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Xik posted:I'm looking for a change of pace from Space Opera, something where the main character(s) are thief's, pirates or something along those lines. If it's fantasy then something where they pick locks, break into rich folk homes etc. The Nightrunner series by Lynn Flewelling. Main characters are spies and get into all sorts of mischief breaking and entering. The first three books are great; what follows, not so much. There's also Among Thieves by Douglas Hulick, although despite the title that's less actual thievery and more well-written swordfights. Still a good book, and standalone since the sequel's not out yet.
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Jun 21, 2013 00:01
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Dr Scoofles posted:Can somebody recommend me a fantasy series that has decent female characters in? They don't have to be the protagonist but it would be nice if they were. I'm not really interested in fantasy romance books, but romance as a part of a bigger story is cool. Carol Berg mostly features male protagonists, but has good supporting female characters, even if most of them end up as love interests to someone or other; the romance doesn't take over the stories. Song of the Beast (standalone) changes perspective between the male and female leads, and the second book in her Collegia Magica trilogy features a female protagonist. The main character of Bridge of D'Arnath is also a woman, but though the first book is good the second falls apart pacing-wise so I'd recommend the others first. That's a very strong recommendation, mind. The Nightrunner trilogy by Lynn Flewelling also focuses on male characters, but the female characters are well-done, important to the story, and don't exist to be love interests, which is a bit more than I can say for Berg. Ellen Kushner's Riverside books are also pretty good. Swordspoint focuses on the male characters, but one of its sequels, The Privilege of the Sword, features a girl. Best to read Swordspoint first to get to know the characters, though. For YA, there's Howl's Moving Castle and its sequels by Diana Wynne Jones; and Garth Nix's Abhorsen series. And though I haven't read it myself, Kristin Cashore's Graceling series is supposed to be good. Hieronymous Alloy posted:Oh, what the hell, can we say Wheel of Time for female characters in? No. To quote one summary (emphasis mine): quote:Or you could read Jordan, of course. His women become indistinguishable after a while. They all sniff, smooth their skirts, and cross their arms under their breasts. They all call men woolheads. They all abuse men—and I also use that word advisedly; one of the three main male characters is subject to verbal abuse from his wife, the other to rape from a lover—so that their relationships are not equal. They also get into situations where they have to be half-naked all the time. No, ask Jordan. Not me.
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Jul 8, 2013 22:40
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BlazinLow305 posted:Redoing this post to make it more succinct. Basically I need a fantasy recommendation. Something that's a Trilogy or longer preferably. Wars of Light and Shadow by Janny Wurts might be worth a go. Two half-brother princes are cursed to eternal hatred, and everything goes horribly wrong. Very well-developed setting, huge cast of characters. Her writing style isn't for everyone, gets rather heavy on the purple prose, but if you can tolerate that it's worth a look. Nine books in the series with two more planned. Lynn Flewelling's Nightrunner series, more focused in on the characters than the grand scope of WoLaS, six in the series but the first three are the best by far. Two spies doing spy things with a nice helping of ancient evil to go with it, great characterization throughout. Since you don't mind mediocre writing, I'll go ahead and suggest Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar series for some pretty good characters and an interesting setting. They have their issues (many, many issues), but for light fantasy you don't have to think too hard on, they're pretty good - if you can ignore the author's preaching and fetishes popping up at least once per book. Any particular reason you hate first-person?
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Jul 17, 2013 18:49
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BlazinLow305 posted:Ah, I don't doubt you. It's not that I actually hate or think first person is inferior. It just takes me out of the narrative I suppose. I assume if the story was sufficiently gripping, I could deal with it. Maybe you've just read some bad first-person. In that case, I'll add Carol Berg to my recommendations. Song of the Beast is a standalone novel and may be the best place to start to see if you like the style before you try one of her series, though it's pretty slow-paced from what I remember. If you prefer action, try Among Thieves by Douglas Hulick instead; bit of a slow start (to me at least) but it got good. Also seconding the earlier recommendation for Garth Nix's Sabriel. I think he's got another book in the series coming out soon, too. It's in progress at least.
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Jul 18, 2013 23:58
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Phummus posted:I guess what I'm looking for is a lot of pages, good world building, and ideally little/no creepy sex and rape. I'm going to be surrounded by people and wouldn't, for instance want to be reading GRR Martin. Try Carol Berg. Her Lighthouse Duet and Collegia Magicka series both have interesting settings, good characters and very little sex to speak of. Or perhaps Wars of Light and Shadow by Janny Wurts if you prefer more epic fantasy, which I summarized here. fritz posted:Who wants to see more terrible opinions from a white dude about the state of science fiction today? Everybody does? Cool. Tell me more about how women don't write real sci-fi because their protagonists have relationships. 
Echo Cian fucked around with this message at 21:12 on Sep 7, 2013 |
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Sep 7, 2013 21:07
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Carrier posted:Or, alternatively, read a book because its what you want to read rather than as some dumb attempt to stick it to the patriarchy. Or, alternatively, read books written by both genders because you might find more of what you want to read rather than sticking with only what's the most popular (which is mostly male authors, for the reason General Battuta already mentioned). As for recommendations: See my last post a little further up on this page. Or any of my previous posts.
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Sep 9, 2013 17:42
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ManOfTheYear posted:Like if the books have some interesting philosophical stuff or the theme is morally or otherwise (for example it's about political or racial issues) interesting. Well written is a huge plus. If the books are adult and mature fantasy, that would be fun. The Wars of Light and Shadow series by Janny Wurts (fantasy) was conceived as stripping away the romanticism of war and portraying all sides with equal sympathy. Whether it holds up to that throughout is up for debate, but it definitely plays with morals, motivations and who's really in the right, whatever their reasons. Her prose style isn't for everyone, though, and it's at eleven books with two more planned.
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Oct 14, 2013 08:25
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In line with Battuta's comment, throwing such a huge fuss over it being female-centric and how this is a big deal is more likely to deter potential readers than a simple description. It's hard enough to get people to read female authors already without someone going "hurr feminists," why hype it up enough to make it sound like yet another barrier when it really shouldn't be? This is pretty much saying "Reading about women is haaaaard," even if it's not what you mean, and gently caress we don't need more of that. Granted, now I do want to check out the books - but the initial description, a pagan woman's take on Arthurian legend, accomplished that. The debate is just getting tiresome. Speaking of female authors, have a better-written reason than I could manage to read my favorite author of any gender or any genre: http://www.bookwormblues.net/2013/11/18/carol-berg-queen-of-grace/
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Jan 23, 2014 06:14
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Forgall posted:Recommend me some good lighthearted non-depressing fantasy. Something like earlier Pratchett. Johannes Cabal the Necromancer by Jonathan L. Howard and its sequel made me laugh a lot. Juxtaposes the humor with the serious moments perfectly.
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Jan 31, 2014 19:02
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Kalenn Istarion posted:One series that I haven't seen mentioned in the pages I've read (or the OP, which only references his historical fiction) is Guy Gavriel Kay's Fionavar Tapestry. I enjoyed these books quite a bit when I read them 5 or so years ago but they were really the only ones of that sort that he's written. Curious what others think. I read these recently after seeing someone sing their praises. I really enjoyed the first book, but the series started tripping over itself halfway through the second (I think), when the Religion of Orgies subplot (questionable on its own) removed one of my favorite characters at that point, with no foreshadowing or any previous mention of the legend at all. After that, characters stopped being their own characters and all turned into plot devices. Still, it was readable until he dragged Arthurian fanfiction into the plot, and it was all downhill from there. I can only take so much wanking over how Arthur and Guinevere are the MOST PERFECT and MOST BEAUTIFUL and STRONGEST and MOST TRAGIC with the DEEPEST SADNESS and then Lancelot comes along and it's all that only moreso. They were the worst Mary Sues I've read outside fanfiction. I started skipping entire chapters halfway through the third book just so I could make it to the outcome, only reading a few pages here and there to see if anything interesting was happening. I no longer cared about any of the plot devices with names wandering around. The ending kinda/sorta made up for some of it, but the entire thing would have been less grating if he had stuck to his own characters. Though if his own characters were that Mary Sue-ish too, it wouldn't have made a difference. Strong start, good setting, a few good characters squandered on dropping the point and bringing in things that didn't belong. Maybe someone more into Arthurian legend would enjoy that aspect, but it just read like bad fanfiction to me.
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Feb 7, 2014 23:14
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Cardiac posted:I liked the Fionavar Tapestry for the twist on the Arthurian myth. In some ways the books are similar to Donaldsons Thomas Covenant, although thankfully not as depressing. Having characters that are tragic and bound adds to the atmosphere. That's an interesting confirmation, then. It's better if you're going in expecting a take on Arthurian myth rather than an original setting and story. The thing was that it seemed original until somewhere in the second book. I liked it a lot when it was Kay's own characters doing their thing, before the Arthurian stuff took over everything by the third book, completely at odds with the first, and it viciously insisted that I sympathize with these characters that I hadn't spent a book and a half with. For all my complaints, it wasn't a bad series by any means, but not already knowing Arthurian legend made it really disappointing when the plot ended up revolving around it. Kalenn Istarion posted:I thought the situation where Kevin gets sexed to death was adequately foreshadowed earlier on so wasn't caught off guard by it as much as Echo was. It was partially foreshadowed. The actual myth concerning it that the scene revolved around was never mentioned before that point, though, which was what irritated me. Unless I missed something, which is possible, but making something that important a minor enough mention to miss completely isn't very good foreshadowing.  WastedJoker posted:Edit: Literally within moments of submitting this post I found it! This was the series that got me into fantasy. Janny Wurts was my favorite author until I found Carol Berg. Now I don't even have the patience to reread the books because of her writing style (getting into flash fiction writing doesn't leave much patience for wordiness), but I still love them, if for the memory more than the actual prose these days. Echo Cian fucked around with this message at 20:07 on Feb 8, 2014 |
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Feb 8, 2014 19:55
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regularizer posted:What's Carol Berg's best series? I read the Collegia Magica series and loved it, but I don't know which of her other three to read next. The Lighthouse Duet (Flesh & Spirit, Breath & Bone) is my favorite of hers, narrowly edging out Collegia, followed by Rai-kireh and her standalone Song of the Beast. The only series I don't recommend is Bridge of D'Arnath; the first book was good, but the second had bad pacing and turned into a slog to get through. I haven't started the third because of it.
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Feb 10, 2014 00:34
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NinjaDebugger posted:It didn't get any better beyond that, and was bad enough that I haven't read any of her other stuff. Her other stuff is so much better, D'Arnath might as well have been written by someone else. It's baffling since it wasn't even her first series. Echo Cian fucked around with this message at 02:11 on Feb 10, 2014 |
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Feb 10, 2014 02:07
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Syle187 posted:Also, could anyone recommend any good Fantasy/Scifi blends? My Dad recommended the Darkover series by Marion Zimmer Bradley, but he also said he hadn't read it in about 30 years. The Coldfire trilogy by C.S. Friedman. I just read it (finished the third book yesterday) and loved it. The Cycle of Fire by Janny Wurts was also decent, but her prose is rather purple and it dragged a lot at points, even though I read it when I had much more patience for those things.
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Aug 10, 2014 22:23
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Phummus posted:I feel like I'm out of things to read. I sit in a lab twice a week with a needle in my arm and have a lot of reading time. I like escapism. The Coldfire trilogy by C. S. Friedman Among Thieves by Douglas Hulick The Lighthouse Duet and/or the Collegia Magica trilogy by Carol Berg Nightrunner series by Lynn Flewelling? Not as good, but a fun read anyway. Maybe The Wars of Light and Shadow by Janny Wurts if you want a long series to get into. Do you lean toward the darker/more serious stuff or like lighter stories, too? Things that are more gritty and realistic or more creative fantasy with poetic voice? Might have a few more suggestions.
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Aug 27, 2014 17:45
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regularizer posted:I'm looking for two different things. First, I'd like some recommendations for a series that you really like but has gone under the radar. Since you like Collegia Magica, have you read Rai-kireh and the Lighthouse Duet, too? The only series of Berg's I don't like is The Bridge of D'Arnath. Though it's not a particular series, I recently tore through everything I could find by Patricia McKillip and loved them despite her frequent problems tying an ending together. She uses a lot of themes that I like. She's won awards, but I hadn't heard of her until someone in IRC mentioned Riddle-Master of Hed. No idea if you would like her too, but we both like Collegia Magica and Johannes Cabal and her writing doesn't focus on constant action, so hey. (I'm putting the other things you mentioned on my list for that same reason.) As for your second point (and kind of combining with the first), have you read Catherynne Valente? The Orphan's Tales duology and Deathless are fantastic and very different from typical fantasy fare; Deathless in particular combines Russian history with folklore. I haven't yet gotten to her other books. Cardiovorax posted:Not a personal recommendation of mine. I don't think Friedman writes very well and she's just a little bit too in love with her dark, broody and oh-so-tragic vampire protagonist. I made a note to pick up Coldfire specifically because the things some people complained about sounded like what I'd find interesting, and I was right, so people should try it anyway and decide for themselves.  Technically the writing wasn't great (sentence fragments ahoy!) but the story and characters kept me reading, and I enjoyed the books despite the flaws. anathenema posted:This keeps getting suggested when someone's looking for a Locke Lamora fix. Thematically, they're kind of similar, but Lynch writes with a level of soul and joy that Hulick just doesn't match. Plus, the constant fencing-porn grated on me. I haven't read Locke Lamora. I just know Among Thieves was a gritty-but-not-too-gritty book with good characters, and I happened to like the fencing segments. Though I tend to respect any writer who can write good, clear action sequences with characters I give a poo poo about.
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Aug 29, 2014 03:15
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Nemesis Of Moles posted:So what was everyone's favourite book this year? CIty of Stairs cleanly wins out for me. I haven't read many new releases, but my favorite so far was Carol Berg's Dust and Light. I might be a tad biased considering it's an indirect sequel to her Lighthouse Duet, though, which is among my favorite series. Thanks to whoever suggested Traitor's Blade. I wouldn't have picked it up on my own based on the book jacket summary, but it had been mentioned here and the voice hooked me immediately. Definitely a fun read. I plan on reading City of Stairs next, since it's getting so many recommendations. The author's blog is a good read, too.
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Dec 27, 2014 11:00
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This Humble Bundle made me order a Kindle. I can finally read Bridge of Birds.
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Feb 27, 2015 18:20
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Kellanved posted:On the more fairy-tale-esque fantasy front, what do you think of Patricia McKillip's stuff? I've enjoyed some of her stand-alone books, her trilogy not so much. I love McKillip for those very reasons. She has problems with endings petering out at times, but that's my only complaint. My favorites were The Bell at Sealey Head, Ombria in Shadow, Winter Rose and The Book of Atrix Wolfe, so if you haven't gotten to those yet I suggest them. I also suggest looking into Catherynne Valente afterward.
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Mar 22, 2015 21:51
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Halloween Jack posted:Can anyone recommend fantasy books that have the political realism of ASIF? I don't want to quibble over how to define "low fantasy" or whether or not ASIF is "realistic," but what I mean is that I really enjoy the parts of the series that are about, well, how medieval rulers actually made and broke alliances, conducted war, and how it affected people. Sometimes the "on the road" chapters were a little dull but they showed how common people tried to get by in a country that had been waging total war for years, and the chapters about political intrigue struck home that everyone is mortal and that armies, weapons, and provisions don't come from nowhere. (As opposed to an epic fantasy series where the principal characters are superheroes, and the idea of mustering armies only comes up in the context of whether or not the Elf King and the Dwarf King will get over their rivalry and unite against the Dark Lord.) Maaaaybe The Wars of Light and Shadow by Janny Wurts. Her writing is pretty purple and I make no promises of actual realistic politics (been a while since I read them), but the theme is portraying both sides in a conflict with equal sympathy and brutality and there's not much by way of clear evil, so might be worth looking into.
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Apr 25, 2015 00:53
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Barbe Rouge posted:Any opinions on Kate Elliott's "Crown of Stars" series? I see it's got seven books, and I have an aversion to overlong series. I'm also interested in an opinion on Janny Wurts' "Wars of Light and Shadow". Wars of Light and Shadow was one of the first fantasy series I got into and I loved it. Her prose is rather purple, though, and not for everyone. Since you're already interested enough to ask about it I'd say check out Curse of the Mistwraith regardless. If you like stories with elaborate worlds, conflicted characters, grey morality and a very broad, mythological feeling, it's a good bet. As for length, it's definitely long, but has a clearly-defined resolution in two more books (according to her forum she's nearly done with a draft for the next one), so it's not some unending series that drags itself out interminably.
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May 18, 2015 03:48
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Autonomous Monster posted:I guess I have to track down the other books in the series, now, which might be tricky (I had to look at two websites to find these two, and settle for hard copies besides, the very thought); it doesn't look like The Fall of the Kings is even in print. It is, but it's...not good. Does weird things with some of the characters, has more explicit sex scenes with less emotional connection that are weird and (probably intentionally but no less disconcertingly) creepy, and twists from the light-fantasy no-magic setting into...whatever the hell it is. I wouldn't recommend bothering, which is a shame. I really liked the first two books (even if the thing with Michael was bizarre).
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Jun 12, 2015 01:01
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RndmCnflct posted:How many scifi fantasy books include murder... oh, probably all of them. But no, rape is terrible, worse than murder, and authors shouldn't use it in their plots. Not quite equivalent. To quote from an old grognard thread in response to the same argument: quote:The particular fallacy at work here is called a category error, which is to say you're comparing two things that are different enough that a comparison of relative value isn't meaningful, as if you had said "world peace is better than trees" or "I'd rather drive to work in a Buick than in a wet burrito." While it's quite likely better to be a rape survivor than a murder victim in real life, it doesn't follow that stories and role-playing scenarios about rape ought to be less offensive than (or even equally offensive as) stories and role-playing scenarios about murder. There's a reason Agatha Christie wrote murder mysteries rather than rape mysteries, and Angela Lansbury starred in Murder, She Wrote rather than Rape, She Wrote, and that reason isn't patriarchal bias or sexism. You're also not going to risk giving a murder victim violent flashbacks, since they're not around to be traumatized, but a rape victim could quite possibly have a real, severe reaction. Which isn't to say everyone should rule it out completely. But it should be considered and not just thrown in for angsty backstory or to give the hero motivation. The Greatcoats series has some graphic rape that I actually think works in the context of the story. The Valdemar books, on the other hand, just throw it in for drama; even though it is portrayed negatively, it still comes across as fetishized and is entirely unnecessary (the most glaring example being when Lackey decided that the answer to "What keeps my protagonist from reaching X in time?" was "GANG RAPE"). It doesn't accomplish anything that some other event couldn't have achieved. Sadly the Valdemar usage is far more common than the Greatcoats usage, to the point that people react poorly by default, even ignoring possible personal experience. Neurosis posted:I don't think this is correct at all. The Taming of the Shrew. Gone with the Wind. Dragonriders of Pern. An entire romance subgenre. 50 Shades, which was not intended to be as creepy as it is. News articles. Not hard to find examples.
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Jul 26, 2015 22:49
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Mars4523 posted:drat it, that was on my "to read" list. I like Valdemar with a very heavy dose of "my god those were some stupid moments." I'd still suggest trying them if the premise interested you already, just prepare for a fair bit of eye-rolling (and, in later books, desperately wanting an editor).
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Jul 27, 2015 02:59
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This is an excellent book and everyone should read it. And then read everything else Catherynne Valente has written, starting with The Orphan's Tales because that is what more fantasy could be.
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Sep 10, 2015 20:01
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Hedrigall posted:Jesus, Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb is depressing. This along with Aurora, man, I'm going to need some reeeeally happy stories soon. What's something in fantasy that's optimistic and feel-good, along the lines of The Goblin Emperor? Anything by Diana Wynne Jones, the Johannes Cabal series isn't necessarily happy but is definitely hilarious and fun, Patricia McKillip's fantasy tends to be light and have happy endings.
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Sep 15, 2015 16:26
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Solitair posted:I was reading the Books You Couldn't Finish thread and someone linked to a blogger whose posts I read years ago. Does anyone else remember her? Do you think her advice still holds up? It definitely holds up. Bad fantasy is still bad fantasy (and bad writing in general) for many of the reasons she mentions. I don't agree with everything she says necessarily, but I do most of it. It is mostly "do your research" with suggestions on the kind of things to keep in mind for that research, which is always useful.
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Sep 21, 2015 06:12
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freebooter posted:Can someone recommend me good sci-fi mystery? I don't care about mystery stories when it's "who murdered someone," but love creepy scifi or fantasy mysteries. Examples of what I mean include: I don't really know SF mysteries, but Carol Berg's books all tend to have fantasy mysteries of some sort. The Collegia Magicka series in particular gets some rather creepy stuff going on.
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Oct 25, 2015 05:51
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coyo7e posted:Here's a serious question, which book series(es) can people name where the protagonist isn't completely emotionally undeveloped for the course of the story? The Waded Man and Jade Mage are a couple of low-skill (I'd say low effort but I'm sure the authors are quite proud of their work) fantasy novels with this theme I see in sf/f a lot: they are literally unable to deal with complex emotions without just getting more and more angry and escalating to higher and higher levels of violence. The Jade Mage in particular was absolutely atrocious, with the marty stu protagonist literally destroying entire villages because he gets mad - dozens of people at a time, constantly, get blown to bits because he's got a lovely attitude - even his teacher is afraid of his childish temper and godlike power levels. Read books written by women. I know people hate hearing that, but really, if you're blaming that trend on male authors then read fewer male authors. v vTo focus on books that fit that with male characters at least... In the Greatcoats series by Sebastien de Castell, Falcio is protagonist who uses his wits more than his blade. Problems tend to arise if he stops thinking. Even his moments of anger are more focused and controlled. Any given series by Carol Berg. Valen in The Lighthouse Duet is a renegade and ne'er-do-well who just wants to keep his head down and gets wrapped up in mysteries instead. Lucien in The Sanctuary Duet (second book coming out in December!) is an artist and morgue assistant. Portier in The Collegia Magica is a librarian-turned-detective. Things tend to not blow up in her novels (unless Damien is involved, but that's Damien for you). The main male character in The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin spends most of his time preventing disasters. Its sequel is still being written, though. Still, brilliant book. Catherynne Valente's books don't really even have violence, in terms of what the protagonists cause. Patricia McKillip's books, likewise, though I think her only series longer than two books is The Riddle-Master. The Nightrunner series by Lynn Flewelling has plenty of swashbuckling fun, but the protagonists don't go on rage-fueled rampages. The first trilogy is mostly a mystery. We won't talk about the rest. Then you have, say, Valdemar, where nearly every single character is emotionally immature, but in other ways. Honestly I can't think of much genre I've personally read where violence was a first resort unless the point was that the character was overly aggressive as an intentional part of his character. But usually if a book synopsis focuses on the protag's combat skill and the wars they have to fight, to the exclusion of their character, I don't pick it up.
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Oct 29, 2015 20:03
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ToxicFrog posted:On that note, how is Collegia Magica? I loved Lighthouse and Song of the Beast, but couldn't make it through either Rai-Kirah or Bridge d'Arnath, because they felt overwhelmingly like they were just rehashing the same plotline as SotB, except worse and in more books. So I never bothered checking out Collegia Magica. I seem to be hearing a lot of good stuff about it in this thread, though. I lost interest in Bridge of d'Arnath, and Rai-Kirah was good but I don't like it nearly as much as the others. So go read Collegia Magica and Sanctuary right the gently caress now. (The good stuff you heard in the thread was probably from me, I seem to be the only one who suggests Carol Berg amid the swarms of twenty people talking about Wheel of Time again. v v )
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Oct 30, 2015 22:18
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angel opportunity posted:The fifth season was pretty solid, but it also left no lasting impression on me. It's weird because it was well written, had pretty good characters, and wasn't "bad fantasy" that I am so against...but I also can't see myself recommending it to anyone, and I'm not super excited about book two. Probably I'll pass on it? On the other hand, I loved it to pieces by the end despite kind of hating it at the start. I've never had an author swing me around so hard in the span of a single book, much less making me retroactively love the parts that almost made me put it down (the narrative gimmick being one of those things). It doesn't cheapen uncomfortable subjects by flinching away even slightly, turns situations that would be cringeworthy in another book into punches in the gut, and I'm dying for the sequel. I'd only recommend it to some people, though, given some of the subject matter.
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Jan 3, 2016 04:03
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Applewhite posted:So I just finished Mercedes Lackey's Arrows of the Queen and I was a little underwhelmed. It was her first novel so I'm willing to cut her some slack. Does she get good or should I just move on? If you liked it enough to ask, her other books get better; as has been said, The Last Herald-Mage is probably her best series in addition to Mage Storms. Mage Winds has some garbage but is necessary for the plot in Storms, sadly. General chronological flow, although some are just publishing order because I don't remember where they fit: The Gryphon trilogy Arrows of the Queen trilogy Last Herald-Mage trilogy (technically set before Arrows, but it fills things in and sets up for later; one of the best series) Mage Winds (not terrible overall, but when it's bad, it's horrid) Mage Storms (some of the better characters but my god she needed an editor) Collegium Chronicles (now up to like five books, should be two) And a whole bunch of assorted side stories about more minor figures referenced or featuring in the other books. I liked some of these better than the main plot, but it's been a while since I read them and I couldn't remember them clearly enough to sort them out. They're fun sorta-popcorn fantasy, but if Last Herald-Mage still leaves you unimpressed, give up and go read Carol Berg instead. (Read Carol Berg anyway, her books have exactly 0 instances of rape-as-plot-device and sexy catgirl incest, and 100% more developed characters and interesting plots.) I'm glad I read Valdemar because I enjoyed them at the time (mostly), but my main takeaway was what not to write in a fantasy book.
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Feb 22, 2016 00:44
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StrixNebulosa posted:
I take it back: If Carol Berg was too angsty for you, forget any more Valdemar right now because they're packed to the brim with YA-romance levels of angst (among adult characters who really should be more mature in addition to the teens), especially Last Herald-Mage. (Which features a villain creeping on the gay main character to show he's eeeeeevil, and totally unnecessary gang rape ONLY to delay a character getting somewhere, because rape is apparently her first go-to for anything. No kidding, and no I'm not spoilering that crap.) ulmont handily covered the bases. Storms is superior to Winds (despite being a trilogy dragged out of the actual content for maybe two books) partly because Lackey seemed to realize Nyara was godawful and wrote her out of the series. For Carol Berg, my favorites of hers are the Lighthouse Duet, and Collegia Magica. Her new Sanctuary Duet is also good and is set in the same setting as Lighthouse, but sadly the second book is rather disappointing after the first, which might have been her best book to date.
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Feb 22, 2016 19:26
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Which book was this in?
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Reason posted:This has to be my biggest problem with YA books in general. For some reason, teens in terrible dystopian/apocalyptic futures are no more mature than teens going to highschool in cushy US land. My wife has me reading the Maze Runner books and while I find the premise interesting, I find the books written terribly and the characters to be so immature for the situation they're in to be almost completely unbelievable. It's annoying enough in YA. The particular problem with Valdemar is that it's not marketed as YA (and shouldn't be with all the goddamn rape), with the protagonists being a roughly even split between teens and adults, and the ones featuring younger characters are just fantasy high school dramas. Not that you can tell the difference, because they're all exactly as overdramatic as each other, and not in fun ways.
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Feb 22, 2016 21:22
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General Emergency posted:Mechanical is not a happy book. I don't know what I was expecting from a book about slavery but hey... Now I'm all bummed out. Most anything by Diana Wynne Jones (start with Howl's Moving Castle though) or some Patricia McKillip.
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Mar 13, 2016 21:36
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Solitair posted:So I was looking for short stories that I could put on my Hugo nominations ballot and I came across General Battuta's "Please Undo This Hurt". While I thought it was pretty great, I'm not convinced that it's actually a science fiction or fantasy story. Can I get a second opinion on that? Science fiction doesn't need spaceships or laser guns and fantasy doesn't need dragons and wizards. It's more specifically known as speculative fiction, and boy does that speculate. The whole phone number thing seems pretty SF/F to me anyway. (Your comment reminds me of one of my short stories that got rejected for not being fantasy enough because it could have been a Victorian-ish period piece with some poison names changed. I almost made a whole $15!  )
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Mar 30, 2016 18:35
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I take it we can all agree now that the Hugos are a joke that even deserving authors can't take pride in anymore? Point made, Puppies. You won. You ruined it. Now get the gently caress out of the SF/F industry altogether.Number Ten Cocks posted:It pains me to say it, but Seveneves might be the best of the best novel nominees. I've read the Leckie and don't need to read the Butcher or Novik to know they're underwhelming. Was The Fifth Season any good? The Fifth Season is definitely deserving of an award on its own merits. It's not perfect, but it does some great things. ...and I have to admit that its nomination gives me petty vindictive delight considering loving Vox Day wrote the most racist modern screed I've ever read about the author. I hope he chokes on this. (ps read that book)
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Apr 26, 2016 22:07
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There is a distinction to be made between the sad puppies ("This is a popularity contest based on online presence instead of actual quality, look we can prove it") vs the rabid puppies ("loving women and black people and gays can't write, but those drat SJWs are nominating them instead of US WHITE MEN"), and Vox Day is the leader (or at least the most outspoken member) of the latter and has made some absolutely disgusting racist statements and so has tainted the entire thing. There are some valid points to be made from the original argument before the rabids showed up, but it's still all idiotic and serves no real purpose. Congratulations, you made your point. Now what, gaming American Idol votes again?
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May 9, 2016 06:06
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Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:BAAAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAAAAHAHAHAHA Chuck Tingle is my loving hero. In more ways than one.
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May 23, 2016 23:12
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Inspector Gesicht posted:You can cut a Jordan novel by two-thirds and miss nothing. I don't remember how long they are offhand, but Carol Berg, Catherynne Valente and Sebastian de Castell are all very engaging and don't drag (except for the Bridge of D'Arnath, skip that series). And my attention span is almost nonexistent these days. (For more details, see my thread post history.) I also just read The Devil You Know by KJ Parker and that was both extremely short and quite fun. By comparison, I found The Way of Kings unreadable even by skimming. If I find myself skimming multiple chapters waiting for anything to get interesting and then find I'm only a quarter of the way through the book according to Kindle, and this after putting up with the worst excuse for a fight scene I have ever read in a published novel right up front, I'm not finishing that drat book.
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Jun 14, 2016 12:36
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