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alg's Book Meme 2 & 3
Jul. 23rd, 2010 11:10 amRL got in the way so this'll be in one post. Meme here.
Day 02 - A book or series you wish more people were reading and talking about
Uh, there's a bunch so I'm going to spam this a bit.
The Braided Path trilogy. Its an Asian fantasy by Chris Wooding and a pretty good one. And a lot of the main players (including the protagonist) are ladies that do things, so that's a plus. Basically Kaiku is nearly killed one night, and must get behind the mystery of who killed her and how she can survive. The story expands to continent wide battles, political intrigue, and mutants. TBH, I didn't really enjoy the last two books, but that's more personal taste than the actual quality of these books.
Fablehaven series. A kids modern fantasy (not exactly urban, although there are some parts). Two kids visit their grandparents farm only to discover that its a secret preserve for fantasy creatures! Cue ancient conspiracies, more double crossing than you can shake a stick at, a Magnificent Bastard of a villain, and a faery-dragon! No really. Pretty mindless action-adventure, but good at it. Actually I will give it props to realism since there's mentions of a fantasy creature black market and other little details that make the premise seem less ridiculous. Actually, I will also give it props to actually making the fantasy creatures their own beings, with their own wills, desires, and what not. Too often in kidsbooks you'll see a fantasy creature whose job it is to serve the nearest person with little reason whatsoever. Here the kids have to negotiate, often with creatures that think little of eating them. Its awesome.
The Larklight trilogy. More kids stuff, but Steampunk this time. Its an action-adventure/comedy that's pretty tongue-in-cheek every step of the way. Even the romance isn't taken seriously, which is refreshing in a glut of 16 year old romance is tru wuv. Actually what's funny is that in the comedy of the romance, you often get a more realistic look at how two very different people clash than in romances that take themselves too seriously. Though since the story is typically from Art's perspective (and he's still in the girl's have cooties phase) most of the romance is in side snippets. Also, space pirates!
Day 03 - The best book you've read in the last 12 months
I'll have to put Arcadia Snips and the Steamwork Consortium, which I hope isn't cheating since I did a big old post about it here. The pacing is good. Not a scene, not a description, not even a line of dialogue is a waste. The prose is amazing (though more on the side of funny than deep/meaningful). The plot itself is both exciting and silly (something I really love). The cast is full of awesome characters. Its both a good story and good writing, which is something I find really rare (especially since my tastes are rather odd).
Day 02 - A book or series you wish more people were reading and talking about
Uh, there's a bunch so I'm going to spam this a bit.
The Braided Path trilogy. Its an Asian fantasy by Chris Wooding and a pretty good one. And a lot of the main players (including the protagonist) are ladies that do things, so that's a plus. Basically Kaiku is nearly killed one night, and must get behind the mystery of who killed her and how she can survive. The story expands to continent wide battles, political intrigue, and mutants. TBH, I didn't really enjoy the last two books, but that's more personal taste than the actual quality of these books.
Fablehaven series. A kids modern fantasy (not exactly urban, although there are some parts). Two kids visit their grandparents farm only to discover that its a secret preserve for fantasy creatures! Cue ancient conspiracies, more double crossing than you can shake a stick at, a Magnificent Bastard of a villain, and a faery-dragon! No really. Pretty mindless action-adventure, but good at it. Actually I will give it props to realism since there's mentions of a fantasy creature black market and other little details that make the premise seem less ridiculous. Actually, I will also give it props to actually making the fantasy creatures their own beings, with their own wills, desires, and what not. Too often in kidsbooks you'll see a fantasy creature whose job it is to serve the nearest person with little reason whatsoever. Here the kids have to negotiate, often with creatures that think little of eating them. Its awesome.
The Larklight trilogy. More kids stuff, but Steampunk this time. Its an action-adventure/comedy that's pretty tongue-in-cheek every step of the way. Even the romance isn't taken seriously, which is refreshing in a glut of 16 year old romance is tru wuv. Actually what's funny is that in the comedy of the romance, you often get a more realistic look at how two very different people clash than in romances that take themselves too seriously. Though since the story is typically from Art's perspective (and he's still in the girl's have cooties phase) most of the romance is in side snippets. Also, space pirates!
Day 03 - The best book you've read in the last 12 months
I'll have to put Arcadia Snips and the Steamwork Consortium, which I hope isn't cheating since I did a big old post about it here. The pacing is good. Not a scene, not a description, not even a line of dialogue is a waste. The prose is amazing (though more on the side of funny than deep/meaningful). The plot itself is both exciting and silly (something I really love). The cast is full of awesome characters. Its both a good story and good writing, which is something I find really rare (especially since my tastes are rather odd).