Lover of classics. Just starting to get into fantasy + bookshelf

[bedtime]

A few months ago I hadn't given fantasy much thought. I've read these fantasies so far in the past:

• The Hobbit, Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers
• Dune

... and these books below within the past few months:

• Quicksilver
• A Court of Thorns and Roses
• The Way of Kings
• Words of Radiance (currently reading, 30% finished)

As to classics, I've read quite a bit, but here are some notable titles off the top of my head:

• Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (first 3 of 6 books)
• Clarissa - Samuel Richardson
• Jane Austen's works (All)
• Some of Dickens' works
• Moby Dick
• War and Peace, Anna Karenina
• Gone with the Wind

I've also read lots of thrillers and horror. Many by Stephen King and some horror classics...

That said, I don't think I could have even thought of myself as a person who would consider the fantasy genre a main stay until a few months ago. I was simply looking up popular books and ran into Quicksilver. That led me into the rabbit hole of fantasy.

Some books that I'm considering to read next:

• Mistborn
• Farseer trilogy - Robin Hobbs
• The Name of the Wind (almost done 1st book. sucks that there likely won't be a 3rd book)
• A Game of Thrones
• Tigana - Guy Gavriel Kay

Some of my books are posted in the picture below. Many are read, too many are not read. Such is life.

[CoderDrag0n8 He/They]

17 minutes ago, bedtime said:

A few months ago I hadn't given fantasy much thought. I've read these fantasies so far in the past:

• The Hobbit, Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers
• Dune

... and these books below within the past few months:

• Quicksilver
• A Court of Thorns and Roses
• The Way of Kings
• Words of Radiance (currently reading, 30% finished)

As to classics, I've read quite a bit, but here are some notable titles off the top of my head:

• Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (first 3 of 6 books)
• Clarissa - Samuel Richardson
• Jane Austen's works (All)
• Some of Dickens' works
• Moby Dick
• War and Peace, Anna Karenina
• Gone with the Wind

I've also read lots of thrillers and horror. Many by Stephen King and some horror classics...

That said, I don't think I could have even thought of myself as a person who would consider the fantasy genre a main stay until a few months ago. I was simply looking up popular books and ran into Quicksilver. That led me into the rabbit hole of fantasy.

Some books that I'm considering to read next:

• Mistborn
• Farseer trilogy - Robin Hobbs
• The Name of the Wind (almost done 1st book. sucks that there likely won't be a 3rd book)
• A Game of Thrones
• Tigana - Guy Gavriel Kay

Some of my books are posted in the picture below. Many are read, too many are not read. Such is life.

Hi! Welcome to the shard!

Do you like dragons?

[bedtime]

26 minutes ago, CoderDrag0n8 said:

Hi! Welcome to the shard!

Do you like dragons?

Thanks!

I can't say one way or the other as I've not read much about them aside Smaug from LOR. I'd be happy to take recommendations though. Can't promise I'd read them, but I can promise I'd look it up and read reviews and possibly an intro page.

[CoderDrag0n8 He/They]

6 minutes ago, bedtime said:

Thanks!

I can't say one way or the other as I've not read much about them aside Smaug from LOR. I'd be happy to take recommendations though. Can't promise I'd read them, but I can promise I'd look it up and read reviews and possibly an intro page.

Wings Of Fire

is a fire book series, that I would reccomend.

An easy read, I consider it my comfort book.

[Schizoposting]

@bedtime, do you think that romantasy is any good? I ask this, because the general consensus (among fantasy fans) seems to be that it's slop, so I'm curious to see your opinion, since it was your introduction to fantasy.

[bedtime]

2 hours ago, CoderDrag0n8 said:

Wings Of Fire

is a fire book series, that I would reccomend.

An easy read, I consider it my comfort book.

At first glance, it appears to be directed towards the younger audience; however, I have read LOR, and the ratings do look very high.

1 hour ago, Schizoposting said:

@bedtime, do you think that romantasy is any good? I ask this, because the general consensus (among fantasy fans) seems to be that it's slop, so I'm curious to see your opinion, since it was your introduction to fantasy.

It's a question of degree for me.

I read Quicksilver by Callie hart, which I believe is a romantasy. That book had a high amount of smut, and that's just not my thing. I found myself speed-reading past those pages after these sexual encounters kept repeating, and I'm not one to speed-read past parts. It was the story that kept me reading, else I'd have given that book up.

That said, I do like the slow burn romance going on with Dalinar (won't spoil with who) in The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance, and I'm quite stoked to see what happens romantically with Shallan—one of my favorite characters. For me, Sanderson is nailing the romance degree perfectly, letting in just enough to add a bit of spice but not so much that it takes over the storyline.

Edited January 31 by bedtime
Added author's name. Seems there are a few other books called Quicksilver!

[Schizoposting]

19 minutes ago, bedtime said:

It's a question of degree for me.

I read Quicksilver by Callie hart, which I believe is a romantasy. That book had a high amount of smut, and that's just not my thing. I found myself speed-reading past those pages after these sexual encounters kept repeating, and I'm not one to speed-read past parts. It was the story that kept me reading, else I'd have given that book up.

That's what I'm curious about: how well does the actual story hold up? My understanding is that a lot of romantasy (like most romance) is heavily derivative, and that all the popular stories use the same basic tropes (e.g. enemies to lovers, Tall, dark and handsome male love interest, third act break up, and so forth). But it's possible that this isn't actually reflective of the genre as a whole, which is why I'm asking.

BTW, if you don't like sex scenes, then Tigana is probably not for you, since it has some very weird and explicit sex scenes.

[CoderDrag0n8 He/They]

52 minutes ago, bedtime said:

At first glance, it appears to be directed towards the younger audience; however, I have read LOR, and the ratings do look very high.

It's a question of degree for me.

I read Quicksilver by Callie hart, which I believe is a romantasy. That book had a high amount of smut, and that's just not my thing. I found myself speed-reading past those pages after these sexual encounters kept repeating, and I'm not one to speed-read past parts. It was the story that kept me reading, else I'd have given that book up.

That said, I do like the slow burn romance going on with Dalinar (won't spoil with who) in The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance, and I'm quite stoked to see what happens romantically with Shallan—one of my favorite characters. For me, Sanderson is nailing the romance degree perfectly, letting in just enough to add a bit of spice but not so much that it takes over the storyline.

It is geared towards a younger audience, but I would still say they are very interesting books, and are very short and quick, so they wouldn’t take up too much of your time.

However, if you want a longer book with a significantly bigger time commitment, I have a suggestion.

[pureintonation she/her]

Omg

Don’t recommend ASoIaF if only bc the author will likely never finish it… hahaha. I am a huge fan and read it twice over That’s actually how I got to Sanderson, I needed to fill the void. 

 

7 hours ago, Schizoposting said:

That's what I'm curious about: how well does the actual story hold up? My understanding is that a lot of romantasy (like most romance) is heavily derivative, and that all the popular stories use the same basic tropes (e.g. enemies to lovers, Tall, dark and handsome male love interest, third act break up, and so forth). But it's possible that this isn't actually reflective of the genre as a whole, which is why I'm asking.

BTW, if you don't like sex scenes, then Tigana is probably not for you, since it has some very weird and explicit sex scenes.

Wow I always hear people say Guy Gavriel Kay is like the closest an author could get to a modern Tolkien. I’ve never read him myself, though. Interesting to hear he writes weird/explicit sex scenes 

[Schizoposting]

5 hours ago, pureintonation said:

Wow I always hear people say Guy Gavriel Kay is like the closest an author could get to a modern Tolkien. I’ve never read him myself, though. Interesting to hear he writes weird/explicit sex scenes 

To be fair, he intentionally made them weird in Tigana; in The Lions of Al-Rassan the sex scenes are a lot less weird, although they're still very explicit, and you can see his... preferences shine through.

I would also say that he's nothing like Tolkien, in a stylistic sense; most of his work is historical fiction masquerading as fantasy (although, it has been rumored that he ghostwrote The Silmarillion). Out of all the contemporary authors, I'd say that Tad Williams is the closest to Tolkien—his Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series, was actually the inspiration behind ASOIAF.

[bedtime]

12 hours ago, Schizoposting said:

That's what I'm curious about: how well does the actual story hold up? My understanding is that a lot of romantasy (like most romance) is heavily derivative, and that all the popular stories use the same basic tropes (e.g. enemies to lovers, Tall, dark and handsome male love interest, third act break up, and so forth). But it's possible that this isn't actually reflective of the genre as a whole, which is why I'm asking.

BTW, if you don't like sex scenes, then Tigana is probably not for you, since it has some very weird and explicit sex scenes.

I'm not the best person to ask as I've not much material to compare it to. At the time, I loved the characters and the story, but I think it's more of a heightened experience due to fantasy being so new to me. It is an enemies to lovers book with a big, strong, sexy man who can put the energizer bunny to shame―several love scenes spanning half a dozen or more pages... There was a cringe element to it.

But the story holds up. It's just held up partially by romance.

Thanks so much for the warning about Tigana. I'll have to look into that. I've not much against the odd romance scene, but I'd prefer not having to read half a dozen pages per 100 which appear to be written by Ron Jeremy or some nymphomaniac.

12 hours ago, CoderDrag0n8 said:

It is geared towards a younger audience, but I would still say they are very interesting books, and are very short and quick, so they wouldn’t take up too much of your time.

However, if you want a longer book with a significantly bigger time commitment, I have a suggestion.

Sure, lets hear the suggestion. Got me curious now.

5 hours ago, pureintonation said:

Omg

Don’t recommend ASoIaF if only bc the author will likely never finish it… hahaha. I am a huge fan and read it twice over That’s actually how I got to Sanderson, I needed to fill the void. 

 

Wow I always hear people say Guy Gavriel Kay is like the closest an author could get to a modern Tolkien. I’ve never read him myself, though. Interesting to hear he writes weird/explicit sex scenes 

That was actually another possible series to read, though I'm content with just reading the first few books of the set. I'm more about the journey than the ending.

That's exactly why I was considering Guy Gavriel Kay. I was looking for a book with poetic, lyrical, flowing prose. I ran into the Cosmere whilst doing a search for prose + fantasy. Sanderson's style was said to be concise and to the point, and I didn't even think I'd like it, but the ratings were so high I read with the intention to hate it. And, it turns out I like his style.

4 minutes ago, Schizoposting said:

To be fair, he intentionally made them weird in Tigana; in The Lions of Al-Rassan the sex scenes are a lot less weird, although they're still very explicit, and you can see his... preferences shine through.

His 'preferences'?... no need to elaborate. Probably best this is left as is.

I'm really not digging the little I've seen so far of this new smut era of reading.

[CoderDrag0n8 He/They]

1 hour ago, bedtime said:

Sure, lets hear the suggestion. Got me curious now.

Well, it is very long, it was originally made Korean, and translated too English by a dedicated team of translators (but because of it's size, there is bound to be mistakes) so definitely give it the benefit of the doubt.

It is a webnovel, meaning you can only read it online (but you can also read it in the usual e-book reader ways)

And I personally think it is the best book I have ever read, ranking it above the entire cosmere (interconnected brandon sanderson universe that the Stormlight Archive and Mistborn are a part of).

It is 551 chapters long.

You can find the link here: Ch 1 Download as Epub

[Schizoposting]

57 minutes ago, bedtime said:

I'm not the best person to ask as I've not much material to compare it to. At the time, I loved the characters and the story, but I think it's more of a heightened experience due to fantasy being so new to me. It is an enemies to lovers book with a big, strong, sexy man who can put the energizer bunny to shame―several love scenes spanning half a dozen or more pages... There was a cringe element to it.

But the story holds up. It's just held up partially by romance.

I guess that it may depend on prior experience; if you read a generic hero's journey story for the first time, it may be mind-blowing, but reading the same basic story for the hundredth time will probably get repetitive. But at the same time, stuff like Fifty Shades of Grey or The Da Vinci Code, is wildly popular, so maybe people just have bad taste—I recently hate-read a popular mystery/thriller, and it was legitimately awful.   

1 hour ago, bedtime said:

Thanks so much for the warning about Tigana. I'll have to look into that. I've not much against the odd romance scene, but I'd prefer not having to read half a dozen pages per 100 which appear to be written by Ron Jeremy or some nymphomaniac.

...

His 'preferences'?... no need to elaborate. Probably best this is left as is.

I'm really not digging the little I've seen so far of this new smut era of reading.

Maybe I have given you the wrong impression about Tigana; while I did cringe at some of the sex, I still liked it overall, although this may depend on your tolerance for this sort of stuff. From what I remember, there were only like 5 sex scenes over the course of about 500 pages, and they didn't last for more than a few pages. I don't think that they're necessarily meant to be arousing. It's more so that they're weird, than that they're prevalent.

1 hour ago, bedtime said:

That's exactly why I was considering Guy Gavriel Kay. I was looking for a book with poetic, lyrical, flowing prose. I ran into the Cosmere whilst doing a search for prose + fantasy. Sanderson's style was said to be concise and to the point, and I didn't even think I'd like it, but the ratings were so high I read with the intention to hate it. And, it turns out I like his style.

From what we've seen of his upcoming (standalone) Cosmere book, the prose is actually very lyrical and poetic, but that's more of the exception than the rule. Overall, while I don't hate his prose, I wouldn't exactly call him concise and to the point— something like The Belgariad, does the super simple "windowpane" prose a lot better than Sanderson, IMO. 

[bedtime]

4 hours ago, CoderDrag0n8 said:

Well, it is very long, it was originally made Korean, and translated too English by a dedicated team of translators (but because of it's size, there is bound to be mistakes) so definitely give it the benefit of the doubt.

It is a webnovel, meaning you can only read it online (but you can also read it in the usual e-book reader ways)

And I personally think it is the best book I have ever read, ranking it above the entire cosmere (interconnected brandon sanderson universe that the Stormlight Archive and Mistborn are a part of).

It is 551 chapters long.

You can find the link here: Ch 1 Download as Epub

Thanks for the link. Gotta be honest though. Not digging the format, length, and fact that it's a translation.

4 hours ago, Schizoposting said:

I guess that it may depend on prior experience; if you read a generic hero's journey story for the first time, it may be mind-blowing, but reading the same basic story for the hundredth time will probably get repetitive. But at the same time, stuff like Fifty Shades of Grey or The Da Vinci Code, is wildly popular, so maybe people just have bad taste—I recently hate-read a popular mystery/thriller, and it was legitimately awful.

Agreed about the first experience. As for smut, apparently, the people want it, and the publishers demand it so they can get more sales.

[CoderDrag0n8 He/They]

2 hours ago, bedtime said:

Thanks for the link. Gotta be honest though. Not digging the format, length, and fact that it's a translation.

Agreed about the first experience. As for smut, apparently, the people want it, and the publishers demand it so they can get more sales.

Length issues are fine, but why do you not like the format and translation part? (Asking not to be rude, just genuinely curious)

[bedtime]

13 hours ago, CoderDrag0n8 said:

Length issues are fine, but why do you not like the format and translation part? (Asking not to be rude, just genuinely curious)

To me, the layout looks a bit different than I'm used to; I don't see any italics used in the text, and the quoting system is bizarre. The big issue is I'm not feeling like reading an Asian fantasy at the moment. And I'd rather not deal with non-native names and customs.

In any event, I'm not really looking for a new book to read. Chances are that I'll be reading Stormlight Archive for a good while. And I'm content with that.

[CoderDrag0n8 He/They]

52 minutes ago, bedtime said:

To me, the layout looks a bit different than I'm used to; I don't see any italics used in the text, and the quoting system is bizarre. The big issue is I'm not feeling like reading an Asian fantasy at the moment. And I'd rather not deal with non-native names and customs.

In any event, I'm not really looking for a new book to read. Chances are that I'll be reading Stormlight Archive for a good while. And I'm content with that.

Alright. Those a fair enough reasons.