Any good books lately?

[bio_hazard]

I liked the Wheel of Time, but have forgotten most of the details because I read them a few years ago (I think only the first 8 had been published). Not sure I can slog through them again to catch up enough to read the last few books. Any word on how the fill-in author is doing?

The last sci-fi/fantasy author I discovered was Tad Williams. The Otherland series is excellent,and I also enjoyed the more high-fantasy work he's done.

[Pete Mack]

Despite what you may read online, Robert Jordan is consistently good so long as you know from the outset you're in for an endurance test. A lot of the reviews are stacked with people pissed off because it's a never ending story (well, I guess it's supposed to end "soon"). And it doesn't hurt to skip parts...

Now that I think of it, I'm pretty surprised there isn't a *band based on Wheel of Time.

I gave up reading that a long time ago--it got tedious after the first 3 volumes. A 'band based on wheel of time would have to be bigger than ToME with 255 levels.

I enjoy CS Friedman much more, though I think that In Conquest Born was by far her best. (Her recent series, _Feast of Souls_, is good (and very dark.)) So is Kate Elliot's current series. So is GRR Martin's...

[zaimoni]

.... (well, I guess it's supposed to end "soon"). And it doesn't hurt to skip parts...

Or maybe just in for good old-fashioned 1920's-era writing.

Skimming the link: why the fear of ~750,000 words in one novel? Both Atlas Shrugged and Fountainhead (Ayn Rand novels) checked in over that --with about two-thirds of each novel cut prior to publication. (Arguably, both have reasonable sectioning into smaller novels (three and four respectively) -- but in both cases the sectioned versions are pretty much uninterpretable.)

[bio_hazard]

Or maybe just in for good old-fashioned 1920's-era writing.

Skimming the link: why the fear of ~750,000 words in one novel? Both Atlas Shrugged and Fountainhead (Ayn Rand novels) checked in over that --with about two-thirds of each novel cut prior to publication. (Arguably, both have reasonable sectioning into smaller novels (three and four respectively) -- but in both cases the sectioned versions are pretty much uninterpretable.)

750k would still be a brutally long novel (longer by 100k than the ayn rand books- which were not quick reads either. If the characters in Wheel of Time gave 20 page speeches on morality I'd not have made it through the books I did). Still, splitting into 2 novels rather than 3 would effectively deal with the length, although it is probably nice for the new author to have a 3-book arc to work with when taking over someone else's franchise.

[PowerDiver]

For context, my favorite author is Iain M. Banks. I couldn't get into Robert Jordan. I loved the start of George RR Martin's ASoIaF, but couldn't even finish the last one. If you like people fighting wars in fantasy milieus, Glen Cook and Steven Erikson do it better.

For good recent reads, two series starters I think, _Snake Agent_ by Liz Williams and _The Looking Glass Wars_ by Frank Beddor.

Last Xmas, I gave _Soon I Will Be Invincible_ by Austin Grossman, and _Revenge of the Witch_ by Joseph Delaney.

I am just starting _The Brain That Changes Itself_ by Norman Doidge, non-fiction, about how thoughts and actions change physical structures in the brain.

[Magnate]

For context, my favorite author is Iain M. Banks. I couldn't get into Robert Jordan. I loved the start of George RR Martin's ASoIaF, but couldn't even finish the last one. If you like people fighting wars in fantasy milieus, Glen Cook and Steven Erikson do it better.

For good recent reads, two series starters I think, _Snake Agent_ by Liz Williams and _The Looking Glass Wars_ by Frank Beddor.

Last Xmas, I gave _Soon I Will Be Invincible_ by Austin Grossman, and _Revenge of the Witch_ by Joseph Delaney.

I am just starting _The Brain That Changes Itself_ by Norman Doidge, non-fiction, about how thoughts and actions change physical structures in the brain.

Banks is my favourite too, yet I had the exact opposite problem: I gave up after four very good Eriksons - the fifth was tedious and the sixth unreadable. Yet I'm still going strong with GRRM and loving the whole thing.

Must look up Glen Cook. Read a good series by Hugh Cook a long time ago, but suspect it's not the same ...

[PowerDiver]

Banks is my favourite too, yet I had the exact opposite problem: I gave up after four very good Eriksons - the fifth was tedious and the sixth unreadable. Yet I'm still going strong with GRRM and loving the whole thing.

Uh-oh. I've only read the first 4 Eriksons.

Glen Cook has written a lot of stuff. He has a "let's put Nero Wolfe [more importantly Archie Goodwin] into a fantasy setting" series with titles <adjective> <metal> <noun> which is fluff and still ongoing. My favorite of his is the Black Company series. I couldn't get into his most recent stuff due to infodumps. He wrote a very good space opera _The Dragon Never Sleeps_ which is not fantasy despite the title.

[Pete Mack]

I second you on _Snake Agent_--it's quite a fun read. But right now I'm reading more non-fiction.

[Jude]

I need to check out that book in the first post.


I've been reading Evil Genes by Barbara Oakley (about neuroscience of antisocial and borderline personality disorders, among other things), The Red Queen by Matt Ridley (evolutionary bio, evolution of sex, sex differences in mammals), A Primate's Memoir (about a guy studying baboons in Kenya and his adventures trekking all over Africa), and Persepolis (graphic novel memoir of a girl growing up in Iran and Europe)

[ewert]

Brandon Sanderson is the guy who was picked for finishing up Wheel of Time. So I went and picked up his Mistborn trilogy to check up on him, and all I can say is: read it. Brilliant setting, excellent trilogy story arc and while somewhat cliche character archetypes can't be avoided (especially due to the magic system of the world), makes excellent use of them. Now if he had Scott Lynch's verbal acrobatics ...

Which brings me to Scott Lynch, The Lies of Locke Lamora (damn that just rolls off the tongue doesn't it?!) was a breath of fresh air and IMHO absolutely brilliant, even discounting the fact that it was the debut novel for him (taking that into account it was OH-MY-GOD-AWESOME brilliant). Tired of the scum of earth talking like the good ol' father at your church of choice? Fear no more, Scott Lynch is here to tear you a new vocabular **sehole. The 2nd of the series Red Seas under Red Skies was a good book too, maybe not as stellar than the first one, but a good book nonetheless. Will definitely keep following his work.

Then there is of course Robin Hobb if someone has missed her totally, the Assassin, Ship and Fool trilogies (same world, though I myself skipped the Ship trilogy for last and you don't miss much, I couldn't wait to get back to finding out what happens to the characters of the Assassin trilogy so... ) were excellent. Soldier's Son trilogy was also excellent.

Well, anyways check out Sanderson and Lynch, they both brought atleast myself a very very refreshing breath of fresh air in their styles of writing and world creation skill.

[nobody]

anyone have a goodreads account? it's a great time, i'd reccomend anyone who reads get one, and look me up, www.goodreads.com/nobodyreads you can track what you're reading, what you've read, and what you're planning to read

[Rizwan]

Then there is of course Robin Hobb if someone has missed her totally, the Assassin, Ship and Fool trilogies (same world, though I myself skipped the Ship trilogy for last and you don't miss much, I couldn't wait to get back to finding out what happens to the characters of the Assassin trilogy so... ) were excellent. Soldier's Son trilogy was also excellent.

Excellent series (Assassin).

Also Armor by John Steakley is AWESOME. One of my all time favorites.

Renshai series by Mickey Zucker Reichert is also very good.

[JohnCW9]

Then there is of course Robin Hobb if someone has missed her totally, the Assassin, Ship and Fool trilogies (same world, though I myself skipped the Ship trilogy for last and you don't miss much, I couldn't wait to get back to finding out what happens to the characters of the Assassin trilogy so... ) were excellent. .

I enjoyed those books

John

[ewert]

By the way, Sanderson's Warbreaker book is available for free pdf download from his website. Read it in a day myself, pretty good book so was hooked and read till 5am etc., and hey it is free, so read it and see for yourself if you like Sanderson's style. It is a standalone novel too.

[will_asher]

Just finished a book about a plain gold ring with powerful magic including the power to turn the wearer invisible. ..and it was written before anything Tolkien wrote.