The World of Kindle

I received a very surprise gift at Christmas - a Kindle.

I have downloaded and I am now reading Arthur Conan Doyle's The White Company.

I also ordered a cover/case right away. I already dropped it once (luckily with no damage) getting it out of the box (don't want to carry it around in a cardboard box, anyway.)

Nothing replaces the feel of a real book. I'll still get those, too. (just did a post-holiday Amazon order, in fact.) But having access to classics and out-of-print (hoping more and more out-of-print books get into the digital realm) make it appealing.

Some music for the New Year

Taking a break from our regular broadcast of reading (and occasional writing) commentary to plug some good music I found this year.

First up, from Chicago - The Steepwater Band.



The first thing I’ll say is, if you like the Black Crowes, you need to check out this band. I think they are even more rockin’ than the Crowes. Their latest album was produced by Marc Ford, former Black Crowes guitarist. I think Steepwater play closer to their blues roots, with original material with hints of Faces, Beatles, Stones, Hendrix and all that. Very good slide playing, some good jamming, and catchy songs.

On top of all that, they have a jukebox on their website that lets you hear 21 songs (complete, not 30sec samples), so you should absolutely give them a try before you buy. If you buy albums direct from the band’s website, you’ll save money and they get the best deal. The albums are cheap, $10 (Grace & Melody, their latest , is on sale for only $7 right now.)

I have no personal relation to these guys. I just think they are a good, new rock band who deserve some buzz.

Check ‘em out!

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On a related tangent, I really like the music of Alvin Youngblood Hart. He usually performs blues or rock, but he has an upcoming project of roots music called the South Memphis String Band. Also featured in this trio is Luther Dickinson, who is currently in (you guessed it) the Black Crowes! Rounding out the trio is Jimbo Mathus , from Squirrel Nut Zippers.

You can hear two of their songs at their MySpace page (or, Facebook page.)

They have announced that a full album will be out in January.

I really got into rootsy, bluesy, string tunes this year, and I am really glad these guys happen to be launching this project for the New Year.

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Happy Holidays!

more reading

More read reviews. I think these are more for me personally to recall what I read, and what the books were about. But, if you enjoy these quick blurbs, too, that’s fine.

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Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield
I listened to the audio-book. This novel came with a lot of hype and lived up to it. The story is a fictional account of the battle of Thermopylae. The plot comes with plenty of backstory, including Spartan military training which probably has more to do with modern USMC training. Still, soldiers have always been soldiers and if Sparta was a militaristic society, surely some things have never changed since armies were conceived in ancient times.
This book is now part of the West Point reading curriculum, and it’s no surprise.
A bloody (literally) good read.

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The Afghan Campaign by Steven Pressfield.
Again, I went with the audio-book.
This novel is an unrelenting and unflinching look at combating guerrilla war and insurgency. Set in the time of Alexander's invasion of Afghanistan, clearly it pulls modern examples from Vietnam, the current situation in Afghanistan and (perhaps?) the Soviet occupation, too.
Unlike Gates of Fire, I strongly suspect the military brass aren’t rushing to hand this one out to the impressionable young troops.
Harsh by necessity, this is another good read.
One note; this story is narrated in present tense. Usually I don’t like that, but I was able to ignore it. Maybe the fact that the story was read aloud made that more palatable.

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The Last Chancers (Warhammer 40K) by Gav Thorpe
A Warhammer 40K omnibus, featuring a trilogy of novels and two short stories. Ironically, this one is also written in present tense. Not sure why and I was able to ignore it once things got rolling. At its essence, this was a varied, futuristic take on The Dirty Dozen. It’s fun with a lot of action, but sometimes a little too amoral in its killings.
I generally enjoyed it but not sure I liked the final conclusion (nor did other readers, from some short reviews I’ve read.)

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The Dragon Never Sleeps by Glen Cook
Despite its title, this novel from Cook is scifi, not fantasy. But, that doesn't stop Cook from setting up a wild story universe and chucking you into the deep end. I think Cook throws off new readers sometimes with that style, but I love it.

The story concerns an attempt by a political house to overthrow the ancient Guardships that patrol and have kept order for millennium. Full of violence, intrigue, sex, aliens, artificial beings, clones, etc. Kez Maefele, an alien Ku - something like a turtle warrior (maybe even a mutant ninja turtle, but delivered with dead seriousness) - is one of those unforgettable Cook characters.
I really enjoyed this one, even if it was sometimes hard to follow.

The "to be read" pile

I've been trading a lot of "to be read" notes with folks lately, and for fun and lack of anything else to post, I thought I'd examine some of those books that I have not read and want to read someday.

For this I think I will only count books that I own, not any book I might eventually acquire or borrow from the library.

While it is great to see new titles and small press getting along, my reading list is growing exponentially, as I am also trying to catch up on many genre readings from the past that I never read before, either.

This is by no means complete, just off the top of my head.

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Abercrombie's first novel of the First Law trilogy.

Drizzt series by R. A. Salvatore. OK, I've read half of them so far. I think I had actually read more than half, but Salvatore went and put out two more trilogies. Also from Salvatore, I have the second Demon Wars novel. I did read the first one, and liked Salvatore getting to play and create his own world, but I didn't feel compelled to rush back.

Elric by Michael Moorcock. Okay, I've read the ACE/(DAW) set (except "Elric at the End of Time".) But I have the reissued Del Reys, and the newer 'between the stories' novels, though I've not heard a lot positive past Fortress of the Pearl.

Star Wars Thrawn trilogy by Timothy Zahn. This was one of the first SW tie-ins after the original film trilogy (not counting Alan Dean Foster's out-of-canon title(s)). It was recommended when I asked for suggestions for good space opera to read.

Crapload of Paizo Planet Stories. I've been getting most of these titles, with exceptions of stuff I already have. I could spend a year reading just these alone.

Along with Planet Stories, I want to read more sword-n-planet. I think with John Carter of Mars movie(s) coming, having some sword-n-planet stories in pocket might be a good idea, so I'd like to learn more and write more (without, obviously, unconsciously aping anyone.) I have Charles G's Talera trilogy on my bookshelf now, having read the first one.

Crapload of Black Library, Warhammer and Warhammer 40K. I can't help it, those damn omnibuses are good deals (see my 'Open Letter' blog entry.)

Ian Fleming's original Bond titles. I've read about half of them. (These I like to savor as they are a finite set.)

Some more Stephen King, particularly his newer story and novella collections. (I have Everything's Eventual and Nightmares and Dreamscapes awaiting.)

Tons of 'lesser' genre titles like Lin Carter's Callisto and John Jakes' Brak the Barbarian.

Fred Saberhagen. I want to read more Berserker tales and I have an omnibus of The First Books of Swords.

And as much as I love Glen Cook, The Black Company is the only series I've read completely. I still have Dread Empire and Garrett novels to read.

Hey, you know. Now that I've written out this list, I see that I've 'sampled' at least a title from most of these series, if not read the entire series.

Maybe later I'll post the other titles I want to read, regardless of whether I have it currently in hand or not....

Resurrection

I am very excited!

Dale Rippke's excellent site, Heroes of Dark Fantasy is being resurrected.

By popular demand, the first page back is the page concerning Karl E. Wagner's Kane.

Dale will be putting back the other pages, when he can.

For those who don't know, this site has everything you need to know about classic dark fantasy, s&s heroes with lots of interesting essays, maps, character studies, bibliographies.

Elric, Kane, Conan, Kull, Brak, Imaro - all this and more!

I can't wait until it's all back, but Kane is a great start!

October reads

I managed to get a bit of reading done recently.


Rage of the Behemoth

Heroic fantasy, geared more toward the sub-genre of sword-&-sorcery, with a theme of giant monsters and those who combat them.

Many people have been saying this, and I’ll say it too – this is a great anthology. If you enjoy heroic fantasy and sword-&-sorcery, Jason M. Waltz has pulled together a wonderful collection here. I won’t bother going into standouts, of which there are many, versus lesser tales. The balance on whole is very strong. If you enjoy Andrew Offutt’s Swords Against Darkness series, then Rage of the Behemoth is right up your alley.

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Doctor Who: Prisoner of the Daleks

It had been a long time since I’d read a Doctor Who novel, and this was my first read of the new hardcover tie-ins with the new series. This novel features the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant’s character) and, naturally, his old enemies, the Daleks. Yes, the Daleks were all wiped out, but like any good time-traveling aliens, they keep altering histories allowing the Doctor to stumble into their past. Or something – time travel is fuzzy, as even the Doctor would testify.

This was a fun read, and a fast read that moved along at a quick clip, as with the pacing of the updated series. If you like the series and/or Dalek stories, this one should be added to your library. Nice Dalek scheming, gains and counter-gains, and Dalek dialog rendered in its own Dalek font. All good stuff.

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Dragonslayer

The epic doom of Gotrek, berserker ‘Slayer’ dwarf continues with human Felix Jaeger at his side. This time out, the duo faces a deadly dragon along with a host of other dangers, including orcs and bandits.

This was solid entry for both the Gotrek and Felix series and Warhammer. A tight tale in and of itself, it also opens threads into bigger things in future novels (such as an impending invasion of the hordes of Chaos.) I liked the lighter use of goofy humor in this one compared to some of the previous entries, though it feels like Warhammer dwarf tales should be read while consuming ale to truly appreciate the effect.

Dear Black Library (open letter)

Dear Black Library,

You can stop now. Really. I just don't have time to follow two universes with multiple self-contained series. I have other books to read. I have too many of your books on my shelf unread, as it is.

Really. Please stop with the interesting cover blurbs and the eye catching art on the new stuff.

Please.

Also, please stop dropping all these damn good-looking omnibuses on me. It's bad enough I'm interested in your new titles. Then you turn around and create opportunities for me to 'catch up' with reasonably priced, three-for-one omnibuses of previous titles which triples my to-be-read pile in an instant.

Insidious.

Then to top it all off, you provide incredible cover art that makes me drool. It is very hard not to buy an omnibus like the Witch Hunter series. I already have the novels, but then you add a bonus story! Please stop.

Now you've gone and done this. And even though I have these novels, well, ... that cover. If there's a bonus story in this one, all is lost.



Damn.