The Fantasy/Sci-Fi Books Thread Book • Page 33

What Sullivan's done for the self-pub community after making the jump from self-pub to trad is also really cool.

 

Yeah he seems awesome

 

I have to chime in and say Shallan is a great character. I love her development and think she's far more interesting than Kaladin. I also think that Lift is great, she makes me smile and acts like an actual 12 year old which is refreshing.

 

Was the 2nd Evan Winters book better than the first? I don't think I can read another book where every female character is raped or killed again.

 

I finished The House of Always @Vivatoto -- I've never enjoyed the concept but hated the execution more than reading this book. It is... about twice as long as it needed to be. And, even though I align myself politically with the agenda being put forth, it felt way more bludgeoned over my head than organically included like she'd been doing throughout the rest of the series this time. I'm being vague in case others pick up the series, but I think you know what I mean. I hate when I feel like I'm reading an agenda (NK Jemisin's wonderful The City We Became suffers from a similar thing for me, but it's a much better book than this one and the agenda is very much a subversion "on purpose" in that case) as opposed to "natural" insertion, for lack of a better way to explain it.

I'm excited there's only one more book left in the series, so I will finish it, but I think she got too complicated and lost something in the last two books. It doesn't hold your hand, and doesn't need to, but every death feels cheapened by the fact that reincarnation and rebirth seems to be happening for every character at all times, etc.

 

Like all the books were "bottle episodes" in their own way, that's sort of the format of the series, but this time it was just really grating. A place where time move so slowly that nothing interesting can happen, and inside a "fake world" (super basic way of putting it) where death means absolutely nothing are two settings that can just not hold an entire book. Especially when there's so much momentum going from the previous books. I also remember liking Xivan more earlier, but focusing most of the flashbacks on her just didn't do anything for me. There was stuff to love. I still love Serena and Thurvishar...and the Lash was cool. I think at this point the format of the books is holding it back and it's time to drop it.

 

I agree entirely! You can't go into the finale telling it in past tense anymore.

 

Malazan Book 1 is the Tor Free ebook of the month: Tor.com’s eBook of the Month Club

 

Oh shit everyone go get it

 

Get in on the best goddamn fantasy series ever.

 

Any thoughts on R.A. Salvatore? I really gambled on the Legend of Drizzt series and got two collections (amazon had bogo.5) totaling six books. My Dungeons and Dragons knowledge is solely based on its inspiration in fantasy and whatever tidbits I've picked up through the years, never played the pen and paper, though gosh I would love to, and I don't think I really dived into any of the various video games that were specifically D&D branded.

 

I read the Icewind Dale and Dark Elf trilogies years ago. I very much enjoyed them then. I've been meaning to revisit those books as well as the Dragonlance books, which I also read around that same time and enjoyed. I picked up like two dozen of Salvatore's books through a Humble Bundle a few months back and I'm waiting for the right time to dive in.

My thoughts are still that Salvatore is a great D&D-inspired fantasy writer, so if that's a genre/narrative style you're interested in, awesome, but it's probably not for everyone. I know that's not super helpful haha, but I'm not sure what else I'd compare them to exactly. I think they're for sure worth your time if only for the fact that they represent a significant keystone point in the development of the genre and they're interesting in that regard — though, as I said, I enjoyed them quite a bit personally.

 

Also @Vivatoto one of these days I'm gonna organize a virtual D&D group and I'll invite you haha.

 

hell yeah

 

Reading them in chronological order and I think the next collection is Icewind, which I know is the most famous so hopefully by then I’ll know if I want to invest more. I have like 10 pages left in Homeland and I dug it, so so far so good.

At least I know there are maps, ha

 

A good map is half the battle, haha.

If you liked Homeland then you'll probably like the Icewind books! I've heard that some of his later books get kind of repetitive, which I could totally see happening, but I've also heard that beyond the ones I mentioned the Cleric Quintet is supposed to be quite good. I'm excited to reread/read more of his stuff myself. Good fun fantasy.

 

Repetitive was definitely a word that came up a few times. I've got no problem with repetitive when done well. I haven't really mentioned it before because it has such a bad connotation, but David Gemmell is extremely repetitive. He's telling the same story a lot, the thing is, the story he's telling is excellent, so why not? A horror author I really like called John Saul is another example that comes to mind. Mark Millar for comics.

 

I have been reading a few "indie" authors recently and the 2 I've rated are:

Tom Dumbrell - The Look of a King

Overall, this book was really enjoyable and got me sucked in from the start. With so many books out right now I really needed a story that got me binge reading and i ended up finding this incredibly fascinating in its own right. I would ask that any fantasy fan pick this up. At 262 pages this is a quick read (compared to others) but has the capacity to truly be something great.

Daniel T. Jackson - Illborn

The characters were undoubtedly the strength of this story and the mystery of visions and religion helped push the story forward to a strong debut. I enjoyed every moment of this and definitely recommend it. It can be brutal yet wondrous and i can't wait until book 2 offers so much more. The way that Jackson kept me enticed with the story, the writing and the characters stuck with me and this is strongly recommended for those looking for a new series

If anyone is looking for 2 new series then these are a great place to start.

 

I absolutely agree. Why would I be bothered by getting to experience more of the things I like? Obviously sometimes there are negative examples—your caveat of "when done well" is key—but I often pick up a new novel/videogame/album/movie hoping that I'll get something like what I've experienced before. I think it's like food: I will eat every single delicious burger you put in front of me. Doesn't mean I don't recognize a bad burger, but just because it's something I've experienced before doesn't mean it can't be great.

Gemmell is a great positive example (I also think you made the right call in not mentioning the repetitive nature of his books previously—that word will unfortunately turn some people off when it really shouldn't). Same with Millar. I don't know either way about Salvatore, because I haven't read enough of his books, but if they keep being fun, I have no problems with reading them. I'll be sure to check out John Saul when I have the chance!

 

Lmao that's not what I pictured Rothfuss looking like at all

 

Ummmm...So the new Malazan book is apparently out in the UK? And I was able to buy it from Amazon for a wee bit of a price hike and it's going to take some weeks to deliver, but holy shit, was not expecting to read it so soon, since the release date is Nov 9th.

 

Link me

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1787632865/?tag=absolutepunk-20

If this doesn't take you right to it then you have to click see all formats and editions and there will be two options and you choose the one with the cover. It looks like they don't have the cheaper (but much longer delivery time) option that I got.

 

Anyone read Tigana? About 150 pages in, took a little bit to get acclimated but I'm loving it. Was looking for a Priory of the Orange Tree-esque one volume epic