Novel Currently Read...

[serleran]

I did another cursory search and did not find the old thread, so I figured a rebirth wouldn't hurt...

What novel, anthology, novella, short story, or whatever else are you reading which is not an actual RPG item (though may be directly or indirectly related), regardless of genre?

For me, my wife bought me The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane and I plan on reading it over my end-of-the-year vacation.

[Go0gleplex]

Haven't gotten any new books in some time. However, I just finished re-reading The "Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn" trilogy by Tad Williams. The individual book names are "The Dragonbone Chair", "Stone of Farewell", and "Green Angel Tower". Pretty epic in scope and the books are rather thick...but definitely a good read. Some good monster and magic item ideas in it.

[nwelte1]

Just got Towers of Midnight (Jordan & Sanderson). Plowing through it as fast as I can.

[Demiurge]

I'm reading Goblin War, the third book in the Goblin trilogy by Jim C. Hines. The series is fantasy with a liberal dose of humor. It's a light read, but still fun.

[Geleg]

just finished Old Filth by Jane Gardam, and before that A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers.

Now it's Plain Tales from the Raj, edited by Charles Allen

[Rigon]

I'm currently rereading The Dragon Reborn on my way to finally finishing the WoT series.

R-

[LordSeurek]

I am currently reading Gauntlgrym: Neverwinter, Book I . Good book thus far in light of the events from the end of his last trilogy.

L.S.

[Breakdaddy]

...for the third time. Why this author is not as well known as many lesser sci fi authors perplexes me.

[finarvyn]

Rereading Vance's The Eyes of the Overworld again.

[JediOre]

I was given the first Harry Potter book for Christmas from my niece and nephew. I'm on chapter five.

[Bowbe]

Moby Dick. If you read it and think "cabin boy" instead of a serious literary discourse on the struggle of a man vs. his god it's hilarious! Especially the homoerotic relationship between Queequeg and Ishmael.

[LordSeurek]

Once every blue moon, I read a non-fantasy book. Doing that now.

Along Came a Spider by James Patterson. My wife has all the Patterson books. Over 1/2 thru now and very much enjoying the life of Alex Cross!

EDIT: Just finished it. Highly recommend! Gonna watch the movie on Wed. See how bad a job they do. Then again, Morgan Freeman plays cross, so should be good.

L.S.

[Omote]

Currently reading Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff. I saw the movie The Eagle over the weekend, and liked it a great deal. I decided to see what all the hubub about these novels were.

~O

[dachda]

Took a busy month and a half, but just re-read all the Patrick O'Brian Napoleonic era Royal Navy novels for the third time. Best historical fiction ever written. As good as any fantasy at dropping the reader into another time and place. Got hooked on these when I got lucky and won a place in a writing class with Ursula Le Guin, someone asked her how to transition their characters between tow places, and she simply said "Read Patrick O'Brian". She was so right.

Okay my rave is over. Here's the list though:

1. Master and Commander (1970)
2. Post Captain (1972)
3. HMS Surprise (1973)
4. The Mauritius Command (1977)
5. Desolation Island (1978)
6. The Fortune of War (1979)
7. The Surgeon's Mate (1980)
8. The Ionian Mission (1981)
9. Treason's Harbour (1983)
10. The Far Side of the World (1984)
11. The Reverse of the Medal (1986)
12. The Letter of Marque (1988)
13. The Thirteen Gun Salute (1989)
14. The Nutmeg of Consolation (1991)
15. Clarissa Oakes (1992) - (The Truelove in the USA)
16. The Wine-Dark Sea (1993)
17. The Commodore (1995)
18. The Yellow Admiral (1996)
19. The Hundred Days (1998)
20. Blue at the Mizzen (1999)
21. The Final Unfinished Voyage of Jack Aubrey (2004) - (21 in the USA)

[Breakdaddy]

[Geleg]

Best historical fiction ever written.

Word 'dat. Awesome books. I re-read 'em all again in 2009, I think. For a while I was posting favorite lines to my fb page, but eventually I found there were too many and that my quotations were running to several pages in length. Still a favorite has to be "Why Jack! You've debauched my sloth!" [paraphrased, but pretty close to the actual text]

I just read a surprisingly good steampunk-y novel by Mark Hodder called _[Burton and Swinburne in] the Strange Affair of Spring heeled Jack_. The explorer Richard Burton stars with Algernon Swinburne in this entertaining alt-historical-fantasy novel.

[narpet]

I'm reading Threat From the Sea (trilogy compilation) by Mel Odom. I think it was recommended here quite a while back and I began reading it. I finished the first book and I'm about halfway through the second book. I'm really enjoying it, but I haven't found much time to read lately, so it's been sitting for months. I hope to finish it... if I can just make time...

[CKDad]

Plowed through a few things recently on my Nook:

Caryatids by Bruce Sterling. Not up to par with some of his earlier works like Islands in the Net - lots of authorial exposition became distracting - but still, some interesting notions in his near-future vision.

Deep State by Walter Jon Williams. This is the sequel to his excellent This Is Not A Game and turned out to be amazingly prescient: the topic is technologically-catalyzed, people-powered revolutions in the Middle East. Written over a year ago and released even as the situation in Tahrir Square was still playing out. You don't need to have read TINAG to enjoy this one, though it will probably help to have done so.

The Spirit Ring by Lois McMaster Bujold. This is her first fantasy work, originally published back in 1992 and recently released in e-reader form. Set in early Renaissance Italy near the Swiss border, it's got a neat integration of magic into that world, and some really interesting notions about spirits, kobolds, and elemental magic.

I'm now reading a biography of Robert Heinlein that had been in the queue - fascinating stuff. Just getting to the part where he started writing in the 1930s.

[serleran]

I am reading an anthology of Sherlock Holmes stories. Interesting to think that some of the best, to me, writing came out a duel between writers... in this case Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Edgar Allan Poe.

[SaveVsFail]

Just started the new (well new here anyhow) Malazan novel Stoneweilder. Which reminds me I should probably finish the Dust of Dreams at some point. Also going to grab the final Black Company omnibus in the near future and sort it out.

Also just finished Soul Hunter, one of the WH40k novels, following the Noght Lords around in all of their chaos-ey angst.