Books of 2010
Dec. 30th, 2010 11:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
riontelКамергерский переулок, Владимир Орлов
Прочла по рекомендации мамы, помня Альтист Данилов , но это совсем не то. По-крайне мере, у меня пошло очень туго. Но для меня эта Москва и вся описываемая реальность настолько далеки, что можно только догадаться, что он на что-то реальное намекает, а на что - не понятно.
Весь мир театр, Борис Акунин
Худшее из серии, очень разочаровало.
Gathering storm, Robert Jordan, Brendon Sanderson
It's completely obvious that this was not written by Jordan. The language, the characterizations, the pace are all slightly off. But I am not complaining. After waiting for years for the resolution and almost despairing to ever see it, I'll take what I can get. As long as the general outline is following Jordan's original plan, I am happy. Plus, I am so not missing all the clutching of skirts, and tugging on braids, and incessant sniffing, that I am willing to forgive occasional anachronism.
Black man, Richard K. Morgan
Not as good as the Takeshi Kovacs novels but still pretty good. Sci-fi, murder-mystery, thriller, all in one book, with an expected amount of customary Morgan's blood and gore and sex. Fun.
Singularity Sky, Charles Stross
Hard sci-fi, set in the future with humanity scattered all over the universe, faster than light travel and a god-like being that will evolve in the even farther future trying to make sure its existence is not threatened by some causality violating weapon and being very stern with those who try to develop such devices. Stross has a writing style that takes some getting used to and some of the concepts here take a real effort for your brain to wrap itself around. Good exercise.
Jeremy Thrane, Kate Christensen
Guy in his midthirties with no real skills, no means, never worked, struggling and still somehow living in the City. Stranger than aliens from Mars. Written in a pretty lively prose about a world I know nothing about and would never come across except in a book, but it's a fun read.
Half a Crown, Jo Walton
Final in the alternative history trilogy started with Farthing and Ha'penny. Written as well as the previous two books, but I didn't like the ending. It doesn't hold true and is at odds with the overall tone of the trilogy, in my opinion. Something of a deus ex machina in the works.
Distraction, Bruce Sterling
Sci-fi. Not so distant future. USA. Air Force is trying to keep its bases open by throwing up road blocks and asking those who want to pass for "donations". And that's not the worst of it. Politics, environment, science and an insanely audacious protagonist in the middle of it all. Fun ride.
Ringworld, Larry Niven
I got this collection of 1001 sci-fi ebooks and every once in a while I pick one of the previously missed classics that won a bunch of awards (Hugo, Nebula, and Locus, in this case) or made the top of some rating list, like 100 best sci-fi books of all times. And sometimes I end up wondering what all the hoopla was about. Like in this case. Maybe if I got to it forty years ago...
Count Zero (after rereading Neuromancer) and Mona Lisa Overdrive, William Gibson
Sequels to Neuromancer. Read both for completeness. Count Zero is not as good as the Neuromancer but still entertaining. Last one is weakest in the trilogy.
American Gods, Neal Gaiman
Started reading it years ago and then abandoned without ever completing. Picked it up again after![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
rkatsyv spent like an hour waxing poetic about the book, trying to convince cryowizard to read it. Don't know about the intended target but I finished it this time. Enjoyed it a lot more but did not fall in love. Sorry, Roma.
Corambis, Sarah Monet
Final in the four-book series. Fantasy. Pretty even with the other books and a satisfying conclusion.
The White Road, Lynn Flewelling
Fifth in the Nightrunner fantasy series which should have stopped after the first book. Don't know why I still bother with it. Plot is steadily getting more convoluted while characters are getting less compelling making it really hard to care for all the intricacies of the developments.
Year of Wonders, Geraldine Brooks
Historical novel set in a small town in England during the plague in the 17th century. Well written, with good details and I liked it up until the very end. The ending itself was completely puzzling by how at odds it was with the rest of the book. Ruined it a bit for me.
Animal Dreams, Barbara Kingsolver
An odd one. Not my usual cup of tea at all but a friend recommended it so I gave it a try. A story about a very emotionally messed up woman who came back to her fictional small home town somewhere in Arizona to care for her sick father. Covers her childhood both from her skewed point of view and glimpses of her father's recollections, eventually explaining where all her messuppedness came from, and the present with some pretty unusual town characters. There is some Native American stuff thrown in, some ecological issues (of course, in this day and age), and, what I guess is the main thing, family and how we are all somehow connected together and how those ties are important. I was surprised to have liked it.
Sirens of Titan, Kurt Vonnegut
Yeah, catching up on the classics. Weird, in a typical Vonnegut fashion. I always feel like I am missing something when I read his stuff. And I probably am.
Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen
Once again friend's recommendation. A story told by an aged nursing home resident Jacob Jankowski, how at the age of twenty three he ran away from his final exam at the Cornell veterinary school and joined a traveling circuit during the Great Depression. Complete with the expected cast of circuit freaks, a grand love story, murder and, of course, an elephant. Not bad, Jacob's story has a fairly predictable end, but the book's ending is a bit hokey. Good read overall.
Год крысы. Путница. Ольга Громыко
Вторая книга дилогии. Лучше, чем последние несколько книг, но и не захватывает так, как серия про ведьму, к сожалению.
Jack of Shadows, Roger Zelazny
Always good.
Steel Remains, Richard K. Morgan
Morgan does fantasy. Oh, yes. More please. Loved it. Can't wait for the sequel. Here we have rare case when a fantasy book doesn't leave you thinking you've read something like it twenty times already. He obviously had fun writing it and I enjoyed reading it. My personal favorite this year.
Школа в Кармартене, Анна Коростелева
Забавно. Немного сыро, на мой вкус.
Otherland Series (City of Golden Shadow, River of Blue Fire, Mountain of Black Glass, Sea of Silver Light), Tad Williams
According to Williams, this is not a four-book series but one book broken into four parts. Same thing that is said about "The Lord of the Rings". Not bad, but it could have easily been edited down to three books and it would have benefited greatly from that. It's a bit bloated and some parts are just tedious, fewer worlds would have been better, in my opinion. Also a bit too much mysticism and mysterious powers popping up out of nowhere if you strain hard enough. Surprisingly enough this is sci-fi and not fantasy, despite what the titles might suggest. It was entertaining enough, I just wish the writing was a bit tighter.
Towers of Midnight, Robert Jordan, Brendon Sanderson
Penultimate volume of the Wheel of Time. The end is looming even though there are few loose ends left. Still can't keep all the characters straight, which is understandable, there are more of them at this point than I know people in real life. Sanderson's writing reads a bit better but even I can spot few instances of inappropriate use of more contemporary language. Editors should definitely have caught it and fixed it. Oh, well. Loved how Mat was written this time.
Iron Sunrise, Charles Stross
Second in the Eschaton series after Singularity Sky and I actually liked it better. It was a very intensive intro to the world in the first book but once you are familiar with all the concepts the going gets easier. You have to read them in order otherwise it will be incomprehensible. Politics and issues feel very immediate even though the setting is undeniably sci-fi. Few more centuries and Eschaton's meddling will still leave humanity facing many of the same pitfalls. And it's very easy to believe that's exactly what's going to happen. It looks like there should be at least one more book at some point but so far (Iron Sunrise came out in 2004) there is no sign of it.
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Diaz
I am of two minds on this one. Or three. Or just keep changing my mind about it. Confused, basically. I started it months and months ago. Got frustrated and abandoned it. Picked it up again and this time finished it. On one hand, I can't deny that it's well written. On the other hand, I hate it when text in the secondary language (Spanish, in this case) is left completely untranslated, especially when it's not something insignificant but prevents you from understanding a huge chunk of the book. I do not like guessing and I am pretty sure I can't guess a full sentence in an unfamiliar language. So, reading with Google Translate permanently open was kind of irksome. Don't see why they couldn't put translations in the footnotes for non-Spanish speaking readers. More importantly, though, was that I didn't like how certain parts (Trujillo related, to be specific) were written. They felt very secondary, I've read exactly that before. Not set in the Dominican Republic, naturally, but dictatorships are the same the world over. There is a chance, of course, that the narrator might have been too busy during history lessons to realize how non-unique the whole experience was. Or your own tragedy feels much more immediate and important. Whatever the case, I just couldn't help being slightly annoyed. Then there were all the mystical forces (say hi to Otherland) with African roots. Added certain cultural flavor, I suppose. And all the pop-culture references, those I actually liked. But the overall impression? It sort of grows on you.
Прочла по рекомендации мамы, помня Альтист Данилов , но это совсем не то. По-крайне мере, у меня пошло очень туго. Но для меня эта Москва и вся описываемая реальность настолько далеки, что можно только догадаться, что он на что-то реальное намекает, а на что - не понятно.
Весь мир театр, Борис Акунин
Худшее из серии, очень разочаровало.
Gathering storm, Robert Jordan, Brendon Sanderson
It's completely obvious that this was not written by Jordan. The language, the characterizations, the pace are all slightly off. But I am not complaining. After waiting for years for the resolution and almost despairing to ever see it, I'll take what I can get. As long as the general outline is following Jordan's original plan, I am happy. Plus, I am so not missing all the clutching of skirts, and tugging on braids, and incessant sniffing, that I am willing to forgive occasional anachronism.
Black man, Richard K. Morgan
Not as good as the Takeshi Kovacs novels but still pretty good. Sci-fi, murder-mystery, thriller, all in one book, with an expected amount of customary Morgan's blood and gore and sex. Fun.
Singularity Sky, Charles Stross
Hard sci-fi, set in the future with humanity scattered all over the universe, faster than light travel and a god-like being that will evolve in the even farther future trying to make sure its existence is not threatened by some causality violating weapon and being very stern with those who try to develop such devices. Stross has a writing style that takes some getting used to and some of the concepts here take a real effort for your brain to wrap itself around. Good exercise.
Jeremy Thrane, Kate Christensen
Guy in his midthirties with no real skills, no means, never worked, struggling and still somehow living in the City. Stranger than aliens from Mars. Written in a pretty lively prose about a world I know nothing about and would never come across except in a book, but it's a fun read.
Half a Crown, Jo Walton
Final in the alternative history trilogy started with Farthing and Ha'penny. Written as well as the previous two books, but I didn't like the ending. It doesn't hold true and is at odds with the overall tone of the trilogy, in my opinion. Something of a deus ex machina in the works.
Distraction, Bruce Sterling
Sci-fi. Not so distant future. USA. Air Force is trying to keep its bases open by throwing up road blocks and asking those who want to pass for "donations". And that's not the worst of it. Politics, environment, science and an insanely audacious protagonist in the middle of it all. Fun ride.
Ringworld, Larry Niven
I got this collection of 1001 sci-fi ebooks and every once in a while I pick one of the previously missed classics that won a bunch of awards (Hugo, Nebula, and Locus, in this case) or made the top of some rating list, like 100 best sci-fi books of all times. And sometimes I end up wondering what all the hoopla was about. Like in this case. Maybe if I got to it forty years ago...
Count Zero (after rereading Neuromancer) and Mona Lisa Overdrive, William Gibson
Sequels to Neuromancer. Read both for completeness. Count Zero is not as good as the Neuromancer but still entertaining. Last one is weakest in the trilogy.
American Gods, Neal Gaiman
Started reading it years ago and then abandoned without ever completing. Picked it up again after
rkatsyv spent like an hour waxing poetic about the book, trying to convince cryowizard to read it. Don't know about the intended target but I finished it this time. Enjoyed it a lot more but did not fall in love. Sorry, Roma.Corambis, Sarah Monet
Final in the four-book series. Fantasy. Pretty even with the other books and a satisfying conclusion.
The White Road, Lynn Flewelling
Fifth in the Nightrunner fantasy series which should have stopped after the first book. Don't know why I still bother with it. Plot is steadily getting more convoluted while characters are getting less compelling making it really hard to care for all the intricacies of the developments.
Year of Wonders, Geraldine Brooks
Historical novel set in a small town in England during the plague in the 17th century. Well written, with good details and I liked it up until the very end. The ending itself was completely puzzling by how at odds it was with the rest of the book. Ruined it a bit for me.
Animal Dreams, Barbara Kingsolver
An odd one. Not my usual cup of tea at all but a friend recommended it so I gave it a try. A story about a very emotionally messed up woman who came back to her fictional small home town somewhere in Arizona to care for her sick father. Covers her childhood both from her skewed point of view and glimpses of her father's recollections, eventually explaining where all her messuppedness came from, and the present with some pretty unusual town characters. There is some Native American stuff thrown in, some ecological issues (of course, in this day and age), and, what I guess is the main thing, family and how we are all somehow connected together and how those ties are important. I was surprised to have liked it.
Sirens of Titan, Kurt Vonnegut
Yeah, catching up on the classics. Weird, in a typical Vonnegut fashion. I always feel like I am missing something when I read his stuff. And I probably am.
Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen
Once again friend's recommendation. A story told by an aged nursing home resident Jacob Jankowski, how at the age of twenty three he ran away from his final exam at the Cornell veterinary school and joined a traveling circuit during the Great Depression. Complete with the expected cast of circuit freaks, a grand love story, murder and, of course, an elephant. Not bad, Jacob's story has a fairly predictable end, but the book's ending is a bit hokey. Good read overall.
Год крысы. Путница. Ольга Громыко
Вторая книга дилогии. Лучше, чем последние несколько книг, но и не захватывает так, как серия про ведьму, к сожалению.
Jack of Shadows, Roger Zelazny
Always good.
Steel Remains, Richard K. Morgan
Morgan does fantasy. Oh, yes. More please. Loved it. Can't wait for the sequel. Here we have rare case when a fantasy book doesn't leave you thinking you've read something like it twenty times already. He obviously had fun writing it and I enjoyed reading it. My personal favorite this year.
Школа в Кармартене, Анна Коростелева
Забавно. Немного сыро, на мой вкус.
Otherland Series (City of Golden Shadow, River of Blue Fire, Mountain of Black Glass, Sea of Silver Light), Tad Williams
According to Williams, this is not a four-book series but one book broken into four parts. Same thing that is said about "The Lord of the Rings". Not bad, but it could have easily been edited down to three books and it would have benefited greatly from that. It's a bit bloated and some parts are just tedious, fewer worlds would have been better, in my opinion. Also a bit too much mysticism and mysterious powers popping up out of nowhere if you strain hard enough. Surprisingly enough this is sci-fi and not fantasy, despite what the titles might suggest. It was entertaining enough, I just wish the writing was a bit tighter.
Towers of Midnight, Robert Jordan, Brendon Sanderson
Penultimate volume of the Wheel of Time. The end is looming even though there are few loose ends left. Still can't keep all the characters straight, which is understandable, there are more of them at this point than I know people in real life. Sanderson's writing reads a bit better but even I can spot few instances of inappropriate use of more contemporary language. Editors should definitely have caught it and fixed it. Oh, well. Loved how Mat was written this time.
Iron Sunrise, Charles Stross
Second in the Eschaton series after Singularity Sky and I actually liked it better. It was a very intensive intro to the world in the first book but once you are familiar with all the concepts the going gets easier. You have to read them in order otherwise it will be incomprehensible. Politics and issues feel very immediate even though the setting is undeniably sci-fi. Few more centuries and Eschaton's meddling will still leave humanity facing many of the same pitfalls. And it's very easy to believe that's exactly what's going to happen. It looks like there should be at least one more book at some point but so far (Iron Sunrise came out in 2004) there is no sign of it.
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Diaz
I am of two minds on this one. Or three. Or just keep changing my mind about it. Confused, basically. I started it months and months ago. Got frustrated and abandoned it. Picked it up again and this time finished it. On one hand, I can't deny that it's well written. On the other hand, I hate it when text in the secondary language (Spanish, in this case) is left completely untranslated, especially when it's not something insignificant but prevents you from understanding a huge chunk of the book. I do not like guessing and I am pretty sure I can't guess a full sentence in an unfamiliar language. So, reading with Google Translate permanently open was kind of irksome. Don't see why they couldn't put translations in the footnotes for non-Spanish speaking readers. More importantly, though, was that I didn't like how certain parts (Trujillo related, to be specific) were written. They felt very secondary, I've read exactly that before. Not set in the Dominican Republic, naturally, but dictatorships are the same the world over. There is a chance, of course, that the narrator might have been too busy during history lessons to realize how non-unique the whole experience was. Or your own tragedy feels much more immediate and important. Whatever the case, I just couldn't help being slightly annoyed. Then there were all the mystical forces (say hi to Otherland) with African roots. Added certain cultural flavor, I suppose. And all the pop-culture references, those I actually liked. But the overall impression? It sort of grows on you.
