I wrote these reviews for a different forum unassociated with this site, but I thought that I would post them here as well:
I finally got around to reading _American Gods_ by Neil Gaiman, and it is the best novel I have read in years. If you haven't already read it and you like fantasy fiction, read it. If you like mythology, read it. It easily ranks high among the best fantasy novels ever written.
_Children of Chaos_ by Dave Duncan--Duncan writes fantasy novels that read as if they were written by a fully grown-up adult. This one is no exception. I've read everything of his except about three books, and I've enjoyed them all. He is among my top five favorite living novelists.
_Knife of Dreams_ by Robert Jordan is an improvement over where the massive series has been lately, but I couldn't really recommend the series to someone. The first six or seven volumes are good, but the next three or four stop dead, and there is now a not insignificant chance that Jordan, given his health problems, is not going to finish the thing.
I recently reread the fist seven volumes of The Dresden Files and then the eighth volume for the first time. It is a solid contemporary fantasy series, and Jim Butcher has been showing steady improvement as a writer. They aren't spectacular, but there is something about them that made me want to reread them a fairly short time after I first read them.
_Blood Bound_ by Patricia Briggs is the sequel to _Moon Called_. Both books are good. They are reminiscent of the first several Anita Blake books, before they got boring.
_Paladin of Souls_ by Lois McMaster Bujold is an excellent fantasy. It won the Hugo and Nebula, the top two awards in science fiction and fantasy. Bujold is highly skilled at putting words in a line effectively; the characterization is strong, and the theme is thought inspiring.
_The Hallowed Hunt_ is set in a different part of the above book's universe and features different characters. Good, but not as good as _Paladin_, which would have been a feat, because Paladin will be a perennial classic.
I liked _Good Omens_ by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, but I find Pratchett's humor only mildly amusing and not hilarious, as some people find it. Thematically, it would have been more compelling to a younger me. I have since worked its ideas out to my own complacency, if not satisfaction, and have come to similar conclusions. The characterization is good. They portray eleven-year-olds pretty well, if my recollection serves.
_Anansi Boys_ and _Neverwhere_ by Neil Gaiman--both are good, but not as good as _American Gods_, which is a once-a-decade-type book. _Anansi Boys_ is more character driven than _Neverwhere_. _Neverwhere_ is more cool idea driven.
PS: Is there any way to format posts? I experimented with html and BBS codes using the preview, and neither worked.
I finally got around to reading _American Gods_ by Neil Gaiman, and it is the best novel I have read in years. If you haven't already read it and you like fantasy fiction, read it. If you like mythology, read it. It easily ranks high among the best fantasy novels ever written.
_Children of Chaos_ by Dave Duncan--Duncan writes fantasy novels that read as if they were written by a fully grown-up adult. This one is no exception. I've read everything of his except about three books, and I've enjoyed them all. He is among my top five favorite living novelists.
_Knife of Dreams_ by Robert Jordan is an improvement over where the massive series has been lately, but I couldn't really recommend the series to someone. The first six or seven volumes are good, but the next three or four stop dead, and there is now a not insignificant chance that Jordan, given his health problems, is not going to finish the thing.
I recently reread the fist seven volumes of The Dresden Files and then the eighth volume for the first time. It is a solid contemporary fantasy series, and Jim Butcher has been showing steady improvement as a writer. They aren't spectacular, but there is something about them that made me want to reread them a fairly short time after I first read them.
_Blood Bound_ by Patricia Briggs is the sequel to _Moon Called_. Both books are good. They are reminiscent of the first several Anita Blake books, before they got boring.
_Paladin of Souls_ by Lois McMaster Bujold is an excellent fantasy. It won the Hugo and Nebula, the top two awards in science fiction and fantasy. Bujold is highly skilled at putting words in a line effectively; the characterization is strong, and the theme is thought inspiring.
_The Hallowed Hunt_ is set in a different part of the above book's universe and features different characters. Good, but not as good as _Paladin_, which would have been a feat, because Paladin will be a perennial classic.
I liked _Good Omens_ by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, but I find Pratchett's humor only mildly amusing and not hilarious, as some people find it. Thematically, it would have been more compelling to a younger me. I have since worked its ideas out to my own complacency, if not satisfaction, and have come to similar conclusions. The characterization is good. They portray eleven-year-olds pretty well, if my recollection serves.
_Anansi Boys_ and _Neverwhere_ by Neil Gaiman--both are good, but not as good as _American Gods_, which is a once-a-decade-type book. _Anansi Boys_ is more character driven than _Neverwhere_. _Neverwhere_ is more cool idea driven.
PS: Is there any way to format posts? I experimented with html and BBS codes using the preview, and neither worked.
