Reading Recommendation: The Noble Dead Series, by Barb and J.C. Hendee at Brenda Cooper

Reading Recommendation: The Noble Dead Series, by Barb and J.C. Hendee

May 11th 2008 at 5:32 am

To be honest, I’m getting tired of recommending vampire books. I had this series for a while, meaning to read it, because I’d heard it spoken highly of and I know people who are friends of Barb and J.C.’s. Then I met them at the Rainforest Writer’s Retreat, run by our mutual friend, Patrick Swenson. I like them. So I picked up the first book, DAMPHIR. I proceeded to read the first four in series (six books, I think), and the only reason I’ve stopped is because I have to read something else I have a deadline for relating to my writer’s reading group that’s studying bestsellers. At least I get to go off and read something I like (George R.R. Martin). But I already have the next book in the series, and it is burning a hole in my shelf.

Given that my love for these books isn’t the vampire bit (I really am tired of vampires), I had to sit back and think about the attraction in the books, which are page-turners, and series-turners. I burned right through from book to book - put one down, pick up the next. So, it’s not the vampires. It’s not the line by line writing, which is good, but largely an invisible style, so I wouldn’t be reading the book for the sentences (like a Neil Stephenson). The main characters, Leesil, Magiere, Chap, and Wynn, are all larger than life and they all have depth and back-story. There villainy is multi-layered. The information feed is good. The world is detailed. And that combination makes the books a real escape - I go there in the way I fell into books and stories as a kid.

Filed in Reading Recommendations. You can subscribe to the RSS feed for this entry to keep track of comments. You can also use this URL to trackback.

One Response so far

1. sam on Jul 15th, 2008 at 8:57 am

I’d have to say Damphir is the first thing to catch my interest so much since Anthoney’s Xanth books when I was about 12.

I bought the first one on a whim after thuming through it in a bookstore. A week later I bought the second… as I didn’t have money for the third I went back and read both again…all in about 2 weeks. I finally gave in and bought the third on saturday night, and was horribly dissapointed that it was done by monday morning and I had to go to work on about an hour sleep.

I think I like that the heros are not really heros. There is a lot about redemption, and the small reasons we make choices, its all in the details.

I love the detail in the wrighting, and the blur between right and wrong.

On the other hand my partner read half of the first chapter of Damphir and refused to go any farther because the main charactor wasn’t nice.
oh well.

Books

Reading the Wind by Brenda Cooper

"Brenda Cooper's newest novel is a feast of character and concept. She depicts the devastation of war on microcosmic and macrocosmic levels, and even more so, the driving motives of young men and women caught in deadly conflict. Cooper is a master explorer of the interaction of society and individuals. She probes the psychology of her genetically enhanced characters with both rare depth and fidelity to scientific plausibility. Moral conundrums drive the plot in this unforgettable narrative. Don't miss this compelling work by a major new talent." - Mary A. Turzillo, An Old-Fashioned Martian Girl.

"Brenda Cooper tells a tale of a powerful brother and sister in a fight for their lives, offering insights along the way into the nature of courage and the hunger for community that burns in every human being. This is a lively book, full of colorful images and a memorable cast of human and animal characters, a worthy successor to The Silver Ship and the Sea." - Louise Marley

Available in July, 2008, from Tor Books.

The Silver Ship and the Sea by Brenda Cooper

"The first solo novel by Larry Niven's Building Harlequin's Moon (2005) coauthor portrays the thoroughly convincing human colonial society on Fremont, a dangerous planet rife with vicious predators, frequent earthquakes, and falling meteors....Distinctive characterizations, well-limned interrelationships, and the vividly realized Fremont contribute to an exciting coming-of-age story with a strong message about the evils of prejudice." - Sally Estes, Copyright American Library Association.

Mass Market Paperback, July 2008.
Included by Booklist as a "Best Adult Book for Young Adults."

Building Harlequin's Moon by Brenda Cooper and Larry Niven

"Fans of both hard and softer, psychological SF will welcome veteran Niven and newcome Cooper's well-written tale of a 60,000 year layover in space, in which physical challenges of world building are matched by the social challenges of collaboration among disparate groups." - Publisher's Weekly

About

I am a writer, public speaker, and a futurist. I'm interested in how new technologies might change us and our world, particularly for the better, and in global warming. Learn more.

Speaking

I can be booked for keynote speeches on the future. I'm a generalist, with wide interests, and tailor my talks to the topics audiences are most curious about. Talking about the future is one of the most important conversations we can have. I can also talk about writing and publishing books and stories. Learn more.

Most Recent Posts

RSS Feed.