What Are You Reading?

pH

baz8080 wrote: »

How did you find them compared to the reality dysfunction series?

On the whole judas unchained/void series was better, that said the whole

people coming back from the dead and inhabiting other bodies

plot really grated on me so I didn't enjoy those novels to the full!

Just to add - based on the recommendations here I'd bought the first malazan book - now it's post after post of people dissing them!

Trojan

Commonwealth Saga > Void Series > Reality Disfunction.

(Fallen Dragon > them all )

> meaning greater than

OwaynOTT

Shryke wrote: »

Hey OwaynOTT. I'd consider some of the stuff you named to be a bit blah myself. Tim Powers is a great author. Get The Anubis Gate. You won't be disappointed. Scott Lynch is good also, and China Mieville was mentioned as well. I'd suggest George R. R. Martin and Robin Hobb too.

Have read a lot of Robin Hobb and found her material to be totally not blah but actually great. Same for Mr Martin as well.
Tim Powers I well be checking out very soon, ordered a couple of his books. The other too was thinking about as well and probably check out Scott Lynch not to sure about China Mieville.

Starting to get into The Magician now. I think the problem I have with some of the books was the all are a bit generic at the start and at this stage I'm fed up with young boys with amazing inert talents and or are the chosen one.
And thats what Dragonbone Chair and Magician seemed to be like at the start.

Trojan

Trojan wrote: »

Commonwealth Saga > Void Series > Reality Disfunction.

(Fallen Dragon > them all )

> meaning greater than

Thanks guys, good to hear. I felt deflated after finishing the few thousand pages of the reality series. I'm feeling a bit better about starting on the void series now!

Dan_Solo

20 years later I'm back for a re-read of Dragons Of Autumn Twilight.
Not very good, is it?:o

djjdomahony

Right

someone mentioned enders game --- classic!

i'm reading dune by frank herbert again and it is an absolute must for any sci fi lovers

id also recommend cloud atlas
endymion
the rise of endymion
anything by orson scott card

thing thats my first post on the boards...Boom:D

BlaasForRafa

ixoy wrote: »

What's that series like? I thought about getting it but then I seem to think about trying every Light-damned series out there.

I've enjoyed the series. It does have some of the typical steampunk tropes like being set in a Victorian/Edwardian period and a some of the backround characters have a typical stiff upper lip, tally ho attitude but Hunt tends to play the major characters off against this and shows the absurdity of their attitudes. It has whimsical flights of fantasy but has a dark edge to it.

Its different from most other steampunk though in that its not set on earth of a hundred or so years ago but its more like a secondary world and thus Hunt is able to use wilder fantastical ideas. I'd reckon that trad fantasy fans who are wary of the trendiness of steampunk would be able to get into it.

Shryke

I finished Mr. Nice which was a great story, although I think Howard Marks romanticized his own exploits a little.
Now back to Banks properly and well into the swing of The Algebraist. Like most of Banks works, I've not been blown away by the first few one or two hundred pages but the guy has a talent for making a novel culminate. I reserve all judgment until I've finished it. I've read everything chronologically up to this and have never been disappointed, although Excession was weaker than the rest.

O-Deazy

Well I stuck with Gardens of the Moon although I haven't got much more of it read. I was starting to really get into it, getting a good feel for the characters and a solid grasp of the storyline and where it was headed and the BAM.. end of book one!

Back to square one once again with new characters and a new coinciding plot. So I persevered (a word I noticed used a lot in relation to 'Gardens of the Moon') and once again I was getting a grasp on things and once again the book ended. I found this style very jumpy and to be honest very frustrating! How and ever I know I'm only half way in so I won't give up yet.

Coming very close to it though!

Just finished Hyperion by Dan Simmons. Despite the abrupt ending and the variable quality of the individual stories I found it to be an excellent book.

Moved onto A Scanner Darkly now and it is the discordant dystopian read that I was expecting.

Demeyes

O-Deazy wrote: »

Well I stuck with Gardens of the Moon although I haven't got much more of it read. I was starting to really get into it, getting a good feel for the characters and a solid grasp of the storyline and where it was headed and the BAM.. end of book one!

Back to square one once again with new characters and a new coinciding plot. So I persevered (a word I noticed used a lot in relation to 'Gardens of the Moon') and once again I was getting a grasp on things and once again the book ended. I found this style very jumpy and to be honest very frustrating! How and ever I know I'm only half way in so I won't give up yet.

Coming very close to it though!

I normally don't give up on reading something but I quit half way through the 2nd book. I wasn't really loving the series after the first but I kept going, the second didn't really grab me too well either so I drifted away from it and started another series. I'd heard such good things about the series but it does nothing for me.

AnCapaillMor

baz8080 wrote: »

Just finished Hyperion by Dan Simmons. Despite the abrupt ending and the variable quality of the individual stories I found it to be an excellent book.

Moved onto A Scanner Darkly now and it is the discordant dystopian read that I was expecting.

You have to read Endymion next, if Hyperion was good, endymion is fantastic.

ixoy

Currently reading "Towers of Midnight" by Brendan Sanderson and Robert Jordan. Wheel of Time is a-turning still. Too early to judge yet, but I did enjoy the re-vitalisation that Sanderson brought with "The Gathering Storm" so hope to see the same again here.

AnCapaillMor wrote: »

You have to read Endymion next, if Hyperion was good, endymion is fantastic.

Yep, a very good sequel. Unlike "Olympos" though which was (IMO) a very poor sequel to "Ilium".

pH

Just started THE HEROES by Joe Abercrombie - loving it already.

AnCapaillMor

AnCapaillMor wrote: »

You have to read Endymion next, if Hyperion was good, endymion is fantastic.

Good to hear! Wikipedia has the next book in the series as "The fall of Hyperion" though. Is it the case that Endymion is a more direct sequel?

Nevyn

On a Patrica Briggs binge atm on book 4/5 of the Mercy series.

AnCapaillMor

baz8080 wrote: »

Good to hear! Wikipedia has the next book in the series as "The fall of Hyperion" though. Is it the case that Endymion is a more direct sequel?

Yeah actually thats next. I picked up the omnibus version when i read it and keep thinking of it as 1 book. Endymion and the rise of endymion are set a few years after. and the fall of hyperion is another step up from hyperion.

fionny

ixoy wrote: »

Currently reading "Towers of Midnight" by Brendan Sanderson and Robert Jordan. Wheel of Time is a-turning still. Too early to judge yet, but I did enjoy the re-vitalisation that Sanderson brought with "The Gathering Storm" so hope to see the same again here.

Its a great book one of the most enjoyable WoT books in ages! Only one to go!

5starpool

I bought the first of the Erikson Malazan books when I went on holidays just before Christmas. Perhaps it was because I was trying to read in airports, and on a plane, but I only got about 100 pages in befoer I had to stop as it was hurting my head. It is a bloody difficult read I ahve to say for someone more used to Jordan/Sanderson/Feist/Martin type books. So much detail that it is very hard to make head nor tail of it at times, and I find myself glossing over the latest character to be given a backstory, or random placename.

I do intend at some point to get back into them as I have seen them recommended here a lot, but I really hope that it does get a bit easier to read, as I don't think reading is meant to give you a headache much

Robin Hobb Assassins books are high up on my list as well I think.

O-Deazy

5starpool wrote: »

It is a bloody difficult read I ahve to say for someone more used to Jordan/Sanderson/Feist/Martin type books. So much detail that it is very hard to make head nor tail of it at times, and I find myself glossing over the latest character to be given a backstory, or random placename.

I totally agree with you there. However the more I read (still on the first book) I am beginning to enjoy it. Erikson's style is completely different to anything I usually read and he's not very 'run of the mill' but I think if you work on it, the result will be worth it. I mean if it's so highly recommended by those that read more than us it must be good!

5starpool wrote: »

Robin Hobb Assassins books are high up on my list as well I think.

I enjoyed the first two books in this series and was really looking forward to the final book. However I personally think it was a huge let down. From starting off so strong Hobb had me completely absorbed in the storyline and the world she created but I really didn't enjoy the final book. Was a disappointing end to a series that had such great potential!

bonkey

5starpool wrote: »

I bought the first of the Erikson Malazan books when I went on holidays just before Christmas. Perhaps it was because I was trying to read in airports, and on a plane, but I only got about 100 pages in befoer I had to stop as it was hurting my head. It is a bloody difficult read I ahve to say for someone more used to Jordan/Sanderson/Feist/Martin type books.

He's tough going for a while...and then it all sorta "clicks". Also, to be fair...SE's writing style picks up immensely after GotM.

So much detail that it is very hard to make head nor tail of it at times, and I find myself glossing over the latest character to be given a backstory, or random placename.

Try not to do this. Honestly.

I've lost count of the number of times I've re-read the books, and every single time I find something that I've glossed over previously and suddently have an "oh..." moment where some connection suddenly becomes clear.

I really hope that it does get a bit easier to read, as I don't think reading is meant to give you a headache much

Part of what made it difficult for me is that Erikson's system of magic is quite different to most other stuff...and he just doesn't explain it. In fact, he doesn't explain most things....you just kinda pick up detail in scraps over time, and then somewhen realise that you've a pretty good idea who/what/where something is or how it works.

Zapp Brannigan

I would implore everybody to stick it out with Erikson he really is one of the best fantasy guys around.

Finished Knife of Dreams today and now I'm debating whether to go out and buy The Gathering Storm to keep going with the series or read Stonewielder. Any suggestions?

ixoy

Zapp Brannigan wrote: »

Finished Knife of Dreams today and now I'm debating whether to go out and buy The Gathering Storm to keep going with the series or read Stonewielder. Any suggestions?

Read them both Depends on what you're in the mood for - 'The Gathering Storm' is the best instalment in years in the WoT (currently on 'Towers of Midnight' myself).
'Stoneweilder' is a very good instalment in the Malazan world. The plots flesh out the "Books of the Fallen" sequence in a good way. It's a more interesting world in my opinion, but "The Gathering Storm" does gain some ground for really having the feel of a series beginning to draw a conclusion. The momentum is greater there.

Zapp Brannigan

Hmm then I might continue on with the WoT. I did like some bits of Knife of Dreams, specially compared to the awful previous book.

Trojan

Goodkind's Confessor is an option if you're looking for something a little different from the usual stuff recommended here.

bonkey

Trojan wrote: »

Goodkind's Confessor is an option if you're looking for something a little different from the usual stuff recommended here.

Yeah...but its the 11th (and final) book of the Sword of Truth series....the third book of the Chainfire trilogy (trilogy within a series) to boot.

@Zapp - bear in mind that The Crippled God is due for release shortly, so Stonewielder mightn't be a bad idea

Trojan

bonkey wrote: »

Yeah...but its the 11th (and final) book of the Sword of Truth series....the third book of the Chainfire trilogy (trilogy within a series) to boot.

Better start at the start then!

I'm re-reading Iron Sunrise cos I thought it was pretty cool and I need something light at the moment, work is hectic.

ixoy

Trojan wrote: »

Better start at the start then!

But it's Goodkind so it's better never to start at all

I'm re-reading Iron Sunrise cos I thought it was pretty cool and I need something light at the moment, work is hectic.

Read "Halting State" - fun for anyone who is in IT and/or played MMORPGs. Only sci-fi novel I've read where people use traceroute!

Trojan

Read it (Halting State). Pretty good, well enjoyable, reminded me slightly of the Daemon book which was pretty cool too.

The only Stross I didn't enjoy was Accelerando, just found it too... "gonzo" or something!

Yeah, well I am kind of kidding with the Goodkind suggestions above, there's a reason it's not usually recommended by folks here

Zapp Brannigan

bonkey wrote: »

@Zapp - bear in mind that The Crippled God is due for release shortly, so Stonewielder mightn't be a bad idea

I've left all my Malazan books at home (bar Stonewielder) and I'd really need to do a re-read for Crippled God so I'll be waiting a while before I read it.