Grimdark Fantasy discussion
Recommendations
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Other than Grimdark, what else are you reading?
I'm almost down Stone of Farewell by Tad Williams, and have a few books on the horizon that I will be reading shortly, some Grimdark, others not as much.
Mod
Starting The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi for a group read. Plowing through The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin for another group read (this one is supposedly not grimdark but the last chapter I read was pretty fucked up.)
I'm currently reading the Amber Chronicles from mister Zelazny, some historical fiction from Steven Pressfield (Virtues of War about Alexander the Great) and some sword and sorcery (Fahrd and the Gray Mouser)
I definitely dig some Fahfrd and the Gray Mouser, been a while since I've read it though, might have to continue reading it some time soon (still a lot on the TBR list though), and with that said I have Zelazny's Dilvish the Damned coming in the mail. Hope to start it soon too.
Hi, Mikos. How are you liking The Chronicles of Amber?It happens to be one of my favorites.
: )
Brenda ╰☆╮ wrote: "Hi, Mikos. How are you liking The Chronicles of Amber?It happens to be one of my favorites.
: )"
I like his writing style so i'm definitely gonna read more of him (i was thinking lord of light), Kind of makes me think of Le Guin, To the point but he still sets a clear scene/world. The serie as a whole (Im at part 4 now) I would propably rate higher then the individual books. Orginal concept with the shadows/dimension in fantasy (for me) so... yeah I like it!
When I need a break from fantasy I read some short stories from Roald Dahl. One of my favorites is: my uncle oswald.
My Uncle Oswald is hilarious. I wasn't prepared at first when I started that book. Haven't read another of his adult books though. My comfort reading would be Terry Pratchett's. Short, sweet but still has depth and no less cheek.
Mod
I'm reading the Chronicles of Amber right now too, though to the point of this thread, I would classify it as grimdark. It reminds me a lot of Michael Moorcock's Eternal Champion series (from the ones I've read anyway).
I'm almost finished with book 9 of the 10 book series (e.g. Book 4 of the Merlin Cycle). I think it's my new favorite series of all-time. Every book has been better than the last and I rated the first book as 5-stars.
I'm finishing up the Farseer Trilogy - I'm about half way through Assassin's Quest. Note to mods: Should we have a thread for what we ARE reading in grimdark? It's a bit different from recommendations. I think that could get some conversation within grimdark going.
Chris wrote: "Mikos wrote: "I'm currently reading the Amber Chronicles from mister Zelazny, some historical fiction from Steven Pressfield (Virtues of War about Alexander the Great) and some sword and sorcery (F..."Chris wrote: "Mikos wrote: "I'm currently reading the Amber Chronicles from mister Zelazny, some historical fiction from Steven Pressfield (Virtues of War about Alexander the Great) and some sword and sorcery (F..."
I dont know about moorcock, elric is on my to read list so we will find that out later. As for amber, im starting to get what your saying about the mood (finished part 4 yesterday, best one yet), the scheming, alliances, grey characters and state of the 'world' are quite dark.
@Jenna, i read the farseer but it really wasnt for me, i might come back later to give it another chance
I really liked the first book, Assassin's Apprentice, but did not enjoy the other two parts of the initial trilogy, it actually turned me off from Robin Hobb. Admittedly it might be something I would enjoy more now, and I have been considering revisiting her work.
I'm still enjoying the series, but the first one was definitely the best. In the second one and third one, there have been moments that I didn't like, but overall I still really like the books/series. I sometimes get frustrated with Fitz just because he is so dumb most of the time...he just doesn't think through anything even when it's obvious his plans will backfire. At the same time, it's fun to laugh at Fitz whenever he fails.
Dan wrote: "I really liked the first book, Assassin's Apprentice, but did not enjoy the other two parts of the initial trilogy, it actually turned me off from Robin Hobb. Admittedly it might be something I wou..."I recently read the first two and really liked the first and was so disappointed with the second. So much so that I haven't read the 3rd yet.
I thought the third started off strong, but petered out about midway to end with a rather lacklustre finale.I do feel with the relatively dark story and execution, and less than usual protagonist that this may be a series that borders on "Grimdark" (to be honest it's not a term I really like). Not as dark as say Abercrombie, or Erikson or Martin, per se, but I found it to be a darker story than Feist's Magician, which to me, while a solid and fun read, was mostly just high fantasy with an Eastern twist.
A minor respite from grimdark finds me reading "Ready Player One." So far it's a good book. It takes place in the 2040s but references to 80's pop culture on nearly every page. Fun read, especially for those who grew up in the 80's.
Farseer trilogy is the weakest trilogy from Hobb's Realm of the Elderling series. The next books, The Tawny Man trilogy, the Liveship Traders (my favorite), the dragon books, then Fitz and Fool trilogy, those really showed improvement. My point is, don't give up after Farseer trilogy.
The Farseer Trilogy hooked me on Robin Hobb.I love the Fitz and Fool.
Poor Fitz....
always has trouble following....
The Fool...a character full of mystery....I'm looking forward to learning more about. (Still not finished Liveship.)
Mod
I just started Traitor's Blade and am uncertain about it. The author writes really well, but I'm wondering if the 3 Musketeers style witty banter is going to get very old.
Chompa wrote: "I read Farseer years ago when they first came out and enjoyed them. I apparently need to put some more Hobb on my reading list. I just started Traitor's Blade and am uncertain abo..."
Stick with it, it does get better and darker and book 2 is really good.
Here is my review of The dreaming void which is the 1st book in Void trilogy. Spoiler alert regarding the review.
Just about to finish Stone of Farewell (maybe 10-15 pages away). I'm hoping some of my orders arrive in the mail today so I'll be able to move onto something I'm in the mood for. Either that or I'll pick up an anthology of shorts to kill some time.
Just finished Tad Williams' Stone of Farewell, the second book in the Memory, Sorrow and Thorn trilogy. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...And I picked up Spawn of Dyscrasia by a S.E. Lindberg. Pretty dark beginning, kinda horror fantasy mix, I guess.
Started: Fire from Heaven from Mary Renault. I'm on a Alexander the Great reading spree!
Mod
I will try to read Fall of Hyperion. Someday. I found the first book to be soundly written but uneven in terms of plotting for each PoV. But everyone says it is more exciting than the first book, so...yup, someday.
Silvana wrote: "I will try to read Fall of Hyperion. Someday. I found the first book to be soundly written but uneven in terms of plotting for each PoV. But everyone says it is more exciting than the first book, s..."First book is awesome! Second was ok.
Chompa wrote: "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 bo..."I am really enjoying the series so far, I just picked up the third book in the trilogy/quadrology, To Green Angel Tower, which was split into two books for the PB release. I also really like the cover art for them (Michael Whelan is a favourite of mine), so who knows maybe our tastes are just different though.
It's a bit of a slow series, but very in depth and enjoyable. Like a slow sad song, but beautifully rendered.
Mod
Silvana wrote: "I will try to read Fall of Hyperion. Someday. I found the first book to be soundly written but uneven in terms of plotting for each PoV. But everyone says it is more exciting than the first book, s..."The first book mirrors Canterbury Tales, the remaining three do not. I thought three and four were the best ones.
I don't really like sci-fi, but The Canterbury Tales is my all-time favourite work of literature so I put it on my to-read list. :)
Mod
I have a copy of Polansky's The Builders on the way, I'm really looking forward to checking out his work.
I finally finished off the Narnia series and reviewed The Last Battle this morning: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...I'd been reading it out loud with my girlfriend. I think we'll be picking up another early fantasy read, The Enchanted Castle by E. Nesbit next.
Mod
I'd been reading it out loud with my girlfriend. I..."
I did the Narnia series on audio tape (CD) about 5-6 years ago. I think you're pretty spot on with your review. I just checked. I gave it 4 stars, but looking back I see of a lot of things that bothered me that I sort of "put out of my mind" at the time.
As you said, the series as a whole had it's ups and downs. The Silver Chair, I think, was the one that I liked the least.
I might agree with that. The Silver Chair was one of the rougher reads. Looking back over the series I think I may have liked Voyage of the Dawntreader the most.
Just started up The Enchanted Castle yesterday. Very fun tone and it jumps right into the adventure quickly.
Mod
I like "A Horse and His Boy" quite a lot too.
Chris wrote: "Dan wrote: "I might agree with that. The Silver Chair was one of the rougher reads. Looking back over the series I think I may have liked Voyage of the Dawntreader the most."I like "A Horse and Hi..."
I as well, it's actually between those two specifically. The first two weren't too bad either.
I'm back reading Last Argument of Kings after being out of GM for 4 books. I was on vacation so I read them all in 10 days and finished off Lies of Locke Lamora. Going back to work Monday to 30K in emails will suck!Dawn of Wonder Coming of age book that took some time to get to the fantasy part but has great potential as the series goes on. Well written with great characters.
Furies of Calderon Pretty well known.
The Last Kingdom It's historical fiction but might as well be GM.
The Builders Easy, quick, fun read. Sort of a funny GM version of Redwall.
Mod
I didn't know you could buy them! Alas it's nearing the end of the month... Maybe they will still be in stock in May!
Mod
I found the codex alera a really nice read. Really likeable characters, enough goin on and a cool magic system!I'm looking at the Riyria Revelations for a while now, but I have great expectations (which most of the time for me is a bad thing in the end) so I keep postponing it
Grimdark Fantasy
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I feel kind of the same way. The plot is fantastic and the character development is good -- although it's a bit stereotypical and predictable. I'm finding the mechanics of the writing itself is a bit lower than I would hope. However, it was written a while ago and there seems to be a fashion of how things are phrased. I read it once before, back in the 90's, and loved it then. I started reading it again about 8 months ago and after about 1/4 of the way through, I had to put it down; just couldn't get into it. I've taken it back up again, forcing myself to read the whole thing. It's easier now, but maybe my standards have changed. Who knows?
At this point I'd rate it 4 out of 5 stars.