Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION The Anywhere Machine So what are you READING?

Novels peripheral to Clone Wars, taking place both before and after the movie.

SO much better than the movie with much better characters and better story development even of the main plot as shown in the movies.

Palatine was a sneaky little devil.

Anakin and Padme

Never in any of the movies did I "feel the love." A little rolling in the grass, some standing on balconies and a bunch of stilted dialogue?

One page in one novel told me more about Anakin's desperate need for Padme than all the movies combined. He was about to go into battle and the novel describes a letter he wrote to her to put in his final affects in case he didn't make it back.

I just started Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. yeah, I know, I am late to the party.

but I have seen all the movies so far and thought they were good. and with the last book coming out, I thought this would be the perfect time to just read straight through the series.

Arachne, I read and enjoyed the CROWN OF STARS series, too. There was one one divergent plotline that I thought derailed the series in the middle volumes. That's a minor complaint, though.

I would recommend that if someone picks this up and, like me, tends to read different series at the same time (well, not the *exact* same time...), they *don't* read this one simultaneously with the other series you mentioned, SONG OF ICE AND FIRE. There are some striking similarities that can get mish-mashed together.

I'd add that the culture Kate Elliott creates here is one in which women have as much political and personal power (if not more) than the men-- something which wouldn't be expected from a medieval setting.

Ms. Elliott's more sci-fi series, JARAN, is excellent, as well. It approaches the DUNE novels in complexity and creative punch. And I don't say that lightly.

Robin Hobb's series beginning with ASSASSIN's APPRENTICE falls right in with Elliott's and Martin's.

My latest reads were:

Star Wars: Allegiance by Tim Zahn
Legacy of the Force: Betrayal by Aaron Allston
Servant of the Shard by R.A. Salvatore
Sea of Swords by R.A. Salvatore
Grave Peril by Jim Butcher
Summer Knight by Jim Butcher

All of these books were very comfortable reads for me. I've read just about all of the Star Wars novels so getting into the recent releases was like putting on an old pair of work boots. Most of the time you don't even know that they're on.

Having said that, Betrayal had some laugh out loud moments in it that really made it stand out from other Star Wars fare. I'm not sure I like the direction some of the characters are taking, but I'm still interested in reading the forthcoming books in th series.

Anybody that has read my posts in this thread knows that I'm a huge fan of Tim Zahn's Star Wars writing. Before Allegiance he wrote six (that I can remember off the top of my head, strike that, just looked it up and there are seven) other novels in the SW universe and they are my favorites. He manages to put strength and freshness into relationships and characters that are well known and comfortable. I know that the early reviews of Allegiance are mostly negative, but the trend in those reviews tend to have sayings like, "Allegiance wasn't what I was expecting." or "There wasn't enough Luke, Han, and Leia in the story for me."

I don't really care about that type of criticism as I find it flawed. For me the story wasn't supposed to be about Leia, Han, and Luke... It was about Allegiance (hence the title) and in that sense the story worked. Plain and simple, I liked it. The plot was tight. The characters and situations were fascinating, in fact the only nitpick I have with it is a well known SW Universe problem. It seems that all of the main players end up at the same planet through different routes at the critical time. One instance of this is good writing. Two is a bit much, but it seems that this happens way more than it should. Every once in awhile some of the heroes need to be in the wrong place. Or at least in the right place, but at the wrong time. Zahn gets a pass on this for me though, as he writes the coincidences very plausibly. On a side note, I find myself drawn to the novels involving Storm and Clone Troopers. They are among the best written books in the SW Universe.

Servant of the Shard and Sea of Swords continue the story of characters related to the Legend of Drizzt. The word 'comfortable' comes to mind again. These are the 13th and 14th books in the series and I haven't disliked any of the series yet. I'm having a hard time keeping the stories of each book separate in my mind, but I always find myself looking forward to reading the next chapter and then the next book when I complete the one I'm currently reading. Can't ask for much more than that out of a story.

I haven't found anyone that writes better Modern Pulp Fantasy than Jim Butcher. His Harry Dresden series rocks so far. Grave Peril and Summer Knight did not disappoint. If tight, intricate plots with twists and brevity are your cup of joe, then you could do a lot worse than to read the Dresden Files.

As for what I'm reading right now... I just started Eyes of Prey which is (reportedly) the next "good" book in the Prey series by John Sandford. It's actually the third in the series and I read the first about six months ago and loved it. The second book isn't very good from reviews that I've read so I skipped it.

I have the Crown of Stars series, the first four of the Song of Ice and Fire, and the Hobbs' Assassin Trilogy and I'm glad that some others on here are liking them. I looked at the thickness of those books and man I don't want to read them if they suck, but all indications are that they're all fantastic, so I'm looking forward to them.

As Blockade Boy mentioned above, the Clone War novels are all fascinating reads. Much better than the movies about that era.

I'm reading:

A Hat Full of Sky - Terry Pratchet.
It's a Discworld novel, the second one with the witch Tiffany Aching, and the "pixies" Nac Mac Feegle. One of the best Pratchett books I've read in a couple of years.

In the Center of the Galaxy - Clark Darlton.
It's a Perry Rhodan novel. Kinda childish but fun!

The Ethics of Star Trek - Judith Barad and Ed Robertson
"Using episodes from all four Star Trek series, as well as examples from Plato, Aristotle, Sartre and other great philosopher's of the past, The Ethics of Star Trek explores the answers to these and other important ethical questions: Why is good stronger than evil? If the Prime Directive is so inviolable, why does Kirk always seem to break it? Would Nietzsche have made a good starship captain? Are rational beings the only life-forms entitled to our respect? "

Not as "deep" and exhaustive as I would have liked but a good read nontheless.

Minesurfer, what's the setting for this one? Between what movies I mean?

Thrawn novels right? Better than ANY of the movies IMO. I also just read Outbound Flight and the follow-up "Survivor's Quest." Both were excellent.

Blockade Boy:

Legacy of the Force is set way after any of the movies. Han is in his early to mid 60's and his children are in their thirties. I think this puts them around 10 years after the NJO era.

Yep to the Zahn and his Thrawn novels sentiment. I'd agree that they are better than the movies (especially episodes 1-4).

Wow...I haven't posted here since Dec. 5th!!!

Since then I've read -
The Talismans of Shannara - Terry Brooks
Ilse Witch - Terry Brooks
Antrax - Terry Brooks
Morgawr - Terry Brooks
The Redemption of Althalus - David and Leigh Eddings
The Elder Gods - David and Leigh Eddings
The Treasured One - David and Leigh Eddings
Crystal Gorge - David and Leigh Eddings
Forever Odd - Dean Koontz
Cold Fire - Dean Koontz
Dragon Tears - Dean Koontz
The Long Dark Teatime of the Soul - Douglas Adams
The Salmon of Doubt - Douglas Adams
Rhapsody - Elizabeth Haydon
Prophecy - Elizabeth Haydon
Destiny - Elizabeth Haydon
Beyond the Hanging Wall - Sara Douglass
Battleaxe - Sara Douglass
Enchanter - Sara Douglass
Starman - Sara Douglass

I am currently reading Sinner, also by Sara Douglass

Thanks, I'll have to pick this one up if only to see how they could make Han anymore crotchety.

Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb. it's the first in the Farseer triology.

"Tristessa" and "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac

George RR Martin's A Storm of Swords. I plan to get A Feast for Crows in a couple of weeks so I thought I'd reread the preceeding novel first so I wouldn't miss the subtle politics in the next one.
I borrowed a copy of it out of the Library last year when it was first released so I've already read it but I'm really looking forward to buying a copy to take my time with.

I'm bouncing between "Mr Thundermug" and "Fruit."

I'm in my boring time where I can't focus on anything other than technical books or manuals. Although I'm thinking of finally picking up my copy of A Game of Thrones tomorrow since mom has another long doctor appointment.

I've really enjoyed the series so far, Scotty. It's been a good read. I figure it's time to get the one that's out 'cause I'm expecting the last one pretty soon. (soon as measured by epochs)

On the other hand I found a copy of The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant on a bargain book rack and while I did enjoy parts of it I'd only suggest reading it for nastalgia's sake. It's certainly no Illearth War, it's ok overall but I think Donaldson may be past his prime.

The Doors of His Face, The Lamp of His Mouth by Roger Zelazny is currently what I am reading.

Very hit and miss. I am learning to appreciate it the more I read it. It's 1950s sci-fi stuff. Kinda trippy as you could guess by the title.

There was a very good story about a translator on Mars. He was a phenom at languages and had learned martian. He would translate works of literature to martian or from martian.

Stuck on a North Sea oil platform??? That's like one of my phobias!!! Sorry Numf this quote is over a year old...I was reading some old stuff.

Just finished 'The Picture of Dorian Grey' by Oscar Wilde. You know, it was actually pretty amazing!

It suffers a bit by the plot kind of limping along at times, but its just so witty, and so bitingly unforgiving that it draws you right in. I’ll probably be quoting Wilde for the next few months.

Since it was so controversial for its time, its makes it much more enjoyable to picture so many people who were uncomfortable because of it.

You know... I've never actually read The Picture of Dorian Gray, but Wilde pretty much rocks.

Yeah, he really does. You should read it Eryk. One of the main characters, Lord Henry, is generally called the 'quinntessential Wilde character' (yeah, liked I'd spell that right). Every single line he utters is pure genius. The book was worth it for his outrageous philosphies alone--by the end, I was converting into one of his discpiles no matter how I really felt.

I just downloaded Dorian Gray off Project Gutenberg!

One of my friends in high school was a huge Oscar Wilde fan, but I've never explored his work in that much depth. I remember seeing "Gross Indecency", a play about Wilde's trials, a few years ago and really enjoying it. And The Importance of Being Earnest rocks like nobody's business.

Just finished Cormac Mcarthy's The Road.

No I didn't pickup the book because of Oprah. I was waiting for the paperback version. She just made the paperback come out sooner.

A beatiful bleak book set in a near future where some great castrophe has occured. That is not the important part, its more about the realtionship between a father and his son.

It a beautifully depressing uplifiting story.

A Feast for Crows is a real pleasure. I read it in such a hurry when it first came out that I really didn't get to absorb the depth of this one. This series gets better with each book, I'm really going to be sad when it comes to an end...supposedly with the fifth installment.

Actually in an interview Martin said that he hadn't planned a fifth book but each character's story took on so much weight that he couldn't possibly wrap it up in this one without shorting the readers and the characters.

Let me know what you think!

And you know what? I've never read the Importance of Being Earnest (or seen it performed). Sounds like I know what my next purchase should be.

To break with our fiction tradition...

Dead Men Do Tell Tales is a brief intro into Forensics Medicine. CSI fans will find something interesting.