FBNR Stuff:
While I am waiting on my nook to arrive (supposed to ship Nov 30), I thought I would try to read a couple of paperbacks. I know once my nook arrives, I will be reading mostly ebooks for awhile. Pyr was kind enough to send me all 3 of the Chronicles of the Raven books. I already reviewed (and loved) the first one. I started Noonshade but put it down because I just have more interest in reading digital versions (and there is none for the Raven books). Since there is about a 4 week gap between when i read the first 200 pages, and when I started it again this week, the review will be a little different. But, I'm on page 280 (of 410 or so) and enjoying it. I think I actually prefer Dawnthief so far, but not by a lot. Noonshade has been very enjoyable, and is getting even better as I approach the end.
Author News:
-You can read the first 3 chapters of David B. Coe's final Blood of the Southlands novel, The Dark Eyes' War, here.
Reviews:
Is this a better book because the last couple weren’t quite as good? Yeah, maybe. I’m not exactly unbiased here and I can only admit that I love this series and frequently overlook flaws. But, this one is just better than Wheel of Time had been for a while
link: Adventures in Reading: Knife of Dreams, by Robert Jordan
For me the plot is like the skin layers of an onion. So far I didn't talk much about my secret star of the series: The Chathrand. Mr. Redick's depiction of the sailing vessel and the life on board is most imposing. I got nearly seasick on the sofa when I read the novel.
link: Review: The Rats and the Ruling Sea by Robert V.S. Redick | Only The Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy
....But the actual threat bears no connection whatsoever to the remainder of the book, and the resolution of it - and the book - is slightly, well, laughable. It's a deux-ex-machina to the extreme, insipid, and meanders slightly.
link: Drying Ink: Review|Hawkspar - Holly Lisle
Character-wise, “The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart” revolves around Hegel and Manfried Grossbart, two of the most vicious and appalling protagonists I’ve ever set eyes on. Crude, selfish, and nasty, the Brothers Grossbart are characters that filled me with disgust and who I would root against at every opportunity. Yet for all that I disliked Hegel and Manfried Grossbart, at the same time I found the twins to be quite fascinating thanks to Jesse’s wild imagination and detailed rendering.
Tempest Rising is a short, entertaining read. It had some humor, which was rather hit or miss. Sometimes it was quite humorous, but other times it seemed to be overdone and trying too hard. There was a lot of sex - too much for my taste - and for a while I was thinking it seemed more like a paranormal romance. I decided I wouldn't actually label it a paranormal romance, though, just because it didn't seem, well, romantic.
link: Fantasy Cafe: Reviews of Tempest Rising by Nicole Peeler
For me, as someone who genuinely enjoys a lot of different types and genres of fiction, Finch is one of the best books that I’ve read in years. It is also the book I’ve been waiting to read for years without knowing it. Beyond that, though, when all is said and done, Finch will be among the best books of the year.
link: Finch by Jeff VanderMeer – review » BSCreview
I really like the direction of this series and feel it has a very bright future. This will sound corny but as I finishing up this book there was a huge magic battle scene and a strange thought came into my head, this is like Harry Potter but for adults. This is series is becoming that good and easily becoming one of my favorites.
link: Robots and Vamps » RaV Book Review: Magic in the Shadows by Devon Monk
It's nothing of any great consequence, but it's certainly a quick engaging read. Salvatore keeps the plot moving along at a good clip, but he doesn't stint on his characters. These folks aren't as instantly engaging as the characters in his popular Drizzt books, (which are my favourite fun reads), but they're still fun to read about. They face some interesting moral dilemmas, too, in addition to the excellent fight scenes Salvatore's known for.
link: Stella Matutina - 146. Canticle by R.A. Salvatore
Basically, if the author had spent as much time and effort on developing the fantasy parts of the novel as he did the rest of the book, then “The Cardinal’s Blades” would have been profoundly better.
link: Fantasy Book Critic: “The Cardinal’s Blades” by Pierre Pevel (Reviewed by Robert Thompson)
I hate to say this because I very much like this series and hope for a satisfying conclusion with some future volume, but Chasing the Dragon was a bit of a disappointment. There are some interesting things going on here, a couple of major developments, but they don't add up to enough to recommend the book. Even though we don’t know what the larger picture is supposed to be, there is little sense of how Chasing the Dragon really connects to the previous books.
link: Adventures in Reading: Chasing the Dragon, by Justina Robson
1 comments:
Very excited about the Coe book coming out next year!
I wouldn't be surprised with Wizards of the Coast. I don't see much talk about the new series through them at all. I think that's what happens when you start pulling in so many different people and there's multiple story lines in a world a new reader will get overwhelmed and not know where to start or what to do. Just a guess but that's my idea.
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