Fantasy Book Club discussion
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What are you reading in...
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What are you reading in August 2018?
I think I've burned out. I'm behind on my 2018 reading goal and I'm finding it difficult to pick up the next book in my own series challenge (Discworld). I haven't even looked to see what the next book is in the series...I think it's time to give everything a rest or try something different. A big part of my problem is finding mental space in this busy life to allow myself to sit down and enjoy a good book rather than trying to plow through things in a desperate attempt to glean precious spare moments for everything they're worth.
I won't be reading Poppy War this month, but I'm interested to find out from you all where it sits on a scale of grimdarkness. I've read conflicting reports.
I finished The Fifth Season yesterday. Big surprise. It was good, yet I still don't really know what I just read. I'm now reading Age of War.
Liam wrote: "I think I've burned out. I'm behind on my 2018 reading goal and I'm finding it difficult to pick up the next book in my own series challenge (Discworld). I haven't even looked to see what the next ..."The challenge may be making it worse, owing to pressure.
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Oh, I get what you mean. Plodding through a series, not because you're really enjoying it, but because you said you would... That's the problems with challenges; motivation to go through it can easily turn into pressure.
I sometimes heave all plans out the window, and just grab whatever strike my fancy at the moment, challenges be damned ;)
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I've heard wonderful things of Poppy War, particularly from Petrik (ex-reviewer at BookNest, and the main culprit in the growth of my TBR ^_^) It is, apparently, very grimdark with some brutal scenes.
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In audiobook, I'm still with A Dragon of a Different Color; I don't have lots of listening time these days, but I'm always eager to get back to this one.
I'm really in a Urban Fantasy mood these days, it seems :)
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I finished Griffin's Destiny last night. Overall I enjoyed this series, but it wasn’t without its flaws, some of which were significant.
Just finished listening to Assassin's Apprentice and am currently listening to Royal Assassin. Hopefully will get to Assassin's Quest as well this month.
I'm still working on Assassin's Apprentice. I just finished The Lies of Locke Lamora. Next on my list is The Gormenghast Trilogy
Finished The Broken Eye. This series is so good, ive got straight on with The Blood Mirror and i'm halfway through that before i've paused to post this update. To anyone whos preference is magic heavy, epic fantasy then this is for you. This is up there with the best i've read
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Oh, good to know you're enjoying it. We seem to have similar taste :)
Lightbringer is on my list of series I MUST read in 2019 (because yes, I already have too much series this year ^_^")
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How is the Healer series? I wasn't big on Snyder's Study series but I was thinking of trying another book by her.
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Currently listening to Alcatraz Versus the Knights of Crystallia. I really need to be in a certain mindset to enjoy the humor. YA is def not Sanderson's strong point.
In ebook, I'm still reading my way through the Kate Daniels series. So far, so good. I understand why UF readers are raving about this series now :)
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How is the Healer series? I wasn't big on Snyder's Study series but I was thinking of try..."
Well, I'm enjoying it. It is a really light read. One that doesn't require too much in-depth thinking, yet very likeable characters and a nice easy read.
Finished The Blood Mirror 5 stars again! The only downside is that the final book isn't out til next August :-( So you might be timing it perfectly Virginie!For a change of pace now Close Encounters of the Magical Kind (Tales of Lentar
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Added to the TBR. A light and easy read between complex door-stoppers is always a good thing :)
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For a change of pace no..."
I wasn't aware that the series was going to finish with book 5. I'll time my reading close to the release date then! Yay :D
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Anyway, I’m on (a mobile so no links) Tower if Dawn, the 5th Maas book. Yes I do like them. Although I’m getting a bit over the novelty of this being just two of the characters now.
I’m listening to Memory of Fire, book 2. Waking Earth was fun to read. I can’t decide if it’s the story, me or the narrator but I’ve listened to the first 2 hours four times now! Keep drifting away.
School holidays so lots of time to read at the moment. I have just read the first 3 books in Dragon-Ridden which has really got me intrigued. I'm really interested in the gradual revealing of Tate's past life and look forward to the next instalment. I have also read the first two books in the next Powder Mage trilogy Sins of Empire and Wrath of Empire. This is another great series and every bit as good as the first trilogy. And I've just picked up the latest Terry Brooks from the library. Lots more books to read too.
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Great job. I plan on finishing the first Powder Mage Trilogy in the near future.
Virginie wrote: "Oooh, several people are reading Assassin's Apprentice. Is it your first time reading Farseer/Realm of the Elderlings? :)"Definitely my first time. They've been on my 'to-read' list for a decade or so and I finally decided to just get them read, and I am loving them so far!
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Nice! Those are the books that got me into Fantasy, I'm always so happy when people are reading 'em for the first time :D
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Also finished Magic Slays in ebook, and will continue the Kate Daniels series in audiobooks (for now).
Will start Kings of the Wyld in ebook, and I am SO EXCITED! The author even visited the buddy-read thread to provide us with links to the (unofficial) soundtrack! How amazing is that?!? :D
Virginie wrote: "Oooh, several people are reading Assassin's Apprentice. Is it your first time reading Farseer/Realm of the Elderlings? :)"Yes, this is my intro to the Farseer series and so far I am very pleased with the book and want to continue the trilogy. This year I am trying to catch up on all the great fantasy books written before 2000. I find that I like them better than many of the more recently published fantasy.
Just starting.The Skaar Invasion which the latest instalment of the Shannara books. These tend to be OK reads but nothing like as good as the original elf stones trilogy
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Oh, I would be interested in your list of great fantasy books written before 2000. I'm sure there's plenty of gems waiting to be discovered there :)
I finished Birth of the Firebringer, which was not bad. And started Rogue Protocol. Yay for more Murderbot! I also started The Prey of Gods for my nighttime reading.
The Ill-kept Oath, a Regency fantasy about two cousins discovering magic in their lives and no one to tell them how it works. It moves at a Regency pace but that enhances the boom at the end.I read Sean Cunningham's Ghost Electricity, a very fast paced story of warlocks, werewolves, and a girl with a monster in her shadow, which is what dragged me in. I have the second book lined up.
An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors, sort of a steampunk Dumas, with only one Musketeer. A brilliant piece of work that defies description.
Currently reading From the Notebooks of Dr. Brain, in which a team of superheroes who don't know what to do with themselves after a successful war on supervillains are ordered into therapy. Not sure if the therapist is a good guy or a bad one, or if it's simply that making happier people makes weaker heroes.
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I think An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors sounds really good. I've been looking for something different to read and this sounds right down my alley. I put it on my TBR list.
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https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1..."
Great list!!
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Mary wrote: "Well, here's a list. you can even contribute!https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1..."
Thanks for the link, I saw some to add to my tbr. However, my goal for the summer was to get the tbr down below 200 before I added anything new. I am so close......only 3 more books to finish reading.
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https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1..."
Thanks! That list is great...
Tnkw01 wrote: "I think An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors sounds really good. I've been looking for something different to read and this sounds right down my alley. I put it on my TBR list."I loved it. I asked a Facebook group for new, original, character-driven, dialog-heavy stories that weren't Top 40 (not that Top 40 books tend to be new, original, or character-driven, but just in case). The first three books on my list above were offered in that thread, and I discovered Dr. Brain when I went to the library to pick up Alchemy.
I finished Dr. Brain already. It's a superhero parable of our times, brilliant but deceptively upbeat, in the way that Once More With Feeling was a brilliant but deceptively upbeat episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Marc wrote: "The Ill-kept Oath, a Regency fantasy about two cousins discovering magic in their lives and no one to tell them how it works. It moves at a Regency pace but that enhances the boom a..."All of these sound intriguing and I don't think I've heard of any of them before. Thanks Marc!
Liam wrote: "All of these sound intriguing and I don't think I've heard of any of them before. Thanks Marc! "That's why I asked the question in FB. The kinds of books I want are not the kind that the mainstream press publishes, or noises about if they do.
Another book that was recommended to me was Fortune's Rising, which I tried but didn't like much. A bit too dark for my taste.
Finished Close Encounters of the Magical Kind (Tales of Lentar. This was ok; a simple fun little story. Also abandoned Peter and the Rising Angels halfway through. Given this was book 6/6, the fact that I couldn't push through just to finish the series will tell you how awful this was!
Ah self published books.... there are some gems out there but you do have to wade through a lot of rubbish to find them.
But now onto a great little find in a second hand bookshop Throne of Jade
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Fantasy Book Club
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As always, share what you're reading here and have a nice summer.
I'm reading The Poppy War and really liking it