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What are you Reading Now?

Gurkhal

Auror
Well, I've been thinking about historical fiction but left it for various reasons in favor of writing very realistic, or at least more realistic, fantasy. And I've got ideas for both lesser works as well as Magnum Opus for me as an aspiring writer in both a Hellenic and 19th century fantasy setting, the later of which won't be relevant for many years. But dreams comes free.

Totally agree about England being overdone.

I'll probably read a little of both and see which one ignites my imagination more. Same with writing in both of the different eras.
 

Gurkhal

Auror
I can't seem to edit my last post. But one heavy argument against ancient Greece, for which I actually favor the Middle Ages, is that in Greece there's a massive risk that the stoy will turn into a sausage feast and that is something which I very much want to avoid.
 

skip.knox

toujours gai, archie
Moderator
WRT the Middle Ages as a setting, you'll get no argument from me. <grin>

My settings so far have been
Augsburg to a village near Zurich (1700s)
Mojave Desert (this one's a bit of a stray because it's also set in 1950s)
Brittany (1300s)
Dacia to Constantinople (300s)
the Camargue over to the Pyrenees (1100s)
Salzburg into the mountains (most of the book is underground) (1900s)
Sicily to Brunswick (for my next book) (1200s)

So, there's plenty of room in which to play!

But we've gone well off topic, so I'm going to stop there. We can start up a separate thread or talk on our writing threads.
 

Gurkhal

Auror
Also ordered some historical fiction in the form of "The Oathbreaker" by Alaric Longward. He writes in ancient and medieval Germanic territories/Germany and Norse mythological worlds. I haven't got the book yet but I find the change of setting from more well known areas like British Islands or France to be alluring, so I'm hoping it will be good.
 
Universal Harvester by John Darnielle
Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erickson
Dragon Champion by E.E. Knight

I don't think I'm far enough in any of the three to draw real conclusions about what I think about them.

Visited library today. Always nice to do that.
 

skip.knox

toujours gai, archie
Moderator
Just finished The Collector by John Fowles. What a disturbing book. I'll put that sort of ordinary dark up against grimdark any day.

Starting in on The Caine Mutiny now.
 
Love this book/series.

I like it very much so far. I find it to be written, developed and constructed well. I'm also appreciating how female characters are treated like human beings. It's the first book I haven't wanted to be pulled away from in longer than I can remember. The pages fly past. (With many books I've read recently, watching the page numbers go by was about as fun as watching numbers on a treadmill. 0.20 miles... 0.21 miles... 0.22 miles...) This is how reading a book *should* feel.

The total length of the whole series is daunting, I have to say. I had to google the proper reading order and there are a couple conflicting viewpoints.
 

Gurkhal

Auror
Right now I'm reading "War of Vengeance - Warhammer Chronicles" and "Henchmen of Ares". The first is cheap fantasy literature and the second is a book about early ancient Greek warfare from Mycenaean times to the shift from Archaic to Classical Greece during the (first) Greco-Persian War.
 

Svrtnsse

Staff
Article Team
I just finished reading Cailleach~Witch, by Jane Gilheaney Barry (https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07H213DX9). It's a modern day story of a family of Irish witches (Bean Feasa) and their struggle against the curse that binds them to the spirit of the land they live on.

It's not something I'd have picked up normally, but the author is a fellow Irish indie writer, and I decided to have a look because of that. Turns out it's one of the better books I've read in quite some time. It's got a lot of atmosphere, and the vibe of the little irish countryside town feels very authentic.
 
I'm reading Crown of Embers, the second book in a series about a girl chosen by God to do great things. It has adventures, funny moments, romance, and interesting characters. What I like most about this story is the way the author explores religion. The girl is chosen by God but God isn't speaking to her. She has to figure out her destiny when all around there are factions that declare that they know what God's will is, and most of the times the factions aren't in agreement about what God's will is.
 

SoulThief

Scribe
I have started re-reading Terry Brooks' Sword of Shannara. I think the last time I read it was in the 1980s (I dug out my old 1978 copy for the re-read).I cannot say that I am enjoying it now as much as back then, but then we all change. Before that I read Deadhouse Landing by Ian Esslemont and thoroughly enjoyed it. :)
 
I have started re-reading Terry Brooks' Sword of Shannara. I think the last time I read it was in the 1980s (I dug out my old 1978 copy for the re-read).I cannot say that I am enjoying it now as much as back then, but then we all change. Before that I read Deadhouse Landing by Ian Esslemont and thoroughly enjoyed it. :)

Is it similar to the TV series (if you watched it) or did they take creative liberties? I loved the world building there, but the series itself wasn't really for me, especially the love triangle in which two girls sacrifice themselves while the hero goes on adventuring.
 

SoulThief

Scribe
Is it similar to the TV series (if you watched it) or did they take creative liberties? I loved the world building there, but the series itself wasn't really for me, especially the love triangle in which two girls sacrifice themselves while the hero goes on adventuring.
Of the two seasons of the Shannara series, I only watched Season 1. My personal opinion is that they took substantial liberties. They skipped the events of the first book, probably because the first half of the first book reads similarly to Tolkien's Fellowship of the Ring. Then they mangled the plot of Elfstones of Shannara to make the first season. This said, the love triangle did exist. In respect to world-building, Shannara is set about 2000 after "the Great Wars" (i.e. our era), so the ruins of our world are subtler in the books.

All this said, I watched the first season with my daughter who had no knowledge of the books and she loved it.
 
Of the two seasons of the Shannara series, I only watched Season 1. My personal opinion is that they took substantial liberties. They skipped the events of the first book, probably because the first half of the first book reads similarly to Tolkien's Fellowship of the Ring. Then they mangled the plot of Elfstones of Shannara to make the first season. This said, the love triangle did exist. In respect to world-building, Shannara is set about 2000 after "the Great Wars" (i.e. our era), so the ruins of our world are subtler in the books.

All this said, I watched the first season with my daughter who had no knowledge of the books and she loved it.

Sounds like I missed quite a lot from the book by watching the series. I'll pull it to my TBR, I would love to read more about the world building and catch up with the beginning. I'm not opposed to the love triangle, just the sacrificing.
 

SoulThief

Scribe
Sounds like I missed quite a lot from the book by watching the series. I'll pull it to my TBR, I would love to read more about the world building and catch up with the beginning. I'm not opposed to the love triangle, just the sacrificing.

The love triangle/sacrificing is slightly different but I won't ruin it for you :)
 
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