-----Board targets: Totals and Specifics-----
SilentRoamer
Totals: 20/20 + 1 short
Specifics:
H. G. Wells - War of the Worlds - Read 20/01/2014.
Adrian Tchaikovsky - Heirs of the Blade - Read 27/05/2015.
Susannah Clarke - Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell - In progress
Daniel Keyes: Flowers for Algernon - Read 14/01/2015.
Frank Herbert: Dune - Read 13/02/2015. Dune Messiah - Read 21/02/2015 Children of Dune - Read 20/03/2015
Dan Simmons: Endymion Duology
Hugh Howey: Wool
Cormac McCarthy: Blood Meridian or The Road - Read 05/08/2015
R. Scott Bakker: TUC
Joe Abercrombie: First Law and/or Shattered Sea Trilogy. The Blade Itself - Read 27/03/2015 Before They Are Hanged - Read 06/04/2015 Half A King - Read 16/04/2015 The Last Argument of Kings - Read 23/06/2015
Books not on my list:
Alfred Bester: The Stars My Destination - Read 11/04/2015.
Olaf Stapledon: Star Maker - Read 01/05/2015.
E. M. Forster: The Machine Stops - Read 01/05/2015.
Isaac Asimov: The Stars Like Dust - Read 22/07/2015.
James. S. A. Corey: Leaviathan Wakes - Read 24/08/2015.
Joe Haldeman: The Forever War - Read 29/08/2015.
Timothy Zahn: Heir to the Empire - Read 22/09/2015. Dark Force Rising Read 23/10/2015. The Last Command Read 21/11/2015.
Jo Zebedee: Inish Carraig - Read 27/11/2015.
-Francis Buck-
Totals: Not specified.
Specifics:
J.R.R. Tolkien - LotR trilogy straight through.
William Gibson: Neuromancer.
More Peter Watts.
At least one of the last few Cormac McCarthy books not read yet.
Books not on list:
William Shakespeare: Macbeth - Read 23/07/2015
-Wilshire-
Totals: 12/10
Specifics:
Steven Erikson: Complete Malazan. House of Chains - Read 20/04/2015 Midnight Tides - Read 26/08/2015 Bonehunters - Read 14/09/2015 Reaper's Gale - Read 23/09/2015 Toll the Hounds - Read 14/10/2015
R. Scott Bakker: TUC
Books not on list:
Susanna Clarke: Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norell - Read 02/03/2015
Arthur C. Clarke: Space Odyssey: 2001 - Read 26/05/2015
Isaac Asimov: The Gods Themselves - Read 26/05/2015
Philip K. Dick: Divine Invasion - Read
Andy Weir: The Martian Read 27/10/2015
R. Scott Bakker: The Darkness that Comes Before Read 16/12/2015
Patrick Rothfuss: The Name of the Wind Read 28/12/2015
-Garet Jax-
Totals: 8/10 - Revised target from 5! - New BHAG of 10!
Specifics: Would like to read:
Isaac Asimov: Second Foundation - Read
Steven Erikson: Deadhouse Gates - Read
Would like to start and finish:
Steven Erikson: Memories of Ice - Read
Steven Erikson : House of Chains - Read 28/02/2015
Marc Seifer: Wizard, The Life and Times of Nikola Tesla : Biography of a Genius
Joe Abercrombie: The Blade Itself - Read 04/03/2015
Frank Herbert: Dune: Messiah, Dune: Children of Dune, Dune: God Emperor of Dune, Dune: Heretics of Dune, Dune: Chapterhouse.
Would like to start:
Dan Simmons: Hyperion
More stories from Swords from the West: Harold Lamb,
R. Scott Bakker: TUC
James Corey: Leviathan Wakes - Re-Read 25/09/2015 Calibans War - Read 01/10/2015
Peter V. Brett: Skull Throne - Re-Read 03/11/2015
-Royce-
Totals: Not specified.
Specifics:
Well, I will also stick to Malazan this year. Those 7.5 books will cover my fiction reading, as I always read non fiction on alongside fiction. On the non fiction side I have two big tomes by Carl Jung and an even bigger tome by Oswald Spengler. When I get through those I will hopefully get around to read "The basic Bakunin" which is a work that covers many of his theories and speeches(Anarchism).
Paul Kearney: Monarchies of God - Read 22/09/2015
-Camlost-
Totals: 6/10
Specifics:
J.R.R. Tolkien: Unfinished Tales
Joe Abercrombie: Best Served Cold
George R. Martin: A Dance with Dragons
Mark Lawrence: Prince of Thorns - Read King of Thorns - Read Emperor of Thorns - Read
Richard Morgan: The Dark Defiles
Steven Erikson and maybe so Esslemont novels: The Crippled God
Olaf Stapledon: Last and First Men
Stephen Hawking: A Brief History of Time
Simon Price and Peter Thonemann: The Birth of Classical Europe
Also has two enormous tomes of Lovecraft and Poe short stories I'll be digging through
Possible Dune
Books not on list:
Edited by Jeff Van Dermeer: Fast Ships, Black Sails - Read
Patrick Rothfuss: The Slow Regard of Silent Things - Read
Dan Simmons: Hyperion - Read 05/06/2015
-Alia-
Totals:
Specifics:
Scott Lynch: Republic of Theives
Roger Zelazny: The Corwin Cycle - Read
Scott Lynch: Republic of Thieves - Read 27/12/2015
Other untranslated works
-H-
Totals: 9/7
John M. Hamilton: Light - Read.
Ian Tregillis: The Mechanical - Read.
Niccolò Machiavelli: The Prince - Currently reading
Italo Calvino: Invisible Cities - Read 03/09/2015
N. K. Jemison: The Fifth Season - Read 11/09/2015
Peter Watts: Blindsight - Read 16/09/2015
Peter Watts: Echopraxia - Read 21/09/2015
James Corey: Leviathan Wakes - Re-Read 02/10/2015 Caliban's War Read 14/10/2015
-Mr. Ganandorf-
Totals: None given
Andreas Eschbach: Lord of All Things: one of those scifi books that gets filed in the 'Lit' section. perhaps a bit slow, chronicle of a complicated relationship between a French woman and a Japanese/American man. includes magic, nanobots, aliens, ancient mysteries, the Devil's Island, and an ending that would make an Inchoroi smile. was a really good, tragic book. - Read
Laline Paull:The Bees: 1984 for bees, but that's how they like it. some interesting chivalry stuff imported into the story BUT the author really tries really hard not to over-humanizing the bees. lots of descriptions involve scent. - Read
Andy Weir: The Martian: MacGuyver on the Red Rock. Very fun. - Read
Mark Haddon: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time: pov of an autistic boy trying to solve the mystery of a dog's death. author seems to have done a ton of research for what it's like to see the world this way. - Read
Herman Koch: The Dinner: fancy eating parallels increasing distressing acts of violence, can recommend. - Read
Scott Hawkins: Library at Mount Char: a really different kind of fantasy set in the present and really disconnected from other trends, i think. the most powerful person in the world is missing and his proteges are dealing with it, falls a bit slack at the end, but was well worth it. - Read
Luke Smitherd: The Stone Man Read
Rob Dircks: Where the Hell is Tesla Read
Wicked Read
A Confederacy of Dunces Read
Pippi Longstocking Read
Walter Miller: A Canticle for Leibowitz Read
Red Rising and Golden Son Read
Well I finished Dune Messiah last night.
What a book. You literally cannot miss even a few pages as everything is so condensed. Had to re-read the Stone Burner section again and re-read the ending as well. Really enjoyed this book - tonally it felt different from Dune, left me guessing a lot more. Was very surprised when it started 12 years in the future from Dune - although the questions this left me with were pretty delicious. Loved Scytale and Bijaz - great devilish additions. The ending was so bittersweet.
Okay - I was going to take a break and move onto some fantasy (Rothfuss, Abraham, Abercrombie being top of the list) however I think I will finish Children of Dune before I do and then I can stop at the halfway mark leaving myself 3 books to finish when I pick this series back up.
Making good progress on my yearly target - crazy we already almost 1/6th through the year!
Finished Children of Dune last night. Absolutely epic. My assumption is:
Leto grows into a big fucking worm - King Shiah Hulud over the next 3,500 years he has prophesized he will reign for.
Alia is such a great character.
Anyway having a little break from Dune so started reading First Law, enjoying it so far. Comparisons in mind - although there have been a few unpleasant scenes they don't seem to have the same gut impact that Bakkers brutal scenes do. However Abercrombis is a really nice pacing change from Herbert and I am finding it a much easier read - the narrative seems straight forward without being prosaic and boring. About 80 pages in so see how this one goes.
So I finished The Blade Itself.
I actually really enjoyed the book from the 70% mark onwards:
I liked the House of the Maker and the ideas behind that, sort of reminded me of the Wixards Keep in the Sword of Truth only much better done. I wasn't particularly impressed with Logans transformation into "The Bloody Nine" but I guess more explanation to come on that - I also kind of saw it coming as I wasnt getting how his rep matched his so far decent but by no means legendary fighting rep. That scene kind of reminded me of Dace/Tarantio scenes in David Gemmells Dark Moon.
For me what stood out was the humorous tone which I think Abercrombie pulled off exceptionally well. I mentioned on Skype the other day the scene where Jezal was admiring his own jaw for a page or so was great. Ferro is also hilarious, swinging her arms round and hissing at people.
Anyway think I am going to move straight onto Before They are Hanged. Think I will finish this series then finish Dune.