Search results

Yes - It was one of the worst novels I've ever read. Eddings wasn't a good author to start with, but the Elder Gods wasn't even anything like as good as his earlier series like the Elenium or Belgariad. He came up with one story and a small group of characters, and there's only so many times you...

Maybe try some of PKD's other work, such as A Scanner Darkly (which I consider his best novel). Another you might consider is Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes - about a mentally retarded janitor who has his intelligence increased by an experiment, following the success of testing on a mouse...

Actually you're right, probably clever marketing. Instantly puts off those who won't like it, but attracts those who will.

Did you notice that the quote on the front is from Paolini? I think the publishers must really be struggling to find quotes for Brooks now (and I doubt that they'd want to put Hal Duncan's on for some reason).

Nicely put direstraits - pretty much exactly what I would have said, except I'd mention how absolutely awful the ending was of Assassin's Quest, and the pacing was a bit off as well. That ending - the definition of deus ex machina, and the most unoriginal revelation I've ever read in a competent...

I haven't read this series - who's it by? Anyway, the obvious recommendations would be the top three epic fantasy writers at the moment: Steven Erikson - Malazan Book of the Fallen (starting with Gardens of the Moon) - epic in scale, well written, imaginative and unpredictable. It should...

I haven't read much science fiction yet, but the names that come to mind are: Foundation trilogy by Isaac Asimovs (in the early 1950s) Dune by Frank Herbert (1960s) The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester (1957 I think) Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (1932) Flowers for Algernon by...

I'd have to agree with Ainulindale - it'd be helpful if you could say what you've enjoyed in the past. The potential list is far too big (numbering in hundreds at least, if not thousands) to list them all here. I'll just say that you should read Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake - it's the real...

Almost all of those mentioned so far have been epic fantasy, so here are a few suggestions for branching out: Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake Perdido Street Station by China Mieville City of Saints and Madmen by Jeff Vandermeer The Tooth Fairy by Graham Joyce Heroes Die by Matthew Stover Tales...

Yes, maybe you are right, but i have not read anything of A.Bester or M.Moorcock. Maybe you could tell me of some good books from this authors? :) I also liked the other two books in this triology just as good as neuromanser, happy reading! For Alfred Bester I'd start with the Stars My...

It's on my to read pile, but I haven't got round to reading it yet. It looks very interesting, and it's won a lot of awards as well. Gibson's often cited as the father of the cyberpunk genre, but I think actually it was Alfred Bester and Michael Moorcock who really got it started, Gibson just...

It contains the 4 main novels of the Viriconium sequence, The Pastel City, A Storm of Wings, Viriconium Nights and In Viriconium, with an introduction by Neil Gaiman. I think it was just a re-release though.

Hard to say - it'd probably just be Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast, but if he'd been able to complete it and with just a little more magic - along the lines of Graham Joyce. It'd require: A Machievellian antihero - perhaps villain would be a better word than anti-hero, but someone along the lines...

I don't really have a problem with "unpronouncable" names if they're appropriate. Why should there be Western modern names in a setting that's much closer to a medieval European setting, or to a Russian setting, etc. Why shouldn't they come up with their own names, their own styles? As long as...

I think the key difference though between GRRM and Erikson is that Erikson is writing on a far larger scale. Martin has maybe 1/4 of the cast of Erikson, if that, and even in his novels, there isn't always great characterisation (yes the Lannisters, Littlefinger and a few others are very well...

Stover's an excellent author, but I haven't read this by him. I read a couple of Star Wars novels when I was younger, but I don't remember them being exceptional. Most tie-in novels tend not to be great, but there are some very good authors who write them.

Gardens isn't incredible - that's the problem I think a lot of people have. It's decent, competent epic fantasy. But the next few books in the series are incredible . Consequently, a lot of people are dissapointed by GotM, as they assume it will be amazing. There's a general consensus that...

I thought it was a great novel - the only second person novel I've read, and the only hilarious novel I've read with so much depth to it. I can see that it wouldn't appeal to a lot of people, but it's undoubtedly a masterful work of fiction.

Jordan's pretty much the most obvious example here - he went from derivative, but mildly entertaining and displaying some semblance of competence in his first few books, to a truly awful, plotless mess culminating in the disaster of Crossroads of Twilight. Jordan is planning on finishing the...

But it wasn't the simple killing of an innocent that is in no way excusable which would have made it a real flaw in his character. Yes, there were consequences, but it wasn't anything that really has any effect on how you view Er'ril as a person. You're not made to question whether he's good or...