The Fantasy/Sci-Fi Books Thread Book • Page 58

Queer fantasy is for everyone. Queer people are...people. No need to put any more thought into it than that. I saw one person in the thread say it's over hyped while everyone else was heaping praise in the last few pages. Maybe it's more of an overall booktok opinion though which I don't follow.

 

That's what I was trying to get at, so I hope it didn't come across any other way. It's a massive standalone fantasy that just on the blurb and initial praise, seems to be something right up my alley. I like big massive tomes of books that feel lived in and alive. I'd just seen a few comments in other fantasy settings that sort of gatekeep it a little bit and coupled with my wife's comment of only knowing it as the 'lesbian fantasy book' it made me feel like I was stepping into a clique I'm not invited into or welcome in. I'll add my thoughts on the book when I'm done. I'm slow and I don't like the audiobook so far, solely because it's hard to follow the names. I need to read them for a bit so they are ingrained and then maybe I can switch back and forth between listening and reading.

 

I do the same with most fantasy because you've got names, made up magic stuff, etc. And it's almost impossible to follow most of them right off the bat without seeing the words.

 

I just finished Priory of the Orange Tree and I absolutely loved it. My favorite book I have read in years. Looking back on the story, it does sorta feel like what would have usually been a trilogy with other books but done in one big book here. Not a critique, just something I noticed. I had read nothing but high praise for it ahead of time and it more than exceeded any expectations I had. It had everything I love about a good fantasy book, but I gotta give special praise to the characters - I haven't connected so deeply with characters in a long time.

 

I haven’t read it (I will at some point) so I won’t comment on quality, but I can imagine the hype was partly because it was a fantasy book that crossed over

 

I think Priory would’ve benefitted by being more than one book. Pacing was all over the place. It’s a very solid story and the actual plot beats were pretty good, but for me it could’ve been much better with a bit more emphasis on pace.

Nothing about the romance influenced how I felt about the book. But it was also the least interesting part of the book for me (romance usually is in any fantasy I read, tbf).

I’ve seen a lot of praise for it being unique, but nothing felt out of the ordinary for a regular fantasy reader to me. I can see why crossover readers (probably coming from ACOTAR because of BookTok) are eating it up.

 

You can find Shannon's notes on the pacing on Twitter somewhere I think. She paced it so it was slow and plodding and just got incredibly quick at the end on purpose. She's aware the pacing may not be for everyone but it was a stylistic choice on her part. Personally I dig it but I can see the issue you're having with it for sure

 

I’ve been consuming a lot of German literally criticism from the 80s and 90s (don’t ask) and they often argue about whether or not this matters at all, as in does it matter if an author wanted something to be a certain way if that certain way isn’t actually good?

Again, not talking about this book, haven’t read it.

 

This is exactly what I meant with my earlier comment.

 

I definitely don’t have problems with slow bricks if the writing and story are interesting. I think the pacing in Priory is slow, but then blows by very important “action” moments in a few pages. I wanted something a smidge more consistent? Give the action scenes as much room as the character work, I guess. M

 

I LOVE reading and have a huge backlog, but never have the time. I just finished the third Earthsea book and still have the other three to get through. I love Le Guin’s writing style and how philosophical the writing can get. The ending to the first book was one of the best I’ve ever read, very satisfying. The third one was good. But the second one was pretty anti-climatic.

 

I'm only a little over halfway through, but Babel is exquisite. What a follow up to Poppy War.

 

Now that I've finished it, it oddly contradicts the entire message of the Poppy War series, while retreading all the same themes. It's a great book, marvelously written, but it's a bit of a bludgeoning.

 

I've been really struggling with reading lately and committing the time and focus to it so I didn't get very far into the Priory. I'll need to read it at a time when I can focus on that type of story (big sprawling epic).

I started Jade city as that's faster paced and more cinematic and has caught my attention a lot quicker. I'm about 20% in and really enjoying it so far and think I'll be able to keep focus on it and finish and maybe that'll be the spark. Through April of this year I was reading/listening at my usual pace (which is about 2 decent sized books a month) and I have done nothing since then. Too many other things vying for my attention, some of which don't deserve it over reading. Hoping to get back on track.

 

this happens to me a lot. I read a lot of books, larger ones too and then end up with major fear of missing out. I have developed a “right book, wrong time” attitude at times and went back to those I couldn’t finish.

Whenever I feel in a slump I either turn to graphic novels or shorter books though and it tends to break up from those larger series.

 

Audible is doing another up to 85% off sale for members and I’m scared to look after last time.

 

Where do you find this deal? I'm not seeing it when I go to purchase credits.

 

I can see it just by going to audible.com, it's marked as the summer sale. You can also see it on individual books. Note that it's 85% off the list price to pay for it outright, ie you can't use a credit with the discount.

An insanely good deal. I'm gonna have to just not look either after how much I bought last time.

...but I think we all know I'm going to look and buy.

 

Yep I think all the Malazan books are $4 apiece lol

 

Do you need to read any other Cosmere books before starting Stormlight Archive?

 

No

 

Should you

 

Only because they are good. The connections between the different series are very obscure.

 

Definitely not. It IS a massive story though with books being over 1000 pages so it's a big commitment. There are some subtle hints to other books but even that itself can be considered a spoiler in some circles. It's more easter eggs at the moment than required reading though.

 

Maaaaaaaaybe read Warbreaker before Words of Radiance

edit: actually, definitely read it before WoR