It's actually not that fun. I don't know what it is about the writing but it's just too much LARPing. It's more 'I did this;I did that' than "I did this because of that" or some such. It's more like a character without motivations.

Also, the druid seems Gary-Stu-like. Very much so. He fucks goddess and its like... really bro? It comes across as a teenage boy's fantasy with artificial tension.

 

Reread The Way of Kings these past few days.

Forget WOT, Sanderson needs to get on the next Stormlight Archive ASAP.

 

Blasphemy

/10char

 

I'd recommend Memory, Sorrow and Thorn for any who enjoy high fantasy if it hasn't been recommended already. A few of the ideas are slighlty cliche now a days, but its still a favorite of mine.

Also, though I've only perused it so far, the Mistborn Trilogy is looking pretty interesting so far. It was written by the same guy who finished WoT if I'm not mistaken.

Finally, I'd recommend Jack Whyte's A Dream of Eagles series. Its a series that takes place over multiple generations and catalouges the entire history of Camelot. It was written and presented so well that I started to believe what was written in the novel was actual history.

 

It has, but an additional endorsement can't hurt.

 

Speaking of Tad Williams, I just finished The War of the Flowers.

It's a single novel, featuring a nearly 30 year old man who is forced into the Faerie world and becomes desired or targeted by every dominant political entity to his utter confusion. The characterization is incredibly well done (Theo is no action hero), the dialogue is awesome, especially Applecore's, and while the plot dragged to me a little in Part II (out of V), once Poppy was introduced I didn't put the book down.

Read it.

 

I love that book. I read it once, years back. Literally couldn't put it down.

Then I found the audiobook at a carboot sale about a week back, remembered how awesome it was, bought them (£1), and then found they didn't work. So I'm waiting for my copy from ebay to arrive. Should be here today.

I'd planned on re-reading to check it was still awesome, but you beat me to the post.

Anyone know if his other work is any good?

 

Yes, it is. Avoid Shadowmarch unless it's your first exposure to him, but ultimately, Memory, Sorrow and Thorn is one of the best fantasy series ever written.

I've said this countless times on DLP - buy and read it.

 

So I came across a guy today who seems to be selling off his whole library of books and he has full collections of them unfortunately they cost quite a bit than what I would like so I would love to know which of these I should take: Mistborn, Dark elf, The first law or Night angel.

I would really appreciate recommendations of at least two series' because I have a week to buy them before he moves on to another city.

 

He didn't mention any 'alternative payment plans' that involve your kidneys did he? Because it sounds like you're getting scammed.

Seriously though: I would go with Mistborn. I haven't read the other ones so I can't vouch for them.

 

First Law trilogy for the second.

 

Thanks for the recommendation I picked both Mistborn and the First law, and no it was actually a deal considering the quality of the books he was selling.

 

I'm not.

I just read that book this week and want my time back. I'll admit - the authors built a very cool and depressingly plausible world, but they ruined the story with Holden's actions. It strained credibility with his broadcast starting the conflict between the Belt and Mars, and every action he took afterwords was more and more ridiculous, culminating in that shitty climax.

Compared to what I just read, The War of the Flowers, and what I'm currently reading, American Gods, Leviathan Wakes just doesn't hold a candle.

 

Right, so I did a quick search and couldn't find anything.

I just finished reading the book "Ready Player One" by Ernest Cline. Was released about 6 months ago, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I tried to write a blurb for it myself, but I just couldn't find a way to write it. Instead I found the synopsis and have copy/pasted it.

I'd give it a 4-4.5/5. It's definitely an engrossing read, and a book you won't really want to put down. However, it also has some problems. These are minor and can easily be ignored though as they aren't really central to the plot.

Overall I'd call it it a surprisingly good read, and definitely recommend it to everyone here.

Definitely interested to know what others think of it.

 

The references, Ye Gods, the references.

Still, pretty cool book. The only real problem that I had with the book was mid-way there's an awful amount of technobable that is pretty dull. That's the only part that I really hated.

The book is still 4.5 though.

 

I imagine there are some Neal Stephenson fans here. If, like me, you loved Cryptonomicon but couldn't get through the Baroque Cycle, then I can recommend his new novel, Reamde, as a pretty good read, though to me, it read a lot like a 21st century update of Cryptonomicon.

 

Can't recommend "Ready Player One" enough. I blew through it in about five hours, and it was a hell of a read. The romance is a bit weak, but everything else is top notch.

 

I too just finished "Ready Player One." That book was one fun, quick read. I think I finished the entire novel in roughly 3 hours. Towards the end I was thinking that this book would actually make a pretty damn awesome movie, but then I realized it could potentially be a complete clusterfuck of licensing with all the various franchises involved.

 

I've done a couple of basic Google searches and didn't get any hits for this series, so I'll presume it hasn't been mentioned yet in this thread.

I just finished the first book of the Safehold Series by David Weber, Off Armageddon Reef and I thought the book was pure catnip for me. The series is focused around an android that awakens after nearly nine centuries, on a planet indoctrinated to worship a single Church and to purposefully retard its level of technology. In many ways, this reminded me strongly of Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, except there is no time-travel involved and the story was written to entertain, not to primarily provide social commentary.

This is actually the first David Weber novel I've read, so I can't compare it to Honor Harrington, but the style of the story reminded me of James Clavell, with a plethora of perspectives to attempt to give a complete point of view of all of the various factions. The characters are well developed and I actually cared for them. Best of all, the naval battles kicked complete ass.

On the downside, there are a lot of elements that I'm not sure if they can be integrated well in this series. On one hand, you have the android who has access to a limited amount of technology. On the other hand, the society of the planet as a whole seems to have just kicked off the Lutheran Reformation and is well on its way to the Thirty Years War. On the other hand, there are orbiting satellites armed with nukes that will hypothetically target and eliminate any power plants that are built. All in all, I can only hope that the author will reconcile these disparate elements in a satisfying manner.

For a fun story which can hopefully maintain its high quality with the rest of the series, I recommend reading Off Armageddon Reef by David Weber.