How is it? I recently bought it but haven’t had a chance to read it yet
I’m a big fantasy reader - this is one of my favourite reads in the past ten years and Kvothe one of my favourite characters.
As @will24 says, been waiting for years for the third book to be released.
In the meantime, mopping up anything Brandon Sanderson and Joe Abercrombie write.
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Loved it. I like Greek myth and this was a great read full of Fry’s wit and easily readable.
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Have you read The Mistborn Trilogy at all? Best thing I’ve read so far from him!
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I’m finding it rather slow going if I’m being honest. I’m persevering because of the good things I’ve heard about it.
Yeah, that was terrific. I prefer his newer series though, the Stormlight Archive. Only 3 books in (of what I believe is a ten part series). Love the magic system in it, and the different way powers manifest. Highly recommend it but I’d say it is more traditional epic fantasy.
If anybody is after another great fantasy read, invest time into Malazan Book of the Fallen. My favourite fantasy series hands down. The number of memorable characters in that world is just mind blowing.
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I’ve heard nothing but good things about the Stormlight Archives, glad to hear another glowing opinion of it! After the Mistborn Trilogy, I felt I had to take a break from epic fantasy novels and delve into shorter reads to break it up a bit. Looking to invest in a long read after my recent purchases though.
Brandon Sanderson really is churning out some brilliant novels. Elantris was a nice short fantasy, that was my introduction into his worlds.
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Decent enough, the author is a bit crazy with his personal views but some interesting ideas to explore
Not sure if anyone else here is a fan of Le Carre? I’ve just finished Legacy of Spies and it was honestly a big disappointment. If you happen to love the Tinker Taylor series best avoid. Nothing in this makes sense.
Can’t hear Le Carre or that particular title without immediately thinking of Malcom Tucker, “What the fuck is this? Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, CUNT?”
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Gerald Seymour is a far better author than Le Carre in this category. Just read Jerichos war. Great attention of detail and plot building to a great climax.
His earlier work is much better. Harry’s Game and Kingfisher come to mind.
Think to be fair for both writers the political landscape changing has effected them. Fredrick Forsyth would be another in that category as well as their all ageing.
I recently finished the ‘Malazan Book of the Fallen’ by Steven Erikson. 10 books, took me just under a year to read them. I don’t want to oversell, but I really enjoyed them. If you’re into fantasy I would highly, highly recommend. Well worth the time I put in.
Currently reading ‘I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings’ by Maya Angelou. I only read a chapter or so a week because it’s a very tough read for me. I’ve put it down and picked it back up several times. Kind of like ‘Invisible Man’ by Ellison, it paints a very honest, painful picture of the country I live in. The more I read the more anger wells up inside me, so I have to put it down and process it. It’s made me be more honest with myself about my role in the systemic racism in the USA. Heavy, heavy stuff.
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What are your thoughts on this? Not a challenge, just curious as I’d like to think of myself as someone who is reflective about these things
I mentioned this above, it’s my favourite fantasy series ever. Extraordinary world building and the sheer number of detailed / memorable characters is unrivalled in my opinion. Nothing I’ve read comes close.
There’s more to read btw, you’ve got a bunch of books written by Ian Esslemont which mainly follows the Crimson Guard (Iron Bars, Skinner, Cowl, Shimmer etc.) Highly recommended. There’s also more about Dassem Ultor who as you know is one of the biggest badasses in the books. Come to think of it, I think Esslemont writes a book that is actually supposed to be read before any other Malazon book as it tells the tale of how Kellanved and Dancer ascended. Dancer’s Lament I think it’s called.
I know this is an almost impossible question, but who is your favourite character? I seem to flit between Fiddler and Tehol Beddict / Bugg (have to take these as a two). Probably Fiddler.
But there’s so many more characters, Kalam, Quick Ben, Tool, Toc the Younger (what a fucking sad end for him, got me mad emotional that bit), basically all of the Wickans, Gesler, Rake, Helian, Duiker, Fisher, Karsa Orlong…man it goes on.
Well, for one thing I’ve become very aware of the advantages of being a middle aged, white male in this country. It’s not that I’m untouchable, it’s that everything is stacked in my favor. It’s hard to admit to yourself that you didn’t get to where you are solely through your own hard work and graft. So, I try to use that advantage to educate and advocate. I’m just honest about it when ever I talk about it. And it comes up… a lot. White men love to go on about how bad they have it. It’s an odd phenomenon.
I feel like raising my kids right is my main job right now. I talk to my kids about race and class a lot. Not from a political perspective, but from a real world consequences perspective. I had a very long and in depth conversation with my 10 and 13 year olds last week about incarceration rates and how they compare to crime statistics. They both kept shouting “THAT’S WRONG!” So I like to think I’m doing something right.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not a crusader, I don’t have time to take on the world and I’m not going to change this country single handed. But I’m part of a group of, I hate to bring generation into it, GenX that see this kind of bullshit and calls it out. If enough of us do this, that’s where change happens. You can change laws through grand gestures, you can’t change people’s mind with a protest. That takes a much more subtle and nuanced approach to change that.
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Holy shit, impossible, but I’ll give it a whirl. Tehol and Bugg definitely make the list of faves… Karsa “Whitness” Orlong has the best story arc of the entire series. And FIddler is just… well, just Fid. Total badass, but in a real way.
Edit: One thing my wife and I always talked about is the awesome Bromances he writes, Fiddler and Hedge, Stormy and Guesler, Blend and Picker… he does an amazing job forging palpable bonds between characters.
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Thanks for taking the time to indulge me mate
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