the archives
dusted off in read-only
dusted off in read-only
I'm torn between Dan Simmons [i:130wyefo] Illium [/i:130wyefo] and Alastair Reynolds [i:130wyefo] Absolution Gap [/i:130wyefo] at the moment. view post
Another Malazanite who followed your link. view post
I'm using IE 6 as my browser. Dunno if I'd go so far as to say I prefer it. Just too lazy to change it. 
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I found it impossible to like Kellhus. He's aloof and manipulative. As for whose side is he on, his own. I think he would be quite happy to side with either "good" or "bad" factions to get his own way. But we still don't know for a fact what exactly he wants, if he is going to join his father or kill him. view post
Also a big fan of Richard Morgan. Read [i:3qarsozr] Altered Carbon [/i:3qarsozr] and have both [i:3qarsozr] Broken Angels [/i:3qarsozr] and [i:3qarsozr] Market Forces [/i:3qarsozr] in the To Be Read Pile. Just finisned Neal Stephenson's [i:3qarsozr] The Confusion [/i:3qarsozr] the sequel to [i:3qarsozr] Quicksilver [/i:3qarsozr]. Another thumping good read from Stephenson, weighing in at a massive 815 pages in paperback. view post
Loved the movies. Thought RotK was the best. Was disappointed about Saruman being cut though. Can't understand how Jackson could not have trimmed five minutes from somewhere else so that he could have been included. We will have to wait until the extended edition comes out to see if it was justified. view post
I think having got the character introductions and scene setting out of the way in [i:3kuzlkpc] Quicksilver [/i:3kuzlkpc] Stephenson was able to devote a lot more time to the plot in [i:3kuzlkpc] The Confusion [/i:3kuzlkpc]. It certainly moves a lot faster, and is better for it. view post
Since I'm in the 30+ bracket I'm relieved to see there are at least a couple of members older than me 
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I'm sorry...a life outside books? 
I don't understand this concept ...
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Just started [i:1s281d1w] City of Saints & Madmen [/i:1s281d1w] by Jeff VanderMeer. Decided to give it a try after seeing him recommended on several sites. view post
In no particular order of preference
Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen
Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire
Kate Elliot's Crown of Stars
Katherine Kerr's Deverry
Pratchett's Discworld
I'm only excluding the obvious candidate of Prince of Nothing because I've only read one book so far.
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14th vote, 14th male. Bit of a puzzle really. Plenty of female members on other fantasy boards out there. view post
I'm happy to say that I read AGoT before Martin became a superstar. I love his work, I just wish he would get A Feast for Crows finished. view post
I would agree that the second trilogy is better than the first. Pity that it is taking her so long to get the last book out (there seems to be a lot of that about at the moment 
). Anyone heard of a release date?
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Working, unfortunately. 
Got a mortgage to pay.
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laughter view post
I enjoyed the second Hyperion duology. Some very cool concepts in it. As for Illium, very good read. A little confusing though, too many characters perhaps? Looking forward to the sequel. view post
At its best B5 was the best sci-fi show around. Cool spaceships, complex arc-plot, good character interaction (Londo v J'Kar especially). The clunky episodes were few and far between, although JMS was not the greatest dialogue writer. I don't think Crusade measured up to it. view post
Read it and enjoyed it. Couldn't help thinking it bore a strong similarity thematically to Pterry's [i:2hsa0mun] Small Gods [/i:2hsa0mun]. view post
edited - too slow 
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You do get a lot of comments about the Covenant books along the lines of "liked the books but hated the whining". I would probably include myself in that category. Some of Donaldsons work is really excellent. He paints some very vivid images in the mind and the story is a gripping one. But Covenant's constant whinging does grate on the nerves a bit. I'm not so sure about the imminent release of a third trilogy. It may be a story too far, particularly given that the ending of the second trilogy seemed so final. view post
Or you could just go to his site [url=http://www.shadowmarch.com:229a9ax9]Shadowmarch[/url:229a9ax9] and get an update from Tad himself. view post
sausages view post
Trunk view post
Since I had already read Baigent and Leigh's [i:3k05zk8c] The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail [/i:3k05zk8c] and Umberto Eco's [i:3k05zk8c] Foucault's Pendulum [/i:3k05zk8c] I was not tremendously impressed with [i:3k05zk8c] The Da Vinci Code [/i:3k05zk8c] as it seemed just a rehash of the ideas in the other two books. And there are literally dozens on the same theme out there. I'm a little puzzled as to why Brown's book should cause such a fuss. The ideas in it have been in circulation for centuries. Read a few of the Apocryphal gospels. Maybe Brown is the first to reach mainstream audiences. If I had not read all of the others then maybe it would have impressed me more. view post
flares view post
Watership Down 
Hitchikers Guide
Obviously has a totally different definition of the word than I have.
Have to agree with dros though, [i:2nckgsqo] The Wasp Factory [/i:2nckgsqo] is seriously weird.
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Currently reading Steven Erikson's novella [i:3bchnqxp] The Healthy Dead [/i:3bchnqxp] view post
steam view post
Its looking unlikely for 2004 anyway. I'll go for June 2005. view post
moon view post
Mainly on the Malazan forum and sffworld.com view post
blows view post
intellect view post
I went for Democrat. I wouldn't agree with all of their policies but they are probably closest to what I like. view post
Taking a break from fantasy at the moment. Reading [i:sixq9w9z] A Short History of Nearly Everything [/i:sixq9w9z] by Bill Bryson. view post
Nuts. 
That's a long wait.
I'll have to order it from amazon.ca I suppose.
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It is true about Martin and Williams. He even names two minor characters as Elias and Joshua after the two brothers in MS&T. Personally I found MS&T a little slow, but worth sticking with as Williams takes the time to flesh out his characters. As the story progresses it steadily diverges from the standard fantasy cliches you would expect. If you find it all a little too long try his stand-alone novel [i:2nwqa4py] War of the Flowers [/i:2nwqa4py]. Again the description on the cover may sound cliched but the story is possibly his best so far. view post
Finished reading [i:2pyzgkbg] The Runes of the Earth [/i:2pyzgkbg] and have to say it has put a lot of my fears about a third series to rest. Very enjoyable, great to sink back into the whole atmosphere of The Land again.
Are the Haruchai the most humourless race in fantasy?
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McD I suppose, although there is not an awful lot of difference to be honest. view post
[i:b8i5u2w6] The Algebraist [/i:b8i5u2w6] by Ian Banks. Have to say I am disappointed with it so far. Dull and uninvolving, far below his usual very high standard. view post
Yeah, definitely the Red Wedding in ASoIaF. I had to read that passage two or three times over to make sure it said what I thought it said. view post
Currently reading [i:3oiddp4d] A Calculus of Angels [/i:3oiddp4d] by Greg Keyes. Apparently there are four books in this [i:3oiddp4d] Age of Unreason [/i:3oiddp4d] series which I somehow managed to miss completely the first time they came out. The first two are very good. view post
Woken Furies by Richard Morgan view post
[quote:8doitg6v]
They should team up and write the best book known to man [/quote:8doitg6v]
The Malazan Book of Ice and Darkness
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Tarzan...fond chidhood memories of those old black and white movies being shown over and over again. Umgawa
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Finally got a copy of this. Looking forward to reading it. I really enjoyed Ilium. view post
Mixed feelings about this. Not happy about losing all the characters from the north, but glad that we will finally get a new book out of him. I just hope it is worth the wait. On the bright suide, given how much material he is moving into A Dance with Dragons that book should come out a hell of a lot quicker. view post
Re-reading the novels you pick up a lot more than you did first time around. Remarks that you did not fully understand first time suddenly make sense. view post
Not a fan of piercing either. Tongue pirecings are totally unhygienic, high risk of infection and dental damage. view post
heaving view post
Finally got a copy of TWP. Of course now I'm going to have to read TDTCB again to remind myself who everybody is, and my To Be Read pile keeps getting higher and higher. view post
[i:1xrupoe5] The Year of Our War [/i:1xrupoe5] by Steph Swainton view post
horror view post
Peter Jackson view post
Having finished it recently I'll add [i:1pw7nhta] A Scanner Darkly [/i:1pw7nhta] by Philip K Dick. Weird, weird stuff. view post
I gritted my teeth and paid for it. I'll re-iterate what I said on the Malazan site. A good book, worth it if you can afford it, but not for Malazan beginners. You should read at least as far as House of Chains before you read NoK. You would still enjoy the book but would miss out on some of the plot nuances. view post
Gates of Fire is superb. A must-read for any fan of Ancient Greece. view post
Idlewild by Nick Sagan view post
I have been known to occasionally criticise Jordan
Suffice it to say that the last three books could be condensed into about 50 pages or less without losing a single vital element of plot.
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Eddings is the kind of writer you read when you are starting out reading fantasy. Simple plots, simple characters. Lightweight stuff. After you have read a few other authors however you realise that his writing is simplistic and very repetitive. Move on to better things. view post
The Iron Council by China Miéville. Once I finish it off I am going to have to re-read The Darkness That Comes Before so that I can finally start reading The Warrior Prophet. view post
winder view post
I'm not sold on the idea of the No-God not being evil. Even aside from the whole stillbirth thing think back to what Achamian told Kellhus about how it felt when the No-God manifested itself. Too lazy to look up the actual quote but he basically said everyone, everywhere could feel its prescence and was terrified by it. view post
Judas Unchained - Peter F Hamilton view post
So presumably some of you have read it by now. Were you as disappointed as I was? Not his best work. Reads like half a book - which it is I guess. view post