Majkia's Magical Obsessions

New to this group, and have zero expectations of 75. I'm here for the TIOLI and chatter about books since I can't get that in RL.

For about 15 years I read only mystery and more standard fiction. So for the past few years I've been focusing on Fantasy and SciFi trying desperately to catch up with what I missed. It's a losing cause! More keeps getting written! I want a moratorium! Okay, no I don't.

Welcome to the group, Jean!

Sometimes I want a moratorium on more books too. I know how you feel :)

2010 Reads were:


1-Academ's Fury - Codex Alera 2 - Jim Butcher
2-Cursor's Fury - Codex Alera 3 - Jim Butcher
3-Captain's Fury
4-Princep's Fury
5-First Lord's Fury
6-Soulless - Gail Carriger
7-Emissaries from the Dead - Adam-Troy Castro
8-Leviathan- Scott Westerfeld
9-The Alchemyst - Michael Scott
10-World War Z - Max Brooks
11-Peshawar Lancers - SM Stirling
12- Changes - Jim Butcher
13. Gardens of the Moon - Steven Erikson
14-American Gods - Neil Gaiman - unfinished
14. Heat Wave - Richard Castle
15. Alchemy of Stone - Ekatrina Sedia
16. Changeless - Gail Carriger
17. Templar Legacy - Steve Berry
18. Altered Carbon - Richard K Morgan
19. Last Stormlord - Glenda Larke
20. Consider Phlebas - Iain Banks
21. The Name of the Wind - Patrick Rothfuss
22. Enchanted, Inc - Shanna Swendson
23. Dragon Keeper - Robin Hobb
24. Lies of Locke Lamora - Scott Lynch
25. Acacia - David Anthony Durham
26. Something From the Nightside - Simon R Green
27. Re-Read: Gardens of the Moon - Steven Erikson
28. Night of Knives - Ian C. Esslemont
29.Deadhouse Gates - Steven Erikson
30.The Half-Made World - Felix Gilman
31.Outlander- Diana Gabaldon - ABANDONED
32.The Blade Itself - Joe Abercrombie (begun yesterday)

Welcome! I'm probably going to get caught up on some more recent fantasy as well this year. We'll have to keep in touch!

#4 - Indeed!

And to all: A Happy New Year! I hope all our dreams come true.

Got you starred--science fiction and fantasy make up the majority of my reading as well. It will be interesting to see what you are reading this year.

Happy New Year, Jean!

The Emerald Coast of Florida - about 15 minutes from my house

Niiiiice!

Oh, that looks lovely! I was out in the car a little while ago and the thermometer there read 9 degrees F. (above zero). This picture is like mind candy! Thanks!

Karen O.

The only part of living in Florida I miss - the ocean and views like that.

Oh Jean, that's beautiful! So jealous right now.

Hullo everyone. Am reading in the 75rs Read-a-thon and hoping to finish up The Blade Itself tonight. I've about 80 pages to go.

It's quite a read! I'll do a review but perhaps not until tomorrow after the read-a-thon ends.

Finally finished first book of the year:

1. The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie I'll do the review a bit later. Too busy at the moment. I'll give it 4 stars though. Great read!

Congratulations on getting #1 under your belt, Jean! Good way to start off your reading year too.

Thanks alcottare!

My review of The Blade Itself:

Anti-heroes abound in The Blade Itself . But then, when the world is a place full of violence, where the Inquisition is used to torture anyone into confessing to anything, what exactly is a 'hero' anyway?

Joe Abercrombie creates a bloody and violent world, sadly, a totally believable one. Magic is there, but understated and not well understood. The privileged use and abuse the masses, and are astonished when revolution raises its head.

The characters are all flawed, and worn down and scarred by their lives, all but one self-centered privileged fellow who, despite himself, seems about to finally open his eyes to see what is going on around him. He won't like it.

Reminiscent of George RR Martin's series, A Song of Ice and Fire, you just never know who will step up or who will fall apart. Nor, are you likely to know exactly what is going on any time soon.

Highly recommended.

#16: Nice review, Jean! Thumbs up from me.

Geez, I'm a bit stunned! I just got a DM from torbooks that by retweeting one of their tweets I've won a copy of Farlander. I'm a happy birdie!

Congratulations, Jean!

Finally finished book 2 for the year: Starfarers by Vonda McIntyre. Here's the review:
http://www.librarything.com/work/178750/reviews/68485518

I enjoyed it and had to keep reading!




eta: replaced the link to the review

>20 majkia: So, are you going to read the rest of the series? (btw, the review link isn't working for me--I went to the book page to find it, though.)

yes, I will read the rest. I found the main female characters refreshingly logical and competent!

Nice review, Jean. I will see if my local library has a copy.

Just finished The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms and gave it 4 1/2 of 5 Stars.

What a great read! Great characterization, world building is marvelous and complicated, writing is crisp and flows well, and I was sucked into the world within the first few pages.

Highly recommended. Not happy with my review but it is a hard book to review and not give away the plot!

http://www.librarything.com/work/8103741/reviews/66519812

I know what you mean, majkia. I don't know how to review it either. The ending is different, yet, it takes MarySue to the max if you know what I mean. Heh.

Sooo true, Morphy! But it didn't feel forced, either.

Morphy, Every tiime I write "Morphy" I have to double check to make sure it isn't "Murphy". And I'm afraid I picture you as Murphy from The Dresden Files, lol.

LOL. I don't mind. I like Murphy. And no, it felt natural and not forced. And it wasn't like it was farm girl to "MarySue" either. She started off as nobility.

'Gravity was something something you could beat: all it took was hydrogen, hot air, or even a bit of rope. But being a girl was a miserable, never-ending struggle.' - Behemoth - Scott Westerfeld

LOL.I know the feeling...

Behemoth Review:

What's a girl to do? She;s been pretending to be a boy so she could serve on the Darwinist British Airship Leviathan. And poor Daryn is scrambling to keep her secret, but things keep getting in the way! One, most notably, being the escaped prince of Austria-Hungary who is aboard and is struggling to keep his own secrets.

Between the two of them, well, mayhem ensues. Look out Istanbul, you're in their crosshairs.

Another great read from Scott Westerfeld!

http://www.librarything.com/work/9536897/reviews/62321908

I loved Leviathan. I really need to read Behemoth too.

I have both Leviathan and Behemoth sitting at my house unread. I really must do something about that!

Hi There

I'm compiling a list of birthdays of our group members. If you haven't done so already, would you mind stopping by this thread and posting yours.

Thanks.

http://www.librarything.com/topic/105833

Just finished Blameless by Gail Carriger

What fun! I adore Floote and I'm in lust over Channing Channing of the Chesterfield Channings. Fangirl...

http://www.librarything.com/work/9589660/reviews/64474475

#34: I am still waiting for my local library to get Changeless and Blameless. One of these days I hope it will!

#35 I think the series gets stronger as it goes along. As we learn more and more about Alexia, her father and what she is, the stories get more complex, which is a very good thing! Still funny as hell and tongue-in-cheek, not to mention cheeky, but more intriguing.

#35: Thanks for the input!

Woke up this morning and decided to abandon The Dispossessed. Not a bad book, but I've read a third of it and nothing happens. Well written, mildly interesting protag, but honestly. All he does is sit around and marvel at what a wonder he himself is and how he's abaonded his own world and their sister world for and feels isolated.

I don't need blood and gore and wild abandon in a book, but I do want either a mystery to solve, or a hero to cheer for. Poor whatisname here provides me neither.

My review of Elfland which I enjoyed very much!

http://vyse.blogspot.com/2011/03/review-elfland-by-freda-warrington.html

Finished and reviewed Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch.

What a fun book, and i fell madly in love with Thomas Nightingale. And what exactly is Molly??

Review

Finished The Sorcerer's House by Gene Wolfe

Very very different, in that the story is told in epistolary fashion. Not my favorite method of storytelling, but for this book it worked quite well.

I gave it only 3 and a half stars because I thought the foreshadowing made the outcome a bit too obvious.

Review

we've been bribing bluebirds with crickets bought at the local bait shop. a well spent Sunday afternoon.

Pretty! Thanks for posting the picture, Jean.

Hi Jean

I hope your birthday on the 20th of May was a special day

Aww. thanks! It was. We're off RVing. Limited Internet access but having a great time.

I hope you are getting tons of reading done on your trip, Jean :)

Happy Belated Birthday from me too!

just finished Retribution Falls yesterday. What a fun read.

http://www.librarything.com/review/70700663

Very Firefly-ish. But Mal was a better pirate!

#47: I checked to see if my local library had Retribution Falls. No such luck! Rats.

Glad to see you posting again. It's been a while. Does this mean you are back home again? Where all did you RV to?

Yes, back home. Been back for some time, but was a slacker ;) We travelled from here in Florida to North Carolina where we visited the in-laws. Took our time, and stayed at some great campgrounds in between, though, some for two days just because we could.

We're talking about heading out in a month or two again, this time just for us, no familial duties involved. I'm thinking mountains. Maybe Ashville, NC or somewhere in the Blue Ridge anyway.

Well, hello... followed your porch to your profile and found you here..
welcome! I love the Blue Ridge ....LOVE!

I'd started Magyk and was enjoying it very much but I'm afraid I set it aside for A Dance with Dragons.

Dammit, I'm such a slow reader...

Dance is pretty amazing, and, as usual, GRRM is entirely unpredictable. NOTHING has been going the way I envisioned it would. So all hail to Grumpy who is amazing, and surprising!

#51 .. glad my porch has its own fanclub, lol

#52: So all hail to Grumpy who is amazing, and surprising!

I had to laugh at that!

Oh I'm, as usual, in shock, my mouth hanging open, and wanting to smack GRRM. How can he do this to me!!!!

My Review on Library Thing

Additionally, I pretty much hated Dany in this book. I so wanted to smack her.  As usual, the ones who work the hardest to do the right thing, the smart thing, the honorable thing, are punished for it.  Betrayals and stupid stupid cowardice abound.  As does cruelty, terror, misery and magic. 

Best book of the series so far, IMO.

Nope, not convincing me to start that series. . .

What a great fun read. Gail is back on form, with lots of witty dialogue, twisty plots, and Alexia being her usual bowl everyone over self.

I also really liked the way the consequences of her actions are causing important changes round and to her.

Highly recommended

 

#57: I am looking forward to reading that one. I am glad to see you enjoyed it, Jean.

I just finished The Black Prism by Brent Weeks. Wow. What a terrific read! Lots of action, complex and well-drawn characters, LIKEABLE characters, which is important to me, plot twists, surprises, and wonderful capable women! Kudos. I'm preliminarily rating it 4 stars but I might up that to 4 1/2. I read this for TIOLI August challenge, the one about uncommon first names.

I just finished my review of The Black Prism by Brent Weeks. Find it here.

Also, I upped the stars to

My only complaint is that I thought the cover not very descriptive of the book.

I should also add that I LOVE that the women in the book are awesome!

#60: Wow! Glad to see you enjoyed the book so much. I will have to see if my local library carries it.

Oh yeah. I really did love this. Very funny in a dry way too. And I adored that the most powerful man in the world was always always doubting himself and could fail.

Unfortunately my local library does not carry the book. Rats.

Hard as hell to review this book and not give away spoilers since the entire book is a spoiler for book 12 Changes.

MY LT review is Here

Suffice to say it was a far different take on Harry. With loads of surprises and twists. Some of it I saw coming, some I didn't. Good job!

#64: Yet another series I will get to. . . someday.

Stasia, I understand. I'm reading way too many series already, and I keep wanting to start others!

Yeah, I have that same problem.

Oh dear. I was afraid this was going to happen. I'm completely awed once again by Erikson's Malazan series and I'm afraid I'm going to drop everything else and keep reading...

I just began Memories of Ice and am already sucked in. So complex and so fascinating, layers upon layers of history that he metes out in tiny little bits that you have to put together. I love his writing style

“Thirty-eight bitter, resentful veterans, already twice betrayed. I wasn’t part of the treachery at the siege of Pale, and Laseen’s proclamation of outlawry embraced me as much as it did them. Neither event can be laid at my feet, yet they’re doing it anyway.”

Poor Paran. And what's up with Rake that he isn't at the parlay? And Silverfox! And... And... The Crippled God. Oh, boy.

And Kallor. No one knows who he is? And what's Lady Envy going to do when she runs into Rake who killed her dad Draconus with his own sword?

If you are going to be sucked in, it might as well be an epic fantasy series!

Just finished Memories of Ice and am exhausted! What an ending. Heartwrenching, as I expected, but I do love the flashes of raw humor that pop up at the weirdest of times. Best book yet of the Malazan series.

And oh, gods, I sooo sooo want a book that details Caladan Brood, Anomander Rake and Lady Envy's adventures together.

The second book of the series The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel

I confess to having some major issues with this book. Firstly, this guy is supposed to be brilliant. Uhm, right. He heads off to Paris with the bad guys on his tail, and he HAS NO PLAN.  He wanders around Paris, not knowing or recognizing anything (he’s not been back for years) and didn’t even have an idea who he’d contact for help. Excuse me?

And don’t even get me started on the incompetence of the bad guys. Sheesh. What a bunch of clowns.

And my biggest beef?  The author turns the genius of Niccolo Machiavelli into farce. Seriously???

Granted, it’s a children’s book, but still…  I doubt I’ll read the rest of the series.

A short novel of the necromancers in all their weirdness. Here Emancipur Reese finds employment with the necromancers Bauchelain and Broach. Suitably weird, grim and decidedly strange.

I'm about halfway through The Nights of Villjamur. A couple of observations.

The writing is ... odd. At first I found it rather jarring. I've never been one to worry about complete sentences or slightly off-kilter use of words, but this one has a lot of that. However, that said, the story is interesting and trying to figure out how this world works is definitely keeping my attention.

I don't love any of the characters, at least not yet. One I despise and I keep hoping he's going to evolve into something better. The others are complex enough to keep my interest however, so I'm definitely invested in finishing this book.

I do love how he describes the world, how complex it is, how the descriptions evoke more than just mind pictures but use scent and feel and sound.

Out for a boat ride we played with friends. Damn hard to get a shot of a dolphin, let me tell you....



that white water is a dolphin who dove before I could get the shot.

Looks like a fun boat ride! love love dolphins!

Finished Nights of Villjamur and here's the review

In addition let me say that I really enjoyed the world he evoked with words. There was plenty of action as well, but I like a world that is realized and this one was well-crafted, with plenty of backstory (most of which is not explained which is a good thing) and you can feel the weight of history, long forgotten or erased, which colors the current events.

Interesting 'aliens' and interesting use of magic as well.

Cheese whiskers, but House of Chains by Steven Erikson is a tough read. I'm having to keep the wiki open constantly and then have to pause to check the Tor.com re-read after a chapter. There is SOOOOO much in nearly every chapter I'm sure I've missed a ton of stuff on every page!

And trying to keep the zillions of character straight, especially as so many are from the same families or groups that you can't always remember what the heck that particular dude or dudette was up to.

Hard work to read fantasy! Still, worth it!

I think you have convinced me not to read on in the Nicholas Flamel series! I was not that enamored of the first book--to me, it seemed to borrow a lot from other books without being that original with what it did with them.

Argh! I am close to throwing my Kobo Touch E-Reader into the trash. This last update has TOADALLY screwed the pooch.

I've ordered a new Sony, and can't wait to get it. This Kobo, although the hardware is fine, is being programmed by imbeciles.

Finally completed House of Chains by Steven Erikson, the fourth (or fifth) of the Malazan Book of the Fallen series.

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0765348810.01._SX140_SY225_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg



I haven't written my review yet, I need to let it gel a bit first. And I'm horrible at writing reviews. But I do have a few thoughts on this and the rest of the series I'd like to put down.

First, Erikson juggles people and plots and simultaneous actions in disparate locations. Thinking about how he does it compared to say, George RR Martin, I was struck by how different the approaches are, yet how well both methods work.

While GRRM uses chapters with different POVs throughout his Ice and Fire series, Erikson sticks with the 3rd person subjective, not quite godlike viewpoint. Erikson will switch focus multiple times in a chapter, whereas GRRM for instance, sticks with one setting and one viewpoint per chapter.

The difference becomes huge as Erikson begins to weave the different threads together finally revealing to us how all of it fits together.

For me, to get a full understanding of the breadth and inter-connectedness of the action, I think Erikson's works better.

GRRM's, however, is wonderful at presenting actions and events in a manner skewed to the person who's POV is paramount. We see from multiple people, the same event, and understand how it is interpreted, misunderstood, lost in translation, as it were.

As for House of Chains itself, wow. Many threads which I knew were all related (because I trust the author, not because I was able to guess how all things fit) into a totally unexpected whole. And better yet, Erikson's characters grow and change. The main character whom I hated in the first 1/3 of the book, grows incredibly and changes as his experiences expand. It's quite wonderful (and as I'm comparing this with GRRM, think of Jaimie Lannister's growth and change).

The final scenes were not at all what I expected, not at all what seemed to be coming together. Like GRRM, you really don't know what the heck is going to happen, and for both authors individual characters have a way of 'misbehaving' and not doing at all what one (even the gods) expect.

And I adore Cotillion, much to my astonishment.

As usual, bittersweet endings, but some wonderful revelations, which will, naturally, keep me reading the series eagerly.

I'm re-reading The Man with a Load of Mischief. Aww. I'd forgotten how much I LIKE Richard Jury. He's such a sweetie.

The guilty flee, thought Jury sighing, when no man pursueth, and so do the innocent.

An unpretentious thriller with a steampunk vibe. It’s reminiscent of pulp thrillers and doesn’t pretend to be anything else. A fun read, but no deep thinking is required.

This is a re-read for me, of a really well-loved cozy. I'd forgotten how much I LIKE Richard Jury. A detective with some issues, but still a nice guy. Not the most difficult mystery to solve, but a nice Christmas-y read.

And of course this is where we meet Melrose Plant another nice guy. They make a fun team and the rest of the series is just as entertaining.

Jean, I'm delighted to find you! In the first place, I was looking for a TIOLI spot for Reamde, and there you had it on the very last challenge, so now I've duplicated you. I must say that it's not what I expect from NS, so I'm a bit disappointed. On the other hand, what a ride!!! I'm here for a break as Marlon and Csongor rescue Yuxia from the terrorist's boat, so I can't stay long.
I've skimmed your thread, and you're reading a lot of interesting stuff. I couldn't make it to the end of The Blade Itself; I wasn't finding anything to redeem the dreariness of all those repulsive characters. I used to like Jury and Plant, especially Plant, but I tired of them before I quit buying, so theoretically, I'll get back. I think it was Aunt Agatha and the fairy cakes that did me in. (Agatha? It's been a long time.)
I'm not impatient to read A Dance with Dragons because I was so furious with GRR for playing cute with A Feast for Crows. Have you read the new P. Rothfuss? It is much more classic fantasy, and I enjoyed it a lot.
I really need to try S. Erickson. BUT FIRST, back to Zula and Company!

I'm a bit more than a third of the way through Reamde and find myself cheering hardest for the Russian! Who'd have thought it! Go Sokolov!

Lizzie: sorry I had to drop off Reamde from TIOLI last month. As you can see I'm still wading through it.

LOL. Agatha is a trial, no doubt!

I read the first Rothfuss and it was okay. I'll probably read the second.

From Reamde: Sokolov's philosophy which I am adopting: Always assume you are about to be f-cked (in the bad way) and have your weapons loaded. I'm with him! I always knew paranoia was an effective, sane and rational life-choice.

Isn't it funny how much we pull for the good guys when, in fact, they're pretty much all sleaze-balls in one way or another. Keep reading. It gets better and better!
And uh oh. If you thought the first Rothfuss was only O.K., you may not want to rush to get to #2. He apparently didn't have an editor for it.

Where the hell is Zokolov?!?! Huh? I know he's sneaking around somewhere! Hurry up and get here! I read Reamde for two hours at bedtime, and still no crazy f-cked Russian! What's up with that?!?!?!

Finished Reamde and here is my review

What a terrific ride. Can't recommend this book highly enough. I'd classify it as a technothriller, rather than sci fi though.

HAHAHAHA!  A comic review of Reamde by Neal Stephenson… SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO true!

My November Tioli reads were:

1. Read a book with an animal mentioned on page 50 :
Goliath Scott Westerfeld

4. Read a book where the author's name is a profession:
Sweet Silver Blues Glen Cook

9. Read a book read and recommended by an LTer in October
Reamde Neal Stephenson (ER book)

16. Read a novel with titled chapters:
The Dragon Turn Shane Peacock (ER book)

December reads are:

Currently The Casebook of Doakes and Haig by Patrick Welch - not all that enamored with it.

Next up are:

River of Gods - Ian McDonald -- Tioli # 2 (book with god or being in title)
Before they Are Hanged - Joe Abercrombie Tioli #13 (book by an author with 4 syllable surname)
Hogfather - Terry Pratchett Tioli #11 (book about a holiday character not Santa)

Finished The Casebook of Doakes and Haig, It was okay. Not crazy about leprechauns in any guise.

Just started River of Gods.

I finished River of Gods this morning. It was the best science fiction I've read in YEARS.

Complex, hard science, futuristic world extrapolated in a realistic fashion. Violent, granted. Still, wonderful.

Best hard science fiction I've read in years. Complex, multi-layered plot, set in a futuristic world which is realistically extrapolated from the world of today. The action can be raw and grim and bloody, and entirely fits into the world McDonald has created.

Highly recommended.

Appropriately enough, I finished Hogfather on the Solstice. :)

Hogfather is a lot of fun and a favorite read for this time of year!

Merry Christmas, Jean!

Thanks Roni. What a cool tree!

Merry Christmas!!

Just finished my 40th and last book for the year, Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie. I've rated it 4 stars, and will think about a review.

A good read if you want to see the sorrows and miseries of men fighting men, and politics and lies from everyone. Not a happy read, but it does contain lots of gallows humor and unexpected twists and turns.