I'm not touching that series until he finishes it. I'm already hooked on too many incomplete series. I've got the same policy for Steven Erickson. If you're okay with non-completed fantasy series check out Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, which is a flat out amazing novel. He apparently is close to finishing the second book of the trilogy. He's building something epic so far, and I'm fine with delays on the second book as long as it delivers. Scott Lynch's Gentleman Bastards series is also a lot of fun. It's kind of Ocean's Eleven meets the mafia meets a fantasy world. Essentially the main characters run confidence games to scam big time targets, while also getting themselves into and out of a number of other entanglements. Two books are out in the planned 7 book series, but the third has been delayed for over a year now...
Shadow of a Dark Queen (Book 1 of The Serpent War Saga) by Raymond E. Feist. Somewhat embarrassing note, it wasn't until about page 70 that I realized I had read this book in High School. But, in my defense the first quarter of the book should be condensed to around 20 pages. Knowing what happens in the rest of the book, it takes him too long to get the 'core'; he included quite a bit of superfluous information early to really make the reader like the main character. It gets a little thick. OK, maybe 30 pages with a touch more spice. P.S. Betrayal at Krondor was one of my favorite computer games of all time. Sadly, my computer won't run it.
This sounds really interesting. I put Deal Breaker on my buy list and will keep an eye out at the used book stores.
Yeah, I know what you mean. I might have to read the whole series again since I've read the first 3 like 10 yrs ago. I'll check out the books you've recommended when I have the time. I'm not a big reader anymore since I don't have the time for it.
ok im curious if anyone knows the answer to this... but im reading eldest (2nd book in series after eragon) and its ANOTHER series that has elves, dwarves, and humans. did tolkien in fact create these "races" and all the fantasy authors just continue to use it, or do they borrow this from something that is older? also how many of these books (fantasy) can start out with the young man in a remote village on a island that is separate from the rest of the known but unknown world. ive read some of the wheel of time, the terry goodkind, terry brooks, and now eragon/eldest series i think they are all really really alike. in saying that i really like the book so far.
Tolkein didn't create those races, but he did make them very, very popular. I agree with you about most fantasy. It got into a rut with the same storylines and stock characters, which is one of the reasons I stopped reading it. However, there are a number of newer authors that are taking a much fresher look at the genre. They are inventing much more original story arcs and using a more organic approach to character development by throwing interesting characters into situations and letting them evolve from there. I haven't read Martin or Erickson, but I hear wonderful things about them. From my previous post, I'd highly recommend Rothfuss and Lynch for a different take on traditional fantasy.
i will look into those two authors. i forgot that i have read the first two of the martin series. they are in fact very different.
I finished The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini yesterday, and that was a phenomenal and powerful novel. It painted such a vivid picture of life in Kabul before the Soviets invaded as well as life for the ethnic minorities of Afghanistan, particularly the Haraza. The overall theme was atonement and redemption, and I thought it handled those themes brilliantly. I highly recommend this book. Next up, I'm reading Hosseini's second novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns. I don't really know anything about the plot, but I'm eager to sink my teeth into the story tonight.
I really enjoyed the first novel in the series and eagerly purchased the second one, only to have a hard time getting into it, putting it aside until I'm more "in the mood." Still waiting for the mood to strike. That's not a wild rave about Mr. Lynch, but I'd still tell someone to read The Lies of Locke Lamora, which I found to be a great read and pretty original for the genre.
The second book was a lot slower moving than the first, particularly the sea-faring scenes. I think it's setting up actions that will come into play in the subsequent novels. The premise of the third sounds absolutely amazing, but the delay is killing me (it was originally supposed to be out in early 2009). And of course, there's no telling how the series will wrap up. I've seen series soar off the ground only to coming crashing back down as the series draws to a close. Hopefully this isn't one of them. Still, the Lies of Locke Lamora is such a classic fantasy novel and so completely unique in that genre that I have to recommend it. Especially if you're looking for something in that genre.
I just finished A Thousand Splendid Suns, and Wow, what an amazing novel. I've read about the history of Afghanistan before, but Khaled Hosseini painted it so vividly through the story of two women who lead very harsh lives. I wish I had read this book before I tackled Stones into Schools as it gave me such a better understanding of the evolution of life in Kabul from the 70's through the Soviets through the civil war through the Taliban. I liked The Kite Runner, but this book was far superior to it. Hosseini grew quite a bit as a writer, and the characters are much better developed and the scenes were more vividly painted. It is quite frequently brutal and depressing, which seems appropriate for a country that has lived through a steady stream of misery the past few decades. Still, there is a beauty in the lives of the two main characters and in their will to persevere through what's going on around them. I highly recommend this book. I'm going to read A Case of Exploding Mangoes by Mohammed Hanif next.
I usually try to mix in my fiction and non-fiction but I started Lee Child's Jack Reacher series of novels 4 or 5 months ago and I'm on the 11th one. I think there's only 1 more left so it's gonna be sad when this run is over.
Just finished A Case of Exploding Mangoes by Mohammed Hanif next. It reminded me a lot of Everything Is Illuminated. I like Mangoes a lot better than Illuminated. The story tackles the death of General Zia-ul-Haq, president of Pakistan from 1978 to 1988. That event apparently has conjured up countless conspiracy theories in Pakistan. This story purports to show what happened by tracking several odd characters including the General himself. They're all meant to be a screwy and the whole story jumps around a bit crazily towards the ill-fated plane trip. I found myself smiling at some of the scenes, but never laughing out loud. I also found it difficult to plow through chunks of this book. I thought I would finish it in 3 days but it wound up taking me 8 days, which is a while for me on a book this size. I think I would have a much better appreciation for the novel if I was Pakistani or had lived there during this time period. I'm curious if any Pakistani Clutch Fans have read this book and care to share their take. As it stands for me now, I didn't hate this book, but I didn't really like it much either. Kind of meh, but at least a clever meh. I'm reading The Septembers of Shiraz by Dalia Sofer. It tells the tale of a well-to-do Jewish jeweler arrested by Revolutionary Guards following the Shah's downfall and how he copes in prison. The rest of his family is followed as well as they try to track him down. I've been looking forward to reading this for a while.
The Septembers of Shriaz was a pretty good book. It detailed the life of a Jewish family in Tehran after the Shah fell and Iran became an Islamic state. The dad gets arrested in the first chapter and thrown in a pretty brutal prison. The 18 year old son is in school in New York and falls for a Hassidic Jew. The Mom frantically tries to find her husband and keep her daughter and extended family safe with their dwindling fortune. The daughter has some cloak and dagger stuff with one of her friends. The two plotlines with the kids felt like filler, but the the husband and wife threads were very interesting. This seemed like a good book depicting life in Tehran during that time period. Have any Iranian Clutch Fans read this book and willing to share their thoughts? Over all it was a good, fast read. Not Book of the Year material (as it was in several publications), but still pretty good. I'd recommend it if you're interested in Iranian culture. I'm reading Dreamers of the Day by Mary Doria Russell next. I enjoyed her first two novels, The Sparrow and Children of God, which were a 2 book series about the Jesuit exploration of an alien planet. It was kind of Contact meets Speaker of the Dead.
This is the first book of the The Gormenghast Trilogy. Here's the best description I found, "Written between 1946 and 1959, the "Gormenghast" books can not really be described as epic fantasy. They lack most of the cliche's that form the basis of epic fantasy. There are no dragons, no elves, no ghosts, no goblins, no warriors, no wizards. In fact, there is no magic whatsoever. Other critics have described the "Gormenghast" books as "gothic". The writing style is like that of Charles Dickens. Quite verbose, very solid. Poetic and dream-like. Some might describe the writing style as flowery. The books in the series are situated in a vast, rambling castle called Gormenghast. The castle is 77 generations old, grey, cobwebbed and crumbling. It stretches for miles, much of it is uninhabited and forgotten. Outside the walls of the castle are the class of people known as the carvers, who live in hovels and spend their days carving beautiful sculptures. In Gormenghast nothing ever changes. It is an enclosed, quasi-medieval world where life is dictated by tradition and tedious ritual. These rituals are so complex, so obscure, they have long since lost the meaning they once had." After reading the series, I was haunted by these landscape images in black and white. The coldness and starkness of the world, and the characters themselves.. great read.
Dreamers of the Day was an interesting read. Essentially the story revolves about a fictitious woman who grew up in Ohio in the early 1900's. Following WWI and the Influenza outbreak, she heads to Cairo for a month to retrace her dead sister's journey she took as a newlywed. The story is narrated posthumously by the main character. The meat of the book deals with Agnes's adventures in the Middle East. While there, she meets Lawrence of Arabia and Winston Churchill during their summit to divvy up the Middle East. During the trip she also visits Palestine and Jerusalem. There's also intrigue with a German spy, and Agnes trying to break out from the introverted shell her mother created when she was a child. The opening section of the book dragged a bit, but it definitely picked up when Agens arrived in the Middle East. The last act dealt with her return from the trip, surviving the Great Depression, and the afterlife she found herself in. The last part, in particular, kind of dragged and seemed an odd cap to a good read. It was a fascinating book with a number of interesting historical and religious asides. The book touches on Islam, Christianity, and Judaisim and delves into reasons why the factions of those religions cause such trouble for the region. At times the book was a bit dry, but I found it pretty interesting and would recommend it if you're interested in that time period. I'm reading Crocodile Tears by Anthony Horowitz next. Alex Rider book 8. Should be a quick read and good schlocky fun.
