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Fantasy Books like Game of Thrones are my favourite type of book to read. I thought I would start a thread on them for those that also read. Personally I think the TV show does a great job and I like it more than the books in some ways.
My favourite book has been The Name of the Wind. Book 2 wasn't quite as good. Blood Song, Emperor's Blades were both excellent starts.
My favourite non fantasy was a sci-fi book called Wool. Loved it.
Any interest in this genre or books overall?
I like Penthouse Forum. Does that count? ;)
Not exactly lol
I have recently gotten into more fantasy books.......I loved blood song, and I really enjoyed emperors blades.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rudy
I actually have in the name of the wind but havent read it, I am currently on a david gemmel kick so I am reading alot of his books, which is also in the fantasy genre.
Tower Lord was good IMO but many fans of Blood Song were upset. The book changed to a multiple point of view and Vaelin became just another character. I didn't mind this though. I did find it hard to remember everything in the first book so it was a bit confusing at times. It was a bit disappointing overall since I liked the first book so much. Like many middle books in a sequel more questions are raised than answered.
Fantasy has never been my cup of tea. I want to watch Game of Thrones, and I loved the Lord of the Rings movies, but generally speaking if it involves magic I'm probably not interested. Yet, the King Arthur tales were a major part of my childhood, and I love them.
To that end, Bernard Cornwell did a series called the Warlord Chronicles that mixed the Arthur tales with historical fiction-type writing, and did it very well IMO.
Now, if we started a Sci-fi book thread, I could be talking about that all day.
Game of Thrones has very little magic. Emperor's Blades didn't have a ton either. The Name of the Wind definitely has magic but it's very cool and unique IMO.
As for sci-fi I loved Wool (omnibus). Did you read Red Rising? I've thought about it but don't like the young adult label. Those books lack quality writing too often. Steelheart was good but in the same YA boat.
Dp
I'm not really a fantasy person as I much prefer sci-fi type novels. Basically I have read every single Star Trek Novel ever made. One series that I really like is "The Passage" (book :2 "The Twelve" book 3: tba)) by Robert Cronin. Since watching the first episode of "The Strain" on FX Canada, I am going to read that series next.
I have taken a shot at the Way of Kings. It's a series by Brandon Sanderson that is expected to last 10 books. He's just released the second book and both of his first two are just over 1000 pages. Not sure it's wise to start reading a book set where I might be 60 when it's done but I'll see how I like the first one. I've read over 150 pages and I like it so far. Definitely has strong fantasy elements to it.
I'm very cool if you guys want to make this an overall book thread instead of just fantasy as well (maybe a mod could change it to just Book thread?). I don't think we have enough book readers here that it would get too cluttered if we talked about everything. I haven't read a ton of sports books although I really liked Moneyball (movie very different, based on small subset of book) and Summer of '49 (Yankees vs Red Sox with a good look at the players).
I really, really liked the Way of Kings. Epic and classic fantasy. More traditional where it's not gritty (no swearing or sex) and the good guys ARE good, not grey. Big book but finished it in 2 weeks. Characters, story and the mystery around things had me captivated.
I started tower lord but stopped about half way through, I am currently finishing the book. Most people I have spoken with seem to feel as you do, and even as I felt which is why I stopped reading it intially....lost. I have come to conclusion that we all not having such a hard time remembering, just he didn't really explain some of the other points he was trying to make and then brought them all up in the second book. Every summary I have read of blood song and even a brief re-read on certain parts; alot of things that are being pointed out in the second book weren't even main points in the first book.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rudy
You are going to like words of radiance even more.....I enjoyed the first two books of this series immensely.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rudy
I think when I finsih tower lord though I am going back to my really gritty fantasy, I have quite a few books in the hopper I really want to read.
To rehash an old point.....Every time someone mentions the TV show to me from GOT (SOIAF) I think of this video.....Quote:
Originally Posted by Rudy
http://youtu.be/1CLCOvZOh1o
Have you read Black Company? What grittier books have you read? I haven't read Joe Abercrombie yet.
The black company.......I have read the first 100 or so pages ( I was reading two books at one time) and never went back so I can't say whether its good or not......Quote:
Originally Posted by Rudy
I have read the blade itself ...I thought it was pretty good, I haven't finished the series yet.....
If you want gritty fantasy read the prince of thorns by mark lawerance ( its pretty gritty, like at moments uncomfortably so if you are sensitive) ......I am actually about to speed read it ( I have read it once) and then I am going to finish the series ( yay for a completed series)
I've heard some of the stuff in Mark Lawrence can be brutal (like rape by the main character) so I've shied away. But he's got a couple trilogies out now I think (one completed) that get pretty good reviews.
It's kind of refreshing to read Sanderson and not have any brutalness to it. I read an indie trilogy called Firehurler. That was pretty good. If you watch for sales the first book on Amazon Kindle can be $1. The first book is really good and the last two are good but not as good as the first. It's the twinborn trilogy. The author JS Morin tried another series from this universe but it wasn't good. I quit reading it.
For a standalone book I thought the Lions of Al Rassan was good.
The rape part is probably the worst part, alot of it is brutal killings mostly.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rudy
I might have to check one of those out , but my backlog is pretty crazy at the moment.
I finished the 2nd book of Way of Kings. It was really good as well and similar to book 1 so if you like one you should like the other obviously. I would say I liked book 1 a touch more simply because book two features more of Shallan who is my least favourite character. She's supposed to be witty and clever and yet I found her annoying. She has a much bigger role in book 2 (arguably the biggest) although I found her much more interesting in the second half. Overall the first two books were each over 1000 pages and each had a great ending. Yet this also just set up a whole other impact on this world and much more going on. There are still new characters that haven't been fully fleshed out. I wonder how much of a large story board Brandon Sanderson has for this thing. It must be huge. I'd be very curious over what he adds to his books after his initial layout.
4.5/5
(and now 1-2 years before book 3 in this estimated 10 book set)
I actually finished tower lord some weeks ago......
I thought it was a pretty good book, again not a fan of the ending as with any second book.....I thought he introduced some pretty interesting characters though so all that being said....
4/5
Providence of Fire Review
This is the second book in the Unhewn Throne trilogy (Emperor's Blades the first). The first book introduced us to the three children of the murdered Emperor. I really enjoyed their trials and the search for the mystery behind the murder of the Emperor and others. While Kaden and Valyn were the focus of the first book, Adare gets a fair share in the second and her story line is interesting. Valyn continues where he left off and his path is action packed although Kaden’s story wasn’t quite as enjoyable as the first book imo.
I really feel the author has done a great job with the surrounding cast in this book and the older and newer characters are interesting. While the first book did not involve a lot of mythical or traditional fantasy powers or magic, this does increase in book two. I don’t have a problem with that. I read this book fast and it had me hooked after a slightly slow start. When you are thinking about the characters at night, you know it’s a winner. Still much to learn and figure out.
Overall this has been a great series so far and I can’t wait for the finale next year. (Note that Kindle samples are long so definitely download them if you are interested).
4.5/5
Reading the Powder Mage trilogy now. All 3 are finished and am starting with Promise of Blood. Over halfway through and it's really good. Wasn't sure if I would like guns being involved but there is a cool magic system and a good mystery developing.
If anyone wants to read a good, classic epic fantasy (not gritty) that is cheap I would highly recommend Firehurler. It's a trilogy and the first book is under $3 and sometimes is free. Long Kindle samples too. The first book was the best but the last two books of the trilogy were pretty good. The twist in this is that there are "twinborn" characters. Characters that are linked across other worlds. I found it very interesting. His next trilogy was weak and I quit reading during book 2 but this was a really good read imo.
http://www.amazon.com/Firehurler-Twi...rds=firehurler
Well I finished Promise of Blood. It was good but the last half of the book left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth. I loved the first half. The world, characters and magic are all very interesting. My biggest beef is that the plot twists weren't all that plausible in the second half. Quite often I was thinking - "Really? Does that make sense?" It felt like the author could just write anything down the stretch to make whatever he wanted happen. I know it's fantasy but it's not a Scooby Doo episode. The two main characters Tamas and Taniel also had 9 lives. While I don't think the author needed to go all George Martin on them, the inability of the bad guys to kill them off when they could felt amateurish. It bugged me a bit, especially since I really enjoyed a lot of the book.
I do plan on reading the next one but for now the score would have to be a 3.5 or 4 max out of 5.
Decided to give the Malazan books a chance. 10 book epic series that is described as love it or hate it. Read book one Gardens of the Moon and I'd say it's average. Feels more like a good popcorn fantasy DragonLance book.
A couple complaints:
1) It's high fantasy. Tons of magic, wizards, talking animals, gods interfering with the people, etc. That's old school and I prefer the toned down fantasy aspects of the modern books. Plus it seems there are no limits to some things. A badass just appears and can do whatever he wants. Well what took so long then?
2) It's story driven at the expense of characters. There are a ton of characters but it's a fast paced story that takes the wheel. This leads to some confusion early on as they introduce a lot of characters, fast forward time twice and even include a quick flashback. As you just get comfortable a second wave of characters hits you. You do settle in half way and while some characters are unique and/or cool I never truly cared about any of them. Not like Kaladin in the Way of Kings. I would definitely recommend that series over this. Plus the author builds up the story in certain areas and it feels like it gets finished too quick.
So I didn't love it or hate. I don't think I'm going to read any of the other books at this point. We'll see. 3.5/5
My next book to read may be Grace of Kings (new book). Otherwise I will likely wait until the Queen of Fire (Blood Song Final Book in trilogy). I still may give The Blade Itself another chance. I liked the preview but haven't pulled the trigger on that one.
It's sci-fi rather than Fantasy, but I've been reading The Fear Saga by Stephen Moss lately, and I've really enjoyed it. It may not be the best written series, but the story is enjoyable and right up my alley. The third book is more than double the length of the second, so I'm still grinding through it.
Rudy our books taste are very similar..... Like scary similar or I read too many damn books.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rudy
The malazan books are okay, honestly you should have just skipped the first one it was an average book that is a average read...what he does extremely well is tie everything back together almost irritatingly so. The next book is pretty good but honestly I stopped at book three because I simply wasn't interested in any of the other 7...lol 10 books on one series is an investment I wasn't sure I wanted to make at the time.
I am on the fence about the last blood song book as much as I loved the first one the second one wasn't as good and not really that much valeyn in it. Might hold off for the paperback this time around.
Sent from my SM-N900P using Tapatalk
Yeah, the first Blood song was great. Then he switched to multiple characters for part 2 and a lot of people were upset. Looking forward to the final book in July. Hopefully it finishes strong.
And Jeff please feel free to talk about sci fi as I like them too. Curious about the Martian.
I knew you were okay with Sci-Fi talk (after all, most who like one tend to like the other), I just often forget to come to this thread.
I've been trying a lot of new authors lately, so right now I'm spread pretty thin among the number of series that I'm trying to complete. Stephen Moss, as mentioned, is the author of the moment, with Jack Campbell's Lost Fleet series something that I really need to get back to. Evan Currie's Into The Black series started off really well, and I thought he was taking on a risky, unique plot, but then it went in a different direction that I didn't enjoy as much, so it'll probably be a while before I rejoin that series.
And I'm really screwed when Disney starts releasing new Star Wars books in the fall to lead into The Force Awakens.
Finished Queen of Fire and it was a disappointing end to the blood song trilogy. Way too many side characters and cultures and world/religion building. Vaelin is neutered and all the main characters are boring or repetitive. The story is just go from point a to b with the characters being poorly utilized. No memorable scenes or dialogue.
I will read the Martian or Vicious as my next fiction work.
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Originally Posted by Rudy
Just read The MARTIAN a few months back. Not a deep read and not great writing but the story itself is a quick read and very entertaining. The protagonist is incredibly likable (though I just don't see why Matt Damon will play him in the movie...???). My wife read it too and enjoyed it which is surprising because it's not her type of book.
Kindles on sale on Amazon. Ca. Paperwhite is just $119. My wife surprised me with a Kindle almost 3 weeks ago from staples. I just upgraded it to a Paperwhite two days ago although I haven't told her yet. I really like it but wanted the light for reading all the time. The base Kindle is too dark in poor lighting and definitely poor late at night. But mine was $139 and the older 212ppi compared to 300 ppi and $119 right now! It bugs me a little but the higher resolution is mainly beneficial for maps or pictures. Definitely a great device.
Half way through Vicious right now. Great book! It's a modern book that resembles Heroes with a mix of Flatliners. Excellent read so far and it's just a single book.
Just finished Vicious. Great book. It's a tad dark (I liked this) but in the mould of Unbreakable/Heroes TV and Flatliners. It also bounced back and forth in time to flesh out the history of the characters but it worked great. It wasn't annoying. Just a single book about 360 pages or so. I loved it from start to finish with only two things that bugged me a little. Those things have me downgrade the score to 4.5/5.
Spoiler: show
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rudy
I will read Queen of Fire at some point in the future, I read the amazon reviews ( since you can't trust the goodreads reviews) and they are all saying the same thing so I will probably pick this up on paper back at some point.....
I have no idea what my next read is going to be at this point, I really hate these moments when I don't have a story that is really capturing me and making me want to read the next book in the series.
I recently reach The Sword and the Dragon, which was an okay read I have the second book just not a strong desire to read it, plus it was a little to fantasy for me.
I completely re-read the parthian series by peter darman , which I think is offically ranks in my top 3 favorite historical fiction stories, the first book is decent the they get soo much better starting with the second.
So any suggestions? Maybe I will re-read the Ryria Revelations
I haven't read the Ryvian Revelations. Grace of Kings is $2 on Amazon Kindle so I bought it. I will read it at some point. Mixed reviews a little and it's the start of a trilogy.
I would have sent you a hardback copy of the grace of kings, for free (minus shipping of course). LOL I have it in my cube at work and I didn't even pay for it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rudy
You should read the Ryria Revelations it's a pretty good series and seeing as how he has since released a few prequels it actually is something like 6 books now instead of three.
What did you think of grace of Kings? Mixed reviews on it but $2 isn't bad.
I may give the Mistborn trilogy a try soon. Gets great reviews and there is a sale for the boxed set although I will get it for my Paperwhite.
For 2.00 it isn't bad at all, I thought it was just meh, probably worth a read at some point but I wouldn't put it ahead of anything else I want to read.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rudy
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rudy
I haven't personally read the mistborn series my wife has and she loved it, I am a Sanderson Fan as I don't think I have read a bad book by him yet. I would probably read mistborn before I read Grace of Kings
I didn't like Prince of Thorns as maybe some others did. Average fantasy imo. 3/5
Longer review below with no real spoilers.
Spoiler: show
I has started Grace of Kings but kind of quit reading after awhile. Wasn't sucking me in. I need something more unique and interesting.
It's not fantasy but my wife picked up a Walking Dead chronicles book for me. I am looking forward to getting into it at some point in the near future.