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[fakefaker]

If you're the sort of person who thinks that too much of contemporary high fantasy fiction is stuck in a generic, not terribly diverse pseudo-Medieval European setting, Bradley Beaulieu's Twelve Kings in Sharakhai has something that might be to your taste, namely: a detailed fantasy world heavily drawn from Middle Eastern/Islamic world inspirations. And Sharakhai is a well-developed setting, not just a relative novelty. One immediately gets the sense of a very lived-in environment with a lot of history beyond what's on the page.

Main character Çedamihn Ahyanesh'ala (Çeda) is a sometime gladiator in the fighting pits of the great city, which is a key trading outpost in the middle of a desert, ringed by tribes of varying degrees of hostility, and the various empires beyond the desert. Sharakhai is ruled by the titular twelve kings, immortal autocrats who were blessed by the gods centuries earlier to defend the city against destruction, but who have become hated and feared in the subsequent time. Çeda has her own score to settle with the rulers, and she comes complete with a tangled, tragic backstory, and a talent for getting involved in multiple competing intrigues.

The characters are well-drawn here, though Çeda pretty much dominates the book to the point that almost everyone else struggles on the margins. She's a compelling heroine, though. There's an array of supporting characters who seem like good ideas for characters, and will hopefully get a bit more room in subsequent entries in this series (because, yeah, obviously it's a series). If I had to make a quibble, it would be that the titular twelve kings are perhaps too numerous and, for the most part, so little-seen in the narrative that there is, at this point, little to differentiate between them apart from having different names (and titles, so there's a lot to keep straight).

It's a great book and series and should get lots of love.

 

[Pau]

Finished: 100 years of solitude by Garcia Marquez

It's a crime that being colombian it took 34 years to read Gabo's Magnum Opus. And... i didn't like it too much. 3/5

I haven't read it yet so don't feel too bad. I've read some of his short stories and haven't really thought them anything special. That and I read so little in Spanish that it really cuts down on my reading speed. :/

Just finished The Cards of Grief by Jane Yolen. It's almost exactly what I want out of science fiction: a team of anthropologists study a new planet with sentient human life and stuff goes wrong. Unfortunately the author has never written more sci fi.

Also reading through Presumed Incompetent, edited by Gabriella Gutiérrez y Muhs, which is an anthology about faculty women of color and their experiences in academia.

 

[aidan]

If you're the sort of person who thinks that too much of contemporary high fantasy fiction is stuck in a generic, not terribly diverse pseudo-Medieval European setting, Bradley Beaulieu's Twelve Kings in Sharakhai has something that might be to your taste, namely: a detailed fantasy world heavily drawn from Middle Eastern/Islamic world inspirations. And Sharakhai is a well-developed setting, not just a relative novelty. One immediately gets the sense of a very lived-in environment with a lot of history beyond what's on the page.

Main character Çedamihn Ahyanesh'ala (Çeda) is a sometime gladiator in the fighting pits of the great city, which is a key trading outpost in the middle of a desert, ringed by tribes of varying degrees of hostility, and the various empires beyond the desert. Sharakhai is ruled by the titular twelve kings, immortal autocrats who were blessed by the gods centuries earlier to defend the city against destruction, but who have become hated and feared in the subsequent time. Çeda has her own score to settle with the rulers, and she comes complete with a tangled, tragic backstory, and a talent for getting involved in multiple competing intrigues.

The characters are well-drawn here, though Çeda pretty much dominates the book to the point that almost everyone else struggles on the margins. She's a compelling heroine, though. There's an array of supporting characters who seem like good ideas for characters, and will hopefully get a bit more room in subsequent entries in this series (because, yeah, obviously it's a series). If I had to make a quibble, it would be that the titular twelve kings are perhaps too numerous and, for the most part, so little-seen in the narrative that there is, at this point, little to differentiate between them apart from having different names (and titles, so there's a lot to keep straight).

Glad to see some love for this series!

 

[DagsJT]

10% into "The Power Of The Dog" and it's incredible so far. Really enjoying the characters.

 

[arkon]

Just finished The Cards of Grief by Jane Yolen. It's almost exactly what I want out of science fiction: a team of anthropologists study a new planet with sentient human life and stuff goes wrong. Unfortunately the author has never written more sci fi.

Maybe try the Web Shifters series by Julie Czerneda. First book is the Beholder's Eye. Unless I've got the wrong end of the stick from the above paragraph I think it'll have elements you'll appreciate.

 

[evil_rad]

Masters of Doom is the amazing true story of the Lennon and McCartney of video games: John Carmack and John Romero.

Together, they ruled big business. They transformed popular culture. And they provoked a national controversy. More than anything, they lived a unique and rollicking American Dream, escaping the broken homes of their youth to produce the most notoriously successful game franchises in history--Doom and Quake-- until the games they made tore them apart.

This is a story of friendship and betrayal, commerce and artistry--a powerful and compassionate account of what it's like to be young, driven, and wildly creative.

An interesing reading about two of my favorite videogame industry icons

 

[Jombie]

 

[Sean C]

After finishing Sharakhai, I've resumed reading this collected edition of the work of H.P. Lovecraft, which I started last winter and then put aside planning to resume later. It took a while to get around again, obviously; but I'm hoping to finish this by the end of the year, interspersed with other things. Anyway, after 380 pages of occasionally super-xenophobic stories, I've finally gotten to "The Call of Cthulhu".

 

[Number45]

Slowly making my way through Infinite Jest. Unlike most people I read less while I'm away on holiday.

Almost called it quits while trudging through James Incandenza's filmography and the constant medical terms are irritating as a UK reader that doesn't have encyclopaedic knowledge of prescription medication as seems to be fairly common in a lot of US media (at least it seems so to me).

I'm determined to see it through though!

 

[Li Kao]

Finished 'Skin Trade' by GRR Martin and boy, was it a flaming pile of shit.
100+ pages, no serious attempt at fleshing the characters, a story so predictable that you can write it in advance... until the moment when Martin loses his mind and jump the sharks.
All that is left then is a big action finale that involves some awfully convenient "movements" and timing of said "movements" (I fucking wouldn't have dared write that) and an epilogue that I... didn't understand.
So I could have been soft on it be acknowledging that while awfully boring and predictable the thing was solid enough, unfortunately the last 20 pages are so out there so suddenly that, just no.

On the other hand I'm at last feeling burned out of the horror genre and this was the perfect opportunity to read the first Bertie & Jeeves appearance in 'Extricating Young Gussie'.
Fun, really, really fun, not laugh out loud fun but it's a constant pleasure.
And it will be one of my few serious attempt at reading in English, hope it sticks. French publishing is only barely coming back from the depths the financial crisis threw them in and there are so many untranslated books I would like to read.

 

[Dedication Through Light]

The Ends of the World

up to pg 50ish

Interesting chapters this time, probably what will end up being the most memorable chapter mainly because of the thought experiment applied to the aspect of what the end of the world looks like, but also how it comes about through the analysis of characters or the situations presented in the movies Melancholia, 4:44 Last Day On Earth, books like Ubik, The Road, and the Turin Horse. I think I find myself aligning with the ones in which the event that stimulated the end of the world to take place has happened and it will just be a slow long process, like watching a farm just within away after years.

 

[kswiston]

Breakfast at Tiffany's was $2 on Audible, so I grabbed it. I'm already about halfway through it in the process of doing some Sunday Chores (it is a short book).

I haven't seen the Audrey Hepburn film, but have heard that Capote's novella is quite different in tone.

 

[HotHamBoy]

Just finished the Zones of Thought Trilogy. Took me forever to finish this book. Lots of long breaks.

I loved A Fire Upon The Deep and A Deepness In The Sky. Loved them. Children is easily the weakest of the three with its meandering, plodding narrative structure and its less-compelling villians. That said, I enjoy the world and characters Vinge has made so much that I still had a good time reading it. It was just a bit of a mess. There were aspects of plotlines that I did not find to be satisfactorily resolved.

The damn book doesn't really conclude the story, though, and it's maybe years yet before there is a sequel. If there is a sequel.

Sigh. Still, I can't recommend this series enough. The first two books, especially AFUTD, are some of my favorite SciFi books ever.

Hey, I began another book and do not feel it. Might be interesting to dig ou why. 'Skin Trade' by GRR Martin, a... I think you say novella for a long short.

Is it simply my reading OCD ? I admit I gave up to the compulsion and reread several paragraphs yesterday. And I couldn't really focus on the text at times, thoughts elsewhere.
But at the same time, for the moment (20-30 pages / 100) it's quite heavily boring and derivative. And to top it all the French cover has a nice horror feel that is totally absent from the book yet. Yes, I know, books, covers etc.

I signed for a 'Year of the werewolf' riff with scary elements and all I got for the time being is your fucking run off the mill PI story. Forgive me if I don't care. So PI story, big city with 'Gotham' vibes, evil elite controlling it... I have zero interest in any of that so far.
100 pages long, I must soldier on, but for a first Martin book I'm certainly not impressed.

Spoiler:

The problem is that GRRM is not a great writer.

 

[Imp the Dimp]

A third through Ready Player One and it's incredibly enjoyable. I look forward to every train ride.

 

[Maklershed]

Finished Giant of the Senate yesterday and started Red Rising. Heard a lot of good things.


Red Rising by Pierce Brown

 

[Psychotic_Mantis]

Finished

I LOVE JP and I still enjoy the film version of TLW. This was an enjoyable read but nowhere near as good as the original. I could tell Chrichton's heart was not in it by the end. Total rush job on the ending. Enjoyable but could have been much better. (yes it is still better than the movie)


Just started up

It seems to be very highly rated. I know it had two previous controversial titles until it changed to this. This is my first Agatha Christie novel. Hoping it's an interesting read!

 

[Vincent Grayson]

I just started "The Fifth Season" by NK Jemisin, and this shit is kind of rocking my world. I love the writing style (with some bias, as it reminds me a lot of my own), and the story had me pretty much from the beginning.

I can't wait to check out her other stuff.

 

[BrokenFiction]

I just started "The Fifth Season" by NK Jemisin, and this shit is kind of rocking my world. I love the writing style (with some bias, as it reminds me a lot of my own), and the story had me pretty much from the beginning.

I can't wait to check out her other stuff.

I think her new one - Stone Sky - comes out today (3rd in that trilogy) and she just won the Hugo for the second book.

 

[DagsJT]

Just started up

It seems to be very highly rated. I know it had two previous controversial titles until it changed to this. This is my first Agatha Christie novel. Hoping it's an interesting read!

I read that a few months ago and it was my first AC book, I loved it. Blasted through it so quickly. I highly recommend the BBC show once you've read it too.

 

[Tawney Bomb]

I finished The Fireman by Joe Hill last night. Though the ending was predictable and a few other things bugged me, I did enjoy it. I liked the world and characters he came up with for this book. Not my favorite by him as I've said, but still enjoyable.

I'm not sure what I'm going to start next. So many books, so little time..

 

[WolfeTone]

I bought The Spy Who Came In From The Cold a few weeks ago and before reading it I decided to jump in to two of Le Carré's older books.

Call For The Dead was pretty good. It gave a nice introduction to this world.

A Murder of Quality I really enjoyed. It felt more like a murder mystery novel than a spy novel, but this wasn't an issue for me.

The books are quite short and well-paced so can be read in a day or two pretty easily. I'm looking forward to reading more by Le Carré in the near future.

 

[aidan]

It seems to be very highly rated. I know it had two previous controversial titles until it changed to this. This is my first Agatha Christie novel. Hoping it's an interesting read!

One of my absolute favourite books! Dat ending.

I've been afraid to reread Jurassic Park as an adult. It was pretty much my bible as a kid—I read it for the first time when I was nine, just before the movie came out (literally, I still remember trying to finish the novel at the theatre as the lights were going down), and then several more times over the next couple of years. I was obsessed. I'm concerned that it can't possibly live up to my nostalgic impressions, though.

 

[Fuu]

Just started up

It seems to be very highly rated. I know it had two previous controversial titles until it changed to this. This is my first Agatha Christie novel. Hoping it's an interesting read!

It's pretty fun and pulpy, you're in for a ride. It was my first one by her too.

 

[Psychotic_Mantis]

One of my absolute favourite books! Dat ending.

I've been afraid to reread Jurassic Park as an adult. It was pretty much my bible as a kid—I read it for the first time when I was nine, just before the movie came out (literally, I still remember trying to finish the novel at the theatre as the lights were going down), and then several more times over the next couple of years. I was obsessed. I'm concerned that it can't possibly live up to my nostalgic impressions, though.

I reread JP last year and it still held up for me. I was exactly the same as a child. The movie came out when I was 9 and was one of the most defining moments of my childhood.

The Lost World (book) was nowhere near as good as JP, but it was still fun an enjoyable. You can definitely tell that Chrichton's heart just wasn't in it. I wish he would have expanded on his evolution and theory ideas that Malcolm proposes in the book...probably would have made a stronger novel.

As far as "And Then There Were None", I read the first two chapters over lunch. It's enjoyable but I fear that I am not familiar with the characters enough. Do the characters get easier to recognize and familiarize yourself with? It's a fairly short book but the first two chapters the character introductions were super fast!

 

[sparky2112]

Finished: 100 years of solitude by Garcia Marquez

It's a crime that being colombian it took 34 years to read Gabo's Magnum Opus. And... i didn't like it too much. 3/5

I'm almost finished and feel the same way. Having said that, this book was written in, what, 1967? We may be viewing it through the lens of what it influenced. My wife asked what it was about, and I said, 'It's like Spanish Salman Rushdie, but maybe not *quite* as good.' Still, I bet Rushdie sure as hell knew of Marquez in his formative years.

Winning the Nobel Prize does not necessarily mean something is mind-blowingly good. And if you watch How I Met Your Mother, you know Ted prefers Love In The Time of Cholera to 100 Years.

EDIT: If you've never read Rushdie, you CANNOT go wrong with The Moor's Last Sigh.

 

[WolfeTone]

As far as "And Then There Were None", I read the first two chapters over lunch. It's enjoyable but I fear that I am not familiar with the characters enough. Do the characters get easier to recognize and familiarize yourself with? It's a fairly short book but the first two chapters the character introductions were super fast!

I read the book earlier this year. It does seem like a lot of characters thrown at you, but it becomes easy to follow as the story unfolds. You'll have a good idea of who everyone is. It's helpful that characters are often referred to as their profession Judge, Doctor etc. so you'll have a good idea of who is who.

Enjoy the book. It's the only non-Poirot Christie I've read and for that reason, it was quite memorable.

 

[Vincent Grayson]

I think her new one - Stone Sky - comes out today (3rd in that trilogy) and she just won the Hugo for the second book.

Yeah, that's what prompted me to pick up the first book. I figure winning two years in a row is a good sign I should read her stuff.

 

[Tawney Bomb]

Started reading Cannery Row by Steinbeck today. 25ish% through and I am enjoying how he writes. Also my first exposure to his work.

 

[aidan]

I think her new one - Stone Sky - comes out today (3rd in that trilogy) and she just won the Hugo for the second book.

Yeah, that's what prompted me to pick up the first book. I figure winning two years in a row is a good sign I should read her stuff.

What's a Hugo?

 

[brawly]

Tried the kindle sample of Cold Counsel. Kinda intrigued? It's unique, alright.

Anyone here read it?

 

[BrightLightLava]

I just started "The Fifth Season" by NK Jemisin, and this shit is kind of rocking my world. I love the writing style (with some bias, as it reminds me a lot of my own), and the story had me pretty much from the beginning.

I can't wait to check out her other stuff.

Me too! Based on the recommendation of many in the lack of black people in high fantasy novels thread.

I'm about 20% in, and am totally digging it. (Though I'm still figuring out all of the world building lingo.)

What's a Hugo?

I believe it's some kind of large melon?

 

[Cfh123]

David Gemmell is becoming one of my favourite fantasy authors.

After reading Waylander I and II, I turned to the Rigante series.

The Rigante series straddles the line between fantasy and historical fiction. It is set in a world that is a riff on Britain during its Roman conquest. It has a plot that moves forward at a good clip (unlike the turgid pace of some fantasy novels), likable characters and a smooth writing style. It seems to be a family saga. I'm reading Book 2 now, Midnight Falcon, and it is very enjoyable.

 

[WolfeTone]

Me too! Based on the recommendation of many in the lack of black people in high fantasy novels thread.

I'm about 20% in, and am totally digging it. (Though I'm still figuring out all of the world building lingo.)

There's an appendix at the back that provides a glossary of much of the world building lingo. I discovered it after I finished that book lol. I managed to get through the book without it and still enjoyed it, but the glossary did clarify a few things afterwards.

 

[kswiston]

Finished Breakfast at Tiffany's.

Good story, but the casual racism in books from that era always pulls me out of things.

 

[JCHandsom]

Reading "Red Shirts" by John Scalzi. Bout a quarter of the way through, and I'm honestly not that interested in continuing; the writing is very slight, with very little in the way of characterization, description, or any sort of grounding to help bring the reader into the world of the story. It's set in the 25th century, and the first thing our main character does is sit down in a food court with a new friend and shoot a text to his other friend to meet him there like they were at a strip mall circa 2006. It doesn't feel like a parody of Star Trek outside of references to phasers, starships, and the like, it feels like people wearing different nametags walking into featureless rooms with a few chairs and one or two props having the same conversations with each other. Hopefully the clever premise will be enough to carry me to the end, but right now I just don't know if I'll finish.

All this after finishing Armada makes me wonder if I'm cut out for a degree in English.

 

[Pau]

Finished Changing Planes by Ursula K. Le Guin. Some really good and interesting short stories. I'm closer and closer to finishing Le Guin's bibliography though which makes me sad.

Maybe try the Web Shifters series by Julie Czerneda. First book is the Beholder's Eye. Unless I've got the wrong end of the stick from the above paragraph I think it'll have elements you'll appreciate.

Hmm, don't know if I would have picked it up based on the summary on Goodreads, but if you say it it has some of those elements, I'm down.

 

[aidan]

Reading "Red Shirts" by John Scalzi. Bout a quarter of the way through, and I'm honestly not that interested in continuing; the writing is very slight, with very little in the way of characterization, description, or any sort of grounding to help bring the reader into the world of the story. It's set in the 25th century, and the first thing our main character does is sit down in a food court with a new friend and shoot a text to his other friend to meet him there like they were at a strip mall circa 2006. It doesn't feel like a parody of Star Trek outside of references to phasers, starships, and the like, it feels like people wearing different nametags walking into featureless rooms with a few chairs and one or two props having the same conversations with each other. Hopefully the clever premise will be enough to carry me to the end, but right now I just don't know if I'll finish.

All this after finishing Armada makes me wonder if I'm cut out for a degree in English.

Scalzi's books are basically screenplays masquerading as novels.

 

[4Tran]

I just finished "The Rebirth of the Malicious Empress". It's pretty good, but the writer decided to move away from the strong points of the story (i.e. murder and murder plots) for the last act, and it made the ending weaker than it could be. However, the sheer amount of machination and stomping on villains was delicious.

After a lighter read like that, I'm back to more Yue Guan. This time it's "Drunken Pillow Kingdom" (or something like that), starting in the Tang Dynasty, right before the reign of Wu Zetian. Just a could of dozen pages in and I'm instantly reminded of how cool his books are. He always inserts fun little historical details that you'd probably never hear about in history books. Just now, he depicted a scene of Guangzhou (in the very south of China) in winter, and added a note that, during the Tang Dynasty, Guangzhou used to get snow.

Another thing that he always seems to do is to make his stories a lot more multicultural than you'd expect. Usually, maybe one or two non-Chinese cultures/nations is all you'd expect, but Yue Guan books will have characters from countries near and far whenever possible. This was especially true in "Bu Bu Sheng Lian" where there were tons of Khitans, Tanguts, Jurchens, Uighurs, Shatuo, and even the odd Japanese and Arab characters. Very early in "Drunken Pillow Kingdom" we already see descriptions of Sri Lankan (lit. "Lion Kingdom") ships in the Guangzhou harbor, so that's a good sign of seeing more of this diversity. The only problem is that these other kingdoms have names that haven't been used in a thousand years so I have to keep looking up what they are.

 

[TTG]

If you're looking for something Clancy-ish, Red Phoenix by Larry Bond is it.

Added to the list. What about Tom Clancy himself, what's worth reading from his work? I watched The Accountant the other day and I still haven't found books like that, or the original Jason Bourne trilogy. I tried Ludlum and it's so bad, the first Jack Reacher book isn't good either. I just want something sleek and cool, someone really good at being a bad ass.. and something that won't make me cringe every other paragraph.

Finished Breakfast at Tiffany's.

Good story, but the casual racism in books from that era always pulls me out of things.

Would you recommend it? I tried In Cold Blood, and while he's really good, I couldn't shake the feeling that he was exploiting an awful crime, especially when he's writing entire scenes and long dialogue that has to be out of whole cloth. Plus the premise isn't really my thing, probably the novelty of it has worn off.


I'm now in the middle of Sometimes a Great Notion by Ken Kasey. The first 100 pages are really slow, but now it's turning into something special. He has this unique style where he'll start a scene from one character's perspective and flow into another and back, there will usually be a third "voice" as well that will give context or free associate and jump around in time. It's hard to describe, a little like a 3 part harmony in prose.

In general, the writing is really strong and it's doing a Brothers Karamazov/Absalom Absalom! thing in a logging town in Oregon.

 

[kswiston]

Would you recommend it? I tried In Cold Blood, and while he's really good, I couldn't shake the feeling that he was exploiting an awful crime, especially when he's writing entire scenes and long dialogue that has to be out of whole cloth. Plus the premise isn't really my thing, probably the novelty of it has worn off.

I guess that I would recommend it. The book is only 140 pages, so it isn't much of a commitment. It's an interesting character study.

 

[Jeff6851]

I'm 360 pages in after putting it down (for a long time) at around 200. I started a few weeks ago but over the last few days I've kicked it into high gear. It's making me love reading which has always been a struggle for me and I can't wait to finish so I can read another one.

 

[BrightLightLava]

There's an appendix at the back that provides a glossary of much of the world building lingo. I discovered it after I finished that book lol. I managed to get through the book without it and still enjoyed it, but the glossary did clarify a few things afterwards.

That's good to know, thanks. I'm reading on kindle so what I've been doing so far is highlighting a word, and if no definition comes up then I know it's something she's made up. It's not been particularly informative.

 

[arkon]

Finished Changing Planes by Ursula K. Le Guin. Some really good and interesting short stories. I'm closer and closer to finishing Le Guin's bibliography though which makes me sad.


Hmm, don't know if I would have picked it up based on the summary on Goodreads, but if you say it it has some of those elements, I'm down.

Hmm. Yeah. The summary leaves out some details. For example the human they mention is one of the main characters and while I don't remember his exact job title he is an alien culture specialist for a first contact team from the Commonwealth. The alien, Esen, they don't say much about what her race does and I think that's better to find out for yourself in reading the books. The majority of the books are written from Esen's point of view as well. You do get explorations of different alien cultures but that aspect might not be as detailed as what you find in that Yolen book. Relationships and family, how they're formed and how they're broken, are a central theme and I thought the relationship between Esen and Paul was particularly refreshing.

As I said earlier, maybe I'm way off in the recommendation of it. If you give me some more detail on what you liked about the Cards of Grief I could say with more certainty.

 

[sparky2112]

Added to the list. What about Tom Clancy himself, what's worth reading from his work?

Everything up through Clear And Present Danger is great. After that, it's ass.

 

[sparky2112]

I'm now in the middle of Sometimes a Great Notion by Ken Kasey. The first 100 pages are really slow, but now it's turning into something special. He has this unique style where he'll start a scene from one character's perspective and flow into another and back, there will usually be a third "voice" as well that will give context or free associate and jump around in time. It's hard to describe, a little like a 3 part harmony in prose.

In general, the writing is really strong and it's doing a Brothers Karamazov/Absalom Absalom! thing in a logging town in Oregon.

Have it on my shelf calling out to me. You've piqued my interest...

 

[MrOogieBoogie]

Still reading The Red Knight, and I have to say Miles Cameron is ridiculously talented at writing action and battle scenes. It's like the opening of The Revenant in word form.

How come this guy isn't more popular in the fantasy circles?

 

[IlGialloMondadori]

 

[Pau]

Hmm. Yeah. The summary leaves out some details. For example the human they mention is one of the main characters and while I don't remember his exact job title he is an alien culture specialist for a first contact team from the Commonwealth. The alien, Esen, they don't say much about what her race does and I think that's better to find out for yourself in reading the books. The majority of the books are written from Esen's point of view as well. You do get explorations of different alien cultures but that aspect might not be as detailed as what you find in that Yolen book. Relationships and family, how they're formed and how they're broken, are a central theme and I thought the relationship between Esen and Paul was particularly refreshing.

As I said earlier, maybe I'm way off in the recommendation of it. If you give me some more detail on what you liked about the Cards of Grief I could say with more certainty.

Your more in-depth summary sounds like something I would like!

Basically, I want books that approach alien cultures in way beyond just as enemies to be conquered. That involve the process of establishing a relationship between different alien cultures, preferably with view points of everyone involved.

 

[AngmarsKing701]

Still reading The Red Knight, and I have to say Miles Cameron is ridiculously talented at writing action and battle scenes. It's like the opening of The Revenant in word form.

How come this guy isn't more popular in the fantasy circles?

The Red Knight has been sitting in my Kindle since mid-2014. Haven't read it yet. Too busy spending the last year on and off re-reading Memory, Sorrow & Thorn which is another vast series.

I think part of the problem is every time I look at it with all the other stuff I have, I realize I'm about to dive into a multi-book series where every book is 600+ pages and so it's gonna be a slog.

 

[Jag]

The Red Knight has been sitting in my Kindle since mid-2014. Haven't read it yet. Too busy spending the last year on and off re-reading Memory, Sorrow & Thorn which is another vast series.

I think part of the problem is every time I look at it with all the other stuff I have, I realize I'm about to dive into a multi-book series where every book is 600+ pages and so it's gonna be a slog.

Take the plunge. It is alot to read, but I really enjoyed the series and looking forward to the final book coming out. If you like books about mercenary companies (like Black Company), then this is for you!

My only complaints about Cameron is he sometimes uses language more to show he knows the fancy names for things. I've probably used Kindle word look up more on his books than anything else. My friend read him and said the same thing.

He's a huge military reenactor and his knowledge of arms and armor is pretty impressive. Haven't read any of his other stuff yet.