Books Fantasy Reads

Twigg

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Mainly the writting. It was poor, hilariously poor. I seriously think that if I try I might come with a better writting. For example Sanderson - who is brilliant at plots and magic system, but only average at writting and dialogues - would look like a master compared to this. And I fecking hate when the narrator tells you that this story is for another time or will happen later or some equally ridiculous bullshit.

Also, despite having many characters, the author doesn't develop any of them. They are all characters with a name, a minimal story (Bilbo and Thorin, others don't even have it) and nothing else. You don't give a shit for any of them. Thorin died, who the feck cares?! On a book which was written good, that would have been an epic moment. I also didn't liked the plot that much and things happened so fast. Smaug dies on what, 3 seconds of fight?!

I found the movies much better and the changes which were made created a better story. Much more details, characters were more deep, etc etc.
I'm gonna assume you're really well-read, whereas I am not. Maybe that's why your level or critique is so high and I am able to enjoy what you would consider bad. Maybe in the future, when I've read some of the better fantasy books, I will be of the same opinion as you, because from reading through this thread it seems like you've read some of the brilliant fantasy novels of today (I've yet to read Mistborn (which I've started but procrastinated from reading) and Name of the Wind ffs, which is already considered by many as one of, if not the best fantasy book of all time, but for some reason I just don't feel like reading it right now)

Anyway... I'm a massive fan of the fantasy genre, but I'm not a HUGE reader. I've got a lot of books on my to-read list too. But I was wondering if you had any fantasy books you would recommend to me, preferably ones that aren't particularly popular, and maybe something new. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.
 

Revan

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I'm gonna assume you're really well-read, whereas I am not. Maybe that's why your level or critique is so high and I am able to enjoy what you would consider bad. Maybe in the future, when I've read some of the better fantasy books, I will be of the same opinion as you, because from reading through this thread it seems like you've read some of the brilliant fantasy novels of today (I've yet to read Mistborn (which I've started but procrastinated from reading) and Name of the Wind ffs, which is already considered by many as one of, if not the best fantasy book of all time, but for some reason I just don't feel like reading it right now)

Anyway... I'm a massive fan of the fantasy genre, but I'm not a HUGE reader. I've got a lot of books on my to-read list too. But I was wondering if you had any fantasy books you would recommend to me, preferably ones that aren't particularly popular, and maybe something new. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.
I haven't been much on this genre until recently so I am not very knowledgable there. The only fantasy books I have read are ASOIAF, Kingkiller Chronicles, Mistborn trilogy and The First Law trilogy. I have given reviews and some discussion for the last three on these thread, and obviously have spammed the shit of ASOIAF thread. I also ranked them in that order I mentioned (from best to worst, although all are damn good). Other fantasy novels I haven't read but are highly rated (and so are in my to-read list) are The Wheel of Time (according to a lot of people it is the best ever fantasy saga, but it has 14 books so I am scared to start reading it), Malazan Book of The Fallen (15 novels or so) and The Stormlight Archive (written by Sanderson, currently published only 2 of the 10 planned novels). Heard some good words for The Black Company but apparently isn't finihsed and it looks that the author doesn't care anymore for it, so I doubt I will bother to read it. Also, heard that The Dark Tower (by Stephen King) is an excellent reading, but it isn't exactly fantasy (more of a fantasy, sci-fi and horror combo).

I've spend my teen years reading the likes of Dostoyevski and Tolstoy so now have difficulty appreciating books that have really poor writting (you know like The Hobbit). Still, this may change considering that in the last three years or so I have read almost exclusively only fantasy novels or Star Wars novels. And obviously - on general - the quality of writting isn't near as good compared to what I have read on my early years.

About The Name of The Wind, I loved it, although I liked the first three ASOIAF novels more. Still, The Name of The Wind has a better writting and Rothfuss might be the best fantasy author on that aspect. But on the other side, it doesn't have the complexity of ASOIAF and neither it doesn't have a million characters with as much depth as the protagonist of Kingkiller :lol:
 

Alock1

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I know you didn't ask me but if you want to read something that isn't popular then go for Bloond Song.

I loved it, I read it when it was self published but it got enough critical acclaim that someone came and locked it down.

Im hoping someone else from here will read it. I don't know anyone else who has and wonder if Im overrating it but I found it incredibly enjoyable.
 

Twigg

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I haven't been much on this genre until recently so I am not very knowledgable there. The only fantasy books I have read are ASOIAF, Kingkiller Chronicles, Mistborn trilogy and The First Law trilogy. I have given reviews and some discussion for the last three on these thread, and obviously have spammed the shit of ASOIAF thread. I also ranked them in that order I mentioned (from best to worst, although all are damn good). Other fantasy novels I haven't read but are highly rated (and so are in my to-read list) are The Wheel of Time (according to a lot of people it is the best ever fantasy saga, but it has 14 books so I am scared to start reading it), Malazan Book of The Fallen (15 novels or so) and The Stormlight Archive (written by Sanderson, currently published only 2 of the 10 planned novels). Heard some good words for The Black Company but apparently isn't finihsed and it looks that the author doesn't care anymore for it, so I doubt I will bother to read it. Also, heard that The Dark Tower (by Stephen King) is an excellent reading, but it isn't exactly fantasy (more of a fantasy, sci-fi and horror combo).

I've spend my teen years reading the likes of Dostoyevski and Tolstoy so now have difficulty appreciating books that have really poor writting (you know like The Hobbit). Still, this may change considering that in the last three years or so I have read almost exclusively only fantasy novels or Star Wars novels. And obviously - on general - the quality of writting isn't near as good compared to what I have read on my early years.

About The Name of The Wind, I loved it, although I liked the first three ASOIAF novels more. Still, The Name of The Wind has a better writting and Rothfuss might be the best fantasy author on that aspect. But on the other side, it doesn't have the complexity of ASOIAF and neither it doesn't have a million characters with as much depth as the protagonist of Kingkiller :lol:
Malazan Book of the Fallen is on my list too, I've been meaning to read Gardens of the Moon for a while now. Wheel of Time I've been meaning to read too, one review I read compared it to Lord of the Rings, but better, and ever since I've wanted to read it, but the amount of books has put me off a bit. Thanks for your reply anyway, I just assumed you had been reading fantasy for years. :)
 

Twigg

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I know you didn't ask me but if you want to read something that isn't popular then go for Bloond Song.

I loved it, I read it when it was self published but it got enough critical acclaim that someone came and locked it down.

Im hoping someone else from here will read it. I don't know anyone else who has and wonder if Im overrating it but I found it incredibly enjoyable.
Hmm... I'll take a look at it at some point. Thanks for the suggestion. What's it about exactly? Without spoilers of course.

Edit: upon Googling it, did you mean Blood Song? It's been on my to-read list for a while now, I found it on Goodreads and read some of the reviews of it. It's on my phone right now in fact (which I read my books on), but I've just not got around to reading it.
 

Revan

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I know you didn't ask me but if you want to read something that isn't popular then go for Bloond Song.

I loved it, I read it when it was self published but it got enough critical acclaim that someone came and locked it down.

Im hoping someone else from here will read it. I don't know anyone else who has and wonder if Im overrating it but I found it incredibly enjoyable.
Planning to read it within this summer, so we'll discuss when I read it :)
 

Alock1

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Hmm... I'll take a look at it at some point. Thanks for the suggestion. What's it about exactly? Without spoilers of course.

Edit: upon Googling it, did you mean Blood Song? It's been on my to-read list for a while now, I found it on Goodreads and read some of the reviews of it. It's on my phone right now in fact (which I read my books on), but I've just not got around to reading it.
Sorry, yes I meant Blood Song. Had no idea I'd made a typo. It's an epic coming of age story recounted by the hero himself - basically a more epic NOTW (not as good but still great). When I first read it I pointed out it was rated at 4.6 on goodreads but with only 2k votes, it's now at 15k and still the same. Still not a huge amount but it seems I'm far from being the only one to rate it so highly.

Planning to read it within this summer, so we'll discuss when I read it :)
Great, I'm looking forward to it.

Thanks to you guys chatting, I just found out that book 2 got published and released last week!!!! :D
 

Kallech33

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Sorry, yes I meant Blood Song. Had no idea I'd made a typo. It's an epic coming of age story recounted by the hero himself - basically a more epic NOTW (not as good but still great). When I first read it I pointed out it was rated at 4.6 on goodreads but with only 2k votes, it's now at 15k and still the same. Still not a huge amount but it seems I'm far from being the only one to rate it so highly.

Thanks to you guys chatting, I just found out that book 2 got published and released last week!!!! :D
I agree with your description. It's very similar to The Name Of The Wind, especially since it's also a coming of age story told by the main character to a historian/chronicler
with the twist that what really happend is clearly not what he tells the chronicler
but not as good.

I still enjoyed it very much, especially that it's faster paced than Name of the Wind. He grows up a lot faster which I really liked (the "coming of age part" is rather short IMO).

Anthony Ryan takes time for battles when he has to
like the battle at the coast when Vaelin kills the Hope
but only recaps other battles with a sentence or two which aren't as important
like when they take the city shortly after(somethin with U...can't remember the name) via the sewers
which IMO achives a great balance between action/fights and moving along the plot and characters via dialogs.

When I read it I really breezed through it and I just downloaded the 2nd book which I'll start to read now.
I really hope it's of the same quality as Blood Song.
 
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Alock1

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@Kallech33 - delete that or atleast spoiler it dude.

Yeah, it's a shame actually because it was a brilliant part. I'd love to read a novel to delve deeper into the school - it was very interesting.

Yeah, it doesn't get laden with the author needing to tell you everything that has happened and he's able to move the plot swiftly as a result, you're right. It felt very natural though, I hadn't paid any thought to it until you pointed it out to me.

Did you know about the 2nd being so soon? I had no idea, really pleased and will start on it as soon as I get chance.
 
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Kallech33

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@Kallech33 - delete that twist or atleast spoiler it dude.

Yeah, it's a shame actually because it was a brilliant part. I'd love to read a novel to delve deeper into the school - it was very interesting.

Yeah, it doesn't get laden with the author needing to tell you everything that has happened and he's able to move the plot swiftly as a result, you're right. It felt very natural though, I hadn't paid any thought to it until you pointed it out to me.

Did you know about the 2nd being so soon? I had no idea, really pleased and will start on it as soon as I get chance.
I didn't spoiler it at first because it IMO isn't really a plot twist but merely a story telling device, but I spoilered it now.

I got reminded by amazon last month that the 2nd book would be published in a month and was really excited about it, but I forgot all about it until your post reminded me of it already being published now.
 

Sir Matt

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I haven't been much on this genre until recently so I am not very knowledgable there. The only fantasy books I have read are ASOIAF, Kingkiller Chronicles, Mistborn trilogy and The First Law trilogy. I have given reviews and some discussion for the last three on these thread, and obviously have spammed the shit of ASOIAF thread. I also ranked them in that order I mentioned (from best to worst, although all are damn good). Other fantasy novels I haven't read but are highly rated (and so are in my to-read list) are The Wheel of Time (according to a lot of people it is the best ever fantasy saga, but it has 14 books so I am scared to start reading it), Malazan Book of The Fallen (15 novels or so) and The Stormlight Archive (written by Sanderson, currently published only 2 of the 10 planned novels). Heard some good words for The Black Company but apparently isn't finihsed and it looks that the author doesn't care anymore for it, so I doubt I will bother to read it. Also, heard that The Dark Tower (by Stephen King) is an excellent reading, but it isn't exactly fantasy (more of a fantasy, sci-fi and horror combo).

I've spend my teen years reading the likes of Dostoyevski and Tolstoy so now have difficulty appreciating books that have really poor writting (you know like The Hobbit). Still, this may change considering that in the last three years or so I have read almost exclusively only fantasy novels or Star Wars novels. And obviously - on general - the quality of writting isn't near as good compared to what I have read on my early years.

About The Name of The Wind, I loved it, although I liked the first three ASOIAF novels more. Still, The Name of The Wind has a better writting and Rothfuss might be the best fantasy author on that aspect. But on the other side, it doesn't have the complexity of ASOIAF and neither it doesn't have a million characters with as much depth as the protagonist of Kingkiller :lol:
The story for the Black Company is finished. There are two different parts to the story that each have a fairly solid ending. The last book ends the story arc, but the way the books are written mean there could be additional stories but the main plot doesn't require them. Without spoilers, the narrator, or keeper of the Black Company's annals,
finishes his story.
 

Revan

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The story for the Black Company is finished. There are two different parts to the story that each have a fairly solid ending. The last book ends the story arc, but the way the books are written mean there could be additional stories but the main plot doesn't require them. Without spoilers, the narrator, or keeper of the Black Company's annals,
finishes his story.
Cheers matey! Hopefully I'll read them in the future (WoT and Malazan are higher on the queue from the big saga at the moment)
 

Edgar Allan Pillow

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Anyway... I'm a massive fan of the fantasy genre, but I'm not a HUGE reader. I've got a lot of books on my to-read list too. But I was wondering if you had any fantasy books you would recommend to me, preferably ones that aren't particularly popular, and maybe something new. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.
If you are not a huge reader, better stick with trilogies or standalone books. Start with finished ones. My recommendations are

1) Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud - About a wisecracking genie and his master. Different from mainstream and totally enjoyable. Great plot & writing.
2) The Black Magician Trilogy by Trudi Canavan - A wild young girl and her transformation into a powerful magician. Brilliant!
3) Farseer Trilogy & Tawny Man Trilogy by Robin Hobb

As for standalone books, Johannes Cabal the Necromancer by Jonathan L Howard is right there at the top.
 

Twigg

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If you are not a huge reader, better stick with trilogies or standalone books. Start with finished ones. My recommendations are

1) Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud - About a wisecracking genie and his master. Different from mainstream and totally enjoyable. Great plot & writing.
2) The Black Magician Trilogy by Trudi Canavan - A wild young girl and her transformation into a powerful magician. Brilliant!
3) Farseer Trilogy & Tawny Man Trilogy by Robin Hobb

As for standalone books, Johannes Cabal the Necromancer by Jonathan L Howard is right there at the top.
I really like the sound of the Bartimaeus Trilogy, I think I'm gonna check that out next. Assassin's Apprentice has been in my Aikido collection for a while now. Thanks for the reply.
 

Edgar Allan Pillow

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Malazan Book of the Fallen is on my list too, I've been meaning to read Gardens of the Moon for a while now. Wheel of Time I've been meaning to read too, one review I read compared it to Lord of the Rings, but better, and ever since I've wanted to read it, but the amount of books has put me off a bit. Thanks for your reply anyway, I just assumed you had been reading fantasy for years. :)

Wheel of Time before Malazan, I'd say. WoT is much easier to read and storyline is linear. Cleanly written and classic fantasy.

Malazan is a fragmented series with third book being sequel of first, fourth the sequel of second, throw in a couple of "standalone" novels (but they explain whole storyline better), it just is way too troublesome to read (and you HAVE to read it in the right order). Fantastic story though if you presist. The ifrst Gardens of the Moon was the best of the lot though some subsequent books are brilliant. Too descriptive and wanders through sub plots too often and too long to tie back to main plot line.
 

Edgar Allan Pillow

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I really like the sound of the Bartimaeus Trilogy, I think I'm gonna check that out next. Assassin's Apprentice has been in my Aikido collection for a while now. Thanks for the reply.
You should. Bartimaeus and Johannes Cabal Necromancer are the top 2 off-mainstream books I've read till date.

If you like Black Company like books, try the Raven trilogies (Chronicles and Legends) by James Barclay. Definitely worthwhile.
 

Revan

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@Edgar Allan Pillow , @Sir Matt

Considering that you have pretty much read any fantasy book ever mentioned (:D), would you please make a list of the best fantasy saga books you have read (both big saga and short ones) and would recommend to me (on the order). I am fairly new to the genre and have read so far only ASOIAF from Martin, Kingkiller from Rothfuss, Mistborn from Sanderson, The First Law from Abercombrie and currently reading LOTR from Tolkien (just finished The Hobbit). Thanks in advance!
 

Twigg

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@Edgar Allan Pillow , @Sir Matt

Considering that you have pretty much read any fantasy book ever mentioned (:D), would you please make a list of the best fantasy saga books you have read (both big saga and short ones) and would recommend to me (on the order). I am fairly new to the genre and have read so far only ASOIAF from Martin, Kingkiller from Rothfuss, Mistborn from Sanderson, The First Law from Abercombrie and currently reading LOTR from Tolkien (just finished The Hobbit). Thanks in advance!
@celia has also read pretty much every fantasy book ever written too.
 

Sir Matt

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:lol: I've read a number, but it's sometimes hard to remember them all. I'll try to get together a list of ones you haven't mentioned. Gentleman Bastards, Sword of Truth, Potter, Monster Hunters, Dresden Files might be the only series you haven't mentioned that I've read. I just read the first Stormlight book, which was awesome and have the second on my Kindle, but I'm finishing up the second Gentleman Bastards book and will read the new Monster Hunters book before I get to it. I've had the Prince of Thorns recommended to me by a friend as well.

Most of them aren't finished yet. The only one I stopped reading was Sword of Truth because the 7th book follows completely different, new characters that IDGAF about so I haven't powered through yet.

Stand alone: Tigana is amazing, Stardust is amazing, American Gods is good but not as good as I expected, Hyperion is SciFi but was pretty good though I haven't moved onto the second book yet.

Read Hitchhiker's Guide. It's SciFi, but it's ome of the best books/series I've read. It's hilarious.
 

Duafc

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Can't be arsed reading the thread but has Discworld been mentioned yet?
 

Alock1

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Hitchhikers is indeed awesome. Very funny.

Half way through Ravens Shadow 2, Tower Lord. So far it's again really good. Not quite upto the standard of Blood Song yet but it's definitely worthy as a successor.
 

Revan

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So, from the Bilbo's birthday (when he left) until Frodo left the Shire have passed 18 years. I never knew that and always thought that it was a matter of weeks/months.
 

Nytram Shakes

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anyone read the long mars?
i really enjoyed it, i loved 'the long earth', but was disappointed with 'the long war' so was happy that the long mars got the series back on track.

i wont post and spoilers but thought it was really imaginative, incredible scope, and great pace.... still feel the series needs to build to a big finish(if thier are more books?)
 

Edgar Allan Pillow

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@Revan

Here you go. It is not a complete list, but covers most important books I've heard/read. I've listed this in order of my preference.

Read Harry Potter if you have not done so. Brilliant! If you are looking to start on new I'd recommend WoT or Drenai Series. Much easier to read and each books are part of bigger whole. It would take you months to finish, but will keep you engrossed the whole time. Don't attempt it all in one go. Read 2-3 books of WoT, then switch to Magician/Farseer/Inheritance trilogies, then get back to others in the list.

Mega Multi-Book Series: - WoT is a must read because it is classic fantasy at it's best and easy to read despite volume count. ASOFAI is more a political thriller than classic fantasy. Malazan is the most complex series and LOTR is the most difficult (prose) to read.

Wheel of Time - Steve Erikson
A song of Fire and Ice by George RR Martin
Drenai Series - David Gemell
Malazan Book of Fallen by Steve Erikson
Lord of Rings - JRR Tolkien
Shannara Series - Terry Brooks
Discworld - Terry Pratchett

Work in Progress Series: - Amazingly good books, but series finishers yet to come.
Kingkiller Chronicles - Patrick Rothfuss
Stormlight Archive - Brandon Sanderson

Completed Series: - Depends on reader. All are equally good.
Magician Trilogy + Magicians End (Riftwar Saga) by Raymend.E.Fiest
Farseer Trilogy + Tawny Man Trilogy - Robin Hobb
Batimaeus Trilogy - Jonathan Stroud
Inheritance Cycle - Christophe Paolini
First Law Trilogy - Joe Abercrombie
Black Magician Trilogy by Trudi Canavan
Mistborn Trilogy - Brandon Sanderson
Chronicles of Raven / Legends of Raven - James Barclay

In my yet to read list:
Black Company - Glen Cook - Reading this now. Quite interesting.
Long Price Quartet - Daniel Abraham
Gentleman Bastards - Scott Lynch
Dresden Files - Jim Butcher
Dark Tower - Stephen King
Earthsea Cycle - Ursula K Leguin
American Gods - Neil Gaiman

Beginner / Kids Fantasy:
Harry Potter - JK Rowling
His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
 

Revan

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Cheers matey. There are enough books here for several years.

Very tempted to go for Wheel of Time after I finish LOTR (which I am liking much more than The Hobbit), and will definitely read it before I continue with the more complex Malazan. Haven't heard before for Drenai series, but looks interesting.
 

Alock1

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Has anyone ever tried reading multiple fantasy/sci fi books?

I don't want to commit to Wheel of Time when there is so many other great reads out there as it'll take me ages. But perhaps I could read that and then smaller series on the side like I would TV shows.
 

Alock1

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Can't be arsed reading the thread but has Discworld been mentioned yet?
I've read Good Omens being a big Neil Gaiman fan and thought Pratchett was humorous so picked up Colour of Magic (that's the first one right?). I really enjoyed it, but then got told there were 40 more and I never really thought about it again.
 

SmashedHombre

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Has anyone ever tried reading multiple fantasy/sci fi books?

I don't want to commit to Wheel of Time when there is so many other great reads out there as it'll take me ages. But perhaps I could read that and then smaller series on the side like I would TV shows.
I'm reading four books at the moment.

Peter V. Brett's The Painted Man
Paul Hoffman's The Left Hand of God
Raymond E. Feist's Magician
John Gwyne's Malice.

Just finished Scott Oden's Lion Of Cairo, Glynn Iliffe's King of Ithaca and Simon Scarrow's Blood Crows in the last few days as well. Having my laptop stolen has done a lot for my reading.

WoT is decent, I don't think I made it past book 8 or 9 9 though. Eventually I just exhausted the characters. It is a big commitment when, as you say, there are so many great reads out there.
 

Revan

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Has anyone ever tried reading multiple fantasy/sci fi books?

I don't want to commit to Wheel of Time when there is so many other great reads out there as it'll take me ages. But perhaps I could read that and then smaller series on the side like I would TV shows.
Nah, never could do it. In fact, I don't also play more than one video game at the same time, and I don't watch more than one TV show at the same time (obviously I continue watching those that I have been watching before, but if for example I start watching now Lost from the beginning then I have to wait till I finish it before I start watching another TV show from the beginning). I don't know, maybe I am a robot which doesn't support multithreading.

On the other side - on general - I usually watch a TV show, play a video game, read a book and watch a few movies at the same time.
 

Twigg

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I've read Good Omens being a big Neil Gaiman fan and thought Pratchett was humorous so picked up Colour of Magic (that's the first one right?). I really enjoyed it, but then got told there were 40 more and I never really thought about it again.
Have you read Ocean at the End of the Lane? I'm going to read that either next or after the next book I read.
 

Edgar Allan Pillow

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Has anyone ever tried reading multiple fantasy/sci fi books?

I don't want to commit to Wheel of Time when there is so many other great reads out there as it'll take me ages. But perhaps I could read that and then smaller series on the side like I would TV shows.
I always do for big series. Read WoT and some of the Discworld books at the same time. You just can't do WoT or Malazan in one stretch even spanning across months. You need a break and usually settle in for a lighter book. Coming back to it usually helps retaining attention.
 

Edgar Allan Pillow

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WoT is decent, I don't think I made it past book 8 or 9 9 though. Eventually I just exhausted the characters. It is a big commitment when, as you say, there are so many great reads out there.
You should get back on it. 5-11 are a bit tedious and story does not move as fast, but final 3 (12, 13 and 14) are absolutely fantastic. Finale especially. Don't miss it having done all that hard work.
 

Revan

Assumptionman
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@Revan how are you finding Lord of the Rings?
Much better than the Hobbit, but still not excellent. Maybe because I know the story, maybe because the dialogues are very long and tedious. A good book, but definitely not on the level of ASOIAF and Name of The Wind which is my benchmark for these kind of books.

Read so far 80% of The Fellowship of The Ring.
 

Sir Matt

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I just finished Red Seas Under Red Skies (Book #2 in Gentleman Bastards). It wasn't quite as good as the first, but it was still very enjoyable. The characters start out planning to rob the biggest casino in the world before being forced to become pirates.
 

Edgar Allan Pillow

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Just finished the first trilogy of a The Black Company. Mixed feelings. A very good trilogy, quite interesting from start to finish....but one that does not take itself seriously. No depth in characters or scenarios to immerse yourself in. Despite the name, it's quite easy a read and has a string of humor underneath that is just superb.

Definitely worth a read!