Books Fantasy Reads

Mozza said:
I think the chain of dogs in book 2 is the greatest story ever told
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Probably the best sub-book in the series so far. A little less Duilker and a little more Coltaine would have made it better though.

Have to say though I'm getting a bit tired of the philosophical musings of random soldiers. It's like every couple of pages you have random people contemplating the meaning of life and death.
 
I have read the Acacia trilogy over the last weeks. Highly recommended (although the last book Drops a bit in Quality).

Next are books 4 and 5 of Robert Low`s "The Oathsworn". Not Fantasy but good series for everyone interested in Viking tales.

Beside Cornwell my favorite author when it Comes to historical fiction.
 
If anyone fancies an easy read, I'd recommend the Abhorsen trilogy, starting with the first book, Sabriel.

It's my favourite Young Adult series I prefer it to the likes of Harry Potter. It revolves around a good necromancer who keeps the dead, dead and she goes on an epic quest.
 
Edgar Allan Pillow said:
Come on. Red Country is probably the worst Abercrombie book I've read. Logen is made to look like a sulking dark berserk and his character is not developed at all. He's just a brute after the kid.
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Because you see him from some other POV. Same with Shivers.

I thought he was very much on his character, but 15-20 years older than in the trilogy, and this time you don't hear his thought, but what other people think about him.

I think it is a better book than the first two books in TFL trilogy and the last two books in TSS trilogy. Worse than The Last Argument of Kings, Best Served Cold, The Heroes and Half a King.
 
Revan said:
Because you see him from some other POV. Same with Shivers.

I thought he was very much on his character, but 15-20 years older than in the trilogy, and this time you don't hear his thought, but what other people think about him.

I think it is a better book than the first two books in TFL trilogy and the last two books in TSS trilogy. Worse than The Last Argument of Kings, Best Served Cold, The Heroes and Half a King.
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In the TFL, the character of Logen was so complex. He is a barbarian who strives to be better. Very grey character. I felt it's all been dumbed down to a raging berserk in Red Country. Maybe as you say it's due to a PoV change. Shy has no clue to who/what Logen really is and that takes away all the complexity. She tends to look at him in black and white and that imo is a gross injustice to that character. What made TFL so fascinating imo is because Abercrombie paints a fascinating picture of Logen as a character vs the big story. And it tends to glorify his role a bit.

Cosca's character is fantastic though. I found his uncaring casual attitude far more fearsome than Bayaz, tbh! Brilliant.
 
I've gotten to a point in The Heroes where I almost stopped reading.

When Black Dow agreed to fight Calder in the circle. It was just so pointless and predictable. From the second he agreed I knew 100% Shivers is going to kill him. I don't like Calder and Shivers just seems a bit pointless with no POV. He doesn't really fit in and is more of a plot device than a character in this book. Everyone's afraid of him for seemingly no reason other than he has a fecked up face, it's like he has a reputation he doesn't deserve. It just annoyed me that one of my favourite characters was so predictably taken out by two of my least favourite. If Dow is going down then at least make it a surprise. Maybe it's good writing that I cared about Dow, but this feels like one of the very, very few times Abercrombie has disappointed me

I'm 90% finished according to my kindle, it took a massive leap up in quality and then that one thing just felt so meh in the middle of it all.
 
Akash said:
Probably the best sub-book in the series so far. A little less Duilker and a little more Coltaine would have made it better though.

Have to say though I'm getting a bit tired of the philosophical musings of random soldiers. It's like every couple of pages you have random people contemplating the meaning of life and death.
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Coltaine is a hero for the ages, I think the distance helps make it so.

Yes the common man is a little too aware of the world, most time would be scrambling in the dirt for the next meal, not wondering about their spot in the universe.

The city of Leathers, its parallels to this world, is another brilliant invention
 
Finished The Heroes. Not Abercrombies best work, but pretty good. Although it feels like it drags the ending out a bit, suppose he kind of has to with all the POV's. Gorst quickly became one of my favourite characters, just behind Logen.

Not sure what to move on to now, Gemmell, another Malazan book and Red Country are all tempting me. I also have a Noble Dead one to read, they aren't brilliant but they are good enough and I started the series so I want to finish it. I have a Witcher graphic novel at the minute anyway which will give me a few days to decide.
 
I have started "The Winter King" by Cornwell after I heard so much good things about the Warlord chronicles. 150 pages in and very good so far.
 
Green Rider seemed more a comfort reading than an original one, I was more puzzled that most of the dangers seem to happen to other people while the MC was mostly lucky for lot of times.

I have finished the Fifth season by N.K. Jemisin. Interesting reading though I really got a hard time with the not-that-interesting prologue and the annoying 2nd person POV. And I am not convinced this choice had value.
 
The Lions of Al-Rassan - a nice book from Guy Gavriel Kay. If the ending wasn't so rushed, i might have said that it is on par with Tigana (one of my most favorite fantasy books).

Did anyone else thought that it was Rodrigo who won the duel? I thought so, especially after you hear that Delmonte has defeated the other 'Muslim' city-states of 'Spain' and that now 'Spain' is united under King Rodrigo. It was a surprise when I saw Amar in 'Jerusalem', alive.
 
Just finished Neverwhere by Gaiman. It was okay/decent, but definitely didn't love it. Much crazy at times, almost like Alice in Wonderland (can be completely wrong because I read that book near 2 decades ago) made for adults. I also didn't found the humor funny at all.

Is 'American Gods' similar? I was planning to read it, but if it is like Neverwhere, then maybe I'll skip it.
 
Shadows of Self - Alloy of Law #2

Quite a nice read. Quite different from his earlier books, though God Sazed had a more direct role to play here. From a straight action adventure that was the first book, this book is a bit dark and explores denser themes of how Sazed manipulates people for 'greater good'. The climax was just brilliant. How will Wax react? What happens next? I'm quite excited for Book 3.

My biggest gripe is that for a Way and Wayne trilogy, the book revolves mostly around Wax. Wayne is a very colourful character and I wish we get more focus on him, his background etc.

Rating: 7.5/10
 
Finished American Gods by Gaiman. While I didn't love it, it was a big improvement on Neverwhere.

Sam was completely crazy and her speech in what she can believe was one of the most impressive things I've ever read.
 
Edgar Allan Pillow said:
@Revan Just finished the Expanse novella 'Gods of Risk'. Very average. Sheds some light on Sgt Bobbie Draper's brother and his family, but very very superficial story. And it doesn't have enough Bobbie.
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I don't think that I am going to bother with the Expanse novellas. The story was quite clear just from novels.

Anyway, just finished the first book in Long Pirce Quartet from Daniel Abrahams (one of the two authors of Expanse). A nice book - especially considering that it is a debut novel - with a very unique story, characters and system of magic. Would recommend it.
 
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Finished Long Price Quartet (all four books). Absolutely loved it, and everyone should read those books. They are great, despite being tragic. And they are original in every aspect, be it on characters, world or the magic system.

My favorite was the third book, followed by the fourth one. Otah and Maati are all time greats when it comes to fantasy genre.

@Edgar Allan Pillow , read it in case you haven't. It is written by Abraham, one of the co-authors of the Expanse. And it is better than the Expanse.
 
Revan said:
Finished Long Price Quartet (all four books). Absolutely loved it, and everyone should read those books. They are great, despite being tragic. And they are original in every aspect, be it on characters, world or the magic system.

My favorite was the third book, followed by the fourth one. Otah and Maati are all time greats when it comes to fantasy genre.

@Edgar Allan Pillow , read it in case you haven't. It is written by Abraham, one of the co-authors of the Expanse. And it is better than the Expanse.
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I've had this in my radar for a long time now and somehow never started on this. Since I just started on Thrawn yesterday, I'll finish that quick and get on to this next.
 
I have finished Shadows of Self. Nice reading but not as complex as I expected though I got confused because I didn't remember things from the original trilogy like who the kandra were. I will probably read the next book who was released yesterday closer to the last book.
 
Revan said:
Just finished Neverwhere by Gaiman. It was okay/decent, but definitely didn't love it. Much crazy at times, almost like Alice in Wonderland (can be completely wrong because I read that book near 2 decades ago) made for adults. I also didn't found the humor funny at all.

Is 'American Gods' similar? I was planning to read it, but if it is like Neverwhere, then maybe I'll skip it.
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I found it mediocre throughout the first half, while I thought the second half was excellent, and the ending was absolutely gripping and almost had me in tears! I loved the humour of the book though, so we obviously have differing tastes in that aspect.

I wouldn't really say that American Gods is similar to Neverwhere at all, except for Gaiman's style of writing and possibly the humour (which I enjoyed there as well, so proceed at your own risk). It is a much grander story and universe in American Gods, more locations and completely different characters. On the whole, while I'm fond of Neverwhere, American Gods is just a far more impressive book in every aspect, while still being unmistakenly Gaiman.

Revan said:
Finished American Gods by Gaiman. While I didn't love it, it was a big improvement on Neverwhere.

Sam was completely crazy and her speech in what she can believe was one of the most impressive things I've ever read.
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I thought Sam was the most interesting character in the book from the moment Shadow encountered her. Her speech and the way her arc ended didn't disappoint. For me it was all these supporting characters that made the book, in addition to the sheer size of the universe it constructed. I did read the ten year anniversary edition though, which was a little longer (and included a cut scene in the credits where Shadow met Jesus, which I found amusing).

I finished Anansi Boys over Christmas, which I thought was a nice expansion of the universe.
 
On the subject of American Gods, I would love to, at some point, read a sort of annotated version which expands on the mythology and references upon Gaiman builds the story. I was pretty much entirely lost on all of it, except for the parts that built on Norse mythology, so it felt a bit overwhelming at times.

Does anyone know if such a work exists?
 
Finished Mistborn: Bands of Mourning and found it a bit shit. Now started Mistborn: Secret History novella (practically, Mistborn 3.5) and:

Kelsier is back. By itself this means that the book is a few times better than Wax and Wayne trilogy combined.
 
Not sure if this should go here, but I class a lot of it as fantasy. Currently reading The Mothman Prophecies. It's so bizarre and not because it's about a guy trying to report on actual claimed sightings of a 7ft tall winged humanoid with glowing red eyes from tons of witnesses. If that was as weird as it got I'd know what I was in for, it's just so odd like how he describes the attractiveness of every woman he interviews and keeps linking income with intelligence and credibility. I suppose it's a book of it's time(the 70's it was written), but it just comes across so strangely. Decent read though, obviously taken with a massive pinch of salt.
 
Revan said:
Finished Mistborn: Bands of Mourning and found it a bit shit. Now started Mistborn: Secret History novella (practically, Mistborn 3.5) and:

Kelsier is back. By itself this means that the book is a few times better than Wax and Wayne trilogy combined.
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The feck. That was fast :lol: I'm stopping Thrawn to get this read up this weekend!
 
Edgar Allan Pillow said:
The feck. That was fast :lol: I'm stopping Thrawn to get this read up this weekend!
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Don't do that. It would be like stopping Godfather to watch Transformers.

Anyway, the new novella Mistborn: Secret History is quite nice. Despite that it takes place during the events of the original trilogy, it has a big spoiler for Bands of Mourning, so be careful there.
 
Art Vandelay said:
Not sure if this should go here, but I class a lot of it as fantasy. Currently reading The Mothman Prophecies. It's so bizarre and not because it's about a guy trying to report on actual claimed sightings of a 7ft tall winged humanoid with glowing red eyes from tons of witnesses. If that was as weird as it got I'd know what I was in for, it's just so odd like how he describes the attractiveness of every woman he interviews and keeps linking income with intelligence and credibility. I suppose it's a book of it's time(the 70's it was written), but it just comes across so strangely. Decent read though, obviously taken with a massive pinch of salt.
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I've read that too but, strangely, found it a lot more forgettable than the film.
 
Revan said:
Finished Mistborn: Bands of Mourning and found it a bit shit. Now started Mistborn: Secret History novella (practically, Mistborn 3.5) and:

Kelsier is back. By itself this means that the book is a few times better than Wax and Wayne trilogy combined.
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Just finished this. Awesome. the scope and story are far better than the previous and by far the best book of the trilogy.

How was SH?

The medallions are Kelsier's copperminds containing his memory, right?

And I thought, Trell would make a bigger appearance here. They still keep the Set and their origins/intentions too dark.
 
Edgar Allan Pillow said:
Just finished this. Awesome. the scope and story are far better than the previous and by far the best book of the trilogy.

How was SH?

The medallions are Kelsier's copperminds containing his memory, right?

And I thought, Trell would make a bigger appearance here. They still keep the Set and their origins/intentions too dark.
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I liked Secret History. I hated Bands of Mourning.

SH is short, so you can read it in a day or so.
 
Edgar Allan Pillow said:
:lol: Why?

I just finished it and still haven't thought it through. There are some obvious question I have that I need to go back and browse a 2nd time, I suppose. The whole Investiture thing confuses me.
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Because Sanderson's writing is shit, and when the story isn't exceptional, it makes the book very average. In addition, his stories are quite similar to each other, which makes him the Dan Brown of fantasy genre.

I thought that the second book was very good cause the story was so more interesting, and the writing in that book might have been his best ever (or at least tied with Wheel of Time).
 
I'm giving up on Malazan. Parts of Midnight Tides give me the impression that that Eriksen has just discovered the dictionary. Random slaves speaking like the fecking Queen. Ugh. Might return back at some point but I can now see why someone called it the Lost of fantasy books.
 
Finished Foundation trilogy. Really underwhelmed from this. I was expecting something like the best sci-fi ever, but found it painfully average. Not only that I found Robots better, but I even found Foundation's prequels slightly better.

Not going to continue with the Foundation sequels, for now. Maybe sometime letter, but I am a bit fatigued from Asimov.
 
So, anyone read Dune? This will be my new sci-fi/fantasy saga I am starting. The first book is generally mentioned as the best sci-fi book ever.

@Akash , at what part of Malazan you are? I have been planning to read it since Finished Wheel of Time, more than a year ago, and even read The Chronicles of the Black Company to be prepared for that. In my list, I was planning to start it after I finish Dune, but your critic (combined with others) is making me reconsider that.

Is it too hard to read, or it just sucks?
 
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