This Old Neon Forum

I finished Dune. What a beast. I'm moving onto Jin Yong's Legends of the Condor Heroes I: A Hero Born now. It's a martial arts classic in China but it's only just been translated, so I imported a copy of the first volume from the UK. I wonder how quickly the other volumes will be translated...

1. 01-29 Gai-Jin (1993), James Clavell (American)
2. 02-04 Alden Nowlan: Selected Poems (1996), Alden Nowlan (Canadian)
3. 02-08 Ablutions (2009), Patrick deWitt (Canadian)
4. 02-24 The Subtle Knife (1997), Philip Pullman (British)
5. 04-01 Dune (1965), Frank Herbert (American)

Dune was good overall. It took 300 pages before the novel really moved beyond the introduction, and then there was a lot of action, and then an abrupt and unsatisfying ending. Still, the overarching narrative made it a worthy read, even if it didn't go the way I'd hoped it would.

I finished Dune as well. I just adore this book. I agree the ending is abrupt. I love the prose though so even the setup part of the book is engaging to me. This was my first reread of it.

I also reread Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. I liked it a lot. It’s a really good story and quite engaging. I’m blown away that she wrote it when she was that young (like 23 or something).

Finally I read Dune: Messiah for my first time, which kind of wraps up Paul’s legacy from the first Dune. Lots of politics and plotting and arguing. Overall a really fun book, but not as good as the first one.

I’m currently working on Arabian Nights and QBVII. Good times.

Glad to be back on the horse after Dune took me so long.

I finished Legends of the Condor Heroes I: A Hero Born. It was pretty good! It's definitely a martial arts / Kung Fu genre novel though. Lots of staples, like martial arts code names, rival schools, creative moves, and fight set-pieces in pretty much every chapter (action is how the action moves forward). The plot is interesting, though. Looking forward to the release of the second volume.

1. 01-29 Gai-Jin (1993), James Clavell (American)
2. 02-04 Alden Nowlan: Selected Poems (1996), Alden Nowlan (Canadian)
3. 02-08 Ablutions (2009), Patrick deWitt (Canadian)
4. 02-24 The Subtle Knife (1997), Philip Pullman (British)
5. 04-01 Dune (1965), Frank Herbert (American)
6. 04-16 Legends of the Condor Heroes I: A Hero Born (2018), Jin Yong (Chinese)

I'm lagging on books by women this year, so I'm either going to pick up Le Guin's Dispossessed next, or Jemisin's Fifth Season.

Kong Wen wrote: ↑18 Apr 2018 13:22 I'm lagging on books by women this year, so I'm either going to pick up Le Guin's Dispossessed next, or Jemisin's Fifth Season.

Both. I finished The Fifth Season on Friday, and I'm a couple chapters into The Dispossessed now. The Fifth Season is an excellent fantasy novel. It does a great job of setting up its world and culture without bashing you over the head with a sledgehammer. It doesn't open with tons of jargon. The world is familiar enough while still encouraging your curiosity to learn more about how society works. And the main characters are interesting. The plot unfolds in an interesting way, too.

I was initially hoping to get away with just reading the first book, since it's part of a trilogy, but the ending left me wanting more, so I'll be picking up the next one eventually.

1. 01-29 Gai-Jin (1993), James Clavell (American)
2. 02-04 Alden Nowlan: Selected Poems (1996), Alden Nowlan (Canadian)
3. 02-08 Ablutions (2009), Patrick deWitt (Canadian)
4. 02-24 The Subtle Knife (1997), Philip Pullman (British)
5. 04-01 Dune (1965), Frank Herbert (American)
6. 04-16 Legends of the Condor Heroes I: A Hero Born (2018), Jin Yong (Chinese)
7. 04-27 The Fifth Season (2015), N. K. Jemisin (American)

I finished up The Dispossessed over the weekend. It was really interesting and multifaceted. It was very much a biographical novel, following the current exploits and also past growth and development of the main protagonist. Very interesting study of not only two different societies, but five of them.

1. 01-29 Gai-Jin (1993), James Clavell (American)
2. 02-04 Alden Nowlan: Selected Poems (1996), Alden Nowlan (Canadian)
3. 02-08 Ablutions (2009), Patrick deWitt (Canadian)
4. 02-24 The Subtle Knife (1997), Philip Pullman (British)
5. 04-01 Dune (1965), Frank Herbert (American)
6. 04-16 Legends of the Condor Heroes I: A Hero Born (2018), Jin Yong (Chinese)
7. 04-27 The Fifth Season (2015), N. K. Jemisin (American)
8. 05-09 The Dispossessed (1974), Ursula K. Le Guin (American)

I'm now reading an academic monograph adapted from a doctoral dissertation written by a friendly fellow who was a colleague during my MA. Video games are a topic.

I've picked up reading after a long period of time. Continuing with the Shadowrun series where I left off, still got more to read from this series. Maybe I'll start with the Dune (and pre-Dune) series at some point if the reading doesn't come to a halt again.

I’ve since finished Arabian Nights, which was quite good if a bit long. Some of the stories were much better than others, but that’s how it goes, isn’t it?

I also read Terry Brooks’ latest, The Black Elfstone, in anticipation of meeting him in June. It was pretty good with lots of interesting threads set up. Am interested to see where the series goes.

I’m on the cusp of finishing Deadly Streets by Harlan Ellison. Am chipping away at Aristotle too.

I've finished the Shadowrun novel I was reading and started a new one: #38/40 Ragnarock. Will have to order #40 soon so I've got the complete series.

So, stuff I've been reading since:

The North Water by Ian McGuire
About a murderer on a whaling ship. Was quite a page turner with some rather dark moments.
Note that this isn't a mystery or Agatha Christie-type of story. You know whats going on at pretty much all times.

The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin
Already mentioned that I loved the book. The observations on the different societies are fascinating.

I checked out some Audiobooks of different Terry Prachett books. Mort, Reaper Man and Guards, Guards!
I read them ~20 years ago and they are still smart and funy, but also drag a little in the second half.
Once you realize what the book is going for, it isn't as surprising or quite as funny anymore.
Still, I like them.

The House on the Borderland by William Hope Hodgson
From the realm of weird fiction. A house with contact to an alternate dimension inhabited by mutant pigmen.
Gets downright surreal in the second half as the perception of time is screwed up.
Liked it.

I read Northern Lights and The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman
I enjoyed the first but the second one was kinda unsatisfying. From a girl looking for her friend and dad to a interdimensional plot to murder God... and kinda fast too. A bit much. Not sure if/when I find the will to read the final volume.

I started to read The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers and finished the first chapters (long enough to realize that this is the origin of Futuramas suicide booths) but I kinda bounced off. May try to finish it at some point.

I started Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman and I like his take on the old stories. In addition I started Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory and damn... how many magic swords does Arthur get. He pulls Excalibur out of the stone like 5 times until everybody is convinced and it kinda breaks again right away.
Both of these are neat gap-fillers as the chapters are more or less standalone stories.

Finally, I started The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood. Though I find myself not quite in the right mood for it.
Will see if I pull through or read something else first.

I finished Harlan Ellison’s Deadly Streets today which was a fantastic collection of short stories about street crime. Some of these will stick with me for a while. I was impressed overall.

I also did a few quick reads of Journey under the Sea by R.A. Montgomery. I enjoyed it quite a bit for what it is (a choose your own adventure book). My mother had bought it for me recently as she knew I liked them a lot as a kid. I’ve even got a dozen or so autographed ones!