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This series has been talked about so often on the forum that I decided I should probably start reading it. Glad I did. It was a really good read and I'm looking forward to the rest of them. I don't really have much else to say or any comments on it yet, still have to read the rest to formulate a final opinion but so far so good. thanks to all of you who have suggetsed this in the many "good book" threads, hatrack so totally rocks.
Posts: 1294 | Registered: Oct 2003
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I am almost finshed!! My heart has broken about fifteen times at least, but i am SO ready to read that danged Spoilers thread.
Posts: 10890 | Registered: May 2003
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quote:I'm not touching the spoilers thread - although, with the latest book so close to release, I might consider it.
o_O? Do you know something I don't, Trevor? Because AFAIK the next book ain't even DONE yet, let alone close to appearing in bookstores.
Posts: 1805 | Registered: Jun 1999
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Oops, I meant "A Song of Ice and Fire." I am almost done with book 3, and ready to spoil! I do not know how in the name of all that is good I can wait for the next book to come out, though!
Posts: 10890 | Registered: May 2003
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Yeah, I've been champing at the bit for book IV for too long now. When I started the series, I mistakenly thought that it was a trilogy, and that it was safe to start it. Imagine my dismay as I got closer and closer to the end of A Storm of Swords and began to realize that there was no way he could wrap the story up in the remaining few hundred pages. I remember thinking "heck, I don't even see how he could finish this in another volume!" Then I went and looked it up online.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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Noemon, I was also led to believe(and I blame the new daddy, Tom, for this) that it was a trilogy. I don't think Tom ever actually said it was, but I choose to blame him anyway, since he probably won't post for a while.
Posts: 10890 | Registered: May 2003
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Yeah, you know, that's a great idea! I think I'll blame Tom too.
Actually, Trevor, I wouldn't put much stock in Amazon's release date for this one--it's pretty much a complete fiction. If you want info on when the book will be released from the horse's mouth, here is Martin's latest statement on his progress.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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Noemon, Can we blame him for all the things George Martin did to the characters in the novels, too?
Posts: 10890 | Registered: May 2003
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Iain M. Banks novel called Feersum Endjinn. Each chapter is divided into 4 sections. Each section is a different plot line, generally, but not always from the same character's point of view. 3 of the 4 are interesting. The fourth is from the viewpoint of a man who rites fonetikly, much 2 de dismay ov de reeder. It's sort of cyberpunk-light, though the only external clue to that would be a quote from Gibson on the cover.
Still not as good as The Wasp Factory, but way better than Complicity. It's the first scifi book by Banks that I've tried. I'm not recommending it. At least, not so far.
[ July 14, 2004, 03:15 PM: Message edited by: peter the bookie ]
Posts: 318 | Registered: Apr 2002
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quote:When I started the series, I mistakenly thought that it was a trilogy, and that it was safe to start it. Imagine my dismay as I got closer and closer to the end of A Storm of Swords and began to realize that there was no way he could wrap the story up in the remaining few hundred pages.
This describes exactly my experience with the last Runelords book ... except, to my horror, he DID wrap it up in the last hundred pages, and the saga suddenly ended with an unceremonious thud.
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Banks huh? I've seen his stuff, but I've never read any of it. Doesn't sound like I'll be in a hurry to either. Let me know if it gets better.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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Geoff - I still haven't read the last Runelords book. I really enjoyed the first three but I also heard that it ended with a big thud. Hmmm... that's kind of a bummer. Is it still worth reading? or will it kill the whole series for me?
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Noemon, The Wasp Factory is a really great book! You should at least give that a try, even if you don't feel like trying any of his sci-fi.
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What other fiction do you like, Trondheim? Just trying to get a bead on how closely our tastes in fiction overlap.
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Nope--it was a new post. The forum hiccups every now and then; that was probably just one of them.
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I also agree that you should read The Wasp Factory. If you make it to KamaCon, I'll let you borrow my copy.
Posts: 3956 | Registered: Jun 2001
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Rat: I felt the same way about the Runelords series. The first two books had me drooling; his system of magic was cool, and seemed to follow your fathers theory on the cost of magic (yes, I read his book on writing ) and proposed a new set of problems and soultions.
The last book was a let down. It was still interesting but seemed to be written by the numbers; I felt cheated, sort of, and I ended up unsatisfied.
Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
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Difficult question, Noemon. I mean. it's difficult to answer briefly. Obviously I like OSC. I think Murakami is probably the greatest living writer. I read Stephen King, but I also read Kafka. My favourite Feel-good-book is The Education of Little Tree. I have lots of fun reading Neil Gaiman. Dorothy Dunnett is my hero when it comes to intricate plotting and reading between the lines. And given my nationality - All Time Greatest is Knut Hamsun Posts: 99 | Registered: Apr 2003
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Iain Banks is one of my favourite authors and I've read all (fiction) books that he's released. He writes both sci-fi and mainstream literature (and distinguish his sci-fi by inserting an M. in his name). Feersum Endjinn is probably my least favourite among his sci-fi precisely for the reason Peter mentioned: the parts written phonetically is hard to get through (especially for a non-native speaker). To get a better taste of his sci-fi, I'd recommend starting with Use of Weapons, Look to Windwards or possibly Excession.
The Wasp Factory is his debute book and possibly his most famous mainstream work. I enjoyed it but some readers may find it somewhat (or very) disturbing. This is a warning best issued for most of Banks' works though, especially his mainstream fiction. The violence is often very explicit (although mostly so over the top as to make it almost humorous). The above mentioned Complicity is perhaps the worst in this respect and should be avoided by sensitive readers. To this crowd it's perhaps best to mention that his sex scenes can be pretty graphic too and that many characters are not at all averse to foul language. I'd recommend The Crow Road as a an example of Banks where he keeps his imagination within sligthly more moderate bounds.
Anyway, he's a brilliant author which I think everyone should at least give a chance.
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