Chain Lightning
First Post
I like to think of myself as having fairly broad tastes in books. I like different genres, different writing styles. While I don't like poor writing, I'd like to think I'm not super picky.
However, I have to say the time for that has ended. Or at least for the moment. Now I'm really picky. I was hoping that perhaps some of you could recommend a book (or book series) to me.
I'm looking for something very very specific. The last few fantasy book series I've read have been good and all that, but they seem to have a few core things in common. Things that aren't really bad ... but like a man who's eaten one type of food over and over, he now wants to go try a different restaurant.
Here's my criteria:
What I want:
-Exploration and adventure. A book that takes me to mysterious locales. Old ruins, hidden towers, haunted caves.....and not just once at the end of the book. I want it often. I don't want to read the book and walk away only having visited: a normal castle, a farm, grasslands, one snowy mountain, and a library. Yes its realistic, but I'm not in the mood for realistic right now.
-Fun characters. Characters that are fun to watch as they grow and change. They can even be moody and unsociable. Or they can be idealistic. Or they can be in love with someone and the whole adventure is finding out whether or not they get to be with that special someone at the end.
-Magic and wonder. I want magic. Or at least some sort of wonderment. I don't want realistic levels of magic. I don't want to read the whole book and see one enchantment cast and it was just to light a sword so someone can make their way through some dark cave. Yes, realism is cool. Limited magic is cool too. But I've had my fill of it. However, I don't want too much of it either. I don't want every Tom, Dick, and Harry walking through a small hamlet to be able to cast spells like it was as common as technology is in our world. Somewhere in between too little and too much.
-This time its okay to be like a rpg game. Sometimes you read a book and it feels like you're reading a novel version of someone's game. Like Dragonlance for instance. I've had a distaste for that for some time. But that's over....I'm okay with it again. I don't game that much now a days, and something that can replace it , like a good book that takes me on a similar journey a game would, is okay by me. Just so long as the recommendation isn't Dragonlance because I already read 'em.
What Idon't want:
-Simple plot, long delivery, long text. I'm tired of books where the plot is: Hero leaves village, meets mystic, head off to find magic sword, finds it in tower, slays evil warlock at the top.......and I must read 700 pages to get through that story. I'm starting to get sick of books where the page count is huge but the thing only has like 5 story beats in it. I want each chapter to accomplish something different than the last chapter. If our heroes are talking with the village mystic for 2 chapters, I'm getting pissed.
I don't mind long books. Heck, I'll read 1,500 pages. But give me 1,500 pages worth of story. A book that's around 700 pages should give me about A LOT of story beats. Fellowship of the Ring is like: Frodo prepares to leave the Shire, Frodo and Co. journey to Rivendell, Council of Elrond, Fellowship go through Moria, Fellowship visits Galadriel, Fellowship travels to the falls past those two statues and splits up. That's about 6 story beats in about 470-something pages. That's about alright. But if that was 700 pages....man oh man...shoot me now.
-No Wonder or Magic. Like I said above. I want magic. I want wonders. I live a normal life. I read fantasy to escape them and go on magical journeys. I've read realistic settings. They were cool because I was in my 'adult mature' phase. But now I'm in my little kid phase again. I want fireballs, I want glowing swords, I want towers that have weird magical interiors. But....but, I want it to still make sense. I don't want magic where the hero can cast feather fall, but some how forgets he can do it when he needs to jump down off a castle wall to escape a villian and instead gets captured. No plot holes please.
-No Native American Indians. This sounds weird, but be patient, I'll explain. I'm not prejudiced. I've read and watched movies about Native American Indians and loved them. But, and its a weird thing with me I know....but if I'm reading about a fantasy land based on a medievel euro-centric culture, I don't want to run into Native American Indians. Of course, the writer doesn't call them that....he/she makes up his own version of them for that setting, but it feels the same and thus....to me, feels odd and out of place. First couple of times I encountered it I was okay with it. In Dragonlance with Goldmoon....in Wizard's First Rule with the Mud People, so on and so on. But now I'm kinda sick of it. No Native American Indian clones please. Same way certain people don't want samurai and ninjas in their worlds either.
-Don't want huge amounts of Political intrigue. I love Song of Ice and Fire, I love other political doings in other fantasy books too. But it seems that the last few series I've read revolve around politics. I've kind of had my fill if you know what I mean. No politics please! Just a few pages of it is okay, but that's it.
So....base off that. Can you help me out with a recommendation? I know stuff like the Drizzt book may seem to fit the bill, but I don't much like Salvatore's writings. Not that their outright awful, I just don't like his style I guess. I've read the Black Company and I've read the new Conan by Jordan already too. Are the Eberron books any good? Or something from somewhere else?
Would greatly appreciate any pointers as to what to pick up next. Thanks so much. I'm in a weird reading mood and I gotta get my jones fixed. Just been having a real hard time finding this type of book or series. Thanks.
However, I have to say the time for that has ended. Or at least for the moment. Now I'm really picky. I was hoping that perhaps some of you could recommend a book (or book series) to me.
I'm looking for something very very specific. The last few fantasy book series I've read have been good and all that, but they seem to have a few core things in common. Things that aren't really bad ... but like a man who's eaten one type of food over and over, he now wants to go try a different restaurant.
Here's my criteria:
What I want:
-Exploration and adventure. A book that takes me to mysterious locales. Old ruins, hidden towers, haunted caves.....and not just once at the end of the book. I want it often. I don't want to read the book and walk away only having visited: a normal castle, a farm, grasslands, one snowy mountain, and a library. Yes its realistic, but I'm not in the mood for realistic right now.
-Fun characters. Characters that are fun to watch as they grow and change. They can even be moody and unsociable. Or they can be idealistic. Or they can be in love with someone and the whole adventure is finding out whether or not they get to be with that special someone at the end.
-Magic and wonder. I want magic. Or at least some sort of wonderment. I don't want realistic levels of magic. I don't want to read the whole book and see one enchantment cast and it was just to light a sword so someone can make their way through some dark cave. Yes, realism is cool. Limited magic is cool too. But I've had my fill of it. However, I don't want too much of it either. I don't want every Tom, Dick, and Harry walking through a small hamlet to be able to cast spells like it was as common as technology is in our world. Somewhere in between too little and too much.
-This time its okay to be like a rpg game. Sometimes you read a book and it feels like you're reading a novel version of someone's game. Like Dragonlance for instance. I've had a distaste for that for some time. But that's over....I'm okay with it again. I don't game that much now a days, and something that can replace it , like a good book that takes me on a similar journey a game would, is okay by me. Just so long as the recommendation isn't Dragonlance because I already read 'em.
What Idon't want:
-Simple plot, long delivery, long text. I'm tired of books where the plot is: Hero leaves village, meets mystic, head off to find magic sword, finds it in tower, slays evil warlock at the top.......and I must read 700 pages to get through that story. I'm starting to get sick of books where the page count is huge but the thing only has like 5 story beats in it. I want each chapter to accomplish something different than the last chapter. If our heroes are talking with the village mystic for 2 chapters, I'm getting pissed.
I don't mind long books. Heck, I'll read 1,500 pages. But give me 1,500 pages worth of story. A book that's around 700 pages should give me about A LOT of story beats. Fellowship of the Ring is like: Frodo prepares to leave the Shire, Frodo and Co. journey to Rivendell, Council of Elrond, Fellowship go through Moria, Fellowship visits Galadriel, Fellowship travels to the falls past those two statues and splits up. That's about 6 story beats in about 470-something pages. That's about alright. But if that was 700 pages....man oh man...shoot me now.
-No Wonder or Magic. Like I said above. I want magic. I want wonders. I live a normal life. I read fantasy to escape them and go on magical journeys. I've read realistic settings. They were cool because I was in my 'adult mature' phase. But now I'm in my little kid phase again. I want fireballs, I want glowing swords, I want towers that have weird magical interiors. But....but, I want it to still make sense. I don't want magic where the hero can cast feather fall, but some how forgets he can do it when he needs to jump down off a castle wall to escape a villian and instead gets captured. No plot holes please.
-No Native American Indians. This sounds weird, but be patient, I'll explain. I'm not prejudiced. I've read and watched movies about Native American Indians and loved them. But, and its a weird thing with me I know....but if I'm reading about a fantasy land based on a medievel euro-centric culture, I don't want to run into Native American Indians. Of course, the writer doesn't call them that....he/she makes up his own version of them for that setting, but it feels the same and thus....to me, feels odd and out of place. First couple of times I encountered it I was okay with it. In Dragonlance with Goldmoon....in Wizard's First Rule with the Mud People, so on and so on. But now I'm kinda sick of it. No Native American Indian clones please. Same way certain people don't want samurai and ninjas in their worlds either.
-Don't want huge amounts of Political intrigue. I love Song of Ice and Fire, I love other political doings in other fantasy books too. But it seems that the last few series I've read revolve around politics. I've kind of had my fill if you know what I mean. No politics please! Just a few pages of it is okay, but that's it.
So....base off that. Can you help me out with a recommendation? I know stuff like the Drizzt book may seem to fit the bill, but I don't much like Salvatore's writings. Not that their outright awful, I just don't like his style I guess. I've read the Black Company and I've read the new Conan by Jordan already too. Are the Eberron books any good? Or something from somewhere else?
Would greatly appreciate any pointers as to what to pick up next. Thanks so much. I'm in a weird reading mood and I gotta get my jones fixed. Just been having a real hard time finding this type of book or series. Thanks.
