Yeah, its universally acknowledged that alot of people found it really difficult to get into Gardens of the moon and is usually considered by a lot of fans to be the worst in the series . To be honest it took me six months to finish it, reading on and off again. But towards the end everything starts to come together, like being given a lot of pieces that you don't really no what they do until you've built something and you can see it.

Hang in there trust me after you have finished the first book it will be like, how can I put this, pushing through a storm to get to the Island. Just push through it and try finishing it after that everything else starts making sense. Its kind of like dropping into a conversation that's midway and you're trying to figure out what its about.

How far along are you in the book?

 

It is my second try reading it but am further along than last time, 120 pages or so. Admittedly, not that far along and too soon to really judge the book but really, 120 pages should have been more than enough to reel the reader in.

Minor spoilers for the first book:

Spoiler

What really threw me off was, that long list of characters at the beginning of the book but more than a few of them die rather soon and aren't really important enough to warrant being mentioned there. Dunno, am probably dumb but that really confused me and made me a bit disbelieving about their deaths.

Will stick to it though, at least until I finish this one.

 

Don't worry all I can say is trust the author.(Although its true that some characters you won't learn anything about in this book).

Once you get to Darujhistan then it starts coming into focus.

 

So I am searching for military/epic fantasy or steampunk that was written after 2000. A believable plot and intriguing characters would be great.

 

The Prince of Nothing trilogy, definitely the best fantasy series to come out in a long, long time.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Retribution-Falls-Chris-Wooding/dp/0345522516

There you go.

 

Haven't read this yet, but I'm a huge fan of the author from his other novel Neuropath so I'm tempted to second the recommendation.

 

Just got a kindle as an early xmas present so this thread is amazing right now. Any recs for some light-hearted sci-fi?

 

Anything by William Gibson or C.J. Cherryh. Easy to get into.

 

So Red Country by Joe Abercrombie has been out for a while now. If you're a fan of his earlier works, get off your ass and go buy it. I wasn't to big of a fan of Best Served Cold, but this one reminded me why I enjoyed his books so much in the first place.

 

Finished the second book of the Bartimaeus sequence and have ordered the third but man oh man, I am liking Nathaniel less and less. Kitty's character on the other hand, with her character development and all, was handled awesomely but I am not sure how to feel about her just yet, since having two main characters, one honorable and good while the other is pretty much Draco Malfoy (still an elitist, snobby, whiny, bigoted, self-important and selfish douchebag although a talented, braver and more independent one) kind of gives potential to horribly backfire.

Spoiler

Am not sure how this is going to play out. Can't really see the books ending with Bartimaeus killing him because he botches an order/spell but at the same time, wouldn't find it believable if Nathaniel would "switch sides", at least not yet. Guess it depends on what the author manages to pull off.

Will post once I finished the third one. So far, still immensely liking the books, if only because we have Bartimaeus to make fun of Nathaniel for most of the time he is on screen or we see him getting into deeper shit.

So yeah, awesome so far. Solid recc for people who like fun adventure books with magic and a slightly more complex society.

 

Winter's Bone, by Daniel Woodrell. Put down that shitty YA fic and get all the drama and kick-ass girl-power of The Hunger Games written by a real author who actually knows what poverty and a fight for survival looks like.

The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There, by Catherynne M. Valente. If you don't like Valente's Fairyland books, you suck.

A Dance to the Music of Time, by Anthony Powell. It took me all year to read these books, but it was worth it. Especially if you are an aspiring author yourself; you probably don't want to write like Anthony Powell, and you certainly can't, but you need to see what a master is capable of doing with the English language. (Also, it took me all year to write this long-ass review so I am going to pimp the hell out of it!)

 

The Tapestry series by Henry Neff is spectacular. Lots of Celtic mythology, and is easily mistaken as a Harry Potter clone. It's not. The series is just as good, imo.

 

This honestly sounds interesting as hell. I'm gonna give it a try. But gotta ask what makes it a Harry Potter clone?

 

Quick question guys, how many of you would be willing to participate in a Malazan thread? and kind of help spread the awesomeness to other DLP members

 

It's very frustrating when people yell out that particular accusation (Potter clone). Admittedly, the premise sounds similar, but the stories are very different.

The story is told in Third Person, limited on the side of Max.

Lolz at the dog food comment. David Menlo is an interesting character, no doubt, but different from Malfoy in a myriad of ways. Much more capable, if I might add.

You guys should definitely check the Tapestry series out. There are four out already, and each one never fails to satisfy. Lots of surprises, too.

 

I am ready.

Currently reading Reaper's Gale now. So much fucking awesome things in the series,.