đź“– What are people reading?

ManicMan said:
Don't you mean 'Song of Ice and Fire'? pointless trash by a former semi-okay writer
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Them's fighting words!!

I consider ASOIAF as the greatest fantasy series ever written.

I'm fascinated to hear a dissenting voice. Are you perhaps mistaken? You misread the sentence?
 
ManicMan said:
Don't you mean 'Song of Ice and Fire'? pointless trash by a former semi-okay writer
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I suppose I did since i meant the whole series to date rather than the first book. You'll have to forgive me it's been a good number years since I last read them. I remember really liking the first four books (counting physical books here), was a bit more meh on the fifth I think and eventually listened to the sixth as an audiobook. The first ones however I even re-read (several times) prior to the "release" of the next book ... didn't take me too long to realise the expected release dates didn't quite line up with reality. :)

I found the more gritty fantasy world very appealing. Whilst there was magic it wasn't "fireballs flying everywhere", more historic and woven into the fabric of the land. It was only once we started getting into the whole Catelyn Stark coming back to life and living shadow magical bits that I felt we'd drifted too far from what I'd enjoyed about the series. I seem to remember finding them quite the page turners and I liked the character per chapter format.

I watched a little of the TV series when it first aired, but didn't stay with it (although I still think the title credits scene was well done), I don't quite remember why. I think probably because I'd fallen out of love with it all a bit by then, soured by the: "I'm going to release the next book this fall", "Whoops will be done by Spring", "Certainly Summer", "Decided to rewrite it ...". I expect in some years I might re-read the first books again and would expect to really love them once again. I'm now starting to wonder if I just have my infamous rose-tints on!

So assuming we're working to the same or a similar definition of trash for books - something along the lines of a book that is poorly written, unrealistic plot, badly developed characters. That kind of thing? I'm not sure they fair that badly, I certainly remember liking the interplay of the characters, but as I say it's been a good number of years and maybe in (slightly more) youth I got swept up and didn't notice? I'm no elite reader I've enjoyed some pretty trashy "Marines & Bolters" 40k fiction in my time so I might not really be best placed to offer any critical judgement! :)
 
^_^;
pointless trash can have it's place but yeah.. just found it pointless trash which was highly derivative but sometimes you wanna read that kinda thing ^_^

My reading habits are very.. broad on the whole.. currently re-reading 'Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH'. I do love the film, though think the ending is a bit of a problem, even though the film did a number of changes. Most of the changes are... okay.. apart from a couple (like that ending... magic doesn't have a place in that world). ah, but I'd side track too much going into it ^_^
 
Well reading an old Guardian review of it https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2009/nov/13/hooked-on-george-rr-martin maybe I did just get swept up, they certainly agree with you that it's trash, but enjoyable trash. I'm now both curious and worried about re-reading it at some point! :)

Can't say I've read the Rats of NIMH. A quick read of the wikipedia page makes it sound interesting. I'm still slowly getting through Kev Adam's biography, which I'm a little undecided about so far. Also still doing chapters of my Roots of England book. Alas too much time coding and not enough time reading (or painting) these last few weeks.
 
ManicMan said:
^_^;
pointless trash can have it's place but yeah.. just found it pointless trash which was highly derivative but sometimes you wanna read that kinda thing ^_^

My reading habits are very.. broad on the whole.. currently re-reading 'Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH'. I do love the film, though think the ending is a bit of a problem, even though the film did a number of changes. Most of the changes are... okay.. apart from a couple (like that ending... magic doesn't have a place in that world). ah, but I'd side track too much going into it ^_^
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OK, I read the Guardian article, and I can concede many of it's points.

But ASOIAF has completely ruined most fantasy books for me, I find them flimsy and lightweight, and so full of cliche, it hurts.

Who would like to throw some Fantasy recommendations this way?
 
orkwrangler said:
Have you read any Joe Abercrombie?
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Oh yeah, love most of his work.

The only other fantasy that has excited me in recent years is this one.

The_Fifth_Season_(novel).jpg

Thought it was outstanding. The sequels weren't quite as good, but still better than most other fantasy.

I detest the writings of Robin Hobb, Robert Jordan, Tad Williams, Terry Goodkind. I find them very poorly written, and God knows I've tried to crack into them them several times.

Abercrombie is the man who made me realise what I need from a fantasy book, and that's for the characters to make believable choices, even though they inhabit a fantasy world. I find most other books full of people who make choices that make no sense, and that shatters my immersion.
 
I would wonder if Eaters of the Dead by Micheal Crichton counts.. (well, "Eaters of the Dead: The Manuscript of Ibn Fadlan Relating His Experiences with the Northmen in AD 922"). Basically, Crichton has a debate with friend who gave a lecture that Beowulf was uninteresting. Crichton stated it was more to do with how it was presented and it ended up with him doing the book which he took the writings of Ahmad Ibn Fadlan who was a Muslim who travelled and wrote about his experiences in the 10th Century, with the epic of Beowulf by having him meet up with the Norse tribe and joining them to chronicle the adventure so..

If you want to count it as Historical with the monsters being how they are kinda presented as 'how lbn Fadlan sees these people' or as a fantasy story with barbarians vs monsters is up to you. Though you might find it a bit dull as as much as I love the work of Crichton, they are slow story based more then action based, and he often puts in stuff to make you wonder if it's all real or fantasy (like his first major hit 'the Andromeda Strain' being presented as a declassified report on the events around the discovery of a new with commentary and statements, mixed with real world articles and references.

The finally made a film version, where it was retitled 'the 13th Warrior' but I never bothered with it (Eaters of the dead film that is.. they didn't make Andromeda strain as 13th Warrior.. I got the original film version of Andromeda and it's good and really faithful (apart from one change) but didn't bother with the remake.. might someday but if its equally as faithful, what's the point of making a remake?

If you can get them, the Slayers Light novels by Hajime Kanzaka (with art by Rui Araizumi) which lead to a good Comic series, an Anime series, a film series etc. if you are unaware.. Light novels are.. mm.. I would compare them to Pulp novels or teen novellas maybe.

while it's a side track, it's one of these series where I can spend ages on the back lore and stuff, with the how view of dæmons ranking, magic etc... at times, some of the translations are... not bad but iffy (and how the anime series did make a few mistake which creates.. problems, even before you see some translation mistakes
 
Bong0_clive said:
The only other fantasy that has excited me in recent years is this one.

View attachment 17116
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I enjoyed the world building in that one. Here are some to look at. It has been a while since I finished some of these so apologies if the descriptions are off.

  • The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison - fish out of water tale; not much action beyond court intrigue
  • Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch - modern day policeman investigates gods & monsters; some of it gets a bit twee
  • The Virconium trilogy by M. John Harrison - dying earth fantasy from the 70s/80s
  • Saevus Corax trilogy by K.J. Parker/Tom Holt - guy runs company of battlefield scavengers; no magic or monsters; black humor
  • The Chalion books by Lois McMaster Bujold - possessed troubleshooter
  • A Land Fit for Heroes by Richard K Morgan - gay swordsman who talks to ghosts
  • Shades of Magic books by V.E. Schwab - parallel universe fantasy
  • The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker - exactly what it says on the tin
  • The Band books by Nicholas Eames - what if mercenaries were rock stars?
 
orkwrangler said:
I enjoyed the world building in that one. Here are some to look at. It has been a while since I finished some of these so apologies if the descriptions are off.

  • The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison - fish out of water tale; not much action beyond court intrigue
  • Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch - modern day policeman investigates gods & monsters; some of it gets a bit twee
  • The Virconium trilogy by M. John Harrison - dying earth fantasy from the 70s/80s
  • Saevus Corax trilogy by K.J. Parker/Tom Holt - guy runs company of battlefield scavengers; no magic or monsters; black humor
  • The Chalion books by Lois McMaster Bujold - possessed troubleshooter
  • A Land Fit for Heroes by Richard K Morgan - gay swordsman who talks to ghosts
  • Shades of Magic books by V.E. Schwab - parallel universe fantasy
  • The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker - exactly what it says on the tin
  • The Band books by Nicholas Eames - what if mercenaries were rock stars?
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Nice!!

Thanks man
 
I can second the Ben Aaronovitch "wizard cop" books are quite good fun, I only read the first few. Bit cheesy, but the few I read I enjoyed.
If you like science fiction I've really enjoyed Alastair Reynold's books over the years, his science fiction feels very realistic.
 
Just finished Sassinak by Elizabeth Moon and Anne McCaffrey. Fun little space opera with space battles, pirates, and a bit of romance. Apparently a sequel to the sequel of McCaffrey's Dinosaur Planet, which means I probably need to go back and read the first two. (Have been on a bit of a Moon kick. Loved McCaffrey when . . . well . . . when Oldhammer was just Hammer.)
 
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