BOOKS!

[meganbmoore]

I need cheering(the post before was accompanied by about 5 pages of keyboard pounding about how fandoms and fiction treat women that will NEVER see the light of day...or the internet.) Therefore, book poll. Plus, need help deciding what to move to the top of the reading pile.

Some of these are from the book recs post, some are authors from the book recs post but not the specific books(the above are basically "what I found at the used bookstore, and I haven't hit up online resources yet") and some are random things that looked interesting. If any have something that needs to be read before one of these, tttteeeeellllllll mmmmmeeeeee!!!!!

[Poll #1141336]

(And if you're wondering why you don't see Michelle West/Michelle Sagara on the list, it's because I'm currently reading the first of her Hunter duology. Also, obviously not listing any series I'm currently reading.)

Comments

[kitkat-cat.livejournal.com]

I picked Tad Williams only because I've never read any of the books and want to find out more :)

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

A common reason for voting in one of these posts...

[nthmike.livejournal.com]

What she said. I've considered trying the Otherland series for a while now, but I'm somewhat afraid to get into something where all of the books are so *big*...

[wistfulmemory.livejournal.com]

I chose the Robin McKinley books as I really enjoy her as an author, and I liked Spindle's End. It been years since I read The Outlaws of Sherwood, so I don't remember my exact opinion on it.

I would have also chosen Mercedes Lackey, but I haven't read/didn't recognize either of the books that you have listed for her.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

I haven't read McKinley since High School myself.

[curlyjo1.livejournal.com]

Of the two Lackey books, I'm waiting for one to come out in paperback (Reserved for the Cat), and the other was doom doom DOOM! (But good.)

that was meant for me, wasn't it

[estara.livejournal.com]

"(And if you're wondering why you don't see Michelle West/Michelle Sagara on the list, it's because I'm currently reading the first of her Hunter duology."

Very good to write this, it was my first reaction ^^. I recommend the McKillip and the McKinley, as far as I know they're all stand alone´(and good). I haven't read the last two McKillip's mentioned though. The Bujold is also stand alone, so that's fine - very different from her other fantasy. I think it was her first one.
Also very good Kate Elliot aka Alis A.Rasmussen Jaran, but good luck getting all four volumes - you won't want to stop once you start. Then again you're in the US so they may be in used book stores. I had to hunt high priced versions via Amazon.com. (There is a Rasmussen trilogy which is out of print - but I own, hehe - which must play a few hundred years earlier in that universe, but it's really not necessary for this series. It's excellent however, if you can get it. I think it's stronger than Jaran).

I have almost every Mercedes Lackey book and I own the whole Obsidian Trilogy (I even bought the first one in hardcover): she's doing epic fantasy and failing - to my mind. I'll give those three books away and won't buy the follow up trilogy of which the first book is already in stores, I believe.

Re: that was meant for me, wasn't it

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Actually, it was directed at several people who have been reccing Sagara/West to me.

Pity about Lackey. I've only been following her historical and fairy tale fantasies for a while now, and decided to give the Obsidian Trilogy a chance because a friend recced it, even though I haven't had good luck with her cowritten stuff in the past.

Re: that was meant for me, wasn't it

[estara.livejournal.com]

The thing is that the first book isn't quite capable as epic fantasy, I like the fact that the hero isn't your unspoiled, diamond in the rough but a spoiled bastard who has to get over a lot of his hangups (some of which are understandable) to actually be useful. But I thought the third novel ended in lots of epic fantasy stereotypes and it soured me on rereading, so I'll get rid of the books. Your mileage may vary.

Re: that was meant for me, wasn't it

[estara.livejournal.com]

umm, that should be "first book is quite capable". I shouldn't post at 10 pm. I better get to bed early today.

[the_rck]

I'm not voting because I'm not sure what you're in the mood for. I do have some comments, though.

The Spirit Ring is a decent book, but it's not as good as Bujold's later fantasy novels. It's been many years since I read it, but my recollection is that it read rather like a first novel by a very skilled writer.

I read bits and pieces of The Magicians' Guild and its sequels. I liked what I read of the first book enough to buy the next two, but I never finished any of them. My impression is that they're a decent read if one likes that type of book.

The Hambly books are all good. Just be wary of the sequels to Dragonsbane. They're dreadfully depressing (I couldn't handle them).

I've heard very bad things about Reserved for the Cat. A friend who generally likes Lackey's books hated it enough to rant about it in her LJ.

Both The Forgotten Beasts of Eld and The Book of Atrix Wolfe are quite good. (I haven't read The Sorceress and the Cygnet. I think.) McKillip has a way of writing that can draw a reader in and make the simple seem bigger and the complicated seem simple. My biggest difficulty with her books is that I finish them, know I enjoyed them but can't for the life of me remember the details.

I love Spindle's End. I've reread it a couple of times at least.

I haven't read The Outlaws of Sherwood because I'm reluctant to touch Robin Hood retellings/re-imaginings. It's not a myth that draws me. I also have a vague recollection that a friend whose taste I trust disliked the book and thought that I would, too. Those two facts have kept me away from it.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

"The Spirit Ring is a decent book, but it's not as good as Bujold's later fantasy novels. It's been many years since I read it, but my recollection is that it read rather like a first novel by a very skilled writer."

Sounds like it's one to read before the others then.

I've been VERY strongly warned off the Dragonsbane sequels.

[hrimcealde.livejournal.com]

i can't tell you what to move to the top, but i can tell you what to move to the bottom Mercedes Lackey's Obsidian Trilogy .

Wow. At first, when it was the first fantasy book I had basically ever read, I thought it was great. BUT, then I read some more and realized that it was basically every High Fantasy Epic ever told. And it's about twice as long as it needs to be, and the only likeable character in the WHOLE book is the snarling and unhappy unicorn, but that's not near enough reason to put yourself through it.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

"At first, when it was the first fantasy book I had basically ever read, I thought it was great. "

That sounds like me and Terry Brooks...

[queenofthorns.livejournal.com]

I'm not a big fan of Windhaven even though I love Martin's "Song of Ice and Fire" series. But I adore everything of McKillip's that I've ever read, and Forgotten Beasts of Eld is one of my absolute favorites. Plus, I just finished The Cygnet and the Firebird (which is the sequel to The Sorceress and the Cygnet) and really loved that (actually a little bit more than the first book.)

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

"I'm not a big fan of Windhaven even though I love Martin's "Song of Ice and Fire" series."

Weel, I'm going in assuming it's very, very different...

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

Your contenders by Martin, McKinley, and Bujold are atypical of the authors' work and also not that great. Your contenders by Cherryh are not atypical, but are below her usual standard.

Of the McKillip books, I love The Forgotten Beasts of Eld but think the other two are sub-standard.

[chomiji]

Atrix Wolfe! It will enchant you and make you happy in the end. Some sad things happen, but it's short enough to get you past that fairly quickly.

IMO, you have second-string McKinley and Bujold there. And did you read Fortress in the Eye of Time? Fortress of Owls will just confuse you if you haven't. "Faded Sun" is good, but it's early work and shows it, and although the final pages are really beautiful (to the point of tears, for me) a lot of bad stuff happens, both to Our Hero and to the aliens with whom he's cast his lot, before you get there. And it goes on for 3 volumes of sadness.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

McKinley I've read before, but not since high school(long enough that a reread of the ones I read then wouldn't count as a reread.) The Bujold was the only one I found that wasn't a more recent Miles books.

And I was POSITIVE that Cherryh book said it was the first in the series...

[chomiji]

List from CJC's website:

Fortress in the Eye of Time

Fortress of Eagles

Fortress of Owls

Fortress of Dragons

Fortress of Ice

- http://www.cherryh.com/www/univer.htm#Fortress

The cover blurb person wants shooting, if that's what it said!

[smillaraaq.livejournal.com]

And I just lucked into a copy of Atrix Wolf on BookMooch, whee! (Also managed to snag the first three Lindskold books...with any luck the remaining ones in the series will turn up by the time I work through to that part of the TBR pile...)

[anime-heart.livejournal.com]

McKillip is great.
Hambly is great (I really like the silicon mage books).
Cherryh can be a mixed bag or acquired taste, but I really like her stuff.
McKinley I never got into, somehow.
Williams? I read all of Otherland ... it was too long and confusing for me to have an opinion on, and I think it's a bit passé by now, but there were definitely good bits.
I liked Jaran, but it was a little too romance-y for me (also her other series which I can't remember the name of now, about the alternate magic holy roman empire or whatever, although it had a certain perverse and tedious fascination in parts)
I detest Mercedes Lackey, sorry.
I liked Bujold OK but not enough to read any more, can't remember if I read this one or not (possibly a bad sign ...)
George RR Martin is kind of an old fart and past it now imo
The rest I don't know.

friending you back, k?

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Lackey is kinda like Brooks...I cling because I've been reading for so long. (Actually, I kinda wish Brooks would do something to really piss me off so I could drop the books...it's hard, because Elf Queen of Shanara was my first fantasy novel ever.)

And hi! I was going to comment that I'd friended you today. I've been meaning to for ages from dangermousie's LJ, I just kept forgetting to. (And I kinda did it while in the middle of an anti-fandom meltdown, which I apologize for, but I'm trying to repress that now.)