Have you read The Iron Druid series? Seems to be quite similar to Dresden and thinking of giving it a whirl.
Somehow I don't get the feel to start Night Angel trilogy as of now...
Books Fantasy Reads
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Have you read The Iron Druid series? Seems to be quite similar to Dresden and thinking of giving it a whirl.
Somehow I don't get the feel to start Night Angel trilogy as of now...
Finished Mythago Wood. Could have been more interesting if I thought the MC worked hard, he seems to be so lucky and helped that I didn't care that much. Or maybe because it was obvious from the start he wasn't helping his brother, wasn't even decent enough to feel a little guilty and confused.
Finished Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine. I was expecting to despise it but it was a fun read even if I saw it a mix of Harry Potter and its fanfics, and some other novels.
Finished Homeland, the first book of The Legend of Drizzt. The two first chapters were boring but the rest of the book was more interesting with the politics becoming more personal. Though most of the book was kind of obvious.
Finished Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine. I was expecting to despise it but it was a fun read even if I saw it a mix of Harry Potter and its fanfics, and some other novels.
Finished Homeland, the first book of The Legend of Drizzt. The two first chapters were boring but the rest of the book was more interesting with the politics becoming more personal. Though most of the book was kind of obvious.
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Not yet. Still have to finish The Martian and the Tawny Man series and have to read The Pillars of Earth, which is also lying on my table, and Warbreaker, which is on my phone. I don't want to even know what other series there are before I finish what I have on hand.
I'm working my way through the Mistborn Trilogy right now. I assume it's been mentioned loads of times in this thread. I'd recommend it to anyone.
Finished "The obsidian Heart" (Part 2 of Echoes of Empires series) by Mark T. Barnes the other day. Good stuff. Looking forward to the final instalment.
Started the first Farseer book and really enjoy it. Never tried anything by Hobb before but I can already say that this series will be among my favorites.
Started the first Farseer book and really enjoy it. Never tried anything by Hobb before but I can already say that this series will be among my favorites.
http://www.tor.com/2015/07/21/lets-talk-about-brandon-sandersons-cosmere/
Gives a great insight into Cosmere, Sanderson's universe, where most of his books are based . May be a bit spoilery if you haven't read the Two Stormlight Archive books. In fact, the comments to that article would probably be containing more spoilers than the article itself.
Re:Hoid
Gives a great insight into Cosmere, Sanderson's universe, where most of his books are based . May be a bit spoilery if you haven't read the Two Stormlight Archive books. In fact, the comments to that article would probably be containing more spoilers than the article itself.
Re:Hoid
Could Hoid's actual motive be to get take control of all the shards and become a Adonalsium like being?
Finished Assassin's Apprentice. Hobb seems to be a good writer.
I liked the book, though I think that the characters (bar the main one) lacked depth. The book has the same feeling as Name of the Wind, though not near as good. Still a great reading and if it continues like this I will read everything on Realm of the Elderlings.
I liked the book, though I think that the characters (bar the main one) lacked depth. The book has the same feeling as Name of the Wind, though not near as good. Still a great reading and if it continues like this I will read everything on Realm of the Elderlings.
Ain't Hoid an agent of the seventeenth shard (whatever it is)? Sanderson said that he will clarify the Hoid role in a series that will come after Stormlight.
They get fleshed out more as the story continues (or most do anyrate).
Or are you just not a fan of the single PoV? (the liveships trilogy has multiple PoV's)
I think that I prefer more multiple PoV, but single PoV can be done well (Name of the wind, Blood Song or the book we're talking about).
Glad you liked it! Interesting that you liked NotW more, I found that one to be a lot worse since I really disliked Kvothe most of the time, whereas Fitz was infuriating at times but still easy to like. Could also be a case of whichever you read first feeling more original too.
Completely agree with @caid that the other characters get fleshed out a lot more as the story goes along, I remember having the same problem with the first book or two. The first trilogy suffers from that a bit, which I think is why I enjoyed Fitz's story more as it went along. You get to know the others more as he gets to know them, and since he's very reserved it's a bit slow in that sense.
That's one of the reasons I rate Liveships a lot higher. Imo each of the viewpoint characters is as deep and well-realised as Fitz, and there are at least 10-12 of them. Even the ones that are hateful little shits to begin with (you'll know who I mean the moment you read it) develop into strong characters that you actually root for.
I read Name of the Wind before Assassin's Apprentice and I like better Hobb's novel. Though it's true I can't say I really like Name of the Wind.
I have nearly finished Uprooted by Naomi Novik. I really liked it even if I didn't care about the romance. I probably should try to read the 2nd book of Temeraire before the end of the year.
I have nearly finished Uprooted by Naomi Novik. I really liked it even if I didn't care about the romance. I probably should try to read the 2nd book of Temeraire before the end of the year.
Ain't got a clue mate. I am just speculating or more like thinking aloud. Though I think I am wrong, as he didn't seem interested in holding Preservation & Ruin. Haven't read Warbreaker or Elantris yet so don't know if he makes an appearance there.
Just getting into the genre through A Song of Fire and Ice. Are there any fantasy series better than ASOFAI? Or am I starting at the pinnacle.
Completely depends on who you ask. There's certainly a lot of excellent stories out there beyond ASOIAF, and a huge amount of variety too.
Completely depends on who you ask. There's certainly a lot of excellent stories out there beyond ASOIAF, and a huge amount of variety too.
I like the political aspect of ASOFAI and the adult nature of it. Any ideas?
I'm probably not the best person to ask, since I haven't read it!
The Folding Knife by K.J. Parker is the only really political fantasy book I have read. It can be kind of brutal, mostly dark humor. Though there's only one POV.
The sheer scale and strength of political structure is something I've not seen in any other series. So if that's something you are specifically looking for it's all down from here.
Other series' that have a reasonably good political system would be Farseer Trilogy and First Law. The latter is also adult in nature.
Cheers for the tips guys Farseer seems to be well liked. I will check it out.
Glad you liked it! Interesting that you liked NotW more, I found that one to be a lot worse since I really disliked Kvothe most of the time, whereas Fitz was infuriating at times but still easy to like. Could also be a case of whichever you read first feeling more original too.
Completely agree with @caid that the other characters get fleshed out a lot more as the story goes along, I remember having the same problem with the first book or two. The first trilogy suffers from that a bit, which I think is why I enjoyed Fitz's story more as it went along. You get to know the others more as he gets to know them, and since he's very reserved it's a bit slow in that sense.
That's one of the reasons I rate Liveships a lot higher. Imo each of the viewpoint characters is as deep and well-realised as Fitz, and there are at least 10-12 of them. Even the ones that are hateful little shits to begin with (you'll know who I mean the moment you read it) develop into strong characters that you actually root for.
Having read the Farseer trilogy and on the last book the Liveships my main problem with Hobb is that the "villians" are rather flat and uninteresting (talking Regal and the Satrap here mostly).
Otherwise then so far so good, would rate them generally about an 8/10.
The Gentleman Bastards series sorta has some politics, especially in the Republic of Thieves (book 3). It's also amazing.
Yeah I agree on Regal and Cosgo, but I'd count Kennit as the main villain of Liveships, and he's pure awesome. Besides, one of the best things about Liveships is that it's not about a fight against some evil person, the conflict is between people who just disagree instead.
Kennit is a great character , loved Nighteyes in the Farseer books too . Anyone read The Tawny Man trilogy , another great tale .Yeah I agree on Regal and Cosgo, but I'd count Kennit as the main villain of Liveships, and he's pure awesome. Besides, one of the best things about Liveships is that it's not about a fight against some evil person, the conflict is between people who just disagree instead.
I personally thought Regal was an interesting character. Maybe the motivations for him were a little flat, but I don't think he was totally boring.
Halfway through the 3rd one now. Love the series.
Halfway through the 3rd one now. Love the series.
Fools Quest , the second book of the Fitz and the Fool trilogy out on August 11th .
I'd agree on the bad guys of Farseer being a bit weak.
I was always interested in the guys reaving along the coast but when it finally did reveal them of sorts they just seemed a bit cackling, moustache twirling bad guys.
I kind of found it hard to take them seriously and didn't really get their motivations.
I was always interested in the guys reaving along the coast but when it finally did reveal them of sorts they just seemed a bit cackling, moustache twirling bad guys.
I kind of found it hard to take them seriously and didn't really get their motivations.
General consensus is that ASOIAF is the best. Lord of the Rings is obviously the most famous and its influence can be seen in pretty much every other fantasy series. Elitists seems to say that Malazan Book of the Fallen is the best, but I have yet to read it. Wheel of Time is another one to be mentioned, it is phenomenal too.
It is probably to start reading the genre with something lighter and less time consuming than ASOIAF. Check Kingskiller Chronicles or Mistborn (Mistborn is nowhere near as goos as others I mentioned but IMO is a fantastic introduction to the genre).
I have already started! Nearly through the first book already. I find it quite easy to read so I am not too worried about the length of the series. I quite like the idea of these long series anyway, if you are really into it then the book becomes a companion for a longer period of time.
I'd read kingkiller and farseer when you get a chance.
They dont really match up brilliantly in terms of politics and being adult (first book of kingkiller is about a child growing up, its doesn't pull its punches fwiw) but they're both well written which isn't always common in the genre i find : /
Other in here have read a lot more than me though and i cant really judge a lot of the books they name.
I've just read about a dozen more series that i thought were crap, terrible and irredeemably awful which i forgot about instantly
but the lord of the rings, ASOIAF, Kingkiller and Farseer stuck with me and are a good place to start imo.
Its fine reading an 8 part novel when its as well written as ASOIAF
but personally im pretty reluctant to get into a series like that unless the first part is brilliant.
Malazan is... difficult. If you want to read a book where you care about anything that happens, then it's not for you - I read the first half of the first book and while it was all very interesting, I couldn't have cared less about any of it. I'll give it another go some time, because it's obvious that there's a lot of potential for a great story there, but it's so difficult to get into if you want good characters.
Hobb's writing is among the best (though she does have a penchant for cat metaphors that gets really irritating once you notice it!), and her characters are streets ahead of anyone else. Her books usually aren't perfect - and the less said about the Soldier Son trilogy the better - but they're extremely enjoyable. Liveships comes close to being perfect for me, though not everyone likes it since they just want more Fitz.
Re: well written books, have you read any of Long Price, Gentleman Bastard, Ketty Jay, and (to a lesser extent) His Dark Materials? I know we've chatted about them before, can't remember which of them you've read (if any). Those are all much better than the average imo. It's definitely a problem that a lot of lower quality fantasy gets published, makes me wary of starting anything new since there's a fair chance it'll be painful to read.
Malazan is... difficult. If you want to read a book where you care about anything that happens, then it's not for you - I read the first half of the first book and while it was all very interesting, I couldn't have cared less about any of it. I'll give it another go some time, because it's obvious that there's a lot of potential for a great story there, but it's so difficult to get into if you want good characters.
Hobb's writing is among the best (though she does have a penchant for cat metaphors that gets really irritating once you notice it!), and her characters are streets ahead of anyone else. Her books usually aren't perfect - and the less said about the Soldier Son trilogy the better - but they're extremely enjoyable. Liveships comes close to being perfect for me, though not everyone likes it since they just want more Fitz.
Re: well written books, have you read any of Long Price, Gentleman Bastard, Ketty Jay, and (to a lesser extent) His Dark Materials? I know we've chatted about them before, can't remember which of them you've read (if any). Those are all much better than the average imo. It's definitely a problem that a lot of lower quality fantasy gets published, makes me wary of starting anything new since there's a fair chance it'll be painful to read.
I read the dark materials, that was good ... but probably not a great recommendation for classical mechanic.
I dont think i've read the others but if i hated them i wouldn't remember them so ... I'll check them out though, thanks
Yeah the others are probably not ideal for him either - Long Price is really unusual, and doesn't really pay off until the third and the last books; Gentleman Bastard is mostly action and intrigue with thieves for protagonists; Ketty Jay is brilliant fun but not very deep, and is about airship pirates. They're all excellent though!
Malazan is not for everyone. Very easy to get confused and forget what certain characters were doing a few books ago!
The books are a bit hit and miss as well although Deadhouse Gates is absolutely fantastic in my opinion.
I'm taking a short break from Wheel of Time now that I'm halfway through the Jordan books, and reading Fool's Quest by Robin Hobb (ARC) instead. I'm about 30% through now, and so far it seems like it'll be the best Fitz book out of the whole series.
Just started The Wheel of Time inspired by posts on here. Really liking it so far, once you get past the obvious LOTR similarities and enjoy the story for its own sake. The fact that there's another 13 books to read after this should keep me going until winter.
Around half way of Royal Assassin. It is very very slow, practically as slow as Martin/Jordan at their slowest. Until the last 10% or so, nothing has happened. By nothing, I mean literally nothing.
The character progression isn't that good. Yep, Fitz is great. Verity and the Fool have been quite good in this book. And to a degree the young queen. Other than that, the characters are exactly as they were in the beginning of the first book.
I am liking it, but I don't see why people put these books in the piedestal and compare them to the best sagas in fantasy. They aren't even Mistborn/The First Law level (so far). Still plenty to read though.
The character progression isn't that good. Yep, Fitz is great. Verity and the Fool have been quite good in this book. And to a degree the young queen. Other than that, the characters are exactly as they were in the beginning of the first book.
I am liking it, but I don't see why people put these books in the piedestal and compare them to the best sagas in fantasy. They aren't even Mistborn/The First Law level (so far). Still plenty to read though.
Just finished "the prince of nothing " trilogy.
Very good read for 2 and a half books. Then comes an ending that ruins everything that came before.
Made me want to throw the kindle out in fury!
Very good read for 2 and a half books. Then comes an ending that ruins everything that came before.
Made me want to throw the kindle out in fury!
"The braided path trilogy" that I read before was good.
Now I am going to read the powder mage.
Now I am going to read the powder mage.
Additionally to what the others have been saying I would add Black Company to the list.