WANKHERS' RECOMMENDATIONS

Thomas Ligotti

feeds@yuku.com (Infinite Chun) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:21:41 GMT

Have any of you learn-ed gentle-persons read any of Ligotti's work? Sub. Press brought him to my notice in a recent newsletter, and I quite like what I'm hearing - that he's a modern-day Lovecraft/ Poe. Is such a comparison deserved? Does he come recommended in theses here environs?

The Killing of the Tinkers

feeds@yuku.com (DocGeorge) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 21:11:24 GMT

I highly recommend "The Killing Of The Tinkers" by Ken Bruen- (BTW, virtualbob- obviously, anybody on here can recommend any stupid book or silly cd they wish- _sorry_ to jump on you)...

I am an Eirophile, and so is Bruen (I think)- that's why I love this book. Ireland has been going through some interesting times since WWII, and this permeates the book, which one reviewer called "Hibernian Noir". The book is dirty, violent, drug-soaked, and sacrilegious,...

'Bagrock for the Masses'

feeds@yuku.com (virtualbob) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 09:55:42 GMT

The Cowal Highland Games took place a couple of weeks ago. They are a refreshing contrast to most Highland games in Scotland which can be a wee bit pretentious and stuffy The Cowal games are more like a local carnival when all the locals get dressed up in silly costumes (which include the obligatory kilt) get outrageously intoxicated and frequently fall over.

Donald Westlake, Richard Stark, Tucker Coe, Samuel Holt, Edwin West....

feeds@yuku.com (DocGeorge) — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 19:43:58 GMT

I saw Donald Westlake listed as a favorite author, as well as Richard Stark. Stark is an alias of Westlake, as are the other names above, among others. I just finished a few Westlakes, including a couple of Dortmunder books, which are his most popular (a few have been made into movies).

Westlake had over a hundred books published, mostly crime fiction. He was a three-time Edgar winner (in three different categories). The MWA named him a Grand master. He was awarded The Eye at the...

After Things Fell Apart...

feeds@yuku.com (DocGeorge) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:40:21 GMT

I just finished The Worm (Ouroboros) for the teenth time, and looked around for something to read. I came across After Things Fell Apart (which I've read a couple of times), by Ron Goulart (notorious for being Capt. Kirk's ghostwriter). Goulart did a lot of potboilers, but he's consistently entertaining. He wrote ATFA in 1970, and more than reading like a prediction of the future, it reads like a history of the last 30-some years. BTW, if you decide to attempt The Worm, simply...

Richard S. Wheeler

feeds@yuku.com (Matt Hughes) — Sun, 17 May 2009 16:14:18 GMT

This author's works may be familiar to some Vancians who come by here, particularly those with a fondness for old-fashioned shootin' irons, but I've only just discovered him in the tiny library of the equally tiny town down the road from me in rural Saskatchewan, where I'm housesitting for another week.

I'm on the second volume in his series about an ex-mountain man named Skye, in the west of the 1850s, who along with his two wives (one Crow, one Shoshone) and a...

The Syndic...

feeds@yuku.com (DocGeorge) — Sun, 10 May 2009 12:43:33 GMT

I've recently re-*-read The Syndic by C. M. Kornbluth (1953), and it seems likely to me that Kornbluth was an influence on Jack Vance, OR that they were products of parallel evolution...the book starts w/ a two-page quote from "The Syndic- A Short History", a poem from "Instructions For Witches, c. 2150 A.D., and another page quote from "Organization, Symbolism, and Morale" by a leder of the Syndic.

Check this out: "The second thing he saw was a...

For people who have run out of Cecelia Holland novels to read!

feeds@yuku.com (MikeTransreal) — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 04:04:21 GMT

For people who have run out of Cecelia Holland novels to read, might I recommend two authors - one established, one new...

Margaret Elphinstone is extremely good, imo - especially Voyageurs (set during the War of 1812),

Russian Ridolph on gigantic steamer moored off Mumbai in 1878

feeds@yuku.com (Sudo Nonimus) — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 05:33:05 GMT

Lately I have read with delight those of Boris Akunin's Fandorin books that has been translated into exquisite English by Andrew Bromfield. I tried to read the stories chronologically, since the series chart the career of a young sleuth in Tsarist Russia, much in the same way as van Gulik's Judge Dee stories follow the life and work of that T'ang Dynasty magistrate, including Fandorin's aquisition--and loss--of loyal assistants (one of whom is a Japanese martial arts...

We're No Angels

feeds@yuku.com (pecooper) — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 20:50:22 GMT

'Tis the season, and tonight we watched my favorite Christmas movie, We're No Angels. The setting is Devil's Island in 1898 and Humphrey Bogart, Aldo Ray, and Peter Ustinov play three convicts who have escaped from the prison with their poisonous viper, Adolf, and are hiding in the town.

It is a movie worthy of Jack Vance, funny, cynical, and rather...

The last (?) Dumarest

feeds@yuku.com (axolotl) — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 12:29:06 GMT

I know some of you are E;C. Tubb's Dumarest fans, so here's some great news : #33, "Child of Earth" is about to be published :

http://www.homeworldpress.com/

I really thought the saga would stop at #33 The Return, so this is a pleasant surprise !

This site has also a nice gallery of the Dumarest covers :

Sea of Poppies?

feeds@yuku.com (David Pierce) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 18:35:20 GMT

Does anyone here recommend this one? After hearing a review of it on the radio, I wanted to read it for the same reasons I enjoy reading Vance.

In praise of Cecelia Holland

feeds@yuku.com (Matt Hughes) — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 12:07:49 GMT

I posted this on rec.arts.sf.written last week and am putting it here because I think it serves a good cause.

I was at World Fantasy Convention in Calgary over the weekend. At the mass signing that always happens on the Friday of WFC, I sat next to Cecelia Holland.

Now, for those of you who say, "Who the hell is Cecelia Holland?" the answer is that she is the finest writer of historical novels working in English today. She may be the finest in any language, but...

Fleet of Worlds - Larry Niven and Edward M. Lerner

feeds@yuku.com (Sarnidac the Dwarf) — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 05:18:17 GMT

At my last visit to the sf bokhandel in Malmö, it was with a certain reluctance that I finally added Fleet of Worlds to the heap of books that had been accumulating in my basket. On the one head, it would be great fun to immerse myself again in Known Space, the universe populated by humans, Kzinti, Puppeteers, Pak and Kdatlyno. On the other head, Niven's sequels are known to fall off quite a bit, and I did not want to spoil the great memories I had of Ringworld...

The Dog of the North - Award Nominated!

feeds@yuku.com (emphyrio) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 05:56:09 GMT

My publishers have nominated The Dog of the North for the inaugural David Gemmell Legend Award, intended to honour the best English-language fantasy novel of 2008. Voting opens on 26 December, with the five titles securing the most public votes making the final shortlist of five.

Given the competition--JVMB favourites Joe Abercrombie and Steven Erikson included--the chances of further success are minimal (although I will be conducting an...

Alan Dean Foster

feeds@yuku.com (Sarnidac the Dwarf) — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 14:06:02 GMT

Since I joined this board I have been puzzled by the fact that nobody ever mentions Alan Dean Foster, one of sf's most prolific writers. A Yuku search uncovered an old (2001) thread, "a possible Vancean punishment" with posts by Attel and Sudo (Discussion Archive 1). Since then, next to nothing. Now I will be the first to admit that most of his work is, well, somewhat "unremarkable"; run-of-the-mill is an adequate description. This applies to part of...

The Planet of the Apes

feeds@yuku.com (Infinite Chun) — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 21:02:49 GMT

I've often toyed with the idea of actually reading this, but have never been sure if the book on which the film is based is actually considered to be any good; and, if it is, if the translation of the book is any good (I'm asuming a certain French guy who lives around here somewhere will be able to help on this). Any notions?

Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander

feeds@yuku.com (Infinite Chun) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 21:19:14 GMT

Every now and again, I feel the need for a salty sea tale, and they don't come much saltier than this. I loved the film, and had heard that the book was even better. It is. Thrilling chases and battles, exquisite attention to detail, subtle characterisation, a style that reads as if it was written during the time the story is set in and yet remaining contemporary. There're twenty of these books, all are reportedly excellent - and I think I'll be reading 'em all.

A...

Tim Stretton's Blog (Acquired Taste)

feeds@yuku.com (axolotl) — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 11:07:09 GMT

For all would-be writers, or if you like trying to get a look behind the scene, get a glimpse of the mechanics of writing after having enjoyed a good read, or if you want a good example of writing about a book you've just read, or just want to enjoy good blog writing (a rare commodity)... check Tim's blog. I assure you it's worth visiting regularly.

http://timstretton.blogspot.com/

The Dog of the North by Tim Stretton

feeds@yuku.com (garlet) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 03:04:37 GMT

It was with a bit of trepidation I approached 'The Dog of the North' by Emphyrio/Tim Stretton (a hardback, quite thick - 460ish pages, quite attractive cover). It had been at the back of my mind* while I was praising Joe Abercrombie's books along with Emphyrio and mentioning that I would be soon reading 'The Dog of the North', that I would 'have' to give my opinions on Emphyrio's work. What if I thought it to be unreadable crap(!)? There are...