Well, I'm only about 180 or so pages into the second book, so except for Daenarys, those other two haven't gotten much mention, besides Jaime just being a total dick.Stekepanne5 said:
Favorite book series
- Thread starter Elfgore
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Dragonlance is the best. I can't even remember how many times I've read them.BishopofAges said:
Otherweis the Belgariad is good (Eddings)
along with The Discworld (TP)
Gentleman Bastards series(Scott Lynch)
and The Hitchhkers Guide To The Galaxy (Douglas Adams... duh)
Axolotl said:
Xenmas is kind of missing the point in that explanation, IMO. For me, the most awesome thing about this system is a result of the method of performing magic. You cast spells by describing the desired effect in a language far more robust than our own (presumably your unconscious mind is doing the translating between words and actual world manipulation), and the only limitations on what you can do come from the limitations of your vocabulary and, as Xenmas said, the fact that magic is powered by physical stamina and costs the same amount as it would have to perform the same task without magic. You can perform with magic literally anything you can think of, as long as it would have been theoretically possible to do it without magic and using only your body's store of energy.TheSuperiorXemnas said:
How do you kill a man with magic? You could levitate a pebble and put it on a collision course with his temple. You could force his heart to stop beating, or create a short-circuit in his brain. You could break a bunch of his bones, set him on fire or hold his nose and mouth closed until he suffocates. Or, if you knew a lot about human physiology you could just pinch off an artery sending blood to the brain, which presumably takes no more energy than "lifting an ink-laden pen", to quote one of the books (I think the first). But remember, lifting that pen with magic would actually tire you less than doing so without magic, because the normal way requires you to support the pen with your arm, which you then also need to lift. And your arm weighs a lot more than a pen.
This system is awesome because it's completely open-ended, and it upends the standard "science and magic don't mix" cliche seemingly effortlessly. Scientific knowledge is an invaluable asset to a magic user in this world, because magic is just using this new force to manipulate the world around you within the laws of physics.
Book of the New Sun for me, although I'm also a huge fan of the Latro books. Gene Wolfe FTW, basically.
Aiedail and TheSuperiorXemnas that's the funniest thing I've ever heard. Eragon's system is illogical. How can you heal internal injuries and be cost the same amount of energy when there;s more than one way to heal that? I suspect you haven't read Mistborn or Prince of Nothing. Now those are intriguing magic systems that work perfectly and logically, especially in Mistborn.
The Dresden Files, hands down. The characters are flawed and capable of mistake, yet absolutely ooze life. The settings are so well described that you can see them in your mind's eye, as if you remember them first hand. And the narration makes me picture Harry sitting there, in some post series room, casually describing the best and worst moments of some of the worlds brightest and darkest days to me.
Also, Mouse.
Also, Mouse.
I loved the Millennium Series by Steig Larrson. Yeah there was a considerable hype surrounding them but I sat down to read them without knowing anything substantial concerning the books and really got into the series.
I've seen the Swedish films and they were are fairly good representation of the books, I wonder if the up coming US version will be to.
I've seen the Swedish films and they were are fairly good representation of the books, I wonder if the up coming US version will be to.
The magic system in Eragon is a ripoff of True Name magic (fom D&D, Earthsea and I don't even know how many other books/settings) and Psionics (general psychic abilities; the mind probing, the telekinesis, the mind EVERYTHING). Also, despite what the books say, it does not take an equal amount of energy to accomplish something through magic as it does to do it physically-mentally. The more powerful a magician you are, the more you can accomplish- even Eragon could barely lift a pebble when he first tried. Either he's a flimsy bastard, or things don't work the way Paolini describes. There's nothing original or particularly intriguing about it, or the rest of the books.TheSuperiorXemnas said:
That is not, of course, going to stop me from reading the last book, just to see how the mess ends.
The Jack West Jr. series by Matthew Reilly
Seven Ancient Wonders (7 Deadly Wonders in the USA)
Six Sacred Stones
Five Greatest Warriors
The Scarecrow series by Matthew Reilly is also awesome!
Ice Station
Area 7
Scarecrow
Hell Island (short book only in Australia)
Scarecrow Returns (recently released in Australia, will be released early next year in USA)
Yeah, in fact ALL of Matthew Reilly's books are nothing short of epic!
Seven Ancient Wonders (7 Deadly Wonders in the USA)
Six Sacred Stones
Five Greatest Warriors
The Scarecrow series by Matthew Reilly is also awesome!
Ice Station
Area 7
Scarecrow
Hell Island (short book only in Australia)
Scarecrow Returns (recently released in Australia, will be released early next year in USA)
Yeah, in fact ALL of Matthew Reilly's books are nothing short of epic!
Obviously I'm going to say the Discworld, Terry Pratchett's long into a serious case of Alzheimer's disease, unable to type or write, and he's still knocking out books better than 99% of 'serious' writers, in my opinion. (Which bugs me too, because he (a) mentions dragons and swords, he's written off by anyone into 'literature', and (b) that he's actually funny, he's not allowed the respect of being serious too.)
Admit to not really getting on with the Tiffany Aching books, but Snuff is a sterling return to form I think, and from a man who's tragically slowly losing him mind, it's amazing.
Aside from him, I guess it's not particularly a series, but I have a few books by Charlie Higson, formerly co-creator of the Fast Show among other comedy classics. Turns out he's a really good dark thriller author, and on top of that he's started writing for kids/teens, but he's not patronising about it. I'm currently reading the 2nd in his 'Dead' series, where something has wiped out all the over 14s in the world, except that some of them have come back to feed on the living.
Yes it's zombies again, but he really puts across the blend of fear and excitement, of having the world to yourself without rules, but the terror that could cause you as a kid whose lost every adult in their life.
Admit to not really getting on with the Tiffany Aching books, but Snuff is a sterling return to form I think, and from a man who's tragically slowly losing him mind, it's amazing.
Aside from him, I guess it's not particularly a series, but I have a few books by Charlie Higson, formerly co-creator of the Fast Show among other comedy classics. Turns out he's a really good dark thriller author, and on top of that he's started writing for kids/teens, but he's not patronising about it. I'm currently reading the 2nd in his 'Dead' series, where something has wiped out all the over 14s in the world, except that some of them have come back to feed on the living.
Yes it's zombies again, but he really puts across the blend of fear and excitement, of having the world to yourself without rules, but the terror that could cause you as a kid whose lost every adult in their life.
Harry Potter, Philip Pullman's Dark Materials when I was younger (Harry Potter still kinda applies now). But more recently than that probably the Women of the Otherworld series.
Since they are connected via a few reoccuring characters, I'm gunna say
Slaughterhouse five
Breakfast of Champions
Cat's Cradle
by Kurt Vonnegut
Slaughterhouse five
Breakfast of Champions
Cat's Cradle
by Kurt Vonnegut
