I will run both the author and book-title challenges simultaneously though not necessarily at the same pace and will be done in order A-Z. There will be no time limit. Titles beginning with The will have that word ignored for the purpose of categorisation.

Authors Alphabet

A. Robert Asprin - Myth-Fortunes (co-authored with Jody Lynn Nye)
B. Christopher Brookmyre - Not the End of the World
C. Douglas Coupland - Hey Nostradamus!
D. Colin Dexter - Last Bus to Woodstock
E. James Ellroy - L.A. Confidential
F. Stephen Fry - The Stars' Tennis Balls
G. Robert Goddard - Dying to Tell
H. William Heaney - Memoirs of a Master Forger
I. Francis Iles - Malice Aforethought
J. Jerome K. Jerome - Three Men in a Boat
K. Simon Kernick - The Business of Dying
L. Elmore Leonard - Rum Punch
M
N
O
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Q
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Message edited by its author, Yesterday, 12:07am.

Book-title Alphabet

A. Avenger by Frederick Forsyth
B. The Beach by Alex Garland
C. The Curse of the Mistwraith by Janny Wurts
D. Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay
E. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
F. The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
G. Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson
H. Harry's Game by Gerald Seymour
I. I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
J. Jumper by Steven Gould
K. Killing Floor by Lee Child
L. Lights Out by Jason Starr
M
N
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Message edited by its author, Yesterday, 1:10am.

Looks like fun:-)

Hey, I have company :) Welcome :)

What about A/An? :) I am skipping any article by default - never though to count them really...

@6, I feel that A and An are of more worth in titles though whether they will actually be used is another matter.

Message edited by its author, Aug 27, 2009, 8:15am.

My native language does not have an indefinite article and the definite one is at the end of the words.... maybe that's the reason why I tend to disregard them :)

#9

Same with my native language - I tend to disregard them too. :)

Started on the author challenge by including a collaborative effort by Robert Asprin and Jody Lynn Nye, Myth-Fortunes. It's a continuation of the Myth Inc. storyline and features pretty much the whole gang at some point in the story although the focus is mainly on Skeeve and Aahz. This time around Aahz gets the company involved in a pyramid scheme so naturally there is an Egyptian setting to this book. While this addition to the series didn't make me laugh out loud there was enough humour in the story and dialogue to make this a quick and easy read and the quotes that head each chapter never fail to bring a smile. Now that Bob is no longer with us, we'll have to wait and see how the series progresses under the care of JLN.

Kicked off the titles part of the challenge with Avenger. Bought this book as part of a box-set called Thrill Seekers, unfortunately, this one isn't really all that thrilling. Don't get me wrong, it's not that bad a story but just seems very formulaic. The pace is fast and the lead character is a decent enough guy to hang your hat on. Overall, an ok read but I expected better from someone of Frederick Forsyth's stature.

Next up was The Beach which is an excellent read and, imo, thouroughly deserves the usual praise associated with it. A compelling tale of the breakdown of a utopian society in a paradise environment. Told from the POV of a seasoned traveller we get to witness his descent into madness and it's very easy to get engrossed in this book. I think the short chapters help in that respect as well.

Message edited by its author, Sep 8, 2009, 5:43am.

B Back to authors with Chris Brookmyre's look at religion in Not the End of the World. I think this guy has written some of the funniest stuff I've read (dialogue especially) so it was pretty much a cert that I would pick him for this challenge. I just wish that I'd read this 10 years ago so as to get the full impact of the millennium hysteria. This time around the author has moved away from his native Scotland to Los Angeles and uses the setting of a B-Movie film festival which invokes the wrath of a Christian fundamentalist. He espouses that Hollywood and the rest of the entertainment industry has led to the decline of morality and decency in America and that it's time to, quite literally, put the fear of God back into people's lives. A few sub-plots help the story proceed at a fast pace and keep you coming back if you do manage to put this book down for a few minutes. The black humour and the witty banter make you laugh out loud so probably not a good idea to read this while you're sat in church.

Titles C - The Curse of the Mistwraith by Janny Wurts. Have wanted to read one of her works for a while now and reading the collaborative Empire trilogy (with Raymond E. Feist) only cemented that wish. While this was not an easy read it was certainly a worthwhile one. Two half-brothers brought up on opposite sides of a family at war are forced together when they find themselves banished to a world that needs both of their gifts to overcome the resident evil of their world (The Mistwraith of the title). Grudging respect and then admiration blossoms between the pair before the curse is laid upon them and old hatreds are intensified in heading to the climactic battle at the end. Battles between the dark and the light are given a new twist in this epic fantasy tale with detailed characters and the landscape is brought vividly to life. An excellent opening to a series that I want to read more of though I will let this one settle for a while before I do.

Authors C - Hey Nostradamus! by Douglas Coupland is a wonderful piece of storytelling dealing with how a school shooting affects the lives of the four narrators of this book. First up we have The Victim which describes the events leading up to the massacre and her relationship to the next story teller (her secret husband). His story is picked up 10 years on with subsequent chapters being written by his new girlfriend and ending with his father. It's a very moving tale which uses religion as an undercurrent to examine how we cope with dysfunction and the continued existence when things fall apart.

Message edited by its author, Sep 21, 2009, 7:51pm.

Boy, you're moving right along and doing it in order as well! I tend to jump all over the place.

Having a large tbr pile helps and I've been quite lucky with fitting most of these in with other challenges as well.

Titles D - Dexter is one of the few tv shows that I've been following so I've now got round to buying the first 3 books in an omnibus edition. Darkly Dreaming Dexter is the first in the series and the basic plot is pretty much the same as the show. I think it's difficult for me to be objective about the book but I'll say it's not too bad overall. The dark humour is still there and that's what saves it from being just another anti-hero novel. The supporting characters are all totally different (his sister Debs as a Playboy model looks-wise just doesn't fit and the only real interaction in the department is between the siblings and LeGuerta whose charater has changed considerably). I'll carry on with the other books and see how it goes but if I ever want to return to this part of the series then it will be to the TV show that I go and not the book.

My brother sent me Darkly Dreaming Dexter and therefore got me hooked on the show. It was fun coming from the other direction and seeing how they used the book in plotting the series. I do like LaGuerta much better in the television version!

I went from one Dexter to another and read Colin Dexter's first Inspector Morse book, Last Bus to Woodstock. There's a lot wrong with the way the investigation proceeded in this story, with basic police work totally neglected in favour of following Morse's half-baked theories. Things like the murder weapon not being examined and a main witness (the man who found the body) not being investigated until over a week had gone by with no real breakthroughs in the case. Slightly annoying but not that off-putting in the overall scheme of things. A decent enough start to a series but I hope it gets better (I have the other 12 Morse books to read as the box set was quite tempting at under a tenner).

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card has been another excellent addition to my reading list from this year. A classic tale of war in space and the young boy who has been selected to command Earth's forces in a battle to the death. This is a fast paced story that deals with the forced maturation of a genius child that is tested to his limits and beyond by use of battle games and simulations. Not only is he forced to learn the technologies and strategies he will need but also endure the loneliness brought on by the envy, jealousy and awe of his peers. Added to all this is the realisation that everyone believes he is the last hope of victory in the war against the buggers.

Just wish that I'd first read this 20 or even 30 years ago (so what if it wasn't even published then).

Authors E - L.A. Confidential by James Ellroy is a dark sprawling tale of crime and corruption surrounding the LAPD in the Fifties. The movie version is hailed as a classic (deservedly so imo) but the book takes things much deeper, expanding on characters and the timescale lasting around a decade. The cops are just as brutal as the criminals if not more so but the motivations of the characters are fully explained. There's a lot going on in this book and you need to pay attention to the plot as it develops. I haven't read the other books in this series but I fully intend to pick them up at some point after reading this one.

Authors F - Stephen Fry - The Stars' Tennis Balls.

It's a re-working of the story of The Count of Monte Cristo so if you know anything of that tale you will know what happens in this one though it has been updated to the modern era. Basically, a young witless fop who just happens to be good at everything he does is betrayed by his friends and fate and ends up sequestered in an asylum for the next ten years of his life. Wherein he is taken under the wing of another of that establishments inmates and given an education into the finer points of life such as chess, languages and philosophy. Upon his escape he seeks revenge on those that put him there and cost him the love of his life. This is a wonderful homage to Alexandre Dumas and though I've enjoyed the other literary work of Mr. Fry this one surpasses the others by a long way.

AHS-Wolfy - I love The Count of Monte Cristo ... well, actually everything that I have read by Dumas... and Stephen Fry. Suffice to say, I have tracked down a copy of The Stars' Tennis Balls and added it to my TBR pile based on your post above. Thanks and happy reading!

Ikernagh, I forgot to mention that this work was originally released with the title of Revenge. Hopefully that's not one you already have in your collection. I think my favourite adaptation of the story is an anime series called Gankutsuou. Took a couple of episodes to get used to the style of artwork (it was so different to anything else around at that time) but I was really glad I stuck with it.

Titles F The Forever War by Joe Haldeman

A first person account of a 1100 year war (although due to time dilation it only lasts 10 years for the narrator) between humans and an alien species. Starting out while still in training it moves on to the first encounter pretty quickly. Having survived this he returns to a radically altered socio-political environment on Earth. Unable to re-adjust he returns to active duty supposedly as an instructor but is immediately disabused of this notion and transferred into a combat unit. Wounded in his first action he is sent to a hospital planet to recuperate. Once again he learns of massive changes to the human way of life. At this time, being one of the oldest people alive and one of only a few survivors from the first wave he is sent as commander of a mission to the furthest reaches of space where he has to set up a base and hold off the enemy he will encounter. Shaped by the authors experiences of the Vietnam conflict it not only describes the futility of war but also touches on subjects such as economics, population control through sexual orientation and hypnotic conditioning of recruits. A fast paced corker of an SF classic.

L.A. Confidential has just gone on my wish list, sounds like a really good read. The other night the movie was on TV and my husband and I were hooked again - what a great movie!

The movie's great but the book is even better. The expanded time frame gives the characters more depth and the threads of the story are developed more naturally.

You know I have never read The Forever War which is odd as it sounds really good. Thanks for the review.

I also second the recommendation of L.A. Confidential (although I like the film equally, very different though)

Ellroy has a noir trilogy, which starts with American Tabloid (the only one I've read so far), and which is excellent. His memoir, My Dark Places is also fascinating--his mother was murdered, which (obviously) strongly affected his whole life.

The only Haldeman I've read is Old Twentieth and I really loved it. Might have to give The Forever War a try. Thanks for the review!

Message edited by its author, Oct 8, 2009, 2:36pm.

@31 aruba, I've managed to pick up The Black Dahlia, which is the start of the L.A. Quartet, by trawling the 2nd hand bookshops today so that's where I'll be heading when I next pick up an Ellroy novel. I tend not to read too much about authors tending to just stick with the stories they create so I never knew that about his mother.

@30 & 32, clfisha & Victoria, that was also the first of his works that I've read but have now gone onto Forever Free which continues the story from where it was left with The Forever War. It's generally less well regarded (I'm being polite about that here) but as I own the omnibus edition I thought I might as well carry on.

Authors G - Robert Goddard - Dying to Tell

Another title from the Thriller Seekers boxset though this one is considerably better than Mr. Forsyth's effort (see A Title). It starts with our hero being asked to look into the disppearance of his long-time friend by the family of the disappeared. He agrees to take a trip from his home in Somerset to London to investigate what's been going on. Caught up in events which take a decidedly criminal turn (fraud and theft) he's soon travelling to Berlin in the company of a Japanese businessman who helps him uncover the first part of the story. Pretty soon he's in too deep to pull out of what he's gotten into and travels halfway around the world folowing the clues to try and get to the truth. Not a great book but a pretty decent one nonetheless with the tension being ratcheted up at every step until the final showdown.

Titles G - Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson

Often in fantasy series you can pretty much predict what was going to happen next and who would survive until the end. With this one I didn't have a clue. From the beginning where you are plonked right into the middle of a continent spanning war to the final conclusion of this first volume of the Malazan series the pace just doesn't let up. You can really get lost in this book as there is very little in the way of exposition and the depth of the world system is truly staggering. I think you can probably tell that I liked this book.

Message edited by its author, Oct 18, 2009, 7:32pm.

Titles H - Harry's Game by Gerald Seymour

A senior politician is assassinated in London by the IRA. The Prime Minister is not happy and wants something done quickly. No leads immediately present themselves so an undercover agent is required. Up steps Harry Brown, a soldier with the necessary background. Chosen to infiltrate the Catholic community in Belfast to see what he can discover after an intensive 3 week training course.

Excellent characters backing up a good story which deals with the conflict in Northern Ireland without pulling punches from either side. I can't remember the film or if I've even seen it so I might have to look into finding a copy to see how it compares.

Have you read other Gerald Seymours? I really like his work although I haven't read Harry's Game yet, but it's on my wish list. I plan on using him as my 'S' author. I will be reading Traitor's Kiss.

No, that was my first one. Have it as part of a box set called thriller seekers which has 8 books by different authors which was being sold cheap by a high street retailer. I think Harry's Game was his first book so if that's any indication of his work then I will be keeping an eye out for more in the 2nd hand shops though.

Authors H - William Heaney - Memoirs of a Master Forger

Although this book is targeted at the Fantasy market I think that this does it a great dis-service as it will limit the amount of people that will get to read it and that really is a shame. The fantasy element is a touch of magical realism as the autobiographical author, William Heaney*, can see demons. Not the slavering, big teeth and claws that'll rip you to shreds type of demon but those that cause all the little moments of suffering you encounter in your life. Flashbacks tell us how this came about and how it's shaped the life of our narrator. Ultimately, this is a warm-hearted, uplifting and moving story of life and how we choose to live it.

*a pseudonym of Graham Joyce

Authours I Francis Iles - Malice Aforethought

Purported to be one of the first psychological thrillers this groundbreaking work informs the reader from the outset who the murderer is. It then goes on to describe the circumstances of the how and why the plot was manifested. Told from the point of view of the protagonist with moments of real wit and cleverness that you can't quite help yourself liking him just a little.

Titles I - I, Robot by Isaac Asimov

A good collection of stories that bears little resemblance to the movie. What I didn't realise when I started this book was that I'd already read it as all the stories contained here were included in The Complete Robot which was included in my 999 challenge. This being the case I found myself drifting through it this time around and it would be unfair of me to judge it on this basis.

#40 Oooh - Malice Aforethought looks interesting - I've added it to the wishlist. My library only has it in audio, so I hope it's a good reader.

@41, I honestly wasn't sure that I'd like it much but was pleasantly surprised and it turned out a pretty decent read. Hope you get someone who can do it justice when you check it out.

#40, 41 ditto for me, although luckily my library does have a copy (which makes a change).

Authors J Jerome K. Jerome - Three Men in a Boat

A humourous tale of an adventure of three young men (and a dog) that take a trip up the river Thames on a rented boat to escape the drudgery of their work as clerks in the Victorian age. Despite it's age and subject matter this feels more of a contemporary book than, say, the Jeeves books. The humour is more observational than situation comedy though there is enough of the latter to keep fans amused (The fish in the inn springs readily to mind). A classic that I am glad to have read.

Titles J Jumper by Steven Gould

Wanting to be away from his abusive father, 17 year-old Davey realises he has the ability to jump (teleport to the rest of us) when he relocates to the local library in the blink of an eye. The story progresses from there with him learning to come to terms with his ability and the new life he creates for himself and the decision of what to use his power for. While there were some interesting elements to this book it just didn't really grab me and by the end I felt there was a wasted opportunity with this story. Not bad but could have been better.

Titles K - Killing Floor by Lee Child

This is the first book in the ongoing Jack Reacher series. An ex-military policeman turned drifter heads to a small town in Georgia and is immediately arrested for murder. Released when his alibi checks out he decides to stick around and investigate a bit more with the help of a more than friendly local female cop. Many coincidences and lots of violence later sees the not so overwhelming culmination of the events. Despite that it's not a bad book and covers pretty much all the bases for this genre. I will at some point pick up the next title and see how things progress.

I'm reading Three Men in a Boat - at last - for my 'J' read and finding it absolutely wonderful! The perfect antidote to these dark and drizzly winter days we're having right now.

I often have trouble getting into the older books. I think it's the style of writing that puts me off. But with that one I never had any problems. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

I know what you mean - often with more densely-written classics I have to start reading them when I have enough time to read a few chapters to get myself off to a good start, or even read them semi-aloud to myself, under my breath, until I 'settle in' to them a bit. But you're right, this one feels more modern, somehow, whilst also retaining the charm of its age. So far so good!

Authors K Simon Kernick - The Business of Dying

A slightly disillusioned old school detective justifies his involvement on the wrong side of the law by only going after the bad guys. This time, however, things haven't gone according to plan when he discovers that he's killed some innocent people. He manages to suppress his internal dilemma by immersing himself in another murder investigation and doesn't accept that the readily available fall-guy is as guilty as he seems. This was a fast paced thriller with enough plot twists to keep things moving and not too bad of a debut novel though I'm in no rush to pick up it's sequel unless I see it available cheaply that is.

Titles L - Lights Out by Jason Starr

Wasn't really impressed by this one. Essentially it's a love triangle set against a baseball backdrop. Two kids growing up together are destined to make it to the Majors. One does and gets the superstar lifestyle while the other picks up a career ending injury and ends up a housepainter back home. Superstar returns home all set to announce wedding plans to his long standing fiancée only to find she's been seeing housepainter and intends to call of the engagement. Characters I couldn't care about in any shape or form and the constant shoving of brand name clothing and musical artists being rammed down your throat every other page was a real turn-off.

Authors L - Elmore Leonard - Rum Punch

Glad the next book was so much more likable. Perfectly adapted into the movie Jackie Brown with great characters and even better dialogue. Down on her luck stewardess earning extra income by bringing gun-runner's money into the country gets stopped by ATF law enforcement agency and agrees to help setup the gun-runner in exchange for charges against her being dropped. Lots of twists and turns in this one but it''s easy enough to follow and is highly recommended if you like the genre and/or the movie adaptation.

I loved the movie "Jackie Brown". Also I've read a lot of Elmore Leonard's westerns. I'll have to give his crime novels a try one of these days.

It was the first one of his that I've read. I had the opportunity to pick up a couple of others at the same time I bought this but I usually only pick up one title by a new to me author to see how I like their style. Knowing the story from the movie I thought there was a good chance that I'd enjoy the book so that was the one I chose. Probably too late to grab the others now as I don't recall seeing them still on the shelf when I was last in the shop.

I do that all the time, get one book and then decide I love the author, rush out to buy the next one and they are gone! Of course it has worked the other way for me as well, getting stuck with a couple of books that I don't care for. But in El ore Leonard's case I'm pretty sure I would love anything by him cause I sure like his westerns.

The only problem with Rum Punch is that if you know the movie then there will be few surprises for you in the novel. The film is a pretty faithful adaptation, only changing the name and skin colour of the titular character.