2021 is the year i am going to start as many fantasy series as possible. Starting with Way of Kings after hearing so much about it. Also planning to read Hobb, Abercrombie plus many others
Edit: Just finished the next book! You can see my reaction here.
So I picked up book 1 of the Broken Earth trilogy by N.K. Jemisin about four days and I tore through it faster than I usually do. I’ve been a fantasy fan for over a decade now and can honestly say this is the most uique book, in the best possible way, that I have ever read.
While it’s still a fantasy book at its core, it’s also impeccable as measured by every unit of measurement we use to judge literature. The prose is so, so beautiful, the narrative structure and choices are perfect, and the characters are so fascinating.
The magic system is novel and unique, and the setting is so incredibly described and revealed. To borrow some language from Sanderson, the promises of the prologue are payed off so, so well throughout the book. Jemisin creates a detailed, rich, fascinatng, and brutal world and keeps you entertained every step of the way. I could not put this book down and would have finished it in a …
Probably going to get downvoted for this, but I seriously dislike when authors jump between different characters storylines in each chapter. I don’t have a great memory so I spend a lot of the time trying to remember where they left off. Also, sometimes I don’t like the character or their storyline, but I have to read through it to get to the storyline of the one(s) I do care about, which are normally the ones I chose to read the book for.
I’ve been reading Red Rising, the first three books were phenomenal. The author didn’t jump between characters, it was just the one characters POV and I loved it. Now on the fourth book, 5% in and there’s already three characters to keep up with! I only care about the one from the first three books, that’s why I decided to read the fourth!
Can you imagine people reading something you’ve enjoyed now, say 200 years later. The thought is so fascinating to me. Which recent book do you think will stand the test of time :)
Note: just added 20 years as reference point, let me know if there’s something written slightly earlier that you think would be a good fit
Edit: Thank you lovely people of Reddit for the upvotes , awards , and healthy discussion. Brb as I happily add so many of the excellent suggestions below to my to-be-read shelf!
I started the year on a fantasy-romance high with ‘The Shadows Between Us’ and after looking for suggestions from r/suggestmeabook I followed it up with Uprooted. Turns out the romance is basically a side plot and I’ve been dragging myself to read through it so I can get to the romance part (if there even is). This doesn’t mean the book’s boring or the story’s bad - it’s actually pretty good and I’ll probably enjoy it more if I wasn’t in the mood for something more romance-centered.
Ever read a book which made you feel like this?
EDIT: Read a lot of comments giving advice and I’d just like to say thanks for making me lose guilt over not finishing a book (and y’all did that in just an hour!). I see some people have had to figure this out on their own. I’m lucky to have been assured immediately on my first time experiencing this!
UPDATE: I DNF-ED IT WOOO AND ALL MY GUILT AND HESITATIONS ARE GONE THANKS TO …
I’ve just realised that I won’t be able to read most of the new books - because I’m not ready to read about people wearing maska, people isolating etc. Not yet, at least. Maybe one day in the future. But I hate this reality and I don’t cope with it well. I just hate the thought of reading about it, it’s just too fresh.
Of course I have a lot to read. Books published before 2021 or new books set in the past, fantasy/SF etc., that’s more than enough. But I would love to just be able to pick up a new thriller or mainstream novel without plunging into the same shit I have to live in.
Edit: wow, I didn’t expect so many replies and votes! Thanks everybody, whether you agree with me or not!
As the title states, Mr Weber out of the hospital after contracting Covid, source is as before Harry S Turtledove’s Twitter account
I am looking for some sci-fi that is cozy or warm. Something involving nice characters that is not dark at all. The current situation has me down. I’m in an epicenter under strict lockdown with curfews etc. I need something diverting to read that isn’t upsetting and doesn’t have peril that is too stressful. I like 20th c. SF but work from any time is good so long as it doesn’t feature much angst or existential horror. Something hopeful would be nice. Comic writing doesn’t usually hit for me. Thank you.
I am really desperate for non-dystopian sci fi and miss realistic but ultimately uplifting stories. I’d be very thankful for recommendations, especially works written in the last 20 -30 years, as I am familiar with most of the sci-fi classics written before the 1990’s.
The introduction to this book is an amazing short essay on science fiction. Just thought I’d share.
Looking for recommendations/ discussion. What’s your top 10, personal favorite Sci fi books. Series are allowed.
Here’s mine: 1. Book of the New Sun 2. The Stars my Destination 3. Canticle for Leibowitz 4. Slaughterhouse 5 5. Foundation series 6. Hitchhikers Guide 7. 1984 8. Martian Chronicles 9. Embassytown 10. House of Suns
Edit: I numbered these but they are all amazing and several other books will and have taken their place at various times.
There really isn’t a more idiotic devolution of a character in modern popular culture than that of Rambo. If you haven’t seen the first film, First Blood, it’s a quite cynical and anti-military movie. Rambo isn’t a psychotic nationalist, he’s a broken machine. He was made to be an indestructible soldier by an uncaring military at the cost of his humanity. He’s a character so good at violence it scares him, and the only person he actually kills in the first film is both in self defense and largely on accident. It’s not even an action film, it’s a drama about veterans who cannot re-enter society after a meaningless war. The climax of the film isn’t Rambo killing, but sobbing about how horrifying his experiences were.
Then, in the second film, we get a neck shattering 180 into full on Ronald Reagan revisionism of the war in Vietnam. Rambo 2 perpetuates several popular and resilient myths about the Vietnam War, such as that American POWs were still there after the war and that the war …