I read alot of her books cause I like the supernatural world she has created but this book just seemed to be for a paycheck IMO. In the past all her books have had something important occur that has a relation to other characters she has written about. The new series although being the opening book doesn't grab my attention like her others have and although I will end up buying the continuations Im still not happpy with how she ended this one.
Satsu, BRIAN BLESSED, MIGHTY AND WISE Junpei Iori: Ace Detective, Maccaffrickstonson von Lichtenstafford Frabenschnaben, Polite Krogan, Robert Baratheon
Actually there is a second book to the adaptation, I believe, although it feels more like a cashgrab to the success of the first, rather than a real adaptation with apologies to Jane Austen.
First book was essentially Pride and Prejudice but re-written in certain points. Alot of the main body of the text is the original novel, seth graham smith just added his own ideas and adopted the same narrative while writing.
Second book is a prequel to the first but is written by a different author and is far weaker than the original.
Kris; Mantichorus; Sam Vimes; Neku Sakuraba; Koki Kariya; Hazama; CuChulainn; Yu Narukami; Mewtwo; Rival Silver; Suicune; Kanata; Professor Oak; The Brigadier; VIII; The Engineer
Got fed up of my mum having had it for ages and not actually reading it. I've already reached her marker in about three days of only reading it during my lunch break at work.
Are you gaiz not reading any books at all? For shame.
As for me, I just started reading the Artemis Fowl series. By starting, I mean I finished the first book yesterday. I just need to find the next ones the next time I stop by the book store.
I've been reading a lot, but I didn't think anyone cared. I'm in the middle of The White Lioness by Henning Mankell, which is a superb look at the politics of South Africa right before the end of apartheid.
However, someone bought the copy I was reading at work, so I have also restarted the fifth volume of the Dresden Files. I can't remember how far I got into it the first time I read it, but I've gotten stuff I don't remember happening, so I may have gotten farther into it than I did the first time. For some reason I thought I was about halfway through it when I got distracted, but maybe not. Anyway the Dresden Files is always good fun; Harry's fondness for bad jokes and reliable sympathy for the underdog make him an appealing character.
Before starting those two, my most recent read was China Miéville's Kraken. An at times hilarious satire of eschatology which was never less than fun.
Satsu, BRIAN BLESSED, MIGHTY AND WISE Junpei Iori: Ace Detective, Maccaffrickstonson von Lichtenstafford Frabenschnaben, Polite Krogan, Robert Baratheon
I just finished the final Harry Potter book after having put off buying it for the past few years.
Honestly? I don't really think it was the best in the series, although I'm not exactly what would qualify as being the best in the series
I was initially confused by the talking animals and they only explain that they were Patronuses a few chapters in, but that's a bit of a petty gripe. Rowling hasn't exactly been the best at writing character deaths at times (including the very last one which while obviously a visual spectacular didn't really come off as such), but while I didn't get particularly shocked by a few revelations, the way she writes the process from Point A to Point B is entertaining enough.
The dynamic of the protagonists going to an underground resistance ala the Order of the Phoenix (only more underground, per se) loses some of its charm compared to, say, Dumbledore's Army. There's still a bit of humour in between most of the doom and gloom of the final book, but I'm not complaining of the lack thereof seeing as readers know what to expect before they've even started reading. By the middle of the book Ron, Harry and Hermoine seem to be following their familiar routine of struggling to keep their friendships together (and seriously they do it at some point in nearly every book), but then they make eventually make up and go out of their way to kick ass again.
There's a lot of digging for nostalgia than other Harry Potter books, but then again that's neither a complaint nor a compliment. Potter is, after all, pulling out all the stops in the last fight against Voldemort, etc. so it can't be faulted for doing so. I might have to go back and check some details, because there's a lot of "hey do you remember me", most notably a "hey do you remember me" by some goblin who worked at Gringotts and had at most a few mentions in the very first book, although Rowling does do a favour by letting the reader know who he is without having to go back and flick through The Philosopher's Stone again.
The main thing I found really intriguing about the book was Dumbledore, and of course there's a lot of the book dedicated to uncovering Dumbledore's past now that,
The ultimate conflict between Harry Potter and the Dark Lord, mhmm, a lot of teenage-to-adult angst, uh-huh, underground resistance and subversion of the people, yada-yada, it's all well and good, but then in case the reader hadn't thought about it, Dumbledore was a ridiculously enigmatic character all this time. Of course, once Rita Skeeter turns up with her typical hype and bullshit, Harry laughs it off, but then it throws up a neat question of how much Dumbledore has been telling anyone. By the end of it, Dumbledore comes off as arguably the most complex character in the series.
So I liked reading it. It wraps things up like it should have, and it's a good fitting end to the series. Rowling is an entertaining author, but Deathly Hallows, in my opinion, isn't her magnus opus.
As for me, I just started reading the Artemis Fowl series. By starting, I mean I finished the first book yesterday. I just need to find the next ones the next time I stop by the book store.
Excellent choice, Artemis Fowl is a fantastic series. They're the kind of books you just can't help but rip through.
Just finished re-reading A Game of Thrones and reading A Clash of Kings right now. It's been years since I read the books, so I figured I'd refresh myself before DWD comes out.
Carrying on from Satsu's post, I'm reading extracts from the Malleus Maleficarum, which is something of a fifteenth century handbook for identifying witches and validating their existence.
Some of the 'evidence' provided is hilarious, including a witch keeping penises in a nest and telling passers-by that the largest belongs to the priest of a local parish. I swear, Heinrich Kramer is some sort of sexual deviant, because he seems to have this weird fascination with the sexuality of it all.
It's also interesting to note that the author was denounced by the inquisition sometime after writing the Malleus, it was still seen as the guide to prosecuting witches for a good two centuries after.
Kris; Mantichorus; Sam Vimes; Neku Sakuraba; Koki Kariya; Hazama; CuChulainn; Yu Narukami; Mewtwo; Rival Silver; Suicune; Kanata; Professor Oak; The Brigadier; VIII; The Engineer
Essentially, it's written as a senior demon's PoV giving a junior demon pointers on corrupting a human soul. God is mentioned throughout as "the Enemy", while Lucifer is "Our Father Below".
It's sometimes as cynically funny as it sounds. Was pointed towards this book by TVTropes, so... XD
Satsu, BRIAN BLESSED, MIGHTY AND WISE Junpei Iori: Ace Detective, Maccaffrickstonson von Lichtenstafford Frabenschnaben, Polite Krogan, Robert Baratheon
Some of the 'evidence' provided is hilarious, including a witch keeping penises in a nest and telling passers-by that the largest belongs to the priest of a local parish. I swear, Heinrich Kramer is some sort of sexual deviant, because he seems to have this weird fascination with the sexuality of it all.
It's also interesting to note that the author was denounced by the inquisition sometime after writing the Malleus, it was still seen as the guide to prosecuting witches for a good two centuries after.
Just read a young adult novel, "Looking for Alaska," by John Green. I tore it apart in a few hours, and found it satisfying. Not a big fan of coming-of-age stories but this one was affable. Gonna read the rest of his works over the summer. I've had them for years ( I got into his vlog in 2007) so it's about time.
edit because nobody updates this thread: Have you guys heard of Goodreads.com? I just signed up, it's pretty ballin. It's like Facebook + Book Club + Home Library Organizer. Awesome.
Satsu, BRIAN BLESSED, MIGHTY AND WISE Junpei Iori: Ace Detective, Maccaffrickstonson von Lichtenstafford Frabenschnaben, Polite Krogan, Robert Baratheon
I'm also reading Dean Koontz's fourth Frakenstein novel, Lost Souls. I can't wait until the next one comes out later this month. It'll be on my bookshelf by the beginning of June.
First Love, Last Rites by Ian McEwan
And I thought The Cement Garden was fucked up. LOOOOL this collection of short stories is so much worse. I can't figure out if they're depraved or just macabre.
Shudder.
So well written though, McEwan's style really tenses you up as a reader and drags you into the atmospheric loneliness of them all.
i have finished the first two chapters yesterday and i was honestly surprised how much i am enjoying reading it. the last book i read was some fairytale retelling and that was such a chore to get through i never finished it
I got a stack of management / self-improvement / etc books from my boss, a stack every new employee gets by default. These are:
* The 7 habits of highly effective people
(first impression: not sure, author goes about a rant about modern-day self-improvement books being about how to effectively lie your way to the top with various jedi mind tricks versus the old-fashioned self-improvement books (pre-WW1) where the emphasis was more on your own personality - politeness, kindness, awesomeness, whichever. Not sure where the book's headed so far)
* Eckhart's Notes, a book (in Moleskine format) written by a successful Dutch entrepeneur that built a 10,000-man strong consultancy firm in just ten years. First section's essentially about 'cell forming' - if a company gets 60 or so employees, split it up into two 'cells', self-sustaining companies with the same name and values as the 'parent' company, splitting geographical areas as well. I can definitely see that book / structure's influence on our company, although it seems the separations aren't as official as in that book (instead, we have separate 'cells' for separate job types - education, development, IT consultancy, etc).
And a couple others I haven't gotten around to reading yet, too lazy to list them here .
Kris; Mantichorus; Sam Vimes; Neku Sakuraba; Koki Kariya; Hazama; CuChulainn; Yu Narukami; Mewtwo; Rival Silver; Suicune; Kanata; Professor Oak; The Brigadier; VIII; The Engineer
Storm Front by Jim Butcher (a Dresden Files novel)
This is the first time I've read any of the Harry Dresden books, despite having watched the Dresden Files TV series. I'll say first and foremost that I prefer TV Bob and Morgan to their book counterparts. Storm Front was also the only novel to be directly adapted for the TV series, and after reading the book, I was disappointed that the TV show lacked the
toad demon
; however, reflecting on the crappy CGI werewolf, dragon and (in the Storm Front episode) building that were featured in the series, I'm glad it escaped such mutilation.
For the author's first novel, Storm Front is, IMO, average - unfortunately, in the urban fantasy genre, this translates into above average. Dresden himself has an internal monologue that is, in tone, similiar to every chump who got pulled into a noir situation (Dresden is the only openly supernatural PI in 'verse, and works as a "consulting detective" for Chicago PD on weird cases). The novel introduces us to certain rules of magic as the story gets to them, instead of forcing them down our throat in one go, and Dresden also makes tantalising references to other rules and aspects of magic and the supernatural, some of which are paid off in this novel, others possibly in later novels.
The story takes you along with it, and it's not a waste of paper. I'm interested in seeing where the series goes on from here, and will be picking more titles up (it's one of those series that makes you wonder why you never picked it up before).
~ # ~
Anno Dracula by Kim Newman (horror journalist)
Anno Dracula (hereafter AD) was first published back in 1992. However, it has recently been reissued after an extended period not in print.
AD is set in an alternative universe where the events of Dracula played out quite differently. In AD's 'verse, Dracula defeated Van Helsing and his followers. He then seduced Queen Victoria and became the Prince Consort. After the Queen was turned, many of her subjects followed suit. Also, several other famed fictional vampires appeared out of the woodwork. Some of these vampires had been of Dracula's retinue before (either prior to or after death), some saught to ingratiate themselves with the ascendant Count, while others merely wished to find somewhere were they could exist as vampires in peace.
The main thrust of the plot, however, takes place a few years after in 1888 (some may disagree with the events of Dracula happening before then, but Newman states his case in the afterword) with the Jack the Ripper search. In this story, Jack the Ripper preyed only on vampire prostitutes (who were, nonetheless, the same women the "real world" Ripper attacked), and was first known as the Silver Knife.
The Silver Knife's identity is revealed in the first chapter of the book - however, I won't spoil it for those of you who haven't read it, but will say it's an already existing fictional character.
The main protagonists in the book are original creations of the author, who seek out the Silver Knife. Secondary protagonists are borrowed from other authors - Dr John Seward and Lord Godalming
(the latter now a vampire)
from Dracula to name two. Inspector Lestrade
(now a vampire)
from the Sherlock Holmes books appears as the detective in charge of the police investigation - Holmes himself has been sent to a concentration camp on the Suffolk Downs for speaking out aggainst the new administration, but his brother Mycroft appears, as does Moriarty.
To name all the "borrowed" characters would take a while, but I'll also highlight the presence of the vampire researchers Dr Jekyll and Dr Moreau (the latter from the HG Wells novel, The Island of Doctor Moreau).
I really enjoyed this novel, more than I thought I would. The identity of Jack the Ripper is, as I said, revealed at the beginning of the book, so no mystery there. However, as anyone who has seen an episode of Columbo knows, just because we know the culprit from the beginning, seeing the protagonists work it out is no less entertaining. The inclusion of vampires in Victorian society is handled interestingly, as is the idea of differing bloodlines (Dracula's line is not well thought of by other vampires).
i have finished the first two chapters yesterday and i was honestly surprised how much i am enjoying reading it. the last book i read was some fairytale retelling and that was such a chore to get through i never finished it
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