Ireth
Mythic Scribe
Rereading the Narnia series again. Finished The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe last week; now it's The Horse and His Boy.
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What are you Reading Now?
- Thread starter Mythopoet
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Started Where Eagles Dare by Alistair Maclean, mostly to look at story structure. And because it's a classic.
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Mythopoet
Dark Lord
I finished reading all the Clark Ashton Smith Zothique stories. Finished up last night with Xeethra (since they were in alphabetical order) which was an interesting one. Zothique is definitely dark. Almost none of the stories ended positively for the main character. And iirc most of the stories ended with the main character dead. But that's precisely the sort of atmosphere Smith was going for so I'd definitely say the stories are a success. And they've given my imagination one or two ideas.
Actually I think there are a couple stories that weren't in the collection I have for some reason. I'll have to seek them out. For now moving on to one of Smith's other settings.
Actually I think there are a couple stories that weren't in the collection I have for some reason. I'll have to seek them out. For now moving on to one of Smith's other settings.
C. A. Stanley
Master
I just finished reading The Power by Naomi Alderman. The most thrilling book I've read in a long time. At first exciting, then increasingly dark. A real eye opener on the subjects of gender and power, and what happens when power structures are suddenly inverted.
Incanus
Shadow Lord
Ah, cool. Reading CAS also fires my imagination in a manner similar to Lord Dunsany (a largely forgotten gem). I think one reason CAS resonates with me so much are the elements he emphasizes: original high-concepts, and rich, lush prose. If there is anyone better at these things, I've yet to discover them.
Addison
Dark Lord
I will soon be reading "Murder and Magic: Lord Darcy Book 1" by Randall Garrett. From my research he's the first author to write an urban fantasy where magic and man openly coexist in our world. Although it will be a race to see which book arrives first, Lord Darcy or the first in Mercedes Lackey's Element Masters series. Either way I'm waiting by the door so much akin to my dog that it keeps giving me looks.
Gurkhal
Scribal Lord
I'm reading a classic right now; David Copperfield by Charles Dickens.
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Mythopoet
Dark Lord
Personally, I vastly prefer both Dunsany and Lovecraft to CAS. CAS has some really great concepts and atmospheres but tends to not explore them as satisfactorily (to me) as Dunsany or Lovecraft. Also, it seems strange to say this, but I honestly think these Zothique stories were more depressing than most of Lovecraft. So my preference for this type of fiction would be Dunsany > Lovecraft > Howard > CAS.
Incanus
Shadow Lord
It should probably come as no surprise that I think CAS explores his ideas quite satisfactorily, with some exceptions. I don't find any of this stuff the least bit depressing. That could be because I'm something of an outsider, socially speaking (I choose to not participate in American society much, preferring to observe it from afar). The CAS stuff in particular seems almost deliberately designed to appeal to misfits, cynics, and oddballs such as myself. I admit to having a slight (but healthy) misanthropic streak in my makeup.
TheCrystallineEntity
Dark Lord
I'm reading various OSHO books.
Jane, Unlimited (Kristin Cashore)
The Savage Detective (Bolaño)
Life Among the Savages (Jackson)
The Savage Detective (Bolaño)
Life Among the Savages (Jackson)
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Mythopoet
Dark Lord
I was speaking specifically about the Zothique stories. (I wouldn't call The City of Singing Fire depressing, for instance.) And I didn't mean depressing in the sense of "makes me depressed to read" but just that they pretty much all have very negative endings for the characters. Almost no one survives. (I think the guy and his wife survived in The Charnel God? But that's the only one I can think of.) There's nothing wrong with that. It's clearly exactly what he was going for. But it's certainly not my favorite thing.
Side note: I said to my husband (who is currently reading through all of Lovecraft) the other day that if one could say that Robert E. Howard's favorite word is "thews" and Lovecraft's favorite word is "non-Euclidean" then Clark Ashton Smith's favorite word is probably "cerements".
Who's favorite word is "cyclopean?"
DragonOfTheAerie
Istari
I have far too many favorite words.
TheCrystallineEntity
Dark Lord
^So do I, often words I've made up, such as 'seniselicant' or 'confuzzled'.
Mytherea
Journeyman
Just finished Bujold's Sharing Knife series. I enjoyed it. Perhaps not as much as Chalion, but I enjoyed it. It was different. It was sweet. People on Goodreads, however, seem less than thrilled, particularly with the romantic elements so up-front. I was just pleased everyone lived and got happy ends. The last few books I read prior to these were pretty darn grim, with endings that were either ambiguous, sad, or slaughter-fests with every other character getting whacked before the final page. These came as a much-needed break from the darker side of fantasy.
Now I'm trying to decide between finishing a reread of Elrod's "Keeper of the King" or possibly starting Sanderson's "Elantris."
Now I'm trying to decide between finishing a reread of Elrod's "Keeper of the King" or possibly starting Sanderson's "Elantris."
TheCrystallineEntity
Dark Lord
^Ooh, Elantris is one of my favourites.
DragonOfTheAerie
Istari
I just started The Return of the King. I also just started Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor.
TheCrystallineEntity
Dark Lord
^What's the latter about? Just from the title it sounds interesting.
DragonOfTheAerie
Istari
I have no idea thus far. It's a weird and lyrically written tale about a lost city and murdered gods...something like that.
It does kinda seem like your thing, lol.