Post by Marv on Dec 24, 2021 7:57:19 GMT
The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie....The second standalone novel in the First Law series but really it's like the 5th book of that in universe, in chronological order. It was amazing tho. I started reading Abercrombie in 2020 and it kept right on up into 2021. He's an amazing fantasy author and this story is more militaristic, following a bloody battle of this tall hill with several large stones on it. The characters are the bright point, as in any of the First Law novels, but was really made this one stick out is the battle sequences. Some of the best battle sequences ive ever read. Theres one chapter in particular...i believe it's titled 'Casualties'...which switches points of view as each character dies, at which point you jump behind the eyes of the person who killed them...continuing that way for the majority of a particular battle. It was truly awesome.
Red Country by Joe Abercrombie...The third standalone (or 6th entry) in the First Law world and another gem. This time it has a very obvious western feel to it. The land they travel in is on the border of civilization, chasing children who were kidnapped by a tribe of mysterious native peoples. My least favorite of the standalone novels but still amazing, with interesting characters yet again (several returning from previous novels) and an easy to follow story. You can easily see where stuff like The Searchers, Deadwood and the Outlaw Josey Wales inspire several moments in this story. I was a fan.
Sharp Ends by Joe Abercrombie...short story collection again set in the First Law universe. It was great to read about these characters again...some of them before we met them in the other stories, some after, and some for the first time ever in a kind of running connected short story tale. I recommend everyone read Joe Abercrombies First Law novels...my only recommendation is to read them in chronological order of release since so many beats hit much better after having read 6 of these novels already.
Breach of Peace by Daniel B. Greene...Greene is one of the youtubers i follow who talks about books....booktubers they call themselves. This is his first venture into authordom and it was decent. It's more a novella than a novel but it was interesting and works to set up a universe with a supernatural noir vibe to it. He released a follow up this year but I haven't gotten around to reading it yet.
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens...not sure why but I read this in May...not the Christmas season at the time but I enjoyed it nontheless. It's a story Ive known since a child but never read it. Another shorter one but a good read.
Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton....AMAZING! Seriously it's one of the best books Ive ever read as far as not wanting to put it down. The pacing was great and it was surprisingly a lot more gruesome than the movie. It's definitely worth checking out even if you'd seen the movie dozens of times. I read a few more Crichton this year but this one remained at the top of my list.
The Great Train Robbery by Michael Crichton...Enjoyable. At parts a bit too dry but the majority of it has the fluff you'd expect from ficiton, despite being based on true events. Edward Pierce was one of the slimiest, love-to-hate-him protagonists of a novel Ive read in a while.
Sphere by Michael Crichton...Another sci fi gem from Crichton. I loved the reflective philosophical conversations about whether the Sphere is intentionally meant for mankind or we're just dumb apes banging on a monolith we don't understand. Add to that some scary underwater monsters and you've got a decent recipe for a good book. Doesn't topple JP for my top Crichton spot but i thoroughly enjoyed it.
A Crown of Swords and The Path of Daggers by Robert Jordan...books 7 and 8 in the Wheel of Time series...I'll be honest it's hard for me now to even separate them in my brain. The story at this point just kind of rolls into the next book seemlessly. Not always interestingly but it definitely feels like one running storyline now. This is supposedly the slog...and I felt it in Path of Daggers most of all. The first half of Swords felt like a lot of recap, then i remember things got going. Daggers is a blur of names and places that i can't really discern. Not the most memorable moments in these books, altho theres a chance i missed something. Youll have that in a 15 book series.
Im also currently reading Winters Heart...book 9 in the Wheel of Time...but Im not sure Ill finish before the end of the year. I find it to be a big step up from Path of Daggers. I've enjoyed a lot of Winters Heart so far.
Red Country by Joe Abercrombie...The third standalone (or 6th entry) in the First Law world and another gem. This time it has a very obvious western feel to it. The land they travel in is on the border of civilization, chasing children who were kidnapped by a tribe of mysterious native peoples. My least favorite of the standalone novels but still amazing, with interesting characters yet again (several returning from previous novels) and an easy to follow story. You can easily see where stuff like The Searchers, Deadwood and the Outlaw Josey Wales inspire several moments in this story. I was a fan.
Sharp Ends by Joe Abercrombie...short story collection again set in the First Law universe. It was great to read about these characters again...some of them before we met them in the other stories, some after, and some for the first time ever in a kind of running connected short story tale. I recommend everyone read Joe Abercrombies First Law novels...my only recommendation is to read them in chronological order of release since so many beats hit much better after having read 6 of these novels already.
Breach of Peace by Daniel B. Greene...Greene is one of the youtubers i follow who talks about books....booktubers they call themselves. This is his first venture into authordom and it was decent. It's more a novella than a novel but it was interesting and works to set up a universe with a supernatural noir vibe to it. He released a follow up this year but I haven't gotten around to reading it yet.
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens...not sure why but I read this in May...not the Christmas season at the time but I enjoyed it nontheless. It's a story Ive known since a child but never read it. Another shorter one but a good read.
Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton....AMAZING! Seriously it's one of the best books Ive ever read as far as not wanting to put it down. The pacing was great and it was surprisingly a lot more gruesome than the movie. It's definitely worth checking out even if you'd seen the movie dozens of times. I read a few more Crichton this year but this one remained at the top of my list.
The Great Train Robbery by Michael Crichton...Enjoyable. At parts a bit too dry but the majority of it has the fluff you'd expect from ficiton, despite being based on true events. Edward Pierce was one of the slimiest, love-to-hate-him protagonists of a novel Ive read in a while.
Sphere by Michael Crichton...Another sci fi gem from Crichton. I loved the reflective philosophical conversations about whether the Sphere is intentionally meant for mankind or we're just dumb apes banging on a monolith we don't understand. Add to that some scary underwater monsters and you've got a decent recipe for a good book. Doesn't topple JP for my top Crichton spot but i thoroughly enjoyed it.
A Crown of Swords and The Path of Daggers by Robert Jordan...books 7 and 8 in the Wheel of Time series...I'll be honest it's hard for me now to even separate them in my brain. The story at this point just kind of rolls into the next book seemlessly. Not always interestingly but it definitely feels like one running storyline now. This is supposedly the slog...and I felt it in Path of Daggers most of all. The first half of Swords felt like a lot of recap, then i remember things got going. Daggers is a blur of names and places that i can't really discern. Not the most memorable moments in these books, altho theres a chance i missed something. Youll have that in a 15 book series.
Im also currently reading Winters Heart...book 9 in the Wheel of Time...but Im not sure Ill finish before the end of the year. I find it to be a big step up from Path of Daggers. I've enjoyed a lot of Winters Heart so far.
