Monday, July 06, 2009

June 2009 Reading

On the heels of my much delayed post on what I read in May, here's the same for June.


54. Ammonite – Nicola Griffith
55. Genesis – Paul Chafe
56. Cyteen – C. J. Cherryh
57. Gifts - Ursula K. Le Guin
58. The Sioux Spaceman – Andre Norton
59. Fury – Aaron Allston
60. The Eye of the Monster – Andre Norton
61. The X Factor – Andre Norton
62. The Walls of the Universe – Paul Melko
63. Voorloper – Andre Norton


Graphic Novels
43. Fables: The Good Prince – Bill Willingham
44. Fables: War and Pieces – Bill Willingham
45. Whiteout: The Melt – Greg Rucka
46. Queen and Country: Operation Blackwall – Greg Rucka
47. Preacher: Til the End of the World – Garth Ennis
48. Pride of Baghdad – Brian K. Vaughan
49. 30 Days of Night – Steve Niles

The four Andre Norton novels were part of an omnibus edition which will be reviewed for Fantasy Magazine. Here's the short of it: They weren't good, no matter what John Ottinger says. He's wrong.

The best books of the month were Ammonite and Cyteen. Also - Pride of Baghdad is something special.

The worst, the Norton. Though, I've not a whole lot of patience for Genesis, either.

Previous Reading
January
February
March
April
May

8 comments:

John Ottinger III (Grasping for the Wind) said...

I will admit, the Norton is not the best fiction I have ever read. I liked it, but when it comes to SF, I'm a bit of a classicist and enjoy the old stories more than the new ones in many cases. Unfortunately, my review had limited space so I couldn't mention that the plotting is simple and straightforward.

Still, I enjoyed the worlds, and I enjoyed the stories as simple, lighter fare. I would not recommend them to a reader looking for a complex novel.

These stories were primarily written in the 50's and 60's and their style and content reflects that in its pulpish nature.

Sorry you felt them a waste.

Joe said...

John - it isn't so much the simple vs complex, it's more the well written / plotted vs...not.

Some stories from the 50's and 60's hold up. These don't.

I get the lack of space with SBR, though, since I've written several reviews for them and from time to time chafed against the lack of space.

Even so - not good. :)

John Ottinger III (Grasping for the Wind) said...

I won;t defend them. I can see where a reader would think they were rather poorly written. I saw that too, but chose not to focus on it in my review.

Sweet Book Delights said...

Hi Joe,
Is 30 days of nights a graphic or full length novel?
Loved the movie so looking forward to hearing what your views are of the book :)
Chilli xxx

Joe said...

Graphic. Probably won't be writing about it. It's a dark vampire story. I like the story better than the execution in conjunction with the art.

Sweet Book Delights said...

Ahh.
Cool thanks for the heads up :)
Hey are you into anime and could you recommend any such as Avatar/Airbender or Princess Mononoke or Afro Samurai?
Gotta supplement the reading with some quality popcorn time hehe
Chilli xx

Joe said...

I really like Princess Mononoke, but I'm not sure it's exactly popcorn. Anything that Miyazaki directed is worth checking out (Spirited Away, Kiki's Delivery Service, Howl's Moving Castle, etc)

Sweet Book Delights said...

Whoops, sorry dude, I think I need to stop making with all the London slang. Er popcorn as in time to chill out in front of the TV not popcorn as in the Sound of Music lol!

And I absolutely adore Miyazaki, everything he produces always seems to be perfect. I also love how he has a tendency to step back in historical parallels instead of forward to sci-fi like many other Japanese producers tend to.

Brilliant :p

Have a great day!
Chilli xx