What’s on your to-do list this week for books? What have you read in this past week? Give a shout-out to your favorite author you’re enjoying right now, or just take a peek at what everyone else is into right now.
I just finished two fantasy books, The Aeronaut’s Windlass and The Colour of Dragons. I was a little disappointed in the dragons, seeing as it was (cowritten?) by RA Salvatore, who I remember having excellent action scenes from his D&D books, but delighted by Jim Butcher’s fantasy. Even though I can now sort of get a sense on the plot turns coming in Butcher’s writing, it’s still just good stuff. Now I started on two science fiction books based on a reading list I saw: Aurora by Kim Robinson and The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers. Both have their hooks in me quite quickly, and I’m excited to see where it goes. Aurora seems a much ‘harder’ science fiction, and I can already see the premise and plot conflict on the horizon. It seems like it’s going to be some juicy societal commentary. The Long Way is quickly taking a more cozy, lighter track on how things work, but the characters are fun so far and engaging.
Finishing 2 books. A game of thrones by G. R. R. Martin. I think I might be becoming too fixated on finishing books within time. But, if I don’t set time limit, I get stuck on the same books for a long time.
Nice! A game of thrones was definitely one of the first ‘hard’ fantasy books I can remember reading. While there were definite hints throughout, he really saved the defining nature of his rejection of classical hero fantasies until the end. How much do you have left?
Like 250+ pages. Btw, is there a fantasy series you might recommend? With less than 7/8 books preferably.
Oh my gosh. I just threw together a list for a friend, so I have a really large list ready to go… but I’ll pare it down a tad because some of them do have several decades of books that the author wrote.
Mistborn - total 3 books
Part of brandon sanderson’s ginormous works, but one of the earlier ones and there is a lovely gritty feeling to the writing compared to the more ‘polished’ nature of his newer stuff. It’s a trilogy (and there’s a newer trilogy set a few hundred years later, but can totaly be ignored) with a neat world.
The witches of eileanan - total 6 books
Holy crap. Probably one of my favorite series ever. I just loved the main character and her arc. Also may or may not be slightly responsible for some of my kinks. Is amazingly scottish.
The banned and the banished - total 5 books
Another one of my favorites. It’s got a goodly 80s/90s take on worldbuilding, and the twists and surprises are really good. The foreshadowing is amazing, and the amount of characters and cool things they can do is great. You’ll hate the villains, love the heroes, love the villains, and hate the heroes.
The codex alera - total 6 books
Definitely in my top favorite series. There are really, really cool images that the author just conjures up with his amazing world and blasts you in the face with. If you get to the end and haven’t figured out ‘why’ he wrote it, you’ll just about die laughing. Possibly the most heartwarming/sweet moment between two characters I’ve ever read occurred in the books.
The cinder spires - total 2 books
This one’s just getting started. The first two books are out, and I love the setting. It’s what I imagined all those years ago reading about the M:tG ship fighting the invasion of dominaria. The combat writing is fun, the characters nice and solidly stereotypical without being stereotypical.
Godslayer chronicles - total 2 books
A really cool world with tragic beings and dark, gritty characters. Also may be responsible for some of my kinks. Surprising at every turn. Sadly, it will likely never be finished, and the second book ended on a REALLY BIG cliffhanger.
Raven’s shadow - total 3 books
I love ryan’s writing. It’s a pretty dark world, and there are some silly parts where it seems like characters have plot armor… but it all makes sense in the end. If you enjoy this trilogy, check out his other new series with dragons.
Over sea, under stone - total 5 books (I think…)
Harry potter meets charles dickens meets classic fae mythology. I really enjoyed the books, and the countryside of great britain is as good a place to fight the dark as anywhere else, aye?
The lost years of merlin - total 5 books, I think
[oops, looks like it’s part of a 12 part series, I only read the first 5…] Good, fun writing. Like the banned and the banished above, and the death gate cycle below, it’s probably aimed at a teenage audience, but the writing holds up in my opinion. Like other series I’m recommending, there are some seriously dark parts in the stories.
The cloudmages - total 3 books
I enjoyed the magic system in this one. It also does teenage rebellion and adult responsibility pretty well, and the time shift doesn’t jar the story.
More than a few books in the series/world:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Death_Gate_Cycle Really fun 90s era fantasy. 7 books though
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragons_of_Autumn_Twilight A trilogy, but it’s part of a much larger series. Classic D&D based fantasy
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consider_Phlebas Okay, it’s more sci-fi, but the culture books are amazing.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Colour_of_Magic - I think pratchett is always worth mentioning. Most of the series are self contained, but it’s a total of ~40 books, if I recall
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragonriders_of_Pern - Probably my first fantasy series. Lovely world, and wobbles back and forth between light hearted and body horror darkness. Lot of books if I remember correctly.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Iron_Tower - McKiernan needs an explanation. Apparently he was pitched the idea of writing sequels / more of Tolkien’s middle earth. The first trilogy is basically lord of the rings, but much more fantastical. He breaks from it quickly and has a gorgeous set of plots. The overall series has quite a few parts, and personally I think the world he ends up building is much more interesting than tolkien’s. There was an actual overarching plot despite there being So. Many. Books… and it’s a great one.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storm_Front_(novel) The dresden files are amazing. Modern fantasy with a noir storytelling style. I think there are nearly 20 books now though.
Wow! Thank you so much.