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Post by legios on Mar 14, 2012 20:19:49 GMT
A sad day, but I fear it was inevitable. They haven't been selling enough print copies for a few years to make it viable. Unfortunately everyone relies on Wikipedia for their unbiased facts now. (And yes, that gives me a little bit of a shudder too.)
Karl
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Mar 14, 2012 20:48:47 GMT
I've finished re-reading 'The Hobbit'. As when I re-read LOTR, I found it every bit as engrossing and pleasurable as the first time.
Then I tried re-reading parts of Tolkien's 'The Silmarillion' and 'Unfinished Tales'. Didn't get very far before putting them back on the shelf. Without hobbits to provide the perspective of little peaceful guys who enjoy a simple, quiet life thrown out of their depth into the wide world of big people and struggles against ultimate evil, they degenerate into the standard myth/fantasy formula of warriors and honour, which produces a "Who cares?" reaction from me.
Recently saw one of the Wagner Ring Cycle operas, which provoked a similar reaction in me. When it's all kings and warriors and battles for power, I find it hard to identify with anyone or care who wins. The best thing Tolkien did was take Celtic and German warrior god mythology, and introduce hobbits, so that suddenly the outcome actually matters to the reader.
Elf archers, men with swords, dwarves with axes, orcs... they can all fight and it doesn't really matter who wins. But add a peaceful, contented society of diminutive gardeners who like eating pies, drinking ale and smoking pipeweed, and threaten their way of life, and suddenly I care a lot.
Martin
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Post by legios on Mar 15, 2012 21:03:30 GMT
Hmmm. You certainly have a point that it is what makes Tolkien's major completed work different to most High Fantasy. Normally these sort of things revolve around mighty wizards, chosen ones who are strong-thewed warriors etc, etc. LOTR and The Hobbit have these things. But the protagionists are, quite literally, little folks. Arguably what sets them apart from the vast raft of imitators.
I did intend to do a re-read of The Hobbit but I have been sidetracked by an overdue re-read of Cyteen which has taken far longer than it usually does. Once I polish that back off I think The Hobbit will be an ideal chaser before I dive into Regenesis.
Karl
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Post by Jim on Mar 23, 2012 12:18:34 GMT
Star Wars: Specter of the Past finished! I got into this a lot more than I was expecting to. First time I've read a SW novel since 1996 and the years just fell away.
Zahn does favour his pet characters and concepts from the Thrawn trilogy, but he writes them so well, especially Pellaeon and Karrde, that I can forgive that. He also captures the voices of the movie characters very well, especially Leia. The only duff note is probably Han who doesn't get a lot to do and is mildly irritating in some scenes.
I had been planning on reading something more "serious" next, but I think I'll just go straight to Vision of the Future, and after a twitter exchange with Mr Turnbull last night will be looking out for Shadows of the Empire sometime soon.
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Post by legios on Mar 23, 2012 21:25:55 GMT
"Vision of the Future" I rather liked, and as they evolved out of a proposal for a since book way back when it is appropriate to read them both in relatively close succession I would say (I'm not a big fan of the SW expanded universe novels - a lot of them seem to be taking it a little too earnestly and don't really have the big bonkers ideas that you'd want in something that is supposed to rollicking space adventure - one of the things I like about Zahn is he will usually come up with something that is both daft and entertaining in the right mixture).
I've finally finished my re-reading of "Cyteen". It had taken me nearly five weeks - far longer than it should have done, but that is another story. As I anticipated my relationship to the book has shifted a little this time through. The theme of how we are shaped by both genetics and our environment, and how much we can chose control how they shape us still resonates strongly with me. But whereas I had always felt that I never properly engaged with the motivations of some of the older characters in the book I now find I have a much better understanding of why they do what they do, the insecurities and fears that drive them. Maybe it is because of the way I have observed relationships shifting and changing in my professional life over the years, and having more experience of fighting my corner when necessary. Whatever it is I am starting to see a side to some of the characters I haven't really seen before. It makes me want to dive into "Regenesis" - one of Cherryh's rare genuine "sequels" to see how this perspective changes how I view that book.
I promised myself a re-read of The Hobbit first though, and a promise is a promise so I guess that is my next port of call.
Karl
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Post by Philip Ayres on Mar 27, 2012 15:18:56 GMT
If you're reading Spectre of the Past & Visions of the Future there's 2 other Zahn novels that are connected to it that are worth reading: Survivor's Quest (2004) & Outbound Flight (2006).
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Post by Jim on Mar 28, 2012 16:44:08 GMT
Thanks! I saw Outbound Flight at a WHSmith a while ago and it's part of what made me think to look up Spectre. I see from Amazon he's actually done a whole bunch more Star Wars stuff than I thought, and there's a new paperback coming out soon.
Recommendations for further SW reading welcomed, Zahn or otherwise!
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Post by Benn on Mar 28, 2012 17:40:23 GMT
Labyrinth Of Evil is fun. Reading that myself at the mo.
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Post by Philip Ayres on Mar 28, 2012 17:54:53 GMT
Thanks! I saw Outbound Flight at a WHSmith a while ago and it's part of what made me think to look up Spectre. I see from Amazon he's actually done a whole bunch more Star Wars stuff than I thought, and there's a new paperback coming out soon. Recommendations for further SW reading welcomed, Zahn or otherwise! Michael Stackpole X-Wing: Rogue Squadron novels will see you right. |
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Post by Benn on Mar 28, 2012 18:27:54 GMT
I suspect I'm in the odd position of likeing the EU of the prequels more than the OT. Can't say why, really, they just grab me in a way that stuff like Jedi Acadamy hasn't.
I've read most of Zahn's stuff, and they were fun reads, but in the Thrawn Trilogy at least, there was a bit too much being quoted from the films. And most of the recurring cast from those books (Karrde, Mara, Paelleon) I can't get into because I've not seen them on screen. They play major roles throughout the whole EU, and I don't really know what they look like, what they sound like... for me, there's nothing to pin my imagination on. Weird that.
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Post by Philip Ayres on Mar 28, 2012 18:29:44 GMT
You think Zahn's stuff quotes? You should read Kevin J Anderson's appalling books!
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Post by Benn on Mar 28, 2012 18:32:34 GMT
That would be the Jedi Acadamy, yes? I read all three of those in one big hardback. Pysical and mental trauma! Truthfully, I remember very little about those books. A vague sense of disappointment about the Spice Mines Of Kessel, and.. a Sun Crusher? Is that right?
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Post by legios on Mar 28, 2012 19:16:17 GMT
Ah... The Sun Crusher. I had to do a review of one of that trilogy for a university SF society magazine... after they had been returned by the original reviewer as "these are too bad to review".
Conversely I had a very clear idea of what most of the new characters in Thrawn's original trilogy looked and sounded like, which was a little bit jarring in some when they decided on an "official" appearance for them in media like videogames, comics etc. Pelleanon for one definitely did not look like I imagined him at all.
I'm quite fond of Zahn's work and have an abiding dislike of Anderson's books which has never left me.
I have not actually read any of Stackpole's Star Wars stuff - which considering the small mountain of his Battletech stuff I have read (i.e pretty much everything he wrote for FASA/Roc other than the last FedCom Civil War novel.) still somewhat surprises me.
Karl
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Post by Philip Ayres on Mar 28, 2012 19:42:41 GMT
Anderson's Dark Sabre is just as bad, if not worse because it kills General Madine! . Karl, you want a loan of the Stackpole X-Wing when you're here in a few weeks? There are excellent Stackpole X-Wing comics too which strongly tie into Sceptre/Vision and all the EU stuff thereafter. His "The Phantom Affair" is fab. |
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Post by legios on Mar 28, 2012 19:53:59 GMT
Anderson's Dark Sabre is just as bad, if not worse because it kills General Madine! . The cad! And after all the effort I put in to rescue him from the Empire in the first place back in Dark Forces! I wouldn't mind actually. Ta muchly! Karl |
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Post by Jim on Mar 28, 2012 20:25:48 GMT
I remember the Jedi Academy trilogy all too well. Those books left a bad taste in my mouth; even as a teenager I felt that Anderson didn't get it - I didn't even consider picking up Darksaber. That said, he edited the short story collections didn't he? They weren't too bad.
I've heard good things about the Stackpole books before, I'll probably look into those at some point.
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Post by Jim on Apr 11, 2012 9:36:18 GMT
Just finished reading "Inheritance - the story of Knole and the Sackvilles" by Robert Sackville-West.
A good read, I bought it as we visit Knole quite often. It's as much about the family as the house and forms quite a compelling narrative with a few stand-out characters (Lady Anne Clifford's persistence sticks in the mind), and gives quite a good feeling for British aristocratic life over the past 400 years or so. If you like British history or visiting big country houses like Knole I recommend it.
Just started reading "Codename Revolution - the Nintendo Wii Platform". It's the second in a series of "platform studies" books, slightly academic works examining (so far, gaming) platforms from the low-level hardware up to cultural impact. The first was on the Atari 2600, "Racing the Beam", and was one of my favourite books the year I read it.
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Post by Jim on Apr 20, 2012 10:04:40 GMT
Codename Revolution was great; they made a very persuasive case for just how revolutionary the Wii really was and also made me think about gaming in general a bit differently. They only slip into mildly pretentious academic speak a couple of times as well, which is a pleasant surprise.
I'm already deep into Star Wars: Specter of the Past and am quite hooked again.
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Post by Jim on May 8, 2012 10:07:02 GMT
Finished Specter of the Past at the weekend. I got completely absorbed in this and it just flew by, especially towards the end - Zahn is great at ratcheting up the tension. There are a few things which didn't quite work for me - Ghent's subplot doesn't really go anywhere (it could have been great), the Mara / Luke romance isn't the most convincing (though that's hardly new for Star Wars) and there are some loose ends which I'd have appreciated seeing addressed (the clone pilots and their farming lives, for example).
It did often seem like Zahn was consciously performing damage control on Anderson's work - the Mara / Lando "romance", Luke going to the dark side and the reborn Emperor ("I'm still not convinced he really was the Emperor" - subtle), etc.
I'm back on board with reading Star Wars books every so often. Shadows, Survivor's Quest and some X-Wing books going on the reading list. Right now I'm taking a week or so off from paperback reading to catch up on comics as a proper stack has built up (I'm particularly looking forward to the 3 month's worth of Daredevil).
EDIT: Vision of the Future, not Specter of the Past!
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Post by Benn on May 8, 2012 12:54:53 GMT
I've got Hammer of The Gods (Led Zep bio) and Living Dead In Dallas (a True Blood book) waiting in the wings. Can't seem to work up the energy to read either of them though...
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Post by Philip Ayres on May 8, 2012 19:12:53 GMT
Finished Specter of the Past at the weekend. I got completely absorbed in this and it just flew by, especially towards the end - Zahn is great at ratcheting up the tension. There are a few things which didn't quite work for me - Ghent's subplot doesn't really go anywhere (it could have been great Doesn't the Ghent plot continue into Visions of the Future? |
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Post by Jim on May 8, 2012 22:22:16 GMT
Finished Specter of the Past at the weekend. I got completely absorbed in this and it just flew by, especially towards the end - Zahn is great at ratcheting up the tension. There are a few things which didn't quite work for me - Ghent's subplot doesn't really go anywhere (it could have been great Doesn't the Ghent plot continue into Visions of the Future? I am an idiot! It was Vision of the Future I finished. Ghent seemed to be set up for something more interesting in the ubiqtorate base holed up in a computer room with General Iblis unwittingly planning on storming it, and then nothing happened at all - Karrde turns up to unmask the fake Thrawn and that's that. |
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Post by Andy Turnbull on May 8, 2012 23:30:50 GMT
Anderson wasn't responsible for Luke going t the dark side. That was Tom Veitch in Dark Empire. That workd though, it was the sequel and empire's end that didn't.
Andy
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Post by Jim on May 9, 2012 0:01:27 GMT
I should not have been allowed near a keyboard today! Totally wrote that wrong. (I've only read the first Dark Empire, and I don't care for it though)
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Post by Andy Turnbull on May 9, 2012 0:44:56 GMT
I am a big fan of it. Though the sequel and Empire's End fall far short.
Beautiful art by Cam Kennedy and a pretty good story.
Andy
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Post by Philip Ayres on May 9, 2012 5:23:56 GMT
Anderson wasn't responsible for Luke going t the dark side. That was Tom Veitch in Dark Empire. That workd though, it was the sequel and empire's end that didn't. Andy That's not to forgive Anderson his many crimes though! |
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Post by Andy Turnbull on May 9, 2012 8:00:11 GMT
Oh indeed not.
Andy
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Post by Jim on May 9, 2012 9:35:06 GMT
I am a big fan of it. Though the sequel and Empire's End fall far short. Beautiful art by Cam Kennedy and a pretty good story. The art I like, I just never quite "felt" the story. It was well enough crafted, but at the time I read it it didn't quite feel like it belonged with the Star Wars stories I knew and loved. That was a long time ago, and I may have mellowed a bit toward that kind of thing what with the prequel trilogy and all. I can't imagine ever mellowing toward Anderson though. |
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Post by Philip Ayres on May 9, 2012 11:13:12 GMT
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Post by Bogatan on May 17, 2012 20:55:08 GMT
Been reading Marvel Chronicles, the works had it and the DC version for £15 each. So far I'm up to 1964. Pre Marvel Marvels history is crazy.
Also read the Hunger Games trilogy after watching the movie. It pulls a strange trick of being very anti violent while spending much of its time as an action adventure book.
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