I am going through the greatest of the ancient tragedies. I have recently finished Oresteia trilogy by Aeschylus and I am really impressed with its imaginative rhetorical figures and the emotional dynamism they create.
I thought the environment of the world in Snow Crash was really interesting but wasn't overly impressed by the story itself.
Joe Abercrombie's The Blade Itself. All the reviews raved about it, but I don't see what the big deal is. It's entertaining enough, but I thought it sounded like some kind of quantum leap in fantasy writing when it's really a pretty standard adventure/thriller. It does have its moments, though. There's one scene where the most powerful magus in existence has to stop by a shop that sells costumes to theater companies, because he's afraid no one will believe who he is if he doesn't look the part. A nice meta touch, that, constructing a fantasy-within-a-fantasy, I'm a sucker for that sort of thing.
Midway into Ursula K. Le Guin's A Wizard of Earthsea. I've never read this series before, but it's somehow nostalgic and a perfect balm for my mood.
I'm reading Fight Club, by Chuck Palahnuick, for something like the fifth time, amd Horror in the Museum, a collection of short stories by H.P Lovecraft.
The "bad sex in fiction" thread reminded me that Vurt has the worst sex scene I've ever read. It involves an extended metaphor of a garden being filled with sap.
Just finished The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver. Excellent book: set in Mexico and USA mostly in the 1940's. Features Trotsky, and other famous characters from history, but the best character is the 'author' of the diaries himself: and his fabulous writing. Recommend this book highly.
It's this really great classic. Everyone loves it. It's got brilliant prose. The character design is genius. The themes are so well-evoked and impactful. It really made me think. It's also gripping. And thrilling. You should really read it. It's called... ... Nunya'. JK, currently re-reading stuff I haven't read much. Some of my more recent purchases. You know, I feel slightly disappointed in myself. I don't read as much as I used to. But, I do spend more time writing at least!
It's his first, and weakest, novel. The rest are better. Best Served Cold (a standalone) is still probably my favorite.
I am filling up the greatest hole in my education, and that is Lord Of The Rings. Yes, I haven't read it before... Just finished The Witcher -series before LOTR. Lot of great books at my hands.
I've read Sword of Destiny, The Last Wish, and Blood of Elves. Time for me to move on to the next book!
Dr. Adder by KW Jeter. Dr. Adder is a surgeon specialising in helping people fulfill their deepest and darkest desires. Everything from amputating limbs to shark-toothed vaginas. His skill has made him famous amongst the pimps and whores of Los Angeles but the Moral Forces of America want him dead. It's a grim vision of America's future. Graphic violence is interspersed with gallows humour. I'm half way into it: so far so good.
KW Jeter is cool. I liked Infernal Devices. He, Tim Powers, and James Blaylock all kind of started out together in a group. I like all three.
Been waiting for this thread to be available again. Currently reading The Chamber, by John Grisham. Middle of last month I read Force of Nature, by C. J. Box. Not my usual at all; lots of gore and coldblooded killing, but it was good enough it kept me up for two nights running, happily ignoring repeated tornado warnings the second one. Reread Anthony Trollope's Doctor Thorne after that. One of the characters is a blunt-spoken millionaire contractor with political aspirations who kind of reminds me of Donald Trump, but I'd take Sir Roger Scratcherd any day for style.
The Vanishing Throne, by Elizabeth May. Publication Date: June 7th, I think. Beware That Girl, by Teresa Toten. Publication Date: May 31, 2016. Need to get my reviews written before then.
I come back to this thread from time to time in case anyone's following my reading list ( ). ATM: Zoë's Tale by John Scalzi
