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Pick and Mix 2016
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dustydigger
Posted 2016-04-06 12:05 PM (#13183 - in reply to #13182)
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Location: UK		I was lucky to obtain the original four books in a hardback anthology for a ridiculously cheap price,with fabulous old fashioned woodcut illustrations which enhanced and often elucidated the story. Marvellous stuff.I was also read The Dark is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper ,and was disappointed at then rather anticlimactic final two books. So I was relieved that the Borrower books lived up to their reputation! :0) I was very happy when WWEnd added so many junior classic titles to the database. After all,those early fantasy reads probably laid the foundations for all of us loving fantasy,and speculative fiction of all kinds.
It is available very cheaply on Abebooks.com. Check out Mary Norton/Borrowers anthology there,less than $5. The illustrations are miraculous,so in keeping with the story and its time of writing.
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Mervi2012
Posted 2016-04-09 2:21 PM (#13214 - in reply to #12239)
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Thanks for the tip, dustydigger! Your set sounds great.
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Mervi2012
Posted 2016-04-14 11:48 AM (#13240 - in reply to #12239)
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My next book was Patricia Wrede's Snow White and Rose Red. It's the retelling of the fairy tale of the same name. It's set in Elizabethan England and the characters speak in the Elizabethan accent. It feel like a fairy tale. Snow White and Rose Red are sisters and live with their mother in a small cottage. One day they spy John Dee and Edward Kelly in the forest, doing magic. That mortal magic affects a half-faery man unexpectedly and draws them all into danger.
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dustydigger
Posted 2016-04-24 1:10 PM (#13336 - in reply to #12239)
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Location: UK		I have just today completed C J Cherryh's Kesrith ,a bit darker and more complicated than some of her work. Only her third novel,so a Hugo and a Nebula nomination isnt to be sniffed at.It has all the trademarks we admire her for,such as fascinating aliens ,two species this time no less,complex but credible characterization,fine descriptions of the harsh world of Kesrith,and of course that immersive third person voice of the characters which drags us to the heart of each protagonist,so we feel we know them in depth.Dark,dense,downbeat but riveting entertainment.
Next up will be Clarke's Sands of Mars,and some UF light reads. Too much going on in real life to concentrate on more serious stuff!. Lets hope I get more SF read next month
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Mervi2012
Posted 2016-04-27 2:04 PM (#13374 - in reply to #12239)
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I'm glad you enjoyed Kesrith, dustydigger. Do you have the rest of the series?
My next Pick&Mix read was Judith Tarr's Bring Down the Sun. It's about Alexander the Great's mother, Olympias, or Polyxena as she's known at the start of the story. It has more magic than the books I've read previously from Tarr. Polyxena was born under omens which predicted that she will destroy her culture, the worshipers of the Mother goddess. Not surprisingly the priestesses have great concerns and have raised her ignorant of her own magical abilities.
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dustydigger
Posted 2016-04-27 2:28 PM (#13375 - in reply to #13374)
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Location: UK		I have the Faded Sun omnibus edition,so,though I have a host of other books I should be reading I couldnt resist and have started Shon'jir. I've never read any of Judith Tarr's work. So many books - and authprs! - so little time!
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Mervi2012
Posted 2016-04-27 2:47 PM (#13377 - in reply to #13375)
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dustydigger - 2016-04-27 2:28 PM
So many books - and authprs! - so little time!


Indeed. Story of my life, too.

I also have the omnibus edition. It's great that many of Cherryh's works have been gathered in the ominbuses. I discovered her just a couple of years ago and have so much to catch up.
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dustydigger
Posted 2016-04-28 9:01 AM (#13389 - in reply to #12239)
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Location: UK		I started reading her books in the 80s. I got hold of the final book in the Chanur series,Chanur's Legacy and that was it,she had a lifelong fan. Unfortunately the libraries in my area have few or none of her works,and its the same in the bookshops,so collecting her works is slow going. I cant understand why she is not a household name in the UK.. I suppose she is not to everyone's tastes,with her immersive third person narrative,deep psychological probing of a character,their thoughts and their motives. Not enough flash bang space operatic action,maybe?
One thing I really like about Cherryh's work is the way her protagonists are never in the heroic mold,never great heroes who lead the rest and change the world by their actions.No Muad'dibs here.Instead they are vulnerable,lonely square pegs,seeking desperately for a place,or should I say some group, however far away from what they have come from, that will become a haven and a home. And when humans confront alien races there's no superiority whatsoever,in fact they are often pawns - think Bren Cameron,or Duncan in the Faded Sun series or Tully in the Chanur books. So we have super technology,so what? We are often shown as weak,naive or inferior in honour,and culture to the aliens. No hope of humans being complacent uplifters of other species! Very refreshing. Once we dive into Cherryh its hard to drag ourselves back to our mundane world.Once I finish Shon'jir I have Kutath to read,and then I have 40,000 In Gehenna,Merchanter's Luck,and Heavy Time on my shelf waiting their turn. It'll take a lot of effort to stave off reading them so as to fulfill current challenge reads!
I was truly happy to see that she has been made this year's Grand Master. Thoroughly well deserved
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dustydigger
Posted 2016-04-30 4:25 PM (#13418 - in reply to #12239)
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Location: UK		Another month over,and quite a good one for the Pick n' Mixers. Around 24 active participantse read 327 books so far,with 51 reviews. In the whole of 2015 we read only 337,so we are doing great! Not so hot on the reviews,only 51 so far,only 3 this month,but thank you all for supporting the cjhallenge so well!
Special congrats to Pope Stig who has read no less than 45 books. Also Diane,with 37 reads under her belt. Weesam,you had better look to your laurels!
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Weesam
Posted 2016-05-01 5:00 PM (#13425 - in reply to #12239)
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Location: New Zealand		Ha, ha. I've changed the way I'm doing my challenges this year. I've signed up for almost all the challenges, as usual, and I am reading one book per challenge in a cycle. So some challenges like this one don't look that great at the moment. However, I am nearly finished all of the 12 book challenges, which means soon I will only have Pick & Mix left - then watch me go! I should be finished with all the 2016 challenges by July at the rate I am currently reading.
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Mervi2012
Posted 2016-05-04 12:47 PM (#13464 - in reply to #12239)
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Well, I write reviews to my blog but I've been unable to copy them to this site.

My next read as Sebastien de Castell's Traitor's Blade. It's a quick-paced and action packed fantasy. The main characters are "Greatcoats" who used to be traveling magisters for the king. But the dukes have killed the king and made the Greatcoats outlaws and everyone loaths them. It has some uneven world building and a rather grim world but it was rather entertaining read, anyway.
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Leyra'an
Posted 2016-05-05 6:25 PM (#13474 - in reply to #12239)
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Location: USA		Yet another satisfying entry in the "Foreigner" series. The Kyo have come and many things are made clear. In a way, I expected the series to reach this point eventually, but how it made the turn and the consequences for the characters - well, that took me by surprise. More than that would be a spoiler. If you've been following this story, you'll be pleased.

Nine down, eleven to go.
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dustydigger
Posted 2016-05-06 12:29 PM (#13483 - in reply to #12239)
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Location: UK		I wont get it till the paperback comes out,Thomas - next April! lol. Ah well,something to look forward to!You're doing great with the P&M challenge,at the start of the year you werent sure if you could manage 10!
I finished off the Faded Sun trilogy with Kutath,which wasnt quite what I expected,as it was much more straightforward action than her books normally are. I also had a few doubts about the credibility of some of the premises of the story. But even lesser books by Cherryh are great reads.
Next up was Joan D Vinge's Snow Queen,and I wasnt too keen. Once again there were some improbable plot areas,the style was too wordy and overdetailed,so the story was slowed down,I didnt much like the characters(the heroine was too beautiful,sweet angelic to be true!) and it was all a bit too romancey and more on the fantasy side despite a lot of SF trappings.Dont know why it won the Hugo and Locus,and was nominated for the Nebula,and beat books like Benford's Timescape.Niven's Ringworld Engineers and Gene Wolfe's Shadow of the Torturer.it probably seemed fresh and original back in 1980,and imitations have blunted its effect now. We see this again and again.

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Leyra'an
Posted 2016-05-07 10:28 AM (#13509 - in reply to #13483)
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Location: USA		I remember Snow Queen being published and making a very strong impression. Everyone was reading it. It was a standout at that time, a new voice and style. It's had an influence, and awareness of that influence in the hear and now is quite like to make it seem less than fresh and innovative in the here and now. Of course, there were folk back then who found it over-written and implausible, dissenting views accompany any novel, no matter when it's published. No book ever has universal appeal.

I'm actually surprised at how much progress I've made in this list I set for myself. Surprised and pleased. I was once a much more avid reader than I've been of late. Groups like this one and the Shelfari crowd now currently at Leafmarks have increased my motivation to read.
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Mervi2012
Posted 2016-05-11 2:51 PM (#13543 - in reply to #12239)
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My next read was Joanne Harris' The Gospel of Loki. It's a first person POV, a modern retelling of the Eddas. Loki is a very entertaining and humorous narrator who pretty much murders every one else's character, gods and others. I really enjoyed it.
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dustydigger
Posted 2016-05-14 5:17 AM (#13571 - in reply to #12239)
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Location: UK		Just finished Arthur C Clarke's The Sands of Mars,his first published novel in 1951,but written back in the 40s. Pleasant,enjoyable,his trademark meticulous attention to science detail already strong,but also his boundless enthusiasm for the wonders of the cosmos.No masterpiece,but a fair read. Oh and for once we had some terraforming!. Bit of a peculiar way of bringing heat and light to the planet,and a rather over optimistic span of 50 years to produce a breathable atmosphere,but good fun. I love the enthusiasm, optimism and passion of these early writers,it made for a fun reading experience,no downbeat doom and gloom in sight!
I am now reading Marissa Meyer's Winter,the conclusion of her YA Lunar series. 800 pages! Eek!.
Also to read,for the 80s Defining Book challenge, is G R R Martin's Windhaven,for 1981,and have to shoehorn in Kate Griffin's The Midnight Mayor,for another challenge
.Doubt if I'll accomplish much more. My old sister has hurt her leg,my husband is going to be having various tests because of haematuria,I am scurrying about preparing for 6 visitors from the US on 30th May,(who have just blithely announced they will be staying 3 extra days!) so real life is sticking its ugly snout in the way of blissful reading.
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Mervi2012
Posted 2016-05-19 4:00 PM (#13588 - in reply to #12239)
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I'm continuing my track of finishing series which I've started. Harbinger of Storm is the second book in Aliette de Bodard's Aztec fantasy series. It's definitely a fascinating setting with a likable main character Acatl who is the High Priest of the God of Death. I really enjoyed the first book, which I read three years ago, and Harbinger was another book which I hardly wanted to put down for trivial matters, like sleeping. It's a combination of murder mystery and political intrigue. The Aztec emperor has died (in battle) and a couple of men want to be the next emperor. Meanwhile, people are dying and Acatl strongly suspect that someone is summoning demons to kill them. I'm already reading the next book, Master of the House of Darts.
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Mervi2012
Posted 2016-06-02 10:42 AM (#13697 - in reply to #12239)
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I enjoyed the Master of the House of Darts as much as the previous books. Luckily, this is a series which keeps its quality. In this last book, Acatl has another murder mystery to solve: this time a warrior who isn't well liked is killed with magic and it seems that the magic is contagious.

I just finished Tim Powers' The Drawing of the Dark which has been in my shelf for a couple of years. It's a historical fantasy, as Powers' books tend to be, set in 1529 Vienna during the Turkish siege. Brian Duffy is a middle-aged mercenary who is hired to a tavern as a bouncer. But he starts to see strange things and unknown people, and things, attack him. It's an enjoyable book and a quick read.
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Mervi2012
Posted 2016-06-11 12:55 PM (#13782 - in reply to #12239)
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Just finished Swords of Lankhmar by Fritz Leiber. I've enjoyed the series quite a lot until now and I was a bit worried when some reviews said that this book would starts the decline. However, I didn't notice any decline. It's a full novel; the other books in the Grey Mouse and Fafhrd series have been short story collections, so Swords of Lankhmar is different stylistically. Otherwise it was much similar with the others. Adventurous parts I enjoyed a lot but there are also stuff which I don't care for. It's indeed one of the first Sword and Sorcrery books.
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Leyra'an
Posted 2016-06-11 3:59 PM (#13784 - in reply to #12239)
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Location: USA		Halfway through to the 20 book mark! Yesterday I finished The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch. Excellent novel:

A very different sort of fantasy novel with a multi-layered plot of considerable complexity that somehow never ties itself into a knot. Imagine the motion picture The Sting set in a Renaissance city that resembles Venice, but was once upon a time inhabited by an ancient beings who built towers of glass. The plot centers on as engaging a set of con artists as you could imagine, who become ensnared in a bigger and more dangerous game than anything they could have planned. Lots of sword play, and some of the creepiest villains I've ever encountered. Best fiction read for me of 2016, so far!
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Mervi2012
Posted 2016-06-11 4:07 PM (#13785 - in reply to #12239)
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I have Lies of Locke Lamora in my to-read-pile. Good to hear that it's worth reading!
Does it end in a cliffhanger?
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Leyra'an
Posted 2016-06-11 7:45 PM (#13786 - in reply to #13785)
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Location: USA		No, there's no cliff hanger.
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Mervi2012
Posted 2016-06-12 3:00 AM (#13788 - in reply to #13786)
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Leyra'an - 2016-06-11 7:45 PM

No, there's no cliff hanger.


Thanks!
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dustydigger
Posted 2016-06-21 11:24 AM (#13840 - in reply to #12239)
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Location: UK		Sorry to be conspicuous by my absence these last couple of months.due to family issues.Plus all we refugees from shelfari,closed down by Amazon,have also been turfed out after only 6 months from Leafmarks with a measly month's notice. Cue once more having to set up groups,move precious data,and work through a lot of editing etc at the new place - 3rd home in 6 months is no picnic,yet another steep learning curve.! All I have read in this genre over 2 months is George R R Martin's Windhaven and C J Cherryh's rather downbeat and very dense Forty Thousand in Gehenna. Very little time for readingbetween the crises! lol
Meanwhile the rest of you are doing fatastically. Well done........many a few reviews........?
Maybe I'll get back into reading next month. Still plodding through Marissa Meyer's Winter,got through 550/830 pages. Was really enjoying Michael Bishop's enjoyable No Enemy But time,looking forwrd to settling down again to that!
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Leyra'an
Posted 2016-06-21 5:04 PM (#13843 - in reply to #13840)
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Location: USA		I know the family issues routine. For my wife and I, things have (mercifully) settled down. Hope that's true for. The thought of dustydigger getting behind in her reading is rather unsettling!

Currently reading George R.R. Martin's novel Dying of the Light. Strange and moody book, but very well done so far.
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