The Fantasy/Sci-Fi Books Thread Book • Page 40

@theagentcoma That book looks sweet, I'm going to be picking it up for sure haha. Also I don't think I've talked to anyone else who's read McKiernan! I really like his work.

 

Hey I'm glad you liked it! Keep me posted what you think when you read the others. Personally I really enjoyed how both the plots and the worldbuilding evolve throughout the series beyond some of the more traditional fantasy tropes. But a darker Shannara is a pretty apt comparison, I think.

 

I really liked that he created his own creatures. I'm getting a little sick of fantasy worlds filled with wolves, elephants, and cats.

 

also happy birthday dude!

 

Yeah I read that McKiernan book so many times, but I never did manage to read the rest of the trilogy. Pretty blatant LotR lite in the beginning but I didn't care at that age

 

I read the first two when I was a kid. Likewise didn't mind that it was pretty much a ripoff, I was just happy to get more stuff I liked. Later, as an adult, I picked up the trilogy and finishing reading it, including the foreword in which he explains that his intent was to write a sequel to LOTR, but the Tolkien Estate (understandably) wouldn't go for it, so he had to swap everything over to his own world and write an "original" trilogy to set up the stuff in his sequel series. So yeah the Iron Tower trilogy is beat-for-beat LOTR, but even reading it again as an adult, I honestly had a good time because I think McKiernan has a good ear for storytelling. I've only read a few of the subsequent books so far but they definitely branch off very differently and become their own thing. Not going to make the top of my list, but solid fantasy stories that I do enjoy.

 

The second book is a gigantic step up in quality.

 

Oh wow I forgot about the whole sequel thing! That makes so much sense.

I also have only read the very first Shannara book and I remember that one being even more of a LotR ripoff. I think I remember reading that Terry Brooks was criticized for this and to prove he was more than a Tolkien clone he went on to write a million more books

 

I am struggling a lot to get through the beginning of return of the king. Idk why but I'm slogging. Pages and pages of pippin and beregond talking is getting a bit much

 

@OwainGlyndwr got Runelords in the mail. Was that you? This is one i have heard of and wanted to read so major thanks

 

Haha yeah. Told you I couldn’t pick! Runelords is a pretty awesome fantasy, particularly the magic and the characters. Dave Farland’s a great guy too. I’ve had the pleasure of doing a couple writing retreats with him and he’s really cool. He’s been a mentor to a lot of great writers, including Sanderson. Anyway: hope you enjoy!

 

I'm starting Paradise Lost, have no idea how long that will take me, I struggled with Dante. But afterwords I'm reading Runelords. The maps got me excited.

 

Paradise Lost is slick. Read much quicker than I expected when I got my degree.

 

Good luck dude! Dante can be kind of complex; I think I only really got into it because I had a fantastic comp lit professor at the time. I’ve still only read Inferno too. But Paradise Lost will probably move quicker for you. In my memory it’s kinda similar to Dan Simmons in a way. Hope you enjoy.

Likewise for Runelords. I’ve only read half the series, and the last book has been pending for a long time, but the first book is still one of the best purely epic fantasy books ever and totally hits all my particular tastes. (Plus he’s the only bestselling author I’m on a first-name basis with (until @Garrett publishes) so I like spreading the word lol.)

 

faaaaaaaar too kind on that my friend

 

Wow loving Hyperion so far. First few chapters I had to adjust since I don't read science fiction but I'm at the 70 page mark and completely engrossed

 

The covers were revealed for RF Kuang's Babel today and they look gorgeous. Probably going to preorder this one soon because a) covers b) premise sounds awesome and c) even though I haven't read her other books yet I have it on good authority that I'll like them so this'll motivate me to do so.

 

Oh, these are good covers. Read The Poppy War!

 

As a followup, what else are you guys really looking forward to in 2022?

On my list is James Rollins's The Starless Crown (arrived yesterday, looks super good), the new Weis & Hickman Dragonlance book, like five different things from Sanderson, the new series from Brian McClellan, the new editions of Elric from Moorcock, and then a handful of books that I'm hoping I'll be ready to read by the time they release (Tad Williams, Christopher Ruocchio, Nicolas Eames, Ken Liu, Tamsyn Muir, a few others). I'm also looking forward to doing some more discovery work this year in bookstores like I used to, haha.

@Garrett It's on the schedule for this year, haha. Probably sometime in the spring? Assuming I enjoy them I'll probably just read the trilogy straight through too.

 

My goal is to eliminate my audiobook backlog (ahem, if I don't buy more). I should type up what I have left. About to start Michael J. Sullivan's The Legends of the First Empire series. I've got my eye on The Starless Crown, so let me know how that one is, @OwainGlyndwr -- and yes, it's easiest to just read that Kuang trilogy straight through. I think @Vivatoto also did that when he read them (I did as well).

I should probably, you know, write more fantasy this year, too...

 

Yeah, you're not gonna want to stop once you get going with The Poppy War. It moves at a breakneck speed. Also a much better use of the trilogy format than a lot of other series.

I have been wondering about that Sullivan series. Amazon keeps recommending it.

I'm currently reading Runelords and @OwainGlyndwr I'm gonna be really mad at you if I love this and I finish the series and the last book isn't out, lol.

I'm juggling so many series in hopes of finding my next great one after Thomas Covenant blew me away. Shadows of the Apt is my main one, it's a super easy to read but also super lore heavy, kind of best of both worlds. And it's 10 books so why not. But I'm buying them all used so while I wait for them I'm generally reading other fantasy series. A few include Banned and Banished, Bone Season, Broken Earth, Rift War, Fionovar Tapestry, and I have a few Gemmell I've been looking forward to.

 

I read his Riyria books (both series) and just discovered in the author's note it's set in the same world, millennia before. Should be intriguing. He's a very "candy" fantasy author; fun characters, good enough lore, decent action; that it makes it really easy to read a whole series.

 

Will keep you posted on The Starless Crown! I've got way too many audiobooks, haha. So great for walks/runs/commutes/errands.

 

Also I like the phrase "candy author" rather than like "popcorn author"; for some reason calling a book a "popcorn fantasy" always sounds so dismissive to me, in the vein of "just turn your brain off because this is so dumb that you have to be dumb to enjoy it"—but there's definitely room for fantasy that's sweet, enjoyable, and easier to read, which "candy" seems to capture better for me.

(also yeah write more fantasy this year! I will too!)

 

Lol, at least we'll be in the same boat if that happens, haha. As I mentioned, I absolutely adore that first Runelords book. I think I've only read books 2–4 after that, and while I enjoyed them a lot, they're very "okay let's get into a lot bigger worldbuilding and set up some main huge conflicts that'll last the whole series" and at the time that didn't capture me quite as much. I'll definitely be doing a reread sometime because the series seems so fun as a whole (and I have confidence that Dave will finish the last book, even though it's been forever, haha).

Also, you've got some great series on that list already, but have you read anything by Bradley Beaulieu yet?