What Are You Reading, Part 2

[Argent he/him]

One day I will get back into that. I read Mag pt 1&2 and Silverthorn and I enjoyed them. I have the next 3 or 4 in the series on a self here.

 

Eh. Magician: Apprentice & Master are good, and so are Silverthorn & Darkness at Sethanon. The next two are not bad, but they are not as good as the first four. And after that it's pretty much all downhill (though the Serpentwar Saga is not yet bad). The ones about Jimmy the Hand are kind of fun to read because of Jimmy alone, the plot is abysmal. By all means, do get back into the series, but don't prioritize it too much.

[Briar King]

I've got Darkness and the 2 Sons of Krondor. I thought I had the next after those but I don't.

[Hood he/him]

Currently, I am reading "Pawn of Prophecy". Probably by the end of this month I think all of Belgariad novels will be read.

[Left he/him]

The Dark Foundation. book two of the Lamb of the Stars

 

Normally I Do Not read christian fiction, but the books are good enough that I don't mind at all. The world building is quite interesting, and I've thought along the same path as the author seems to have done, so it's nice to see those ideas put into a story.

[Argent he/him]

Oh, look, I still suck at updating this.

 

I am finally done with the final Riftwar Saga book, Magician's End. It's a weird one to review - I think it was a good book, especially after the several that came before it. But it was also more... philosophical, one Goodreads review called it. There is much about the nature of reality there. It was interesting to see string theory translated into a fantasy novel. Also, the ending was... fitting. Maybe a little cheesy, but fitting.

 

Right now I am going through Writing Excuses' anthology, Shadows Beneath. Done with Brandon's story, progressing through Mary's. Happy with both. Probably going to jump on Anthony Ryan's Tower Lord next. I was hoping to read some Brian McClellan, but I read Ryan's first book only a few months back, so checking Tower Lord out, while the world is still mostly fresh in my head, is probably better than starting yet another series.

[Atilium she/her]

Just finished Promise of Blood. I enjoyed it, and it was fantastic for a debut, but there were some large flaws... I'm hoping it gets better with the second one. Anyone read Crimson Campaign? Is it worth it?

Starting my WoR re-read now

[PorridgeBrick he/him]

Crimson Campaign is great. Better than the first, IMO.

And wait, Tower Lord is out? What use is having a list of book release dates if you never remember to check them. Gah.

Just tore through Skin Game in about two hours. NEED. NEXT. DRESDEN. BOOK.

[Argent he/him]

What use is adding everything to my Wants to Read shelf on Goodreads if I don't get notifications when stuff comes out...

[Left he/him]

As soon as my library gets a copy of Earth Awakens then I'll be reading that. Till then I'm starting work on my first ever Niven book.

[Argent he/him]

As soon as my library gets a copy of Earth Awakens then I'll be reading that. Till then I'm starting work on my first ever Niven book.

 

Was that Scalzi or Card?

 

On my end, I am done with the official part of Shadows Beneath. I might read the drafts and brainstorming at some point, but for now those go to the backlog. You can read my full(er) review on Goodreads, but the short(er) version is this:

• Mary's A Fire in the Heaven - really good.
• Dan's I.E.Demon - sadly, a disappointment. A big one.
• Howard's An Honest Death - really good. I don't actually have any issues with it, other than the contemporary setting, which usually takes a point off for me.
• Brandon's Sixth of the Dusk - as usual, amazing. I am starting to suspect any glimpses of the cosmere alone make me like a book a lot, because of the overarching implications. 

[stormcursed]

I've really gotten back into comics as of late, namely a book called Saga by Brian K. Vaughan. It's a sci fi/fantasy tale following the trials and tribulations of lovers from opposing warring races trying to protect their newborn from the clutches from all who despise their union. The plot may seem generic starcrossed fodder, but the execution is far from that with nuanced character work and sharp as a ginsu dialogue the book is awesome!

As for the art:

It's fricking gorgeous, nothing but clean line work and great storyboarding (seriously I've made a few t-shirts out of the covers here already, that's how awesome Fiona Staples' work is). Seriously if you're into fantasy and want a decent dose of it in comic book form you can't go wrong with Saga.  

[Michael Deragon]

I'm reading "UNCHOSEN: Rise of the Secret Wizard Societies" and I'm loving it more than harryPotter

 

HP was an easier read, but this thing has real-life messages and inspiration that I think make it the only book out there that's not only entertaining but you feel it's part of something bigger, while actually trying to make the world a better place. 

 

So tripy and awesome

[Argent he/him]

Guess I could've updated this. I am now on Promise of Blood, the first book in the Powder Mage series. About a hundred pages in, I don't really have any complaints just yet. I can't say it's a page turner, but it's interesting.

[Left he/him]

Tanar of Pelucidar. It's an old book from an old trilogy. Kudos to anyone else whose read them.

[GreyPilgrim he/him]

Finished Reaper's Gale, now making my way through Shadows Beneath. And using all the patience in my being to read the stories in the order presented. Meaning Sixth of the Dusk will be last.

[Briar King]

What did you think about RG? I think I told you it was my 3rd fav. 2nd is bk6 and 1st bk3.

[Endurant Archivist he/him]

Just finished Stardust by Neil Gaiman last night. It had well-crafted language and description. But the ending...it felt like it just ended. Nothing made sense in light of the characters previous actions.

 

Has anyone else read it? I'd be curious to hear your thoughts.

[Tien'sPetLurg she/her]

Just finished Warbreaker. :-)

[GreyPilgrim he/him]

What did you think about RG? I think I told you it was my 3rd fav. 2nd is bk6 and 1st bk3.

I really enjoyed RG. I don't know exactly where to place it. I definitely found it better than book 5. I liked the way Erikson portrayed the Letherii much better in RG. There were also a lot of great characters in this one. I love how Erikson can keep the reader guessing until the very end without the endings being dei ex machina. Very few of RG's endings were anything like I expected them to be, yet all were appropriately set up. I eagerly await the final volumes, though I am going to begin tackling Esslemont's contributions very soon.

Edited July 9, 2014 by GreyPilgrim

[Briar King]

I ll be curious on your feelings after 8. My least fav of the ten but I find I'm in the minority on that.

[Asperity he/him]

I finished House of Chains finally and began Revelation Space.

[Argent he/him]

It's confirmed, I suck at remembering to update this. 

 

I finished Promise of Blood and have moved on to The Crimson Campaign. It is much better (not that PoB was bad or anything). I am actually a little irritated at how much I like it - I was hoping The Powder Mage would end up being a mediocre series, so I can finish the core novels (The Autumn Republic doesn't come out until 2015) and go read The Tower Lord by Anthony Ryan. I had planned to read The Tower Lord before I even went into The Powder Mage series, but then I got a little distracted by Shadows Beneath and just picked something without thinking. 

[Left he/him]

Just started Princeps, another Modesitt book.

[Briar King]

I started Judias Unchained and I got quite upset just reading the DP as it reveals spoilers right off the bat. That just made no sense to me since I just read 1K pgs in bk1 for it to be dumped on me like that. Oh well it's still a fun read.

[Jit he/him]

I'm just finishing book 3 in the demon cycles series. I really enjoy most of Arlans parts but I've been finding reading Leesha's and Jadirs parts annoying since book two.