Books You've Just Read?

[vol.2]

Read anything interesting recently that you'd like to share?


I just got back into reading the Terry Pratchett Discworld novels. I started reading them ages ago stopped reading in the middle of Pyramids. A couple weeks ago, I ordered a copy of Eric and of Guards! Guards! and I just finished Eric. Very fun book that I couldn't put down. Highly recommeded.

It's definitely a bit different from the other Rincewind books in that Eric is really the focus of the book, and acts more as a driving force in his place. It's more like Rincewind is just along for the ride this time. But it's great fun all the same. I'm sure many of you have already read Pratchett's books already, but this is still my first time through.

[Herr Schatten]

I used to be a huge Pratchett fan, still am, but I think he was at its best when he felt he had something to say, and for those occasions he usually invented fresh characters. His sequels, on the other hand, have always been some kind of fan-service, and especially the later books centered on Rincewind, the witches or the guards suffer from it and feel a little shallow as a result. They are entertaining enough, but the better later Pratchett books are the novels featuring Moist von Lipwick. Also, the Tiffany Aching series is the only one actually getting better with each new installment.

My favourite Discworld novel is probably Mort, and I'm really glad it stayed a one-off.

Interestingly, my favourite Pratchett novel is not a Discworld one, though. I honestly think that Nation is the best thing he's ever written.

[Vexorg]

I've read quite a few of the Discworld books myself. I think my favorite is probably Reaper Man (In general, Death is probably my favorite character.) I also thought Small Gods was a pretty good one.

[benrowe]

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez. “Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice”.

[vol.2]

My favourite Discworld novel is probably Mort, and I'm really glad it stayed a one-off.

The way that I understood it, Mort is part the Death line of stories as much as Eric is part of Rincewind. Neither Mort or Eric ever get another book, but Rincewind and Death keep the series going as their "thread."

Interestingly, my favourite Pratchett novel is not a Discworld one, though. I honestly think that Nation is the best thing he's ever written.

I hadn't considered non-discworld pratchett. I'll check that out.

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez. “Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice”.

Awesome. I haven't read any Magic realism stuff, but it's always been on a todo list somewhere.


I'm currently reading Guards! Guards! (Terry Pratchett) and waiting (for the mail) on a collection of Clark Ashton Smith stories about his fictional Hyperborea. I will post with a photo of the cover (which is super cool) and my thoughts when I finish it.

I also ordered the first three well-known books by Tim Powers (Gathering of the Dark, Anubis Gates, On Stranger Tides) but they won't be here until next year because xmas slows the f*** out of shipping. (at least in the US)

[Blinge]

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez. “Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice”.

This has been my favourite book for most of my adult life..

[Ixmucane2]

I've read many novels by Don Winslow in the last few months, among which the most notable are the Art Keller trilogy (about forty years of Mexican narcos, some of which were personal friends of the protagonist DEA agent in his youth; mostly adapted from the news with changed names, including Donald Trump) and The Force (about corrupt police in New York; in the first part almost nothing happens as the Irish protagonist smugly considers himself the king of the Bronx and of his police Task Force, then everything falls down).

[Herr Schatten]

The way that I understood it, Mort is part the Death line of stories as much as Eric is part of Rincewind. Neither Mort or Eric ever get another book, but Rincewind and Death keep the series going as their "thread."

Yes and no. Death appears in every single Discworld novel, but mostly just in single scenes. Mort was the first book to promote him to a significant supporting character. He then became a proper protagonist later, for example in Reaper Man. You could say that Mort marks some kind of transition, but I wouldn't really count it as part of a series that has Death as the main character.

I hadn't considered non-discworld pratchett. I'll check that out.

To be honest, his other books are a bit hit and miss, but Nation is truly excellent. Absolutely do check it out.

novels by Don Winslow

I read a couple of his books some years ago, and I still can't really make up my mind what I think about Winslow as a writer. I remember thoroughly enjoying California Fire and Life on one hand, but also being bored to death by Isle of Joy on the other. I also read The Power of the Dog and while I thought it was well-written and largely enjoyable, I remember being more than just a bit disgusted by its reveling in detailed descriptions of violence and cruelty.


Since both George Martin and Patrick Rothfuss seem to have abandoned their ongoing series or at least don't seem to be able to escape their writer's block anytime soon, my quest for new huge-ass brick-like fantasy novels led me to the A Chorus of Dragons series by Jenn Lyons. I have just finished the second volume The Name of all Things, and so far I quite enjoy it. While it doesn't quite rival the works of the aforementioned authors in quality, it's actually refreshingly different considered how conservative a genre fantasy can be.

[vol.2]

You could say that Mort marks some kind of transition, but I wouldn't really count it as part of a series that has Death as the main character.

It's been a long time since I read the book, but I remember the premise of it, and I think the popular interpretation of the Discworld timeline makes it the first Death book. Perhaps Rincewind is in Eric a bit more the Death is in Mort, but it's not a huge leap. In any case, I don't mean this is the ultimate word of things for discworld, but I think both interpretations are okay. This is the series timeline that is most circulated. FWIW, I am reading in chronological order, not in this order:

Spoiler

George Martin and Patrick Rothfuss

I started reading GOT at the beach 10 years ago and never finished the first book. I think I'm going to keep it that way unless the others are forthcoming.

[Herr Schatten]

Perhaps Rincewind is in Eric a bit more the Death is in Mort, but it's not a huge leap.

I agree. The similarity is definitely there. I guess in my mind Eric doesn't stand out in Rincewind's series of books in quite the same way Mort does in Death's because Rincewind as a character is much more passive to begin with. To varying degrees, he tends to get swept away into other people's adventures instead of having ones of his own.

FWIW, I am reading in chronological order, not in this order:

Pretty much the way I read them, too. I think I started with Sourcery, then read everything else that was out at the time, then read every new book as it came out.

[ED-057]

Conjuring by the late James Randi. This covers conjurers, magicians, illusionists, escape artists, mentalists, and similar entertainers. Plus a few borderline or outright scam artists. Relates many tales of epic failure, epic winning, and both simultaneously. It also avoids the party-pooping that would come with attempting to reveal all the 'secrets' behind all the acts.

There are many brief blurbs at the end introducing then-current and new professionals, but since the book was published in '92 it's basically all history at this point, at least for someone like me who has never seen this type of live performance and would only recognize a few names. (I did see a David Copperfield TV special in the mid '90s.) The most comprehensive and interesting chapters pertained largely to the 18th and 19th centuries, and in the context of the book they didn't seem that distant. Randi was of the same generation as my grandfather, and he describes events concerning older figures in the biz who he was personally aquainted with such as Harry Blackstone Sr.

A++++ would read again.