potter.

I'm in the middle of Kushiel's Dart. I started reading it over the weekend. I'm trying to hurry my way through it because I have Eyes of a Wolf out from the library. KD is pretty good so far.

[jjt]

Originally posted by onionroach: <STRONG>The Anita Blake series is different because they are separate books. It's not a long quest stretching through several of them. </STRONG>

Agreed .. there is enough closure at the end of each book and enough intro in each that a new reader wouldn't be lost. And they've managed to stay unique/different.

I just finished reading a book that Blake fans might like. It's from White Wolf publishing the Pred and Prey series book 1 Vampire http://www.white-wolf.com/FictionFil...orAndPrey.html
This one is a good for those folks who enjoy the Kindred clan setup for vamps .. and who enjoy vamp politics. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]


I've got the werewolf book from the series as well .. it's book 3. So I'll probably start on it next.

[orion_d13]

With Anita Blake, a new reader might not get lost when picking it up for the first time, but there's definitely lots and lots of build up and back-story that would be extremely useful for the reader to know. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img] In ways, each book is successive in that it really develops the characters in different ways. Anita is constantly changing, whether it's her status in the pack or her pard, or whatever. The Anita we now know is quite different from the first book. Scar-wise, definitely. [img]smilies/lol.gif[/img]

Her relationships change and the thought of me wanting to go backwards on all those changes kinda makes me go blah.

It's good that anyone can pick it up and not get confused though. From my experience, Hamilton does a relatively good job with picking things up where the last book left off and explaining some of the backstory in a quick and efficient way. I had to say that because with Goodkind's novels, he *so* drabbles on I skip pages just because there's so much backstory to retread. I'm sure he can't help it, as his books are quite lengthy and there's lots of plot to be covered [img]smilies/lol.gif[/img]

[onionroach]

I get annoyed when authors do that, especially if it is a continuing series like Goodkind's. I just hate wasting time reading recaps of what happened in the last book. It should all flow together and you should be able to follow along and know what is going on.

I like LKH because she tells you just what you need to know in order to understand what's going on. I started reading the series at Obsidian Butterfly. I didn't feel lost or confused. But I don't care that she reuses the same descriptive phrases over and over again in her books. That gets boring.

[Scottie]

Originally posted by VenturingDreamer: <STRONG> Anyway, The Sword of Truth series really did enthrall me, the world, the characters, all the morality and good vs evil schtick. It was definitely an addictive read, and I have to say, the author sure knows how to stretch each book into 700-800 pages. </STRONG>

I am just beginning the fifth SOT book Soul of the Fire and I have to say that I LOVE this series. I was a little intimidated by the size of the series and the number of pages per book, but I really am enjoying them so much that I'll be disappointed when the series runs out. The characters are so rich, the writing is good, the books are exciting and while I agree that TG does get a little wordy sometimes, I have begun to get a feel for where skimming is permitted! Whenever I see a description of a palace or what someone's wearing, I just go to the end of that paragraph and continue on!

I'd imagine that Goodkind writes large backstory chapters at the beginning of each new book to catch up readers who haven't put one book down and picked up another the next day like me since the series began in 1990 and I'm just now discovering it. Some people wait a year or more for a new book and may not actually own the books or are borrowing the books, so they can't refresh their memories. While it drives me crazy I can understand why he does it and I can just skim or skip.

Originally posted by VenturingDreamer: I did finish book six of the series last night (Faith of the Fallen) and started to read book seven Pillars of Creation because I was quite eager to know what was happening next with the main characters and all, when I realized Goodkind decided to throw in a new character, and then proceeded to have this character encompass the entire 600 pages of the book. Wtff?

Oh, that is disappointing. I'm not at that point yet. Pillars of Creation is the last of the current books, right? So now you're waiting for a new book? That's got to be hard! I hate when authors pull that!

[Soz]

I finally finished The Goblet of Fire and even though I felt it was a bit over-long, it was probably my favorite of the series. I liked that things finally seem to have gotten moving with he who shall not be named, I liked that the book was darker, and I liked that Harry and his friends are growing up a lot.

Now I'm reading Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce.

[jjt]

Finished Charlaine Harris's Dead until Dark the start of the Southern Vampire series.

First off .. I'd say it's no Anita Blake. But it tried very hard to be. imho. I didn't hate it like I thought I would. Didn't love it either. But it was entertaining.

I actually love the 'idea' of the main character being slightly apart from the rest of her humanity because of her telepathic 'disability'. I love the 'idea' of the vampire trying to mainstream with society. The Were in the piece was obvious but still one of my favorite characters.
The story was decent and moved along at a good clip. The reveal of vampire politics and mythos was well done. And I actually enjoyed the book after I got past a couple of things.

Those things being the tone of the book came off wrong to me. It's like the main character that's presented as a picture of virtue and sweetness. Then you have this severely sarcastic inner dialogue that just doesn't fit the character. At first I thought well maybe the author is going for humor with the book .. a sorta dark comedy. But that thought was quickly replaced. The heroine of the book is a classic damsel in distress. Nothing wrong with that if your into that sorta heroine. I'm just not. And for a book written in first person, I don't feel I got inside the head of the main character. The only thing that came thru loud and clear is that she feels barstaff get a bad reputation. I mean sure she has guards up .. but I honestly didn't feel anything for her.

The other things that bothered me was again I think attempts at humor. The vampire guard being a well known person of past was overdone. The vampire of the piece being named Bill. I mean come on even a vamp trying to mainstream would use his full name William. But when he didn't .. it wouldn't have been that funny. Then of course when I was trying to forget all that .. one more thrown in at the end that was just eyeroll inspiring. Eric floating by the window? Please. He's presented as a vampire worth fearing .. then he floats by to check on her. [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img]

After all that .. will I read the second book. Probably. Someday. lol There just isn't enough vamp / were fic out there and I'll keep hoping the main character grows or gets bitter so the sarcasm fits. [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

[thescoobygang]

I never read Dead Until Dark. I began with the 2nd book Living Dead in Dallas...and I really didn't like it all that much. I had similar problems with the narrative, humour and lore that jjt already mentioned. Despite this, I did end up buying the 3rd installment Club Dead. I haven't read that yet, but I have a feeling I probably won't like it any better than the previous book.

I started reading The Eye of Night by Pauline J. Alama. This book has been sitting on my shelf for over a year just waiting to be read. I've only gotten through the first few chapters and already there are some very interesting developments in the plot.


tSG

[ 06-15-2003: Message edited thescoobygang ]

[Soz]

Originally posted by thescoobygang: <STRONG>I never read Dead Until Dark. I began with the 2nd book Living Dead in Dallas...and I really didn't like it all that much. I started reading The Eye of Night by Pauline J. Alama. tSG</STRONG>

I have the first of the Sookie books, but I haven't read it yet.

I also have The Eye of Night and I plan to read it soon. I think it's three or four books down the queue now. [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

[ 06-15-2003: Message edited Soz ]

[Soz]

Happy dance time! [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img] I was looking at my library's web site and they finally got some Kate Forsyth books! Most of them are the ones I have, but they have the second book, so I'll at least be able to read books 1-3. Yay! Another library system nearby has Czerneda's third Web-Shifters book too, so I can finally finish reading that trilogy.

Also, for those of you who like Sharon Shinn's Samaria series, I saw that a fifth book is due in 3/04 called Angel-Seeker. I also see that Patricia A. McKillip has a new book due this month and another one in Jan. of '04, the next Elementals anthology by McKinley and Dickinson is due in October (along with McKinley's Sunshine, which has already been mentioned here or on the SF board), and Anne McCaffrey's newest Pern book (co-written with her son) is due in December. I got my info from: http://www.locusmag.com/ForthcomingBooks.html and http://www.romanticsf.com/forthcoming.shtml

[thescoobygang]

Soz, are you planning to start reading Forsyth's series now? Or are you gonna wait until you have access to all the books? I have the first 3 as well as the final one. So I'm just waiting to collect the other 2(?) and then I can start. [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

Here is the cover to the last book in Anne Bishop's Fae Trilogy now available for pre-order.



If I can manage it, I'd like to re-read the first 2 books before I buy this one.

[Soz]

I might read the first of Forsyth's books soon. I figure that since I read slowly and split up series, maybe by the time I get through the first three, I'll either have the 4th and 6th books or the library will get them.

I haven't even bought Shadows and Light yet, and I never read The Pillars of the Earth, so I'll try to get the 2nd and 3rd ones when the 3rd book comes out and read the whole Fae trilogy this fall.

How are you liking The Eye of Night?

[onionroach]

thescoobygang, thanks for the pic. I'm so excited about the book. I'm liking this series just as much as I liked The Black Jewels trilogy, in some cases even better.

[thescoobygang]

Originally posted by Soz: <STRONG> How are you liking The Eye of Night?</STRONG>

I'm liking it quite a bit thanks. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img] The pacing seems just right and I already like the main characters...which is usually a good sign. I put off reading this book so many times because I was worried I wouldn't be able to connect with a first-person male narrative. But as it turns out it hasn't been a problem.

onionroach, I'm excited about the conclusion to the Fae Trilogy too. [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img] Who do you think that is on the cover? My guess would be Diana because of the dogs.

tSG