The Fantasy/Sci-Fi Books Thread Book • Page 127

Depends on the book for me. Most epic fantasy or science fiction, say something like Stormlight, is about 70 pages an hour. Stuff like Tolkien and Williams is slower; thrillers, YA, and easier books tend to be faster. Hard to be accurate with how wildly page counts fluctuate, but I’m gonna say about 350–400 words/minute for me personally.

An hour of recorded audio tends to be about 9k words, so about 30 pages, again depending on format.

I try to read an hour a day and I tend to average 2 books per week, with some of those being manga/comics/shorter works.

 

But I do read really fast in general, I should acknowledge that.

 

Audiobooks at 1.5x speed always. I’d say I probably ready at 50-70 pages an hour, depending, when talking physical/eBook.

 

Give me your hot takes (in a judgement free zone, keep it fun and interesting and chatty):

What’s a book you’ve recently read that…

1) you hated
2) didn’t mind, but don’t understand the hype
3) loved when no one else seems to
4) not in the sci-fi/fantasy space, but think those of us regulars in here would like

 

1) you hated - The Call of Cthulthu. This has not aged well
2) didn’t mind, but don’t understand the hype - Klara and the Sun. It was beautifully written but felt like a drag
3) loved when no one else seems to - When the Moon Hatched. Romantasy gets a bad rep.
4) not in the sci-fi/fantasy space, but think those of us regulars in here would like - The Family Experiment by John Marr. Technically could come under sci-fi but that's not it's main draw. A dark and twisted thriller about the ultimate Tamagotchi—a virtual baby.

 

1) you hated - J.M. Miro's "Ordinary Monsters" or James Rollins' "The Starless Crown"; nothing about these books worked for me.

2) didn’t mind, but don’t understand the hype - Sun Eater 1 & 2 (currently reading 3). It's got a lot of the Name of the Wind vibes that I never really gelled with, and it feels to me like Red Rising does a similar story better. Also, anything by NK Jemisin... she's not that revolutionary.

3) loved when no one else seems to - The Illuminae trilogy. It's YA sci-fi, sure, but it's some of the most fun you can have (especially in audiobook form)

4) not in the sci-fi/fantasy space, but think those of us regulars in here would like - Carlos Ruiz Zafon's The Shadow of the Wind (and related books)

 

I'm reading this one right now lol

 

yeah, I'm hoping your thoughts on it end up a little closer to mine haha

it's funny, because I'm right with you on Starless Crown, but Ordinary Monsters is one of my absolute favorite books in recent years, hands down

it's hard for me to do #1 because if I'm not feeling a book fully I usually stop reading it about ⅓ in at most and move on - recently though, I've done that with Starless Crown as mentioned and Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie, even though on paper that one should be right up my alley

#2 The Name of the Wind and really anything by Patrick Rothfuss honestly - I like them a little more than just 'didn't mind', but I still think he is (or was I guess) insanely over hyped

#3 for me, all time, is always The Divine Cities trilogy by Robert Jackson Bennett, but more recently The Winnowing Flame trilogy by Jen Williams

#4 I'll go with The City & The City by China Miéville cuz it doesn't fit either descriptor really but I absolutely loved it

 

FWIW I've been enjoying it! thanks again for the book!

 

Resonating with your NK Jemisin take. I've felt a little left out not understanding the hype for a while now. I forced myself to read the Broken Earth books and thought it would click eventually, but it never did.

 

I think a lot of reactions show how reading order is so important on the impression a book makes. I read Name of the Wind as one of my first fantasies and thus didn't know what was inspired by others and what was original. When I read The Wheel of time and Robin Hobb after, some things in The Name of the Wind didn't have the same shine knowing that it was retreading ground. I do still like a good part of the series and saw a pic of Pat Rothfuss lately where he looked so healthy and well, and that gives me hope that he'll finish one day.

I also read NK Jemisin early on in my fantasy journey, but I think that holds up regardless, and there are some really unique things done to the narrative structure that are worthy of all the praise.

#4 to Garretts question - The 7-1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle - A pretty controversial book it seems by goodreads rating / reviews, but I loved it. It is sort of fantasy, but it's more of a very unique murder mystery. The ending wasn't the strongest part of the book, but man, was it a mind bender trying to piece it together and follow along with the timeline.

 

I like her city duology more than the Broken Earth trilogy, but even still.

 

RE Sun Eater - if you didn't like 2, it just may not click, and if you aren't wow'd by 3, then I'd say it's definitely not for you. 3 is one of my all time favorite sci-fi fantasy stories, if not my favorite. It's massive in scope. and combines so many different genres / styles that it feels like multiple novels in one... It's the absolute peak of the series so far to me.

 

Using these questions to slowly add to my TBR, don't worry, haha.

 

One of my best reading buddies IRL has Demon in White in his top 5 all time, so I'll finish the series no matter what. But yeah, I'm not yet wowed. It's good and I'm enjoying it, just expected more. I just got to the assassination attempt on Valka/Hadrian (don't know who yet) where the knife is left in the room. I'm perfectly fine reading things I just enjoy without being blown away or emotionally connect with. That's most books. I just expected more after the hype? And it still could get there!

 

I've got this trilogy lined-up for after I finish Sun Eater and DCC7, so now I'm curious.

 

I even feel like a jerk saying that, because Name of the Wind & Wise Man's Fear are good, solid fantasy books - it's more that I wish the level of hype and praise (and money) heaped on him got spread around a little more to other authors that I think are equally worthy, if not even moreso who slip thru the cracks

 

I am absolutely going to try it again - I had just finished a somewhat similar sci-fi book that I absolutely loved, and it's a little hard for me to switch gears to another scifi world and not overly compare the two, so I read a fantasy book after

 

Yeah, I often try to switch genres between stories just to keep things fresh.

The library just gave me Lev Grossman's The Bright Sword, so that's next, haha.

 

I loved that one too

a lot

 

Might catch some flack, but...

1) you hated - His Dark Materials
2) didn’t mind, but don’t understand the hype - Red Rising Saga
3) loved when no one else seems to - Micro by Michael Crichton. Don't think this wasn't necessarily loved, but just doesn't seem to have quite as much fondness by the general public as I have for it.
4) not in the sci-fi/fantasy space, but think those of us regulars in here would like - Any of the Slow Horses books. Currently reading Everybody Knows by Jordan Harper and really enjoying it. I don't know that I love the writing style, but it's an enjoyable story.

 

worth calling out that Ruocchio's first editor for Empire of Silence basically required him to do things in the same vein as NoTW, so that's why that comparison always gets called out, but I don't think it's anything like that going forward. And like @Helloelloallo said, if you aren't sold by end of 3, it won't be for you. I truly think it's worthy of the hype but I also know it's not for everyone

 

James Rollins is in my top five favorite fantasy authors for sure lol. Wild.

These are really great questions. I’m gonna ponder for a bit and come back to answer.

 

1: Much like @Brother Beck, this is hard for me to answer since I tend to not make it far into stuff I hate. Maybe The Death of Francis Bacon, though that seems to be pretty divisive anyway. That was probably the last thing I hated (except for some indie stuff I bailed on, but that’s rare too).
2: Howl’s Moving Castle lol. It’s weird, this *should* be right up my alley, it’s got all the things I like. But I just found it dreadfully boring and slow. I’ll probably try again at some point, as it’s likely a me problem.
3: Apparently James Rollins haha. Dan Brown also? Some Spider-Man comics, Wolverine too. Nina George’s The Little Paris Bookshop, going by average Goodreads ratings. Brian Lumley. Sōji Shimada. Oooh, KV Johansen, everybody needs to read her work but it’s only at like 3.5 on GR, which isn’t terrible but is still too low.
4: Tricky question, I love it. I’m gonna recommend a couple. Italo Calvino’s If on a winter’s night a traveler. Charles Portis’s The Dog of the South (my favorite book after LOTR). And David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas, which likely some of you have read. All three masterpieces that are fantastical but still largely outside SFF.