The Grand IllusionSince the last time I posted, I’ve actually read a few books that I’ve enjoyed, along with more than a few that I didn’t or thought were vastly overhyped, and one that I enjoyed but, upon reflection, felt… well, you’ll see. For just fun, I liked Alex Bledsoe’s The Sword-Edged Blonde, although the title is really a stretch, and Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane, which, although delightfully written, is mostly just fun, with a hint of Peter Pan growing up thrown in. Another fantasy PI novel was Ari Marmell’s Hot Lead, Cold Iron, which mixes faerie with 1930s Chicago underworld. Another book that I liked, but had reservations of a different sort about was Charles Stross’s Neptune’s Brood, since I thought his take on future interstellar economics was, shall I say, either a bit-far-fetched or an incredibly sarcastic and sardonic not-so-veiled commentary on our current economic structure, with the resolution turning on a long-hidden, but unveiled just-in-time technological deus ex machina totally at odds with the entire technology Stross so carefully constructed. I liked it, but…. As for the other books I’ve read recently, let’s just say that while I feel I need to know what others are writing, there are some writers I may not be revisiting, at least not soon.
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Have you tried ‘The Martian’ by Andy Weir? It’s a recent sci-fi/adventure book, in the near future. I found most of the science to be accurate, and it was a very interesting read.
I have not. Thank you for the recommendation.
Peter Watts’s Echopraxia looks interesting & may be worth a try
I found Peter V. Brett’s Demon Cycle to be a great series. They approach magic in a different way than usual. Very highly recommend.
What do you think about the Mistborn series by Sanderson and the Dresden files by Jim Butcher? I like the way that the system of ‘magic’ is developed in the Mistborn books, it is different than what most people have tried in the past. I also like the way that the Dresden files combines the detective novel with magic, though he really does love to put Harry though the ringer.
I can’t comment on the Mistborn series because I’ve never read any of the books in it. As for the Dresden files, I liked the first books, but began to get tired of the fact that Harry was an awfully slow learner.
I have to say I’m curious about what you mean about Dresden being a slow learner.
I first came across the Dresden Files about 5 years ago via the TV series. By then it was already up to about book 9 or 10. I read all the books that had been published to date and have been reading each book as it’s released since.
I just recently finished reading the latest book in the series and I am starting to get a bit tired of the series as a whole now.
That said I’ve never thought Harry was a slow learner so much as stubborn. He does reckless and at times foolish things but he knows they are reckless and foolish when he does them. He knows what he is risking and is usally aware of his own ignorance.
Often he is ignorant of the bigger picture around him and as a result may end up stumbling around like a bull in a china shop but he acts as best he can based on what he knows at the time. Which is the most anyone can do really.
To me, he seems to make the same kinds of mistakes time and again.