Alistair Reynolds books are brilliant indeed. Revelation Space was my first from him & got me hooked. Read all except for his latest two, but will get them asap.

The only book I didn`t rate by him was Terminal World. The story just seemed so slow & didn`t quite mesh, but it finally got interesting around the last few pages, so hopefully that`ll get a sequel.

As for everything else by him, grab it asap ;)

(missed my chance to meet him in Cardiff once :$ )

Fishbaits, thanks for the input. Going to have to check out what Reynolds books I have stashed away. :)

Anyway, I guess I should update my meagre reading list for the year:

The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian - Robert E. Howard.
Chariots of the Gods - Erich von Daniken.
The Ancient Alien Question - Philip Coppens.

Full list Here

I don't try to remember every book. It's more about the journey for myself, the feeling while reading the book, less about remembering the details. I read 50-60 books a year, there is no way I would be able to remember all of them. I remember how I felt reading them, I remember the characters and only really good books stay with me for the long run.

For example I still remember very well reading "Roadside Picnic". The brilliance of the revelation that maybe we're not as important or as evolved as we like to think. That was the premise of the book and it was done in an incredibly good way.

The final page of "I am Legend" will remain etched in my memory probably for the rest of my life.

I remember how humanity in "The Songs of Distant Earth" scientifically proved that God doesn't exist. I think this is how true SF is written.


Anyway, back to what I've finished reading lately:
Kill City Blues and The Getaway God by Richard Kadrey. Those are the last books in the Sandman Slim series (another book is on the way). I liked both of them, they are basically in line with the rest of the series, I only have a problem with Kill City Blues that it's mostly useless. It's a book mostly about the overall story and yet very little is resolved about it. And in fact some of it is actually ignored in the following book, like the fact Stark has to give up his black blade during Kill City Blues. The Getaway God on the other hand was a pretty satisfying end to the Angra Om Ya story line if somewhat anti-climactic. And while a new book is setup at the end, the book itself ties most of it's loose ends.

After this I started with the Transitions series by R.A. Salvatore. I finished the first 2 books of the series, The Orc King and The Pirate King. The books are trying to finish up all character/location (including the ones from The Cleric Quintet in Book 3) stories before moving the Drizzt saga a century in the future. One thing that bothers me is that "The Orc King"'s Prelude starts in the future so for the rest of the books you have a good idea of what's coming. Another thing that bothers me is that it feels forced. It's a race against time that everything is neatly tied over before the spellplague messes everything. And it's not, not in a satisfying manner as far as I'm concerned. And finally I think after reading more than 20 books by R.A. Salvatore in this D&D universe I'm starting to realize, to the point of annoyance, how boring 100% goodly aligned characters are. I'd take Jarlaxe over most of the other characters.

I liked it, now sloowly reading the sequel :)

Before this one, I only read two novellas (in one volume) by the same author - Diamond Dogs and Turquoise Days, which I really enjoyed as well. And now reading Redemption Ark (Revelation Space sequel) made me realize I'd also read at least one short story by him many years previously, since the book references the events in that story.

I meant how do you keep track of the story

Reading is a skill: the more you practice it, the better you get at it; simple as that. Practice makes perfect and all that.

Just keep reading at your own pace, and that pace will naturaly speed up eventually.

After about 20 characters I can't keep track of who is who without making charts
Should I start with easier books?

If it's keeping track of characters you have a problem with, there are books with few of them.

I can recommend The Wasteland Saga by Nick Cole, especially the first book The Old Man and the Wasteland. For the most part there's really just one character to keep track of (in the first book). This recommendation if valid mostly if you like post-apocalyptic stories, but I find that many gamers like them.

Another post-apocalyptic book (with vampires) is one I already mentioned in my previous post, I am Legend. Again just one main character to keep track of for the most part with a couple of side ones on the way.

Post-apocalyptic books tend to have fewer characters cause you know... apocalypse... :P

For SF there is Tales of Pirx the Pilot by Stanislav Lem. Again, just one character to keep track of for the most part during a series of short stories. A good book about the extraordinary tales of an average pilot. Heh.

I'm sure there are plenty more, but that's just a few I remember right now.

#6 The Devil's Tide (Book 2 of the Devil’s Fire series) by Matt Tomerlin

Just finished The Magician's Land by Lev Grossman today. It was a fantastic ending to an excellent series, one well worth a read for anyone into magical dark fantasy (I guess one could also call it "urban fantasy", sort of). I would go so far as to say it might be the best in the trilogy.

#7 The Time of Contempt by Andrzej Sapkowski

#1 A Song of Ice and Fire: A Game of Thrones - George R.R Martin
#2 The Last Wish - Andrzej Sapkowski
#3 A Song of Ice and Fire: A Clash of Kings - George R.R Martin
#4 A Song of Ice and Fire: A Storm of Swords - George R.R Martin

A Song of Ice and Fire: A Dance with Dragons - George R.R Martin

Ugh, now the six year wait for the next book in the series

Adding a few more to the list:

The Ghost King (Transitions Book III) by R.A. Salvatore - didn't like
Gauntlgrym: Neverwinter Saga, Book I by R.A. Salvatore - was ok
Neverwinter: Neverwinter Saga, Book II by R.A. Salvatore - kinda liked

Blade Song by J.C. Daniels
Night Blade by J.C. Daniels
Broken Blade by J.C. Daniels

These last three are urban fantasy. Decent, not great. Ending of the second is rubbish. The third is decent if you ignore that the premise is the end of the second, hence rubbish.

Now I'm going through the 3rd of the Neverwinter Saga, with plans to finish the 4th after.

Promise of Blood and Crimson Campaign by Brian McClellan

Sort of tropey characters that are in an interesting setting. Would recommend just for the magic system used.

America The Book by The Daily Show

Just like reading an episode from the show. Defiantly has not aged well. Came out in 2004 and was more relevant.