@Cameron, understandable. I have reread Dune countless times, but the entire series only a few times, and I have only read the extra stuff his son has written once through..
Trevor Derry i LOVE Kkc its my favorite story, but i resonate with Locke LaMora so much thats why its my favorite series. If the distinction between the two makes sense for anyone other than me
This series was also one of my big pushes into fantasy. I’m currently re-reading it now. I have the annotated chronicles. I’ve recently started collecting the books as well.
Erikson’s Malazan Book of the Fallen is a VERY good story, and well written. Awesome fantasy. The books are large and will keep you reading a good while. About ten works I believe
Really been wanting to read this series. Waiting to start it when my money is better. Hate to start a series I can’t finish. My library doesn’t have it.
Picking a favourite series is hard. I read sso frequently and my taste is always evolving that a book Inloved 3 years ago is one I would never touch again. Sanderson is a good example: he was my favourite author for a long time, and now I hate him.
Looking at him purely as a writer, this is why I dislike his work. But a few things to preface this: first, I do not hate comedy in books, and I’m not an “intellectual heavy weight” who only enjoys high-brow humour. In fact, I frequently find myself drawn to low-brow humour and vicious sarcasm. I also like absurdity. I also enjoy romance sub-plots unless they’re bad because I like multi-faceted books. (This is going to be a bit of a read, btw)
Why I hate Sanderson as a writer:
1: He uses the same archetypes. In every. Single. Book. You’ve got your marginalized POV character, then you’ve got your intellectual, problem-solving upper-crust insider who’s “different” from everyone else. The nobleman who goes against the grain and is in a position of power to basically drag everyone along with him, but with someone a bit higher at the top posing as an obstacle to some degree or another. He has the angst-ridden, near-anti-hero savior figures like Kaladin who, to a degree, are revenge driven. Outcast who saves the day after discovering they’re one of the few people who have access to a super-awesome power, and almost always against a cheesy “Oh, the villian is just misunderstood or compelled by something else” nonsense; or had some incredibly moronic motivation that got them to kill millions of people through their actions but then they can just get talked down, or in some cases they’re evil because they’re evil because they’re evil. It wouldn’t be so bad if his character arcs weren’t so predictable; but in one form or another his books always tend to follow this format. There’s always the “comic relief” idiot character and then there’s the “comic relief POV character” who just has terrible “witty” sarcastic phrases they’re constantly churning out. And the more I started to realize this, the more I started to notice it, the more I started to hate it.
2: His romance sub-plots are awful, and juvenile. The characters fall in love with little to-no exposure to each other, or with very little being shared between them that would actually make them become attracted to one another. His romance sub-plots are *never* enjoyable and I generally enjoy reading romance sub-plots.
3: His humour is the absolute worst. It’s so inorganic and forced compared to other authors, and out of place, ALL THE TIME. It’s like Sanderson enters the middle of a scene and pauses it, then says “Hello, I’m going to tell a joke now” and inserts wacky, substanceless humour that’s inappropriate. In one scene in Oathbringer for example, there’s a character who talks about “not being able to trust old people” because they don’t have nice butts. Yeah, that really fits with the rest of the scene and what’s happening at the time it’s said. And absurdity is good, but Sanderson just does it bad. An absurd situation in, say, Joe Abercrombies books is a bunch of inquisitors chasing the companion of a Magus into his apartments, the Magus hears the noise and busts out of the bath screaming “What the fuck is going on here?” completely naked, covered in soap, wrinkly as hell and with his weiner flopping around before killing them all. In Brandon Sanderson “absurd” it’s a character saying something completely out of place, doesn’t fit what’s happening in the scene, and clashes dramatically with the tone of the rest of the characters (not only what they’re talking about, but how they even speak). His humour brings good scenes to a screeching slow-down. If you read his Reckoners books be prepared for three books of awful analogy after awful analogy because that’s the POV characters shtick: he can’t make good analogies, so he makes analogies all the time and none of them make sense. Yeah, real hilarious Sanderson, as if your cliche analogies weren’t bland enough now you’re going to beat us in the face with intentionally bad ones for three books and call it “humour”. His humour is so stomach turningly cringy it makes me feel like I’m reading a Myspace page from one of those terrible “I’m so random XDDDD” people, all the while you know that Sanderson is patting himself on the back for being so hilarious.
4: I’m not a prose Nazi, but his prose is pretty ‘meh’ and it got stomach turningly dull after I was exposed to vastly more authors. I still adore people like Gemmel, who I’ve read longer than Sanderson, but Sanderson I actually just ended up disliking more every time I read someone else’s books. It doesn’t help that I read 3-4 books of his that suffered from a case of “where did the plot go?”
5: He treats the reader like they’re an idiot. There’s no real foreshadowing unless you’re bludgeoned in the face with it until you’re on the brink of a coma. There’s no subtlety and the only nuance in his books is spoon fed to you like you’re a vegetable. It’s not that every bit of a book has to be dripping with this kind of presentation.
6: He’s an author that has got too big for his britches. His editors are clearly afraid to tell him “no”. Using his most recent book, Oathbringer as an example, you could easily cut 200-250 pages from the book and literally lose nothing. There are so many pointless scenes that do nothing but detract from the actual story.
Yaniv Rosenfeld Cohen I like his books (to a small degree) because they’re easy reads .. His most adult entries are basically just barely disguised YA titles. And his outright YA stuff is just plain awful. Firefight and Calamity are some of the worst books I ever read.
@Lucas isn’t that totally undermining what you said previously? You basically said he’s an under average auther and that you are unimpressed with his work for different reasons
@Yaniv Hence the “to a degree”. I used to enjoy his work but now I can’t wait until he is done with Stormlight so I can never buy another one of his books again.
@Yaniv I honestly couldn’t say which. I would need to re-read a bunch.
Contenders would be: David Gemmel’s Troy series. Brian McClellan’s Powder Mage. Joe Abercrombie’s First Law or the stand alones (Minus Best Served Cold) Django Wexlers Shadow Campaigns (Probably The Thousand Names or the second book) Alex Marshall’s “A Blade Of Black Steel”.
This isn’t a fair question!! Dragonlance or Mistborn, or Redwall. Or Neverwhere. Or Sevenwaters trilogy.or The Once and Future King… I’m so indecisive….
It really isn’t fair to have to pick a favorite. They were all favorites at different points in my life for vastly different reasons… I mean, in all seriousness, some people listen to the radio and certain songs bring back memories of certain points in their life. I can think back to different points and tell you what I was reading at the time. Redwall got me through middle school. Dragonlance got me through high school. I sadly spent most of grad school reading A Song of Ice and Fire. The Sevenwaters Trilogy was a summer in college. And I refuse to admit how young I was when I read The Once and Future King, but I should probably reread it now that it’s age-appropriate… I discovered everything Neil Gaiman in college. I discovered Sanderson between getting married and having my first child. THIS IS WHY ITS HARD TO PICK A FAVORITE.
I changed my mind 3 times trying to comment. I fall so deeply into a series when it is still loved by the author. But im going to give the nod to Krynn…. Dragonlance …. because those books got me hooked on epic fantasy in the 80s…and then making and playing characters in the same world….it still holds a special place in my heart.
Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy is by far the best I’ve read in a LONG WHILE.. Didn’t want them to end.. Now going to start reading her “Strange The Dreamer”
@Zebron I mean I read Chronicle’s of Narnia growing up and Percy Jackson. Martin wrote something that really caught my interest though. Read alot of books but I still think that it’s one of my favorite series
Mine was Robert Jordan I didn’t come up for Air for months lol. Then he died before the last books were written but he had Brandon Sanderson finish them
Me too!! I love Terry Pritchett. I was sad to,learn of his death. I can’t even pick a favorite character. But Death is one of them. I have all of his books as well. I love to reread them. Do you have a favorite?
Riyria Revelations by Sullivan
Memory, Sorrow & Thorn by Williams
I’m on the 2nd Volume of the Riyria Revelations. I loved the first one!
Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan. And my own, “Tears of Hatsunae” if I ever get the money to finish publishing.
I have too many to list. Right now I am Stuck on Rick Riordan.
LotR. Ez.
Wheel of Time
Ditto
So many of them including Mercedes lackey and her valdemar series.
ASOIAF, LotR, and the Stormlight Archive. Malazan’s moving its way up there too.
Gentlemen bastard sequence. Although i just started wheel of time and have high hopes for it
I love WoT. Good luck!
@Daemon Atredies huh? Dune is my favorite sci fi.
WoT was great. One of my faves. I just started Lies of Locke Lamora
@Cameron, Dune is always my favorite book and series!
man when i was younger i had a copy that never left my side i must’ve reread that book easily 20-30 times. Never read another in the series though
@Cameron, understandable. I have reread Dune countless times, but the entire series only a few times, and I have only read the extra stuff his son has written once through..
Trevor Derry i LOVE Kkc its my favorite story, but i resonate with Locke LaMora so much thats why its my favorite series. If the distinction between the two makes sense for anyone other than me
Trevor Derry i have never been able to get into Sanderson.
Trevor Derry i think it was mistborn?
Realm of the Elderlings Robin Hobb or Cosmere books (can’t choose between Mistborn and Stormlight ?) by Sanderson
Malazan all the way. Just started another read through.
Wheel of Time
Too many to name!
Tie between Realm of the Elderlings and Kingkiller.
Wheel of Time
http://www. http://dreamerinthefalls.com/
Dark tower
First Law series
The Vamp-Pures Collection
So far anything tamora pierce, harry potter, and game of thrones
Liveship Traders – Robin Hobb ??
Malazan
Joseph Williams
LOVE THOSE TWO! ? one of my favorite parts is the beginning when you first meet Tas. And then the part when Flint refuses to get in the boat!!
I really love Raistlin though
the kingkiller chronicles
Indeed…long live Qvothe
well Kvothe is a really awesome guy
Shanarah
THAT SOUNDS SO GOOD!! Honestly one of my goals in life is to open up my own cafe bookshop, and I want to make it as cozy as the In of the last home.
Kushiel’s Dart series
Love that series!
That’s like the perfect combination of things for a shop. ?
I was just looking at those! They seem really awesome. I think there’s also an art book out there somewhere too!
Lord of the Rings
Yes that’s the one!
This series was also one of my big pushes into fantasy. I’m currently re-reading it now. I have the annotated chronicles. I’ve recently started collecting the books as well.
Rise of the Iliri series
i looked on goodreads and couldn’t find that, who’s the author?
@Auryn
A Song of Ice and Fire.
I would agree only if the guy would hurry and release the final book
@Matthew I can’t wait for the next novel, but even if the series were never to be completed, it would still be my favorite.
Erikson’s Malazan Book of the Fallen is a VERY good story, and well written. Awesome fantasy. The books are large and will keep you reading a good while. About ten works I believe
@Matthew from what I read about the Malazan series I don’t think it is my cup of tea. Thanks for the recommendation though.
By Far…
THE LEGEND OF DRIZZT.
And a new book comes out next month!! Zack is back!!!
@Sheldon super excited, I’ve pre-purchased.
Red Rising probably tbh, although I’m currently reading Way of Shadows and LOVING IT
have you read the new trilogy? it’s sooooooo good
have you read the new trilogy? it’s sooooooo good
I haven’t gotten to the new one
you’re in for a treat, there are some new characters and perspectives and the story gets really interesting
Looking forward to it
Totes Twilight
Conan the barbarian he is the single most badass literary character ever created
Second to Beowulf of course
At the moment I would say Mistborn.
I like the land of stories
Malazan
Really been wanting to read this series. Waiting to start it when my money is better. Hate to start a series I can’t finish. My library doesn’t have it.
D.M Cornish – Monster Blood Tattoo trilogy
The First Law
I’ve gotta re-read a few…I’ll get back to you.
Picking a favourite series is hard. I read sso frequently and my taste is always evolving that a book Inloved 3 years ago is one I would never touch again. Sanderson is a good example: he was my favourite author for a long time, and now I hate him.
I didn’t like the Jordan last book. So not a fan anymore
Why do you hate Sanderson?
@Yaniv
Looking at him purely as a writer, this is why I dislike his work. But a few things to preface this: first, I do not hate comedy in books, and I’m not an “intellectual heavy weight” who only enjoys high-brow humour. In fact, I frequently find myself drawn to low-brow humour and vicious sarcasm. I also like absurdity. I also enjoy romance sub-plots unless they’re bad because I like multi-faceted books. (This is going to be a bit of a read, btw)
Why I hate Sanderson as a writer:
1: He uses the same archetypes. In every. Single. Book. You’ve got your marginalized POV character, then you’ve got your intellectual, problem-solving upper-crust insider who’s “different” from everyone else. The nobleman who goes against the grain and is in a position of power to basically drag everyone along with him, but with someone a bit higher at the top posing as an obstacle to some degree or another. He has the angst-ridden, near-anti-hero savior figures like Kaladin who, to a degree, are revenge driven. Outcast who saves the day after discovering they’re one of the few people who have access to a super-awesome power, and almost always against a cheesy “Oh, the villian is just misunderstood or compelled by something else” nonsense; or had some incredibly moronic motivation that got them to kill millions of people through their actions but then they can just get talked down, or in some cases they’re evil because they’re evil because they’re evil. It wouldn’t be so bad if his character arcs weren’t so predictable; but in one form or another his books always tend to follow this format. There’s always the “comic relief” idiot character and then there’s the “comic relief POV character” who just has terrible “witty” sarcastic phrases they’re constantly churning out. And the more I started to realize this, the more I started to notice it, the more I started to hate it.
2: His romance sub-plots are awful, and juvenile. The characters fall in love with little to-no exposure to each other, or with very little being shared between them that would actually make them become attracted to one another. His romance sub-plots are *never* enjoyable and I generally enjoy reading romance sub-plots.
3: His humour is the absolute worst. It’s so inorganic and forced compared to other authors, and out of place, ALL THE TIME. It’s like Sanderson enters the middle of a scene and pauses it, then says “Hello, I’m going to tell a joke now” and inserts wacky, substanceless humour that’s inappropriate. In one scene in Oathbringer for example, there’s a character who talks about “not being able to trust old people” because they don’t have nice butts. Yeah, that really fits with the rest of the scene and what’s happening at the time it’s said. And absurdity is good, but Sanderson just does it bad. An absurd situation in, say, Joe Abercrombies books is a bunch of inquisitors chasing the companion of a Magus into his apartments, the Magus hears the noise and busts out of the bath screaming “What the fuck is going on here?” completely naked, covered in soap, wrinkly as hell and with his weiner flopping around before killing them all. In Brandon Sanderson “absurd” it’s a character saying something completely out of place, doesn’t fit what’s happening in the scene, and clashes dramatically with the tone of the rest of the characters (not only what they’re talking about, but how they even speak). His humour brings good scenes to a screeching slow-down. If you read his Reckoners books be prepared for three books of awful analogy after awful analogy because that’s the POV characters shtick: he can’t make good analogies, so he makes analogies all the time and none of them make sense. Yeah, real hilarious Sanderson, as if your cliche analogies weren’t bland enough now you’re going to beat us in the face with intentionally bad ones for three books and call it “humour”. His humour is so stomach turningly cringy it makes me feel like I’m reading a Myspace page from one of those terrible “I’m so random XDDDD” people, all the while you know that Sanderson is patting himself on the back for being so hilarious.
4: I’m not a prose Nazi, but his prose is pretty ‘meh’ and it got stomach turningly dull after I was exposed to vastly more authors. I still adore people like Gemmel, who I’ve read longer than Sanderson, but Sanderson I actually just ended up disliking more every time I read someone else’s books. It doesn’t help that I read 3-4 books of his that suffered from a case of “where did the plot go?”
5: He treats the reader like they’re an idiot. There’s no real foreshadowing unless you’re bludgeoned in the face with it until you’re on the brink of a coma. There’s no subtlety and the only nuance in his books is spoon fed to you like you’re a vegetable. It’s not that every bit of a book has to be dripping with this kind of presentation.
6: He’s an author that has got too big for his britches. His editors are clearly afraid to tell him “no”. Using his most recent book, Oathbringer as an example, you could easily cut 200-250 pages from the book and literally lose nothing. There are so many pointless scenes that do nothing but detract from the actual story.
@Lucas wow. Interesting points. Is there anything you do like/appreciate about Sanderson or his writing?
@Lucas I agree with almost all you stated in your post. Plus the fact that all of the above comes with 6 to 700 pages to get through.
Yaniv Rosenfeld Cohen I like his books (to a small degree) because they’re easy reads .. His most adult entries are basically just barely disguised YA titles. And his outright YA stuff is just plain awful. Firefight and Calamity are some of the worst books I ever read.
@Lucas isn’t that totally undermining what you said previously?
You basically said he’s an under average auther and that you are unimpressed with his work for different reasons
@Yaniv Hence the “to a degree”. I used to enjoy his work but now I can’t wait until he is done with Stormlight so I can never buy another one of his books again.
@Lucas fair enough. If I were to ask you what is your favorite quality adult fantasy book/series what would you say?
@Yaniv I honestly couldn’t say which. I would need to re-read a bunch.
Contenders would be:
David Gemmel’s Troy series.
Brian McClellan’s Powder Mage.
Joe Abercrombie’s First Law or the stand alones (Minus Best Served Cold)
Django Wexlers Shadow Campaigns (Probably The Thousand Names or the second book)
Alex Marshall’s “A Blade Of Black Steel”.
This isn’t a fair question!! Dragonlance or Mistborn, or Redwall. Or Neverwhere. Or Sevenwaters trilogy.or The Once and Future King… I’m so indecisive….
Spoken like a true fantasy lover
And I forgot the Kingkiller Chronicles….
It really isn’t fair to have to pick a favorite. They were all favorites at different points in my life for vastly different reasons… I mean, in all seriousness, some people listen to the radio and certain songs bring back memories of certain points in their life. I can think back to different points and tell you what I was reading at the time. Redwall got me through middle school. Dragonlance got me through high school. I sadly spent most of grad school reading A Song of Ice and Fire. The Sevenwaters Trilogy was a summer in college. And I refuse to admit how young I was when I read The Once and Future King, but I should probably reread it now that it’s age-appropriate… I discovered everything Neil Gaiman in college. I discovered Sanderson between getting married and having my first child. THIS IS WHY ITS HARD TO PICK A FAVORITE.
I changed my mind 3 times trying to comment. I fall so deeply into a series when it is still loved by the author. But im going to give the nod to Krynn…. Dragonlance …. because those books got me hooked on epic fantasy in the 80s…and then making and playing characters in the same world….it still holds a special place in my heart.
Malazan Books of the Fallen.
ALL THE BOOKS!!!! This is like picking a favorite kid
YES!
I would say it is The Troy trilogy by David Gemmel. The ending was so satisfying.
Black dagger brotherhood is amazing ?
I love the Tiger’s Curse series by Colleen Houck! It brings you to modern day and the old days of India. Goddesses and more! ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy is by far the best I’ve read in a LONG WHILE.. Didn’t want them to end.. Now going to start reading her “Strange The Dreamer”
Love her books Strange the dreamer is awesome enjoy I’m “patiently” awaiting the next instalment
Robin Hobbs. Terry Brooks, Goodkind, There’s just so so many I couldn’t pick just 1
The Name of The Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
I have this one but have not read it. Thanks Karen!! I’ll put it in my to read pile
Trevor Derry well in that case!!! Here I go….
The Death Gate Cycle, by Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman.
A Song of Ice and Fire is what brought me into the fantasy world.
There are worse ways I suppose
@Zebron I mean I read Chronicle’s of Narnia growing up and Percy Jackson. Martin wrote something that really caught my interest though. Read alot of books but I still think that it’s one of my favorite series
i was concerned you got in through Twilight or something
Mine was Robert Jordan I didn’t come up for Air for months lol. Then he died before the last books were written but he had Brandon Sanderson finish them
Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series. Have them all, (All 41) many signed. Nothing compares!
Me too!! I love Terry Pritchett. I was sad to,learn of his death. I can’t even pick a favorite character. But Death is one of them. I have all of his books as well. I love to reread them. Do you have a favorite?
@Jean ohhhh that’s so hard to pick!!!