Bozimus

Re: Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan Walter Jon Williams (author of Hardwired) also wrote "Voice of the Whirlwind", a very decent SF book you might like. Yes, I read and very much enjoyed the first two books in S. Andrew Swann's Forest of the Night series. The third book was a bit of a let down, IMO. Yes, a poster on these boards is a close friend of Swann, but I can't remember who.

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... Thanks! I will definitely keep an eye out for it!

Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan I normally don't review a book before I finish it, but as I will be stuck in jury duty Monday when I WILL finish said book, here goes... If the book continues through to the end in the pacing/quality it has exhibited since the beginning, I will give it an 8 out of 10. I have a secret love of cyberpunk and while this isn't Neuromancer or Hard Wired, it has many cyberpunk elements. Body augmentation, AI's, computer hacking, but most importantly, what happens to a person/society when you can change bodies (called sleeves) like a suit of clothing. Warning - Those that threw down 'Lord Foul's Bane' because Covenant was a rapist, just do yourself a favor and don't even try to read this book. The protagonist is not a nice man. Not your 'knight in shining armor'. Those of you that need your heroes squeaky clean are warned - T. Kovacs is a flawed protagonist. I am glad this is now a series and the second book is now in print - Broken Angels. I look forward to reading the sequel.

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... This is on my list of possible books to read. Did you enjoy it? What ranking would it deserve?

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... I could rule that world with my tye-dyed baseball-sized 30 sided die! MuhAHAHAHAHA

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... How about another grade A primo Conan quote? Conan: Crom, I have never prayed to you before. I have no tongue for it. No one, not even you, will remember if we were good men or bad. Why we fought, and why we died. All that matters is that today, two stood against many. Valor pleases you, so grant me this one request. Grant me revenge! And if you do not listen, the HELL with you!

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mongol General: We have won again. That is good! But what is best in life? Mongol Warrior: The open steppe, fleet horse, falcon on your wrist, wind in your hair! Mongol General: Wrong! Conan, what is best in life? Conan: To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of the women! Mongol General: That is good. (couldn't resist)

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... I have no objections! Like many other readers of Sci-Fi/Fantasy, I enjoy reading Horror...

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... O' Mighty Quatrotrinticali Devourer, Have you read "King Rat" or "The Scar", both by China Mieville?

A Feast for Crows FYI George R. R. Martin fans! A Feast for Crows (book 4, Song of Ice/Fire) is now due out June 24.... . . . . . . . . 2004!!!! Commence with the drooling!

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... Steve, Meant to thank you earlier for the recommendations. Thanks!

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... I have purchased "Dhampir" (book 1) and "Thief of Lives" (book 2). After I read "Bloodstone" by Gemmell and the third book in the Varrayan(sp?) Memoirs series by Shelley, I want to try these...

Deathstalker by Simon R. Green Finished "Deathstalker", first book in the (you guessed it) Deathstalker series. This book took darn long to finally get through the setup phase. Combat (which I love) was sprinkled throughout and kept me reading but seriously, 350 pages (roughly) is too much setup for this old swamp rat. It is also a little simplistic for my tastes, but hey, space opera and simplicity go hand in hand... I decided to finish it off, eventhough I had decided not to pursue this series further. But the ending was stronger than expected and left me wanting more. I give it a "5.5". A little note about my personal ranking system. I give a "5" to books that are evenly balanced between "Gee, I wish I could get those wasted hours of my life back..." and "I am marginally glad I read it." So, the ending redeemed it a bit, but not by much.

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... I would love to read a good pulp book! Can you recommend any that stand out?

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... I think it qualifies as Post Apoc science fiction with a little supernatural horror thrown in. Of course, most Post Apoc has liberal doses of mundane horror...

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... Have you read his first book -"King Rat"? I bought "The Scar" (Mieville's third) by mistake. I thought I was getting the first book put out by that author. Currently reading "Altered Carbon".

Black Company book 1 I finished the first book in Glen Cook's "The Black Company" series surprisingly titled...you guessed it..."The Black Company"! I liked it - quite a bit. I am still kicking myself for having repeatedly passed this series over for the last decade or so. I cannot tell you how many times I reached for this book, only to put it back and buy some drivel instead. I give it an "8" out of "10". :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: If you like gritty, realistic fantasy that portrays the protagonists as more grey than lily white, you could do far worse. Gonna have to try Cook's "Garrett Files" soon...

Re: A Thread for Random Musings Congratulations! I assume that takes a lot of willpower and constant vigilance. You deserve to take pride in your accomplishment.

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... I know SOME of you have completed a book in the last 10 days! (Imagine you are sitting next to Ben Hur, on that galley, rowing...rowing...rowing... The drum begins to beat, Bozimus cries out and cracks a whip near your ear!) Write a review, damn you! Put your thumbs into it! Battle speed! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The Circus of Dr. Lao by Charles G. Finney (not the religious guy) It is short, only 100 pages long. It was written in 1935 and carries its age fairly well, with the exception of frequent racial slurs (mainly against Chinese, but a few aimed at African-Americans). This last point made me feel a little guilty enjoying this fine book. I kept wincing as various racial slurs kept bringing my reading to a grinding halt. I detected no malice on the author's part...people 60 odd years back probably talked this way frequently. But I must warn people that while the book is very enjoyable, there are numerous racial slurs thrown about without apparent malice. If you are sensitive to certain words, you might want to pass this one by... I would have given it an "8" of "10". But I deduct 1 point for the slurs...

I found myself with lifted eyebrow upon reading this statement....

Re: Re: Death Masks by Jim Butcher I find myself wanting to defend The Dresden Files from your attempt to categorize it with "Buffy/Angel". But the more I think on it, they are the same basic genre. But I would like to add that while I stopped watching Buffy after Season 1, I have continued with the Dresden Files. Might be an age thing. If I were in my twenties, the Buffy TV series might have more appeal and Dresden book series might not be as enjoyable... But alas, I am old and toothless...

Death Masks by Jim Butcher Just finished Book 5 of the Dresden Files. If you want a very quick light read, with lots of action, the Dresden Files' series fits the bill. So far, all 5 books have been thoroughly enjoyable. I did groan over some wisecracks made by the modern day wizard/standup comic, but these were minor irritations at best. I give it an 7.5 out of 10.

a bit snobby, but full of good sources Follow this link and see what this person thinks of your favorites. http://greatsfandf.com/AUTHORS/ Many of my favs got 1 and 2 stars. Don't get me wrong, I am used to having tastes in movies/music/books that are not shared by many others. But if my favorites got 1 to 2 stars and this guy is rating some authors at 5 stars...maybe I should check them out as possible authors to investigate? I have been looking at starting the Lyonese books of Jack Vance before visiting this site. Now I am going to try the Demon Princes series after reading the Vance entry. Other notable authors that I had never before encountered - Ernest Bramah, The Wallet of Kai-Lung Charles G. Finney, The Circus of Doctor Lao (Can you tell that I liked Barry Hughart's Bridge of Birds?) Anyhow, I hope that some of you will find some recommendations from this persnickety individual's website.

Finished "Way of the Wolf" by E.E. Knight, book 1 of "The Vampire Earth" series. Not bad, but drags in many places. Strong ending that finally ignited that page flipping frenzy. I admit to being prejudiced in favor of the book because the author was kind enough to appear on a discussion board that I sometimes frequent. Perfect, flawless heroes are too simplistic for my taste. I want three-dimensional protagontists that make mistakes and have flaws. I will probably try book 2 and hope that this new author makes a more believable hero next time out... I give it a 5 of 10.