Book Discussion

[Kymvir Raemiz]

Kymvir, you make me cry.

Oh?

Anyone here ever go through a naval phase? I loved Forresters Horatio Hornblower and Patrick O'Brien's Aubrey and Maturin series.

[Naurek]

The only naval books I have read were historical books about Horatio Nelson, as well as a book on...uh...whoever that American Revolutionary naval officer was. Horatio Nelson was awesome though, at least in battle. Outside that, he was kind of a pathetic person with his love life.

[areon]

I wouldn't call it a phase, but I read some on Bull Halsey. Sad how a lot of senior officers found ww2 to be their last action even if they lived. I also read a book about Diaz's first voyages down Africa.

[Xiu]

Well, here's a few things on my to be read list (though... they might get read sometime in the next six months or so...)
Guy Gaveriel Kay - Last Light of the Sun
T.A. Barron - Seven Songs of Merlin; Shadows of the Stars
Jennifer Fallon - Wolfblade
Jacqueline Carey - BaneWreaker
Juliet Marillier - Foxmask; the Dark Mirror
Sara Douglass - Nameless Day; Sinner

I'd also recommend Patricia Briggs - Steal the Dragon; When Demon's Walk and Moon Called.

[Lucian Flamestrike]

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Dafoe

And for those who don't like reading try the great illustrated classics version. Either way its a book no one should pass up on.

[yoshi]

Bored at work and no one's looking over my shoulder so:

Last good book I read was Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson for three reasons:

1) Main character named Hiro Protagonist.
2) Raven, main villain's henchman, an Aleut with a monoblade harpoon and a nuclear warhead strapped to his motorcycle.
3) Cosa Nostra Pizza. "We have no competition in delivering you hot 'za in 30 minutes... or else."

Of course, it is a cyberpunk book so if that isn't your thing, I doubt this will change your mind any.

For the record, I like Pratchett but his last slew of books hasn't really interested me as much as his earlier books - I did enjoy Wee Free Men and The Truth though. My favorite Discworld book is probably still either Small Gods or Jingo, although I do have a soft spot for Carpe Jugulum just for proving what I knew all along: Anne Rice vampires suck.


The post is over. Stop reading now.

[Ayame]

American God's by neil Gaiman, anyone else read it?

[Galagros]

These are the various books I have completed over the past 4-5 years, listed in the order that I started the series.

The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander
-The Book of Three
-The Black Couldron
-The Castle of Llyr
-Taran Wanderer
-The High King
What can I say? These are the books that started it all, for me. The High King was on a list of choices to read for school when I was in 8th grade and I chose it. It opened up my eyes to fantasy and I read all of the other Prydain books, several time over before moving on. I'll always remember the characters and their quirks. Hell, I still say "Hullo!" from time to time (mostly in IRC), which is something a character from this series says. The first four books are for young adults and only the final book is written at an adult reading level.

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
-(Prequel)The Hobbit
-The Fellowship of the Ring
-The Two Towers
-The Return of the King
I suppose these inspired a lot of great fantasy books, but I can barely stand them. I don't want to upset any die-hards out their, but I just don't care for J.R.R. Tolkien's writing style at all. I enjoyed the story and like that he put so much work into his efforts, but it all seemed written so blandly.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong
This was about the time I played Dynasty Warriors 2 or 3 and started finding information online about the era. It wasn't long before I stumbled onto the book and read that. It's great for the first half, but it starts to get old pretty fast. Still, it's great to read just to know about the book.

The DragonCrown War by Michael A. Stackpole
-(Prequel)The Dark Glory War
-When Dragons Rage
-Fortress Draconis
-The Grand Crusade
I believe it was Dionysus that recommended this series to me. I'm glad he did. I had taken a break from reading and this got me back into it... way into it. These are fairly basic fantasy books, but with a lot of little things to make them unique. I really enjoyed some of the characters and cultures. These books are a great stepping stone into fantasy for people that don't generally read books, I found, when I got a friend to read them and he actually did read and enjoy them! The Dark Glory War and Fortress Draconis were probably my favorites.

The Complete Book of Swords by Fred Saberhagen
-1st Book of Swords
-2nd Book of Swords
-3rd Book of Swords
-1st Book of Lost Swords: Woundhealer's Story
-2nd Book of Lost Swords: Sightblinder's Story
-3rd Book of Lost Swords: Stonecutter's Story
-4th Book of Lost Swords: Farslayer's Story
-5th Book of Lost Swords: Coinspinner's Story
Charlemagne recommended these books to me and I was pleased with them. The Book of Swords are awesome, but the Book of Lost Swords are not nearly as good and I never could make myself read the 6th, 7th, and 8th books. Stonecutter's Story was different and good, though. The series has forever imprinted Ben of Purkinje in my mind!

A Song of Ice and Fire by George RR Martin
-A Game of Thrones
-A Clash of Kings
-A Storm of Swords
-A Feast For Crows
Can you say "The best fantasy series ever!"? Well, if you've read these you sure can! The books are long, well written, have many many deep character, a great plot that twists and turns and spirals and hides and then jumps back into your face, an awesome setting, and last but not least quite a bit of history available to the reader. These books have made me laugh, smile, cry, get angry, and then made me smile anew. I highly reccommend them to anyone and everyone.

Dune by Frank Herbert
A classic! It's awesome, but not for everyone. I never read any of the other books, but hopefully I will one day. It's a book that you either love or hate.

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
This was a book that I was forced to read in 11th grade. I included it because it was probably the best book that I was ever forced to read. It's historical fiction set in WWI, written by a WWI veteran.

The Saxon Stories by Bernard Cornwell
-The Last Kingdom
-The Pale Horseman
If you've ever wanted to read historical fiction set in 10th century Britain Isles ... this series is for you. Bernard Cornwell keeps the books fun and interesting. If you generally enjoy Vikings you should also check out these books. Chances are... you'll like them.

The Age of Discovery by Michael A. Stackpole
-A Secret Atlas
-Cartomancy
These books are hard to write about. The main characters are a family of cartographers, important people since a cataclysm has caused people to lose their knowledge of the world. I only know one other person that has read them and he did not enjoy them as much as I. From reading reviews I've found that it's almost a 50/50 chance of liking them or not. They're not great books, but offer some neat and intersting things.

The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown
Eh, everyone should know about this by now. I read it a few years ago, when it first came out and thought it was a fun little read, but the fun has been entirely ruined by all the fame and criticism, as well as a movie.

The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan
-(Prequel)New Spring: The Novel
-The Eye of the World
-The Great Hunt
-The Dragon Reborn
-The Shadow Rising
-The Fires of Heaven
-Lord of Chaos
-A Crown of Swords
-The Path of Daggers
-Winter's Heart
-Crossroads of Twilight
-Knife of Dreams
What a ride! I read the first 10 books all in one month and if you've seen the books, that's a lot of reading. I think that sums up my view on them... I couldn't stop or get enough. Some people think the middle books sucked, but not I. The only book I didn't enjoy was book 10. The author, Robert Jordan, has recently been diagnosed with a dangerous disease. I hope that he will pull through and at least finish this great series. There are supposed to be a 12th book and two more prequels ... I can't imagine leaving such a legacy unfinished.

The Hedge Knight by George RR Martin
This is an illustrated novel, or in other words a really long comic book. There is a second one, I believe, and will eventually be more. It's awesome to look at and not bad to read.

The Secret Sacrament by Sherryl Jordan
My girlfriend talked me into reading this book. It's a little childish, but has some nice moral stuff in it and surprisingly, I enjoyed it.

Star Wars: The New Essential Chronology by Daniel Wallace with Kevin J. Anderson
Star Wars... fun, fun! It was neat seeing how the timeline works in the universe. I'd like to read some of the other books by these guys. For instance, they have one that is purely about the weapons of the Star Wars universe and another all about the droids.

In the Eye of Heaven by David Keck
My most recent read. This is David Keck's first novel and if it is any indication of his future ... he's in for one hell of a career. I loved this book and can't wait for the next! It never had a boring part and it gave you all that action without it all being battles and gore. Seriously, some people I know need to read this book so I can hear some more opinions on it.

[Shi Zhi Mi]

Ironically I've read most of the books on your list there Galagos. But I stopped reading the Wheel of Time series. It went to hell in a handbasket, IMO, when he did a book without one chapter with Mat. Who is the best character in that series. I still get the impression that RJ has the final book already written and will be published after his death.

I just finished reading Dead Rites by Jim Butcher. Book 7 or 8 in the Dresden Files series and it was a good one. I really like the development of Harry Dresden and the constant beatdowns he gets. You can see them telling on him and his conscience keeping him going.

Has anyone read Anasi's Boys by Neal Gaimen? I loved his American Gods book but I am curious if the sequel is worth reading.

[Duke Williams]

Someone else read all three Books of Swords?! They were a good read and I enjoy'd them though I never read any of the Books about the Lost Sword(s). Since by the time I finished the Book of Swords I went and read the Silmarillion. After that? I think it was some of the DragonLance series I hadn't read before.