I've just read Adrian Tchaikovsky's Children of Time. Sci-fi from the point of view of genetically engineered spiders as they evolve from bugs into a full blown civilization.

Fantastic idea; the execution was pretty good as well.

 

Holy shit, the description alone gives me nightmares.

 

Anyone made it through the entirety of Peter Brett's Demon Cycle series? I just finished Desert Spear and as much as I hate leaving a series unfinished, I'm hesitant to continue on. The plot doesn't seem to be going anywhere fast and most of the chars are either stereotypical bland super sues, or pathetic wretches incapable of doing anything.

I think the only char I genuinely enjoyed reading about was Abban.

So... does it get better?

 

Anyone read Iron Gold. A continuation of the Red Rising series by Pierce Brown.

Set 10 years after the end of the last series. it expands the POV to include 3 new characters. Not sure how I feel about the new characters or even some of the old ones.

Story was ok but was mostly setup for the next books.

 

The Daylight War is somewhat interesting but the next one is pretty whatever and leaves a load of plots hanging - without the sequel out it's not super rewarding to read.

 

I know I followed that series, and I know I got to the end of a book and didn't really care to continue on at some point. It was so close to being good, but at some point it just became a slog.

 

I read Andy Weir‘s (author of The Martian) new book recently, Artemis. I managed to get through the whole thing in a day, and it‘s a decent page-turner with what essentially amounts to a, sadly, rather flat protagonist with a fem!young!MiddleEastern!Watney voice. The setting is interesting, but underdeveloped, and some of the conflict seems contrived. That being said, I was able to get invested into the characters and their mission despite those flaws, which is half the battle for me and usually results in at least a personal rating of 3/5. The biggest flaw is that the narrative tends to get overly descriptive at times, in particular with regard to the protagonist‘s father‘s profession, and it becomes especially pronounced as the plot moves towards the climax of the story.

It‘s not a book you necessarily pick up twice, but it‘s good fun when you‘re looking to waste an evening or two. My rating would be 3.5/5. Looking forward to the movie, should there be one.

 

I recently read Force of Nature, by Jane Harper, sequel to her debut novel The Dry, which I think I recommended earlier in the thread. It's another crime thriller, this time revolving around a missing person rather than murder; basically, five women go hiking in the outback and only four come back. I didn't find it quite as unputdownable as The Dry, by which I mean it took me three sittings instead of two, but it still gripped me, and it's well written with a nice tangle of plots and back stories going on. Definitely recommended.

 

I've read it. Really disliked the book. It throws away all the progress seen in Red Rising, for not apparent reason other than going against the grain.

Spoiler

Sure, revolutions are not instant and they are bloody and ugly but holyshit man, Iron Gold made Darrow seems like a fucking clown. More so when compared to the Ash Lord's grandson (forgot his name) and specially to Romulus, a truly badass character that's impeccably honorable. At this point I'm hoping the Moon Lords actually rekt Darrow's "republic" but I might not even bother with future books.

On a side note I felt like the author was trying to be very subtle about who the Sindicate 'queen' was but its fucking obvious that it's Sefi. I get why she would turn against Darrow/Mustang but why the fuck would she kidnap their kid (along with Sevro's) instead of, I don't know, just murdering Darrow with a knife on the back? She certainly has the means to do so.

 

So, I was recommended Dungeon Defense by another DLP member and I just finished the fourth book. This is pretty great, and I'm having more fun than I expected given how tired the Isekai genre has become. If you don't mind the particular stilted nature/cadence of translated works(If you could endure playing a VN, you should be fine), then the prose and writing quality is fine.

The escalation in this story makes Worm seem like it's low-speed. The protagonist is literally eating dirt in the first three chapters, and shaking the political world by the halfway point of the first book. With that said, it's not because the protagonist is overpowered, but rather through political machinations and abuse of his meta knowledge of the world.

Of course, my criticisms of it are nearly as numerous as my praises. The writing style is, as mentioned, typical of translated East Asian works. The thought processes of some of the characters make me convinced that at least two or three of the MC's are autistic, or the author must be. Some of the interactions can feel overwrought and dramatic.

With that said, there are some awesome moments and fun characters. Well worth a read, and I'll be reading the entire fifth novel tomorrow.

 

So...I know this is an older series and has probably been recced, but picked up the Riftwar Saga for the first time today.

Loving it. Just finished the first one and now picking up the second.

 

After finishing the fifth novel a while back, I can definitely say that this was great. If you're the kind of person who enjoyed Fate/Stay Night despite its flaws, then you'll love this. Thanks to @Mishie for bringing this to my attention, I've been shilling it to several friends since then. Link for those interested.

 

DLP, I have a few extra monies and a craving for prose. I'm going to ask for recommendations leaning towards fantasy, not really into sci-fi. Doesn't matter if it's a standalone or first in a series. To help narrow it down, I'm not really looking for old-ish well-known things like Dune, definitely not looking for Brandon Sanderson. Not keen on Discworld. I've heard good things about the pure prosecraft (that's a word now) of Name of the Wind and there were some rumblings about books like Kings of the Wyld and Red Sister last year as far as fantasy goes. Ideas? I'm looking to buy just one for now, I read much slower than I used to.

 

This is just my opinion, and as a reference I think Sanderson's prose oscillates between 'barely functional' and 'outright bad' in places. That being said:

The prose in Name of the Wind is hit and miss. It basically boils down to a few nice sounding metaphors which are utterly open to interpretation and pretty much devoid of any actual meaning or relevance. It's not bad, it's definitely a step above most fantasy in regards to prose alone, but it isn't all that great either. In addition to that the series isn't finished, the author has become a giant prick and seems to lack any intention to actually writing the third book. I'd suggest staying away, but it wouldn't be a bad choice.

Kings of the Wyld is a short, ridiculous and exaggerated fantasy-humour flick. I barely managed to finish it. It's lighthearted fantasy without much depth and lots of dad-jokes, cliches and tropes. It's okay, but probably not what you're looking for.

Red Sister is another Mark Lawrence novel. He does have nicer prose in general, but it's not really outstanding. He occasionally manages to craft a nice few sentences in a row, but otherwise most of his books are bog-standard grim-dark fantasy which purports itself as classier than it ever manages to be.

One of the only books (well, plus its sequel) in recent memory which utterly surprised me and has what I'd consider to be great prose is Senlin Ascends and The Arm of the Sphinx by Josiah Bancroft. Incredibly well written, really innovative in its worldbuilding and general ideas, and for me it's one of the best books to have come out within the last ten years.

Last but not least, if you're willing to delve into fantasy/scifi, Hyperion by Dan Simmons is pretty much the best book ever written.

Edit: Oh yeah, and you can't go wrong with Guy Gavriel Kay. His books are somewhat formulaic in regards to his writing style, but I love them anyway. People recommend Tigana which I didn't like that much, Lions of Al-Rassan was really great, and more recently The Sarantine Mosaic is probably the most beautiful book I've ever read.

 

I loved Hyperion, borrowed it from a friend a year or so ago. The ending did feel rather abrupt but I've not got around to the sequels, do they maintain the quality?

 

Hyperion was and is—again, in my opinion—a masterpiece. The sequel is a really great space-opera novel which continues and concludes the story. I'm glad I read it, the book did a great job fleshing out the universe more and certainly picked up in regards to pacing, plot and tension, but at the same time it just can't hold up in direct comparison to Hyperion.

I'd highly recommend reading it if you feel the need for that closure, but at the same time I think the first novel is a perfect standalone with an open ending.

That being said, the sequel did delve into some serious deus ex machina bullshit in a few instances, so be prepared.

 

I'd recommend Locke Lamora, but most fantasy buffs have already read the Gentlemen Bastards series.

Have you tried the standalone novel The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wrecker? The prose is truly excellent, and I can't reccommend it enough. That said, it's not your traditional rip-roaring action/fantasy. It's more a slowburn blend of historical fiction, classical romance, and urban fantasy. Still, absolutely fantastic book.

 

I've read The Lies, loved the worldbuilding, but plot was weaksauce authorial derail with a crap villain. Didn't feel like picking up the sequel.

 

Lies is the weakest novel in the series, imo. It only gets better from there.

 

Joe Abercrombie's books are pretty awesome. Start with the First Law trilogy before getting into the stand alone books - they're not direct sequels, but will spoil some of the events of the trilogy.