Books - What are you reading?
Discussion
jimmyjimjim said:
Just finished "Hell's foundations quiver" by David Weber.
The safehold series, like the rest of his books are getting more and more formulaic and I find myself almost flick reading them - I certainly gloss over the battles as they're getting almost tiresome.
This is a problem with all of his series - the early novels in each series tend to have smaller skirmishes, but by several books in he's worked up to huge snooze inducing set piece battles that seemingly differ only in the nature of the gruesome death from the viewpoint of the enemy soldier introduced for that purpose.
While I want to know how it's going to end, the vast majority of the journey there isn't that interesting, apart from the bits dealing with the back story.
I wouldn't bother reading the next unless you've already started the series, if it was finished, I'd read up on it on Wikipedia and call it good.
I have also just finished this. I agree completely with you. It's a great idea for a series but 8 books and it appears to be nowhere near finished. 3 to 5 books is fine but eight? The safehold series, like the rest of his books are getting more and more formulaic and I find myself almost flick reading them - I certainly gloss over the battles as they're getting almost tiresome.
This is a problem with all of his series - the early novels in each series tend to have smaller skirmishes, but by several books in he's worked up to huge snooze inducing set piece battles that seemingly differ only in the nature of the gruesome death from the viewpoint of the enemy soldier introduced for that purpose.
While I want to know how it's going to end, the vast majority of the journey there isn't that interesting, apart from the bits dealing with the back story.
I wouldn't bother reading the next unless you've already started the series, if it was finished, I'd read up on it on Wikipedia and call it good.
The Silent Deep, Royal Navy Submarine Service since 1945.
Peter Hennessey and James Jinks.
Recent years there have been a number of books released by ex boat skippers who held command during the Cold War. As interesting as these are they provide only snapshots. This book is very comprehensive, well structured and, whilst isn't an authorised biography, is as near as you're ever going to get.
"Either we all come back, or none of us do."
Peter Hennessey and James Jinks.
Recent years there have been a number of books released by ex boat skippers who held command during the Cold War. As interesting as these are they provide only snapshots. This book is very comprehensive, well structured and, whilst isn't an authorised biography, is as near as you're ever going to get.
"Either we all come back, or none of us do."
Kill Shot - A Mitch Rapp novel - He's a killer for the CIA who goes around killing Terrorists (the covers look very Jack Reacher, but in fact he's a very different character). I read the first one (in chronological, not, I think, release) order and didn't enjoy it hugely as there was far too much back story and highly doubtful events, but this one, focussing (so far) on one incident is much better structured with some proper characters supporting the rather one-dimensional hero.
The Darkness Below - Rod MacDonald is a legend in UK diving circles and this is his second book. I was rather disappointed to read a chapter of this one which simply recounts a chapter in the first. Otherwise it's a great read for a diver, not so sure it would be so good for someone who doesn't dive, but he certainly captures the feeling of UK diving well and some of the deep wreck dives he recounts are very easy to picture. I've never been to 50M or more, but the way he describes it vividly paints a picture in my mind of what it's like.
M
The Darkness Below - Rod MacDonald is a legend in UK diving circles and this is his second book. I was rather disappointed to read a chapter of this one which simply recounts a chapter in the first. Otherwise it's a great read for a diver, not so sure it would be so good for someone who doesn't dive, but he certainly captures the feeling of UK diving well and some of the deep wreck dives he recounts are very easy to picture. I've never been to 50M or more, but the way he describes it vividly paints a picture in my mind of what it's like.
M
jbudgie said:
Laurel Green said:
DoctorX said:
JK Rowling's (or whatever she calls herself) detective books. They're rather good, surprisingly, as I thought Harry Potter was a bag of s
te.
Yep! Have her(Robert Galbraith)latest in my to read pile - enjoyable they are.te.opening chapter..."desultory camera clicking"..."the lethal staircase"...
that and the cliched characterisations even in the early chapters put me off...
Just finished "Vicious Circle" by Wilbur Smith. To be honest it's hard to believe this is written by the same person that wrote the Courtney series set in Africa, and even the more recent Egyptian books, it's just so clumsily written. Every time the main character deals with someone else, great pains are taken to ensure that we know how great the main man is, how rich, how handsome, how clever. Some of the dialogue is sufficiently stilted and patronising it could have come from a Colin Forbes novel.
There was an article a while back where Wilbur was commenting that he was to follow the example of authors like Clive Cussler and James Patterson, where he'll have the basic story idea and get someone else to write it. I can't find any note on the cover mentioning another author, but I can only hope that's what happened here. Kind of explains why there was a pile of new hardback editions in Poundland.
There was an article a while back where Wilbur was commenting that he was to follow the example of authors like Clive Cussler and James Patterson, where he'll have the basic story idea and get someone else to write it. I can't find any note on the cover mentioning another author, but I can only hope that's what happened here. Kind of explains why there was a pile of new hardback editions in Poundland.
Wilbur Smith - God - I think I gave up on him when I was about 14. Anyway, talking of crap novels do avoid Anthony Horowitz's Trigger Mortis - his James Bond book . Utterly dire and the motor sport element is just staggeringly bad and full of silly errors . Of this genre William Boyd's Solo is the best I think - but he is a wonderful novelist
I'm on leave for 3 weeks so set myself the challenge of reading 3 books in 3 weeks ( normally i read maybe 2 a year)
The first book i picked was the booker prize winning a brief history of seven killings.
So far it's good but quite a challenge as it's following 5 maybe 6 characters and a ghost and it's 700 odd pages long so i may of sabotaged my book challenge from the get go.
The first book i picked was the booker prize winning a brief history of seven killings.
So far it's good but quite a challenge as it's following 5 maybe 6 characters and a ghost and it's 700 odd pages long so i may of sabotaged my book challenge from the get go.
droopsnoot said:
Just finished "Vicious Circle" by Wilbur Smith. To be honest it's hard to believe this is written by the same person that wrote the Courtney series set in Africa, and even the more recent Egyptian books, it's just so clumsily written. Every time the main character deals with someone else, great pains are taken to ensure that we know how great the main man is, how rich, how handsome, how clever. Some of the dialogue is sufficiently stilted and patronising it could have come from a Colin Forbes novel.
.
I thought that too. If it were a David Baldacci novel you would think it was about right..
He should also really really leave sex scenes out of his newer books. They read exactly like a 70 year old trying to be risqué. Horrible
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