AngryFrozenWater
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Post by AngryFrozenWater on Jul 13, 2023 12:44:41 GMT
I've read "Tree and Leaf" by Tolkien, edited by his son, Christopher. This little book is divided in four parts. The intention of the book is to explain Tolkien's (what we call now) fantasy books and the fantasy genre in general. The first part is an essay called "On Fairy-stories", which was used for a 1939 lecture. Back in the day, fairy-stories were not treated as a serious genre. Today the situation is totally different. However, this essay was written back in the day when the closest examples of such stories were either obscure, written by authors only known at the time, or written for children. The examples used in the essay don't ring a bell for me or to me sound like explaining that the sky is blue. I also have a book about the history of that same essay, which I didn't read yet. Maybe I will change my mind after that, but this essay is definitely not written for me. The second part is a poem called "Mythopoeia", which is Greek for "Mythos-making". It is a reaction to C.S. Lewis' statement that myths were "lies breathed through silver". Again, these arguments are alien to me. And I certainly don't understand what "God" has to do with writing stories, which include mythology (other than a god or gods that are part of that mythology). The third part is a short story, called "Leaf by Niggle". I've read several interpretations by others of this story, but this is what I think of it. It is very unlike Tolkien's other writings, because it is set in the time it was released (1945). And that is fine, because no archaic English is used. The story, about an artist obsessed by painting detailed leaves on trees, feels almost recursive. At one point it feels that he was in a psychiatric ward, were two voices were talking to him. In the end it feels like he is part of his own painting. The last part is "the Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son", published in 1953. One of the first things that struck me was that there were parts in foreign languages (like old Norse and I guess Latin) that were not translated for the reader. So, I skipped the whole thing. I think the short story ("Leaf by Niggle") is the best part of the book. It looks like I am not part of the target audience for the rest. To be clear, I didn't read the book on the left in the picture below yet. It just happens that I bought it at the same time as "Tree and Leaf".
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mousestalker
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Post by mousestalker on Jul 14, 2023 16:57:40 GMT
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Iakus
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Post by Iakus on Jul 14, 2023 22:16:44 GMT
Continuing m exploration of books for younger audiences; "Power comes from either the Light or the Dark, lad. Nothing is neutral."
Jeremy has a problem: he randomly turns into a black and white bear cub. The transformations panic his mom, but his father says he knows a wizard who can help. That scares his mother even more.
The volkh wizards once ruled like gods in their power, building the great golden city of Miklagard, establishing kingdoms, and trading with legendary places like Sheba, Chin, and India. Then the Dark arose and the wars destroyed much of the world. Kingdoms fell, cities burned, and the volkhvy were merciless in crushing it.
Master Anthony remains the greatest of the living volkh lords. Can he, will he help Jeremy stop this random changes? And at what price? Why is Jeremy's dad so worried? Isn't the war against darkness over?
Join Jeremy as he enters the world of the volkhvy. A world of mysteries and secrets. Where women walk in shadow and men call lightning at will. Where endless war against the Dark continues. If you liked Harry Potter and the Heroes of Olympus, you'll enjoy this series set in a Rus fantasy world where the lines between Good and Evil are clearly drawn.
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Iakus
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Post by Iakus on Jul 18, 2023 20:24:59 GMT
Back to the Four Horsemen Universe: The Omega War is in full swing. Earth has fallen to General Peepo’s army, and the surviving Human mercenaries have taken refuge at the hidden Winged Hussars’ base in New Warsaw.
As humanity begins to think about how to recover the planet, one thing is obvious—more powerful weapons of war will be needed in the effort. One of the keys to recapturing Earth will be the Raknar of Cartwright’s Cavaliers, but the power sources of many of the giant mecha have become unusable over the course of history.
More are needed, and Alistair Sinclair knows someone who may have a line on where to get them…a secret Science Guild base where they’re being developed for the Mercenary Guild to power the Raknars Peepo has been collecting.
While the Four Horsemen try to hold back the Mercenary Guild forces, Alistair volunteers his Scorpions to track down and bring back the power sources the Raknar need for the assault on Earth. The Scorpions operate by guile, not overwhelming power, but will guile be enough when all the forces of the Mercenary Guild are arrayed against them?
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mousestalker
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Post by mousestalker on Jul 18, 2023 20:51:58 GMT
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Post by dazk on Jul 19, 2023 3:33:07 GMT
Had a pop up as a recommendation to read: Sarah Stone Complete Quadrilogy. I have read mostly books with a male protagonist so thought I'd give these a go as they had a female one and so far the first one has been pretty good. "Sarah Stone. Left for dead. Disfigured. Angry. Get all 4 books today! BOOK 1: SOFT TARGET Nowhere is safe from evil... When an elderly suicide bomber strikes a quiet English village, a once proud nation is brought to its knees. Yet this first attack is just the start of something far greater and much much worse. The days to follow will determine if the United Kingdom has a future, or if it will be reduced to anarchy and ashes. Only one person has a chance to halt the impending terror attacks: damaged ex-solider, Captain Sarah Stone. Sarah despises her own country for what it did to her, and that’s what makes it so hard when she is forced to save it, but when an old enemy takes credit for the attacks, her thirst for vengeance forces her to take action." Finished the four books they get a rating of OK. Story is OK, main character is OK, much of the plot is predictable but it was enjoyable.
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AngryFrozenWater
N5
Sir Nose D'VoidOfFunk
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Post by AngryFrozenWater on Jul 21, 2023 16:04:38 GMT
After enjoying my first audio book, it was now time for "the Hobbit", also read by Andy Serkis. The fun here is that it is kind of the best of two worlds. It is 100% Tolkien's text, with the benefit of great movie-like voice acting. And in my opinion, there is nothing better than Andy Serkis telling Sméagol's riddles in the dark. And Andy does a great job in doing the rest of the book too. Although he is never in a hurry, he keeps the pace and emphasizes the story the right way. Plus I like Andy's humor, which shines through without changing the text. He is awesome. The one thing that I don't like is the sound quality. I tried to figure out if other people had the same problem, but it must be me. Anyway... I fully enjoyed this one. Highly recommended.
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Iakus
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Post by Iakus on Jul 22, 2023 13:25:39 GMT
Trying an alternate history story: Texas never joined the United States, and stayed the independent Republic of Texas. How would things look on the eve of WWII? For seventy years after a devastating war, the Republic of Texas kept to itself. But it would be rude not to attend the international naval review celebrating Britain’s new king, George VI. So with war clouds over Europe, Texas sends the elderly armored cruiser, San Antonio, and her new captain, Karl von Stahlberg.
While making new friends and meeting Texas’ ancient foe, can Karl and his men avoid sparking a war?
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Iakus
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Post by Iakus on Jul 25, 2023 13:13:10 GMT
Now for a little space opera: Millions of years in the future, humanity has been driven out of the Milky Way and now calls the Andromeda Galaxy home. Lost in their murky past are the tales of great knights that held the line against the invasion of a dark force until the rest of humanity could escape their doom. The last and greatest of these knights was Galen Underwood.
Long after that heroic stand, a mercenary by the name of Galen Dwyn has been hired to rescue a kidnapped princess. Enticed by a healthy down payment and a chance to settle an old score, Galen accepts the job, only to find out it's a lot more than he bargained for.
Soon Galen finds himself weaving and dodging through a web of political intrigue as the very forces that chase him have set in motion plans that will throw the galactic alliance into civil war.
To his surprise, he also finds that the rescued princess might not be quite the spoiled brat he rescued from the clutches of her keeper.
Accompanied by the princess, his former mentor, and a snarky AI, Galen sets out to find a way to outsmart entire kingdoms, keep the princess alive, and avert the deaths of millions.
Of course, he'll also learn the reasons behind his namesake's chosen path, as he realizes that the only way to win is Galen's way.
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Beerfish
N7
Little Pumpkin
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Post by Beerfish on Jul 25, 2023 22:19:57 GMT
Just finished the 3rd book in the Expanse series: This was the last of the hard copy books my nephew had bought me for Christmas. I enjoyed the first three enough to go to kindle and buy the entire rest of the series. Most people in the this thread have probably read the entire series. I like the series overall and they are skillful with character creation. This last book they did short change a few characters in my opinion re their story arch ending. I also seriously wanted to slap a few of the 'good guy' characters at times for their naivete and or way of thinking. Now i have to charge my kindle up and get going on book 4.
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Post by dazk on Jul 26, 2023 0:05:09 GMT
Just finished the 3rd book in the Expanse series: This was the last of the hard copy books my nephew had bought me for Christmas. I enjoyed the first three enough to go to kindle and buy the entire rest of the series. Most people in the this thread have probably read the entire series. I like the series overall and they are skillful with character creation. This last book they did short change a few characters in my opinion re their story arch ending. I also seriously wanted to slap a few of the 'good guy' characters at times for their naivete and or way of thinking. Now i have to charge my kindle up and get going on book 4. Book three and series three are both pretty good in my memory but it's been a while especially since I them but I think I know what you are talking about when you say some characters were short changed and slapping a couple of the good characters. If you want to talk without worrying about spoilers head over to this thread I think you are already aware of it: bsn.boards.net/thread/2021/expanse?page=36The books are very different in some ways to the TV Series which I think you have watched, book 4 is one of my favourites but has a lot of extra and different content to Series 4 which was not liked by a lot of people. It's one reason I suggested above it might be worth watching Series 1 to 3 again when you finished book 3. Then after reading book 4 watch series 4 and it will be glaring what the producers/writers/Director did to series 4 which has repercussions for the rest of the TV series.
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Little Pumpkin
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Mass Effect Andromeda, Anthem, Mass Effect Legendary Edition
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Post by Beerfish on Jul 26, 2023 0:27:54 GMT
I have not seen any of the tv series, i think i saw part of a trailer.
I'll probably avoid the tv series until i am done all the books.
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Iakus
N7
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Post by Iakus on Jul 26, 2023 2:46:55 GMT
Just finished the 3rd book in the Expanse series: This was the last of the hard copy books my nephew had bought me for Christmas. I enjoyed the first three enough to go to kindle and buy the entire rest of the series. Most people in the this thread have probably read the entire series. I like the series overall and they are skillful with character creation. This last book they did short change a few characters in my opinion re their story arch ending. I also seriously wanted to slap a few of the 'good guy' characters at times for their naivete and or way of thinking. Now i have to charge my kindle up and get going on book 4. Book three and series three are both pretty good in my memory but it's been a while especially since I them but I think I know what you are talking about when you say some characters were short changed and slapping a couple of the good characters. If you want to talk without worrying about spoilers head over to this thread I think you are already aware of it: bsn.boards.net/thread/2021/expanse?page=36The books are very different in some ways to the TV Series which I think you have watched, book 4 is one of my favourites but has a lot of extra and different content to Series 4 which was not liked by a lot of people. It's one reason I suggested above it might be worth watching Series 1 to 3 again when you finished book 3. Then after reading book 4 watch series 4 and it will be glaring what the producers/writers/Director did to series 4 which has repercussions for the rest of the TV series. I admit Adam Jensen showing up for the second half of Season 1 threw me a bit
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Post by GhostofFuckIt on Jul 29, 2023 21:20:54 GMT
20 years ago, I started The Darkness that Comes Before. I had finished inventorying the Walmart in Powell River, BC. Bought it at a lil bookstore there. Ferry ride to the town had been amazing, seen a jellyfish bloom. Millions of em in deep green water. Was an amazing work trip, beautiful and fun. Waiting in a massive lineup for the ferry back and I open the book. At the back first, as I do. That was the reason I'd bought it, the back wasn't just a blurb about the author and some marketing BS. It was full of appendices, a glossary, and tens of thousands years of languages charted over the history of his world. I also happened to love the book cover. (Sadly that one died from overuse and lending. A good death.) *** I finished The Unholy Consult this morning. The last of what's been written in that world insofar as I know... Wow. First thing I did was get online and look up if there'd be more books or not. That kinda ending. He ends it in, "salt and butchery." Effectively, we lose. Humanity is doomed. Every child will be stillborn. My searching did yield an interesting result. A blog post from the authors brother from 2022. "As for the future of the series, I've heard him say two things, over the years, about how the Second Apocalypse should end:
One was that there would be a third trilogy outlining the blow by blow of 'you know who's' rise. I know outlines exist for such a story, but just outlines.
The other is that the story is finished. That 'The Unholy Consult', is a fitting way to end a sprawling epic about the death of meaning."
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Beerfish
N7
Little Pumpkin
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Mass Effect Andromeda, Anthem, Mass Effect Legendary Edition
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Post by Beerfish on Jul 30, 2023 1:19:55 GMT
20 years ago, I started The Darkness that Comes Before. I had finished inventorying the Walmart in Powell River, BC. I was at powell river for a few days about 5 years ago. I went for a multi day hike with my nieces and nephews on some of the sunshine coast trials. Damn near killed me. lolThe trail my nephew chose was straight up the side of a mountain. Before and after the hike we stayed at a beach camp ground in powell river. We had some GREAT thai food on the last day.
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Iakus
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Post by Iakus on Jul 30, 2023 17:46:42 GMT
My latest Sanderson Kickstarter book has arrived: There is a world. One of endless night, surrounded by an even deeper darkness. Filled with nightmares come to life, twisted shapes that slink to windows and ease open doors, sliding across floors to look down on helpless faces. There is another world. A bright world, so bright it burns. Filled with stacked stones that call forth miracles, raised by callused hands that tremble in their work, drained with each stone lifted, settled, lifted again. Between these worlds two souls connect. Collide. Entwine. A bridge. A path. A road to both worlds changing forever. Yumi has spent her entire life in strict obedience, granting her the power to summon the spirits that bestow vital aid upon her society—but she longs for even a single day as a normal person. Painter patrols the dark streets dreaming of being a hero—a goal that has led to nothing but heartache and isolation, leaving him always on the outside looking in. In their own ways, both of them face the world alone. Suddenly flung together, Yumi and Painter must strive to right the wrongs in both their lives, reconciling their past and present while maintaining the precarious balance of each of their worlds. If they cannot unravel the mystery of what brought them together before it's too late, they risk forever losing not only the bond growing between them, but the very worlds they've always struggled to protect.
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Post by Giant Ambush Beetle on Jul 31, 2023 15:27:28 GMT
The Martyr - The covenant of steel series. Its a trilogy - I just started to read book two and I have to say its the first fantasy book series I do enjoy in over 3 years. Its well written because its the account of a soldier/outlaw who is also a trained scribe known for his wit and skills with words. The Author is skilled enough to pull that off. The characters are believable and flawed, there is no Mary-Sue in this world. What's also interesting is that magic in this book is entirely limited to very rare cases of clairvoyance / future telling. So far all of the events could have easily transpired here in the middle ages. I like how the author describes the battles and skirmishes, they make sense and are very similar to tactics employed in the 14th century I can totally recommend it
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AngryFrozenWater
N5
Sir Nose D'VoidOfFunk
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Post by AngryFrozenWater on Aug 2, 2023 20:21:30 GMT
Books can be expensive. Especially richly illustrated hardcover ones. I stumbled on one that surprised me, given its price of 32 euro. But I had never heard of the author. Still, I took a gamble and bought it. And I have read it. The book is called "The Making of Middle-earth: The Worlds of Tolkien and the Lord of the Rings" by Christopher Snyder. It's a 368 page book, revised in 2022. The 2013 original had a slightly different name. The pages are designed by Amy Wahlfield and Rich Hazelton. Each page feels visibly unique, but still has an uniform style. That sounds like a contradiction, until you browse through the book. There are no white pages. Instead the pages are sepia with brown decorations, although these are printed on white paper, to make sure that the color illustrations and photographs can be mixed and have the correct color. The paper is very thick and almost feels more like cardboard. The illustrations are created by many other artists. Because the cover is stunning (black with silver and gold lettering and decorations), you will find that if you put that book on a table then guests want to examine it sooner or later, whether they know about Tolkien or not. It's without a doubt a conversation piece. I think Tolkien fans may be confused by this book, because of the wide variety of subjects. Most of these are from the perspective of a historian, specialized in medieval history. Also, most topics are an introduction to the world of Tolkien, except chapter 2 ("Tolkien's Middle Ages"), which is in-depth. Given his specialism, that is hardly surprising. In the other chapters, he not only focuses on the popular books (like "the Hobbit", "the Lord of the Rings", "the Silmarillion" and "the Children of Húrin"), but also on some of the movies and other media, culture and counterculture and Tolkien's life. So most of the book is meant as an introduction for those, who are not familiar with Tolkien's work or who are curious to learn a bit more after consuming the movies, TV series or games. The author provides sources to all the topics discussed. He also interviewed or took advice from Tolkien scholars, like Catherine McIlwayne (curator of the Tolkien documents and art) and Tom Shippey (who is considered one of the world's leading academic experts on Tolkien). What I also like is that the author watched the LotR movies with his own daughter (Carys), who also read the books. That may have helped him see the layman's perspective. No book is perfect, and this one is hard to place, but I think it is worth the price. In my opinion, this book can be read by anyone with an interest in Tolkien. Even the die-hard fans may like at least chapter 2 or use this stunning book as a trap to recruit future fans. Highly recommended.
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Post by dazk on Aug 2, 2023 23:29:17 GMT
Books can be expensive. Especially richly illustrated hardcover ones. I stumbled on one that surprised me, given its price of 32 euro. But I had never heard of the author. Still, I took a gamble and bought it. And I have read it. The book is called "The Making of Middle-earth: The Worlds of Tolkien and the Lord of the Rings" by Christopher Snyder. It's a 368 page book, revised in 2022. The 2013 original had a slightly different name. The pages are designed by Amy Wahlfield and Rich Hazelton. Each page feels visibly unique, but still has an uniform style. That sounds like a contradiction, until you browse through the book. There are no white pages. Instead the pages are sepia with brown decorations, although these are printed on white paper, to make sure that the color illustrations and photographs can be mixed and have the correct color. The paper is very thick and almost feels more like cardboard. The illustrations are created by many other artists. Because the cover is stunning (black with silver and gold lettering and decorations), you will find that if you put that book on a table then guests want to examine it sooner or later, whether they know about Tolkien or not. It's without a doubt a conversation piece. I think Tolkien fans may be confused by this book, because of the wide variety of subjects. Most of these are from the perspective of a historian, specialized in medieval history. Also, most topics are an introduction to the world of Tolkien, except chapter 2 ("Tolkien's Middle Ages"), which is in-depth. Given his specialism, that is hardly surprising. In the other chapters, he not only focuses on the popular books (like "the Hobbit", "the Lord of the Rings", "the Silmarillion" and "the Children of Húrin"), but also on some of the movies and other media, culture and counterculture and Tolkien's life. So most of the book is meant as an introduction for those, who are not familiar with Tolkien's work or who are curious to learn a bit more after consuming the movies, TV series or games. The author provides sources to all the topics discussed. He also interviewed or took advice from Tolkien scholars, like Catherine McIlwayne (curator of the Tolkien documents and art) and Tom Shippey (who is considered one of the world's leading academic experts on Tolkien). What I also like is that the author watched the LotR movies with his own daughter (Carys), who also read the books. That may have helped him see the layman's perspective. No book is perfect, and this one is hard to place, but I think it is worth the price. In my opinion, this book can be read by anyone with an interest in Tolkien. Even the die-hard fans may like at least chapter 2 or use this stunning book as a trap to recruit future fans. Highly recommended. Wow beautiful looking book.
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Post by Liadan on Aug 3, 2023 10:40:32 GMT
I just read Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik and i`m currently reading Hope to Die by Cara Hunter.
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Post by GhostofFuckIt on Aug 3, 2023 20:36:09 GMT
I just read Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik Haven't heard that name in a while, had to remind myself. Used to enjoy her Temeraire series, but can't remember much anymore.
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Rererererererereading Furies of Calderon while I wallow in the sad un-existence of having finished a great series and not sure what I want to read next.
Don't suppose any fantasy authors comparable to Martin (first three GoT books) or Rothfuss came out in the past five or so years?
I'm overdone with Sanderson; particularly after going back to Bakker's brutally mature tragedy. I'm leaving Abercrombie's "The Blade Itself" for when I'm in the mood to tackle it properly, and haven't really been paying attention to much else.
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Post by dazk on Aug 4, 2023 0:19:05 GMT
I just read Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik Haven't heard that name in a while, had to remind myself. Used to enjoy her Temeraire series, but can't remember much anymore.
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Rererererererereading Furies of Calderon while I wallow in the sad un-existence of having finished a great series and not sure what I want to read next.
Don't suppose any fantasy authors comparable to Martin (first three GoT books) or Rothfuss came out in the past five or so years?
I'm overdone with Sanderson; particularly after going back to Bakker's brutally mature tragedy. I'm leaving Abercrombie's "The Blade Itself" for when I'm in the mood to tackle it properly, and haven't really been paying attention to much else.
Have you read Jim Butcher's Dresden Files Books? I thought they were excellent. www.jim-butcher.com/books/dresden
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Post by GhostofFuckIt on Aug 4, 2023 0:38:18 GMT
Have you read Jim Butcher's Dresden Files Books? I thought they were excellent. Read, nope, but I'm kinda hoping for medieval-ish fantasy rather than contemporary or say, steampunk settings.
I rather liked the short-lived tv show they did of Dresden Files now you mention it. (Even if apparently most people did not.)
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Post by dazk on Aug 4, 2023 2:01:10 GMT
Have you read Jim Butcher's Dresden Files Books? I thought they were excellent. Read, nope, but I'm kinda hoping for medieval-ish fantasy rather than contemporary or say, steampunk settings.
I rather liked the short-lived tv show they did of Dresden Files now you mention it. (Even if apparently most people did not.)
There is a lot of Medieval Fantasy in it and Faerie stuff, it just also has a Modern-Day component which surprisingly has a Medieval aspect to it but I don't want to spoil anything. Anyway it works and the characters and main story and sub stories are great.
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Post by Iakus on Aug 5, 2023 15:22:49 GMT
Trying out a new series: Eldros Legacy. It's a shared universe revolving around various heroes in a world that used to be ruled by giants until they were overthrown by the other races. Now they seem to be coming back. An interview I saw said the various heroes will eventually have an "Avengers-style teamup" After forty-nine victories in the bloody Night Ring, Khyven the Unkillable is a celebrity gladiator. If he can survive one more battle, King Vamreth will free him and declare him a knight.
But the king doesn’t play fair.
Instead, for Khyven’s fiftieth “battle,” the king orders him to travel through the magical noktum and infiltrate the secret lair of a rebel leader known only as “The Queen in Exile.” All Khyven must do to earn his knighthood is gain the queen’s trust…
…and betray her.
As Khyven struggles to complete his mission, he is caught between a growing respect for a rebel queen who will do anything for her people and a ruthless king who will stop at nothing to crush her.
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