What are you reading right now?

[Kanastrous]

The Prague Cemetary, Umberto Eco. The most fun I've had with an Eco book since Foucault's Pendulum.

[Broomstick]

The Chosen (Book One of the Stone Dance of the Chameleon) by Ricardo Pinto.

It's a fantasy setting entirely without magic, in a world where the master race not only has a different skin color but is also much taller than their subject peoples. We follow the young Master Carnelian as he and his father return from exile to the main center of power.

It is one of the bloodiest, cruelest societies I can recall reading about in a long time.

The Masters are absolute rulers in every sense of the word. Their whim is law. While a master's household can view the master's face, to view the unmasked face of a master to whom one is not allied means death - usually delivered immediately or soon after. If the viewer is sufficiently low rank execution is proceeded by torture. Gelding, maiming, blinding, deafening of subjects is routine. Rape and torture? Routine in this society. Some Masters combine all of the above on a regular basis. When a new emperor is crowned his siblings are executed and their blood literally poured over his crowns. It is considered the duty of the males of the imperial family to produce offspring intended to be sacrificed in various rituals. There is a caste of creepy priest/scholars whose every sense save touch has been obliterated (they're also castrated). Facial branding and/or tattooing is used to denote social rank and belonging in those less than masters. There's a group/tribe of ferrymen who transport the Masters about their inner sanctum living area who have one eye ripped out at birth to accommodate the wearing of their required masks, which only have one eye hole. The imperial family manufacturers conjoined twins - one of whom is invariably blinded - to be living representations of their Twin Gods.

There is also extreme beauty, the Masters at court gliding about in silks and jewels wearing golden masks and crowns. Extremely ordered and byzantine court etiquette.

I was by turns fascinated and repulsed.

Some of the things I liked about the book:
- It's an interesting and very alien society. I'm not sure if everything would actually "work" from a practical angle, and we really only see Carnelian's viewpoint and he certainly doesn't understand how everything is made to work in his world/society but it's different. There are some sort of obvious borrowings from various Earth cultures (more so if you go to the companion website, the most obvious being that the "glyphs" used as chapter headings in the books are very obviously inspired by Mayan hieroglyphs).
- The homosexual love affair was handled very matter-of-factly. No one is stereotypically gay. One does have the impression that homosexual Masters are, nonetheless, expected to engage in sufficient heterosexual intercourse to produce offspring for dynastic purposes but once that duty is discharged no one seems to give a damn what they do. Since that has been the case in most societies that tolerate homosexuality in the ruling class that works in the narrative. You aren't beat over the head with the matter.
- It is frequently compared to Tolkein's Middle Earth in regards to world-building detail. Yes, the world is envisioned on that sort of level. It's amazing. It's breath-taking. A fantasy of visiting it, however, scares the living shit out of me whereas as visit to Middle Earth would probably be as pleasant as a trip to, say, New Zealand. This is not a nice place to be. It's not even particularly nice for the people who rule the damn place, much less anyone lower on the social scale than that.

Some of the things I didn't like:
- The extreme and pervasive cruelty of it all. Then again, this wasn't written to make you like that aspect of the society, and indeed much of it is written to break your heart.
- It dragged occasionally. The world is beautifully realized (when it isn't horrifically realized) but sometimes you just wanted to scream "stop dwelling on this scenery and move the damn plot forwards!"
- The lack of female Masters. The absence of Carnelian's mother is explained via death in childbirth. As the story progresses, though, you gain the impression very few female Masters exist. It's not just that fertile women are married off for political gain and kept in harems and purdah, it's explicitly stated that there are significantly fewer woman Chosen. Why? Damn if I know. We do get to meet the Empress and one or two others but it is very clear that fewer female Chosen are born - it's not a matter of infanticide or human sacrifice (the latter of which also occurs in this world). It's odd, because someone both female and Chosen have to be birthing all the boy Chosen we see.
- I am not a fan of incest. There is considerable among the Masters, both due to dynastic reasons (much the same reason Ancient Egyptian Pharoahs did this) and because damn little is forbidden to the ruling class.

I have mixed feelings about getting the other two books of the trilogy. Although I found the story engaging and I do want to know what happens to Carnelian (and a host of others, like Osidian, Sardian, and Tain), and the landscapes/world are, as I said, fascinating and I'd like to see more I'm not sure I want to wade through the blood and maiming.

[Patrick Degan]

Working my leisurely pace through Henry David Thoreau's Walden.

[Crazedwraith]

I just finished Dance Of Dragons.... What the fuck was that?

I mean I was spoiled about the end, or rather one of the cliff hangers but it still comes as a shock and a blow. But's very much a middle of the series book, forgoing climaxes to any story line (well except I guess one guy who gets himself dragonfired to death) in favour of honking great cliffhangers. Which when you take the better part of a decade to come out with a new book is not a winning tactic.

[Surlethe]

Global Capitalism: Its Fall and Rise During the 20th Century by Jeffrey Frieden of Harvard. A very comprehensive and understandable economic history of the world, 1840-2000 or so.

[Raptor 597]

I finally bought The Age of Reason by Paine. Now that the semester is over with, I should be able to read it and take it all in.

[Guardsman Bass]

I just finished King's Blood by Daniel Abraham. Three of the main characters are what make it interesting to read, particularly since Abraham captures the whole "hero of their own story" aspect that can make even nasty characters seem sympathetic. One of them is a reactionary nobleman, another is a woman who exemplifies "smart but inexperienced and arrogant", and the third is a guy whose capable of some truly vile atrocities when he's acting out of shame and embarrassment.

[weemadando]

I read Worm by Mark Bowden, a great book and shows why he's a great author, he makes people at computers in nice, safe offices tracking the conficker worm as exiting as people roping out of helicopters Mogadishu.

That's a rare skill.

Then kindle went "hey check out these other books" and I went "well, I haven't read Killing Pablo yet..."

[Crateria]

I just finished Breaking the Tongue. That book was amazing. It did a great portrayal of life and war within Singapore. I could definitely sympathize with the characters and the inclusions of things like surreal dreams and the constant change of perspectives really helped it stand out to me.

[spaceviking]

Brave New World- Don't really care about the characters but find the world interesting.
Pride and Prejudice- Fun read when it is not for high school English.

[Dartzap]

Just finished Kim Newman's Anno Dracula: Bloody Red Baron

For those who don't know: The Anno Dracula series is basically a 'What if Van Helsing Failed to Kill Dracula' scenario, and the effects this has on the history of the world, from the days of him as the Regent of England, and on to the first world war and the worlds acceptance of vampires in scociety and so on.

Newman is well known for his integration of historical figures and other authors creations into his works, and it really does shine in this one.

[dragon]

The Ceritified Ethical Hacker study guide as my job wan't a couple of to get the certification. Why me I've no idea as my position gets axed end of next month.
Also reading Echos of Betrayal by Elizabeth Moon and the Last Ditch by Sandy Mitchell

[phred]

Just finished The Hunger Games series. Not the most awesome series ever, but good enough for killing time. Just picked up the complete works of H.P. Lovecraft. The first few short stories have been mediocre. Hopefully it will get better.
Also, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, good read. It's a decent biography of Abe Lincoln with vampires in.

[spaceviking]

Just finished The Hunger Games series. Not the most awesome series ever, but good enough for killing time. Just picked up the complete works of H.P. Lovecraft. The first few short stories have been mediocre. Hopefully it will get better.
Also, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, good read. It's a decent biography of Abe Lincoln with vampires in.

Did you also notice a sharp decline in quality (for the hunger games series) after the first book?

[The Yosemite Bear]

Oh I'm on the watch series and am wodering just what does angua see in carrot?

[The Grim Squeaker]

Oh I'm on the watch series and am wodering just what does angua see in carrot?

He's absolutely honest, incorruptible, just, decent, good, honourable, and a poster child for Lawful Good.
(With a body and chin you could crack trolls on).


Oh, and later on she does comment that that gets a bit tiring

[phred]

Did you also notice a sharp decline in quality (for the hunger games series) after the first book?

I wouldn't say sharp decline, but they do suffer from being a 2 parter with what seems to be a plot thats a bit forced to squeeze money out of them.

Oh I'm on the watch series and am wondering just what does angua see in carrot?

He's a cute guy who's completely different than anyone she's ever met?

[Adam Reynolds]

Did you also notice a sharp decline in quality (for the hunger games series) after the first book?

I wouldn't say sharp decline, but they do suffer from being a 2 parter with what seems to be a plot thats a bit forced to squeeze money out of them.

I would agree that there was a fairly sharp decline in quality, especially with how the series ended.

As for my recent reading I just finished And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, I am surprised it took me this long to finally read it given that I'm generally a fan of mysteries. I also just started The Unlikely Spy by Daniel Silva .

[The Romulan Republic]

I'm currently reading Metamorphoses and War and Peace.

[Dartzap]

Just finished Whispers Under Ground - part 3 of the Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch.

[Kanastrous]

The Infinity of Lists, Umberto Eco. It's not a narrative, or at least, to the degree it contains any sort narrative it's varied, fragmentary and mostly by accident as a by-product of utility. It's a sort of scholarly semiotic playing around with the dimensions and qualities of lists, lists of anything, lists of species, lists of angels, lists of artworks, lists of properties, across history. I'm not sure how many other people could have made it interesting.

[MarxII]

I've been fairly engrossed in The Making of Modern Japan, by Marius Jansen. It covers from Sekigahara to the present day, and makes for a detailed description of a period of Japanese history I'm often guilty of ignoring for want of any major and exciting battles. Enjoying it so far, the man does seem quite impressed with the efforts of Jesuit missionaries, whose work I had previously understood was only middling successful.

[Surlethe]

Time and Money by Roger Garrison. It's a fairly tight and compelling theoretical argument for a macroeconomic theory in the tradition of Hayek and Mises, but so far pretty light on empirical evidence. Very interesting, though!

[The Grim Squeaker]

A metric shitton of summaries, notes and (if possible) textbooks in biology. And for fun: "The World of Poo" By Miss Felicity Beadle. (Nee' Pratchett).
Looks much too short (5 minutes and i'm 13% in), but exactly what I could use right now.

[PeZook]

I managed to somehow find a copy of "The Warsaw-German War", a story of the largest single underground propaganda organization which operated in Warsaw during the German occupation, written by its second in command.