I just finished Death Masks by Jim Butcher, 5th book of The Dresden Files. Really enjoying the series.
What about all of you? What have you been reading or listening?
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I'm on the final stretch of Well of Ascension in the Mistborn trilogy.
It has it's weaknesses here and there but all in all it's been pulling me deeper into the world.Yeah, Well of Ascension is the weakest of the three - as is a little typical for Sanderson it acts as a joiner/primer for the final act in HoA.
Looking forward to the grand finale thats building up rn and what comes next in HoA then!
My pet peeves are the interchangeable/inconsequential nature of soothing and rioting, elend whining to himself for pages on end ("why oh why can't i protect literally everyone in the entire world at the same time, personally?!") and honestly sometimes the somewhat clumsy writing. Might just be me in the last point.
While Mistborn is a great entry point into Sanderson for many people, to me, it really feels like a freshman effort. I can't ever bring myself to do a full reread of those books, as they don't feel as polished or as well put together as his later work. Well of Ascension especially feels like it's there because a trilogy needs a middle book.
After getting it recommended on Lemmy, I had been reading A Memory Called Empire and absolutely loved it. It feels small and huge at the same time (giant empire, but 95% takes place in a single city), spanning long times and only a week (a lot of history talk and simply feels long, but only a week passes), poetic and yet approachable (the Empire has a huge focus on poetry, and while poems are there, it’s not as annoying as in e.g. LOTR).
A nice bonus is that the two main countries (Teixcalaan, the Empire, kinda Aztec-based names) and Lsel station (Old Aramaic based names, according to the author, I’ll have to talk her word for that) are both not modeled after the usual suspects.
Highly recommended.
Yeah, great read and I instantly jumped to Teixcalaan #2 A Desolation Called Peace, which I’m currently reading and also enjoying.
A Memory Called Empire was a book I stalled on and had to restart, but was such a great read. It's so different from what we get in most space opera, but once I was in, it didn't let go. It took a while to start A Desolation Called Peace, but that one was an equally great ride that I couldn't put down. I'm hoping there will be a third entry!
Yeah, it really feels very different
A debut duology. Sounds pretty interesting. Going to check it out.
BTW You name feels familiar, do you have other social media accounts with same name?
I mean, it's just my name ;) I use it almost everywhere but HN and twitch. But the last time I was active on Twitter was a decade ago ;) unless you mean reddit, obviously.
Ah, it's possible saw the name on reddit or HN, or maybe even twitter. I haven't been active in a decade either 😀
Or it could be someone else, with same or similar name.Well, have fun, familiar looking name person! 😀
I'm trying to read Kings of the Wyld at the moment, because I picked up the sequel in a bookshop and liked the prose, so figured I should read the first book (obviously).
And… it's okay… but I can't help but feel it has this constant undertone of boomer/misogynistic/wife bad humour. I'm a third of the book through and I'm really not engaged with the stakes.
I know what you mean. I think it’s partly because it’s based on D&D which tends to skew very male-heavy and the whole cast is a bunch of old men as well so it has that effect. I did enjoy it a bit more than you but I have yet to continue with the next book (which does seem like it might be better?)
There is also the inverse of the book called Queens of the Wyrd by Timandra Whitecastle which I have but haven’t read yet. Might be what you’re looking for!
Hm. I'll push through to get to the sequel, seeing as that's what I was originally interested in.
As for Queens of the Wyrd… It's a direct mirror of Kings of the Wyld? Ha. I have been wanting to read more female POV by female authors, so I might give it a try if I end up enjoying the plot arc of Kings.
I just finished Death Masks by Jim Butcher, 5th book of The Dresden Files. Really enjoying the series.
It’ll only get better. Not only did Jim Butcher become a better writer over time, Dresden also keeps improving as a person. In current books, nothing is left of the often sexist and annoying loudmouthed man-child from the early books. It’s my favorite example of growth of a character over a series.
And that said, how did I manage to miss Battle Ground? Apparently it came out half a year after Peace Talk, and I did not realize it. Oh well, guess I now know my next book :D
I'm excited for where this series is going to go than :)
That's great to know. Death Mask is a definite step up from the previous books. I was afraid I may get burned out with the pace I am reading the series, but finished the book in couple of days.
Hope he start releasing books more regularly now. He did release a short-story and novella in Dresden Files world last year, and a Cinder Spires novel this year. He mentioned he will complete next Dresden Files novel by next year (it's at 24% on his site), so probably a 2025 release. It will probably end up taking a decade to get the final novel…
I just read Comfort Me With Apples last night and was a bit disappointed. I’ve heard a lot of good things and I did like it a lot until the end when all the strangeness came together into a reveal… and it was just a bit too religious based for my liking. It was clever and the prose was beautiful but I was hoping for something else I guess.
I just finished White Sand by Brandon Sanderson and really enjoyed it.
Listenkng to a couple of shorter Dean Koontz books (currently Odd Thomas) before starting on The Wheel of Time series to give that a try!
@theskyisfalling @dresden don’t do wheel of time. It’s dumb. It’s epic and everything but dumb. Just clumsy writing and concepts. Some super original stuff but truly a lot of schlock.
Oh really? I'd heard that it was worth it. Is it dumb like Disc world, I couldn't get into that cringe worthy idiocy.
@theskyisfalling I mean discworld is supposed to be funny. This guy named the bad guys Murderalls and all the people are named all fantasy names but one of the main characters is named Matt which felt like when the little grocery cart makes a noise every 10 seconds pushing it down an aisle. The women are the problem and bitchy. The men are quiet. Their problems would dissolve if they talked to each other just a little. The world building is epic and great but execution………
I know it is supposed to be but I listened to the first 7 books trying to get into it as people seem to regard it fairly highly but I just don’t understand the appeal of the 13 year olds humour personally.
I think like discworld I will give the wheel of time a try and see how I like it cause if I don’t try it I may miss out on something I enjoy. I do appreciate your input though and have tempered my expectations some what as prior to this I had only heard that is is “amazing”
Wheel of Time was one of the first epic fantasy series I ever read, and I love it. I have re-read the whole series a few times and have always enjoyed it. That doesn’t mean there are no issues with the series though. For instance, not all the books are same, there are some in the middle which are widely accepted as a slog, but overall, if you have stamina for a 13 book series, I would still recommend it.
Just read the first couple of books and check it out for yourself.
Which version did you read? The prose or the graphic novel? He mentioned (last year, I think) that a re-print / definitive edition was coming out, since many people can't find the graphic novel. Have been waiting for that.
Haven't read any Koontz book lately, but used to read him a lot. I think after Sanderson, Koontz is the writer I have most books off. Maybe I should check his newer work…
I am an audiobook only "reader" (don't hate me people! XD) so I listened to the graphic audio version as I really like their output.
Koontz is a more recent discovery for me and I have enjoy most of his stories so far, he sort of scratches that Stephen King itch for me. I'm just working through as many of his books I can get in audiobook and trying to work from oldest to newest.
Heh, no worries, the thread is for both readers and listeners.
And yeah, I basically turned to Koontz because I thought King was too long-winded. Though, I have recently read King and enjoyed it.
It was the opposite for me, I love King and especially the longer stories xD Koontz I found after having listened to everything I could find of King.
I have 3 currently going .
Summer Knight -Jim Butcher book 4 of Dresden Files. I listen to this on audio book while driving and flying.
The Light Fantastic - Terry Pratchett book 2 of the Discworlds series. Light paperback so I'm not upset if it gets beat up while out adventuring.
Tress and the Emerald Sea - Brandon Sanderson - Part of the Cosmere. This is the year of Sanderson edition so it stays at my house to keep it in good shape.
Ah, you are one book behind me. 😀 I am trying to pace myself by reading only one per month, don't want to finish all the published one and then wait a long time for the next one. Though, it's going to happen sooner or later. How are you liking it so far?
Have you read other Discworld books? They are one of the books that have made me laugh out loud. I have only read a few books though, want to start from the beginning again, and read the whole series.
Tress and the Emerald Sea - Brandon Sanderson - Part of the Cosmere. This is the year of Sanderson edition so it stays at my house to keep it in good shape.
Oooh! I couldn't back the project, wanted the one with all the goodies. Just reading the books as they are releasing now. Have just read first two, but they are both great, fun read.
Finished K. Arsenault Rivera’s The Warrior Moon a few days ago, and . . . hmm. It’s difficult to evaluate fairly, because one part tripped a trigger of mine that almost caused an abrupt interfacing of book with wall. Overall, I guess I enjoyed it despite those bits, and despite the odd pacing that has been a feature of the entire trilogy.
If you don’t mind me asking, what was that trigger of yours?
