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[Salazar]

Get on this, GAF. Dresden in particular.

http://www.faber.co.uk/catalog/author/david-stacton

You don't know how good this motherfucker is. Was, rather.

People of the Book is sensational.

 

[sparky2112]

Speaking of $2.99 Kindle books, Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings is on sale.

I've been tempted to try this because of all the praise it gets, but I really disliked Mistborn. Hmm.

I grabbed this the last time it was on sale and started it this weekend. Man, there is just something about his writing that pisses me off. For instance: so far, the magic system (Lashings), he kinda goes to lengths to explain as someone is using them in a fight, which stands to reason. But all the races, cultures, animals, etc? Not a peep - and it seems like there's a reference to something like that every other sentence. Hey, Brandon, you know what? If you mention a race on page 5, it supposedly has some meaning, or you wouldn't have mentioned it. But I'm sure as hell not gonna remember that it was even mentioned previously if you don't mention it again until page 70. Should I be taking notes, you think? Maybe you should bundle a notepad and a pen with your books? Whaddya think?

Worldbuilding? Call me crazy, but that's not the best worldbuilding - to me, anyway.

 

[commish]

I grabbed this the last time it was on sale and started it this weekend. Man, there is just something about his writing that pisses me off. For instance: so far, the magic system (Lashings), he kinda goes to lengths to explain as someone is using them in a fight, which stands to reason. But all the races, cultures, animals, etc? Not a peep - and it seems like there's a reference to something like that every other sentence. Hey, Brandon, you know what? If you mention a race on page 5, it supposedly has some meaning, or you wouldn't have mentioned it. But I'm sure as hell not gonna remember that it was even mentioned previously if you don't mention it again until page 70. Should I be taking notes, you think? Maybe you should bundle a notepad and a pen with your books? Whaddya think?

Worldbuilding? Call me crazy, but that's not the best worldbuilding - to me, anyway.

I love that book and I think the world building he does in that book is top notch. Just stick with it. I was 'WTF' for a while but it all comes to together.

 

[Hulud]

Turns out, the STALKER games have more in common with the book than the movie does.

 

[sparky2112]

I love that book and I think the world building he does in that book is top notch. Just stick with it. I was 'WTF' for a while but it all comes to together.

Yes, there's no doubt that he's put a TON of thought into things - I won't argue against that for a second. It's just frustrating when he's being detailed about one thing and blowing off the rest. It just strikes me as incongruous - a bit, anyway. I will certainly keep at it. I loves me the occasional fantasy, and I might as well line up behind a guy who is an absolute machine in terms of output that does not suck.

 

[commish]

Yes, there's no doubt that he's put a TON of thought into things - I won't argue against that for a second. It's just frustrating when he's being detailed about one thing and blowing off the rest. It just strikes me as incongruous - a bit, anyway. I will certainly keep at it. I loves me the occasional fantasy, and I might as well line up behind a guy who is an absolute machine in terms of output that does not suck.

You know, right, that this book is the first in, I think, a 10 part series? Just know what you're getting into. If that kind of stuff bothers you (i.e., waiting 10+ years to get final resolution), you might want to check out his Mistborn series. Loved those books as well.

 

[Hungry Ghost]

The Dirt by Motley Crue

 

[leroidys]

Finishing up re-reading Wind Up Bird Chronicle (still great) by Haruki Murakami, and I just started The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolano, which is also great so far.

 

[BlazingDarkness]

Ok chaps, I am about to be free from school, for like ever. I tend to read a giant novel every year, last year was a Dance with Dragons. Now, I want to read something very meaty, and there is one epic that I am extremely interested in. I know gaffers has spoken about this epic before, The Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

There are numerous translations out there, so I want to know what is considered the definitive version? I plan to read this book throughout the summer.



If you still have copies left, I'll take one.

Oh snap, Romance is also on my reading list for the summer, along with Tale of Genji (reread) I'm so looking forward to just reading for hours in the garden!

 

[Fuzz Rez]

Finishing up re-reading Wind Up Bird Chronicle (still great) by Haruki Murakami, and I just started The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolano, which is also great so far.

I liked the start but it soon started it's fragmented story telling style and I lost my interest. 2666 on the other hand was quality from start to end.

 

[Keen]

Started on the Culture series with Consider Phlebas the other day. Might as well give it a shot considering the sad news about Banks last month.

 

[phisheep]

Doing my comfort read at the moment, revisiting this masterpiece from T H White for about the twelfth time I guess. Second most read book I've got after the I Claudius/Claudius the God books.

 

[hardcastlemccormick]

It's pretty common for doorstop fantasy novels to throw things at you that way. In the old days, the days of yore, when gods walked the earth and mortals could only watch and tremble, fantasy writers would explain every little thing and the history of their whole made up world, so that the reader need never be confused.

Turns out that's boring as all hell to read.

So these days most authors will chuck things at you and expect you to pick them up along the way. Or at least, they'll explain sparingly. For example, Sanderson explains the magic system, since if he didn't, the fight scenes would make no goddamn sense.

I have to agree that explaining everything is really boring, but I'm so sick of fantasy and sci-fi novels leaving you floundering for the entire first third of the book. I can almost see the author smirking and thinking, "they're going to be so confused at this" and while it probably makes their setting seem more novel, it's also insanely frustrating. There is a middle ground between everything and nothing and very few fantasy books seem to be trying to get it right.

It's almost as bad those dumb prologues for fantasy novels that deliberately use every stupid piece of lore and lingo to make the reader go "WTF;" it serves no actual narrative purpose and just tries to underline how goddamn clever the writer of the book is.

 

[Celegus]

I'm making my way through the Abhorsen trilogy at the moment and really enjoy the books. Though I thought that the pacing was a bit of in Sabriel the book is still good and books 2&3 are even better. I'm a sucker for YA fantasy though.

I didn't care much for Sabriel, but my wife said books two and three were much better. I didn't read them though.

I have to agree that explaining everything is really boring, but I'm so sick of fantasy and sci-fi novels leaving you floundering for the entire first third of the book. I can almost see the author smirking and thinking, "they're going to be so confused at this" and while it probably makes their setting seem more novel, it's also insanely frustrating. There is a middle ground between everything and nothing and very few fantasy books seem to be trying to get it right.

It's almost as bad those dumb prologues for fantasy novels that deliberately use every stupid piece of lore and lingo to make the reader go "WTF;" it serves no actual narrative purpose and just tries to underline how goddamn clever the writer of the book is.

I think that's one thing Patrick Rothfuss did really well in Name of the Wind. I never felt utterly confused like some books (like Sabriel) but it was still interesting throughout the whole thing. Sanderson's books do take a bit before everything clicks into place, but I personally don't mind his style.

 

[Pau]

Sounds interesting, but seems like YA fantasy (sometimes still good, sometimes bad). Anyone here read it?

Yes; they're amazing. And they feature the best magical weapons in all of literature!

 

[Nezumi]

I didn't care much for Sabriel, but my wife said books two and three were much better. I didn't read them though.

In a way Sabriel does feel like the introduction for books 2 and 3. I got the feeling that Nix used the first book only to lay the general setting to get thinks started in Lirael.

 

[Necrovex]

Oh snap, Romance is also on my reading list for the summer, along with Tale of Genji (reread) I'm so looking forward to just reading for hours in the garden!

I plan to hit up my favorite place in Tampa to read Romance. I just gotta pick the right day, or I'll melt in the sun. Though, I could just read the Three Kingdom at the beach.

I read a little of Sabriel back in high school. Back then, I wasn't interested in reading novels, but I have been a little curious to return to that series.

 

[ymmv]

I have to agree that explaining everything is really boring, but I'm so sick of fantasy and sci-fi novels leaving you floundering for the entire first third of the book. I can almost see the author smirking and thinking, "they're going to be so confused at this" and while it probably makes their setting seem more novel, it's also insanely frustrating. There is a middle ground between everything and nothing and very few fantasy books seem to be trying to get it right.

It's almost as bad those dumb prologues for fantasy novels that deliberately use every stupid piece of lore and lingo to make the reader go "WTF;" it serves no actual narrative purpose and just tries to underline how goddamn clever the writer of the book is.

I felt exactly that way when I started reading Kameron Hurley's "God's War". The first 20 pages I read were so confusing I couldn't be bothered to continue. Give me a narrative hook and I'll keep reading, but the first part of the book was just one confusing scene after the another. It would probably take at least a hundred pages to make sense of the world building. What I read wasn't good enough to make the effort to keep on reading. I would have in the past, but my time is too precious to waste on books I don't enjoy.

 

[sparky2112]

Which reminds me: one thing that really did irritate me in Way of Kings was that there was a Prelude, then a Prologue, then a "six months earlier" Chapter One featuring a side character who immediately died.

Come the fuck on, Sanderson.

Oh, yeah: that annoyed me too. Hey, everyone you just read about? Yeah, um, they're dead. Offpage, even!

Look, I have no doubt I'll end up liking it - too many people have said it's great for it to not be, more or less. It's just at this point, I've gotten more annoyance than enjoyment out of it...

 

[Nezumi]

Which reminds me: one thing that really did irritate me in Way of Kings was that there was a Prelude, then a Prologue, then a "six months earlier" Chapter One featuring a side character who immediately died.

Come the fuck on, Sanderson.

Yeah I think they actually made fun of this in an episode of "Writing Excuses". I don't really remember how he explained it but since this was the first book of about ten I guess the Prelude could count for the whole series... as long as he does not pull a stunt like this in the Words of Radiance.

 

[Pau]

In a way Sabriel does feel like the introduction for books 2 and 3. I got the feeling that Nix used the first book only to lay the general setting to get thinks started in Lirael.

I'm pretty sure Sabriel was written after Lirael. It's a prequel.

Edit: Just checked. It was written first. I don't know why I was under the impression it was written later. D: Certainly feels like it, like you mentioned.

 

[Nezumi]

I'm pretty sure Sabriel was written after Lirael. It's a prequel.

Edit: Just checked. It was written first. I don't know why I was under the impression it was written later. D: Certainly feels like it, like you mentioned.

Oh, just saw your edit...

While checking up the publishing dates myself I saw that there are two more books coming to the Old Kingdom Series. Yay!

 

[thomaser]

"Volomari Volotinen's First Wife and Assorted Other Old Items" by Arto Paasilinna. It's not translated into English as far as I know.

Paasilinna is one of the most popular Finnish authors, and he's known for writing about strange and quirky people on the side of society. His characters are flawed but good-hearted, and they are often drunk, have unsuccessful love lives and weird hobbies. Perhaps not a great author, but a wonderful storyteller. Often very, very funny. His best known book is "The Year of the Hare", which is available in English. "The Howling Miller" is also translated.

 

[Krowley]

I have to agree that explaining everything is really boring, but I'm so sick of fantasy and sci-fi novels leaving you floundering for the entire first third of the book. I can almost see the author smirking and thinking, "they're going to be so confused at this" and while it probably makes their setting seem more novel, it's also insanely frustrating. There is a middle ground between everything and nothing and very few fantasy books seem to be trying to get it right.

This is one of the areas where I think Robert Jordan was kind of a master. His setting is incredibly complex, but he really knows how to spoon feed new elements into the books gradually. New terms and ideas are always introduced naturally as part of the story, and there is an organic sense of the world growing more complex as you dig deeper.

George R.R Martin does it well too. There was never a moment of confusion reading the Song of Ice and Fire books, but I also didn't feel like I was being weighed down with heavy exposition and infodumps.

In Martin's case it was probably harder to do because he started with more worldly characters. Jordan started with farm-born characters who didn't know much about the rest of the world and then let the reader learn new things alongside the characters as they explored. But on the other hand, Jordan's setting is more unique, and there was a lot more to explain.

 

[bremon]

Been hitting the books harder than video games lately (or close anyway). Polished off a pair of McCarthy novels; The Road, and Blood Meridian. I enjoyed both, but had a harder time reading Blood Meridian.

At the moment I'm about a quarter through Atlas Shrugged and I've been pleasantly surprised by how easy it is to read.

 

[sparky2112]

This is one of the areas where I think Robert Jordan was kind of a master. His setting is incredibly complex, but he really knows how to spoon feed new elements into the books gradually. New terms and ideas are always introduced naturally as part of the story, and there is an organic sense of the world growing more complex as you dig deeper.

George R.R Martin does it well too. There was never a moment of confusion reading the Song of Ice and Fire books, but I also didn't feel like I was being weighed down with heavy exposition and infodumps.

In Martin's case it was probably harder to do because he started with more worldly characters. Jordan started with farm-born characters who didn't know much about the rest of the world and then let the reader learn new things alongside the characters as they explored.

On the other hand, Martin's world is significantly less unique and probably easier to develop.

Nicely put. That about sums it up for me.

I will hand it to Sanderson, however - his worlds are quite 'fantastical', for lack of a better word. Quite the imagination in terms of magic and supernatural elements.

 

[Maklershed]

Reading GAF - I need compelling 'trilogy' or series recommendations. In not loo long I'm gonna be on vacation and I'm putting myself on tv/internet hiatus during this time and I plan to get a lot of reading done. I'd like to burn through a series while I have time to focus. What do you recomend?

I love sci-fi and like fantasy.

 

[Dresden]

Lord Vorpatril's Alliance is proving yet again that Bujold has completely lost it. Nearly done but have no energy to continue; it became clear at the halfway point that this (just like Cryoburn) should not have been a full novel.

Get on this, GAF. Dresden in particular.

http://www.faber.co.uk/catalog/author/david-stacton

You don't know how good this motherfucker is. Was, rather.

People of the Book is sensational.

Hmm, will keep the name in mind.

Reading GAF - I need compelling 'trilogy' or series recommendations. In not loo long I'm gonna be on vacation and I'm putting myself on tv/internet hiatus during this time and I plan to get a lot of reading done. I'd like to burn through a series while I have time to focus. What do you recomend?

I love sci-fi and like fantasy.

Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London/The Folly novels are fun, if you haven't checked them out yet.

 

[DagsJT]

What fantasy books would people suggest are as good as, or better than, the Song Of Ice And Fire series?

I've read the two Kingkiller Chronicle books and really enjoyed those, The Blade Itself was very good and I enjoyed Prince Of Thorns. I should continue the First Law and Broken Empire series but do people recommend any other series?

 

[hardcastlemccormick]

George R.R Martin does it well too. There was never a moment of confusion reading the Song of Ice and Fire books, but I also didn't feel like I was being weighed down with heavy exposition and infodumps.

I agree. Even when Martin did the prelude crap it still got me invested in the world. It showed that while the world was based in reality, it still contained those fantastic elements at the fringe that made the entire thing unpredictable.

Another author who did the exposition integration really well is Frank Herbert.

I have yet to read a Sanderson novel. I should at some point to at least get a bearing.

 

[Prez]

Currently reading this:

 

[phaze]

What fantasy books would people suggest are as good as, or better than, the Song Of Ice And Fire series?

I've read the two Kingkiller Chronicle books and really enjoyed those, The Blade Itself was very good and I enjoyed Prince Of Thorns. I should continue the First Law and Broken Empire series but do people recommend any other series?

I'd recommend the The Witcher books but only 2 (of) 7 are available in English. The Last Wish is a collection of short stories that started it all, Blood of Elves is the beginning of proper saga. Third book, Times of Contempt is scheduled to release this year. I don't read much of fantasy but found it better than ASOIAF.

 

[sparky2112]

Currently reading this:

I like you.

 

[Krowley]

What fantasy books would people suggest are as good as, or better than, the Song Of Ice And Fire series?

I've read the two Kingkiller Chronicle books and really enjoyed those, The Blade Itself was very good and I enjoyed Prince Of Thorns. I should continue the First Law and Broken Empire series but do people recommend any other series?

I'm not sure if there is any fantasy series out there that matches the Song of Ice and Fire.

Two favorites of mine that are similar in various ways are Stephen King's Dark Tower books, and Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, but both are more flawed than Martin's series so far.

There is a lot of other amazing fantasy, like Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea books, that are on a smaller scale. But when you're talking about really big fat books, Martin is hard to beat.

edit// Others will probably recommend Erikson's Malazan books, and I haven't read those yet. Some might also recommend Brandon Sanderson's books. He finished the Wheel of Time series and I was impressed with how he handled that. His prose can be a little... raw? (i'm not really sure how to explain it)... at times, but his writing is fun and approachable.

I didn't care for R. Scott Bakker's Prince of Nothing. The first book was just a mess and I couldn't even finish it.

 

[nakedsushi]

Finished this over lunch:


Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal by Mary Roach

It's interesting and kind of gross at times. It's a pretty quick and easy read. I didn't like it as much as I thought I would, mostly because I got tired of Roach's bad jokes.

 

[DagsJT]

I'm not sure if there is any fantasy series out there that matches the Song of Ice and Fire.

Two favorites of mine that are similar in various ways are Stephen King's Dark Tower books, and Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, but both are more flawed than Martin's series so far.

There is a lot of other amazing fantasy, like Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea books, that are on a smaller scale. But when you're talking about really big fat books, Martin is hard to beat.

It's not really about the size of the books, more about a great world with interesting characters and interesting plots, I guess.

 

[Krowley]

It's not really about the size of the books, more about a great world with interesting characters and interesting plots, I guess.

Well, the Earthsea books are pretty special, at least the ones I've read so far. Her prose is amazing, and she deals with much smaller scale problems than most fantasy books. Everything is much more intimate and internal. Characters confront their inner demons or their own weaknesses as much as external problems.

The Dark-Tower books have great characters, a wonderful, gritty setting (and very unique, like King Arthur meets Gunsmoke, meets pop-culture), and they tell a huge story. The first book is very different than the rest, but it is also short.

The Wheel of Time has a great setting, and a great plot. The characters are good, but not as complex as Martin's characters, and the books can drag at times, especially those in the middle part of the series. I still consider it my favorite fantasy series, despite its flaws, because it was the series that made me a fantasy fan. There is a great feeling of adventure, and heroism, and all that stuff, and the books can be really fun.

Also, if you don't mind books aimed at kids and young adults, you might want to think about the Harry Potter series. You've probably already considered it, and may have rejected it out of hand, but they're actually all very solid books--more consistent than most fantasy to be honest. And by the end, the story gets very dark, with plenty of great characters, a suitably epic plot, and a well fleshed out world. The last few books don't really feel like they're aimed at kids, which they probably weren't since the fans grew up as the series was being written. The style of the books changed as the characters aged, and as the readers aged. I think the whole series will go down as one of the best fantasy sagas ever when all is said and done.

 

[ymmv]

What fantasy books would people suggest are as good as, or better than, the Song Of Ice And Fire series?

I've read the two Kingkiller Chronicle books and really enjoyed those, The Blade Itself was very good and I enjoyed Prince Of Thorns. I should continue the First Law and Broken Empire series but do people recommend any other series?

All the books you mentioned were released in the past few years. Read the classics in the genre:

JRR Tolkien - Lord of the Rings
Jack Vance - Tales of the Dying Earth
Ursula K. LeGuin - Earthsea trilogy
Poul Anderson - The Broken Sword
Fritz Leiber - The Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser books
Robert E. Howard - Conan stories
HP Lovecraft - Collected stories
Bram Stoker - Dracula
Roger Zelazny - Princes of Amber books
Tanith Lee - Tales from the Flat Earth series, Birthgrave trilogy
Marion Zimmer Bradley - Mists of Avalon
Robert Holdstock - Mythago Wood
Richard Adams - Watership Down
Patricia McKillip - Riddlemaster trilogy
Terry Pratchett - Discworld series (start with Mort)
Guy Gavriel Kay - A Song for Arbonne

 

[Prez]

I like you.

Good to see another Bud Powell fan here! So far I'm only 40 pages in and the author complains a lot about critics who didn't appreciate him. I hope it gets better.

I have mostly been reading jazz biographies lately and it's quite inspiring.

 

[Zona]

Reading GAF - I need compelling 'trilogy' or series recommendations. In not loo long I'm gonna be on vacation and I'm putting myself on tv/internet hiatus during this time and I plan to get a lot of reading done. I'd like to burn through a series while I have time to focus. What do you recomend?

I love sci-fi and like fantasy.

If you feel you have time for a long one I recommend The Baroque Cycle if you haven't already read it.

 

[foomfoom415]

Reading GAF - I need compelling 'trilogy' or series recommendations. In not loo long I'm gonna be on vacation and I'm putting myself on tv/internet hiatus during this time and I plan to get a lot of reading done. I'd like to burn through a series while I have time to focus. What do you recomend?

I love sci-fi and like fantasy.

I really enjoyed Robert Charles Wilson's Spin Saga. I didn't really much like most of the second book, however the third and final book picked it up, with a conclusion to the series that I found satisfying. They are also pretty quick reads, and even if you weren't in the mood for a series, I'd still recommend the first book at least.

 

[foomfoom415]

Good to know! I thought the first book was terrific, but the second was weak enough that I didn't bother with the third. I'll have to check it out!

Full disclosure: it's a pretty huge departure from the first two in a lot of ways, and still pales in comparison to the first book, but I found it enjoyable.

 

[FelixOrion]

I'll probably share my thoughts when I've got it all done. I've finished two routes totally done and have 53% completition overall right now.

so i finished it the other day. posted my reactions here.

 

[Mackenzie 92]

Reading GAF - I need compelling 'trilogy' or series recommendations. In not loo long I'm gonna be on vacation and I'm putting myself on tv/internet hiatus during this time and I plan to get a lot of reading done. I'd like to burn through a series while I have time to focus. What do you recomend?

I love sci-fi and like fantasy.

Lost Fleet series is fun and probably has the most realistic tactical space battles in fiction.

On the fantasy side, I'd recommend Prince of Thorns, King of Thorns. It's dark fantasy with a twist that I really enjoyed. Final book is due out in August.

 

[Teptom]

I finished up For Whom the Bell Tolls and went back to this:

The Last Question and The Ugly Little Boy were wonderful.

 

[KidDork]

Started on the Culture series with Consider Phlebas the other day. Might as well give it a shot considering the sad news about Banks last month.

The news about Banks was an unexpected punch to the gut. First Pratchett, now Banks. Authors I childishly thought would somehow always be around, always putting out interesting work, always a constant in my reading. It's so sad to lose such a man, such a voice.

 

[KidDork]

What fantasy books would people suggest are as good as, or better than, the Song Of Ice And Fire series?

Tad Williams' Memory, Sorrow and Thorn is worth reading. It's not as graphic as Martin, but it'll still put you through the grinder.

 

[Jintor]

Finished reading:


Japan Rising by Kenneth B. Pyle

As a kind of primer to Japanese foreign policy over the last century and a bit or so it was pretty excellent. A lot of backing up via the historical narrative and so on. Still I am in no real position to dispute any of the assertions because I don't really know anything about their politics as a whole. Still, very well written, I feel.

 

[Maklershed]

Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London/The Folly novels are fun, if you haven't checked them out yet.

If you feel you have time for a long one I recommend The Baroque Cycle if you haven't already read it.

I really enjoyed Robert Charles Wilson's Spin Saga. I didn't really much like most of the second book, however the third and final book picked it up, with a conclusion to the series that I found satisfying. They are also pretty quick reads, and even if you weren't in the mood for a series, I'd still recommend the first book at least.

Lost Fleet series is fun and probably has the most realistic tactical space battles in fiction.

On the fantasy side, I'd recommend Prince of Thorns, King of Thorns. It's dark fantasy with a twist that I really enjoyed. Final book is due out in August.

Jane Lindskold's Firekeeper series, starting with Through Wolf's Eyes, is a 6 book series, fairly low on magic and plays on the girl raised by wolves trope.

Naomi Novik's Temeraire series. Dragons in the Napoleonic wars.

Sergei Lukyanenko's Watch series, which starts with Night Watch. Urban fantasy set in Russia. I'm not terribly fond of urban fantasy, but I loved these books.

Thanks everyone. I'm gonna start looking into the suggestions now.

 

[Verdre]

Reading GAF - I need compelling 'trilogy' or series recommendations. In not loo long I'm gonna be on vacation and I'm putting myself on tv/internet hiatus during this time and I plan to get a lot of reading done. I'd like to burn through a series while I have time to focus. What do you recomend?

I love sci-fi and like fantasy.

Jane Lindskold's Firekeeper series, starting with Through Wolf's Eyes, is a 6 book series, fairly low on magic and plays on the girl raised by wolves trope.

Naomi Novik's Temeraire series. Dragons in the Napoleonic wars.

Sergei Lukyanenko's Watch series, which starts with Night Watch. Urban fantasy set in Russia. I'm not terribly fond of urban fantasy, but I loved these books.