The Arabian Nights - Tales of 1001 Nights v.2

Title: The Arabian Nights vol.2
Author: Malcolm C. Lyons (translator)
Published:2008 (current ed.)
Genre: fiction - Classic Lore

started: Feb.29/12
finished: Jun.09/12

As with the first volume it took me longer than I would have liked to read the entire volume. The way the stories are written does make it a little more difficult than a simple novel and yet the stories do give a bit of insight into what the culture and religion might have been like when these stories were first told. These stories are not entirely the sort where one might curl up for a couple hours and simply pour over them. They are not written in colloquial language that makes them fully accessible, though the language that is used is not too complex but rather is appropriate to the narratives told in the "Nights". If one is looking for an easy read then the "Nights" is probably not the first place to look.


Well known tales (or those that are often selected for various editions)
* The Ebony Horse
* 7 Voyages of Sindbad
* The City of Brass
         --> This title seems familiar but I could not say for sure if I recognized it from other translations
* The Woman and her 5 suitors
* The Ifrit's "beloved"
* Judar and his brothers


((The comments on recommendations are copied from the first volume.))

Would I recommend this book? i would but it would certainly depend on the individual

Who Would I recommend it to?

Anyone who is interested in stories from the middle east, who are interested in collecting "fairy-tales" or similar tales that include a mix of history and supernatural would probably like to check this version of the Nights out.  Anyone intersted in the fiction and legends of the period in the Islamic world might find this interesting and people who are familiar with the crusades and what was going on in relation to that might also find interest in these stories as they give a different perspective that may be found in history books.

Who Would I not recommend this to?

I would not recommend this to children at all. Like the original fairy tales, these stories have their share of violence and racism as well as sex at other material not really meant for children to read. Anyone who is idiologically sensitive would not like this either I imagine. One has to take it at face value, keep in mind that it is a series of stories from around the 10th Century AD or before and that, like fairy tales, they aren't typically factual.

Stranger at the Wedding

Title: Stranger at the Wedding
Author: Barbara Hambly
Published: 1994
Genre: fiction - fantasy

started: Feb.15/12
finished: Feb.29/12

Hmm...this book is difficult to comment on mainly becuase it is fairly typical of fantasy of it's time or so it seems when I read books from this period. It was not a bad story and was a mystery set in a fantasy world for the mots part, but the style of writing didn't do much for me. There was to a degree a sense that being a fantasy realm it could be a little more loose about it's approach. The story wasn't bad and I may have enjoyed it more had I known more about the world it was set in.

I did feel, as I was reading, that she put a little too much emphasis on appearance than was really necessary. The eyes in particular seemed to be a key focus though there was rarely anything that was really of any true importance to the story itself.

The plot itself I enjoyed. I think the story could have been executed better and I may have thought of rereading this story were that the case. Unfortunately it's not something I would pick up again though I may read more of this author's works in the future though before I make a final decision about how I feel about her writing style.



Would I recommend it?
Maybe. Perhaps as an intro into traditional fantasy novels since it is fairly easy to read.

Who I would recommend it to.
Readers who are making their first forays into fantasy. It is easy to read and approachable. The world itself is interesting and complex though it is not fully explored in this particular story and it definitely is the sort of novel that can draw a new reader into the world the author as created (much like Mercedes Lackey) Fans of mystery might also enjoy this.

Who i would not recommend it to.
Those who are looking for a more complex and involved story. Fans of Jordan or Martin may find this story too short and lacking in detail though that is not likely the fault of the author so much as the length of the story itself.

Insomnia

Title: Insomnia
Author: Stephen King
Published:1994
Genre: fiction - horror/supernatural

started: Jan.15/12
Finished: Feb.15/12

I really liked this book. It took a while to get started and into the supernatural stuff but the story itself was interesting and different. I am often a fan of King's way of looking at the world and at mythology from a different angle. He drew the Greek Fates into this story and this world and played also with the idea of auras and different levels of awareness and reality. I wish I could say more about the premise of the story without spoiling it but it is written in such a way that even the title hints a bit at what is going on. Fans of King would enjoy this though and fans of the supernatural and even more so the unusual would enjoy this. This goes back to a time when the supernatural was still new and King at this time was the master of it.


Would I recommend this book?
Yes

Who would I recommend it to?
Almost anyone. But it is not a story for any who are looking for a simple romance or sweet simple story. King rarely offers this and there is always a thread of darkness in his stories.Those who love a new twist on an old idea and a different take on both Mythology and the supernatural will likely enjoy this.

Who would I not recommend it to?
Not children, of course. Anyone who prefers happy upbeat stories, or stories that do not involve violence or too much darkness wouldn't like this. King does direct his writing toward a specific audience.

((Since it has been a good while since I originally read this any questions are welcome since I could not go into satisfactory detail about this book))

genereal update

I doubt there are many people following this and I will probably delete this later but i would rather post this separately than part of one of my other posts.

I am behind on keeping up with this blog but not in my reading. i have read a good many books since I last posted an in the next while I'm going to try to post my thoughts on what I have read only because I'd like for anyone who is interested to find out what my thoughts may be. Hopefully it won't take me too long to get caught up but we will see.

Raven

A Storm of Swords

 Title: A Storm of Swords
Author: George R. R. Martin
Published: 2000
Genre: fiction - fantasy

started: Nov.15/11
finished: Jan. 14/11

Previous books in the series:
A Game of Thrones
A Clash of Kings

Wow, this took me much longer to read than it usually does but then it is the longest so far of the series. As with the previous books I enjoyed it immensely and found it well written. The war continues and plots are still spun in all corners. Daenerys still travels the lands beyond the desert while dreaming of returnign to Westeros and reclaiming the throne while the noble houses in Westeros play their games and plot for the future and follow their king of choice. The story is complex and well written while not being high fantasy. In fact I personally find it to be, in many ways, almost an alternate version of Europe in some ways.

When Martin starts the next book he changes the points of view or brings in new points of view.
In this book:

for House Lannaster              For House Stark             Others
Jaime (new)                          Catelyn                           Davos Slynt
Tyrion                                   Arya                               Daenerys Targaryn
                                            Sansa                              Samwell Tarly
                                            Jon
                                            Bran

As I mentioned before in posts about previous books, one thing Martin is very good at is making characters real and someone the reader might care about but at the same time is not afraid to kill these same characters if the story calls for it and even if chapters are told from their point of view. Another thing I've noticed is that he doesn't kill of characters from whom points of view are told behind the scenes. He has enough respect for his characters to give them a proper death scene even if it may not be clear if they are dead for certain or not and so one can be somewhat certain if rumours of death are flying about among other characters that the "dead" character is likely still alive.

Most of what I think of his writing style has been discussed in earlier entries about previous books. I am looking forward to the next book. Many people died in this one and I suspect even more will die in the next. I am hoping to see more points of view from the Lannisters. Since they are cast as the villains in many ways I would like to see more of their motivations.

What I liked best about this particular book is that I was interested in most of the characters and what they were going through. In previous books I cared less about some of the characters than others...and sometimes not at all and hated having to read through he chapters told from the PoVs of some characters to get to others that I was more interested in reading. For the most part in this book the characters locations were so far from each other and their experiences so different that I was interested to find out what woudl happen next to each of them.

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Dead Kings                                         Kingly characters Dead
Viserys Targaryen                                Ned Stark
Robert Baratheon                                 Khal Drogo
Renly Baratheon                                  Jeor Mormont
Balon Greyjoy
Robb Stark
Joffry Bratheon/Lannister

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Would I recommend this book? Absolutely yes

Who would I recommend this book to?

(( Please read previous entries for further detail)) Anyone who likes fantasy is likely to enjoy this book however it focuses more on war and intrigue and less on magic. It is not a sword and sorcery type story and so if one is a fan of that particular type of fantasy they may  be disappointed but since it is so complex and the characters are so well written I think it is high up there on the list of books fantasy buffs should pick up.

Who would I not recommend this book to?

((Please read previous entries for further detail)) Those who are just starting to develop an interest in fantasy may find this series complex and a bit of a commitment. Not so much of the Wheel of Time but certainly a complex series. This book is over 1000 pages like the book before it and so it may be a bit much for some who are just getting interested in fantasy. There are aspects also that may be offensive to some people. It is not fluff, it is far from fluff and has sex and violence that occur often in the story. Those offended by these things may want to steer clear. It is not pointless sex and violence that occurs in some stories though but it can get graphic at times. I will always maintain though that this series is worth picking up and reading.


Next book in the series:
A Feast for Crows

Mushishi v.4-7

Title: Mushishi v.4-7
Author: Yuki Urushibara
Published: 2003-04
Genre: fiction - supernatural manga

started: Nov.13/11
finished: Nov. 14/11


I really like this particular Manga series. I generally gravitate toward supernatual and fantasy themed manga anyway but this particular series has a facinating take on the supernatural. In this series the supernatural creatures known as "mushi" are almost like a form of insect but cause strange things to happen to people and in the natural world by acting on it and it is this take that I am facinated by and that makes the series interesting for me.

An interesting thing I've noticed about this manga series is that there doesn't seem to be an overarching story line as seen in most Manga. Beyond the travelling Mushishi, Ginko, each story seems to stand alone like a short story in manga form. It's different from other manga I've read due to that. Beyond that, there is nothing specific that I can point to that I like best about this series. Everything about it attracts me and I think I'll have to leave it at that.


Would I recommend this series? Absolutely.

Who would I recommend this series to?

Pretty much anyone. It isn't really overly violent most of the time or really very scarey. the series is listed as 16+ (Older Teen) which is something to take into account and which I would always consider before giving to anyone but anyone who enjoys more fantasy or supernatural based stories would probably enjoy this manga series.

Who would I not recommend this to?

Probably younger children and teens only because of the audience rating but other than that I would tell anyone about it and suggest they take a look at leave it up to them to decide if they are interested or not.

The Arabian Nights - Tales of 1001 Nights v.1

Title: The Arabian Nights v.1 - Nights 1 - 294
Author: Malcolm C. Lyons (trans)
Published: 2008 (current ed)
Genre: fiction - Classic Lore

started: Sept.7/11
finished: Nov. 13/11

Initial Thoughts
I have been trying to get my hands on a complete set of the 1001 Nights. This may be the first set of volumes (3 in total) that include all the stories rather than just some of them, typically the best known. Like finding a copy of the complete original Grimms' Fairy Tales I am looking forward to reading these. The question is how much I will enjoy them. I have read other volumes in which the translation was tedious and not very exciting. This is a penguin edition which I tend to find is the best publisher of the classics so I have high hopes. Let's hope they wont' be crushed. ;)

((327 pages in, Night 50))
So far I find this translation of the stories to be more complete than an earlier smaller compilation of the Nights also by Penguin and to be far easier to read than one of the early translations (by Richard Burton) which I have also read and found more difficult to make my way through especially considering that it didnt' have breaks in the stories themselves while this collection is broken up into the actual Nights so that they act like chapters in a way. I find this a much easier way to read the stories and the like so that if I need to put the book down I dont' have to try and find an appropriate place to stop.

((Final thoughts))
It took me longer to read this than I would have liked (or would have thought). It was a bit of a challenge, not really a slog but the text was denser than I was expecting. Some of the stories are quite long and complicated and many are written a bit more like a history rather than the more supernatural/fairy-tale type tales that are better known.

The one thing that stood out was that in some stories, one in particular, that really showed the extreme prejudice that was directed toward the Christian world when the stories were written. I will not go into any detail but for me it was startling just some of the claims that were made though I'm sure if one were to look at Christian texts from the same time one would find that there is similar venom directed toward the Muslims of that time. I was expecting the Nights to be in a similar realm to the Grimm's Fairy tales (which are not free of extreme violence and racism either).

Many of the stories are pretty good though there are some that were quite long and were a bit of a slog to get through. At the same time many of the stories show an interesting perspective on what was going on at the time these stories were recorded and what was going on at the time.

There were only a few stories that I recognized in this volume and maybe only one or two that others would recognize were they not very familiar with the Nights. The stories I recognize are listed below.


List of common or well known stories found in this volume:
* The Fisherman and the Ifrit
* The Porter and the 3 ladies
   * 1st Dervish
   * 2nd Dervish                                          -- I've found this set of stories in all versions of the Nights I've
   * 3rd Dervish                                              looked at even if it isn't as well known as Aladdin or Alibaba
   * Story of the Lady of the House
   * Story of the doorkeeper
* Nur al-Din and Shams al-Din                   -- see above comment on Porter stories
* King Shariman & his son, Qamar al-Zaman

    --> or "The Ifrits' Beauty Contest"          -- Like the above stories, I've seen this in more than one version

                                                                    of the Nights as well as references in one or two 

                                                                    novels I've read...in one of these novels the second title is what

                                                                    is given.

* Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves

Would I recommend this book? i would but it would certainly depend on the individual

Who Would I recommend it to?

Anyone who is interested in stories from the middle east, who are interested in collecting "fairy-tales" or similar tales that include a mix of history and supernatural would probably like to check this version of the Nights out.  Anyone intersted in the fiction and legends of the period in the Islamic world might find this interesting and people who are familiar with the crusades and what was going on in relation to that might also find interest in these stories as they give a different perspective that may be found in history books.

Who Would I not recommend this to?

I would not recommend this to children at all. Like the original fairy tales, these stories have their share of violence and racism as well as sex at other material not really meant for children to read. Anyone who is idiologically sensitive would not like this either I imagine. One has to take it at face value, keep in mind that it is a series of stories from around the 10th Century AD or before and that, like fairy tales, they aren't typically factual.