[ACT] What are you reading?

[Oedipussy Rex]

Been more than a day since I finished The Wheel of Time and I still can't stand Olver.

More complaints:
After twelve books of leading us to view the a'dam as evil, we're supposed to believe that Moghedian gets her comeuppance by being collared? Don't buy it, no matter how evil she, herself, is.
"It's just another weave," Perrin tells Egwene, leading her to create a weave that, as I understood the description, negates balefire like flattening a wave through interference. But nothing in the entire series indicates that such a thing is known or has ever been done. Yes, weaves would be "sliced" and the effects of weaves would be countered, such as throwing water on a fireball, but negating a weave? No.
Killing Bela was such an obvious and pathetic ploy. Completely pointless and unnecessary. And it fucking worked, damn it, just not as intended; I'm emotional but instead of being sad about Bela, I'm pissed at the author.

All said, 8/10. One of the best fantasy series out there.

Aside: Is the electronic version of the series the same as the print version? Reading it this time there were things that I do not remember reading before and other things that I thought had happened that I didn't read this time.

Also: Still waiting for the Androl/Pevara fanfic and/or sequel.

[Oedipussy Rex]

Decided to read the six Frank Herbert Dune books. Just finished Children of Dune.

Dune (1965) - Co-winner of the 1966 Hugo award, with This Immortal by Roger Zelazny, and winner of the inaugural Nebula Award. What really needs to be said about this book? There are few who read sci-fi who haven't read Dune. But who knows with kids these days? I like Herbert's use of third-person omnipotent. Most, and by most I mean almost everyone but Herbert, writers limit the omnipotence to a single character for the entire novel or chapter by chapter. Herbert switches the perspective/private thoughts from character to character between paragraphs and sometimes from one sentence to the next. Apparently, some people find that off-putting. *shrug*

Dune Messiah[b] (1969) - Takes place twelve years after the events of Dune. Paul is emperor, distraught about the tens of billions who died in his name, and not comforted by the knowledge that it would have been worse without his efforts. The story centers on a conspiracy to overthrow him. Herbert has said that the book was written as an inversion to Dune. I liked the ending but at times, with all the philosophical maundering, found it a slog to get there. Fortunately, it's a little over half the length of the other books so it was over quickly.

[b]Children of Dune (1976) - Nine years later. Paul is gone (or is he?); Alia is regent and batshit crazy (or is she?); and Leto and Ghanima, Paul and Chani's twin "children", are plotting the future of the known universe. I enjoyed it. Less seemingly pointless blahblahblah and more seemingly pointful do-do-do.

Now on to the final three which, if memory serves, and after more than three decades, it doesn't, gets more into the blahblahblah. I can't even remember if I've read Chapterhouse: Dune, the sixth book in the series.

[Kersus]

I can't seem to read anymore.

I'm working on a manuscript from my brother and trying to read the Traveller RPG history book.

I don't know if it's stress or what but I just can't read much.

I did find a little comic/novel thingy. Like Canadian Manga but read the right way called Menage a Trois which is basically if Three's Company was more adventurous about sex and had nudity. I'm on Volume 10. The last one and I put it off because I have loved it so much and don't want it to end.

That and I struggle to read.

[Oedipussy Rex]

Worked my way through God Emperor of Dune. Takes place thirty-five hundred years after Children and Frank Herbert is still trying to get it through reader's heads that the Atreides aren't heroes by turning Leto II into a literal monster. While there was plenty of action, there was also plenty of what I think of as "non-sequitur as insight." Or maybe I'm just old and no longer see the connections. At any rate, thin book marks the end of the story of Paul Atreides and his children.

I don't think I'll continue with the rest. After reading that the sixth book ended in a cliffhanger, not to be continued by Frank, due to his death but, by all accounts I've seen, very poorly concluded by Brian and Kevin J. Anderson, I'm really not interested.

That, and I also am starting to find prolonged reading a struggle. I started LeGuin's Earthsea trilogy after finishing The Wheel of Time and have yet to finish the third book. I burned through the first, took a little while on the second, and just died about halfway to three-quarters through the last. And I like LeGuin. A lot. Like this \_0_/ much.

[rredmond]

Good on you for slogging through those Dune books, I'm not sure I ever read past the first. So long!
I finished Wizard of Earthsea a couple months ago, such a good book. Enjoy!