Knights & Knaves Alehouse

Posted: **Tue Dec 29, 2020 8:32 pm**

Continuing on my Charles Dickens theme, I read David Copperfield. Again, these classics are classic for a reason. I had a hard time putting it down. The story is made even more interesting knowing that Dickens abandoned his wife in real life and had an affair with a younger woman because there is so much discussion of love and how it can be overwhelming and distracting. "Love" can elevate to the highest highs or depress to the lowest lows. "Love" can motivate people to excellence or chicanery. And while marrying for love is common in our current culture, it was much less common back then. A great read!

Posted: **Wed Dec 30, 2020 5:09 am**

A BOOKTALK?!?

Melan wrote: ↑
Sun Dec 27, 2020 1:53 pm
I am reading the English version of The Count of Monte Cristo, which I requested and got for Christmas.

Excellent, unputdownable book with a heartening moral core. His first musketeers book is a darn good read also. The original episodic magazine format means every chapter is punchy and exciting.

TRP wrote: ↑
Mon Dec 28, 2020 6:49 pm
A Deepness in the Sky

It's not superior to A Fire Upon the Deep but few sf is. Probably Vinge's two best books.

Currently Reading:
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
The Worm Ouroboros by E.R.R. Eddison (reread)
The Moon Pool by Abraham Merritt (reread)

I'm doing a grand tour of Merrit's work and I find him harder to get through then I remember. The flowery prose and frequent mythological allegory, though beautiful, takes a while to get used to. Creatively he is A++ though. The short stories "The People of the Pit" and the "Dragon Glass" were all good, stirring stuff and "the Fox-women" had a real undertone of oriental mysticism and wonder.

Posted: **Wed Dec 30, 2020 11:42 am**

I’m currently about 20% of the way through The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss which I purchased a few years back alongside several other well-regarded “modern” fantasy books. I was expecting it to be an easy, if long, read along the same lines as GRRM, Robert Jordan, Scott Lynch, Stephen King, etc. but it turns out it’s written in a more florid style that makes for slower reading, which is mildly annoying because it’s still fundamentally trash/candy but it’s putting on airs of being something more.

I keep thinking about how in the hands of somebody like Poul Anderson or Jack Vance or early Moorcock the ~150 pages I’ve read so far would’ve been 3 chapters and about 40 pages max. I read actual literary fiction - I neither need nor want that flavor of peanut butter in the chocolate of my trashy fantasy escapism.

I’ll see it through and maybe it will grow on me, but at least so far it’s definitely not living up to its reputation.

Posted: **Wed Dec 30, 2020 12:01 pm**

T. Foster wrote: ↑
Wed Dec 30, 2020 11:42 am
I’m currently about 20% of the way through The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss which I purchased a few years back alongside several other well-regarded “modern” fantasy books. I was expecting it to be an easy, if long, read along the same lines as GRRM, Robert Jordan, Scott Lynch, Stephen King, etc. but it turns out it’s written in a more florid style that makes for slower reading, which is mildly annoying because it’s still fundamentally trash/candy but it’s putting on airs of being something more.

I keep thinking about how in the hands of somebody like Poul Anderson or Jack Vance or early Moorcock the ~150 pages I’ve read so far would’ve been 3 chapters and about 40 pages max. I read actual literary fiction - I neither need nor want that flavor of peanut butter in the chocolate of my trashy fantasy escapism.

I’ll see it through and maybe it will grow on me, but at least so far it’s definitely not living up to its reputation.

I clawed through both 1 and 2. One is better, there's a few chapters that read like DnD sidequests and the ending chapter is very much worth reading but you will be forced to endure some groan-inducing character development while you are at it. Two has some great bits like a confrontation with an evil, prophetic tree which is spectacular but Rothfuss's conception of the Amir is palm-chuckle worthy. Rothfuss is not a bad writer but I agree he is terribly long-winded and some of his characters are, to paraphrase the kids these days, cringe.

Most modern fantasy doesn't hold a candle to the old stuff imho, but R.Scott Bakker is darn good.

Posted: **Sat Jan 02, 2021 3:44 pm**

I'm reading Farley Mowat's The Snow Walker, which is a collection of stories all set in the Arctic North. (One of the stories, Walk Well, My Brother, was the basis of the movie The Snow Walker. Interestingly, the collection also includes a story titled The Snow Walker, but it has nothing to do with the movie.)

Posted: **Sat Jan 02, 2021 11:29 pm**

I am reading Return of the King to my son (age 12). At long last, we got to the scene tonight where Gollum tumbles with the ring into Mount Doom. I also am reading the Fifth Head of Cerberus by Gene Wolfe. I like it so far. It has the same disorienting, dark and symbolic tone as the other stuff I've read by him.

Posted: **Sat Jan 02, 2021 11:32 pm**

Ben L. wrote: ↑
Sat Jan 02, 2021 11:29 pm
I also am reading the Fifth Head of Cerberus by Gene Wolfe. I like it so far. It has the same disorienting, dark and symbolic tone as the other stuff I've read by him.

Excellent book. It's one that rewards multiple reads.

Posted: **Sun Jan 03, 2021 8:36 pm**

Philotomy Jurament wrote:
Ben L. wrote: I also am reading the Fifth Head of Cerberus by Gene Wolfe. I like it so far. It has the same disorienting, dark and symbolic tone as the other stuff I've read by him.
Excellent book. It's one that rewards multiple reads.

On first read, I thought you wrote "rewards multiple heads".

This is probably why I am not reading as much as I used to.

Posted: **Sun Jan 03, 2021 10:38 pm**

bobjester wrote: ↑
Sun Jan 03, 2021 8:36 pm

Philotomy Jurament wrote:
Ben L. wrote: I also am reading the Fifth Head of Cerberus by Gene Wolfe. I like it so far. It has the same disorienting, dark and symbolic tone as the other stuff I've read by him.
Excellent book. It's one that rewards multiple reads.
On first read, I thought you wrote "rewards multiple heads".

This is probably why I am not reading as much as I used to.

If I had multiple heads I'd probably get more reading done too.

Posted: **Mon Jan 04, 2021 11:55 am**

Back again with reading about war, I read The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien. This is the story of a soldier who fought in Vietnam and the adventures of his band of friends. It's considered one of the best books ever written on war, and it was good, but I didn't find it great. It was great writing, but if I am reading about war or history, I don't want it over fictionalized. There's lots of symbolism, repetition and reflection. I came away thinking I understood a little better the craziness of war and how it scars the emotions, or maybe I came away realizing it's something I'll never understand.

Posted: **Mon Jan 04, 2021 5:37 pm**

benjoshua wrote: ↑
Mon Jan 04, 2021 11:55 am
Back again with reading about war, I read The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien. This is the story of a soldier who fought in Vietnam and the adventures of his band of friends. It's considered one of the best books ever written on war, and it was good, but I didn't find it great. It was great writing, but if I am reading about war or history, I don't want it over fictionalized. There's lots of symbolism, repetition and reflection. I came away thinking I understood a little better the craziness of war and how it scars the emotions, or maybe I came away realizing it's something I'll never understand.

I love that book. I go to it more than I care to admit

. It's probably the book that got me into "real" literature. Didn't hurt that I read it for the first time while going through PTSD therapy, which is probably why I have such a connection to it.

Posted: **Mon Jan 04, 2021 5:41 pm**

Currently reading The Princess of Selgovae and the High King. I'm really enjoying it, but, then again, I'm a sucker for Arthurian legends. I also recently finished the History of Rome podcast, so my mindset about Britannia and it's history are in a good place for such a novel. I also know the author personally, so I told him I'd give it a read and let him know what I thought

.

Posted: **Mon Jan 04, 2021 8:48 pm**

After finishing the Conan stories I've moved on to re-reading the Fafhrd and Gray Mouser tales. I've been mulling running a game and I guess Appendix N is calling to me to fire inspiration and verve.

Posted: **Wed Jan 06, 2021 7:00 pm**

I read one of the best books ever in With The Old Breed by E.B. Sledge. This book is listed as one of the best books on war, and I can now understand why. The book details what the author saw and experienced as a marine starting with boot camp and the taking of Peleliu and Okinawa, two of the bloodier battles in WWII. This book was the primary inspiration for the HBO Miniseries, The Pacific. His writing is straight-forward experiential. This book gave me even more respect for those who fought and less for anyone who sees war as a good solution. It also makes me more grateful for the state of the world today as bad as it sometimes appears. A profound book.

Reading this has given me interest in reading Goodbye Darkness by William Manchester.

Posted: **Wed Jan 06, 2021 8:31 pm**

Zweihander Grim & Perilous RPG Core Rulebook.

Knights & Knaves Alehouse

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