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Vince, Pt. II · 07-06-2011, 07:49 PM

Man, I have a ton to catch up on. Recently I've read...

Every book by Jim Butcher. Literally. He has two major series:

The Codex Alera - This is your typical, High Fantasy Epic series, consisting of 6 books that clock in at around 650 pages each. I really, really enjoyed it even if the general plot was a bit formulaic. The setting has a bit of a twist: instead of people knowing and performing magic or sorcery, there are uncounted "furies" - elementals, as it were - that the people of Alera call upon to perform what in other fantasy worlds would be called magic. Tavi, the protagonist, has no furies of his own to speak of, and is literally the only person in his world who can boast this.

I really, really enjoyed the story and Butcher's writing style, which led me to his other major series...

The Dresden Files - This series is phenomenal. 13 books thus far (I believe the next is due out later this month), each around 500 pages. The protagonist is one Harry Dresden, Wizard for hire in modern-day Chicago. A great mix of humor, drama and action, Butcher manages to ratchet up the intensity with each book, which is hard to do time after time. It's really fun to watch him weave mythology and lore from nearly all walks of life - from Werewolves and Vampires to the Seelie and Unseelie Courts to even Native American folklore - into a modern day detective story style romp.

I can't say enough about these books. I read them all (both the Codex Alera and the Dresden Files) in just over a month. They were that good. When I accidentally packed book 3 of the Codex Alera in my stowed bag and took book 4 with me on the plane, I literally paid for the digital version on my iPhone so I could read it (1.5 hour flight) because I couldn't wait that long to get back to it. In retrospect, the first couple of books of The Dresden Files seem to be a little slower-paced than the rest, but it quickly gets better. I enjoyed the Codex from beginning to end, and put the series on par with the Dragonlance Chronicles by Weis and Hickman and the Belgariad & Malloreon by Eddings.

The Count of Monte Cristo - As a Dumas fan who loved The Three Musketeers, I can't believe it's taken me this long to get back to him and read the ultimate revenge story. I enjoyed it, though not as much as I (and my roommate, who cites this as her favorite book) thought I would. It was phenomenal at the start, but I started to lose steam about 3/4 the way through. I don't know if it was simply too long or what, but while it was enjoyable the whole way through, I lost the "can't put it down" feeling with a good quarter of the book left, which is just about the time you would imagine things should be getting so gripping you absolutely can't put it down. As for my thoughts on the story...

Spoiler

I also read The War of the Ancients Trilogy by Richard Knaack, a Warcraft book. As a huge fan of both the old Warcraft RTS series and World of Warcraft, I had high expectations for these books, but they were pretty flat. If I hadn't already understood a lot of the lore from the video games, I would not have enjoyed the books very much, I don't think.

Finally, I just recently finished Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann today. This intriguing novel is a murder mystery told from the perspective of a flock of sheep. I had extremely high hopes going in, as it is just the sort of silly idea that could be amazing if done correctly. Initially, the book didn't disappoint; captivating story with a unique perspective and plenty of potential villains. It was hilarious reading the interpretation of various human things by the sheep themselves, particularly the scene where one of the sheep enters a church. That being said, it wasn't as laugh-out-loud funny as I thought it would be, although that's not altogether a bad thing, and I'm not sure that was the point anyway. Without giving too much away, the book was great until the end; this could simply be a personal problem, as I think it was well-written all the way through.

Now I set my sights on Are You Kidding Me? by John Feinstein, the story of Rocco Mediate's crazy run at Tiger Woods in the 2008 US Open. On deck after that is The Devil and the White City by Erik Larson (about the World's Fair in Chicago circa 1893 and a Serial Killer of the time) and The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (about a child who grows up living in a graveyard).

07-06-2011, 07:49 PM	#471
Vince, Pt. II Pro Starter Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Somewhere More Familiar	Man, I have a ton to catch up on. Recently I've read... Every book by Jim Butcher. Literally. He has two major series: The Codex Alera - This is your typical, High Fantasy Epic series, consisting of 6 books that clock in at around 650 pages each. I really, really enjoyed it even if the general plot was a bit formulaic. The setting has a bit of a twist: instead of people knowing and performing magic or sorcery, there are uncounted "furies" - elementals, as it were - that the people of Alera call upon to perform what in other fantasy worlds would be called magic. Tavi, the protagonist, has no furies of his own to speak of, and is literally the only person in his world who can boast this. I really, really enjoyed the story and Butcher's writing style, which led me to his other major series... The Dresden Files - This series is phenomenal. 13 books thus far (I believe the next is due out later this month), each around 500 pages. The protagonist is one Harry Dresden, Wizard for hire in modern-day Chicago. A great mix of humor, drama and action, Butcher manages to ratchet up the intensity with each book, which is hard to do time after time. It's really fun to watch him weave mythology and lore from nearly all walks of life - from Werewolves and Vampires to the Seelie and Unseelie Courts to even Native American folklore - into a modern day detective story style romp. I can't say enough about these books. I read them all (both the Codex Alera and the Dresden Files) in just over a month. They were that good. When I accidentally packed book 3 of the Codex Alera in my stowed bag and took book 4 with me on the plane, I literally paid for the digital version on my iPhone so I could read it (1.5 hour flight) because I couldn't wait that long to get back to it. In retrospect, the first couple of books of The Dresden Files seem to be a little slower-paced than the rest, but it quickly gets better. I enjoyed the Codex from beginning to end, and put the series on par with the Dragonlance Chronicles by Weis and Hickman and the Belgariad & Malloreon by Eddings. The Count of Monte Cristo - As a Dumas fan who loved The Three Musketeers, I can't believe it's taken me this long to get back to him and read the ultimate revenge story. I enjoyed it, though not as much as I (and my roommate, who cites this as her favorite book) thought I would. It was phenomenal at the start, but I started to lose steam about 3/4 the way through. I don't know if it was simply too long or what, but while it was enjoyable the whole way through, I lost the "can't put it down" feeling with a good quarter of the book left, which is just about the time you would imagine things should be getting so gripping you absolutely can't put it down. As for my thoughts on the story... Spoiler I'm quite disappointed that in the end he gets a girl. I know that he had to put up with all sorts of crap, but this isn't a happy fun story, and it seems almost a cop out that he gets the goods at the end. I also read The War of the Ancients Trilogy by Richard Knaack, a Warcraft book. As a huge fan of both the old Warcraft RTS series and World of Warcraft, I had high expectations for these books, but they were pretty flat. If I hadn't already understood a lot of the lore from the video games, I would not have enjoyed the books very much, I don't think. Finally, I just recently finished Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann today. This intriguing novel is a murder mystery told from the perspective of a flock of sheep. I had extremely high hopes going in, as it is just the sort of silly idea that could be amazing if done correctly. Initially, the book didn't disappoint; captivating story with a unique perspective and plenty of potential villains. It was hilarious reading the interpretation of various human things by the sheep themselves, particularly the scene where one of the sheep enters a church. That being said, it wasn't as laugh-out-loud funny as I thought it would be, although that's not altogether a bad thing, and I'm not sure that was the point anyway. Without giving too much away, the book was great until the end; this could simply be a personal problem, as I think it was well-written all the way through. Now I set my sights on Are You Kidding Me? by John Feinstein, the story of Rocco Mediate's crazy run at Tiger Woods in the 2008 US Open. On deck after that is The Devil and the White City by Erik Larson (about the World's Fair in Chicago circa 1893 and a Serial Killer of the time) and The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (about a child who grows up living in a graveyard). Last edited by Vince, Pt. II : 07-06-2011 at 07:51 PM.