The Fantasy/Sci-Fi Books Thread Book • Page 78

RE The Will of the Many:
Damn - not quite done but like 70% there, and for me, that's devouring it (means I'll finish a 600(ish) page book in less than 2 weeks as I'll be done by the end of the week.

I like it a lot so far and have some theories that I'll be back to discuss if some things play out like I hope they will (and I have been right so far about a few things Ulciscors wife. I like the characters, and for a 1st person, there are some good side characters that are a great balance between fleshed out and mysterious (I expect twists abound about some of the other students motives / identities).

Vis has been a bit dumb at times (and conveniently for the plot because when he needs to be smart, he absolutely is, and then he'll behave like a short sighted idiot to keep things moving).
Example: it really bothered me that he didn't even consider that he was set up to kill Melior as it was painfully obvious. Like seriously, as soon as that happened, it was a duh moment that didn't even seem to be hidden - I also don't buy the explanation of why he didn't tell Ulciscor about the voices in the first ruins he explored... didn't make sense that he was worried about seeming crazy and I'm sure that's going to play a part in later reveals where if that had been explained a future event wouldn't have been able to happen...

 

somewhat ironically after this post, Midnight Tides has probably become my favorite novel thus far in the series. the end of Deadhouse Gates remains the peak of the series for me, though.

 

It was a jarring transition, because it takes you away from the storyline on Genabackis from books 1 and 3 and Seven Cities in books 2 and 4 and you're in a whole new place with new characters. But then Tehol & Bugg ended up becoming one of the most beloved character pairings in the series.

And Trull Sengar is a certified badass.

 

And it’s also a huge time jump to the past, right?

 

So I'll be finishing up with the Darkwater Legacy by Chris Wooding some time soon and wanting to pick my next read.

I was thinking the Songs of Chaos series by Michael R Miller or The Hellborn King by Christopher Benning. I've heard good things on The Forgetting Moon by Brian Lee Durfee.

Unless anyone is planning on reading Ryan Cahill's The Bound and the Broken

 

Ryan Cahill is a post-Malazan project for me.

 

I probably need to give the second book a shot but the first book of The Bound and the Broken left me feeling underwhelmed. It felt like a mash between Eragon, and The Wheel of Time series, and I started referring to it as the budget version of both in my head. The characters weren’t all that engaging to me and I felt like I’d read the story a hundred times before so I wasn’t that excited by it.

It might have just been where my head was at at the time but I probably won’t return to that series for a while.

 

Durfee 100%. Series is fantastic

 

I bought the first 3 in Malazan and they're sitting looking at me begrudgingly.

Nah, i can understand that and definitely see the comparisons. It does differentiate in book 2 onwards but if its a DNF then I always say to do that because there's no point wasting time on books you don't enjoy!

Same, i think that might be my next step but i do really want to start Ascendant from Songs of Chaos too :(!

 

I finally started Dresden last week and am already almost done with Summer Knight (book 4). Been a really nice series to get out of the slump I was in.

 

yeah not exactly sure of the timeline but it's in the past

 

I did manage to finish the first one but felt pretty underwhelmed. I’ll keep it in mind about it differentiating itself in book 2.

 

Nah if it's not for you then that's fine. No point reading something that doesn't interest you. Better books for that :)

 

I thought the same thing for a really long time, but no it’s not. Erickson says it’s concurrent with Gardens of the Moon

(except for the opening of course)

 

Finished The Ember Blade by Chris Wooding and was reminded how amazing it is. Onto book 2 now!

 

RE: The Will of the Many
I enjoyed this one a lot but I am not so sure about the ending a) i dont know if I fully understand everything it implies and b) it will change the dynamics of the entire story (the setting, the scope, the intimacy). I guess I would have liked a little bit more explanation as by the end, it felt pretty disjointed (but I also see from goodreads I'm in the minority). I'll probably reread the last 50 pages or so again and see if anything clicks but it felt less tightly plotted, and more cryptic than licanius (though I haven't read that one in a while). I feel like an absurd amount was left unexplained and that's normally a good thing, but not so sure here.

What to read next... what to read next... Probably the 2 Sun Eater novellas and then most likely Ryan Cahill.

 

I agree with this, however, I found some great discussions on the Licanius subreddit that really helped me with some aha moments. I think the POV will still stay intimate but in a cool way. Definitely still some left unexplained, and I hope that he doesn't go the route of Licanius where stuff just got way too convoluted. It felt like he learned from his shortcomings in that regard so I hope it stays that way.

 

Happy Light Bringer release day!

 

My Audible pre-order just became available and I regretted starting a 32 hour audiobook yesterday instantly.

 

I got the ARC for Light Bringer and read like 35% a couple of months but hit a bit of a eyeball reading slump and have been doing audiobooks all summer. Started it over this morning and still having a blast.

 

I need to read Red Rising!
Starting James Islington’s The Will of the Many. That first line!!

 

I'm reading this right now too! About a quarter of the way through. It's excellent.

 

I didn’t know James Islington had a new book out. I enjoyed the Licanius series. I’ll have to check this out.

 

Nice! I'm still in part 1 but it's reading great so far.

I haven't read Licanius but I might do after this if the standard is as high.

 

I finished The Eye of the World on my commute today. It definitely dragged a little bit in the middle when Rand and Mat were walking around. Those chapters could hav used some editing/culling. But the ending confrontation between Rand and the Dark One hooked me all over again.

I'm definitely going to keep reading. Also I am a full-on Loial stan.