GreyPilgrim Posted February 10, 2014 Report Share Posted February 10, 2014 I finished the fifth Malazan book last week. I am still enjoying the books. My phone now recognizes random Malazan words when I type things because I take fairly exhaustive notes on the books with it. It is rather humorous. I will type the and "Tiste" or "Edur" come up as options for the next word. I started The Lies of Locke Lamora, and it is AMAZING. Almost (big stress on the "almost") Brandon good so far. Love the world, love the prose, love the story, love the characters. I just wonder if the other books can live up to the first's awesomeness. I know from reviews that the third sort of falls short, but I am optimistic. If you haven't read this, I highly suggest it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radda Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 After years of struggling I finally managed to get into a China Mieville book and now I'm on the last part of Embassytown. It's a good book but I doubt it'll become a favourite. His writing style is still completely not my thing. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iredomi Posted February 12, 2014 Report Share Posted February 12, 2014 Now what am I reading? Rereading mostly. Way of Kings. Foundling by D.M Cornish. Still reading paradise lost. And A Clash of Kings. which I'm enjoying but when I'm not reading it I feel no motivation to continue. Also started codex alera and the second book in the Malazan series but haven't read much of them since. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ailessar Posted February 18, 2014 Report Share Posted February 18, 2014 Just finished Elantris, and Warbreaker before that, and the Mistborn trilogy before that. Loved them all, am now buried in awesome. I'm going to start on Emperor's Soul next, also Crux by Naam. Also, snagged two audiobooks on sale: Daughter of the Forest, Book 1 (Marillier) His Majesty's Dragon: Temeraire, Book 1 (Novik) (Have to have me some dragons) Kindle sample I'm going to try: Railsea (Mieville) Books I'm looking forward to: The Words of Radiance! Tower Lord (Ryan) Widow's House (Abraham) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argent Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 Right, so I finished Blood Song about a week ago. My review is on Goodreads, I'll just link to it instead of typing it again. Moved on to Brent Weeks' The Black Prism. About a couple of hundred pages into it, but it looks like it's going to be very good - easy and light to read, interesting and compelling characters (though I have a very vague suspicion they may have been developed with the "cool" notch turned up a little), good storytelling, and a beautiful magic system. I swear, I probably have a fantasy fetish or something, but magic systems win me over like nothing else. It's no wonder Brandon won me so quickly and thoroughly. Back to Brent Weeks though - it's called chromaturgy - you can read about it on Wikipedia, it looks pretty spoiler-free, but I only skimmed over it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloodfalcon Posted February 25, 2014 Report Share Posted February 25, 2014 I've been on a bit of an adventure recently. Prince of Thorns- I had a friend recommend it to me, so I began reading that, but couldn't finish. The main character is very dark - the whole book is - but it seems overkill after a while, and I have personal problems getting invested in a story where I hate all the characters. It's just tougher to motivate myself to sit down and read. Malazan - It's a long haul. I wasn't ready for it. I tried it on audiobook, got lost several times, relistened to the first few chapters over and over, realized it wasn't going to happen, put it down before I lost all hope. Hoping I'll pick it up again soon in a physical copy and really sit down with it they way it must be read. Discworld (first book)- This one was recommended by forum users here at 17thShard. I started off liking it. It started off strong with a world building infodump, which I love, but it just gets so silly that I can't focus. It really felt to me like a Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy with no frame of reference. I just got a little disappointed by what felt like purely random events for the sake of being purely random. Wool (by Hugh Howey) - I'm reading Wool now. It is post-apocalyptic and pretty far removed from the types of fantasy I have been reading. It's really good so far but it does start of pretty slow (I thought, though my friend would argue). Just hit a really good cliffhanger at the end of a segmented part that has me hungry to read more. Not finished, but so far I would recommend it. Halo: Ghosts of Onyx - Rereading this one right now with hopes of continuing the series because I didn't keep up with it. It's not as good as I remember, but still a fun read if anyone was trying to get into military scifi sort of stuff. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyPilgrim Posted February 25, 2014 Report Share Posted February 25, 2014 Malazan - It's a long haul. I wasn't ready for it. I tried it on audiobook, got lost several times, relistened to the first few chapters over and over, realized it wasn't going to happen, put it down before I lost all hope. Hoping I'll pick it up again soon in a physical copy and really sit down with it they way it must be read. I agree that Malazan is very hard. My note-taking approach has been about the only way I have been able to get through it. The stories themselves are fun, but they take a lot of work. I am up to the sixth book now, and intend to finish. The work is more than worth it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloodfalcon Posted February 25, 2014 Report Share Posted February 25, 2014 I agree that Malazan is very hard. My note-taking approach has been about the only way I have been able to get through it. The stories themselves are fun, but they take a lot of work. I am up to the sixth book now, and intend to finish. The work is more than worth it. That's really nice to hear actually. When I finish WoR, I won't have many new books on my plate, so I'm excited to actually focus on a large story. Glad it pays off. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyPilgrim Posted February 25, 2014 Report Share Posted February 25, 2014 Take my word with a grain of salt, though. Malazan tends to go pretty heavily one way or another among fans. It is also on the darker side, so if you didn't Prince of Thorns (which I have not myself read), you may have an issue with the darkness. But don't let me deter you; just don't blame me if you don't like it! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PorridgeBrick Posted February 25, 2014 Report Share Posted February 25, 2014 Eh, Prince of Thorns is way darker than Malazan. If you could read even a chapter of Prince of Thorns, you could certainly take all of Malazan. The only problem really is the sheer amount of info really. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyPilgrim Posted February 26, 2014 Report Share Posted February 26, 2014 True. Malazan is certainly not grimdark, but the characters and nature tend to the darker side, at least compared to Brandon's books where no one is really evil. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterAhlstrom Posted February 26, 2014 Report Share Posted February 26, 2014 I started reading Shift by Hugh Howey. Got to the end of First Shift and I'm not going to continue. This is an idea book rather than a character book, and the idea is not very compelling. Got 50 pages into the Wayfarer Redemption by Sara Douglass, and am not continuing. The POV is really loose and no one is interesting. The looming evil just seems really generic. Finished Dragon Haven by Robin Hobb and it was very satisfying. Dragon Keeper and Dragon Haven need to be read as one book, because Dragon Keeper has no end whatsoever. Splitting a book is never a good idea. I need to pick up the next two of those, but first I'm reading some manuscripts by various people who want a cover quote from Brandon. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloodfalcon Posted February 26, 2014 Report Share Posted February 26, 2014 I started reading Shift by Hugh Howey. Got to the end of First Shift and I'm not going to continue. This is an idea book rather than a character book, and the idea is not very compelling. Howey's Wool is also really slow to start. The friend who recommended it gave me a general "feeling" that he had at the end of the first sequence and (to his dismay) I just about outlined the plot points dead on. A little predictability made the first couple sequences slow, but then it picks up. It is also a book based on an idea, but that idea grows pretty well so far. I don't mean to trash the book by saying this, but it saddens me a little bit that 3 people at the airport came and told me what a great book Wool was and encouraged me to keep reading. I can already see that it is not the same caliber as many others I've read recently that just don't make it that far into the general spotlight. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimmingly Posted February 26, 2014 Report Share Posted February 26, 2014 (edited) I've been on a bit of an adventure recently. Prince of Thorns- I had a friend recommend it to me, so I began reading that, but couldn't finish. The main character is very dark - the whole book is - but it seems overkill after a while, and I have personal problems getting invested in a story where I hate all the characters. It's just tougher to motivate myself to sit down and read. Malazan - It's a long haul. I wasn't ready for it. I tried it on audiobook, got lost several times, relistened to the first few chapters over and over, realized it wasn't going to happen, put it down before I lost all hope. Hoping I'll pick it up again soon in a physical copy and really sit down with it they way it must be read. Discworld (first book)- This one was recommended by forum users here at 17thShard. I started off liking it. It started off strong with a world building infodump, which I love, but it just gets so silly that I can't focus. It really felt to me like a Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy with no frame of reference. I just got a little disappointed by what felt like purely random events for the sake of being purely random. Wool (by Hugh Howey) - I'm reading Wool now. It is post-apocalyptic and pretty far removed from the types of fantasy I have been reading. It's really good so far but it does start of pretty slow (I thought, though my friend would argue). Just hit a really good cliffhanger at the end of a segmented part that has me hungry to read more. Not finished, but so far I would recommend it. Halo: Ghosts of Onyx - Rereading this one right now with hopes of continuing the series because I didn't keep up with it. It's not as good as I remember, but still a fun read if anyone was trying to get into military scifi sort of stuff. On Discworld: Forget the first few, and start with a later one. Most of them can be read out of order, but if you need to, check the wikipedia page for the character arcs. It stays silly, but the frame of reference evolves considerably, to the point where it's dealing with everything from racism to abused fantasy tropes magnificently, and making you laugh every other sentence. My favourite book might be Monstrous Regiment for the masterful twist, but it's not the best written in the series despite being excellent. Edited February 26, 2014 by Swimmingly 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloodfalcon Posted February 26, 2014 Report Share Posted February 26, 2014 On Discworld: Forget the first few, and start with a later one. Most of them can be read out of order, but if you need to, check the wikipedia page for the character arcs. It stays silly, but the frame of reference evolves considerably, to the point where it's dealing with everything from racism to abused fantasy tropes magnificently, and making you laugh every other sentence. My favourite book might be Monstrous Regiment for the masterful twist, but it's not the best written in the series despite being excellent. I enjoy the humor of it, I think I just have a hard time taking it seriously. Pretty sure I'll give it another shot eventually. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimmingly Posted February 26, 2014 Report Share Posted February 26, 2014 I enjoy the humor of it, I think I just have a hard time taking it seriously. Pretty sure I'll give it another shot eventually.No, seriously, it's unrecognisably different, in all the good ways. Don't start with the first ones. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloodfalcon Posted February 26, 2014 Report Share Posted February 26, 2014 No, seriously, it's unrecognisably different, in all the good ways. Don't start with the first ones. Would they have explained that the world is being carried by 4 giant elephants riding a giant seaturtle through space in any of the other books? I actually really enjoyed how they said it. The line almost made me decide to finish the book by itself. The one explaining a view along the lines of "It is logically mandatory for a world this crazy to exist somewhere in an infinite universe - so a world on the back of 4 elephants on the back of a turtle isn't so unbelievable when you consider that it is just where the dice fell." Really liked that idea in the same way that I liked Robert Jordan's use of "the Pattern" to say "everything that you find unbelievable about the events in this story is actually quite destined and repetitive on a larger scale. There is going to be balance eventually because there must be because that is the premise." Of course both of those are just my interpretations of much cleaner explanations, but you get it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimmingly Posted February 26, 2014 Report Share Posted February 26, 2014 Would they have explained that the world is being carried by 4 giant elephants riding a giant seaturtle through space in any of the other books? I actually really enjoyed how they said it. The line almost made me decide to finish the book by itself. The one explaining a view along the lines of "It is logically mandatory for a world this crazy to exist somewhere in an infinite universe - so a world on the back of 4 elephants on the back of a turtle isn't so unbelievable when you consider that it is just where the dice fell." Really liked that idea in the same way that I liked Robert Jordan's use of "the Pattern" to say "everything that you find unbelievable about the events in this story is actually quite destined and repetitive on a larger scale. There is going to be balance eventually because there must be because that is the premise." Of course both of those are just my interpretations of much cleaner explanations, but you get it. It gets no less crazy. There are fat mines, fat wizards, orcs playing soccer, semaphore telegraphs, elves, goblins, ridiculous and touching moments. It. Gets. Better. Whatever it is you like about the first books, you'll like about the later ones, and whatever you don't like will show up again and this time, you will love that it's there. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloodfalcon Posted February 26, 2014 Report Share Posted February 26, 2014 It gets no less crazy. There are fat mines, fat wizards, orcs playing soccer, semaphore telegraphs, elves, goblins, ridiculous and touching moments. It. Gets. Better. Whatever it is you like about the first books, you'll like about the later ones, and whatever you don't like will show up again and this time, you will love that it's there. Swimmingly, are you in sales by any chance? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimmingly Posted February 26, 2014 Report Share Posted February 26, 2014 No. I just like the series. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterAhlstrom Posted February 26, 2014 Report Share Posted February 26, 2014 I started Discworld on book 3 followed by book 4. Those are great entry points, and so is Guards! Guards! I only went back and read the first two later, and I consider them not good books, with the second one marginally better than the first. The Rincewind books are my least favorite; I only really like the Luggage and the Librarian. The Tiffany Aching books are also great entry points. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloodfalcon Posted February 26, 2014 Report Share Posted February 26, 2014 It seems like every time that I start a series at the beginning after hearing "you don't have to start at the first [media type]" I always end up regretting it. I did the same thing with Dr. Who and my friends think it was the biggest mistake of my life now that I am turned off of it. But you guys have definitely sold me back to Discworld, so thank you for that. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterAhlstrom Posted February 26, 2014 Report Share Posted February 26, 2014 Discworld is not really a series though. It's a setting. Any two books might have nothing to do with each other, or they might be closely related. With Doctor Who I think starting at Christopher Eccleston is fine. Starting at Matt Smith is also possible, but then you'd miss David Tennant, and who would want to do that? 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argent Posted February 26, 2014 Report Share Posted February 26, 2014 I started with Eccleston (#9) and was fine. I didn't feel like I had missed anything major - or, at least, the big missing things were mentioned in a way that made their omission feel like worldbuilding and mystery, instead of the feeling of being left out. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rezier Posted March 4, 2014 Report Share Posted March 4, 2014 (edited) Doctor Who is one of those shows it IS entirely possible to jump in at any point though the quality from episode to episode can vary wildly. That being said, I love them all! As for what I'm currently reading: Mind MGMT Volume One Mistborn: The Alloy of Law The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time The Shadow Rising Edited March 4, 2014 by Rezier 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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