shark_hat ([info]shark_hat) wrote,
@ 2009-05-01 12:06:00
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Entry tags:books

April books

Diane Duane, The Romulan Way
Flann O'Brian, Further Cuttings From Cruiskeen Lawn
William Cook, Ha Bloody Ha
Lester Del Rey (ed), The Best of Hal Clement
Dave Langford, Different Kinds of Darkness
Roger Zelazny, Nine Princes in Amber
Steve Jones, Almost Like A Whale
Julian Hall, The Rough Guide to British Cult Comedy
Christianna Brand, Nurse Matilda Comes To Town
Roger Zelazny, The Guns of Avalon
Penelope Hughes-Hallett (ed), My Dear Cassandra; the illustrated letters of Jane Austen
Roger Zelazny, Sign of the Unicorn
C. J. Cherryh, Serpent's Reach
Mass Observation, The Pub and the People
Catherine Johnson, Telefantasy
John M. Ford, The Last Hot Time
David Langford, Up Through an Empty House of Stars
Roger Zelazny, Courts of Chaos
Patricia Wentwroth, The Girl in the Cellar
Helene Hanff, Letter From New York
Helene Hanff, Q's Legacy
Daniel P. Mannix, The Way of the Gladiator
The Absolutelies, Absolutely: the words
Peter Beagle, The Last Unicorn
Andy Lane, Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased): the files
Georges Simenon, Maigret and the Idle Burglar
John Betjeman, Tennis Whites and Teacakes
Justine Larbalestier, Magic Lessons
M. J. Simpson, The Pocket Essential Hitchhiker's Guide
Roger Wilmut, Didn't You Kill My Mother-In-Law?
Harry Thompson, Colin Swash, Angus Deayton, Ian Hislop, Paul Merton, Have I Got News For You
Diane Duane, My Enemy, My Ally
Diane Duane, Swordhunt
Diane Duane, Honor Blade


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[info]lady_schrapnell
2009-05-01 12:05 pm UTC (link)
Okay to ask for a report on a few of those? I'd be interested to see what you thought of the Zelazny - I read the first one a long time ago (I think), but was overcome by the difficulty of getting hold of copies of all of the series books in order. But I vaguely remember liking it quite a bit so have always wondered about doing it right this time.

Also - Magic Lessons? I liked Magic and Madness okay but someone ([info]emmaco maybe?) said something about there being an irritating cliff-hanger or plot-twist or something in the second one so was going to hold off...

And The Last Hot Time? This is purely for the sake of comparing reactions, not recommendation request!

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[info]shark_hat
2009-05-01 02:54 pm UTC (link)
The Zelaznys read really easily, and they're so short by today's standards, I whizzed through them (partly by skipping all the descriptions of moving through Shadow). They're fun, and I'm going to go on to the second series if I can find where one of the books has got to, but I think there's less to them than I thought when I read them as a teenager; they're not fluff, but the notions of Amber and the Shadows and the Trumps are the most memorable things about them- the characters are a bit same-y.

Magic Lessons... I liked Magic or Madness enough to get Lessons quite quickly, but then left Lessons lying around half-read for a couple of weeks, and it hasn't made me want to rush out and finish the trilogy right away (whereas I finished the Rihannsu trilogy last night and have already ordered the fourth volume!) The heroine does something really stupid, but I didn't find any of the plot-twists all that annoying (although Emma and I might have different irritation factors, of course); I certainly didn't find the ending too cliffhangerish, given that the third vol is already out.
Oh, I don't know, it was OK- I can't point to anything and say "That needs fixing", but it didn't draw me in as much as Or Madness... maybe it's that the setting and magic system was part of what made the first one really interesting, and we've already been introduced to them, so all there is for this one to do is be the middle bit of the plot?

I'd read Last Hot Time before but didn't remember much about it; thought it was brilliant this time! A lovely picture of Doc growing into his strength, and fears and losses realistically shown, and the amazing city and the half-magic society- one of those places that stays with you.

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[info]lady_schrapnell
2009-05-01 03:32 pm UTC (link)
Thanks for the Zelazny review - I'll keep an eye out definitely, even if it's not all that amazing. And I can see that about Magic Lessons - it was the setting and magic system that made the first, I agree. I've been trying to check about the comment I thought I remembered (my LJ doesn't seem searchable, though I've not set it to be that way) and I think in fact Emma said the ending of Magic Lessons was a bit rushed so she was reserving judgment till the third book. Which is not that close to what I said above. (Apologies, Emma!)

I know I thought Last Hot Time was brilliant, but still don't remember much more about it than that. I also loved the setting though.

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[info]emmaco
2009-05-01 06:18 pm UTC (link)
At least you remembered I'd read and blogged about it! I had to go look at what I wrote to confirm that it was indeed me :) And I just realised that I'm pretty sure I never even read the third book! Ay.

I was looking at an Austen letters to Cassandra compilation the other day...did you like this one?

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[info]lady_schrapnell
2009-05-01 10:17 pm UTC (link)
You have NO idea how much better it makes me feel to see the two of you also forgetting what you thought/said about books!

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[info]shark_hat
2009-05-05 10:26 am UTC (link)
Yes, the illustrations were quite well chosen, but it whetted my appetite for a Complete Letters.

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