Since I catch the train to work I read a lot of books. Currently I am reading:
A Man Rides Through - Stephen R. Donaldson, which is the second book of a two book series. It is a fantasy novel where mirrors are used to show landscapes or creatures in other worlds that can be translated through the mirror by people called Imagers.
It's pretty good. My brother insisted I read it. I gave him a book to read in return that he hasn't read (he sucks), which I picked up in an op-shop and is amazing. It's called A Tale of the Wind, by Kay Nolte Smith and is set in 19th century Paris. It can take a little to get into it (which is why I'm annoyed my brother gave up reading it), but once you do it is absolutely amazing. My favourite thing about the book is the author's style - it's very classical and flows so beautifully. I have a hard time reading many modern books because while the story may be good, the actual writing ability is severely lacking. I'm probably going to re-read it soon.
Even with the current book I'm reading (which is fairly well written) it can jar on me. The author seems obsessed with mentioning the smirk or smile on a character's face, which strikes as amateur because it often is not adding anything at all to the scene. Other things I dislike is short explanations of expression. E.g. 'Terisa smiled helplessly.' One sentence alone after the dialogue of another character: it ruins any flow.
If anyone knows any good novels with strong writing, please let me know!
