Forgotten Realms

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Royce

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« on: July 30, 2013, 02:38:15 pm »
I thought I should check out this area of fantasy books,but there are so many and I don`t have a clue what is good and what is not.

Anyone who can lend a helping hand? Heard that Salvatores "the dark elf" trilogy and Paul S Kemp books are good starters

Wilshire

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« Reply #1 on: July 30, 2013, 09:01:52 pm »
I have read about 30 of R.A Salvatore's books. I was quite enthralled with them for a number of years, and I recently got a friend of mine hooked. I'd say Salvatore is one of the more popular d&d writers, and his stuff is pretty good. Though, to be honest, I doubt I'll ever read another one. I've had my fill of the adventure of Drizzt and company, though I don't regret reading them.

The main Drizzt saga is somewhere around 25 books. There are also a few other offshoots that explore some of the other characters, which where just as good as his main series. Most of them are broken up into 3 or 4 book series, so its easy to get through 10 books and have it not feel like a slog.

One of my favorites was the first trillogy "The Dark Elf" which start just before the birth of Drizzt, the hero in the rest of the books. If you are looking for a good place to start, I'd say its best to start at the beginning, and this is where it is.


Interesting side not, Salvatore wrote most of the lore for the game Kingdoms of Amalur, which I thought was pretty cool.


Hope that helps.

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Royce

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« Reply #2 on: August 09, 2013, 07:38:10 pm »
Almost finished with "the Erevis Cale trilogy" and it is no more than ok. I have to stop comparing other fantasy books to Bakker,because every fantasy book I have read since Bakker seems to lack something essential :D

Wilshire

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« Reply #3 on: August 09, 2013, 08:31:40 pm »
I didnt want to spoil your enthusiasm, but I was totally disillusioned  about the quality of the Forgotten Realms stuff after Bakker. There are some really great fantasy series out there if thats what you are looking for though.

After Bakker I started up some Salvatore stuff and forced myself to finish the "last" series (there are now 2 more).
Eventually I started reading some of the suggestions that people have given out here and found myself wonderfully surprised. Here would be my suggestions to you:

Perdido Street Station:
It depends greatly on what you are looking for, but China Meiville's Perdido Street Station (first book in the Bas-Lag trillogy) knocked my socks off. Meiville likes to write unique books, and he does a great job at that. Its extremely dark and grimy, and it takes place in a semi-steampunk city. There is a bit of magic, but not a lot. The whole book was just nothing like anything I had read and I loved it. Not for the faint of heart.
As for the rest of the series, I haven't yet read, but I plan to some day.

Dune:
Look, if you want a well written sci-fi book, you simply have to read this. Dune, by Frank Herbert, is a gem, and one of the most critically acclaimed  sci-fi novels ever written. Its part of a large saga, which takes a bizarre turn half way through, but redeems itself in the last 2 books. I'd say that you should read the whole series, but no need to commit to the whole series. Reading the first book will be quite satisfying.
BTW pay attention to  the author. Frank Herbert wrote the main series, and then his sons/others tried to keep it going I've heard that those books arn't nearly as good as the core series done by Frank.

Ender's Game:
Interesting book, by Orson Scott Card, and the movie is coming out so if you plan to see it, I'd say read this first. I really liked it, and its not as deep/intense as Bakker/Meiville, but still worth the read. Also the sequal, Speaker For the Dead, is worth the read if you like the first one. The other 13 books in this series where not as good imo, but if you want to try and read them all, read them in the order in which they where published, not chronologically. It makes way more sense that way.
 
Game of Thrones:
As far as Fantasy is concerned, this is one you should probably read. Some love it, some hate it. If you like Bakker, this is worth a shot. I'm sure you can find 1000 opinions about this book, so I won't bother giving you mine.

Honorable mention: Neuromancer:
A bit dated, but I think this book was pretty good. For the time period in which this was written, its very impressive and insightful. William Gibson did a great job, though some people think its lots a lot of its prestige over the years.


Also there are at least 2 topics where people have asked for good books to read which have a lot of responses. I've yet to be disappointing.
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Royce

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« Reply #4 on: August 10, 2013, 01:36:34 pm »
I read the first three of the Dune books,then I took a break from them and I have not read the rest yet,but I will.
I liked the first three GOT books,but the last two were kind of disappointing imo.
Enders game is on my "to read" list,and I have a William Gibson book containing most of his novels.
China is on my radar too,but haven`t had the time yet.
Thanks for the tips anyway,and since we seem to enjoy much of the same stuff,I can highly recommend "the broken empire" by
Mark Lawrence,and "the golden age" by John C wright(which I haven`t read yet,but a friend who enjoys the same as me,claims it is
mindblowing ;D)

Wilshire

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« Reply #5 on: August 10, 2013, 05:55:51 pm »
Nice I'll add them to the list. Currently reading Hyperion by Dan Simmons and I'm rather pleased.
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Wilshire

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« Reply #6 on: August 14, 2013, 01:30:38 am »
Thought I'd just mention this here.

Hyperion, so far, has tactfully alluded to Dune, Neuromancer, and 1984. Unless of course the description of someone with blue-in-blue eyes, the mention of ICE whilst inside a cybrids head (later in the book it straight up says Gibsonian web :P), and the description of something as Orwellian distopia are all just coincidences. I chose to believe they are not.
« Last Edit: August 14, 2013, 12:19:58 pm by Wilshire »
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Royce

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« Reply #7 on: August 14, 2013, 05:47:50 am »
well that does sound like something I would like for dinner ;) will definitely check that out