Okay, so maybe Ready Player One won’t go down as a timeless classic, but it was a hell of a lot of fun, especially if you have any fond memories at all of the 1980s, or really just a love of geek culture.
You really couldn’t ask for a geekier novel, but, then, that’s what I loved about it. The constant movie, television, music, and video game references brought back tons of great memories and reminded me why I’m proud to be a geek.
In addition to the constant geek lovefest, Ready Player One also had a pretty interesting setup. In a somewhat dystopian world in the not-too-distant future, people have largely given up on real life and immerse themselves in the Oasis, a sprawling online universe that put’s today’s MMORPG’s to shame. When the creator of the Oasis dies and leaves his inheritance to whoever can find an easter egg, the hunt begins and a resurgence of 80s culture takes place.
In the end, Cline delivers an entertaining story, lovable characters, and tons of geeky fun that make this novel a wonderful homage to the 1980s. I really enjoyed this one!
P.S. Geek hero, Wil Wheaton narrates the audio version and does a wonderful job. I just wonder if it was strange ready the part about himself…
As I mentioned in my previous post, 2011 was an awesome year for me when it came to reading. I read and listened to some really fantastic novels and I wanted to give them a little more credit than I was able to before.
The First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie
One my favorite podcasts is the Sword and Laser, a science fiction and fantasy-themed book club, and the hosts continuously lauded Abercrombie’s first fantasy trilogy. After such glowing praise, I had to check it out and, damn, I’m glad I did.
The First Law Trilogy is what they refer to “post modern fantasy,” which I guess means that it’s grittier, grimmer, and somehow more realistic than the high fantasy of J.R.R. Tolkien and his contemporaries. As it turns out, I loved that style. The characters were flawed, there was no clear line between good and evil, and the plot was an intricate weave of politics and gruesome warfare. Plus, it featured one of the most awesomely vicious characters I’ve ever come across: the Bloody Nine.
Now, this trilogy isn’t for the faint of heart. If you don’t like blood, this series isn’t for you, but, otherwise, it’s a great modern fantasy trilogy and I recommend it highly.
The Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss
Believe it or not, I actually followed Pat’s blog for several months before I picked up The Name of the Wind and, in that time I learned something: Pat is an awesome dude and he writes a very honest and sometimes very humorous blog. So, going in, I had pretty high expectations and I wasn’t disappointed. The Name of the Wind was amazing…I absolutely loved Kvothe’s adventures.
Now, I actually timed this out pretty well and finished the first novel right as the second was published and as soon as I finished The Name of the Wind, I tore into Wise Man’s Fear. Rothfuss’s second novel was also very good, but, despite it’s massive acclaim, I actually liked the first novel a little better. Regardless, I cannot wait to see how the story ends! The Kingkiller Chronicles are highly recommended.
The Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks
I actually picked up the whole trilogy on Amazon.com for no other reasons that I had heard of the author and it was a great deal. As it turns out, it was a steal! Although it was the last book I read in 2011, I’m pretty sure The Way of Shadows was my fastest read of the year. I just could not put it down. I’m currently reading the third book in the trilogy now, but I would already recommend it highly to any fantasy reader.
Neil Gaiman
One of my reading goals of 2011 was to try out some new authors (I actually tried out many new authors), but I was especially eager to find out what the big deal was about Neil Gaiman. After reading The Graveyard Book, Neverwhere, a couple volumes of The Sandman, and, most importantly, American Gods, I think I understand. Neil Gaiman gets fantasy. His writing perfectly embodies that sense of awe and wonder that truly make a story a thing of magic.
The bottom line is this: I’m really glad I found Neil Gaiman this year. If you haven’t read his works, seriously, you need to get on that!
Well, I think that’s all I really wanted to say. I don’t know if 2012 can top 2011, but I’m up for the challenge.
Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss
I’ve read both books in this series that have been published. I really loved the first novel and thoroughly enjoyed the second, though not quite as much as the first. I’m starting to realize that this happens to me a lot (as you’ll see below). I tend to love origin stories so the first book in a series ends up appealing to me the most.
Malazan, Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson
I haven’t read this series. I think it’s 12 books long so I’m not jumping in anytime soon (at least not until I finish the Wheel of Time). I think I actually prefer one-shots or trilogies to lengthy series, although I can’t get enough of the Dresden Files.
The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb
I thought this was a pretty good series. As usual, I loved the first book, but I found the third book and the conclusion to the series to be a little underwhelming. There was a lot that just seemed to go unanswered, although I suppose Hobb probably goes into more detail in her other series set in the same universe, which I haven’t read.
The First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie
Bloody awesome. I loved each book equally, all 5 stars. Abercrombie’s story is so delightfully cynical, I just couldn’t love it more. Great characters, great plot, great action. Need I say more?
The Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks
I’m actually reading the third book in this series right now after tearing through the first two. I LOVED the first book and liked the second very well (see, what did I tell you?). The third has been a little slow to start off (in comparison), but I think it will be really good too.
The Sundering Duology by Jacqueline Carey
I really don’t know anything about this series, but I guess I’ll have to add it to the to-read list.
The Black Company by Glen Cook
I’ve heard from other readers that this is a really good series, but that’s about all I know. Another one for the to-read list.
Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson
I got this book for Christmas and I think it is literally the thickest paperback I’ve ever seen. It’s literally like 1200 pages and the print is microscopic. Frankly, I’m a little intimidated to even pick it up, but I’ve heard it’s really good.
The Shadowmarch Series by Tad Williams
Tad Williams is one of those authors that I’ve heard a lot about, but I’ve never read any of this books. I guess this is a good place to start.
The Earthsea Cycle by Ursula K. LeGuin
I actually just read the first book in the series and I thought it was really good. It’s also a nice, quick read if you are looking for something a little shorter than some of the typical fantasy tomes. I’m definitely interested in continuing the saga.
So, I guess the only other thing I should mention is that I’m not actually waiting for the next book in the Song of Ice and Fire series. I read the first novel back in 2007 when I just getting into fantasy and it didn’t really appeal to me at the time.
However, seeing as how so many books that I love are compared to it, I can’t help but wonder if I had a temporary lapse of sanity or what. Eventually, I’m going to have to give the series another shot, but for now, my to-read list is plentiful enough.
When I decided to put together a post recapping my reading experiences from 2011, I looked back at what a wrote last year and it’s pretty clear that I was pleased with the quality of novels that I read. Without question, 2011 was even better.
First, I met my goal of 24 novels, which was one more than what I read in 2010. Second, almost all of the novels that I read were completely kick ass. I literally rated 20 of those 24 novels as 4 stars or better. That pretty much says it all, but here are some additional stats.
Of the 24 books that I read, 2 were graphic novels and 6 were audio books. According to Goodreads, the page count for those novels was 10,102, which was just a bit more than 2010′s 9,472. If you are interested, you can see every more stats at Goodreads.
As I mentioned before, the books that I read this year were pretty awesome. Here’s the breakdown:
4 Stars
Side Jobs (stories from The Dresden Files) by Jim Butcher
Princep’s Fury (Codex Alera #5) by Jim Butcher
Catching Fire (The Hunger Games #2) by Suzanne Collins
Mockingjay (The Hunger Games #3) by Suzanne Collins
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman
The Shadow Rising (Wheel of Time #4) by Robert Jordan
A Wizard of Earthsea (Earthsea Cycle #1) by Ursula K. LeGuin
The Wise Man’s Fear (The Kingkiller Chronicle #2) by Patrick Rothfuss
The Hero of Ages (Mistborn #3) by Brandon Sanderson
Daemon by Daniel Suarez
5 Stars
The Blade Itself (The First Law #1) by Joe Abercrombie
Before They Are Hanged (The First Law #2) by Joe Abercrombie
Last Argument of Kings (The First Law #3) by Joe Abercrombie
Ghost Story (The Dresden Files #13) by Jim Butcher
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle) by Patrick Rothfuss
The Well of Ascension (Mistborn #2) by Brandon Sanderson
Old Man’s War (Old Man’s War #1) by John Scalzi
The Way of Shadows (Night Angel #1) by Brent Weeks
As you can see, I read a lot of great books last year. I still want to go into some more detail about some of these reads, but I think I’ll leave that for another post.
Happy New Year folks! In January last year, I did a little recap of my favorites from 2010. This year, I’ll keep with the same tradition and report on the novels, television, and movies that I enjoyed most in 2011.
Books
I read A LOT of killer books in 2011. I’m pretty sure my next post will be dedicated solely to my favorite reads in 2011, but here’s a quick glimpse.
Best Reads
These are the novels that I enjoyed the most in 2011. You’ll notice that, as usual, all of the novels fall into the science fiction / fantasy genre.
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
Old Man’s War by John Scalzi
Best Surprise
These are the novels that I enjoyed more than I expected. Both were excellent.
The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Biggest Disappointment
These are the novels that didn’t live up to my expectations. Boneshaker was all right, but too simple. The other was just terrible.
Boneshaker by Cherie Priest
The Phoenix Unchained by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory
Best Character
Oh man, this was tough. I read a lot of great books this year and many of them had wonderful characters. In the end, I think I would choose the following as my favorites.
Logan Ninefingers (from Joe Abercrombie’s First Law trilogy)
Kvothe (from Patrick Rothfuss’ Kingkiller chronicles)
Mr. Wednesday (from Neil Gaiman’s American Gods)
Movies
Best Movie
Here are the movies that I saw this year that I found the most enjoyable. I didn’t really watch a lot of movies this year so I kept the list pretty short.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (pt 2)
X-Men First Class
Television
Best Television Show
These are the shows that I enjoyed the most in 2011. This is actually a little tough as most shows air of the span of two calendar years, but I did my best.
The Big Bang Theory
Castle
Warehouse 13
Best “New to Me” Television Show
I watch a lot of television programming via Netflix. These are the shows that I started watching in 2011 and enjoyed thoroughly.
The Big Bang Theory
Castle
Twin Peaks
Best Character
Sheldon Cooper (The Big Bang Theory)
Richard Castle (Castle)
I could have gone into a lot more detail, but I really enjoy making lists and I didn’t want to over complicate things. As I mentioned, I think I’ll do a separate post regarding the books I read, because I would like to delve into a bit more detail there.
Full disclosure: I LOVED this book! Perhaps it didn’t have the grandeur of The Lord of the Rings or the wit of Harry Potter, but what The Way of Shadows lacked in those things, it made up for in action and intrigue.
Without a doubt, the plot of The Way of Shadows had more twists, turns, and surprises than any fantasy novel that I have read recently or that I can even think of. Weeks’ story leaps forward at a rapid pace and he doesn’t slow down enough for you to figure out what’s really going on.
As a result, I sprinted through this novel. I couldn’t put it down. Usually, I’ll read in bed until I drift off each night, but, instead, The Way of Shadows kept me awake and reading for hours. Considering my sleeping habits, that’s a testament to just how engrossing and exciting this novel is.
Another thing I loved was the characters. Azoth is a great protagonist. You can relate to him, but he’s still dangerous and excitement just happens around him. I also though the supporting characters were strong and well written, especially Durzo, Momma K, Logan, Elene, Count Drake, and Jarl.
I’ve read a lot of great books this year and this was really as enjoyable as any. As I mentioned, maybe it won’t go down as high art, but it was a hell of a ride and I loved every second of it.
Just two days ago, we got the sweet new Hobbit trailer and now today the new Prometheus trailer is unveiled. Looks like 2012 is shaping up to be a good year for movies. I just hope the apocalypse doesn’t ruin it for us!
From what I understand, Prometheus is a prequel to Alien and is the first Alien movie directed by Ridley Scott since the original. Personally, I’ve always felt that Alien is by far the best in the series, although many people really liked James Cameron’s Aliens.
Aliens is a cool action flick with sweet, venom-spewing monsters, but Alien is the ultimate sci-fi thriller. The entire film is creepy and haunting even though there is only the one alien on the ship. I really feel that it is an amazing film and I would rank it among my favorite sci-fi movies.
The Hobbit was the first fantasy novel that I read (which wasn’t until college) and, since then, I’ve devoured as many fantasy novels as possible, but I still consider The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings to be my favorites. The characters and world is so imaginative and wonderful…I just love it.
The entire reason that I even read The Hobbit to begin with was because of Peter Jackson’s film adaptations of The Lord of the Rings. I was engrossed by the movies and they inspired me to read the novels. Now, I love the novels AND the films. The films are not perfect in all of the details, but they do a wonderful job conveying the major themes and imagery of the novels.
Jackson’s adaptation of The Hobbit won’t hit theaters for a year, but the first official trailer has been released and it looks amazing. If the movie ends up being half as good as it looks, I will be thrilled. Enjoy!
Old Man’s War by John Scalzi was the first book that I downloaded with my Audible subscription as I had heard from various sources (including the Sword and Laser podcast) that it was a great read. I have to say that, after reading the novel, I agree wholeheartedly. Old Man’s War was one of the best novels that I’ve read all year. I would even go so far as to say it’s one of my favorite science fiction novels period.
From the start, I really got a kick out of the conceit of the story. In some future United States, elderly people are recruited to enlist and serve in the intergalactic military. With so many novels following a young protagonist (even many adult novels), I found it to be a very refreshing experience to read a novel where the main character was 75 years old.
In addition to that, I really enjoyed Scalzi’s writing style. It had just right combination of dry wit and cynicism to really resonate with me. I should also extend that compliment to William Dufris, the narrator of the audio version that I listened to. I thought he did an excellent job. His tone was perfect for the main characters of the novel.
I don’t want to give anything away in my review so I won’t go into too much detail about the plot, but I really did enjoy the story line a great deal as well. The novel is very much a military story filled with battles and typical military life. In that way, it reminded me of Joe Haldeman’s Forever War, but what I liked about Old Man’s War was a bit lighter and more fun.
The novel really roped me and I had a lot of fun listening to it. In fact, I tended to listen on my iPod while running, giving me the perfect excuse to exercise regularly.
Overall, I really enjoyed the novel and I would recommend it to any science fiction reader.
I’ve been a bit of a slacker when it has come to writing for the blog lately. I’ve been using the excuse that my wrist hurts (which it did to the point that I wore a brace for a few days), but, really, I’ve just been lazy. There, I said it. I’m lazy. I feel better now.
Not that it matters too much. I mean, it’s not like the tens of readers each month will really notice the lag. :)
Anyways, I wanted to call attention to a fairly recent piece of software that I have absolutely fallen in love with. That software being Spotify. If you’ve been living under a rock, maybe you haven’t heard about Spotify, the new social music software. Basically, for free, you can stream craploads of music to your computer and, unlike Pandora and other services, you can actually just search for the artist, song, or album and I think that is simply amazing.
Now, not all artists have agreed to let Spotify play their music (notably The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and Pink Floyd), but I still find the service to be completely phenomenal. I really enjoy being able to listen to the entire catalog of some of my favorite artists like Rush, The Who, or The Rolling Stones, or discover music from other bands like Yes, Faces, or The Guess Who.
As you may have guessed, I’m a huge classic rock fan. I’ve listened to The Doors, The Rolling Stones, Rush, and Yes a lot. I’ve also listened to Thin Lizzy, Small Faces, Faces, The Guess Who, April Wine, The Who, David Bowie, The Byrds, The Yardbirds, Journey, Styx, Peter Frampton, Cheap Trick, and a slew of other great bands. It’s been awesome. Work days have literally never gone by so fast.
Oh, and if you must know, I listened to Humble Pie, a fantastic live band featuring legendary guitarist Steve Marriott, while writing this article.
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
