The Fantasy/Sci-Fi Books Thread Book • Page 116

the best. The Ice books are great, I’d read those next. Kharkanas is also fantastic but it’s unfinished so start at your own discretion. His sequel series is also off to a great start.

 

The ICE prequel series (book 4 just came out this year) is really good. I believes it’s “Tales…”

 

ugh I still need to read the ICE books, I'm such a fake fan

In other news, just finished Fairy Tale by King. It was last month's book club choice. Good, not great.

I'm staring at a shelf of unfinished classics like Riftwar, Death Gate Cycle, Eternal Champion, Earthsea, First Law, etc.

Also kind of want to start The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri. Anyone read that series yet?

Also also I forgot the Bloodsworn saga wraps up this year, so that's on the list for sure.

 

Been blasting through the Murderbot books the last few days (they're all free on Audible if you're a member, btw). Pretty good little series. Excited to see the show they're developing for it.

 

oh yeah anyone have any opinions on which of these to start next? Also want to do Cahill and Michael J. Sullivan

 

I finished the first book in the Kithamar Trilogy and really enjoyed it a lot. really cool, somewhat unique approach to an epic fantasy trilogy, at least in my experience, with the limited setting. starting book 2 tonight.

I also got The Way of Kings audiobook from Libby today. the wait was listed as like 48 weeks and I put in for it ages ago and it came up today.

 

Finally got Forge of the High Mage. I was tuned into its first release date, then it got pushed and I forgot about it. Amazon and Goodreads really let me down, they’re usually good about letting me know about new releases, and it’s like I’ve read every fuckin book the dude has written, probably a good chance I’d be interested in a new one.

 

I saw it at B&N the other day and was like wait when did this come out lol

 

I recently got a Kindle (and a new baby!) which has ignited a fire for me to read again! I just finished Deaths End and read Station Eleven in a day lol. Loved it

Currently reading:
How to Live Safely in a Science Fiction Universe - Charles Yu
The Ministry of Time - kaliane Bradley
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet - Becky Chambers

going to try to read next:
Ancillary Justice
Project Hail Mary
The Eye of the World (at least start the series lol)
Beautyland
Red Rising
Hyperion
The Buried Giant

 

I’m not sure of the exact timeline, but Forge of the High Mage takes place soo close to Gardens of the Moon, so there are so many more core series references that are making me so damn happy

 

I am in the final hundred pages of The Hero of Ages, and I think I figured out what rubs me the wrong way about Sanderson, despite enjoying his stories overall. Putting it in spoilers just in case, but it's to do with the Sanderlanche.

For most of HOA, everyone has been split up in their own plotlines and character arcs figuring out Ruin's plan. I get that and am cool with that. It's very reminiscent of ASOIAF, which I enjoyed. What stood out to me in this novel, which felt more nascent in The Well of Ascension, is how the plot just breaks the set pacing of the book in the last 200ish pages to get to the end.

I was good with how Spook's story finished with his writing the message in metal to Vin re: Ruin. TenSoon, however, was there for about a minute, solely just to tease Sazed to get on kandra-back to return to the Homeland and confront the First Generation so that we could get some world-building (exposition dump?) through the Terris religion. While I'm fine with the plot events, I'm frustrated to not have spent more time with Sazed and the kandra, or Sazed and TenSoon riding through the ash (uneventfully as the world ended?)...but we got several chapters of Vin and Yomen futzing around in Fadrex to give little bits of ideas to fight Ruin (e.g., duralumin pushing on Marsh and hitting his "wall," the mistsickness actually snapping allomancers).

TLDR: The plots themselves are great and fun, but the praised Sanderlanche disservices characterization just to rush to the end. Even when the plot works, I'm left feeling unsatisfied.

Does Mistborn 2 or Stormlight improve upon this? I know SA are doorstops, which gives me some hope for more character work.

 

the library in my town has a couple shelves when you walk in with books for sale. they always have a pretty good selection and a wide variety of types of books, and I usually see some that I want to grab, but I've been consciously trying not to spend money on books and borrow them from the library to read as much as I can.

today I snagged this big hardcover for $2 though -->

 

Managed to snag TBB editions of Sun Eater for my birthday!

 

Happy birthday dude! That’s a sweet gift to yourself as well

 

New VE Schwab book releasing next year has the hardest title I've ever seen.

 

still haven't read Schwab, where's a good starting point?

 

Her titles and covers and synopses always look so cool, but I did not like the second or third book of Shades of Magic, enough that I'm pretty turned off to reading any of her other stuff.

Which might be dumb—she's probably got great books haha.

 

I’ve only read a couple of her books and they are fine

 

All of her books are great but I think my favorite is The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. It's about a girl who is immortal but can't be remembered by anyone.

The Vicious series is sort of like an X-Men type thing where people get powers that focuses mostly on the bad guys.

I love Shades of Magic because it was one of the first series I read when I really got into reading. Anywhere would be a good starting point.

 

I only made it through the first Shades of Magic. She had a beautiful writing style, but I just didn’t care for the story or plot at all.

 

Just started Elder Race. Pretty cool so far! About 1/3 of the way through.

Narrative style reminds me a little of Murderbot, which I don't love, but I think the contrast of the two main characters internal voices and their thought processes is really neat.

 

I am such a slow reader and I go in bursts where I think I can knock out in a book in like 2 weeks, then boom, I hit a wall with life and it takes forever...

BUT.. I just finished The Way of Kings (reread) and I loved it. I remembered it being slow the previous time, but on this occasion I thought the pacing was perfect and the crescendo and final act of part 4 is just *chefs kiss*. It's unabashedly corny with heroic moments, especially in the accompanying dialogue, but damn if it doesn't work for me. the last chapters with Dalinar confronting Sadeas and then the king are 'stand up and cheer' moments to the nth degree.

I have read Words of Radiance a few times as I loved it so much, but going to go right to that vs skip over it. I'll skip the 1st Novella (boo Lift), then read Oathbringer / Dawnshard (1st time) / Rhythm of War (1st time), hopefully all by 12:01AM 12/6...

Anyway - I know pretty much everyone in here has read some of Sanderson, and we talk about his books a lot, but I had to gush for a moment about how much I enjoyed the last 15-20% of this one after previously being lukewarm on it.

 

Lift haters hate fun.

 

https://a.co/d/4Efh6fk

Oh hey look what’s out today

 

Just in time for spooky szn