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Last Read/Reading Now/Reading Next:
![[image loading]](https://www.theyoungfolks.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/millennium-trilogy-covers.jpg)
Millennium Trilogy - Technically all 3 I guess. Finished the first book and loved it and have maybe a couple hundred pages left of the 2nd and plan on starting the third one afterwards. Really enjoying it and plan on watching the movies after. I've seen that someone else has continued to series but it's gotten mixed reviews so I'm not sure if I will continue it after this.
Also reading next:
Got these as well. I bought cryptocurrency for the first time this year and am really getting interested in the technology behind it all so I have been devouring any information I can find. These two books focus mainly on Bitcoin and how this all started in the first place.
![[image loading]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/513OcHuF7XL._SX331_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
![[image loading]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51fmuxPkOwL.jpg)
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Finished:
![[image loading]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51unyI71JWL._SX321_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
Now reading:
![[image loading]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51qqEZOqc0L._SX382_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
I picked this up at a booksale a few weeks back because of the recommondation here:
On January 07 2017 07:34 corumjhaelen wrote:
A bit less well-known, our national Conan Doyle, but on a much lighter tone, Maurice Leblanc. His character, Arsène Lupin, is a dashing burglar with a great sense of humour, and his light-hearted stories with tons of unexpected developments are a pleasure to read (cf L'Aiguille Creuse, 813, or simply Les Aventures d'Arsène Lupin, a collection of very short stories).
I have read the first short story and so far it looks fun.
By the way, a friend of mine is co-organizing a MOOC on science fiction. I thought this might be interesting to some of you, assuming you understand French. Here is the link:
https://www.fun-mooc.fr/courses/course-v1:univartois 35002 session01/about
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from my understanding stiegg larson's books were initially incomplete; only the manuscript for all three books were completed before his death.
the plot lines in the third book involving one of the protagonists relative was left open to be explored in continued sequels; larson had a broad outline for what he envisioned but the new author who is supposed to continue decided against using this outline.
imo it's simply disrespectful to continue larson's work and continue releasing works featuring his characters when he has had no involvment with them. it's basically fan fiction.
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Baa?21244 Posts
Arsene Lupin is fun and Leblanc was a real character. He wanted to do a Lupin x Sherlock Holmes crossover (and wrote one called "Sherlock Holmes Arrives Too Late"), but Conan Doyle took issue with the idea. So LeBlanc wrote stories with detective "Herlock Sholmes" being outsmarted by Lupin.
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Does anyone know some good Chinese translated fiction books? I find that they're really hit and miss and I'm pretty gunshy now about trying to invest into something from china. I really liked reincarnation of the strongest sword god and Promise of ten years but a lot of the other wuxia is bizarre and dull to me due to the culture issues.
I want to expand my horizon of international books but I have little patience for buddist and daoism themes as I'm wholly unfamiliar with those religions. Russian litrpg books I can really dig but I'm strangly spare on anything out of asia outside of te light novel sphere.
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On April 16 2018 04:31 Sermokala wrote:
Does anyone know some good Chinese translated fiction books? I find that they're really hit and miss and I'm pretty gunshy now about trying to invest into something from china. I really liked reincarnation of the strongest sword god and Promise of ten years but a lot of the other wuxia is bizarre and dull to me due to the culture issues.
I want to expand my horizon of international books but I have little patience for buddist and daoism themes as I'm wholly unfamiliar with those religions. Russian litrpg books I can really dig but I'm strangly spare on anything out of asia outside of te light novel sphere.
You could try The Three Body Problem though it is a sci fi series.
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Baa?21244 Posts
On April 16 2018 04:31 Sermokala wrote:
Does anyone know some good Chinese translated fiction books? I find that they're really hit and miss and I'm pretty gunshy now about trying to invest into something from china. I really liked reincarnation of the strongest sword god and Promise of ten years but a lot of the other wuxia is bizarre and dull to me due to the culture issues.
I want to expand my horizon of international books but I have little patience for buddist and daoism themes as I'm wholly unfamiliar with those religions. Russian litrpg books I can really dig but I'm strangly spare on anything out of asia outside of te light novel sphere.
none of those things are actually wuxia
read legend of the condor.
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I'm just starting to read Metro 2033.
I played both game and the story was nice so I decided to read it.
So far it's ok (about 20% read)
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England2669 Posts
Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts. Not a whole lot to say. This book is as good as the premise, which is really interesting. Really great insight (I'm assuming) into life somewhere that I'd never considered (Mumbai) and the underworld throughout. Writing is fine, but with some really odd and bogus philosophy and quotes. The structure is a little fixed, in that every chapter ends with a reflective bite of philosophy and nostalgia or whatever, but otherwise the book was a pretty fun read. Don't expect huge depth, an intricate narrative or high levels of writing and you'll probably enjoy this quite a bit as these issues never really pulled me out of it.
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Just Finished:
![[image loading]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51NQZ9pkDiL._SY346_.jpg)
This one is actually really good.
I'll be honest i thought from the book cover text it would be a letdown and overhyped. Turns out the book cover text barely did the book any justice on how complex, detailed and good it is.
If this is the first book of the series i think it might possibly be the best "first book" of a series i've ever read or maybe read. It is indeed self-contained as everybody said also one of the parts + Show Spoiler [almost made me cry] +The scholars story of why he was one of the chosen pilgrim about her daughter who is aging backwards.
However i will not look for the sequels i thought the ending + Show Spoiler [Hyperion Conclusion] +Of the 7 pilgrims eventually meeting the shrike as it ties all their hopes, dreams, purpose, journey and doom together
![[image loading]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51asnQsTl9L._SY346_.jpg)
In my experience usually novels that are based upon a game(MTG, dnd, video games etc) and not the other way around(Witcher being originally a novel before a game though i have not read it) are "just ok" and sometimes kinda underwhelming. This one is not the case of that.
It truly captures the spirit of the game Dragon Age(the book happens between Dragon Age 2 and Dragon Age Inquisition) where every decision you make there will be a trade, how much are you willing to sacrifice and how much is too sacrifice for the sake of winning(or greater good).
If any of you played Dragon Age Origins. It captures the pragmatism of the wardens role to the core.
The approach of it's perspective is quite interesting too. You are looking at the perspective of somebody from past through the somebody reading it in the distant future.
I got lucky and read two great books which both of them almost made me cry at some point lol. I'm hoping that the next would be as just as great
Next Read:
![[image loading]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51H4VYRHT0L._SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_.jpg)
Another Robin Hobb. Hopefully just as good as her Assasins Apprentice and Soldiers Son series.
Can anybody suggest me more scifi ?(i'm more into fantasy than sci-fi so i haven't read alot of popular and highly regarded sci-fi titles) Hyperion was pretty great.
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Ship of Magic is rough. I like Robin Hobb, but she has a habit of kicking the crap out of her heroes for protracted periods of time. The plot of that book is telegraphed very early, but still takes chapters upon chapters to pull the trigger.
Reading:
![[image loading]](https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1459349344l/23437156.jpg)
So far this seems like a sharp, snappy caper story. It gets right into the meat of it quickly and doesn't spend pages on plot dump style "world building".
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Is better or worse than her other works p6 ?
I'm quite acquainted with how she makes her protagonist suffer hell that sometimes i wonder if Robin Hobb is secretly a masochist lol
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Middle of the road. Better than that totally tedious Dragon trilogy. I would put the worst parts of that book on par with the most tedious parts Assassins Quest(worst title for a novel), aka the Skill Road. And I don’t mind her heroes struggling, but she is really bad about breaking up the struggle with other plot points or movements of relief. It is just a slog in some of her books. She is also prone to the fantasy world building plot dump, which is my reading kryptonite.
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alright I guess I'll read it since its not worse than her other books. I can sort of withstand her novels but admittedly it really takes alot of breaks in between to completely read her works cause it just triggers me lol
If you think her worldbuilding is a pain then you'll find her alright compared to Ericksons malazan. Great series really awful at introducing the world
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Finished recently:
![[image loading]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/fc/Ggas_human_soc.jpg)
One of the best nonfiction books i ever read. Not saying taht i agree with everything, on the contrary. But still this book is rich in details, superbly written and very interesting. A quality read.
Also:
![[image loading]](http://www.stargazersworld.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Fading-Suns-Covers-1024x767.png)
This a RPG corebook. I have played the previous version.
Now preparing for a new campaign. Havent played Fading Suns for a long time it was a nice read. Still i think they could have made many more fixes and improvements. Rulebook seems rushed, and game mechanic section is a mess. I found multiple bugs and inconsistencies. Still its the game world thats most interesting part of Fading Suns not mechanics.
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Just finished:
![[image loading]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/87/PerdidoStreetStation%281stEd%29.jpg/220px-PerdidoStreetStation%281stEd%29.jpg)
I found the middle of the book most interesting. Overall i think its a good read, but i found some scenes deeply disturbing. I didnt like main protagonist one bit. The "villains" namely Mayor Bentham Rudgutte and Mr. Motley are much more interesting, competent and easy to identify with. Heck, it seems like every side character is more intersting than Grimnebulin. Still a decent read like said above.
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I was told I would like really Perdido Street Station. To this day I have not taken a book recommendation from that friend ever again, because I could not enjoy that book. I appreciate that book by listen to how other people enjoy it and wonder what I was missing.
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Well, like i said there are things in this boook that put me off. A lot of things doesnt make sense. Still I dont think the story here is that important, the most valuable thing in this book is this picture of twisted city, with its twisted people, species, magic etc. The world presented in book doesnt make much sense and thats ok. You can look at it like its Cubist artwork painted with words. That picture is unique, twisted, kinda beautiful (the way that some people find victorian London or Industrial Manchester beautiful).
Or You can look at it as failed attempt at steampunk fantasy 
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I've been told to try The City & the City.
![[image loading]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51TDieWsrQL._SX332_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
Which I hear is more focused on narrative, while also keeping Miéville's signature weirdness that people like him for. I'm willing to give him another swing, since he is a good writer doing original stuff is hard to find. And I like my fantasy to not make complete sense or obey "rules", so that part of his writing never bothered me. It was not giving a shit about anyone in that book that bothered me more. But Perdido Street Station was his first book and came out in 2000, which was long before steam punk was steam punk of Etsy we know today.
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I liked the two China Mieville books I read. Is Perdido Street station very different from Kraken? I enjoyed his Gaimanesque take on alternate reality. With a touch of Lovecraft in there.
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EPT
