Doesn't look like recent activity with this group. Thought I'd mention recent reads

[captain queeg]

I just finished re-reading Black Prism by Brent Weeks. It was so long since I read it, the first in the Light Bringer series I’d forgotten it and ended up buying it thinking it was a new book. I’d read them as they came out and reading the first volume again was good. I’d forgotten a lot.

Starting now on Fools Errand, the beginning of a series by Robin Hobb. Hadn’t read anything by her for awhile and I always enjoyed her books. It appears to pick up after the Assassin story line. I’d recently started a new Shannara series by Terry Brooks. It really hasn’t grabbed me yet though. He doesn’t seem to be as good as he used to be, he just churns out a lot of books. I’d also been reading a series last year that I liked. Read the first 3 thinking it was a trilogy, but it left me hanging while the next book is finished. Now I can’t remember the author or titles (getting old) and I must have donated the books or something because I can’t find them now. I went to Barnes and Noble and scanned the Fantasy section thinking I’d recognize them but didn’t have any luck.

[Silver Gaia]

1. Hello there!

Last edited Sat Jan 1, 2022, 04:10 PM - Edit history (1)

I've read most of Terry Brooks' Shannara books, and still have them all. I remember reading the first one back in the late 70s! I think I probably read my last Terry Brooks book in the early 2000s.

Reading has been problematic for me ever since November 8, 2016. It's like I've been afraid to let myself relax enough to read for enjoyment. I've tried several times, with varying degrees of success, but it is still a problem I am trying to work through. I buy the books I want to read, put them in a bookcase, and stare longingly at them.

Currently, I have 3 very large volumes sitting in a pile in my largest bookcase staring back accusingly at me from across the room. I really need to start reading them! I want to...

They are the latest trilogy, The Last King of Osten Ard (1.The Witchwood Crown, 2. Empire of Grass, 3. The Heart of What Was Lost) from one of my favorite fantasy writers, Tad Williams, and present a return to the world of his first series of books, Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn (1. The Dragonbone Chair, 2. Stone of Farewell, 3. To Green Angel Tower) from the late 80s and early 90s.

So, it has been a while since I've been there... I've visited other worlds from the mind of Tad Williams in the intervening years (Shadowmarch, Otherland), but this world has always been my favorite. Will it have changed? Will it still hold the same magic for me? Will I have changed too much to enjoy it as I once did? I guess the only way to find out is to begin... if I can...

Wish me luck!

ETA CORRECTION: The third book in Tad Williams' new Osten Ard trilogy will be released in July, and it's called Into the Narrowdark. The book I mistakenly listed above as the third is a new book set in the Osten Ard world, but it's not part of the trilogy.

[captain queeg]

3. I find escape via reading. I've pretty much given up TV

I get news from the internet and I try to limit it somewhat. I went thru a period of reading a lot of history books but for the last year I’ve gone back to fantasy books. I used to keep all my books but since I sold my house a few years ago I just don’t have the space. I’ve gone back to the library this year after not using it much. Besides it was closed for about a year due to Covid. You could order a book online and pull up to. Waiting area and someone would bring the books out and put them in your trunk. I’ve read a lot out WWII already and read a few books about some of the politics around it lately. I end up seeing so many parallels to the US and trump that it’s scary but it’s still interesting to me. As one historian puts it, WWII is the biggest event in human history. Anyway, it’s nice to just read for pleasure. Now that I’m retired I enjoy reading often.

[Silver Gaia]

5. Reading has always been my escape.

I wish it was working that way for me now. I've been struggling with this for 5 years now! Its like I'm afraid if I relax enough to sink deep into a book, I will miss something important that I need to know about. I do use movies and TV as escape, but that is easier because they have defined lengths... an hour, 2 hours... so the loss of control is less of a fear. I could sink into a book for days and only come up to eat, drink, and breathe. I am working on it, though!

I'm sorry to hear you gave up on TV. I gave up on broadcast TV years ago, too, but there is an amazing amount of really good fantasy and scifi out there these days. Most of it is on streaming services, but for instance, Prime is doing a stellar rendition of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, Apple+ has just finished one season of Isaac Asimov's Foundation series that is also excellent, and HBOMax has just started a limited series based on the recent award-winning book, Station Eleven (one of those books I bought and stared at). I watched the first episode of that last night and am excited for more. My point is just that there IS good stuff out there on the small screen these days. It's just not on what we have always thought of as TV. This is different. It's cinematic TV.

My hubby is also a huge fan of all things WWII, but I am not drawn to that kind of reading. I do enjoy historical reading, but from more of an anthropological and cultural angle about the more ancient to medieval worlds.

[captain queeg]

9. Seems like when I have the TV hooked up I fall into wasting a lot of time

not even watching something I really like. Too easy to just sit there flipping thru channels. I have Hulu and thru my son I can get Disney and Netflix I think. Haven’t tried for awhile, I’ve heard some companies are cracking down on people sharing accounts. I do see several new shows that are offered on a streaming site that I think I’d like. Just haven’t gotten around to trying to get on.

This latest book I’ve got is standard paperback size and print. Maybe the print is even smaller than usual. It’s been hard to read, seems like all the other books I’ve read lately are larger print. I guess I’m going to have to look for that when I’m getting a new book. My eyes have gotten noticeably worse.

[Silver Gaia]

10. Would reading glasses help?

I can't read that tiny print anymore either, but reading glasses help me.

I hear you about flipping channels and wasting time with TV. I don't do that anymore. I have a system. I use a site that lists by premiere date and time upcoming new shows and movies, as well as dates and times for returning shows. They include networks and a brief description of whatever is new. Sometimes they link trailers or reviews, too. I look at that about once a month and put whatever interests me on the calendar in my phone. It takes me about a half hour to an hour (rarely). That way, I know what I want to see and when and where to find it, so it's easier to discipline myself and I won't miss the good stuff.

I allow myself a couple of hours after dinner for watching whatever is on my list. I also allow myself at least Rachel Maddow once a day, and sometimes Chris Hayes, Joy Reid, or Lawrence O'Donnell as well, or even CNN, if there's something going on in the news (DU helps with that!). Other than that, my TV stays off (unless there's something important happening, like on Jan. 6 my TV stayed on all day and into the night!). I guess I'm fortunate that I just don't enjoy watching the drek the broadcast and cable stations churn out. (Some streamers are doing that, too, now. I turn OFF "autoplay" in the settings wherever I can!) I'm particular about what I want to spend my time watching. But I can't not watch. I love the film arts too much to just not watch.

The site I use is MetaCritic. I don't know what I'd do without them! Here's a link: https://www.metacritic.com/feature/tv-premiere-dates

I hope that helps you or anyone else reading find a way back to the quality fantasy and sci-fi that is on our small screens now. I do my best to support the good stuff. The more we support them, the more they will produce.

[captain queeg]

11. Thanks. I'll look into that.

I do have reading glasses sprinkled around the house. 2.5 I think. I also have some prescription glasses that I’ve barely used and now can’t even find them. I probably need to go back and get my eyes checked, it’s been about 3 yrs and I think my vision has deteriorated.

[captain queeg]

19. I'll have to give a look at Tad Williams, never heard of him

I’ve been reading quite a bit this last year. Between retiring and the Covid pandemic I stay home a lot. I’d really hoped to do more travel once I retired but Covid has interrupted things. Maybe I should get Netflix or something. There seem to be a lot of shows and movies nowadays that I’d probably like.

[Silver Gaia]

20. Covid has interrupted a lot of things!

I wanted to do some traveling, too. But nope. Can't do that, not yet.

I want to make a correction to my post about Tad Williams' new Osten Ard trilogy series. The third book in that series will be released in July, and it's called Into the Narrowdark. The book I mistakenly listed as the third is a new book set in the Osten Ard world, but it's not part of the trilogy.

If you are new to Tad Williams, i recommend starting with the first Osten Ard trilogy: Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn. The first book of that series is To Green Angel Tower.

It might not be a bad idea to explore a streaming service like Netflix. I think you can subscribe to Amazon Prime monthly now, too, instead of just annually. They have some outstanding fantasy, like Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time that recently premiered, and there's a Lord of the Rings prequel using some of Tolkien's other works coming next fall. Anyway, you can always cancel it if you decide it's not for you.

[getting old in mke]

12. Hobb's Realm of the Elderlings

I liked the various series in the Realm of the Elderlings, starting with the Assassin's trilogy.

While not required, a number of things in the Tawny Man trilogy (the one you are starting with Fools Errand) will make more sense, or seem less deus ex-machina, if you read the Liveship Traders trilogy first. There's only a little overlap in character/events, and you won't particularly miss that, but there is a large portion of world building that will be helpful.

[captain queeg]

13. Yeah I've read that trilogy awhile ago

I already see some things about dragons and Wind Wild.

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

14. I generally like Hobb

She is good with characters, and her plots are also good. Her characters do things because it is in their character, not because the plot demands it.

Two things I don't like are (1) her pacing, which reminds me of why glaciers have a bad name; and (2) her obsession with torture. To egregiously misquote Lord Chesterfield, having bad things happen to characters is a sign of a good writer; too much description of torture is a sign of a sadist.

[captain queeg]

16. Yes, I was thinking with this new book how slow it started out.

Fortunately her writing is good enough to hold my attention till things start happening. I don’t know about the torture. I can’t remember that being an issue in her books. The guy that gets me is the Sword of Truth writer. I almost quit reading his stuff due to the long descriptions of torture or pain. Can’t think of his name right now but I’ve read several of his books. I haven’t read him for awhile, I’m sure there are a couple more books by now.

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

17. The Sword of Truth guy is Terry Goodkind.

Yes, he definitely comes across as a sadist. He is also a fan of Ayn Rand, and her influence is easily seen by the reader. His misogyny is also off-putting. I gave up on him years ago.

[captain queeg]

18. I think I read the first 3 books before abandoning him.

Didn’t like the mord-sith and torture. And I didn’t get the head wizard Zed, he seemed pretty powerless for his position. There’s a few authors that I thought had promise and then I tired of them pretty quickly. Sometimes it’s just because I feel like they are just churning out books quickly without fresh ideas. I’d put Brooks and Salvatore in that category. Really liked them for awhile and read all their stuff, but just got boring after awhile. Donaldson is somewhere in the middle. I haven’t read him for awhile, but I ended up liking the last Covenent books. At least the last I’ve seen; there was a series with 4 books. He had a few unrelated titles that were hit and miss. I’ve liked the Weeks books so far, up and coming author. I don’t know if I’ve read them all, there were 3 books about an assassin and the more recent Lightbringer series.

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

21. I happen to loathe Donaldson.

Donaldson seems to go in for unsympathetic protagonists. In the Thomas Covenant books, Covenant feels guilt. He goes on and on, endlessly kvetching about his guilt. At one point, he feels guilt for something someone else did. Donaldson also suffers from what I call "William F. Buckley's Disease", in that he has an immense vocabulary and wants to show it off. He uses the word "coign" where any other person would have "balcony". He has one character tell Covenant that he is uxorious; a claim that is meretricious. Indeed, the claim is completely mendacious (for one thing, the character is unmarried) -- but what can one expect from a man who is wearing a carcanet? I could also go on at length about his novel The Real Story, but that is SF, not fantasy.

I have mixed feelings about Raymond Feist's Magician series. He can write, and the trilogy he did with Janny Wurts, Daughter of the Empire, Servant of the Empire, and Mistress of the Empire are really good. However, he just seems to go on and on, book after book, and never comes to a conclusion. In the last of that series, he has a character who is the great-great grandson of someone who is a boy in the first book.

I started reading Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. However, after about the eighth book, in which everyone seemed to going to and fro but not going on, I lost interest.

David Eddings started well with The Belgarion, but the next series, The Malloreon is the same story retold. Eddings seems to believe that people living in one country are all exactly alike, which is simply laziness on his part. Eddings' last series, The Dreamers, is total crap. Much of it consists of the same incidents as seen by two different characters -- and since the two have very similar reactions, why bother? The series ends by a god "hitting the cosmic reset button", which is cheating. His Redemption of Althalus is for the most part fun, although the last quarter or so of the novel is rushed.

I liked Weeks's Night Angel trilogy, for the most part. He does have a serious consideration of "what sort of person could be an assassin?" His conclusion is that it takes someone who is seriously damaged psychologically. He also does well with the question, "what do you do when all your choices are bad?"

[captain queeg]

15. I finished the first book of the Tawny man series, went and bought the next two today

I vaguely remember the Live Ship books. It does seem that she ties things together. But I can’t really remember anything about the Elderlings even though I’ve read so many of her books. My memory is not that great these days, and I just read for enjoyment. We’ve gotten snow this week and I’m just staying home and reading but I made it to the book store today.

I think I mentioned earlier that I’d been reading a series with one book left but couldn’t remember the titles or author. I think I figured it out today. It’s the Firemane series by Fiest. I remember the word Firemane last night and did a Google search. I’m not sure if that final book is even out yet. I hadn’t remembered it was by Fiest. I’d read all his stuff years ago and liked him. That happens for me. I’ll read everything by an author and then forget about them for a few years till, come back later when they have new stuff.

[captain queeg]

22. I know I've read all of the Liveship books

And I thought I’d read the Assasin series but I’m starting to think I’ve only read the first two. That was 30 yrs ago, maybe the third book hadn’t come out yet. At any rate there’s quite a few things talked about that I. Have no memory of. I remember carving a stone dragon but I don’t think I remember them being brought to life nor Fitz deciding to stay dead. I think I’ll go back and read the third book.

I’ve bought many books over they years but when I sold my house and moved I donated them. I don’t plan on buying a house again and don’t have room in an apartment.

[ExWhoDoesntCare]

23. Thread necromancy

I don't tend to read much fantasy. My husband is a huge fan, but I'm more into literary fiction and mystery/thriller, with non-fiction sorta hanging out on the fringes. I'd read a few of the Jim Butcher Dresden books, which had enough mystery to them to suit that side of me, but the rest... I've never really bothered.

This was the first year that I participated in book challenges (yes, more than one!), and that of course exposed me to more fantasy. I was really surprised at how many of my choices I've enjoyed reading. I won't go into details about my thoughts on them, but the list includes:

P Djèlí Clark – A Master of Djinn
Alix Harrow – The Ten Thousand Doors of January
Sarah Maas – A Court of Thorns and Roses
Charlie Holmberg – The Paper Magician
Neil Gaiman – Stardust

I'd say that the weakest one in that bunch was The Paper Magician. It wasn't bad, but it paled next to those other books, which were all 4-star reads for me, at least. Those 4 may not have been the deepest or most thought-provoking books out there, but they were well-written and loads of fun.

Coming soon for me is Tolkien's Hobbit. Yes, I'm admitting that I've never read it before now. I've listened to a BBC radio drama of it and enjoyed that immensely. But I've never read the actual book. Or even seen any of the movies. I started it many moons ago, but couldn't get far into it before setting it aside. Having a box to check gives me the impetus to finish books I might not otherwise, so I'll probably finish it this time.

As it is, I don't know if I'll become a "fan" of the genre to read it often, but I'm now more willing to read (and finish) a fantasy book than I was before. I may even pluck up the willpower to tackle a more long-winded writer like Patrick Rothfuss, LOL. My husband has been raving about him for a long time now, and keeps asking me to read it. Maybe next year...

[captain queeg]

24. I didn't really like the hobbit much but everyone said read it first befor LOTR

And I guess it was important to set the stage. I have a tendency to find an author I like and then read all his stuff, then move on to another. Some are better than others, some are just ok for a diversion. I started reading Christopher Stasheff recently. He’s in the OK category but I got online and bought all of his books in the series second hand for less than $20 so that’ll keep me going awhile.