@Shagnak @JFarrell71 do either of you recommend another Brandon Sanderson novel/series as a starter over “The Way of Kings”?
I’d like to try out something of his this year.
I’d like to try out something of his this year.
What are you reading?
- Thread starter Cormac
- Start date
I'd recommend either:
- The Final Empire - first of the Mistborn trilogy and half the size of The Way of Kings. It's a good place to start, because if you like it, there's some associated series.
- Warbreaker - a standalone fantasy with a completely different magic system based on colours n stuff.
Or you could try a novella, so you don't have to commit to something large to see if you like his writing.
For that I'd recommend The Emperor's Soul. It's set in the same world as Elantris (his first novel), but you don't need to have read that (I haven't). It's better written than anything else of his I've read, but also doesn't really have any action.
Another novella that a lot of people like is Legion, a science fiction story about a dude with multiple personalities living in his head who investigates what seems to be a time travel mystery. I didn't think it was very good. I've read a lot better stuff with similar themes by established SF authors. But as I say, a lot of people seem to like this one.
EDIT: Arcanum Unbounded (sic) has a bunch of shorter works in it, including The Emperor's Soul that I mention above.
Carnifex
SasqWatch
Another Sanderson series that might be worth your time checking out is Mistborn. Again, his style of writing seems aimed at a far younger audience than I'm often comfortable with, yet I enjoyed Mistborn more than some of his other offerings.
blatantninja
Resident Redneck Facist
I started this a few weeks ago on audio book. He's an amazing writer but the books are LONG. I think it was close to 50 hours and it wasn't until about hour 45 that I started to figure out what was going on. The rest is all world and character building. It's well done, but a slog. I started the second book last week, it moves a lot faster so far.
blatantninja
Resident Redneck Facist
Mistborn ultimate was really good, but it took me a while to get into it. Those first dozen chapters or so just didn't hit with me at all.
Carnifex
SasqWatch
I wrapped up the Atlas Complex yesterday, I'd call it the weakest book of the series and a saga that really didn't grab me all the way or time. I get what the author was trying to convey yet for me much of the story and backround of characters was too abstract, to the point it was difficult to fathom motivations and such. The author does write well though and I might check out some of her other offerings.
Now I'm back to David Spenser, Susan, Hawk and the rest of the gang in book twenty-three, Chance. Looks like the trio are bound for Las Vegas to try and locate a degenerate gambler!
Now I'm back to David Spenser, Susan, Hawk and the rest of the gang in book twenty-three, Chance. Looks like the trio are bound for Las Vegas to try and locate a degenerate gambler!
Carnifex
SasqWatch
I just finished with Chance, and it was good. This starts off looking like one thing and before ya know it, like three organized crime organizations are involved. It does wrap up yet I'm thinking there could be plenty of fallout coming. With that in mind, I'll be starting book twenty-four, Small Vices, later this evening.
Lord Foul's Bane, Volume 1 of Thomas Covenant the Rapist Unbeliever.
I last read this when I was 14, 38 years ago. I got gifted some of the books from the more recent Thomas Covenant series, so I've decided I'm going to do a re-read of them all. Not all at once - I'll alternate between them and other stuff.
Stephen Donaldson is like the antithesis of Sanderson's vanilla style, what with his dropping in of the occasional 50c word that you're not quite sure fits, but you might have to reach for the dictionary to find out for sure.
The result is prose that is slightly ugly, but boy is it evocative.
There's always that risk that something you read so long ago has been struck by the suck-fairy, but I'm enjoying this a lot, barring some minor hitches (e.g., Lord Foul's melodramatic monologue, fairly early on in the book, makes me cringe a bit). Looking forward to the rest of it.
I last read this when I was 14, 38 years ago. I got gifted some of the books from the more recent Thomas Covenant series, so I've decided I'm going to do a re-read of them all. Not all at once - I'll alternate between them and other stuff.
Stephen Donaldson is like the antithesis of Sanderson's vanilla style, what with his dropping in of the occasional 50c word that you're not quite sure fits, but you might have to reach for the dictionary to find out for sure.
The result is prose that is slightly ugly, but boy is it evocative.
There's always that risk that something you read so long ago has been struck by the suck-fairy, but I'm enjoying this a lot, barring some minor hitches (e.g., Lord Foul's melodramatic monologue, fairly early on in the book, makes me cringe a bit). Looking forward to the rest of it.
Love that series. "The Land" was very memorable to me. I also love how different it is between the first and second trilogies. I haven't read that last 4-book series he did. I wish I had more time for reading.
Carnifex
SasqWatch
I read that Donaldson trilogy when only the first two books were out and the wait for the third felt like forever! It ranks in my top ten series of all time, I only wish the follow-up volumes lived up to the first six. I've read the entire series over and over, even the ones that aren't faves. Personally, Illearth War is tops!
Carnifex
SasqWatch
I just completed Small Vices and the story starts off one on issue then takes a few swerves that sees Spenser suffer injuries that keep him in hospital for almost month and ten more months to recover from. I don't believe I've ever read him being so wrecked before, and his resolution to dealing with someone that might be his superior is classic Spenser at his best.
And later tonight I'll be stepping back into the Pickett 'verse with the Disappeared.
And later tonight I'll be stepping back into the Pickett 'verse with the Disappeared.
I finished the 3 books of the Wool series written by Hugh Howey: Wool, Shift, and Dust, which inspired the Silo TV series (note that the first season is very, very different from the book).
It's now one of my preferred series. I like the author's style, which is comfortably descriptive and always very compelling: the trilogy counts 1576 pages, and I've never been bored. The story is told from the perspective of several protagonists discovering parts of the plot independently, layer by layer, while trying to survive in a world they barely understand at the beginning. The story is very well written, with a good rhythm and a good balance, and it gives occasional character's thoughts about several interesting themes without ever overdoing it (power, survival, roles in the society, etc.).
I'm impressed with how coherent the whole story is and how well the world is built; it has obviously been carefully and cleverly thought through. It's only revealed one piece at a time, so the reader thinks they might have a good idea about it, only to realize there's more.
Extra trivia:
It's now one of my preferred series. I like the author's style, which is comfortably descriptive and always very compelling: the trilogy counts 1576 pages, and I've never been bored. The story is told from the perspective of several protagonists discovering parts of the plot independently, layer by layer, while trying to survive in a world they barely understand at the beginning. The story is very well written, with a good rhythm and a good balance, and it gives occasional character's thoughts about several interesting themes without ever overdoing it (power, survival, roles in the society, etc.).
I'm impressed with how coherent the whole story is and how well the world is built; it has obviously been carefully and cleverly thought through. It's only revealed one piece at a time, so the reader thinks they might have a good idea about it, only to realize there's more.
Extra trivia:
- Another of his novels is being adapted as well: Beacon 23, but the reception was pretty bad. The 2nd season should air in April (I haven't watched it).
- In August 2021, Hugh Howey made two tweets alluding to a new book in the series. One of them is a potential spoiler if you haven't read the series, but here's the other. It's been a long time, but who knows? From what I understood, it's related to other people in another silo and not a prequel or sequel. I think the idea is to tell missing parts of the story from the perspective of another silo (I was actually surprised there wasn't more about it in the trilogy).
- He started by self-publishing short novels. He claimed in an old interview that the success of Wool was likely due to publishing it as 5 short novels.
- Another author, Ann Christy, wrote a series in the same universe: Silo 49.
Last edited:
Carnifex
SasqWatch
Indeed, while I didn't care for the Silo telly show I really enjoyed the three books. I know I'll be re-reading them all again.
I've been sticking with the Spenser series as of late, up to book thirty-two now, Cold Service. This week I've no classes so I'm hitting the casual reading hard.
I've been sticking with the Spenser series as of late, up to book thirty-two now, Cold Service. This week I've no classes so I'm hitting the casual reading hard.
Carnifex
SasqWatch
I wrapped up Cold Service this morning, this one started off in a very different place, with Hawk seriously wounded and needing recovery time, similar to what Spenser had to endure several books ago. Then the rest of the novel is spent addressing those that killed his employer and left Hawk for dead. There's also a fair amount of time spent with other frequent cast members.
Next up is the Red Pyramid, book one in a new series for me.
Next up is the Red Pyramid, book one in a new series for me.
Carnifex
SasqWatch
I completed Red Pyramid this morning and even though the lead characters are teens, the story was very good and centered on Egyptian mythos, which is a rich topic and rarely well delved into these days. Sadly my library doesn't have the next book so now I'm back to the Pickett tales with book twenty-two, Shadows Reel. This one picks up very close to the conclusion of the last book which is a nice change because often months or more book-time can pass between tales.
I finished Going Dark, which is the first book of the Silo 49 series written by Ann Christy, in the same fictional world as Hugh Howey's Wool series.
It's the first time I read an expansion to another series by a different author. It felt a little strange at first, like playing a DLC after the original game, but the author made a very good job of inlaying the events in the original story and making it sound homogeneous.
The style is slightly different, but it's barely noticeable and not distracting at all. The story is mostly told from one character's perspective, before switching to another one near the end. It's more descriptive and introspective, and there are still some of the character-centric metaphors Howey's so good at. Maybe the scenario wasn't as impressive, but it's a short novel, so it doesn't mean much. I found one passage rather questionable, but thankfully it was short and without any consequence for the global plot.
There are three more in that series, which had an even better reception than the first, so I think I'll read them all.
It's the first time I read an expansion to another series by a different author. It felt a little strange at first, like playing a DLC after the original game, but the author made a very good job of inlaying the events in the original story and making it sound homogeneous.
The style is slightly different, but it's barely noticeable and not distracting at all. The story is mostly told from one character's perspective, before switching to another one near the end. It's more descriptive and introspective, and there are still some of the character-centric metaphors Howey's so good at. Maybe the scenario wasn't as impressive, but it's a short novel, so it doesn't mean much. I found one passage rather questionable, but thankfully it was short and without any consequence for the global plot.
There are three more in that series, which had an even better reception than the first, so I think I'll read them all.
Carnifex
SasqWatch
I completed Shadows Reel and this was a different outing for Pickett and crew, as you've a centric story to follow and then Nate has an adventure all of his own. It starts off as one thing and then flips into another realm rather quickly and, well, after everything is done Saddlestring might need yet another new sheriff.
Now I'm back to the David Spenser series with Widow's Walk, which is actually out of sequence for me. Going back three books is a bit jarring yet something significant happens in this one and I didn't want to miss that.
Now I'm back to the David Spenser series with Widow's Walk, which is actually out of sequence for me. Going back three books is a bit jarring yet something significant happens in this one and I didn't want to miss that.
A few weeks ago I finished reading the novelette Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata and translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori. Fantastic book that won the Akutagawa Prize. It is a very interesting and hilarious social commentary on Japan’s (and the United States isn’t too different itself) work culture and social norms particularly with respect to single women. I may have scared some of you away with the last sentence and—if that’s the case—think of it this way: it is probably the best story where the main character is akin to Dungeons and Dragon’s concept of the non-core race of Kenku: essentially a race that is incapable of communicating original ideas; they only have incredible mimicry skills and memory, copying the phrases and expressions they’ve already seen and heard. I’ve always thought it’d be awesome to have a dedicated RPG around a Kenku-like character and this book is the closest I’ve seen to it.
Check it out! It’s a really quick read.
Check it out! It’s a really quick read.
Carnifex
SasqWatch
I took a small detour from the David Spenser series and checked out one of Noah Hawley's books, the Good Father. I've read his other novel about a jet crashing and I like his film/telly works, so I figured this book would be of interest. It's quite good, the yarn is about a senator slain by a teenager and the search into why this happened while plumbing into the yesteryears of the shooter and family to mine for information.
When and where do the events in that book take place in relation to Howey's stories?