Reading List Update: # 70 - 79
Dec. 6th, 2008 08:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jedibuttercupWell. About a month since my last reading post. Ten-ish books consumed in that time, including: seven epic fantasy, one psychology-related non-fiction, one religious work, and what I'm calling "one book's worth" of urban fantasy short stories.
70. Wolf's Head, Wolf's Heart by Jane Lindskold. Paperback, 768pp. 2nd of the Firekeeper series. Wow, these are long books; but well-written and complex. This one was mainly about a particular Quest for magical objects, but also very much about the main characters' continuing to grow into adults, and both threads were very well done. I liked that Firekeeper still made an effort to retain her identity as a Wolf even while learning more about her human heritage-- despite pressures from both human and Beast authorities. I also appreciated that all of the characters in this 'verse have different perspectives on the situations which don't always mesh, and that while the heroes certainly try, they don't always do the right thing, or even agree on what the right thing might be (while still progressing to a satisfying conclusion).
71. Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher. Paperback, 502pp. 1st of the Codex Alera. Reread.
72. Academ's Fury by Jim Butcher. Paperback, 529pp. 2nd of the Codex Alera. Reread.
73. Cursor's Fury by Jim Butcher. Hardback, 442pp. 3rd of the Codex Alera. Reread.
74. Captain's Fury by Jim Butcher. Hardback, 451pp. 4th of the Codex Alera. Reread.
75. Princeps' Fury by Jim Butcher. Hardback, 386pp. 5th of the Codex Alera.
It's a good thing I've known ever since I picked up the 3rd book in this series that Butcher was planning a total of six, or I'd have screamed at the end of Princeps' Fury, which I picked up the day it came out. This series is, I suspect, why I had so much trouble rereading David Eddings' work-- the plot complexity, the characterization, the worldbuilding, etc., I could go on about it for hours if you'd let me. The problem with the penultimate chapter of any series like this, however, is that things tend to get very, very dark in preperation for the hero's ultimate triumph; though I enjoyed reading "Princeps' Fury" very much indeed, and was both surprised and pleased by some of the plot elements and character development in it, overall it was a very, very depressing novel, and set up ridiculously high expectations for the last one.
76. The Dragon of Despair by Jane Lindskold. Paperback, 729pp. 3rd of the Firekeeper series. On one level, this book was a bit of a disappointment after enjoying the first two so much; the main characters didn't develop much more than they already had, and they journey to the same land to fight the same enemy as in the second book, leaving most of the first book's intriguing secondary cast behind. On another level, however, it did more deeply explore the mythology of the world, revisit the continuing minor subplot of Humans vs. Beasts (which seems likely to build to a major conflict sooner or later), and continue to present all its cast as actual, three-dimensional, fallible beings, something still relatively rare in fantasy fiction. I liked it enough to pick up the next-- at least, whenever I next have a Borders discount coupon.
77. The Shack by William Young. Paperback, 256pp. I read this one at the behest of my mother; our friends and family have been passing it around for months in the aftermath of Derek's death. It's about one man dealing with grief, and experiencing a transformational vision/visitation of God; it's also about that eternal question "Where is God in a world filled with unspeakable pain?" I found it moving, thoughtful, and thought-provoking; I can see why it's been compared to John Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress". It's a lot closer to my actual idea of God than what I usually experience in church; I liked the concept that God prefers living verbs (doing) to dead nouns (being), and that while all roads might not necessarily lead to Jesus, he will go down any and every road to find you.
78. Five Dredsen-verse short stories, comprising a total of 222 pages, as follows:
79. The Resiliency Advantage: Master Change, Thrive Under Pressure, and Bounce Back from Setbacks by Al Siebert, PhD. Paperback, 225pp. I borrowed this one from the work library, and found it both interesting and helpful in explaining some things I've observed in myself, my family, and my friends in the aftermath of traumatic, life-changing events. Not just Derek's death, which was nearly ten months ago now, but several other, and in many cases much older traumas. He talks a lot about escaping the victim mentality-- establishing an internal self-directed locus of control rather than an external one, which depends on other people to define your reality-- and escaping the "good child" lessons a lot of us were taught as kids, which trap folk in self-defeating "should" modes of behavior rather than doing what's actually necessary to be healthy and happy. Other points include the fact that humans are programmed to keep learning and changing our entire lives, and that "stress" is a total myth-- it's the strain of trying to cope with things we aren't emotionally prepared to deal with that causes so many problems.
Next book: Haven't decided yet. Either O'Brian's The Fortune of War, or Morgan Howell's A Woman Worth Ten Coppers-- or more likely a mixture of both, because while I adore O'Brian dearly his extensive and exhausting nautical language often drives me to find something lighter to relax my brain for awhile. =)
~
70. Wolf's Head, Wolf's Heart by Jane Lindskold. Paperback, 768pp. 2nd of the Firekeeper series. Wow, these are long books; but well-written and complex. This one was mainly about a particular Quest for magical objects, but also very much about the main characters' continuing to grow into adults, and both threads were very well done. I liked that Firekeeper still made an effort to retain her identity as a Wolf even while learning more about her human heritage-- despite pressures from both human and Beast authorities. I also appreciated that all of the characters in this 'verse have different perspectives on the situations which don't always mesh, and that while the heroes certainly try, they don't always do the right thing, or even agree on what the right thing might be (while still progressing to a satisfying conclusion).
71. Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher. Paperback, 502pp. 1st of the Codex Alera. Reread.
72. Academ's Fury by Jim Butcher. Paperback, 529pp. 2nd of the Codex Alera. Reread.
73. Cursor's Fury by Jim Butcher. Hardback, 442pp. 3rd of the Codex Alera. Reread.
74. Captain's Fury by Jim Butcher. Hardback, 451pp. 4th of the Codex Alera. Reread.
75. Princeps' Fury by Jim Butcher. Hardback, 386pp. 5th of the Codex Alera.
It's a good thing I've known ever since I picked up the 3rd book in this series that Butcher was planning a total of six, or I'd have screamed at the end of Princeps' Fury, which I picked up the day it came out. This series is, I suspect, why I had so much trouble rereading David Eddings' work-- the plot complexity, the characterization, the worldbuilding, etc., I could go on about it for hours if you'd let me. The problem with the penultimate chapter of any series like this, however, is that things tend to get very, very dark in preperation for the hero's ultimate triumph; though I enjoyed reading "Princeps' Fury" very much indeed, and was both surprised and pleased by some of the plot elements and character development in it, overall it was a very, very depressing novel, and set up ridiculously high expectations for the last one.
76. The Dragon of Despair by Jane Lindskold. Paperback, 729pp. 3rd of the Firekeeper series. On one level, this book was a bit of a disappointment after enjoying the first two so much; the main characters didn't develop much more than they already had, and they journey to the same land to fight the same enemy as in the second book, leaving most of the first book's intriguing secondary cast behind. On another level, however, it did more deeply explore the mythology of the world, revisit the continuing minor subplot of Humans vs. Beasts (which seems likely to build to a major conflict sooner or later), and continue to present all its cast as actual, three-dimensional, fallible beings, something still relatively rare in fantasy fiction. I liked it enough to pick up the next-- at least, whenever I next have a Borders discount coupon.
77. The Shack by William Young. Paperback, 256pp. I read this one at the behest of my mother; our friends and family have been passing it around for months in the aftermath of Derek's death. It's about one man dealing with grief, and experiencing a transformational vision/visitation of God; it's also about that eternal question "Where is God in a world filled with unspeakable pain?" I found it moving, thoughtful, and thought-provoking; I can see why it's been compared to John Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress". It's a lot closer to my actual idea of God than what I usually experience in church; I liked the concept that God prefers living verbs (doing) to dead nouns (being), and that while all roads might not necessarily lead to Jesus, he will go down any and every road to find you.
78. Five Dredsen-verse short stories, comprising a total of 222 pages, as follows:
- "Something Borrowed", from My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding, by Jim Butcher. 32pp.
- "Heorot", from My Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon, by Jim Butcher. 47pp.
- "It's My Birthday, Too", from Many Bloody Returns, by Jim Butcher. 47pp.
- "Day Off", from Blood Lite, by Jim Butcher. 26pp.
- Backup, by Jim Butcher. 70pp.
79. The Resiliency Advantage: Master Change, Thrive Under Pressure, and Bounce Back from Setbacks by Al Siebert, PhD. Paperback, 225pp. I borrowed this one from the work library, and found it both interesting and helpful in explaining some things I've observed in myself, my family, and my friends in the aftermath of traumatic, life-changing events. Not just Derek's death, which was nearly ten months ago now, but several other, and in many cases much older traumas. He talks a lot about escaping the victim mentality-- establishing an internal self-directed locus of control rather than an external one, which depends on other people to define your reality-- and escaping the "good child" lessons a lot of us were taught as kids, which trap folk in self-defeating "should" modes of behavior rather than doing what's actually necessary to be healthy and happy. Other points include the fact that humans are programmed to keep learning and changing our entire lives, and that "stress" is a total myth-- it's the strain of trying to cope with things we aren't emotionally prepared to deal with that causes so many problems.
Next book: Haven't decided yet. Either O'Brian's The Fortune of War, or Morgan Howell's A Woman Worth Ten Coppers-- or more likely a mixture of both, because while I adore O'Brian dearly his extensive and exhausting nautical language often drives me to find something lighter to relax my brain for awhile. =)
~
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Date: 2010-02-18 10:27 pm (UTC)His Fionavar Tapestry was his first novels, and are the 'epic fantasy' type. Very fun, our-world-into-they're-world kind of story, with great characters. I used to pick that triology up and be unable to put it down, and I'd reach for it during times of stress, which really sucked during exams. Because I'd be reading it instead of studying, and laughing and crying when I should have been doing more anatomy >.<
His other work is all historical fantasy. Absolutely wonderful, but heavy stuff. Tigana is a look at Italy in its Great Cities day. The story is about ... how to summerize his stuff without giving great parts away ... about a land where what province you belonged to was a Big Deal. And this foreign warlord came and made war with the Tigana province and won, and then went on to take over half the country. Another foreign (opposing) warlord invaded the weakened country and took over the other half of the provinces. The story is set twenty+ years later and looks at what some people are trying to do to bring back their province and get rid of the overlords.
Well written and exciting. The first book of his that I had read. Very engaging, NC-17 at times.
The Lions of Al-Rasan (sp?) is a look at Muslim-controlled Spain and focuses on the time before and during the Spanish Re-taking of that country. It's a great treaty on religion, and he has one character who is Muslim, one Christian and one Jewish. Of course he names everything differently, and changes the religions around a bit, but they are recognizable. Absolutely breathtaking. His Jewish woman physician made the book all on her own, but the two other men did their part ;-)
A Song for Arabone is beautiful, a look at France. Made me cry and cry. I remember this one the least, though I know I sobbed at the end.
His Ysabel is different - set in our time, not as good as his other ones I thought.
I'm reading The Last Light of the Sun right now for the first time - its a Viking read, and its already as heavy and engaging as his other work.
Mostly I love his characters, and he does women particularly well. Everyone is fully developed and the choices they have to make often define them. He does a great job of putting people into places and showing how the times - usually a changing - influence them and these choices they have.
Absolutely fun.
Jo Graham also does historical fiction, very women-centric, less grand worlds and more human stories. She's only got two books out, but I enjoyed them both immensely. Black Ships is a retelling of the Aeneid from a woman's point of view. Hand of Isis is Cleopatra's story told from her half-sister.
All good books! If you read any, I hope you enjoy them :)
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Date: 2010-02-23 12:44 am (UTC)Perhaps I'll get my feet wet with the Fionavar ones next time I do a book run, and see how I go from there. =)