Grand unified books thread

[Caliga]

Gor

Cabot!  Cabot!  Cabot!

[dps]

Gor

This.

It's been ages since I read any books in the series, but if you can handle the incredibly high level of misogyny*, the early books are actually pretty good.  It runs out of steam eventually. 

*Even when I first started reading the books, I thought the misogyny was so bad that it decreased my enjoyment of the series.  If the 18 year old me of 1980 felt that way, the books depiction of/attitude toward women would probably kill some of the more sensitive types here.

[11B4V]

For Cause and Country: A Study of the Affair at Spring Hill & the Battle of Franklin
Eric A. Jacobson (Author) 630 pages

So far this is a detailed study of Hood's brilliant maneuvering leading up to Spring Hill, the lost opportunity at Spring Hill, then following with the debacle at Franklin. Reminds me of Pfanz's Gettysburg books, very detailed.

I am at the point where Schofield has slipped out of Columbia/Spring Hill and fortifying Franklin. 

[Gups]

I've had no luck with fantasy at all recently and have pretty much given up on the genre.

What do you look for in fantasy? And what books have delivered it in the past?

Same as with any other genre - competent writing, interesting characters, internally logic plot, some degree of originality.

Very few unfortunately. LOTR, the first three GRRMs, Abercrombie, some Gaiman. A few have been OK - Rothfuss, Hobb, Erikson enough for me to finish the book but not enough to want to read anymore. Some have been so bad that I've stopped after a hundred pages or so - Feist's first book is one of the worst things I've ever read. The thousands of positive Amazon reviews just show how little taste the majority of fantasy readers have.

[CountDeMoney]

The thousands of positive Amazon reviews just show how little taste the majority of fantasy readers have.

Lol, fantasy snob

[Syt]

99% of the time, if a fantasy story starts with an orphan, about to become an adult and going on a journey of greatness, I throw the book into a corner.

Though I guess Fireblood tops the list for me. It not only has one orphan, but orphan twins separated at birth and descendants of a magical bloodline. On their journey they're joined by a not-Shaolin monk of about the same age who is also a bloody orphan.

[Grey Fox]

Just read Sanderson books people.

[garbon]

Just read Sanderson books people.

Thanks, Tim.

[Syt]

I'm currently reading Star Wars books. I never got into the post-Return of the Jedi expanded universe (with the exception of the X-Wing series), so I start at the other end now with Fatal Alliances, a book that came out to accompany the MMO. It's not great, but it's mindless fluff for my commute and before going to sleep, and it hasn't made me cringe too much yet.

[Grey Fox]

Just read Sanderson books people.

Thanks, Tim.

When Tim giveth, we must taketh.

[Agelastus]

99% of the time, if a fantasy story starts with an orphan, about to become an adult and going on a journey of greatness, I throw the book into a corner.

Though I guess Fireblood tops the list for me. It not only has one orphan, but orphan twins separated at birth and descendants of a magical bloodline. On their journey they're joined by a not-Shaolin monk of about the same age who is also a bloody orphan.

Christ, I just had to look up what you were talking about; the blurb on Amazon is about as definitive a bit of generic "fantasese" as I've ever seen.

It did not encourage me to buy it.

------------------------

Gups, I'm sure I've said this before, but if that Erikson book was "Gardens of the Moon" you might want to give the second book a try. "Gardens" is probably the worst of the Malazan books; the second book, "Deadhouse Gates" is much better (as is the third, "Memories of Ice", which is probably my favourite book of the sequence.)

[mongers]

I've had no luck with fantasy at all recently and have pretty much given up on the genre.

What do you look for in fantasy? And what books have delivered it in the past?

Same as with any other genre - competent writing, interesting characters, internally logic plot, some degree of originality.

Very few unfortunately. LOTR, the first three GRRMs, Abercrombie, some Gaiman. A few have been OK - Rothfuss, Hobb, Erikson enough for me to finish the book but not enough to want to read anymore. Some have been so bad that I've stopped after a hundred pages or so - Feist's first book is one of the worst things I've ever read. The thousands of positive Amazon reviews just show how little taste the majority of fantasy readers have.

Gups, have you tried the Robert Holdstock 'Mythago Wood' books?

[Habbaku]

The thousands of positive Amazon reviews just show how little taste the majority of fantasy readers have.

Lol, fantasy snob

I feel pretty much the same way.  I got maybe 1/3rd into Gardens of the Moon before giving up.  I did the same for the supposed greatness that is The Name of the Wind because of the cliche-happy crap embedded in it.

Abercrombie's stuff is significantly better, probably because it isn't so damn serious/humorless.

[Gups]

I've had no luck with fantasy at all recently and have pretty much given up on the genre.

What do you look for in fantasy? And what books have delivered it in the past?

Same as with any other genre - competent writing, interesting characters, internally logic plot, some degree of originality.

Very few unfortunately. LOTR, the first three GRRMs, Abercrombie, some Gaiman. A few have been OK - Rothfuss, Hobb, Erikson enough for me to finish the book but not enough to want to read anymore. Some have been so bad that I've stopped after a hundred pages or so - Feist's first book is one of the worst things I've ever read. The thousands of positive Amazon reviews just show how little taste the majority of fantasy readers have.

Gups, have you tried the Robert Holdstock 'Mythago Wood' books?

I haven't - does sound quite good from the Amazon reviews. May give it a try, but TBH when I fell the need for some escapist shit I'm more likely to go sci-fi these days especially since so many semi-literary authors (Atwood, Mitchell, Harkaway) are doing it well these days.

[mongers]

I've had no luck with fantasy at all recently and have pretty much given up on the genre.

What do you look for in fantasy? And what books have delivered it in the past?

Same as with any other genre - competent writing, interesting characters, internally logic plot, some degree of originality.

Very few unfortunately. LOTR, the first three GRRMs, Abercrombie, some Gaiman. A few have been OK - Rothfuss, Hobb, Erikson enough for me to finish the book but not enough to want to read anymore. Some have been so bad that I've stopped after a hundred pages or so - Feist's first book is one of the worst things I've ever read. The thousands of positive Amazon reviews just show how little taste the majority of fantasy readers have.

Gups, have you tried the Robert Holdstock 'Mythago Wood' books?

I haven't - does sound quite good from the Amazon reviews. May give it a try, but TBH when I fell the need for some escapist shit I'm more likely to go sci-fi these days especially since so many semi-literary authors (Atwood, Mitchell, Harkaway) are doing it well these days.

Oh in that case, try some Brian Aldiss.