a_reader_is_me | Entries tagged with science fiction

Another 17 books added to the total count :) I decided to up the challenge to 200 books in 2011 rather than 111, and so far I am still ahead (by 10 books).

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76 completed books, 26586 words as of 01/05/2011

Currently reading:
- Reginald Hill - Midnight Fugue (Dalziel & Pascoe) - 38/384
- Pat Willimott - The Chalet School Librarian - 39/200

I might abandon that last. It's sending me up the wall with misery spotting errors everywhere and I'm not even to page 40 yet, and the plot is not much better. The girls' school story fandom has weird ideas about fanfiction, and I'm really not all that comfortable paying for published fanfic if it's not for charity, having had more experience in the usual fandom model...

Current Location: Manchester, England

I'm doing pretty well at keeping track, now that I bought myself a little notebook and joined GoodReads.

I decided on 111 books in 2011. I may change that, as I'm already more than halfway there. List of read books/page count etc. so far under the cut - 59 finished so far. Not necessarily in order of reading - I only listed the month in my notebook until March 29th, not the exact date, so they sort randomly by month. A lot are re-reads, but I count those just the same. Page counts may be inaccurate, most were taken from GR and I know sometimes those editions are listed weirdly... I've sorted the list so far by author, since I don't know the exact dates I finished most of them.

( 59/111 )

Currently reading:
- Jean K. Baird - Elizabeth Hobart at Exeter Hall - 95/180
- David Eddings - The Elder Gods (Dreamers) - 227/480
- Reginald Hill - Midnight Fugue (Dalziel & Pascoe) - 38/384

Current Location: Manchester, England
Current Music: Katie Melua - I Cried For You

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Title: The Court of the Air

Author: Stephen Hunt

Number of pages: 608

Genre: Fantasy/Science Fiction

Book Number/Goal: 3/15

Review

I don't know if I'm disappointed or not by this novel. Basically it's a steampunk fantasy set in a world that is recognisably a quasi-Victorian England in conflict with a neighbour which is recognisably a cross between Revolutionary France and Marxist USSR. Throw in some quasi-Aztec evil gods, voodoo steammen and fae magick and you get - well, a hell of a mess really. Some people applaud the wealth of ideas crammed into this novel, but for me there were just too many of them, too scantily developed, and in the end they threaten to bury the story entirely. Add to that a relentlessly fast pace and I ended up feeling like I'd fallen into a raging torrent and was just being carried along blindly by it.

The characters were poorly developed and one never really got to care for them or what happened to them. Although Hunt does occasionally lapse into passages of fluid and poetic prose, the dialogue is often cringeworthy. Yes, It's supposed to sound quaint and archaic, I suppose, but it just sounded creaky and artificial to me.

I wanted to like this book and had high expectations since it came so highly praised to me. And I did appreciate some of the imaginative concepts and rip-roaring action scenes. But ultimately it's over-ambitious. rambling and over-long, the result of a first-time author's tendency to cram in everything including the kitchen sink going unchecked by a firm editorial hand. I might try another of his books later on, just to see if he's learned to rein in the ideas enough to let a story shine through.

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Title: All the Windwracked Stars

Author: Elizabeth Bear

Number of pages: 368

Genre: Science Fiction

Book Number/Goal: 2/15

Back cover blurb: “It begins with Ragnarok, the end of all things, the battle between the Children of the Light and their tarnished brothers and sisters. But in Valdyrgard, three survive: the least of the Valkyrie, a valraven to be her steed, and the Grey Wolf whose betrayal sparked the final battle. And because they still live, Valdyrgard is a very long time dying. Morethan two thousand years later, Muire still walks the streets of Eiledon, the last human city, while her valraven hides in a distant valley. But the Grey Wolf has come hunting in Eiledon...”

[ My Review here... ]

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Looks like I forgot to post reviews here for a while - time to catch up:

Title: "Hartshot"
Author: Steven F. Havill
Genre: Mystery
Book Number/Goal: 10/50
Review: On my blog

Title: "The Shadow Speaker"
Author: Nnedi Okorafor
Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult
Book Number/Goal: 11/50
Review: On my Blog

Title: Angels and Demons
Author: Dan Brown
Genre: Mystery
Book Number/Goal: 12/50
Review: On my Blog

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2011 Reading Challenge: 04/04/2011 to 01/05/2011

2011 Reading Challenge

Book Post: The Court of the Air by Stephen Hunt

Book Post: All the Windwracked Stars by Elizabeth Bear

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