[WinterPhoenix]

Honey Cups, on 26 September 2017 - 12:45 AM, said:

Abyss, on 25 September 2017 - 07:48 PM, said:

Honey Cups, on 25 September 2017 - 05:00 PM, said:

Try Lauren K Hamilton for UF. I only read bk 1. Not great but not terrible from what I recall

But for the love of all that is holy, stop after book 9 and do not look back.
Ever.
At all.

Just assume they all live happily ever after and have oddles of paranormal sexytime.
Or just die violently. ...it doesn't matter, go for it, enjoy the series, it's great, really, but once you finish bk 9 Obsidian Butterfly STOP.

I ll get back to one day.

WP
Wizard & Glass is so good. It seems to have either love or hate though. It's still my favorite King even with my love of IT(though it is very close to usurping the spot), Insomnia & The Stand. It's actually in the list of my all time favorite books I've read.

I know a few people who have said Wizard and Glass is the best in the series, so I'm expecting good things once I finish The Wastelands, if anything comes close to IT or The Stand I'll be both surprised and extremely happy, they are both in my list of favourites I've ever read.

I didn't know there was a 4.5 as such, worry, thanks for letting me know. What is it called?

[worry]

LOL me too. Thought not for any hesitance, I just always forget I have it.

ALSO worth noting that there's a novella (The Little Sisters of Eluria) that can go after Wizard and Glass too.

[Andorion]

Abyss, on 25 September 2017 - 07:48 PM, said:

Honey Cups, on 25 September 2017 - 05:00 PM, said:

Try Lauren K Hamilton for UF. I only read bk 1. Not great but not terrible from what I recall

But for the love of all that is holy, stop after book 9 and do not look back.
Ever.
At all.

Just assume they all live happily ever after and have oddles of paranormal sexytime.
Or just die violently. ...it doesn't matter, go for it, enjoy the series, it's great, really, but once you finish bk 9 Obsidian Butterfly STOP.

I think next year may be my year of urban fantasy - Butcher reread, Mike Carey, Benedict Jacka, Hamilton and lets see who else.

[amphibian]

Ilona Andrews

[Andorion]

amphibian, on 26 September 2017 - 01:36 PM, said:

Ilona Andrews

Mostly done

[Abyss]

If you haven't already, Aaronovitch's PETER GRANT and Kadrey's SANDMAN SLIM.

Bunch of series I wasn't aware of ref'd here: https://www.barnesan...-to-binge-read/







Just finished Corey`s STRANGE DOGS, short story set in THE EXPANSE series.

Nice blend of horror and sf. Gets into some creepy possibilities on the human colonies on worlds they do not understand. The actual plot and twists aren`t wildly original, but Francke/Abraham put their usual spin on things, and there is an interesting development in the Expanse universe that I hope they revisit in the main series.

[polishgenius]

If we're talking UF, then you really need to have Kate Griffin (AKA Claire North AKA Catherine Webb) on the list. As much as I like her Claire North books it's a real shame she seems to have backburnered her Matthew Swift/Magicals Anonymous series for now.

[amphibian]

polishgenius, on 26 September 2017 - 06:20 PM, said:

If we're talking UF, then you really need to have Kate Griffin (AKA Claire North AKA Catherine Webb) on the list. As much as I like her Claire North books it's a real shame she seems to have backburnered her Matthew Swift/Magicals Anonymous series for now.

I'm illegitimately mad about this because it seems like she's using possible Swift ideas as non Swift books. That's completely her right, but I do love Matthew Swift so.

[Chance]

Finished up the Vagrant trilogy and some of the best I've read recently.

Also gone through Half a King which is simple and a lot of it is telegraphed fairly obviously but it is a very good read, large part of it made me more or less laugh out loud. Probably going to continue the trilogy next.

This post has been edited by Chance: 26 September 2017 - 11:11 PM

[Abyss]

Chance, on 26 September 2017 - 11:11 PM, said:

Also gone through Half a King which is simple and a lot of it is telegraphed fairly obviously but it is a very good read, large part of it made me more or less laugh out loud. Probably going to continue the trilogy next.

Just finished this trilo recently. Very enjoyed. If you liked bk1, then 2 n 3 shouldn't disappoint.

[Aptorian]

If you didn't like the first law but liked Best Served Cold, will what's the chance of you enjoying Half a King or the Shattered sea trilogy?

[Chance]

Alternative Goose, on 27 September 2017 - 04:25 AM, said:

If you didn't like the first law but liked Best Served Cold, will what's the chance of you enjoying Half a King or the Shattered sea trilogy?

Its not much like either, it is more Mark Lawrence for the first book at least.

[Abyss]

Chance, on 27 September 2017 - 12:35 PM, said:

Alternative Goose, on 27 September 2017 - 04:25 AM, said:

If you didn't like the first law but liked Best Served Cold, will what's the chance of you enjoying Half a King or the Shattered sea trilogy?

Its not much like either, it is more Mark Lawrence for the first book at least.

HALF A KING is nothing like COLD beyond the basic beats of a 'return for revenge' story.

My view, the SEAS trilo is better Abercrombie than the FIRST LAW trilo was.

It's well written and is worth a look. Other than the author having a certain style and character archetypes he likes to use, SEAS is a very different story and setting from the FIRST LAW world.

[End of Disc One]

FWIW I think Shattered Seas is more First Law lite. I don't see much in common with Lawrence aside from the setting.

[Andorion]

Finished Ruin of Angels by Max Gladstone. Excellent as usual.

Also finished Shadow of What Was Lost by James Islington. Pretty good but I wonder if the author is trying to be a little too smart.

[WinterPhoenix]

So I finished The Wastelands and moved straight on to Wizard and Glass.

Is anyone able to enlighten me as to just what was going through Stephen King's mind when he decided the first 70 or so pages of W&G shouldn't be at the end of The Wastelands where they obviously belong?? I mean far be it from me to tell an author how to write his own series, but damn that is just jarring as all hell. And then I looked at the publication dates for both books, 5 freakin' years apart!

Spoiler

So King's faithful 'constant reader' had to wait 5 years to see how the ka-tet fair in their riddling game with Blaine, only to discover when they did that the deadly game's conclusion is one they, as fantasy readers well-versed in the medium, could have guessed all along - which is to say, they cheat! Or at least abuse vagueries in the so-called 'rules'. Simply put, jokes aren't riddles! So much like a certain Hobbit nearly 50 years previously they win out through undermining the game they agreed to play, though I guess at least jokes aren't just straight up questions.

I finished The Wastelands and moved straight on mere moments later, so frankly it didn't bother me overly much but if I'd had to wait 5 years for that I would have been distinctly underwhelmed and a more than a little miffed in all honesty. My copy of book 3 actually had an afterword at the end apologising for cutting the book off where he did and explaining it was necessary for him to live Roland's story in his mind's eye before more could be written, which is all well and good but it doesn't seem like justification enough to put off those first 70 pages for so long, every thing from Topeka onwards? Sure, but everything with Blaine is so intrinsically linked to where he finished off - heck the first 5 or so pages of W&G are actually straight from the end of TW ! - I refuse to believe he needed 5 years to get that all straight - I mean it was obvious they weren't going to stump him with an actual riddle anyways.

Anyways, looking forward to getting Roland's backstory in this book moving forward, plus more from the Ageless Stranger as well - Richard Fannin indeed!

EDIT: Spoilered all the middle paragraphs, because I realised there might be someone other than me who has not read the DT books but still intends to.

This post has been edited by WinterPhoenix: 29 September 2017 - 09:10 AM

[JPK]

WinterPhoenix, on 29 September 2017 - 09:08 AM, said:

So I finished The Wastelands and moved straight on to Wizard and Glass.

Is anyone able to enlighten me as to just what was going through Stephen King's mind when he decided the first 70 or so pages of W&G shouldn't be at the end of The Wastelands where they obviously belong?? I mean far be it from me to tell an author how to write his own series, but damn that is just jarring as all hell. And then I looked at the publication dates for both books, 5 freakin' years apart!

So, it turns out that I'm one of those people that you hear about that has issues with Wizard and Glass. What you just pointed out about those 70 pages, is one of the two biggest problems I had with the work. I'll save the other until you finish it.

I also agree that the hiatus from tDT that King took between books is important.

The Wastelands - 1991
Wizard and Glass - 1997
Wolves of the Calla - 2003

Now that I've said that, let me balance it out a bit by saying that the story told in W&G is an excellently written tale that is beautiful, exciting, and heartbreaking and it will haunt you. I hope you enjoy it WP.

Edit: fixing swype shenanigans that I really should have caught on a proofread.

This post has been edited by JPK: 29 September 2017 - 03:18 PM

[Andorion]

JPK, on 29 September 2017 - 03:17 PM, said:

WinterPhoenix, on 29 September 2017 - 09:08 AM, said:

So I finished The Wastelands and moved straight on to Wizard and Glass.

Is anyone able to enlighten me as to just what was going through Stephen King's mind when he decided the first 70 or so pages of W&G shouldn't be at the end of The Wastelands where they obviously belong?? I mean far be it from me to tell an author how to write his own series, but damn that is just jarring as all hell. And then I looked at the publication dates for both books, 5 freakin' years apart!

So, it turns out that I'm one of those people that you hear about that has issues with Wizard and Glass. What you just pointed out about those 70 pages, is one of the two biggest problems I had with the work. I'll save the other until you finish it.

I also agree that the hiatus from tDT that King took between books is important.

The Wastelands - 1991
Wizard and Glass - 1997
Wolves of the Calla - 2003

Now that I've said that, let me balance it out a bit by saying that the story told in W&G is an excellently written tale that is beautiful, exciting, and heartbreaking and it will haunt you. I hope you enjoy it WP.

Edit: fixing swype shenanigans that I really should have caught on a proofread.

This is not very encouraging for me as I do intend to read this series in 2018.

[Andorion]

Started reading Arcanum Unbounded. I might actually end up doing a Sanderson reread.

[QuickTidal]

Andorion, on 29 September 2017 - 04:43 PM, said:

Started reading Arcanum Unbounded. I might actually end up doing a Sanderson reread.

That whole book is pretty great (with some SOLID info from the Worldhoppers on the Cosmere itself!)....but that last story is the damned BEST! You're in for a treat!