As for me, I´m currently reading the manual to the original Deus Ex. It´s elaborate but quite far from 800 pages...

I finished reading Tarkin today, by James Luceno. It was good. But the author relies a lot on telling rather than showing. That keeps it from being great. Likewise, his characters feel very remote and almost emotionless. Maybe that is because they are Tarkin and Darth Vader. But I cannot help to compare his writing to that of Claudia Gray's Star Wars books, and how she wrote her characters so vivid and filled with life.

Catalyst: A Rogue One Story came today. I might start reading that next. Or I might keep on going with The Rise of the Empire (which Tarkin was a part of). It still has A New Dawn and two short stories.

Currently "Seraphim", an unfinished manga by Satoshi Kon and Mamoru Oshii - which is an absolutely class piece of illustrated story telling.
Makes me wish, even more, that I could draw!!

I started A New Dawn. I am liking it a lot. The writing is solid, and I am already a big fan of the two main characters: Hera and Kanaan from Rebels. It is different from many Star Wars stories in that the main antagonist is not a Sith or Military Guy. Instead he is a corporate efficiency expert, who is expert at enslaving worlds. To him, murder is just one more tool in the executive's tookit. I have to say, he is really despicable, and definitely menacing, as a villain should be.

One thing I have really been noticing reading all the new Star Wars books lately - Lost Stars, Ahsoka, A New Dawn - is that a common thing in all of them is the Empire recklessly destroying the environments of worlds for quick, short-term gains. They deforest entire planets, strip mine them, poison the soil, even weaken their cores so much that they are on the brink of literally breaking apart, and so on. When they are done they just leave the planet a devastated wasteland and move on to the next place to exploit.

I don't remember seeing that in the older Star Wars books. Though granted I stopped reading around the time of Truce at Bakura. Back then they concentrated on portraying the Empire's evil in more human terms. It was more about political and military tyranny, even when they did destroy Alderaan in A New Hope, it was a political act, not the result of ruthless and short-sighted economics.

Or am I wrong?

I think this is probably result of the writers of the new books seeing these same things IRL. Which in a way is kind of nice. It is good to see real issues put in the sci-fi context. It is also good to see another face of the Empire, because these stories are showing us life for the regular people under Imperial domination. Being forced to work double shifts every day of the week, all the while their planets are being devastated around them, and anyone who complains is arrested, tortured, and killed.

Searching for a suitable followup for Memory, Sorrow and Thorn I settled on Brian Ruckley's Winterbirth. I first read it May 2008 and, truth to tell, wasn't overly impressed. I figured it was due reassessment. Turns out I've not changed my opinion. Spent a whole day attempted to read it. Didn't get very far. It just couldn't hold my interest.

Looking for something else to tackle I spotted Guy Gavriel Kay's Children of Earth and Sky. I began it earlier this year but, having recently re-read a number of Kay's novels, decided I needed a change of pace so set it aside and moved on to other things. Me being me, I forgot all about it... until now. Picked it up where I left off rather than backtrack. This was detrimental as first, but I'm now back into the swing of things. I don't know that this will end up being a favorite Kay novel, but anything of his is top-notch in my opinion.

Heh - even though I've not read this one, I will agree on general principles with this assessment of Thomas Covenant-related material.
The original books represent a low-point in my fantasy education. I had to force myself to plough through them as part of a school book project back in the day but I ended up hating them - entirely because of the protagonist - Thomas Covenant was for me without a doubt one of The Most Unlikable and Un-Empathetic [sic] characters it has ever been my misfortune to meet.

he's a hideous creation and if you managed any more than the first three books then you, sir, have my utmost respect!!

In an earlier contribution, I mention, stated differently, that I consider The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant and The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant (but NOT the inferior third set) the best fantasy literature that I do no normally recommend to others. As for me, it literally blew me away the first time I read them. They hold the honor being the books that converted me into a fantasy addict circa 1984, a genre I had little interest in previously, despise my love of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and Hobbit. I've read those first two Chronicles numerous times since, and still think quite highly of them. What's more, I consider Thomas Covenant one of fantasy's greatest characterizations.

And yet I know from personal experience that the books are highly divisive. Folk to tend to love them or, as in your case, hate them. And yes, I've found that much of that hatred comes from one's stance of Thomas Covenant himself. I suspect that the actions he takes that turn haters off are the very ones the endear him to those in my camp. (Strange as this may seem to some, I tend to view those first two chronicles, especially the first, as love stories (but certainly not romantic), though there's more to them than that.) But again, because so many see them as you do I am reluctant to recommend them, or at least not do so without sufficient warnings.

Hmm...
I could have sworn I replied to this thread earlier... Oh well.

I do agree with you D, don't get me wrong I really, Really wanted to like the books but I just could not get past the main character.
It's a real shame and to be honest doesn't happen very often at all...

I'm currently bouncing back and forth between the third book of the Malazan series, and Stephen King's On Writing

At 1657 this evening I concluded my first reading of Guy Gavriel Kay's Children of Earth and Sky. As mentioned, I read the first half earlier this year, then after a months-long break picked up where I left off and finished it out. It's a decidedly good book, an an easy recommendation for Kay fans. It is not, however, one of the books I'd recommend to someone new to Kay. That honor goes to either the two volume Sarantine Mosaic (Sailing to Sarantium and Lord of Emperors) set in a fictitious early Byzantine Empire, and/or the two separate but related works Under Heaven and River of Stars, set in a fantasy Chinese Tang Dynasty. I also recommend Kay earliest published fantasy work (discounting Tolkien's Silmarillion, which he helped Christopher Tolkien prepare for publication) Fionavar Tapestry, which unlike his later novels is indeed more or less "traditional" Tolkienesque epic fantasy on a grand scale.


This sort of ties in to my recent discussion with Phon on our conflicting views about Thomas Covenant. I purchased Malazan: Gardens of the Moon after having read numerous glowing testimonials. Turns out the book did nothing for me. I struggled to get through it, and have no interest in continuing the series.

At 2226 yesterday evening I concluded my second reading of Guy Gavriel Kay's The Last Light of the Sun, set in a fictional world during a period equivalent to the reign of Alfred the Great. This is the novel that, after my first reading, I considered less inspired than Kay's normal output (but still a fine read). I came away more favorably impressed this time round, though my prime Kay recommendations remain those mentioned in an earlier posting. I noticed a good many (insignificant) references to places (mostly), people and events from other Kay novels set in the same "world" that I did not pick up on during my first reading ten years ago.

I have tentatively started a re-read of Jonathan Wylie's The Unbalanced Earth Trilogy, Volume 1: Dreams of Stone but am not sure I'll stick with it.

At 0358 this morning, just prior to shambling out of bed, I concluded my third reading of Dreams of Stone, volume 1 of Jonathan Wylie's The Unbalanced Earth Trilogy. Last read roughly 18 years ago this was a fairly fresh experience. I deem it a satisfactory read but nothing special. I spent much of the read debating how best to classify it. The book labels itself as fantasy. Not far in I began to feel that science-fantasy, as some Wolfe books used to be classified, might be closer to the mark. Occasionally it felt more science fiction. Then it would veer back to science-fantasy or even straight-up fantasy. And so on. In the end I settled on labeling it Speculative Fiction and calling it a day. I also found it interesting that Wylie's descriptions are such that it is hard to discern what earth-equivalent period, if any, the book equates to. It definitely takes place some years following an apocalypse of some sort, but this is kept somewhat vague and subject to debate in volume one.

I'll likely begin volume 2, The Lightless Kingdom, ere day's end.

I am almost halfway through Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel. It is the prequel to the Rogue One film, about the main character's parents. Her father appears to be the guy who built the Death Star's superlaser, though so far he has not signed on to the project. It starts during the Clone Wars, which end about 40% of the way though the book (where I am at). Even then they were building the Death Star.

I finished Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel. It was ok, but nothing special. It is not the space romp adventure I tend to expect from a Star Wars tale. In fact, it feels rather unfocused. It just sort of meanders through the Clone Wars and ends about 5 years afterward.

Still, it does give us a better idea of the building of the Death Star than anything else so far. At least of its early stages. I liked the similarities to the Atom bomb, in that work on it started during the Clone Wars. The Republic had to have it because Count Dooku and the Separatists were building one. So the Republic had to have theirs first. Of course we know that Dooku was working for Palpatine all along, and that there was no Separatist battle station. But no one else knew that. Then after the war ended the Empire needed it to keep the peace.

Another thing I liked was that it also gives an idea of what the early Empire was like. I remember back when the original movies were out my impression was that the Emperor had seized power in a coup, which had been rather quick, and then the Empire ruled supreme in the galaxy. The prequel movies only reinforced that idea.

But I saw mentions of numerous battles and campaigns in a lot of the West End game sourcebooks, and other places. Catalyst sheds some light on that. The Empire was never at peace. Even after Anakin killed the Separatist ruling council and shut down all the battle droids, there were still Separatist holdouts in the Western Reaches of the Outer Rim (which I believe is the area with Endor, Hoth, Jakku, Bakura, and so forth). Fighting against them continued on after the Empire's creation. Apparently some of those Separatists were still around after the Emperor's death!

But that was not all. Not all worlds in the galaxy were part of the Republic, and some were only nominally part of it, being autonomous in most respects. The Empire was quick to go to war with these areas as well. The Salient system is one such place that figures into the book, where the main antagonist Orson Krennic manages to trick Tarkin into a protracted war against the inhabitants.

So from the moment of its inception to its demise, the Empire was constantly at war. They were just small wars, against small enemies. Nothing rivaled them in size and power. So the Empire won these wars. But there were so many, and so spread out, that it obviously kept them constantly busy and stretched out.

Speaking of Orson, I found I really liked him as the antagonist. He was a scientist who was never really all that great at science, and he knew it. So instead he became an engineer, and became a team leader instead of a researcher. His talent was in bringing talented people together and making them productive. He does this with the main protagonist - Galen Erso. Orson plays Erso like a harp from hell. Tricking him into inventing the Death Star's superlaser, when Erso is in fact a pacifist who refused to take sides in the Clone Wars. Erso thought he was using Kyber crystals to create a new source of energy for third world planets. Which is of course what he wanted to believe. I liked that Orson didn't threaten or cajole Erso or any of the others. He knew that there were more ways to motivate people, and brute force was not always it.

One thing that came to mind as I was reading was that I noticed that the Star Wars villains tend to be monkish people. It even gets directly mentioned in the book when Galen and Orson are talking, that Orson never married or had a serious LTR. We never saw the Emperor with a hot babe hanging off his arm. I don't think Tarkin was ever laid, not even once in his life. Vidian (the antagonist from A New Dawn) was entirely aesexual and in fact literally robotic). Anakin/Vader only had one girlfriend, and he essentially killed her. I think Prince Xizor had a whole seduction thing going on with Leia, but I don't really remember that too well, and it was more part of his plan than any genuine desire on his part to have female companionship. Maybe if these guys would just go to the strip bar once and a while they wouldn't be such dicks?

That's interesting, Khajiit never thought about that. Just figured with Palpatine it was because people were too afraid of him to want to be near enough to him to be romantic. Perhaps the darkside makes it to where you are too interested in the search for power to be interested in romance. Or maybe since you are channeling strong negative emotions it makes you unable desire intimacy?

Since I am watching X-Files, Mulder immediately comes to mind. He is a man so consumed by his passion to find his Truth, that there is literally no room in his life for anything else. The Star Wars villains tend to be the same. They simply don't have time - don't want to make time - for a girlfriend, much less a wife.

Exactly

At 0208 this morning I brought to conclusion my third reading of Jonathan Wylie's The Lightless Kingdom, volume II of The Unbalanced Earth Trilogy. As with book one, I found it an enjoyable read but not a fantasy for the ages. Like that first volume I consider it more science-fantasy and often pure science-fiction than fantasy, though there are certainly fantasy elements (and magic) in it.

I began volume III immediately afterward but was thankfully able to put it down after page one and get a tad more sleep before waking for the day (at as still-too-early circa 0341).

Today I finished with Scoundrels by Tiimothy Zahn. Unlike Catalyst, this was a definite space adventure romp. Or more precisely, a team heist story ala Oceans Eleven, with lots of twists and turns. Zahn definitely knows how to write Star Wars. He gives us a slew of characters - Han, Chewie, and Lando we all know from the movies. Some of the others like Winter and Kell Tainer we know from previous Star Wars novels. Some like Bink, Tavia, and Zerba are brand new. All of them are interesting, fun, very good at what they do, yet not overpowered to the point of being annoying.

The tale itself has plenty of twists and turns and factions going against one another. I won't go into detail to avoid spoilers. But there is a really cute homage to Raiders of the Lost Ark near the end. I was even able to guess who one character really was before Zahn did the big reveal at the end. All in all, a very fun read.

I forgot to add, I also read Winner Lose All, also by Zahn. It is just a short story, sort of a companion piece to Scoundrels. Even though it was written earlier. It includes Lando and several of the other characters in Scoundrels. This time they are planning to steal a precious statuette during a sabacc tournament, until things take a turn. Like Scoundrels, it is a lot of fun with gamblers, ghost burglars, and the seamy side of the Galaxy.

At 1520 this afternoon I concluded my third reading of Jonathan Wylie's The Age of Chaos, volume three of The Unbalanced Earth Trilogy. This book does not change my opinion that the series is a decent read but not a fantasy for the ages.

I have tentatively settled on Margaret Wies and Tracy Hickman's Rose of the Prophet series to (re)read next, but am far from sure I'll stick with it.

Since I'm about to go visit my mother in the UK, I downloaded the next four Discworld books to my e-reader. I've managed to keep those for "reading on the plane only" so far, but I'm getting sucked in ...

Isn't it uncanny?

That a flat world can have so much depth

I'm gonna have to get back to those again, sooner or later. *Adds to absurdly long list of books to reread*


I'm still working my way through the Malazan series, though at a more leisurely rate than last time, hoping to avoid burning out on them again. Book 7, currently.

I finished Chuck Wendig's Aftermath and Aftermath: Life Debt books. His writing style - Third Person, Present Tense - makes them extremely difficult to read. I almost gave up completely after just a few pages. But I stuck with it, and I did enjoy the novels. But not as much as I would have if he had used the past tense.

The story is decent in both books. They take us through the latter stages of the Galactic Civil War. Wendig uses both the main characters in the main story to show us what is happening in the war, and intersperses that with little interludes on different worlds around the galaxy to show us how the conflict has changed the lives of people, both prominent and ordinary. The latter interludes distract from the main plot, but I understand why they are there. These books are meant to convey the experience of the war everywhere in the galaxy, not just for a select group of characters.

The characters themselves were wonderful. Especially when I realized that the teenager Temmin is the very same X-Wing pilot we saw in The Force Awakens. I liked that his relationship with his mother Norra (also a main character) was very strained. Another writer might have made it easy for the two to relate after Mom's return from years of fighting with the Rebellion. But Wendig makes her pay for leaving her son for the sake of fighting the good fight on other worlds than her home.

The Zabrak bounty hunter Jas is a fun addition, although I kind of feel she is a bit too Mary Sue at times. The Imperial renegade Sinjir is wonderful with his cynicism and sarcasm, traits only matched by his alcoholism. And he's also gay. Which is astounding to see in print. Even more amazing is an interlude including a transgendered pirate captain, whom I think we might see more of in the final book of the trilogy.

We also see Han, Chewie, Leia, and Wedge as well. Luke is very noticeable by his absence, considering how world changing some of the events are, and the amount of time the novels take place over. I would have expected at least some mention of him and what he was doing during all this. But I don't mind much. The truth is I like seeing new characters over the same old ones from the original films over and over again.

The villains do not disappoint. Admiral Rae Sloane is a solid villain. We have seen her in other books by other writers, and she remains consistent across all of them. That is really good. As a matter of fact, that is one thing I have to give props to Disney for. The books in their new continuity seem to mesh with one another better than those of the old EU did. Rae is a great example. Not just in herself, but also because one of her mentors (and rivals) was Count Vidian from A New Dawn. Rae learned a lot from Vidian, and we see her remembering quotes of his in other books she is in, like: Forget The Past.

The second book ends with everyone moving toward Jakku. I am looking forward to reading exactly how that planet became a graveyard of ships in The Force Awakens.

I started reading Rogue One. I have not gotten far, but have already recognized a few scenes from the trailers. One thing I can say for sure, is that this is a lot more gritty and harsh than your typical Star Wars fare.

Khajiit likes gritty and harsh!

I gave up on Rose of the Profit only pages in and am now on page 416 of 614 of my third reading of Mickey Zucker Reichert's The Renshai Trilogy, book one: The Last Renshai. I expect this to be the last book read in full this year, though I'll surely start in on book two before 2017 rolls in.

That being the case, I'm going to jump the gun and submit my pointless annual reading recap for 2016.

I read thirty-nine qualifying titles to completion, forty counting the book I'm on now, which I'll surely finish by year's end. That's a marked increase over twenty-three read last year. Thirty-one are fantasy, three historic fiction classics in their country of origin, three history, two classical music related, one popular culture celebrity autobiography. The autobiography was a loan from my brother. All other books are owned by me. All are traditional paper printings. Nine were first-reads, the rest re-reads.


Best First-read of the Year: The Deluge, volumes 1 & 2, epic-scale historic fiction by Henryk Sienkiewcz as translated by W.S. Kuniczak. This is hands-down winner in its category. Nothing else comes close. It is also the very first novel(s) I read this year. I knew from the get-go that they would be next to impossible to knock off their pedestal. Can't say I'm disappointed in proving myself right. Deluge is the second book in Sienkiewcz's “Trilogy”. I read book one, With Fire and Sword, during 2015. It's on par with Deluge. I'm not as fond of book three, Fire in the Steppe, but think highly of it and the trilogy as a whole. The Trilogy gets my strongest recommendation, with the caveat that English-only readers should insist on the Kuniczak translations and avoid all others.


Best Re-read of the Year: Memory, Sorrow and Thorn by Tad Williams. Like the Sienkiewcz, a four book trilogy. A long-time favorite more-or-less traditional Tolkien inspired epic fantasy.

Best Re-read of the Year, very honorable mention: The Quest of the Riddlemaster series by Patricia A. Mckillip. I hadn't read this since 1999 and had forgotten just how good it is.

Best Re-read of the Year, honorable mention: Under Heaven and River of Stars by Guy Gaviel Kay. Kay is pound for pound my favorite active fantasy writer. These two stand-alone yet related novels rank high on, but do not top, my list of favorite Kay.


Pleasant Surprise of the Year: Tales of Alvin Maker, books 1, 2 and 3 by Orson Scott Card. I've owned these for ages. Tried to read them at least twice before. Never got far. Just couldn't get into 'em. Tried again this May. To my surprise and delight, I quite enjoyed them. Not enough to make me immediately order later volumes, though I don't rule it out later on.

Most Frustrating Read of the Year: The Dark Border by Paul Edwin Zimmer. These two books are re-reads. I knew what to expect going in. Even so, the conclusion of book two, King Chandos' Ride, vexed me to no end. Rather, its lack of conclusion. The books do a decent job of establishing and developing interesting characters and plot lines, enough so that we, I at least, want to know how it all turns out. Then, as one of the central characters enters into what is surely going to be a combat scene, POOF!, the end. Plot lines and characters' stories remain unfinished. So abrupt is the non-ending that it's as if the manuscript's final few chapters were lost en route to the publisher, who decided to print it as-is anyway. (Along this same line, I re-read a two book series by Thorarinn Gunnarsson, Song of the Dwarves and Revenge of the Valkyrie, that was surely supposed to have followups but never got them. Unlike Dark Border, the two books we have don't leave us hanging.)

At 0818 this morning I finished my third reading of Mickey Zucker Reichert's The Renshai Trilogy, book one, The Last Renshai. A solid, enjoyable fantasy. I'll surely begin book two, The Western Wizard, ere day's end.

I've bailed again on the Malazan series. I can only read so many instances of massively powerful, resourceful, or divinely-touched characters resolving problems of ever increasing scale. Especially when some of the characters are so inexplicably powerful that it's eminently clear they're merely a plot device masquerading as a character.

Instead I'm rereading the Republic Commando books.

I finished reading Rogue One: A Star Wars Story by Alexander Freed. It is of course the novelization of the film. First off, his writing is excellent. I look forward to reading other books by him.

It naturally mirrors the film. But given the format, the book gives us more insight minds and motives of the characters. Jyn Erso especially has a great deal of character development, as she grapples with her issues of abandonment. It really is a marvel to see her and the other Rogues overcome their fear, guilt, and hopelessness to find the best part of themselves. And they all find that heart of kyber within them all before the end.

A very good read.

“The Force is with me, and I am with the Force.”

At 1548 this afternoon I concluded my initial reading of Jessica Amanda Salmonson's A Silver Thread of Madness, a collection of short-stories by ms Salmonson written between the mid seventies and late eighties. I've owned this book a long time. Likely never got around to reading it until now because 1) I'm just not a short-story person, and 2) the author's introductory note that reads in part, "...the great art of modern literature is found all but exclusively in the short story . . . Those authors who have forsaken the short story for the less competitive and monetarily greener pastures of the novel have by and large abandoned art." What the ...?????

The book is divided into three parts, Six Legends, Silver Threads of Madness, and Tales of Naipon. To the extent a non short-story lover is able to judge such things I found the stories contained within those divisions of varying interest, some decent, some mediocre, a few I didn't care for at all. They tended to become rather predictable and same-old same-old after a while, but I'm not sure how this could have been avoided in a collection of works by the same author.

No idea what I'll tackle next.

Wrapped up the Republic Commando books, which is to say I got as far through Order 66 as I felt like going and skipped 501st entirely.

Moved onto the Darth Bane books. Blitzed the first, and I'm about to start Rule of Two

At 2143 yesterday evening, 31 Dec 2016, I concluded my sixth reading of Orson Scott Card's Hart's Hope. I bought this book March 1988 while traveling by bus in the military, at a combination gas station / convenience store out in the middle of nowhere where our unit stopped for a quick fuel refill / rest break. It was my first exposure to Card. Began reading it as our bus pulled out of the station lot. (I believe but am not certain that I suffered from a migraine at the time, as I too often did in those days.) Was hooked from the start. Couldn't put it down. Finished it during that trip. Read it four more times between then and early 2005, then set it aside until now. It remains my favorite of the admittedly few Card novels I've read, and a favorite fantasy as well.

The book itself is presented as sort of a dark fairy tale told in second (?) person, in the form of a written communication from a long separated (newly reunited) wife to her husband, a disposed king now restored to power, hoping to pursued him to spare the life of a young man he is determined to destroy.

Searching the internet shows the book to have garnered mediocre reviews. Digging in a bit deeper reveals Hart's Hope to be something of a love-it-or-hate-it novel. Naysayers tend to dislike it for its inclusion of acts deemed unsuitable for public consumption, largely of a sexual nature. Me, I've no issue with this whatsoever, certainly not when used to good purpose as it is here and in Donaldson's Thomas Covenant chronicles. (In both instances I'd argue that the act most frowned on by dislikers is “the” crux of the novels, the raison d'etre of all that follows.) I'm not trying to prove those of the opposite persuasion wrong, only to point out that the book's middling review totals do not necessarily reflect its quality but rather have more to do with the inclusion of certain actions that may or may not prove distasteful on an individual basis.

I have tentatively started in on Paula Volsky's Illusion, another book I've owned a long time but for whatever reason never got around to reading.

The Red and the Black by Stendhal. One of my Japanese teachers recommended this to me way back when; I'm quite ashamed it took me this long to actually look it up and read it. Ah well. Let's get this show on the road.

EDIT: Oh, and I have the Brothers Karamazov just sitting on the sidelines too. *rubs hands together* It's gonna be a busy schedule for me, reading-wise.

I'm currently reading Crimes Against Magic, by Steve McHugh. Amazon are doing the whole series cheap(a quid apiece), and since they've got a truckload of high ratings I thought I'd give the first one a try.

So far the main character has a whiff of Gary Stu about him, and is suffering from plot-device amnesia to keep him/the reader from knowing everything that's going on. The writing style's a bit off, and thus far the plot hinges on a rather confusing incident that at this point makes no sense whatsoever.

But for a quid, I suppose I can't complain too much.

At 1942 this evening I completed my first reading of Paula Volsky's fantasy novel Illusion. I've owned this book a good many years but for whatever reason never got around to reading it until now. I found it enjoyable, but not a page-turner.

No idea what I'll start in on next.

I finished Kenobi, by John Jackson Miller. It was good. Just as the book Ahsoka told the story of how Ahsoka Tano went from being Ahsoka to being Fulcrum, this told the story of how Obi-Wan became Ben.

It is all much smaller in scale than we are used to seeing from a Star Wars book. Instead it is about just a range war, gangsters, shopkeepers, and farmers. But that is also the overarching theme of the book. How Kenobi was forced to get used to adjusting from living on a galactic scale, to living on a local one. To helping people still, but keeping out of sight while doing so.

One thing I really liked is that Kenobi's infectious charm and good nature shine through, even in this, his darkest time. I can just hear James Arnold Taylor's voice every time he talks, and imagine his wry smile. He is still the Kenobi I love.

This one liked Kenobi a lot during The Clone Wars, especially his weird relationship with Assaj Ventress.

I really enjoyed Kenobi's banter with Ventress as well. She was one of my favorite characters. I always wished they could have done a story arc about Obi-Wan bringing her back to the light side. In some form or another.

At 0340 this morning I concluded The Many-Colored Land, volume one of Julian May's The Saga of Pliocene Exile. This was its third reading. The first occurred Mar 1985, the second Jan 1999. It was amongst the paperbacks I selected from the give-away of a fellow military dorm-rat lightening his library in preparation for a transfer. Those books were my introduction to speculative fiction, predated only by a few books forced on us in school and Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and Hobbit, read during the 70s.

It is also one of my rare forays into Sci-Fi, a literary genre I normally have little interest in.

As to the book itself, it has an interesting premise. A some point in Earth's future (or rather the planets-wide confederation of which earth is a part) a method of time travel is discovered. It is used to send humans, mostly those who for whatever reason don't fit in with "modern" society, back in time to earth's Pliocene period. Only, they arrive there to discover that things are not as expected, and ... well, I'll not spoil things.

I read a good three-fourths of it last year, then lost interest. Despite the lengthy break I elected to pick up where I had left off rather than begin afresh. Even so it took longer than expected to finish. Even when I devoted hours to it, I had trouble maintaining focus so that only a few pages would be read. Thankfully my sessions yesterday and this morning were far more fruitful.

I have not yet decided whether or not I'll continue the series.

ADDENDUM: I just noticed a reading of this book at YouTube.

I finished Lords of the Sith last week. It was good, concentrating upon Vader and Cham Syndulla. It gives us a deeper look at the relationship Vader had with the Emperor. Also a better look of what life is like for Vader, and how and why he does what he does. As a Clone Wars fan it was cool seeing Cham again, in this story set in the early days of the Rebellion.

I also just finished Dark Disciple today. This is one I held off for a long time because it struck me as yet another dreary example of Stuffed in the Fridge. But it had really good reviews, and I noted that it was written by a female author. So I gave it a chance after all. I am glad I did, because I found it is really an Asajj Ventress story. In fact, it is the story of her redemption, and how she gained that one, perfect moment.

I've been in a reading slump since finishing The Many Colored Land 15 Jan, not helped by devoting so much time to watching Game of Thrones Seasons 1, 2 & 6 on DVD. Having seen the last of those episodes earlier today I decided to try my hand at another read of A Song of Ice and Fire. I worried that have just seen half the TV series might make the read less engrossing. So far such is not the case. I've not gotten far but already appreciate the book's more elaborate introduction to Daenerys and her brother in particular.

I'm on page 391 of Game of Thrones, a Daenerys chapter that chronicles her initial visit to Vaes Dothrak. (The preceding chapter saw the confrontation between Ned and Jamie following the latter's learning of his brother's capture by Catelyn.) Having recently watched three seasons of the TV series makes me appreciate the books all the more. I'm picking up on things I don't recall catching before, such as the foreshadowings during Bran's fall (which we witness just before he finally wakes from his coma). Also, I don't believe I paid attention to these early chapters many R+L=J hints during previous reads. ("R" is of course not yet set in stone. It's as good as, but with Martin it's best not to assume.) I appreciate the extensive lore/history the book gives us. For whatever reason I find I'm more tolerant of GOT TV series alterations (which are minor at this early stage) than I was/am with LoTR book-to-movie changes, which almost invariably rub me the wrong way once past the initial Shire scenes in Fellowship. (To be fair, I found the film adaptation of Two Towers so inadequate I never bothered to watch Return of the King, which might be a better movie.)

At 0809 this morning I concluded my fifth read of George R.R. Martin's A Game of Thrones, including its appendix but not the preview chapter from A Clash of Kings, which would be pointless since I will begin reading that volume later today. Can't think of anything to add that hasn't been mentioned in my several progress reports.

Almost forgot to mention that I ordered three books off Amazon yesterday (or was it the day before?). All cover some aspect of modern US politics, so I gotta be very careful what I say about 'em other than beginning and conclusion dates. The order likely won't arrive until mid month, allowing me to finish Clash of Kings, assuming I don't dawdle.

My Amazon order arrived a week earlier than originally expected. (I of course knew it would soon after the order shipped.) I've given all three books a quick look over. One is a disappoint, not what I expected. My fault I suppose. I read a general overview before adding it to my cart, but should have dug deeper. My hope it at least proves a decent read. The second book, the one I was and am most interested in, looks to be everything I hoped for. The third? We shall see. I remind you that these are all somewhat (or more than somewhat) political in nature, so can't be discussed in any detail. Even mentioning their names might be risky.

As to ASoIaF, I'm just over 200 pages into book two. Differences between book and show are already becoming more pronounced. Even so I feel they still complement each other well.

Currently reading a local bit. I'm enthralled with Werewolf: The Lycanthrope Chronicles.

A progress report:

I'm now on page 375 of ASoIaF: A Clash of Kings, not quite halfway through my hardback edition. It's a Catelyn chapter with her in Renly's camp just prior to the planned battle between Renly's and Stannis's forces. (I assume we all know how that turns out.)

I made the mistake of keeping those three recently arrived Amazon book purchases on the bed, where I do almost the whole of my reading. It's been slowing me down Clash wise. Too often I find myself, almost without thought, putting it aside to read a stretch of two of those three books. I think I solved the problem (?) this morning by moving those books to another room.

I just could not get into A Game of Thrones. I gave the book a really good shot, but it just felt like such a chore for me to read.

Am I unique in that opinion?

That progress report reminded me of my own with The Red and Black and The Karamazov. Safe to say I didn't make any worthwhile advance on both; instead, I got hooked up on Dan Simmons' Hyperion soooo much that I finished it and Fall of Hyperion in three days. Riding this wave of intense focus (something I usually don't get from novels) I decided to go and started up Endymion but alas! I think I burned out. That, or the first new character banished what interest I have with his introductionary 'You're reading this for the Blah-Blah-Blah' spiel. I dunno, possibly both. Might start it up again, but obviously not now.

Anyway, one heavy vibe I got from reading the first two novels is that my boy Danny Sims is quite possibly, legitimately, in-lovaboo with Sir John Keats. I get it that the books are his tribute to the poet's incomplete poem and he plays a heavily important role and all that jazz, but my boy my boy oh boy! In my opinion, things got a little too ... steamy-weary-please-notice-me-dead-senpai-Johnny. Particularly in the Fall.

John Keats, Kohn Jeats everywhere!

Still 9.5/10 tho

I read them. It started out well enough, went crazy in book 3, then dragged through 4 and 5. Haven't felt any urge to read them again.

At least you made it that far. Book one has been collecting dust on my shelf.