Fantasy Book Club discussion

Currently in the middle of The Blade Itself, and loving it. What is everybody else reading this first month of the new year?

I'm still reading The Ships of Merior which I started on Christmas day. I started the omnibus Miles Errant last night to test my new LightWedge (a Christmas gift from my hubby which arrived "late" yesterday via UPS).

Further reading for January includes:

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I just finished I Am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to be Your Class President, very funny.

I'm reading To Reign in Hell as well, Jon. I'm about 2/3 of the way through. It's very captivating.

I'm reading Book two of the Amber Cycle, 'Guns of Avalon', by Roger Zelazny. I haven't decided if I'm going to try and read the whole 10 books, or just the current arc.

I'd really like to be able to get to Heresy by S.J. Parris because I won an ARC from first reads and would really like to review it this month.

I thought of trying to read To Reign in Hell, but the bookstore didn't have it and I have so much else on my plate I don't think I'm going to get to it. Maybe some other time.

I just finished Black Sun Rising, Coldfire Trilogy by C.S. Friedman. Liked it. I would give it 8/10.
I almost started When True Night Falls, the second book of the trilogy but then thought better of it and started a thriller? me? thriller? the last one I read maybe some 20 years ago? Anyway, I started The Broken Window by Jeffery Deaver. A friend of mine says it is very good.

I am reading Rough Music by Patrick Gale

-Beyond the Shadows(on it now)
-Castle of Wizardry (to finish rereading)
-Graceling (no idea what to expect, but it has got good reviews)

and serveral others

I've got about 100 pages left in The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks.

Also reading The Alchemy Of Stone by Ekaterina Sedia.

Reading Otherland: City of Golden Shadow. Really good so far.

William wrote: "I just finished I Am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to be Your Class President, very funny."

Have you read Soon I Will Be Invincible? Really good.

I've got the rest of the Night Angel Trilogy to finish, and then The Immortal Prince. I love Jennifer Fallon, so I'm expecting good things from this one.

I finished The Ships of Merior by Janny Wurts (my review) last night. A very enjoyable continuation in the saga of the Light/Shadow War.

Over my morning cup of Irish Blend tea, I started To Reign in Hell by Brust, a novel I've been looking forward to for a month or two.

I started Shadow's Edge by Brent Weeks last night and I'm already enjoying it.

Sword of Avalon, a continuation of marion Zimmer Bradley's Avalon series by Diana Paxson

Finished To Reign in Hell (my review) yesterday and Brothers in Arms (my reivew) this morning.

Moving on to Bridge of Birds: A Novel of an Ancient China That Never Was and hoping the cold medicine doesn't interfere with comprehension and absorption.

I read Secondhand Spirits: A Witchcraft Mystery yesterday, a mystery novel featuring a young natural-born witch just moved into San Francisco. This right after Huff's book about a young witch just moved into Calgary to solve a mystery of her own.

I just started Man on Fire this morning.

Looking forward to First Lord's Fury, which I picked up this weekend. First I need to finish Dreamsongs: Short Works: Volume I, however.

I've Just read the first 5 books of the Codex Alera series by Jim Butcher. I plan to read The Well of Ascension, The Hero of Ages, The Runelords: The Sum of All Men, Prisoner of the Iron Tower, A Shadow on the Glass and The Warded Man

I have finished Mistborn: The Final Empire and started The Well of Ascension. I have The Hero of Ages from the library already, so I read the trilogy straight through.

I have been slogging my way through the The Outstretched Shadow. The pace of the story finally picked up enough to hook me about 1/2 way through. I'm sticking to it because many people have said it moves very slowly a first, but gets better--especially in the following books. I sure hope so. I wish I had time (brain capacity as well) to read two or three books concurrently!

Finished The Blade Itself, and I am not going to start the next one right away. Instead, I'll give The Magicians a shot.

I just finished The Time Cavern which was a bit young for my taste but still a fun read. I'm not sure what to start next. I have a huge pile of to-read books. I'm thinking either finally getting around to The Blade Itself, or perhaps Tigana which I've been wanted to read for quite some time. Since The Time Cavern was such a simple read maybe it is time to tackle something with lots of meat.

Let's see, just finished The Speed of Dark, which I enjoyed quite a bit, it's very unique. And I'm reading Storm Warning now. I have so many books left to read, I don't know where to start after I finish that trilogy, but maybe Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell.

I finished Last Argument Of Kings right after New years eve and since I always like to read something quite different right after I've finished a series of books, I jumped straight to The Road. That one was soon finished and now I've just opened The Lies of Locke Lamora.

I am currently reading The Wayfarer Redemption, Silverthorn, and The Shadow of the Wind. I've honestly grown bored with Silverthorn, but I hate giving up on a series once I'm a few books into it.

I am honestly chafing at the bit to read First Lord's Fury, as I just finished Princeps' Fury a few weeks ago. So many books to read, so little time.

Alright, I wasn't quite feeling The Magicians. So, I'm taking a break from fantasy and reading Under The Dome.

Rachael wrote: "I am currently reading The Wayfarer Redemption, Silverthorn, and The Shadow of the Wind. I've honestly grown bored with Silverthorn, but I hate..."

I LOVED The Shadow of the Wind! Let me know if you enjoyed it or not.

I am about halfway through Shades of Grey: The Road to High Saffron by Jasper Fforde. I'm loving it so far. It makes me want to re-read the Thursday Next series.

I started The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie and can't find enough time to read.

Hi Guys, I hope everyone is enjoying their books!

Lately, I've gotten in the habit of juggling multiple series. At the moment I'm reading the Percy Jackson & The Olympian series, The Belgariad, and The Legend of Drizzt. Just finished The Lightning Thief and I'm in love with the concept. That being said, the writing is painstakingly childish! I felt like there should have been pictures in some of the chapters. I have to say tho, I'm still a fan. I was curious though if anybody has read further into the series and could tell me if the writing level increases as the books progress or if all the books are written for children. I only ask because I know that Harry Potter was written such that each book progressed in writing complexity and tone; each book was darker then the previous one.
If this isn't the case with the PJ&TO then I must admit that I will quickly lose interest in it.

I'm in the middle of several books at once. I'm in the middle of Robert Jordan's Lord of Chaos, which is really hard for me to get into. I've read all the series up until now and I hate to give up on it. Also reading The Hunted by L.A.Banks. Love this series for some reason, maybe its the raw characters and how the plot never goes flat. Also started Terry Brooks Scions of Shannara and I just can't seem to get into it.

Christian said, "At the moment I'm reading the Percy Jackson & The Olympian series, The Belgariad, and..."

The Belgariad is one of my all time favorites.

Finished The Alchemy Of Stone by Ekaterina Sedia. I thought the plot was kind of weak, but it was pretty unique.

Now playing the waiting game for my order of A Song for Arbonne by Guy Gavriel Kay to arrive at the bookstore.

Lisa wrote: "I am about halfway through Shades of Grey: The Road to High Saffron by Jasper Fforde. I'm loving it so far. It makes me want to re-read the Thursday Next series."
Lisa - how are you liking Shades of Grey? I absolutely LOVED the THursday Next series (at least the first 4) and i like the Nursery Crime series. I have been looking forward to something new from Fforde for a while, but am hesitant to buy a hard cover from him on a new series. So please tell - worth the cover price? or wait for the paperback ?

So far this month, I've read Old Man's War, The Warrior's Apprentice, Assassin's Apprentice, Royal Assassin, and Assassin's Quest.

I'm hoping to get to The Ghost Brigades, The Sparrow, and Sabriel. Its been a great month!

Finished The Broken Window by Jeffery Deaver.
Our dependency and blind faith in strings of 0s and 1s is a little bit scary, but what can we do? Could you imagine our life without computers, the Internet, etc.? What if someone abuses the system? Better not to think about it.
Otherwise the thriller is unremarkable.

Back to escapist world.
Fantasy.
Started When True Night Falls (Coldfire 2) by C.S. Friedman

Well, the book I was going to start got delayed, so I started On Stranger Tides this weekend instead. So far I'm enjoying it, though I've been so tired I'm having a hard time reading more than a few pages at a time...

I finished Miles Errant (my review) last Friday and immediately started reading Imager's Challenge by L.E. Modesitt Jr., which I've had checked out from the library since last November. The first hundred pages have been a bit of a disappointment (almost boring) but I keep reading on because it's Modesitt. :)

finished The Windup Girl by Bacigalupi. complex, bleak, and cautionary.

The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters, Volume 1 is a new author for me. I'm only a quarter of the way into it. Very Steampunk, set in a Victorian setting with the strange and evil technology of a secret cabal. Written very much like a Homes type mystery.

Nicole wrote: "finished The Windup Girl by Bacigalupi. complex, bleak, and cautionary."

Nicole I have been curious about The Windup Girl. Would you recommend it?

Hi William~ Yes, it really was a good read. A bit tedious at times, but worth it.

My reading this month has gone up a bit because I have been sick and it is about all I can do. I really can't wait until walking doesn't cause me to start coughing uncontrollably so that I can get back to working out but I digress. A couple of fantasy books that I've read this month are: Orphans of Chaos by John C. Wright, which was ok, Diana Paxson's Raven's of Avalon - I miss MZB's voice in these books. And just finished reading the first two books in The Ice Wolf Trilogy by James Jensen & Brian Christie. These two books (The Rise of the Ice Wolf and Descent into Darkness) were published as an e-book by the authors themselves which I find interesting in itself, maybe the wave of the future??? They were well written and good, their style reminds me of GRRM's style but not as well written but since this is their first outing I though I'd give them some slack. This is definitely a series as both books kind of just stop and I'm not sure when the 3rd book will be published. Even though the books just stop, they are well written and have a ton of action, unlike some books I read last month (The Phoenix Transformed by James Mallory, man it was a waste of my time!) the plot moves forward quickly and is interesting. I recommend checking the Ice Wolf Trilogy out!

I'm reading 'The Fellowship of the Ring'....every now and then I just have to read Tolkien again. After this book I plan on picking up 'A game of thrones' by Martin. I recently joined the group so, I'll be a little behind. I have wanted to read this series for some time so, this gives me a good excuse to begin.

David wrote: " Christian said, "At the moment I'm reading the Percy Jackson & The Olympian series, The Belgariad, and..."

The Belgariad is one of my all time favorites."

I'm with you on that one..it's one of my all time favories as well.

Currently reading Myrren's Gift by Fiona McIntosh. I will be reading the trilogy back to back. Bought them six months ago, but I buy so many more books than I get around to reading...

Just reading The Eight by Katherine Neville. Interesting double plot, mixing up a lot of historical figures of the french revolution.

Currently reading The Hunt for the Eye of Ogin by Patrick Doud. Really good book so far.