Books Fantasy Reads

SmashedHombre

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Iron Age is very good, I've read all of them.
This is a strange book man. The characters are just weird, the bad guys are disgusting, the language often strays a bit too close to 'modern slang' and the world is just an odd alternative version of Roman-Britain. I feel like I shouldn't like it at all. Can't help reading though. 'Just one more chapter...'
 

The Bloody-Nine

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It's a little different for sure and I was a touch uncertain when I started reading the first one. Stuck with it though and glad I did.

Watson has a new book out, the first in a trilogy called 'You Die When You Die'. Probably try it after I finish what exists of Kingkiller. I generally prefer starting series that have already been completed but what can you do.
 

SmashedHombre

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It's a little different for sure and I was a touch uncertain when I started reading the first one. Stuck with it though and glad I did.

Watson has a new book out, the first in a trilogy called 'You Die When You Die'. Probably try it after I finish what exists of Kingkiller. I generally prefer starting series that have already been completed but what can you do.
I can see the potential in the book. For all its oddities, it's a real 'page turner'- super fast paced. I don't know how he managed to make that character of Ulpius (not sure if that's his name- the guy with the hair fetish) work. But the rest of the book seemed oblivious to how strange a character he was so, as the reader, you just kinda go with it.

Yeah, I came across YDWYD, will probably check it out if I enjoy this trilogy enough.
 

AgentP

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Guys need a little help here. I am looking for something new to read in the fantasy genre. So far, I have read
  1. Stormlight Archive
  2. Mistborn (6 books)
  3. Kingkiller Chronicles
  4. The First Law Trilogy
  5. The Night Angel Trilogy
Really loved the first three. The last two were not bad. Tried reading Malazan but gave up on 2nd or 3rd book as it was just too complicated and the magic system made no sense to me. I can't decide what to read next. Any suggestions?
 

Tuppet

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I started the first book of Kingkiller chronicles multiple times and just can't get through it. The writing is mostly good but the sheer OP-ness of the main character Kvothe is maddening. I am sure I am missing something as everybody rates it very high, does it get much better in the second book ?
 

The Bloody-Nine

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I am almost done with the first Kingkiller book and you're right. LOOK HOW F*CKING AWESOME I AM gets old pretty quickly. I may skip the second, depending on how this one ends.
 

Tuppet

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I am almost done with the first Kingkiller book and you're right. LOOK HOW F*CKING AWESOME I AM gets old pretty quickly. I may skip the second, depending on how this one ends.
Your username !! Now thats a character, I might have to go through first law books again.
 

marktan

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I started the first book of Kingkiller chronicles multiple times and just can't get through it. The writing is mostly good but the sheer OP-ness of the main character Kvothe is maddening. I am sure I am missing something as everybody rates it very high, does it get much better in the second book ?
I think a large part of the praise for the Kingkiller books is to the prose, Rothfuss' writing is great and better than most other fantasy books I've read (which really is only 5-6 other series' at this point). I remember the story line in the first book getting a bit tedious, but the second one imo is a lot more interesting, he goes and explores the larger world for a large part of the book and I found it much more fun to learn about the Kingkiller world. There is still some of that OP-ness you mention, which I can sort of see why they went for as otherwise it could make a boring book as the world's largely from Kvothe's POV, but the second book is definitely more dialogue oriented I felt on his travels which made it more interesting. But you do get situations where that OP-ness does present itself again. I do have one overall criticism regarding the plot on the second book, but I'll keep that to myself obviously since you haven't read it yet. I'd definitely recommend reading it though, if nothing else but for the prose.
 

Tuppet

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I think a large part of the praise for the Kingkiller books is to the prose, Rothfuss' writing is great and better than most other fantasy books I've read (which really is only 5-6 other series' at this point). I remember the story line in the first book getting a bit tedious, but the second one imo is a lot more interesting, he goes and explores the larger world for a large part of the book and I found it much more fun to learn about the Kingkiller world. There is still some of that OP-ness you mention, which I can sort of see why they went for as otherwise it could make a boring book as the world's largely from Kvothe's POV, but the second book is definitely more dialogue oriented I felt on his travels which made it more interesting. But you do get situations where that OP-ness does present itself again. I do have one overall criticism regarding the plot on the second book, but I'll keep that to myself obviously since you haven't read it yet. I'd definitely recommend reading it though, if nothing else but for the prose.
Yeah I can see that, the prose is nice, the world and Magic is well a bit generic so far. I mean do you have to have a Draco Malfoy in every school setting, but overall its decent. I'll soldier on and finish it, looking forward to the next book.
 

Revan

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Guys need a little help here. I am looking for something new to read in the fantasy genre. So far, I have read
  1. Stormlight Archive
  2. Mistborn (6 books)
  3. Kingkiller Chronicles
  4. The First Law Trilogy
  5. The Night Angel Trilogy
Really loved the first three. The last two were not bad. Tried reading Malazan but gave up on 2nd or 3rd book as it was just too complicated and the magic system made no sense to me. I can't decide what to read next. Any suggestions?
ASOIAF, Wheel of Time (Stormlight is the closest thing to it, but WoT is better), The Realm of the Elderlings, The Black Company (like Malazan but it doesn't suck) if you want something long and epic. The Broken Empire, The Shattered Sea, Gentlemen Bastard if you prefer shorter sagas. And definitely read the First Law standalone novels (the first two are a must, the third one is okay).
 

The Cat

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I've decided to give up on Malazan. I'm about halfway through the first book and no book has ever taken me this long to get through.

I don't hate it I just don't feel any desire to pick it back up again. It seems a bit of a sprawling mess and puts me off.

Anybody hear anything new about the next Gentleman Bastards book? I loved them I might go through them again before it comes out.

I will likely ask the same question about Rothfuss in 2019.
 

Revan

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I've decided to give up on Malazan. I'm about halfway through the first book and no book has ever taken me this long to get through.

I don't hate it I just don't feel any desire to pick it back up again. It seems a bit of a sprawling mess and puts me off.

Anybody hear anything new about the next Gentleman Bastards book? I loved them I might go through them again before it comes out.

I will likely ask the same question about Rothfuss in 2019.
I am in your position. At around 70% of the third book. Planning to finish this and to leave Malazan world forever. Have been trying to read this book for 2 months now but not much progress.

And people say that this is the best book in the saga (I found the first book decent, but this and the second book totally suck IMO).
 

ivaldo

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Um... Any other suggestions then?
Judging by what you liked most from you list you'll enjoy Farseer. Bloody-Nine just prefers the darker aspects of the genre.

I'd add Gentlemen Bastards onto the 'must read' pile too.
 

ivaldo

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I do have one overall criticism regarding the plot on the second book, but I'll keep that to myself obviously since you haven't read it yet. I'd definitely recommend reading it though, if nothing else but for the prose.
Is it that despite another 200k+ words Rothfuss hasn't advanced the plot whatsoever? :angel:
 

The Bloody-Nine

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You have good taste mate. Any recommendations ? I am done with all the Abercrombie books except Sharp Ends and looking to pick up another series.
I liked The Grim Company, which is similar to Abercrombie.

Re: Farseer, I was just being an ass. I would, however, suggest maybe reading a sample first, if possible.
 

The Cat

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Another vote for The Magicians as well here.

Enjoyed all 3 books and they are different to the usual ones I read.

However I could not stand the tv series despite trying to get through it - it's awful.
 

AgentP

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ASOIAF, Wheel of Time (Stormlight is the closest thing to it, but WoT is better), The Realm of the Elderlings, The Black Company (like Malazan but it doesn't suck) if you want something long and epic. The Broken Empire, The Shattered Sea, Gentlemen Bastard if you prefer shorter sagas. And definitely read the First Law standalone novels (the first two are a must, the third one is okay).
Stormlight is the book that really got me into fantasy novels so I guess I'll like Wheel of Time the best. Didn't Sanderson help in writing the last few books? It's just a little daunting to get into such a lengthy series! Thanks for the suggestions mate.

Judging by what you liked most from you list you'll enjoy Farseer. Bloody-Nine just prefers the darker aspects of the genre.

I'd add Gentlemen Bastards onto the 'must read' pile too.
Thanks ivaldo. I am not looking for anything too grim so I think I'll give Farseer a shot.
 

Revan

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Stormlight is the book that really got me into fantasy novels so I guess I'll like Wheel of Time the best. Didn't Sanderson help in writing the last few books? It's just a little daunting to get into such a lengthy series! Thanks for the suggestions mate.
Sanderson wrote the last three books after Jordan died. Stormlight is a more modern version of WoT and it does a few things better (the characters are slightly more mature and there are slightly less dress descriptions), but WoT is much more epic than it (to be fair, by the time Stormlight ends, that might change).
 

The Cat

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Also Mark Lawrence's The Broken Empire trilogy was good.

Time for a whine now though - anybody else read Paul Hoffman's The Left Hand of God trilogy?

It still makes me angry how bad the final part was. I was really into the first book, the second was nowhere near as good and as for the third it ended up basically as a waste of effort.
 

AgentP

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Sanderson wrote the last three books after Jordan died. Stormlight is a more modern version of WoT and it does a few things better (the characters are slightly more mature and there are slightly less dress descriptions), but WoT is much more epic than it (to be fair, by the time Stormlight ends, that might change).
I was looking for something like Stormlight so this is perfect. I especially love the way Sanderson builds up the tempo and then gives an epic ending to his books. The last few hundred pages of Stormlight was some of the best action I have read in this genre. I love most of the characters in his books too. In Stormlight, except Shallan, I like almost all of them. Kaladin's part always gets me pumped up :drool:
 

The Bloody-Nine

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I finished The Name of the Wind. Pretty good. I see the sequel clocks in at around 1100 pages. Is it worth heading straight into it, as I read that part 3 might not be released until well into 2020?
 

SmashedHombre

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I finished The Name of the Wind. Pretty good. I see the sequel clocks in at around 1100 pages. Is it worth heading straight into it, as I read that part 3 might not be released until well into 2020?
Honestly I would have to say no. It's worth a read, but it's not a must read and doesn't live up to the first. (Well, it's been a while since I read it I guess but I remember almost nothing from TWMF other than a nice front cover and a whole lot of disappointment.) Unless you want to get it out the way, but it's hardly a page turner.

I'd say check out You Die When You Die instead. I finished it last night- witty, bizarre, charming, vulgar. As you'd expect. The next isn't out until Feb 2018 but, judging by the ending to YDWYD, the sequel is going to be Watson's craziest book yet.
 
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Edgar Allan Pillow

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I finished The Name of the Wind. Pretty good. I see the sequel clocks in at around 1100 pages. Is it worth heading straight into it, as I read that part 3 might not be released until well into 2020?
If you liked the first book, you'll like the second. It's a good book on it's own, but sadly does little to further the plot or answer questions from book 1. Go ahead, it's a light read anyway.
 

The Bloody-Nine

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Honestly I would have to say no. It's worth a read, but it's not a must read and doesn't live up to the first. (Well, it's been a while since I read it I guess but I remember almost nothing from TWMF other than a nice front cover and a whole lot of disappointment.) Unless you want to get it out the way, but it's hardly a page turner.

I'd say check out You Die When You Die instead. I finished it last night- witty, bizarre, charming, vulgar. As you'd expect. The next isn't out until Feb 2018 but, judging by the ending to YDWHYD, the sequel is going to be Watson's craziest book yet.
Interesting, thanks. Reckon I'll leave it. Thanks to Edgar for the reply, too.

You buzzed through Iron Age in its entirety and YDWYD? I'll go buy it now, sounds good. Bought the first Dresden Files book earlier on the strength of the recommendations in this thread.
 

fishfingers15

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Alright, I've finished in Wheel of Time. I've enjoyed it, especially the Mat Cauthon chapters, but I did start skim reading some of the chapters in between. The entire universe was done in detail. Thanks for the suggestion guys. I've read the last 5 or 6 pages and there are plenty of suggestions there. Any particular one that I should give it a go?
 

Edgar Allan Pillow

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Alright, I've finished in Wheel of Time. I've enjoyed it, especially the Mat Cauthon chapters, but I did start skim reading some of the chapters in between. The entire universe was done in detail. Thanks for the suggestion guys. I've read the last 5 or 6 pages and there are plenty of suggestions there. Any particular one that I should give it a go?
Stormlight Archive is the obvious.
 

SmashedHombre

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Alright, I've finished in Wheel of Time. I've enjoyed it, especially the Mat Cauthon chapters, but I did start skim reading some of the chapters in between. The entire universe was done in detail. Thanks for the suggestion guys. I've read the last 5 or 6 pages and there are plenty of suggestions there. Any particular one that I should give it a go?
Depends what you're after really.