Books 63-68
Nov. 3rd, 2008 09:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
deense63. Bonehunters, Stephen Erikson. This series suffered the fate that is put-downism. It's a dense dense 900 pages of reading, and in trade paperback isn't an easy thing to lug around, but I am so glad that I picked it back up and restarted. Part of the Malazan Book of the Fallen, this series is epic, and it's fantasy in the darkest, most war-torn sense. The books weave in and out and just when you think it's lost it's pattern all of these loose threads come together in a way that makes you marvel and baffle. I cannot suggest this series enough. It's not an easy or quick read, but it's worth it, especially in the way that it builds.
64. Devil Bones, Kathy Reichs. The newest in the Temperance Brennan series, it's the first time I've read one cold since becoming a fan of Bones, and it was a bit odd. I enjoyed it. I won't call them great literature, but I do think they're very well written and compel you to keep reading. She mixes technical knowledge with an engaging story and characters very well.
65. Fire & Hemlock, Diana Wynne Jones. Very different from her usual fare. The story of a girl and memories that have been magicked away from her. It's quite good, and an interesting mix of mythology into a modern every day setting.
66. North & South, Elizabeth Gaskell. Brilliant. This book is everything I always wanted Austen to be. Written originally as a serial, it's captivating, pulling and pushing you along. Set in the changing world of Victorian Era, when a minister and his family leave their idyllic southern home and move to the industrial North. The characters are well written, it's a great story and I immediately fell in love. I need to get a copy.
67. The Snake, the Crocodile and the Dog, Elizabeth Peters. I don't know why the prose seemed seven million times more over the top this time for me, but it did. It's so purple it hurts sometimes, but I still enjoy these books, if only for their mysteries, and Amelia and her parasol. Oh gods, and Ramses. Really, entertaining characters and stories, and honestly, it's very purposely written in this fashion. It makes me giggle sometimes.
68. Personal Demon, Kelley Armstrong. There is the world of bad urban fantasy, and then there are a few authors who consistently entertain and who's appeal does not fade. Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series continues to be one of those, though this book didn't draw me as much as some of the others. I liked some of the side-plots, but the main character (Hope) in it wasn't one of my faves, so... Less investment I suppose.
The rest of what I've read this year
64. Devil Bones, Kathy Reichs. The newest in the Temperance Brennan series, it's the first time I've read one cold since becoming a fan of Bones, and it was a bit odd. I enjoyed it. I won't call them great literature, but I do think they're very well written and compel you to keep reading. She mixes technical knowledge with an engaging story and characters very well.
65. Fire & Hemlock, Diana Wynne Jones. Very different from her usual fare. The story of a girl and memories that have been magicked away from her. It's quite good, and an interesting mix of mythology into a modern every day setting.
66. North & South, Elizabeth Gaskell. Brilliant. This book is everything I always wanted Austen to be. Written originally as a serial, it's captivating, pulling and pushing you along. Set in the changing world of Victorian Era, when a minister and his family leave their idyllic southern home and move to the industrial North. The characters are well written, it's a great story and I immediately fell in love. I need to get a copy.
67. The Snake, the Crocodile and the Dog, Elizabeth Peters. I don't know why the prose seemed seven million times more over the top this time for me, but it did. It's so purple it hurts sometimes, but I still enjoy these books, if only for their mysteries, and Amelia and her parasol. Oh gods, and Ramses. Really, entertaining characters and stories, and honestly, it's very purposely written in this fashion. It makes me giggle sometimes.
68. Personal Demon, Kelley Armstrong. There is the world of bad urban fantasy, and then there are a few authors who consistently entertain and who's appeal does not fade. Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series continues to be one of those, though this book didn't draw me as much as some of the others. I liked some of the side-plots, but the main character (Hope) in it wasn't one of my faves, so... Less investment I suppose.
The rest of what I've read this year
no subject
Date: 2008-11-03 03:39 pm (UTC)Hope isn't my favourite either :(
Was there a little snippet in the back about the next book, if so, who is the next main character??
no subject
Date: 2008-11-03 10:40 pm (UTC)Paperback, I got it off of Amazon.
I FORGET, and now I've loaned it out to a friend in Malbun
no subject
Date: 2008-11-03 10:51 pm (UTC)Since the paperback is out I went looking for the next book...and apparently Robyn in the next main character...whom I happen to not remember? Is it someone I forgot, or someone new, do you know? I have the worst memory ever :(
no subject
Date: 2008-11-03 11:04 pm (UTC)Oh god, my memory is shite too, and no, I don't remember a Robyn.