Book Thread Continued

[GrimReality]

Finished Sandman: Worlds End, which was great, and started up Fahrenheit 451. Surprisingly I never read it growing up, in school or otherwise. If it's anywhere near as good as 1984 was I'll be happy. The premise is certainly interesting.
In case it wasn't obvious, I'm going through some "top 100 books of all time" lists and picking the ones i haven't read.

[ultra7k]

Re: Sanderson - I really like his novella Alloy of Law that takes place centuries after the original Mistborn series, maybe even more so than the original trilogy.
His other epic series that he started, the Stormlight Archive is also very, very good. I can't wait for the next one, and now that he is done with WoT he should have more time to write this series. He is very prolific, which is a good thing since it means we don't typically have to wait forever and a day for his next book. Also, he is known to sign random copies in airports at the bookstores there, which is pretty cool.

On that note, Scott Lynch released the third book in his series. The third book, The Republic of Thieves is one that I have been eagerly awaiting. Will have to pick it up this weekend and see how it goes. It has been a good while since I've read his books and it's good to see that he is coping with his depression. Hopefully he can really overcome it and get back to everyday life.

[Daggerstrike]

Re: Sanderson - I really like his novella Alloy of Law that takes place centuries after the original Mistborn series, maybe even more so than the original trilogy.
His other epic series that he started, the Stormlight Archive is also very, very good. I can't wait for the next one, and now that he is done with WoT he should have more time to write this series. He is very prolific, which is a good thing since it means we don't typically have to wait forever and a day for his next book. Also, he is known to sign random copies in airports at the bookstores there, which is pretty cool.

That is awesome. RA Salvatore used to do the same thing at the bookstore where I worked. I would walk around and see a stack of his books on the floor. The first time I was confused.

I jut finished the third book in the Spellmonger series. It's called Magelord and it is pretty darn good.

[Darilon]

re-read The Road. What an amazing book. It flows beautifully from beginning to end.


If you saw the movie and enjoyed it, read this book. The story is the same but it still manages to feel like a different beast.

[GrimReality]

Fahrenheit 451 -
I give this only three stars because it came to a sudden and abrupt end, with so much potential lost. My copy has 50 or so pages of essays and discussion material in the back, which I did not know about, so when the end came, I was flabbergasted. The book was way too damn short! It needed another 50 pages to flesh things out, and resolve things.
The concept is certainly an interesting one, and I enjoyed it for awhile, but a few issues bothered me.
Even as it's explained in the book, I never bought that a society would willingly allow the destruction of all books. Or at least most of them. It's a little unclear which ones are allowed to stay.
I loved the character of Clarisse. I wish we had gotten more of her.

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She's just suddenly gone! Like a major character in a movie being killed off off screen. Not coolMontag is an everyman idiot, and I know that's the point, but he got on my nerves a bit too much.
I'm certainly glad I finally read it, and I get why it's a classic, but I have too many problems with it for it to rank too high on my own list.

I just ordered Sandman #9 and The Stars My Destination, so I'll be reading those soon. In the meantime I may tap into my Edgar Allen Poe Compendium.

[Esper_Crusader]

I'm halfway through Doctor Sleep and its very good so far. I was a bit skeptical on a sequel to The Shining but it feels very natural, I'm glad to say.

[Tooker]

That's a relief.  I hoped it'd be good.

[ultra7k]

Currently reading through Scott Lynch's "The Republic of Thieves". After the first chapter, this feels like it will be an important book plot wise in the entire series.

[Dincrest]

Fahrenheit 451 -
Even as it's explained in the book, I never bought that a society would willingly allow the destruction of all books. Or at least most of them. It's a little unclear which ones are allowed to stay.

Historically speaking, there were the Nazi book burnings in Germany during the 1930s.  

Re: the reading thread: I'm slowly working my way through Mistborn book 2 in between work, gym, band, and Pokemon.  I'm somewhere in the middle of book two where

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the Assembly has deposed Elend as king, by writ, and now Vin and company are scrambling to improve the dire situation they're in.

[ultra7k]

I have no time to game, and even less time to read these days.

Still trying to make my way slowly through Republic of Thieves. I find that since I stopped working at the bookstore I used to work at, I just don't read as much which is strange, considering how much I love reading.

[Daggerstrike]

I picked up the first Scott Lynch book. I am not sure how I feel about it yet.

[CluelessWonder]

I can't believe I overlooked this thread.  I read mostly mysteries and currently I've gotten hooked on Tess Gerritsen's books.  It's the Rizzoli and Isles books which is very different in tone to the series.  The series is much more light hearted and humorous while the books are not.

Perusing the last few pages I see many are into the fantasy genre.  I've only dabbled in the genre, mainly reading Pier Anthony's Xanth series.  I want to branch out but I don't really know where to start.  The fantasy section in my local library is really lacking.  Well the adult section is, the YA section has a lot. 

[Daggerstrike]

I can't believe I overlooked this thread.  I read mostly mysteries and currently I've gotten hooked on Tess Gerritsen's books.  It's the Rizzoli and Isles books which is very different in tone to the series.  The series is much more light hearted and humorous while the books are not.

Perusing the last few pages I see many are into the fantasy genre.  I've only dabbled in the genre, mainly reading Pier Anthony's Xanth series.  I want to branch out but I don't really know where to start.  The fantasy section in my local library is really lacking.  Well the adult section is, the YA section has a lot. 

Hmm, if you like mystery and want to read some fantasy then I would suggest Simon R. Green either the Nightside series or Secret Histories. Both have a "whodunit?" feel for some of the books.

I would also recommend anything by Brandon Sanderson if you just want fantasy.

[CluelessWonder]

Thanks for the suggestions.  I'll try looking for them at the library.

[ultra7k]

Thanks for the suggestions.  I'll try looking for them at the library.

Some of Sanderson's works:

Elantris (standalone)
Warbreaker (standalone)

Mistborn series:
1. Mistborn
2. The Well of Ascension
3. The Hero of Ages
4. Alloy of Law (Novella that takes place centuries(?) after the original trilogy)

Stormlight Archive: (my personal favourite of his series so far)
1. The Way of Kings
2. Forthcoming title

He also has a few other novellas like the Rythymtist and a few others, not to mention his continuation of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series.

IMO he is a very accessible author, and is known as the Magic Systems guy. Always has some interesting concepts for magic systems in his world building, and they are always well explained.

One thing you can count on with Sanderson is he is very prolific. In an age where authors take their time (far too long for my tastes) you can count on Sanderson to output 1-2 quality novels per year. He is like David Gemmell in this regard.

I'd also recommend David Gemmell if you want some great hero with flaws based fantasy. Many of his novels are standalones or tie ins, and while there are few trilogies or series within his novels, they are usually identifiable. Often times you come across some tropes and such, but his writing is always honest and straightforward. His Rigante series (one of my favourites), to this day leaves you with some super memorable characters. Years after reading it, my friend and I still talk about it.  He is often emulated, but never copied. He had this genre down pat in my opinion.

It's too bad he passed away just as he was finishing his masterpiece series, Troy. Over the years, he always said he wanted to polish up his writing skills so that he could do justice to this series of novels. He eventually did, and it's quite evident when you compare earlier works to his last novels.

 These are just fantastic novels, and while the final novel was finished by his wife who also edited his works for him over the years, the fantasy marketplace is a sadder place for not having David Gemmell around any longer.