Why have all the fanesy books i've read on recommendation from enworld sucked?

[Mallus]

Re: Re: Olive...

I really wish I had the time to go though it all so I could use the world as a game setting. Or that Ray and Midmekia Press would get round to releasing the RPG.

The father of an old high school friend --who got me involved in D&D in the first place-- has a copy of the Carse city book published by Midkemia press, which I believe pre-dates the publication of Magician.

I don't remember it being great, but it really made me wish I could've participated in the campaign(s) that gave rise to Feist's books.

Do you know if Feist is going to do a sequel to the Serpent War series?

 

[Eridanis]

Re: Re: Why have all the fanesy books i've read on recommendation from enworld sucked?

Here's my eternal recommendation:

Steven Erikson - Gardens of the Moon

That's been on my list of books to find since you (or someone else) recommened it a year ago, but it's just not to be found here in the States. I'll try amazon.ca, though; thanks for that tip!

 

[Mistwell]

Re: Re: Why have all the fanesy books i've read on recommendation from enworld sucked?

Olive, out of curiousity, have you read any Gene Wolfe? (e.g. Book of the New Sun)

I find him a difficult author to read (damn untrustable narrators...) but he's a very good writer.

Here's my eternal recommendation:

Steven Erikson - Gardens of the Moon

I seem to be alone here in pimping Steven Erikson's books. People who don't like long series shouldn't read him - the series is projected as 10 volumes long! - but important things happen in each book, there is some really good worldbuilding going on, complex plotting, and excellent writing. Gritty story elements, a la Martin or Cook.

He's not easy to come by in the States, but I think can be ordered pretty cheaply from Canada (e.g. www.amazon.ca).

I bought the first 3 books, at great expense. However, I had trouble getting through the first chunk of the first book. It bored me all to hell. Not a huge criticism, since getting into any new book is often difficult, but so far I have not been able to do it. I intend to return to it at some time. I just need further assurance that it is worth it - that the rest of it is a lot faster paced than the beginning of the first book.

 

[seasong]

I'll put in a second for The Iron Dragon's Daughter and The Deed of Paksenarrion.

The Iron Dragon's Daughter is a vicious, dark, violent little gem of a book that I hated myself for enjoying. It's a bit disjointed in some ways, but it is a treasure trove of ideas.

The Deed of Paksenarrion directly inspired one of the best narrative campaigns I've run ever. It is, as mentioned, D&D Paladin Hardcore. In fact, it's pretty obvious from the get-go that the "physics" of the world are D&D.

Some others I'd recommend:

P.C. Hodgell's Godstalk and Dark of the Moon follow the same character in a delightfully twisted pair of stories. Of the two, Godstalk is the one I like best, as the city of Tai-Tastigon is brilliantly presented.

J. Gregory Keyes' The Waterborn and The Dark God are heavy on the culture, language and character development. Not going to be for everyone, but for a devoted builder of settings like me, or for someone who likes a good gritty romance, these books rock.

Michael Scott Rohan's Winter of the World series (consisting of The Anvil of Ice, The Forge in the Forest, The Hammer of the Sun). All follow the same character. Not perfect, but good and compelling, and it will definitely inspire magic item crafting .

 

[CCamfield]

Re: Re: Re: Why have all the fanesy books i've read on recommendation from enworld sucked?

I bought the first 3 books, at great expense. However, I had trouble getting through the first chunk of the first book. It bored me all to hell. Not a huge criticism, since getting into any new book is often difficult, but so far I have not been able to do it. I intend to return to it at some time. I just need further assurance that it is worth it - that the rest of it is a lot faster paced than the beginning of the first book.

Hmm... looking at the first book, you're right, there is a lot of talk and not too much action at the first part of the book.

I'd say if you can make it to the 250-page mark, around that point some of what's going on becomes more apparent, as certain characters realize they have to do something or the is really going to hit the fan.

I guess my recommendation of the book should come tempered with "Your Mileage May Vary" signs.

 

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

Here's a few more of my mini book reviews...

Gene Wolfe- I'm struggling through the second half of The New Sun books at the moment (one of the fourteen books that I'm reading at the moment). Very hard to deal with. The writing is difficult, but there are some neat ideas (go Terminus Est!!). I did enjoy The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories and Other Stories (yeas, that's its full title!) however.

Jack Vance - I'd like to read more, but haven't had the chance yet. What I have read has been very good.

Harlan Ellsion - Only read a couple of dozen short stories, but will definitely go for more when I get the chance...

Tad Williams - his Memory, Sorrow & Thorn really got me back into epic fantasy. It was also the kick that gave George RR Martin the kick to start writing ASoIaF. Although you can tell from page one what the ending is going to be, the journey there is fantastic. His sci-fi Otherland series is also excellent. I've heard some good things about his online Shadowmarch writings (at http://www.shadowmarch.com/main.asp ) but haven't read any of it yet.

Robert Zelazny - Lord of Light is a remarkable book and I can't recommend it enough.

Robert Jordan - although I've already mentioned him, I didn't mention his Conan books. How he can write the same book over and over again, changing only the names, without being caught is beyond me, but as fluff, they work well.

Stephen Donaldson- The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant start really well - Donaldson seems really twisted, but after the first book they die a slow, horrible death. The article The Well-Tempered Plot Device makes excellent reading for every would-be writer.

Anne Mcaffrey - Another person who doesn't know when she should stop writing and leave us all alone. Pern stops being interesting after a book or two.

Raymond E. Feist - I've hate to say it, but Magician is a horrible book. Very tacky. IMO the series that he did with Janny Wurst(can't remember what it's called) was much better.

When I think of more, I'll be back, so in the meantime - Make sandwiches, not War!

 

[Andrew D. Gable]

Michael Scott Rohan's Winter of the World series (consisting of The Anvil of Ice, The Forge in the Forest, The Hammer of the Sun). All follow the same character. Not perfect, but good and compelling, and it will definitely inspire magic item crafting .

Oh my Good God! Someone else mentioned these! I've been meaning to reread 'em but haven't gotten around to it. I liked the "prehistoric Earth as fantasy world" thing - sure, Howard did it too (albeit minus the Finnish overtones)... the central conflict (vs. the Ice) inspired my OA campaign, actually.

 

[jdavis]

Here's a few more of my mini book reviews...

Gene Wolfe- I'm struggling through the second half of The New Sun books at the moment (one of the fourteen books that I'm reading at the moment). Very hard to deal with. The writing is difficult, but there are some neat ideas (go Terminus Est!!). I did enjoy The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories and Other Stories (yeas, that's its full title!) however.

Jack Vance - I'd like to read more, but haven't had the chance yet. What I have read has been very good.

Harlan Ellsion - Only read a couple of dozen short stories, but will definitely go for more when I get the chance...

Tad Williams - his Memory, Sorrow & Thorn really got me back into epic fantasy. It was also the kick that gave George RR Martin the kick to start writing ASoIaF. Although you can tell from page one what the ending is going to be, the journey there is fantastic. His sci-fi Otherland series is also excellent. I've heard some good things about his online Shadowmarch writings (at http://www.shadowmarch.com/main.asp ) but haven't read any of it yet.

Robert Zelazny - Lord of Light is a remarkable book and I can't recommend it enough.

Robert Jordan - although I've already mentioned him, I didn't mention his Conan books. How he can write the same book over and over again, changing only the names, without being caught is beyond me, but as fluff, they work well.

Stephen Donaldson- The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant start really well - Donaldson seems really twisted, but after the first book they die a slow, horrible death. The article The Well-Tempered Plot Device makes excellent reading for every would-be writer.

Anne Mcaffrey - Another person who doesn't know when she should stop writing and leave us all alone. Pern stops being interesting after a book or two.

Raymond E. Feist - I've hate to say it, but Magician is a horrible book. Very tacky. IMO the series that he did with Janny Wurst(can't remember what it's called) was much better.

When I think of more, I'll be back, so in the meantime - Make sandwiches, not War!

I used to swear by the Anne Macaffery Dragonriders books when I was young but as I got older alot of the things that went on in them started to make more sense to me and I started to become slightly nauseated by them. She is a dirty old woman deep down.

The Feist/Janny Wurst books were very good (they had a oriental slant to them), the rest of his books were good when I was young but I outgrew them, I stopped reading with the "King's Buccanner" (or something like that) and never looked back.

 

[Knightfall]

Re: Re: Why have all the fanesy books i've read on recommendation from enworld sucked?

Here's my eternal recommendation:

Steven Erikson - Gardens of the Moon

I seem to be alone here in pimping Steven Erikson's books. People who don't like long series shouldn't read him - the series is projected as 10 volumes long! - but important things happen in each book, there is some really good worldbuilding going on, complex plotting, and excellent writing. Gritty story elements, a la Martin or Cook.

Cool. A 10 volume fantasy series by a Canadian. I like the sound of that.

I checked out the reviews on amazon.ca and this one is definitely on my to read list...

As for other fantasy series, I'm pretty much addicted to book buying. A lot of what I have, I haven't read yet. In the past, I've read a lot of Dragonlance and just finished reading The War of Souls trilogy, which was interesting, yet designed to bring Dragonlance back to where it was.

I have the first 7 books of WoT but just can't into book 5. I got halfway through and just stopped.

I'm picky about what I read and tend towards reading one or two books then going several months before picking up another one.

Anyway, just my 2 cents late at night {yawn}.

KF72

 

[Assenpfeffer]

Anne Mcaffrey - Another person who doesn't know when she should stop writing and leave us all alone. Pern stops being interesting after a book or two.

Raymond E. Feist - I've hate to say it, but Magician is a horrible book. Very tacky. IMO the series that he did with Janny Wurst(can't remember what it's called) was much better.

Great list, good commentary. Glad to find somebody else who isn't afraid to voice a strong opinion.

As for Pern, I liked the first book up until the out-of-left-field ending. Books 2 and 3 were readable as well. After that... gaaah.

In other news, my complete set of Wheel of Time hardcovers, plus the Guide, just went on eBay last night. I will read spoilers to keep up with the story from now on.