Reading Diary: May 30, 2012 (Esslemont, Erikson, Coes, Salyards, Matthias)
The slow revival of my Reading Diary posts continues. These are just thoughts on what I have been reading lately, along with random comments/questions about reading in general. I would like to get to a point where I do 3 of these a week..and they would replace my review/reaction posts. We'll see.
-Toll the Hounds by Steven Erikson
After deciding to put down the ICE books and concentrate on the core Erikson novels, that meant it was time to start Toll the Hounds, book 8 in the main Malazan series. I started it with much success, as it felt good to be back in Erikson's version of Malaz. While reading, it was hard to keep the ICE books totally out of my mind, though. I kept thinking "yeah, RotCG wasn't doing it for me, but I really should be reading it now instead. No matter how much I struggled with it". I kept pushing those thoughts aside, and made it to page 100 in TtH. Then, I read a reference to something I guess must have happened in RotCG (involving Traveller and Ereko I think). It sounded like something rather big and worth knowing the details about. So, 100 pages into TtH, I put it down to return to (no pun intended) the Crimson Guard.
-Return of the Crimson Guard by Ian C. Esslemont
-Yeah, I'm now on attempt #8 to read this now. I can say it seems to be going much better this time, and I have hopes I have enough interest (& momentum) to make it through this time. Maybe I'm just in a better place for the novel, I needed time away, or the story has improved..but whatever happened, it seemed like once I hit page 300, the story seemed to get better. I seem to have settled into it now, and it is (a little) less confusing. I still come across some atrociously worded sentences, but overall I'm making progress and finally starting to enjoy this one. Fingers crossed the enjoyment continues.
-Power Down by Ben Coes
This is the thriller I currently read when taking a break from fantasy. I tend to read it quite a bit for a day or so, then return to Malazan for a couple of days, take a break from Malazan to read the Coes book for a day, then back to Malazan, etc. There are times when I think I will devote an entire month to thrillers, taking a break from fantasy entirely during that month. That idea normally lasts no longer than a day or two, and I am back to alternating between Malazan and a thriller. Anyway, according to my Kindle, I'm about 70% through Power Down and I will say I am enjoying it quite a bit. The pacing has been pretty good..no real slow downs like you get in some thrillers. The book starts off well, but when I hit the 50% mark, it took off again and shows no signs of letting up. It looks like the last 50% will be a great sprint to the finish. I am close enough to the end that I should probably just finish it before returning to RofCG. But I hate to kill the momentum I've built up in RofCG, so I will likely continue to alternate between the two. Though I'm sure once I hit the 80-85% mark, I'll finish Power Down. I've been given the opportunity to download an ARC of the author's forthcoming book from Netgalley, so I need to read the first 2 Dewey Andreas books before I start the new one (due out in July).
-Scourge of the Betrayer by Jeff Salyards
I'm about halfway through this one, and would say I like it quite it a bit. It was a more graphic than I was expecting, but not enough to make me put the book down. I like the narrator (Arki) and his voice, so that helps. I also like the humor, and the way the characters talk to each other. It gives a sense of how long they have been together. My only negative is that since Arki is the narrator and is being kept in the dark about what is really going on..it means us, the readers, are also kept in the dark. It bugs me at times, but not enough to really affect my enjoyment. I am enjoying the ride and plan to continue reading. However, I still struggle with reading books in incomplete/unfinished series. Yeah, I want to read books when they are published as it makes it easier to talk about since lots of you are also reading them. But in the back of my mind, I know I am going to forget so many details by the time the next book is published, that I feel like I will miss stuff when the next book hits shelves. Yep, you have heard this from me on this blog for over 2 years now, and yep, I'm not closer to finding a way to deal with it. I am trying to convince myself that if I read a book now, and the sequel is out 12 months or 24 months later..I can find enough recaps on the internet for book 1 that I could refresh my memory enough that I would be able to follow the sequel. It seems like one day I am convinced the "read now, and read internet reviews before reading the sequel" idea will work fine. The next day I realize I have TONS of books on my shelves (in completed series) already, so why not read those next? I own them, the series is done, I should read them. Then I create my "New Releases" post and I'm back to the "I want to read that new book now" idea. Arg. Neverending cycle that I really wish I could solve.
-The Wardstone Trilogy by M.R. Matthias
This series I have not started, but I noticed a revised edition of the first book in the trilogy is out now with the final book due out July 4. I have been waiting for this series to be complete before giving it a shot. With the series ending coming out in 5 weeks, it seems like now might be a good time to give it a shot. Along with the "I should devote an entire month to thrillers" idea I have, I have the recurring idea that I should "devote a month to reading nothing but indie fantasy". That last one is an idea that has been mentioned several times on the blog, and I have yet to follow through with it. Who knows, maybe it will happen one day. Regardless, I have sent a sample of the newly revised version of The Sword & the Dragon to my Kindle..and if I like it, you might see it pop up in the next Reading Diary post.
Guess that is all for now. If I start writing these posts 2-3 times a week, regularly, they won't be this long. I kinda wanted to get a mention of everything I have been reading the last 3 weeks..Now that I (and you) are caught up with my May reading, in the next post I will only have to discuss my reading from the previous day or two (or three).
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May 30th, 2012 - 10:49
TtH is not overly connected to RotCG, so you can easily read TtH without it. There are a few tidbits, and a few inconsistencies between the two. Ultimately, it’s up to you.
May 30th, 2012 - 12:39
I like this format, it’s interesting to hear the thoughts on the book as it’s still going. I know I miss lots in my reviews when I review at the end so, this is a good idea.
Aren’t there a couple big things that happen in RotCG that are slightly mentioned in TtH, but enough so that it would completely spoil it? I read RotCG first, and everything’s confusing enough that I’m not sure what I knew at what point.
May 30th, 2012 - 14:34
Bryce…thanks! I’ve been looking for a way to do “reviews” without doing reviews for a couple of years now. I’ve tried several things and think this might be the best way for me to pass along thoughts on my reading, but without having to write up a “formal” review. I plan to be a little more specific about a book’s details in future posts. I knew I had so many books to mention this time that I tried to keep things a little more brief.
I had thought I read mention of a couple of things that happened in RotCG that could be spoiled if I read TtH first. And I have also read that the ending of RotCG is pretty awesome. But like Neth said..I could skip it if I wanted to. But I am a bit of a completist, so not reading ALL of the Malazan books would bug me. Hence while I have decided several times to skip the ICE books, I am once again reading RotCG.
May 31st, 2012 - 08:39
Speaking as reader and not a reviewer, I do like your insights and impressions more than the reviews.
I have the same problem as you regarding finished series and yet reading interesting new debuts. I have chosen to stick with waiting until the series as much as possible, but do have a few “special” ongoing series that I simply cannot wait until the series is done. This year I’ll be re-reading/reading the Wheel of Time as I made a conscious decision to wait and read the series once it was complete after The Path of Daggers came out.
Because of this, your finished series tag is awesome! I do refer to that alot.
Thanks
Jennifer
June 4th, 2012 - 07:18
Jennifer…sorry about the delay in responding. First, glad to see you’re still around
Second, thanks for the feedback! Third…glad to see I am not the only one who prefers reading complete series, as I know we are in the minority nowadays. I am planning to do the WoT read, too. I read the first 5 several years ago, and restarted from book 1 this year. I’ve read 1 & 2, and am holding off on 3 until later in the summer. Part of me wanted to space them out and read 1 per month (or so), and another part wanted to wait a little longer and read 2 or 3 in a row, then throw in something different, then read another 2 or 3, etc. Whatever I do, I definitely want to be caught up in time to read the final book when it comes out.