Chompa’s Comments (group member since Feb 16, 2015)

Chompa’s comments from the Grimdark Fantasy group.

It always makes me wonder when everyone seems to love the book and I'm one of those oddballs, but as we all know, "different strokes, for different folks".

Not all books can be fantastic. I know this and I generally don't get too worked up about it, but the 2nd of the Greatcoat series by Castell kind of failed me. Castell is not a bad writer, but I felt kind of cheated by main character always pulling off some miracle save. Very Mary Sue/Gary Stu in my opinion.

I know a lot of people really enjoyed the books and I'm not knocking anyone. I just found my suspension of disbelief suffered a serious failure on this one.

I was able to get the poll going this time. I sometimes impose a very luddite opinion on my ability to do this stuff.

I should be able to carry my share going foward.

Riyria is some solid stuff. Good writing and very likable characters.

Scott, I really enjoyed Furies of Calderon. I'm a big Jim Butcher fan from Dresden Files and thought Furies was a really solid story. Love the world and magic.

Yes, click on polls and you'll see it.

Welcome Halima!

I'm going to post the poll in about 2 minutes. Thanks for all the good suggestions.

I'm going to wait til tomorrow morning for more nominations and will then put up the poll.

I love the choices so far. Dusk is one I'd not heard of, but sounds very interesting.

Chris, I took a look and it appears I might be able to figure out the poll.

I'm going to nominate Scourge of the Betrayer as it is about the start of a great (and complete) trilogy.

I read the first Hyperion a couple years ago and enjoyed several of the Canterbury Tales style stories. My to read pile is ridiculous.

I picked it up too. Might be a bit before I get to it, but looking forward to reading it, Steven.

JuJu wrote: "I prefer to have a real book in my hands."

I respect that. My wife is the same way. Most people are ebook or real book.

Being a student you probably also have a backpack or something you carry, which makes it a bit easier too.

JuJu, I share your sentiment about always having a book with me. With today's technology though, it is having it on my phone, which means I carry a bunch of books with me. And since I store even more in Dropbox, it means easy access to a small library.

If I know I'm going to be reading while out, I will usually take my tablet as that is easier to read with my old eyes.

I've never read Tad Williams. I recall seeing enormous paperback tomes on the shelves, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I recall not being enticed by the artwork, but that's don't judge a book by its cover. What are peoples views on his writing?

Thanks Chris and Tracey that is reassuring. I do want to give it another try. Hopefully it will click this time and if not, well - there are a lot of books out there.

Once upon a time I tried reading in the bath. It was not a pleasant experience. I'm not a bath person, but I'd heard it was relaxing to take a bath and read.

I found myself getting pages wet when turning them and constantly worrying about the book.

I'll happily stick to quick showers and reading in a chair.

I plan on trying Malazan again. I tried the first book last year and dropped it about 1/2 way through.

Some have said it takes a couple of books to really get into it and that is frankly daunting. I'm fine with a few hundred pages for something someone promises is amazing, but a few books?

I just about always read at least 30 minutes when I go to bed. Recently I was down with bronchitis and tore through several books in a short span. When things are slow at work or I'm running very long queries and such, I'll also at times pull up an ebook to read. Another of my places to read is waiting for my wife or boys in a parking lot. I'm not much of a shopper and prefer to stay in the car.

In other words, I read about anywhere.

Additionally, I use Moonreader Pro for my ebooks (which is about all I read) and it is able to sync between my tablet and phone with Dropbox. I know Kindle can also sync, but I just prefer Moonreader's features.

Thanks, Allan. Steel, Blood & Fire is now in my insane virtual "to read" pile.