Literary Recommendations

[RaistlinMC]

Just finished The Priory of the Orange Tree. Good, good stuff! A full blown epic fantasy in an all-new world, somehow condensed down into one single book. I'm a fan!

[RaistlinMC]

Anytime! There are few things in this world I like doing more than recommending books to people. :)

[Kerilstrasz]

Nice.. i ll take a look! Thnx :)

[RaistlinMC]

That's really specific, K, but hey, at least you know what you want!

How about the Grisha trilogy, starting with Shadow and Bone?

[Kerilstrasz]

Who can recommend a book... how should i put this...
lets see...

Fantasy (obviously)
Steampunk (the whole deal.. machines, gadgets, victorian era outfits mixed with weird gizmos... tall hats, goggles, vests, corsets, canes & swords.. the whole shebang! )
Not scared of R rated, as long as it is tasteful and not the point of the story.
Maybe the story isn't about "the power of love" & "a kiss would raise a dead loved one".
With well written characters, scenery & dialogs.
Characters arcs!!!

Ideally a loooong read. A couple of books at least?

Here's hoping..
*Post
*Click

[RaistlinMC]

For the last two months, I've finally gotten around to reading The Expanse books. I'm just finishing book 6 now and excited to start book 7 because six is where the show ended. That means, pretty darn soon, I'll actually be experiencing the proper end of this story for the first time. Good stuff. :)

[RaistlinMC]

You know who else has surprisingly good YA stuff? Mr. Grim Dark, Joe Abercrombie himself. I read his YA trilogy a few years back and it's damned solid stuff.

[Blackfox42]

Yeah, super cool. I just finished a Re-read (re-listen really, since I mostly do Audible these days) of the MIstborn Era 2 in prep for Wax & Wayne #4 later this year. And I'm now about halfway through a re-listen of Starsight so that I can listen to Cytonic.

I'm amazed that even his YA stuff is so captivating (Sure, it has some things I wouldn't normally care for, but overall its solid and interesting).

[RaistlinMC]

I know! So damned cool, Fox! I'm actually reading Dawnshard now to tide me over. :)

[Blackfox42]

So, chances are you've probably heard about this (Its been all over the news), but Brandon Sanderson just put up a kickstarter for 4 Self Published new books.....that he wrote randomly, in secret, during the pandemic, between his other novels, because he was bored and needed a creative outlet (You know, other than the multiple massive, multi-novel series' he's writing).

So yeah, if you're a Sanderson nut like me, I recommend checking it out!

Oh, and did I mention it just busted the record for the #1 Most Funded Kickstarter Ever? (currently at $25+million. Previous record was by Pebble at $20+million. A full 25% MORE than the previous record. Wild)

Edit: Update, it also just broke into #3 for most Backers on a kickstarter ever.

Pretty dang cool.

[RaistlinMC]

By now, I think we all know N.K. Jemisin is pretty awesome. Her Broken Earth trilogy is a modern masterpiece, full stop.

But her latest book, the first in a new series, called The City We Became is like nothing I've ever read. I don't think it's the best book I've ever read, but damned if it might not be the most original book I've ever read. It's...unclassifiable. Fantasy? Yep. Sci-fi? Sure. Set in modern day New York City? You bet'cha.

Do yourself a favor and pick it up. It's wild, wild stuff.

[RaistlinMC]

I just finished an excellent novel called "Swing Time" by Zadie Smith. She's rightfully best known for her debut novel "White Teeth" (which is freakin' fantastic) but hasn't really had a hit since then. But in my humble view, "Swing Time" is a darn close second place finish amongst her work.

I also just started "The Four Winds" by Kristin Hannah, the author of "The Nightingale". It seems good so far, but not as compelling as that last one I mentioned. The writing is still good, but as far as settings go, I'll take the WWII Vichy France of of "The Nightingale" over the Dust Bowl midwest of America in this latest one any day.

[RaistlinMC]

Thanks for the recommendations, Aurore! Consider them officially added to my ever-growing list. :)

[Aurore]

Love many of the books already mentioned. I can add the Urth books by Gene Wolf (Shadow of the torturer etc).

Currently reading a rather amusing series by Craig Alanson called Expeditionary force. It's not the best by any means but it is good, light and entertaining and has a focus on small unit tactics in a science fiction setting.

I also like the Honorverse books by David Weber, and even more so the Safehold series by the same author which is great for history and game fans who ask 'what if I were sent back in time and needed to get a medieval nation up to modern tech as quick as possible' There is no time travel but the question is the theme of the series, is answered in detail and is done in the middle of a war against initially overwhelming odds (odds which get turned around fascinatingly over time as higher and higher tech eventually leads to the sad spectacle of wooden ships against ironclads and better. But the bad guys are really bad - David Weber is not a great character writer so he keeps it simple, the evil guys are very evil and you get to cheer when they end up on the receiving end of modern infantry warfare with mortars, grenades, mines, artillery, etc). Good fun read.

[RaistlinMC]

Just finished Stephen King's new book called Billy Summers. Good, good stuff! Not at all stereotypical King - no monsters this time around, though there are a few great Shining easter eggs - but it's a damned good detective-style story without a doubt. I'd definitely recommend it to King fans and newcomers alike.