January's Reading List.
The end of the month is almost here! This means I have roughly 48 hours (less at this point) to write and submit a 1,000 word Sword and Sorcery story to genrechallenge.
You may recall one of my "resolutions" was to read at least two books each month that weren't related to school.
So here is what I read in January:
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
The story of Neverwhare follows the main character Richard Mayhew, an ordinary business man with a penchant for collecting trolls, who soon finds himself embroiled within the happenings of London Below. This London Below is exactly what it sounds like, another world below and above London filled with people who have fallen through the cracks of normal society. This is a richly dark, modern-day fairy tale. You have bad guys who are clearly evil. You have good guys who are clearly good. You have quests and trials and beasts and angels.
Embarrassingly enough, I had started to read this book multiple times and was never able to make it past the first chapter. Admittedly, the story starts out a little slow but compensates for this by dragging the reader through a variety of charming worlds and characters.
My favorite character happens to be the Marquis de Carabas. If you are familiar with the drow books of R.A. Salvatore and their characters, you will understand what I mean when I say that this character is very much like Jarlaxle. The Marquis is a criminal, a crafty and cunning individual, but still manages to be on the side of good. I enjoyed him.
You might recall that some years ago there was a BBC mini-series of the same name. However, what many people don't realize is that Gaiman wrote the series first and the book was based off of this series. Interested, I ventured over to youtube and watched the series. It wasn't very well-made, but once you got past the terribly small budget and effects it was clever. The actors who played Richard and the Marquis were very good.
If you are looking for a leisurely, whimsical read, I would certain recommend picking up this book.
The Vampire Lestat and The Queen of the Damned by Anne Rice
It has been a number of years since I read The Vampire Chronicles and I wanted to revisit the series. When I first ready these books they changed my life, in so far that I was floored by Anne Rice's embellished writing and characters. I wanted to be her, granted this was when I was a fledging writer and goth and 12 or 13 years old.
I wanted to see if these books stood up to the test of time. Would I, so many years later, still feel the same thrill I did when I read these books? Yes and no. I read Interview with the Vampire over break, and this one touched me more than these two.
The Vampire Lestat is a stunning work of modern prose (if I am allowed to say so :P). I could go on and on about how beautifully Rice fleshes out the characters of Lestat, Nicholas, and so on. But instead of all that, I'm going to complain. I thought the book took a turn for the worst when Lestat encounter Marius. While I can see why she would have wanted Marius to tell his story, I think the story of Those Who Must Be Kept was entirely irrelevant (when he tells that part of his history, I mean). It seems especially redundant when you move onto Queen of the Damned and have to read it all again.
The Queen of the Damned, on the other hand, I had a multitude of issues with. I appreciate what Rice was trying to do with the switching perspectives and the story of Baby Jenks and so forth. However, I found myself skipping over many a section of this book. I skipped over the story of Baby Jenks, I skipped over many of Lestat's first person narratives during his time with Akasha. I like the idea, but I think, somehow she could have done it better.
That said, I still have a deep love of all things The Vampire Chronicles. She made vampires what they are today and I think people like Stephanie Meyer could learn a thing or two from her. I love vampires, and Anne Rice's vampires are some of the most profound and compelling fictional creatures that I have ever come across.
Peace.
You may recall one of my "resolutions" was to read at least two books each month that weren't related to school.
So here is what I read in January:
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
The story of Neverwhare follows the main character Richard Mayhew, an ordinary business man with a penchant for collecting trolls, who soon finds himself embroiled within the happenings of London Below. This London Below is exactly what it sounds like, another world below and above London filled with people who have fallen through the cracks of normal society. This is a richly dark, modern-day fairy tale. You have bad guys who are clearly evil. You have good guys who are clearly good. You have quests and trials and beasts and angels.
Embarrassingly enough, I had started to read this book multiple times and was never able to make it past the first chapter. Admittedly, the story starts out a little slow but compensates for this by dragging the reader through a variety of charming worlds and characters.
My favorite character happens to be the Marquis de Carabas. If you are familiar with the drow books of R.A. Salvatore and their characters, you will understand what I mean when I say that this character is very much like Jarlaxle. The Marquis is a criminal, a crafty and cunning individual, but still manages to be on the side of good. I enjoyed him.
You might recall that some years ago there was a BBC mini-series of the same name. However, what many people don't realize is that Gaiman wrote the series first and the book was based off of this series. Interested, I ventured over to youtube and watched the series. It wasn't very well-made, but once you got past the terribly small budget and effects it was clever. The actors who played Richard and the Marquis were very good.
If you are looking for a leisurely, whimsical read, I would certain recommend picking up this book.
The Vampire Lestat and The Queen of the Damned by Anne Rice
It has been a number of years since I read The Vampire Chronicles and I wanted to revisit the series. When I first ready these books they changed my life, in so far that I was floored by Anne Rice's embellished writing and characters. I wanted to be her, granted this was when I was a fledging writer and goth and 12 or 13 years old.
I wanted to see if these books stood up to the test of time. Would I, so many years later, still feel the same thrill I did when I read these books? Yes and no. I read Interview with the Vampire over break, and this one touched me more than these two.
The Vampire Lestat is a stunning work of modern prose (if I am allowed to say so :P). I could go on and on about how beautifully Rice fleshes out the characters of Lestat, Nicholas, and so on. But instead of all that, I'm going to complain. I thought the book took a turn for the worst when Lestat encounter Marius. While I can see why she would have wanted Marius to tell his story, I think the story of Those Who Must Be Kept was entirely irrelevant (when he tells that part of his history, I mean). It seems especially redundant when you move onto Queen of the Damned and have to read it all again.
The Queen of the Damned, on the other hand, I had a multitude of issues with. I appreciate what Rice was trying to do with the switching perspectives and the story of Baby Jenks and so forth. However, I found myself skipping over many a section of this book. I skipped over the story of Baby Jenks, I skipped over many of Lestat's first person narratives during his time with Akasha. I like the idea, but I think, somehow she could have done it better.
That said, I still have a deep love of all things The Vampire Chronicles. She made vampires what they are today and I think people like Stephanie Meyer could learn a thing or two from her. I love vampires, and Anne Rice's vampires are some of the most profound and compelling fictional creatures that I have ever come across.
Peace.