The Book Thread

[DinJo]

On 10/20/2021 at 12:15 AM, North said:

Finished my Dune Re-Read.

 

Now I'm READY for the movie! 

 

How is the movie vs book if you have seen. I found the first 10 mins to be extremely boring with lot of talk. 

[North]

15 hours ago, Ne0 said:

Can't wait for the next book to conclude the first arc.  Would be really interesting to see at what point they wrap up the first arc sand the current storylines !!

 

Brandon has a youtube channel with weekly updates. It comes out Christmas 2023 

 

2 hours ago, DinJo said:

How is the movie vs book if you have seen. I found the first 10 mins to be extremely boring with lot of talk. 

 

Dune is best know for its dialogue/politics/manoeuvrings. They infact cut out a famous banquet sequence from the movie.

Its just a bunch of characters talking - but its fantastic to see how they're subtly manipulating each other. 

 

The book is legendary of course - and I'd say the movie is quite faithful to the book. They did not attempt to change the source material.

But of course, nothing is as good as the book. I recommend trying the first book in the series - and go on from there if you like it.

 

As a fan of the franchise - the movie was extremely well done, but maybe a bit out there for people new to the series.

Less action more talking. Action only increases from this point on - the first half of Book 1 is mostly setup for the story.

[Ne0]

So, I'm thinking of starting with the mistborn series next, any other suggestions ? Also I thought it's trilogy, but see much more books in the series. 

[roun90]

2 hours ago, Ne0 said:

So, I'm thinking of starting with the mistborn series next, any other suggestions ? Also I thought it's trilogy, but see much more books in the series. 

 

If you are looking at only Sanderson's books, I would first suggest reading Elantris and Warbreaker. They are both stand-alone books (entire story in 1 book), and it will be a break to read a small, complete story before going into a new trilogy (and more) that is Mistborn. Both are also a part of Sanderson's Cosmere (along with Mistborn), so at some point - all stories are going to converge, either in the Stormlight Archive or in a completely new series (Odium of Stormlight is one of the main villains of the entire cosmere).

[Ne0]

33 minutes ago, roun90 said:

 

If you are looking at only Sanderson's books, I would first suggest reading Elantris and Warbreaker. They are both stand-alone books (entire story in 1 book), and it will be a break to read a small, complete story before going into a new trilogy (and more) that is Mistborn. Both are also a part of Sanderson's Cosmere (along with Mistborn), so at some point - all stories are going to converge, either in the Stormlight Archive or in a completely new series (Odium of Stormlight is one of the main villains of the entire cosmere).

No nothing like that, I thought of starting with the wise man's fear, but looks like the third book may or may not happen.  Hence I thought I'd start with mistborn since the trilogy is complete already. 

 

So, if there's any other author/series - preferably completed, that's as good, do let me know.  I've considered wheel of time as well, but now that the tv show is out, I would rather watch that instead.  Any good fanatsy series is ok by me, not interested in Sci-fi though ! 

Edited November 21, 2021 by Ne0

[roun90]

1 hour ago, Ne0 said:

No nothing like that, I thought of starting with the wise man's fear, but looks like the third book may or may not happen.  Hence I thought I'd start with mistborn since the trilogy is complete already. 

 

So, if there's any other author/series - preferably completed, that's as good, do let me know.  I've considered wheel of time as well, but now that the tv show is out, I would rather watch that instead.  Any good fanatsy series is ok by me, not interested in Sci-fi though ! 

 

I'm not including LOTR and any of the JRR Tolkien-verse in this (That's like the Bible of fantasy), but the major series I can recommend are (IMO) -

 

1) Wheel of Time 

 

I highly urge you to read the books. The books are a classic series in themselves, and the show is taking far too many liberties with the source material. At this point, there are very high chances that the show will butcher the story. This always happens when show runners think they know better than the actual authors (I'm scared for LOTR now ). Heck, they actually cut out the actual opening of the books and the series. The opening of the Wheel of Time was epic. It sets the tone for the entire series, shows the madness of the Dragon, introduces The Shadow and the Forsaken, the previous breaking of the World (in the last cycle). All of that was cut out for a 5 second exposition by Moiraine in the show - which went by so fast that no one who is new to the series will be able to make heads or tails of it. 

 

It's also going to be a long, long time before you ever get the proper story. The entire 1st season of the show will only adopt the 1st book (With major cuts and super abridged). Even if it was un-abridged, the story hardly even begins in the first book. There is a very long way to go. This is how much you need to read for the full story (14 books + 2 side books/companions) -

 

 

2) The Earthsea Cycle  

 

This is another major series you should not miss if you are a fantasy fan. These are classics and the story is just awesome. Definitely look up on these and try it

 

 

Amazon's fully illustrated all-in-one edition

 

 

3) The Belgariad and the Malloreon

 

These are the names of series of 5 books each, but luckily now they packaged multiple books in 1 edition. So you can read both series (10 books) in just 4. Both series are sequels to each other, so you should read Belgarion first, and then the Malloreon. The stories are excellent, and will have you laughing and enjoying it immensely.

 

   

 

4) The Riftwar Cycle

 

Another absolutely amazing series. This is also a must-read for any fantasy fans. It has an amazing world-building, and the characterization and overall story is epic as well. Highly recommended. Do note that we call the entire World The Riftwar Cycle. It's different from The Riftwar Saga (Which covers the first 3 books). There are multiple sagas in the story, but you should start with The Riftwar Saga (Magician: Apprentice/Magician: Master/Silverthorn/A Darkness At Sethanon)

 

 

Just to give an idea of how many there are

 

 

But all of those are successor series in the World of Riftwar. The story itself starts from the Riftwar Saga, whose 4 books images I posted above. In some editions, they divide the first books into 2 (Magician into Magician: Apprentice and Magician: Master. This is because the first book is big, and the size of the story fits 2 books)

 

This should be enough for now I guess.

 

 

[Ne0]

3 hours ago, roun90 said:

 

I'm not including LOTR and any of the JRR Tolkien-verse in this (That's like the Bible of fantasy), but the major series I can recommend are (IMO) -

 

1) Wheel of Time 

 

I highly urge you to read the books. The books are a classic series in themselves, and the show is taking far too many liberties with the source material. At this point, there are very high chances that the show will butcher the story. This always happens when show runners think they know better than the actual authors (I'm scared for LOTR now ). Heck, they actually cut out the actual opening of the books and the series. The opening of the Wheel of Time was epic. It sets the tone for the entire series, shows the madness of the Dragon, introduces The Shadow and the Forsaken, the previous breaking of the World (in the last cycle). All of that was cut out for a 5 second exposition by Moiraine in the show - which went by so fast that no one who is new to the series will be able to make heads or tails of it. 

 

It's also going to be a long, long time before you ever get the proper story. The entire 1st season of the show will only adopt the 1st book (With major cuts and super abridged). Even if it was un-abridged, the story hardly even begins in the first book. There is a very long way to go. This is how much you need to read for the full story (14 books + 2 side books/companions) -

 

 

2) The Earthsea Cycle  

 

This is another major series you should not miss if you are a fantasy fan. These are classics and the story is just awesome. Definitely look up on these and try it

 

 

Amazon's fully illustrated all-in-one edition

 

 

3) The Belgariad and the Malloreon

 

These are the names of series of 5 books each, but luckily now they packaged multiple books in 1 edition. So you can read both series (10 books) in just 4. Both series are sequels to each other, so you should read Belgarion first, and then the Malloreon. The stories are excellent, and will have you laughing and enjoying it immensely.

 

   

 

4) The Riftwar Cycle

 

Another absolutely amazing series. This is also a must-read for any fantasy fans. It has an amazing world-building, and the characterization and overall story is epic as well. Highly recommended. Do note that we call the entire World The Riftwar Cycle. It's different from The Riftwar Saga (Which covers the first 3 books). There are multiple sagas in the story, but you should start with The Riftwar Saga (Magician: Apprentice/Magician: Master/Silverthorn/A Darkness At Sethanon)

 

 

Just to give an idea of how many there are

 

 

But all of those are successor series in the World of Riftwar. The story itself starts from the Riftwar Saga, whose 4 books images I posted above. In some editions, they divide the first books into 2 (Magician into Magician: Apprentice and Magician: Master. This is because the first book is big, and the size of the story fits 2 books)

 

This should be enough for now I guess.

 

 

Woah, that's a lot of recommendations, enough to last me for another year.... I read fiction/ novels mostly on Kindle these days, let me check if the above series have some combo offers for Kindle as well.... thanks ?

Edited November 21, 2021 by Ne0

[North]

On 11/21/2021 at 1:29 PM, roun90 said:

 

f you are looking at only Sanderson's books, I would first suggest reading Elantris and Warbreaker. They are both stand-alone books (entire story in 1 book), and it will be a break to read a small, complete story before going into a new trilogy (and more) that is Mistborn. Both are also a part of Sanderson's Cosmere (along with Mistborn), so at some point - all stories are going to converge, either in the Stormlight Archive or in a completely new series (Odium of Stormlight is one of the main villains of the entire cosmere).

 

I agree there. @Ne0 reading the other cosmere books is a good idea, they're all good.

On 11/21/2021 at 4:56 PM, roun90 said:

 

I'm not including LOTR and any of the JRR Tolkien-verse in this (That's like the Bible of fantasy), but the major series I can recommend are (IMO) -

 

1) Wheel of Time 

 

4) The Riftwar Cycle

 

1. Can't comment on Earthsea, but Le Guin is famous so you can't go wrong there.

 

2. Having read Wheel of Time earlier this year - highly recommend it. The show is decent so far but nothing on the books/

 

3. I haven't read all of Riftwar/Feist's books, but def try the trilogy co-written with Janny Wurts. That was fantastic, while I couldn't really get into Magician tbh. 

 

4. @Ne0 it is unlikely we'll ever get the third book in Kingkiller Chronicles, Rothfuss hasn't written jack sh*t.

 

5. Instead, I can recommend Faithful and the Fallen by John Gwynne. 4 books, the first being Malice. They're really cheap on Kindle too, won't cost more than 600-700 for the quartet.

 

[Ne0]

Thanks

 

Also, any comments on the black company series and malazan book of the fallen series ?

[roun90]

3 hours ago, Ne0 said:

Thanks

 

Also, any comments on the black company series and malazan book of the fallen series ?

 

Haven't read Black Company, but Malazan Book of the Fallen is Confusing AF. Half the time, you will not know who the main characters are, half the time - there are too many Gods, and our normal guys (So-Called MCs) are ascending to Godhood and falling from it, World is confusing too. If you like dealing with confusion, go ahead with it.

[Madmage]

14 hours ago, Ne0 said:

Thanks

 

Also, any comments on the black company series and malazan book of the fallen series ?

Black company is awesome. Great world building and  characters

[dylanjosh]

17 hours ago, Ne0 said:

Thanks

 

Also, any comments on the black company series and malazan book of the fallen series ?

 

All I can say about malazan is that lots of people from the wheel of time community used to recommend it back in the day

 

 

Edited November 25, 2021 by dylanjosh

[him2anshu]

On 9/2/2021 at 5:38 PM, North said:

3. Read Project Hail Mary by Martian-author Andy Weir, and he has done it again. I can already picture Ryan Gosling or Jake Gyllenhall playing Ryland Grace. The book is a banger, what an awesome space story. I did it pretty much entirely on Audible. The narrator Ray Porter is phenomenal, and well worth the price/membership. 10/10

 

I listened to this based on your recommendation and loved Ray Porter's performance. Also, Ryan Gosling is confirmed to play Ryland Grace in the movie version which he will produce. Is there anything similar on Audible that you would recommend? It should be performance heavy, I did not like the Sherlock one and some others where narrations were either too bland or the stories were not interesting enough.

[North]

10 hours ago, him2anshu said:

I listened to this based on your recommendation and loved Ray Porter's performance. Also, Ryan Gosling is confirmed to play Ryland Grace in the movie version which he will produce. Is there anything similar on Audible that you would recommend? It should be performance heavy, I did not like the Sherlock one and some others where narrations were either too bland or the stories were not interesting enough.

 

hey, I'm glad you enjoyed PHM!  hyped to see Ryan Gosling play in the movie

 

Also, I don't use Audible THAT much. I can give you some recs that are known to have good narration, but idk about being performance heavy vs just being a good narrator.

 

Try anything with the narrators Simon Vance or Tim Gerard Reynolds. You can also listen to Blake Crouch's books. He's great - and the narration is known to be good.

Dark Matter, Recursion by Crouch are standalones. if you want a series, he also has The Wayward Pines Trilogy.

 

The RC Bray version of The Martian is fantastic. Audible has the newer Will Wheaton one though. 

[him2anshu]

8 hours ago, North said:

Try anything with the narrators Simon Vance or Tim Gerard Reynolds. You can also listen to Blake Crouch's books. He's great - and the narration is known to be good.

Dark Matter, Recursion by Crouch are standalone. if you want a series, he also has The Wayward Pines Trilogy.

 

The RC Bray version of The Martian is fantastic. Audible has the newer Will Wheaton one though. 

Thank You so much, will try to find them one way or another.

[North]

On 11/25/2021 at 11:16 AM, Madmage said:

Black company is awesome. Great world building and  characters

 

Honestly if you loved Black Company you will like Malazan Book of the Fallen.

 

I haven't read it but plan on getting to it soon, but Erikson's biggest inspiration was Glen Cook's Black Company. 

 

---------- I'm currently reading the Godblind Trilogy by Anna Stephens. Very fast paced, and dark. Short chapters too, the pages just fly by. 

[Madmage]

4 hours ago, North said:

 

Honestly if you loved Black Company you will like Malazan Book of the Fallen.

 

I haven't read it but plan on getting to it soon, but Erikson's biggest inspiration was Glen Cook's Black Company. 

 

---------- I'm currently reading the Godblind Trilogy by Anna Stephens. Very fast paced, and dark. Short chapters too, the pages just fly by. 

Itching to start a new series, maybe will start malazan.. and is godblind completed?

[North]

22 hours ago, Madmage said:

Itching to start a new series, maybe will start malazan.. and is godblind completed?

 

Go for it.

 

And yes - Godblind is completed. Its by Anna Stephens. Its pretty dark, but reads quite fast.

The author is working on a new series now, but this one is complete. Godblind, Darksoul, Bloodchild.

 

I got the paperbacks off Amazon.

[North]

I read Godblind, but didn't feel like reading the next two in the series. Its okay - nothing great and I don't want to spend precious time reading mediocre stuff.

@Madmage

 

Anyhoo, with the New Year and everything - have hopped onto Malazan Book of the Fallen. Its on my radar for years now, and its finally time to do it.

 

A couple chapters deep in Gardens of the Moon.

[Ne0]

I started with mistborn series, the first book was totally awesome, excellent page turner.  Started with book 2, i felt it's quite a slow in the beginning, hoping it picks up pace soon.

Edited January 6, 2022 by Ne0