2009 Books

[linthornhill]

I wasn't so great keeping up with last year's list, but I shall try again this year, with hopefully better results. And this year, I've decided to make a 'To Be Read' list. I'm sure it will grow and roll over into 2010, but still, it'll be nice to track.

It seems I'm way behind in my reviews ...

Comments

[mundungus42]

Your have-read list for 2009 in way more impressive than mine, and there's some wonderful stuff on your to-read list. Funny- I just posted about my reading even before I'd seen that you did the same. I love little bits of kismet like that! I love that you've included review links- what a brilliant idea!

[linthornhill]

You did? How marvelous is that? I, too, love those moments.

I haven't written the reviews yet, but I suspect I'll be making up for lost time over the next few days. I really want to get them down before I forget the main thrust of some of these books (although with a couple of the series all one needs remember is the basic plot of one and it repeats for all the others in the series.)

I'll be adding O, Jerusalem to my must read list. In fact, I'll probably pick up it and the first book this weekend. I'm looking forward to it.

[harmony_bites]

Of the above books I've read Lackey's Children of the Night (and actually think her Diana Tregarde are the best things she ever wrote) Jacqueline Carey's Banewreaker (which I liked, but not as much as Kushiel, and it took quite a while for me to warm to it) The Once and Future King (which I love madly) and The Curse of Chalion (which I also loved). Couldn't get into The Historian though I know others who loved it, and I'd second (third?) the rec in another post for Laurie King's Russel series. Hard to imagine a SSHGer who wouldn't love those.

[linthornhill]

I loved Children of the Night. I had read it several years ago, but when I found that the 'airplane reads' were vampiric, and well, one other reason for reading up on vampires happened recently, I thought to re-read my favorite vampire novel. This is it. Sadly, it's quite dated at this point, which is too bad because I think it works so very well in human terms.

Banewrecker has me lurching through the first chapter in fits and starts. She's made a mistake with this world. Her lead-in character isn't terribly sympathetic to begin with, and is something she did extremely well in Kushiel. But I'll continue to give it a shot.

I've never read White's book, although I'm not sure why not. I've never read Mists of Avalon either, for some odd reason. Actually I think Mary Stewart's Merlin (The Crystal Cave series,) was my formative Arthurian work and it may be that my affection for them outweighed any desire I had to read someone else's version. Of course, I was fifteen then, and I suppose I could throw off the judgment of a

[harmony_bites]

Banewrecker does get better--It's a kinda fantasy Paradise Lost but I was disappointed with it after reading Kushiel. She actually wrote it after the first Trilogy but before the second, and I suspect she returned to Kushiel because she just couldn't reproduce it's success. It says something I never picked up the sequel to Banewrecker

Historian is supposedly another one that gets better as it goes along, but damn I gave the thing about 100 pages and was still bored.

I'm not a fan of Mists of Avalon Maybe because well before it was published I was from childhood a fan of her Darkover series (fantasy/sci-fi--advanced spacefaring civilization clashing with feudal psychic/magical culture). In comparison I found her Arthurian stuff meh. Mary Stewart's trilogy is my favorite too--I imprinted on them and they were I think among my first Arthurian tales--I loved how they were grounded in history. But I love White's too--but they're very different.

Been many a year since I read Children of the Night Why do you think they're dated? I'd think

[linthornhill]

I'll push on with Carey's book then, and it's nice to know it gets better. It's entirely possible that she's really only a one-verse writer. I have the second book, but we'll see if I read it. Dunno yet.

Historian is a ponderous read. Some of the language is exquisite, and it's a perfect bed-time book. It'll lull you to sleep in three pages or less (at least, this has been my reaction so far.) ::snicker::

See. It's Mary Stewart's fault! She's created such an endearing character, it's difficult to want to read any other versions. I'll just have to look at White's version as fanfiction.

It's not the plot or the basic character dynamics, but it's terms like 'Foxy' for sexy which anchor it firmly in the eighties and nineties. Still, it remains my favorite piece of vampire-fiction out there.

[gelsey]

You've got a nice list going! I don't think mine is quite as long yet.

Any you would especially recommend? Books are about all I'm spending money on besides rent right now.

[linthornhill]

Have you read the Lois McMaster Bujold books? Curse of Chalion and Paladin of Souls? They're superb.

Let's see, I'd also recommend the Diana Francis books, although I haven't read the third in the series yet. I loathe her naming conventions, but I liked the overall series for a number of reasons. The Cheryl Wilson books aren't bad either, but I'm not sure I started with the first book; so I'm getting the third one on Saturday.

Feehan's books are homogenous, and if you read one, you've essentially read them all. Still she's found an intriguing concept.

[gelsey]

Not yet. I bought the first book of her The Sharing Knife series the other day, as well as the first two of the Vorkosigan series.

Naming conventions, hm? Well, I'll have to look into those. Oh, i hate starting on a book that isn't the first. Aggravates me when I realize it.

I'll have to try one of Feehan's just to see the concept then.

Of course, I already have a stack of things I'm working through, but I'll need stuff once I'm done with my rereading and the stuff I'm working now.

[linthornhill]

I haven't read anything else of hers, but I'll say that her hero in 'Curse' is one of my favorite all-time heroes, and her heroine in 'Paladin' is among my favorite heroines. They're terribly, terribly real in the most endearing fashion. And her ability to weave a beautiful bit of exposition is so lovely, not to mention the layering of her plots (which is very good.)

Sigh.

I need the third book! Need it, damn it!

Want me to send you a couple of the Feehan series? I could send you the first three if you'd like. I tell you what. Let me know when you want them and I'll trust the USPS to get them to you.