What are you reading?

Aubrielle said:

What kind of sci-fi do you like, BN? I've delved a bit into some newer sci-fi recently in an attempt to help with my partner's sci fi epic I'm helping her write, and I've happened on some good stuff…



Ugh. I remember slogging through to book 4 of WoT, and I dropped it in frustration and complete boredom. I'd heard that's where it starts to pick up, but I couldn't take any more. I think Eddings is far more my speed.

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I love David Eddings. The Belgariad is just a perfect series for my taste. You've got the ultimately powerful sorcerer in a farm boy who is just tagging along with his great aunt and grandfather. I love all the interactions between Aunt Pol, Silk, Wolf, Durnik, etc. They all take turns at making Belgarion into the person he's destined to be. I read this series every couple of years and I'm due.

Thanks for the reminder. I like the followup series too, but the Belgariad is king

I read hundreds of books every year, but they're mostly the free stuff from Amazon or Smashwords. I read so much that I would be writing reviews every other day, so I haven't really bothered. If someone wants a paragraph on each of these, I could do it but I was afraid of "hogging" the thread. Maybe I could just write about the ones that are actually decent, or create a thread called self-published books.....

crpgnut said:

I love David Eddings. The Belgariad is just a perfect series for my taste.

Thanks for the reminder. I like the followup series too, but the Belgariad is king

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Very much. And his authorship and pacing are first rate. He keeps things going and his language is natural. Belgariad is a masterpiece, though I have to say I absolutely love Belgarath the Sorcerer as a standalone novel. I think Eddings' authorship might have reached its peak there. I simply can't get sick of that book. His wit is absolutely razor sharp, and he keeps me laughing all the way through. xD

I remember eagerly waiting for each book of the Belgariad, wanting to know so very much how it would all turn out. That series and Donaldson's Covenant books are just tops with me, another one I had to wait for on each book. Thank goodness neither wrote at the George Martin pace! Hmmm that was yet another couple of series that I was waiting on each book, both his latest series and the Wild Card novels, although those he more edited than wrote, if I remember right.

Reading is good and fun!

crpgnut said:

I read hundreds of books every year, but they're mostly the free stuff from Amazon or Smashwords. I read so much that I would be writing reviews every other day, so I haven't really bothered. If someone wants a paragraph on each of these, I could do it but I was afraid of "hogging" the thread. Maybe I could just write about the ones that are actually decent, or create a thread called self-published books…..

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Hog the thread. There's been quite a few great books I've read because of this thread that I may of never heard of otherwise.

Toff said:

Hog the thread. There's been quite a few great books I've read because of this thread that I may of never heard of otherwise.

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Indeed.

crpgnut: If you could include ratings like "rad" or "rubbish", knock yourself out. Although I never understood how people can finish books that aren't at least decent.

crpgnut said:

I love David Eddings. The Belgariad is just a perfect series for my taste. You've got the ultimately powerful sorcerer in a farm boy who is just tagging along with his great aunt and grandfather.

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Liked Belgariad but when it comes to heroic fantasy Rothfuss is my king.

I am more into darker fantasy like First law, Game of thrones, Demon cycle and Mistborn(Ok this one isn't arguably that dark), despite it I consider Rothfuss's Kingkiller chronicle my favorite fantasy series.

Also I agree with Arhu and Toff I would love to find out about new books especially obscure ones I wouldn't have find out otherwise.

Nameless one said:

I am more into darker fantasy…

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Nameless, if you like darker fantasy, like Game of Thrones and Rothfuss, you must try Shadowmarch from Tad Williams. It's actually a trilogy, though I can't recall its name right at the moment. It's very dark…Williams is excellent at creating a growing, palpable sense of ominous dread, and the interplay between characters (and the political intrigue) reminds me a lot of Game of Thrones.

I recommend it to anyone that likes GRRM.

Aubrielle said:

Nameless, if you like darker fantasy, like Game of Thrones and Rothfuss, you must try Shadowmarch from Tad Williams. It's actually a trilogy, though I can't recall its name right at the moment. It's very dark…Williams is excellent at creating a growing, palpable sense of ominous dread, and the interplay between characters (and the political intrigue) reminds me a lot of Game of Thrones.

I recommend it to anyone that likes GRRM.

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What do you guys mean here by "dark fantasy" please? I have only read The Kingkiller Chronicles by Rothfuss but I certainly don't consider it to be dark. Nothing really bad happens to people on screen. I have read some fantasy where they have gone full blown torture etc.

Aubrielle said:

Nameless, if you like darker fantasy, like Game of Thrones and Rothfuss, you must try Shadowmarch from Tad Williams. It's actually a trilogy, though I can't recall its name right at the moment. It's very dark…Williams is excellent at creating a growing, palpable sense of ominous dread, and the interplay between characters (and the political intrigue) reminds me a lot of Game of Thrones.

I recommend it to anyone that likes GRRM.

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Thanks.Added to my ever growing "to read" list

lostforever said:

What do you guys mean here by "dark fantasy" please? I have only read The Kingkiller Chronicles by Rothfuss but I certainly don't consider it to be dark. Nothing really bad happens to people on screen. I have read some fantasy where they have gone full blown torture etc.

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It's not dark.I said it's my favorite DESPITE the fact that I prefer dark fantasy.

As I said in response to 'nut it's heroic fantasy, at least I consider it.

I've just started reading the Upright Man, which is a sequel to the Straw Men. So far I'd say it isn't quite as good as the first, but intriguing enough that I'm wondering what will happen next.

Okay, I'm going back through the couple hundred self-published books that I have and will give mini-reviews here. First up a series called Tales of the Triad. This is a book with an interesting premise: There is a cosmic event that basically wipes Earth of its 7 billion population. The remnants don't think it was a war, more like a Big Bang. Everyone who remains alive on Earth has been changed. They might have been old, but are now young. Handicapped but now whole, etc. Everything that was made of non-natural materials has been turned to goo. The first book deals with the various characters learning to live off the land again and finding other survivors. Memory tells me the first book is average at best but that the author improves in subsequent books. The first book is called The Event and is free at Amazon and Smashwords.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Event-Tales-Triad-Book-ebook/dp/B0083CMJ74

Just a follow up, I've read further in this book and this is a pretty good tale. Think Fallout 3 just after the world is destroyed meets Mistborn and you have an idea. The first 50 pages is hard to follow, but once it focuses on John, the book goes from a 3 or 4 to a 7-ish. I'd love to get a 2nd opinion.

Okay, I've read books two and three in the Tales of the Triad series. Read my previous bit to learn about the first book, if interested. Book 2 is the tale of what happens when our group of survivors; who have been changed into Wizards, Elves, Dwarves, Humans, and Goblins by the Event, start facing other survivors and the conflicts that arise. There is quite a bit of fighting in this book. This is mostly a YA series, so while you'll read of torture and such it is not gruesome. The heroes face conflict, but the main characters generally live on.

Book 3 is the story of how the Triad, now considered a Kingdom, starts sending its members into the world in an attempt to create Guilds to improve the lives of the populace of the world. Triad is aware that humanity is still in a fragile state and so they're trying to get enough people to survive long enough that the population is sustainable. This book starts to focus on a few members of the Triad rather than the Kingdom as a whole. The series veers away from Empire building and instead focuses on the few. Think of L.E. Modesitt's Recluce series and you'll be in the right mode. It'll focus on herbalists, smiths, and tailors rather than armies.

The series stays at between a 7-8 score for this jaded fantasy reader. Note that I prefer epic fantasy to anything else though, so bias will bump the score a bit.

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/218912

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/219388

http://smile.amazon.com/Dragons-Gob...?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1414255976&sr=1-4

http://smile.amazon.com/Departure-T...?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1414256004&sr=1-5

Brandon Sanderson's first book in the Stormlight Archive, The Way of Kings is now free in the USA if you get it via iTunes or Kindle. Clever move. Get people hooked on the first book and they buy the rest of the series!

As I mentioned earlier, it starts out rough but gets really good once all the pieces are put in place.

Carnifex said:

I read Ambercrombie's latest book, Half a King, over the weekend, and it was really good. I'd say he's toned down the violence in this one say, compared to the First Law series, yet maintained a great story with compelling characters. If you enjoyed his other books, I think you'd like this one. It will be a completely different trilogy compared to the First Law, but I'd say it is off to a great start.

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Thanks for the tip about Ambercrombie, I read and liked his first law series. I didn't realize he had a new book out.

Done with The Stand. It was a relatively slow, if interesting read. Didn't really expect what it turned out to be after the first part. I dig all the culture references, even "Watership Down" was mentioned, which I had started reading before the Dark Tower. I'm still interested in the next books, but for now I need to take break from Mr. King.

Next up is, maybe, 2033 or 1984 or 2312 or 2001. One of those numbers.

I started reading "I am Pilgrim", by Terry Hayes, last night. I'm not often a fan of this style of exposition, where the protagonist has an extensive history that you slowly learn about during the read, but Hayes does this well. I'm not far in as of yet, but so far it is a good read.

Just finished:
- Metagame - Sam Landstrom. There are some excellent parts and some forced, a very dry style which does not always work. Very interesting premise based around everyone gaming.
- Pantomime: Micah Grey book 1 - Laura Lam really nice piece of coming of age fantasy in post- science crash world, classed as YA but very adult as well

The "Golem and the Jinni"
Wasn't expecting much but so far I am pleasantly surprised.

wolfing said:

If you haven't already, get yourself Otherland series by Tad Williams. Best reading I've had in like 10 years or more.

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Arhu said:

I heard about that and it is on my reading list somewhere, among some 100 other books. Can you give more info on it, like what you enjoyed so much?

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Hmm… wow, sorry for the very late response.
Otherland became like one of my top 2 book series (after Lord of the Rings).

The great thing about Otherland to me was that it is about virtual reality, and with the Oculus Rift getting so much attention, it is now even more relevant than when I read it. It's about a future in which virtual reality is everywhere. The story is about different people needing to do or find something in the 'cyberspace' and finding common goals, helping each other out (I hate spoilers so I'm being vague on purpose).

The thing I loved the most is that, since it's virtual reality, every few chapters the protagonists would enter different virtual worlds (from fantasy to out-of-space to just plain weird), each world with different inhabitants, environment and even physical rules, so it always felt fresh.

My only complaint is that it's a tetralogy that should have been a trilogy (the last two books should have been condensed in one), but I loved the characters and the story so much that it didn't detract too much from my enjoyment. Totally recommended.