Madness Abides

catch

noreply@blogger.com (dennis) — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 22:17:00 +0000

a random page

noreply@blogger.com (dennis) — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 03:29:00 +0000

Lost

noreply@blogger.com (dennis) — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 22:27:00 +0000

The spice must flow!

noreply@blogger.com (dennis) — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 14:52:00 +0000

If the shoe fits...

noreply@blogger.com (dennis) — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 22:42:00 +0000

Lookin' up...

noreply@blogger.com (dennis) — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 19:28:00 +0000

A View at the Book House

noreply@blogger.com (dennis) — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 23:34:00 +0000

Resist Much, Obey Little

noreply@blogger.com (dennis) — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 23:53:00 +0000

Still here

noreply@blogger.com (dennis) — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 01:59:00 +0000

Just to keep this space alive, I have to decided to start posting some random book pictures...

...more to come (randomly, from time to time).

It's a joke... kind of.

noreply@blogger.com (dennis) — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 15:39:00 +0000

Happy New Year!

noreply@blogger.com (dennis) — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 05:03:00 +0000

2009 is gone, 2010 here we come!!

Another year and another lazy book blogger looks back and realizes he hasn't done much blogging lately... oh well. This post is just to wish my fellow book lovers a happy new year! Back when I had spare time on my hands I had grand thoughts about all the year end posts I was going to write (top 10’s, the year in review, the year by the numbers, what I’m looking forward to in 2010, etc.), but 2009 has ended a lot busier than it began, so this is it... however, I can, thanks to the wonder that is LibraryThing, quickly share what I added to my ever growing (and mostly unread) accumulation of books this year - as long as I didn’t miss anything, it looks like 251 books were added to my shelves and storage boxes in 2009 - there were books that left my possession as well (donations and sold), but I did not keep any kind of count of those, just deleted them from the database. Next year I plan on keeping better track of everything (let's call it a resolution) and figuring out the true cost of what I buy - the majority of the books bought in 2009 were purchased at book sales for little money (plus a few freebies from friends, lovers, and the postman), so I’d be slightly surprised if my total spend was over $1,000 (not counting the signed limited edition of Stephen King’s Under the Dome and a couple other bigger purchases). With any luck I'll be back up and book blogging within a few months - and I'm really looking forward to it -- I have read lots of good books this year that I haven't had a chance to mention here (plus there are a whole lot of good looking books on my to read pile - which is bound to get bigger soon as I start cashing in my Christmas gift cards) and there are always lots of book buying experiences and other bookish things I want to talk about. OK, that’s enough rambling. Have a great year!!!

Giving Thanks

noreply@blogger.com (dennis) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 12:33:00 +0000

No, this is not to let the people of earth know I've returned to the world of book blogging (I'm just too damn busy right now), but rather this is a quick post to do what you are suppose to do on thanksgiving - give thanks! Yes, I'm a thankful guy - thankful for my family, thankful for my friends, and thankful for the wonderful life those two groups of people help me live! And in the spirit of the holiday, I am also willing to say I am thankful for my job - even if the hours limit my reading time, and has nearly shut down my blogging dreams for the time being, it does allow me to continue to buy books whenever I choose to do so... and that ain't a bad thing!

Have a great holiday!!

(I'll be back book blogging sometime soon, so do check back from time to time)

System Fail

noreply@blogger.com (dennis) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 00:17:00 +0000

How do you shut up a book blogger for a couple weeks? Well, typically, all you need to do is give me a stack of good books to read, and the next thing you know... zip, zilch, nadda, nothin’, mum’s the word, and there you have it - no blog posts for a little while. Add to that a couple important family obligations, a job that is busting my ass (yes, I concur, in today’s economy that is a good thing - it is way better than busting my ass looking for work) and a brokedown computer, and I wonder how I even have the time to write this.

Of course, the computer situation was fixed, after a few angry days, by a short trip to Best Buy to buy a new one (a sony vaio as if anyone really gives a crap) and all of a sudden I am out of excuses. The good thing is; after this upcoming long weekend, followed by a crazy week at work, I plan on being back and better than ever - well, I seriously do have a couple good posts ruminating around in this mixed up mind of mine anyway.

Update Complete: book blogging to resume shortly!

I got a deal

noreply@blogger.com (dennis) — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 22:17:00 +0000

One of the original ideas I had for this space was to share my book buying experiences... sure, there is even a periodic post or two where I do just that, but there really hasn’t been very much talk on my part about buying books lately - and since I just got such wonderful deal (in my mind anyway) I figured I would share. Additionally, this post relates pretty closely to my underused (only once until this point) tag “Remainder Rack Chronicles”.

Well, it was a GRRM kind of evening:

So, last night I head out to the local big box bookstore to unload a 40% off any paperback coupon they were kind of enough to email me (you know the one, you got it too I’m sure). As I head into the store the first thing that catches my eye on the remainder rack in the entryway was a bright white hardcover with a name on it that I am quite a fan of - George R.R. Martin. The book being Dreamsongs: Volume I. Now, this is a book I should have bought new - don’t really know why I didn’t buy it new - and, being a wannabe GRRM completist, one which I would have searched out to purchase eventually anyway I am sure - but here it was for the bargain bin price of $5.99... picking up the first copy in the stack and looking over it, I found it was unmarked, which made the decision to buy automatic.

I looked around at the other stacks of books, lamenting the fact that I didn’t see the second volume, and set about going through the stack to find the best condition copy available (the second one I picked was flawless). But wait... what is that at the back of the stack with the black cover?? Yes! A lone copy (also unmarked in great condition) of Dreamsongs: Volume II hiding behind seven or so copies of the first volume... well, consider that sold. What a deal - both volumes of George R.R. Martin’s Dreamsongs for six bucks a pop! These are books which will be read (if in small portion over time) and will most likely have choice spots on my shelf for quite some time.

There I am, barely in the store in the store, having come with the intention of buying a cheap paperback at 40% off, and I’ve already got two fat hardcovers (a total of over 1,400 pages) in my hands, which I am quite excited about - OK, on to why I am here (and this really goes to show it was a GRRM kind of night)... Picking my way through shelves - first the mysteries, then the horror section, then fiction, nothing is grabbing my attention (I was looking for something that would somehow make it to the top of my to be read pile), and then low and behold out of nowhere I pick up Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner (a book I have glanced at a few times over the years at various used and new bookstores and at more than one book sale) and here I see a generous blurb from George R.R. Martin I had not noticed before. Swordspoint may not have made it to the top of my to be read pile, but it did (thanks to the serendipity of the moment) leave the store with me and is now part of that ever increasing pile (OK, more of rough list in my head) that will be read sometime in the future.

A total of $17 and change out the door...

Yep, I got a deal.

An Update of Sorts

noreply@blogger.com (dennis) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 16:03:00 +0000

Yeah, well, work is kicking my ass lately... I’m good with that -- work = money, money = books. I do like my job well enough, but it is causing my reading schedule to become a hell of a mess (it hasn’t stopped me from buying books though).

While for the foreseeable future it seems my employer will be doing its best to prevent me from reading as much as I’d like (after putting in 10 to 12 hours a day staring at spreadsheets, my ability to unwind with a book becomes harder as the weeks wear on), there have been two recent books which have excited me just enough that, even though I might only read 20 pages a day, I know I will be carrying them around with me until they have been read. Typically, during busy times, a light and fun book (i.e. little thinking involved) is what I search out, but these two aren’t, in my mind, really "light" - fun maybe, but I should probably do my best to pay attention while reading them. Anyway, these two book really have me eager to read...

One... Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon - I just picked this one up over the weekend. A stoner detective yarn written by a literary genius - genre fiction that is bound confuse me - hell yeah, count me in! I may have mentioned this already, but I am Pynchon geek (sure, it was a rather rare occurrence while reading Gravity’s Rainbow that I knew what the heck was going on, but the words somehow still made sense in a grand and stimulating way ultimately providing a unique and rewarding experience) and a new Pynchon book is something to look forward to.

Two... A Fiery Peace in a Cold War - I received an ARC of this in the mail the other day and I am dying to dive in. This really looks to be a fascinating history of the postwar American/Soviet arms race. What is billed as “a magnificent, long-awaited new epic, fifteen years in the making”, I am really looking forward to digging in and getting a good nonfiction fix (something which I enjoy more of as I get older I am learning).

So there you have it - I am bound to be back with some good book blogging talk soon (as soon as my pay masters give me a minute to breath, that is)... with any luck, I will even be able to finish both of the above books and to definitively let you know if they are worth your hard earned buck.

A Missed Milestone

noreply@blogger.com (dennis) — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 23:32:00 +0000

So it's a birthday of sorts here at Madness Abides... one year ago yesterday there was a small "coming soon" post which marked my entry into the book blogging world (my “official” first post came on the 10th). Sure, this blog has changed from what I originally envisioned it would be, but it has been a whole year of somewhat regular posts, and that is something I am oddly proud of. A while back I had grand thoughts of celebrating this week with giveaways and special posts, but alas that lazy book blogger has snuck his way into my head as of late (OK, I'll admit it, I’ve been busy at work, which, while a good excuse, is also a rather lousy excuse). Those unexecuted plans do provide material for the future, so a shiny silver lining is present. All in all, this year has flown by and it has been extremely enjoyable to keep Madness Abides... well... abiding, as it were.

As there are a whole lot of things I wanted Madness Abides to be, and many of my ideas have yet to come to pass, I am looking forward to both more of the same and having this blog evolve further... wish me luck - and on to year two we go!

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

noreply@blogger.com (dennis) — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 22:43:00 +0000

Neil Gaiman is one of those writers who I should have read more of by this time, but never have. I have dabbled in Sandman (I read the first trade anyway) and some of his other comic book work, but somehow I just never got around to reading any of his books. Now, I am quite happy, that situation has been rectified!

On one hand, this is a rather simple review - and I’ll lay it out plainly - you should read American Gods. Being equal parts wonder and horror, with some road trip adventure thrown in for good measure, American Gods is a god's honest great American novel (no, no, not "the" great American novel, but a damned good one for sure). Populated with interesting characters that you actually care about, it is a wild ride through America. More than all that, it touches upon what America is... although, here I am slightly perplexed - somehow we have left it to a Brit to write such a quality piece American fiction? Sure, Gaiman now calls Minnesota home, but wow, this book actually "gets" a lot about what I think America is.

Then again (here’s my “on the other hand”) this is an incredibly tough review - there is so much to like, that it often seemed while reading it, I wanted this book to be multiple books. Gaiman does an admirable job of pulling it all together (and he does pull it all off as well), but I very much wish he could have spent more time exploring some of the more esoteric ideas (as with much of Speculative Fiction, ideas are important), places (the real and imaginary), and gods (oh boy, the gods make this book fun). So for me to get into one of the many many aspects (yep, there is a bunch I am not mentioning) of this book, I feel I should give equal time discussing too many things... this, to me, seems like such a monumental prospect that I am just going to leave it by saying - this is a book that will leave readers dreaming of more (and very likely different readers will find themselves wanting more of different elements present in this book), and that is a good thing.

OK, so here you are saying “great, but what’s the book about”? No? Good, because this is a very good book - it is about a lot, and it deserves you pick it up for gander and not let some book blogger tell you what it is all about.

A Lazy Blogger Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (dennis) — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 23:12:00 +0000

Yep, your friendly lazy book blogger is back at the controls to share some other people’s posts with you... sure, after a busy week of work, I could sit down to write out an in-depth review of a good book, or possibly some well thought out commentary on a recent book news tidbit, but instead I think I will just let the unlazy shine. So here is some good reading I think you should check out...

First and foremost, I hope everyone got to read last weekend’s wonderful New York Times’ article on Jack Vance - great stuff.

It started a little while ago, but has everyone been keeping up with Cory Doctorow’s Makers? Me? I’m waiting for the book.

Here’s a good article on upcoming books.

Want to watch a book blogger pull an author out of hiding? Check out Library Dad’s S.M. Stirling post (makes sure to read the comments).

A non-book blogger chimes in on the Kindle/1984 controversy... the funny thing is that I agree with just about everything thing this natural health dude has got to say (and I am NOT a natural health kind of guy).

I highly recommend you read this fabulous Author Profile of Tad Williams - damn, I have to hand it to Adam of The Wertzone... he writes some in-depth posts that are always enlightening.

I am still continuously amused by bad book covers, thank you Judge a Book by its Cover! Yeah, I know the link is over there on my blogroll (which desperately needs to be updated and expanded), but maybe you missed it.

And lastly, in honor of San Diego Comic Con - I just saw a new way to read comic books on the iPhone thanks to Comixology... although I am actually a fan of the ComicZeal app by Bitolithic, I think this new app with its in app purchase ability is a nice step forward for digital comics (yep, I am a contradiction waiting to happen - I believe ebooks should be ignored, yet I do support digital comics - the difference between the two being... well, that’s more writing than I can handle right now).

OK, that’ll be it for now; this lazy book blogger is off to spend some quality time on the couch with a book...

The Fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan

noreply@blogger.com (dennis) — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 23:41:00 +0000

Being the Tenth Post of my Project Reread...
This is the longest I have taken to read a book in quite some time... in many aspects it was an exhausting, yet rewarding and entertaining, reread. Part of the problem with this reread is that during the process of reading this book I read three other books, returning to the Fires of Heaven at different times, generally making a mess of reading mind - I typically only read one book at a time limiting the confusion that comes along with reading multiple books at once, but over the past month I have been bouncing back and forth between books as if it were a contest of sorts. Oh well, my reading habits seem to be back to normal now and I do have a few words to share about The Fires of Heaven now...

The Fires of Heaven is a fine middle book to a series - stuff happens that matters to the story as a whole, it expands the world, adds complexity, and entertains - but it does also drag a bit in parts. The Fires of Heaven is sometimes the book (but definitely not the most frequent) that readers who give up on the series point to as the last book they read. There were certain sections that were slow, so I can understand that point of view, but for me, I just really enjoying spending time in Robert Jordan’s world, so these slower parts are pleasant from that perspective.

It seems almost a shame for me to have spent so long rereading The Fires of Heaven that I now have so few words to share about it, but so be it, lots more rereading to go before this project ends. The Fires of Heaven adds to the series (both in the complexity level of the going-ons, and the scope) and I enjoyed it very much...

Was it worth a reread? Yes, to me The Fires of Heaven was almost as enjoyable the second time around as it was the first (OK, I admit, it is more like the fourth time around). For anyone reading the series for the first time, I highly recommend it. For those of you who may be preparing to read the final books of the series, well I guess it all depends on your feelings of this book the first time around.
. . .
Collector’s note - if you look around the internet you will most likely see more than a few sellers trying to sell unsigned first editions of The Fires of Heaven for well over the cover the price - do not buy anything from these people... plan to spend no more than the cover price for a nice copy - and in my mind that is good purchase. In this portion of my previous Project Reread post, I mentioned I would be talking about the signed limited editions of the Wheel of Time books, but alas, I have slacked on this subject, and that must wait for a later post (hey, I got to keep readers coming back somehow).
. . .
What’s next on my Project Reread - pretty sure I am sticking with RJ again, so on to the Lord of Chaos I will be shortly. I will likely be holding off on rereading the rest of A Song of Ice and Fire series until the fall - just too much going on this summer with work and whatnot to devote my mental energy to really paying attention to George R.R. Martin’s saga... yes, I know that sounds weak, but ASoIaF is a series that deserves my full attention, and considering my love of the series, I want to devote my full attention to, and get the most out of, my reread of it.

Booked to Die by John Dunning

noreply@blogger.com (dennis) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 23:21:00 +0000

For book lovers and mystery lovers alike, I’ve got a read for you... Booked to Die by John Dunning. Booked to Die is John Dunning’s first Cliff Janeway novel (currently up to 5 books so far) and, obviously, the place to get in on this wonderful mystery series. This book is a fast paced enjoyable mystery which should be of special interest to booksellers, book collectors, and bibliophiles of all sorts.

Cliff Janeway, a book collecting Denver cop, is out to solve the murder of a local book scout. In the process of having Janeway solve the mystery, the reader is treated to a nice assortment of book collecting/selling tidbits and lore (for example - if you don’t know what a book scout is, this series of books is worth the price of admission for the knowledge you will gain about the book biz alone). Additionally, as Dunning illustrates, the book trade world is populated by some unique and fascinating characters. The fact that all this book love is all rolled into an enjoyable mystery, with some truly unexpected twists and turns, just makes it that much better.

From identifying a first edition to opening a book store, this series of mysteries, when taken as whole, is a bibliophile’s treasury of information. At some point I would love to reread the entire series, taking notes as I go, just to be able to list the amount of book knowledge a reader can gain through reading John Dunning’s Cliff Janeway Bookman series. Of course, John Dunning isn’t just a bookman (yep, he is an actual bookseller) who writes mysteries, he is one that writes fabulous mysteries that would be enjoyable to even someone who doesn’t care about the side subject matter of books... I’d recommend this book to anyone who wants to read an entertaining high quality mystery. And it is a must read for book collectors/lovers/sellers. Read it!
. . .
Collector’s note - the first edition of Booked to Die, due to a relatively small printing and the subject matter, is a rather collectible book. Currently, it seems, a fine first is going in the neighborhood of $500+ on up (some later printings even go for a fair bit of change as well). John Dunning, in the introduction to the most recent editions, even talks about his book in relation to the phenomenon of collecting hypermodern first editions - yes, an introduction to a book that is actually fascinating to read, hard to believe, but true.

My Life in and out of the Rough by John Daly

noreply@blogger.com (dennis) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 23:43:00 +0000

I must start off by saying I was raised on golf. Some of my earliest and fondest memories are of going out to the local course with my Dad on Saturdays and Sundays, not to mention all the afternoons at driving ranges, learning about the game (and life as well). Just thinking about tagging along with my Dad, toting my cut-down 7 iron, brings a smile to my face as I write this. I have never been able to break 80 (nowadays if hit in the low 90’s I feel good about my game), but that never bothered my father in the slightest, even though he was what I consider a true golfer (he had a respect, knowledge, and passion for the game that you don’t often see - plus he could play), he ultimately knew it was just a game. When he passed away, I inherited a nice little collection of golf books which I dip into from time to time - for what it’s worth; this is not one of those books...

Love him or hate him, if you are a golfer, you know him. Chances are, even if you are not a golfer, you know of him - a hard drinking, long driving, self described redneck, John Daly is to the golf world what... ah crap, I’ve got no comparisons here - John Daly is like no other figure in the sport that I can think of, and his autobiography, My Life in and out of the Rough: The Truth Behind All That Bull**** You Think You Know About Me, is a sports memoir of a different sorts - a professional athlete taking an actual honest-to-god honest look at his life, both in and out of the sport. I found the candor here to make for a truly unique reading experience... not only do you get the birdies and bogeys talk of a typical golf memoir, you get a truthful and frank glimpse behind the off course life of Daly.

In My Life in and out of the Rough, Daly delves into many of the stories that made headlines throughout his career, from winning the 1991 PGA Championship to his off course escapades. He holds nothing back as he talks about his drinking, weight problems, legal issues, multiple marriages, and gambling (among other topics)... in some ways this book can be considered a case study in excess and compulsive behavior (and it actually raises, maybe unintentionally, some good points on the makeup of bad behavior and poor decision making - let’s be honest, just because you drink too much it doesn’t mean you are an alcoholic).

For casual golf fans, I’d say this is a fun and fascinating look into one of the sport’s true characters. Coming clearly through all the off-course talk is Daly’s love of golf. It is written in a highly readable conversational style, often taking advantage of vernacular you don’t hear too often off of a golf course. On a rainy afternoon when you can’t make it out to the club for a round, it will entertain you - and an afternoon is all you will need to get through this book (even for this slow and easily distracted reader). It gives nice little insights into the sport (yeah, Tiger shows up a couple of times) and will most likely leave you rooting for a JD comeback. If you like John Daly, you’ll enjoy this book. If you don’t like John, chances are you won’t. I like John Daly.

Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry

noreply@blogger.com (dennis) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 14:54:00 +0000

After I finished reading Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry I was tempted to edit my summer reading post to include this book... Patient Zero is a summer blockbuster type of book for sure.

What does “summer blockbuster type of book” mean to me? Well, first and foremost it must be fun to read. Patient Zero was incredibly fun to read... a zombie/techno/military thriller which was both scary and refreshing in its genre blurring approach. Secondly, your summer blockbuster needs to move at a quick pace and be compelling. Patient Zero does the job here as well... it kept me turning pages as fast as I could well past the point I planned to put the book down for the night - if you are a relatively quick reader, this is a book you can blow through in an afternoon spent at the beach, on the back porch, or whatever summer reading spot you enjoy best... and better than that, it is not empty calorie kind of read where you wonder where your time went when you have finished - it is a book that will stick with you after you done, leaving you satisfied.

Patient Zero is the story of Joe Ledger and how he becomes part of a secret government organization, the fictional Department of Military Science, fighting terror(ism) in the form of some scary zombies. The book has a nice mix of science, modern technology, crime fighting, international terrorists, action, suspense, a bit of humor, and zombies... and this mix actually works extremely well. The front cover advertises this book as “A Joe Ledger Novel” so I am hoping we will see more of Joe in future books - Joe Ledger is a badass character who deserves some more adventures in print.

When I was preparing to write this review, I was trying to come up with some clever comparison - you know, a “Stephen King meets Tom Clancy” or “Bentley Little meets Michael Crichton” kind of thing - but nothing really worked for me, although “Night of the Living Dead meets 24” comes kind of close. Putting all these comparisons aside and what it comes down to is that Patient Zero is a good fun read. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys zombie books or techno-thrillers and is looking for fresh take on these genres in the form of combining them together.

The Best Place on the Internet for Book News (links galore)

noreply@blogger.com (dennis) — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 00:37:00 +0000

It feels only natural for me to follow-up my previous post with this one. The simple fact is that I know of no “best” place to go for book news. Depending on what you are looking for, it could be almost anywhere, so I figure I’d share a few of my favorite places to go trolling around for book stuff at...

Traditional News Sources:

The New York Times - the gold standard in book reviews? I don’t know if I can really say, but they do pay attention to the many aspects of the publishing industry.

Publisher Weekly - duh, it is their job to cover book news! I really want to subscribe to the actual print magazine - I just find it hard to rationalize the large cost of a weekly rag (that’s a lot of books I could buy with that money)... at some point I will most likely get to where I drop the money - just not this month. Anyone feel like sending me a gift subscription?

The Washington Post - worth a gander from time to time.

Los Angeles Times - they say the newspaper industry is dying, but yet I still visit their websites?

USA Today - lots of fluff, but also some fun too.

Entertainment Weekly - not really the “best” in any sense of the word (still better than CNN though), but worth a visit to check out Stephen King’s column every so often.

Everything Else (blogs, author sites, publishers, news, crazy sites, and more):

Tor.com - a truly great site with all kinds of stuff going on. I visit often and spend much time reading reviews and news here. The official publishing website for Tor can be found here.

Omnivoracious - an amzon.com creation - this one is pretty new to me, but China Mieville was recently guest blogger so now I’ve started checking it out.

Ecstatic Days - Jeff Vandermeer, enough said.

The SF Site - good stuff.

Philip K. Dick Fans - yep, I’m a fan.

Locus Online - a great magazine’s website

Kirkus Reviews - sometimes it feels you see their blurbs on every other book you pick up.

George R.R. Martin - I am a fan the man, his work, and his blog.

Hunter S. Thompson Books - if you are a HST fan, you MUST spend some quality time at this site.

Fantasy Book News & Reviews - a really nice blog with lots of fantasy book news items.

Fantasy Debut - I really like the focus on debut works here. Have found some great books by reading regularly.

SFF World - another nice site for those of us you enjoy Speculative Fiction.

Weird Fiction News - just what it sounds like.

To end, a nice little link dump for you to check out at your leisure (don’t forget to check out my blog roll on the right too). The who owns what of publishing houses is never simple, so I am just throwing out a few, mostly bigger ones, which are worth exploring - S&S, Harper Collins, Macmillan, Penguin, Orbit Books, Del Rey, and Pyr. Here are some social networking type book places - LibraryThing (my favorite place on the internet... it is where my books are cataloged after all), Goodreads, Shelfari, book network, and Wonderlands. Finally (for real this time), here are a bunch of random bookmarks from an incredibly unorganized folder I keep - Futurismic, Book Sale Finder, Comic Book Resources, Newsarama, C.J. Box, Marshall Karp, Neil Gaiman, Carl Hiaasen, Jeff Carlson, Dan Simmons, Heliotrope Magazine, Collected Editions, Books and Chat, Nathan Bransford-Literary Agent, Books on the Nightstand, Interesting Bookstores, A Dribble of Ink, Raging Bibliomania, The Wertzone, Westeros Forum, Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist, Bookslut, Graeme's Fantasy Book Review, Bookninja, The Internet Speculative Fiction Database, bookgasm, Padfoot and Prongs, and, because I really do have to stop somewhere, Confessions of a Book Whore.

The Worst Place on the Internet for Book News

noreply@blogger.com (dennis) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 01:13:00 +0000

No, I am not talking about this blog! As a reader who has inevitably made their way to this blog, I am going to assume you have a rather good sense of where to find book news on this interweb thingy, but in case you do not, I am here to tell you where NOT to go for book news... I often check out various sites to find new reviews, interviews, and stories from around the book world (granted, much of this done while I am work and trying to limit my digital footprint in preparation of that inevitable meeting with my boss when an online usage report is created for me). I have always thought it good practice to try out various sites (book-centric sites, entertainment sites, media sites, you name it) as you never know when some exclusive interview or story might you may have missed catches your eye. Now, you would think a place like cnn.com, being a news leader of some sorts, would have a writer somewhere who could spend a few minutes a week covering books? No, CNN is being named my worst place on the internet for books news... as of the writing of this (the evening of June 14th), the most recent item on http://topics.cnn.com/topics/book_reviews is 10 days old, and the most recent story on http://topics.cnn.com/topics/books is over two months old! Seriously, not even a story covering the announcement of a forthcoming Dan Brown book or how the economy is hurting book sales (but helping Romance novels). Sure, MSNBC is not much better, and Fox News actually has no book section at all, but for some reason I expect more from cnn... I remember reading a story on Robert Jordan when Winter’s Heart was released and thinking to myself that cnn was really trying to do a good job covering the book world. Well, no longer. Of course, this was a long time ago and, I suppose, their priorities are elsewhere, but I worry that maybe it is partly because people (minus the readers of book blogs) just don’t care about books anymore... or maybe, just maybe, it is because book blogs now exist? No, I am not talking about this blog!

The Red Wolf Conspiracy by Robert V. S. Redick

noreply@blogger.com (dennis) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 22:21:00 +0000

I picked this book up on a lark of sorts... I had previously seen, and liked, the cover art online, but besides what that shows, I knew very little of what to expect from The Red Wolf Conspiracy by Robert V. S. Redick. I am not typically one to go for nautical fantasy... not that I have anything against the high seas, it just normally does not catch my interest or imagination. Well, thankfully I really did like the cover art on this book (I know, I know, don’t judge a book.. blah blah blah), or I would not have picked it up and experienced such a wonderful read... as an aside - this is amusing to me, as the reviewer in the LA Times calls the cover “forgettable” (which is kind of true, but I still think it looks cool).

The Red Wolf Conspiracy by Robert V. S. Redick opens ominously with a news clipping of a ship lost at sea. It is not just any ship, but the Cathrand, a ship of legends and history (and perhaps magic). The story that follows is a fresh and wondrous tale. There are surprises and intrigue galore in this book. A large cast of characters which populate the Cathrand add a welcome amount of complexity to the story. Set in a world with a lush history, it is a stimulating adventure that any fantasy fan would enjoy. This book creates that sense wonder that fantasy literature often strives for, yet rarely achieves. Robert V. S. Redick does such an awesome job of setting everything up (the setup is actually better than the payoff, but I didn’t mind that one bit) that I am dying to read more of him... as this is the first book in a planned trilogy, I could not be happier that I will get to read more, and will certainly be buying the next two books as they come out - this is one of those stories where I feel I will want to read the whole thing in one breathtaking swoop (meaning I will wait until the trilogy is complete, and then reread this book before the next two). Of course, my enjoyment and wonderment was certainly partially due to the Merchant's Polylex (you got to read the book if you want to know what the Merchant's Polylex is)... as is probably the case with a lot of book lovers, I am a sucker for secret books of knowledge playing key roles in a story - and the 13th Edition of the Merchant's Polylex sure sounds like one cool ass book to have along on a voyage on the Cathrand.

The Red Wolf Conspiracy did a good job of not only entertaining me, but also making me realize that I do like me some ship fiction... as a land-lovin’ kind of guy, I know nothing of boats (are they suppose to be called “ships”?), but I am now on the lookout for some more high seas fantasies and other stories that I think I might enjoy - I just recently picked Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander, but who knows when I will get around to reading it (not that that is fantasy, but I think there are some boats on an ocean in it). Anyway, that’s about it for this one - a fun read, a challenging read in some aspects, an engaging read, an entertaining read, a wondrous read (help, I need better adjectives), and a book I definitely recommend you read. I’d also suggest you poke around the website for the book for more info and some samples.