What are you reading?

Tarkanian

hey guys, what's a good fantasy book/author to get into after tolkien? JRR really ruined fantasy reading for me. each time i try to start reading a new one, i find similarities, and i just lose passion. like what happened with midkemia. but i'm trying to get over it, by reading short stories. i plan to read lengthier novels in between the short stories.

thanks in advance for the suggestions.

Shirszae

Tarkanian said:

hey guys, what's a good fantasy book/author to get into after tolkien? JRR really ruined fantasy reading for me. each time i try to start reading a new one, i find similarities, and i just lose passion. like what happened with midkemia. but i'm trying to get over it, by reading short stories. i plan to read lengthier novels in between the short stories.

thanks in advance for the suggestions.

Malazan Book of the Fallen.

Berenene

Tarkanian said:

hey guys, what's a good fantasy book/author to get into after tolkien? JRR really ruined fantasy reading for me. each time i try to start reading a new one, i find similarities, and i just lose passion. like what happened with midkemia. but i'm trying to get over it, by reading short stories. i plan to read lengthier novels in between the short stories.

thanks in advance for the suggestions.

Tamora Pierce

Xax

Stephen King's The Colorado Kid.

(Haven was a pretty sweet TV show based on it, fyi)

Rohai

@Berenene - Tamora Pierce was such an important part of my childhood, oh man.

@Xax - I picked up The Colorado Kid at a thrift store for 99cents a couple months ago and haven't gotten around to reading it yet. Maybe I will now.

Berenene

Rohai said:

@Berenene - Tamora Pierce was such an important part of my childhood, oh man.

@Xax - I picked up The Colorado Kid at a thrift store for 99cents a couple months ago and haven't gotten around to reading it yet. Maybe I will now.

I first stumbled across her at high-school around 98 when I had to do a book report, I read Wild Magic, and she's been my firm favourite ever since.  Now that I can afford my own library, her books take pride of place on the top shelf. Just finished rereading Will of the Empress after finishing Battle Magic.  The Circle universe is my favourite.

Rohai

I was always partial to the Alanna series and Protector of the Small. Now I kind of want to re-read them... I am still in the middle of Clash of Kings and Infinite Jest right now, though, so I'll have to postpone that.

Xae

House of Leaves.

Nocroth

Xae said:

House of Leaves.

I cannot like this post enough.

Saeva

I just finished Game of Thrones and am now moving onto A Clash of Kings. I know I'm super late onto this bandwagon but I'm loooving the ride.

Anaidiana

@saeva - right there with you. I'm about 200 pages in to Clash so far. 

Kinilan

I just tore through Snow Crash. Dystopian Cyberpunk chalk full of bad puns and a timeline that isn't affraid to  jump around a few days here and there between chapters and transitions that can be...transitional!

Before that it was a couple Tom Clancey novels. Threat Vector and Command Authority. Not really a fan of his characters but the plausabilty of world events he presents makes up for it. China leading the way in Cyber-espianoge? Damn straight. Russia stiring things up in Georgia, Ukraine and other "near abroad" states. Where have I heard that one before?

In between all that i've been pecking away atThe Guns At First Light. Ya that's right WW2 non-fiction. Got some historical events up in this thread! Let's invade a continent because Nazis! Armies crossing the English channel always have such an easy go of it! I wonder how it'll end...

Sybilla

This is great, there's quite a lot of us that just reading A Game of Thrones! I'm going to be moving onto A Clash of Kings today if I find the copy.

I have an unspoken agreement that I'm going to read all the books (or as many of them as I can) that I should have read by now. Will read The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss after finishing A Song of Ice and Fire series.

@Anaidiana @Saeva might be cool to have a mini book club, PM me if you want to talk about the books without spoilers cos I'm at the same stage as you lot

Jurixe

I just started Game of Thrones quite recently as well, stopped at Book 3.1 because the others are with my brother in Australia.

Berenene

Rohai said:

I was always partial to the Alanna series and Protector of the Small. Now I kind of want to re-read them... I am still in the middle of Clash of Kings and Infinite Jest right now, though, so I'll have to postpone that.

OMG, I find out Tamora Pierce is going to be appearing at Supernova in april...then I keep reading that she is only appearing at the gold coast event, not the melbourne one and now stupid bills and real life prevent me from going up to the gold coast to see her

Rohai

Aw that's a bummer. My dad and I got to meet her at a book signing once, it was really cool.

You know who is going to be in Melbourne soon though? Bruce Springsteen. Sorry to digress, but, you know... The Boss.

Minxx

I'm gonna start Vampire Academy soon. Why? I have no earthly idea.

Curiosity! :-SS

Kyrra

I remember meeting Isobelle Carmody during my first year of high school. I was specifically asked to go along to a book reading that she was doing at our school and shamefully, I had no idea who she was at the time while everyone else were getting copies of her books signed. She's such an amazing writer though.

It would be nifty to meet Tamora Pierce, I loved her books while growing up. I skipper an afternoon of school to see Fiona Horne at a book signing here in Darwin.

I really need something new to read that I can just lose myself in.

Taraus

Trevize said:

I actually liked the last book. I think I may be the only person.

the first time I read it, I was so, so angry at King. I was angry because I'd waited so long for the finale, and for it to end like it did... well, I felt really cheated, and like he'd taken the easy way out (don't want to say too much, so as not to spoil). But that was just initial, emotional reaction. After awhile, I went back and re-read it, and felt completely differently; I realized the ending was solid, and sort of the only way it really COULD have ended.

Kresslack

Just started reading Imperium by Francis Parker Yockey, aka Ulick Varange. Not sure how I feel about it yet.

Anedhel

Finished (again) Earthsea series + The Other Wind, by Ursula Le Guin. Good Lord

Tenar's the best character in ever

Riley

Anedhel said:

Finished (again) Earthsea series + The Other Wind, by Ursula Le Guin. Good Lord

Tenar's the best character in ever

Love this series, found it because of that horrible syfy mini series based on the books.. whicj was OK until I read the books

Anedhel

Oh, yeah. I remember trying to watch that

Siduri

Vita S. Honorati ep. Arelensis

Bleh x.X

Kafziel

Shirszae said:
Malazan Book of the Fallen.

I am trying this for the third time because I have nothing else to read. First two times I made it halfway through the first book and couldn't do it anymore

Skye

I've tried Malazan several times. I dunno... the books read like they're some kind of in-joke with the author and his D&D posse (which, as I understand, is how the world / stories were started anyway). After the last time I just sort of threw in the towel.

Alcinae

I hear the first of the series isn't particularly good, but the rest apparently is amazing?

Kresslack

Not sure how I missed the mention of Malazan Book of the Fallen. Hands down my favourite fiction series. I just got time to start reading book 9, Dust of Dreams. Probably my favourite part of this is the comradarie between the groups of characters, and the banter and mannerisms between them which are all very unique and intriguing to me. Sometimes it can seem really slow, but it's worth wading through those parts in the long run.

Epiphany

Recently finished Ready Player One, at the order of @Micaelis. Amazing read, and highly recommended.

Blujixapug

Verdict on The Tournament: would not recommend. Average historical fiction, below-average mystery, weak thriller, hilariously awkward romance with utterly butchered feminist/sex-positive themes, and the chess element is a total gimmick that's barely explored in any detail.

I am now reading The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter. It is pretty good. They take a sci-fi concept and explore the unfolding consequences of its introduction to the world in what feels like a completely natural, plausible, and realistic way.