I’m reading Dean Koontz’s 3rd installment in his Frankenstein trilogy. It had a lot of promise in the first book, but the second seemed like filler to me and did not further the plot much. After several years the last is finally out and I’m happy to finally get to read it. We’ll see how good it is…
I’ll finish Best Served Cold (fantasy) by Joe Abercrombie today. Next up will be something from the John Morressy stack (SF).
Best Served Cold is set in the same world as his First Law trilogy, with new characters, and brief glimpses or mentions of a few from First Law. It’s about a mercenary (a woman). She’s betrayed at the start of the book and sets out for vengeance. There is a lot of killing, small scale and large. Unless Abercrombie does something weird to end the book, I’d recommend it. His writing gets better with each book, and this one had some much-needed humor – it didn’t balance all the bloodletting but it helped.
I’m reading Dean Koontz’s Relentless right now (after laying aside Why We Suck and The Darwin Awards 5) and it might get the hook as well.
I’m halfway through and I’m constantly shaking my head over the identity of the killer: A socioppathic literary critic with unlimited resources, near-omnipotence and the ability to travel like a ghost. It’s stupidly ridiculous and the reviewers have said it has no ending. Maybe I’ll plow through and hope for the best…
Wow. Sounds pretty bad. I’m a fan of Mr. Koontz, but I will admit that his books are somewhat formulaic and after a while even redundant.
However, the first in the Frankenstein trilogy had some real promise and I think overall I will be glad I read this - but the second was such a let down.
I’m reading Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, a tale of Cinderella through her stepsister’s eyes. I really like it so far. I didn’t know there was a tv movie of it made until just now when I looked it up- I’ll need to watch that when I’m done.
I’m reading In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. Very enjoyable book, but it’s definitely going to make me change my eating habits (Darn you Michael Pollan!!)
I just finished Jim Butcher’s Turn Coat…one of the best yet. Then I zipped through Backup (the novella from Thomas’ POV). Meh…but at least it had Bob.
Next up: Food, Inc., how industrial food is making us sicker, fatter, and poorer, by Karl Weber. Nom de Plume, I know how you feel. It’s always interesting to read about food, but sometimes it’s hard to eat afterward!
Yesterday I read Making Money by Terry Pratchett (I am a new Discworld reader, btw.)
Day before that I read Lamentation by Ken Scholes, an excellent fantasy-ish novel. It’s really more about political deal-making and scheming than about swords and orcs. In fact, there are no orcs or other supernatural creatures in the book. There are some strange mechanical “creatures” tho.
Today I’m hoping to get thru The Steel Remains by Richard K. Morgan (again). Really enjoyed it in January; I hope it’s as much fun the 2nd time around.
After that I have Wizard’s First Rule by Terry Goodkind (again), for the same reason as TSR above.
Also have Leonard Susskind’s The Cosmic Landscape for this week, along with Against The Tide Of Years and On the Oceans of Eternity by S. M. Stirling, so that I can get back to the books that take place 22 years after The Change (I read The Sunrise Lands this spring, with no idea that it was a “sequel” of sorts; I like when happy accidents like this happen :))
I’m a few chapters into A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam by Karen Armstrong. So far, I love it and I’m learning a lot. The concept of “God” has evidently been a fairly fluid one throughout history, which is fascinating.
Need to hit the library soon, though, this is the last of my new books.
For those reading the last part of Dean Koontz’s Frankenstein series, I hope it’s better than Relentless. I just finished it and it’s not good…
[spoiler]It’s not just a lone sociopathic literary critic. It is an entire army of nutballs that are actually a black book organization within the US government. Tasked with brutally murdering writers and painters whose work has a sense of whimsy and joy. Uh-huh.
That stretches my willing suspension of disbelief just a tad too far. In the world of Relentless, how was it explained when every few months a famous writer would go nuts and toture their family to death before offing themselves?[/spoiler]
The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet by Reif Larsen. This is an awesome illustrated story about a 12 year old with a scientific mind who travels by train from Montana to the Smithsonian. That doesn’t do it justice, though. Some of the reviews criticize the voice for not being true to the 12 year old protagonist, but to me the wise beyond those years observations are the best part. Although the protagonist is 12, this is not a kids’ book. I think this is one a lot of Dopers would enjoy.
On the same note I’m reading The End of Overeating by David Kessler and it’s really grossing me out. I never want to eat at a chain restaurant again. Or eat any sort of snack food or chips. I probably will do both things, but not without thinking about that book.
I have finished Koontz’s third book in his Frankenstein series. I give the series a C+ overall. It was a new look at an old tale and for that I give it high marks. The finish did not live up to the premise. Koontz seemed to have lost interest part way through and just banged out the rest of the story - adding many chapters that seemed only to be filler. IMO he had about 1 1/3 worth of books crammed into 3. I am not sure that I would say to start the series if you have not already, but if you have done so I do say it is worth finishing.