Reading anything good?

lonestar50

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Might as well get the book thread started over here.

I'm still reading City of Brass. I haven't read a fantasy for awhile and I was in the mood to start one. Took awhile to get into but I think I'll continue the trilogy.

Nahri has never believed in supernatural magic. Certainly, she has power; on the streets of eighteenth-century Cairo, this female protagonist is a con woman of unsurpassed talent. But she knows better than anyone that the trades she uses to get by—palm readings, zars, and a mysterious gift for healing—are all tricks, both the means to the delightful end of swindling Ottoman nobles and a reliable way to survive.

But when Nahri accidentally summons Dara, an equally sly, darkly mysterious djinn warrior, to her side during one of her cons, this portal fantasy adventure catapults her into a world she’s forced to reconsider her beliefs. For Dara tells Nahri an extraordinary tale: across hot, windswept sands teeming with creatures of fire and rivers where the mythical marid sleep, past ruins of once-magnificent human metropolises and mountains where the circling birds of prey are more than what they seem, lies Daevabad, the legendary city of brass―a hidden city to which Nahri is irrevocably bound.

In Daevabad, within gilded brass walls laced with enchantments and behind the six gates of the six djinn tribes, old resentments and political intrigue run deep. And when Nahri decides to enter this world, her arrival threatens to ignite a war that has been simmering for centuries.

Spurning Dara’s warning of the treachery surrounding her, she embarks on a hesitant friendship with Alizayd, an idealistic prince who dreams of rebellion. All too soon, Nahri learns that true power is fierce and brutal. That magic cannot shield her from the dangerous web of court politics in this high fantasy world. That even the cleverest of schemes can have deadly consequences.
 

BelemNole

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Might as well get the book thread started over here.

I'm still reading City of Brass. I haven't read a fantasy for awhile and I was in the mood to start one. Took awhile to get into but I think I'll continue the trilogy.

Nahri has never believed in supernatural magic. Certainly, she has power; on the streets of eighteenth-century Cairo, this female protagonist is a con woman of unsurpassed talent. But she knows better than anyone that the trades she uses to get by—palm readings, zars, and a mysterious gift for healing—are all tricks, both the means to the delightful end of swindling Ottoman nobles and a reliable way to survive.

But when Nahri accidentally summons Dara, an equally sly, darkly mysterious djinn warrior, to her side during one of her cons, this portal fantasy adventure catapults her into a world she’s forced to reconsider her beliefs. For Dara tells Nahri an extraordinary tale: across hot, windswept sands teeming with creatures of fire and rivers where the mythical marid sleep, past ruins of once-magnificent human metropolises and mountains where the circling birds of prey are more than what they seem, lies Daevabad, the legendary city of brass―a hidden city to which Nahri is irrevocably bound.

In Daevabad, within gilded brass walls laced with enchantments and behind the six gates of the six djinn tribes, old resentments and political intrigue run deep. And when Nahri decides to enter this world, her arrival threatens to ignite a war that has been simmering for centuries.

Spurning Dara’s warning of the treachery surrounding her, she embarks on a hesitant friendship with Alizayd, an idealistic prince who dreams of rebellion. All too soon, Nahri learns that true power is fierce and brutal. That magic cannot shield her from the dangerous web of court politics in this high fantasy world. That even the cleverest of schemes can have deadly consequences.
I finished City of Brass but didn't continue on.
However I really liked her "The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi"
 

lonestar50

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Dec 21, 2022
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I finished City of Brass but didn't continue on.
However I really liked her "The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi"
I've heard City of Brass series gets better as it goes. I enjoyed Amina al-Sirafi as well. I think the second book in the series is coming out this summer.

I didn't realize the two books are set in the same universe.
 

BelemNole

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I've heard City of Brass series gets better as it goes. I enjoyed Amina al-Sirafi as well. I think the second book in the series is coming out this summer.

I didn't realize the two books are set in the same universe.
I'll have to try the second book
 

95Hawk

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Nov 21, 2001
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Just finished David Baldacci’s “Hope Rises”. It’s the 2nd book of the Walter Nash series. It took a bit to get into this 2nd book, but then the last 1/2 was a fast read.
 
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hopefultiger13

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Aug 20, 2008
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First two are a big rough around the edges but it's a good series.
Agree 100%. As Butcher himself has said, when he started the series, he was still learning to write. He apparently had a hell of a time getting a publisher to pick him up. The 3rd book (Grave Peril... I THINK) is a much better read, but the series really hits it's stride in #4 Summer Knight. That's a good book and it only gets better from there. I didn't love Ghost Story, but it was OK. Everything else has been solid.

Here's a teaser for you. Early in the series a fellow writer bet Butcher that he couldn't make a bondage sex scene plot relevant. He did in Death Masks (Book 5).
 

AFM22

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Oct 31, 2022
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I got halfway through Friends by Fredrik Backman. It was good, but I have been feeling pretty burned out lately.

Before that I read Seascraper and it was really good.
 

tigres88

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Aug 7, 2022
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Might as well get the book thread started over here.

I'm still reading City of Brass. I haven't read a fantasy for awhile and I was in the mood to start one. Took awhile to get into but I think I'll continue the trilogy.

Nahri has never believed in supernatural magic. Certainly, she has power; on the streets of eighteenth-century Cairo, this female protagonist is a con woman of unsurpassed talent. But she knows better than anyone that the trades she uses to get by—palm readings, zars, and a mysterious gift for healing—are all tricks, both the means to the delightful end of swindling Ottoman nobles and a reliable way to survive.

But when Nahri accidentally summons Dara, an equally sly, darkly mysterious djinn warrior, to her side during one of her cons, this portal fantasy adventure catapults her into a world she’s forced to reconsider her beliefs. For Dara tells Nahri an extraordinary tale: across hot, windswept sands teeming with creatures of fire and rivers where the mythical marid sleep, past ruins of once-magnificent human metropolises and mountains where the circling birds of prey are more than what they seem, lies Daevabad, the legendary city of brass―a hidden city to which Nahri is irrevocably bound.

In Daevabad, within gilded brass walls laced with enchantments and behind the six gates of the six djinn tribes, old resentments and political intrigue run deep. And when Nahri decides to enter this world, her arrival threatens to ignite a war that has been simmering for centuries.

Spurning Dara’s warning of the treachery surrounding her, she embarks on a hesitant friendship with Alizayd, an idealistic prince who dreams of rebellion. All too soon, Nahri learns that true power is fierce and brutal. That magic cannot shield her from the dangerous web of court politics in this high fantasy world. That even the cleverest of schemes can have deadly consequences.
Read this series last year and really enjoyed it- it got better as the books went on.

I was telling some of the other libs the other day, I've been reading litrpg/progression fantasy lately has palate cleanser or popcorn read after so much high/epic fantasy. My favorite so far has been Cradle- its FANTASTIC.

I was super disappointed in strength of the few, but the Suneater series had a new book come out last year and that's a really good fun scifi with epic fantasy elements as well.

I'll read standalones as well when I need a break (though I typically prefer trilogies) and really enjoyed the Raven Scholar last year as well (this I considered a standalone because its the first book in a new trilogy lol).
 

lonestar50

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Dec 21, 2022
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Read this series last year and really enjoyed it- it got better as the books went on.

I was telling some of the other libs the other day, I've been reading litrpg/progression fantasy lately has palate cleanser or popcorn read after so much high/epic fantasy. My favorite so far has been Cradle- its FANTASTIC.

I was super disappointed in strength of the few, but the Suneater series had a new book come out last year and that's a really good fun scifi with epic fantasy elements as well.

I'll read standalones as well when I need a break (though I typically prefer trilogies) and really enjoyed the Raven Scholar last year as well (this I considered a standalone because its the first book in a new trilogy lol).
The last fantasy trilogy I read was Jade City (Green Bone saga) I really liked that one. I'd finish one book and automatically started the next. Usually I get a little worn out and need a break between books.
 
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Aardvark86

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Oct 12, 2021
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Americana

a really outstanding economic history by bhu Srinivasan that seems to surprise in its insight every chapter
 

BelemNole

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Mar 29, 2002
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Read this series last year and really enjoyed it- it got better as the books went on.

I was telling some of the other libs the other day, I've been reading litrpg/progression fantasy lately has palate cleanser or popcorn read after so much high/epic fantasy. My favorite so far has been Cradle- its FANTASTIC.

I was super disappointed in strength of the few, but the Suneater series had a new book come out last year and that's a really good fun scifi with epic fantasy elements as well.

I'll read standalones as well when I need a break (though I typically prefer trilogies) and really enjoyed the Raven Scholar last year as well (this I considered a standalone because its the first book in a new trilogy lol).
Cradle was fun but a bit like watching someone play a video game. There really is little beyond powerup/fight powerup/fight powerup/fight.

Dungeon Crawler Carl is a much better litrpg series as there is real meat to the stories/characters and all the powerups are mostly background info.
 

UrHuckleberry

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Jun 2, 2024
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How far are you in the series if I might ask. It would change the way I answer this.
It has been years and years since I read them. I just remember the first X# of books getting the same long drawn out description of his multi colored beetle, and rugs etc (obviously that didn't last forever). And I still really enjoyed the books, that is just a memory that has stuck with me.
 

UrHuckleberry

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Jun 2, 2024
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Cradle was fun but a bit like watching someone play a video game. There really is little beyond powerup/fight powerup/fight powerup/fight.

Dungeon Crawler Carl is a much better litrpg series as there is real meat to the stories/characters and all the powerups are mostly background info.
DCC was definitely a slow shift over time. The first book/two were much more focused on levels, etc, and as they went on, it became less and less important and the character depth/story being bigger than just their personal experiences became more and more.

Similar to the amount of "knonk" in Carl's voice as it happens ha
 
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PinkShizzle

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I hadn't voluntarily read a book since I was 16, and before that would have been 7th grade (plenty of books in college and grad school that I had no interest in reading).

I decided to give reading a shot again and went with an easy one, Jurassic Park. I'm about 75% of the way through it, not bad.
 

GesterHawk

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Jan 3, 2023
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I hadn't voluntarily read a book since I was 16, and before that would have been 7th grade (plenty of books in college and grad school that I had no interest in reading).

I decided to give reading a shot again and went with an easy one, Jurassic Park. I'm about 75% of the way through it, not bad.
That has been on of my favorites since I was 12.
 
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PinkShizzle

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That has been on of my favorites since I was 12.
The movie was one of my favorites as a kid and I've always been kind of curious about the book. It seemed like a good one to start with to get back into things.

The deaths in the book are pretty descriptively graphic. Death by dino is not good but Nedry's was a really bad way to go.
 
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GesterHawk

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The movie was one of my favorites as a kid and I've always been kind of curious about the book. It seemed like a good one to start with to get back into things.

The deaths in the book are pretty descriptively graphic. Death by dino is not good but Nedry's was a really bad way to go.
The dick deserved it.

If you have seen the first 3 Jurassic Park movies you can see bits of the first book in all of them.

What they cut from the book to make the movie would have been criminal if the movie wasn't so damn good.
 
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GesterHawk

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The movie was one of my favorites as a kid and I've always been kind of curious about the book. It seemed like a good one to start with to get back into things.

The deaths in the book are pretty descriptively graphic. Death by dino is not good but Nedry's was a really bad way to go.
I've read most of the Michael Crichton books, at least the ones released before he died, and they are all pretty solid and pretty easy reads considering the topics and the science in them.

Even Timeline was decent.
 

PinkShizzle

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The dick deserved it.

If you have seen the first 3 Jurassic Park movies you can see bits of the first book in all of them.

What they cut from the book to make the movie would have been criminal if the movie wasn't so damn good.
Yes, he 100% did.

I noticed that, mainly stuff from Jurassic Park but definitely little things and moment from The Lost World and Jurassic Park 3, which I thought was kind of cool.
 
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o_wausauhawk

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Jan 2, 2023
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I finished The Stench of Honolulu by Jack Handey. It's absurdly stupid & funny.

About halfway through Fantastic Land by Mike Bockoven. It's solid so far.
 
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