imperfectletter | Entries tagged with roger zelazny

October

131. Sunshine by Robin McKinley
Adult, Fantasy, 405p

I was so tired from the job I had last month (among other things) that it actually took me about three weeks to read Sunshine. Usually it takes me about two days.

Still one of my absolute favorite books.

132. The Magician's Ward by Patricia Wrede
Young Adult, Historical Fantasy, 288p

133. A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny
Adult, Fantasy, 280p

134. Old Man's War by John Scalzi
Adult, Science Fiction, 311p

135. The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi
Adult, Science Fiction. 343p

135 / 150 books. 90% done!

72 / 75 *new books. 96% done!

5 / 10 ^non-fiction. 50% done!

38473 / 45000 pages. 85% done!

Audiobooks: 26h30m

fiveforsilver

101. A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny (280)

This is one of my favorite books. Here's the review I have posted previously:

The narrator is...a dog.

His master is...Jack, who wields 'the knife'.

The characters include...a witch, a vampire, a werewolf, 'The Good Doctor', and 'The Great Detective'.

This is a fun, totally non-serious, absolutely enjoyable book about what happens when 'the right people' gather when there's a full moon on Halloween.

102. Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich Smith (310)

I felt like reading this book once more before I get rid of it, maybe to see if I'm making the right choice. I am. I didn't like it as much the second time even as I did the first, and I didn't like it all that much the first time.

103. *Zoe's Tale by John Scalzi (335)

Zoe's Tale is another fantastic book in John Scalzi's Old Man's War universe. Zoe is the adopted daughter of John Perry and Jane Sagan, who are chosen to head up a colony on a new planet. Except things don't go exactly as expected and along with the normal hazards of colonizing a new planet (unfriendly lifeforms, inedible vegetation, etc), they suddenly discover that they've been made pawns in an intergalactic war.

This book is a retelling of the timeline of The Last Colony from Zoe's perspective. Because she's a teenager, she isn't privy to everything the adults know and do - and, likewise, they don't know everything that happens to her - so Zoe's experience of that time is quite different from her parents'.

Scalzi writes the Old Man's War books so that each of them is a stand-alone as well as part of a cohesive story, and Zoe's Tale is no exception. Also, although I found it shelved in the adult science fiction section of the bookstore, this was intended to, and in my opinion does, bridge the divide between adult and YA. It is also hysterically funny throughout much of the book. Scalzi wrote Zoe as a brilliant, sarcastic, irreverent character who talks back to adults (human and alien alike) and uses her wits to save the day, yet still manages to act and sound like an believable teenager.

103 / 110 books. 94% done!

47 / 75 *new books. 63% done!

3 / 10 ^non-fiction. 30% done!

28591 / 33000 pages. 87% done!
Audiobook time: 25h49m

fiveforsilver

34. A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny (280)

I love this book. I think this is one of my favorite books. It's told from the perspective of a watchdog, Snuff, and it's a gathering of all sorts of fantastical literary characters - some I recognize, some I don't. It's easy to figure out who the Count, the Good Doctor, the Great Detective, and Jack (who is under a curse and keeper of "the Knife") are. There are half a dozen more that are probably just as recognizable, if you've read the right books. They are all gathered together to participate in a sort of ritual on Halloween night - some trying to let the Elder Gods into the world, others trying to keep them closed out. The book is about October, preparing for Halloween and then at the end performing the rite. From the perspective of the dog. It's really pretty hilarious.

34 / 110 books. 31% done!

10 / 75 *new books. 13% done!

1 / 10 non-fiction. 10% done!

10612 / 33000 pages. 32% done!

Currently Reading: Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman

fiveforsilver

Originally posted January 01, 2007 in

fiveforsilver:

Since I'm planning to be much busier this year than I was last year, I'm lowering my challenge from what I had it at last year (100/30/50,000). I needed to lower my pages challenge, anyway; I just guessed for that. I nearly made it to 40,000, though.

Anyway. Technically I read most of this book in 2006, but I finished it in 2007, so I'm counting it as my first book for the new year.

1. *Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny (279)

From the back of the book:
A band of men has gained control of technology, made themselves immortal, and now rule their wodl as the gods of the Hindu pantheon. Only one dares oppose them: he who was once Siddhartha and is now Mahasamatman. Binder of demons. Lord of Light.

It was...a bit confusing and rather odd, but I liked it.

*New reads

1 / 85 books
(1.2%)

1 / 25 new books
(4.0%)

279 / 30,000 pages
(0.9%)

fiveforsilver

Originally posted May 31, 2006 in

fiveforsilver

I'm currently reading The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova (642, hardcover) and since it's not exactly easily portable (for a book), I read these in the meatime:

35. Searching for Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede (242)
36. Calling on Dragons by Patracia C. Wrede (244)

These are fun books, dragon and princess fantasies with a lot of other fairy tale parodies thrown in. These are the second and third in a series of four (Dealing with Dragons is the first, Talking to Dragons is the fourth, and there is a short story anthology that includes several related stories called Book of Enchantments).

37. A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazney (280)

One of my favorite books, this is the story told from the perspective of a dog, Snuff. I can't come up with anything better than a bit of what's on the back of the book: It's not often that you read a book that forces you to root for Jack the Ripper to save the universe, but Roger Zelazny is not your typical author...

38. A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett (249)

A sweet book about a little girl who goes from incredible wealth to complete poverty in an instant when her beloved father dies after losing his fortune. She is forced to work practically as a slave at the boarding school where she had been the star student, mocked by girls who once envied her and all but starved by the headmistriss who had never liked her.