Which, Broken Kingdom or Gentleman *******? Either case, yes. Only caveat is final book (4) for GB hasn't been releasedAbsolute said:
Did lunch ever finish that series? If so I need to revisit. Think I only read two
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Last: 2 days ago by Wolfpac 08
rynning said:
Here's someone's take on ranking Stephen King books: https://screenrant.com/every-stephen-king-book-ranked-best-worst
Of course you have to scroll all the way to the bottom for #1, but it's not a terrible list. The Stand is not #1, which I personally agree with. At least they got the best of The Dark Tower books right at #8.
That ranking is shyte.
That whole page is shyte. Took forever to load and when I got to the bottom it refreshed itself and took me back to the top to start all over.
The Shining is #1 and they consider The Stand and The Stand:Uncut as two different books was all I took from it.Wolfpac 08 said:
That whole page is shyte. Took forever to load and when I got to the bottom it refreshed itself and took me back to the top to start all over.
Backyard Gator said:The Shining is #1 and they consider The Stand and The Stand:Uncut as two different books was all I took from it.Wolfpac 08 said:
That whole page is shyte. Took forever to load and when I got to the bottom it refreshed itself and took me back to the top to start all over.
Not to be a nerd / AKSHULLY, but the stand and the stand uncut are different. Uncut is the unabridged version basically, which King released a few years after the Stand was released and was successful.
King shortened the initial book because, as the story goes in the Uncuts foreword, his editors perhaps wisely told him nobody would be interested in a 1200 page book from a nobody at the time. Uncut is the release of the entire manuscript but critically no major plot points are different or change, we just get a lot more background and information on the characters, their histories and some interesting new encounters and conversations.
I think these days if you read it, you need to get the Uncut version
CNN is an enemy of the state and should be treated as such.
I finished the new one by James S.A. Corey "The Mercy of Gods." It's supposedly that start of a new series - The Captive's War. I enjoyed it and want to see where it goes. I became a fan by watching The Expanse, but have not read those books yet. I'll jump to them at some point.
There is also a novella in The Captive's War universe called "Livesuit" which I'm halfway through.
I'm curious if anyone has read either of these yet.
There is also a novella in The Captive's War universe called "Livesuit" which I'm halfway through.
I'm curious if anyone has read either of these yet.
The Expanse series was great. I liked the tv series too, but the book series is much better. Followed it up with the expanse short stories and then Mercy of Gods. I haven't read Livesuit yet. I really enjoy their writing and world building, and I have high hopes for the Captives War series. Now I'm staying in sci fi universe building mode and am halfway through book 3 of Dune.
Want to read this as well. Have it on my list. My problem is my 'too read' list has 45 entries (and a lot of those are series). Overwhelming because I often struggle with which one to start next….BQRyno said:
The Expanse series was great. I liked the tv series too, but the book series is much better. Followed it up with the expanse short stories and then Mercy of Gods. I haven't read Livesuit yet. I really enjoy their writing and world building, and I have high hopes for the Captives War series. Now I'm staying in sci fi universe building mode and am halfway through book 3 of Dune.
As an example, my current list for sci fi (my fantasy list is far longer):
The Expanse Series
Hyperion
Sun Eater series
Polity Series
Red Rising series
Colony One Mars series
Children of Time
Artificial Wisdom
Expeditionary Forces
Suggestion/opinions always welcome….
I really enjoyed the books of The Expanse but stopped watching the series sometime in season 2 or 3. I just didn't enjoy the way they portrayed Bobbie, or the way the story seemed to be going. With so many other series to watch and books to read, I never got back into it.
My thoughts on your list are that if you want an easy read, ExForce is a good one to start with. Both The Expense and Red Rising are great reads; the first being 9 books and some short stories/novellas that fill in the story and the second being six books written with the seventh due this year, I think. There is a lot of frustration with Red Rising as far as the decisions the protagonist makes. I haven't read any of the other works, so no feedback from me on those.StinkyPinky said:
The Expanse Series
Hyperion
Sun Eater series
Polity Series
Red Rising series
Colony One Mars series
Children of Time
Artificial Wisdom
Expeditionary Forces
Suggestion/opinions always welcome….
That's great, thanks for the feedback. The Red Rising for whatever reason has been in heavy rotation for discussion with the IG book reader crowd. Has peaked my interest.lurker76 said:My thoughts on your list are that if you want an easy read, ExForce is a good one to start with. Both The Expense and Red Rising are great reads; the first being 9 books and some short stories/novellas that fill in the story and the second being six books written with the seventh due this year, I think. There is a lot of frustration with Red Rising as far as the decisions the protagonist makes. I haven't read any of the other works, so no feedback from me on those.StinkyPinky said:
The Expanse Series
Hyperion
Sun Eater series
Polity Series
Red Rising series
Colony One Mars series
Children of Time
Artificial Wisdom
Expeditionary Forces
Suggestion/opinions always welcome….
Last night I finished Head On: A Novel of the Near Future (The Lock In Series Book 2) by Scalzi, and since the new ExForce book by Alanson dropped today, I started it this morning. It is book 18 and picks up immediately after book 17, with the Merry Band of Pirates in deep trouble.
https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/watts_01_10/
Someone in my office shared this with me. It is not a book, but rather a short story. It is parts of John Carpenter's The Thing re-told from quite a different perspective - from the thing itself. Fans of the movie will enjoy this, and it's a quick read.
Someone in my office shared this with me. It is not a book, but rather a short story. It is parts of John Carpenter's The Thing re-told from quite a different perspective - from the thing itself. Fans of the movie will enjoy this, and it's a quick read.
Just started Columbus Day/ExForce. In the need of a giggle…
That is a different perspective. Very interesting story. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Talk to me about this Ex Firce series?
Trying to dive back into all the "classics I was supposed to read but never did".
Moby Dick is an absolute slog.
Moby Dick is an absolute slog.
Proposition Joe said:
Trying to dive back into all the "classics I was supposed to read but never did".
Moby Dick is an absolute slog.
I just binged all seven Dungeon Crawler: Carl books over the last 2-3 weeks at the recommendation of this thread. Really really entertaining and the writing style was hilarious.
“There is no red.
There is no blue.
There is the state.
And there is you.”
“As government expands, Liberty contracts” - R. Reagan
There is no blue.
There is the state.
And there is you.”
“As government expands, Liberty contracts” - R. Reagan
So, sometime in the not-too-distant future, the earth is just sitting here, minding its own business, not bothering anyone, when it is attacked by an alien race of bipedal creatures that resemble hamsters. Another race of bipedal creatures that are reptilian/crocodilian comes to earth's rescue and many adventures, escapades, and calamities follow. There are many alien creatures introduced resembling spiders, cats, beetles, octopi and others. Lots of space travel through wormholes and space "jumps". The galaxy is divided between the two most developed civilizations, with the others being clients of those two, with varying importance depending on their development. This has been going on for thousands of yearsAbsolute said:
Talk to me about this Ex Firce series?
I really don't want to say much more, because that could spoil it for you and anyone that hasn't read it. I've started book 18, so to me it is worth reading. It isn't serious at all, but very entertaining.
Completed:
Memory's Legion by James S A Corey (4/5)
The Mercy of Gods by James S A Corey (4/5 with room to improve as the series continues)
A Woman Underground by Andrew Klavan
Dune
Dune: Messiah
Children of Dune
Currently Reading:
God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert
I get now why the Dune series is classic scifi, especially considering when it came out. Dune was great. Dune Messiah was different, but I still enjoyed it, and then Children of Dune made Messiah make a lot more sense. I won't spoil a series that's over four decades old, but even though God Emperor of Dune is starting in a pretty wild place, I'm interested to see where it goes. At this point, I expect I'll go ahead and finish out all six of Frank Herbert's Dune books.
Memory's Legion by James S A Corey (4/5)
The Mercy of Gods by James S A Corey (4/5 with room to improve as the series continues)
A Woman Underground by Andrew Klavan
Dune
Dune: Messiah
Children of Dune
Currently Reading:
God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert
I get now why the Dune series is classic scifi, especially considering when it came out. Dune was great. Dune Messiah was different, but I still enjoyed it, and then Children of Dune made Messiah make a lot more sense. I won't spoil a series that's over four decades old, but even though God Emperor of Dune is starting in a pretty wild place, I'm interested to see where it goes. At this point, I expect I'll go ahead and finish out all six of Frank Herbert's Dune books.
The end of Frank Herbert's work is a great stopping place. The other stuff by his son is not very good, which was a great disappointment. I'd finish one and think, the next one HAS to be better, but it wasn't. Fool me once..., well I got fooled at least twice more, so shame on me.
I think I remember some posters on here that liked them, but they are nowhere near his dad's work.
I think I remember some posters on here that liked them, but they are nowhere near his dad's work.
Good to know! Looking ahead, the two that I've considered adding on were hunters of dune and sandworms of dune to close out the Frank Herbert planned story. Any thoughts on those two in particular? I don't have any interest in reading his son's fleshing out of the dune universe.
I have to admit, I had to look those two up. The last true work by Frank that I was aware of is "Chapterhouse Dune", which probably would have had a sequel, if he had lived. I did find reference to a short story called "The Road to Dune", which I had not heard of before. The two you mention are co-writte3n by Brian and a co-author, so I expect them to be about the same as "House Corino", House Harkonnen" and "House Atreides", which I have read.
Yeah, they're supposed to be collectively "Dune 7" and use Frank Herbert's notes to finish out the story line left open after Chapterhouse: Dune. But yeah, they're actually co-authored by Brian Herbert and another writer.
That literature style is exhausting. I enjoyed "In the Heart of the Sea" infinitely more.Proposition Joe said:
Trying to dive back into all the "classics I was supposed to read but never did".
Moby Dick is an absolute slog.
Proposition Joe said:
Trying to dive back into all the "classics I was supposed to read but never did".
Moby Dick is an absolute slog.
Circa '87 I bought the paperback of Thomas Hardy's Far from the Madding Crowd... finally started/finished reading it about 2 years ago... was good, but damn ... forgot how much detail he puts into the story: setting, environment... character development. Thomas... get on with the story... please!
In high school (early to mid-80s) I read Hardy's Mayor of Casterbridge and Return of the Native.
Go read Charles DickensProposition Joe said:
Trying to dive back into all the "classics I was supposed to read but never did".
Moby Dick is an absolute slog.
Go read the Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells.StinkyPinky said:Want to read this as well. Have it on my list. My problem is my 'too read' list has 45 entries (and a lot of those are series). Overwhelming because I often struggle with which one to start next….BQRyno said:
The Expanse series was great. I liked the tv series too, but the book series is much better. Followed it up with the expanse short stories and then Mercy of Gods. I haven't read Livesuit yet. I really enjoy their writing and world building, and I have high hopes for the Captives War series. Now I'm staying in sci fi universe building mode and am halfway through book 3 of Dune.
As an example, my current list for sci fi (my fantasy list is far longer):
The Expanse Series
Hyperion
Sun Eater series
Polity Series
Red Rising series
Colony One Mars series
Children of Time
Artificial Wisdom
Expeditionary Forces
Suggestion/opinions always welcome….
Super fun.
Highly recommend.
Didn't list it because I've already started. Currently on Rogue Protocol. They've been a pleasant surprise.Dr. Mephisto said:Go read the Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells.StinkyPinky said:Want to read this as well. Have it on my list. My problem is my 'too read' list has 45 entries (and a lot of those are series). Overwhelming because I often struggle with which one to start next….BQRyno said:
The Expanse series was great. I liked the tv series too, but the book series is much better. Followed it up with the expanse short stories and then Mercy of Gods. I haven't read Livesuit yet. I really enjoy their writing and world building, and I have high hopes for the Captives War series. Now I'm staying in sci fi universe building mode and am halfway through book 3 of Dune.
As an example, my current list for sci fi (my fantasy list is far longer):
The Expanse Series
Hyperion
Sun Eater series
Polity Series
Red Rising series
Colony One Mars series
Children of Time
Artificial Wisdom
Expeditionary Forces
Suggestion/opinions always welcome….
Super fun.
Highly recommend.
I got some pretty heavy Stormlight burnout about halfway through Oathbringer. The ending was great though. Wanted to get through Dawnshard before taking a break from Stormlight, i had a VERY tough time getting through it..BenFiasco14 said:Philo B 93 said:
I finished "Way of Kings" by Brandon Sanderson. This is the longest book I've ever read, with 1137 pages or 45 hours of audible.
I've read three Brandon Sanderson books recently, and I'm done with his books. They're good, but world-building just isn't my thing. I liked Way of Kings, and if he could do it in half the pages I'd continue with the series. The story is epic. Does this sound familiar: young warrior/slave boy finds out he may have special powers that can defeat evil and save the world with the help of an oldJediwarrior? I love the idea, but when I read real-world news feeds and start wondering how the Parshendi and Alethi are reacting to Trumps tarifs, its time to move on. Hmmm, I dunno, maybe I'm in too deep already. Just typing this makes me want to move on to the next million page book in the series.
Anyway.... "Way of Kings" - very good book, just very long for those of us with attention deficit disor...
I recently finished this and then dove straight into Words of Radiance and now I'm on Oathbringer lol… I got straight up addicted. About halfway through Oathbringer and finally taking a breather.
I suggest sticking with it. You got through way of kings which had a ton of the early world building.
Since then i've read The Will of the Many and Piranesi, both were fantastic. Can't wait for the Strength of the Few later this year.
2025 so far:
The Well of Ascension
The Hero of Ages
Mistborn: Secret History
Oathbringer
Dawnshard
The Will of the Many
Piranesi
Current: The Alloy of Law
Probably read the Sword of Kaigen next. Then i don't know where to go from there, my TBR just keeps growing. Really want to ready the Green Bone Saga and the Poppy War Trilogy. But after finishing The Will of the Many, i also really want to check out the Licanius Trilogy.
In the last 8 months i've read ~20 books. Prior to that, I'm not sure i'd read a book cover to cover since high school..
Just finished Red Rising by Pierce Brown. Loved it. A lot of character building to start, as you would have expected with the first book of a series, but once it hit…it hit.
I appreciated his pace and how he didn't get too bogged down in some of the details like a lot of authors tend to do. He gives you just enough info to make sure you get it, then he moves on. Loves that.
Excited to jump into the next book!
Books read in 2025:
January
Slaughterhouse Five - Kurt Vonnegut (re-read)
A Wrinkle in Time - Madeleine L'Engle (re-read)
The Silent Patient - Alex Michaelides
Project Hail Mary - Andy Wier
Pines - Blake Crouch
Wayward - Blake Crouch
February
The Last Town - Blake Crouch
March
Dark Places - Gillian Flynn
Sharp Objects - Gillian Flynn
April
Red Rising - Pierce Brown
On deck:
Golden Son - Pierce Brown
Morning Star - Pierce Brown
I appreciated his pace and how he didn't get too bogged down in some of the details like a lot of authors tend to do. He gives you just enough info to make sure you get it, then he moves on. Loves that.
Excited to jump into the next book!
Books read in 2025:
January
Slaughterhouse Five - Kurt Vonnegut (re-read)
A Wrinkle in Time - Madeleine L'Engle (re-read)
The Silent Patient - Alex Michaelides
Project Hail Mary - Andy Wier
Pines - Blake Crouch
Wayward - Blake Crouch
February
The Last Town - Blake Crouch
March
Dark Places - Gillian Flynn
Sharp Objects - Gillian Flynn
April
Red Rising - Pierce Brown
On deck:
Golden Son - Pierce Brown
Morning Star - Pierce Brown
The Red Rising series is a lot of fun. I've only read the first 3 but loved the pacing in each one.
Lights Out by Navessa Allen is pretty spicy but I really enjoyed that book. Audiobook is fantastic! Super fun.
Stormlight #5: Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson
Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry in-progress
Finally knocked out Wind and Truth. Really bittersweet that it may be a decade or more before we get the 2nd arc, but at least we will have more Cosmere before then. I still have the secret project books to read as well. Random thoughts:
Adolin has really grown on me. I was a bit indifferent about him at first, but his storyline really developed into one of my favorites. His time fighting in Azir this books was particularly great, but I've also like his relationship with Maya and even Gallant. Seeing the loyalty of his plate was a nice touch too.
I'm torn about Kaladin being a Herald, especially if it cuts him off from other characters, but I'm guessing/hoping the time dilation of their space is going to help avoid too much of that from happening. I am glad we may get more about the Heralds though. Taln seems like he has the chance to be an awesome character. Finding out he never broke and then the description of the aftermath of his time in Azir already puts him at the top of the badass list.
Honestly, so much happened that I can't even get into it all. Excited to start participating in the Cosmere thread soon, but I may wait until I've read the secret project books to be safe.
I'm already about halfway through Patient Zero. This one is a re-read, but it's been over a decade. Has anyone here ever read any of the follow-up books? Have been interested in it, but I wasn't sure if it was considered a series or if this is more of a Jack Ryan situation where it's just the same character in a different situation/story?
Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry in-progress
Finally knocked out Wind and Truth. Really bittersweet that it may be a decade or more before we get the 2nd arc, but at least we will have more Cosmere before then. I still have the secret project books to read as well. Random thoughts:
Adolin has really grown on me. I was a bit indifferent about him at first, but his storyline really developed into one of my favorites. His time fighting in Azir this books was particularly great, but I've also like his relationship with Maya and even Gallant. Seeing the loyalty of his plate was a nice touch too.
I'm torn about Kaladin being a Herald, especially if it cuts him off from other characters, but I'm guessing/hoping the time dilation of their space is going to help avoid too much of that from happening. I am glad we may get more about the Heralds though. Taln seems like he has the chance to be an awesome character. Finding out he never broke and then the description of the aftermath of his time in Azir already puts him at the top of the badass list.
Honestly, so much happened that I can't even get into it all. Excited to start participating in the Cosmere thread soon, but I may wait until I've read the secret project books to be safe.
I'm already about halfway through Patient Zero. This one is a re-read, but it's been over a decade. Has anyone here ever read any of the follow-up books? Have been interested in it, but I wasn't sure if it was considered a series or if this is more of a Jack Ryan situation where it's just the same character in a different situation/story?
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