Books part II
Rules of Ascension - Winds of the Forelands Book 1 by David B. Coe
Fantasy
This was the first book in a fantasy series that Natalie suggested. I liked it. The basic idea is that there are regular people (called Eandi) and sorcerors (called Qirsi). The Eandi rule the land and the Qirsi serve as ministers in their courts. The plot is that there's a conspiracy among some of the Qirsi to take power from the Eandi via subterfuge and betrayal.
The writing isn't particularly clever or exciting, but it gets the point across and tells a good story. There is a lot of politics because the book takes place in several different dukedoms within several different kingdoms. The dukes are all vying for power while this conspiracy is going on, and the author makes it easy to become interested in the political intrigue here. There are a lot of characters to keep track of as a result, but I didn't find it hard to remember who was who.
It's a good fantasy story with a nicely developed world and interesting characters. I want to know what's going to happen next.
Arbitrary rating: 4/5
Snow Crash - by Neal Stephenson
Science Fiction
Neal Stephenson is a very different author than what I'm used to. First off, this is a sci-fi book, and I'm not really into sci-fi. Second, Stephenson has a very unique style to his writing that's hard to describe. Sam has been raving about this author since forever and had finally worn me down into relenting and reading this book.
Stephenson is not an "easy" author to read. In this book he dreams up a complex dystopian near-future and lets you figure out what's what as the story goes on, often not even explaining what something means, letting you figure it out through context. I really dig Stephenson's style and sense of humor (the main character's name is Hiro Protagonist), and though the descriptions were peppered with analogies, metaphors, and similies, it didn't come across like he was trying too hard to be poetic. In fact, his comparisons are always spot-on and do what analogies should do: they paint a clearer picture of what's happening in the story by comparing it to something similar. They were all of them original and some of them amusing.
What makes his writing hard to read is that he doesn't help you out. You have to figure out what's going on by reading and paying attention to every single word he writes. You can't zone out or skip over a sentence, because one sentence in the middle of a paragraph could be "And then a harpoon came shooting out of the darkness and struck him dead." He doesn't give you hints as to where the action is by shortening his sentences or breaking up his paragraphs.
Like this.
You just have to read every word.
On the negative side, he infodumps. A lot. There is a part in the middle of the book in which the main character is doing research, and page upon page upon page is spent giving us information while the story screeches to a halt. It was at this point that I started to get bored of the story, but I plugged through it and it got better. Also, I think my lack of love for the genre took away from some of my enjoyment of the book. This was not a book geared toward women. It was a gritty, fast-paced action story with a couple of badass characters meant for guys to go "WHOA AWESOME!" It was indeed awesome, but in most stories I get into the relationships between the characters (not necessarily romantic) more than anything. That factor--relationships between characters--was almost completely lacking in this book.
I enjoyed most of the time I spent reading this book. I think it was brilliantly written, although the end could have used a bit more resolution (but a lot of people say that about Stephenson). I think most of my problem with it was not in the writing at all, but rather that the subject matter wasn't exactly my cup of tea.
Arbitrary rating: 4/5. Would have been 5/5 if I enjoyed gritty sci-fi.
Seeds of Betrayal - Winds of the Forelands Book 2 by David B. Coe
Fantasy
It took me FOREVER to find this book. In fact, I went to 5 bookstores before I found more than one book by Coe at all. Luckily Barnes & Noble had it so I didn't have to order online.
I don't have a lot to say here. It's the second book of Winds of the Forelands, and it wasn't as good. It introduced a lot of new characters and an entire new kingdom filled with more dukedoms, so it got a little confusing at times. There wasn't a lot of action. I felt like the main characters from the first book were very underplayed in this one, making my idea of who the main characters actually were very fuzzy. On the plus side, there were lesbians. I always like seeing gay and lesbian characters in literature without their CONTROVERSIAL RELATIONSHIP being the main focus of the story. It's treated as a real relationship and not like a sexual deviancy. I find myself caring more about them than any other characters in the story since the main characters are annoyingly absent.
It's still not a bad book, and Natalie tells me the next one is better, so I'll keep reading this series.
Arbitrary rating: 3/5
Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
Graphic Novel
It feels a little out of place reviewing this along with other "regular" books, but I really can't call this anything else. Yes, this is the same Watchmen that they're making a movie out of. I suppose some might call it a comic book, but since it was published in a book with over 400 pages, I think even calling it a graphic novel understates what it really is. InuYasha got called "graphic novels" too. They're not even in the same category. Time Magazine included it in its 100 best novels. Not graphic novels, just regular novels. It's called the "most celebrated graphic novel of all time." Sam wouldn't stop raving about it, and even though I flipped through it and didn't see anything interesting, I finally gave in and read it because I knew I'd have to see the movie with Sam and I wanted to have read the book first.
Um. All I can say is fucking wow. This is one of the most amazing books I've ever read.
It's a superhero story. Sort of. it's basically what the real world would be like with superheroes in it. If real people decided to dress up and be vigilantes. I could go more into it, but I can't without spoiling it. It's gritty, dark, and really not my kind of thing at all, but I adored it. To tell you the truth, I didn't really get what the hype was all about until the end. I liked it okay, but it wasn't until near the end when I realized that everyone was right, and that this book deserves all the hype that it got and more. I sat awake for awhile totally stunned after I finished it. It was that kind of book.
I would recommend Watchmen to absolutely everyone I know. Keep in mind that before this I hadn't picked up a real comic book since I was a kid reading Superman over my big brother's shoulder. I'm not counting Japanese manga and Knights of the Dinner Table--I mean real superhero comics. I was never a big fan of the genre because it was just too dark for me, but I still loved this book. I can almost guarantee that you will too.
Arbitrary Rating: 6/5 (not a typo)
I think I'm going to finish Winds of the Forelands before I read anything else, that is unless Sam forces me. I don't know if I'll add those here or not. Anyway, that's all I've read since the start of 2009, which is about a book a week. If I can keep that pace up, I'll have that reading list cut down in no time!
Fantasy
This was the first book in a fantasy series that Natalie suggested. I liked it. The basic idea is that there are regular people (called Eandi) and sorcerors (called Qirsi). The Eandi rule the land and the Qirsi serve as ministers in their courts. The plot is that there's a conspiracy among some of the Qirsi to take power from the Eandi via subterfuge and betrayal.
The writing isn't particularly clever or exciting, but it gets the point across and tells a good story. There is a lot of politics because the book takes place in several different dukedoms within several different kingdoms. The dukes are all vying for power while this conspiracy is going on, and the author makes it easy to become interested in the political intrigue here. There are a lot of characters to keep track of as a result, but I didn't find it hard to remember who was who.
It's a good fantasy story with a nicely developed world and interesting characters. I want to know what's going to happen next.
Arbitrary rating: 4/5
Snow Crash - by Neal Stephenson
Science Fiction
Neal Stephenson is a very different author than what I'm used to. First off, this is a sci-fi book, and I'm not really into sci-fi. Second, Stephenson has a very unique style to his writing that's hard to describe. Sam has been raving about this author since forever and had finally worn me down into relenting and reading this book.
Stephenson is not an "easy" author to read. In this book he dreams up a complex dystopian near-future and lets you figure out what's what as the story goes on, often not even explaining what something means, letting you figure it out through context. I really dig Stephenson's style and sense of humor (the main character's name is Hiro Protagonist), and though the descriptions were peppered with analogies, metaphors, and similies, it didn't come across like he was trying too hard to be poetic. In fact, his comparisons are always spot-on and do what analogies should do: they paint a clearer picture of what's happening in the story by comparing it to something similar. They were all of them original and some of them amusing.
What makes his writing hard to read is that he doesn't help you out. You have to figure out what's going on by reading and paying attention to every single word he writes. You can't zone out or skip over a sentence, because one sentence in the middle of a paragraph could be "And then a harpoon came shooting out of the darkness and struck him dead." He doesn't give you hints as to where the action is by shortening his sentences or breaking up his paragraphs.
Like this.
You just have to read every word.
On the negative side, he infodumps. A lot. There is a part in the middle of the book in which the main character is doing research, and page upon page upon page is spent giving us information while the story screeches to a halt. It was at this point that I started to get bored of the story, but I plugged through it and it got better. Also, I think my lack of love for the genre took away from some of my enjoyment of the book. This was not a book geared toward women. It was a gritty, fast-paced action story with a couple of badass characters meant for guys to go "WHOA AWESOME!" It was indeed awesome, but in most stories I get into the relationships between the characters (not necessarily romantic) more than anything. That factor--relationships between characters--was almost completely lacking in this book.
I enjoyed most of the time I spent reading this book. I think it was brilliantly written, although the end could have used a bit more resolution (but a lot of people say that about Stephenson). I think most of my problem with it was not in the writing at all, but rather that the subject matter wasn't exactly my cup of tea.
Arbitrary rating: 4/5. Would have been 5/5 if I enjoyed gritty sci-fi.
Seeds of Betrayal - Winds of the Forelands Book 2 by David B. Coe
Fantasy
It took me FOREVER to find this book. In fact, I went to 5 bookstores before I found more than one book by Coe at all. Luckily Barnes & Noble had it so I didn't have to order online.
I don't have a lot to say here. It's the second book of Winds of the Forelands, and it wasn't as good. It introduced a lot of new characters and an entire new kingdom filled with more dukedoms, so it got a little confusing at times. There wasn't a lot of action. I felt like the main characters from the first book were very underplayed in this one, making my idea of who the main characters actually were very fuzzy. On the plus side, there were lesbians. I always like seeing gay and lesbian characters in literature without their CONTROVERSIAL RELATIONSHIP being the main focus of the story. It's treated as a real relationship and not like a sexual deviancy. I find myself caring more about them than any other characters in the story since the main characters are annoyingly absent.
It's still not a bad book, and Natalie tells me the next one is better, so I'll keep reading this series.
Arbitrary rating: 3/5
Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
Graphic Novel
It feels a little out of place reviewing this along with other "regular" books, but I really can't call this anything else. Yes, this is the same Watchmen that they're making a movie out of. I suppose some might call it a comic book, but since it was published in a book with over 400 pages, I think even calling it a graphic novel understates what it really is. InuYasha got called "graphic novels" too. They're not even in the same category. Time Magazine included it in its 100 best novels. Not graphic novels, just regular novels. It's called the "most celebrated graphic novel of all time." Sam wouldn't stop raving about it, and even though I flipped through it and didn't see anything interesting, I finally gave in and read it because I knew I'd have to see the movie with Sam and I wanted to have read the book first.
Um. All I can say is fucking wow. This is one of the most amazing books I've ever read.
It's a superhero story. Sort of. it's basically what the real world would be like with superheroes in it. If real people decided to dress up and be vigilantes. I could go more into it, but I can't without spoiling it. It's gritty, dark, and really not my kind of thing at all, but I adored it. To tell you the truth, I didn't really get what the hype was all about until the end. I liked it okay, but it wasn't until near the end when I realized that everyone was right, and that this book deserves all the hype that it got and more. I sat awake for awhile totally stunned after I finished it. It was that kind of book.
I would recommend Watchmen to absolutely everyone I know. Keep in mind that before this I hadn't picked up a real comic book since I was a kid reading Superman over my big brother's shoulder. I'm not counting Japanese manga and Knights of the Dinner Table--I mean real superhero comics. I was never a big fan of the genre because it was just too dark for me, but I still loved this book. I can almost guarantee that you will too.
Arbitrary Rating: 6/5 (not a typo)
I think I'm going to finish Winds of the Forelands before I read anything else, that is unless Sam forces me. I don't know if I'll add those here or not. Anyway, that's all I've read since the start of 2009, which is about a book a week. If I can keep that pace up, I'll have that reading list cut down in no time!