Book Suggestion

[Albertosaurus Rex]

I remember reading the first three Earthsea books some years ago and enjoying them. (It was actually an old omnibus volume called "Earthsea trilogy", back when there just three books.) I have never seen the miniseries, but I remember that my father, who is a big Earthsea fan, absolutely hated it. (Ursula Le Guin herself hated it too, but when he heard that, he remarked that he didn't like the more recent Earthsea books either.)

Anyway, I would indeed give the books a shot.

[Nuytsia]

It was actually an old omnibus volume called "Earthsea trilogy", back when there just three books

Hey I just picked that up at a secondhand book stall! I've never read anything by Le Guin and I knew she has a great reputation.

[Atthis]

Would you believe it, I happen to be reading my way through the Earthsea books at the moment! My version is The Earthsea Quartet, though. I've only just read about two thirds of A Wizard of Earthsea, and so far so good. The writing style is certainly different from Hobb's! And I'm finding the plot strangely unpredictable. Not that I expect to be able to guess what's going to happen next - hmmm, I'm not really sure what I mean here...

I thought this thread might be a good place to ask, has anyone has read the Night Angel trilogy by Brent Weeks? A friend of mine is raving about them, but past experience has taught me to be wary of trusting his taste in books. If you have read them, are they worth a look?

[Farseer]

I thought this thread might be a good place to ask, has anyone has read the Night Angel trilogy by Brent Weeks? A friend of mine is raving about them, but past experience has taught me to be wary of trusting his taste in books. If you have read them, are they worth a look?

I'm a few chapters into the first book so will let you know what I think soon, Atthis. My teenage sons have been on my back about it for a while now and so I promised I'd make an effort to finally get to it 'in the next lot of school holidays' (which is now, so I no longer have an excuse!).

I also wanted to read them as the first book of BW's second series has recently been released, and will arrive here soon from The Book Depository. I bought the hardback from there for nearly half the price it would have cost me to buy the larger, display paperback at Angus and Robertson .

[Atthis]

Oh, great, Farseer! I'm looking forward to hearing your opinion.

I've only just discovered The Book Depository after visiting this forum. And you're right, the prices are unbelievable! I immediately bought four books for only $45! Something tells me my days of buying books in regular bookstores is over. I've also discovered that spending a bit of time on the "Watch people shop" page is a great way to discover some interesting (and some bizarre!) books to put on my "to read" list. But you have to be careful - it can become addictive!

[Farseer]

Oh, great, Farseer! I'm looking forward to hearing your opinion.

I'm not sure if my opinion is going to be worth much, especially in this case, because I don't know what to tell you except that I think Robin Hobb has ruined all fantasy for me for all time.

I am part-way through the second book of the Night Angel trilogy and have gone so far as to tell my sons that "I hate these books!" (more than a few times, while intending to put down the books and never pick them up again!).

I like some of the characters and even the storyline to some extent, but I don't enjoy the way the story is being told, though I understand the author is going for the 'action, action, action' approach to keep readers interested. It chops and changes, is hard to follow in some places and I also find it predictable.

There are so many sentences with words left out of them that it irritates me no end, and there is even a fleeting reference to a 'Kevin' within the actual text of the first book BUT there is no Kevin character in the plot at all. I found out after I read the first book that Kevin is the name of Brent's older brother. Possibly Brent told Kevin he'd throw a random sentence about him in the book and then challenged him to find it?!

The thing that bothers me most though, is that I consider it pretty much a re-run of Robin's work but just in a different setting with lots of twists and tweaks. Among many other similarities, the references to cats and wolves makes me groan and one of the characters is just a modern, cooler version of Chade, right down to his pockmarked face. And, yes, there's even a prophet and an assassin's apprentice but that's all I can say without spoilers!

Still, I may be being overly harsh, and I certainly can't make my sons see my point of view and they, too, have read the RotE books. They just agree that, yes, Robin has ruined me and I should get over it and enjoy the story for itself! This all having been said, I would recommend you read it (talk about a post full of contradiction !) and I will continue to read it as well, despite wanting to stop....here's hoping I will be proven wrong!

[Albertosaurus Rex]

Wow, that's pretty harsh. That being said, the review over at SF Site states that it should appeal to fans of authors like Robin Hobb or Joe Abercrombie, so apparently you are not the only one to notice the similarities.

['thul]

chop away enough details, and almost any two stories can be judged similar...

[Farseer]

chop away enough details, and almost any two stories can be judged similar...

Yes, I have to admit that this is so, which is why I think I may be being a bit harsh !

Possibly some of these similar elements are also shared extensively throughout the fantasy genre (?) and, as I said to my boys, it's difficult to write or create something entirely original (in any genre) as, essentially, we all experience, or are exposed to, similar life experiences no matter where or when we've lived. Even if the characters or settings change somewhat, many themes must still exist to make it relevant or understood and are therefore not 'new' but 'made over'.

No doubt you'll all go out and read these now, and LOVE them and though I don't overly like them myself, I could see why others would, and why they are quickly acquiring a broad fan base.

[Atthis]

Wow, thanks for going to the trouble of such a detailed review, especially when you clearly aren't enjoying the books!

I'm not sure if my opinion is going to be worth much, especially in this case, because I don't know what to tell you except that I think Robin Hobb has ruined all fantasy for me for all time.

I know what you mean. I've even found there are a number of books I like considerably less after having read Robin's books! If I go back to them now, I find the characters poorly written and the prose amateurish. But I also think it's true that you have to read a book in the right frame of mind. For me, what I'm expecting from a book can make a huge difference to how I respond to it.

I am part-way through the second book of the Night Angel trilogy and have gone so far as to tell my sons that "I hate these books!" (more than a few times, while intending to put down the books and never pick them up again!).

Well, that's a strong statement! But does the fact that you keep picking them up again at least mean that you still want to know what's going to happen next?

I like some of the characters and even the storyline to some extent, but I don't enjoy the way the story is being told, though I understand the author is going for the 'action, action, action' approach to keep readers interested. It chops and changes, is hard to follow in some places and I also find it predictable.

Hmmm, predictable is never good.

There are so many sentences with words left out of them that it irritates me no end, and there is even a fleeting reference to a 'Kevin' within the actual text of the first book BUT there is no Kevin character in the plot at all. I found out after I read the first book that Kevin is the name of Brent's older brother. Possibly Brent told Kevin he'd throw a random sentence about him in the book and then challenged him to find it?!

Now I don't like the sound of that: sentences with words left out of them. As in typos/mistakes? Now that's just sloppy. But I like your theory about the random "Kevin sentence".

The thing that bothers me most though, is that I consider it pretty much a re-run of Robin's work but just in a different setting with lots of twists and tweaks. Among many other similarities, the references to cats and wolves makes me groan and one of the characters is just a modern, cooler version of Chade, right down to his pockmarked face. And, yes, there's even a prophet and an assassin's apprentice but that's all I can say without spoilers!

Still, I may be being overly harsh, and I certainly can't make my sons see my point of view and they, too, have read the RotE books. They just agree that, yes, Robin has ruined me and I should get over it and enjoy the story for itself! This all having been said, I would recommend you read it (talk about a post full of contradiction !) and I will continue to read it as well, despite wanting to stop....here's hoping I will be proven wrong!

I had no idea there were so many similarities to Robin's stuff! And after all that, you still think I should read them! Ha ha! I think maybe I'll borrow them from the library, or from my friend who suggested them in the first place. But I won't be in a hurry about it. And I certainly won't buy them!
I really don't like the covers, anyway.