FantasyFans Message Board

Sometimes the great big fantasy tome is a good thing, sometimes a short blast of fantasy is good.

I have to admit that I really do try to read some of the good stuff but often I find that I'm enjoying some of the more ephemerial works. Brain candy for the mind.

*waves*

Hi ya! I just discovered the Robin Hobb Assassin series. Great summer reading.
Cheers!

I think I've discovered a lot of fantasy authors this year so far- I think I'm on an extended fantasy kick, though it's liberally seasoned with historical fiction. The next on my list is, I think, Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner. But that can change :-)

When I read Swordspoint I found it almost historical fiction. But then my points of reference seem to be different from other people's

Yes, I think there are some fantasy authors that do that- I don't usually mind, actually, as I love histfict, as well :-) But I think a blurb on the book cover said that the book was like Georgette Heyer writing fantasy, which sounds too good to be true to me!

Greetings!

Diamond! I'll add you to my "watch list" :-)

http://www.overduemedia.com/archive.aspx?strip=20060723

About A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

Hi Diamond, good to see you.

Hi :) I just discovered this group *and* Diana Wynne Jones... I think Howl's Moving Castle might be my new favorite book. Anyone read anything by her?

Dogsbody by Diana Wynne Jones was one of my all-time favorite books when I was little. I keep meaning to read Howl's Moving Castle since I saw the Miyazaki film last year, but I never make the time for it.

Diana Wynne Jones is one of my all-time favourites. I've never read a book of hers that I disliked. Silvernfire, I hope you'll let us know how you like the book of Howl's Moving Castle when you get around to reading it, since you saw the movie first. I liked the movie very much, but I read the book first and it is IMHO much better. Miyazaki's version has some significant deviations from the original.

Thongor, that was definitely a short blast!

Got 100 or so pages to go of The Bonehunters by Steven Erikson. As usual when reading a Malazan Book of the Fallen, I spent the first third thinking:
"Who's that again?"
"What's going on?"
"What happened to this character two books ago? Oh, yeah..."

Then it all sort of falls in to place and the pace picks up and all the plot strands start to intersect and it all gets very exciting and I can't wait to get to the end... by which time I will feel like an honourary Malazan ;)

By the time his next comes out I will have forgotten a lot of what happened and will have to go through the whole experience again!

What do other people think of Erikson? His characterisation has been criticised, sometimes rightly so in my opinion, but I do find his books unlike almost any others for sheer breadth and depth of world. And he does humour pretty well when the mood takes him too.

and there is kinda a personal reason for the witch world graphic, it's the first adult fantasy that I read. What's more that's the edition I have.

I've never read a Malazan book, though it's sort of been at the back of my mind for a while- to be perfectly honest, I heard the series is going to be ten books long, so I figure I have time to hold off on starting it, as I think he's only on book 3 or 4, isn't he? I have enough trouble keeping track of GRRM and the lapses between books for him- adding another long series to the mix right now would be too complicated for me!

Tardis: I completely agree with you about Howl's Moving Castle the book versus the movie. I was lucky enough to read the book before I saw the movie, and I definitely like the book better, even though I'm a HUGE Miyazaki fan (my favorite of his movies is Nausicaa). Have you read Castle in the Air? I definitely didn't like that as much, but I'm guessing that's where Miyazaki got some of the storyline changes from Howl the book to the movie - the war could come from there. As I recall, there's not much (if any) mention of war in Howl's Moving Castle. What do you think?

Hallo all. I was recommended to join this group by a member of the LiveJournal LibraryThing community...so here I am!

I'm currently reading Great Expectations by Charles Dickens for a class I'm taking next year..as well as The Godfather by Mario Puzo which I am enjoying immensely. Haven't seen the movie, but I got it at a booksale after thinking "well at least I'll know what everyone's talking about when they quote the movie"....any comments on the truth or falseness of this thought? I know books and movies never tell the same story...should I see the movie, or will the book be sufficient? It's not my normal style...

C

Also, in response to all the talk about Diana Wynne Jones, I've read Howl's Moving Castle and started Castle in the Air but never finished the latter because it was just not interesting after reading the first. I haven't seen the movie, and just from the previews I could tell it wasn't the same story.

Along the lines of loving Diana Wynne Jones, my favorite book by her, and one of my favorites over all is Power of Three...it's a little bit more young adult, but an awesome book. My tastes happen to lie in the young adult direction, seeing as one of my other favorite authors is Eva Ibbotson.

C

Hi! It's nice to see so many people have joined this group. I'm hoping for lots of recommendations.

I've just finished reading Stranger Things Happen by Kelly Link and I really loved it. It's a short story collection and like most anthologies I enjoyed some of the stories more than others, but overall I loved her style of writing. I'm kind of a word geek and sometimes I would have to read little bits of her stories out loud to myself because I liked them so much. :) If anyone is interested, she has at least two stories available to read on her website at: http://www.kellylink.net/

Wow. Just wow.

I just went to that webpage and read The Faery Handbag....oh my god. AWESOME story. I love it. Thanks for the recommendation...

C

I don't read a lot of short fiction, but I did read "Magic for Beginners" by Kelly Link when it was published in F&SF, and I must say it is odd, but odd in a good way. I keep thinking about picking up her recent anthology Magic for Beginners (which has the story I mentioned) whenever I'm at Borders, but since I don't read a lot of short fiction I haven't been able to convince myself that I really need it yet.

In response to those talking about Steven Erikson, I enjoyed the first four books in his Malazan series immensely. But like someone said, I always spent the first half of the book trying to remember what the heck went on in the previous books. Midnight Tides was my breaking point, as there was almost no repeat characters, and the one character that I did recognize, Trull something, was a character I had previously skimmed the sections of in House of Chains, since I found them fairly boring. So I wasn't too thrilled to find out that a good section of the next book was about him, and I guess was sort of a prequel too. I was happy in House of Chains guessing his backstory, so I certainly wasn't going to sit through about a thousand pages learning it. Which is too bad, because I genuinely like most of the storylines in the other books, and my inability to get through Midnight Tides probably means I won't ever get to the rest of the series.

This Steven Erikson guy, what kind of fantasy does he write? I love reading big, long, confuse-the-hell-out-of-all-but-the-most-diligent-readers books...his sound like that type...am I right? Any suggestions on what book to start on if I were to read him?

C

I've just started John Crowley's little, big which I've heard described as a fantasy classic, yet never managed to get my hands on before. Any thoughts?

John Crowley's Little, Big is a work that seems to divide opinion somewhat. A number feel it is absolutely the classic you describe. Others feel that despite the excellent writing it falls short. Mainly because it its meandering pace and resolution. I have to admit it has been some time since I have read it and I do not have very strong memories of the book but do have strong memories of the writing.

It's funny. In High School, I read all the Arthurian novels I could get my hand on, and I read the Shannara books....but then when I stumbled into my YA Services job about 10 years after that, I wasn't really big on Fantasy. Aside from Harry Potter, of course. Then I went to a conference where I had to read a handful of books. And my teens also wanted more in the collection. And now I'm a fantasy addict. Which makes our Teen Librarian here very happy, because she doesn't really like it.

My current favorite series are The Children of the Red King, The Keys to the Kingdom, and The Edge Chronicles (and Harry Potter.)

Little, Big is fabulous, but it has a very different style than "epic" fantasy and it does lack a degree of direct resolution. Fans of older, weirder fantasy will probably like it.

Speaking of older, weirder fantasy, I would recommend Firedance by Scott Baker. Awesome book...a little snippet of a world's story--highly suspenseful (I thought.).

C

I don't read much epic fantasy.

I have recently bought Hal Duncan's Vellum which I am looking forward to. I have recently (well last month) read James Morrow's The Last Witchfinder which I am not sure whether it qualifies as fantasy, although it is fanciful. My favourite fantasy writer has to be Graham Joyce.

Thanks for the nudge. I've been buying all of Graham Joyce's books, but have yet to read one - I'm easily distracted by the latest buzz, but I know I'll enjoy him.

I've read one or two by Graham Joyce and I really enjoyed them. The last I read was The Facts of Life which is fantastic.

Little, big is a book I found readable but underwhelming. I suppose that's just my taste.

I think an under appreciated Diana Wynne Jones book is Deep Secret. When I read it I was simply tickled over setting the book at a fantasy convention. You can't get better than a snooty Brit named Rupert Venable either. I didn't like the sequel, The Merlin Conspiracy as much, but then I think DWJ's great strength as an author is her ability to come up with new stories not just write series.

*waves* Hi all!

Thanks for the heads up about Kelly Link. Right now I'm re-reading The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede and figure I'll start the Harry Potter series again before the last book comes out. In the meantime, I'm cruising LT to get reading reccomendations.

I just thought I'd drop by and say "hi".

Hi. ;-)

Well I haven't finished Little, Big yet. It is readable, but isn't enthralling.

I just read Deep Secret a couple of months ago, and while it was enjoyable enough, I didn't feel a need to hang onto it forever. So I used it as a BookCrossing book and left it, appropriately enough, in the free book exchange at a sci-fi/fantasy convention I went to earlier this month. (No one has yet reported finding it, though).

I'm so glad to see the picture of Witch World up there! Andre Norton doesn't get nearly enough love online.

Has anyone else read The Ill-Made Mute by Cecilia Dart-Thornton? I'm considering getting the sequels but have heard discouraging things about them.

I just wanted to say hi to everyone! I've just joined and my library contains many fantasy books...and many of those point horror/thriller books i used to read when I was 10 (or 25...hehe).

I guess I wouldn't call myself a big reader, even though I do love reading certain kinds of books. I guess I have found it hard to branch out of the fantasy genre but i do think it'd be worth doing. Still...I haven't found the inspiration yet. ;) I know my mum would have MANY recommendations for me if I decided to. I also know that I do enjoy some non-fantasy book. I just don't think I will until I am reading them!

Okay, enough rambling from me!!

I just finished Sister Light, Sister Dark by Jane Yolen which was a great read. Yesterday I zipped through The Blind Knight by Gail Van Asten and I was both impressed and unimpressed by it. I liked the mythic feel but I did occasionally feel like it was a bit laboured. Overall though, both were good reads and I'd recommend them.

Deirdre, just wanted to let you know that I was disappointed with Swordspoint as well- just like you said, there was hardly any fantasy in it at all. And I didn't "get" the story, either.

I must get back to Sister Light, Sister Dark, I got stuck part way through. This means I have both White Jenna and the One-Armed Queen sitting on my unread shelf. Jane Yolen is one of my favorite authors, I read both her fiction and her colections of fairy/folk tales. Last week I read the Young Merlin Trilogy but I think its aimed at too young a readership to be enjoyed much by adult readers. Armageddon Summer and The Devil's Arithmetic were both good reads.

I agree with Katissima's point about Diana Wynne Jones being good at creating enjoyable stories in multiple different universes rather than just being all about series. The Chrestomanci books were my favorite when I was younger, but The Ogre Downstairs is also a good read. I also have a liking for A Tale of Time City. For some reason, I wasn't able to get into Dogsbody when I read it as a youngster, but I do recall that it was very well written.

Right now, I'm waiting for Eldest to come out in paperback, and I just ordered A Game of Thrones, which is a pretty new fantasy direction for me. We'll see if I decide to pick up the rest of the series.

In message 38, whatever1013 mentioned that they are reading The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Wrede. I came across that work back in college, and read if over a Thanksgiving break. I couldn't put it down. I haven't read it again since then...too many things have gotten my attention since then! Maybe I'll pick it up again soon. :) Hope you enjoy it Whatever1013. :)

I have to get my hands on a copy of White Jenna and The One-armed Queen I have them wishlisted.

My favorite Diana Wynne Jones book nobody's mentioned is Fire and Hemlock, which is an awesome retelling of the Tam Lin legend. It was out of print until just recently, but has now been reissued. (Yay!)

Hmm, yes, introductions: I'm a 21-year-old college student. I've been reading fantasy novels since fourth or fifth grade, longer than that if you're counting children's fantasy like The Children of Green Knowe. I, too, read a lot of YA and children's fantasy, but also adult fantasy, as well. I'm also marcia_g, which is the username I have the books I own under, while this one I use for all the books I've read (including ones from the library) in the last two or three years.

Right now, I'm in love with George R.R. Martin's work, and I just started reading Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. Some perennial favorites include The Song of the Lioness Quartet by Tamora Pierce, early Mercedes Lackey, Diana Wynne Jones, Diane Duane, Patricia C. Wrede, and Tanith Lee, among others.

What little girl *didn't* grow up on Alanna and Daine? :P

Me for one, too old to have grown up on them, met alanna at about 18-19.

I have no idea who Alanna and Daine are- oh, dear, is that my TBR pile tottering precariously as I add more books to the top?

Alanna and Daine are two characters in Tamora Pierce's hugely successful series. Starts with Alanna, the first adventure and gets better from there

Favorite Patricia C. Wrede:

Mairelon the Magician and Magician's Ward

I still have the copy of Mairelon the Magician that I bought at a book fair in sixth grade. Do they still have those? Book fairs? Also, those little scholastic book flyers you could order books out of? In the town I grew up in, there was no book store. You could only buy books in the Food Lion or the drug store. I found one book in that Food Lion that I still have In the Shadow of the Oak King, an Arthurian tale. I've never gotten the impression that the author, Courtway Jones, was particularly well known, but I still like his Arthurian stories.

My favorite author is Dave Duncan and I can't figure out why he isn't more popular. It may be that he's Canadian. I don't know.

I highly suggest him. Among his more recent work I would recommend the King's Blades series (The Gilded Chain, Lord of the Fire Lands, Sky of Swords). Each is a stand alone novel but if you read all three you'll be amazed. They are a sort of medieval adventure. From his older out of print work I really like is The Hunters' Haunt and his A Man of His Word series (Magic Casement, Faery Lands Forlorn, Perilous Seas, Emperor and Clown.) Those novels are a sort of romantic adventure with a really cool magic system. If you like Robin Hobb I think you'd like Duncan.

Oh, my god, when I read Sky of Swords and it all came together? I swear, I have never been so impressed, or so taken by surprise. He did it so WELL. It's the only time I can think of that the delay between books was a GOOD thing!

What little girl *didn't* grow up on Alanna and Daine? :P
Are those characters or authors?

In regards to Malazan -- I've read 4, and own 5 (or is it 6?) of them so far. The ones I've read are completely able to be read as stand alones, and there isn't a necessary continuation of story in them. My wife has read all of the ones out so far, and has told me that one of the later ones actually takes place earlier (many, many years earlier) than the ones I had read.

So I think "series" is a bit of a misnomer in this case. And I heartliy recommend them.

wf,

I had never even heard of Tamora Pierce until I joined Librarything!

wyvernfriend:
This is in reference to when you said that Tamora Pierce got better from 'Alanna: The First Adventure'.

Do you think that even the Keladry (and following, not sure what it's called) series are 'better'? I, for one, feel like Alanna and Daine were written from the heart while Keladry and the following were written more for a paycheck. I'm not sure, just got that vibe from their voices in the stories - but maybe I was just so smitten with Daine and Numair...

I'd like to hear other people's opinions on that matter. :)

In response to message 37, which doesn't appear to have a named author, the author you are thinking of is O. R. Melling. I haven't read those two, but did read some earlier ones years ago. If I ever get a break in my reading those two are on my wish list.

The Malazan books are awesome, thick and meaty, confusing and interesting. These novels require commitment.

bangerlm, thanks for the tip- I just got The Gilded Chain from paperbackswap.

I also ordered A Great and Terrible Beauty, which I have heard many good things about.

I stopped myself there :-) But my wishlist has gotten so much bigger from this site!

Absolutely agree, Bangerim, that Dave Duncan is an undersung hero. I loved Man of his Word, and also the series set during ww1 - can't think of the name off the top of my head, but fabulous stuff. I have such a hard time finding his books, have to get them from a specialty sci fi/fantasy bookshop.

I had to join this group when I saw the discussion of Alanna - the Song of the Lioness quartet is one of my all-time favourites. I think most of Tamora Pierce's later books are worse (I didn't even like Daine as much as Alanna). But Trickster's Choice and Trickster's Queen definitely rival the Alanna ones, at least in my opinion. They're much longer, so they have more depth.

I like the Keladry stuff a LOT, but I freely admit that this is in part because I am a nipponophile. :P

Speaking of Japan, I really enjoyed Kij Johnson's Fudoki. You should check it out if you're in the mood for some interesting fantasy set in that part of the world.

Heh. Yeah, read The Fox Woman and Fudoki ages ago. ;) They are, indeed, quite awesome. Though I actually prefer The Fox Woman, of the two. ^_^

Some of the books feel like there's an editor hanging over her with a whip urging her to write more & faster but I still enjoy them. Sometimes when I re-read them I find that the first series is comparatively a bit weak, whereas the later series are a bit more polished. Then again I can't not re-read the first series regularly.

I have to disagree with you, wyvernfriend. Alanna: The First Adventure is quite possibly my favorite Tamora Pierce book of all time, in close contention with In the Hand of the Goddess. Like _Zoe_, I don't even like the Daine books as much as the Lioness books. This might be because I discovered Alanna at a really crucial time in my life--- I remember reading the scenes about her getting her period and growing breasts in Alanna: The First Adventure when I was ten or eleven and going through the same things, and thinking, this is the first time I've read about a fantasy heroine who I can honestly relate to.

I also admit I have a bit of a kink for stories where the girl disguises herself as a boy. ;)

I haven't yet read Trickster's Queen, although it's on my TBR pile, but I did enjoy Trickster's Choice a lot. The Keladry series was also, IMO, good (better than Daine's. I have never bee able to get into the Circle of Magic books, although I feel like I might have dismissed them when they first came out because I was younger and they WEREN'T SET IN TORTALL OMG, so maybe I should give them another chance.

I didn't grow up on Tamora Pierce either. Actually, I hadn't heard of her at all until a few months ago... but they're in my To Read pile... does everyone agree I should start with the Song of the Lioness series?

But maybe that's not all that surprising; I didn't really start reading what I would consider "full-blown" fantasy until a few years ago anyways. Now between the various series and authors I've gotten hooked on I probably have two shelves double-stacked.

I guess I'm also sort of biased. I also read the Song of the Lioness Quartet when I was ten, and I also like books where the girl is disguised as a boy. And I'm not a huge fan of stories about animals, so the Daine books lose out there. But I just read the Trickster books a couple of months ago, so my age didn't affect my opinion of them.

You should definitely start with the Song of the Lioness series, fyrefly. I'm pretty sure most people like Tamora Pierce's Tortall books (Song of the Lioness - Alanna, Immortals - Daine, Protector of the Small - Kel, and Trickster - Aly) more than her Circle of Magic books, and the Song of the Lioness books are the first of the Tortall ones. All the later books make reference to the earlier characters, so you'll want to start at the beginning.

I second _Zoe_--- it's definitely best to start with The Song of the Lioness books, fyrefly.

And even though I was ten when I first read Alanna: The First Adventure, I'm twenty-one now, and I reread it and the rest of the quartet fairly often. They definitely are ageless and stand the test of time.

I discovered Tammy Pierce's books in college and have been an avid reader since then. I enjoy all of her series equally.

One of the things I like about the Circle series is the system of magic she created for it. Some of the magic in this world expresses itself through an affinity with certain crafts, like weaving or metalsmithing, even cooking.

I started with the Circle series, just last year when I discovered Tamora Pierce. I quite liked them, and only came to the Tortall books later. But I can't say that I like one or the other better. ^^

lohengrin: I find the Tortall books a bit 'more grown up' than the Circle ones, if you know what I mean?

I find it QUITE the opposite. ^^;;

The "grown up" factor may be due to the fact that the Circle mages are younger and the amount of time covered in the two series is shorter than that of the Tortall books. Alana's 4-book series takes her from around 10 to early 20's (if my memory serves) so there's a lot of growing up to show.

Hi all, this is my first post.

I really enjoy Tamora Pierce's books. The Alanna books are my favourites. I'm on the look out for the first two which, for some reason, I don't have. I have read them loads of times but not for several years. I read the Kel books recently and loved them. The Circle of Magic books are kind of good but I didn't get into them as much as Tortall. I have recently read Trickster's Choice and I'm currently halfway through Trickster's Queen. I'm enjoying it but I'm finding it quite silly. I don't find Aly's character very realistic and there are too many characters. Having said this, I'm still eager to find out what happens.

Trollsdotter/Lohengrin: What you have said (trollsdotter) makes sense. I did not finish reading the 'Circle' books, so I may be incorrect in saying this, but my reason for saying the 'Tortall' books are more grown up also has to do with the 'sexual tension' prevalent in many of the books (as well as, if I remember correctly, a blatant tumble in the hay in the Keladry books?) that the 'Circle' books lack.

I'm talking less about the ages and sexuality of the characters, and more about the books themselves. The Alanna books are particularly childish to me because of the many events that are patently unrealistic for a patriarchal society such as the one present in Tortall. A child is much more likely to ignore or not even notice these things, whereas as an adult, they often pulled me out of the story.

That's true, yes, I suppose I didn't think of that. But I wasn't talking about the audience of the books as much as some of the content in it being more 'adult'.

Erikson is wonderful. I totally agree on the first few hundred pages though. But I love that. The world he has created is so complex and real.

I invite Utah residents or those with an interest in all things Utahn to join me in the Utah Thing group:

http://www.librarything.com/groups/utahthing

I actually quite liked the Trickster's books alot more than Kel's books.
I first read the Immortals(Daine) books and not The Song of the Lioness Quartet, still I didn't really like the later Immortal books so much but loved all of the Alanna books.

Still I can't wait for the next Tortall book to come out - her (Tamora Pierce's) website says October but that can change

For those that like dragons, I just finished the first book in a trilogy called His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik. It's very good. I think fans of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell would enjoy it too. Here's a brief premise:

Captain Will Laurence is a promising young officer in His Magjesty's Royal Navy of England during the Napoleonic wars. Though his father disapproves of his career, he has hopes of eventually attaining the wealth that would enable him to marry his childhood sweetheart. But that is all thrown into disarray when Laurence's ship captures a French frigate with an incredibly valuable cargo... a dragon egg, nearly ready to hatch. The dragonet inexplicably takes a liking to Laurence and his fate is sealed; dragon aviators live harsh, solitary lives and Laurence must struggle to adjust himself to a new world and new duties without the support of those he loves most.

Well I loved Swordspoint and liked the next 2 books less: The Fall of the Kings and the most recent which I just read a few weeks ago: The Privilege of the Sword. I am mad for Alec and Richard and after swordspoint they are scarce.

I have read Little, Big and all I will say is tedious and awkwardly written.

I just finished The Snake Agent by Liz Williams. It was a mix of SF, Fantasy, Horror, Historical Fiction, and Mystery. Not as good as I was hoping but still not bad. It is the first in a new series Detective Inspector Chen. I will read the 2nd when it goes into paper - The Demon and the City.

I also liked Swordspoint quite a bit. I haven't read anything else by Kushner, though.

I am currently enjoying The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch.

I have been struggling with The Darkness that Comes Before by Bakker for a while but can't seem to really get into it.

I also read The Darkness that Comes Before and it is dense and not particularly rewarding.

I thought some of the world-building was interesting, and the story took off in a few areas, but it seemed that as soon as something got interesting the character POV changed or the author jumped to a different thread that was dull. Many of the characters just didn't seem to have any juice in them.

Sadly I already have book 2 The Warrior Prophet, but I will put it off for a while. I have them in MMPB from Canada (Amazon) because I prefer the size to trades. Now I have to decide if I will import the 3rd one or not. I am such a completest.

I am re-reading CJ Cherryh's Alliance-Union series - just wonderful.

A while ago, I read through The Sword and the Lion by Roberta Cray and found the book enjoyable. It had a unique world and interesting characters. I was curious if anyone else had even heard of it.

I want to stand up for Little, Big. If you want another book littered with fantasy cliches written in the standard overblown style then it is not for you. On the other hand if you want to put a little work into your reading, you find a book that is intelligent, well-written and moving.

Well its sad that you can't stand up for Little Big without actually insulting the people who don't like it.

People are allowed to have different opinions and to assume that anyone who doesn't like it is because they are stupid, lazy and only interested in overblown fantasy clichés is a bit silly. As is the idea that liking it automatically confers intelligence.

You would do better to extol its virtues rather than slamming its detractors.

I don't know why I didn't like Swordspoint when so many other people did ;-) I think I expected a lot from it, as I heard it was Georgette Heyer meets fantasy- but I don't think it was, really. I feel like I must have missed several pages along the way (though I checked and I didn't!) because somehow, I really had no idea what was going on, plot-wise!

I did also really enjoy Naomi Novik's Temeraire series, the third installment of which I just finished this weekend. And I really enjoyed The Lies of Locke Lamora as well, though I think it took some time to get going at the start.

I've never even heard of Little Big, so I have no idea whether that makes me intelligent or dumb ;-) Just kidding! I'm sure no insult was meant.

Aarti, Swordspoint to me felt like historical novel rather than fantasy. I don't know what it is that made it so but I couldn't point to it when I finished reading and say it was fantasy.

I really will have to get the lies of Locke Lamora and book 2 of Naomi Novik's series.

I too was underwhelmed by Little Big but I wouldn't insult people who liked it. Each to their own. I've read stuff other people hated and liked them, it's what I like sometimes about Bookcrossing. Often a book I get rid of because I didn't love it gets a home that loves it, or at least likes it.

Jargoneer, not every book is good for everyone. I have to admit that I didn't like Little, Big but I wouldn't say that was because I was unwilling to put work into my reading, it just wasn't my kind of book.

Please don't attack people for their choices.

So what is Little, Big, anyway?

I feel like I'm coming into this a bit late....

On Howl's Moving Castle, I just saw the movie over this past weekend. The whole time I watched it I kept thinking, "this has got to be a great book to read". I then traveled to three different bookstores and couldn't find a copy of it, which I thought was really weird. I finally requested it from the library and am waiting for it to come in.

I had never read any Tamora Pierce books but saw Trickster's Choice in the bookstore and thought it looked interesting. That's the book I'm reading now. Up until this morning I didn't realize for sure there was another series that takes place before this one, but after the first couple chapters I suspected as much. I'm kind of having a hard time staying with this story, but I hate to give up on a book. I think (based on the reviews) it will get better as I go along.

The first fantasy novels I ever read were by Lloyd Alexander, Susan Cooper and C.S. Lewis. They remain some of my favorite fantasy authors. I also loved A Spell for Chameleon and The Unicorn Creed, they remain two of my all time favorite fantasy books.

Currently my tastes run more toward vampire stories such as Twilight, which is a young adult book, and Sherrilyn Kenyon's books (adult paranormal romance), but I still love my fantasy stories too!

I think the most recent more traditional fantasy book I've read is Tithe by Holly Black which I liked, even if it was a bit confusing in parts. I have Valiant, which is the sequel to Tithe, in my pile of library books to be read.

Going back a few weeks and messages:

Dave Duncan and Steven Erikson are two of my all-time favorite fantasy authors. The Gilded Chain is a great book (I've re-read it several times) and I can't really say enough about the Man of his Word series (i.e., many re-reads of key books). Duncan also doesn't always have the Hollywood happy ending, which I like.

Erikson I like because I just think there's not another author out there doing such creatively fantastical things with magic. I also enjoy books where I'm dropped into the middle of the action and have to read and piece things together to get the full-picture. Erikson gets slammed sometimes as not having great characterization, but if you really read the books closely, he does have it down pretty well. Not as good as George R.R. Martin, but then who is? And, Erikson's got some sly humor, too.

What Duncan and Erikson have in common is that they don't always keep giving you the same characters over and over again, especially Duncan, who does stand-alone's, trilogies and more, but then moves on to create a new "world" with a new system of magic. Oh yeah, one more thing. Both authors are prolific writers when compared to many others, which is a big plus in my mind.

I also have to give the old thumbs up to Naomi Novik's Temeraire trilogy (starting with His Majesty's Dragon here in the USA). For those of you who haven't heard yet, Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings, etc.) just optioned all three books a few days ago. See http://www.aintitcool.com/node/30014 for an interview with Jackson talking about the books and his movie plans.

Finally, a good site to go to that usually gives authors' series in order and with many book covers (good for uploading to your libraries if needed) is www.fantasticfiction.co.uk. Also, at the site you can often get interesting bios for the authors, as well as pseudonyms they write under.

Have fun with these three authors. Your mileage may vary, but most readers won't have any regrets with them, in my opinion.

New here and just thought I would say hi. I really dont have that much time to back read so please forgive me.

bookstothesky, thank you for your very concrete reasons for the authors you like! I have Dave Duncan's The Gilded Chain and hope to start it soon, though I can't honestly pin down when I will get to it. I feel like starting another fantasy series, so I might do Anne Bishop's Black Jewels trilogy. Or Lois McMaster Bujold's Curse of Chalion and the two sequels in that series. I haven't decided yet :-)

Hey, I just joined the group, but I must say, aarti, I loved the Black Jewels trilogy. I've reread it several times, and always find something I missed. Anne Bishop is all about the characters. It's a harsh, brutal world, but the interplay of power and politics is great.
I got addicted to short stories and started picking up every fantasy/SF anthology and reading it. I get the year's best as soon as it comes out, and occasionally pick up some of the mags to read. I am a big addict of Charles de Lint. I like his Newford series, particularly the anthology collections he does, but find I always go back to Moonheart, one of his earlier books, as my favorite. Urban fantasy at its best.

Hey Welcome Quinesti!!

Re: Message 100

Thank you aarti! "Concrete" is my middle-name when it comes to reasoning; Hmm...maybe that's why I get called "blockhead" so often :-P

I haven't read any of Anne Bishop's books but I've read almost all of Bujold's Verkosigan SF series, which is quite enjoyable if you haven't tried them out. Drop me a line and let me know what you think of Curse of Chalion when you're done, if you want; it seems to me I recall it won the Hugo a few years back so it ought to be decent.

Take care.

Bujold's Curse of Chalion is a great read and the sequels are a great read as well, they have a bit of a different feel of her Verkosigan series. I really enjoyed the myth-feel of the series. (I want more!). C J Cherryh's dreaming tree has some of the same feel.

Anne Bishop's Black Jewels series has a bit more romance roots but is still a good read and a fairly good world build.

Bluetyson, Little, Big is a book that revolves around a house and the several generations of a family who live there, the different generation seem to twist and turn around each other and relate to each other in interesting ways.

It just wasn't to my taste.

I once asked this question of a lit professor at UIowa - Would you classify 'House of Leaves' in the fantasy (dark fantasy) genre?
It possess's a lot of elements that would be fantastic in nature, though it could also be a long drug-induced vision (which is also fantasy, true).. I'm wondering what other people think of that.

I'm reading Curse of Chalion now, and I'm REALLY liking it! Maybe I'll try her sci fi, too :-)

I would put House of Leaves in fantasy or fantasy/horror. I never thought of it as a drug-induced vision but would rather it be fantasy.

For those who like Anne Bishop's Black Jewels trilogy there is also another book set in the same world. It is called The Invisible Ring and a couple of the characters from the previous series make a cameo, though the main story is about new people.

Bujold's SF and fantasy series are both good. She has just published in HC a new book that is also fantasy and the start of another new series. It is called Beguilement, book 1 of the Sharing Knife series. I haven't read it yet because it is still in HC, but will probably pick it up when it goes into paper.

I have Beguilement on my Amazon wishlist. And am currently reading Paladin of Souls, though I'm really just getting started. From what I hear, this is the best book of the Chalion trilogy, so I'm quite excited about it!

Having been a huge SciFi and fantasy fan for more years than I like to admit, one of my best discoveries this year was Holly Lisle as her fantasy works are simply amazing. The best single book I have read so far is His Magesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik and I am looking forward to reading the next in that trilogy, Throne of Jade.

I also liked His Majesty's Dragon, though I don't think I'd go so far as to say that it was the best single book I've read. I liked the other two in the series, too, though I think the first one was my favorite. I think the next book comes out spring of next year, so keep watch :-)

Just finished re-reading The Broken Sword by Poul Anderson

Seek it out folks... one of -the- all time greats, sadly neglected ... more vicious than Tolkein, and shorter, but none the worse for it :)

Started re-reading The Dreaming Jewels by Theodore Sturgeon ... another one of the all time greats, also sadly neglected

*pokes head in the door*

Oh so this is where everyone's hiding.

HEHE Well not too many of us been around in here lately!

Oh, I must be seeing ghosts then ;)

FicusFan, since you enjoyed Swordspoint, I recommend Luck in the Shadows by Lynn Flewelling. The series is more fast-paced than Kushner's work, the characterization is great and the politics and intrigue make it that much more exciting.

Poul Anderson's The Broken Sword is a gorgeous fantasy novel, in my opinion it's Anderson's best work.

I could make a long list of recommended fantasy novels, but I'll just mention that I love Naomi Novik's "Temeraire" series (His Majesty's Dragon, Throne of Jade, Black Powder War; and that Diana Wynne Jones is a marvelously multi-faceted writer. (my favorite books by her are: Eight Days of Luke, Dogsbody, The Power of Three, Charmed Life, Archer's Goon and The Homeward Bounders.

And let's not forget Tolkien, or Patricia McKillip, or Ursula K. LeGuin...

>111 polgaratex:, Polgaratex,

Which Holly Lisle are you reading? I've been really impressed with the maturity of her most recent World Gates series but I absolutely adore earlier works like Bones of the Past and Courage of Falcons.

I highly recommend the Shannara series; they keep you hooked.

Has anyone read Night Watch: A Novel by Sergei Lukyanenko? If you have, is it good? What did you think of it?

Haven´t read the book, but is´nt it the one that was made to a film in russia?

Read the book, watched the movie.

Loved both. I saw the movie first and could see it in the book, but I'm not sure how I'd have coped if it were the other way round.

Need to upload it some time.

121 booklover79

I haven't read it yet, though it is on my TBR list. My sister, who lent it to me, loved it and is looking forward to reading Day Watch. We watched the movie some time ago (dubbed into English, which wasn't as distracting as I thought it would be) and liked that, too. It's very dark.

I read the first third or so of Night Watch, then my wife shuffled my "Perennial Stack O' Ever-Changing Books" while cleaning, and some other shiny rectangle caught my eye, with predictably distracting results. For what it's worth, what I read was quite good with some pretty interesting magic use.

Finally got back to reading Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko, and I found it to be very unique and enjoyable. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys philosophical debates regarding good and evil, right and wrong, love and duty, etc., all set against a backdrop of highly imaginative magic use.

--Edited because the touchstone won't load for the correct book.

Read an ARC of The Devil You Know by Mike Carey. Carey has created a world where ghosts, demons and other undead/damned types are showing up and sometimes hanging around in alarming ways, creating a need for exorcists; enter our hero, Felix Castor, who's trying to quit "exorcising," with little success, of course. I liked the book and after I finished it off, I immediately ordered the next book from Amazon Canada (Carey's stuff is published in the UK where I believe he has, or will shortly have, three books out in the Felix Castor series) as the exchange rate's better.

The Devil You Know should be published in the USA in hardcover in early July. It got a starred review from Publisher's Weekly, if that matters to anyone.