Reading like crazy
Since sometime last August I have read the first eleven Spenser novels (~2472pgs paperback) by Robert B Parker and the first six Dresden novels (~2389pgs paperback) by Jim Butcher. Somewhere in there throw in Zero History by William Gibson (404pgs Hardbound). That's over 5000 pages since August. At least for me, that is a pretty fast pace for my reading.
The Spenser novels (if you don't already know are a detective {Spenser} series set in modern times) are really good, very easy read and the plots continue to be predictable but are getting more complicated. Parker has also built up quite a number of characters in the first eleven novels and is starting to occasionally pull some of the ones you thought you might never see again back in for minor and not so minor parts in later novels. The relationships between the main three characters, Spenser with his girlfriend Susan and between Spenser and his best friend Hawk are nearly as good if not a better part of the series than the plots of each of the novels. The relationships build, struggle, and change over the entirety of the novels so far. That trend appears will continue throughout the series. I would not say it's great literature but it is a very satisfying read without it being Star Trek neat and clean. Lots of messy gray without the bad after taste.
Dresden series is frustrating as hell. In short Dresden is what Harry Potter would be if he grew up to be a gumshoe like Spenser. Jim Butcher even references Spenser in one of the novels. Harry Dresden, the main character, is a Wizard living openly in a modern day Chicago. So its a detective series with a fantasy twist. The author does a really good job at integrating the faerie realm, vampires, werewolves, demons, trolls, wizards, the mundane, and a whole host of other supernatural together into a believable version of modern times with a very active (but not generally perceived or believed by most of the mundane) supernatural. The stories are complicated yet very tractable and the characters are well developed. My problem lies in that the main character is someone I can't really get wholly into. With the Spenser novels I find myself very much in tune with Spenser's internal dialog. I find Spenser's motives and internal struggles to be very similar to my own if I were in the same situation. With Dresden I am usually grating my teeth at Dresden's internal dialog. He put a lot of self deprecating pressure on himself and self blame for stuff the character could not have influenced and even when Dresden realizes he is blaming himself for stuff out of his control the character still does it. I have not fully decided if it simply the author's "view" seeping unwittingly into the character or if the author intends the character this way. I suspect a little of the former and more of the later. The problem is not so much the internal dialog itself but the fact that many aspects of that internal thinking does not really work with the other aspects (internal and external) of Dresden's character and so I find myself liking the Dresden character outwardly but find it hard to stomach the characters internal dialog. That said the over arching story line is great and the setting is excellent, so I will be putting up with Harry Dresden so I can see what happens to the story line and the entire cast of characters.
I am presently reading the 12th book in the Spenser series and it will likely be one of the last on real paper for awhile. GFWTR got me a Kindle for a Christmas present and I am looking forward to really getting to use it a lot more. The next six Dresden book come as a Kindle box set saving me a few duckets. Spense will be a bit tougher as there are a few books in the middle of the series (40 book in total) that are not yet on the Kindle. I have a lot of other books already on it some I had in electronic form already, others I have downloaded from the public domain and other open sources. So far I have only read one complete book on it (one of the Spenser novels) so I will save a more detailed review for once I have had more time to use it. So far though the Kindle look like it will be a very useful gadget.
The Spenser novels (if you don't already know are a detective {Spenser} series set in modern times) are really good, very easy read and the plots continue to be predictable but are getting more complicated. Parker has also built up quite a number of characters in the first eleven novels and is starting to occasionally pull some of the ones you thought you might never see again back in for minor and not so minor parts in later novels. The relationships between the main three characters, Spenser with his girlfriend Susan and between Spenser and his best friend Hawk are nearly as good if not a better part of the series than the plots of each of the novels. The relationships build, struggle, and change over the entirety of the novels so far. That trend appears will continue throughout the series. I would not say it's great literature but it is a very satisfying read without it being Star Trek neat and clean. Lots of messy gray without the bad after taste.
Dresden series is frustrating as hell. In short Dresden is what Harry Potter would be if he grew up to be a gumshoe like Spenser. Jim Butcher even references Spenser in one of the novels. Harry Dresden, the main character, is a Wizard living openly in a modern day Chicago. So its a detective series with a fantasy twist. The author does a really good job at integrating the faerie realm, vampires, werewolves, demons, trolls, wizards, the mundane, and a whole host of other supernatural together into a believable version of modern times with a very active (but not generally perceived or believed by most of the mundane) supernatural. The stories are complicated yet very tractable and the characters are well developed. My problem lies in that the main character is someone I can't really get wholly into. With the Spenser novels I find myself very much in tune with Spenser's internal dialog. I find Spenser's motives and internal struggles to be very similar to my own if I were in the same situation. With Dresden I am usually grating my teeth at Dresden's internal dialog. He put a lot of self deprecating pressure on himself and self blame for stuff the character could not have influenced and even when Dresden realizes he is blaming himself for stuff out of his control the character still does it. I have not fully decided if it simply the author's "view" seeping unwittingly into the character or if the author intends the character this way. I suspect a little of the former and more of the later. The problem is not so much the internal dialog itself but the fact that many aspects of that internal thinking does not really work with the other aspects (internal and external) of Dresden's character and so I find myself liking the Dresden character outwardly but find it hard to stomach the characters internal dialog. That said the over arching story line is great and the setting is excellent, so I will be putting up with Harry Dresden so I can see what happens to the story line and the entire cast of characters.
I am presently reading the 12th book in the Spenser series and it will likely be one of the last on real paper for awhile. GFWTR got me a Kindle for a Christmas present and I am looking forward to really getting to use it a lot more. The next six Dresden book come as a Kindle box set saving me a few duckets. Spense will be a bit tougher as there are a few books in the middle of the series (40 book in total) that are not yet on the Kindle. I have a lot of other books already on it some I had in electronic form already, others I have downloaded from the public domain and other open sources. So far I have only read one complete book on it (one of the Spenser novels) so I will save a more detailed review for once I have had more time to use it. So far though the Kindle look like it will be a very useful gadget.