Books Fantasy Reads

Thunderhead said:
Yeah
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Cnaiür urs Skiötha said:
Came here to recommend this. I am in the middle of book 3 and this is a very solid traditional Fantasy series. One of my new favorites for sure.
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Good recommendation. Started Malice and just barrelled through it at full pace. Lovely read. I liked it. Somehow the read made me think of GoT, with more action and less politics. I was slightly disappointed that it turned out to be a scene setter book without no sub-plot of it's own.

The world is well constructed and the premise though nothing new is a good variation that is refreshing. Also Giants and Wolven makes a new additions that we rarely see in many other fantasy series.

If you like GoT, you'll like this too. Now half way through Valour and enjoying it.

7/10
 
Finally got around to finishing Red Country this week and I’ve got to say, I thought it was a bit blah. I’m sure that won’t go down well here!

It’s not so much that it’s a bad book, in fact I think it’s probably one of Abercrombie’s best written, it’s just he’s become a bit too formulaic. First Law was a very modern take on the genre, and his morally ambiguous cast of characters were a breath of fresh air, particularly when compared to the ‘out of the box’ characters that had dominated fantasy in the 90s. But unfortunately, it’s all become a bit predictable, a bit stale. The catchphrases, the quirks, the spinning moral compass, we’ve seen it all before. I’m not surprised by the actions of the main protagonists and once you remove that from the book, the basic storyline isn’t enough to save it.
 
ivaldo said:
Finally got around to finishing Red Country this week and I’ve got to say, I thought it was a bit blah. I’m sure that won’t go down well here!

It’s not so much that it’s a bad book, in fact I think it’s probably one of Abercrombie’s best written, it’s just he’s become a bit too formulaic. First Law was a very modern take on the genre, and his morally ambiguous cast of characters were a breath of fresh air, particularly when compared to the ‘out of the box’ characters that had dominated fantasy in the 90s. But unfortunately, it’s all become a bit predictable, a bit stale. The catchphrases, the quirks, the spinning moral compass, we’ve seen it all before. I’m not surprised by the actions of the main protagonists and once you remove that from the book, the basic storyline isn’t enough to save it.
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It was an very average book, but the character of Cosca is one of the best written villian imo. We have seen good and bad guys, but one with no sense of morality was refreshing and scary.
 
Edgar Allan Pillow said:
It was an very average book, but the character of Cosca is one of the best written villian imo. We have seen good and bad guys, but one with no sense of morality was refreshing and scary.
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Oh yeah, Cosca is a on par with Glokta in my opinion. A standout from an otherwise beige cast.
 
I just finished The Hedge Knight, I was enjoying it so much I put off reading the final story while I read another book. I really enjoyed it, but it's made the wait for Winds of Winter worse.

I'm also very near the end of The Terror, which I ssuppose is more horror/history than fantasy. It was great, but the end is getting too religious and boring the tits off me. Similar to The Passage. I feel like I've gotten all the enjoyment I can out of it and just moved on.

So I started Mistborn, because it was already on my kindle and I couldn't afford another book at the minute. It's started off quite good.
 
  • The Last Wish (short story collection)
  • Sword of Destiny (short story collection)
  • Blood of Elves (beginning of novels)
  • Time of Contempt.
  • Baptism of Fire.
  • The Tower of Swallows.
  • Lady of the Lake.
For the Witcher Series, would this be the correct reading order to follow?
 
Art Vandelay said:
I just finished The Hedge Knight, I was enjoying it so much I put off reading the final story while I read another book. I really enjoyed it, but it's made the wait for Winds of Winter worse.
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I take it that you read all three of Dunk and Egg books and not just the Hedge Knight.

So I started Mistborn, because it was already on my kindle and I couldn't afford another book at the minute. It's started off quite good.
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Mistborn is great.
 
harshad said:
I take it that you read all three of Dunk and Egg books and not just the Hedge Knight.
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Yeah, sorry the collection was called A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and one of the stories in it was called The Hedge Knight. I'm easily confused by words and things.

Your Witcher list looks correct to me, although Season of Storms fits between the two short story collections. I wouldn't recommend reading it, if you don't already own it. It's not great.
 
ivaldo said:
Finally got around to finishing Red Country this week and I’ve got to say, I thought it was a bit blah. I’m sure that won’t go down well here!

It’s not so much that it’s a bad book, in fact I think it’s probably one of Abercrombie’s best written, it’s just he’s become a bit too formulaic. First Law was a very modern take on the genre, and his morally ambiguous cast of characters were a breath of fresh air, particularly when compared to the ‘out of the box’ characters that had dominated fantasy in the 90s. But unfortunately, it’s all become a bit predictable, a bit stale. The catchphrases, the quirks, the spinning moral compass, we’ve seen it all before. I’m not surprised by the actions of the main protagonists and once you remove that from the book, the basic storyline isn’t enough to save it.
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Personally I thought Red Country was one of his worst. It didn't help that I didn't like most of the characters in it (or the version of the characters) and I didn't like the western style he added to it. I actually enjoyed Sharp Ends more.
 
Faithful and the Fallen - John Gwynne

Finished the entire series in a marathon binge read. Decent series with lots of politicking and action, but feels let down by a underwhelming overarching plot. Author paid lots of attention to detail at cost of plot. Very close to GoT in terms of story/events.

It's a one and done series, with no re-read potential.

6/10

- Lack of magic was disappointing. The famed earth magic was rarely used and what was used was more like black magic from Calidus (mind control, puppets etc)
- Asroth was a mega disappointment. Came into the world, couldn't defeat a kid and was imprisoned all within few pages. What a letdown!
- Story felt a bit forced. Corban was Brina's apprentice and suddenly switched to Cywen. "Whom do love" question to Halion, seriously?
- Meical and Ben Elim are other mega losers. Compared to Calidus, they're in a fringe role.
- Way too many unnecessary sub-plots. Kastell, Orgull, Maquin/Fidele, Roisin/Lorcan just take focus away from main plot and frankly dilute the main plot.
- All deaths are in pairs.
 
Edgar Allan Pillow said:
Good recommendation. Started Malice and just barrelled through it at full pace. Lovely read. I liked it. Somehow the read made me think of GoT, with more action and less politics. I was slightly disappointed that it turned out to be a scene setter book without no sub-plot of it's own.

The world is well constructed and the premise though nothing new is a good variation that is refreshing. Also Giants and Wolven makes a new additions that we rarely see in many other fantasy series.

If you like GoT, you'll like this too. Now half way through Valour and enjoying it.

7/10
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Generally speaking I enjoy traditional Fantasy with a bit more complexity the most.

Others would be The Kingdom of Thorn and Bone, Crown of Stars, The Unhewn Throne, Acacia, The Dagger and the Coin or The Monarchies of God.
 
Just finished Mistborn. My take:
- Book 1: Fantastic read, enjoyable from start to finish
- Book 2: Mixed bag but a great finale
- Book 3: Frustrating read throughout and unfortunately a crap finale in my opinion. Seriously, I don't think I enjoyed a single second of that book. What a crushing disappointment after such a promising first book to the series.

I don't think I'm going to read another Sanderson book any time soon.
 
Finished Jade City by Fonda Lee. I finally started it because it has won an award even it wasn't an award I knew before. Since it is mostly a gangster novel I wasn't that interested though the Asian influences were a nice change. Not a bad reading though I didn't like it and I am not convinced what the sister had done to be reprimanded seems so trivial years after. It is like she had just changed the location of the beloved vase of his grand-father, not something closer to a betrayal.

Reading City of Miracles to finish another series. (Also reading Killing Commendatore in french and I don't know if I should be disappointed or not by its translation of penguin, it is factually a wrong translation but it is one that is made so often in french, I suppose I should mind or not depending if Murakami is considered or not a "littérature" author. A penguin is called "manchot" in french but we also have "pingouin" for razorbill.)

Then I will probably read another MG or YA fantasy because I have a hard time convincing me to read 400+ pages books. Though I am probably more likely to enjoy my adult fantasy books to read.

The Goodreads awards make me think it would be nice to read the Poppy Wars but after reading a single review I am not sure.
 
The Ember blade - Chris Wooding (The Darkwater Legacy #1)

Coming of age story, mixture between grimdark and epic, multiple point of views but one main male protagonist.
Entertaining and easy read despite being 800+ pages.

8/10 or 5/7.
 
Finished City of Miracles, great book. Hated the ending, which goes to show how good the whole trilogy was. First book probably still the best, but this one was close

Also read the latest installment of the stupidly entertaining Sandman Slim series by Richard Kadrey. Everybook is pretty much the same, and it's always a lot of fun.

Now going through lady of the lake(witcher saga), both love and hate the way it's written :lol:
 
giorno said:
Finished City of Miracles, great book. Hated the ending, which goes to show how good the whole trilogy was. First book probably still the best, but this one was close

Also read the latest installment of the stupidly entertaining Sandman Slim series by Richard Kadrey. Everybook is pretty much the same, and it's always a lot of fun.

Now going through lady of the lake(witcher saga), both love and hate the way it's written :lol:
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Keep in mind you're reading a translation, you never know in what way that affects the writing style. Unless you're Polish.
 
Ainu said:
Keep in mind you're reading a translation, you never know in what way that affects the writing style. Unless you're Polish.
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Yes but i don't think the translation would change the writing structure, would it? They're translating, not rewriting...at least i hope so
 
Finished City of Miracles, I find it not as good as the other ones. Still looking forward to read his new series with Foundryside.

Finished the Poppy Wars. I quite like the beginning even if I dislike that the author borrowed most of the background of a character from Sasuke of Naruto. I don't know what to think of most of the borrowings I recognize, I thought it was too much she took the "be sure to kill the child you have run over" that was seen last year in news. Mostly because it is the most terrible event in the beginning of the book and it has absolutely no relevance in the book except being a random shocking event that happens to be lifted from the reality.
I would be quite curious what reviewers that read or watched Naruto and have a kind of knowledge about Chinese history thought about it since it isn't really what the average Goodreads reviewer know.

The third part was too much the MC mostly watching another character doing things.

Reading now Tigana. Hoping to finish it this year. A slow beginning so far.
 
Tigana can take a while to get into but hang in there. It’s a terrific book.
 
celia said:
Finished City of Miracles, I find it not as good as the other ones. Still looking forward to read his new series with Foundryside.
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Really? I loved it, esp the ending. But do agree that it tends to give a YA vibe all through, which was not the case with earlier books. Also the mystery element was missing too. Fantastic finale though. Loved the ending. Perfection.

Yeah, I have to start Foundryside too . Perhaps after the Bleach binge.
 
Can't wait!

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ivaldo said:
Tigana can take a while to get into but hang in there. It’s a terrific book.
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It is. I remember being a little wary of it after reading his The Finovar Tapestry which I found eye rollingly overwrought at times. Plenty of good stuff in it but the level of angst and melodrama was just too much for me, even as the teen I was when I tried it:lol:

Tigana is more restrained but it still has a great deal of emotional impact, stayed with me for some time after finishing it.

Lions of Al Rassan his best book for me.
 
Just started reading Glen Cook's Black Company novels, he kinda thrusts you in there with a load of characters and little context, but it is certainly interesting.
 
I was hoping to say I'd finished The Final Empire as I've been reading it for months and finally had some time off to get stuck into it, but a concussion has scuppered that. I'm very near the end and it's been very good so far. Not quite as good as I'd been lead to believe, but that's just personal taste and I have enjoyed it a lot so far.
 
And now I've finished The Final Empire. The ending was very good and overall it was very enjoyable. Although other than Kelsier none of the characters were particularly memorable, but I did like how it set up larger mysteries while giving a neat ending.

I got three Mistborn books for £1 each ages ago on Kindle, so now need to decide if I'm diving straight into The Well of Ascension or going for something lighter first.
 
DavelinaJolie said:
Just started reading Glen Cook's Black Company novels, he kinda thrusts you in there with a load of characters and little context, but it is certainly interesting.
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Speaking of Glen Cook. Anyone read the new one yet? Reviews are quite rough on Goodreads.

I have fond memories of the series, and wouldn't want them despoiled if Port of Shadows turns out to be a dud.
 
Every bloody time I see this thread bumped I'm hoping for Rothfuss' announcement.

I'll never learn :(
 
The Cat said:
Every bloody time I see this thread bumped I'm hoping for Rothfuss' announcement.

I'll never learn :(
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Wait until you get to the GRRM stage when you start to resent him.

I read A Storm of Swords in 2001, 5 year gap for half a book and cast of POV's, another 5 years for the other half and now 8 years gone, waiting.

Hell, I just checked out Rothfuss and hadn't realized his last release was in 2011 as well. My sympathies.
 
Hopefully the TV adaptation will motivate more Rothfuss to finish it. This or just more fans to complain directly to him (or to other authors about him?) and to be blocked. But hasn't he finished quite recently a draft of it?

I will only start reading the 2nd book once a date for 3rd book will be given.

I have read 2/3 of Tigana. It is good but I expected to be more impressed. I really don't know what to think of the female characters.
 
Probably authors need to coordinate and double up.

Steven Erikson and ICE have been consistently doubling up and providing foods for us Malazan fans. Hopefully Sanderson gets some help as Cosmere is vast enough to do more novellas.

Not much hope for GRRM or Rothfuss.
 
Bobski said:
It is. I remember being a little wary of it after reading his The Finovar Tapestry which I found eye rollingly overwrought at times. Plenty of good stuff in it but the level of angst and melodrama was just too much for me, even as the teen I was when I tried it:lol:

Tigana is more restrained but it still has a great deal of emotional impact, stayed with me for some time after finishing it.

Lions of Al Rassan his best book for me.
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Loved Tigana more, but Lions is very enjoyable too. It is also more historical fiction that Tigana.
Art Vandelay said:
And now I've finished The Final Empire. The ending was very good and overall it was very enjoyable. Although other than Kelsier none of the characters were particularly memorable, but I did like how it set up larger mysteries while giving a neat ending.

I got three Mistborn books for £1 each ages ago on Kindle, so now need to decide if I'm diving straight into The Well of Ascension or going for something lighter first.
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There isn't much there which is lighter than Mistborn. Also surprised how you don't like Vin.
ivaldo said:
Speaking of Glen Cook. Anyone read the new one yet? Reviews are quite rough on Goodreads.

I have fond memories of the series, and wouldn't want them despoiled if Port of Shadows turns out to be a dud.
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Same here. Who would be the first to read it and comment on it?
 
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