Happy New Years everyone. Sending out a wish for a safe and happy holiday.
(It is a sign of getting old that you say: Wow! Time goes so fast, it seems like 2012 just started.)
I am reading Broken Blade by Kelly McCullough. I have just started it, but so far I am enjoying it. (OK, it is a little slow starting, but I think that is partly because I am working my butt off for a project due last week.)
Would anyone be interested in a separate thread listing what we read last year? Since I link to last month’s thread in each, it would be easy enough for each of us to compile one post with all our reads.
Wool 7, which has been out for a month and a half but I just heard about.
Also recommended, from last month:
Code Name Verity: supposedly “young adult” but I can’t figure out why. Story about two young women in WWII Britain and France, working in the women’s forces. Poignant and worth the read.
Brain on Fire: True story of a 24-ish reporter who gets a rare brain disease that basically makes her nuts. Well-written and a page-turner.
Right now I’m kind of in between books. I’m looking for a horror book to pick up while I skim/read Starting Strength.
I tried to get into The King in Yellow, but I have been unsuccessful. I’m into Lovecraft and cosmic horror if anyone has any suggestions. Also, if you’ve read Phlegon of Tralles book (Amazing tales, IIRC), there’s a lot of stuff in there that I find fascinating.
I don’t know if you’ve read any Hellboy stuff, but they’re generally pretty Lovecraftian, with “Elder Gods” mixed in with some more traditional horror tropes like vampires, etc. The graphic novels are stellar, but there are also some good short story collections–Odd Jobs, Odder Jobs, and Oddest Jobs–that include pieces by authors such as Joe Lansdale, China Mieville, Frank Darabont, and Gullermo del Toro.
And you’re probably already aware of it, even if you haven’t read it, but Stephen King’s It has some Lovecraftian elements to it as well.
I’ve heard about Hellboy before and I’ve seen the movies - I wasn’t very impressed with the movies. That said, I’d be willing to give the graphic novels a shot. I’m curious - is the ‘supernatural’/‘elder demons’ stuff all up front and throughout the comics (aside from the protagonist and his team, obviously). One of the things I like about Lovecraft is that the lurking horror is right below the surface - one person glimpses it (ie, the Shadow out of Time) or a small team makes a discovery (At the Mountains of Madness). It’s like the horror is there, but the general public is unaware and can simply discount the protagonist as crazy.
Yes, I’ve read It, It was great. Although I liked The Mist better (even though it kind of goes against what I just wrote in the prior paragraph - since it’s an all encompassing apocalypse).
Have you read “Under the Dome”? I’ve been thinking of giving that a shot.
I look back at this and I’m struggling to get at exactly what it is about Lovecraft I enjoy. I like the ‘hints’ of knowledge (ie, Necronomicon) but not an exposition of what the great cosmic ‘play’ exactly is. I feel that something is lost when I find out exactly what is going on - if that makes sense. So, with IT, for example, I loved most of the book, but the ending was a bit of a let down. Granted, it’s been forever since I read it. Another example is Phantoms - I loved 3/4’s of that book until it was explained (more or less) what was going on.
I guess I’m looking for something that doesn’t do this - if that makes sense.
In Hellboy, the supernatural elements are mostly hidden from the general public, but to different degrees. For example, there are stories involving the ghost of a Napoleanic-era soldier where the people of the village are aware of the ghost, but the Elder Gods stuff is almost always unknown to anyone except the main characters. And the stories cover a very wide range of mythologies and legends, so they’re constantly shifting.
I read and liked The Mist, as well. Have not yet read Under the Dome.
With regard to Hellboy, the Lovecraft-type elements are a constant theme, but tend to stay in the background. While the main plot of any particular storyline has a beginning, middle, and end, the Elder Gods stuff there is along the lines of what you’re looking for, I think.
The only Mist-like story that comes to mind at the moment is another King short story, “The Langoliers.” It’s in his Four Past Midnight collection. I’ll try to think of others.
For Hellboy, I’d recommend starting with the initial graphic novel collection, Seed of Destruction. But if you want to skip the graphic novels and go right into the prose, Odd Jobs is as good a place as any to start. All three of the short story collections are equally good.
From what (and I stress) little I know of it, it seems like it’s right up my alley. A mysterious dome appears over a town and the inhabitants try to figure out what’s up.
Yes, it really is that painful. Or at least I thought it was. I couldn’t finish it, it was so bad. I agree that the idea has a lot of promise, but that’s about all it has going for it. YMMV, of course.
I’m just finishing up Joseph Scrimshaw’s Comedy Of Doom, which I got for Christmas. It’s funny, and there are a few touching moments of nerd soul-baring in there to take you by surprise.
I want to move on to John Scalzi’s Redshirts next, but the paperback doesn’t ship from Amazon till mid-month so I’ll have to stop at the library this week to get something to get me through till then.
Yep, that’s it. There are about 12 volumes in all; that’s the first. There are also omnibus editions that collect more than one volume, but you got the one I had in mind.
I’ve never read a graphic novel on a Kindle, but I can’t think of any reason Hellboy wouldn’t work just as well on an e-reader as in print, as long as you get it in color. The inks in the comics do a lot to set the tone.
Yesterday I finished Stolen Lives by Malika Oufkir, a memoir about an elite Moroccan family imprisoned for almost 20 years after their father is implicated in a coup attempt against King Hassan II. It’s just so-so. It was a book club pick and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.
I also, after intermittently reading it for almost a year, finished George R.R. Martin’s A Dance with Dragons today. Dunno why it took me so long - I really did enjoy it while I was reading it, but it’s just so @*#&^$ big!
Not sure what I’ll turn to next. Several good options on my stack.
I think it’s King’s worst book, by a mile. Interesting premise and nicely set up – King is always good at getting things moving – but the characters are poorly done stereotypes and the ending is laughable.
Seriously, you will hate yourself for wasting your time.
Daddypants, I’ve been wondering when the next Demon Cycle book was coming. I had issues with Desert Spear but I’m anxious to see what comes next.
Finally finished: Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory, and the Conquest of Everest.
Great book. Huge, though. I’m fascinated by the subject matter; for someone only mildly interested, it’s probably too much information.
So, for a change, I’ve been reading Rod - The Autobiography of Rod Stewart.
It’s great, a lot of fun. He seems quite happy to mock himself and (so far) he doesn’t seem to be too worried about defending himself against accusations of selling out his once-great talent. He comes across as down-to-earth and likeable. Great road stories, of course.
