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I'm almost done reading The Void Trilogy by Hamilton which is part of the Commonwealth Saga. I actually really enjoyed it despite the weird sex stuff here and there. I really enjoyed the epic feel and scope of the story(Well, 2 main stories, Pandora's Star, then the Void) that had plenty of characters that, to me anyway, I found pretty interesting. I'm not sure if I can come up with any other reason I liked it, other than it had a grand story with a decent bit of mystery along with plenty of interesting characters. The reason I said so, is I'm trying to figure out what to start next, and I have trouble picking out sci-fi as I'm a bit picky for some reason. I also actually prefer multiple books, the longer the series the better, assuming length doesn't ruin it. I suppose you could say I really enjoy investing myself in a good series. Also, I generally like when there's interesting technology and such, even if it's a bit silly. Doesn't have to be straight up hard sci-fi. I actually already have all the Vorkosigen books and the series Altered Carbon is based on. I know Vorkosigen is highly recommended and from what I can tell it has a little of everything. I'd normally say spaceship battles and such is a requirement, but really I think it's just conflict in general I enjoy. Commonwealth had a decent bit of it, but it could still stretch in places without any space battles and it held my interest pretty well. I know Altered Carbon is a sort of detective novel, and people compare it to Expanse, which I generally liked pretty well. I intend to eventually read both of these, but which should I start first? Also, when it comes to Vorkosigen, should I start with the first Miles book, or begin with the ones about his mom or whatever it is? edit: I apologize for the disjointed post, I've literally been up all night reading. Sorry if it's barely comprehensible, I'll try to clean it up a bit once I rest. I mostly just wanted opinion on those two series I mentioned that I already have. Drunk Driver Dad fucked around with this message at 13:39 on Jul 4, 2013 |
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Jul 4, 2013 13:33
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What are the general thoughts on the Revelation series? I recently finished up The Commonwealth which I really enjoyed and was struggling to find a new series to get into. I got about 100 pages into the first Lost Fleet book, but it was half interesting and half irritating with the near retarded behavior of all the officers in the fleet. When they described the battle in the first system they jumped into, it reminded me of playing random WoW battlegrounds where everyone just runs around picking fights rather than focusing on objectives. I hope that type of thing gets resolved soon in the book and they can focus on the main plot, but for now I decided to give it a break. I had previously tried to get into Revelation Space a while back, and only got 50 or so pages into it before just generally being confused. Gave it another shot today, and I think it's sort of intentional you don't know much of what's going on at first. The more I read, the more I understand it and the story seems to be pretty compelling. I suppose I'll stick with this series for now and maybe reconsider Lost Fleet once I finish.
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Jul 13, 2013 02:04
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Redoing this post to make it more succinct. Basically I need a fantasy recommendation. Something that's a Trilogy or longer preferably. I've already read these series: Liked: Song of Ice and Fire, Joe Abercrombie, the popular Forgotten Realms series, Dragonlance, Wheel of Time, Tolkien Disliked: Mistborn(Didn't like how magic was explained and used), Malazan(too complicated basically), Prince of Nothing(same deal, seemed like there wasn't enough exposition to keep my interest by the first 80 pages or so, plus all the fantasy naming schemes made understanding things harder, Queen's Thief(Hate first person), Black Company(I want to say it was first person too, but seemed bad despite that) As you can see, I'm not above reading cheesy things with elves and dwarves,etc such as Forgotten Realms(which if there's a well regarded series that's anything other than Salvatore, let me know). I just want something to get invested in and have a few books to read. As long as something is interesting about it, whether it's the world, or just the story I can deal with it being kind of bad. Drunk Driver Dad fucked around with this message at 17:01 on Jul 17, 2013 |
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Jul 17, 2013 16:19
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John Charity Spring posted:Try Joe Abercrombie's First Law books. I find myself recommending them an awful lot, but they seem perfect for what you're after. Start with The Blade Itself, which is the first book of a trilogy (the others being Before They Are Hanged and Last Argument of Kings) and if you enjoy those then you've got three follow-up books to go through - Best Served Cold, The Heroes, and Red Country. I actually just edited in that I had read those and enjoyed then. Maybe I should redo that whole post and just list likes/dislikes, it got out of hand.
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Jul 17, 2013 16:42
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Yeah, I hate that feeling when I'm in the mood for a particular genre and just draw blanks. Surely there's a shitload of fantasy novels out there that are just standard cliched elves and dwarves and mages type stuff. Most would probably be terrible but one would hope there'd be a few that aren't any worse than Salvatore's stuff. I'm getting desperate I guess, I've been reading Reynolds Revelation series, and I could really use a break from sci fi for a day or two. That's how I usually do, just have a sci-fi and fantasy series I read at the same general time, and just pick up whatever I'm in the mood for that night.
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Jul 17, 2013 16:57
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I got about ~100 pages in to Gardens. Yeah, I've been thinking about trying Gardens of The Moon again. From what I could understand things seemed interesting. I was just confused. It's been a while so my memory is already hazy, but I remember reading about Tattersail and those mage dudes trying to gently caress with that flying castle, and I remember the book going on about what seemed like politics between all those mages and not a bit of it stuck. It actually was bad enough to lower my self esteem a bit after because I felt stupid not being able to read a book. I vaguely remember the part about something with a woman in a high seat of power getting this soldier to investigate a mystery, I remember that part not being so confusing. It's just all the name dropping, and seeming lack of exposition overwhelmed what I was managing to enjoy. Also it doesn't exactly help I saw a picture illustrating the timeline of the books. Of course, after saying all that I don't doubt one bit the series isn't as great as people say so I'd really like to be able to get into it, not to mention it's many books long which is right up my alley. I sort of had the same thing happen with Revelation Space, the first time I tried to read it I got about 60 pages in and quit because I didn't have a good grasp on what was going on and technologies they were using, but when I went back to it it just clicked so easy and I can't see what was so hard about it to begin with. I suspect Malazan is still going to be a lot more complicated than Revelation Space though. I remember someone said once you could actually just jump into book 2 without missing much, and that it was way easier to follow? Even if it's true I'd still prefer to get through 1. I guess I may try to read it again if I don't find anything soon. edit: Just saw the other suggestions. As far as how "epic" I want to go, I'm not quite sure or just don't care. It seems like most of the cliched stuff with dragons and elves seems to all go straight for epic regardless, so I don't think it would really matter to me. Like I said, if the story or characters are just generally interesting for the most part, I'm happy. Basically the only things that bother me when reading is feeling bored by a book, or when I get hopelessly confused. I'll look up all those on good reads and check out the summaries. I'm sure one of them should suit me. Drunk Driver Dad fucked around with this message at 17:37 on Jul 17, 2013 |
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Jul 17, 2013 17:24
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Victorkm posted:The Night Angel trilogy by Brent Weeks sounds like it is about your speed. That's interesting. It has a 4.44 rating on goodreads, although I know to take the ratings there with a grain of salt sometimes. I think I may give this series a go first.
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Jul 17, 2013 17:41
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Thanks for all the suggestions guys, I actually copy pasted every post replying to me in a text file for future reference. I'm about ~60 pages into Night Angel and I think it's so-so. Not bad, but I looked at it on wikipedia and it seems like it's pretty convoluted as far as all these different types of powers and mages and talents and ways to use them. It almost reminds me of Sanderson in the way the magic/talent is well defined. I generally don't like that sort of thing, but it doesn't seem like it's going to really be a big deal. I'll keep reading for now.Echo Cian posted:
It's hard to say. I'm just weird I guess. I'm so used to liking big epic books that focus on a lot of characters, so I feel..claustrophobic? maybe with a first person view. Also, just seing "I did this" and then "I did that" makes me feel like I'm reading a simple story from grade school even if it's a complex story. Like I said, I'm just a weirdo. edit: I think I may check out Raymond Feist's Magician stuff next, if Night Angel isn't good, or after Night Angel. His books seem to get good reviews and the idea there's 20 something of them set in the same world really excites me. Did I mention I like to get invested in a series? I remember dude saying start with Magician: Apprentice but other than that is there a solid time-line to follow as I read or any kind of preferred reading order with the trilogies/series to all those books? Drunk Driver Dad fucked around with this message at 03:32 on Jul 18, 2013 |
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Jul 18, 2013 03:21
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Stuporstar posted:Flowers for Algernon is pretty much exactly both these things at once, and it is awesome. 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.
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Jul 18, 2013 04:37
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Thanks for the other recommendations, guys. It got a little overwhelming honestly, but right now I'm about 280 pages into Magician(the one that is apprentice and the next book combined) and while at first it seemed to just merely hold my interest, it seems to be getting better as the war is ramping up. Between all the books in this series, and me intending on finishing Wheel of Time I think I'm set for a while.
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Jul 23, 2013 22:45
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Hello thread. I came in here a few weeks back and got a lot of really good fantasy recommendations which I'm still reading on. However, I'm almost done with the 3rd book in Reynold's RS series, so I figured I'd go ahead and ask some opinions on a new sci-fi series. Here is what I want - A series(The longer the better) that's at least mostly serialized. I like to invest myself. You can probably tell from context, but by sci fi I mean the spaceships kind, rather than superpowers or something. I don't mind hard sci-fi but it doesn't have to be packed full of technobabble or anything. I prefer something with a good bit of characters, hopefully a more complex story that takes place either over a big distance, or over time. It doesn't matter particularly, just something "epic". I probably should ask this in the space opera thread maybe, but I'm not sure. There should obviously be space travel, battles, etc but it doesn't have to solely focus on only that. Also, I can't stand first person. I've read and enjoyed the Honor series(yeah I know), the Commonwealth series(really liked this one) and Revelation Space. I tried Lost Fleet, but the whole thing with everyone being stupid and not knowing battle tactics because their "hero" has been missing is just a gimmick I couldn't get past. I couldn't stand Ender's Game either, again the dumb gimmick. Basically I just want a series that's got the standard stuff like spaceships and battles, and has a fairly epic feel to the story, but really as long as it's interesting it will do. I tried the Culture series, but was told they are all mostly standalone stories. I don't mind that but it's not what I want right now. Also, war/military sci-fi is good, but not a total requirement. Sorry to sound so picky and weird, it's because I'm picky and weird. Also apologies for the post being a bit disjointed, I suck at writing and articulating my tastes when it comes to entertainment. Thanks. edit: I also liked The Expanse, but I'm putting off reading the latest book for now until the next comes out. And while the whole in solar system thing didn't bother me, I prefer a bigger scale. Also the whole big mystery thing it had going for it was really cool, so I like big mysteries that make you go "WTF" even if it's a bit ridiculous. Drunk Driver Dad fucked around with this message at 03:47 on Aug 21, 2013 |
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Aug 21, 2013 03:40
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i finally finished up Hamilton's Confederation trilogy, which I'd say was enjoyable for a trashy sci fi sort of read. The only thing I really didnt like was the whole al capone thing. It just felt too goofy even for a series like that. I also similarly enjoyed his Commonwealth series. Anyway, I generally enjoy reads like that for my before bedtime reading ritual, and Im in the mood for some fantasy now. I randomly started Farseer, the Assassins Apprentice. I'm still not sure how I feel about it, I mean I think it's good but I'm not sure if it will continue to grab at me enough to plow through the series. Just in case it doesn't does anyone have any recommendations for a fantasy series? I prefer at least a trilogy or longer as I enjoy the immersion of decent world building. I was enjoying Wheel of Time but somewhere around book 7 it started slogging so bad I had to take a break and its been so long I'm not sure I can easily get back into it. I generally prefer slightly darker, more serious stuff but it doesn't have to be extremely grimdark. I'm not too picky either, I actually enjoy forgotten realms stuff from time to time enough to hold my interest. I asked for recommendations before and was suggested Wars of Light and Shadow by Janny Wurts, and the Elric books. Any opinions on those? I'm not sure how much I trust goodreads ratings.
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Dec 15, 2014 20:44
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I'm almost done with the last Farseer book that's out, and i will need a new fantasy series to read. I will say I'm not that picky, as long as the plot is somewhat interesting or the world building is good(the longer the better, for the most part) and I can just kind of lose myself in the series, that's all I care about. I actually even don't mind some of the forgotten realms stuff. I enjoyed Wheel of Time, although by book 7 everything seemed to just be going so slow I took a break from it. I also enjoyed the magician books by faust as well. I do already have a few other series I hadn't started yet- The Sword of Truth(I think that's right, its the legend of the seeker books) - I know these supposedly aren't too great, I read there's a bit of emo stuff going on with the characters, but if the world/plot are somewhat interesting I wouldn't mind too bad The Witcher books - They have a good rating on goodreads, but the series doesn't seem very long, although I'm not sure how big each book is. Elric books - I figure if I generally enjoy forgotten realm stuff, these wouldnt be too bad. Also any other recommendation are welcomed. E: oh yeah, I think I have all the Belgariad books as well, but I don't know a lot about it Drunk Driver Dad fucked around with this message at 19:01 on May 26, 2015 |
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May 26, 2015 18:54
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I was just talking about that in GBS. I got a bit more than halfway into the first malazan book and was still totally lost. But apparently the 2nd book is a bit more clear about things? e: so far I hadnt read anything bad about Belgariad, so I think I may start on those once I finish up Fool's Assassin Drunk Driver Dad fucked around with this message at 20:31 on May 26, 2015 |
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May 26, 2015 20:25
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Drifter posted:Sparhawk's Troll Gods were better than any silly blue and red orb bullshit. Awesome, thanks. Looking at those I think I may start with Death Gate. Looks like 7 good size books to keep me occupied for a while, and I'll keep Belgariad and Pakssenarrion on my to read list for after that.
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May 26, 2015 22:41
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Jack2142 posted:I agree Red Rising started really cool, I was thinking the book would be about a sci-fi communist revolution etc. Instead it turned into an okay, but adequate YA novel. I actually really liked Golden Son it goes back to the original plot and goes full on Space Opera / Crusader Kings in space and is pretty cool. Overall the setting feels like it is aping Dune with the medieval future and genetic engineering plot knockoff, but it was a entertaining read. Thanks for the help guys. I copied most of the suggestions down for future reference, and went ahead and started with The Belgariad last night. I only got about 60 or so pages in, and while so far it seems maybe a tad boring, its still enjoyable and I get that feeling where I'm able to easily immerse myself into the world of whatever book I'm reading. Something about that is really comforting for before bedtime reading for me. It actually really reminds me of how Wheel of Time started.
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May 27, 2015 21:05
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Alec Eiffel posted:The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb is excellent thus far (starting book 3) but Skilling is a concept that makes explaining fantasy an embarrassing task. Its really great, imo. It took me a book or two to really get into it, but youre in for a enjoyable ride. I just recently finished up the first book in her new fitz trilogy, and it did end on a pretty big cliffhanger, I think the next one is supposed to be out in a few more months. I only read the Fitz related trilogies, but I heard live ship is good as well, so I will probably go back to it one day. On another note, I'm about 150 pages into the first Belgariad book. I just got to the part where I learn Wolf is Belgarath It's alright so far but hasn't really grabbed me all the way yet. It seems like they are rushing through a lot of small events(like going from city to city, etc) to try to set things up it feels like. Also it's hard to keep track of all these different races of people, but I think once I get good and settled into the story it will be enjoyable. Drunk Driver Dad fucked around with this message at 20:41 on May 30, 2015 |
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May 30, 2015 20:39
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Hey guys, I've posted in here a few times before but I could use another list of recommendations. At this point, I'm down with traditional fantasy or sci fi. I've gotten really picky lately and am having a hard time finding a series I like. The longer the series and the more world building and that sort of thing the better. I don't really like series where the books are in some weird order or where a book's chapters actually go backward. This is my before bed time easy reading. I'll just list some stuff I liked. Robbin Hobbs Fitz Books, Peter Hamiltons space opera stuff, Honor Harrington(I know I know but I liked the world building and the spaceships), Alistair Reynolds, First Law,ASoIaF, I even like Forgotten Realms stuff. I had read the first book of Death's Gate cycle, and mostly enjoyed it but I'm not sure if I want to continue or not. I don't really like when you get a good series going and then it just randomly ditches a lot of characters for a while. I liked Wheel of Time even though it dragged a bit. I stopped off somewhere for some reason and it's a bit daunting trying to figure out where to get back into it. Maybe I'll read some summaries and figure it out in the future. Didn't really dig Mistborn(Although I'm considering trying Stormlight), didn't like Belgariad because it felt too childish and PG rated and now I"m starting to draw a blank of other stuff I've read. I honestly have a hard time understanding why I do or don't like something myself so I know this post has probably got to be confusing. Either way, just some suggestionss of titles I can look into myself will help anyway, it's just getting an initial idea of what to look into that's the hard part. I actually had a text file of a bit of stuff suggested before but I lost it. I may go back through the thread a bit and look it up. e: As I remember examples I'll edit them in. I was digging the Black Company at first but the weird writing style eventually got on my nerves. Again, it's the sort of thing I have a hard time explaining. I liked the first two books of The Expanse, I remember reading into the third and not getting into it but maybe I'll try again now that I know theres a few more after that out. Drunk Driver Dad fucked around with this message at 22:41 on Sep 18, 2016 |
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Sep 18, 2016 22:33
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Ah forgot to mention I don't generally dig urban fantasy. At least it's not what I'm looking for right now, but I will look into it for future reads. I might not mind something like that to listen to at work on audiobook
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Sep 18, 2016 22:50
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Yeah, it seems like it's really cool but I had a hard time getting into it. I had started with the first book and I think I got maybe halfway? It was a while ago. I do intend to give it a try again eventually as there aren't that many series that have a good amount of books and world building so highly rated. What about Brent Week's Lightbringer? I had tried Night Angel a long while back and didn't really get into it.
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Sep 18, 2016 22:59
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Thanks for the suggestions guys, it's a bit of overload of info right now, so its a good time to paste them all in a new text file I'll have to reference next time I get curious. I think I may give Death Gate another shot since overall I enjoyed the first book, and apparently a main character or two I like comes back in the later books anyway. The ratings on goodreads get better with each book too but I try not to take goodreads rating too seriously. I've always been aware of discworld but never really gave it a shot because it didn't seem to be my thing with the humor but I may give it a shot anyway. It also seems like it might would be a good one for listening to at work e: since I was being pretty generic looking for several different recommendations, I'll ask for something a bit more specific - I really dug Revelation Space, and both of Peter Hamilton's worlds. Something about the epic scope of the story along with an interesting mystery really grabbed at me. Now that I mentioned that it reminded me, I listened to Blindsight on audiobook a while back and really enjoyed it. I should probably add it's sequel to my reading queue as well. Also the longer the series the better, Hamilton's giant books were a plus for me, even though it took a while to get the story going. Also a friend had turned on Hyperion at work the other night and I listened to up to the priests story and his big "revelation" before the shift ended. It seemed decent, not sure if I liked it on the same level as Reynolds or Hamilton though. Drunk Driver Dad fucked around with this message at 04:08 on Sep 19, 2016 |
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Sep 19, 2016 03:55
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I normally like long drawn out fantasy series with tons of books. My main gripe with the first Malazan book was I didn't know what the hell was going on even 50% of the way through it. When I get ready for a new series, I'd like to give it another try. Should I just attack book 1 again, or start with 2? Or maybe read the book 2 prologue and start over with 1 like suggested above? Perhaps theres even a small cliffs notes thing somewhere I can refer to to help me keep track of book 1 as I read through it. I think if I can just get a grasp on the series I would enjoy it.
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Sep 27, 2016 12:09
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orange sky posted:So uh, I've been reading Blindsight and it may be once again my bad for not being an English speaker but.. I can't understand poo poo? I didn't see anyone respond to this so I will. I listened to it on audiobook so I'm not sure what page it started to click but I was confused like you were. I also hate that sort of thing as well, but I kept listening to it because I was at work and had nothing better to do. It'll gradually make more sense, to a degree you can understand what's going on and enjoy it. However, it still leaves you with a lot to chew on, and I found myself stopping the file several times to think on things, and even rewinding a few places. It's a great book with terrifying implications, I'd say stick with it.
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Oct 28, 2016 11:33
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What do you guys think about The Traitor Son Cycle? I've been looking for a fantasy series with multiple books in it for a while. For some reason I have a hard time getting into the really "PG rated" series like Belgariad, although it doesn't have to be super grimdark either. I think I'm a little over 100 pages into the first book and so far is seems pretty cool. It has things I like such as PoV chapters, visceral combat and all that jazz. I'm really not super picky other than things like that. I think after I finish this I might try Prince of Nothing again. I tried the first book a few years ago, but I bounced off of it. I didn't exactly dislike it, I think I just didn't get far enough in to understand what was going on, and wound up getting distracted by another series.
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May 24, 2017 11:34
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For my next fantasy read, I can't decide if I want to start with The Faithful and The Fallen series by John Gwynne, or Stormlight by Sanderson. I'll probably read both eventually, but I'd appreciate if someone would help with my decision paralysis for now.
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Jan 14, 2018 12:23
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StrixNebulosa posted:I don't know the other but Stormlight is unfinished and will be for ages. Skip it for now! This doesn't bother me much unless it's some deal where there's not much released yet, but the 3 main books are pretty big aren't they? Should be enough to hold me over until I want a break from it I'd imagine.
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Jan 14, 2018 12:31
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Can someone recommend me some fantasy, specifically audiobooks? I have a few audible credits that have built up. A few preferences though - Nothing super complicated, or with a ton of crazy names to keep up with. It doesn't have to be incredibly simple or anything, but something like Malazan might be tough to keep track of because I listen while I work. Also for some reason I don't particularly care for stuff that's too young adult focused/PG/meant for younger crowds. A good example of this is The Belgariad. It doesn't have to be super grimdark either though. Other than that I don't think I'm too picky right now. I think I've read most of the Forgotten Realms stuff, Farseer, Ice and Fire, First Law and Wheel of Time, although I can't recall everything off the top of my head.
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Jun 16, 2019 10:24
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