After a long period of no magic fantasy books, ive been reading 'In the shadow of lightning' and absolutely loving it. what would some other books i might enjoy? If you read ITSOL how did you like it?
After a long period of no magic fantasy books, ive been reading 'In the shadow of lightning' and absolutely loving it. what would some other books i might enjoy? If you read ITSOL how did you like it?
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I would highly recommend the "Mistborn" series by Brandon Sanderson. (Trilogy) - not exactly magic
There's also "Sword of change" series by Patricia bay (Trilogy) - lightly magic
"Sword of truth" series by Terry Goodkind (12 books-ish) - plenty of magic
not exactly magic
I'm not sure how much Sanderson you've read, but there's a conversation in one of the Era 2 Mistborn books where 2 characters from different magic systems are arguing that what they use isn't magic, it's just normal "how the world works" stuff and the other is flabbergasted that they can't see the insane things that the other does is magic. One of my favorite light moments from his books.
I will withhold my opinion of the "Sword of Truth" series. I bought the first 3 because I'd heard good things. I read the first and decided to just donate all three instead of continuing to read.
I really wish I had skipped the Sword of Truth series.
Let me recommend the Gentlemen Bastards series starting with Lies of Locke Lamora. They're fantasy heist books.
I mean, I really liked the first 90 pages or so. Goodkind clearly can write well. He'd occasionally forget himself and start doing some real character work or the characters would sit and talk a bit and do some world building. But then he's realize he needed to move the story along and he clearly doesn't know how to do that so he'd have a wizard pop out of the bushes (literally at least once) and just say "hey, we got to move this story along. Let's go do this thing now." He can write, but he doesn't know how to tell a story. Don't even get me started with how he shoehorns in the call to action for the hero in the first book. It's like papers I'd write in college where I had a bunch of good parts but it's no cohesive so I'd half-ass some connecting bits to frankenstein it together. It's technically passable, but not a good overall work.
And I've heard the Gentlemen Bastards series mentioned a few times recently so I'll need to put it on my list. I'm working my way through Raymond E. Feist right now. The first series just feels so much like a DnD campaign (because it literally is) and I love it.
I only heard of Sanderson when he started on the Wheel of Time. Is Mistborn the best place to start reading him?
I do believe the Mistborn series is exemplary in showcasing his writing. He's great with interacting with the world and making characters "discover" it in a way few authors do. Mostly by making them question and want to learn. I.E. "I got this ability, but what can I do with it"
The series is also pretty standalone and was my first experience with him. It encouraged me to read more of his material, so hopefully, it will for you as well!
Awesome, thanks for the recommendation. I know what I'm getting myself for Christmas now 🌝