Book recommendations

[leemajors]

Finished Liveship Traders Trilogy over the weekend. It was mentally exhausting, but fantastic at the same time.
Robin Hobb's characterization is simply top notch.
It's a bit wild that her Elderlings saga doesn't qualify as "grimdark" on technical aspect of lacking amoral or morally ambiguous protagonist/characters. Cuz the world she pens is definitely grim af and she also puts her characters through some real dark .


Read Troy Saga by David Gemmell and really loved that series as well.
Historical/Mythological retelling can be tricky because the readers already know how it ends but David managed to make this one pretty hard to put down.


I'm also going through Discworld books in the publishing order and most have really great.
Reaper Man, Small Gods and Men at Arms are prolly my favorite so far. These books are perfect to sneak in between heavier reads.


Green Boone Saga by Fonda Lee is another fantastic series.
The first book was average at best, but the 2nd and 3rd really knocked it outta the park for me.
The setting is quite unique as well. It's like the 70/80s Urban Fantasy within a Mafia/Yakuza family.


Raven's Blade Duology by Anthony Ryan was all-right.
While it was definitely a step up from the disastrous book 2 & 3 of Raven's Shadow books, it still fell short of high bar set by Blood Song.


Cradle by Will Wight is pretty good YA Progression Fantasy.
It's a perfect series to burn through when you need something light as an adult.
Also a good recommendation for middle school kids, nephews or nieces in the family.

Hobb is the best. The Rain Wild books can be a bit of a slog, but everything else is fantastic I don't want to say anything more, but she definitely nailed the end of the whole thing.

[lefty20]

Hobb is the best. The Rain Wild books can be a bit of a slog, but everything else is fantastic I don't want to say anything more, but she definitely nailed the end of the whole thing.

Finally got around to finishing the RotE saga and I agree 100%. RWC books were definitely the weakest part of the Saga, by far. The ending was great as well, perhaps a bit too drawn out. But it's a minor complaint.

Other I've read since my last post...


Tigana, Lions of Al-Rassan, All the Seas of the World, A Brightness Long Ago & Children of Earth and Sky by Guy Gavriel Kay were great reads as well. His work reminds me a lot David Gemmell's work.



Speaking of DG, I've also now read his Rigante series and the first 2 books of the Drenai Saga. If you're looking for the classic medieval fantasy, you can't go wrong with DG.



I was craving a story about the Arthurian Legend and decided to give The Warlord Chronicles by Bernard Cornwell a shot and was pleasantly surprised. It's understandably not very popular because it is a completely different take than what most of us have come across yet, but I think he executed it pretty well and had me hooked till the end.



Recursion & Dark Matter by Blake Crouch were both excellent reads. Upgrade, otoh, was a let down.



Stephen King : Misery was great, Fairy Tale lost some steam in the 2nd half and Revival was all right. I plan on reading the Dark Tower Saga later this year.



The Locked Tomb by Tamsyn Muir.... Didn't connect with any of the characters, the story or the prose. I tapped out after finishing the 2nd book as it was clearly not for me, ymmv.




The Shadow & Bone Trilogy. Pretty decent entry for the YA genre. I've heard the other series, Six of Crows, that's set in the same world is much better. I'll definitely be reading that at some point in the near future.



Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes... A gut punch, tbh. I knew what I was in for, but it still hit me like a truck.



The Poppy War by RF Kuang... Holy ing ! The author pulls no punches in this saga. This is a fantasy saga based on the Sino-Japanese conflict and if you know anything about the rape of nanking then you already know what to expect from this book. If you can stomach that sort of then I'd definitely recommend this series.




The Broken Earth Trilogy by NK Jemisin - Bit of a slow burner but an interesting read nonetheless. The 2nd person pov was completely new for me and took me some time to adjust, ngl.



BrandoSando -
The Lost Metal - Enjoyed the story, but character dialogue left much to be desired, tbh.

Tress of the Emerald Sea - Fantastic from start to end.

The Frugal Wizard - Really good concept, mid execution.


Edit - Formatting

[leemajors]

I recently read the Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch. Urban fantasy may be the best way to describe it, and I had forgotten I read more than the first two books over a decade ago. They were great. Other than that I reread Dark Tower again. I like it more every time I read it, but a lot of people don't like how it ended. I didn't the first time, but have come way around. Kings stuff is just so easy to read. This is still one of my favorite quotes of his:

“Time was a face on the water, and like the great river before them, it did nothing but flow.”

from Wind Through the Keyhole

[SpursforSix]

I recently read the Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch. Urban fantasy may be the best way to describe it, and I had forgotten I read more than the first two books over a decade ago. They were great. Other than that I reread Dark Tower again. I like it more every time I read it, but a lot of people don't like how it ended. I didn't the first time, but have come way around. Kings stuff is just so easy to read. This is still one of my favorite quotes of his:


from Wind Through the Keyhole

King is still probably my favorite author in terms of if I pick up one of his books, I'll probably finish it. Like you said, it's easy reading.
My favorite quote that sticks with me is "God always punishes us for what we can't imagine". From Duma Key.

[leemajors]

King is still probably my favorite author in terms of if I pick up one of his books, I'll probably finish it. Like you said, it's easy reading.
My favorite quote that sticks with me is "God always punishes us for what we can't imagine". From Duma Key.

I don't think I have read that one, gonna put it on my list.

[SpursforSix]

I don't think I have read that one, gonna put it on my list.

So honestly, it started of great but it's super long and one of the few books I haven't finished. It's just a quote that sticks in my mind. The context makes it more poignant but I think it stands by itself.

[lefty20]

Finished the 6th book of the Red Rising series - Light Bringer and was left utterly heart-broken & angry. But excited to see what comes next in the final installment of this Saga.

I would definitely recommend this series for everyone. If you like books that take you on a emotional roller coaster rides. This author doesn't give you what you think you want from the story, instead he gives you that which you didn't even know that you wanted.

First book is the weakest of the series, by far. It's basically Hunger Games/Ender's Game on Mars, but better. The series takes a huge turn after that. It's Spartacus in space with a lot of other flavors mixed in, from the likes of Dune, ASoIaF, Monte Christo & even some First Law in the later books.

Enjoy familial/political machinations & intrigue? Check

Enjoy casual backstabbing? Check

Enjoy the constant fear of having anyone die at any point? Check

Enjoy Space Warfare? Check

Enjoy Ground Assaults? Check

Enjoy cool sword fights? Check


Read the the series. You won't regret it.

[Chinook]

I did the original trilogy and have been slowly collecting the audio books for the rest. I thought the sixth one was going to be the last so I could start listening. But I see that wasn't the case.

The first three books where, okay. There were some really cool moments, but I do sort of think it was forgettable in light of things like Hunger Games and GoT. I paid for 4 and 5, so my intention is very much to finish the series. But it's one where I am a bit reluctant to move past the relatively decent conclusion Morning Star provided.

[Thread]

I keep this book close at the house. I found it at a Library Sale, for a couple dollars. It's a First Edition.

"After Midnight: The Life and Death of Brad Davis" by Susan Bluestein Davis, published in 1997. This details the marriage of these two. It primarily encompasses their battle with AIDs when he is compromised. It's a stunning achievement for his wife and she's brutally honest before, during and after the fierce battle was waged and lost.

Brad believed stoutly in the Albert Camus declaration..."A man does not show his greatness by being at one extremity, but rather by touching both at once."

Susan finishes this work up deftly at the Epilogue..."...And I see many errors. Those nights during our early days together in New York when I would wake to find Brad slicing his arms with a razor. (he'd been repeatedly raped by his mother) Why did I refuse to see Brad for what he was, a deeply troubled young man? Why did I think time would improve him? Why didn't I insist he get professional help for his obvious emotional distress? These questions will stay with me the rest of my life.

And I wrestle with even more troubling questions about myself when we first learned that Brand was HIV-positive. How could I have blamed Brad, blamed the victim, for bringing this plague upon us, including our innocent child? And more than my anger, I regret my coldness, how I closed myself off when Brad was reaching out to me, how I turned away from the man who needed me more than he had ever needed me. I think now of my actions and I regret them more than I can say.

But I know now what lay at the root of my actions was fear, whether it was the fear of disease and death, the fear of losing our livelihood, or simply the fear of losing love. My life with Brad was a battleground, but not between two people, but between those two opposing emotions, fear and love. Brad was my partner, not my opponent, for he also knew great fear, perhaps even greater than my own. He was my confidant, my strength, my mate, as we faced our fears together. Reflecting the Camus quote that Brad loved and that begins this book, ours was a life filled with extremes, but it also had moments of greatness.

I miss Brad. There isn't a day that goes by that my thoughts don't turn to him for comfort, for guidance, and for humor. I know Alexandra feels his absence even more acutely. Her father was a difficult man, but as wrote to her in that final letter, he was, he hoped, also a good man. If there is any meaning to this book, it is that---that as troubled as he was, Brad Davis was a good man, that he was capable of great love, and that he was loved greatly in return."

[baseline bum]

I keep this book close at the house. I found it at a Library Sale, for a couple dollars. It's a First Edition.

"After Midnight: The Life and Death of Brad Davis" by Susan Bluestein Davis, published in 1997. This details the marriage of these two. It primarily encompasses their battle with AIDs when he is compromised. It's a stunning achievement for his wife and she's brutally honest before, during and after the fierce battle was waged and lost.

Brad believed stoutly in the Albert Camus declaration..."A man does not show his greatness by being at one extremity, but rather by touching both at once."

Susan finishes this work up deftly at the Epilogue..."...And I see many errors. Those nights during our early days together in New York when I would wake to find Brad slicing his arms with a razor. (he'd been repeatedly raped by his mother) Why did I refuse to see Brad for what he was, a deeply troubled young man? Why did I think time would improve him? Why didn't I insist he get professional help for his obvious emotional distress? These questions will stay with me the rest of my life.

And I wrestle with even more troubling questions about myself when we first learned that Brand was HIV-positive. How could I have blamed Brad, blamed the victim, for bringing this plague upon us, including our innocent child? And more than my anger, I regret my coldness, how I closed myself off when Brad was reaching out to me, how I turned away from the man who needed me more than he had ever needed me. I think now of my actions and I regret them more than I can say.

But I know now what lay at the root of my actions was fear, whether it was the fear of disease and death, the fear of losing our livelihood, or simply the fear of losing love. My life with Brad was a battleground, but not between two people, but between those two opposing emotions, fear and love. Brad was my partner, not my opponent, for he also knew great fear, perhaps even greater than my own. He was my confidant, my strength, my mate, as we faced our fears together. Reflecting the Camus quote that Brad loved and that begins this book, ours was a life filled with extremes, but it also had moments of greatness.

I miss Brad. There isn't a day that goes by that my thoughts don't turn to him for comfort, for guidance, and for humor. I know Alexandra feels his absence even more acutely. Her father was a difficult man, but as wrote to her in that final letter, he was, he hoped, also a good man. If there is any meaning to this book, it is that---that as troubled as he was, Brad Davis was a good man, that he was capable of great love, and that he was loved greatly in return."

Damn RIP Brad, you were one of the originals.

[leemajors]

I did the original trilogy and have been slowly collecting the audio books for the rest. I thought the sixth one was going to be the last so I could start listening. But I see that wasn't the case.

The first three books where, okay. There were some really cool moments, but I do sort of think it was forgettable in light of things like Hunger Games and GoT. I paid for 4 and 5, so my intention is very much to finish the series. But it's one where I am a bit reluctant to move past the relatively decent conclusion Morning Star provided.

I can't remember if you were the one to recommended Michael J Sullivan, but rereading those and really enjoying them again.

[Chinook]

I can't remember if you were the one to recommended Michael J Sullivan, but rereading those and really enjoying them again.

Probably. I did read them around the time I started posting in this thread. I enjoyed those and though Sullivan improved as a writer as time has gone on. The Riyria Chronicles show a lot of improvement over Revelations. Disappearance of Winter's Daughter is my favorite book of his so far. I've been slowly collecting more of his series but haven't read any of them besides Royce and Hadrian so far.

I'm still waiting on to continue Red Rising. I do tend to absorb books in chunks, so I'd like to only get back in that series once to finish is. I need to do that last Expanse trilogy. I have the books, but I'm considering doing the whole series, including novellas, in one giant whoosh as a way of sending the series off.

I guess I should update what I've been reading recently:

I just finished revisiting the Villains' Code series by Drew Hayes. I like that he somewhat balances having a critique of superheroes while straying away from grimdark deconstruction. My guess is it's going to be a four-book series, with book three coming out next year. I made a pitstop to knock out How High We Go in the Dark. That was depressing as , and it hits really close to home for many of us. But I do think it can speak to certain parts of the soul that need to be addressed and healed rather than just buried. I'm currently relistening to the Red Queen's War series. I enjoy the lighter visit to that universe in comparison to the Broken Empire trilogy. I heard an extra short story in RQW came out not too long ago. Reading that should be a good cap to the series.

In my queue after RQW are the Clocktaur War and Books of the Ancestor series. I think I might toss in some non-fiction in there first. I have Chip Wars and The Value of a Whale partially read. Maybe I should finish those. I've finally gotten to the Uplift series. I knocked out the first three books but am waiting on the final three.

2024 should be a good year for new releases. The final Cycle of Galand book is supposed to be out, as should the aforementioned third Villains' Code book. Andrew Rowe should be continuing the Weapons and Wielders and Arcane Ascension series after the cliff-hangers those were left on. Holly Messinger has FINALLY started to put out the sequel to Curse of Jacob Tracy. It's nice to see that some long-delayed series do eventually get continued.

[leemajors]

Probably. I did read them around the time I started posting in this thread. I enjoyed those and though Sullivan improved as a writer as time has gone on. The Riyria Chronicles show a lot of improvement over Revelations. Disappearance of Winter's Daughter is my favorite book of his so far. I've been slowly collecting more of his series but haven't read any of them besides Royce and Hadrian so far.

I'm still waiting on to continue Red Rising. I do tend to absorb books in chunks, so I'd like to only get back in that series once to finish is. I need to do that last Expanse trilogy. I have the books, but I'm considering doing the whole series, including novellas, in one giant whoosh as a way of sending the series off.

I guess I should update what I've been reading recently:

I just finished revisiting the Villains' Code series by Drew Hayes. I like that he somewhat balances having a critique of superheroes while straying away from grimdark deconstruction. My guess is it's going to be a four-book series, with book three coming out next year. I made a pitstop to knock out How High We Go in the Dark. That was depressing as , and it hits really close to home for many of us. But I do think it can speak to certain parts of the soul that need to be addressed and healed rather than just buried. I'm currently relistening to the Red Queen's War series. I enjoy the lighter visit to that universe in comparison to the Broken Empire trilogy. I heard an extra short story in RQW came out not too long ago. Reading that should be a good cap to the series.

In my queue after RQW are the Clocktaur War and Books of the Ancestor series. I think I might toss in some non-fiction in there first. I have Chip Wars and The Value of a Whale partially read. Maybe I should finish those. I've finally gotten to the Uplift series. I knocked out the first three books but am waiting on the final three.

2024 should be a good year for new releases. The final Cycle of Galand book is supposed to be out, as should the aforementioned third Villains' Code book. Andrew Rowe should be continuing the Weapons and Wielders and Arcane Ascension series after the cliff-hangers those were left on. Holly Messinger has FINALLY started to put out the sequel to Curse of Jacob Tracy. It's nice to see that some long-delayed series do eventually get continued.

I read Grey Sister and forgot about the two others. I think it had something to do with Goodreads no longer sending monthly Books by Authors You Have Read emails, I really miss those. I liked everything else I have read from him.

A coworker of mine recommended Dandelion Dynasty by Ken Liu, I will be checking those out soon.

[Chinook]

I read Grey Sister and forgot about the two others. I think it had something to do with Goodreads no longer sending monthly Books by Authors You Have Read emails, I really miss those. I liked everything else I have read from him.

A coworker of mine recommended Dandelion Dynasty by Ken Liu, I will be checking those out soon.

Book of the Ancestor was a good series for me. I basically chugged it, but it has a fun mix of action, intrigue and sci-fi.

I also just finished the Licanius trilogy. I also knocked that out pretty quickly through Audible. Apparently, the actual books have copy errors that turned some readers off, but except for the author using a couple of words way too often, I didn't have a problem. I'd recommend the series pretty highly, even though the books are on the longer side, which means the first act of the first book is a long as some other books and can drag on a bit.

I have been trying to take a break from fantasy, but I've found my selections in other genres to be a bit of a drag. Like I still can't finish Chip Wars, even though it's a fascinating topic considering current events. I've also tried to get through The Terminal Experiment, but the book has a lot of the issues of Golden Age sci-fi and of 90s sci-fi without the charm.

My next attempt will probably be The Border trilogy by Cormac McCarthy. I enjoyed The Road and No Country for Old Men. It should be the pallet-cleanser I've been looking for after what has been 11 straight fantasy novels (not accounting for the aborted attempts at the other books mentioned above). I'll probably make an attempt at finishing those books before finally doing my re-read of The Expanse 1-6 and first-time reading of 7-9. I'm not sure if I want to take breaks between the trilogies of that series or just try to do it all at once and then put the series down forever. Guess it depends on if any good releases come out in that duration.

[leemajors]

Book of the Ancestor was a good series for me. I basically chugged it, but it has a fun mix of action, intrigue and sci-fi.

I also just finished the Licanius trilogy. I also knocked that out pretty quickly through Audible. Apparently, the actual books have copy errors that turned some readers off, but except for the author using a couple of words way too often, I didn't have a problem. I'd recommend the series pretty highly, even though the books are on the longer side, which means the first act of the first book is a long as some other books and can drag on a bit.

I have been trying to take a break from fantasy, but I've found my selections in other genres to be a bit of a drag. Like I still can't finish Chip Wars, even though it's a fascinating topic considering current events. I've also tried to get through The Terminal Experiment, but the book has a lot of the issues of Golden Age sci-fi and of 90s sci-fi without the charm.

My next attempt will probably be The Border trilogy by Cormac McCarthy. I enjoyed The Road and No Country for Old Men. It should be the pallet-cleanser I've been looking for after what has been 11 straight fantasy novels (not accounting for the aborted attempts at the other books mentioned above). I'll probably make an attempt at finishing those books before finally doing my re-read of The Expanse 1-6 and first-time reading of 7-9. I'm not sure if I want to take breaks between the trilogies of that series or just try to do it all at once and then put the series down forever. Guess it depends on if any good releases come out in that duration.

I generally break up fantasy with detective fiction or some nonfiction. I read All the Pretty Horses and liked it, but I lost interest in the Crossing. McCarthy can be difficult for me when he has little punctuation, as I read several sentences at once. Blood Meridian took me forever

[lefty20]

I did the original trilogy and have been slowly collecting the audio books for the rest. I thought the sixth one was going to be the last so I could start listening. But I see that wasn't the case.

The first three books where, okay. There were some really cool moments, but I do sort of think it was forgettable in light of things like Hunger Games and GoT. I paid for 4 and 5, so my intention is very much to finish the series. But it's one where I am a bit reluctant to move past the relatively decent conclusion Morning Star provided.

The IG/DA/LB expand the series big time. Most revolutionary tales usually end after the revolutionaries get the first big W. They usually don't' follow up with the the mess that's left behind when you create such a big power vacuum. They just pretend that something new and good will automatically replace what was destroyed. The follow up saga shows that it's really not the case and gives you a pretty realistic view on what is likely to follow.

While the ending to the first trilogy was indeed fairly satisfying, it was a also incomplete. Fwiw, I would recommend re-reading the first trilogy before you continue, if you decide to do so.

In other news
So there was a article early earlier in the year about Wemby being a bibliophile himself and a huge fan of Brandon Sanderson. Apparently it's a case of mutual admiration.

https://www.deseret.com/sports/2024/...erson-in-utah/