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The First four books of the Stormlight Archives, by Brandon Sanderson. Good and epic fantasy with a lot of action. Each book has at least 700 pages, some nearly 1.000 pages, which gives you a lot to read.
I can recommend them to any fantasy fan.
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Maxvorstadt: The First four books of the Stormlight Archives, by Brandon Sanderson. Good and epic fantasy with a lot of action. Each book has at least 700 pages, some nearly 1.000 pages, which gives you a lot to read.
I can recommend them to any fantasy fan.
Well, there are four (primary) Stormlight Archive books in total so far. And afaik each has 1000+ pages. 1300+ for the mass market paperbacks...
Or you mean you read one of the editions that splits them in two, so you mean the first two?
But yeah, I'd call Stormlight Archive the best epic fantasy you can find at the moment. As far as I'm aware, at least.
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Maxvorstadt: The First four books of the Stormlight Archives, by Brandon Sanderson. Good and epic fantasy with a lot of action. Each book has at least 700 pages, some nearly 1.000 pages, which gives you a lot to read.
I can recommend them to any fantasy fan.
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Cavalary: Well, there are four (primary) Stormlight Archive books in total so far. And afaik each has 1000+ pages. 1300+ for the mass market paperbacks...
Or you mean you read one of the editions that splits them in two, so you mean the first two?
But yeah, I'd call Stormlight Archive the best epic fantasy you can find at the moment. As far as I'm aware, at least.
How does it compare to the Inheritance Ring Saga by Paolini? I really enjoyed that.
I've thought about getting "Murtagh" by the same author but haven't been willing to spend the cash.

I'm currently loving David Weber & Jane Lindskold's Star Kingdom Book 4: A New Clan 10/10 so far.

If it counts, i just finished Graphic Audio's production of Austen Habershaw's A Far, Far Better Thing--book four of his Saga of the Redeemed.
I LOVE GraphicAudio's productions, and this was no exception. 9/10, if only because I didn't like Lyrelle's ending, and thought Artus's ladylove could have had a better ending.
It's one of the few books that was so well performed that I was rooting for the Bad Guys (Banric Sahand & Xahlven) to win for a while. The actors played their parts to the hilt.
The 3 best narrators/actors in that series are Bradley Smith as Tyvian, Michael Glenn as Banric, & Colleen Delany as Lyrelle
Alejandro Ruiz (Alcatraz) plays Artus very well. Nora Achrati is also magnificent!
Honestly, if Michael Glenn hadn't been such a good actor, Banric would have been far worse. Banric is despicable scum, but he is acted so well. Michael's performance turns a thug into a Morairty--a super-villian and one you love to hate, but love all the same.
Post edited April 06, 2024 by Microfish_1
Finisher The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski.

It's the first short story collection of the Witcher series.
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Cavalary: Well, there are four (primary) Stormlight Archive books in total so far. And afaik each has 1000+ pages. 1300+ for the mass market paperbacks...
Or you mean you read one of the editions that splits them in two, so you mean the first two?
But yeah, I'd call Stormlight Archive the best epic fantasy you can find at the moment. As far as I'm aware, at least.
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Microfish_1: How does it compare to the Inheritance Ring Saga by Paolini? I really enjoyed that.
Never read Paolini, but my impression is that it can't really compare. I mean, from what I know, Eragon struck me as meant for a young audience, maybe even children, and otherwise a typical unlikely hero fighting the great evil story.
Stormlight Archive is a masterpiece of worldbuilding and character portrayal and development, adding layer upon layer of complexity, showing true understanding of how people and societies work and tackling many issues and aspects, and it's not at the expense of thrilling action either, especially after the first book.
The Bands of Mourning

While it's becoming increasingly obvious that the Mistborn series is where all of the Cosmere will eventually come together, this remains not only "light" Sanderson, but even "light" Mistborn, if you compare it to the original trilogy... Or even to the previous two books. Yes, these books are meant to be something of a fantasy western, presenting a world undergoing its Industrial Revolution and most likely being lighter, shallower stepping stones towards something much greater, so you shouldn't expect anything like the level of worldbuilding and character development and portrayal, the social analysis and commentary, that deep understanding of how people and societies work, and what I'd even call the wisdom that shines through The Stormlight Archive and a few other works. However, this time I'm tempted to say that the author is making too much of a point of holding back, allowing some details about another layer of complexity to seep through but mostly indirectly, delaying what would be more notable revelations but doing far from enough to fill the remaining void... Not even with thrilling action, seeing as not much happens during the first quarter of the book, which serves mainly as a reminder of the characters' personalities, with the exception of the chapter that's essentially an information dump about the more complex aspects of the magic system. A thrilling action scene does follow after that first quarter, but it's only one of two, or three if you're feeling generous.
This doesn't make The Bands of Mourning a bad book. I recognize that it'd still be a competent effort by other standards, especially if you come with the right expectations, and I'm being undeservedly harsh, but it's underwhelming when it's written by an author who's obviously capable of so much more, in absolutely every way. The action, the character development, the worldbuilding, the detailed magic system, the commentary and analysis, every aspect is present but muted, held back, leaving something that's mainly a slow-paced detective story that doesn't even benefit from a relatable antagonist and may be said to culminate with a huge serving of hero's luck.

Rating: 3/5
Doom Guy: Life in First Person by John Romero

In this autobiography, Romero shares deeply personal stuff about his challenging upbringing, deservedly celebrates the incredible triumphs he's had, and owns up in a humble way to crushing failures. He's very open about the many relationships that were part of a long career in the games industry. There's a lot of insight provided in regards to development principles and what he has learned about business strategy over the years.

I found the chapters about the early and rock star days the most interesting. Later chapters offer info on what Romero has been up to since Ion Storm went under. You get a substantial amount of kickassery that will excite Doomheads. I went away from it, thinking, how far talented and driven people can go, if they are in the right place at the right time, surrounded by supportive peers (this is basically paraphrasing what John is saying in the book). Makes also for a great companion volume to the fantastic Masters of Doom written by David Kushner.
The Thorn Birds-Colleen McCullough. Great book, I want to write essay about it. I found research proposal writing service at https://fastessay.com/research-proposal-writing-service.html to help me with my essay online and save my time. These guys are pro writers and helped me hundreds of times with my proposals. Useful service for students who need urgent writing help.
Post edited April 26, 2024 by tonnyys
The Providence Rider by Robert McCammon. The fourth book in the Matthew Corbett series. In this one, Corbett is basically blackmailed into working for Professor Fell, the arch-villain of the series, who wants Corbett to uncover some traitors within his criminal organization but with the deeper motive of trying to convince Corbett to willingly join the group.

This book finally completes the series' transition from straight historical fiction to pulp adventure, although this is somewhat complicated by the fact that Corbett, despite gaining some grit and swordfighting training, still isn't an action hero, so when stuff starts hitting the fan he always needs help to get through it. He can probably take a normal person, but the enemies he's usually up against are professional killers who will eat his lunch without much effort. Perhaps the next major step for him as a hero will be for him to overcome one of these situations without needing help, even if he has to cheat like crazy and be really lucky to do it.

One thing I appreciate about McCammon's writing is that in this age of moral relativism, he usually is happy to present villains who are just complete freaking degenerates. Sometimes they'll talk a good game about how the world works and what they're trying to achieve, but then you just have to remember how much they enjoy raping and murdering innocent people to realize that they're full of shit. Many of them, though, won't even hide it and will make a show of openly abusing people because it literally gets them off. You want to see these sickos get taken down.

Although I enjoyed the book a bit more than the previous one, I do have some criticisms of it. The plot feels like it skips a few links in the chain later on. Matthew is getting deeper into his investigation and I expected him to start having to get really clever to work things out...and then the main issues are resolved almost immediately and the story proceeds to an action-packed conclusion. And Matthew's character development is frustrating because even after all the crap he went through in the previous book, how his withholding of information indirectly caused a lot of damage (including getting several innocent people murdered), in this one he still is slow to trust his friends and allies. There's a very "2 steps forward, 1 backward" feeling from him, or maybe even 1.5 backward. For a smart character, he's kind of a dumbass in some ways.
Record of Lodoss War 1: The Grey Witch by Ryo Mizuno

Like many, I first learned about Lodoss through the legendary animation back in the 90's. So when the books began publishing here in Brazil some time ago (the seventh one should be out next month or so), I was very excited to be able to read the original light novel...

And... it's rather bland.

I don't know if it's the translation, which could use a slightly better revision, or the original itself, but the narrative feels a lot like someone describing scenes from an anime in the simplest and least interesting way possible. It's a short book, but I actually took a months long break because of the overall blandness. At times, it felt like "My first fantasy novel", in that it trusts the novelty of the scenario and characters to keep readers interested (it is a 1988 book, afterall).

Problems aside, the story isn't bad per se, but the book never takes the time to dive into the greater aspects of its mythos, and the characters are pretty stereotypical for their roles in the story.

I still plan to read through the whole series, as I already own all but the seventh book, but it may be a while before I actually pick up the next one.
Greetings from Witness Protection by Jake Burt.

10/10 Absolutely wonderful YA fiction. A hilarious novel all about the adventures of a foster girl who gets drafted by US Marshalls to join the witness protection program to help hide a family. She joins the fugitives and grows to live then, but she and her new little brother didn't exactly get along at first.

MC is delightfully sarcastic/brilliant/nervous/otherwise hilarious in turns, depending on her stress . Grew up as a pickpocket and is now using those skills to defend her new family.

She is a brilliant student who has to purposely flub enough questions to get a B-minus average.
A funny and poignant debut middle-grade novel about a foster-care girl who is placed with a family in the witness protection program, and finds that hiding in plain sight is complicated and dangerous.
Nicki Demere is an orphan and a pickpocket. She also happens to be the U.S. Marshals’ best bet to keep a family alive. . . .

The marshals are looking for the perfect girl to join a mother, father, and son on the run from the nation’s most notorious criminals. After all, the bad guys are searching for a family with one kid, not two, and adding a streetwise girl who knows a little something about hiding things may be just what the marshals need.

Nicki swears she can keep the Trevor family safe, but to do so she’ll have to dodge hitmen, cyberbullies, and the specter of standardized testing, all while maintaining her marshal-mandated B-minus average. As she barely balances the responsibilities of her new identity, Nicki learns that the biggest threats to her family’s security might not lurk on the road from New York to North Carolina, but rather in her own past.
Die Nibelungen: neu erzählt by Michael Köhlmeier

A retelling of the classic epic told in The Song of the Nibelungs (Nibelungenlied), with an emphasis on finding motivation behind the characters' actions. The tale is here and there interspersed with commentary, for example when the author points out a moving away from historic-seeming parts into fairytale. A worthwhile, brief read at 127 pages.
Post edited May 20, 2024 by chevkoch
The Child in You: The Breakthrough Method for Bringing Out Your Authentic Self by Stefanie Stahl

The author, a clinical psychologist, writes about how experiences in the first six years of a child's life, positive and negative, are responsible for behavioral patterns, belief systems, filters through which we view the world around us. As a means to explore these and possibly provide tools for healing and self-support are a good number of exercises which are fairly easy to do, but also sufficiently challenging to potentially bring about freeing change.

I would not have picked this book up, if someone I know hadn't talked about parts of it on several occasions, and I'm glad that I went against my tunnel-vision instinct and read this. I found it immensely helpful in the end. A recommendation.
Post edited May 20, 2024 by chevkoch
Interview with the Vampire

I usually hate framing devices which are just "one character tells the other the story", but it's the core premise here. The tragic twist hits hard.
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LegoDnD: Interview with the Vampire

I usually hate framing devices which are just "one character tells the other the story", but it's the core premise here. The tragic twist hits hard.
I was rather unimpressed by Interview, actually, but it's just the start, do continue at least up to Memnoch, probably the peak of the series (even if Body Thief before it really is quite a lull, and can feel like a hard crash to have that between Queen and Memnoch, but ah well).