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[Verdre]

Now that it's finally done, the last chapter posted and read, I feel I can at last whole-heartedly recommend Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality. I've been reading the damn thing for nearly five years.

The thing I noticed most strongly about the ending is that the author didn't drop a single stitch. Everything about the story makes sense and is complete. Any number of things that were odd or confusing as they happened are explained--explained wonderfully, even--by the time we get to the final chapter. Nearly every complaint I have about the story is either entirely resolved or justified in-story. It's a remarkable feat, and I suspect I'll be comparing my own writing and finding it wanting for years to come.

The premise of this story is that Harry was raised by an Oxford professor and given an absurd love for science and rationality. He's an unholy mixture of Ender, Miles Vorkosigan, and Artemis Fowl. Which sounds ridiculous, right? How can anything pose a challenge to someone like that?

Luckily, the Voldemort of this story is himself a ridiculous mastermind genius.

If this sounds at all appealing, check out the first few chapters. I suggest reading at least up to the chapter where the Sorting Hat [redacted], because that's where the premise really starts making things fun.

Caveats: yeah, it's fanfic. And it's kinda didactic. And HJPEV is a little insufferable. (Also you may wish to avail yourself of the trigger warning page, under "More Info.")

But damned if the whole thing isn't awesome.

That thing is Artemis Fowl taken to such an extreme that only fanfic can manage. (Not entirely crapping on it, as I can see why it'd be fun.)

I am crapping on the fact that the author wants a hugo nomination and to be put in touch with Rowling so he can publish his fanfic. haha

 

[Piecake]

Good book. I've seen to have become quite interested in cognitive psychology and educational theory lately. It is pretty amazing how well our schools don't reflect recent research on how we learn, how we are motivated, and how our brain actually functions.

 

[Dedication Through Light]

Good book. I've seen to have become quite interested in cognitive psychology and educational theory lately. It is pretty amazing how well our schools don't reflect recent research on how we learn, how we are motivated, and how our brain actually functions.

Is the writer suggesting tougher standards?

 

[Dandy Crocodile]

A nice 2-hour wait at a car dealership yesterday allowed me to finally polish off Never Let Me Go after probably 6 months of just picking at it and not really getting into it.
I did enjoy it, but it fell short of the emotional payoff I was expecting to arrive at the end. I watched the film adaptation immediately afterward and found that I enjoyed that a bit more.

Other than that I'm still reading A Little Life, The Magicians, and Eleanor and Park.

A Little Life is still consistent. Well written, tragic, somehow entertaining despite the lack of any real plot. It's like a slice-of-life show in some regards.

 

[TheXbox]

I've read about half of The Martian today. Well, more than half. It's a great read. Apollo 13 is one of my favorite movies, so I guess it's no surprise this book is absolutely enthralling. Mark Watney rules.

 

[Piecake]

Is the writer suggesting tougher standards?

No. He takes the position that when people call for tougher standards what they mean is that they want school to cram more and more facts and skills into students brains. Students are judged whether or not they can repeat the 'correct' answer to the teacher through standardized tests. This is where you get teachers lecturing facts to students, students writing down those facts quietly (hopefully) in their notebooks, students practicing skills on endless amounts of worksheets, and students being tested on those facts and skills with more and more tests.

He thinks we should move towards a discovery, inquiry based model where students have the opportunity to think, discover, analyze and reflect on a topic/question that is open to interpretation/controversial and that they are interested in. His goal is to teach students how to think instead of what to think. Basically, it is a model for giving students more autonomy, purpose and mastery in the classroom

He contends that this method is actually more difficult than forcing kids to memorize a bunch of facts and skills because you are actually need to think instead of parrot back facts. Moreover, students will actually learn facts and skills better than the 'tougher standards' method because without active deep encoding, facts just remain in working memory and quickly disappear. With deep-encoding, which is what students will do when they are actually thinking - like making connections to prior knowledge and interpreting information - they will remember the 'facts' far longer than if they have to rush through a stuffed curriculum full of facts, memorize them for the test and not bother with them anymore.

It also has quite a bit to deal with student motivation. A lot of findings suggest that we are motivated by autonomy, mastery, and purpose. The only possible motivator in 'tougher standards' schools that can be developed is mastery, but would many students want to master something if they feel coerced to do it and don't understand the purpose? Intrinsic motivation actually decreases with coercion, such as punishment, lack of choice, and rewards. So even if there is something you love doing, if you are coerced - school tells you to do it - and rewarded for doing a good job - you will have less and less desire and motivation to do that topic on your own. No one likes being coerced, and once the motivator, the reward (grades, honor roll, status) stops coming, you will stop doing it because that became more important than the actual joy of learning more about the subject and mastering it. I mean, is the school serving our students well if they kill any drive to learn on their own or after high school?

I personally think he goes a bit too far on the discovery and inquiry based model since I think that too much freedom and choice can actually impair learning and critical thinking (see paradox of choice Ted Talk), not to mention that I think you learn better with structure and guidance instead of 'hey, here's a question, go figure it out for yourself for a few days. I'll do some Socratic questions then to help you out', but I would agree that it is better than a lecture that just tells the students the facts. I would agree with him also that standardized tests are awful.

 

[Piecake]

The more I read about research and studies on education methods, the more I despair of there being anything that actually works well. It seems like every kind of intervention that sounds like it ought to work turns out to be either useless or counter-productive when you actually study it (rigorously). After school programs, before school programs, youth groups, etc etc.

On the other hand, there was a recent major study that threw basically everything at the wall and seemed to find positive results. Unfortunately, they can't really separate out the stuff that worked from what didn't.

(I'm talking mostly about at-risk kids here and, looking back, that may not be what that author was talking about. So maybe this irrelevant. )

I don't think the author dealt with kids with emotional issues well or different abilities, which is something that I disagree with. He essentially took a whole classroom approach or that kids could differentiate by choosing stuff to study and cooperative with others on their own. I don't completely buy that.

I do think he is right about coercion and punishments and rewards though, and that making them feel like they have autonomy, mastery and purpose will help them far more than constantly being 'tough' with them. I think it is well proven that punishment simply does not work. It stops an ongoing action, but certainly doesnt change behavior. How schools use punishment is all sorts of fucked up and does not reflect recent findings in cognitive psychology.

Ive come to the conclusion that good teaching means providing students with a question or topic that they are or that they can become interested in, but more importantly, can think critically about, express themselves and their own view point, and use metacognitive skills that should be constantly modeled and directly stated to the students.

Since every student has different abilities and interests, I think instruction should be highly differentiated. Students who need material that is below grade level to actually succeed should be provided it and students who need various degrees of scaffolding and help should be given that. If a student does not need this, then that kid should be doing more difficult stuff and provided it.

Essentially, I think guided inquiry based teaching that is heavily differentiated and appropriately scaffolding is the way to go (sometimes lecture is good scaffolding!). Not surprisingly, that is really hard to do and takes a great deal of effort. I think it also works well with what we know about motivation since there is a balance between autonomy, mastery, and purpose and the paradox of choice (basically getting overwhelmed with just the sheer amount of it due to a lack of prior knowledge - which basically all students have). Personally, I think if students are able to put their own stamp on their work and make it theirs, I think that hits the autonomy and purpose buttons. You don't need to let students to fumble on their own for a while to feel autonomous.

For struggling or at risk kids, what is interesting is that the author notes is that they are usually the ones who get stuck with doing the most basics, most skill drills, most facts, which he contends is about the worst thing we can do since it neither meets the needs of those students or produces good results. I totally buy that. A bunch of after school interventions and more class is really not going to fix that.

 

[Piecake]

This all sounds great to me. It seems like the main obstacles are that it's not what people are used to (just look at the reflexive brick wall of opposition for Common Core) and that it sounds pretty expensive.

I honestly havent looked into common core all too closely, but I disagree with specific and extensive standards. If Common Core has that, I won't like it. I think standards should be as vague as possible. Learning shouldnt be about getting through as much curriculum as possible, it should be teaching students how to think - critically, creatively, and metacognitively. If you need to plow through a bunch of shit, you really don't have the opportunity to do that because thinking requires depth and depth takes time. I also think that anyone, no matter their ability can think C, C and M. They just need to be provided with material that they can work with and the proper amount of scaffolding for them to succeed.

I think smaller class sizes will make this a MUCH easier prospect. Instead of wasting so much money on new standards and standardized tests, we should be investing in smaller classroom sizes so that more teachers feel that they can actually DO differentiated instruction.

In case you missed my edit here is what the book said on 'at-risk' students and the tougher standards teaching methods:

For struggling or at risk kids, what is interesting is that the author notes is that they are usually the ones who get stuck with doing the most basics, most skill drills, most facts, which he contends is about the worst thing we can do since it neither meets the needs of those students or produces good results. I totally buy that. A bunch of after school interventions and more class is really not going to fix that.

 

[Jintor]

we're going to have to disagree on methods of rationality cyan. the ideas feel incredible but to me the writing was a huge chore to read, the author seemed totally full of himself at every moment

 

[Cfh123]

I finished The People in the Trees. It's one of the best books I have read in a long time.

Spoiler

The ending although not unexpected, was quite shocking.

 

[LProtag]

You guys weren't kidding, this book is great.

Playing a bit of catch up with my goals, time to read a lot.

 

[Althane]

Has anyone read David Gemmel?

Saw this posted on Reddit, he was one of the few authors who's name I could make out, was wondering if he was good.

 

[Verdre]

Has anyone read David Gemmel?

Saw this posted on Reddit, he was one of the few authors who's name I could make out, was wondering if he was good.

He's rather limited as a writer and very repetitive from story to story, but he can be enjoyable if you like his pretty straight take on heroic fantasy. He's very 80s.

I can't really recommend any real starting point as outside his historical fiction you can just sort of jump in anywhere.

Edit:

Other names on that bookcase: Terry Brooks, Joe Abercrombie, L. E. Modesitt, Jr, Brent Weeks, Robert Jordan, Brian McClellan, Patrick Rothfuss, Steven Erikson, Robin Hobb, Terry Pratchett, Anne McCaffrey, David Eddings, Raymond E. Feist, Janny Wurts

All in all, a pretty bog standard listing of fantasy writers you'll be recommended anywhere ever. Quite a few you should avoid, too.

 

[Jag]

Has anyone read David Gemmel?

Saw this posted on Reddit, he was one of the few authors who's name I could make out, was wondering if he was good.

I was a huge Gemmel fan. His Drenai series is fantastic, pulpy, Conan like heroic fantasy. I read it back in the 80s, so I can't tell you how it stands the test of time.

I would start with Legend the story of Druss the Axe. It can be read as a standalone, but if you like it (and many do), then you can read the rest of the Drenai Saga.

 

[Althane]

He's rather limited as a writer and very repetitive from story to story, but he can be enjoyable if you like his pretty straight take on heroic fantasy. He's very 80s.

I can't really recommend any real starting point as outside his historical fiction you can just sort of jump in anywhere.

Edit:

Other names on that bookcase: Terry Brooks, Joe Abercrombie, L. E. Modesitt, Jr, Brent Weeks, Robert Jordan, Brian McClellan, Patrick Rothfuss, Steven Erikson, Robin Hobb, Terry Pratchett, Anne McCaffrey, David Eddings, Raymond E. Feist, Janny Wurts

All in all, a pretty bog standard listing of fantasy writers you'll be recommended anywhere ever. Quite a few you should avoid, too.

On that list, Yes, Yes, No, Yes, Yes, Yes (loved the Powder Mage trilogy), Yes, Some of, No, Yes, No, No, Yes (Magician is consistently one of my favorite books to read. Reminds me of old-school DnD adventures), and No.

Of the no's, anyone I'm missing that really stands out as good to read?

I know I should read more of Erikson, but goddamn if Malazan isn't some of the toughest literature to chew through short of Russian novels about killing people.

 

[BrokenFiction]

I was a huge Gemmel fan. His Drenai series is fantastic, pulpy, Conan like heroic fantasy. I read it back in the 80s, so I can't tell you how it stands the test of time.

I would start with Legend the story of Druss the Axe. It can be read as a standalone, but if you like it (and many do), then you can read the rest of the Drenai Saga.

Gemmell holds up really really well. Proto-grimdark if you want to think of it that way, but great stuff, especially the non-Drenai stuff too. We lost him way too early.

 

[Akahige]

Started reading Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. I'm only on Part 1, it's slow and I already know

Spoiler

the twist that they are clones from reading about the movie when it first came out

but I'll keep on reading.

Spoiler

Come on, Deathly Hallows has a lot of problems, but this isn't one of them. Harry Potter is not an epic dueler - such a thing was never going to happen.

Yeah I guess, my exceptions for the ending were too high.

 

[fredrancour]

On that list, Yes, Yes, No, Yes, Yes, Yes (loved the Powder Mage trilogy), Yes, Some of, No, Yes, No, No, Yes (Magician is consistently one of my favorite books to read. Reminds me of old-school DnD adventures), and No.

Of the no's, anyone I'm missing that really stands out as good to read?

I know I should read more of Erikson, but goddamn if Malazan isn't some of the toughest literature to chew through short of Russian novels about killing people.

How far did you get in the Malazan series? The first one was merely kind of cool, but once I got sucked into the second one, I couldn't stop myself.

I really enjoyed the audiobook versions of the first 3. I originally got through Gardens of the Moon in print, and then went a couple years without continuing. I'd always be in a book store, saying to myself, I guess I'll buy Deadhouse Gates if they have it, but they never did. A couple years later, I realized I I didn't remember enough, and decided to try out the audiobook to remind myself what had happened, then stuck with the audiobooks for the first two sequels, where they changed to a less awesome narrator.

Then, I read through the fourth one at a reasonable place, followed by reading the remaining six in the span of a couple months of reading-overdose.Then I went through withdrawals and just re-listened to books 2 and 3.....Turns out knowing the ending did not make

Spoiler

The Chain of Dogs

hurt any less.

I'm not expecting quite the same caliber of writing from them, but I'll probably start tearing into the Esselmont side-stories soon out of general enthusiasm for the series.

I really wish I could remember how I reacted to GotM on that first read-through. I don't think I was all that overwhelmed by the details involved that make the books feel like a deluge of information to some people. I think my brain just shoved any random names and stuff into a corner as "worldbuilding fluff" until they otherwise proved directly relevant.

 

[Piecake]

Oh sure, that wasn't meant to be in support of Common Core, just pointing out that it engenders huge reactions for whatever reason, and it seems to mostly be about it being different than how people remember being taught growing up. I feel like this is likely to be a problem for anything new, even if it's found to be highly effective.

Oh, I agree. I honestly didn't think too much about educational theory and since the way I was taught in high school served me fine, I saw little reason to change anything. I was by no means anti-reform before reading up on the subject, but I certainly didnt think the whole system needed to fundamentally changed.

After reading up on educational theory and reflecting on my own high school experience, the whole idea how rewards and having an 'achievement' focus instead of a 'learning' focus actually undermines intrinsic motivation especially speaks to me. I mean, I did as little as possible to achieve good grades and took no risks in high school. I obviously did not really care about learning. I cared about achievement.

I also realized that when I was forced to read or do a paper in high school or college, even if it was something that I was interested in, that coercion reduced my desire to actually do it. I think this also really hints at the damaging effects of coercion on motivation and an achievement mindset.

I think the book I mentioned discussed that one benefit of having a learning mindset is being able to see work as a way to further your own goals, see a greater purpose in it besides a grade and want to do it for its own sake. I think traditional schools definitely foster and basically compel students to have an achievement mindset. I don't think it is a great shocker that we find the majority of students are huge procrastinators and put as little effort as possible. I mean, is there any point when their only reason is to get a good grade, get on the honor roll and retain a social status? A message that is constantly being reinforced by school and society, that the point of school is to achieve those things?

There were a few times in college where I put in a lot of effort since I saw a greater purpose beyond generating a paper to be graded. It would be nice if school was able to engender that feeling for students all the time because I found those experiences to be the most valuable by far.

 

[NEO0MJ]

I need a high fantasy recommendation. I tried reading some of the suggestion threads but they were kinda overwhelming with options. Something no more than 500 pages and stand alone is what I'm looking for.

 

[Jintor]

Terry Pratchett.

Okay he's not really high fantasy, but he's brilliant!

 

[NEO0MJ]

Terry Pratchett.

Okay he's not really high fantasy, but he's brilliant!

But he has so many books X_X

 

[BronzeWolf]

Just finished The house of the spirits by Allende, Isabel

I think it's magnificent, right besides 100 years of solitude. The book is about a lovable dysfunctional family in Chile at the turning of the 19 century. It's also a super personal book from the author. Latinamerican Magical Realism in all it's splendor. It's also a thinly veiled gaze into the horror that is LatinAmerican insecurity. From Mexico to Chile, any one can be kidnapped, killed or simply disappear and while this books talks about situations that happened almost 80 years ago, still in 2014 43 students in Mexico where kindapped and killed by the local Mayor, while an untold number of people are killed in the streets in a narcwar. This horror is necessary to be understood in order to be able to separate the real from the imaginary and hits very close to home in this novel. The writting itself is flawless, Allende dolls the right foreshadowing at just the right time in just the right amounts, and she is a master of language.



Also about 65% done with The Count of Monte Cristo by Dumas, Alexandre.

Never saw the movie, but thought I knew something of the plot. Boy was I wrong. I never thought the scale would be so epic, the villains so summary destroyed and The Count's vengeance so complete. It's also an excellent view into French Society surrounding the one hundred days as well as a little bit of their difference with the Italians, Greeks, English and other cultures. I've read that Dumas went to great length to do a very realist setting, even checking the name, date and performers of the operas that his characters attend.

 

[Jintor]

But he has so many books X_X

and they're all amazing!

I'm pretty sure they range from 300-500 pages, too - paperback, anyway

 

[Necrovex]

and they're all amazing!

I'm pretty sure they range from 300-500 pages, too - paperback, anyway

I've thought about tackling his work in the near future, but I don't know where to even start. At the beginning of Discworld (should I actually read all of Discworld)?

 

[Jintor]

You could tear through them in a year, but I'd spread them out over however long until you feel you need to read another one.

People always have a reading guide, I think Necro advises you start from publication order, but personally I would start with a series - Guards, Guards is usually the most well-regarded non-chronological start point, since it begins the City Watch subseries.

But every one of his books is standalone, even ones in a subseries, to my mind.

 

[Nitemare1]

Since I never have read it I started To Kill A Mockingbird a couple of nights ago.
I usually struggle though classics but I have to admit I'm liking it a lot more than I expected.

 

[Donos]

Have read all Terry Pratchett books except maybe one or two with the witches and i had the strongest laughs ever in some. Really brillant. Some of them also go really deep into certain themes/topics/real world issues.
I don't really see them as fantasy books, don't know why. Like posters above me stated, you can read them without order but a lot of characters return later. I would at least read the books regarding the guard in order because the guard cast is growing through them.

 

[Maklershed]

Just finished The house of the spirits by Allende, Isabel

I think it's magnificent, right besides 100 years of solitude. The book is about a lovable dysfunctional family in Chile at the turning of the 19 century. It's also a super personal book from the author. Latinamerican Magical Realism in all it's splendor. It's also a thinly veiled gaze into the horror that is LatinAmerican insecurity. From Mexico to Chile, any one can be kidnapped, killed or simply disappear and while this books talks about situations that happened almost 80 years ago, still in 2014 43 students in Mexico where kindapped and killed by the local Mayor, while an untold number of people are killed in the streets in a narcwar. This horror is necessary to be understood in order to be able to separate the real from the imaginary and hits very close to home in this novel. The writting itself is flawless, Allende dolls the right foreshadowing at just the right time in just the right amounts, and she is a master of language.

I've only read one book by Allende and loved it and I highly recommend it - La Isla Bajo el Mar (The Island Beneath the Sea)


Island Beneath the Sea by Isabel Allende

I had originally read it because I was looking for something similar to All Souls Rising, and while the two are a bit different in tone and focus, "Island" was great in its own right. I never read any other of Allende's books because their subject matter didn't exactly interest me, but perhaps I should.

 

[Necrovex]

You could tear through them in a year, but I'd spread them out over however long until you feel you need to read another one.

People always have a reading guide, I think Necro advises you start from publication order, but personally I would start with a series - Guards, Guards is usually the most well-regarded non-chronological start point, since it begins the City Watch subseries.

But every one of his books is standalone, even ones in a subseries, to my mind.

I said what now?!

I'll have a lot of time for reading, so I may finally tackle his work from publication order. Thank for the heads up!

 

[Jintor]

Doh, I meant Tragi. I think

 

[Althane]

How far did you get in the Malazan series? The first one was merely kind of cool, but once I got sucked into the second one, I couldn't stop myself.

I really enjoyed the audiobook versions of the first 3. I originally got through Gardens of the Moon in print, and then went a couple years without continuing. I'd always be in a book store, saying to myself, I guess I'll buy Deadhouse Gates if they have it, but they never did. A couple years later, I realized I I didn't remember enough, and decided to try out the audiobook to remind myself what had happened, then stuck with the audiobooks for the first two sequels, where they changed to a less awesome narrator.

Then, I read through the fourth one at a reasonable place, followed by reading the remaining six in the span of a couple months of reading-overdose.Then I went through withdrawals and just re-listened to books 2 and 3.....Turns out knowing the ending did not make

Spoiler

The Chain of Dogs

hurt any less.

I'm not expecting quite the same caliber of writing from them, but I'll probably start tearing into the Esselmont side-stories soon out of general enthusiasm for the series.

I really wish I could remember how I reacted to GotM on that first read-through. I don't think I was all that overwhelmed by the details involved that make the books feel like a deluge of information to some people. I think my brain just shoved any random names and stuff into a corner as "worldbuilding fluff" until they otherwise proved directly relevant.

So, I've read GotM, have the nice paperback copy. I picked up the less-nice paperback copy of Deadhouse Gates, but still attempted to read through it. Got a few chapters in, and it's just difficult to read.

For me, I like understanding the magic systems, the world, and the different races. I feel like if I spent some time on the wikis, I'd probably be better able to dive into the series, but at the same time, I want to avoid spoilers. So, tough call.

Ignoring stuff unless they provide relevant sounds like a good idea though.

 

[Easystride]

All of this talk of Terry Pratchett has got me interested in starting to get into his book. My library doesn't have a ton of his eBooks. I think of the available titles, I will start with The Wee Free Man. It seems like most of my library's offerings are his young adult novels. Are they still worth reading for adults?

Here's what my library has:

 

[Atraveller]

I abandoned World War Z for Mistborn, so much better.

 

[Necrovex]

I abandoned World War Z for Mistborn, so much better.

The only way you could have read something worse was if it involved Goodkind.

 

[Atraveller]

The only way you could have read something worse was if it involved Goodkind.

I've never read any of his books, what made you say so?

 

[Necrovex]

I've never read any of his books, what made you say so?

Tragic can make a more elegant post about the dreadful nature of Goodkind so I'll let him handle that.

 

[Mumei]

Tragic can make a more elegant post about the dreadful nature of Goodkind so I'll let him handle that.

Or he could read Amir0x's hysterical topic.

 

[AngmarsKing701]

I need a high fantasy recommendation. I tried reading some of the suggestion threads but they were kinda overwhelming with options. Something no more than 500 pages and stand alone is what I'm looking for.

A Song for Arbonne by Guy Gavriel Kay (paperback is 512 pp)
Ahvarra by yours truly
The Last Unicorn by Peter Beagle
The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison (it is listed on Tor's site as a stand alone)

 

[Jintor]

I really liked WWZ the first time I read it, but it really does not hold up on subsequent readings.

Easy - his YA books are definitely worth it... though I'd really recommend starting with one of his mainline series. But of those I think The Educated Maurice is one of his more standalones (the others are standalone but are better appreciated with knowledge of, say, The Witches subseries. And a few of those aren't Discworld at all - I haven't read the Long War stuff yet)

 

[Atraveller]

Or he could read Amir0x's hysterical topic.

Wow, that sounded dreadful!

I really liked WWZ the first time I read it, but it really does not hold up on subsequent readings.

Too many clichéd archetypes, it seemed like the only way the author knew how to write different people.

 

[Jintor]

The hikkimori in Japan was hilarious

not only does he

Spoiler

escape his apartment building by finding a katana, he then finds a blind zombie-killing gardener too!

 

[Necrovex]

Or he could read Amir0x's hysterical topic.

That's what gave me my sick curiosity of that series. It ruined my last year's reading challenge. :-(

 

[Atraveller]

That's what gave me my sick curiosity of that series. It ruined my last year's reading challenge. :-(

How many books from that series did you read?

 

[Necrovex]

How many books from that series did you read?

It only took the first book, and I believe fans consider that as the best book in the series.

 

[NEO0MJ]

and they're all amazing!

I'm pretty sure they range from 300-500 pages, too - paperback, anyway

Maybe later. Will keep some of his books on my wish list.

A Song for Arbonne by Guy Gavriel Kay (paperback is 512 pp)
Ahvarra by yours truly
The Last Unicorn by Peter Beagle
The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison (it is listed on Tor's site as a stand alone)

Thanks for the suggestions, but in the end I went with the Book of the New Sun.

And if I got your post right you're the author of Ahvarra?

 

[Plasticine]

Finished David J Schow's The Shaft a few weeks ago. It was an absolute blast. Schow' has an attitude and energy that feels very punk rock and raw. His story moves along like a freight train fueled by cocaine and filled with grotesque imagery and horrible human beings. The drug dealers are bad, but the cops are somehow worse. Chicago is a veritable snowbound apocalyptic wasteland. The main setting, a rundown tenement building is a depressing shithole with a mutant tapeworm eating the residence in graphic ways. I honestly have no idea how this book wasn't published in America at the time of its original release. It was the 80s, and the paperback horror market was huge. It's quintessential splatterpunk that deserved its time to shine back then.

Up next:

 

[Jimothy]

Finished Hyperion 1 & 2. The first one is probably the best sci fi book ever written while the second is just merely a very good space opera.

 

[Mumei]

Thanks for the suggestions, but in the end I went with the Book of the New Sun.

And if I got your post right you're the author of Ahvarra?

Great choice!

And yes, he is.

 

[Kin5290]

Crossover by Joel Shepherd. Rereading it, actually. It gets better with subsequent readings, and of course it just blows the Bechdel Test out of the water.