piku wrote:Gibson, W (2004) Pattern Recognition. London, Penguin Books Ltd.
Does that hot up later on?
Yeah. Pretty unputdownable towards the end.
Currently reading Philip Reeves' "Mortal Engines" series. First book is brilliant, I haven't really gotten going with the second one. Think giant-moving-cities and you've got the right idea.
piku wrote:Gibson, W (2004) Pattern Recognition. London, Penguin Books Ltd.
Does that hot up later on?
I've struggled to about page 60, but I'm finding it hard to give a stuff about a young image consultant and her constant surprise that England is slightly different from America.
benedictw wrote:
Currently reading Philip Reeves' "Mortal Engines" series. First book is brilliant, I haven't really gotten going with the second one. Think giant-moving-cities and you've got the right idea.
I've just borrowed the first one off a mate who's a big fan. Will give it a go shortly.
I've just finished Broken Angels by Richard Morgan. It's the second in the Takeshi Kovacs novels, and is very good again. Absolutely brutal sci-fi. Not as stellar as the first - Altered Carbon - but still pretty damned good. I'd recommend these two to anyone who fancies a bit of punchy sci-fi - AC especially so. I've seen mixed reviews for the later books in the series, but I'll probably be giving them a go regardless.
Just finished reading The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy. First time I've read any of his stuff but thoroughly enjoyed it. Intrigued to see how the film compares
Next on the pile is Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde.
kalmar wrote:Dead Air by Iain Banks. Just finished it, pretty good!
I'll get that then.
I find Iain quite hit and miss, his style is quite slow and plodding which worked really well for The Wasp Factory and Espedair Street but I didn't think The Business ever got started before it finished.
I've read the 3 other books of his (the full ones not the short stories one) and loved them to bits. King Rat looks like another gem and I like the fact that it's supposed to be in the real world and not in the New Corbuzon (sp?) universe.
This man can write. His every sentence is inspiring and alive with whatever it is that he is describing. Definitely up there with Steven Erikson, George RR Martin and Scott Bakker for me.
Gods and Myths of Northern Europe by H.R. Ellis Davidson. A book from the secret gentlemen's library at work - this is actually a very good read. It tells you where the 12 days of Christmas come from (pagan intercalendary time so the lunar-based calendar would not get out of synch with the seasons, a time of feasting too).
I'm reading Orlando by Virginia Woolf. Great book, IMO.
I've leant the Spoongoddess my copy of Pattern Recognition. She likes it, but she studying literature so it's quite different to her usual reading. She's doing a dissertation on de Sade.
Perviously I read The Character of Rain by Amelie Nothomb. What a book. It's a great story about a (belgian?!?) child growing up in Japan and is based in the 70's although you wouldn't know it if it weren't stated once or twice. It's about the first three years of her life, which the/some Japanese consider a time of temporary godhood. Anyway, it's aces.
I have four books with the complete adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and I have one of those next to my bed when I'm not reading something else, just like now.
Also, I've recently uploaded some classic books (including some Sherlock Homes story collections, of course) on my Symbian phone in case of sudden travels with nothing else to read.
benedictw wrote:Reading China Mievilles 'Perdido Street Station'. Great writing, very, very bizarre.
It's bloody amazing, isn't it? You'll be converted for life, I'm gagging for new books by him. Read all the others too, they are all equally tremendous.
piku wrote:Gibson, W (2004) Pattern Recognition. London, Penguin Books Ltd.
Does that hot up later on?
Yeah. Pretty unputdownable towards the end.
It didn't grab me or turn much of my imagination on. Not enough science in his science fiction. I also couldn't quite grasp the point of the story.
Currently reading Gridlinked by Neal Asher. It's... got some interesting ideas and little storylines in it. Shame his writing style lacks any absorbing depth and interest. It's like he's telling a story in a bored monotone.
I could stop reading this book right now and pick it up again in a year without being too bothered.
Both these books seem to have really poor pacing. A bit like watching a Lada race... lots of potential, but not exactly racing along.
