Archie Moses
Well-Known Member
I finished the Fablehaven series today. The last book was beyond poor and the series took a serious nose dive for me. I'm starting The Magickers Chronicles now.
Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books
- Thread starter AtheistPreacher
- Start date
Gosh dammit, will you listen to me? Go to the library, check out The Gunslinger, and prepare to thank me later. (book two is even better, and then three is better, and so on and so on.)
larryselbows
Banned
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Archie Moses
Well-Known Member
I'm seriously debating on whether to start The Wheel of Time. Anyone want to talk me into it or out of it? I have the first book, I just don't know if I want to invest so much time in it.
Gyp Rosetti
Banned
I can't help but imagine something else in place of those dumbbells in your sig.
This is what most people say about the series. This is also were Robert Jordan was the most sick when battling cancer before he died. The last 2 books he put out during his illness were not good. The end of the series that Brandon Sanderson is writing is supposed to be good. BTW the series isn't finished yet. There well be at least one more book, possible up to 3 more to make 15 total.
Other than the obvious LOTR. The Belgariad has to be may favorite fantasy series.
AtheistPreacher
Well-Known Member
I do like all characters not to be immortal... I remember being pissed when Frodo and Sam survived the volcano at the end, because Tolkien saw fit to send eagles to save them even as they're being surrounded by the lava of an erupting volcano. Bah. But I think you're placing a bit too much importance on killing people off. Few authors on that list actually kill of people with regularity (more like one or at most two big characters, and these are seminal events in the books)... Martin does, but he's the exception rather than the rule. And, Sword of Shannara has Allanon pulling a Gandalf and coming back toward the end from seemingly certain death.
Colton and I discussed Black Company on the old board. He likes it, I can't stand it. The guy's writing style really grates on my nerves. I thought the story was disjointed and the characters were wooden and boring.
However, if you like Black Company, you might try Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson. His style is very similar to Cook's (I believe Erikson actually dedicated one of his books to Cook) but his books are on an even more sweeping, epic scale. FWIW, I liked it slightly better than Black Company.
When I saw the bit about Wheel of Time not actually being done yet, there was this terrible moment when I thought you were joking. But now I've looked it up, and you're right. Those books *really* need to just lay down and die. I think we're all sick of them by now.
The Belgariad -- and Eddings books in general -- seem to be pretty polarizing. People either love them or think they suck. You and I are in the former group, Conan and a friend of mine to whom I loaned the books thought they were boring and forgettable. I think you really just have to go into them knowing they're light reading, in the same sort of realm as Harry Potter. They're not deep or thought-provoking. But Eddings does have a great ear for dialogue, his characters are fun, and the books are very well-paced. Sure, the story and world mechanics are more than a bit silly, but most fantasy books are, Eddings is just comfortable enough to admit it and play around with said silliness. They're just plain ol' entertaining. Don't get me wrong, I like dark and brutal -- as my liking for Song of Ice and Fire and Hyperion shows -- but there's something to be said for light and silly.
They're good books, just be aware that there's a pronounced downward spiral after the first 5 books or so. And as Ben10 pointed out, the series stands at 12 and it's still not done. If you're okay stopping midstream, I'd read them through 5 or so, then move on to something else. If you're a completionist kind of personality and like to finish things you start, then save yourself from the WoT black hole and run far, far away as fast as you can.
But there are better choices, anyway. If you haven't read Martin's Song of Ice and Fire (first three books especially, the fourth is a little disappointing) or Hobb's Farseer Trilogy (followed by the excelllent Liveship and Tawny Man trilogies), those are probably my foremost recommendations.
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AtheistPreacher
Well-Known Member
For those of you who are fans of George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series, big news -- Martin has just confirmed that he is putting the finishing touches on the fifth book, and it has now been given a hard release date of July 12, 2011:
https://grrm.livejournal.com/198122.html
The first three books came out within two years of each other, while we had to wait five years after the third book for the fourth one to come out in 2005. Now it will have been almost six years from the fourth book by the time A Dance with Dragons finally hits the shelves. About time. Here's hoping he doesn't do a Robert Jordan on us and die before the series is over.
Meanwhile, the Game of Thrones HBO series is itself about six weeks away, with the series premiere set for April 17. The newest trailer is below for those interested.
https://grrm.livejournal.com/197278.html
Good times...
https://grrm.livejournal.com/198122.html
The first three books came out within two years of each other, while we had to wait five years after the third book for the fourth one to come out in 2005. Now it will have been almost six years from the fourth book by the time A Dance with Dragons finally hits the shelves. About time. Here's hoping he doesn't do a Robert Jordan on us and die before the series is over.
Meanwhile, the Game of Thrones HBO series is itself about six weeks away, with the series premiere set for April 17. The newest trailer is below for those interested.
https://grrm.livejournal.com/197278.html
Good times...
Enders Game - I loved Enders Game, and I also enjoyed the other 3-4 books in the series, and the books that followed some of the other characters from Enders Game.
Eddings - I agree with AthiestPreacher in that I enjoy the characters and their interaction much more than the plot as a whole. I found them enjoyable.
R.A. Salvatore - I love his books about Drizzt, especially the trilogy when he is in the underworld. They are chronologically the first series, but he wrote them second. What I enjoy about his style is that the battle "scenes" are well written and you can almost see them. I like the characters, and I guess I just like the premise of a character that overcomes his birth family, and sterotypes, and makes friends that see him for who he is on the inside. Ok, it's mostly for the entertaining battles.
Hickman and Weiss - My first fantasy series was theirs, and my first favorite character was Tasselhoff Burrfoot. I enjoyed their stories, the characters, and the bits of humor mixed in. I saw the same basic elements in their Dragonlance books, Rose of the Prophet series (which was a nice and different trilogy), Deathgate cycle, and the other series they co-wrote.
I read some others that didn't really catch my interest.
Recently I have read the Fablehaven series which was entertaining, and I started the series with Eragon, Eldest, and Brisingr. I like this one so far.
Mainly I enjoy a good story, it's better if the good guy wins.
I don't really enjoy the dark, graphic, or horror books.
Eddings - I agree with AthiestPreacher in that I enjoy the characters and their interaction much more than the plot as a whole. I found them enjoyable.
R.A. Salvatore - I love his books about Drizzt, especially the trilogy when he is in the underworld. They are chronologically the first series, but he wrote them second. What I enjoy about his style is that the battle "scenes" are well written and you can almost see them. I like the characters, and I guess I just like the premise of a character that overcomes his birth family, and sterotypes, and makes friends that see him for who he is on the inside. Ok, it's mostly for the entertaining battles.
Hickman and Weiss - My first fantasy series was theirs, and my first favorite character was Tasselhoff Burrfoot. I enjoyed their stories, the characters, and the bits of humor mixed in. I saw the same basic elements in their Dragonlance books, Rose of the Prophet series (which was a nice and different trilogy), Deathgate cycle, and the other series they co-wrote.
I read some others that didn't really catch my interest.
Recently I have read the Fablehaven series which was entertaining, and I started the series with Eragon, Eldest, and Brisingr. I like this one so far.
Mainly I enjoy a good story, it's better if the good guy wins.
I don't really enjoy the dark, graphic, or horror books.