What are you Reading Now?

[Demesnedenoir]

Complicated is good, and huge books are fine, and I doubt he can be more difficult to read than Chaucer in its original Middle English, but not sure his writing and story will engage me. The setting feels so D&D (or generic RPG) it bugs me... but if I recall correctly, it should feel that way since that was its genesis. That would've appealed to me in '99 (maybe, I was already trending low magic with plumes of high) but now, it's more iffy. Now, in '92 I probably would've been into this book... although I was stuck reading Chaucer about then, LOL.

I also have editor brain (although I've managed to suppress it) and Rothfuss and Erickson both try to make my inner editor scream on numerous occassions. I am going to take a run at reading Gardens and Name of the Wind over the next year, as a study of writers rather than entertainment, then I'll see if they're interesting enough to continue with.

It's a great series, IMO. But you're looking at ten books, some of which push 1200 pages. If you don't like Erikson's writing, may as well read something you like. The series is complicated and doesn't become easier to read.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

Yeah, I love Brandon as Brandon, and as a writer, he is just fine, just so far he hasn't excited me. But in all fairness, I haven't found an exciting writer in a very long time. I just started rereading The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco the other day, and I was shocked at how quickly I fell back into that story and the narrator's voice. And hell, that was originally in Italian! The English translation is better than most English writers manage. Go figure. Not all of Eco's stories are great, but the dude was a helluva writer, his passing was a literary loss for sure.

I managed to finish Gardens of the Moon, but the second book, Deadhouse Gates, totally defeated me. I just could not stand it.

As for Sanderson, I read Elantris, and it was ok. Tried to read The Way of Kings and gave up again in despair. Just not at all a compelling book to me. It's strange because I like a lot of what Sanderson says about writing on the Writing Excuses podcast. But his actual books fail to engage me.

 

[skip.knox]

Shards of a Broken Sword by W.R. Gingell. I read the sample and it hooked me. Normally I shy away from stories about the Fae, especially when it's capitalized. But this story starts with a cursed prince, his kindly and sympathetic father, and a strong and intriguing enchantress. By the time I learned it was going to be about Faery, I liked the lead characters so well, I was willing to follow them into Trite Land, trusting the author will come through.

That's a pretty good accomplishment for a sample!

 

[DragonOfTheAerie]

especially when it's capitalized.

Heehee... XD

 

[Geo]

I just finished They Mostly Come at Night, by Benedict Patrick. I think is his first book, is YA and it made me cringe because of the horrible misappropriation of the Native American voice and their legends/stories, but the format is interesting, the writing fluid and some of the interloping stories have a naive kind of charm. I got it as part of my effort to read new authors trying to set themselves apart from the classic Eurocentric type of fantasy. And Benedict tried, but in my opinion did not succeed.

 

[Mythopoet]

I finished reading The High House and found it a great ride and very satisfying. It's essentially about the transfer of power between the old Master of the High House, who has been missing for 10 years, and whoever will become his heir, the House chooses. But while the players are trying to figure things out, they are under attack by a group that wants to completely undermine the power of the House, which seems to be linked to the universe itself. Highly recommended.

I'm continuing my reread of The Night Land while taking notes. It makes me feel sorry for William Hope Hodgson. This books is an incredible, stunning work of imagination, but the really unfortunate choice of prose style he made means that few people read it anymore. It had such a huge influence on many of the other influential writers of weird fantasy (Lovecraft, Ashton Smith, etc) but its legacy is fading because most people just don't want to read a huge book written this way. And I can't fault them. The prose is really tiresome and often absurd. I have no idea why he chose to write it like this. But for me at least, the story behind the prose is well worth the effort. There is an amazing world here and also a very personal story of love and sacrifice.

There is also a "retold" version of the book which sticks to the original as closely as possible, but updates the prose and structure of the writing. It's by James Stoddard and I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in The Night Land.

I've also started reading Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner. Not sure what I think of it so far. It appears to be one of those fantasy stories with zero fantastical elements, more like historical fiction but set in an imaginary place. In general, I don't favor those types of fantasy books, but I'll see how this one plays out.

 

[DragonOfTheAerie]

I finished reading The High House and found it a great ride and very satisfying. It's essentially about the transfer of power between the old Master of the High House, who has been missing for 10 years, and whoever will become his heir, the House chooses. But while the players are trying to figure things out, they are under attack by a group that wants to completely undermine the power of the House, which seems to be linked to the universe itself. Highly recommended.

I'm continuing my reread of The Night Land while taking notes. It makes me feel sorry for William Hope Hodgson. This books is an incredible, stunning work of imagination, but the really unfortunate choice of prose style he made means that few people read it anymore. It had such a huge influence on many of the other influential writers of weird fantasy (Lovecraft, Ashton Smith, etc) but its legacy is fading because most people just don't want to read a huge book written this way. And I can't fault them. The prose is really tiresome and often absurd. I have no idea why he chose to write it like this. But for me at least, the story behind the prose is well worth the effort. There is an amazing world here and also a very personal story of love and sacrifice.

There is also a "retold" version of the book which sticks to the original as closely as possible, but updates the prose and structure of the writing. It's by James Stoddard and I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in The Night Land.

I've also started reading Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner. Not sure what I think of it so far. It appears to be one of those fantasy stories with zero fantastical elements, more like historical fiction but set in an imaginary place. In general, I don't favor those types of fantasy books, but I'll see how this one plays out.

What's the Night Land about? And why is the prose weird?

 

[Steerpike]

What's the Night Land about? And why is the prose weird?

It's a far-future story where the sun has been extinguished, as I recall. I remember thinking it was very cool story when I read it, which was some time ago. Worth checking out.

Also, all of the Ellen Kushner books set in the "Riverside" are are excellent, which includes Swordspoint, Privilege of the Sword, and The Fall of the Kings (which does have some magical elements).

 

[Mythopoet]

What's the Night Land about? And why is the prose weird?

The Night Land is about a very, very distant future (many millions of years) in which the sun has been completely dark for millions of years and humanity exists only in a gigantic pyramid structure called the Great Redoubt which they never leave. The Redoubt is surrounded on all sides by monstrous enemies, but is sustained from within by the "earth current". The main character, who is never named and tells the story in the first person, is a youth of the Great Redoubt who has "night hearing" (a kind of telepathy) and receives a telepathic call from another, smaller redoubt somewhere out there in the Night Land where a small number of humans are in great trouble for their earth current is failing. The MC discovers that the girl he makes contact with is essentially the reincarnation of his wife from a previous life. When he looses contact with her, knowing her Redoubt is in grave danger, he braves a journey through the Night Land to save her.

The descriptions of the Land and the hints at the history of humanity up to that point are strikingly imaginative. It's a sci fi novel, but it was written in 1912 so the science is quite old. But here's an example of the prose:

And as I did begin to return, it was to me as that all my senses were newly awake; for I had a sudden knowing that I was within the atmosphere, should I not call it, of the Monster. And I gat an abrupt and horrid shaking of the spirit; for I did feel in verity that my soul had come too anigh; and that the Beast had a sure knowledge concerning me; yet did make to my destruction with no haste; but after that way and fashion that did seem proper unto it. And this feeling you shall understand the better, maybe, when I do tell that it was of a quiet and steadfast life and keen intelligence that I did believe to come forth from the Watcher on every side; so that I did feel as one already within the gaze of some Great and Evil Power.

 

[DragonOfTheAerie]

The Night Land is about a very, very distant future (many millions of years) in which the sun has been completely dark for millions of years and humanity exists only in a gigantic pyramid structure called the Great Redoubt which they never leave. The Redoubt is surrounded on all sides by monstrous enemies, but is sustained from within by the "earth current". The main character, who is never named and tells the story in the first person, is a youth of the Great Redoubt who has "night hearing" (a kind of telepathy) and receives a telepathic call from another, smaller redoubt somewhere out there in the Night Land where a small number of humans are in great trouble for their earth current is failing. The MC discovers that the girl he makes contact with is essentially the reincarnation of his wife from a previous life. When he looses contact with her, knowing her Redoubt is in grave danger, he braves a journey through the Night Land to save her.

The descriptions of the Land and the hints at the history of humanity up to that point are strikingly imaginative. It's a sci fi novel, but it was written in 1912 so the science is quite old. But here's an example of the prose:

Yikes. I can barely make it through that example. Reading a whole book like that sounds incredibly tedious.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

It's the sort of prose you can get used to. But then I've read plenty of old stuff, including the Canterbury Tales in ME... so, LOL. That sort of thing is a put off for the modern reader, no doubt. I doubt I'd be patient enough these days.

 

[DragonOfTheAerie]

It's the sort of prose you can get used to. But then I've read plenty of old stuff, including the Canterbury Tales in ME... so, LOL. That sort of thing is a put off for the modern reader, no doubt. I doubt I'd be patient enough these days.

I hate the Canterbury Tales in modern English. XD Can some one tell me what the point of all that absurdly perverted crud is?

 

[Demesnedenoir]

Those memory chips were erased by years of booze, heh heh. And the modern english version? meh. Absurdly perverted? Suppose that's determined by POV. The prof wanted me to pursue Chaucer in grad school, I wanted to chase women... That turned out well, I didn't even get my BA. I always had a bad attitude toward school time hoop jumping, LOL. Hell, skipped my own high school grad after graduating early. Hmm, how bout them tangents? heh heh.

 

[Mythopoet]

It's the sort of prose you can get used to. But then I've read plenty of old stuff, including the Canterbury Tales in ME... so, LOL. That sort of thing is a put off for the modern reader, no doubt. I doubt I'd be patient enough these days.

Yeah, I've gotten used to the prose and it doesn't really bother me. I read a lot of older classics though and usually dislike contemporary prose styles. I'm rather old fashioned. Though the excerpt I posted above is actually a passage that is more on the tolerable side of the spectrum of The Night Land. Much of it is far worse with absurd amounts of redundancy and sentence structures that make me stop and wonder "wtf?" But I still really, really love the story.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

That almost tempts me to read it... almost... LOL.

Yeah, I've gotten used to the prose and it doesn't really bother me. I read a lot of older classics though and usually dislike contemporary prose styles. I'm rather old fashioned. Though the excerpt I posted above is actually a passage that is more on the tolerable side of the spectrum of The Night Land. Much of it is far worse with absurd amounts of redundancy and sentence structures that make me stop and wonder "wtf?" But I still really, really love the story.

 

[Insolent Lad]

I've never tackled The Night Land but I remember reading Hodgson's The House on the Borderland ages ago. I don't recall it being a particularly difficult read though I'm not sure I was ever quite sure what it was about.

 

[Mythopoet]

That almost tempts me to read it... almost... LOL.

lol That's why I also recommend the retold version! It's virtually identical except for the prose style and more dialogue. (And also the MC actually has a name.)

I've never tackled The Night Land but I remember reading Hodgson's The House on the Borderland ages ago. I don't recall it being a particularly difficult read though I'm not sure I was ever quite sure what it was about.

The House on the Borderland is fantastic. It's writing is a bit old fashioned, but not anything like The Night Land. I don't really think you're supposed to know what it's about. Hodgson was basically writing cosmic horror before it was really a thing. Though many fans like to believe that House and Night Land are in the same universe.

Anyway, I've given up on Swordspoint. For me, it just revolved around sex way too much. The plot hinged on the sex lives of the characters and while it was never explicit, it was too close for my comfort. This is a personal thing for me, but I really don't want to watch what's going on in character's bedrooms (or living room floors) anymore than I'd want someone looking in on my bedroom. (To witness all those backrubs and the amount of anime we watch. ) And I wasn't expecting sex to be omnipresent in the story. The descriptions I'd read of it did not prepare me for that, so it was an unpleasant surprise.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

Oh, it's the weirdness of the writing that tempts me, heh heh.

 

[TheCrystallineEntity]

I am reading multiple Diana Wynne Jones books [my favourite author], and contemplating reading Gate of Ivory, Gate of Horn, since I've read Mythago Wood and Lavondyss.

 

[Garren Jacobsen]

Just started Deadhouse Gates. Digging it so far, but it is still jumpy like Gardens of the Moon.