Books Fantasy Reads

Thanks!

I’m too old so I have to ask this like the idiot I am: I am supposed to read this on my phone or laptop? Can I get it on my kindle somehow?

Hes releasing a more traditional published version at a later date.
Couple of people have done unofficial versions - You'd probably need to be somewhat techie to get them working though

@Damien the above link ok or should i delete it?
 
I know its partially recency bias but that's the best trilogy I have ever read. Of any genre. The three individual books are all superb as standalone novels but the way the three books tie together is just GOAT tier writing. I would also say it compares favorably to any of the great literature writers - Cixin Liu is on Dostoevsky/Tolstoy level.

I loved this series. Still has me thinking about it often even though I read it a while ago.

Just finished Book 1 and I agree. It's a bit too technical in many phases and the scope is staggering. Now hooked and have to start book 2 immediately.

But is this in line with the Drake Equation and Fermi Paradox? Finding not just an intelligent life, but one with so many similarities to humans this close should be extreme. It is especially praiseworthy that author talks about cultural similarities more than physical ones...very novel and interesting.
 
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Just finished Book 1 and I agree. It's a bit too technical in many phases and the scope is staggering. Now hooked and have to start book 2 immediately.

But is this in line with the Drake Equation and Fermi Paradox? Finding not just an intelligent life, but one with so many similarities to humans this close should be extreme. It is especially praiseworthy that author talks about cultural similarities more than physical ones...very novel and interesting.

Hold off on the those questions until you finish the second book. I think it will answer it for you :)

Glad You are enjoying it!
 
Hes releasing a more traditional published version at a later date.
Couple of people have done unofficial versions - You'd probably need to be somewhat techie to get them working though

@Damien the above link ok or should i delete it?
That sounds rather complicated. I compiled the individual chapters of McCrae's webserials into ebooks that I can read on my reader. All I used was a free plugin into any web browser, and the process of creating an ebook using the plugin is simplicity itself; you just open up each chapter and add it to the book. You can read all about it here: http://www.grabmybooks.com/
PM me if you have any problems
 
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You have to be realistic.
The last story in Sharp Ends had a very weird ending for Logen, which kind of totally changed my opinion over him (to be fair, he is so complicated that having an opinion over him is so difficult).

Also, Glokta was easily my favorite character in The First Law world, probably followed by Bayaz. No one writes better an antihero/villain than Abercrombie.
 
Who's your favorite fantasy book character?

For me, it has to be Mat Cauthon. Brilliant, funny and utterly likeable rogue.
Mat Cauthon
Mat would have been high on my list if he wasn't by far my least favorite character in the saga for around half of it. He was easily the best character in WoT later on, but until book 5 or 6, Gosh, he was totally insufferable.
 
Some of the characters I really liked, and any of them could be in my top 20:

Tyrion, Jon, Jaime, Daenerys, Ned, Varys from ASOIAF
Moiraine, Mat, Rand, Egwene, Ishamael from WoT
Glokta, Bayaz, Logen, Monzcarro from The First Law
Yarvi from The Shattered Sea
Jorg from The Broken Empire
Kvothe from The Kingkiller Chronicles
Vaelin al Sorna from Raven's Shadow
Vin, Kelsier from Mistborn
Kaladin from Stormlight Archive
Locke Lamorra, Jean from Gentlemen Bastard
Otah from Long Price Quartet
King Brandin from Tigana
Frodo, Gandalf and Aragorn from LOTR.
Geralrd, Ciri and Yenefer from The Witcher.
Achamian from The Second Apocalypse.
Quick Ben from Malazan.
Fitz, Fool, Kettricken from The Realm of the Elderlings
Croaker, Lady, Soulcatcher from The Black Company

Quite amazing how many series I've read that I don't have a character that I really liked. The likes of Codex Alera, Dagger and the Coin and many others which had 3+ books but didn't care for any of the characters at all. Also, does it make me a bad person liking Ishamael, Varys, Glokta, Bayaz, Logen, Monza, Yarvi, Jorg and Brandin? They are somewhere between antiheroes and villains.

Locke is arguably the only one who has only positive qualities, and I guess that everyone really liked it. I would really love that series to continue.
 
Now, a more interesting question, what is the character you hated most?

Easy answer for me: Elaida from Wheel of Time.
 
Mat would have been high on my list if he wasn't by far my least favorite character in the saga for around half of it. He was easily the best character in WoT later on, but until book 5 or 6, Gosh, he was totally insufferable.

But you chose Moiraine who is not even there for most of the books!

Now, a more interesting question, what is the character you hated most?

Most of women in WoT with few exceptions (Moiraine, Min and Tylin, Siuan etc)
Nicomo Cosca in Red Country
Kallor in Malzan
Joffrey in GoT
Frodo in LotR
 
But you chose Moiraine who is not even there for most of the books!

When she is, she is great though. I was almost forced to skip Mat's chapters on the first few books, he was worse than the hobbits in LOTR.

Most of women in WoT with few exceptions (Moiraine, Min and Tylin, Siuan etc)
Nicomo Cosca in Red Country
Kallor in Malzan
Joffrey in GoT
Frodo in LotR

Don't understand why you dislike Frodo, and found Cosma very funny. Kallor is a good shot though, such a hateable character.

Was Tylin that old queen who made Mat her sex-slave? Didn't like her. Tuon was great though, in a series with genetically insane people (Rand, Ishamael), she somehow was the most insane one.
 
You mean like real hate? As in "i want this character the die the ugliest death" hate?

WoT as a whole

Achamian, Kellhus, the consult, the gods from TSA

Karos Invictad and his minion, the bastard that killed Trull, and most of the letherii in general. Mallick Rell and Korbolo Dom. The Tiste Liosan high priestess and mage(don't remember the names) from the kharkanas trilogy, along with Father Light. And Errastas of course. Karsa in HoC too, but he grows a lot throughout the books and by the end is genuinely likeable

Logen Ninefingers, Bayaz and Khalul

(TSA i'm currently reading, FL recently read, Malazan favourite series, WoT biggest disappointment, hence i'm only mentioning those 4. Malazan, Gentleman Bastards, First Law and TSA are just about the only fantasy series to leave a mark on me)

Funny that i can't even consider ASOIAF as a fantasy book series anymore :lol:. Yeah, plenty from that one too. Joffrey, ALL the freys, Viserys, Lisa Arryn, Littlefinger(love and hate in equal measures), Janos, Alliser, Craster, ah feck, too many to count :lol:
 
You mean like real hate? As in "i want this character the die the ugliest death" hate?

WoT as a whole

Achamian, Kellhus, the consult, the gods from TSA

Karos Invictad and his minion, the bastard that killed Trull, and most of the letherii in general. Mallick Rell and Korbolo Dom. The Tiste Liosan high priestess and mage(don't remember the names) from the kharkanas trilogy, along with Father Light. And Errastas of course. Karsa in HoC too, but he grows a lot throughout the books and by the end is genuinely likeable

Logen Ninefingers, Bayaz and Khalul

(TSA i'm currently reading, FL recently read, Malazan favourite series, WoT biggest disappointment, hence i'm only mentioning those 4. Malazan, Gentleman Bastards, First Law and TSA are just about the only fantasy series to leave a mark on me)

Funny that i can't even consider ASOIAF as a fantasy book series anymore :lol:. Yeah, plenty from that one too. Joffrey, ALL the freys, Viserys, Lisa Arryn, Littlefinger(love and hate in equal measures), Janos, Alliser, Craster, ah feck, too many to count :lol:
Fair enough.

I liked Achamian, he genuinely was trying to do the right thing, just that he got fooled like everyone else. I hate Kellhus too, for two reasons: a) being an arsehole of unprecedented measures, b) being badly written to the point when everyone wanks when he talks and does things despite that his monologues are absolutely boring and devout of anything good. No other author has done more wrongly 'show, don't tell'. Here it was definitely 'tell, don't show'.

Allister wasn't all bad IMO. He thought that he was doing the right thing by killing Jon. And from their point of view, you can understand that.
 
When she is, she is great though. I was almost forced to skip Mat's chapters on the first few books, he was worse than the hobbits in LOTR.

Don't understand why you dislike Frodo, and found Cosma very funny. Kallor is a good shot though, such a hateable character.

Was Tylin that old queen who made Mat her sex-slave? Didn't like her. Tuon was great though, in a series with genetically insane people (Rand, Ishamael), she somehow was the most insane one.

Can't disagree on Moiraine. She was probably the least annoying of the women in WoT.

Frodo is a bit of a enigma. Both in books and movie, he comes across as a weakling who somehow stumbles but then keep going on unbelievably. I'm not sure where he gets his strength or mental will when he in numerous instances exhibits lack of both. Probably the weakest of strong characters, to say.

Tuon is OK. For the descendants of a great hero, they certainly are a despicable race.

I liked cosca in earlier books. It's just in Red Country, he turns utterly despicable with total lack of morality. Very well written character making it so easy to hate.
 
Fair enough.

I liked Achamian, he genuinely was trying to do the right thing, just that he got fooled like everyone else. I hate Kellhus too, for two reasons: a) being an arsehole of unprecedented measures, b) being badly written to the point when everyone wanks when he talks and does things despite that his monologues are absolutely boring and devout of anything good. No other author has done more wrongly 'show, don't tell'. Here it was definitely 'tell, don't show'.
Achamian is a sexist, misogynous cnut, a little man full of envy and hatred. Kellhus is a monster but he actually did more good for people than Akka. Especially Esmenet

Agree that he's terribly written though.

Cnaiur i didn't mention 'cause his life is already hell
 
Achamian is a sexist, misogynous cnut

Why in particular?

, a little man full of envy and hatred.

Come on, he knew from the start that Kell will become far more powerful than him, if he teaches Kell. Heck, he said that Kell will become more powerful than Sevanna. His hatred for Kell wasn't cause of envy, more because of Kell fooled him and everyone else and essentially became a malignant dictator.

Kellhus is a monster but he actually did more good for people than Akka.

Going into never-ending wars, and the stuff he does in the later books? Biggest scumbag in the history of fantasy books, without a single redeeming virtue.
 
I think I'm going to cheat and pick 2 favorite characters - Fitz and Nighteyes by Robin Hobb. I liked that Fitz was a bit of a moron and really self critical and a bit self loathing. It just made him a really interesting narrator. Nighteyes was a bit of a gimmick but ... I enjoyed it I guess?
 
Why in particular?
Esmenet. I know he's pretty normal for the setting, even among the better ones. But he's the POV character who interacts with women the most

Come on, he knew from the start that Kell will become far more powerful than him, if he teaches Kell. Heck, he said that Kell will become more powerful than Sevanna. His hatred for Kell wasn't cause of envy, more because of Kell fooled him and everyone else and essentially became a malignant dictator.
No, his hatred of Kellhus is the one thing i don't dislike about him.

Going into never-ending wars, and the stuff he does in the later books? Biggest scumbag in the history of fantasy books, without a single redeeming virtue.
Sure, not saying otherwise. And he still does more good than Akka
 
I'm going to cheat on most hated character and pick a few for different reasons:

Leo Bonhart from the Witcher series. I wanted Yennefer to get turned loose on him. Which I suppose is good writing as he's a horrible scumbag. Joffrey falls into the same category.

Nynaeve. Given I've only just started book 6(or 5? I can't remember) of WoT, I've clearly got time for her to redeem herself. But feck me is she an insufferable prick for the majority of it so far. Shut up, stop being a judgemental bitch and leave your god damn motherfecking braid alone! I just wanted Yennefer to get turned loose on her.

Kvothe. His POV where he tries to lick his own arse Hideo Kojima style completely put me off the series. I couldn't even finish the first book. Lacked Yennefer.

Triss Merrigold. She was fine in the books, bit of a traitorous bitch, but fine. Add the games into the mix and she's all sorts of sociopath. I just wanted Yennefer to take her out for her traitorous ways the second they met in TW3. It's the one thing that really annoyed me about TW3. That and the fact it had to end. She annoys me in every scene where the scheming fecker is acting all noble and nice.

Every Mandalorian written by Karen Traviss. An entire race of Mary Sue's. Great. Something, something Yennefer...
 
I'm going to cheat on most hated character and pick a few for different reasons:

Leo Bonhart from the Witcher series. I wanted Yennefer to get turned loose on him. Which I suppose is good writing as he's a horrible scumbag. Joffrey falls into the same category.

Nynaeve. Given I've only just started book 6(or 5? I can't remember) of WoT, I've clearly got time for her to redeem herself. But feck me is she an insufferable prick for the majority of it so far. Shut up, stop being a judgemental bitch and leave your god damn motherfecking braid alone! I just wanted Yennefer to get turned loose on her.

Kvothe. His POV where he tries to lick his own arse Hideo Kojima style completely put me off the series. I couldn't even finish the first book. Lacked Yennefer.

Triss Merrigold. She was fine in the books, bit of a traitorous bitch, but fine. Add the games into the mix and she's all sorts of sociopath. I just wanted Yennefer to take her out for her traitorous ways the second they met in TW3. It's the one thing that really annoyed me about TW3. That and the fact it had to end. She annoys me in every scene where the scheming fecker is acting all noble and nice.

Every Mandalorian written by Karen Traviss. An entire race of Mary Sue's. Great. Something, something Yennefer...
Leo there but no Vilgefortz? Both scumbags, and both terrifying. Unlike in Leo's case though, turning Yennefer lose on Vilgefortz would have done feck nothing. He was genuinely terrifying, being able to neutralize 'that vampire' with ease, and playing with Geralt like he was a kid.

Triss a sociopath? Naaaah. I found her alright in the books, great in the first game, and then again alright in the next two games. She cared for Ciri and loved Geralt. Of course, choosing Yen over her was easy peasy. Especially considering that her biggest priorities were those Sorceresses Lodges, unlike Yen, who eventually cared only for two people in the world.
 
Leo there but no Vilgefortz? Both scumbags, and both terrifying. Unlike in Leo's case though, turning Yennefer lose on Vilgefortz would have done feck nothing. He was genuinely terrifying, being able to neutralize 'that vampire' with ease, and playing with Geralt like he was a kid.

Triss a sociopath? Naaaah. I found her alright in the books, great in the first game, and then again alright in the next two games. She cared for Ciri and loved Geralt. Of course, choosing Yen over her was easy peasy. Especially considering that her biggest priorities were those Sorceresses Lodges, unlike Yen, who eventually cared only for two people in the world.
For some reason Vilgefortz doesn't stick in my mind the way Leo does. Maybe because Leo seemed more human, whereas Vilgefortz was so powerful he seemed a bit beyond that. I agree though, complete scumbag.

Triss wanted to help the Lodge take control of Ciri at the expense of her "friend" Yennefer, tried to steal Geralt away from Yennefer and then tried it again when he lost his memory. She's exceptionally shady. I can't see why Yen would have let her live after she'd gotten use out of her in TW3. She'd proven you can't turn your back on her with your man or anything else.
 
For some reason Vilgefortz doesn't stick in my mind the way Leo does. Maybe because Leo seemed more human, whereas Vilgefortz was so powerful he seemed a bit beyond that. I agree though, complete scumbag.

Triss wanted to help the Lodge take control of Ciri at the expense of her "friend" Yennefer, tried to steal Geralt away from Yennefer and then tried it again when he lost his memory. She's exceptionally shady. I can't see why Yen would have let her live after she'd gotten use out of her in TW3. She'd proven you can't turn your back on her with your man or anything else.
Yen of games was a softened version of Yen of books. Also, Geralt kind of chose her again, even without the gini spell, and dropped his relation with Triss when he met Yen again (assuming that the player did the logical thing). There was no need to kill her, I guess.

Also, she kind of redeemed herself in the battle, without her, they would have lost everything. And finally, when Triss started her relation with Geralt, Triss thought that Yen is dead. Not sure how much friends they ever were, it is kind of mentioned, but never shown in the books that they were close friends.

I liked Triss. Nowhere as much as Yen, but still liked her.
 
For hated character i think you can basically put any Grima Wormtongue in there for me. The sneaky, wretches of the different universes.
I can enjoy reading about a psychopath or a shades of grey, empathetic bad guy. I want these types to die in a fire immediately usually. Malazan has a good collection of total bastards with Mallick Rel, Bidithal and Karos Invictad. None of them are that powerful or particularly threatening in the wider scheme but i still hated their guts. Priests, bureaucrats and advisors with too much authority.
 
Mallick Rel
The main reason I abandoned Malazan and swore not to read another word about that world is that in one of the last books in the series (OST by Esslemont, I think), Mallick Rel was rewarded for his extreme treachery, sociopathy and general inhumanity by becoming the Emperor. That kind of moral failure on the part of the authors is something I can't forgive.
 
I finally finished Book 2 of the Hyperion Cantos, which concluded the story began in Book 1. It was a tough slog for me, as I didn't like it much. While I found some parts of the story intriguing (the soldier's story and the scholar's story in Book 1) the rest of the Cantos so far was mostly boring poetry and philosophizing BS. The resolution of the stories reminded me of Malazan, where random sh*t which have no rational scientific explanation keeps happening, you just have to accept it and keep going. The difference is that I knew the effects in Malazan were supposed to be made with magic, while Hyperion pretended to be science. I much preferred Malazan, and I don't think I'll be reading the rest of the Cantos.

Started on the first book of the Powder Mage trilogy.
 
Mallick Rell isn't powerful? :confused:
the guy had Mael doing his bidding! And he becomes emperor! Even a competent emperor apparently

Eagerly awaiting for him to get Karsa'd in the trilogy :lol:
 
Mallick Rell isn't powerful? :confused:
the guy had Mael doing his bidding! And he becomes emperor! Even a competent emperor apparently

Eagerly awaiting for him to get Karsa'd in the trilogy :lol:

I haven't read anything outside of the main series tbf, he kind of ruins my point admittedly but his power isn't exactly heavily advertised in the series. He has pormqual who seems an utter moron under his control and its hinted at him having a lot more power when Tavore goes back to Malaz. In the grand scheme of the series with Anomander Rake, Draconus and Hood wandering about he doesn't seem that powerful really.