The Fantasy/Sci-Fi Books Thread Book • Page 3

Okay thanks for the info. @Vivatoto didn't you say you read The Witcher series or am I crazy?

 

Oh yeah, I looooove the series. You definitely want to start with Last Wish and then Sword of Destiny before you start Blood of the Elves. Besides introducing you to the characters, the catalyst for the conflict throughout the entire series is in one of the stories. Also through the main series they'll call back the short stories a lot.

 

Alright cool. I've got about a million books I want to read currently but I'll eventually get to it. Love your 30 Rock tagline there by the way.

 

The Witcher is definitely a good series.

 

thanks for this thread

Glen Cook needs more love. The Black Company was a precursor to ASoIaF and Erikson's Malazan series in a lot of ways.

Wasn't crazy about WoT, but I'm willing to give it another shot...maybe.

I only read the first Shannara book and it was a a straight up carbon copy of LotR. Brooks proved he is more than that by writing about a million other books in that universe but that kinda turned me off.

I read book one of the Abhorsen trilogy, it was pretty good.

Brent Weeks' Night Angel series was ok.

Gave up on Name of the Wind, too boring.

And then a bunch of other minor stuff: Dennis L. McKiernan, Mickey Zucker Reichert, Mel Odom, etc.

But I am currently in the first book of the Mistborn trilogy and I'm liking it so far!

 

Mistborn is amazing. The ongoing sequel series is also very cool though quite different.

I’m currently reading The Witchwood Crown by Tad Williams and I like it so far though I’m really confused about how much time has passed since the last series and how old the characters are.

 

subbing. though its all the same culprits from the Books Thread haha.

 

Now that we have new members I want to recommend this one final time.

 

Added to my Goodreads TBR.

I would also like to recommend, although i already did in the other thread, Guy Gavriel Kay. I've only read Tigana and The Lions of Al-Rassan, but both are way up there in my favorites

 

Anyone here read Nevernight by Jay Kristoff? It's weird in that I can actively accept that it's a bit cheesy and the prose itself feels extremely "YA" at times, but I can't seem to stop reading it. It's got a weirdly addictive quality a la The Hunger Games that I enjoy even if it's less than spectacular.

 

I'll check it out, thanks!

I read "Under Heaven" and I thought it was just "ok", but maybe the ones you mentioned are better.

Never heard of it, I don't read a ton of it but there's some good addicting "YA" series out there, like Brandon Sanderson's "The Reckoners" series and Pierce Brown's "Red Rising" seires.

 

It's not YA per se, it's honestly chock full of pretty explicit sex and violence in a way that's tasteful at times and otherwise feels very much like the author is trying to says "SEE!! IT'S NOT A YA BOOK!!" The characters are solid enough, though, and it's an interesting setting (heavily Italian-influenced cityscapes and lore).

I'll check those out, though! I love Sanderson.

 

Anyone read Robin Hobb? Specifically the Farseer trilogy?

 

Nevernight is one I've always looked at but shied away for other works. I'll need to have a look into it after I finish Oathbringer and Empire of Silence.

 

ive had her first 2 trilogies for years, but jsut havent taken the plunge yet

 

I read Assassins Apprentice due to the interest from previous people but I could not get into it. I had just read Way of Kings and was looking for something else but it just didn't connect the same.

I have heard good things though about it and that it gets a lot better, I might try it again at a later date but for now I've got no interest in it.

 

I once read part of this first entry in a series about this kid from a torturers guild and it was so messed up that I stopped. I don’t remember the name but I always confuse it with Assassin’s Apprentice.

 

what are some recs for stand-alone fantasy books? or even a shorter (~3 books) series?
Ive got plenty of longer series that have been on the to-read list for years, but haven’t committed to. hoping something shorter will help kickstart the drive for a longer series.

 

The Magicians trilogy by Lev Grossman

 

Earthsea was what kickstarted my love for the fantasy genre. Start with Wizard of Earthsea and take it from there. Such a short book at approx. 200 pages but it's fantastic.

 

The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe. First book is Shadow of the Torturer. One of my favorite books ever, but it almost makes no sense the first time you read it. If you love delving into symbolism and being confused haha then this is your book. If you are looking for plot and action, it isnt

 

Yeah I figured there is something there but I just couldn’t deal, haha. Also, I listened to the audiobook and the narration was weird too.

 

Finished Nevernight and enjoyed it quite a bit in the end. The last portion of the book was my favorite and it seemed like the writing somehow got better by that point, too, or at least took itself more seriously. Taking a break before I delve into book #2.

FINALLY finished Eye of the World last night and loved it! I'm the type of person that reads multiple books at once so I'm going to finish what I've got on my plate right now/wait til next payday before I grab The Great Hunt.

Since I like to get through books in multiple capacities (I've got a physical book at my desk and a digital book borrowed for computer reading at work) I just borrowed The Magicians #1 in audiobook form to keep me engaged to/from work. I've seen maybe the first half of season one of the TV show and enjoyed it, but enough people recommend the book to make it seem worthwhile.

Been kind of toying with delving into some of the more YA leaning stuff lately because the stories sound interesting - Six of Crows and A Court of Thorns and Roses seem like something I'd enjoy and amidst denser stuff it's always nice to have a light read.

 

Gene Wolfe is one of the greatest writers ever, so I can't imagine an audiobook capturing that. He's like a scifi Thomas Pynchon

 

Man I really like the magic system in the Mistborn series, very creative.