Scots Taffer on 24/11/2009 at 00:08
ooof
Stitch on 24/11/2009 at 20:44
Well, it certainly isn't unmitigated shit, but so far the book is basically ridiculously dense exposition regarding this fictitious city the writer has created. It's not bad (at least not explicitly so) and the world itself is reasonably interesting, but the setting so far is basically the centerpiece of the narrative, with plot and character only popping in here and there as a means of rolling out more details regarding the setting, which is pretty much the opposite of how good genre fiction operates.
Characters that act like real people--well, for the human characters, anyway--reciting convincing dialogue would help, too. So far it doesn't seem like the writer has much of a bead on what makes real people tick or how they interact. It's an alien world, yeah, but the inhabitants seem incredibly manufactured.
But the book does have at least half a hook in me, even if I struggle through each page. I've put the book down no less than three times in disgust and yet I keep picking it back up again.
Also of note: I've only managed two full chapters so far.
Aerothorn on 24/11/2009 at 22:10
So basically, it's Italian neorealism turned into a fantasy novel. As someone currently writing a paper on modern re-contextualization of Italian neorealism, I feel your pain.
edit: given that it's not readily apparent from reading this, I feel I should note that I am being at least moderately sarcastic. but not about the pain and the paper. Ugh.
Nuth on 24/11/2009 at 22:41
Quote Posted by Stitch
Perdido St. Station
I wasn't too crazy about it either. I thought it was wildly inventive; too bad it wasn't wildly engaging. What killed it for me was that it didn't make me care what happened to the characters.
Stitch on 24/11/2009 at 22:43
Uh oh.
Nuth on 24/11/2009 at 22:57
Purgatory Ridge by William Kent Krueger
Third book in his mystery series set in northern Minnesota. Decent series--plotlines haven't been great but the interaction between the whites and Ojibwe have kept me interested. Hoping Krueger's writing skill grows as the series progresses.
The Competitive Runner's Handbook by Glover & Glover
I've read quite a few running books over the past several months, and this one seems the most comprehensive.
gunsmoke on 24/11/2009 at 23:05
Just picked up "Catcher in the Rye" (Salinger). I have never read it, and I feel I am long past due.
theBlackman on 25/11/2009 at 02:08
Just finished Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco who also wrote Name of the Rose.
About to re-read The Conquest of Mexico and Peru by William H. Prescott, a blind historian. Excellent, mostly unbiased, account of the Conquistador invasion.
PotatoGuy on 25/11/2009 at 16:26
Quote Posted by theBlackman
Just finished Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco who also wrote Name of the Rose.
I'm planning to read it soon. Any thoughts about it?
Judith on 25/11/2009 at 17:44
Congrats, Blackman!
I had to give up on this one, even though I'm a "historian of philosophy" (I lost contact with my specialty years ago) :) This is stuff is definitely esoteric and obscure, PhDs and professors specializing in renaissance hermeticism and natural magic (Ficino, Pico Della Mirandola, Giordano Bruno) will be in heaven, but it's hardly bearable for a humble student like myself, let alone "an average reader".
PotatoGuy - If you liked "Name of the Rose" I'd recommend "Baudolino" instead, you'll find it particularly funny if you're familiar with historical events of the period (XII-XIII century, I think).
