Author Topic: What literature are you reading? (Read 87211 times)

Feanor Fire Heart · « **Reply #525 on:** October 15, 2018, 02:44:47 PM »

I finished "War and Peace". My thought halfway through can be found here. If I hadn't been sick for the past few months, coupled with my Daughter's surgery, I probably would have finished sooner. As I mentioned earlier it follows arguably 4 protagonists during the Napoleonic War in Russia. Where as the first half really focuses on the plot, personal beliefs, and soul searching of the main characters (as well as some small characters), the second half picks up where they left off with the addition of whole chapters and series of chapters of the author/narrator's personal view on philosophy, history, and people. This can really slow down the plot as you want to know if character X is going to be okay or what is character Y's reaction to another character's death/mutilation. I will say the narrator's essay are very intriguing and make you question the narrative you learned in school that historians have put in place. These parts could have been a whole other book titled "The State of Historians and the Philosophy of People Over Persons" or some such thing. When you get to the end of the book there are 2 epilogues. The first wraps up everything with the characters and the rest of their lives. The second epilogue is all about the narrator's view on everything covered in those essays. I will say the story is incredible and if you can get past a couple of boring chapters of soirees in the beginning, it really gets good. The interweaving stories of Pierre, Andrei, Nikolay, Natasha along with their friends and relations are captivating. It has action, romance, comedy, tragedy, political and societal intrigue, philosophy, history, and even a look inside the secretive Freemasons. Its worth the read, but there is no denying that its a mountain. If you are a literary hiker you will enjoy this trail but be sure to pack for a couple of nights.

Rowsdower · « **Reply #526 on:** October 16, 2018, 03:46:46 AM »

I picked up a copy of Fulgrim the other day. I've not yet read any of it. Having both a pre and post Heresy Emperors children armies I know what the meat of the story is

Xathrodox86 · « **Reply #527 on:** October 17, 2018, 12:28:35 PM »

Quote from: Rowsdower on October 16, 2018, 03:46:46 AM

I picked up a copy of Fulgrim the other day. I've not yet read any of it. Having both a pre and post Heresy Emperors children armies I know what the meat of the story is

it's very good but also very sad. A solid read, if you ask me.

I'm struggling through Warlord by David Annandale. Titan books are surprisingly boring to me...

Gankom · « **Reply #528 on:** October 17, 2018, 04:14:34 PM »

I'm rereading Forges of Mars. One of my absolute favorite 40k books. It does such a good job of bringing factions like the Ad Mech to life. I'm not a huge fan of the Eldar's reason to be there in the first place, but I do like how the characters are written.

Xathrodox86 · « **Reply #529 on:** October 17, 2018, 08:10:18 PM »

Quote from: Gankom on October 17, 2018, 04:14:34 PM

I'm rereading Forges of Mars. One of my absolute favorite 40k books. It does such a good job of bringing factions like the Ad Mech to life. I'm not a huge fan of the Eldar's reason to be there in the first place, but I do like how the characters are written.

Is that one written by McNeill? I need to check it out!

Gankom · « **Reply #530 on:** October 17, 2018, 09:40:14 PM »

Yeah it's a Mcneil one. I strongly recommend the full omnibus because of the nice little short story at the end of it.

Xathrodox86 · « **Reply #531 on:** October 17, 2018, 10:00:09 PM »

I'll grab it then. After this dreary Warlord novel, I'll need to catch up on the Horus Heresy series.

wissenlander · « **Reply #532 on:** October 18, 2018, 03:31:41 PM »

Enemy Within by Richard Lee Byers is a really good book. Outside of the Genevieve series this is probably my favorite Warhammer story. Byers is a good author, I've read some of his D&D stuff and they were good, but I'm not as enthralled by that lore as I am with Warhammer. I think this is the only book he's written for Warhammer, it's been on my wish list for a couple of years and it's been a fun read.

Gankom · « **Reply #533 on:** October 18, 2018, 04:16:27 PM »

I've always heard good things about the Genevieve series but I've never read any of it. Do they still make the books or are they out of print now?

(As I say this I sort of remember seeing at least one rerealesed recently.)

wissenlander · « **Reply #534 on:** October 18, 2018, 05:18:58 PM »

You can get the omnibus for fairly cheap I think. It's not really typical hack and slash Warhammer.

Artobans Ghost · « **Reply #535 on:** October 20, 2018, 12:09:21 AM »

Finally finished ‘Feet of Clay’ by Terry Pratchett. No use describing just how humorous and brilliant he is. Everyone knows.
Just picked up Vulcan - Lord of Drakes. Looks good.

Rowsdower · « **Reply #536 on:** October 20, 2018, 01:58:50 PM »

I've been meaning to read Feet of clay for years now.
I'm only up to page 84 in Fulgrim. I cant put it down. I want to add Saul Tarvits to my 30k Emperors children army

Warlord · « **Reply #537 on:** October 22, 2018, 11:15:28 AM »

Quote from: Feanor Fire Heart on October 15, 2018, 02:44:47 PM

I finished "War and Peace". My thought halfway through can be found here. If I hadn't been sick for the past few months, coupled with my Daughter's surgery, I probably would have finished sooner. As I mentioned earlier it follows arguably 4 protagonists during the Napoleonic War in Russia. Where as the first half really focuses on the plot, personal beliefs, and soul searching of the main characters (as well as some small characters), the second half picks up where they left off with the addition of whole chapters and series of chapters of the author/narrator's personal view on philosophy, history, and people. This can really slow down the plot as you want to know if character X is going to be okay or what is character Y's reaction to another character's death/mutilation. I will say the narrator's essay are very intriguing and make you question the narrative you learned in school that historians have put in place. These parts could have been a whole other book titled "The State of Historians and the Philosophy of People Over Persons" or some such thing. When you get to the end of the book there are 2 epilogues. The first wraps up everything with the characters and the rest of their lives. The second epilogue is all about the narrator's view on everything covered in those essays. I will say the story is incredible and if you can get past a couple of boring chapters of soirees in the beginning, it really gets good. The interweaving stories of Pierre, Andrei, Nikolay, Natasha along with their friends and relations are captivating. It has action, romance, comedy, tragedy, political and societal intrigue, philosophy, history, and even a look inside the secretive Freemasons. Its worth the read, but there is no denying that its a mountain. If you are a literary hiker you will enjoy this trail but be sure to pack for a couple of nights.

I have always wondered what War and Peace was about, but never really that interested to pick it up and try it myself.
It does sound interesting now that you mention it, however I suspect with my slow rate or reading, it could take me years to get through it...

Thanks for this FFH!

Feanor Fire Heart · « **Reply #538 on:** October 22, 2018, 01:09:42 PM »

I would recommend "reading" it via audio book. I am not sure how long your commute to work is but that's when I would listen to it. The version I listened to was the unabridged 64 hour one, broken up into part one and part two. This made the slog a bit easier as I just felt like I was reading two 32 hour audio books instead of one 64 hour long book. The intermission halfway through made it seem less daunting.

I know the BBC did a series on it but they cut so much out (including my favorite scene!) that I am not sure I'd recommend it.

Rowsdower · « **Reply #539 on:** October 25, 2018, 01:12:36 PM »

As I was reading Fulgrim at work today, a colleague asked me if it was a 'romance' novel. By chance I was at the part when the Emperors children discover the Lear's temple of depravity. So I was compelled to say it was 'Kind of' a romance novel

Feanor Fire Heart · « **Reply #540 on:** October 31, 2018, 07:42:01 PM »

I needed a palette cleanser after War and Peace and so I just read both The Exploits of Brigadier Gerard and The Adventures of Brigadier Gerard by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Funny story, I didn't know there were 2 volumes and I read The Adventures (which is vol 2) before The Exploits(vol 1). Which didn't matter as its a collection of stories. It takes place in Paris at a cafe where an old hussar hangs out and he tells you about his adventures when he was a hussar for Napoleon's Grande Armée. Imagine D'Artagnan if he was a Napoleonic hussar and there were no musketeers to hang out with. He duels, is sent on James Bond style secret missions, wooes lovely ladies (that didn't really know what love was until they met Gerard! *swoon*), swaggers with his dangling saber, and twirls his mustache! Of course this is all told from Gerard's perspective as he recounts the tale so who knows how much of it was "true" and how much is imbelished. The stories are told out of order so the first story may take place in Spain in 1810 but the next one may be in Venice in 1805! This was rather confusing at times considering I read vol2 and then vol1, and the story about how he did something so unspeakable that any British soldier that finds him would execute him immediately, only for the next story to be about him in a British Lord's house after being released as a p.o.w. After consulting Wikipedia I discovered that the second story happened a year before the first (and that there was a volume 1 that told how he got captured). It was really fun to read. In one story he rides with a hussar to duel a German count that killed the hussar's father during the revolution, only to fall into a trap and have to McGuyver their way out and save the princess. So many twists and turns along with Gerard obviously embellishing the story a bit made for a really exciting and fun adventure. I listened to them on audio book which was great because the voice actor was British doing a faux French accent the whole time. He kept switching back and forth on the pronunciation of lieutenant that it added to the comedy, along with his exaggerated British accents he put on for British characters. If you're looking for some adventure or want to read some Doyle outside of Sherlock Holmes then check out this adventure comedy.

Rowsdower · « **Reply #541 on:** November 12, 2018, 12:45:25 PM »

I finished Fulgrim the other day. Surprisingly; a few of the key events in the characters story arch weren't mentioned in the novel. Whilst reading it, I heard Zap Branigans voice in my psyche whenever Fulgrim said anything prior to his ascension into demonhood and afterwards, I heard Hedonism bots voice in my mind once that happened.

Feanor Fire Heart · « **Reply #542 on:** November 13, 2018, 05:06:16 AM »

I finally got around to finishing "Fall of Macharius" the third and final book of William King's Macharius trilogy. I started and read most of it a year ago but never got around to finishing it after we moved. It was a fun adventure for the twilight of the series. I know Macharius is compared as the IG's Alexander the Great but I would throw in Napoleon Bonaparte too. This one started off in a trench style war with one of Macharius' Generals that went rogue. Followed by some extreme 40k political intrigue followed by the final battle of Macharius before he would forcibly be retired. We follow the story from the POV of Sgt. Lemuel and his two friends Anton and Ivan, just like the last two books. All in all it was a fun book but I rather liked the IG's version from the codex back in 3rd edition. There was also a Macharius Campaign codex made by fans a long time ago that followed a similar timeline and campaign that the IG codex set up but it really expanded on the armies, generals, and enemies of the Crusade. William King must have read the fan made codex as well as the other IG codices as many of the same generals and strategies were used in the trilogy I just finished. Unless there was something official that GW came out with that I missed.

I did feel like the this final chapter ended abruptly but it was earned. If I was to rank the trilogy I think the first two were stronger than this one but not by much. The Cover art of all three books are amazing. I always try to pick out Lemuel, Anton and Ivan when looking at the cover art. Lemuel always has a cap on and shotgun in hand, Anton has his sniper rifle and goggles, and Ivan has his metal jaw. And of course being that its William King the Space Wolves make a dashing appearance!

These books are great for any IG enthusiasts.

Captain Dob Van Dwi · « **Reply #543 on:** November 14, 2018, 08:40:18 PM »

Currently, due to me being stodgy boring fellow, I'm reading Sandino's Communism: Spiritual Politics for the 21st Century by Donald C Hodges (1926-2009) of the University of Texas.

Yeah I know not exactly thrilling reading.

Artobans Ghost · « **Reply #544 on:** November 14, 2018, 09:08:02 PM »

Just finished terry Pratchett - equal rights - really humorous. First female wizard.
Now I’m fully getting into Pratchett. Just ordered - Interesting Times.
Downloaded kings of war free rules.

Feanor Fire Heart · « **Reply #545 on:** November 14, 2018, 09:40:47 PM »

I read the short story "Fight or Flight" by Sandy Mitchell last night. Its the introduction to the Ciaphas Cain omnibus. Sandy should fire their editor or the editor at black library that published this omnibus. There were so many glaring spelling mistakes and errors! At one point a character calls him "Cai" and completely drops the "n" in Cain! WTF dude! The story was fun and wacky. Really reminds me of Commissar Talon of "Eagle Ordinary" and I think they got their idea of Talon from Cain (mind you he does worship Cain in the comic). They introduce his first lackey "Jurgan" (pronounces yur-gen or jur-gen? Its a Valhalla regiment so I assumed it was Russian or Scandinavian in nature which would make it yur-gen) that has really bad BO and will be the Planchet to Cain's D'Artagnan. He shows promise and would be a great commander/commissar if he gave a shit about his job but this looks to be the beginning of his career.

Eagle Ordinary:
http://www.eagleordinary.com/comics/2025512/a-day-in-the-life/

Gankom · « **Reply #546 on:** November 14, 2018, 11:11:58 PM »

Actually Cai isn't a spelling mistake. It comes up later in the books. It's his friend's nickname for him, and it's a shortened form of Ciaphas. Not his last name, but shortening his first name. It comes up a couple of times in the books.

Also +1 to Eagle Ordinary. It was so good GW poached the artist for their own webcomics.

edit: I'm now unsure about what I just wrote. I had some half formed memories of that, but it could be an actual spelling mistake at that point. I don't think he meets that friend again until much later in the omnibus.

Feanor Fire Heart · « **Reply #547 on:** November 15, 2018, 12:56:05 AM »

How is CAI short for CIAphas

?? The A and I are flip flopped! There were other spelling mistakes too, this was just more glaring. Especially since they didn't explain it as a nick name. If they called him Cia or Ciaph I could understand but I had to reread the Cai part twice before I realized it was suppose to be his last name Cain. It made it more jarring that it was the only time he was called Cai in the whole book, even by the person who called him Cai only called him Cain afterwords.

w/e I think I'm spoiled since I just got off a kick of reading classic literature. Its like drinking nothing but water for a year and a half only then to drink a soda and feel sick because of how sugary and sweet it is (this happened to me IRL).

edit after reading you edit: I have only read that introductory story so far and someone (may have been you) mentioned Jurgan in another post in reply to one of my memes so I only know of him and wasn't sure I was in the correct Valhalla regiment yet since its an artillery regiment.

Also Eagle Ordinary is a must read. I can't wait until the hiatus is over. I was already spoiled on some of the stuff that is going to happen because I ventured to the artist's deviant art site. I really want them to cover how it will get to that point and the aftermath.

additional edit: Maybe the spelling mistake in the first story became so infamous that when they reintroduced the character that said it in a later story it was a nod to the fans who caught the mistake?

Gankom · « **Reply #548 on:** November 15, 2018, 02:37:09 AM »

Quote

Maybe the spelling mistake in the first story became so infamous that when they reintroduced the character that said it in a later story it was a nod to the fans who caught the mistake?

Once again this strikes a half memory in me, but I'm not sure. I tried to pull out my Omnibus but I forgot which box it's in.

He meets Jurgen for the first time in that short story, and then when Cain get's transferred to his next regiment he brings Jurgen with him.

Feanor Fire Heart · « **Reply #549 on:** November 15, 2018, 04:26:48 AM »

Just started the story where he joins that regiment you are talking about. The first chapter was amazing and I couldn't help but think of Commissar Talon again. "Get a Broom!" hahaha.

I feel like I have to be nick picky since my first post; so I will say the author is missing some much needed commas in their sentences, but to help end this nit pickiness, the author's notes at the beginning of the book did say they started their authorship and developed their writing skill by writing these stories. I am sure I will see an evolution in Sandy's writing as I continue on, which in itself is rather fun.

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Author Topic: What literature are you reading? (Read 87211 times)