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On April 09 2011 23:04 Tensai176 wrote:Show nested quote +On April 09 2011 22:44 IronFenix wrote:On April 08 2011 22:14 Betalump wrote:
The sword of truth series, faith of the fallen is one of my all-time favorite books.
The name of the wind - The best "low-key" fantasy book I've read, the sequel is due to come out soon (meaning now) I think its supposed to be a trilogy when its completed.
I'll have to agree. The Name of the Wind was by far the best "low-key" fantasy book that I've also read. The sequel was also good but it didn't have that refreshing feel as the first book of the series. However, definitely a must read for any fantasy lover. I agree with all points above. The sequel WAS good and it didn't have that refreshing feel but that isn't fair. It's like eating the best dinner you've ever had. Then having the same thing again the next day.
hahaha. Your metaphor is the best =). Does anybody know if he plans to continue the series after the first 3 books?
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On April 11 2011 02:55 IronFenix wrote:Show nested quote +On April 09 2011 23:04 Tensai176 wrote:On April 09 2011 22:44 IronFenix wrote:On April 08 2011 22:14 Betalump wrote:
The sword of truth series, faith of the fallen is one of my all-time favorite books.
The name of the wind - The best "low-key" fantasy book I've read, the sequel is due to come out soon (meaning now) I think its supposed to be a trilogy when its completed.
I'll have to agree. The Name of the Wind was by far the best "low-key" fantasy book that I've also read. The sequel was also good but it didn't have that refreshing feel as the first book of the series. However, definitely a must read for any fantasy lover. I agree with all points above. The sequel WAS good and it didn't have that refreshing feel but that isn't fair. It's like eating the best dinner you've ever had. Then having the same thing again the next day. hahaha. Your metaphor is the best =). Does anybody know if he plans to continue the series after the first 3 books?
Its sort of implied that its a trilogy hence why he stated the first three book titles after the first book came out. Granted things can change in the process of writing
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A friend of mine read the Fionavar Tapestry by Guy Gavriel Kay and said it was good - has anyone else read it? (Or anything else by Kay?)
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On April 11 2011 04:24 chunkylimes wrote:
A friend of mine read the Fionavar Tapestry by Guy Gavriel Kay and said it was good - has anyone else read it? (Or anything else by Kay?)
Yup. It's not bad. I prefer his road to (Byzantium...sarantium? I dont remember the name.) Series. Fionavar tapestry had really good parts but it was kind of oddly constructed.
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To be honest I think most Fantasy is pretty bad same old "The Hero with a Thousand Faces" stuff clearly targeted at adolescent boys (3 wives? really??).
Anyway
Song of Ice and Fire - Really love these books. The world and the characters feel more "real" than almost anything else I've ever read. Also, the audible narrator for the first three books is a hero. I listen to a lot of audiobooks as I go about my daily tasks and usually you are just hoping for them not to detract you from the story. This guy was born to read these books and really adds another level to the experience.
Dresden Files - How the fuck does Jim Butcher keep making these books better and better every time? To be honest I thought the first few were just "good" and I wasn't really hooked until somewhere around book 4. This is really odd... usually the first book in a series is by far the most interesting but man... if you've read the latest book (Changes -- the 13th book!) you'll know that shit just got real in a completely unexpected and dramatic way.
Name of the Wind - Not sure why these books are so good. You have a hero who is smarter and better at everything than everyone else doing pretty standard High Fantasy stuff. All I can say is that it is saved by some excellent writing and the story's frame is absolutely fascinating. I want to know how he ended up where he is. Have not read book 2 yet.
Gentlemen Bastards - Reasonable series. Above average but a second-tier recommendation for me. I don't really care about the characters for some reason. I do want to know where all the glass came from, meet Sabetha (finally), and have an all-out fight with the bonds mages so I'll keep reading.
Not a big fan of most of the other stuff.
In particular I find all of Brandon Sanderson's characters really 1 dimensional. WoT and SoT both kinda peter out a few books in and TBH were only average to begin with. Joel Abercrombie was a little too depressing for me--I can deal with dark or tragic but just don't make everyone be so dreary all the time. I haven't read some of the other things like Malazan which could be good for all I know.
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A lot of my reading has already been posted but something rather new is:
The Passage by Justin Cronin
Its basically a sci-fi mix with vampires to explain the apocolypse.
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I'm really surprised it hasn't been mentionned yet but for fantasy:
Tigana, by Guy Gavriel Kay. A classic. Being from Quebec, this book spoke to me on so many levels. Dianora is probably my favorite female character in a novel, period. You'll be thinking about this book for days or weeks after you're done.
For sci-fi, I'll add The Fifth Head of Cerberus, by Gene Wolfe. As others have mentionned, Gene Wolfe's writing is a bit more cerebral than usual. This book is great in itself but it's short and should give you a quick idea of wether you like Wolfe's style or not.
The Windup Girl, by Paolo Bacigalupi. If you're looking for something not overly complex, well constructed and above all really entertaining, this is it. Sci-fi, somewhat post-apocalyptic, steampunk-ish. The setting is something new to me and quite plausible, so it has my seal of approval. I would not be shocked to see this turned into a movie in the future.
If you want to look into something different, give these a shot, all "New Weird" genre (mix of fantasy, sci-fi and horror) :
- "The Year of Our War", "No Present Like Time", "The Modern World", "Above the Snowline" by Steph Swainston. It's mostly fantasy with a twist. (The hero's an immortal junkie that shifts between worlds when he ODs. He's usually in a normal fantasy setting and hops into a more "New Weird" setting when he ODs.)
- Jeff VanDerMeer's Ambergris Cycle: "City of Saints and Madmen", "Shriek: An Afterword" and "Finch". Shriek is pure awesome, I had trouble putting it down but you'd miss a lot by not reading City first. Finch, I didn't enjoy as much sadly, but it brought closure to a cycle and city I love and will visit again.
- Perdido Street Station by China Miéville. To me, this book is New Weird incarnate. You're usually lucky if you find one or two new ideas in a book these days. This one has dozens, enjoy the ride!
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Germany10157 Posts
On April 09 2011 21:09 Wesso wrote:Show nested quote +On April 09 2011 19:43 writer22816 wrote:Recommending WOT over ASOIAF = fail  + Show Spoiler +
Not at all. WoT might be worse from a literary standpoint (which it probably is, but even that is too subjective to really say), but a lot of people don't like dying main characters.
Also, not everybody likes the same writing styles. Saying other people's tastes are wrong = fail
thanks for the fucking spoiler man
I dodged the entire Game Of Thrones thread to make sure i wasnt gonna be spoilered and then you come along in a recommendations thread talking about + Show Spoiler + dying main characters.
So I was reading through the book being 90% sure that Eddard was gonna die, now he finally did.
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On April 11 2011 04:24 chunkylimes wrote:
A friend of mine read the Fionavar Tapestry by Guy Gavriel Kay and said it was good - has anyone else read it? (Or anything else by Kay?)
I read "Under Heaven" by Guy Gavriel Kay.
I actually found it to be a pretty fun book in a culture you don't read much about. After having read the book however i learned that for the most part it's entire story is a direct adaption from history.
Still a fun book but not that impressively written when you realize he never wrote the story itself, only copying history.
If you aren't familiar with ancient China however (like myself and most) you will find it a pretty nice read. If you know the history i would argue that reading the book is mostly pointless.
I did read he writes a lot of those history turned to story kind of novels.
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On April 13 2011 01:03 7mk wrote:Show nested quote +On April 09 2011 21:09 Wesso wrote:On April 09 2011 19:43 writer22816 wrote:Recommending WOT over ASOIAF = fail + Show Spoiler +
Not at all. WoT might be worse from a literary standpoint (which it probably is, but even that is too subjective to really say), but a lot of people don't like dying main characters.
Also, not everybody likes the same writing styles. Saying other people's tastes are wrong = fail thanks for the fucking spoiler man I dodged the entire Game Of Thrones thread to make sure i wasnt gonna be spoilered and then you come along in a recommendations thread talking about + Show Spoiler + dying main characters.
So I was reading through the book being 90% sure that Eddard was gonna die, now he finally did.
My apologies
+ Show Spoiler +I thought I was generic enough due to the number of important characters and the number of books in the series. Also I thought it needed to be said, because character deaths ruin books/series for me. I edited my post
Thanks to the person who advised runelords, it's really enjoyable.
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Germany10157 Posts
On April 13 2011 01:34 Wesso wrote:Show nested quote +On April 13 2011 01:03 7mk wrote:On April 09 2011 21:09 Wesso wrote:On April 09 2011 19:43 writer22816 wrote:Recommending WOT over ASOIAF = fail + Show Spoiler +
Not at all. WoT might be worse from a literary standpoint (which it probably is, but even that is too subjective to really say), but a lot of people don't like dying main characters.
Also, not everybody likes the same writing styles. Saying other people's tastes are wrong = fail thanks for the fucking spoiler man I dodged the entire Game Of Thrones thread to make sure i wasnt gonna be spoilered and then you come along in a recommendations thread talking about + Show Spoiler + dying main characters.
So I was reading through the book being 90% sure that Eddard was gonna die, now he finally did. My apologies + Show Spoiler +I thought I was generic enough due to the number of important characters and the number of books in the series. Also I thought it needed to be said, because character deaths ruin books/series for me. I edited my post Thanks to the person who advised runelords, it's really enjoyable.
+ Show Spoiler +
That's what I told myself too but I had a very strong gut feeling that it was Eddard, maybe because even though other characters got more time he was still the most important, and then he got captured and it became pretty clear.
Oh well, shit happens, looking forward to the rest of the series
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On April 08 2011 13:20 BisuDagger wrote:
The Shannara Series and anything else by Terry Brooks!
Other notables:
Legend of the Seeker aka sword of truth series
Well this may come down to personal taste, but in my opinion these two are god damn awful.
I read through the whole legend of the seeker, but didn't manage to get over book three in Shanara.
What I hated about Shanara is, that those books are quite short, about 400 Pages long, have very shallow characters, feature a few nations/factions and one evil guy. After reading through that short story, the evil guy is defeated and you get to the next book, which takes place about 40 years in the future, most characters of the first book died of age, the author mixed up the nations/factions/alliances and brought in a new bad guy. 400 pages later, this bad guy is also defeated, the story shifts another 40 years and again the same character/faction recycling takes place...
Maybe the story gets better in later books, but I couldn't get myself to read another one.
As for the Legend of the Seeker, well it started out great, but after a few books I got the feeling that Terry Goodkind thought that there was no way in hell that the another book would be published and had to take a step back on the story every time he started a new book.
Examples contain spoilers:
+ Show Spoiler + Rahl gets defeated, but at the start of the next book it turns out that he's just a servant of a more evil guy (alright so far).
At the end of another book some magic eating creatures get defeated/banished in spectacular fashion at the end of a book, turns out they survived at the start of the next book.
Kahlan is totally outnumbered in a battle, but closly manages to defeat the 250'000 strong enemy army with here united Midlands armies at the end of another book. Start of the next book: Didn't really matter, there are several million more enemy soldiers (are you kidding me?).
And this literally happens in every single book of the series
As for the recommendations, I can't rank these three series, but they are my favorites by a huge margin:
- A Song of Ice and Fire
- Wheel of Time
- Malazan Book of the Fallen
Every single one features a huge detailed world, deep characters, surprising storylines and interesting plot twists. If you're in to fantasy, I can only recommend to get your hands on those series.
If you're new to fantasy - best start out with A Song of Ice and Fire =)
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On April 13 2011 04:29 Nesto wrote:Show nested quote +On April 08 2011 13:20 BisuDagger wrote:
The Shannara Series and anything else by Terry Brooks!
Other notables:
Legend of the Seeker aka sword of truth series Well this may come down to personal taste, but in my opinion these two are god damn awful. I read through the whole legend of the seeker, but didn't manage to get over book three in Shanara. What I hated about Shanara is, that those books are quite short, about 400 Pages long, have very shallow characters, feature a few nations/factions and one evil guy. After reading through that short story, the evil guy is defeated and you get to the next book, which takes place about 40 years in the future, most characters of the first book died of age, the author mixed up the nations/factions/alliances and brought in a new bad guy. 400 pages later, this bad guy is also defeated, the story shifts another 40 years and again the same character/faction recycling takes place... Maybe the story gets better in later books, but I couldn't get myself to read another one. As for the Legend of the Seeker, well it started out great, but after a few books I got the feeling that Terry Goodkind thought that there was no way in hell that the another book would be published and had to take a step back on the story every time he started a new book. Examples contain spoilers: + Show Spoiler + Rahl gets defeated, but at the start of the next book it turns out that he's just a servant of a more evil guy (alright so far).
At the end of another book some magic eating creatures get defeated/banished in spectacular fashion at the end of a book, turns out they survived at the start of the next book.
Kahlan is totally outnumbered in a battle, but closly manages to defeat the 250'000 strong enemy army with here united Midlands armies at the end of another book. Start of the next book: Didn't really matter, there are several million more enemy soldiers (are you kidding me?).
And this literally happens in every single book of the series As for the recommendations, I can't rank these three series, but they are my favorites by a huge margin: - A Song of Ice and Fire - Wheel of Time - Malazan Book of the Fallen Every single one features a huge detailed world, deep characters, surprising storylines and interesting plot twists. If you're in to fantasy, I can only recommend to get your hands on those series. If you're new to fantasy - best start out with A Song of Ice and Fire =)
I'm not sure I agree with starting with aSoIaF its got a lot of different points of view and some people find it a bit disconcerting. My best friend for example had issues just picking it up but after reading other stories that have a lot of characters but take their time with each I.e WoT when he eventually started in on asoiaf he then really got into it.. so really it depends on the reader.
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The Old Kingdom Trilogy is fucking sweet, albeit perhaps a bit simple.
And:
Chronicles of Blood and Stone]
AMAZING books, unfortunately Del Rey decided to not publish anymore of the series by Robert Newcomb so the series is incomplete as of now...T_T
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On April 13 2011 07:43 sc14s wrote:Show nested quote +On April 13 2011 04:29 Nesto wrote:On April 08 2011 13:20 BisuDagger wrote:
The Shannara Series and anything else by Terry Brooks!
Other notables:
Legend of the Seeker aka sword of truth series Well this may come down to personal taste, but in my opinion these two are god damn awful. I read through the whole legend of the seeker, but didn't manage to get over book three in Shanara. What I hated about Shanara is, that those books are quite short, about 400 Pages long, have very shallow characters, feature a few nations/factions and one evil guy. After reading through that short story, the evil guy is defeated and you get to the next book, which takes place about 40 years in the future, most characters of the first book died of age, the author mixed up the nations/factions/alliances and brought in a new bad guy. 400 pages later, this bad guy is also defeated, the story shifts another 40 years and again the same character/faction recycling takes place... Maybe the story gets better in later books, but I couldn't get myself to read another one. As for the Legend of the Seeker, well it started out great, but after a few books I got the feeling that Terry Goodkind thought that there was no way in hell that the another book would be published and had to take a step back on the story every time he started a new book. Examples contain spoilers: + Show Spoiler + Rahl gets defeated, but at the start of the next book it turns out that he's just a servant of a more evil guy (alright so far).
At the end of another book some magic eating creatures get defeated/banished in spectacular fashion at the end of a book, turns out they survived at the start of the next book.
Kahlan is totally outnumbered in a battle, but closly manages to defeat the 250'000 strong enemy army with here united Midlands armies at the end of another book. Start of the next book: Didn't really matter, there are several million more enemy soldiers (are you kidding me?).
And this literally happens in every single book of the series As for the recommendations, I can't rank these three series, but they are my favorites by a huge margin: - A Song of Ice and Fire - Wheel of Time - Malazan Book of the Fallen Every single one features a huge detailed world, deep characters, surprising storylines and interesting plot twists. If you're in to fantasy, I can only recommend to get your hands on those series. If you're new to fantasy - best start out with A Song of Ice and Fire =) I'm not sure I agree with starting with aSoIaF its got a lot of different points of view and some people find it a bit disconcerting. My best friend for example had issues just picking it up but after reading other stories that have a lot of characters but take their time with each I.e WoT when he eventually started in on asoiaf he then really got into it.. so really it depends on the reader.
well I tried to recommend both aSoIaF and WoT to friends, and found that new fantasy readers are more attracted to the fast paced style of aSoIaF and in my opinion there aren't that many characters you need to keep track of in the first book, it kinda focuses around a set of about 5-10 characters.
But I guess that may as well come down to personal oppinions and preferences.
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Probably one of my all-time favorite book series is the Hyperion series by Dan Simmons. The first book, Hyperion, is formatted in the same way that Canterbury Tales is and, in my estimation, is really only comparable to the rest of the series: Fall of Hyperion, Endymion, and Rise of Endymion.
I can't recommend these books enough, there are fantastic!
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I am looking for really dark fantasy books, almost horror. I am a diablo fan, anything similar to the diablo universe would interest me. I like straight to the point writing styles. Not so much descriptions of the surroundings (a la Tolkien style).
Anything with orcs and elves turns me off. I prefer fantasy inspired by religion. Hell, demons and angels are much more appealing to me.
I have read the Diablo books by Richard Knaak, I liked them.
Any recommendations?
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go read Frankenstein, best recommendation I can think of or hellsing(manga).
loved the hyperion books though read the first two the first time when I was a bit young which was interesting ah the days of reading stuff I found on a bookself at home first four ender novels, Timothy Zahn's starwars trilogy , couple of the thomas covenant books and a bunch of random dragonlance and forgotten realms novels hand me downs ftw.
stephen baxters books some good hard scifi got lucky I suppose randomly ended up reading Vacuum Diagrams first which is a nice overview of the xeelee sequence to some extent anyways.
happy I finally got around to reading a game of throne a week or two ago.
for a newer series I've enjoyed Tom Lloyd's the Twilight Reign series so far.
some other random books/series I've enjoyed
The Deed of Paksenarrion enjoyed when I was younger and oh my there's a sequel and new books I'm surprised may end up rereading it then, may not hold up but can try.
Enjoyed reading Dan Abnett's warhammer 40k novels those are somewhat dark I suppose(have never played a game of warhammer but borrowed one from the library and was amused so kept reading em).
Soldiers of Paradise by Paul Park first book in The Starbridge Chronicles trilogy still haven't got around to reading the second book another book that falls into the category first read when I was too damned young was interesting and a bit strange.
S.L. Viehl's Stardoc novels and the rest in that universe
Ilium/Olympus by dan simmons, scifi crossed with the battle of troy sort of?
rider at the gate
wolf in shadow,
Joe Haldeman's novels deserve a mention as well, for some nice not overly complicated sifi.
and sigh I've read way too many starwars novels at this point (100+) but they are still amusing to me.
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[B]On April 13 2011 04:29 Nesto wrote:
As for the recommendations, I can't rank these three series, but they are my favorites by a huge margin:
- A Song of Ice and Fire
- Wheel of Time
- Malazan Book of the Fallen
Every single one features a huge detailed world, deep characters, surprising storylines and interesting plot twists. If you're in to fantasy, I can only recommend to get your hands on those series.
If you're new to fantasy - best start out with A Song of Ice and Fire =)
So much truth in this post 
If I had to rank those three, A Tale of the Malazan Book of the Fallen would come out as the winner by a very small margin. Mainly because GRRM needs 1283 years for every book.
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Not sure if anyone's mentioned, but David Gemmell is an amazing fantasy author. In particular the Drenai series, it turned out to be a very enjoyable read..
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EPT
