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jedibuttercup) wrote2007-11-04 03:22 am
jedibuttercup) wrote2007-11-04 03:22 am
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Reading List Update: #75-81
Seven more books since I last posted, September 23.
Which didn't include the one I said I was going to read. I got distracted. Instead: two military scifi, one modern supernatural, and four fantasy. I may yet make the 100 mark this year.
75. In Fury Born, by David Weber. Paperback, 838pp. I think this is a stand-alone, but it's more on the "strong, gifted woman, betrayed, conquers!" theme I've seen from Weber before. Complex, interesting military space sci-fi... but for one thing: the origins and nature of the "fury" he inserts as a help to the hero, supposedly an energy being that used to pose as a supernatural entity on Earth, are never explained. It bugs me when my hard scifi includes unsupported fantasy elements.
76. Grave Surprise, by Charlaine Harris. Paperback, 310pp. 2nd in the Harper Connelly series. I read the first of this series back in May, and rather liked it. Better than her Southern Vampire stuff; the heroine's supernatural gifts are not extreme, I liked the complex family/business relationship with her stepbrother, and the mystery bits were kind of interesting. This one? Mmm, still readable, but the mystery bits clearly got less author brain-time than turning the step-sibling setup in a UST direction, which kills the brother-sister bond part I adored in the first one. *sigh*
77. Princess of Flames by Ru Emerson. Paperback, 327pp. Reread. I've had this book since highschool; it made me write (long since destroyed) Mary Sue-ish fantasy stories about binding my breasts, impersonating a man, and charging into battle with magic and sword. The book itself is much better than that comment makes it sound, of course; clever writing, excellent worldbuilding, a very strong central female character, and a love-match at the end that does not diminish either character. Comfort reading, in other words.
78. A Hymn Before Battle by John Ringo. Paperback, 467pp. 1st of the Posleen War series. Reread. I picked this one up again to cleanse my palate of the last solo-Ringo I read (Ghost). Liked it again, all grit and determination and save the world(s) from alien invasion with a likeable central character this time, but it also reminded me how slaughter-happy the series is in general, and I wasn't in the mood for more.
79. Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher. Paperback, 502pp. 1st of the Codex Alera. Dear God, I did not think I could love this author any more than I already did for his Dresden Files books. This is the kind of author I want to be, srsly. I would love him for the worldbuilding and character detailing of this epic fantasy universe alone, but he lets all of his characters be intelligent, even the bad guys, which makes for really complex storylines as all of their actions impact each other and the final outcome-- and he neither drops any threads, nor actually spells out the Big Secrets that the plots are woven around until eons after the first several hints are dropped, letting readers figure them out as they go. It's as though he constructs his plots like Rube Goldberg devices instead of a chain of dominoes. Awesome.
80. Academ's Fury by Jim Butcher. Paperback, 529pp. 2nd of the Codex Alera. Did not disappoint. Clues set up in the previous story continue to build; some revelations expected, some not, but all fascinating. Tavi, the central character, continues to be built along classic heroic lines, but very likeable, and surrounded by an awesome cast of complex secondary characters as he triumphs over the challenges on his road to the destiny that is beginning to become clear. I've heard criticisms of the excess of peril everyone falls into in this series (and in DF, honestly), and in the hands of a lesser writer it might indeed be wearisome, but the detail, and the reasons behind it all due to characters actually using their noggins to throw spanners in each others' works, and-- *loves*
81. Cursor's Fury by Jim Butcher. Hardcover, 442pp. 3rd of the Codex Alera. Some of the Big Secrets are finally being spelled out in ways that pay off; Tavi triumphs over more perils, and continues to grow as a character; the secondary stories (even of the enemies, and the world background) are still awesome; and I want to pick up the next book immediately, but I have to wait until it's published on December 4, darn it. And it'll be even longer until the next Dresden. *sighs*
Next up: No idea. Probably rereading for a fic I'm currently plotting, unless something else catches my eye. I'll let you know.
~
Which didn't include the one I said I was going to read. I got distracted. Instead: two military scifi, one modern supernatural, and four fantasy. I may yet make the 100 mark this year.
75. In Fury Born, by David Weber. Paperback, 838pp. I think this is a stand-alone, but it's more on the "strong, gifted woman, betrayed, conquers!" theme I've seen from Weber before. Complex, interesting military space sci-fi... but for one thing: the origins and nature of the "fury" he inserts as a help to the hero, supposedly an energy being that used to pose as a supernatural entity on Earth, are never explained. It bugs me when my hard scifi includes unsupported fantasy elements.
76. Grave Surprise, by Charlaine Harris. Paperback, 310pp. 2nd in the Harper Connelly series. I read the first of this series back in May, and rather liked it. Better than her Southern Vampire stuff; the heroine's supernatural gifts are not extreme, I liked the complex family/business relationship with her stepbrother, and the mystery bits were kind of interesting. This one? Mmm, still readable, but the mystery bits clearly got less author brain-time than turning the step-sibling setup in a UST direction, which kills the brother-sister bond part I adored in the first one. *sigh*
77. Princess of Flames by Ru Emerson. Paperback, 327pp. Reread. I've had this book since highschool; it made me write (long since destroyed) Mary Sue-ish fantasy stories about binding my breasts, impersonating a man, and charging into battle with magic and sword. The book itself is much better than that comment makes it sound, of course; clever writing, excellent worldbuilding, a very strong central female character, and a love-match at the end that does not diminish either character. Comfort reading, in other words.
78. A Hymn Before Battle by John Ringo. Paperback, 467pp. 1st of the Posleen War series. Reread. I picked this one up again to cleanse my palate of the last solo-Ringo I read (Ghost). Liked it again, all grit and determination and save the world(s) from alien invasion with a likeable central character this time, but it also reminded me how slaughter-happy the series is in general, and I wasn't in the mood for more.
79. Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher. Paperback, 502pp. 1st of the Codex Alera. Dear God, I did not think I could love this author any more than I already did for his Dresden Files books. This is the kind of author I want to be, srsly. I would love him for the worldbuilding and character detailing of this epic fantasy universe alone, but he lets all of his characters be intelligent, even the bad guys, which makes for really complex storylines as all of their actions impact each other and the final outcome-- and he neither drops any threads, nor actually spells out the Big Secrets that the plots are woven around until eons after the first several hints are dropped, letting readers figure them out as they go. It's as though he constructs his plots like Rube Goldberg devices instead of a chain of dominoes. Awesome.
80. Academ's Fury by Jim Butcher. Paperback, 529pp. 2nd of the Codex Alera. Did not disappoint. Clues set up in the previous story continue to build; some revelations expected, some not, but all fascinating. Tavi, the central character, continues to be built along classic heroic lines, but very likeable, and surrounded by an awesome cast of complex secondary characters as he triumphs over the challenges on his road to the destiny that is beginning to become clear. I've heard criticisms of the excess of peril everyone falls into in this series (and in DF, honestly), and in the hands of a lesser writer it might indeed be wearisome, but the detail, and the reasons behind it all due to characters actually using their noggins to throw spanners in each others' works, and-- *loves*
81. Cursor's Fury by Jim Butcher. Hardcover, 442pp. 3rd of the Codex Alera. Some of the Big Secrets are finally being spelled out in ways that pay off; Tavi triumphs over more perils, and continues to grow as a character; the secondary stories (even of the enemies, and the world background) are still awesome; and I want to pick up the next book immediately, but I have to wait until it's published on December 4, darn it. And it'll be even longer until the next Dresden. *sighs*
Next up: No idea. Probably rereading for a fic I'm currently plotting, unless something else catches my eye. I'll let you know.
~