I read a lot of books. Mostly Sci-fi or fantasy settings, but some others, and some non-adventure stories. So here's a list of the ones I've read recently, with a very short comment on each, giving my personal, current opinion of the book. (Note: Scores are arbitrary. 5 is an ok book, which I enjoyed reading but probably would not want to read again. 7 is a pretty good book. 10 is a book I could not put down and didnt find problems with in retrospect. 0 would be a book I couldn't finish and didn't enjoy at all). It's well worth noting that I might give the same book a different score on re-reading; the notes will explain why. The score is also no direct comment on the quality of the writing or the book; some quality books I do not enjoy, and some trashy novels are great fun.
Current:
Hero in the Shadows, by David Gemmell
21 Jan 2005:
Forging the Darksword, by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
Within the land of Merlion, everyone is a wizard, at least to some degree.
People wear robes of shifting colours and float above the ground rather than
walking. To have magic is to be alive. But there are exceptions; the Dead,
those who have no magic. This is the tale of one such man.
I read this book long ago, when I was a young teenager, and I remember it being an exciting book. This clouds my viewpoint of the book, and I picked it up again with some trepidation, expecting a book suitable for a teenager. I was right. But, it is not a bad book as such. In fact, my only gripe with it would be its simplicity; there are plot twists, but they are blatent; the characters are mostly shallow and easily explained; even the world is quite simple. I did enjoy reading it, too, it was still an entertaining read. So for an entertaining, but non-challenging book, it works. 7/10.
19 Jan 2005:
Hyperion, by Dan Simmons
This is (apparently) a sci-fi version of the cantebury tales; a tale of tales,
with seven pilgrims each telling their story. The pilgrimage is to see the
Shrike, a godlike killing machine, and each pilgrim knows that they may not
survive the trail. Each tale is a story of the reasons why they have embarked
on such a deadly voyage, and each contains an insight as to the nature of the
Shrike.
Although the sci-fi setting of the book lead me to pick it up in the first place, this is effectively a book of horror stories, one of my least favourite genres. And yet this is definitely one of the better books I have read lately. The stories are fascinating and the characters are really well protrayed. Each tale also gives slightly more insight into the progression of the overlying story; it is a neat progression, and each story reflects in some way what has been learnt from the previous story, while adding something. The tales range from the horrific to the tragic, but all sufficiently different to be separate stories while still being similar enough to keep the theme going.
I find it hard to say anything bad about this book. It is well written and well deserves the prizes it has won. It is thought provoking; even days after finishing it (and I have finished another book since!) I can still remember the characters, the issues they have, the stories they tell and their interactions on the pilgrimage. A very very good book. 9/10.
5th Jan 2005:
The Throne of Scone, by Patricia Kennealy
This is apparently the third book of the Keltiad, which confused me, since
I've read the previous book, The Copper Crown, and I was under the distinct
impression that that was the first book...
The background for this book is a rather bizarre mix of celtic legend (Auther, Atlantis, etc) and sci-fi technology. In short, the Celts in about 500AD left the planet earth and formed a smallish empire consisting of several planets and star systems somewhere far away from earth. The first book starts with the discovery of the Keltic systems by explorers from earth, and concentrates on the resulting political situation from the Keltic perspective. The heros of the book are mainly the Keltic royal family, and their friends; the villains are the leaders of the various other factions in the local area of space.
I have to admit I have little to say about this book. It was a reasonable story, certainly entertaining, but perhaps not stunning. The plotline was mostly believable except for Aeron's quest for artifacts which is frankly a bit bizarre at times, and fairly contrived. The twists in the plot are interesting, and the characters are quite likable. But I think back (I'm writing this a week or two after finishing the book) and I really can't remember much about it, good or bad. So I'd say it was an ok book, but not the best. 7/10.
29 Dec 2004:
The Ring of Five Dragons, by Eric Van Lustbader
Before I start, I have to comment (with amusement) on the words with triple
letters. They're very obvious, very numerous, and sort of flawed - there's
a pronunciation guide in the back, but it only served to make me think
(by the time I'd finished) that it just confused things. And they're
everywhere! About every other made up word has a triple letter in it!
Amusement aside, this book is a sort of fantasy/sci-fi cross breed, featuring the invasion of a peace-loving planet by a warlike tribe of nomads from space. The book centres around the relationship between these two peoples, the failure of the native's religion and an upheavel of the conqueror's tightly managed society. During all this upheaval an ancient prophecy, shared by both people, begins to be fulfilled. The book is the first in a series.
I enjoyed this book. I'd not say it was a classic, but better than some others I've read. I liked the characters (although some of them were a little shallow, perhaps) and wanted to know how they got on, and felt sympathy or sorrow over the events in the book. The plotline was interesting, and there were some good twists and some interesting events, although part of the main plot is a bit silly, in particular to do with the Ring of Five Dragons and the opening of the storeroom - the result of this episode is a slight overreaction, it could be said! I was also pleased that the book feels whole, and while there is further plot to be unfolded, the ending is a clear ending. However, there are several plot holes generally, or perhaps holes in the background world; the author seems a little too inclined to gloss over the whys and hows of events (at one point they get past some incidental guards using magic, but now this spell can't be used again for some time; an artificial restriction even within the context of the book). And if you delve too much into the characters you'd find them lacking. But perhaps not a book to be taken too seriously, and as such a good read. 7/10.
19 Dec 2004:
Clarke County, Space, by Allen Steele
This book is the tale of a crisis suffered by humanity's first space station,
Clarke County. The back mentions the major players, a motley crew including
a gangsters moll, on the run from the mob and the hitman after her, the
station's sheriff and the Church of Elvis with their leader, the
Living Elvis. The whole situation is bizarre, and the ending - or at least
part of the ending - is revealed at the start, the book being told from
the perspective of one of the people there at the time telling an author
the real story in order that he publish that, rather than what people
thought happened.
This was a great book. Some wonderful characters, an interesting situation, and while the book constantly gives you hints as to what is going to happen later on, and which secrets are about to be revealed, the book continues to hold interest and some surprises. I really had difficulty putting this book down; I wanted to know just how the characters achieved what they wanted to achieve, or where they end up. There is an interesting mix-up of different plot lines too, and each ties up to others at different times, sometimes predictably, sometimes not. The book left me with a good feeling at the end, mostly because all the ends had been tied up but without resorting to things which are too unbelievable (with the exception of the storyteller, and even that wasn't too bad). Heartily recommended. 9/10.
14 Dec 2004:
Contraband, by George Foy
The story here is of a smuggler ("pilot") who discovers that his trade is
under threat from a new counter-smuggling system, and embarks on a quest with
some oddball friends to find the only person who knows how to evade capture.
A caption on the front claims that this book is "William Gibson updated for the
90s." This is sort of true; the book contains a very Gibsonesque near-future
world, with cyberspace ("Wildnet") and everything. But while the Gibson world
is believable, right from the start this book feels wrong. For example, the
technology is either wildly advanced or stupidly
backwards - you can't have advanced virtual reality displays in the same world
as floppy disks. Most of the book feels ill-informed, in particular
for a reader with any backround in computing, but much of the rest seems in
my limited knowledge just a bit too far fetched - the planes and boats seem
a little bizarre, the world's political situation is ridiculous and
some of the social situations are just silly. I genuinely wonder if I have
missed the point, and this is supposed to be satire, but then it is worse,
since it is just not funny. The author also spends too much time writing
detailed descriptions of irrelevant things; the plot of the soap opera on
the TV is really not a useful addition to the plot or a good way to describe
the world, especially once past the first couple of chapters, and explaining
things like wildnet directly (rather than the abstract style of Gibson's
cyberspace) detracts rather than adds to the overall effect. I was also
left unsatisfied by the ending; the plot was fairly predicatable (which
isn't always a bad thing), and the final explainations were just unbelieveable
and arbitrary. The book is not all bad, though... I think if
you ignore the stupid explainations and inconsistencies, the book is
entertaining, and the characters are definitely interesting; certainly not
your average heroes, and although slightly cheesy, some of them are wonderfully
mad, reflecting well on the relatively mad world. So... 5/10.
5 Dec 2004
Transformation, by Carol Berg.
The book is written from the perspective of a slave named Seyonne, who is
bought and put into service by an arrogent prince. Seyonne has a mysterious
past, which comes forward when demons start to appear in the prince's palace.
This book was a very nice surprise. The characters are interesting,
believeable and full of twists and turns, both in their treatment of each other
and their treatment of themselves; the prince in particular has an interesting
story, with a lot of growing up done during the story. This is a book I had
trouble putting down, always wanting to know what happened next. I was also
pleased that, although this is the first book of a series, the story felt
complete - there were none of the usual loose ends from which the next story
is made. My only real issue with the book was some of the cleaning up of
loose ends was a bit messy, and there were some unbelievable (although minor)
parts to the plot. But all in all, a very enjoyable read. 9/10.
29 Nov 2004:
Tower of the King's Daughter, by Chaz Brenchley.
Back to the more standard fantasy adventure fare, here, although calling this
book standard gives it a disservice. This is a story of the trials and
tribulations of a group of people all headed to a warrior-monk's fortress for
various reasons. What makes this book shine is the characters. The book
is a good mix of action sequences and character development, and I found I
liked the characters, generally, and liked their interaction with each other
and with the society as a whole. Since this is the first book of three, I
was pleased that the ending felt like an ending, despite the obvious intention
to include a sequel (Although I would admit that the "surprise" on the
last page was quite expected!) Overall, a book I enjoyed reading and look
forward to reading the sequel. 8/10.
16 Nov 2004:
On the Edge of Darkness, by Barbara Erskine.
Slightly different
to my usual fare, this is a story of the life of a man, and his family, who
are stalked by a druidic
priest from the past who is obsessed by him, to the point that she will not
permit anyone else to come between them. I didn't really
enjoy this book much. I don't think it was badly written as such, more that
I could not find any empathy with the characters; I disliked most of them,
and found myself not caring what happened to them.
I also didn't really understand the ending; partly because I was in a rush to
finish the book and get onto something better. I would say, however,
that this is a book that I suspect other people with a different taste would
enjoy far more than I did. 4/10.
8 Nov 2004:
The Holy Thief, by Ellis Peters.
This is number 19 in a series
of medieval whodunnits, featuring Brother Cadfael, and also my first
time reading any of the series. I enjoyed this book quite a lot, and
the plot had an interesting number of twists and turns whilst being in an
interesting setting, both in terms of time and location. 7/10.
6 Nov 2004:
Spinneret, by Timothy Zahn.
An entertaining book, involving
humankind entering space and discovering that they're not alone, but as much
about the role of government and thoughts on possible alien politics as well
as being an adventure story. The plot is a little far fetched at times, but
the book is entertaining. 7/10.
4 Nov 2004:
Memory and Dream, by Charles de Lint.
This is a great book, and
I've found it very hard to put down. It has a wonderful mix of characters,
with no-one appearing too perfect; every character has their flaws, and the
exploration of those flaws is interesting. The plot unrolls steadily,
giving the reader new insight into the motives and history of the characters,
and always leaves you wanting to read a little more, just to find out what
happens next. The only issue with this book is the rather weak end part,
which feels slightly tacked on and not in the spirit of the rest of the book,
but all in all a great book, and one I'd heartily recommend reading. 9/10.
1 Nov 4004:
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, by J.K. Rowling.
I liked
this book, it's a good mixture of adventure and mystery with interesting
characters and a very enjoyable world. It does suffer from plot holes, though;
the explainations at the end left me thinking
"surely there's an easier way". Still, an enjoyable read, and definitely left
me wanting to read the next one soon! 7/10.
28 Oct 2004:
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, by J.K. Rowling.
Since I've read this book before, it was slightly less enjoyable than it should have
been because I remembered much of the plot very well. Weaker than the previous
two, too, and I think I'd not have enjoyed it as much as a standalone, or
without the next one to read afterwards, but I did enjoy it regardless. 6/10.