The Reader’s Nook - The N&G Book Thread

Bull Shannon said:
Hoo boy you just named two books I find incredibly overrated. Between the two, I'd pick Kingkiller; page-to-page it was entertaining. But I haven't read the second book, which has been described as something of a train wreck. My main gripe was the protagonist is good at everything he's forced to do and succeeds at every challenge, though a lot of people point out that the narrator isn't meant to be taken completely at his word.

I found Stormlight to be a promise unfulfilled; it's got a lot of worldbuilding (the ecology is something like the bottom of the ocean, but on dry land, and Sanderson really gets off on formulating a magic system), but the characters are flat and the plot doesn't exist. It feels long for the sake of being long, 1100 pages because Big = Important. But I'm in the minority; people really stan for the series. You might try Mistborn; it sounds like his most successful work.

I've only read one Discworld book (Hogfather), but they're fun. Don't let the volume of volumes daunt you; while there are related books (I think people categorize them by the protagonists or guilds featured), they mostly all stand alone.
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That's great input. Can I ask what fantasy series you'd rate highly? I only narrowed it down based on lists that I perused for the last couple days. So I am certainly open to other choices from someone instead of a dozen Reddit lists.

Earthsea seems to be on a lot of lists as well.
 
ranbalam said:
That's great input. Can I ask what fantasy series you'd rate highly? I only narrowed it down based on lists that I perused for the last couple days. So I am certainly open to other choices from someone instead of a dozen Reddit lists.

Earthsea seems to be on a lot of lists as well.
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This is when I admit I'm not the most ardent fantasy fan. I do love LOTR and give it a reread every few years. Circe by Madeline Miller isn't straight fantasy, but it's based in myth, and was one of the best things I've read in a while. Lev Grossman's the Magicians trilogy was quite rewarding; I struggled with the first book because the main character is a bit of a knob, but that's kinda the point, and it makes his emotional development over the following two books so worth it. Jonathan Strange and Mister Norrel was quite a read too, more rooted in historical reality though. I did read A Wizard of Earthsea, but Le Guin is kinda opaque for me, so it took attention and work to enjoy.

If you're not scared of some sci-fi, that's more my jam. Cixin Liu's Three Body trilogy was a real trip. If you want some more GRRM, Tuf Voyaging is a neat fix-up novel about an itinerant ecological engineer who's obsessed with cats.

Oh and lastly, N K Jemisin's Broken Earth Trilogy fares somewhere between sci fi and fantasy (it's the type of thing that reads as fantasy, but only because it's about science that's so beyond comprehension that it can only be explained as magic). It's a bit heavy, but good and poetic.
 
ranbalam said:
Going on the yearly family vacation with the in-laws next month. These vacations feature plenty of down time, I always have plenty of time to chill with a book. So I decided I want to dive into some fantasy. Aside from ASOIAF, I haven't read anything in this genre in decades.

I have it narrowed down to Kingkiller Chronicles and Stormlight Archive. (Although Discworld has my attention too....but that's what, 40 books? )
Has anyone read either of the above?
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I don't suggest anyone starts the Kingkiller Chronicles until Rothfus at least has a date for the third book. They're a lot of fun, but you'll just be waiting.

Stormlight, there's a lot more to it, and Sanderson is pretty reliable on delivery. It's dense and the first book is a slow burn, but no one universe builds like Sanderson these days. Sanderson's Mistborn series or his book Elantris are easier to jump into.

Personally, I would suggest The First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie. It's a finished trilogy with a supplementary trilogy of side stories, and he just began a trilogy to directly continue the first three, though it's set a few years past the events of the first. It's somewhat grim without sounding like some weirdos fantasy fulfillment. But the humour is fantastic and the characters amazing.
 
Bull Shannon said:
This is when I admit I'm not the most ardent fantasy fan. I do love LOTR and give it a reread every few years. Circe by Madeline Miller isn't straight fantasy, but it's based in myth, and was one of the best things I've read in a while. Lev Grossman's the Magicians trilogy was quite rewarding; I struggled with the first book because the main character is a bit of a knob, but that's kinda the point, and it makes his emotional development over the following two books so worth it. Jonathan Strange and Mister Norrel was quite a read too, more rooted in historical reality though. I did read A Wizard of Earthsea, but Le Guin is kinda opaque for me, so it took attention and work to enjoy.

If you're not scared of some sci-fi, that's more my jam. Cixin Liu's Three Body trilogy was a real trip. If you want some more GRRM, Tuf Voyaging is a neat fix-up novel about an itinerant ecological engineer who's obsessed with cats.

Oh and lastly, N K Jemisin's Broken Earth Trilogy fares somewhere between sci fi and fantasy (it's the type of thing that reads as fantasy, but only because it's about science that's so beyond comprehension that it can only be explained as magic). It's a bit heavy, but good and poetic.
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Thanks for all this. As I said, I have been away from the genre for decades, so I really don't know what's considered great anymore. When I was young I read the Piers Anthony Adept series, I loved those books. And his Incarnations of Immortality were good too. And I loved the first few Dragonlance series books too. All those were series I read before I was even 20 I think.

If I am too undecided I may just grab a classic lit novel I've never read and dive into that. I do have a stack of Russian novels that I need to get to, but I read a couple pretty close together and had to step away.
 
Bull Shannon said:
This is when I admit I'm not the most ardent fantasy fan. I do love LOTR and give it a reread every few years. Circe by Madeline Miller isn't straight fantasy, but it's based in myth, and was one of the best things I've read in a while. Lev Grossman's the Magicians trilogy was quite rewarding; I struggled with the first book because the main character is a bit of a knob, but that's kinda the point, and it makes his emotional development over the following two books so worth it. Jonathan Strange and Mister Norrel was quite a read too, more rooted in historical reality though. I did read A Wizard of Earthsea, but Le Guin is kinda opaque for me, so it took attention and work to enjoy.

If you're not scared of some sci-fi, that's more my jam. Cixin Liu's Three Body trilogy was a real trip. If you want some more GRRM, Tuf Voyaging is a neat fix-up novel about an itinerant ecological engineer who's obsessed with cats.

Oh and lastly, N K Jemisin's Broken Earth Trilogy fares somewhere between sci fi and fantasy (it's the type of thing that reads as fantasy, but only because it's about science that's so beyond comprehension that it can only be explained as magic). It's a bit heavy, but good and poetic.
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I don't read a lot of Sci Fi, but I just finished Pierce Browns Red Rising Trilogy and loved it.
 
Bull Shannon said:
But I haven't read the second book, which has been described as something of a train wreck. My main gripe was the protagonist is good at everything he's forced to do and succeeds at every challenge, though a lot of people point out that the narrator isn't meant to be taken completely at his word.
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I read the second book. I wasn't a big fan of the first but I was interested enough to try the second, it was as bad as described. I've heard the untrustworthy narrator argument but it doesn't work for me in this case because the narrative doesn't do anything with the concept, the narrator's story isn't contrasted or contradicted by other characters or events.
 
Aelias said:
I read the second book. I wasn't a big fan of the first but I was interested enough to try the second, it was as bad as described. I've heard the untrustworthy narrator argument but it doesn't work for me in this case because the narrative doesn't do anything with the concept, the narrator's story isn't contrasted or contradicted by other characters or events.
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I mean, except by the fact that a bunch of strangers walk into the bar at the end of the second book and beat the shit out of him.

Max Sterling said:
The blurb reads like a text book...

"Anathem is a science fiction novel by American writer Neal Stephenson, published in 2008. Major themes include the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics and the philosophical debate between Platonic realism and nominalism."
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Are you not entertained?
 
kvetcha said:
I mean, except by the fact that a bunch of strangers walk into the bar at the end of the second book and beat the shit out of him.
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Even if that turns out to be the turning point, I'd say it happened too late in the series. By that point the narrator has used 2 of the 3 books telling his story (and it wasn't a good story), with only the final book for the resolution. There's no need for that many pages of unreliable, uninteresting narrative.
 
Aelias said:
I read the second book. I wasn't a big fan of the first but I was interested enough to try the second, it was as bad as described. I've heard the untrustworthy narrator argument but it doesn't work for me in this case because the narrative doesn't do anything with the concept, the narrator's story isn't contrasted or contradicted by other characters or events.
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Kingkiller is wish fulfillment to me. A Hero who is always great, finds his way out of any situation. It's nice to read after a bunch of grim shit where everyone dies and nothing turns out the way you want.
 
Aelias said:
Even if that turns out to be the turning point, I'd say it happened too late in the series. By that point the narrator has used 2 of the 3 books telling his story (and it wasn't a good story), with only the final book for the resolution. There's no need for that many pages of unreliable, uninteresting narrative.
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I agree with you as far as pacing, but I rather enjoyed the books on their own merits, wish-fulfillment aside. Curious to see if/how Rothfuss can tie it up.
 
Max Sterling said:
Personally, I would suggest The First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie. It's a finished trilogy with a supplementary trilogy of side stories, and he just began a trilogy to directly continue the first three, though it's set a few years past the events of the first. It's somewhat grim without sounding like some weirdos fantasy fulfillment. But the humour is fantastic and the characters amazing.
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This sounds like something I would enjoy, I'll check it out...thanks for this!

Edit: And it has a rating of 4.16 on Goodreads...not too shabby.
 
LeSamourai said:
This conversation is reminding me I need to read some Brandon Sanderson. I've actually met him a few times, but have yet to read one of his books!
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I'm a fan. I first read his ending to Wheel of Time, then I got into his stuff. Elantris is a good place to start. He develops really interesting societies and magic systems. All of his novels, though not based on the same world or in the same time, are considered a part of the same universe. He has rules in place that are consistent throughout. It's pretty interesting how different he can make a story feel despite that.
 
I’m mixed on Sanderson. Loved the original Mistborn trilogy. Then he did the Wax and Wayne In the Mistborn World and I didn’t get through it. Enjoyed the first 2 in the Stormlight Archive but now I’m struggling with Oathbreaker.
As for Rothfus I’m waiting for number 3 before I start it.
 
I did finish Gone with the Wind which I enjoyed more than I thought I would. The history and setting of it I found particularly interesting.
About 50 pages from done with The Outsider and forcing myself to get to the end just, well, because. Kinda cool that some of it is set in my home town though.
Oh, and I also just finished a book on a young lady’s journey on the Appalachian Trail thru hike. I forget the name of it though.
 
ranbalam said:
That's great input. Can I ask what fantasy series you'd rate highly? I only narrowed it down based on lists that I perused for the last couple days. So I am certainly open to other choices from someone instead of a dozen Reddit lists.

Earthsea seems to be on a lot of lists as well.
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Kingkiller and earthsea have a lot in common. I think if you like one you’ll like the other. That said rothfuss and his main character are kind of both self congratulating blowhards and I agree with the consensus on his series so far. As for le guin, I prefer her stand-alone novels.

For fantasy, I highly recommend Robin Hobb. She has several series that are interlinked. Steven Brust is also pretty interesting. I really liked his take on the three musketeers.

Discworld is entertaining but light reading. It’s like Piers Anthony but smarter. More similar to Douglas Adams in wit.
 
Englishbob said:
I’m mixed on Sanderson. Loved the original Mistborn trilogy. Then he did the Wax and Wayne In the Mistborn World and I didn’t get through it. Enjoyed the first 2 in the Stormlight Archive but now I’m struggling with Oathbreaker.
As for Rothfus I’m waiting for number 3 before I start it.
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I read the Mistborn trilogy and the first Stormlight Archive book, and while I enjoyed each to varying degrees, I do not think Sanderson is a particularly good writer. Everything I've read of his feels extremely bloated like a couple hundred pages could be shaved off. The first 80% of all his books are extremely slow, and the last 20% so much happens it becomes a mess. Also his dialogue is terrible.

Other than that, they're fun reads, and I do plan on continuing Stormlight at some point.
 
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