What are you reading in 2022?

[Blue]

It's the same with the Covenant series- although I think that you could almost say that the first two trilogies were the original, seminal work, and the recent quadrology was the belated afterthought. Sure, it was fine, and it was good to return to the place and the characters ... but it was just so monumentally inessential and lesser than what had come before.

I just found out a year or two ago that there was a third Covenant series. If I recall, the second series came to a good closure that would need to be undone in order to write more. Is it worth it to rip up that closure and read the last series? From your comments, you don't seem particularly happy with them, but do the wrap up the whole series in a overwhelmingly well done way worth discarding the closure at the end of the second trilogy?

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

I just found out a year or two ago that there was a third Covenant series. If I recall, the second series came to a good closure that would need to be undone in order to write more. Is it worth it to rip up that closure and read the last series? From your comments, you don't seem particularly happy with them, but do the wrap up the whole series in a overwhelmingly well done way worth discarding the closure at the end of the second trilogy?

Oh. Hmmm. Let's see- there are very few things that I actively regret continuing ... one of the few that springs to mind is Dexter (after the Trinity killer season ... it just kept getting worse and worse until the final season, and especially the final episode, just seemed like it was actively trolling the few fans that had remained).

I mean, it's Donaldson. Donaldson is a great writer. The last Covenant series is not bad. I love the setting and the characters, and it was good to re-visit them. I enjoyed reading it. But it was inessential. There's an ending, which wraps things up (again, I guess) which works. Honestly, the best comparator is probably the second Chronicles of Amber (the Merlin ones), where it's just ... fine.

If you love the series, you should read it. It's not like he is writing more books. Parts of it are quite good. Just ... in my opinion ... it's more "Ah, it's nice to come back," than "OMG THESE BOOKS ARE SO AMAZING" like the first two series.

But to answer your question- yeah, he sticks the landing. It's an ending that works and I think you'll be satisfied. It's not Covenant deciding to be a lumberjack.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I've been holding off on the third Covenant series, for fear of being disappointed. One of these days I'll get to it...

I finished reading French's The True Bastards. I've got some mixed feelings on it - on the one hand, it's got compelling characters and a story that, while it could've probably been trimmed down a little, engages the reader. But it's also got some orcish tropes that considering the current dialogue, are particularly rough to read.

Now I'm re-reading Poul Anderson's The Broken Sword.

 

[trappedslider]

The Quiet Zone: Unraveling the Mystery of a Town Suspended in Silence by Stephen Kurczy

I returned this book and got the following which had been on my to read list for a while

To Rescue the Republic: Ulysses S. Grant, the Fragile Union, and the Crisis of 1876 by Bret Baier and Powers and Thrones: A New History of the Middle Ages by Dan Jones.

 

[KahlessNestor]

I returned this book and got the following which had been on my to read list for a while

To Rescue the Republic: Ulysses S. Grant, the Fragile Union, and the Crisis of 1876 by Bret Baier and Powers and Thrones: A New History of the Middle Ages by Dan Jones.

The Dan Jones book is on my list, definitely. Currently reading his War of the Roses and have his Plantagenets and Templars books, but not read them yet.

I haven't read that Grant book, but I read the biography of Grant from a few years ago by Ron Chernow (author of Hamilton, the biography the musical is based on). He's an amazing man, and that election of 1876 is a dicey one! It's one of the elections examined by Tara Ross in her book on the Electoral College. I'll have to take a look at it if it's any good.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

I've taken a small break from Brandon Sanderson, and am currently reading two books:

First, Dune, the original, by Frank Herbert. This is my first time reading it, but I have seen the new movie based off of it.

Second, the fifth (and final) Dragonwatch book by Brandon Mull, which is the sequel series to Fablehaven. The books are intended for a younger audience (middle school to junior high range), but they're a great fantasy series and the last book to the series was released pretty late last year. I started reading the series when I was like 12 (I'm 20 now), and it's finally finished. The world of Fablehaven has some of the most unique and interesting takes on typical fantasy creatures that I've ever read.

 

[GreyLord]

I just found out a year or two ago that there was a third Covenant series. If I recall, the second series came to a good closure that would need to be undone in order to write more. Is it worth it to rip up that closure and read the last series? From your comments, you don't seem particularly happy with them, but do the wrap up the whole series in a overwhelmingly well done way worth discarding the closure at the end of the second trilogy?

It's okay. It is not horrible.

The Best book in the entire third quadralogy (it is 4 books, not 3) is the first one.

The Second one is the worst book, and one that you just want to get mad at some characters for stupid choices (I hate it when characters in books make blatant and obviously stupid choices).

The third book is okay.

The fourth book is okay, but I dislike the ending. I found it a cheap way out. It is a happy ending, but cheap. If I told you why it would be a massive spoiler, but I thought it was CHEAP. The author wrote themselves into a corner and basically couldn't find a good way to get out of it so made the ending they did, at least that's what it seemed to me.

The High mark is the Second Chronicles. It's all downhill from there.

That doesn't mean the third set is bad, just gradually declining in how good it is from the peak of the 2nd Chronicles. It is still enjoyable to read though (It's still Donaldson writing).

There are some things that are good and worth reading in it, and some things which if you analyze it more than just a fun read really will strike you in many ways (such as a direct analogy in some ways at the end to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost...though male/female may be somewhat interchangeable in that reading).

 

[trappedslider]

The Dan Jones book is on my list, definitely. Currently reading his War of the Roses and have his Plantagenets and Templars books, but not read them yet.

I haven't read that Grant book, but I read the biography of Grant from a few years ago by Ron Chernow (author of Hamilton, the biography the musical is based on). He's an amazing man, and that election of 1876 is a dicey one! It's one of the elections examined by Tara Ross in her book on the Electoral College. I'll have to take a look at it if it's any good.

Bret Baier does a rehash of Grant's bio while building up to the actual events, He's laying the foundation and giving you insight into how Grant's mind thinks and works. I'm currently in the chapter dealing with his time in the |Civil War. So far it's good.
Here's a screenshot of a section starting at "As news came"..does it remind you of anything?

Spoiler

 

[Smackpixi]

I’m reading the 5e DMG, cover to cover, it’s a resolution, gonna be the first person to do it if you believe the internet. yah yah I know you have already.

 

[Smackpixi]

I’m also reading some old Forgotten Realms books, Black Wizards and hopefully Darkwell, the second two books in the Moonshae trilogy started by Darkwalker On Moonshae…cause somewhere around April I’ll be running a Moonshade campaign and getting flavor.