Okay, obviously the title is a huge minimization of the plot of The Way of Kings and I know this book and series is widely adored among a lot of the folks here, but I finished this book earlier today and sleep is escaping me because it’s all I can think about.
I was afraid of my own sky-high expectations of this novel but I wasn’t prepared for how this book had me in its clutches from the very beginning, and even less so for how it seemed to get better with every page. It’s difficult to wrap my head around the fact that I’ve barely scratched the surface of the ancient history and stellar worldbuilding of Roshar because each progression in the plot reveals to me how incredibly vast this iceberg is. Something I really treasured was the relative lack of info dumps– I feel like so many books needlessly drop a load of lore or describe a character’s tragic past right from the get go, but I am so glad that I had time to learn about Kaladin and admire him …
Please don’t spoil anything in the comment section
For people that don’t know, The Wanderings Inn is right now the largest/biggest fantasy series of ALL TIME (word counts)… Surpassing The Wheel of Time, Malazan, Discworld , Realm of the Elderlings and Stephen King universe.
I never expected to see myself enjoying a slice of life journey, and i have never read a book series that gives SO MUCH time to each character like this one. When i mean time, i mean a LOT of time.
This series so far feels like you are in a reality show (like big brother) set in the fantasy world. You get to see when characters eat, bath, hunt, fight, breathe, blink, make social interactions, clean their room, go to sleep, their dreams/nightmares, their thinking, emotions, even their periods (yes.. some of our main characters are female.. and female get.. periods in this world too lol), all of it..
I feel that’s the exact reason why this series in SO damn long. But.. it is the most …
I couldn’t find a post about these here :
https://www.scottlynch.us/updates.html
three novellas bridging the events of The Republic of Thieves and The Thorn of Emberlain
Locke Lamora and the Bottled Serpent” will be a two-part extravaganza bridging the October 2024 and January 2025 issues of Grimdark Magazine
Spoilers for the book and the series probably. Please excuse my English, it’s not my first language.
I just read the three body problem and I absolutely hated it. First of all the characterization, or better, the complete lack of. The characters in this book are barely more than mouthpieces for dialogue meant to progress the plot.
Our protagonist is a man without any discernible personality. I kept waiting for the conflict his altered state would cause with his wife and child, only to realize there would be none, his wife and kid are not real people, their inclusion in this story incomprehensible. The only character with a whiff of personality was the cop, who’s defining features were wearing leather and being rude. I tried to blame the translation but from everything I’ve read it’s even worse in the in the original Chinese. One of the protagonists is a woman who betrays the whole human race. You would think that that would necessarily make her interesting, …
If I estimate very loosely I have probably read anywhere between a 1000 to 1500 books, and I’ve been reading since I was in 7th-8th grade, so 9-10 years now.
My question is to all the avid readers out there, do you forget the content of the book if it’s been too long? Are you able to recall the events of a book if you hear the title after a long time? Also how have you kept track so far?
The other day someone brought up The Maze Runners, and i drew a blank for a minute completely forgetting I’ve read the whole series, TWICE at that when I was in 8th grade. Even tho I now recall like the major plot but I don’t remember enough to hold a conversation about it. And this has happened to me multiple times in my life where a friend recommended me something and when I start to read I remember I have read it already. I read because I enjoy it immensely, I am constantly reading something, if not a book then I’m on wikipedia reading articles. But I felt disheartened because one of my friends …
In the book, Ryle physically abuses Lily on multiple accounts: he pushes her down the stairs, bites her, and ATTEMPTS TO RAPE HER. And after Lily gets pregnant and gives birth to her daughter, she LETS RYLE SEE THE DAUGHTER AND CO-PARENT HER.
In WHAT world is that okay??? He almost raped his daughter’s mother for god’s sake!!! Why on earth would Lily continue to speak to him normally (even if it wasnt often) and let him see her daughter? HE TRIED TO RAPE HER.
Very very angry with this story. Super depressing ending. “Oh but the point was that Lily wanted to give him anotger chance to be a better person 🥺” Rapists and abusive ex husbands do NOT deserve a second chance.
I rate this book an EW WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS/ out of 5.
For those willing to open and engage their third-eye to indulge the big brain intellectualism of this timeless tome, it’s “The Wife Upstairs” by Freda McFadden.
I’m usually not snarky at all about reading - life is short, and fuck it, at least you’re not mindlessly scrolling if you’re reading.
But… a book is not a Hobby Lobby millennial cursive wall sign. It’s not metadata to link you to other #girlboss(es).
I already have to tolerate text exchanges in books nowadays, but I draw the line at hashtags.
To make me feel better - what are the stupidest, sloppiest, non-sensical quotes you’ve read in a book?
I was wondering if there is a way to distinguish books that are written like trashy teen-fiction? I saw a lot of praise for The Housemaid, it was on NY times bestseller for over two weeks. I bought the paperback, and I was cribbing about the writing the whole time while reading it! So illogical – it felt like the author had done ZERO homework, she just wrote whatever came to her mind, and used the word “probably” like a billion times.
I usually buy books based on reviews and ratings, and literally everyone on Goodreads said it was a page-turner, an addictive, brilliant mystery and I couldn’t disagree more!! The plot was a little bit creative, but the writing ruined it.
Of course, when I googled the reading age for the book, and saw that it was tagged 12 years and up, I realised that I shouldn’t be complaining as much. Is there like a tag for these books (so I can steer clear of them)? I’ve read other beach-reads and they’re not this bad.
I just want to make myself …
The first book in the trilogy, Children of Time, was amazing! I loved it! So flipping good!
The second book, Children of Ruin was also good. It wasn’t as outstanding as the first one, but it was still a good sci-fi book, and it built on top of the first one like a sequel should.
But then I read the third book, Children of Dune and wow, it just abandons everything the first two books set up to go do its own thing. It was a total letdown. And it was super weird, giving completely different vibes from the first two. Like seriously, sandworms? What was the author thinking?! Not what I was hoping for in the conclusion of the trilogy. Super disappointed.
Doesn’t have to be SCP-related in any way, since that’s not the part I cared about (I’ve never read any other SCP stuff).
I loved the weirdness and unsettling cosmic horror from this book. It was so far out there in its concept and I never knew where it was going to go. I loved every minute of the book and blitzed through it in a weekend. Anything else similar?
Other books I’ve read that might be similar:
Hello all!
I’ve been itching to get into a great book or series where humans are exploring space and meet a Swarm like Aliens for the first time and are terrified. Something alongside the Tyranids from Warhammer 40k / Zerg from starcraft.
I’d love to read something where like humans encounter the strange new alien race and are learning more and more about them but also at the same time trying to defend themselves from them.
Im excited to hear any suggestions, thanks!
Edit - y’all are amazing! I just got home and saw a ton of recommendations so I will def. Check out all of these soon!
I recently finished reading To Be Taught, If Fortunate and I really loved the whole plot of scientists going out to do ecological surveys on alien worlds. I also really enjoyed Starmaker, specifically the parts that focused on all these different alien species the narrator encounters. I majored in Evolution in university but went into a different field and I’m starting to rediscover that passion again through sci fi so I’m looking for books that focus on alien biology/evolution specifically.
Appreciate any recommendations you guys might have!
My science fiction journey has been incredibly slow to start, but is picking up rapidly! Before this summer, I had read Neuromancer, Snow Crash, and The Three Body Problem. Not a bad go at some champions.
In mid-July I found myself in a Barnes & Noble and decided to check out the SF section. For no reason in particular, I picked up a copy of Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds. I read the first few pages and the rest is history. Walked out with that book, finished House of Suns a few weeks later, and am expecting Pushing Ice to arrive today. IMO Alastair Reynolds is a good writer with some flaws here and there, but the world building and speculative technologies he adds to his stories are GREAT! I’ve fallen back in love with the genre as a whole.
I know I could continue reading him / finish out the Revelation Space series, but I’m ready to see what other authors have in store. Anyone have other favorites that could be placed on the shelf with these works? I’ve seen Diaspora …