The Tattered Scroll

Initial Reaction: Return of the Crimson Guard by Ian C. Esslemont

bossfan2000 — Wed, 16 May 2012 01:44:28 +0000

This is a tough reaction to write, coming on the heels of my thoughts on Reaper's Gale a week ago. I've actually been attempting to read Return of the Crimson Guard (RotCG henceforth) for 3 weeks now, and just can't get into it. I know its a long book, but I'm around 250 pages in, which is 25%...so it should have done something to reel me in by this point. Unfortunately, it hasn't. In fact, combined with my slight disappointment with Reaper's Gale, RotCG might force me to take an extended Malazan break. RotCG just isn't doing it for me in many ways. I don't find the overall writing as engaging as Erikson, and the language just feels clunky in (many) places. I'm not interested in any of the characters thus far (though Kyle has potential), and the story seems even harder to understand than the Erikson books. The latter surprises me, but Erikson has improved on that area as the series has progressed. Maybe it is my lack of interest that is the root of my confusion...I might not be reading carefully enough to keep everything in my head. And I will admit I have bounced around in several different books while trying to read RotCG.

So, I am wondering if i just need to take a break from Malazan. Or if I should just skip the ICE books and read the 10 Erikson books. As I have mentioned, I would like to finish the "core" books to gain a feeling of accomplishment, considering I have spent a good part of the last 18+ months reading the first 7 Erikson books. On the other hand, I would like to give myself a chance to enjoy the ending of the series. Maybe some time away would do me good, even if it bugs me to be so close to finally wrapping up the main series. I know I will miss some plot elements if I read the ICE books separately (after reading all 10 Erikson books), but after struggling with them so much, I think it would be better to try them at a later date.

At this point, I'm not sure what I will do. You might see an "Initial Reaction" post for Toll the Hounds in the next few days. Or you might see me talk about some indie books. At least once a year I make a pledge to read some of the popular indie books that show up on the Kindle fantasy bestseller lists, and usually within a day or two I abandon that pledge. I've been feeling the itch to try some indie works again, but given my horrible track record with my promises to cover them here....who knows if I'll actually read any of the indie samples I sent to my Kindle earlier today.

New Fantasy Releases: Week of May 15, 2012 (Thomas Covenant now in digital format)

bossfan2000 — Wed, 16 May 2012 01:03:09 +0000

Sorry for the late post..I'm on vacation this week so I have less blogging time than normal. As hinted at in the blog title for this post, it looks like the original 3 Thomas Covenant books are now in digital format (I assume this is the first time they have been available here in the US).

-The Illearth War (Chronicles of Thomas Covenant) by Stephen R. Donaldson (older book now in digital format)
-Lord Foul's Bane (Chronicles of Thomas Covenant) by Stephen R. Donaldson (older book now in digital format)
-Power That Preserves (Chronicles of Thomas Covenant) by Stephen R. Donaldson (older book now in digital format)
-The Bone House (Bright Empires) by Stephen R. Lawhead (tpb, digital)
-Diablo III: The Order by Nate Kenyon (hc, digital)
-Legacy of Wolves: The Inquisitives, Book 3 by Marsheila Rockwell (digital release of an older book)
-Railsea by China Mielville (hc, digital)
-The Testament of Jessie Lamb by Jane Rogers (tpb, digital)
-Bones of the Earth, I: Karras the Kitten (Tales from the world of the Noble Dead Saga) by J.C. Hendee (digital)

New Fantasy Releases: Week of May 8, 2012

bossfan2000 — Tue, 08 May 2012 12:34:43 +0000

It's Tuesday, which means it is time for the list of this week's new releases according to Amazon...

-The Citadel (Classics Series) by Richard A. Knaak (digital release of an older book)
-The Eye of the World: Book One of 'The Wheel of Time' by Robert Jordan (tpb, digital..this is the release of the new trade pb edition..the one that has the same cover art as the e-book editions. My review copy only mentioned tpb editions of the first 3 books, but I really hope the entire series gets this treatment).
-The Other Log of Phileas Fogg (Wold Newton) by Philip Jose Farmer (digital release of an older book)
-The Wizards Conclave: The Age of Mortals by Douglas Niles (digital release of an older book)

That's it for this week, actually.

Reaction: Reaper’s Gale by Steven Erikson

bossfan2000 — Mon, 07 May 2012 00:34:10 +0000

I finally finished Reaper's Gale (book 7 in the Malazan Book of the Fallen) a couple of weeks ago and wanted to give a brief writeup.

I must say that this one is probably my least favorite in the series so far. That's not to say I didn't like it, because I did (mostly). But I just didn't quite get into it as much as the previous books. I would even go so far as to say that there has been a little drop off for me, as I really liked the first 5 books, liked The Bonehunters a little less, and now this was another small step down.

The story is still almost as confusing to me as it has been the entire series, though I feel Erikson is doing a better job of overtly helping the reader follow some of the (seemingly) several thousand plot threads. I think there are 2 main reasons I struggled a bit with Reaper's Gale. First, at this point in the series, I feel like most of the Malazan soldiers are blurring together for me. Its getting harder and harder to really tell them apart. I'm not sure if it is due to my bad memory, the sheer number of them, or if there are just a few different character types for the soldiers. I guess it is probably a little of all 3. The other hindrance to my enjoyment is that, for the most part, it didn't heavily feature the characters I have enjoyed. I've never been a big fan of Udinaas or Karsa, unfortunately (forgive any mispellings...too lazy to look them up, and I don't have the book with me at the moment).

It seems like the last couple hundred pages were the best part, as usual for this series. I know it is impossible to maintain that pace for 1200 pages...and I love me some BFF (Big Fat Fantasy). But I find myself wishing the books had been trimmed back to maybe 800 pages or something.

While this might seem like a negative review (lacking positive feedback), I still highly enjoy this series, and (mostly) enjoyed this book. Part of the problem might be due to a bit of Malazan burn out. I would still highly recommend this series, and look forward to continuing with the next book.

In fact, I've spent the last 2 weeks trying to read Return of the Crimson Guard. But more on that tomorrow....

Refurbished Kindle Fire for $139 (Again)…Today Only

bossfan2000 — Wed, 02 May 2012 20:26:17 +0000

Amazon is once again selling refurbished Kindle Fire's for $139 here in the US. The deal is only good today while supplies last. They still had them in stock at the time of this post. You can find the deal here.

Thriller E-Book Deals: Coes ($2.99), Terry (FREE), Thor ($3.99)

bossfan2000 — Tue, 01 May 2012 13:20:23 +0000

Still haven't found any good fantasy book deals worth mentioning, but I did find a few thriller deals...

-The Valley of Shadows by Mark Terry (FREE..I believe this is 4th in the Derek Stillwater series. Apparently I picked up the 3rd one for free back in December. Might as well grab this one, too.)
-Power Down by Ben Coes ($2.99..I actually read a bit of this at Barnes & Noble this weekend. Think I will pick this up.)
-The Lions of Lucerne by Brad Thor ($3.99..first in the Scott Horvath series. I read and enjoyed the first 5. Need to get caught up.)

New Fantasy Releases: Week of May 1, 2012

bossfan2000 — Tue, 01 May 2012 12:50:26 +0000

Below is this week's list of new fantasy related releases:

-Fable: Reaver (Short Story) by Peter David (digital)
-The Black Opera by Mary Gentle (tpb)
-A Blight of Mages by Karen Miller (mmpb..for some reason this book is listed separately from the hc/digital edition on Amazon. The hc/kindle version are here.)
-By the Blood of Heroes: The Great Undead War: Book I by Joseph Nassise (tpb, digital)
-Chicory Up: The Pixie Chronicles by Irene Radford (mmpb, digital)
-The Choir Boats (Longing for Yount) by Daniel A. Rabuzzi (tpb, digital)
-Dark Matters: A Novella by Vicki Pettersson (digital)
-Galen Beknighted: Heroes, Book 6 by Michael Williams (digital release of an older book)
-The Impossible Cube: A Novel of the Clockwork Empire by Steven Harper (mmpb, digital)
-The Killing Moon (Dreamblood) by N.K. Jemison (tpb, digital)
-Life Guards in the Hamptons: A Willow Tate Novel by Celia Jerome (mmpb, digital)
-Lord Valentine's Castle: Book One of the Majipoor Cycle by Robert Silverberg (tpb, digital)
-Magic Lantern (Rogue Angel) by Alex Archer (mmpb, digital)
-The Minority Council (Matthew Swift) by Kate Griffin (mmpb, digital)
-R.A. Salvatore's War of the Spider Queen, Volume II: Extinction, Annihilation, Resurrection (Dungeons & Dragons) by Kemp, Smedman, Athans (tpb)
-The Rose of Sarifal (Dungeons & Dragons) by Paulina Claiborne (mmpb, digital)
-Scourge of the Betrayer (Bloodsounder's Arc) by Jeff Salyards (hc)
-Shadowborn (Darkborn Trilogy) by Alison Sinclair (mmpb, digital)
-Silence by Michelle Sagara (hc, digital)
-Under Suspicion (The Underworld Detection Agency Chronicles) by Hannah Jayne (mmpb, digital)
-Wizard Undercover (Rogue Agent) by K.E. Mills (mmpb, digital)

New Fantasy Book Releases: Week of April 24, 2012

bossfan2000 — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 12:43:25 +0000

Last Tuesday of the month...expect a big list this week. Here we go...

-Dead Winter (Time of Legends: the Black Plague) by CL Werner (mmpb)
-Azure Bonds by Jeff Grubb & Kate Novak (digital release of an older book)
-Bitter Seeds by Ian Tregillis (mmpb, digital)
-Blackbirds by Chuck Wendig (mmpb, digital)
-Burning Man (Kingdom of the Serpent Book 2) by Mark Chadbourn (tpb, digital)
-The Crippled God (Malazan Book Of The Fallen) by Steven Erikson (mmpb, digital)
-Dark Shadows: The Salem Branch by Lara Parker (mmpb, digital)
-Deadly Descendant by Jenna Black (mmpb, digital)
-Evil Dark: An Occult Crime Unit Investigation by Justin Gustainis (mmpb, digital..note the kindle edition is on sale for just $3.99)
-Fevre Dream by George R.R. Martin (mmpb)
-Hard Magic (The Grimnoir Chronicles) by Larry Correia (mmpb)
-Kaz the Minotaur: Heroes, Book 4 by Richard A. Knaak (digital release of an older book)
-Lance of Earth and Sky (The Chaos Knight Book Two) by Erin Hoffman (tpb, digital)
-Lies & Omens by Lyn Benedict (mmpb, digital)
-The Mongoliad: Book One (The Foreworld Saga) by Bear, Stephenson, Teppo, etc (digital, tpb)
-The Nekropolis Archives by Tim Waggoner (tpb, digital..3 book omnibus)
-Night Angel: The Complete Trilogy (Night Angel Trilogy) by Brent Weeks (tpb, digital)
-The Pack by Jason Starr (mmpb, digital)
-Rage of the Dragon (Dragonships of Vindras) by Weiss & Hickman (hc, digital)
-Shadow Blizzard by Alexey Pehov (hc, digital)
-Tricked (The Iron Druid Chronicles, Book Four) by Kevin Hearne (mmpb, digital)
-Weasel's Luck: Heroes, Book 3 by Michael Williams (digital release of an older book)
-The Wind Through the Keyhole (Dark Tower) by Stephen King (hc, digital)
-Red, White, and Blood by Christopher Farnsworth (hc, digital)

Now in E-Book Format: The Sacred Hunt Duology by Michelle West

bossfan2000 — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 13:00:34 +0000

While browsing for new e-book deals this morning, I ran across the Kindle edition of a series I hadn't seen in e-book format before. If this has been out while (and I somehow missed it), forgive me. I like to mention when older books finally make the digital format, hence this post.

Michelle West's The Sacred Hunt duology is now in Kindle format. You can find Hunter's Oath here, and Hunter's Death here. I own the 2 books in mmpb, as well as her 6 books in the Sun Sword series. I have not purchased any of the House War books yet. I'm glad to see the first 2 books in digital format. Hopefully this means the Sun Sword series is coming soon, too.

E-Book Deals: Fantasy & Sci-Fi (Bujold, Cherryh, Castro, Flynn, Schroeder)

bossfan2000 — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 12:47:08 +0000

While updating the big list of fantasy e-book deals today, I found a few new ones (finally). Take a gander at them below...

-Beguilement (The Sharing Knife, Book 1) by Lois McMaster Bujold ($2.99)
-Fortress in the Eye of Time (Tristan) by C.J. Cherryh ($2.99)
-Emissaries from the Dead (Andrea Cort) by Adam-Troy Castro ($2.99)
-The January Dancer by Michael Flynn ($2.99...SF)
-Sun of Suns: Book One of Virga (Virga 1) by Karl Schroeder ($2.99...SF)