Fantasy Book Club discussion

Hello, my excellent current read is Mark Lawrence's Wheel of Oshiem. Most good it is too.

I've just started Jim Butcher's White Night. I'm slowly getting through the series.

I just Finished the Powder Mage Trilogy and am starting Caverns and Creatures series

I'm carrying over from April.

Promise of Blood

and audiobook: For We Are Many

I'm reading Avempartha! 50% in, still waiting the excitement I got when reading the crown conspiracy

Still reading The Silmarillion. Going to start The Final Empire next.

I've traded a lot of books at used book stores over the years. Decades ago, some of those books were the complete Book of the New Sun series by Gene Wolfe. Of all the books I've traded in, for some unknown reason (because I can't tell you a single memory from reading them) from time to time I would remember that I had given them away and feel a pang of loss.

I was in a local used bookstore recently, had traded in some things, and was browsing for a couple of books I had in mind which I can no longer recall and which they didn't have. I couldn't find anything interesting. I swear I looked at each book on a dozen racks three times. I gave up. As I turned to leave I spotted Shadow & Claw (the first two books of Wolfe's New Sun series!) out of place at the end of a low shelf. It left with me. The next week, the publisher gave the ebook away for free, so I nabbed that as well.

I've already read Sanderson's complete Final Empire series so I went looking to see what what some other groups are reading and sure enough one of them is reading Shadow & Claw.

I figured maybe someone was trying to tell me something, so ... that's what I'm reading now :)

Liam...serendipity? What a great story. Enjoy the book.

Monica wrote: "Liam...serendipity? What a great story. Enjoy the book."

Right? Thanks Monica :)

I just finished The Just City. I didn't like it.

I've now been reading Every Heart a Doorway, another free ebook from Tor.com, and I'm really liking it. :)

Liam wrote: "I've traded a lot of books at used book stores over the years. Decades ago, some of those books were the complete Book of the New Sun series by Gene Wolfe. Of all the books I've traded in, for some..."

Whoa, that is a great story. Sure am glad you're with us.

Tnkw01 wrote: "Liam wrote: "I've traded a lot of books at used book stores over the years. Decades ago, some of those books were the complete Book of the New Sun series by Gene Wolfe. Of all the books I've traded..."

Well thanks Tnk - I'm glad to be here, and I'm glad you all are here. :)

Finished with Avempartha, I'm already reading Larry Niven's Ringworld.

It's funny how sometimes you lose books and it becomes a massive problem.

Just started second volume of "A trial of Blood & Steel" - Petrodor, I'm loving the series so far and I plan to stick with it untill I finish fourth volume, so yeah, I think this will by my May's read ^^
Other than that I'm waiting for my ordered books to arrive, because Empire of Storms from one of my favourite series "Throne of Glass" will have it's premiere in my country on May 10th. I'm so impatient already!
Probably I will reread whole previous four volumes beacuse it was a while and maybe I'm weird but I love doing that, coming back to a series i loved :D
I don't think I will have time to start Eon: Dragoneye Reborn, so I think this concludes my plans for May ^^

I recently picked up "The Godless" by Ben Peek, I haven't read anything from him before and thought this one looked interesting. I'm only about 100 pages in. I think it's starts a bit slow, but seems to be picking up now. Buut I just started "Mistborn" for this months read and that has me hooked already so I'll put Godless on hold for now...

Alice wrote: "I recently picked up "The Godless" by Ben Peek, I haven't read anything from him before and thought this one looked interesting. I'm only about 100 pages in. I think it's starts a bit slow, but see..."

I loved Godless, while not as complex as Malazan it had moments that reminded of that series.

Ctgt wrote: "Alice wrote: "I recently picked up "The Godless" by Ben Peek, I haven't read anything from him before and thought this one looked interesting. I'm only about 100 pages in. I think it's starts a bit..."

The world is definitely intriguing, I'll probably divide my reading, Godless for work breaks and Mistborn for home. Mazalan is one I haven't dove into yet but I own the first book, I'll probably start that series sometime soon, it'll keep me busy while I'm still waiting for The Winds of Winter and the third book in the Kingkiller Chronicles, sigh.

Justyna wrote: "Just started second volume of "A trial of Blood & Steel" - Petrodor, I'm loving the series so far .."

This series looks great I just put it in my to get pile.

Probably I will reread whole previous four volumes beacuse it was a while and maybe I'm weird but I love doing that, coming back to a series i loved :D

I do as well, I get most books from the library but ones I know that I'll reread are worth buying and reading again and again. I miss so much in a first read as I push on to find out what happens, once you know what happens you can really notice all the detail that an author worth rereading puts in their book.

Alice wrote: "The world is definitely intriguing, I'll probably divide my reading, Godless for work breaks and Mistborn for home."

I really enjoyed both those books so you can't go wrong as far as I'm concerned :)

I have just reread the first two Tearling books and have now finished Fate of the Tearling.
I really enjoyed it although certainly didn't expect it to go in the direction that it did. At the end of the first book, it just seemed like a well written coming of age fantasy book. The dystopian theme that appeared in book two seemed a bit weird at first but then Ireally enjoyed the double story line.
I know a lot of people dislike the ending of the trilogy but it seemed right to me.
Twelve Kings is next on my list

Finished Beyond the Shadows last night. Relationship messes kind of brought it down for me and corny ending, but it was still pretty good.

Reading Red Sister now. Hope it lives up to the hype.

I am almost finished with mt third re-read of Janny Wurts The Wars of Light and Shadow. Halfway through Stormed Fortress. I need to let everybody know that THIS SERIES IS AWESOME, but you must be able to hold the entire series in your memory at once to fully appreciate it. For me this took 3 reads, but the first two were done helter- skelter and in too much of a hurry. Deliberate and dedicated readers may do better. I am finishing in preparation for the next volume, which Janny has indicated will be climactic, coming out this fall in England. If you haven't already, please try this very deep, very complex story. First book is Curse or the Mistwraith.

Just finished Jasper Fforde's The Eyre Affair. A reread, but it's been a few years, and I can read these over and over again. Now onto his Lost in a Good Book.

Charles wrote: "I am almost finished with mt third re-read of Janny Wurts The Wars of Light and Shadow. Halfway through Stormed Fortress. I need to let everybody know that THIS SERIES IS AWESOME, but you must be a..."

Love Janny's books and writing style. Only read The Curse of the Mistwraith and The Master of White Storm but plan on reading more of her stuff.

Tnkw!!! Get thee to a book shelf!

I read a couple of books by Janny Wurts some years ago but didn't really get on with them. I think that it was partly down to the fact that the series seemed to be never ending. I might try again although I do wish that authors wouldn't write series that go on for decades😳

Janette wrote: "I read a couple of books by Janny Wurts some years ago but didn't really get on with them. I think that it was partly down to the fact that the series seemed to be never ending. I might try again a..."

I believe The Master of White Storm and To Ride Hell’s Chasm are stand-alones. Plan on starting To Ride Hell's Chasm sometime this year.

Tnkw01 wrote: "I believe The Master of White Storm and To Ride Hell’s Chasm are stand-alones. Plan on starting To Ride Hell's Chasm sometime this year. .."

Yes, they are standalone. And both excellent.

Will try one of those then :-)

Plus the short story collection That Way Lies Camelot

I was selling books at a library craft fair last weekend and discovered some more titles by Mark Hodder in the The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack series. I don't usually go looking for new reads but I'm glad to stumble across them. These aren't new, but I've never seen them so I'm looking forward to the chance.

I finished It (finally! liked it, but forgot how long that book was) and will be following up with something more bite-sized -- The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle.

Janette wrote: "I read a couple of books by Janny Wurts some years ago but didn't really get on with them. I think that it was partly down to the fact that the series seemed to be never ending. I might try again a..."

The climactic volume will be published this fall. So now you could read the whole series. The never-ending wait will be over.

Charles wrote: "Janette wrote: "I read a couple of books by Janny Wurts some years ago but didn't really get on with them. I think that it was partly down to the fact that the series seemed to be never ending. I m..."

No, the finish of Arc IV will be published this fall. The final volume of the series, proper, follows that. It is an eleven volume series in five arcs; and the closer of Arc IV (Sword of the Canon) is the last book that 'stages' for the finale - so the reveals are sweeping and huge and unique in the field.

I don't apologize for the time it takes to do a large epic that was, from day 1, designed to this format. The 'master plan' was always in place, and is dead center on track.

Tolkien took 17 years to produce Lord of the Rings.

The books (as a series) will be valued on their merits; not on 'how long' they took to produce. Bills, aging parents, life, battles with publishing changes (which have been sweeping) do claim their due, and more: drawing all of the levels and threads to the finish, while picking up the dramatic pace (which you'll see, from Peril's Gate, tipping point, forward) has been a demanding challenge.

This is neither a defense, nor an apology - just a correction of perception - Arc IV closes, and one volume remains. Arc V, Song of the Mysteries is one book (like Curse of the Mistwraith) - so the series arcs are in pattern: 1 - 2 - 5 - 2 - 1.

Hope this clarifies! Thank you, Charles, for your enthusiasm.

And I will be reading the whole thing back to back and abandoning all else. Prepare to be pestered :)

Helen wrote: "And I will be reading the whole thing back to back and abandoning all else. Prepare to be pestered :)"

We may have to set up a buddy read

Yes. Hopefully Janny is at the computer/ writing desk writing it as we speak. ;)

Charles wrote: "Janette wrote: "I read a couple of books by Janny Wurts some years ago but didn't really get on with them. I think that it was partly down to the fact that the series seemed to be never ending. I m..."

In that case, I may well read the whole series once it's completed. Love having a whole set of books to look forward to. I'm currently waiting for the Master of White Storm to arrive in the post!

I dedicated this month to read some books that i always wanted to read, but could not find the time. As the actual month read I have already read. So I'm reading Ringworld, The Emerald Storm, Neuromancer, and will soon start Legend.

I'm reading Promise of Blood and making my way through Memories of Ice.

Finished The Ballad of Black Tom (it was short), read The Jewel and Her Lapidary (it was really short; considered a novelette by word count) and started Fritz Leiber's Swords in the Mist, the third Lankhmar collection.

Picked up a classic "science fantasy" The Warlock in Spite of Himself. There's something for everyone in this book...not sure what to make of it just yet. (Although Fess reminds me of Marvin in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.)

Charles wrote: "I am almost finished with mt third re-read of Janny Wurts The Wars of Light and Shadow. Halfway through Stormed Fortress. I need to let everybody know that THIS SERIES IS AWESOME, but you must be a..."

I adore this series. I have never understood why it's not more popular. Yes, it's complex and long, but that's part of the beauty of it. I am re-reading it now myself (5th time) in anticipation of book 10 Destiny's Conflict, which is due out in September. I am so excited! I also can't believe there is only one book to go...I so look forward to new releases.

Finished Swords in the Mist and am remaining in Lanhkmar with Swords Against Wizardry.

Ok, since l finished The Final Empire I've went back to The Silmarillion. It's still a tough read because of all the complex, similar names.

On a good note. It looks like the library will finally have Norse Mythology in. Yeah!

Finished The Warlock in Spite of Himself. Heavy on the testosterone and a bit corny at times, but still a fun story, so 3.5 stars.

Picked up Strange the Dreamer (which was in one of our group polls recently) for my next read.

I'm reading A Discovery of Witches. Interesting world, so far, but kinda slow and heavy on the romance.

Finished The Silmarillion. Gave it a 4 star. Loved the plot hated all the weird names. I just have one question. Why do all the bothers in the book have the same type of name. Now Bon begat three sons, Bonron, Benron and Banron. Ok, maybe an exaggeration but you get the point. Anyway, love Tolkien and loved the book.

Guess what, I started Norse Mythology

Finished Swords Against Wizardry and started some different old-school sword & sorcery with Michael Moorcock's Elric in the Dream Realms.