[MSJ]

Well, BFK, you've just made me want to give Lord Foul's Bane a go, at least. So even if Wilshire won't continue, maybe you've got a convert in me.

[Wilshire]

Finished Lord Foul's Bane by Stephen R. Donaldson (27)

On to American Gods by Neil Gaiman
So far, very well written.

Donaldson created a acerbic and unlikable protagonist whose fundamental unbelief in his situation leads to some original and fascinating plot possibilities. You should at least read the second novel, "The Illearth War". You may be pleasantly surprised.

Acerbic is a new word for me .

I fear that I'm too far displaced in time for Thomas Covenant. Certainly within the context of the time, Donaldson did something very interesting, but it doesn't speak to me. Maybe when I'm older, or something? If I read more Donaldson, it'd probably be from the Gap Cycle. There's just a ton of authors to read...

Even with 27 books this year, I've still got at least that many on my to read list - which only includes Book 1 of any series, and few repeat authors. Even at this pace I might not get to the end of my list this year, which was basically made up of every recommendation from this forum up until 2016, plus a few straggling addition from later. Once I get through that, I might go through my favorites and complete a few series, which will probably take another year at least. Then I might browse through all the recs from 2016 to date (probably 2020 at that point), plus additions from new publications. That will probably take another few years to get through ... So I've basically got 5+ years of recommendations to read if I maintain my current pace (which is doubtful). Covenant will likely not be up for redemption until after that time.

[BeardFisher-King]

Finished Lord Foul's Bane by Stephen R. Donaldson (27)

On to American Gods by Neil Gaiman
So far, very well written.

Donaldson created a acerbic and unlikable protagonist whose fundamental unbelief in his situation leads to some original and fascinating plot possibilities. You should at least read the second novel, "The Illearth War". You may be pleasantly surprised.

Acerbic is a new word for me .

I fear that I'm too far displaced in time for Thomas Covenant. Certainly within the context of the time, Donaldson did something very interesting, but it doesn't speak to me. Maybe when I'm older, or something? If I read more Donaldson, it'd probably be from the Gap Cycle. There's just a ton of authors to read... I've basically got 5+ years of recommendations to read if I maintain my current pace (which is doubtful). Covenant will likely not be up for redemption until after that time.

Would you believe that I, BFK, have been called "acerbic"? Shocking! 😉

With your extremely ambitious reading program, Covenant will be lucky to get revisited. "Hellfire!"

[SmilerLoki]

Skimmed "The Furies of Calderon" a few days ago, and it was fine, if overwritten. The high amount of not particularly relevant to anything descriptions made it seem boring to me, so i just started to skip all of them, and the book proved to be enjoyable that way. Just started "Academ's Fury", and considering the plot of the series (it's basically standard YA fantasy) it seems a lot better.

Nonetheless, to anyone starting Codex Alera and having trouble with it I would suggest dropping the first book altogether. It's quite possibly one of the top 5 worst starts of a series I've ever read.

[Wilshire]

Would you believe that I, BFK, have been called "acerbic"? Shocking! 😉

With your extremely ambitious reading program, Covenant will be lucky to get revisited. "Hellfire!"

I'm actually just shocked that I haven't been called acerbic lol
The point I was making was just that I haven't even read sequels to books that I absolutely loved, so doing so with books that I thought were just OK (or that I didn't enjoy at all) probably isn't going to happen.
You'll have to find someone else with which to discuss the books.

[MSJ]

@Wilshire, I am roughly half way through AA. It is quite enjoyable to me, but there really isn't a whole lot of action thus far. A LOT of world-building is what I've read so far, but that's fine. Because, it's good writing and I'm interested in this world. You can definitely tell Hobb knew this was the first of many books in a series. So, considering your reading methods, I'm not sure it's something you would be all that interested in, tbh.

[MSJ]

Finished Assassin's Apprentice(16), by Robin Hobb. I thought it a decent enough book. As I said in my previous post, not a whole lot of action. Mostly had a whole lot of world-building and character development. If ever read a set up book this is it. On to Royal Assassin, by Hobb. Want to see how things shake out until I pass judgement.

[MSJ]

Maybe I'll go to Lynch's Red Seas Under Red Skies. Then go back to Hobb after.

[Wilshire]

Finished Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch, book 3 in Gentleman Bastards (28)

Really enjoyed this. Much better than Red Seas under Red Skies imo, though the epilogue and therefore setup for following novels seemed a bit contrived and pretty thin. Other than that, this was a great addition to the series and was closer to the first book (which is a good thing).

MSJ if you're going to read RSURS you should probably just plan to read this was next. Its not that book 2 was bad, but imo 3 was better than 2 and it feels worth finishing it out. "Finishing" meaning finishing book 3, as I think GB is supposed to be like 7 books, should Lynch ever get around to publishing them all.

[SmilerLoki]

"Finishing" meaning finishing book 3, as I think GB is supposed to be like 7 books, should Lynch ever get around to publishing them all.

I hate that this series is so incomplete and avoid it precisely because of that reason.

[Wilshire]

"Finishing" meaning finishing book 3, as I think GB is supposed to be like 7 books, should Lynch ever get around to publishing them all.

I hate that this series is so incomplete and avoid it precisely because of that reason.

After all those years waiting for TSA to reach the point that its at, unfinished series do not bother me any longer. Some stories have no end, unfortunately.

[SmilerLoki]

After all those years waiting for TSA to reach the point that its at, unfinished series do not bother me any longer. Some stories have no end, unfortunately.

Alas. But since there is a lot of finished works out there, I take up unfinished ones only if there is something really, really interesting to me in them. Or if a series contains mostly stand-alone stories, that's fine, too.

[SmilerLoki]

Just finished the third book of Codex Alera. It was finally just fun to read, so I immediately started the fourth.

I must note that it seems problematic that a genuinely fun book is for some reason third in a series instead of first. Moreover, "The Furies of Calderon" counterintuitively had many noticeably dark sequences in it while the tone of the series as a whole is by no means dark. Still, I'm glad I made it this far, so thank you, MSJ!

[Wilshire]

Finished Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch (Gentleman Bastards 3) (28)

I really enjoyed this book. Much better than Red Seas Under Red Skies all around. My biggest gripe was with the ending. Without going into spoilers, it seemed extremely contrived, and I worry that since it appears to set up the final 4ish novels that the premise will jump the shark. Oh well, still a fantastic book. Not as great as LOLL, but still grand.

Finished America Gods by Neil Gaiman (29)

This was a really good book with a satisfying conclusion, epilogue, and post script. It was my first Gaiman novel and I quite liked his writing style. Glad I finally got around to him. Recommended for anyone interested in mythology.

On to The Emperor's Blades by Brian Stavely. Excited for this one (as anything recommended by MSJ so far has been golden).

Just finished the third book of Codex Alera. It was finally just fun to read, so I immediately started the fourth.

I must note that it seems problematic that a genuinely fun book is for some reason third in a series instead of first. Moreover, "The Furies of Calderon" counterintuitively had many noticeably dark sequences in it while the tone of the series as a whole is by no means dark. Still, I'm glad I made it this far, so thank you, MSJ!

I'll keep it on my list for sure

[MSJ]

Aw Schucks!
Thanks, Wilshire