Ow

[coalescent]

Just finished Polystom. Brain hurts now.

Comments

[scribeoflight.livejournal.com]

In a good way? ;o)

This recently appeared in my TBR pile alongside 'Light'. I really enjoyed 'Salt', but I keep forgetting that 'On' and 'Stone' look really promising, and so haven't got to those yet.

Last SF novel I finished (yesterday, I think) was 'Waystation'. And that definitely didn't make my brain hurt... Well, not in the way I imagine 'Polystom' made yours hurt!

[coalescent.livejournal.com]

In a good way?

Oh, yeah. :-D

In some ways, it shouldn't have done. Most of the key ideas aren't particularly new (although the worldbuilding is pretty ace; put down whatever you're reading now and just go read the first chapter of Polystom to see what I mean). It's just something in the combination, or in the extrapolation...

Ugh. More coherent thoughts at a later date, I think. Although it's going to be a tough one to review without spoilers.

This recently appeared in my TBR pile alongside 'Light'. I really enjoyed 'Salt', but I keep forgetting that 'On' and 'Stone' look really promising, and so haven't got to those yet.

Put Light at the top of a pile. Stone and Polystom are about equally good, so toss a coin. Don't bother with On unless you decide you want to be a Roberts completist. :-)

[nuttyxander.livejournal.com]

I've put polystom down for a few weeks, cos I really want to finish Lanark, and there's an Alexander McCall Smith tempting me also... argh.

Bits of me just want to re-read The Separation.

Alexander McCall Smith

[scribeoflight.livejournal.com]

Out of interest, do you have the new, slightly-more mass market editions, or the slightly older, larger smaller-press editions? The new ones have slightly sharper blurbs, but I think the cover art has gone a bit 'generic-ethnic', whereas the older covers had a bit more character (perhaps) to them...

Not tried them yet, but I keep hearing good things.

Re: Alexander McCall Smith

[nuttyxander.livejournal.com]

Well, we've been stocking the older Polygon editions for some time now, though it did take a little time for them to get going. I really do like the covers of these.

In the UK at least, these are giong into mass market in a phased roll-out over a few years, of which the first book is the only one to have appeared so far. I rather like it, actually, it's not as classy as the polygon cover, but it does have a nice pattern on the inside jackets and it's a good set of colours. Compared to most covers in crime, it remains very good, no cliched soft black and white photos (rankin, robinson etc.) or abstract dark dullness like many others or generic blonde (cole).

My proof of book 5 is lovely and plain of course :), assuming they go ahead with the current cover book 5 will be a bit more cluttered in look than the previous 4.

I've read the first few pages of the proof, and it's just lovely, I will spend a pleasant day off ploughing through it.

Re: Alexander McCall Smith

[scribeoflight.livejournal.com]

Do you read any Henning Mankell?

The last proof I ploughed through was a wonderfully enjoyable novel called 'Typhoon', which looks set to be the slicker, leaner Tom Clancy novel that Tom Clancy is probably incapable of writing at the moment...

Although to mention Tom Clancy isn't really fair... it's far more balanced and character-focused than Clancy, and the author...

And the "most-eagerly-anticipated-proof" award goes to Ian R. MacLeod's 'The Light Years'... which I managed to haggle of Earthlight after the thing had actually hit the shops... (I said I didn't want to read a hardback on the tube, or something to that effect... and it worked!)

Oh, and I think the McCall Smiths really started doing well when they were included in that May 3for2... or was it the other three for two... mmm... Anyway, at Oxford they were doing tremendously well at one point... lots of word-of-mouth.

I'm at Oxford Street now, and I don't know how well they do there... I haven't been there long enough.

Re: Alexander McCall Smith

[coalescent.livejournal.com]

Ian R. MacLeod's 'The Light Years'

My turn to ask: Any good? It's either that or Natural History next...

Re: Alexander McCall Smith

[scribeoflight.livejournal.com]

I thought I'd replied to this - it must have got caught up.

Anyway, the opening of The Light Years is fantastic - really beautiful, atmospheric prose...

But I've also heard good about Natural History, so...