On Wed, 30 Apr 2008 16:45:16 -0500, Konrad Gaertner <kgaertner@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
wrote:
>Aaron Bergman wrote:
>>
>> _Before They are Hanged_,
>> _The Blade Itself_, Joe Abercormbie
>>
>> The main problem is the
>> lack of, er, culmination in the two books. The first brings the
>> characters together, and the second sets them on their way. I just wish
>> that something more was accomplished. I will definitely be picking up
>> the third, however.
>
>I think I'll wait to see what you say about #3 before picking these
>up.
>
>> _Renegade's Magic_, Robin Hobb
>>
>> This is the third book of the "Soldier Son Trilogy". In the previous
>> book, I understood the intent of Hobb in ****traying the helplessness of
>> the protagonist, but I can't say I found it enjoyable to read about.
>
>I couldn't get past page 100 of the second book (even though I
>normally love Hobb).
>
>> _Thunderer_, Felix Gilman
>>
>> As is usually
>> the case with these things, the plot doesn't quite live up to the
>> setting. I can't say I remember a tremendous amount about the said
plot,
>> really, except that I think I found the ending dissatisfying. I guess
>> that's not an endorsement.
>
>I was just about to start reading this, but now I'm having second
>thoughts...
>
>> _Magic Burns_, Ilona Andrews
>>
>> For some reason, this sequel to _Magic Bites_ may put this series after
>> Patricia Briggs's stuff in my ranking of recent urban fantasy. P
>
>...so maybe I should try this series instead.
>
>> _Fire Study_, Maria V. Snyder
>>
>> This series, starting with the amicable _Poison Study_ and forgettable
>> _Magic Study_ seems to have moved to large trim paperback in the
romance
>> section of the bookstore. This book was an improvement on _Magic
Study_,
>> but there's just not much here -- the bad people are bad, the good
>> people are good, and there's not much else going on. Whatever attracted
>> me to _Poison Study_ has not stayed with this series.
>
>_Poison_ seemed to at least try to be a little bit original, which
>was abandoned in _Magic_. Also, the latter focused on the heroine
>being unable to do any magic directly, and yet I remember her doing
>so in the first book. On the plus side, I flipped through _Fire_
>in a bookstore, and it seems this publisher is changing "bo" to
>"staff", which is a big improvement over "bow".
See, I assumed it was a 'real' bow staff, that is, an unstrung bowstave.
Looking around on the net, I see that people have munged together bow
staff
and bo staff pretty much completely, although a bo staff (or, translating
it to English, a 'staff staff') was never, as far as I know, used to shoot
arrows. In Poison Study, I'm pretty sure it was mentioned that Yelena
could, in fact, shoot arrows with her bow staff.
--
I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.
(Bene Gesserit)
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