[Caly]

Hello everyone--

I'm a newbie here, though that has not stopped me from posting today. I guess you can say I have too much time on my hands. I am a former teacher (last day of teaching was Wed!) who is now just sitting around blobbing all day until I get a visa to go to Sweden.

Enough about me. Now I want to learn more about you to see if me being here is a good fit. I go to lots of fantasy sites, but am always looking for more good ones.

Anyway, this might be a repeat, and I"m sorry if it is. I didn't read through all your old threads.

What are the last five books you've read (both fantasy and non-fantasy) and would you recommend them to others?

My last five:

The Son of Shadow by Juliet Marillier. I highly recommend it, esp for women. I can see how men might get bored with it b/c it is very emotional and has some romantic elements. It's very, very good though. Speaking of which, what percentage of the regulars here are female?

The Mysterious Dissappearnce of Leon (I mean Noel) by Ellen Raskin. I saw this in the store and had to pick it up b/c it reminded me of my childhood. It's a YA mystery/comedy. I only recommend it if you like YA books.

Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier. The first in the Sevenwaters Triology. Very, very sad, but a superb debut by this New Zealand author. Highly recommended, esp to the ladies. I really don't think people who only like Feist, Eddings, RJ, and Brooks would go for this style, but for those wanting to jump into a more. . hmmm. . not poetic exactly, maybe literary is the term? you will love this author. And I realize that sentence didn't make any sense at all. Sorry.


Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Can't say I would recommend it. It has some intersting ideas, but overall it doesn't capture my interest. I only read it b/c it was part of the curriculm I had to teach.

Inversions by Iain M. Banks. Excellent book! It's a stand alone fantasy about the lives of two people, a female doctor and a male body guard, that don't seem to relate at all. They both work in different countries directly serving the kind of their respective country. As the story goes on their relation is revealed, all though it is never made totally clear. It does have some kind of graphic torture scenes, which I don't like, but other than that very, very good.


There you have it. Anyone else game?

Caleyna www.fantasyfreaks.org (http://www.fantasyfreaks.org)

[Zsinj16]

Welcome,Caly,I'm Zsinj16, and the last five books I've read are:

1. "Star Wars: The Han Solo Trilogy Part I: The Paradise Snare" by A.C. Crispin - I would certainly recommend this novel to any and all Star Wars fans who want to know the backhistory of smuggler and space pirate Han Solo's life. This book has very dark and sad overtones that make it a very good read.

2. "Star Wars: The Han Solo Trilogy Part II: The Hutt Gambit" by A.C. Crispin - I would again recommend this novel to any and all Star Wars fans. This novel continues the backhistory of Han Solo's life and explains how he beacame the archenemy and adversary of the notorious bounty hunter Boba Fett, and how he became the lifetime partner of Chewbacca. This was a very good read for me also.

3. "The Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn Trilogy Part I: The Dragonbone Chair" by Tad Williams - This novel truly represents epic fantasy at its best. It's a whopping 700+ pages long!! It's about a powerful king that has ruled the kingdom of Osten Ard for countless years, but now lies dying, and an ancient demonic undead ruler of an ancient civilazation that ruled countless centuries before this dying king ever came to Osten Ard, lies in the darkness waiting for the king to breath his last breath so he can pour out his revenge upon the land. Also a young castle scullion named Simon goes about his boring servant life, unaware that he too will play a major role in this grand chain of monumental events. This novel and this trilogy is a must-read for all fantasy fans. Fans of lengendary fantasy authors such as Tolkien, Martin, Brooks, Fiest, Wiess and Hickman, Salvatore, Moorock, Jordan, Douglass, Hobb, and the like will love this gripping fantasy novel and trilogy, I know I did!

4. "The Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn Trilogy Part II: The Stone of Farewell" by Tad Williams -This is the excellent second installment in this epic fantasy trilogy. It also is a whopping 700+ pages long! I loved this novel also, although I didn't think it was as good as the first installment. I would
certainly recommend this novel also.

5. "The Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn Trilogy Part III: To Green Angel Tower" by Tad Williams- This is the third and final installment in this epic fantasy trilogy. In hardback form it's a giant 1,000+ pages long, but in paperback form, it is divided into two parts: Part I: Storm, and Part II: Siege. I have read Part I and have yet to finish Part II, but so far it is a great novel, and I would recommend it also.


[This message has been edited by Zsinj16 (edited June 17, 2001).]

[Cadfael]

Welcome to the board Caly, don't worry about fitting in, we take all kinds here http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/smile.gif

Last five books, okay... I will treat a series of books as one book...

The West Country Mysteries, by Michael Jeck. These are medieaval who-dun-it's. The two main characters are Simon Puttock, Bailiff of Lydford Castle, and Sir Baldwin Furnshill, Keeper of the King's Peace. The events take place in Devon, England in the 14th centuary. Well written, as far as I can tell... historically acurate, and very good plot lines. This is my current series, and the books I have read so far are The Last Templar and The Merchant's Partner.

The Tales of Alvin Maker, by Orson Scott Card. A brilliant series, that tells of an alternative history of America in the 17th/18th centuary. People have knack's, which is a kind a magical ability, which mean they excell in certain feilds... i.e. one of the characters can see a persons 'heartfire', and from that can see various futures of people. The books are Seventh Son, Red Prophet, Prentice Alvin, Journeyman Alvin and Heartfire. I recommend any OSC books, especially Enders Game.

The Eternal Champion by Michael Moorcock... what can I say... just mind-blowingly brilliant. I don't really think I can do them justice trying to give the outline. I will let FitzChivlary do that, he knows his 'Moorcock'. But I will say this, all of the series that Moorcock has written are now being released in omnibus editions, the ones I have read are Von Bek, Corum, Elric of Melnibone, Hawkmoon and The Eternal Champion. I recommend them all!!

Merrick by Ann Rice, part of the Vampire Chronicles, this series went a bit lame with Memnoch: The Devil, but the last two books are bringing it back on track.

Runelords by David Farland, very... VERY fast paced action fantasy. The main magic is that a person can take 'endowments' from other people, i.e. and endowment of sight will improve the takers eyesight, but leave the giver blind. The thing is... some people give endowments willingly for rewards. Another strange thing about the books is that the event take place in about a week across the three books that have been published so far, and those books are The Sum of All Men, Brotherhood of the Wolf and Wizardborn.

Right... thats me done <phew> http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/smile.gif

[Caly]

I've read Heartfire and Enchantment by OSC. I have been looking for the others in the Alvin Maker series, but am very unsuccessul in the itty bitty town I live in. I used to order a ton of books online, but I am not using credit cards anymore b/c they lead to nothing but trouble, so I have no idea when I will be able to get my hands on those books. I reallly liked Enchantment by him as well. Everyone says I should read Ender's Game, but I just can't bring myself to buy a book with a spaceship on the cover. I have tried, I really have. I just have a weird mental block.

Caleyna

[Arty]

Hmmmm.... my last 5 books? Let's see here....

Sea of Sorrows by Michelle West...(The Sun Sword : Book 4) Not as good as the last books. I found it to be very confusing. The author assumed you knew what she was talking about in alot of places and I kept getting lost. But I still enjoyed it.

Assassins Apprentice by Robin Hobb...(The Farseer Book 1) The folks here on this board got me into Robin Hobb. I read the other series first (The Liveship Traders) and loved it. Some here say the farseer is better. Well I really liked both so far! Im buying the next one tomorrow. Its amazing how dis-similiar the 2 series are, I think I expected them to be alike because they are set in the same world...not so. Im excited.

The Dragon Prince Trilogy by Melanie Rawn. I will not count this because it was a re-reading of an old favorite.

Lord of the Silent by Elizabeth Peters. (An Amelia Peabody mystery) Amelia is an Egyptologist at the turn of the century who defies convention by being an independant and self sufficient woman in a world of men. Along the way she happens into a myriad of adventures. I love these stories.

The Summoning God by Kathleen ONeal Gear...(The Anasazi Mysteries). This book skips back and forth from the present to the time of the Anasazi as modern day archaeologists work to unravel a mystery as we see it happen in the past. A good read! You will never ever guess the end!!

Was that 5?

Caly....have you ever read The Crow Road by Iain Banks? I saw the BBC miniseries of it and loved it.
As for Daughter of the Forest...Im eager to read it, Im just waiting for the paperback to come out. Do you read alot of fantasy? Need/have any recommendations? I have a feeling we have similiar taste...theres someone else here with like tastes to mine...LadyFox, are you out there?

Dennizm...did you tell me about those Michael Jeck books before? Im definately looking into them tomorrow. Did you actually like Runelords? I didnt care for it. How can I put this....alot of people who read fantasy(mostly men)like a completely different sort of story. They like their characters to go here and there and do all this great stuff. I care more about what happens in between and how they got there ( you know, the inter personal junk). And I like it written with great style. As you can tell Im a fan of "fat" fantasy. I found the Runelords to be a little too superficial (although it was much better than some) I never had any desire to complete the series. I had the same problems with Rhapsody and with Sailing to Sarantium. I hoped I explained that OK. ?

[Arty]

Hey when did I go from Junior member to member?? Cool!

[Caly]

Nope, I've only read the Inversions book by Iain Banks. I picked it up totally randomly while I was grocery shopping. It is pretty sad when my grocery store has a better selection of fantasy novels than the local book store. Such is life in a small town I guess.

I have a done of books that I need to read, but I am always open to suggestions. In fact, that one Egyption book you mentioned sounds right up my alley.

Recommendations from me--Definetly Daughter of the Forest. Mine is a trade paperback. More expensive than the mass market paperback but cheaper than the hardbacks.

I'd also highly recommend Jan Seigal's Prospero's Children and Dragon Charmer.

Empire by Feist and Wurts is my fave series, along with Liveship Traders, but I see you have all ready read it. When you get done with Farseer you will have to tell me what you think of Amber, ok? Coldfire by C. S. Friedman is another fave of mine, even though it is so totally opposite of what I normally look for in a book. It's very dark and totally plot driven instead of character driven. It has such an amazing conclusion, though, that none of that matters. I think it has the most perfect ending of any book I've ever read.

If you like stories that are fairytale-esqe I'd recommend Stardust by Neil Gaiman, Deerskin by Robin McKinely (it is YA, but it is not for children imo). . .

My brain is going into book overload, so I may have to post more later. All my books are packed up and in storage b/c I am moving shortly, otherwise I know there would be a much bigger list.

Caleyna

[Cadfael]

Arty... you must have your eyes shut, when you make your 30th post, you become a member... as it must say in at least half a dozen topics http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/smile.gif

Only j/k http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/smile.gif... welcome to full status!

I recommended Paul Doherty to you. Gratch recommended Michael Jecks to me, and I am very glad he did http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/smile.gif

Which reminds me... I have also read Paul Doherty's Corps Candle in my last 5 books... Ellis Peters is back!!

[This message has been edited by dennizm (edited June 18, 2001).]

[Caly]

Oh! One more that I totally forgot! Lady in Gil by Rebecca Bradely. Loved it. Very funny, even though it has some pretty gross stuff, like people eating maggots and rats.

[Lord Raziel]

Well lets see my last five books were

The Jackal of Nar By John Marco
Not as good as I had expected, not enough action , and it was mostly a one person point of view.

A Cavern of Black Ice By JV. Jones
A recomended read, probably one of the best I have read, I can't wait for the second book.


The Art of War By Machiavelli
I read this one for other reasons ,


Wizardborn by David Farland
I thought this was a decent read, very fast paced, but left things lacking, have to wait for the next book to see if I can continue.


and a non fantasy novel by Tom Clancy - Without Remorse
Even though I really only read fantasy , a friend had it laying a round and i thought i would try it, was a decent read, takes place in the 70's i believe


Lord Raziel