...I can't speak for the next Riverworld novel, because I was very much of your mind about that one. I was all excited about Burton, and it was such a letdown I never bothered with any others.
The Pullman novels are worth continuing with, in my opinion. I love them a lot.
I've never read Riverworld so I can't help there but you did better than I with Pulman I never got past the first chapter of the first book, but I do know other adults who rave over it.
Recommended reads Both Pratchett's. If you haven't read it yet the Thud is good, more serious than his usual style but with enough humour to leven it. I have just started reading Making Money and I am not sure yet if I should recomend it, I am still reading but.... It has the Von Lipwig as the main protagonist and having loved Going Postal is at the moment the only thing keeping me reading. I am told it gets better.
My memory says that the second Riverworld book is the high point of the series, but I still don't want to recommend it.
I would like to recommend, if you haven't read them already, Ian McDonald's "Desolation Road" and/or "Necroville" (published as "Terminal Café" on the wrong side of the Alantic). "Desolation Road" is my second most-reread book after Tanith Lee's "Don't Bite the Sun", and it would almost certainly be the first if Lee didn't have about 15 years of head start.
I read a couple more of the Riverworld stuff a long time ago before giving up on Phillip Jose Farmer for good. The man can't do characterisation to save his life. All his heroes are exactly the same. Such good ideas, and such a waste.
I must admit that when I first read Northern Lights I went straight out and bought The Subtle Knife because I had to know what was going on and what happened next. Then I was on my seat in anticipation of The Amber Spyglass for what seemed like years. Of course, the world view is a congenial one from my point of view. They have faults, of course, and Pullman really ought to learn how to use a semi-colon, but I can put up with that because of the depth of imagination and the excellent characterisation. I read a fair amount of young adult, when it is good - Diana Wynne Jones, Margaret Mahy, Eoin Colfer, etc.
In the circumstances I wouldn't know what to recommend, because I really don't know your tastes well enough, particularly from a couple of books. Have you read Carnival by Elizabeth Bear? It's a subtle piece of work and her best book IMHO. Or Jon Courtnay Grimwood's Arabesk trilogy, which had exactly the same effect on me as the Pullman (i.e. book one read in 24 hours, book two purchased immediately in hardback, fingernails bitten to quick waiting for book three), though it is a very different, far more adult, complex and violent set of books.
I think we need a few more hints about what you're feeling like reading...
I liked the Arabesk novels - loved his obvious knowledge of the Arabic culture. I've had Elzabeth Bear recommended to me before, but haven't tried her yet. I think I feel a library request coming on.
I must admit that it's years since I read To Your Scattered Bodies Go, but it's a favourite of mine - one of a relatively few books that I've read twice. I'm not going to defend Farmer against accusations of poor characterisation, because it isn't his strong point, but to be honest, who cares when everything else is so good? However, I've read pretty much everything he's ever written, so I am a little biased. Whether you'll enjoy The Magic Riverboat is a bit debatable. I'd suggest you wait until you're in a more receptive mood - I know that my enjoyment of books depends on reading them at the right time.
Like you, I didn't get on with Northern Lights. I'm still not sure exactly what didn't appeal, but it didn't engage me at all.
As to what to read next, Anansi Boys is a very readable book, and if you haven't read any Gaiman other than Good Omens, then I'd urge you to give it a go. Likewise, if you haven't read any Charlie Stross, you should try some. I really enjoyed Iron Sunrise, which I finally got around to reading a couple of weeks ago. I also would recommend Jon Courtenay Grimwood's novels as being difficult to put down.
Did you Read American Gods ? Lots of debate over this but I still enjoy it - and it won awards (bizarelly from about three different genre's)..
'Stardust' too of course (but only in the ilustrated format. Its NOT a comic - but the paper back version without Vess' illustrations isnt as good. I assume you have read 'Good Omens'
Not Gaimanwise - I have just reread 'I am Legend' which is still a classic (and i'm worried about the movie - I mean - Will Smith as Neville ?) ...
I deliberately read American Gods first. I liked it (in spite of an early gaffe that made me flinch as an editor).
The art in Stardust is beautiful. Good Omens made much better sense the second time I read it (but actually spoilered something in American Gods for me, because he used an idea twice)
I think I'm less demanding (or perhaps demanding in a different way) than I would otherwise be because I do most of my reading either commuting or in bed and if a book is difficult to get into, then it can languish in my bag for weeks while I do crosswords instead. That said, I've been re-reading John Crowley's Aegypt books and no-one would describe those as undemanding.
I'd echo Anansi Boys which is the closest of Gaiman's novels to his comic book work.
Ken MacLeod's Learning the World is a terrific alien encounter/Heinlien send-up novel, and John Scalzi writes space opera that he's dedicated to the said RAH for good reason - and I did enjoy Old Man's War enough so that the next book is on my waiting-to-be-read pile.
Liz Williams' Nine Layers of Sky brings the eastern countries hauling themselves out of the wreckage of the USSR vividly to life.
I loved Roverworld as a teen but have been wary of going back there. What you say confirms me in my wariness...
I seem to have mostly been reading YA fiction just lately, partly because friends keep writing it and I don't have the reading time to fit much else around them!
I didn't get on with Northern Lights either - I couldn't see what the fuss was about. However, I thought I might as well persevere and read the next one and I'm very glad I did because it gets much, *much* better.
The interesting thing is that, like the second book (The Wandering Fire) in Kay's Fianovar Tapestry, The Subtle Knife suddenly takes you in a completely unexpected direction.
Interesting, most people have said to me that they thought the later books were less successful (I mean in terms of the writing, rather than money) - but then they're much more ambitious, so probably trickier to pull off.
Well, I can only comment on Pullman´s trilogy: it is so original that i really read it all. It worked well with my imagination and i was not surprised to hear there is a new film based on the Dark material. I heard there in Daniel Craig playing Lord Asriel ... hmm, i don´t know... But - the last volume was very difficult philosophcally AND with the vocabulary aw,aw...
While doing my lens on Riverworld on Squidoo I found your post. Different people like different stuff, of course. I quite liked Riverworld, and it still stands in my memory as a great saga.
Have you read Larry Niven's Ringworld series? If not, that may be something for you.
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The Pullman novels are worth continuing with, in my opinion. I love them a lot.
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Recommended reads
Both Pratchett's. If you haven't read it yet the Thud is good, more serious than his usual style but with enough humour to leven it.
I have just started reading Making Money and I am not sure yet if I should recomend it, I am still reading but.... It has the Von Lipwig as the main protagonist and having loved Going Postal is at the moment the only thing keeping me reading. I am told it gets better.
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I've put in a request for Making Money to the library, so we'll see how many people are ahead of me in the queue.
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I would like to recommend, if you haven't read them already, Ian McDonald's "Desolation Road" and/or "Necroville" (published as "Terminal Café" on the wrong side of the Alantic). "Desolation Road" is my second most-reread book after Tanith Lee's "Don't Bite the Sun", and it would almost certainly be the first if Lee didn't have about 15 years of head start.
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Haven't read the Riverworld books in nearly 30 years but I remember really enjoying them at the time...
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I must admit that when I first read Northern Lights I went straight out and bought The Subtle Knife because I had to know what was going on and what happened next. Then I was on my seat in anticipation of The Amber Spyglass for what seemed like years. Of course, the world view is a congenial one from my point of view. They have faults, of course, and Pullman really ought to learn how to use a semi-colon, but I can put up with that because of the depth of imagination and the excellent characterisation. I read a fair amount of young adult, when it is good - Diana Wynne Jones, Margaret Mahy, Eoin Colfer, etc.
In the circumstances I wouldn't know what to recommend, because I really don't know your tastes well enough, particularly from a couple of books. Have you read Carnival by Elizabeth Bear? It's a subtle piece of work and her best book IMHO. Or Jon Courtnay Grimwood's Arabesk trilogy, which had exactly the same effect on me as the Pullman (i.e. book one read in 24 hours, book two purchased immediately in hardback, fingernails bitten to quick waiting for book three), though it is a very different, far more adult, complex and violent set of books.
I think we need a few more hints about what you're feeling like reading...
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Like you, I didn't get on with Northern Lights. I'm still not sure exactly what didn't appeal, but it didn't engage me at all.
As to what to read next, Anansi Boys is a very readable book, and if you haven't read any Gaiman other than Good Omens, then I'd urge you to give it a go. Likewise, if you haven't read any Charlie Stross, you should try some. I really enjoyed Iron Sunrise, which I finally got around to reading a couple of weeks ago. I also would recommend Jon Courtenay Grimwood's novels as being difficult to put down.
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I've just got Family Trade from the library. I find Stross a mixed bag. Brilliant ideas, but can't always pull all the threads together at the end.
It was my second time around with Riverworld, but I think I demand more of a book now than when I originally read them.
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'Stardust' too of course (but only in the ilustrated format. Its NOT a comic - but the paper back version without Vess' illustrations isnt as good. I assume you have read 'Good Omens'
Not Gaimanwise - I have just reread 'I am Legend' which is still a classic (and i'm worried about the movie - I mean - Will Smith as Neville ?) ...
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The art in Stardust is beautiful. Good Omens made much better sense the second time I read it (but actually spoilered something in American Gods for me, because he used an idea twice)
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Ken MacLeod's Learning the World is a terrific alien encounter/Heinlien send-up novel, and John Scalzi writes space opera that he's dedicated to the said RAH for good reason - and I did enjoy Old Man's War enough so that the next book is on my waiting-to-be-read pile.
Liz Williams' Nine Layers of Sky brings the eastern countries hauling themselves out of the wreckage of the USSR vividly to life.
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I seem to have mostly been reading YA fiction just lately, partly because friends keep writing it and I don't have the reading time to fit much else around them!
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books
But - the last volume was very difficult philosophcally AND with the vocabulary aw,aw...
Sorry for digging up old posts :-)
(Anonymous) 2007-10-28 07:00 pm (UTC)(link)Have you read Larry Niven's Ringworld series? If not, that may be something for you.