Jo498 Posted March 21, 2016 Share Posted March 21, 2016 16 hours ago, RedEyedGhost said: Riddle Master is definitely old fashioned. I think I read it 2006ish, but didn't enjoy it that much. Have you tried or thought about Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn by Tad Williams? I read Memory, Sorrow and Thorn almost 20 years ago. Quite good, if a little long, but in any case I have no plans to revisit it as long as there are so many other fairly well known books I have not read. I have not read any other book by Tad Williams, would you recommend them? EDIT: With "old-fashioned" I do NOT mean Tolkien Clones teeming with Mary Sues. Rather saga/legend/fairy tale elements, poetic and atmospheric language etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Contrarius+ Posted March 21, 2016 Share Posted March 21, 2016 On 3/20/2016 at 5:47 AM, Jo498 said: Patricia McKillip: Riddle Master (and others) Leslie Barringer: Neustrian Cylce ("Gerfalcon" is the first book) Sprague de Camp: The Reluctant King (The Goblin Tower) Steven Brust: Jhereg/Taltos - Are these very dependent on reading order? McMaster Bujold: Sharing knife Overall, I am more interested in somewhat "old fashioned" than "gritty" stuff (have had enough of the latter, they too frequently read like modern action movies with battle axes, and some pulp writers of the past have better style than the moderns churning out doorstops) Don't listen to anyone who disses Riddle Master. Yes, they're old fashioned -- fitting your request -- and they have beautiful writing. The Taltos books are a ton of fun. Yes, read them in order. They are very modern-UF-ish in tone. The Sharing Knife books are my least favorite of LMB's books, and I never finished the series. YMMV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Writhen Posted March 30, 2016 Share Posted March 30, 2016 Has anyone read Williams' Otherworld series? I hadn't heard of it until today ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard II Posted March 30, 2016 Share Posted March 30, 2016 OK< You're trolling. You have to be. I refuse to believe you are not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo498 Posted April 2, 2016 Share Posted April 2, 2016 On 20.3.2016 at 3:31 PM, Contrarius+ said: Don't listen to anyone who disses Riddle Master. Yes, they're old fashioned -- fitting your request -- and they have beautiful writing. The Taltos books are a ton of fun. Yes, read them in order. They are very modern-UF-ish in tone. Thanks! I recently gave the "Book of Taltos" (which seems the second volume in the omnibus edition? the first is the book of Jhereg) to my brother as a birthday present; as soon as he is done, I'll give it a try. I admittedly also have the "Black company" pending (read the first book, somehow not enticing enough to start the next, despite many dangling threads). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Selig Posted April 2, 2016 Share Posted April 2, 2016 IMO Riddle-Master is amazing in pretty much every aspect, but especially if you are looking for poetic and atmospheric prose. McKillip is one of the all-time best in the genre for that. Her prose is really evocative and beautiful but never even approaches the purple prose zone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadiva Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 On 16/03/2016 at 2:49 AM, DireGhost said: I want to start a new series and wanted some opinions. I have narrowed it down to Malazan, Farseer or Black Company. Whoch would you all recommend first? Farseer without any shadow of a doubt. One of the all time best series of novels in any genre imho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astromech Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 On 3/21/2016 at 2:55 AM, Jo498 said: I read Memory, Sorrow and Thorn almost 20 years ago. Quite good, if a little long, but in any case I have no plans to revisit it as long as there are so many other fairly well known books I have not read. I have not read any other book by Tad Williams, would you recommend them? EDIT: With "old-fashioned" I do NOT mean Tolkien Clones teeming with Mary Sues. Rather saga/legend/fairy tale elements, poetic and atmospheric language etc. Perhaps E.R. Eddison's, The Worm Ouroboros. One caveat: Eddison uses 16th C. English, which may turn off some readers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo498 Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 Thanks, I read Ouroboros already many years ago. It takes some getting used to but I'd probably recommend it. The language (maybe the whole thing) is over the top but it's atmospheric and Eddison's Nietzschean Supermen heroes are quite different from most modern fantasy. I tried one of Eddison's Zimiamvia novels (albeit in German translation because it was easier to find) and found the beginning too boring to keep going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilbur Posted June 18, 2016 Share Posted June 18, 2016 On 3/20/2016 at 3:47 AM, Jo498 said: ... Any comments on the following (either the search function sucks or I am too stupid for it or I did not find very much) ... Steven Brust: Jhereg/Taltos - Are these very dependent on reading order? McMaster Bujold: Sharing knife Overall, I am more interested in somewhat "old fashioned" than "gritty" stuff (have had enough of the latter, they too frequently read like modern action movies with battle axes, and some pulp writers of the past have better style than the moderns churning out doorstops) I found the Brust books very enjoyable indeed. His publishing order seems to have nothing to do with the in-world timeline, but reading them out of publishing order would appear to spoil some major plot points for the earlier stories and some of Vlad Taltos' motivations in the books published later. Currently I am listening to the first Sharing Knife book by Lois McMaster Bujold, Beguilement with my wife as we drive around. We are about 80-85% complete, and it is a strange experience. The books doesn't seem to have a traditional story arc, but instead sort of meanders up and down, back and forth. The Romance quotient is much higher than my personal taste, and the May-November romance isn't as interesting as I might like. I came on the board to find some sort of review of the Sharing Knife stuff, and this thread was as close as we have. Granted I am not finished with the first book of four, so perhaps my impression will improve as we digest a bit more of it. I guess that my perception is that the first book lacks a strong sense of place or geography that makes the Chalion books and even The Spirit Ring so well grounded in a locale, and it also lacks characters that strongly draw me in to share their concerns like Miles did in the 80s and 90s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamjm Posted June 18, 2016 Share Posted June 18, 2016 34 minutes ago, Wilbur said: Currently I am listening to the first Sharing Knife book by Lois McMaster Bujold, Beguilement with my wife as we drive around. We are about 80-85% complete, and it is a strange experience. The books doesn't seem to have a traditional story arc, but instead sort of meanders up and down, back and forth. The Romance quotient is much higher than my personal taste, and the May-November romance isn't as interesting as I might like. I came on the board to find some sort of review of the Sharing Knife stuff, and this thread was as close as we have. Granted I am not finished with the first book of four, so perhaps my impression will improve as we digest a bit more of it. I guess that my perception is that the first book lacks a strong sense of place or geography that makes the Chalion books and even The Spirit Ring so well grounded in a locale, and it also lacks characters that strongly draw me in to share their concerns like Miles did in the 80s and 90s. Even Bujold fans seem to rarely have anything particularly positive to say about the Sharing Knife books, I've read almost everything else by her but the general reaction to that series means I'm not sure I'll ever read it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilbur Posted June 18, 2016 Share Posted June 18, 2016 53 minutes ago, williamjm said: Even Bujold fans seem to rarely have anything particularly positive to say about the Sharing Knife books, I've read almost everything else by her but the general reaction to that series means I'm not sure I'll ever read it. I think that our expectations were formed by the fact that the author is Lois McMaster Bujold. Had the author been "Mary Johnson" or "Jennifer Smith", our unmet expectations would be minimized. It actually reminds me a bit of the Coldfire Trilogy by Celia Friedman. Competent writing, a world that has a lot of potential, but a story really seems to amble along at a deliberate pace with characters I don't identify with. But don't write it off just because of my comments a quarter of the way through the series - I could be totally wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilbur Posted August 3, 2016 Share Posted August 3, 2016 On 6/18/2016 at 0:48 PM, Wilbur said: I think that our expectations were formed by the fact that the author is Lois McMaster Bujold. Had the author been "Mary Johnson" or "Jennifer Smith", our unmet expectations would be minimized. It actually reminds me a bit of the Coldfire Trilogy by Celia Friedman. Competent writing, a world that has a lot of potential, but a story really seems to amble along at a deliberate pace with characters I don't identify with. But don't write it off just because of my comments a quarter of the way through the series - I could be totally wrong. Currently I am into book three of the Sharing Knife books by Lois McMaster Bujold, and they are growing on me. The co-protagonists have an objective, the Romance sexy times are less cringe inducing, and the societal conflicts are interesting. Several characters have well-differentiated personalities, and I care about the outcomes to their story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilbur Posted August 27, 2016 Share Posted August 27, 2016 On 8/2/2016 at 6:35 PM, Wilbur said: Currently I am into book three of the Sharing Knife books by Lois McMaster Bujold, and they are growing on me. The co-protagonists have an objective, the Romance sexy times are less cringe inducing, and the societal conflicts are interesting. Several characters have well-differentiated personalities, and I care about the outcomes to their story. I am now wrapping up book four, the final Sharing Knife book, Horizons. Although my criticism of the first book was valid, the overall story arc completed in the final book has been very satisfying. While the characters are not as sharply charismatic as Miles Vorkosigan, they all possess some merit, and the conflicts in their lives are both interesting and generally resolved to my satisfaction. While the plot did not move in the direction I might have expected, it wasn't unpleasant. Lois McMaster Bujold's writing skills have improved over the years, and she can take a fairly low-key tale and spin it into a fulfilling story. Early in her career she leaned on wide-awake story lines, but this quieter tale is no less valuable. I recommend it for older readers with time and patience. My 20- or 30-year old self would not have appreciated these books, but I do today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.T. Phipps Posted August 27, 2016 Share Posted August 27, 2016 I recommend the Brian Lumley TITUS CROW novels, which are now available on audiobook. I'm enjoying these. They're a decent occult adventure series which goes ABSOLUTELY INSANE in a way which must involve hardcore drugs. I'm talking Cthulhu's good brother, a flying coffin, and hot half-human/half-Great Old Old Space Princesses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Rahvin Posted October 11, 2016 Share Posted October 11, 2016 Wheel of Timehas to be mentioned. Even thought I know there is a lot of mixed feeling, regardless WoT must be considered a masterpiece of epic fantasy. Another one of my favorites would be Elric of Melnibone - Michael Morecock. I read these books, more years ago then I'd like to admit, and yet I would still recommend. I agree with many on Mistborn, this trilogy is a quick read, however really good story. I also really liked Stormlight Archive, and need to follow up as to what is being said negatively about it. personally is found a tremendous improvement in BS writing overall from Mistborn to Stormlight. Malazan Book of the Fallen awesome books, what a massive undertaking. It's an extremely tough read, but probably the most in depth world out there. Also read Esselmont's first 4 Malazan Novels - kinda just OK for me, but any Malazan fan should enjoy. Never got to Blood & Bone or Assail, but will most likely get back to them soon. And BTW Dancers Lament is a must read for all Malazan fan. I do appreciate all of the recommendations posted above. I think after reading through I am seeing The First Law as probably getting the best reviews, and will be my next read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzanna Stormborn Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 The Magicians is a wonderful series. I am just now reading it and cannot put it down. It's Narnia + Hogwarts but for grown-ups with sex and drugs. LOVE IT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Springwatch Posted January 25, 2017 Share Posted January 25, 2017 On 21/03/2016 at 7:55 AM, Jo498 said: I rEDIT: With "old-fashioned" I do NOT mean Tolkien Clones teeming with Mary Sues. Rather saga/legend/fairy tale elements, poetic and atmospheric language etc. Late in the day to reply to this, but Julian May's series 'Saga of the Exiles' seems to fit well - the writing is well done, though not highly atmospheric. It's impossible to say much about it without being spoilery, but I like it because the plot follows so naturally from the explosive mix of characters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gronzag Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 Guys, i want to dive into a new fantasy series. I can't decide between Memory, Sorrow & Thorn and The Stormlight Archive. Now, I love ASOIAF and The Second Apocalypse, I liked The Kingkiller Chronicles and The First Law and I absolutely hated The Wheel Of Time. So, what should i read (first), M,S&T or TSA? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgambino Posted January 30, 2017 Share Posted January 30, 2017 MS&T is an absolute classic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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