[OberynM]

Guys...some mad man here recommended me Scott Bakker and i've read the first book and half of the second one of his warrior/prophet trilogy online ..GREAT CHARACTERS and very good writer ..this stuff is EPIC ..I dont know if its on par with SE but still..i want to thank all of you for making this community great.If anybody can recommend more stuff or great books in scope and epicness..i would welcome all your suggestion

[QuickTidal]

There are multiple threads about Bakker in which you could express this opinion. There was really no need to make a new thread.

[Macros]

I couldn't get into Bakker at all

however, if you scroll through the first two page of the other literature forum you will find several recommendation threads full if suggestions for epic fantasy, high fantasy, urban fantasy, whatever tickles your fancy.

[Grief]

As a heads up, the other active Bakker thread has spoilers, I'd avoid it.

Nothing wrong with the new thread imo. Particularly since it seems a bit more specific than the general recommendation type of thread, and also doesn't seem to be simply aimed at a discussion of Bakker. More a question of "If I liked Bakker, what else would you recommend that's similar?".

As a side note, I'm sure we had that sort of thread at some point, but I can't see it on the first couple of pages.

Personally I find it pretty hard to recommend much that feels similar to Bakker. I regard him very highly.

Have you read Perdido Street Station, by Mieville?

It's another of the forums constant recommendations. Large scope, sprawling world, combined with a plot that has a tight focus on a small group of major characters. Not so "epic" in the way that Bakker and Erikson are - don't go in expecting huge armies battling it out or anything. But it has what I'd call the more interesting parts of Bakker and Erikson.

[polishgenius]

The second trilogy so far is even better than the first. Bakker's a truly brilliant author.

Like Grief says, there isn't much like him out there. One that has some similarities is Matthew Stover's The Acts of Caine. It isn't as immediately obvious as it's much more focused on one character and those he crosses paths with, but they have a similar sort of attitude to life and the world it seems and the Caine books do get very epic very rapidly.


I'd also second the Bas-Lag books (Perdido Street Station and the rest), given that Mieville is my favourite author.

[Macros]

Perdido is next on my to read pile. Should I be worried considering how little time I had for Bakker?

[polishgenius]

Not really. They're only similar in the vaguest sense.

[Tiste Simeon]

Caine could whoop Khellus any day of the week. Just sayin' :-p

Tiste, not a Bakker fan

OberynM, do you read Sci Fi? Some great series that are absolutely huge in scope etc. Try Nights Dawn Trilogy by Peter F Hamilton. Or any book that has "Iain M Banks" written on it. Literally, any of them...

[Grief]

Macros, on 02 October 2013 - 09:06 PM, said:

Perdido is next on my to read pile. Should I be worried considering how little time I had for Bakker?

Not particularly. As Polish says, they're not similar in a way I can imagine it being an issue. And the qualities they share tend to be the ones people praise, while the things people complain about are mostly different.

Tiste Simeon, on 02 October 2013 - 10:01 PM, said:

Caine could whoop Khellus any day of the week. Just sayin' :-p

Tiste, not a Bakker fan

OberynM, do you read Sci Fi? Some great series that are absolutely huge in scope etc. Try Nights Dawn Trilogy by Peter F Hamilton. Or any book that has "Iain M Banks" written on it. Literally, any of them...

Dan Simmons - Hyperion Cantos is another one I'd throw in as a Sci-fi rec.

I disagree with jumping into any Iain M Banks book though. Most of it is good, but the quality definitely varies, and beyond that I'd say there are also better and worse starting points, and some could be outright off-putting. I'd start with either Use of Weapons (generally his best regarded from the people I've spoken to) or Consider Phlebas (the first of his culture books). Or maybe The Player of Games.

Very good books, if not hugely similar to Bakker imo.

[Darkwatch]

Grief, on 02 October 2013 - 11:12 PM, said:

Macros, on 02 October 2013 - 09:06 PM, said:

Perdido is next on my to read pile. Should I be worried considering how little time I had for Bakker?

Not particularly. As Polish says, they're not similar in a way I can imagine it being an issue. And the qualities they share tend to be the ones people praise, while the things people complain about are mostly different.

Tiste Simeon, on 02 October 2013 - 10:01 PM, said:

Caine could whoop Khellus any day of the week. Just sayin' :-p

Tiste, not a Bakker fan

OberynM, do you read Sci Fi? Some great series that are absolutely huge in scope etc. Try Nights Dawn Trilogy by Peter F Hamilton. Or any book that has "Iain M Banks" written on it. Literally, any of them...

Dan Simmons - Hyperion Cantos is another one I'd throw in as a Sci-fi rec.

I disagree with jumping into any Iain M Banks book though. Most of it is good, but the quality definitely varies, and beyond that I'd say there are also better and worse starting points, and some could be outright off-putting. I'd start with either Use of Weapons (generally his best regarded from the people I've spoken to) or Consider Phlebas (the first of his culture books). Or maybe The Player of Games.

Very good books, if not hugely similar to Bakker imo.

I would like to say that if you get into Hyperion read only the first two books. The 3rd and 4th are disappointments (for me at least) in the amount of retcons and very bland characters.

As to Bakker. There is very little out there that is similar. I don't mean in scale, because if it were only that then yes (see everything by Alastair Reynolds), but it's in the approach. Bakker doesn't seem to care about sensibilities, nor about several central beliefs that most everyone today shares. For me I find it refreshing and very provocative, in the mental sense not the emotional sense. Hard to find books like that.
Mieville is, as polishgenius said, similar in a vague sense mostly on the scope being more philosophical (specifically certain aspects of Perdido Street Station and all of Embassytown) and the world being dirty and gritty (Bakker's world, Eärwa, being near WH40K levels of Grimdark).
Otherwise Bakker's Neuropath is a great read, but set in a near-future U.S. and is more of a thriller. Still, I love that book.

In regard to Banks, if only read Consider Phlebas, it was good and interesting, but maybe start with Use of Weapons as Grief mentioned.

[amphibian]

K.J. Parker's Scavenger books share the same general sensibilities as Bakker, but confine the scope mostly to the span of the main character's life, rather than expanding the important history/details to involve hundreds or thousands of years as Bakker does.

The Parker books are highly recommended by me, although the refusal of the author to give straight answers until the very end of the third book may frustrate the impatient reader.

[amphibian]

Also, QuickTidal, way to be a jerk inside two sentences for no reason.

Macros, you don't have to worry about Mieville being "like" Bakker. They're two radically different authors in terms of scope, writing style and stories. I have no idea why people lump them in the same metaphorical room.

[Slow Ben]

Macros said:

1380748001[/url]' post='1088591']
Perdido is next on my to read pile. Should I be worried considering how little time I had for Bakker?

Everyone's already said this, but I'll throw my 2 cents in.


PSS was very good, IMO. I enjoyed everything about it.


Bakker, I read because everyone talked about how great it was. And I found it to be the most boring shit I've ever read. I physically forced myself to keep reading and finally called time of death at the beginning of the last chapter of book 2. But Slow Ben, don't you want to know what happens, you've read over half the series? No, not in the tiniest. I've never been more disinterested in what happens in a book I've read.



But hey, glad you enjoyed it.

[lastname]

I plodded all the way through the first trilogy (probably finished it only because I paid too much for the books) and have no desire to read more. I felt vaguely sullied when I was done and I had a hard time buying the character of Kellhus.

On second thought, I just expressed something similar about one of Kay's characters so maybe I'm just messed up that way (cue a bunch of posts expressing hearty agreement )

[Mentalist]

Frankly, I find The Great ordeal quite dissapointing so far. Too much buildup, not going anywhere yet.

Prince of Nothing was a decent series, as long as you pretend Kelhus isn't there. The epic pseudo-First Crusade was cool. The backstory of the world with hedonistic aliens wiping out the Old Race, and then dissapearing was also great.

Kelhus made want to punch kittens.

[Studlock]

I love the idea behind the world, the objective morality of the universe, but I do have some problems with the delivery. Not the writing per say but how the characters are written. I find the people to very nihilistic (ironically) the treatment of women to be abysmal, and not in the sense that the world treats women bad or bad things happen to women (both things are fine to depict, and both things happened in history though not to the extent a lot of the fandom of fantasy thinks it happened) but the narrative he creates is deliberately created to give women the shorter end of the stick. I'd ask the wisdom of this. His writing also, I find, fetishes rape to a certain extent which is a big no-no for me because outside of the obvious it contributes to rape culture.

I've yet to read the second series because of said reasons and I'm waiting for the last book to come out. Also I know I shouldn't let an actual author affect my enjoyment of their work the man conducts himself like a total asshat online and that kind of bothers me.

[polishgenius]

Tiste Simeon, on 02 October 2013 - 10:01 PM, said:

Caine could whoop Khellus any day of the week. Just sayin' :-p

Well he'd certainly want to. Kellhus is like the embodiment of everything that Caine would hate...

[OberynM]

Grief, on 02 October 2013 - 08:35 PM, said:

As a heads up, the other active Bakker thread has spoilers, I'd avoid it.

Nothing wrong with the new thread imo. Particularly since it seems a bit more specific than the general recommendation type of thread, and also doesn't seem to be simply aimed at a discussion of Bakker. More a question of "If I liked Bakker, what else would you recommend that's similar?".

As a side note, I'm sure we had that sort of thread at some point, but I can't see it on the first couple of pages.

Personally I find it pretty hard to recommend much that feels similar to Bakker. I regard him very highly.

Have you read Perdido Street Station, by Mieville?

It's another of the forums constant recommendations. Large scope, sprawling world, combined with a plot that has a tight focus on a small group of major characters. Not so "epic" in the way that Bakker and Erikson are - don't go in expecting huge armies battling it out or anything. But it has what I'd call the more interesting parts of Bakker and Erikson.

Have not read anythinh by Mieville thou i keep a link for it in my browser..saw he wrote a great deal of great books..Which one you recommend as a first read?

[OberynM]

Tiste Simeon, on 02 October 2013 - 10:01 PM, said:

Caine could whoop Khellus any day of the week. Just sayin' :-p

Tiste, not a Bakker fan

OberynM, do you read Sci Fi? Some great series that are absolutely huge in scope etc. Try Nights Dawn Trilogy by Peter F Hamilton. Or any book that has "Iain M Banks" written on it. Literally, any of them...

I ve read my share of Heinlein ,Herbert ,Asimov and his foundains ..other then that in the dark.Had some recommendations about Phillip K.Dick..MORE PLEASE

[OberynM]

amphibian, on 03 October 2013 - 01:32 AM, said:

K.J. Parker's Scavenger books share the same general sensibilities as Bakker, but confine the scope mostly to the span of the main character's life, rather than expanding the important history/details to involve hundreds or thousands of years as Bakker does.

The Parker books are highly recommended by me, although the refusal of the author to give straight answers until the very end of the third book may frustrate the impatient reader.

Seeing that i read Erikson Comlete i think impatience is not what i lack