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Post by Andorinha on Mar 6, 2009 10:54:02 GMT -6
I think I gave up on Jordan about book 8 or 9, LOL, he was failing in health and the stories seemed to be lacking the usual clarity-image-excitement, just seemed to get confusing, poorly written when compared with the earlier volumes. I'll have to check out the Sanderson volume(s) see if it comes up to the early high standards...
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Post by Stormrider on Mar 7, 2009 7:28:52 GMT -6
Really? I've just started Book 8. So far it seems good, but I am only in Chapter 1. I hope I am not disappointed! I have enjoyed this story so far.
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Post by Andorinha on Mar 8, 2009 12:29:09 GMT -6
Hmmm, wonder if I just got tired of waiting for a "wrap-up," a conclusion, a final tying-up of all the loose ends? But, I also thought the writing quality fell off dramatically in the last volume I read. I was so ticked-off that the storyline had deteriorated that I gave all my volumes to "Good Will" -- otherwise I could re-read the last one I had, find out more precisely why I felt the series fell apart...
REALLY ENJOYED the first 6 or 7 volumes, got my hopes too high expecting a smashing good finish?
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Post by Androga Erindalant on Aug 28, 2011 4:10:14 GMT -6
I'm still waiting for the 14th book to be finished, before I'm going to buy and reread the whole Wheel of Time series. That might eat lots of my time lol. And I'm not forgetting your suggestion, Storm, about A Song of Fire and Ice. Sounds intriguing. ;D
Currently I'm busy in Terry Goodkind's series of the Sword of Truth. First book, Wizard's First Rule, I've finished already, and am currently busy in the second book of that series. So far I like!
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Post by Fredeghar Wayfarer on Aug 28, 2011 21:46:32 GMT -6
One of my favorites that hasn't been mentioned yet is the Avalon series by Marion Zimmer Bradley. I'm a total geek for Arthurian legend, almost as much as for Tolkien, and this is one of the best modern interpretations of it, in my opinion.
It gets kind of a bad rap because many write it off as ultra-feminist lit but there's a lot more to it than that. It draws not just from the Arthur story but from many eras of British history and legend. Many of the books are set in different centuries, in fact. The series also had a big influence on my approach to religion. The culture clash of the pagan and Christian characters is an ongoing sub-plot but the theme of the series is that all religions are valid and everyone has to find their own truth. I like that idea.
There are four books in the original series: The Mists of Avalon (the Arthur story from the point of view of Morgan le Fay and other female characters) The Forest House (Romeo and Juliet-type story in Roman Britain) Lady of Avalon (a series of short stories about the various Ladies of the Lake) Priestess of Avalon (the story of Helena, mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine)
When Bradley passed away, her friend Diana L. Paxson (who co-wrote some of the above) took over the series and has written three more: Ancestors of Avalon (about Atlantean refugees that land in prehistoric Britain) Ravens of Avalon (story of the Celtic warrior queen Boudicca. I'm about to start this one) Sword of Avalon (I haven't read this yet but I think it has to do with Excalibur)
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Post by Stormrider on Aug 29, 2011 5:17:39 GMT -6
Maybe I should make a trip to the almost extinct Borders store near me and see if I can get some good prices on these Arthurian Stories!
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Post by Andorinha on Jul 26, 2012 23:54:07 GMT -6
I see Robert Jordan, "Wheel of Time," died back in 2007, but left enough notes for others to "finish" the series, originally planned as 12 volumes, but with a final 14th volume once the secondary authors "completed" the cycle (book 14 is a prequel!). Has anybody read beyond #9? How do the later books stack up to the earlier ones? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wheel_of_Time
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Post by Stormrider on Jul 27, 2012 6:27:47 GMT -6
I've read all of those written by Jordan. I can't remember if I read the first one, The Gathering Storm, by Sanderson or not! I need to make a trip to the bookstore to skim through it to find out. I may have read it.
The books seem to drag on after while and I found myself wishing the tale would finally be over. There are so many characters in so many places on the map. With the time lapse between books getting published, it is hard to remember what was going on! But it does come back when you get back in.
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Post by fanuidhol on Jul 21, 2016 9:33:24 GMT -6
I just finished Dies the Fire by S. M. Sterling, for the second time. I read it probably 8 years ago, give or take a year. At that time, I began collecting the rest of the series. However, I didn't read them at the time, because I wanted all the books in my possession before I started the 2nd book. But, I got busy with other things and kept promising myself that I'd get started...soon. When I packed up some stuff when Mom moved in, the series went into a box. After she died, everything got unpacked, with this series front and center and eye level in the bookcase. I LOVE this author. The amount of research this man did is amazing. And a special perk for us Tolkien fans, one of the characters, a 15yr old girl, is a Tolkien fanatic. And a bad guy uses a symbol that we all know. My favorite sub-genre of Sci-fi is post-apocalyptic fiction, by the way. But, this book is more like fantasy. Dies the Fire is a 2004 alternate history and post-apocalyptic novel written by S. M. Stirling. It is the first installment of the Emberverse series and is a spin-off from S. M. Stirling's Nantucket series, where the Massachusetts island of Nantucket is thrown back in time from March 17, 1998 to the Bronze Age. In Dies the Fire, S. M. Stirling chronicles the struggle of two groups who try to survive "The Change", a mysterious worldwide event that suddenly alters physical laws so that electricity, gunpowder, and most other forms of high-energy-density technology no longer work. As a result of this, modern civilization comes crashing down.
There were many positive reviews on the novel. Fellow science fiction writer Paul Di Filippo praised the novel saying: "Post-apocalypse novels often veer either too heavily into romantic Robinsonades or nihilistic dead ends. But Stirling has struck the perfect balance between grit and glory." Filippo also complimented Stirling on his characterization and being able to "make all his retro-tech plausible, easily visualizable and interesting."[1] The review on Scifidimensions called the novel "highly entertaining" and complimented Stirling on being able to make coming up with "novel premises, memorable characters, and hard to put down storytelling."[2] Mel Odom also gave a good review of the novel and said the fact that Mike and Juniper were not perfect heroes made them even more likable as characters. He also was pleased at how Stirling worked in various themes from myths and legends into the story.[3] Kel Munger from the Sacramento News and Review called the novel the "Best. Apocalyptic. Novel. Ever."[4]
Some reviewers commented on the large amount of research that went into the novel. Thomas M. Wagner of SF Reviews.Net said Dies the Fire is "intelligent, meticulously crafted, but overlong and sometimes pokey end-of-the-world epic." He also complimented Stirling on his research and said he was the one "the government needed to send to New Orleans to singlehandedly feed and rescue hurricane survivors." Though he also found the large amount of the detail to be a bit dragging but stated that it was still a good read for those fans of "character-driven SF and fantasy epics." Wagner though did feel that the novel would have been stronger had Arminger a more prominent role in the novel.[5] Raymond Camden, though he recommended the novel, found that it had too much detail which detracted from the story.[6]
SF Reviews called it a brilliantly done post disaster novel that is more fantasy than science fiction.[7] The review on SF Crowsnest called the opening of the book exciting as the reader followed how Clan Mackenzie and the Bearkillers attempt to survive in the world after the Change, though it judged that the book dragged at the end.[8]
There were negative reviews on the book. Danny Sullivan called the novel "grating" and "too forced to be that enjoyable." He also found it implausible for the main characters to be so lucky in a disaster on the scale of the Change.[9] Dan Rahmel described the characters as being unrealistic and said the novel had too many improbabilities.[10]en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dies_the_Fire
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Post by Andorinha on Jul 22, 2016 7:34:01 GMT -6
Thanks Fan, I'll check Sterling out. Read the first few pages at Amazon, prose flows well. Local library may have some of his on hand.
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Post by fanuidhol on Jul 29, 2016 19:59:35 GMT -6
I am on the 2nd in the series by Sterling. The Protector's War is 8-9 years later. He added a third group of survivors to the two from the first book. This group is in England and guess what one of them is reading? A signed copy no less?!? Sterling must be a huge Tolkien fan.
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Post by Stormrider on Jul 30, 2016 4:53:09 GMT -6
That would be a "precious" item for that survivor to keep, protect, and treasure!
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Post by fanuidhol on Aug 9, 2016 7:12:14 GMT -6
So, I am savoring The Protector's War, reading slowly, pondering the pages read and anticipating the future ones. Sterling is heavy on description, but, I enjoy that. Anyway, I wanted to share something, but don't want to give away anything, in case someone doesn't want to know.
SPOILERS: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
"I meet a beautiful American heiress, I like her, she likes me . . . and then she turns out to be a fundamentalist with a more literal interpretation of scripture than I feel comfortable with. Only our bible was written by an Oxford don about sixty years ago.”
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Post by fanuidhol on Sept 24, 2016 9:06:51 GMT -6
Now almost through the 5th in the Emberverse series by S M Sterling. Still really liking it. Some flaws though, including rehashing some to bring new readers up to speed. He is heavy on battle descriptions which for me is toooo much but, I'm sure some people like that. I'm invested in the characters and am enjoying underlining themes of Religion, Society and Culture. And the Tolkien references are ongoing. Sorta spoilers: . . . . . . . . . . . Imagine a world, where a society in it, is based on LotR, including using Sindarin. And another society that was almost completely isolated for 20 years with little to no adult supervision, based on Boy Scouting.
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Post by Stormrider on Sept 24, 2016 13:23:25 GMT -6
And another society that was almost completely isolated for 20 years with little to no adult supervision, based on Boy Scouting. The Lord of the Flies?
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