Did you see my rec to you in the Summer reading thread?Quoting kuehnepips (view post)
Never heard...
If not, check out JM McDermott's book The Last Dragon. It is a wonderfully written, unique fantasy novel that raises the bar of the genre to a whole new level of literary excellence. It towers over any fantasy novel I've ever read. It has more in common with the traditions in literary horror, and it is intensly atmospheric.
Finally about finished with the second Necroscope book, not as good as the first. Way too much exposition. The history of the vampire should have been broken up and then peppered throughout the series. It's interesting, but it doesn't do anything to push the story forward.
However, there are some very, very good parts. The attack on the vamp-house, and the espionage stuff is awesome.
So while I don't like this as much as the first, I liked it enough to read the 3rd. If the 3rd doesn't blow me away (I hear it's the best), I doubt I'll continue with these right now.
Are there any Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child fans here?
Never heard of them. What's good?
I've read most of their work, but you might be more familiar with the Relic, which was made into a movie a couple years back.
The reason I'm bringing them up is I just bought their newest book, Cemetery Dance , which has a reoccurring character in the series, Agent Pendergast. He's an FBI agent who investigates unusual murder cases. It's kinda X-files themed. My concern is, I haven't read three books prior to this book, which are considered a trilogy, and wondering if anyone has read those books. I don't want to skip over stuff that I might need for Cemetery Dance .
If you're interested; I'd highly recommend,
the Relic (95) (the book is waaaaay cooler than the movie)
Reliquary (80)(which is the sequel)
Douglas Preston also writes solo. I'd recommend;
Riptide (90); Story about treasure buried off shore by island. Legend tells it's impossible to dig up due to a strong Riptide.
The Ice Limit (94) Awesome story about a meteorite that landed in Antarctica. Bizarre events have been occurring near the site.
Lincoln Child's solo projects
Utopia (92) (story about a hostage situation in a futuristic amusement park)
Yes, thanks. I've downloaded the first chapter.
Wow.
So Necroscope 2 ended exactly the same way that Necroscope 1 did. How frustratingly odd. The more I think about that book, the more I realize that it didn't do anything to push the narrative forward. It's basically a slightly altered version of the first book, but with the exact same ending set piece. What a strange way to approach a book. It really doesn't make any sense to me at all.
They've already killed off all the main villains; where is the dramatic impetus that should compel me to read the 3rd book?
I hope book 3 is better, going to give it a chance, or else my time with the Necroscope series is done with.
Yeah i was only a fan of the movie because I read the book so many times. They changed the ending (which happens a lot between books made into movies) to make it more Hollywood styled. Meh.
So I started Cemetery Dance anyway, and from what it sounds like in the first 10 chapters or so, that this book is based around something I love. Something that...
[]
I'm in.
I started The Name of the Wind yesterday, and at about 100 pages in I am finding it OK. Nothing special, but so far it is a well-told tale.
I am a bit appalled by the praise it has received though (it really is amazing, the amount of hyperbole surrounding this book), especially since the seemingly superior Last Dragon, a fantasy book released around the same time, has been largely neglected by genre fans; it really is quite sad. I don't know how else I can say to people "READ THAT DAMN BOOK!" JM McDermott's prose, narrative maturity, and execution far surpasses what I've read of Rothfuss' novel. I don't mean to belittle the Rothfuss book because it is good, but Last Dragon stands heads and shoulders above it in every way possible.
Perhaps something will change with The Name of the Wind and it will end up wowing me but somehow I doubt it. However, I have not regretted a single moment I've spent with it; it is very solid. It's just that after reading Last Dragon, it's going to take a whole heck of a lot to impress me in terms of fantasy lit.
I'm in the middle of Richard Matheson's A Stir of Echos. I haven't seen the movie in years, so I'm going into the story fairly fresh. So far, it's as good as you would expect from Matheson. Simple, straight-forward, and very well-written.
My YouTube Channel: Grim Street Grindhouse
My Top 100 Horror Movies OF ALL TIME.
WHY?
After nearly 200 pages in, Rothfuss turns his back on all that he had done and resorts to one of the most tired of all fantasy cliches: pages-long flashback stories that do nothing but WORLD BUILD. Ugh. So disappointing.
Imagine how much better this would be had Rothfuss only started the story Skarpi tells, but then cuts to when the story is finished, and then we, the readers, have to decipher what Kvothe learned, what he was told, during the present narrative.
But no. Instead, we have to read pages about the world's past, it's lore, it's mythology. The narrative stops dead in its tracks while we read about ancient battles, gods, and demons. Shoot, one of the stories is the Christ story with only the thinnest of veils place over it.
This world building technique has got to stop. It's old and tired, and does nothing but pad the pages, thus turning a taught 400 page story into a bloated 700 page epic, the first part of a trilogy no less that will probably be stuffed with world-building lore.
I'm so very disappointed.
Almost 1/2 way through the Rothfuss book, and I'm back into it. So long as the narrative focuses on Kvothe's tale it is good. His traveling to the University have been my favorite part thus far. As a musician I especially loved when he played the lute for the first time in years; Rothfuss really captured that moment wonderfully.
I need to read this; didn't like the film, though. I have it, What Dreams May Come, and The Incredible Shrinking Man sitting on my shelf, all to be read in the near future. I appreciate Matheson's workman-like style, and his ability to tell a great tale; you can see quite easily the influence he had on Stephen King. If only King would have been more influenced by Matheson's brevity.
This week I finally purchased my copy of the newly released version of Ligotti's My Work is Not Yet Done, a collection of corporate horror. I re-read the last two short stories and was once again reminded of Ligotti's brilliance. It's a fact that he will go down in history as the premier author of horror of his generation. That dude can write as well as anyone writing today. It's just a shame that most of his stuff is so hard to find and so expensive. So buy this book before it's OOP. If you want to experience an author who has a power over the English language unlike any you've ever read, Ligotti's your man. It's a very unique thing to have a writer like Ligotti writing while we're still alive. All too often, it seems like writers of this caliber are long dead.
the interpretation of murder is better than it has a right to be. as the name suggests, it's a murder mystery starring freud among the main characters. (thank god, he's not a protagonist.) i have read enough of these things to know how sorry states these kinda novels generally are. (the one with oscar wilde is among the worst strings of texts i have ever laid my eyes on.)
with the interpretation of murder rubenfeld did a fine job researching the period. his portrait of manhattan the first decade of the 20th century is compelling. there is this one exciting scene involving the caisson of manhattan bridge.
rubenfeld's reading of freud is cute. i believe, he studied psychology for BS before changing to law. his reading is...very undergraduate. freud is here taken literary and to the extreme. it's stupid in an adorable way.
the book's biggest flaw is near the ending when things seemingly fall apart with the revealing of the murderer's identity. as a rule, a 367-paged novel always contain too many clues to make any sense together. (that's why christie's are never more than 300 pages, and eco's the name of the rose is an exception that proves the rule.)
still, it's a fun reading. much much better than the average of its genre.
"Over analysis is like the oil of the Match-Cut machine." KK2.0
Well, this is discouraging. I have this book ready for pick-up at the library after hearing nothing but high praise for it.
I'd like to really start reading more of these literary works and after skimming through this thread, it seems like you really know your stuff when it comes to genre fiction. I've taken a lot of your recommendations and even have The Last Dragon on hold from the library (probably won't get it for another 2 weeks). I was hoping that maybe you could help me form a better understanding of what exactly distinguishes science fiction from fantasy literature. I understand they share similar characteristics but differ greatly when it comes to themes but what would you consider to be a working definition of each? Or maybe you can point me in the direction of authors in the genre who have commented on this issue? I just think it would help me to appreciate these genres more if i had some kind of background info on them. Thanks man.
I forgot to update this thread. I finished this book a while back and although the hype and tension leading up the climax was AWESOME, the ending was pretty dissapointing and the book as a whole ended up being pretty mediocre.
So thanks to a friend of a friend of mine, I got my hands finally on 'Salems Lot by Stephen King. I'm roughly 100 something pages in, and its good, although hopefully I'm passing the buildup stage. King is someone who I will probably end up being a fan of; sure I've read the first five Dark Tower books, but I've only read Pet Sementary in regards to his horror/fantasy novels.
BLOG
And everybody wants to be special here
They call your name out loud and clear
Here comes a regular
Call out your name
Here comes a regular
Am I the only one here today?
The climax in that one comes a little early, and things get kinda flaccid afterward.
Read The Shining.
My YouTube Channel: Grim Street Grindhouse
My Top 100 Horror Movies OF ALL TIME.
This is easily his best book (that I've read) and among my all time favorites.
Seconded on both.
It's a great book. Scary, powerful, great writing.
I don't think King gets enough credit as a truly great writer.
"All right, that's too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?"
"Rick...it's a flamethrower."
When he reins himself in, he's a very talented guy. When he tries to get too epic and/or cute with his prose, he loses me. 'Salem's Lot is nothing but the best. Terrifying at moments, and just perfectly written.
Totally agree. Many of his short stories suffer from the "cuteness" you're talking about - trying too hard to give a wink and a nod with the morbid humor, when it's not really necessary at all.
But reading stuff like "'Salem's Lot", "The Stand", "The Shining" and "Insomnia" shows quite a talent there.
However I've never been able to enjoy "The Tommyknockers". I read it twice and both times just felt "blech" about it.
"All right, that's too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?"
"Rick...it's a flamethrower."
Posting Permissions
forum
Reply With Quote