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Post by LivingDeadGirl on Jun 5, 2005 11:04:42 GMT -5
Love Drawing Of The Three - one of the best volumes in the Dark Tower saga! I'm about half way through it now & LOVE it! I'll most definately finish it within the next couple of days. Oh yeah, I haven't really kept up w/ the Tower series...how many books are in it? |
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Post by Bartwald on Jun 5, 2005 12:21:57 GMT -5
...I haven't really kept up w/ the Tower series...how many books are in it? Seven. I still haven't read the last one. Drawing Of The Three and The Wolves Of Calla are my favourite volumes so far, I think. But it's difficult to choose - I've recently finished The Song Of Susannah which, for a change, is the funniest of the bunch (courtesy of happenings I shouldn't reveal here). |
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Post by Fenril on Jun 8, 2005 0:49:06 GMT -5
And just in case anybody wondered about the order of the books (or maybe just because I like to rattle this kind of information), they are:
1. The gunslinger.
2. The drawing of the three.
3. The wastelands.
4. Wizard and glass.
5. Wolves of the Calla.
6. The song of Sussanah.
7. The dark tower.
Today I just finished "The drawing of the three"... Like many people, I thought that "The gunslinger" was just plain weird, but this one has actually got me interested in the entire series. Odetta, Roland and Eddie are (in that order) some really fascinating characters. And once you got through the weak parts (too many coincidences, especially in "The pusher", some badly researched italian dialogue, a sometimes bloated narrative, etc), this was actually a pretty solid fantasy epic.
Currently reading "The cellar", by Richard Laymon. So far it's definitely "lean and mean", just how I like my horror literature for the hot months...
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Post by LivingDeadGirl on Jun 8, 2005 14:30:01 GMT -5
And once you got through the weak parts
To me the "shuffle" sections of the book between the Door stories are kinda long & repetitive, but so far it's a great book nonetheless.
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Post by Sybillness on Jun 8, 2005 18:02:33 GMT -5
I'm trying to finish up Lasher by Anne Rice. She's junk food for the mind, I love her stuff! Only problem now is, not enough time to read! Lousy baby.
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Post by LivingDeadGirl on Jun 8, 2005 18:27:39 GMT -5
I'm trying to finish up Lasher by Anne Rice. EWwwww, the Mayfair Witch books are excellent!! I'm a huge Rice fan too. I love that series almost more than the Vampire Chronicles. If that's possible...  Just Fed Ex the baby to me & I'll babysit so you can have some reading time.  |
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Post by Sybillness on Jun 11, 2005 9:53:11 GMT -5
Thanks for the offer LDG, if you were in Michigan, I would definitely take you up on the babysitting! I'm nursing her so I've been trying to get in few pages each time she feeds. I love the Mayfair witches more than the vampire chronicles too! Go figure! I've read them all, but when I was pregnant I started reading them again and was only able to get The Witching Hour finished. Have you ever read any of Anne Rice's Sleeping Beauty books? They're great. I was greatly disturbed but yet intrigued at the same time. I guess that's what she was going for. She wrote them under the name A.N. Roquelaire (sp?)
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Post by LivingDeadGirl on Jun 11, 2005 10:07:24 GMT -5
I'm a good baby-sitter...just ask my niece & nephew. They're in MN now so whenever I'm up there I'll zip right over & pick up the baby & we'll have a good old time. ;D I've been meaning to read the Mayfair Witch books again but they're packed up somewhere & I can't remember where I put the box at.  I haven't read the Sleeping Beauty books yet, but they're def. on my must-read list. I just finished getting caught up on the Vampire Chronicle books a few months ago & I still have to read Vittorio the Vampire in the New Tales series. I'm fixing to start on the Zahn Star Wars books so they should keep me occupied for awhile. |
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Post by Fenril on Jun 14, 2005 20:25:39 GMT -5
Finished:
- THE CELLAR, by Richard Laymon. His first novel is already one of his best books... a really disturbing horror tale that is definitely not for the people who offend easily. Plenty of suspense, a plot where human and supernatural evil seem to be competting to show who is nastier, and a jaw-dropping twist ending. Recommended, especially for the Laymon fans.
- A KISS BEFORE DYING, by Ira Levin. A perfectly plotted thriller-cum-horror tale concerning the desperate measures that a young man would take to bring his secret plans to fruition. His first novel, and while not as chilling as, say, The Stepford wives or The boys from Brazil, it was nevertheless a fun and scary read.
Currently reading HOUSES WITHOUT DOORS, by Peter Straub, per Bart's recomendation. So far it's pretty good and some of the stories are seriously disturbing, but it feels a bit uneven as a collection.
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Post by Bartwald on Jun 15, 2005 12:04:49 GMT -5
Currently reading HOUSES WITHOUT DOORS, by Peter Straub, per Bart's recomendation. So far it's pretty good and some of the stories are seriously disturbing, but it feels a bit uneven as a collection. You're right - it is uneven. But the poorer tales also leave an uncanny aftertaste, and when they're good - they're damn much so! And after reading them all I felt like, I don't know, I've been cleansed by fire or something. A powerful, powerful read, all in all! |
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Post by Fenril on Jun 20, 2005 1:21:00 GMT -5
Finished Houses without doors. Pretty good... so far Straub hasn't dissappointed me (or Barwald, for that matter).
It's basically a compendium of several long stories (almost nouvelles, really) with plenty of short-shorts in it. The shorts-shorts (Bar talk, The veteran, etc) were basically "mood pieces" mostly dealing with sadness and secrets "too awful to reveal", very much in the vein of Henry James, a constant influence in Straub's world.
- Something about a death, something about a fire --an early riff that doesn't really fit in any genre, but is a nice, decidedly unusual story.
- A short guide to the city --was, IMHO the worst piece in the book, but it did have some interesting social notes and even a somewhat disturbing atmosphere.
- I had already read Blue Rose and The juniper tree (both tied up to "Koko", and in a very clever way), but they still retained their power. Disturbing as hell.
- The buffalo hunter and Mrs. God were, IMHO the best pieces of the book. Both move along at a snail pace, but have tons of character development and the payoff more than made up for the pace, especially the second.
The general theme is that of "houses without doors", traps of the mind from which the horrific and the spectacular would emerge, and was actually well mantained through the entire book.
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Post by Bartwald on Jun 30, 2005 1:38:43 GMT -5
Finished Houses without doors. Pretty good... so far Straub hasn't dissappointed me (or Barwald, for that matter). It's basically a compendium of several long stories (almost nouvelles, really) with plenty of short-shorts in it. The shorts-shorts (Bar talk, The veteran, etc) were basically "mood pieces" mostly dealing with sadness and secrets "too awful to reveal", very much in the vein of Henry James, a constant influence in Straub's world. - Something about a death, something about a fire --an early riff that doesn't really fit in any genre, but is a nice, decidedly unusual story. - A short guide to the city --was, IMHO the worst piece in the book, but it did have some interesting social notes and even a somewhat disturbing atmosphere. - I had already read Blue Rose and The juniper tree (both tied up to "Koko", and in a very clever way), but they still retained their power. Disturbing as hell. - The buffalo hunter and Mrs. God were, IMHO the best pieces of the book. Both move along at a snail pace, but have tons of character development and the payoff more than made up for the pace, especially the second. The general theme is that of "houses without doors", traps of the mind from which the horrific and the spectacular would emerge, and was actually well mantained through the entire book. Fenril - so we agree almost 100% about this collection, I see! Also loved The Buffalo Hunter and Mrs. God most: the first one is so beautifully weird and involving that I couldn't stop reading it, and the latter, I'd say, is a damn nice Poe homage. Waiting on my shelf for their turn: Straub's Mr. X and Lost Boy, Lost Girl. |
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Post by LivingDeadGirl on Jun 30, 2005 15:38:37 GMT -5
Lost Boy, Lost Girl.
Let me know what you think about this one. I almost bought it a few weeks ago, but didn't.
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Post by Bartwald on Jun 30, 2005 16:01:47 GMT -5
Lost Boy, Lost Girl.Let me know what you think about this one. I almost bought it a few weeks ago, but didn't. You lucky you - can just enter a store and have the latest Straub on display just like that! In Poland it's been released just now - some two years, I think, after it appeared in UK or US. Will tell you what I think as soon as I get into it! |
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Post by LivingDeadGirl on Jul 5, 2005 16:05:18 GMT -5
I'm about half-way through "Dark Force Rising" right now. I'll probably finish it within the next couple of days. Then on to the third one...
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I haven't read the Sleeping Beauty books yet, but they're def. on my must-read list. I just finished getting caught up on the Vampire Chronicle books a few months ago & I still have to read Vittorio the Vampire in the New Tales series.