It wasn't a weak book, just hard to stomach for me. Left me wishing sigrud would go berserk on the saypuri parliament
And i liked Mulaghesh better in the first book
Sigrud is phenomenal in final book!
Books Fantasy Reads
- Thread starter Alock1
- Start date
Sigrud is phenomenal in final book!
How come there aren't more fantasy movies?
Just finished the 3rd John Gwynn, fantastic first 3 books and will race through the 4th
Just started on Old Man's War a sci-fi series by John Scalzi.
The writing is crisp, humorous and author has not fallen into any of the cliches...yet and overall read is refreshing. The premise is stellar and I'm actually as curious as the protagonists to see where this all leads.
Will post a full review after I finish.
A series I've been meaning to go back to. I got a lend of the first book a few years ago and really enjoyed it. Then I got sidetracked with other books and never got back to it.
Just started on Old Man's War a sci-fi series by John Scalzi.
The writing is crisp, humorous and author has not fallen into any of the cliches...yet and overall read is refreshing. The premise is stellar and I'm actually as curious as the protagonists to see where this all leads.
Will post a full review after I finish.
Just started on Old Man's War a sci-fi series by John Scalzi.
The writing is crisp, humorous and author has not fallen into any of the cliches...yet and overall read is refreshing. The premise is stellar and I'm actually as curious as the protagonists to see where this all leads.
Will post a full review after I finish.
Old Man's War by John Scalzi.
Finished the book.
(+)
Crisp writing with some (juvenile) humour spread through. Story moves at a good place and author doesn't get bogged down in too much description and verbose. Entertaining story and a very interesting setting with lots of potential. Enjoyable easy read.
(-)
Lack of overarching plot dilutes the impact of the book. Lots of events happening but they don't lead to anything. The character building around the protagonist is quite weak. Why he is more successful than others in his similar position is not clearly explained especially when his actions seems common sense and not really genius inspiration.
(=)
A 6/10 read. Enjoyable as a break from other tedious series. I'm actually looking forward to reading the second one to see if it continues the good trend.
Really enjoyed those. Great authour.
Just started on Old Man's War a sci-fi series by John Scalzi.
The writing is crisp, humorous and author has not fallen into any of the cliches...yet and overall read is refreshing. The premise is stellar and I'm actually as curious as the protagonists to see where this all leads.
Will post a full review after I finish.
Not sure, they are hard to do well imo although I was always surprised the success of Lord of the rings did not prompt others to ride it's coat tails.
Comics rule the industry now. I can only think of the Harry Potter, Witch and Wardrobe, Golden Compass movies and maybe some odd ones like Beauty and the Beast, Jungle Book all of which are aimed at kids. No serious adult fantasy movies excepting LotR, I think. And Avatar!
There's plenty of fantasy films, it's just that they are mostly low budget cack. I think they all just kind of gave up when they realised they can't top the greatest fantasy film ever made...Beastmaster!
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Anyone read Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway? Hadn't heard of it but read on a whim, was amazing. Very odd and unique tone and story.
So, I've just completed the 2nd book in the Farseer Trilogy. I was eager to start the third one but some of the reviews for it have been terrible. Many of you might have already read it. How good is it?
Its great
Quite good, and better than second for sure.
Thanks!
Old Man's War (Complete trilogy review)
A really good concept told in a offhand way. Major events happen, but it's told from a characters who have a lackadaisical view to narrating stuff. The gravitas of the events is missing, but also makes way for a refreshing read. The pacing of the plot is way off. You have pages detailing a skirmish when the battle royale gets a few paragraphs.
The concept is very intriguing and despite finishing all 3 books, I can't wait to read what's more.
8/10
A really good concept told in a offhand way. Major events happen, but it's told from a characters who have a lackadaisical view to narrating stuff. The gravitas of the events is missing, but also makes way for a refreshing read. The pacing of the plot is way off. You have pages detailing a skirmish when the battle royale gets a few paragraphs.
The concept is very intriguing and despite finishing all 3 books, I can't wait to read what's more.
8/10
How did you feel reading it? All 3 books have the Hugo in successive years and she's the first author to do so. I was thinking of starting this...
I didn't like them that much. The first one was quite good, the second one okayish, and the third one bad. So while I cannot recommend them (especially considering how much I disliked the third one), they got those Hugo awards, so maybe you'll like them. I guess that there are plenty of people who liked them.
I read the first book of the Broken Earth but didn't feel it was great enough to go on. Maybe because it didn't live up to my expectations after all this praise. Even if I read it before it was even nominated for the Hugo and I read before that two other first books of the author. I think her books are interesting but their magic don't work for me.
I read it faster than the two first books. I like it better and I don't see why it has some bad reviews. Or maybe I see why if some readers expect a kind of ending.
I read it faster than the two first books. I like it better and I don't see why it has some bad reviews. Or maybe I see why if some readers expect a kind of ending.
One of the best trilogies ever. It's great.
I've read the 6 books of the first two trilogies and books 3 of both trilogies were excellent.
The first two Farseer trilogies are some of the best in the genre, IMO. I can honestly say I don't know if I've cared more for a literary character than FitzChivalry Farseer. Wish I could read them for the first time again.
The third trilogy though... well I know some who liked it. I didn't but I might be in the minority.
Robert Jackson Bennett is up with a new book, Foundryside.
The Elven has just becone available on Audibles daily deal. Anyone read it?
I just finished the complete trilogy, and I don't see the supposed huge dip in quality. I liked it all. The second and third books continue the story with multiple PoV characters, unlike the first book which is told mostly from Vaelin's PoV. The first half of Book 2 lays the groundwork for an invasion of the Unified Realm by the continent of Volaria, and puts into position the principal actors in the upcoming invasion and the future resistance to that invasion. The second half of the book describes the invasion itself and the fight by various forces in the Unified Realm to regain control of the continent. Book 3 describes a counter invasion of the Volaria continent by the Unified Realm. The whole thing is action-packed, easy to follow, and enjoyable.
@Ainu, my observation in reaction to Revan's comment above is that if he is not being tongue-in-cheek then I suspect he must have been smoking something when he read Book 3. Once again, I think it might be useful to note that tastes differ greatly, and we all react differently to different things (reference some people who think Malazan is the pinnacle of fantasy writing while others claim it is all incomprehensible rubbish). I would say the third book in the Raven's Shadow trilogy contains too much action and perhaps not enough exposition, which makes the invasion of an entire continent a bit too rushed, in my view. The book could perhaps have been better planned as two books, to make the invasion and its results more believable. But that minor criticism I may make is, to me, a very very very far cry from Book 3 being 'the worst fantasy book' around. You might consider reading the entire trilogy and deciding on its merits based on your own tastes, not substituting someone else's tastes for yours. My two cents.
I am now reading the Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovich, which is really great so far, halfway through Book 1. After that I plan to start the Riyria series. Good reading.
Why did you feel the need to end on such a patronising note? I was merely asking for opinions.
Yes, I reviewed it ages ago I think. It's very good.
Cheers!
Just finished the Powder Mage trilogy. Solid 4/5 for me. Some things in the second and third books could have been better but a delightful read overall.
Is Night Angel from Brenton Weeks any good? I've read his other series (Lightbringer) and found it decent, but nothing more.
It was a long, long time ago I read but I found it to be very good. I read it before I discovered GRRM and Abercrombie.
It's decent. Fun. Pretty light for the most part, and it's got ninja wizards
Cheers! Was planning to read it next and these comments only strengthen that opinion.
Writing isn't very good and downright childish at times(though not much worse from lightbringer), and he tends to go overboard with the Christianity stuff, but the story is interesting enough, pace is generally good, and the action is great. Some cool characters as well. And it's no great thinker stuff, it's easy straightforward stuff
I am reading Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik, it is an interesting book but the slow pacing means I don't feel compelled to make a mad rush to the end. Though I have checked to see if the author said if she would write another book inspired by fairy tales.
After this, I could read City of Miracles, Fool's errand or Tigana. Or just read the new shiny Foundryside.
After this, I could read City of Miracles, Fool's errand or Tigana. Or just read the new shiny Foundryside.
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My apologies if it came across as patronising.That is the furthest thing from my thoughts. If you go back through this thread you'll find that I've always advocated for everyone finding out for him/herself whether they like or dislike a book, and not letting other people's tastes limit their choices.
That's great in theory but my reading time is limited. It's not like I just went by Revan's opinion, the general consensus everywhere I looked seemed to confirm his opinion. I'd rather spend my time on books pretty much everyone agrees are great, I still have an enormous list of those I want to read. Anyway, I liked Bloodsong so much because it was a very personal story about Vaelin, the additional POV's and grander scale of the other two books doesn't really appeal to me.
I'm currently in book 2 (technically the 3rd book as each book contains 2 titles) of Riyria Revelations and enjoying it a lot.
Probably best standalone on the genre.
For me at least, Night Angel is worse than Lightbringer. Great idea, but I'm sure that if Weeks could re-wrtite it he would change so many things, we would end up with at least 1 entirely different book.
In a Sci fi binge now, so just started Consider Phlebas.
