[HoosierDaddy]

I still read them, but I just don't feel they are up to the scale of Riftwar/Serpent War (which I LOVED) quality. Some individual novels are really good, like Exile's Return... but, for the most part he keeps beating the same drum, and while it is an entertaining drum, it is also fairly predictable.

[Sixty]

HoosierDaddy, on Mar 28 2009, 07:08 PM, said:

I still read them, but I just don't feel they are up to the scale of Riftwar/Serpent War (which I LOVED) quality. Some individual novels are really good, like Exile's Return... but, for the most part he keeps beating the same drum, and while it is an entertaining drum, it is also fairly predictable.

Really? I hated Exile's Return. Seemed...can't think of the word exactly, but nothing really captured my interest. Zero character development really. I finished and was just like, "meh." What was disappointing is that I saw just about everything coming in that book. Felt almost like an excess of cliche's.

[Assail]

HoosierDaddy, on Mar 28 2009, 04:08 PM, said:

I still read them, but I just don't feel they are up to the scale of Riftwar/Serpent War (which I LOVED) quality. Some individual novels are really good, like Exile's Return... but, for the most part he keeps beating the same drum, and while it is an entertaining drum, it is also fairly predictable.

Exactly how I feel. They were good, but not so great in comparison. I rather enjoyed Exile's Return, got a bit tired of the whole Kaspar story line though. Felt to me as though he needed to be killed off after Tal did his thing in the first book so as to not waste perfectly good paper lol.

This post has been edited by Assail: 28 March 2009 - 11:41 PM

[Fist Gamet]

In trying to think of a series besides the more popular ones most of us already know about, I remembered reading the Videssos Cycle by Harry Turtledove many moons ago, and dug them out of the dark and web-strewn recesses of the book shelf. There were four books in the series following the fate of six cohorts of Roman Legionnaires who were magically transported to another world. They were quite good.

[Aptorian]

Has anyone brought up Harry Potter yet?

If you don't mind a YA story with a some irritating storytelling choices, this is a great series. Not too serious, great characters and worldbuilding, interesting magic and an original plot.

[Illuyankas]

Aptorian, on Mar 30 2009, 05:50 PM, said:

Has anyone brought up Harry Potter yet?

Even if you don't mind a YA (the A stands for Anidiot) story with a some infuriating storytelling choices, this is a terrible series. Mindbogglingly stupid, horrendously written characters and poor worldbuilding, boring magic and a stereotypical CHOSEN ONE plot.

I can't stand this series. I read the whole thing in order to persuade my brother to read books - he read them, and hasn't read anything since, though I did come close to getting him to read GOTM - and holy crap are these poor stories. I wouldn't let their target audience of children read them ever, I'd want them exposed to quality rather than inconsistant trash.

I'm not bitter at having been forced to read these, OH no.

[Aptorian]

Silly Illy, we're talking about the Potter books, not the sword of truth...

[Assail]

Aptorian, on Mar 30 2009, 11:09 AM, said:

Silly Illy, we're talking about the Potter books, not the sword of truth...

This won't be forgotten!

Potter is my fav! Lol... no I kid, really I do.

[Abyss]

Thirding the DRESDEN series. Much Strong Suggestioning. First two are decent urban fantasy. Everything after is mad crazy Hollywood blockbuster madness awesome in text forum.

Abercrombie's THE FIRST LAW trilogy is out in its entirely and is best read altogether. Fun fantasy, not novel but enjoyable.

Bakker's THE PRINCE OF NOTHING trilogy. Opionions vary but i liked it alot, and give Bakker props for trying a few different things.

Lynch's GENTLEMEN BASTARDS series - i think the first one is way stronger than the second , but enjoyable enough.

Richard Morgan's THE STEEL REMAINS. First in a series, brilliant. See related comments elsethread. His completed Kovacs SF trilogy, starting with ALTERED CARBON, is really fun.


- Abyss, lit pimp.

[Eddie Dean]

Aptorian, on Mar 30 2009, 11:50 AM, said:

Has anyone brought up Harry Potter yet?

If you don't mind a YA story with a some irritating storytelling choices, this is a great series. Not too serious, great characters and worldbuilding, interesting magic and an original plot.

Abyss, on Mar 30 2009, 02:13 PM, said:

Thirding the DRESDEN series. Much Strong Suggestioning. First two are decent urban fantasy. Everything after is mad crazy Hollywood blockbuster madness awesome in text forum.

Abercrombie's THE FIRST LAW trilogy is out in its entirely and is best read altogether. Fun fantasy, not novel but enjoyable.

I strongly second these three. Also I would highly reccomend the Mistborn Trilogy. The first book is one of my favorites of all time and the next two are pretty good as well. The series is complete as well.

[Sixty]

Not to hijack a thread, but I didn't exactly want to start a redundant one either. I'm looking for an author whose prose is concise...something like Erikson's. Meanwhile, I glanced through an excerpt of A Storm of Swords (which I happened to read well before I started writing, thereby initiating my abhorrence of all convoluted prose) and didn't like it. Something like that.

But something without the elves-dwarf-high magic sort of thing, something that doesn't involve a shitload of holier-than-thou heroes and complete asshole villains. Something with legitimate moral ambiguity, preferably among just humans (I dunno why, but I find books involving more realistic circumstances much more engaging...magic is fine for the twist, but more races goes a step too far for me).

Meanwhile, I want some good action. I really enjoyed Rothfuss' Name of the Wind, for example, but I found his action scenes lacking. Unengaging. I want something intense in terms of action, and lots of it.

Of course, the above three all fit Erikson's cast...GRRM fits the second two, Rothfuss fits the first two (to a degree; not exactly #1 but I enjoyed his prose nonetheless), etc etc.

I'm about to start R. Scott Bakker's Prince of Nothing series at the moment, once I get through Oliver Shitswell (which happens to fit only #2, to a degree). The goofy Tolkein-esque name for the traveler guy threw me off at first, but I haven't exactly started yet so we'll see. D:

[Slow Ben]

Dude, you really should give GRRM a chance. You just described Fire and Ice. The first 3 books are excellence and the fourth is average (but still better than most). Its nothing like traditional fantasy and i love the way its told through POV, no holier than thou, all the characters are flawed in some way.

[Sixty]

Slow Ben: I've already read GRRM's books. All 4 of em. It's just that in retrospect, now that I've started writing myself, his prose is cluttered in some ways. I just don't like it, especially his obsessive abuse of progressive verbs. I saw 7 or 8 in a single paragraph, interspersed with 1 or 2 normal past-tense verbs. Awkward to read IMHO.

[Slow Ben]

uh, yeah sorry. Misunderstood part of your post...obviously.

[Assail]

Sixty, on Mar 31 2009, 03:59 PM, said:

Not to hijack a thread, but I didn't exactly want to start a redundant one either. I'm looking for an author whose prose is concise...something like Erikson's. Meanwhile, I glanced through an excerpt of A Storm of Swords (which I happened to read well before I started writing, thereby initiating my abhorrence of all convoluted prose) and didn't like it. Something like that.

But something without the elves-dwarf-high magic sort of thing, something that doesn't involve a shitload of holier-than-thou heroes and complete asshole villains. Something with legitimate moral ambiguity, preferably among just humans (I dunno why, but I find books involving more realistic circumstances much more engaging...magic is fine for the twist, but more races goes a step too far for me).

Meanwhile, I want some good action. I really enjoyed Rothfuss' Name of the Wind, for example, but I found his action scenes lacking. Unengaging. I want something intense in terms of action, and lots of it.

Of course, the above three all fit Erikson's cast...GRRM fits the second two, Rothfuss fits the first two (to a degree; not exactly #1 but I enjoyed his prose nonetheless), etc etc.

I'm about to start R. Scott Bakker's Prince of Nothing series at the moment, once I get through Oliver Shitswell (which happens to fit only #2, to a degree). The goofy Tolkein-esque name for the traveler guy threw me off at first, but I haven't exactly started yet so we'll see. D:

Not a hijack at all. I think it's great. Shit, I think this would be a great thread to be kept up for future members of the forum, or even current ones to come in and find something new to read and get an informed opinion on it before going and buying it etc etc. If only a nice mod would correct my spelling in my title lol.

[Abyss]

Assail, on Apr 1 2009, 02:05 AM, said:

Not a hijack at all. I think it's great. Shit, I think this would be a great thread to be kept up for future members of the forum, or even current ones to come in and find something new to read and get an informed opinion on it before going and buying it etc etc.

There are actually quite a few 'recommend me read stuff' threads spread throughout the Other Fantasy forum but there's always room for another. Fant lit fans do so love to talk about their faves/hates.

Quote

If only a nice mod would correct my spelling in my title lol.

Done.


- Abyss, more of a bad ass mod...

[Assail]

Abyss, on Apr 1 2009, 06:35 AM, said:

Assail, on Apr 1 2009, 02:05 AM, said:

Not a hijack at all. I think it's great. Shit, I think this would be a great thread to be kept up for future members of the forum, or even current ones to come in and find something new to read and get an informed opinion on it before going and buying it etc etc.

There are actually quite a few 'recommend me read stuff' threads spread throughout the Other Fantasy forum but there's always room for another. Fant lit fans do so love to talk about their faves/hates.

Quote

If only a nice mod would correct my spelling in my title lol.

Done.


- Abyss, more of a bad ass mod...

Thank you Abyss, I don't feel so retarded now hahaha.

I guess I was just too lazy to look and find the other threads, also hoping that I was possibly brilliant enough to be the first one to think of it Way to shoot me down man. Haha

[masan's saddle]

If your after a well written "series" try China Mieville's New Crobuzon books.

They pretty much tick all the boxes as far as concise prose, multi layered plots and " Erikson like" themes of power, betrayal and justice.

The world he creates is varied and multi hued with a diverse cast of well developed and rounded characters you can easily identify with and some you need to work with.

The City of New Crobuzon, its citizens, social apparatus and Industry is arguably the most perfectly realised setting for a fantasy novel of the last 10 years ( along with Wu obviously ! )

Perdido Street Station blew my mind when I read it, Mr Mieville a is very talented weaver of tales.

Give em' a go, if you like Erikson you won't be dissapointed.

[Aptorian]

masan's saddle, on Apr 2 2009, 02:40 AM, said:

If your after a well written "series" try China Mieville's New Crobuzon books.

They pretty much tick all the boxes as far as concise prose, multi layered plots and " Erikson like" themes of power, betrayal and justice.

The world he creates is varied and multi hued with a diverse cast of well developed and rounded characters you can easily identify with and some you need to work with.

The City of New Crobuzon, its citizens, social apparatus and Industry is arguably the most perfectly realised setting for a fantasy novel of the last 10 years ( along with Wu obviously ! )

Perdido Street Station blew my mind when I read it, Mr Mieville a is very talented weaver of tales.

Give em' a go, if you like Erikson you won't be dissapointed.

I totally agree, but don't read the third one, Iron Council, because it sucks. It's completely different from the first two. It's like his ideas dried up and he just used all the things he only mentioned in passing in the other books. There's no soul in this one.

[Optimus Prime]

Bakker's Prince of Nothing series and The Aspect-Emperor Series

Joe Abercrombie's The First Law Trilogy

George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire