What’s everyone reading? I’m on book 10 of the Wheel of Time, and Creatures of Light and Darkness by Alan Dean Foster
I suggest that you edit the post title to just be “what’s everyone reading?”
Its like on TikTok when someone starts off with “I did not expect that to blow up”
Nope, and I’ll tell you why.
Prior to my post, the last post was 4 months ago, with I think one comment. The post before that was FOUR YEARS ago. The title and body stays.
That said, I get where you’re coming from.
I just finished Waybound by Will Wight and enjoyed the series finale! I’ve also been working my way through the Malazan book of the Fallen, I’m on book 4 House of Chains
I just started the fifth Cosmere novel, Shadows of Self. Or, the second Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson. I wasn’t sure how much I’d like the second era, but I’m really enjoying it so far.
Second Mistborn series is imo better than first, probably because he learned a lot about writing in the meantime (and he actually listened to the readers after first), though it have very different feeling, instead of grimdark struggle story you get something closer to steampunk victorian detective.
By that author i can also recommend his debut novel “Elantris”, still my favourite of his books, or Warbreaker, something pretty original and with surprising turn of action and Rithmatist, scholomance genre but actually good.
Lately i had read “American Gods” by Gaiman, despite not really liking this author. Surprisingly it came off quite ok. First half of the book was tedious slog but when they stopped travelling around the american nowheres and meeting lumpenized mythological characters it started to be quite interesting. Though that book should be named “Unamerican Gods” for at least two reasons.
I loved American God’s, the point of the book, on that front, was that America has no history, and what Gods were there, were wiped out.
Check out some of Gaiman’s other books, he’s one of my favourite authors.
Yes i know, but the second reason of them being unamerican was that when they at the end gathered for battle, just after the first blows fall, they were actually convinced to not bloody murder eachother just by words, something supremely unamericanly which afaik never happened for the Usians and especialy not when they had opportunity to kill other people.
I had read the Good Omen which he wrote with Pratchet and i don’t remember details at all, but i was reading Pratchett at the time and i concluded it’s very boring for Pratchett so it probably was Gaiman fault, the guy is just not good with humour or maybe it was so specific it whooshed past me (though i do get most of Pratchet one), observation that was confirmed by other his books i read, top class writer workshop, but pretty boring. I also read “The Graveyard book” which was good but had the typical uninspired fairy tale ending. And finally his “Norse Mythology” which i found to be very similar but slightly inferior in every aspect to the classical Roger Lancelyn Green verson.
Oof, so Gaiman’s not your jam. Gotcha.
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I’m rereading before starting the final book. So good!
I’m close to finishing Assassin’s Aporentice. Robin Hobb is great at writing characters and their interactions. It feels like Fitz has an organic community all around him.
Robin Hobb…😘👌 chef’s kiss, S tier author.
I’ve probably reread the Assassin and Farseer series 6 or 7 times. You’re in for a good run of reading!
Just finished the first book. It was incredible. I’m taking a break to read the first Earthsea novel then I’m hopping back in the saddle
Earthsea is a fuckin banger!
Assassin
I read it long ago, only thing i remember is that protagonist was the unluckiest guy in existence, someone or universe kicking him in the teeth every short while.
I read wheel of time book 10 recently. I read the first 10 books or so when they originally came out, but kind of gave up on the series at that point. During Covid I decided to make my way through the series and actually read to the end this time.
So far its kind of both better and worse than I remembered. Some of those middle books were less dull than I remembered, but also in the intervening 20 years I have read a lot more, including a lot more fantasy, and Wheel of time comes off a bit pulpy now. I don’t think if these books were to release today that they would get nearly the same attention they did in the 90s.
I agree, I also started when they were just released, and they’re definitely a looooot more pulpy than I remember. For me this is a bonus! Love me some pulp. Also I found books 5 and 6 or 4 and 5, can’t quite recall, to be a major slog. Had to almost force myself to keep reading, which is not great.
Sadly, I think the reason they wouldn’t do very well if released today is not that they’re a bit pulpy, but that they’re not drivel, been noticing the trend in the last decade that the most popular books are verrry poorly written.
Wheel of time is massive. It’s great a and deep and soe parts do drag but at least it’s finished! (small barb aimed at KKC)
Yeah, at least it’s finished. I’m quite enjoying it so far. Any recommendations for when I’m done?
Robin Hobb - start with the Farseer Trilogy and then enjoy the ride.
So back in the day I was sure that Robert Jordan would never finish WoT and I made a personal rule not to start series that isn’t finished. I was reading a book recommendation thread on Slashdot, someone emphatically sold me on Game of Thrones and said that it was just a three book series, and book 2 was already out. Great, I thought, but here I am after like 25 years and A Song of Ice and Fire will never be finished.
I also made an exception for King Killer Chronicles, and I really enjoyed reading it, but its a bummer it is not and may never be finished.
I hold faith but it’s hard when things keep getting in The way of KKC. And the new lightning tree news was such a letdown.
@Theroddd
@SturgiesYrFase
Still the best payoff in fantasy, I think.
@SturgiesYrFase
@psysok Whaaaaat I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone call any of the books 4-6 a slog. Especially not after making it to 10.They’re all kind of a blur at this point if I’m honest. I’ve been mostly reading them one after the other, it could be books 7/8? All I remember is it was a few books ago, and I was feeling really burnt out on them, had a really hard time getting through two of them. They felt really slow.
They do blend together. I am sure if I sat there and plotted out the big events I could tell you what was in each book specifically, but I can’t off the top of my head.
Yeah, I’d have to have a hard think.
I’ve just finished my… 6th? read of the Stormlight Archive. They’re my comfort books that I tend to grab when I’ve finished a book and don’t yet know what to read next. I’m definitely open to some new suggestions, especially unknown books by indie authors that I otherwise wouldn’t come across.
Currently reading The Journey to the West, by Wu Cheng’en and translated by Anthony C. Yu. I’m at very beginning and it’s pretty challenging but that might be because English is not my native language. I’m liking it though.
Hey, super proud of you for getting outside your comfort zone. Learning a new language is legitimately hard. I’ve been supposed to be learning Japanese for almost 2 years now…but it just won’t stick.
If you want/need an explanation of something, message me on lemmy or matrix, I’ll do me best 👌
Just started Wheel of Time 4. I just can’t stop reading.
May the Schwartz be with you!
I’m reading Age of Myth by Michael J. Sullivan, and I’m enjoying it a lot! I also enjoyed his other books, the Riyria Revelations!
On my Kindle, I just finished re-reading Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut for the first time in probably 15 years. Helluva book, and reading it as a teenager certainly changed the heading of my moral compass. Still deciding what to read next.
I’ve also been re-reading my paper copy of This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. It warms my gay little heart.
Popular opinion: Vonnegut is a based author.
I’ve not read How you lose the time war, but have had it recommended repeatedly.
Popular opinion: Vonnegut is a based author.
Yes, absolutely! Definitely a very rated author. Although I will admit I haven’t read much of his. I do have Cat’s Cradle on my wishlist, so maybe I’ll pick that up.
I’ve not read How you lose the time war, but have had it recommended repeatedly.
It’s fantastic, I love it so much. It’s mostly written as an epistolary novella, and at times is very poetic, so it’s definitely not for everyone, but I highly recommend it to anyone even kinda into that sorta thing.
But also, I finished Wheel of Time for the first time last year. What a journey! I pretty much binged it so I didn’t really experience “the slog”, and loved nearly every minute of it. Is this your first read through?
It’s mostly written as an epistolary novella, and at times is very poetic
Dang, that sounds…totally up my alley!
Re:WoT
I mostly only have time to read omw to/from work, so even though it was all I was reading, it only got maybe an hour or two a day of my attention. And broken up attention at that, what with changing buses and trains, walking between etc etc.
I did WoT mostly the same! I was reading on my breaks at work, and a bit at home, and I was doing about one book a month. Eventually my work allowed us to use headphones while we worked, so I switched to the audiobook versions and absolutely blazed through Path of Daggers, Winter’s Heart, and Crossroads of Twilight, the shortest in about two days. After becoming alarmed at how quickly I went through those, I switched back to just reading, and did the rest like that. I find it’s good to savour them, and have more time to process everything. Enjoy the rest of your WoT journey! It’s a good one!
I’m going to need to get the last 5 books, I’ve been buying them in chunks of 5. I also don’t really want to give amazon more money, so I’ll have to look around for somewhere else to buy the ebooks…
@SturgiesYrFase
Always appreciate fans of #TheWheelOfTime. First time reading?Currently reading Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir, second book of the Locked Tomb. Love the vibe of these books.
2nd time through books 10+, as they hadn’t been out when I started the first time. And then life happened and I never got around to finishing it.
(Audiobooks) I’ve recently finished book 2 of the Mistborn series - The Well of Ascension. Otherwise i’m trying to get myself through book 2 of the Temeraire series - Throne of Jade. I’m torn, it may be that the narrator is killing it for me, or there’s just not enough action for a dragon based story.
Mistborn is such a good series!
I mostly prefer to read over audiobooks as my head narrator is often a lot better than audiobooks narrators.
Currently reading A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie. Been a while since I read the other books in the same universe, but I guess my memory ain’t that bad yet that I can’t pick up the pieces. Enjoying this.
