Books Read 2010

[rshetts2]

Im currently reading The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss ( based on forum recomendations ) If you like fantasy at all you need to read this book, it is excellent. It weighs in at over 700 pages and my only disappointment after reading 500 of them is that the book is almost done. I definitely recommend this book.

[silverjon]

I'm reading Scott Sigler's "Triangle" books. Done Infected, more than halfway through Contagious. They're competently written, have decent characterization, and hit the right notes for the reactions he's going for. I like them but don't love them. I think they're a bit too self-consciously "cool" in the chapters without a character viewpoint. That might have come across differently in the podcast versions than it does in print.

Some change in opinion on Contagious, now that I'm about 40 pages from the end. This book introduced a lot of new characters, but didn't develop them. When the serious action kicked in, my level of give-a-shit really wasn't there for the newbies like it was for the continuing characters from Infected. Too much red-shirt syndrome.

[lildrgn]

Just finished Moonlight Mile. I liked visiting my pals Kenzie/Kenzie, but thought the story itself was a little lackluster. Kind of like he just threw it together. Up next is In The Woods by Tana French.

[silverjon]

Tana French is awesome. I read all three of her books this year. Terrific characters. They are very different in pacing from American police procedurals though.

[Zork]

I've been lurking too long and have read several books since my last update. Due to the number of additions, I've tried to keep my reviews as concise as possible. The reviews are listed in the order that I read them.

Note: All reviews are of the unabridged audio version when available. Normal book reading is denoted by an asterisk (*).

READ
The Total Money Makeover - Dave Ramsey: [5/5]
Financial Peace Revisited* - Dave Ramsey: [4/5]
NurtureShock - Po Bronson, Ashley Merryman: [5/5]
Season of Life* - Jeffrey Marx: [4/5] Winner of the Pulitzer Prize.
Linchpin: Are You Indispensible? - Seth Godin: [5/5]

The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman: [3/5] The story was enjoyable for what it was: a spooky ghost story for kids.

Your Kids Are Your Own Fault - Larry Winget: [5/5] Apologies to JeffV for not posting this after reading it. I didn't mean to leave you hanging Parenting advice from Larry Winget. I'm a big fan of Larry and he definitely delivers in this book. Simple yet practical advice that I believe every parent needs to read/hear. He holds no punches and calls thing likes he sees them. If you act like an idiot, your kids will be idiots. Larry takes the typical self-help book to the next level by asking the reader (or listener in my case) to answer several questions at the end of each chapter. Now, you're only going to get out what you put into it, but if you take the time to answer the questions that Larry asks, you *wilI* gain more insight to your strengths and weaknesses as a parent and have some actionable items to work on.

You're Broke Because You Want to Be - Larry Winget: [4/5] More good no-nonsense in-your-face advice from Mr. Winget. It's stuff we've all heard before, but I like Larry and liked this book.

The Millionaire Next Door - Thomas J. Stanley: [4/5] I'm a fan of Dave Ramsey and he often mentions this book so I decided read it. A good book that talks about the importance of living well below your means.

Eat That Frog! - Brian Tracy: [4/5] Nothing revolutionary, but a good (and quick) recap of the things we need to do to get stuff done. The key premise is that if we ate a live frog first thing in the morning, everything else would be easy compared to that. It's a good reminder to concentrate on the most important task instead of getting mired down in the smaller, unimportant ones.

Born to Run - Christopher McDougall: [5/5] I really enjoyed reading about Micah True (Caballo Blanco) and the Tarahumara Indians. The story is very entertaining and flows well. It also inspired me to start running. I will be running in my first half-marathon in January.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks - Rebecca Skloot: [4/5] I enjoyed the first half of the book a lot more than the second half. I had never heard of Henrietta Lacks or HeLa Cells before, so hearing about the cells, what they are used for, and how they were created was very interesting. The second half of the book talks about the author's dealings with Henrietta's family and working to get Henrietta the recognition she rightly deserves. While I believe it's very important for Henrietta to get her recognition, that part of the story was a little depressing for me.

Core Performance Essentials - Mark Verstegen: [3/5] My work offers an exercise program using the Core Performance methodology so I read the book. Unfortunately, I have not had a chance to try it out yet (still on the wait list). The book was interesting and I look forward to trying some of their workouts.

To Hell on a Fast Horse - Mark Lee Gardner [3.5/5] It was a decent (albeit long IMHO) history of Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett and how their paths crossed. I lived in Las Cruces for four years during college and it was interesting to hear all of the local spots that the two frequented. My first real introduction to Billy was the movie Young Guns. It's one of my favorite modern-day westerns (along with Tombstone). It was interesting to me that the movie used a lot of the names and places from history. I'm sure the movie took dramatic license with a lot of the actual historical happenings, but it was nice to hear that they mixed a good portion of the truth into the movie.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Steig Larsson: [4/5] After reading several recommendations here and with the movie coming out soon, I thought I'd try it. I enjoyed the story and suspense. I also saw the Norwegian version of the film and felt it stayed pretty close to the the book.

Freakonomics - Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner: [4/5] Enjoyable book that tries to explain some social and political issues with economics-based research. It reminded me a lot of Malcolm Gladwell's books.

Half Marathon: You Can Do It - Jeff Galloway: [4/5] Good introduction to training for a half-marathon. He recommends a run/walk approach to half-marathons and marathons. While I initially started out that way, I've been running more and more at a steady pace and feel like that method works better for me. I run 1-2 times during the week (playing basketball on the other days) and have one long run during the weekend. I can't wait until January!

Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card: [5/5] I absolutely *LOVED* this book. I know most will wince at this comparison, but I would call this Harry Potter in space. I particularly enjoyed Ender's trials in Battle School which kind of reminded me of Hogwarts. I would classify this book as "young adult fiction" with several adult themes in it. Fantastic from start to finish.

Speaker for the Dead - Orson Scott Card: [3/5] After Ender's Game I guess I was expecting a lot more from SftD. It's a good story, but not nearly as engrossing or entertaining as Ender's Game IMHO.

The Long Run - Matt Long, Charles Butler: [4/5] An inspirational story about a New York City firefighter who went from running marathons and triathalons to fighting for his life after being run over by a bus and how he struggled to regain the ability to run again.

READING
Need to find some good suspenseful fiction for our trip to California. May try the Dresden Files.

QUEUE
Sit-n-Go Strategy - Colin Moshman
Secrets of Non-Standard Sit-n-Gos - Phil Shaw
The Blind Side - Michael Lewis
A Whack on the Side of the Head - Roger von Oech

-Zork

[Pyperkub]

Bump to add:

A Princess of Mars - Edgar Rice Burroughs

A nice change to a different writing style. Very fun high adventure, and available for Free from manybooks.net (along with a number of others in the Barsoom series).

The Riryia Revelations Series:
Book 1 - The Crown Conspiracy
Book 2 - Avempartha
Book 3 - Nyphron Rising
Book 4 - The Emerald Storm
Book 5 - Wintertide
Book 6 comes out next year.

This has been a pretty good fantasy series, though I really enjoyed the first book more than the others. The writing is solid, and it is just good, engaging swords & sorcery fantasy. All of the books are <$5 on the kindle (most were $2.99), and one of them was free.

[Pyperkub]

Finished The Reversal by Connelly. It was ok. Thought of it as Bosch Lite. Would like to see a darker Bosch in the future.

It just felt to me like it was half a Connelly book. Like it was going to go there, and then he just dropped it.

[hentzau]

Just finished the Dark Tower series. Took me a couple of years to do it. Man, that was a slog and a half, but a great read nonetheless.

[Bad Demographic]

Maskerade by Terry Pratchett
More Pratchett goodness. I really enjoy the duo of Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg, the witches of Lancre.
In Maskerade the two set out to recruit a third witch for their coven. Their future witch of choice is Agnes Nitt who has gone to Ankh Morpork to start a career in the Opera. Of course, since she's joining the Opera and this is Terry Pratchett, there's a "phantom of the opera" theme.

Dog On It by Spencer Quinn
So many books/series now seem to have some kind of gimmick to make them stand out. In the case of the Chet and Bernie series, the stories (mysteries) are told from the point of view of Chet the dog. The story was okay. Some parts were improbable (Chet sometimes seems too smart for a dog) and others were terribly cliched (the divorced P.I. who stays on a case after the client's missing daughter apparently resurfaces). The charm in this book is mostly Chet's ditzy-dog point of view.
Apparently there are now three books in the Chet & Bernie series. I don't know if I'll read any more of them. The first book, Dog On It, only took me a couple of days of sporadic reading to get through. Mostly I think I'd quickly find the Chet "voice" tiresome.

[Jeff V]

Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King

My initial thought as I read through the four short stories making up Full Dark, No Stars was that once again, King gives writing students another great lesson in character development, but phones it in with plots that are overdone cliches. It was in his afterward though that gave me cause to reconsider in light of his objectives, and I have to admit King was pretty successful setting out what he aimed to do.

King takes us into the minds of those creating horrific crimes, and attempts to make us sympathetic to the character. His aim was to try and understand how seemingly normal people can short circuit in a manner where their crime is a logical extension of their tainted reasoning. In all but one story, the main character was clearly schizophrenic. That one outlier was a supernatural story along the plot lines of one selling ones soul to the devil, except in this case, he is selling out a friend and neighbor, the protagonist was cured of a deadly cancer, and in turn, he had to watch his friend suffer depredations on his life and livelihood that would make Job pity him. Another story was inspired by the BTK serial killer, told from the point-of-view of the wife who lived with the monster for decades but never suspected. She was a schizophrenic character in her own right, though.

The reader in me wishes King would have been a little more original in his stories. The writer in me can't help but once again admire his character development skills. The intellectual in me appreciates that original stories might have distracted the reader from his actual goal of trying to understand the mind of a killer. If you can appreciate either of the last two, then you'll like this book. If you're simply looking for some creepy scary brain candy, King doesn't do it for you this time.

[lildrgn]

Just finished In The Woods. I do wish

Spoiler:

she would have explained what happened to Peter and Jamie, as well as the loud noise they heard in the woods....

Otherwise, I really enjoyed this book. Loved the Rob/Cassie thing. Looking forward to the Likeness, Tana French's second novel.

[silverjon]

Just finished In The Woods. I do wish

Spoiler:

she would have explained what happened to Peter and Jamie, as well as the loud noise they heard in the woods....

Spoiler:

Somehow though, it seemed appropriate. Some mysteries can't be solved.

Of course, there's also the possibility that she'll come back to that one after a few books.

Her other novels are also excellent, and I really like what she's done with the continuity, by making a character from the previous book her new protagonist in each.

[J.D.]

WTF, the Tana French ebooks are not available in Canada due to "territorial restrictions?" Booooo.

[Carpet_pissr]

Freakonomics - Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner: [4/5] Enjoyable book that tries to explain some social and political issues with economics-based research. It reminded me a lot of Malcolm Gladwell's books.
-Zork

Oooh, so glad someone here read this recently. It's been sitting on my shelf, unread, for years. Is it still even relevant? I would think that it would be pretty dated by now?

[silverjon]

WTF, the Tana French ebooks are not available in Canada due to "territorial restrictions?" Booooo.

My understanding is that Amazon doesn't sell digital media to Canada, period. No MP3s, no game downloads, and no ebooks except the public domain ones.

[J.D.]

WTF, the Tana French ebooks are not available in Canada due to "territorial restrictions?" Booooo.

My understanding is that Amazon doesn't sell digital media to Canada, period. No MP3s, no game downloads, and no ebooks except the public domain ones.

I've got the Kobo through Chapters and kobo.ca says they don't have the rights to the books in Canada. I'm sure there is SOME WAY to buy it in ePub. This is why I chose the Kobo so I have multiple options using the ePub standard. I just need to look.

[lildrgn]

Just finished In The Woods. I do wish

Spoiler:

she would have explained what happened to Peter and Jamie, as well as the loud noise they heard in the woods....

Spoiler:

Somehow though, it seemed appropriate. Some mysteries can't be solved.

Of course, there's also the possibility that she'll come back to that one after a few books.

Her other novels are also excellent, and I really like what she's done with the continuity, by making a character from the previous book her new protagonist in each.

Yes, I was pleasantly surprised about the protagonist in The Likeness.

[Lassr]

Only 13 books read last year. Started fast but ended slow.

Read: 1-10* ratings.
Mission Earth Vol 2: Black Genesis -L. Ron Hubbard 8*
Under the Dome -Stephen King 7*
Star Wars: The Rise of Darth Vader -James Luceno 7*
The Cobra Event -Richard Preston 8*
The Lifeless - Lorne Dixon 6*
Impact -Douglas Preston 7*
Domain of the Dead -Iain McKinnon 8*
The God Delusion -Richard Dawkins 9*
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy -Douglas Adams 7*
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe -Douglas Adams 5*
Life, the Universe, and Everything -Douglas Adams3*

Reading:
The Strain-Del Toro & Hogan

well, looks like I'm going to finish at 11 books this year. Yuck. Hopefully my Amazon Kindle, (Christmas Gift) will help me read more next year.

[Scuzz]

The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett


Commander Vimes is sent to Uberwald as a diplomat to negotiate a trade treaty and to attend the coronation of the new King......until things go wrong.

A very good book in the series.

4 of 5

[Jeff V]

My Nine Lives by Leon Fleisher

Some of my favorite books of all-time are biographies/autobiographies of those who lived fascinating lives. Some of the most disappointing are those whose expectations were higher (Christopher Hitchens, I'm looking at you!) The best are those where you go in not expecting much, and are pleasantly surprised.

Pianist Leon Fleisher's autobiography falls under this last category. I like classical music, and I do like pianists. Fleisher is an old-timer from my parent's generation, and I always thought of him as a historical figure. The first thing that surprised me was (1) that he is still alive and (2) the climax of his career actually occurred when I should have been paying closer attention (and might have if I was aware of #1). Leon Fleisher was a name I knew from radio and from Music Choice on cable TV. I'm sure I have some of his recordings in my own collection. But I admit I didn't know much about him personally.

So what could possibly be so fascinating about the life of a classical music pianist? For starters, the people Fleisher has worked with since he was a child prodigy in the 1930's are a Who's Who of Classical Music in the recorded era. Hearing his stories about studying under Artur Schnabel, or playing with the Cleveland Orchestra's legendary conductor George Szell certainly caught my attention. So does his anecdotes involving relationships with Leonard ("Lenny") Bernstein, Boston Symphony relic Seiji Ozawa, and his former page-turner, Daniel ("Danny") Barenboim. This alone would have made for an entertaining enough read for fans of classical music history. But there was also his personal life -- three times married, the first two yielding offspring who turned out pretty damn well considering he was never much of a dad. And that was another thing that was refreshing -- in an industry renown for primadonnas, Fleisher was brutally honest when it came to describing his own character and flaws. He doesn't ask for forgiveness, he is proud of how they turned out in spite of his lack of parenting skill.

The most interesting part of Flesher's story, however, and what makes him a sympathetic figure was the repetitive-stress disorder he came down with in the prime of his career; at a time when such things were not yet part of the medical lexicon. Two fingers on his right hand curled and locked, making two-handed piano playing impossible. For the next 35 years, Fleisher was afflicted with a condition that defied all treatment.

After an initial period of depression, Fleisher devoted his musical talent to other endeavors, including teaching and conducting. He became well accomplished in both, and then discovered a whole repertoire of pieces written for only the left hand. Fleisher augmented his career by performing such pieces, but always considered it someone of a gimmick. His dream remained to find a cure and perform two handed once again, something he managed well into his 60's thanks to Botox therapy.

Throughout the book, Fleisher takes us on musical interludes, describing in detail an artists perspective on pieces by the likes of Brahms, Beethoven and Mozart. Fleisher was a talent from childhood -- but unlike many savants who have talent but don't reflect on it, Fleisher is passionate about the interpretation of music and considers it the musician's responsibility to do full credit to the composer's intentions. Years of watching supremely talented athletes with no concept of the history or traditions of their trade has sort of jaded me when it comes to top-level performers. It is refreshing to hear that Fleisher (and his colleagues) work as hard as they do to achieve such amazing results.

My Nine Lives stands as an interesting story in its own right, emotional, passionate, tragic and triumphant -- themes anyone can identify with. If you're also a fan of classical music, then this should be on your required reading list.

[Zork]

Freakonomics - Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner: [4/5] Enjoyable book that tries to explain some social and political issues with economics-based research. It reminded me a lot of Malcolm Gladwell's books.
-Zork

Oooh, so glad someone here read this recently. It's been sitting on my shelf, unread, for years. Is it still even relevant? I would think that it would be pretty dated by now?

I never really paid much attention to how dated the issues were because the book was still very interesting. There's a newer book called Superfreakonomics that probably covers more recent topics. However, I was particularly intrigued by the link between the drop in U.S. crime rates and Row v. Wade in Freakonomics.

-Zork

[Matrix]

Freakonomics - Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner: [4/5] Enjoyable book that tries to explain some social and political issues with economics-based research. It reminded me a lot of Malcolm Gladwell's books.
-Zork

Oooh, so glad someone here read this recently. It's been sitting on my shelf, unread, for years. Is it still even relevant? I would think that it would be pretty dated by now?

I never really paid much attention to how dated the issues were because the book was still very interesting. There's a newer book called Superfreakonomics that probably covers more recent topics. However, I was particularly intrigued by the link between the drop in U.S. crime rates and Row v. Wade in Freakonomics.

-Zork

I read it last year and the issues are pretty time less. It really more about psychology and why we do things and how they are connected then issues themselves. Really liked it. A lot of it had to deal with how perceptions affect our decision makings and how much role our emotions play in day to day life without us being aware of it.

I dont really count how many books i read, this years i am in 10-30 range. Certainly more then 10 , since this past month alone i read 5 books. But not quiet sure how many exactly.

[Kasey Chang]

I read both Freakonomics and Superfreakonomics cover to cover, sometimes several times of a particular chapter.

The Roe vs Wade vs. Crime thing is a little thin, IMHO. I have the books here somewhere...

[Carpet_pissr]

I read both Freakonomics and Superfreakonomics cover to cover, sometimes several times of a particular chapter.

The Roe vs Wade vs. Crime thing is a little thin, IMHO. I have the books here somewhere...

Which is the better book? And would you recommend reading the second one if you read the first?

[Kasey Chang]

I read both Freakonomics and Superfreakonomics cover to cover, sometimes several times of a particular chapter.

The Roe vs Wade vs. Crime thing is a little thin, IMHO. I have the books here somewhere...

Which is the better book? And would you recommend reading the second one if you read the first?

They are both interesting and covers different "cases" and various 'taboo' subjects.

The one about about prostitution, price insensitivity, and such is interesting. I say get both. You can probably get additional discount if you get both through Amazon and save a little extra. I know trade paperback of first one is available, but I haven't seen trade paperback of the second one.

[Jeff V]

A few years ago, Leavitt gave the closing keynote at a healthcare IT convention I attended in Orlando. Unfortunately, I was on my way to the airport at the time.

[Isgrimnur]

The Secret Sentry: The Untold History of the National Security Agency

A library borrow, this is a very good 300 pages on the history of the NSA, including some stuff about operations that I was surprised were declassified and able to be published. It covers the beginning of the service, the constant fights with the military and especially the CIA, the management issues, and stuff up through our current military conflicts and even the beginnings of the fallout from the warrantless wiretapping news. The book was published in 2009, but comes to a conclusion with events in 2007, but all in all, an enjoyable, informative read.

[Zarathud]

This is Not a Game by Walter Jon Williams - This book explores the limits of Alternate Reality Games (ARGs) and the power of the puppetmasters over the online hive mind. If you don't remember ARGs, maybe you remember EA's Magestic from 2001? They were supposed to be the next fronteir for the MMO, crossing over into your real life and call you on your cell, e-mail you at all hours of the night, and blurring the line between reality and game. The book nicely explains them as marketing tools and explores their implications for his characters and their "real" worlds.

Walter Jon Williams is an excellent writer, and everything here seems well-researched. It's got the right insight into the online communities and AI. The story moves along with a brisk pacing from a personal crisis to more sinister business and economic conflicts. The story is also more discliplined than the author's last book, Implied Spaces, which involved a briskly-paced adventure in worlds bound by singularities and the spaces unintentionally created to accomodate artificial, custom built worlds. Rather than dealing with a bewildering number of ideas and alternative realities, TINAG involves the just blurring lines between the game and the real world.

[Skinypupy]

Tigana - Guy Gavriel Kay.

I was skeptical about this book because I'd heard so many people rave about it. Last time I tried one that came highly recommended was Perdido Street Station, which I found to be completely underwhelming. I came away very pleasantly surprised with Tigana, and it totally deserves all the praise it receives. This is a wholly remarkable story and has instantly become one of my favorite fantasy books. In some ways, I'm glad this was a single volume because Kay was able to wrap up all the loose ends. On the other hand, he created such a memorable, fantastic world and it's a shame that we don't get to go back to it. Superb writing, fantastic characters, edge-of-your-seat in both the action and political suspense...just an all-around wonderful read. A+

[Bad Demographic]

Cross Bones by Kathy Reichs.
Kathy Reichs is a forensic anthropologist and the author of the series that is the inspiration for the tv show "Bones". Her central character, Temperance Brennan, is a forensic anthropologist who divides her time between North Carolina and Montreal (unlike the tv character who is based in Washington, D.C.).

In Cross Bones, Brennan learns of skeletal remains that disappeared from Masada. Are these the remains of Jesus of Nazareth? She ends up traveling to Israel and is caught up in archaeological intrigue - and murder, of course, this is a mystery after all.

[rshetts2]

Cross Bones by Kathy Reichs.
Kathy Reichs is a forensic anthropologist and the author of the series that is the inspiration for the tv show "Bones". Her central character, Temperance Brennan, is a forensic anthropologist who divides her time between North Carolina and Montreal (unlike the tv character who is based in Washington, D.C.).

In Cross Bones, Brennan learns of skeletal remains that disappeared from Masada. Are these the remains of Jesus of Nazareth? She ends up traveling to Israel and is caught up in archaeological intrigue - and murder, of course, this is a mystery after all.

You'll have to let us know if Reich's books are any good Ive been interested but havent tried one yet.


Ive been on a fantasy kick lately and have picked up Sandersons Way of the King and also grabbed The Black Prism. Got a $50 Borders card for christmas and since the Nook can handle them, Im going to enjoy 5 or 6 new books off that card. : ) Lets see a Kindle do that.

[GuidoTKP]

Tigana - Guy Gavriel Kay.

I was skeptical about this book because I'd heard so many people rave about it. Last time I tried one that came highly recommended was Perdido Street Station, which I found to be completely underwhelming. I came away very pleasantly surprised with Tigana, and it totally deserves all the praise it receives. This is a wholly remarkable story and has instantly become one of my favorite fantasy books. In some ways, I'm glad this was a single volume because Kay was able to wrap up all the loose ends. On the other hand, he created such a memorable, fantastic world and it's a shame that we don't get to go back to it. Superb writing, fantastic characters, edge-of-your-seat in both the action and political suspense...just an all-around wonderful read. A+

I love this book. World class writing with an "Oh, f*ck" ending. Pretty much all of his stuff is great. I may like Lions of Al-Rassan better than Tigana. I'm reading Under Heaven right now. So far, so good.

[silverjon]

You'll have to let us know if Reich's books are any good Ive been interested but havent tried one yet.

The series started strong, but it's gotten both repetitive and increasingly far-fetched. I still library-borrow her new book every year and read it in a day, but they're less enjoyable than they were.

[Bad Demographic]

You'll have to let us know if Reich's books are any good Ive been interested but havent tried one yet.

The series started strong, but it's gotten both repetitive and increasingly far-fetched. I still library-borrow her new book every year and read it in a day, but they're less enjoyable than they were.

I enjoy her books but found that I can't read just Kathy Reichs. I am better off reading one of her books, then some other books before picking up another of her books. It's been quite a while since I read any of her books, so I really enjoyed Cross Bones. Then again, it does have some conspiracy theory elements - I'm sure that added to my enjoyment.

[craterus]

The Farseer Trilogy
Liveship Traders Trilogy * (very cool ship-centric fantasy series - could be read as stand alone if you don't want to commit to multiple trilogies)
The Tawny Man Trilogy *
The Rain Wild Chronicles
Dragon Keeper *
Dragon Haven ******

Aubrey–Maturin series - first book was tough to adjust to (especially the two page paragraphs that appear throughout the series), but each book is a fun read.
Master and Commander
Post Captain
HMS Surprise
The Mauritius Command
Desolation Island
The Fortune of War
The Surgeon's Mate

a girl tricked me into reading the first book because she said it was about time travel... she said it got better in the second book (it didn't)
Outlander ******
Dragonfly in Amber *


* gayness quotient

[Kasey Chang]

Finished... "Live Free or Die" by John Ringo

a new trilogy, this is one of those "near futures" that is not that far off, but almost plausible. A race of aliens dropped off a jump gate at the solar system, and for a while, things are fine, traders found Earth to be relatively worthless except for some heavy metals. Then a nasty race of aliens came and KE-killed a couple cities as example, and basically tells Earth to turn over ALL the heavy metals. A guy eventually, through accident, found somethings aliens *do* want... almost caused a civil war... AND eventually built a defense that will get the aliens out of the solar system... Without much fancy tech.

It's a fun read, as it *could* happen in the next 50 years. All the tech is plausible... And there's quite a bit of joke around. Johnny Ringo is an action writer so military fiction is his forte. Space battles... not quite so.


Finished "Torch of Freedom"

The Honorverse continues as the Mesans continue their plot to take over the galaxy by playing off multiple sides. This book has minimal involvement from Honor Harrington, as it's mainly about the new Kingdom of Torch (newly liberated from the Mesans by the genetic slaves) and how their leaders and others are trying to save it from attack from without and within. As always, multiple sides, each with their own agenda, are involved, including Beowulf, Solarian League, the Maya Sector (a part of Solarian League, but its governor have other plans), People's Republic of Haven, the Mesans, Erewhon, Kingdom of Manticore...

This book reads as a bit of mix and match as the plotline is continued from the other books in the series (such as Crown of Slaves) and some plots mentioned in other books only in passing appear in full detail here, and vice versa.

As always, the book ends in a big battle, where both sides underestimated the other, and while the good guys do win, it'd be at a terrible cost. And it sets the stage up for the next book "War of Honor", where something pretty darn planet-shaking happens...

The problem with David Weber books is there seems to be a bit too much talking, as if the characters have to has out all the permutations of a solution out loud with each other. When you add in the fact that the scenarios and meetings are often referred to in other books, it sounds just so horribly... repetitive and boring.

On the other hand, if you like political intrigue, and can track the different parties, the plots are intricate and do mix together quite well.

[Carpet_pissr]

The Farseer Trilogy
Liveship Traders Trilogy * (very cool ship-centric fantasy series - could be read as stand alone if you don't want to commit to multiple trilogies)
The Tawny Man Trilogy *
The Rain Wild Chronicles
Dragon Keeper *
Dragon Haven ******

I just finished the Farseer Trilogy myself, and I have to say...was completely surprised at how much reading that affected me! That hasn't happened in a LONG time during/after reading fantasy, so I was pleasantly surprised and disturbed at the same time (considering how freaking dark the whole thing is).

I would almost label these as an adventure into the dark psyche of the human mind. So much pain and hurt, my goodness. Not so sure I wasn't depressed a little while reading them.

Critcisms (spoiler?):

Spoiler:

Regal's character was way over the top in the evil category IMO, and the lack of response to his overt evil by the King and the other Princes was not plausible (to me)

Also, there were a few cases where Fitz did not pick up on some obvious facts, based on what he knew.

Pros: Completely drew me in. I couldn't stop reading them, especially after the first one (which I have heard many say is the best, but I am not sure I agree on that).

VERY close to what I have been craving lately, wrt non-pulp fantasy. It's not going to be a "top ten fantasy series of all time" or anything, but I would HIGHLY recommend to anyone. Still, I continue to search for Tolkien level stuff, and next up (thanks to you guys) is the Game of Thrones.

[Kasey Chang]

Finished "Mission of Honor" by David Weber

Another book in the Honorverse, this one did NOT end with a huge battle. There's one in the middle, but that's actually a slaughter

Spoiler:

(a couple heavy cruisers using the Manticoran tech advantage to destroy 3 squadrons of Solarian super dreadnaughts without even getting hit). However, near the end of the book, an unexpected enemy mounted the most devastating surprise attack on the Kingdom of Manticore... Causing MILLIONS of casualties, mostly civilian. Many of Honor Harrington's relatives were among the dead. However, this also has the effect of actually cementing a peace treaty between Manticore and Republic of Haven... As both realized they had been manipulated for DECADES by an unseen enemy. However, a war is brewing on the horizon... The unseen enemy, the Mesan Alignment, is about to foment the breakup of the Solarian League, and one of the admirals they had suborned is about to use a large Solarian fleet to mount a punitive mission against Kingdom of Manticore, using an even bigger fleet that was destroyed...

Again, David Weber books have plenty of political intrigue, lots of manuevering, and some devastating space battles. All the various tech items introduced are consistent. If you can stand a lot of characters analyzing the situation from every angle, and in some ways, "stating the obvious" (to the readers, but not to the characters), and a panoply of minor characters (he had to include a 8 page list of characters so you can keep everybody straight) it can get ****ing confusing.

This book is a bit of a sequel of "Torch of Freedom", as they do refer a bit to each other.