Fantasy novel lovers thread

[Whisper-Kitten]

Thanks for the recommendations. Rivers of London is already on my wish list, so I think maybe that should be my next book. I already listened to the Lies of Locke Lamora, but I feel like that might have been a better book to enjoy in print due to the style. Though the narration was top notch. I enjoyed the book, but I didn't become hooked on the setting and am not compelled to continue reading the other books in the Gentleman Bastards series.

What is a good first book for someone who has never ready/listened to any of Abercrombie's books?

This weekend I've been listening to The Emperor's Soul, the first book I've ever listened to/read by Brandon Sanderson. I'm really enjoying it. It is well and tightly written and I'm liking the characters, plot, and the sense of the world building behind it. I know he's written long series set in the same world, but this is my first foray into Cosmere. He writing style is idea for audio books. The prose is less literary and more direct, while not feeling like a YA novel. I mean that positively, not as a criticism. Some books the way the book is written is as important as the characters, plot, and world building (e.g., Name of the Rose, The Last Unicorn...) and I prefer to read, not listen to, such books. Anyway, I find Sanderson's writing style lends itself to the audiobook format and I think Angela Lin does a good job (though weaker trying to do male voices, compared to other female narrators like Andrea Parsneau).

For those familiar with Sanderson's books, if I want to read more of his books set in Cosmere, should my next book be Mistborn: The Final Empire?

There is a recommended order on thequilltolive.com

 

[Whisper-Kitten]

Do you finish books you don't like? I find the older I get, the more likely I am to nope out of books, movies, and TV series. There are too many great books and shows and not enough years.

Most of the time I don‘t. I do give some a second try though.

 

[jian]

If you consider that it meant eschewing some of the greatest social status indicators, it was a very dramatic shift. Like a bird giving up his plumage so that his splendour would not upset the mice. And you can see of it dovetailed into the more reserved Victorian Era. Though these Pan-European trends are perhaps not best discussed in terms of British kingships, any more than the Mongolian conquests of East Asia should be framed in Japanese imperial eras.

Yes, it’s fine when discussing English novels but the Great Male Renunciation (giggle) is closely associated with revolutionary politics across Europe and in North America.

I think it’s possible to espouse the equality of humanity and a wish for one’s leaders to be humble and in touch without giving up the right of men to be beautiful, but here we are.

It’s funny that high heels for men have made a definite return, especially for our leaders, but arguably not for fashion.

 

[MNblockhead]

A series I recommend to everybody that probably nobody reads is the Commonweal one by Graydon Saunders. You can only get the eBooks on Apple (the author has a long standing aversion to Amazon), but they're so worth it. Really takes the idea of rampant magic and extends it into power structures in a way that I dont see often.

He dislikes Amazon but not Apple? His IP his choice, but his stance seems inconsistent and just limits his potential audience.

 

[jian]

Austin died in 1817!

P&P was published in 1813. The Napoleonic wars are happening in the background.

It’s pretty much before the flamboyant fashions.

All right, fine, late Georgian and Regency. Her first book (Sense & Sensibility) was published in 1811, so still Regency. The Napoleonic wars (1803-1815) overlapped with the Regency as well.

 

[plecostomus]

I reread the Dragonlance Trilogy about 8ish years ago in my mid-40s. I can't say it held up fully to my tastes then and now, compared to 80s me. But I did completely re-read the entire 3 books of the Chronicles Trilogy and enjoyed them. At the time I was still pretty anti-audio book. No, I would probably listen to the audiobook versions instead of reading them. As special a place as the original three books hold for me, I've never felt compelled to explore the rest of the Dragonlance canon.

I actually wanted to use audiobooks for Dragonlance so I could devote my actual reading time to other stuff, but I found a reddit post about the Chronicles audiobooks that says the text gets abridged quite severely. Since part of my reason for doing this is to think about the lore, that doesn't work for me. And recently I thought, well if I can get through Chronicles, surely by Legends there's a good audiobook. So I looked that up, and apparently Legends has some mispronunciation issues, some Strum Brightbods going on. So I may be doomed to actually read both main trilogies.

I couldn't decide what to read next so I'm currently on The Tapestry of Fate (the 2nd Amina Al-Sirafi book) in the mornings and Dragons of Winter Night in the evenings. I've never really tried reading 2 books at once before, but Dragons of Winter Night has easy enough language that it doesn't feel difficult in this particular case.

 

[Whisper-Kitten]

Start Abercrombie with The Blade Itself, I’d say.

There’s a broad movement across the stories in that setting:

The First Law trilogy shows a bunch of things going wrong at the same time, and asks if there’s some force behind the scenes pulling some coordinating strings, and answers that questions.

The Levellers trilogy is three stand-alone stories set in the aftermath of the First Law, set far away from the locales of the First Law, that develop some unexpected connections to things back home.

The Age of Madness trilogy is set decades later, with social changes spiraling out of control into a kind of Industrial Revolution, and asks, can anyone resist the strong puller and their pulled strings from earlier? If so, who? And it answers that question and shows us its consequences.

The first trilogy still stands alone. The others are more dependent on it. So I’d start at the beginning.

Yeah, you really need the first to understand the second.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Yes, it’s fine when discussing English novels but the Great Male Renunciation (giggle) is closely associated with revolutionary politics across Europe and in North America.

I think it’s possible to espouse the equality of humanity and a wish for one’s leaders to be humble and in touch without giving up the right of men to be beautiful, but here we are.

It’s funny that high heels for men have made a definite return, especially for our leaders, but arguably not for fashion.

Even though brightly coloured clothing is now less expensive than grey, there is still an expectation that men will dress in grey suits and ties. They are the new ostentatious displays of wealth.

 

[Minion X]

I think it’s possible to espouse the equality of humanity and a wish for one’s leaders to be humble and in touch without giving up the right of men to be beautiful, but here we are.

It will probably swing around again, either because egalitarian liberal democracy is on its way out and we are going back to lords and serfs, or because increasingly advanced automation will allow for more customizable, yet scalable menswear.

 

[Minion X]

Even though brightly coloured clothing is now less expensive than grey, there is still an expectation that men will dress in grey suits and ties. They are the new ostentatious displays of wealth.

Or rather, they did. Now the wealthy dress in ill-fitting blazers over slim fit pants and polo shirts. Or sport garish, oversized ties, but I am probably getting close to being banned for discussing politics now.