What are you reading? Options

[Decrepit]

As expected, a two-book Amazon shipment arrived late Monday morning. It included volume one of Katharine Kerr's The Silver Wyrm. However, the day prior I ceased reading Stephen Donaldson's Lord Faul's Bane, fearing I might become hooked and end up reading the entire First and Second Chronicles. Chose instead Larwence Watt-Evans' The Misenchanted Sword, a book read four times, most recently late Feb 2006. A safer bet, I thought. Nope, I'm hooked. Gonna finish it before tackling Kerr. (I'm maybe halfway through.) A plus; though I own several other Watt-Evans books set in same world, and they do relate to each other, they're all standalone novels. I'll be less tempted to read the lot before moving on. Or so I hope.

[Decrepit]

At 0257 this morning, awake for some time after waking with a neck too sore to allow sleep, I finished my fourth read of Lawrence Watt-Evans' The Miscenchanted Sword. An enjoyable book. Rather low key, featuring someone about as far from a 'hero' or 'villian' as possible. Just your average Joe (for his time and setting) who chances upon a brief magical encounter in his twenties and has to cope with its aftermath the rest of his (intentionally) mundane life. I like this sort of character. They're encountered too seldom in fantasy literature (as main characters) to suit me.

With the above behind me, I can now resume Katharine Kerr's Deverry novels, and will begin The Gold Falcon later today.

[Decrepit]

At 1037 today, during lunch, I finished my initial read of Katharine Kerr's The Gold Falcon, book one of The Sllver Wyrm, a novel of Deverry. As with previous Deverry entries it is entertaining, but not a book I can rave about. I'm already some pages into its followup, The Spirit Stone.

[Decrepit]

At 1958 yesterday evening, 11/11/2019, I finished my initial read of Katharine Kerr's The Spirit Stone, one of her many Deverry novels. As with other entries in this series, I've little to say about them. Decent reads, nothing special. (Yet I went out of my way to order the four-book sub-series to which Spirit Stone belongs, a great rarity for me these days.)

I'm now some pages into its followup, The Shadow Isle.

[Decrepit]

At 2256 yesterday evening, lying on the sofa, I finished my initial read of Katharine Kerr's The Shadow Isle, book three of The Silver Wyrm, itself a component of her vast Deverry writings. Like its predecessors, I find it a decent novel. Worth reading, but I'll not go out of my way to recommend it.

I'm now several pages into what is, as of now, Ms. Kerr's final Deverry entry, book four of Silver Wyrm, The Silver Mage.

This post has been edited by Decrepit: Nov 19 2019, 01:02 PM

[Decrepit]

I'm still reading The Silver Mage, but noticed this fine audio reading of Eye of the World, book one of Wheel of Time, at YouTube. Very nice narration. Don't know how legit this posting is. It might not be available for long. Then again, it might.

Listened to it a while. Man is Jordan a fine writer!, as if I need to be reminded of that. He so outclasses Kerr (and most other writers) it might take me some time to readjust when I take up Silver Mage at bedtime.

[Uleni Athram]

The Artesia comics. Dear lord, this is shaping up to be quite the journey!

[Decrepit]

At 0327 this morning, lying on the sofa, neck hurting too much to sleep, I finished my initial read of Katharine Kerr's The Silver Mage, the last of her many Deverry books to date. It's been an enjoyable journey, despite a bit of rough sailing early on. This closing novel in no way alters my opinion of the series, for good or ill. Decent reads. Nothing overly special, though individual books have their moments.

At the moment I have absolutely no idea what I want to tackle next.

[Decrepit]

I settled on The Summer Tree, book one of The Fionavar Tapestry by Guy Gavriel Kay. I'm not far in, and find it slow going. For one thing, it's a book I like very much. I've read it six times before, most recently late 2015. That's a problem, in that I remember it TOO well. (A great rarity for me.) Also, it begins with a trope I'm not overly fond of - persons from this world and time being transported to an alternate reality, where they not only survive and thrive, but become movers and shakers in that world. I rarely find this scenario convincing. As fine a writer as Kay is, the lead-up to the crossing doesn't convince here. I thought so my initial read. Subsequent reads haven't convinced me otherwise. That said, once in their new environment things begin to improve. Pretty soon I'll be as hooked as ever. Or so I hope.

This post has been edited by Decrepit: Dec 6 2019, 12:06 AM

[SubRosa]

I settled on The Summer Tree, book one of The Fionavar Tapestry by Guy Gavriel Kay. I'm not far in, and find it slow going. For one thing, it's a book I like very much. I've read it six times before, most recently late 12015. That's a problem, in that I remember it TOO well. (A great rarity for me.) Also, it begins with a trope I'm not overly fond of - persons from this world and time being transported to an alternate reality, where they not only survive and thrive, but become movers and shakers in that world. I rarely find this scenario convincing. As fine a writer as Kay is, the lead-up to the crossing doesn't convince here. I thought so my initial read. Subsequent reads haven't convinced me otherwise. That said, once in their new environment things begin to improve. Pretty soon I'll be as hooked as ever. Or so I hope.

I read the first two books of the Tapestry around a decade or more ago. So they are a little fuzzy now. But I recall feeling that there were just too many characters. They each did not seem to get enough time individually to show their adaptations and growth in the new world. Instead the story seemed to rush through their various acclimations. I think it would have been a better story with only one protagonist, or at the most two, so that a lot more attention could have been given to their development.

[Decrepit]

I settled on The Summer Tree, book one of The Fionavar Tapestry by Guy Gavriel Kay. I'm not far in, and find it slow going. For one thing, it's a book I like very much. I've read it six times before, most recently late 2015. That's a problem, in that I remember it TOO well. (A great rarity for me.) Also, it begins with a trope I'm not overly fond of - persons from this world and time being transported to an alternate reality, where they not only survive and thrive, but become movers and shakers in that world. I rarely find this scenario convincing. As fine a writer as Kay is, the lead-up to the crossing doesn't convince here. I thought so my initial read. Subsequent reads haven't convinced me otherwise. That said, once in their new environment things begin to improve. Pretty soon I'll be as hooked as ever. Or so I hope.

I read the first two books of the Tapestry around a decade or more ago. So they are a little fuzzy now. But I recall feeling that there were just too many characters. They each did not seem to get enough time individually to show their adaptations and growth in the new world. Instead the story seemed to rush through their various acclimations. I think it would have been a better story with only one protagonist, or at the most two, so that a lot more attention could have been given to their development.

Interesting comment. I hadn't considered single vs multi protagonists in literature before. Had someone asked me about it out-of-the-blue, I'd have announced myself neutral on the subject. However, thinking back on the many novels I've read, a large percentage of favorites fall in the 'multi viewpoints' camp. Enough so to consist in a preference. Maybe a substantial preference. Don't know where I'm going with this...or if it means much of anything other than the obvious.