What other fantasy books do YOU read?

[Galadriel]

Originally Posted by Thinlómien

I have almost finished Neil Gaiman's American Gods and I have to say the guy is genius.

You do? Then you MUST read 'Good Omens'. It's a collab between Gaiman and Pratchett.

[Kitanna]

I read Games of Thrones by George R.R. Martin recently. At first I liked it...that quickly changed and I refused to stop reading it because I had come too far. I could go on for hours as to why I can't stand Martin or his work, but I'll stick to the fact the man has an interesting idea, but ruins it by having boring characters who are almost all the same in ambitions and personality. I really liked Ned Stark, but for those who have read well... I watched the first two episodes of the show and found it as boring as the book.

So to cleanse my literary palette by reading copious amounts of Terry Pratchett. I got into a few books because of Downs recommendations, but lately I've pretty much solely been living on the Disc. I must thank this site for pointing me in that directions because my life is greatly enhanced with Rincewind, Vimes, and Vetinari in it.

[Nogrod]

Funny to be about on the exact opposite opinion with Kit.

I have only now realised that I have been a waay too busy with all my work that it takes a major operation and the following sick-leave for me to have time to read books again. But I have enjoyed Mr. Martin's A Game of Thrones. Although I do agree with Kit in that many of the main characters seem to have more or less one sided minds in sharing similar ambitions. But I do like it nevertheless.

Terry Pratchett and his Discworld I have found quite yawning reading. It has all the things that could make very fun reading but somehow I'm not impressed (after reading two books years ago). I mean it's like a joke that has gotten way too long. They're kind of witty and hilarious, but then again I do find them failing to be anything else. But surely I can be misguided in here as I have only read the two first ones... from what, fifty?


PS. A reason to love George R. Martin: he is able to kill off his main characters every once in a while thus making the books much more "realistic" and kind of breaking the phantasy genre where every well intending hero against his own will will prevail in the end (or if he dies a martyr his cause will prevail). I just love it how he makes fool of me the reader and reminds me that there are tales much more interesting than fairy-tales...

[Pitchwife]

I sort of see where you're coming from about Pratchett, Nog; he's a bit of an acquired taste, but I've found he gets better with age (as long as he still manages to battle Alzheimer's, at least). You might like to try The Wee Free Men and A Hat Full of Sky, if you haven't yet - there's a poet's heart beating in these. If you like them, anything else with Granny Weatherwax in it - that woman rocks!

[Nogrod]

Originally Posted by Pitchwife

You might like to try The Wee Free Men and A Hat Full of Sky, if you haven't yet - there's a poet's heart beating in these. If you like them, anything else with Granny Weatherwax in it - that woman rocks!

Thanks for the hint. As this might turn out the "summer of reading" after a long time, I might actually try to get a hold of those to see if my mind changes...

[Kitanna]

Originally Posted by Nogrod

Thanks for the hint. As this might turn out the "summer of reading" after a long time, I might actually try to get a hold of those to see if my mind changes...

I really didn't like him much at first. I felt like I had been dropped into an inside joke, but I read one of the books regarding the city watch and came to understand things better. I think becoming a fan of Pratchett's depends on what you end up reading first. There are a lot and some books aren't great, but there are others that are. He can be hit or miss for a lot of people so I get why some find him boring to read.

A reason to love George R. Martin: he is able to kill off his main characters every once in a while thus making the books much more "realistic" and kind of breaking the phantasy genre where every well intending hero against his own will will prevail in the end (or if he dies a martyr his cause will prevail). I just love it how he makes fool of me the reader and reminds me that there are tales much more interesting than fairy-tales...

I went into reading Game of Thrones knowing this from my boyfriend and while that's a great way to tell a story I still don't think he does it well. I feel like Martin has a lot of missed opportunities. Characters like Ned and Robert were good, but I felt everyone else, even the young girls, had that same sort of middle-aged man mindset and none were written to reflect age or gender. My boyfriend and my friend has told me what else happens and it's a captivating story, but I don't care for his writing style at all. Sometimes I think I just read way too much into these things.

[Galadriel]

Originally Posted by Kitanna

I went into reading Game of Thrones knowing this from my boyfriend and while that's a great way to tell a story I still don't think he does it well. I feel like Martin has a lot of missed opportunities. Characters like Ned and Robert were good, but I felt everyone else, even the young girls, had that same sort of middle-aged man mindset and none were written to reflect age or gender. My boyfriend and my friend has told me what else happens and it's a captivating story, but I don't care for his writing style at all. Sometimes I think I just read way too much into these things.

Middle-ages man mindset? I really don't think so. Cersei, Catelyn, Sansa, etc. very much behaved their own age and gender. Of course, they're very, very different, and Sansa seemed a bit too delusional in the first couple of books, but other than that I didn't see a problem with Martin's characterisation.

If there's one complaint I have about the series, it's his pessimism about humanity. He portrays everyone as evil or selfish, with no regard for anyone but themselves and/or a couple of others. The only character I thought was free form evil was Brienne. I mean, sure, you get sick of people being black and white, but there is some good in this world, and that's a fact. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the fact that he hasn't done the typical 'good vs evil' cliché, and I think that most of his characters are well thought-out, but give these guys a break, man. At least a few characters should be leaning towards their good side.