What are you reading?

[yxanthymir]

Finished Black Sun Rising by C. S. Friedman. It is an ok book, enough to try the second of the series.

 

Started Children of Dune by Frank Herbert.

[cailano]

Nearing the end of Sword of the Lictor, part three of the Book of the New Sun, and I've moved the series back into the genius category. BotNS really is just one big book. I'll hold off on any further judgements until I've finished it.

[cailano]

On 2/24/2023 at 6:54 AM, yxanthymir said:

Finished Black Sun Rising by C. S. Friedman. It is an ok book, enough to try the second of the series.

 

Started Children of Dune by Frank Herbert.

I like CS Friedman. I have BSR and the other two on my shelf but I haven’t read them yet. Her novel In Conquest Born is one of my favorite sci-fi books.

[yxanthymir]

First time reading her. I will read more to know if I create a deeper connection with her writing.

I only have the trilogy of Black Sun Rising. 

[coreal]

About 10 books into reading the Malazan Book of the Fallen world, trying to read the core books chronologically between the two authors (Erikson and Esslemont)

[cailano]

On 3/4/2023 at 9:13 PM, coreal said:

About 10 books into reading the Malazan Book of the Fallen world, trying to read the core books chronologically between the two authors (Erikson and Esslemont)

Now that's commitment!

[Inash]

I decided to reread the old Robotech novels by Jack McKinney. 

[Diaz Ex Machina]

I'm thinking to start Saga of Old City by Gary Gygax. I'm going to play in a Old School Essentials game set in the World of Greyhawk, and I know very little about that setting.

[cailano]

I've decided to dig into Appendix N more this year. I picked up Burn Witch, Burn and Creep Shadow, Creep by A. Merrit. I'm reading the first one right now. It's a quick read and a fun, pulpy yarn that has to do with evil, animated dolls. I'm not seeing the influence on D&D just yet, but there is a lot of material that would be great for a Call of Cthulhu game. 

[yxanthymir]

Finished Children of Dune by Frank Herbert. It is not a bad book, but I believe he focused too much on the message and too little on other points, like the characters or the story itself. 

Still undecided what I will read next. 

[cailano]

Finished Burn Witch, Burn by A. Merrit. It was good, campy fun. From there, I jumped back into The Book of the New Sun, which I'm just about finished with.

[Roughtrade]

Moved from Music Thread to One More Suited...

3 hours ago, Inash said:

Is it bad that I really didn't like Elric? I remember it being a real chore to finish the book, or maybe it was any book after the first.

They were published as short stories and written out of order.  I do prefer Sailor on the Sea of Fate era over the later ones.  Some people like them, and some don't.  I particularly liked The Vanishing Tower when reading from both Elric's point of view and then getting to read it later from Corum's point of view.  And then reading The Final Programme, which is the Elric vs Melniboné revisited as a modern sort of spy vs his father's evil organization.  

If you really want to get into Moorcock's weirder fiction you have to go to the Dancers at the End of Time.

[Inash]

It's been ~30 years and I don't remember what I read anymore. I have vague memories of a huge tone shift, I think? and/or possibly a time skip (which I usually just find jarring). 

I guess I should give them another try.

[Roughtrade]

2 hours ago, Inash said:

It's been ~30 years and I don't remember what I read anymore. I have vague memories of a huge tone shift, I think? and/or possibly a time skip (which I usually just find jarring). 

I guess I should give them another try.

It sounds like you picked up at the novels he wrote in the ....  I want to say late 80s or early 90s.  It was a big skip, and very jarring since my memories of the original series was that he ended the world.  It did not feel like a money grab to me, but it did feel like Moorcock was giving into fan pressure to give us one more Elric story please.  But possibly it was just a writer at a point twenty or thirty years later in their career with a different style than before.  

[Roughtrade]

Since I do not have moderator powers, I moved things the old fashioned way.

 

9 hours ago, Suzuki Stumpy said:

I’ll admit, I’m not a huge fan of Moorcock in general.  I think the characters and stories he has to tell are great, but I just don’t like his writing style.  …. But, let’s not get into that discussion here, and keep the thread on topic.

 

I had a listen of that Blind Guardian album myself last night.  Loved it.  (First time I’ve listened to any of their stuff).

Then went on a bit of a nostalgia trip with some old Magnum (On a Storytellers Night to be precise)

 

9 hours ago, cailano said:

*Coughs* *sputters* *dies*

I think Elric is one of the iconic characters of fantasy and for good reason, but to each their own. Personally, I like that weird, episodic, Law vs. Chaos, sword and sorcery vibe.