Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Off Topic 50 Book Challenge 2012/What I've Read in 2012

14. "39 Clues, Book 5: The Black Circle" by Patrick Carman

15. "Murder, She Wrote: Coffee, Tea or Murder?" by Donald Bain

#40 Uglies by Scott Westerfeld This futuristic society novel is just as good as others said it would be. On to the sequel...

Joan

The Company of Liars - Karen Maitland

Maitland is rapidly becoming one of my favourite authors. I loved this quirky little tale, set against the backdrop of a medieval England beset by a spreading plague and steeped in mysticism and superstition. Against the background of this terrifying collapse of the world around them, the author assembles a company of nine strangers - all of them naturally itinerant travellers and all of them with a dark secret. As they set off on their journey, intent on escaping the disease, they are unaware that they take with them a malevolent evil intent on exposing their 'lies' and punishing them for them.

Also fascinating were the historical notes at the end of the book. That experts now believe that the Pestilance (Black Death) was not in fact one plague, but three. That because it didn't only kill humans but also dogs, horses, sheep and cattle and coupled with the onset of an extraordinary climate change which saw a year of rain, no summer and failing crops, as many people died in those years of starvation than disease. That the Chuch of the time declared it heresey to suggest werewolves and vampires didn't exist and, indeed, two of the Vatican's theories as to the rapid spread of plague was that it was a malevolent act of Jews or vampires...

A wonderful read. I look forward to more of Maitland's quirky, fascinating imagination soon.

LabRat

The Gallows Curse - Karen Maitland

Another entrancing tale from Maitland, full of the rich characters and dark secrets which are becoming her trademark.

LabRat :-)

#41 Pretties by Scott Westerfeld Another good one in the series. On to the next one...

Joan

Echoes of the Great Song - David Gemmell

Having so enjoyed the author's Troy trilogy a time back, I've been keen to try some more of his work. The first thing about this one was that it was a standalone novel and I did think that it had the plot and characters to have been expanded to the more usual trilogy. As a single book it seemed a little rushed towards the end.

But that was my only complaint. I really enjoyed it. All the traditional elements and the grand landscape of emotions were present and the world and characters were intriguing and sympathetic.

LabRat

Beautiful Lies - Lisa Unger

This was a little more than the standard thriller I'd assumed it would be, although a lot of the plot did depend on our heroine missing the blindingly obvious. Still enjoyable for all that.

LabRat :-)

#42 Specials by Scott Westerfeld

Last of the series - a good read.

Joan

Sliver of Truth - Lisa Unger

This turned out to be a sequel to the previous novel. I enjoyed it. Our heroine appeared to have learnt a lot from her previous experiences and was much quicker on the uptake this time around.

LabRat :-)

Dark Moon - David Gemmell

I really loved this stand alone fantasy novel. Characters who were easy to hate and easy to love and an exciting plot that kept me entertained throughout. In tone and style, it reminded me a lot of some of the works of one of my other favourite fantasy authors - Guy Gavriel Kay. Novels like Tigana and A Song For Arbonne. Definitely going to have to go find a copy of Legend now and explore more of Gemmell's fascinating worlds.

LabRat

#43 The Girl's Guide to Homelessness by Brianna Karp

I liked parts of this book. She was upbeat about being homeless and had good ideas to keep herself going. Then she got involved in an on-line romance and I could see the hand writing on the wall way before she did.

Joan

16. "39 Clues, Book 6: In Too Deep" by Jude Watson

17. "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarden" by Robert Fulghum

18. "39 Clues, Book 7: The Viper's Nest" by Peter Lerangis

19. "39 Clues, Book 8: The Emperor's Code" by Gordon Korman

20. "Dark Lover" first novel of the Black Dagger Brotherhood by J.R. Ward

21. "39 Clues, Book 9: Storm Warning" by Linda Sue Park

22. "Envy" by J.R. Ward (third in a series so far)

23. "39 Clues, Book 10: Into the Gauntlet" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

#44 The Next Best Thing by Jennifer Weiner

It took me a while to get into this book about a damaged woman developing a TV show. It improved as the story went along.

Joan

The Burning - Sue Walker

An entertaining little mystery in the Mary Higgins Clark style. I thought the ending was a little rushed and didn't quite hang together, but I enjoyed it all the same.

LabRat :-)

#45 Three Dog Nightmare by Chuck Negron

I saw Three Dog Night recently and was curious about the missing original singer. What a disturbing story.

Joan

#46 Reached by Ally Condie

This was the last book in a futuristic society trilogy. I really enjoyed the first book of the series but the others weren't as engaging.


Joan

#47 Murdered Innocents by Corey Mitchell

For a true crime novel, this wasn't the greatest. I wasn't fully convinced that they'd convicted the right people.

Joan

#48 Grace by T. Greenwood

A good family drama.

Joan

22) The Shape Of Desire - by Sharon Shinn
Okay, so I'll read anything by this author, which is why I went ahead and bought this book without reading it first, and of course this is the one time I was very disappointed. It showed little of her usual descriptive and emotive powers, was told all through the view of a person on the sidelines, and built up to a conclusion concerning the love story that never came. Not to mention, it was much more explicit than I feel comfortable reading; definitely my least favorite of all her books.

23) Recursion - by Tony Ballantyne
The first in a trilogy, this book takes alternating chapters of people in different centuries and shows the growing expansion of AI influence on humanity. A bit confusing to follow at times, but the climax and revelation about how the AI grew was very intriguing.

24) Capacity - by Tony Ballantyne
This second book was also very good, and I read it very quickly, eager to find out how much of the story was real and how much was just a hologram.

25) Divergence - by Tony Ballantyne
I have a feeling that if you're a physicist, this book would be pretty cool. As it is, though, I was left completely confused. The entire climax left me wondering if they really solved their problems, or if they just got rid of the only thing that could have saved them. A bit disappointing, but probably worth it if you want a different view of AI than the old, worn out tropes.

26) The Eye Of The World - by Robert Jordan
Okay, so I've been reading these books since I was nine years old, and this is probably the twentieth time I've read through at least the first seven of these or so, and I can safely say that they never get old. They're so big and epic and yet so personal and unique that it never fails to draw me in. The story of Rand being drawn into a quest that turns out to be so much more than he thought, and his friends coming along with him, are so expertly woven all together with the simultaneous story of an age-old battle between good and evil. I love all the foreshadowing and prophecies that are dropped in this early book -- even though this first one is almost a stand-alone story, so many of these prophecies are recognizable as happening throughout the later books.

27) The Great Hunt - by Robert Jordan
Now that Rand and his friends think they've defeated the Dark One, they each have their own paths to take, until the Wheel brings them all back together to face a new enemy, and the Dark One isn't so easy to defeat as all that.

28) The Dragon Reborn - by Robert Jordan
I love how the first books are told almost exclusively through Rand's view, but each book from here on out starts to add in more and more characters' POV, broadening the story and opening up more of the complexities of the story. This one is always interesting to read because we get the first bits of insanity Rand's Power inflicts on him and also get more of Mat, who is always a favorite!

29) The Shadow Rising - by Robert Jordan
Rand has a plan now, and I love the way we know he has a plan and the way he implements it from here on out without ever telling us the whole thing, so that we discover it rather than merely wait for it to be finished. The inclusion of the Aiel and the flashbacks a thousand years ago, before the Dark One got out of his prison the last time, are so cool, showing us that this world used to be a science-fiction one, until the Breaking of the World beneath the last Dragon.

30) The Fires Of Heaven - by Robert Jordan
I love this book because we get some wonderful character progression between Rand and Morraine, as well as the battle prowess of Mat thanks to the memories of hundreds of tactical geniuses he now has in his head. Aviendha and Elayne's stories also grow much more interesting.

31) Lord Of Chaos - by Robert Jordan
This one is so painful to read because Rand has to go through so much! It also introduces the new Aes Sedai storyline with Egwene, which manages to give a very compelling story to my least favorite character.

32) A Crown Of Swords - by Robert Jordan
Love the show-down between Rand and Sammael! This one brings in a whole host of stories, now that each character has separated and begun their own adventures, and yet each of them continues to be woven all together in a way still leading to the Last Battle.

33) The Path Of Daggers - by Robert Jordan
This one is often complained about, but it's one of my favorites. It shows how hard Rand is trying to get rid of the obstacles between him and the Last Battle he's destined to fight, and yet also demonstrates just how badly off they are in terms of military power. I'm fascinated by the Asha'Man as well, so it's cool to see more of them and get to learn individuals among them.

34) Winter's Heart - by Robert Jordan
LOVE this one! Not only do we get to see the cleansing of the male half of the Power, but also we get the beginning of the long-awaited love story with Mat, which is both amusing and romantic, as well as so integral to how we'll end up being able to match the Dark One's Trolloc hordes at the Last Battle. And of course, I'm very partial to the culmination of Rand's love story -- it's certainly not the direction I would have taken it, but it manages to be sweet nonetheless.

35) Crossroads Of Twilight - by Robert Jordan
Another one that is often criticized but manages to be so exciting in how it rearranges the powers of the world. The male half of the Power is cleansed, meaning the Asha'Man shouldn't be going crazy anymore, and yet Rand continues to spiral further into madness as he listens to the voice of the past Dragon. Mat holds the most bizarre, interesting, and...cute...courtship with the heir to the frightening enemy nation Rand's been fighting, and Elayne fights to take back her throne.

36) Knife Of Dreams - by Robert Jordan
This book picks up momentum and doesn't really let up at all -- so much happens in this one, and all of it building up to the Last Battle, but in a way that makes me excited to read how we're winning the world back from anarchy now, not just keeping me in suspense as to how we'll beat the Dark One. Perrin also manages to finally free his wife in this book, which was a nice conclusion to that particular arc.

37) The Gathering Storm - by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
This is the first book written by Brandon Sanderson after Robert Jordan's death, and as nervous as I was about it, it doesn't disappoint. Sanderson is able to meld his writing style with Jordan's and pick up where the story and characters left off without missing a beat. Egwene's story as a captive of the White Tower is exciting, but the real story is Rand finally facing, confronting, and beating back the madness that has so plagued him, all while being betrayed by his closest followers.

38) Towers Of Midnight - by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
This was my first read-through of this book, and though I always catch more the second time I read through it, I was overjoyed by what happened in this book. Not only does it end with us only a few days away from the Last Battle, but it showed just how clearly our characters have grown. Everyone of them is offering something new and unique and each of them stands to fulfill a crucial position at the Last Battle -- that is, all except Egwene, who is now standing as one of the final obstacles between Rand and the Last Battle. It's actually very satisfying to finally have her unveiled as seriously wrong in her thinking, rather than just leaving it to reader interpretation. I seriously cannot wait until January when the final novel in this series comes out, though I will also be sad to realize that I'll never again be waiting for a Wheel of Time novel!

39) Legacy - by Brandon Sanderson
A short novella that stars a schizophrenic man whose visions actually can teach him things, such as a language, in only hours. He has to hunt down a camera that can supposedly take pictures of the past. It's very short and feels more like a prologue than a story, but it's incredibly interesting, and as a Christian myself, I found it very respectful to the subject matter of a Christian scientist stealing the camera to take to Israel in order to prove the existence of Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago.

40) The Emperor's Soul - by Brandon Sanderson
Though this is a short novella as well, this one is actually a complete story and does an amazing job of showing conflicting worldviews between the forger and the adviser who's using her while simultaneously trying to show her the flaws in her thinking. They both end up teaching the other something important, and the ending was a very hopeful one.

41) On Basilisk Station - by David Weber
My dad and I travel out of town once a week, and while he drives, I read a book aloud to him. He adores the Honor series and wanted me to read them, so we chose this book. I do like the story, I think, but I find the writing incredibly unwieldy. It goes into pages' long descriptions about things that could have been told in a paragraph, switches character POV mid-paragraph, and skips important segments of the story while going into minute detail at other, seemingly random portions of story. If you can get through all of that, Honor is an engaging character and the galaxy-spanning story is quite interesting.

42) The Honor Of The Queen - by David Weber
I found this one easier to get through than the first, but the writing style had smoothed somewhat too. The story of finding good people behind flawed prejudices was very well done, though one has to wonder if esteemed ambassadors are really so idiotic as to always appoint female commanders to systems who don't recognize females in charge.

43) The Goose Girl - by Shannon Hale
My younger sister recommended these books to me, saying that it reminded her of the way I write. I don't know about that, but I do love the poetic, descriptive style of this book, as well as the way the wind was used as both a moodpiece and a power. The fairytale was given new life in this book, I thought, and I found it very enjoyable.

44) Enna Burning - by Shannon Hale
The main character in this book wasn't nearly as likable, being quite dense and impetuous, but once again, the language was very lyrical and the descriptions were beautiful.

45) River Secrets - by Shannon Hale
This was actually the best of the series, I think, with the most clearly drawn of the love stories and a main character who was extremely likable and very smart. The magic wasn't explored as fully in this book, but the character was so complex that it didn't have to be.

46) Lord Of The Changing Winds - by Rachel Neumeier
This book also has a very poetic language, which I find very easy to read, and though the names of the griffins were almost impossible to pronounce or remember from page to page, the two main characters were very likable, especially the male character, whose dilemma between saving his kingdom while betraying his king or remaining loyal to his king but letting his kingdom fall was very well drawn out. I plan to read the others in this trilogy next.

That's an interesting round-up, AK. Thanks for sharing.

I love fairy tales reset in a fantasy setting, so I must check out The Goose Girl. Looks intriguing.

Have you read Joan D. Vinge's The Snow Queen? One of my favourites.

LabRat :-)