Metal Reviews

finished Dune yesterday. really liked the world he built and the characters, but his writing is SO FUCKING ANNOYING it made me want to tear the book in half in certain parts:

- sometimes it looked like he was just looking for an excuse to hyphenate and/or use the word "awareness"
- YES I GET IT, JESSICA HAS MAD BENE GESSERIT SKILLS
- sentences like "he opened his eyes, got to his feet" or "he adjusted the oil lenses, looked at the desert" (you know, without "and")
- SERIOUSLY, STOP SAYING "AWARENESS" ffs!

oh and i finished Liar's Poker a few weeks ago, loved it. very easy to read, check it out if you're remotely interested in finance/wall street.

I started Hamlet today, hooray.

From Darwin to Hitler - Evolutionary Ethics, Eugenics, and Revolution in Germany, by Richard Weikart

Pinkerton's Sister by Peter Rushforth

Hard going. Very literary, but interesting so far.

I must say, I'm really enjoying this one so far. The perpetual train is a fantastic idea.

I do so love Mieville's writing. There are far too many authors for whom slow reading gives you no rewards- but with Mieville I have to read slowly, just due to the complex and bizarre nature of his imagery. Unfortunately, yes, he can get long winded.

reading Dave Eggers's A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. It's totally my bible.

Went on a reading frenzy over the past 2 days and finally finished off Gardens of The Moon by Steven Erikson (400 pages in 2 days is alot for me). This book really surprised me and Im glad I gave it a chance, the first book was almost as good as something George Martin would write.

Anyways, now I'm onto book 2 of the Malazan Book of The Fallen series "Deadhouse Gates". Hopefully this one is just as good or better.

You'll be happy to know that just about everyone considers Deadhouse Gates much better, me included- the writing, characterization, plot and sense of tragedy are all improved. I liked Gardens of the Moon too, but a lot of people don't yet still enjoy the series from Deadhouse onwards.

Oh, you should know that Deadhouse Gates takes place on a different continent, and only deals with about three or four characters you already know. Good times with Erikson.

Thats good to hear. The reason it took me like 3 months to read it was because of the first 300 pages, it felt very unbalanced and the writing (while very good in places with great dialogue) was at times confusing when it came to key scenes with some action. And moreso in the final 400 pages. The book really came alive in those last 400 pages though. Where it took me 3 months to read the first 300, it took a matter of days to absorb the last 400.

Yeah I'm on chapter 2 so far in Deadhouse, the prologue was fucked (Cutting a womans head off with a chain ftw). I recognize the girl in name only so far, she was mentioned but wasn't in the first book and I have a good idea of the other characters based on where they are and where a certain group of people from the first said they were going.

I heard book 3 was even worse where none of the characters from the first 2 were in it. Not sure if its as extreme as that though, but wouldn't surprise me.

Nope, book 3 returns back to Genebackis with your old friends Whiskeyjack, Rake, Caladan Brood, and unfortunately Kruppe. Its book 5, Midnight Tides, which takes place on a completely different continent, before Gardens of the Moon, with only one character who you've seen in any of the previous books. Oddly, though, its my favourite one.

And yes, lots of fucked up stuff in Deadhouse Gates. Felisin goes through a pretty shit time. As does just about everybody.

Anyway, I finished Iron Council and I really liked it- about as much as the Scar, I'd say. It dragged a bit, at points, but the ending was fantastic , and the final chapters were written beautifully and really stick with you.

Now reading: J.R.R. Tolkien- The Children of Hurin

Hmm, this Malazan Empire series sounds like something that might interest me...will have to keep it in mind.

Anyways, I've been really busy with school and haven't had much time for reading, but I've been chipping away at Knife of Dreams by Robert Jordan, in the mornings before school when I have time. Once I finish that, I think i will be reading the next book in A Song of Ice and Fire...not sure exactly which one.

FINALLY, FINALLY, FINALLY, i got A Clash of Kings!!

my cousin ordered it from Amazon for me but it got sent back twice (i have no idea why), and it arrived yesterday or the day before.

also, and i'm not kidding, the same day my cousin called to tell me he got the book in the mail, fnac called to tell me i can come pick it up at their store - 4 fucking months after i ordered it from them!

The Lying Tongue by Andrew Wilson.

A bit in, not bad so far.

I took a break from this to try to finish Cormac Mccarthy's Suttree but the lack of interesting stuff going on and the difficulty of his descriptions (they're fun to read but only when theres interesting stuff going on in the book too) made me stop. It needed more stuff like the jail sequence and Harrogate/Suttree's relationship and less boring. Then I read Stephen Colbert's book in a couple of days, it was hilarious... definitely recommend reading it if you like the show.

Now back to AHWOSG.

Paul Murray Kendall- The Yorkist Age
and
Susan Brigden- New Worlds, Lost Worlds: The Rule of the Tudors

How did you like it? I bought it today but didn't start yet. I'm still trying my ass off to finish East of Eden - Steinbeck.

It was quite excellent- more in the vein of The Silmarillion than the Lord of the Rings, and if you've read the Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales you'll know how the story goes. But it has a nice Anglo Saxon feel and a good sense of tragedy, and that Tolkienesque writing style only he can pull off without sounding like a pretentious douche. Reccomended.

Yeah I've read them. Awesome. I trust your taste, you read like 8923 books a week. It was am impulse buy but I knew it would rule since it is Tolkien, but I was only doubtful about how his son arranged things.

After I finish the whole LOTR trilogy, which one should I read first? "The Silmarillion" or "The Children of Hurin"?

Children of Hurin is an easier read, since it follows one storyline- whereas the Silmarillion is more like a Bible, with all sorts of different stories. That said, The Silmarillion is just about just as good as the Lord of the Rings and an even more impressive work- you should read it at some point, there's some very beautiful stuff in there.