@frewtnewton - I also thought Wasp Factory was seriously disturbing on many levels, thought it was brilliant though.

I enjoyed the Crane Wife very much

If you haven't already read it I thought The Golem and the Djinni - Helene Wecker was amazing!

Thanks Hurls-I will look it up. Interesting Seveneyes is the next book on my list.

I am currently disappointed as I had saved it specially to read when I wanted a good book to get lost in. It may improve but the 'feel' is quite different from his others (and yes I have read everything he has published including "in the beginning was the command line"

Dean Koontz 1972 SF novel Warlock. Not exactly sure why he called it that.

Earth has been trashed by something (I;m guessing I'll find out what toward the end) many hundreds of years ago. The main characters come from a pre-industrial society that has sprung up since and have set out to find what old tech their expansionist neighbours have dug up in the unknown lands beyond the mountains called the Blank. The main character and his sons have some prescient abilities giving them heightened status and have been called on to assist the expedition.

Chosen pretty much at random from my library it's not too bad. Not awesome but good enough. Is always kind of interesting to read slightly older SF, they have a noticeably different flavour to more modern stuff.


-kaos

Going through The Stand, unabridged. I like the desolation and realistic depiction of some of the behaviour, the terror, the foreshadowing that something even more terrible is going to happen.

And all the crazy characters King is making up. Somehow I can easily imagine how every character is a facet of King himself, at some point in his life - even the menstruating, sex-hungry, virgin women, all King at one point, with a skirt and make up on, somewhere in the back of his family's house.

IMO this is the post-apocalypse horror novel to which all others of this genre should aspire. One of my favorite King novels. Also in that genre worth reading are Swan Song and The Passage.

I am re-reading one of my favorite series - The Riyria Revelations by Michael Sullivan. Its a light hearted fantasy with overtones of Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser and a fun sense of humor with some nice plots.

The Stand is truly a great read. The movie was a bit of a letdown. That passage in the NYC tunnel is so well written…

Never a dull moment with Haadrian and Royce :).I finished first book recently and bought the rest next day.

Currently reading Furies of Calderon first book of Codex Alera by Jim Buthcher.So far I don't like it, I expected high fantasy instead I got Young adult book and not particularly good one.

Chalk me up as another "The Stand" lover. Great, if very lengthy, novel.
I really like how he also makes it tie in with his Dark Tower legendarium.

Stephen King is my opinion is hands down the best writer of fiction of our generation. I know many people discount him due to his genre (horror), but really his works transcend it. Sure since he is a prolific writer some of his stuff is hit or miss, but when he hits it, its a homerun right out of the park. So many of his books are amazing classics. As you can tell I'm a King fanboy.

I finished the Empty Throne in the Saxon series, and I have the final book ready to read but saving it for the flight next weekend. I've not been able to see the tv show but the books so far have been marvelous. Hopefully some tv channel picks it up in Canada at some point, although I'm sure the books will remain superior in any case.

Trying to read Man in the High Castle. 20% in and it's not grabbing me, finding it a bit of a chore. Life is proving a bit of a stress at the moment so perhaps I need something lighter, easier to read.


-kaos

Actually people discount him NOT as a fantastic story creater, but as a writer. Because while he has some very good stories out there … he just isn't a great writer. And more than anything he himself emphasizes quantity over quality, and as such even his best stuff is just 'OK' in terms of actual writing, and perhaps half of his output is really mediocre writing.

It reminds me of RA Salvatore … some cool structures and stories, but more often than not I am rolling my eyes at the poorly constructed prose.

Reading The Windup Girl right now.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Windup-Gir…/dp/1597801585

Its a refreshing different take on a dystopian future. I'm enjoying it.

@Toff - I also enjoyed it greatly.

Finally someone who thinks King is overrated.I was beginning to think I was the only one.

I'm not a King fan either. He just goes on and on and on and on and on and …..

King has written some great stuff, imo. The Shining, It, The Stand, Darktower Series, those I like and will reread for the rest of my life. However, he has also authored a few snorefests and don't even approach some of the drek he's put out for tv and movies. I guess almost anyone that is so prolific is bound to have some hits and misses.

He is what he is. I myself have gripes about some of his writing, specifically his ability to end stories, which I think at times is poor. I doubt King himself would ever say he's the best writer of our generation. But having read every single one of his many many books I can say unequivocally when King is at his best he's the best, in my own humble opinion. And I can only speak for myself obviously, everyone else is entitled to their own opinion.