NOW READING

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Not now really, more like three weeks ago: Orson Scott Card's Enchantment.
Started (and bought) in Belgrade, carried through Sremska Mitrovica, finished in Kikinda.
Hotly recommended, despite some lapses considering Slavic mythology.
First 47 pages (paperback edition), with a different ending, could have been a Gaiman story.
One of Orson Scott Card's best, together with Seventh Son. (Yeah, that's how I found him in the first place.)
Might be a Mormon but knows how to write for sure.
 
Just finished reading Metro 2033. Before obtaining the book, I had heard all sorts of positive reviews about it, so I decided to give it a try. The premise of the story is super good - there'd been some apocalyptic event which had driven the few surviving humans underground - in the depths of the Moscow metro and under a series of constant threats. I don't want to give away too much about the plot.
Unfortunately, the book was... well, boring. The characters are absolutely not relatable, the dialogues are forced, and the story is very patchy and naive. The post-apocalyptic picture of the world presented is not convincing at all. There are sci-fi elements, mixed with fantasy and moral fables. Any meaningful insights about the mental state of the characters (which would be the most interesting aspect to me) are too few and too shallow. Instead, the author gets lost into redundant details about the individual metro stations and telling us about too many characters that died a chapter later.
It could have been a massively enjoyable read, but it isn't.
 
I'm still continuing my Malazan journey - now reading Memories of Ice. I'm almost 800 pages in - I actually managed to read about 500 pages during last week only, in spite of work, wife and whatever. I really love it, it gets better and better.
 
Ariana said:
Just finished reading Metro 2033. Before obtaining the book, I had heard all sorts of positive reviews about it, so I decided to give it a try. The premise of the story is super good - there'd been some apocalyptic event which had driven the few surviving humans underground - in the depths of the Moscow metro and under a series of constant threats. I don't want to give away too much about the plot.
Unfortunately, the book was... well, boring. The characters are absolutely not relatable, the dialogues are forced, and the story is very patchy and naive. The post-apocalyptic picture of the world presented is not convincing at all. There are sci-fi elements, mixed with fantasy and moral fables. Any meaningful insights about the mental state of the characters (which would be the most interesting aspect to me) are too few and too shallow. Instead, the author gets lost into redundant details about the individual metro stations and telling us about too many characters that died a chapter later.
It could have been a massively enjoyable read, but it isn't.
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I have Metro 2033 and Metro 2034 in my bookshelf waiting for their turn. I'm still interested in the setting as I find metros scary even without the apocalyptic element. Is it horror?
 
Ariana said:
Unfortunately, the book was... well, boring. The characters are absolutely not relatable, the dialogues are forced, and the story is very patchy and naive. The post-apocalyptic picture of the world presented is not convincing at all. There are sci-fi elements, mixed with fantasy and moral fables. Any meaningful insights about the mental state of the characters (which would be the most interesting aspect to me) are too few and too shallow. Instead, the author gets lost into redundant details about the individual metro stations and telling us about too many characters that died a chapter later.
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This matches up with what I've heard of the novel. Sad!
 
I read Childhood's End recently. I thought it was good, but maybe needed a bit more work. Usually I try to question whether a book is really worth its length but with this I actually felt it needed many more pages for what it was. The narrator is rushing to explain the world to you so you don't really get to discover it in a way that feels natural for 150 years or so of a story, it's just glossing over the way the world works in general but you never really get to know it that well. Most of the characters were pretty bland. But I did enjoy reading it, the storyline itself seemed like it was well-planned, and the ending did get to me because it gathered all the reasons why I'm uncomfortable thinking about outer space.
 
Number 6 said:
Certainly. I've never heard of the book though. How is it so far?
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Very interesting. The author, Guy Lyon Playfair, was actually at the house when it was all going on, it's good to read a first hand account of it. He was convinced it was all genuine. Myself... well, I don't totally rule that sort of thing out but the only way I'd be totally convinced is if I witnessed it. Not that I'd really want to. :lol:

You seem quite into the supernatural, do you believe it all?
 
Edington said:
You seem quite into the supernatural, do you believe it all?
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I do believe in the supernatural, but I have my doubts about the Enfield case. I have a soft spot for the "if" part of it all, like, I don't like to judge because what if it was real? How insensitive would it be to accuse the victims of lying about everything? But, based on the factual evidence, there's the possibility it could've been a hoax, and I do find it weird that several members of the family admitted to faking "about 5%" of the happenings.
 
Number 6 said:
But, based on the factual evidence, there's the possibility it could've been a hoax, and I do find it weird that several members of the family admitted to faking "about 5%" of the happenings.
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Really? That is weird, if there was so much activity going on at the house already, why would they need to fake more?
 
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