2226 replies to this topic

[Jim]

Scorpius.

Considerably more violent than I remember it.

[The sniper was a woman]

My favorite Gardner's. Very good.

[Mr Teddy Bear]

Just finished Live and Let Die, next up: Moonraker.

[Kilroy6644]

Finally finished Cryptonomicon. I really, really enjoyed it, and I will definitely be picking up more of his work. I did take a break for a couple of days to reread True Grit before the movie came out. Now I'm on Crescent Dawn, by Clive and Dirk Cussler. It's been a while since I read any of his/their work, because it's been a while since they released a new Dirk Pitt. I never got into any of his other books. This book also has the distinction of being the first book I've purchased for my new Nook. I was not thrilled with the idea of the Nook at first, but after reading Cryptonomicon, and knowing how big Cussler's hardcovers are, I'm quickly learning to appreciate its virtues.

[terminus]

Started my 52 Weeks, 26 Books project - with Heat Wave by Richard Castle, the first of the books inspired by the tv-show 'Castle'.

[Chief of SIS]

The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky. Not as good as Crime and Punishment for all you Russian lit heads out there but on par with The Possessed so far.

[OmarB]

Stephen Ericson - Gardens Of The Moon.

Epic fantasy in the vein of GRRM.

[iBond]

Christine by Stephen King.

[elizabeth]

Sense and Sensibility. I thought I would love Jane Austen. Guess not.

On the other hand, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is an EXCELLENT book.

[Single-O-Seven]

Finished reading Carl Sagan's 1985 book, CONTACT.

CONTACT is one of the rare properties where the book and the film are both excellent and stand on their own. I had only seen the movie until I decided to give the book a try. It was everything that I liked about the movie, but more of it.

Glad you made a recommendation for this. I'm a huge Sagan fan, but so far have only read his non-fiction work, all of which is mind-blowing. I really must read CONTACT. It's one of my favourite films.

The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky. Not as good as Crime and Punishment for all you Russian lit heads out there but on par with The Possessed so far.

I've just read Crime and Punishment and really enjoyed it. I have some of his other titles, but for now I've decided to give Tolstoy a spin, as I'm new to his writing as well. I really enjoy how rich the characterisations appear to be in Russian lit (or what I've read of it). The action is certainly in the thoughts and dialogue of the characters, more so than in any of the narrative.

[Tybre]

Started You Can't Go Home Again last week. Haven't had much time with exams and stuff, but made good progress. Hopefully I'll really be able to start reading tomorrow, after my last final. What little I've read so far is excellent though.

[Miles Miservy]

Currently, I'm reading Le Carre's Little Drummer Girl. I don't know why I continue to subject myself to his work. His narrative is long-winded & boring. His charecters are all so complicated to the point of being manic. His action moves at the speed of a glacier but somehow, I always manage to tell myself, "Next page... It'll start to get better."

[Dustin]

Currently, I'm reading Le Carre's Little Drummer Girl. I don't know why I continue to subject myself to his work.

Don't then. Read something you enjoy. LeCarré is not for everybody and there's no law (that I'm aware of) against reading something else.

[OmarB]

It's funny because I love LeCarre for the same reason you seem to dislike him. I'm reading a Most Wanted Man right now even. I've read all his books (some several times) and enjoyed them all across the board. He is actually the type of lyrical writer I would love to see take a crack at Bond. How he can have no action scenes, just deft dialogue that keeps you on the edge of your seat. He could give Bond some real spy work.

[iBond]

Man, it's taking me forever to finish this book. Partly because I keep misplacing it.

[Johnboy007]

Le Carre is really hit or miss. Seems like most of his work after Smiley goes in the latter category.

Making my way through Carte Blanche. Enjoyable, so far.

[Chief of SIS]

I just can't do La Carre. I am thinking about making the mistake of picking up The Little Drummer Girl. Currently though I'm picking away at Steve Coll's Ghost Wars. Heavy, big, non-fiction read with more characters you can shake a stick at but you will be so much more informed because of it.

[univex]

Last thing I´ve read? My book. Finally! Only a few more days until it hits the shelves. Publishers are almost broke, as is everyone these days, so I guess I was lucky enough to find one that liked what was on the page. So, wish me luck guys.

[univex]

Just started reading THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO; cashier said the first 100 pages 'laid the foundation' and to stick with it, because once you get past the foundation apparently the book is thrilling. We'll see.

I´ll be waiting for your review Gravity. Been wanting to read at least the first book.

[univex]

Just started reading THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO; cashier said the first 100 pages 'laid the foundation' and to stick with it, because once you get past the foundation apparently the book is thrilling. We'll see.

I´ll be waiting for your review Gravity. Been wanting to read at least the first book.

WOW! I actually didn't get around to really starting the book until Monday, July 11th. I planned on taking two weeks to read the book, but I finished the last 396 pages in a little over 36 hours. I blew through the book because, to use a cliche, it's a real "page turner". Once you get hooked you desperately want to know who the killer is and I literally just could not put it down. I even took the book to work with me and read it in between naps (I'm an air traffic controller)

The book moves quickly, and even though it is 644 pages long, it is a fast read and is never tedious or boring. I would actually say that the cashier was slightly off; the "foundation" was more like the first 300 pages. Larsson methodically lays down the back-story and the character motivations, and it's not actually until about halfway into the book that the protagonist, Mikal Blomkvist (played by Daniel Craig in the movie) actually teams up with the anti-hero Lisbeth Salander aka the girl with the dragon tattoo (aka "Wasp").

This isn't even normally my type of novel. I think the last murder mystery of any note that I read was Scott Turow's PRESUMED INNOCENT, back in 1990, when I knew that the movie was coming out. I mostly stick to military/political thrillers (i.e. VERTICAL RUN, anything by Vince Flynn, STORMING INTREPID by Payne Harrison) spy novels, or some science fiction and alternative history.

Because the book is so different (most novelists probably wouldn't have a heroine as flawed as Lisbeth Salander) and because it covers an old, almost impossible crime to solve, along with flawed lead characters living in a remote part of Sweden, the book is unique. It's willing to go places in the storyline that most other novelists wouldn't dare go or even know how (what Lisbeth Salander does to her court-appointed guardian will make most men squirm).

Throughout the first half or first third of the book I was wondering what David Fincher could have found attractive about the book that would have made him want to do a movie. There were no curse words or sex scenes, no violence or dark materials really to speak of. But then the novel takes a nasty, edgy turn, starts laying it on thick, and it becomes quite clear why this book works for David Fincher. If you liked SEVEN or ZODIAC, you should like this book, and I have a feeling it's going to be a very good movie as well.

Your review makes me want to read it more Grav. The truth is, I was waiting for some kind of a push, and now I really have to read it before I see the film(s) It´s not my kind of book aswell. Right now I´m reading L'Envers et l'Endroit from Camus, and I just read A Most Wanted Man from John le Carré, neither the best work of both authors. Thanks for the review I´ll be sure to find some time in the next month or so to read it (about say 40 hours right? ) Right now I think I´m going to take a small brake from reading as I had a new idea for a new book (had it at 3pm last night), and I think I´m going to run with it. Thanks for your as usual honest and on the spot review Grav. Cheers

[Johnboy007]

Funeral in Berlin

I love Len Deighton.

[Dustin]

I'm the type who usually is reading two to three books at any given time, with another two or three lying on the coffee table which I do not stricly read in the ordinary sense, but skip through twice a day until the one or other is replaced by another volume from the bookcase.

Currently on my coffe table:

MatissePicasso by Cowling/Golding/Baldassari/Elderfield; Tate Publishing 2003



Last Chance To See by Mark Carwardine



Paperweight by Stephen Fry




Backfire by Alan Clark



Downtown Flaneur by Hajtmanszki Zoltan




These books I pick up at random, flick through, stop at a picture, a paragraph, a phrase or a title and spend some time with them. All are a worthwhile pastime, entertaining and inspirating and you won't likely spend a dull moment with them.

Serious reading is divided into two main flavours, those books I have to read and those I read for pleasure. My most recent R&R reads are:

Othello - everything has already been said about that



Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami - a Kafkaesque thriller that dissolves into...




Currently I'm reading Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson, am about a hundred pages into it but I can't say a lot as yet.

Edited by Dustin, 16 July 2011 - 07:58 PM.

[Double-0-7]

For Your Eyes Only Ian Fleming + James Bond by Ben MacIntyre, a very good study of Fleming, Bond, where they overlap, how Sir Ian came up with many names and plots, etc. I am enjoying on Friday evenings with a cocktail.

[Captain Tightpants]

I haven't really read anything of late, but I'm really hanging out for Matthew Reilly's Scarecrow and the Army of Thieves, which is due out in October.



I was a big Reilly fan in my teenage years. I think Ice Station and Temple are two fantastic books. Both had Reilly's trademark: a small band of specıalısts, usually military, trapped in an isolated location with a critical mission and fighting off waves of dangerous foes. Ice Station saw a group of Marines trying to secure a remote Antactic installation where alien technology was discovered, while Temple throws a special DARPA research team into the Peruvian jungles to locate an Incan idol carved from a meterorite that could be the based of an apocalyptic weapon (and what makes it so unique is a parallel story that is perfectly paced, recounting how the idol in question was spirited away from under the Spanish in the 1500s). But then Reilly wrote Area 7 and he began fraying at the seams. The concept was strong enough - a rogue general forces the President into a battle royale in one of America's most secure facilities - but the execution of the second half of the book fell apart. And then Scarecrow was basically DIE ANOTHER DAY on crack: the plot was shoehorned into an endless series of action sequences that should have been epic but just became boring. There was a glimmer of hope in Seven Ancient Wonders, which was a real Indiana Jones type of story, but then he blew it with The Six Sacred Stones, the most pointless sequel ever, and The Five Greatest Warrirors, the most pointless sequel to a pointless sequel.

But Scarecrow and the Army of Thieves (personally, I think The Army of Thieves would be the better title) looks very, very promising. It apepars to be going back to Original Reilly: a small band of Marines and civilians testing equipment in the Arctic are given a desperate mission. A terrorist organisation calling itself the Army of Thieves has taken control of Dragon Island, a Soviet weapons installation that contains a nightmarish weapon so terrifying that even the Soviets were afraid of it. The Army have just activated the weapon, and the only people who can get to Dragon Island in time are the Marines and civilians. So it's got all the elements in place: a small unit, an impossible mission, a dangerous enemy, a tight time limit and the author's signature - violence, and lots of it. Reilly has said in interviews that he even surprised himself with some of the stuff he came up with, so I'm really hoping he delivers. Because if he doesn't, another bad novel on top of his recent run of poor form might just put me off him for good.

[Matt_13]

I just can't do La Carre. I am thinking about making the mistake of picking up The Little Drummer Girl. Currently though I'm picking away at Steve Coll's Ghost Wars. Heavy, big, non-fiction read with more characters you can shake a stick at but you will be so much more informed because of it.

Good stuff.

[elizabeth]

I figured since I'm in love with the '31 Dracula, I should probably read the book. It's a bit slow; but I would say that I am enjoying it.

[OmarB]

Conan The Barbarian (2011 novelization)- Stackpole. Not bad so far. It's part REH, with bits of Carter, DeCamp, Kurt Buseck for fun. It carefully jumps a decade in there leaving space for REH's yougner Conan adventures and they are referenced (Tower Of The Elephant, Queen Of The Black Coast).

ADWD - GRRM. I've been waiting years for this and it's amazing.

[univex]

This is a thread I'm going to try to keep open and active on a regular basis. It's good to see so many diverse posters reading a wide variety of subjects. Keep it up!!!

[Captain Tightpants]

Level 26: Dark Origins by Anthony E. Zuiker

This book initially caught my eye because it is by Anthony E. Zuiker, the man behind the CSI franchise. I'm going through a real crime fiction phase at the moment, and I recognised the name, so I picked it up on my most recent trip to the library. However, it's not by Zuiker - it's by a guy named Duane Swierczynski. It's simply trading on Zuiker's name. Yes, I have broken my number one rule: never, ever read a book by a ghostwriter. If someone is such a poor writer that they need to hang onto the coat-tails of a bigger name to get themselves through, the book clearly is not worth the paper it is printed on. My punishment for falling into this trap is to force myself to read the book.

And my word, even by ghostwritten standards, this one is bad.

The basic premise is that violent criminals are rated on a scale between one and twenty-five. The higher the number, the more violent the crime. However, a serial killer is on the loose whose methods are so vile that a new category has been created just for him: the epynomous Level 26. His existence has been kept from the public because he is supposedly so dangerous that if people knew about him, they would refuse to leave their homes out of sheer terror. You would expect that such a dangerous person would have an equally fear-inducing name, but no. The villain here is called "Sqweegel". He might as well have been called "Unicorn". Basically, he has Mola Ram Syndrome - he has been given incredibly evil powers to give him an instant boost of credibility simply because he is not strong enough to carry the story on his own. And while we're speaking of names, the hero in this story is called Steven Dark. Yes, the man who investigated the most heinous and despicable acts of human nature - the "darkest", you might say - is called Dark. He has a (bad) goatee and is currently suffering the effects of Reluctant Hero-itis because he is the only person ever to have met Sqweegel/Unicorn and survived. These events were recounted in the prologue, where Dark/Goatee basically just stood still for ten minutes and did nothing.

Now, for the writing. Or lack thereof. The prologue is a confusing mess, about "the agent" and "the monster" and is set in a church in Rome, so you know it's full of symbolism. What it does not have, is geogrphy. There's no sense of space; Goatee and Unicorn enter the church. Unicorn leaves through a window at the roof level. But how he gets there and how Goatee tracks him is a complete mystery. There's simply no description of the physical sense, just the symbolism of it all. Fortuantely, it only lasts a few pages. We then go into chapter after chapter of exposition explaining just who Unicorn is and why he is so dangerous. He's a serial tortue-murderer and the book is clearly trying to be HOSTEL, SAW and CAPTIVITY on crack, except that it's too skittish about its own subject matter to actually say what Unicorn does. I get that the author didn't want to get too dark and grisly with it all, but when all he has to say about Unicorn is that "he can kill anyone with any weapon", he's simply shooting himself in the foot. It would be like I told you that Osama bin Laden was a terrorist because he struck terror in people without actually telling you how he did it. In the case of thsi book, it really hurts itself because Unicorn is established as a serial killer, but his psychology completely ignores serial killers. The author is just trying way too hard to make him into a Big Bad.

But all of this is inconsequential in the face of the book's gimmick. It markets itself as a "digi-novel" - readers can get online and view additional content for the story. So far, I haven't bothered, because the book itself is bad enough and I don't want to subject myself to any more banalities. However, there is a serious emphasis on this extra content - you don't need to view it to understand the story, but the book prompts you to do so every twenty-six pages (in keeping with the title). The problem with this is immediately apparent: the entire book has been budgeted around this. Scenes are drawn out or cut down simply to fit the twenty-six page quota, so whatever flow the story might have had is corrupted by budgeting for the gimmick.

Overall, this is one of the worst books I've ever read.

Serves me right for missing the ghostwriter's name when I borrowed it.

[Nicolas Suszczyk]

"Farenheit 451", I hope to start "Carte Blanche" after that if I get it on my country soon.