Edgar Allan Pillow
Ero-Sennin
Blackflame is a good book. It keeps getting better as series progresses.On the 3rd book after seeing this post. Very decent so far.
Blackflame is a good book. It keeps getting better as series progresses.On the 3rd book after seeing this post. Very decent so far.
I haven't read them, but often come across Coiling Dragon and I Shall Seal the heavens being recommended repeatedly. Should give it a go sooner or later.Has anyone tried any of the translated Chinese cultivation serials on Wuxiaworld? There are some highly recommended serials like Lord of Mysteries, Kingdom's Bloodline, Coiling Dragon, Reverend Insanity, Re: Monarch, Renegade Immortal, I Shall Seal the Heavens, ..., etc. I would appreciate any comments on these completed serials.
Defiance is nowhere close to being completed. Book 5 is out and another 10 could easily be written. Still chapters are added on RR. Mage Errant and Arcane Ascension are both brilliant. Try How to Defeat A Demon King in Ten Easy Steps also by Andrew Rowe. In fact all of Rowe's books are good.Defiance of the Fall is a completed serial so I have it ready to read after I finish Mage Errant and Arcane Ascension, which are next on my TBR list. Also high up on my TBR list are the completed serials Mother of Learning (by Nobody103), and A Practical Guide to Evil by David Verberg. The Wandering Inn is already over 9 million words and still going ... a daunting task that I intend to tackle only when it is finished. I intend to start a whole bunch of web serials currently on-going on Royal Road, but only when they are completed.
I picked them up when book 5 was released, blew through the lot of them. Then when book 8 came out, i reread the entire series up to and including 8. Then did it again for book 10. I almost never reread books, so 3 run throughs is incredibly rare (granted they're kind of short). Despite the fact that its a bit daft really, you're right, its very addictive.Cradle is seriously addictive. I finished the 10-book series and, while waiting for Book 11, started The Poppy War by R F Kuang. But I couldn't even get through Book 1 of The Poppy War, the story seemed so bland and uninteresting. Currently re-reading Cradle.
Stop using MC for the protogonist. Brain reads it as something else@DMacgraw I just went through some of your list above.
I Shall Seal The Heavens - Fun read. MC lands a OP item and just keeps lucking into more and more resources. A bit of rinse and repeat events, but still fun read. Only book 1 is free on WW. After that it takes some Karma points or something. I gave up at that point. Quite iffy on plot on characters.
Forge of Destiny - Really good read. Book 1 was in a typical sect school setting, but the world building and character building is phenomenal. There's a lot of social and political machina are interesting to follow. I've read everything out till now already.
There are epubs for FoD in Amazon. It's just picking up stream. Like DoTF or HWFWM, it may run to a 5+ (or even 10+) book series.compiling the weekly posts into Epubs. I intend to read them only when completed.
The flashbacks? Same for me. Reading them was when it actually hit me as to the actual scope of how big a story and how interconnected these stories were that RJ was writing.I have been re-reading WOT, and I still believe the Rhuidean sequence in The Shadow Rising, not Dumai's Wells is the peak of the entire series and among the best that the genre has produced.
Jordan, despite his many flaws, was superb at that type of scene, see also the The Portal Stone chapter in The Great Hunt.
I think it is, so many great moments, probably the peak of the Perrin story-line for one.In the nineties and early noughts, when the series was being written, fans on the various discussion forums overwhelmingly considered Book 4 the best book in the series, and that was because of the Rhuidean sequence and the Attack on the Two Rivers. Dumai's Wells is considered by many fans as one of the greatest scenes in fantasy literature, along with the Red Wedding.
Exactly this, there had been elements of it before, and brilliant little dream sequences/visions, but that walk back through the history of the Aiel, and how it re-contextualized what the breaking actually meant was just magnificently well done. RJ had a rare skill for being able to establish and make the reader emotionally attached to a character in just a few paragraphs. Which is more than a little ironic given the vast amount of over writing that is also present in his work. He was great at being concise and almost never was.The flashbacks? Same for me. Reading them was when it actually hit me as to the actual scope of how big a story and how interconnected these stories were that RJ was writing.
Those pages are some of the best fantasy ever written. Top drawer material. There's also a very emotional scene with Perrin meeting a blacksmith and helping him out. And in forging the iron, he finds solace and peace by clinging onto the memory of a life that he knows won't come back. Wish we had more of these, instead of tugging breads and tantrums. The Shadow Rising is my favourite WoT book. I also believe that books 4-6, along with the Great Hunt, are the series' absolute peak.I have been re-reading WOT, and I still believe the Rhuidean sequence in The Shadow Rising, not Dumai's Wells is the peak of the entire series and among the best that the genre has produced.
Jordan, despite his many flaws, was superb at that type of scene, see also the The Portal Stone chapter in The Great Hunt.
About halfway through uncrowned and it's just getting better and better really.Book 11 of Cradle, Dreadgod, comes out in all formats today.
Just to be clear, you've finished Dreadgod and you think it's better that Reaper and Wintersteel?I'm done. It's fantastic. Best in series till now.
Yeah.Just to be clear, you've finished Dreadgod and you think it's better that Reaper and Wintersteel?
Finished Dreadgod yesterday. I Agree with your assessment. Non-stop action from beginning to end. Sets the series up for an outstanding finale.I'm done. It's fantastic. Best in series till now.
Blade it self is weak, particularly the beginning, but it's a great series. Particularly the first half of BTI is weak, as it's just intro to characters without much plot. I advise to finish the first book and then see if you want to continue.I'm about 20% of the way through Joe Abercrombie's The Blade Itself and it's not grabbed me yet.
Most I've enjoyed non Sanderson over the past few years has been Red Rising.
Just re-read it and it was not as "good" as I remember. I am going to chalk that up to all the good stuff that has come since that makes it seem unremarkable. This is a good thing! I feel like the age of self-publishing has ushered us into a golden age of fantasy.The first law trilogy is better understood as a single book divided in 3 rather than an actual trilogy
Prose and character work, badass MC and strong themes of companionship, you say????Could anyone recommend me a fantasy series to start? I like a rich world but the main things I’m after are prose and character work. Also quite like friendship themes like Harry Potter, or powerful badass characters like Rand. My favourite series of all time are WOT and Kingkiller and I’m really struggling to find something new as booktube seems like a bubble with everyone recommending the same 5-10 series.
No Brandon Sanderson please, I cannot stand the bloke.
Cheers. Will give it a go, although it may be a while before I get hold of it as my local library don’t have it and I’m too cheap to buy my books.Prose and character work, badass MC and strong themes of companionship, you say????
Well, here you go
Prose is clunky for the first ~20 chapters or so. Then it becomes good. Then great. Then amazing. It has everything else in spades
It's online! And free!Cheers. Will give it a go, although it may be a while before I get hold of it as my local library don’t have it and I’m too cheap to buy my books.
I also only read physical books. One of the reasons I got back into reading is because it stops me looking at a screen for 6 hours a day.It's online! And free!
1. Kingkiller Chronicles (best prose)Could anyone recommend me a fantasy series to start? I like a rich world but the main things I’m after are prose and character work. Also quite like friendship themes like Harry Potter, or powerful badass characters like Rand. My favourite series of all time are WOT and Kingkiller and I’m really struggling to find something new as booktube seems like a bubble with everyone recommending the same 5-10 series.
No Brandon Sanderson please, I cannot stand the bloke.
Love love love Kingkiller. Rothfuss’s writing style is lyrical and beautiful in a way no other author can match. Will check out the other 2 though. Cheers.1. Kingkiller Chronicles (best prose)
2. Riyria Revelations (best power characters + friendship)
3. Licanius Trilogy (closest to WoT)
Finished Dreadgod yesterday. I Agree with your assessment. Non-stop action from beginning to end. Sets the series up for an outstanding finale.
I was especially disappointed in Northstrider . I thought he would support, or at least not actively oppose, Lindon's effort to get rid of the Dreadgods and force the Monarchs to ascend. Emriss is excellent in this book, what a Monarch who cares about her people should do. As for Akura Malice and Reigan Shen, I hope Lindon and his team take care of them on Cradle and do not give them the option to ascend. I think Lindon and (probably) Dross have reached pseudo-Dreadgod levels of power after sharing in the Silent King's power. Now that he's taken his team into the time-freeze portal to train, I expect the other team members to reach higher power levels before they come out. My prediction: pseudo-Monarch-level for Yerin, Herald/Sage level for Ziel and Mercy, and Archlord level for Orthos and Little Blue.
If you want friendship themes and magnificent story telling nothing beats The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentlemen Bastards series).Could anyone recommend me a fantasy series to start? I like a rich world but the main things I’m after are prose and character work. Also quite like friendship themes like Harry Potter, or powerful badass characters like Rand. My favourite series of all time are WOT and Kingkiller and I’m really struggling to find something new as booktube seems like a bubble with everyone recommending the same 5-10 series.
No Brandon Sanderson please, I cannot stand the bloke.
I have tried it. It’s a shame really because I loved the characters and there was some really funny/witty dialogue. But plot wise it just did absolutely nothing for me.If you want friendship themes and magnificent story telling nothing beats The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentlemen Bastards series).
Interesting. Once the plot gets going it turns into an Italian Job type heist plot. Follow up books are just as good. Still ranks #1 on my list of all time fiction books but to each their own (and I sincerely mean that!!).I have tried it. It’s a shame really because I loved the characters and there was some really funny/witty dialogue. But plot wise it just did absolutely nothing for me.
Dresden FilesCould anyone recommend me a fantasy series to start? I like a rich world but the main things I’m after are prose and character work. Also quite like friendship themes like Harry Potter, or powerful badass characters like Rand. My favourite series of all time are WOT and Kingkiller and I’m really struggling to find something new as booktube seems like a bubble with everyone recommending the same 5-10 series.
No Brandon Sanderson please, I cannot stand the bloke.
1. Thrawn (original not the latest)Any recommendations on the Star Wars novels that was declared non cannon? I've heard good things about it, but don't know where to start.
And yes, Star Wars is clearly fantasy, even if the trekkies don't like it being called that.