Temeraire

Just finished reading In His Majesty's Service by Naomi Novik, which collects the first three books in her Temeraire series, and I am thoroughly impressed.

When I thought of how to describe these books, the first thing that came to mind was Anne McCaffrey + Patrick O'Brian (and just a dash of Jane Austen in the first book). And I guess I wasn't the only one with this impression since the blurb on Amazon describes the series with McCaffrey and O'Brian as well.

If you've ever wondered what the world would have been like if dragons existed during Napoleonic era, then you've got to give these books a chance. Oh so well written, and utterly believable.

The good news for me is that books 4 and 5 are already out, and book 6 will be out in July. The bad news is that there are only 3 more books for me to read, and I'll be sad indeed to leave her world.

Good Read

Just finished Judas Unchained, the sequel (and finale) to Pandora's Star by Peter F. Hamilton, and I can't recommend them highly enough. It's space opera at its best. The first book starts with dozens of major characters, each with their own thread that slowly but surely links up with one another until they all meet in book two in a tremendous climax that doesn't disappoint.

Artemis Fowl

Over Christmas, I got Artemis Fowl: The Criminal Mastermind Collection by Eion Colfer (which contains the first three books in the Artemis Fowl series) from a white elephant gift exchange. I hadn't heard anything about it before, but it sounded promising, and I have not been disappointed.

It basically follows the adventures of Artemis Fowl, a thirteen year old criminal mastermind who has discovered the underground world fairies that relies on advanced technology. If that doesn't make any sense, trust me, it will.

These books are fast, fun reads. The closest comparison I can make is probably to Harry Potter, minus all the high school drama. The writing is certainly better.

Books

Books are usually the first leisure activity that gets dropped by the wayside when things get hectic at work, but I've managed to continue reading after getting back from vacation despite the work that's piled up. Partly from procrastination, partly from a refusal to get my nose back to the grindstone, but I've managed to finish a couple more that's been sitting on the shelves for a while now.

I haven't read any good books based on the Arthurian legend for a while now, and I'm glad I stumbled over Jack Whyte's The Skystone: The Forging of Arthur's Britain. Believe it or not, it's historical fiction, and it's the first of six in the Camulod Chronicles. It's also absolutely captivating, and I'd recommend it to anyone. Now I've just got to get my hands on the rest.

Also finished Anne Bishop's The Invisible Ring, which I picked up because I've seen good things about her The Black Jewels: Trilogy. I couldn't find the latter, but decided to give the former a shot since it was set in the same world. Any interesting read, but it hasn't really made me want to run out and grab the trilogy either.

Reading Material

I always bring a long a book when travelling, and this time I brought a backup in case I finished the first too quickly. Imagine my surprise on the first day when I learned that the ship actually had a small library with some decent books! And books that I've been wanting to read, at that.

Which sort of explains how I finally managed to read Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman. I miss his Sandman comics, and this book definitely reminded me of those stories. Highly recommended if you get the chance -- it's a real fast read.

Ludlum Schmudlum

I really need to stop reading stuff by Ludlum. The first time I read any of his stuff was right after the first Bourne movie came out, when I read his three Bourne books (The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum). By the time I'd hit the third one, I'd realized that I really didn't care for the way he developed his characters, or the way his characters spoke. The story was interesting enough, he's certainly good with plot twists and pacing, but the characters just never seemed realistic.

But apparently I didn't learn my lesson. I still picked up The Aquitane Progression, which is totally forgetable. Definitely not recommended.