18 August, 2010

It's News To Me #20

Anyone have any crazy book reading habits? I've been thinking about this lately and I have a few that I've been able to stop, a few I still can't give up, and a few I don't want to give up.

I used to have this really insane one where at the end of reading a book, I had to read the first word/sentence of the same book. It started because I would look at the beginning to see how my perspective changed throughout the book... and then my OCD turned on. :) But, I'm proud to say I broke it, it can be done.

Leave a comment, let us know.

Cover Art


What's a Joe Abercrombie cover without blood? Well, now we don't have to worry about the answer to that question.


This HUGE picture is all I could find after quite a bit of searching and not settling for thumbnails. I've been meaning to talk about this cover for Tolkien's The Children of Hurin for a while and I finally remembered. I own the old version, but this new one is definitely worth owning as well. Beautiful cover, I love the colors on the helmet and the contrasting castle in the background.

News

Casting for HBO's A Game of Thrones has been spot on in most instances, yes, I know my superfluous opinion really matters, but ever want to see all of the actors/characters in one place? I found a blog that has put them altogether with fan art: Lexicopia.










The release date is becoming more and more real and now we have a blurb for Scott Lynch's third book in the Gentlemen Bastards series, The Republic of Thieves (pre-order) [US] [UK]:
After their adventures on the high seas, Locke and Jean are brought back to earth with a thump. Jean is mourning the loss of his lover and Locke must live with the fallout of crossing the all-powerful magical assassins the Bonds Magi. It is a fall-out that will pit both men against Locke's own long lost love. Sabetha is Locke's childhood sweetheart, the love of Locke's life and now it is time for them to meet again. Employed on different sides of a vicious dispute between factions of the Bonds Sabetha has just one goal - to destroy Locke for ever. The Gentleman Bastard sequence has become a literary sensation in fantasy circles and now, with the third book, Scott Lynch is set to seal that success. (source: Pat's Fantasy Hotlist)
Check out Camorr for the full excerpt (23 pages of manuscript).

Liviu, of Fantasy Book Critic fame, put up his list of "Most Interesting SFF Universes". He lists everything from "Dark/Cynical Series" to "Promised a Lot but Failed to Fully Deliver so Far". It's worth checking out:
Most Interesting Universes

F: Shadows of the Apt by Adrian Tchaikovsky

SF: The Gaean Reach by Jack Vance

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The one Universe I would like to live in

F: Legacy of Kushiel by Jacqueline Carey

SF: The Culture by Iain M. Banks

*************************************************************
Giveaways


JC Marino is giving away his book Dante's Journey (my review) on Goodreads right now, but with an added gift: a Joseph Dante's badge. Pretty sweet stuff and a good read too.

And that's the news...at least to me.

10 comments:

Todd Newton said...

Man, I can't wait for Republic of Thieves. Lynch is one of the best new authors out there, IMO.

Bryce L. said...

Completely agree, which is why any news has me salivating.

Pallav said...

Love the cover art of republic of thieves....waiting eagerly for the book! Gonna be awesome!! :D

N

Bryce L. said...

@Nothingman - Win win all the way. :)

Tracy Falbe said...

OK, here's a weird reading habit I used to do:

I would read the last sentence of a novel and then start reading the whole thing. Makes no sense I know. I haven't done it in a long time, but now that I think about it I'm feeling the urge.

Bryce L. said...

@Tracy - Oh no, I didn't mean to bring back old habits. :D

BStearns said...

Wow! That really is a nice cover! I bought Children of Hurin when it first came out, and while that was still a nice cover, this one is much nicer. Thanks for that!

Lex said...

I still prefer the original Children of Hurin cover, but I love the new one too. I'd never seen or even heard about it before now, so thanks for posting that.

Cool blog, too!

Bryce L. said...

@BStearns - I'm torn, the old cover is classic, but this one is just stunning.

@Lex - Thanks man, we have fun.

Melissa (My World...in words and pages) said...

I have not read Lynch's books yet, but the do sound amazing. Thanks for the info.

As for book habits. I have a habit of breaking the book into sections. Whether its thirds or fourths. Its how I help monitor my reading and pacing. I get frustrated with myself it if seems to take to long to get through these sections. But, I always know where the half way point is. And I think it's all down hill after half way. :) I have a few others as well, but that is just one.