[Use Of Weapons]

yuna_anomander25, on 10 December 2012 - 10:02 PM, said:

thanks guys for your replies, i was thinking of adding female authors to my library, but if most of you recoc'ed no to, and its no worth it, well i have to abide by the majority,

Wait, don't judge all female authors by the crap ones! There are some top-notch female authors out there, including my favourite, Lois McMaster Bujold. She writes both fantasy and SF, and if you're just getting into SF, try her Vorkosigan space opera series -- it is Butcher levels of awesome.

[Coco with marshmallows]

yuna_anomander25, on 10 December 2012 - 08:28 PM, said:

The Chathrand Voyage
The Red Wolf Conspiracy
The Rats and the Ruling Sea &
The River of Shadows
by - Robert VS Redick, i'm seriously considering this, so want to know if its good, also I'm beginning to be a major Gollancz fan/supporter, because of their simple yet stylistic covers

Read the first one, wasn't overly impressed to be honest, haven't picked up the sequels.

yuna_anomander25, on 10 December 2012 - 08:28 PM, said:

Ketty Jay series
Retribution Falls & The Black Lung Captain - Chris Wooding,

Read all of these, big fan - very obviously a mix of Serenity/Firefly and Full Metal Alchemist with some steampunk thrown in, but i really enjoy them regardless

yuna_anomander25, on 10 December 2012 - 08:28 PM, said:

Nights of Villjamur - Mark Charan Newton

read the first couple of these books..... they're meh. they'll do if nothing else is available, but i won't go out of my way to get the latest (the 4th i think) and i'd never bother with a re-read.

yuna_anomander25, on 10 December 2012 - 08:28 PM, said:

also considering reading Sci-Fi novels, should I start w/ the original Dune (wanted the omnibus ver) and leave out the BH/KJA ones,

The Expanse
Leviathan Wakes
Caliban's War &
Abaddon's Gate
by James S.A. Corey - haven't read the full review in Quick's blog of LW

any books/series of Neal Asher, Neal Stephenson & Stephen Deas

thanks

Haven't read any of these bar Deas - his Dragon books are so-so, and the thief taker books likewise.

Hope that helps.

[polishgenius]

The Chathrand Voyage - I enjoy this series a lot without it being a priority read. Like for example I've paused my read of the third one at the moment as other books have landed in my lap/ereader, but I'll definitely get back to it. It's inventive but still clearly epic fantasy.


The Ketty Jay books - are awesome, read now.


Nights of Villjamur- the first one had a great setting and ideas, but something about the writing didn't suck me in. I will pick up the rest at some point, but I'm in no hurry.


The Expanse - the first one was decent, but not stunning. Big 'splodey action sci-fi with a touch of noir.


Steven Deas - I quite liked the first one, but I've picked the second one up from the library twice now and not got into it either time, I'm just in no hurry to find out what happens next. Again, will probably do eventually. It's in the aSoIaF/Abercrombie vein of cynical fantasy, with more dragons.

Neal Stephenson - Snow Crash is a stone-cold classic, it's amazing. One of the funniest books you'll read and it kicks plentiful ass too. But everything else of his that I want to try is a fucking massive undertaking that somehow, I've not undertaken the plunge on yet.



As for good female author suggestions:

Kate Griffin- urban fantasy, in London. Second on my Urban Fantasy list behind Jim Butcher, though she's very different.

Lauren Beukes- she bears some resemblance to Richard Morgan, though with less flash but perhaps more maturity and imagination. Proper hardboiled future-noir, one SF - Moxyland and one fantasy - Zoo City.


to start off.

[Ukjent]

yuna_anomander25, on 10 December 2012 - 08:28 PM, said:

The Chathrand Voyage
The Red Wolf Conspiracy
The Rats and the Ruling Sea &
The River of Shadows
by - Robert VS Redick, i'm seriously considering this, so want to know if its good, also I'm beginning to be a major Gollancz fan/supporter, because of their simple yet stylistic covers

Ketty Jay series
Retribution Falls & The Black Lung Captain - Chris Wooding,

Nights of Villjamur - Mark Charan Newton

also considering reading Sci-Fi novels, should I start w/ the original Dune (wanted the omnibus ver) and leave out the BH/KJA ones,

The Expanse
Leviathan Wakes
Caliban's War &
Abaddon's Gate
by James S.A. Corey - haven't read the full review in Quick's blog of LW

any books/series of Neal Asher, Neal Stephenson & Stephen Deas

thanks

The Chathrand Voyage
The Red Wolf Conspiracy
The Rats and the Ruling Sea &
The River of Shadows

Have read them all, they are okei read, not fantasic but they kept me entertaint.



Retribution Falls: Last time i didnt get through the first 50 pages, But I'm gonne give it a new try in the holydays.

Nights of Villjamur - Mark Charan Newton: Have just finnished this and the followup city of ruin and i would recommend it.

[stone monkey]

yuna_anomander25, on 10 December 2012 - 08:28 PM, said:

The Chathrand Voyage
The Red Wolf Conspiracy
The Rats and the Ruling Sea &
The River of Shadows
by - Robert VS Redick, i'm seriously considering this, so want to know if its good, also I'm beginning to be a major Gollancz fan/supporter, because of their simple yet stylistic covers

Read the first one, wasn't overwhelmingly impressed. They struck me as pretty harmless, so I might get back to them when I have nothing better to do.

Quote

Ketty Jay series
Retribution Falls & The Black Lung Captain - Chris Wooding,

Heard great things about them but never got round to them.

Quote

Nights of Villjamur - Mark Charan Newton

Seen this one around but never even been remotely interested in reading it.

Quote

also considering reading Sci-Fi novels, should I start w/ the original Dune (wanted the omnibus ver) and leave out the BH/KJA ones,

Leave this place and read Dune right now. The other Frank Herbert ones are worth a read too (although I would personally stop at God Emperor of Dune, which is where the rot set in imo) Do not UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES read the Brian Herbert/Kevin J Anderson ones.

Quote

The Expanse
Leviathan Wakes
Caliban's War &
Abaddon's Gate
by James S.A. Corey - haven't read the full review in Quick's blog of LW

Well no one - apart from the authors, their editors and their friends, I expect - has probably read the 3rd one. But they are definitely lots of fun, in a very undemanding way.

Quote

any books/series of Neal Asher, Neal Stephenson & Stephen Deas

Not read Deas.

But the Neals....
Asher (who has been known to show up here - although not recently - Hi Neal!!) is worth a read. Nothing earthshaking, but solidly entertaining. I'd go with The Skinner first, to get into them and see if you like his stuff.

Stephenson is a bit polarising - Snow Crash is a must, it's a classic; The Diamond Age is also a must; Anathem worked very well for me but, I'd imagine, irritates the hell out of others; Reamde was less satisfying imo and far less interesting in its real world parts.

[Mentalist]

I have seen these books in my local bookstores, and I have been tempted to pick them up

Helen Love- Heir of Night

Anne Lyle-Alchemist of Souls

Both of these are starts to new series, and got good SFFWorld reviews.

also, these:
Tim Wagonner-Nekropolis (A series about an undead detective, apparently)
Alliette de Bodard-Obsidian and Blood (a fantasy series in an Aztec setting, drawing from the mythos)

the last 2 are omnibuses. published by "Angry Robot". There's a couple of these types of books out there-they seem kinda pulpy, and they are kinda pricy. I've picked up one before at a sale--"Clockwork Vampires" by Andy Remic, and liked it well enough. Still, if anyone else read them, it'd be nice to hear.

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 20 December 2012 - 04:44 AM

[Abyss]

Use Of Weapons, on 10 December 2012 - 11:05 PM, said:

yuna_anomander25, on 10 December 2012 - 10:02 PM, said:

thanks guys for your replies, i was thinking of adding female authors to my library, but if most of you recoc'ed no to, and its no worth it, well i have to abide by the majority,

Wait, don't judge all female authors by the crap ones! There are some top-notch female authors out there, including my favourite, Lois McMaster Bujold. She writes both fantasy and SF, and if you're just getting into SF, try her Vorkosigan space opera series -- it is Butcher levels of awesome.

On the subject of female authors, i cannot possibly recommend Celia Friedman and specifically her COLDFIRE trilogy highly enuf.

[Mentalist]

my plug-in for a female author would be Glenda Larke. Her Stormlord trilo was the most original take on the "magical farmboy" trope I've ever read.

[yuna_anomander25]

Abyss, on 20 December 2012 - 05:53 AM, said:

On the subject of female authors, i cannot possibly recommend Celia Friedman and specifically her COLDFIRE trilogy highly enuf.

yah, I've been hearing good praises and recco about CS Friedman here and in other sites, but correct me if I'm wrong, but I got these vibes that her stories, the Coldfire is the same as Donaldson's with Covenant and GGK's Fionavar(sp?) Tapestry, that the protagonists teleports/travels/warps to another dimension/land, or is it, just for confirmation, I've seen a complete set of these books, and it would be a waste if i won't read this, thanks,

[yuna_anomander25]

Briar King, on 20 December 2012 - 06:30 AM, said:

Female authors...Robin Hobb. I fucking loved her Farseer bks(6).

she's been on my radar for a long long time now, but I haven't gotten around, as I always end up getting distracted by other books/authors,

Mentalist, on 20 December 2012 - 06:37 AM, said:

my plug-in for a female author would be Glenda Larke. Her Stormlord trilo was the most original take on the "magical farmboy" trope I've ever read.

haven't seen any books of her, though I'll try, as most reccos here are accessible in my local bookstore,

[lastname]

I'll second the Bujold recommendation. Her Vorkosigan saga is pure popcornish-space-operatic awesomeness squared. Her Chalion series is a nice read too if you are looking for a fantasy rec.

While on the subject of female authors, has anyone managed to read Kate Elliot's Crown of Stars? I bought the first two books (impulse buy, what can I say?) and have just about managed to limp through the first (King's Dragon). I'm told things get better but am not sure if I want to read the second (Prince of Dogs).

[worry]

I've read them all. It was a struggle, especially at the start, but one I felt was worth it by the end. It's hard to explain. It's not the quality or the skill that I had issues with, just a very particular (and very dry) voice that didn't appeal to me at the start. But it snowballs bigtime IMO. That starts in book 2, but things get really weird (in a good way) starting with Book 3 and they just get weirder from there.

[Morgoth]

Graablick, on 11 December 2012 - 03:22 PM, said:

Nights of Villjamur - Mark Charan Newton: Have just finnished this and the followup city of ruin and i would recommend it.

Avoid that book like the plague in my opinion. If we for a moment ignore the incredible, shameless use of stereotypes masquerading as main characters, the author has a tendency to introduce his characters as if he's reading from a D&D character sheet. It's incrediblt grating, and if you find that ICE sometimes struggle with the show not tell aspect when introducing characters, Newton will make your eyes bleed.

It's one of the very few sort of big fantasy releases that I didn't even manage to finish. Werts praise of this book put me off his reviews for a long time afterwards.

This post has been edited by Morgoth: 20 December 2012 - 09:37 AM

[Chance]

yuna_anomander25, on 20 December 2012 - 07:37 AM, said:

Abyss, on 20 December 2012 - 05:53 AM, said:

On the subject of female authors, i cannot possibly recommend Celia Friedman and specifically her COLDFIRE trilogy highly enuf.

yah, I've been hearing good praises and recco about CS Friedman here and in other sites, but correct me if I'm wrong, but I got these vibes that her stories, the Coldfire is the same as Donaldson's with Covenant and GGK's Fionavar(sp?) Tapestry, that the protagonists teleports/travels/warps to another dimension/land, or is it, just for confirmation, I've seen a complete set of these books, and it would be a waste if i won't read this, thanks,

No there is more or less nothing in common with Covenant and Fionavar...no modern day people going to fantasy land. It's actually a SF story where the colonized planets special/supernatural properties make it a pretty dark fantasy tale. Also easily one of the best fantasy series out there.

This post has been edited by Chance: 20 December 2012 - 10:44 AM

[lastname]

worrywort, on 20 December 2012 - 08:44 AM, said:

I've read them all. It was a struggle, especially at the start, but one I felt was worth it by the end. It's hard to explain. It's not the quality or the skill that I had issues with, just a very particular (and very dry) voice that didn't appeal to me at the start. But it snowballs bigtime IMO. That starts in book 2, but things get really weird (in a good way) starting with Book 3 and they just get weirder from there.

Cheers ww. I'm going to stick with the series and see how it goes. It's not like I've been able to get hold of BH anyway!

[Use Of Weapons]

IMO, Crown of Stars suffers from that perennial flaw that all long series have: it doesn't go where you want/expect it to go. And it doesn't go there so thoroughly and so definitively, that I, at least, felt somewhat aggrieved.

[Use Of Weapons]

Abyss, on 20 December 2012 - 05:53 AM, said:

Use Of Weapons, on 10 December 2012 - 11:05 PM, said:

yuna_anomander25, on 10 December 2012 - 10:02 PM, said:

thanks guys for your replies, i was thinking of adding female authors to my library, but if most of you recoc'ed no to, and its no worth it, well i have to abide by the majority,

Wait, don't judge all female authors by the crap ones! There are some top-notch female authors out there, including my favourite, Lois McMaster Bujold. She writes both fantasy and SF, and if you're just getting into SF, try her Vorkosigan space opera series -- it is Butcher levels of awesome.

On the subject of female authors, i cannot possibly recommend Celia Friedman and specifically her COLDFIRE trilogy highly enuf.

Have you tried her Magister Trilogy? _Feast of Souls_, _Wings of Wrath_, _Legacy of Kings_. I loved the first two, didn't realise the third was out and have just downloaded it to my Kindle for Xmas reading.

Also, her website says there's a prequel novella to the Coldfire trilogy called _Dominion_, which may be of interest to some here.

[Abyss]

Quote

Quote

yah, I've been hearing good praises and recco about CS Friedman here and in other sites, but correct me if I'm wrong, but I got these vibes that her stories, the Coldfire is the same as Donaldson's with Covenant and GGK's Fionavar(sp?) Tapestry, that the protagonists teleports/travels/warps to another dimension/land, or is it, just for confirmation, I've seen a complete set of these books, and it would be a waste if i won't read this, thanks,

No there is more or less nothing in common with Covenant and Fionavar...no modern day people going to fantasy land. It's actually a SF story where the colonized planets special/supernatural properties make it a pretty dark fantasy tale. Also easily one of the best fantasy series out there.

What Chance sez... COLDFIRE has zero in common with those, and, imnsho, i a superior series for many many reasons.

Use Of Weapons, on 20 December 2012 - 02:02 PM, said:

...Have you tried her Magister Trilogy? _Feast of Souls_, _Wings of Wrath_, _Legacy of Kings_. I loved the first two, didn't realise the third was out and have just downloaded it to my Kindle for Xmas reading.

I was put off by her ALIEN SHORES enough to wait for this to be done rather than buy as it streeted. Now that it's complete it's on the radar.

Quote

Also, her website says there's a prequel novella to the Coldfire trilogy called _Dominion_, which may be of interest to some here.

I knew that was coming but not that it was out, tnx!

[yuna_anomander25]

I may have misread the blurb in her book, it's been a long time since i read that, and it's become hazy, but while there are colonies in space, there is still Earth?
And I've also been seeing Bujold's earlier books in used bookstores, if I could chance her books there, I'll also pick those up,

[Abyss]

yuna_anomander25, on 20 December 2012 - 03:05 PM, said:

I may have misread the blurb in her book, it's been a long time since i read that, and it's become hazy, but while there are colonies in space, there is still Earth?...

if you mean COLDFIRE, ignore the blurb, just grab the books.