I read them all but...they felt like Douglas Adams Mostly Harmless. The old Hitchhickers guide magic wasn't there for me.
Grrrrrrr...
Don't get me started on Mostly Harmless.
:-&
yeah pretty sure that was just a paycheck.
From the beginning, I have thought he was sick of the characters and wanted to make sure nobody would ask him to do another.
I got that impression, too. In my head the series stopped with So Long and Thanks For All the Fish. Of course, the last time I re-read that, I remember thinking that maybe I should start thinking that it ended with Life, The Universe, and Everything.
Not a novel, but I started Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman, the memoirs of Richard Feynman, the teacher, physicist, Manhattan Project contributor, Challenger investigator, and translator of Mayan hieroglyphics. He played a mean bongo drum, too.
Not a novel, but I started Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman, the memoirs of Richard Feynman, the teacher, physicist, Manhattan Project contributor, Challenger investigator, and translator of Mayan hieroglyphics. He played a mean bongo drum, too.
That reminds me, I still need to read Jim Ottaviani’s Feynman graphic novel. I think my wife’s done with it, and my son has it now.
I haven't read Trap Line or his other two early collaborations.
Native Tongue, OTOH, is frikkin' brilliant!
I'm about 1/3 through Trap Line it's pretty good (not as good as Native Tongue); I'm not sure I'll have it finished by thursday. I'm going to try, but if I don't then it's getting sidelined until I read David Shumaker's (aka The Masked Man) The Squared Circle. It is, by all accounts, an amazing history of our favorite pre-determined sport.
I just finished The Squared Circle. It was an amazing history of professional wrestling; I cannot recommend this book highly enough. David Shumaker uses the stories of dead wrestlers (some big, some smaller names) to explain the history of wrestling.
Intruder by CJ Cherryh. Most recent paperback release in the Foreigner series. More of the same SF setting political intrigue. I continue to love Cherryh's development of alien culture as witnessed by the lone human.
Last Dark by Stephen R. Donaldson. This is the final volume in the Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. I started reading the Covenant books right around 1982. Initially, they were a slog for me (I was 12 and Donaldson's vocabulary is intense even at 40+). The entire series moved me and continues to move me on each subsequent re-read. Admittedly, the protagonist is not a terribly likable individual, but the setting and its inhabitants, in my opinion more than make up for Covenant. The Giants and the haruchai, two incredibly different people, amaze me. So, after 31 years, the series finally comes to a close (though most people thought that that was the case with the publication of White Gold Wielder ~25 years ago. After having had the opportunity to revisit the series with new works, I'll be sad to once again have to adapt to the idea of no new works, but I can easily see myself going back to reread the entire Chronicles time and again.
Mistborn series by Brandon Sandersen. So far, I've only read the first three. I'm being waved off of the fourth by a co-worker. I enjoyed the series quite a bit, though there were times when dialog choices really pulled me out of the story as they felt too modern for the setting and context. Given the person that directed me toward the series, I was pretty shocked by just how dark and violent it was. It was probably also the most original "magic" system I've seen since Steven Erikson's warrens.
Intruder by CJ Cherryh. Most recent paperback release in the Foreigner series. More of the same SF setting political intrigue. I continue to love Cherryh's development of alien culture as witnessed by the lone human.
Last Dark by Stephen R. Donaldson. This is the final volume in the Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. I started reading the Covenant books right around 1982. Initially, they were a slog for me (I was 12 and Donaldson's vocabulary is intense even at 40+). The entire series moved me and continues to move me on each subsequent re-read. Admittedly, the protagonist is not a terribly likable individual, but the setting and its inhabitants, in my opinion more than make up for Covenant. The Giants and the haruchai, two incredibly different people, amaze me. So, after 31 years, the series finally comes to a close (though most people thought that that was the case with the publication of White Gold Wielder ~25 years ago. After having had the opportunity to revisit the series with new works, I'll be sad to once again have to adapt to the idea of no new works, but I can easily see myself going back to reread the entire Chronicles time and again.
Mistborn series by Brandon Sandersen. So far, I've only read the first three. I'm being waved off of the fourth by a co-worker. I enjoyed the series quite a bit, though there were times when dialog choices really pulled me out of the story as they felt too modern for the setting and context. Given the person that directed me toward the series, I was pretty shocked by just how dark and violent it was. It was probably also the most original "magic" system I've seen since Steven Erikson's warrens.
I had a co-worker direct me towards the Sanderson Mistborn stuff too. I was a little hesitant because I don't know the guy well enough to know if his credibility is any good. So, you dug it, huh? Tell me, How do you feel about Robert Jordan?
Intruder by CJ Cherryh. Most recent paperback release in the Foreigner series. More of the same SF setting political intrigue. I continue to love Cherryh's development of alien culture as witnessed by the lone human.
Last Dark by Stephen R. Donaldson. This is the final volume in the Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. I started reading the Covenant books right around 1982. Initially, they were a slog for me (I was 12 and Donaldson's vocabulary is intense even at 40+). The entire series moved me and continues to move me on each subsequent re-read. Admittedly, the protagonist is not a terribly likable individual, but the setting and its inhabitants, in my opinion more than make up for Covenant. The Giants and the haruchai, two incredibly different people, amaze me. So, after 31 years, the series finally comes to a close (though most people thought that that was the case with the publication of White Gold Wielder ~25 years ago. After having had the opportunity to revisit the series with new works, I'll be sad to once again have to adapt to the idea of no new works, but I can easily see myself going back to reread the entire Chronicles time and again.
Mistborn series by Brandon Sandersen. So far, I've only read the first three. I'm being waved off of the fourth by a co-worker. I enjoyed the series quite a bit, though there were times when dialog choices really pulled me out of the story as they felt too modern for the setting and context. Given the person that directed me toward the series, I was pretty shocked by just how dark and violent it was. It was probably also the most original "magic" system I've seen since Steven Erikson's warrens.
I had a co-worker direct me towards the Sanderson Mistborn stuff too. I was a little hesitant because I don't know the guy well enough to know if his credibility is any good. So, you dug it, huh? Tell me, How do you feel about Robert Jordan?
Jordan is hot and cold for me. There were some high points in the Wheel of Time, but he lost his way about half way through the series and only occasionally found it after that. Sanderson, on the other hand, picked that series up and did a nice job, in my opinion, bringing it to a succinct closure in a pretty satisfying manner. After reading both series, I think that it's safe to say that Sanderson did a nice job of modulating his voice to more closely match Jordan's.
Intruder by CJ Cherryh. Most recent paperback release in the Foreigner series. More of the same SF setting political intrigue. I continue to love Cherryh's development of alien culture as witnessed by the lone human.
Last Dark by Stephen R. Donaldson. This is the final volume in the Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. I started reading the Covenant books right around 1982. Initially, they were a slog for me (I was 12 and Donaldson's vocabulary is intense even at 40+). The entire series moved me and continues to move me on each subsequent re-read. Admittedly, the protagonist is not a terribly likable individual, but the setting and its inhabitants, in my opinion more than make up for Covenant. The Giants and the haruchai, two incredibly different people, amaze me. So, after 31 years, the series finally comes to a close (though most people thought that that was the case with the publication of White Gold Wielder ~25 years ago. After having had the opportunity to revisit the series with new works, I'll be sad to once again have to adapt to the idea of no new works, but I can easily see myself going back to reread the entire Chronicles time and again.
Mistborn series by Brandon Sandersen. So far, I've only read the first three. I'm being waved off of the fourth by a co-worker. I enjoyed the series quite a bit, though there were times when dialog choices really pulled me out of the story as they felt too modern for the setting and context. Given the person that directed me toward the series, I was pretty shocked by just how dark and violent it was. It was probably also the most original "magic" system I've seen since Steven Erikson's warrens.
I had a co-worker direct me towards the Sanderson Mistborn stuff too. I was a little hesitant because I don't know the guy well enough to know if his credibility is any good. So, you dug it, huh? Tell me, How do you feel about Robert Jordan?
Jordan is hot and cold for me. There were some high points in the Wheel of Time, but he lost his way about half way through the series and only occasionally found it after that. Sanderson, on the other hand, picked that series up and did a nice job, in my opinion, bringing it to a succinct closure in a pretty satisfying manner. After reading both series, I think that it's safe to say that Sanderson did a nice job of modulating his voice to more closely match Jordan's.
Good answer. It may have been an unfair question because I don't like Jordan. I guess that's not right. I read the first 4 wheel of time books and really enjoyed the first one but I couldn't handle the snails pace. To be fair though I'm not a huge Tolkein fan either so it may just be "high fantasy" I have issue with. My favorite example of the genre would be David Eddings Belgariad Clean, good characters, beginning, middle and satisfying end. So, hearing that Sanderson is more streamlined and to the point is the best possible answer.
My favorite example of the genre would be David Eddings Belgariad Clean, good characters, beginning, middle and satisfying end. So, hearing that Sanderson is more streamlined and to the point is the best possible answer.
I'm big David Eddings fan because of that. I have enjoyed Tolkien and Jordan works but man... I never want to read another 600 page description of a forest again (I'm talking about you JRR) and Jordan sort of got lost somewhere in the middle of his story.
I've got the whole wheel of time series, but somewhere in the middle of reading Winter's Heart I realized I had no clue what was going on (i read the other books not that long before). I tried to power through the next book and gave up about 1/3 in. I decided I needed to start over, but I just don't want to read 12,000+ pages of one series (also why I haven't started Martin's books).
Intruder by CJ Cherryh. Most recent paperback release in the Foreigner series. More of the same SF setting political intrigue. I continue to love Cherryh's development of alien culture as witnessed by the lone human.
Last Dark by Stephen R. Donaldson. This is the final volume in the Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. I started reading the Covenant books right around 1982. Initially, they were a slog for me (I was 12 and Donaldson's vocabulary is intense even at 40+). The entire series moved me and continues to move me on each subsequent re-read. Admittedly, the protagonist is not a terribly likable individual, but the setting and its inhabitants, in my opinion more than make up for Covenant. The Giants and the haruchai, two incredibly different people, amaze me. So, after 31 years, the series finally comes to a close (though most people thought that that was the case with the publication of White Gold Wielder ~25 years ago. After having had the opportunity to revisit the series with new works, I'll be sad to once again have to adapt to the idea of no new works, but I can easily see myself going back to reread the entire Chronicles time and again.
Mistborn series by Brandon Sandersen. So far, I've only read the first three. I'm being waved off of the fourth by a co-worker. I enjoyed the series quite a bit, though there were times when dialog choices really pulled me out of the story as they felt too modern for the setting and context. Given the person that directed me toward the series, I was pretty shocked by just how dark and violent it was. It was probably also the most original "magic" system I've seen since Steven Erikson's warrens.
I had a co-worker direct me towards the Sanderson Mistborn stuff too. I was a little hesitant because I don't know the guy well enough to know if his credibility is any good. So, you dug it, huh? Tell me, How do you feel about Robert Jordan?
Jordan is hot and cold for me. There were some high points in the Wheel of Time, but he lost his way about half way through the series and only occasionally found it after that. Sanderson, on the other hand, picked that series up and did a nice job, in my opinion, bringing it to a succinct closure in a pretty satisfying manner. After reading both series, I think that it's safe to say that Sanderson did a nice job of modulating his voice to more closely match Jordan's.
Good answer. It may have been an unfair question because I don't like Jordan. I guess that's not right. I read the first 4 wheel of time books and really enjoyed the first one but I couldn't handle the snails pace. To be fair though I'm not a huge Tolkein fan either so it may just be "high fantasy" I have issue with. My favorite example of the genre would be David Eddings Belgariad Clean, good characters, beginning, middle and satisfying end. So, hearing that Sanderson is more streamlined and to the point is the best possible answer.
I'm not going to claim that I don't occasionally enjoy some wordiness in my reading selections. I've been through Tolkien a couple of times, though I still haven't tackled the Silmarillion. I'm a huge fan of George RR Martin (and have been since long before A Game of Thrones was trendy). Donaldson and Erikson are also pretty wordy.
Jordan, when he was on his game, did some great stuff (including some pretty decent work with Conan as I recall). Unfortunately, it just didn't hold out.
I haven't actually read any Eddings, though I've had a couple of people, including the person that loaned me the Mistborn books, strongly encourage me to read them.
I might ask for a couple of definitions from your description of preferences: "Clean, good characters, beginning, middle and satisfying end." In particular clean - does that mean no dangling plot threads? Clean characters (bathing fetish fiction?)? Virtuous characters? Something else?
I'll have to check out Eddings. One of the reasons I don't read a lot of fantasy is because often I feel like the writers fill up space with things that should have remained in their background notes. I'm on the fifth draft of a novel myself, and I find that I'm pretty ruthless when it comes to trimming things that don't move the plot forward, or that could be filled in by the reader's own imagination without wasting time making them plow through it, so I have little patience for when a writer meanders into a lecture about the world they've created.
What was it that Mark Twain once said? Something like "I didn't have time to write you a short letter, so I wrote you a long one instead?"
I'll have to check out Eddings. One of the reasons I don't read a lot of fantasy is because often I feel like the writers fill up space with things that should have remained in their background notes. I'm on the fifth draft of a novel myself, and I find that I'm pretty ruthless when it comes to trimming things that don't move the plot forward, or that could be filled in by the reader's own imagination without wasting time making them plow through it, so I have little patience for when a writer meanders into a lecture about the world they've created.
What was it that Mark Twain once said? Something like "I didn't have time to write you a short letter, so I wrote you a long one instead?"
Maybe give Glenn Cook a try. I'm a big fan of his works as well - particularly his Black Company books. His writing style is what I would consider sparse.
If you are interested in Eddings my reccomendation would be to try the Belgaraid. It was a fun series that moves really quickly. It's not ground breaking, but it's not dumb or bad fantasy. It's a well paced series that follows fundamental fantasy arc: farm boy of prophecy. It's a good fantasy series for people like me that get bored with high fantasy after book 3.
There is also the Elenium which follows Sparhawk (exiled knight/king's former champion) who is brought out of exile to save the princess (soon to be queen) from a pretty good poisoning. He rounds a party of knights and they go dirty dozening in hostile territory for the cure.
I probably enjoy the Elenium/Tamuli series (Sparhawk) a little more than the Belgaraid/Mallorean series. However that changes depending on my mood; I just really enjoyed both worlds. I did not like the Dreamers or the Redemption of Althulas.
I'll have to check out Eddings. One of the reasons I don't read a lot of fantasy is because often I feel like the writers fill up space with things that should have remained in their background notes. I'm on the fifth draft of a novel myself, and I find that I'm pretty ruthless when it comes to trimming things that don't move the plot forward, or that could be filled in by the reader's own imagination without wasting time making them plow through it, so I have little patience for when a writer meanders into a lecture about the world they've created.
What was it that Mark Twain once said? Something like "I didn't have time to write you a short letter, so I wrote you a long one instead?"
A fantasy writer for people that don't like high fantasy is Stephen R Lawhead. He uses a lot of Celtic influences in his books. His excellent Pendragon Cycle grounds the Arthurian legend in Roman, Celtic, and Atlantian legend. The series begins at the end of Roman occupation of Britian; it was really enjoyable. I highly recommend the first 3 in that series (Talesin, Merlin, Arthur); it was originally a trilogy. I also recommend his stand alone book Byzantium.
So, after 31 years, the series finally comes to a close (though most people thought that that was the case with the publication of White Gold Wielder ~25 years ago.
After reading the entire series straight through (all those years ago) I put down White Gold Wielder with a couple chapters to go, because I knew there was no way it could end satisfactorily.
Donaldson is an incredible world-builder, and his supporting characters are wonderful, but his protagonist is such a schmuck. Did he finally get his head out of his ass in the last book?
I'll have to check out Eddings. One of the reasons I don't read a lot of fantasy is because often I feel like the writers fill up space with things that should have remained in their background notes. I'm on the fifth draft of a novel myself, and I find that I'm pretty ruthless when it comes to trimming things that don't move the plot forward, or that could be filled in by the reader's own imagination without wasting time making them plow through it, so I have little patience for when a writer meanders into a lecture about the world they've created.
What was it that Mark Twain once said? Something like "I didn't have time to write you a short letter, so I wrote you a long one instead?"
A fantasy writer for people that don't like high fantasy is Stephen R Lawhead. He uses a lot of Celtic influences in his books. His excellent Pendragon Cycle grounds the Arthurian legend in Roman, Celtic, and Atlantian legend. The series begins at the end of Roman occupation of Britian; it was really enjoyable. I highly recommend the first 3 in that series (Talesin, Merlin, Arthur); it was originally a trilogy. I also recommend his stand alone book Byzantium.
I met Lawhead at a music festival circa 1997. nice guy. I don't like his stuff but nice guy.
So, after 31 years, the series finally comes to a close (though most people thought that that was the case with the publication of White Gold Wielder ~25 years ago.
After reading the entire series straight through (all those years ago) I put down White Gold Wielder with a couple chapters to go, because I knew there was no way it could end satisfactorily.
Donaldson is an incredible world-builder, and his supporting characters are wonderful, but his protagonist is such a schmuck. Did he finally get his head out of his ass in the last book?
I thought White Gold Wielder came to a very satisfying conclusion. Agree that Covenant was a complete schmuck. Avery wasn't substantially better. Last Chronicles did a pretty good job with both of them. However, as I've been thinking more and more about the series, It's not Covenant, or Linden Avery that make the series for me. It's the grand service of the Bloodguard, the Giants, the Ramen. It's Hergrom and Ceer facing down the Sandgorgon.
I met Lawhead at a music festival circa 1997. nice guy. I don't like his stuff but nice guy.
I can see that. The first person voice he uses in his stories is very different, and it's not traditional fantasy. I've never met a reader that fell in the middle with Lawhead. I like his stories, but understand why people don't.
I'll have to check out Eddings. One of the reasons I don't read a lot of fantasy is because often I feel like the writers fill up space with things that should have remained in their background notes. I'm on the fifth draft of a novel myself, and I find that I'm pretty ruthless when it comes to trimming things that don't move the plot forward, or that could be filled in by the reader's own imagination without wasting time making them plow through it, so I have little patience for when a writer meanders into a lecture about the world they've created.
What was it that Mark Twain once said? Something like "I didn't have time to write you a short letter, so I wrote you a long one instead?"
A fantasy writer for people that don't like high fantasy is Stephen R Lawhead. He uses a lot of Celtic influences in his books. His excellent Pendragon Cycle grounds the Arthurian legend in Roman, Celtic, and Atlantian legend. The series begins at the end of Roman occupation of Britian; it was really enjoyable. I highly recommend the first 3 in that series (Talesin, Merlin, Arthur); it was originally a trilogy. I also recommend his stand alone book Byzantium.
Probably a good place to mention Bernard Cornwell's spectacular Warlord series - the Winter King, Enemy of God and Excalibur.
Intruder by CJ Cherryh. Most recent paperback release in the Foreigner series. More of the same SF setting political intrigue. I continue to love Cherryh's development of alien culture as witnessed by the lone human.
Last Dark by Stephen R. Donaldson. This is the final volume in the Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. I started reading the Covenant books right around 1982. Initially, they were a slog for me (I was 12 and Donaldson's vocabulary is intense even at 40+). The entire series moved me and continues to move me on each subsequent re-read. Admittedly, the protagonist is not a terribly likable individual, but the setting and its inhabitants, in my opinion more than make up for Covenant. The Giants and the haruchai, two incredibly different people, amaze me. So, after 31 years, the series finally comes to a close (though most people thought that that was the case with the publication of White Gold Wielder ~25 years ago. After having had the opportunity to revisit the series with new works, I'll be sad to once again have to adapt to the idea of no new works, but I can easily see myself going back to reread the entire Chronicles time and again.
Mistborn series by Brandon Sandersen. So far, I've only read the first three. I'm being waved off of the fourth by a co-worker. I enjoyed the series quite a bit, though there were times when dialog choices really pulled me out of the story as they felt too modern for the setting and context. Given the person that directed me toward the series, I was pretty shocked by just how dark and violent it was. It was probably also the most original "magic" system I've seen since Steven Erikson's warrens.
I had a co-worker direct me towards the Sanderson Mistborn stuff too. I was a little hesitant because I don't know the guy well enough to know if his credibility is any good. So, you dug it, huh? Tell me, How do you feel about Robert Jordan?
Jordan is hot and cold for me. There were some high points in the Wheel of Time, but he lost his way about half way through the series and only occasionally found it after that. Sanderson, on the other hand, picked that series up and did a nice job, in my opinion, bringing it to a succinct closure in a pretty satisfying manner. After reading both series, I think that it's safe to say that Sanderson did a nice job of modulating his voice to more closely match Jordan's.
Good answer. It may have been an unfair question because I don't like Jordan. I guess that's not right. I read the first 4 wheel of time books and really enjoyed the first one but I couldn't handle the snails pace. To be fair though I'm not a huge Tolkein fan either so it may just be "high fantasy" I have issue with. My favorite example of the genre would be David Eddings Belgariad Clean, good characters, beginning, middle and satisfying end. So, hearing that Sanderson is more streamlined and to the point is the best possible answer.
I'm not going to claim that I don't occasionally enjoy some wordiness in my reading selections. I've been through Tolkien a couple of times, though I still haven't tackled the Silmarillion. I'm a huge fan of George RR Martin (and have been since long before A Game of Thrones was trendy). Donaldson and Erikson are also pretty wordy.
Jordan, when he was on his game, did some great stuff (including some pretty decent work with Conan as I recall). Unfortunately, it just didn't hold out.
I haven't actually read any Eddings, though I've had a couple of people, including the person that loaned me the Mistborn books, strongly encourage me to read them.
I might ask for a couple of definitions from your description of preferences: "Clean, good characters, beginning, middle and satisfying end." In particular clean - does that mean no dangling plot threads? Clean characters (bathing fetish fiction?)? Virtuous characters? Something else?
For the most part I mean clean storytelling. This is one way in which I think Joe Hill is superior to his father. He stil has the ability to turn a phrase but without the diareaah of the word processor.
Intruder by CJ Cherryh. Most recent paperback release in the Foreigner series. More of the same SF setting political intrigue. I continue to love Cherryh's development of alien culture as witnessed by the lone human.
Last Dark by Stephen R. Donaldson. This is the final volume in the Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. I started reading the Covenant books right around 1982. Initially, they were a slog for me (I was 12 and Donaldson's vocabulary is intense even at 40+). The entire series moved me and continues to move me on each subsequent re-read. Admittedly, the protagonist is not a terribly likable individual, but the setting and its inhabitants, in my opinion more than make up for Covenant. The Giants and the haruchai, two incredibly different people, amaze me. So, after 31 years, the series finally comes to a close (though most people thought that that was the case with the publication of White Gold Wielder ~25 years ago. After having had the opportunity to revisit the series with new works, I'll be sad to once again have to adapt to the idea of no new works, but I can easily see myself going back to reread the entire Chronicles time and again.
Mistborn series by Brandon Sandersen. So far, I've only read the first three. I'm being waved off of the fourth by a co-worker. I enjoyed the series quite a bit, though there were times when dialog choices really pulled me out of the story as they felt too modern for the setting and context. Given the person that directed me toward the series, I was pretty shocked by just how dark and violent it was. It was probably also the most original "magic" system I've seen since Steven Erikson's warrens.
I had a co-worker direct me towards the Sanderson Mistborn stuff too. I was a little hesitant because I don't know the guy well enough to know if his credibility is any good. So, you dug it, huh? Tell me, How do you feel about Robert Jordan?
Jordan is hot and cold for me. There were some high points in the Wheel of Time, but he lost his way about half way through the series and only occasionally found it after that. Sanderson, on the other hand, picked that series up and did a nice job, in my opinion, bringing it to a succinct closure in a pretty satisfying manner. After reading both series, I think that it's safe to say that Sanderson did a nice job of modulating his voice to more closely match Jordan's.
Good answer. It may have been an unfair question because I don't like Jordan. I guess that's not right. I read the first 4 wheel of time books and really enjoyed the first one but I couldn't handle the snails pace. To be fair though I'm not a huge Tolkein fan either so it may just be "high fantasy" I have issue with. My favorite example of the genre would be David Eddings Belgariad Clean, good characters, beginning, middle and satisfying end. So, hearing that Sanderson is more streamlined and to the point is the best possible answer.
I'm not going to claim that I don't occasionally enjoy some wordiness in my reading selections. I've been through Tolkien a couple of times, though I still haven't tackled the Silmarillion. I'm a huge fan of George RR Martin (and have been since long before A Game of Thrones was trendy). Donaldson and Erikson are also pretty wordy.
Jordan, when he was on his game, did some great stuff (including some pretty decent work with Conan as I recall). Unfortunately, it just didn't hold out.
I haven't actually read any Eddings, though I've had a couple of people, including the person that loaned me the Mistborn books, strongly encourage me to read them.
I might ask for a couple of definitions from your description of preferences: "Clean, good characters, beginning, middle and satisfying end." In particular clean - does that mean no dangling plot threads? Clean characters (bathing fetish fiction?)? Virtuous characters? Something else?
For the most part I mean clean storytelling. This is one way in which I think Joe Hill is superior to his father. He stil has the ability to turn a phrase but without the diareaah of the word processor. I read a book called Vellum: the book of all hours By a cat named Hal Duncan. (Apologies if any of you are fans) It was the most convoluted, in desperate need of an editor, things I have ever seen. It involved multiple incarnations of souls in multiple timelines throughout the multiverse (which sounds awesome initially) but it was so caught up with being impressed with itself that it lost clarity and sense. In comic book terms I frequently praise Mark Waid for his craftsmanship. That is what a I mean by clean. The most important sentence in any text is the first one, and then the next and the next...
Comments
Don't get me started on Mostly Harmless.
:-&
The new James Bond book set firmly in Ian Fleming's Bond universe, written like a travelogue. I hear Sean Connery in every line of dialogue.
Absolutely admire the world building by Mieville. Got many more of his books on order already.
I'm now also very much interested in his comic writing. Will have a go at his run of Dial H
Intruder by CJ Cherryh. Most recent paperback release in the Foreigner series. More of the same SF setting political intrigue. I continue to love Cherryh's development of alien culture as witnessed by the lone human.
Last Dark by Stephen R. Donaldson. This is the final volume in the Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. I started reading the Covenant books right around 1982. Initially, they were a slog for me (I was 12 and Donaldson's vocabulary is intense even at 40+). The entire series moved me and continues to move me on each subsequent re-read. Admittedly, the protagonist is not a terribly likable individual, but the setting and its inhabitants, in my opinion more than make up for Covenant. The Giants and the haruchai, two incredibly different people, amaze me. So, after 31 years, the series finally comes to a close (though most people thought that that was the case with the publication of White Gold Wielder ~25 years ago. After having had the opportunity to revisit the series with new works, I'll be sad to once again have to adapt to the idea of no new works, but I can easily see myself going back to reread the entire Chronicles time and again.
Mistborn series by Brandon Sandersen. So far, I've only read the first three. I'm being waved off of the fourth by a co-worker. I enjoyed the series quite a bit, though there were times when dialog choices really pulled me out of the story as they felt too modern for the setting and context. Given the person that directed me toward the series, I was pretty shocked by just how dark and violent it was. It was probably also the most original "magic" system I've seen since Steven Erikson's warrens.
I never want to read another 600 page description of a forest again (I'm talking about you JRR) and Jordan sort of got lost somewhere in the middle of his story.
I've got the whole wheel of time series, but somewhere in the middle of reading Winter's Heart I realized I had no clue what was going on (i read the other books not that long before). I tried to power through the next book and gave up about 1/3 in. I decided I needed to start over, but I just don't want to read 12,000+ pages of one series (also why I haven't started Martin's books).
Jordan, when he was on his game, did some great stuff (including some pretty decent work with Conan as I recall). Unfortunately, it just didn't hold out.
I haven't actually read any Eddings, though I've had a couple of people, including the person that loaned me the Mistborn books, strongly encourage me to read them.
I might ask for a couple of definitions from your description of preferences: "Clean, good characters, beginning, middle and satisfying end." In particular clean - does that mean no dangling plot threads? Clean characters (bathing fetish fiction?)? Virtuous characters? Something else?
What was it that Mark Twain once said? Something like "I didn't have time to write you a short letter, so I wrote you a long one instead?"
There is also the Elenium which follows Sparhawk (exiled knight/king's former champion) who is brought out of exile to save the princess (soon to be queen) from a pretty good poisoning. He rounds a party of knights and they go dirty dozening in hostile territory for the cure.
I probably enjoy the Elenium/Tamuli series (Sparhawk) a little more than the Belgaraid/Mallorean series. However that changes depending on my mood; I just really enjoyed both worlds. I did not like the Dreamers or the Redemption of Althulas.
Donaldson is an incredible world-builder, and his supporting characters are wonderful, but his protagonist is such a schmuck. Did he finally get his head out of his ass in the last book?