The Fantasy/Sci-Fi Books Thread Book • Page 30

Yeah I see it

 

I think it's a personal thing. I find Syl adorable and endearing and same with the cutesiness w/ Adolin and Shallan but I'm a cheeseball. I know people dislike Lift as well who I count as one of my favorite characters so maybe I just have bad taste which is completely fine.

 

Im finally starting Fires of Vengeance and its all kicking off already.

 

This seems to have such high praise so guess i need to start reading:

Joseph Mallozzi To Adapt Fantasy Novel ‘Powder Mage’ As TV Series – Deadline

 

I just picked those up recently.

 

I finished Dune about a week ago. Loved the first section of the novel, but Books II and III (especially III) got a little too buck wild for me. I definitely want to continue the series, but I need a break from the spice.

Still working on getting through Sanderson's Warbreaker. I started it last year as a recommendation from this thread. I'm enjoying the story, but this was my experiment with getting into fantasy and reading on my iPad. I'm loving my fantasy dive, but I don't think the screen is for me. I really want to finish this one as I know how much y'all love the Mistborn trilogy, and I have those sitting on my shelf waiting to be read.

As a break from Dune, I started The Hobbit. I read it a while ago, and I'm much more enjoying it now. It's still slow in some areas, but the way Tolkien tells the story feels as comfy and cozy as a hobbit hole. I'm looking forward to finishing it and starting Lord of the Rings, another series I've never read!

 

Wow the Poppy War trilogy was spectacular. Absolutely adored it. Way more grim/dark and brutal than I was expecting. Rin is up there with Baru Cormorant and Tavore Paran for best protagonists ever. Going to be tough as fuck to adapt

 

Tavore Paran? Ok I'm interested

 

I've got that up next! Mainly because of the adaptation news. Heard mixed feelings about the series but i'm willing to give it a shot.

 

Guessing that the only bad thing someone could say is it’s too dark and that’s never a bad thing for me.

 

I do like a good dark story!

 

Man I think Erikson ruined me. His lack of explaining things/infodump is hindering my ability to enjoy Sanderson's style in some ways. He'll have entire passages devoted to how fabrials work, and while I totally get how some people would be into it, I don't really care THAT much lol

 

@Vivatoto I noticed you've been reading some Brooks and Gemmell this year, curious what you think/if you've read any of their stuff before. Two of my absolute favorite fantasy authors.

 

Well I've dipped my toe into Shannara a few times, it hasn't totally grabbed me yet to the point where I need to know what's going to happen so I haven't devoured the series like I usually do with fantasy. I really wish it would though, because it would be a major blessing to have that many books to look forward to. I do expect to read more this year, it's an interesting world and really easy to wrap your head around, which also makes it easy to jump in and out of, unlike other fantasy series.

The Drenai saga is a new find for me, and I'm very happy I found it. Been on the prowl for a new LONG fantasy series since I finished The Wars of Light and Shadow. Wasn't having the best luck just by searching for the longest running fantasy series, so I decided to fall back on a good ol grim/dark search since it's been a hot minute and I noticed Legend. Lo and behold it's 11 books. So yeah that's my new project. Legend was excellent. Is the Drenai Saga where your affection for Gemmell comes from or has he done other work you enjoy?

 

It's funny how the first Shannara book is almost a carbon copy of LotR, but then Brooks went on to write like 59 more books just to prove he wasn't a Tolkien clone

 

Thoughts incoming!

Re: Shannara. I think that's a fair response, particularly given what I know about your tastes and what else you've read. I think the overlap between big epic saga fantasy grim dark political bloody brutal complex engaging books and Shannara is definitely there, but it's not particularly strong, and most readers (I think) tend to start with Shannara and go to books in the other category rather than vice versa. That might not be particularly clear: what I mean is that the Shannara books are likely much more immediately enjoyable and gripping to someone who hasn't already read Malazan, Cosmere, ASOIAF, Mark Lawrence, whatever. I think people tend to have the best experience diving into Shannara and then moving to more "complex" (or whatever) works by other fantasy authors. So for you, going in reverse, I can definitely see why the series wouldn't grip you quite as much.

None of that is meant to be a slight against Shannara: Terry Brooks is easily one of my favorite writers; I have a shelf dedicated to his books (I own... 29 of his novels, I think, and most of them in hardcover, several of them signed in person). And I don't consider them "popcorn fantasy" either (I find that term demeaning most of the time); I think they're legitimately compelling, exciting, and interesting. But I do think the Shannara books are doing their own thing, focusing on telling certain kinds of stories with certain kinds of characters, and they're not particularly similar to some of the bigger and darker and more involved series that have come later in the genre (which of course I also love).

Terry has said in various interviews that his primary purpose is telling a good adventure story. He talks about being inspired by Tolkien, obviously, but immediately thereafter drawing inspiration from stuff like The Three Musketeers and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and that vein of storytelling. And I think that definitely shows in the books. The fantasy elements are integral, they're not just tacked-on, but there's a predominant focus on adventure and character interactions that distinguishes the books from either the heavier bloodier grimdark stuff or the complex hard magic stuff. I think that's also an important point to keep in mind: I would be disappointed if I expected Malazan or Stormlight when I picked up Wishsong, for example. But taken for what they are and what they're trying to do, I think the Shannara books are phenomenal.

Anyway: I'm glad you're planning to read more of them this year, and do tag me when you do, I'd love to chat more about them. Obviously your reactions and thoughts are perfectly legitimate haha, I hope none of this sounds corrective—just giving you my little piece about them. If you've at least found the books you've read so far interesting, there's a lot of great stuff ahead of you—I think you'll probably particularly enjoy the Heritage tetralogy, which is what you'll have next after Wishsong.

For Gemmell: I'm honestly kicking myself that I didn't think to recommend the Drenai Saga to you, especially after my Tim Akers recommendation was so well received. David Gemmell is a staple for me too, absolutely one of the best writers of heroic/grimdark fantasy around. The Drenai books are far and away my favorite of his, and where I started reading, but I highly recommend the Rigante and the Jon Shannow/Stones of Power series as well. I've read a few of his standalones also, but there are still like five or six of his books I haven't read yet—and since he passed I've been kind of saving those to dole them out so they last longer, haha. Awesome books. I'd say go for everything he wrote, I bet you'll enjoy it all.

(I'll also take a closer look at my shelves sometime soon. If I forgot to recommend Gemmell, I've probably forgotten a few other key authors you'd like as well!)

 

fantasy fans are the best fans

 

Just noticed Erikson has a new Malazan novella coming out March 16!! The Fiends of Nightmaria

 

One of these days I'll give Malazan another chance.

 

Oh hell yeah

 

Has anyone read either Cradle by Will Wight or The Bone Ships by RJ Barker? Looking for my next fantasy read and these have been getting high reviews! Bone Ships just got British Fantasy of the Year 2020.

 

Recently finished Way of Kings. I really enjoyed it, however, I found myself enjoying the interludes the most out of everything. Still really looking forward to going through the series. Will definitely need palette cleansers in between each book though lol.

 

If you’re not on the Tor ebook of the month club, you should be. They gave away five books in a series for December.

 

Definitely a good drop this month. I was looking into this before so glad it came up.

 

Should I read The Bands of Mourning before Mistborn: Secret History? Consensus elsewhere seems to be it's probably fine not to worry about it, but still wanted to see what anyone here thinks.

Also, just as a side note, Endymion is getting wild and I just bought Curse of the Mistwraith, so it's gonna be a fun month.