Thanks for the info. No I have not read the Russo book yet. There is not a Dutch translation available, and my wife prefers to read the books in Dutch, so I try to buy Dutch books now (exceptions are the Malazan books, since i want to read those as soon as possible, and they are not the same in Dutch). I am still working my way trough the Chronicles of the Raven by Barclay. The second book is much better than the first, however I will finish this trilogy, but I will not start the sequel trilogy. Thanks I really appreciate it. Since the story in the games was great and the universe is interesting I had high hopes for this books. Agreed, I found the black company through a forum of the Malazan books. The MBotF are more difficult to read, and much more philosophical. But I think they are the best fantasy series there is. I disagree that SoT and MBotF are more perverse. There is not that many descriptive rape scenes in MBotF. And you (like i did) can just scan trough them. I do not remember a single rape scene in Sword of truth. MBotF: I just love this series. I agree that at times it can get a bit rambly (philosophical). But overall the realism (anybody can die), great characters, great interactions of characters and overall greatness of the universe make up for that. Especially “Deadhouse gates” and “Memories of Ice” were simply amazing the best fantasy books ever. WoT: I really like these books they are my second favorite books (after MBotF). At some parts the complaining of the woman was getting annoying, and a couple of story arc did not fulfil their potential. SoIaF: I agree with you he lost focus, and I expect him to not finish the books. Also I do think there is to much vulgairity in the books. SoT: I agree with you 100%. It is clear he hate communism (the funny thing is that i read the Pillars of creation on my vacation in Kyrgystan). He really tried to ram down his point about art etc. He really starts to preach. Also Spoiler Why did he not atleast let Richard and Gratch meet in the last book, I am still angry about that I also really liked the Deathgate cycle. They were fun light reads. I think Feist is to simplistic, and it does not have the humor that Weis and Hickman have in their books.
Finished the 1st Witcher book, and will read the 2nd one since it was lent to me. Overall, didn't find it all that great. It's basically like a retelling of old fairy tales(Beauty&Beast, Genie in the lamp to name a couple) from a slightly different perspective. There's no real overall narrative, and found the writing, or in this case translation to just be so-so. Hopefully the 2nd book is better.
Has anyone read Trudi Canavan's Black Magician Trilogy or Raymond Feists Riftwar series? If so, are there any other books of a similar vein worth reading?
Sort of rehashing this thread, but... - Have you read Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson? Highly recommend. - Codex Alera by Jim Butcher might be up your alley. - If you like Feist, supposedly Nat Russo is sort of a friend of his, and he credits the Riftwar saga as kind of an inspiration for wanting to write a story in the vein of Feist's "Magician", but instead about a Necromancer. - Wheel of time is a classic. A lot of the other things in this thread are a little more modern, gritty fantasy, which is I guess the new trend.
If you like feist you might want to look at Weis and Hickman. They write books together. Especialy the death gate cycle series is recommended. During the time i enjoyed reading Feist I loved Weis and Hickman.
That is dissapointing.... i will post a couple of questions next week when i have better Internet connection.
Anyone read the Broken Empire series by Mark Lawrence? Just finished the first book (prince of thorns), and am currently reading the 2nd book (king of thorns). Pretty good page turners, a bit on the darker side of fantasy, but nothing I'd consider a must read. So far most of the series seems to involve the protagonist finding ways to come out on top when put into unfavorable situations.
Oh another series i loved was Fablehaven by Brandon Mull. It's aimed at a younger audience (young adult) but the story, characters and world are very immersive. It competes with Harry Potter for top series of that genre/audience and for me, it beats it (that may just be a recency effect though) If i had kids, this would be the series i give them to hook them into Fantasy
I have just finished Assail by Esslemont (ICE). While I am not a big fan of ICE this was a very nice book. It was by far his best book yet. During most of his previous books I got bored, but this one hold my attention.
This is dissapointing. I expect your are talking about the 2 short story books (not blood of the elves?). How was the second book? Did it capture the black world view were humans are just as evil as most of the monsters? I will probably still read it, but maybe I will wait untill I finish the current series I am reading by Richard Schwartz "de geheimen van askir" (translated the secrets of Askir, but i think it has not been translated in English).
1st book is called the Last Wish, 2nd book is Blood of the Elves. However, from the comments I've seen on Amazon, seems like there is supposed to be a book in between the two that the publisher didn't bring over. I'd say Blood of the Elves is better just by virtue of having an overall story arc. However, feels like Geralt isn't really the main character in the book, instead it is the princess that he adopts. As someone who has not played the games and has nothing invested in the universe, I'm still pretty 'meh' on the series. I'll read the 3rd book if it gets handed to me, but won't go out of my way for it. Regarding your question, I'd say the books don't really discuss morality of monsters vs. humans that much, but focus more on witcher's being mercenary above all else. I think one of my biggest issues with the books is that it feels like you're thrown into a world where there are a lot of moving parts, but none of them are really detailed out sufficiently. Additionally, I've found it really hard to gauge what each character is actually capable of. This may not be as much of an issue for you if you're familiar with the world from the games. You can read the amazon reviews/comments if you're looking for more opinions.
Thanks for the comments. I have bought the books (Last wish and Sword of destiny which are an omnibus in dutch and Blood of the elves). I started reading the short story books, and I understand you complains. But since I am more familliar with the world I have less problems (however it is strange that they keep mentioning all the monsters without giving a discription). It is indeed written a bit strangly, but overall I enjoy it. Also the way they do the short stories (by jumping back and forth in time, and him remembering these stories) is a nice method (altough the execution could have been better). I am looking forward to reading Blood of the elves. But the omnibus is also nice enough for me. But I do think it is a big plus to already be familiar with the world.
So does anybody have some new recommendations? I am almost finished with the Witcher books (the ones who are already translated), and am looking for a new series, preferably one that is already finished.
Most of the stuff I have read lately have been part of some larger, unfinished series, and/or some lighter stuff. Just read the new Legion book from Sanderson. Those are quick reads, but pretty fun. If you want to buckle your seatbelt for a huge undertaking, consider reading the Honor Harrington series. It's a sci fi space opera, and the covers are awful, but it's actually quite good. (in the interest of full disclosure, it's not totally finished now, but honestly it's kind of one of those series that will probably never truly be "finished".... for all intents and purposes as far as I'm concerned the main story arc that matters is finished at this point) But that's something like 15-20 books long, depending on how you slice it. Next on my list is the Emperor's Blades, which I've heard fantastic things about. (again, not finished, but the 2nd book got better reviews than the first) Currently reading the new Steelheart book from Sanderson, which is fine for what's basically a comic booky young adult, but also an unfinished series. Wish I could help you out.
I've read most of them, but now have lost interest. I thought the first ones were excellent, then it seemed to be more about padding the series, cranking out more novels for the publisher and his own bank account. David Weber can be very, very good. He can also get in a rut. In my opinion, that's where he is with this series.
