Books

[Ripley]

If you’re a reader, may I suggest you have a look at my favourite author by some way - Joe Abercrombie.

“The First Law” universe involves the first Trilogy:

The Blade Itself
Before They Are Hanged
Last Argument of Kings

Three stand alones in the same universe:

Best Served Cold
The Heroes
Red Country

2nd Trilogy:

A Little Hatred
The Trouble With Peace
The Wisdom of The Crowds

if you like Game of Thrones you’ll looooooooove The First Law universe. Biggest difference is this bloke actually writes, his done all of the above (500+ pages each) and another young adults teens trilogy in the time George Rail Road Martin has written one book. You don’t wait around on this bloke to deliver, in fact he promised fansthey would get the 2nd trilogy one book per year and delivered - actually had them all written before he published the first.

what makes his stuff so great are the characters and dialogue which I think he does better than anybody, and are widely accepted by critics as superb.

Like GRR Martin there are no real good and bad guys, more like bad and worse, yet you’ll come to love them as they have their own sense of honour. Some of the “good guys… or better than others guys” are a crippled torturer, a brooding warrior who goes into trance like rages where friend and foe alike are seen as dead or soon dead, double crossing mercenary and vengeful killers.

Be warned, not for the faint hearted - violent, bloody, wicked, twisted, brutal - but all for the context of story.

And if you like audiobooks I promise you that you’ll never come across a better combo than Joe Abercrombie and Steven Pacy (narrator).

I can’t say there’s anything less than an outstanding book among them, no duds, hard to pick a favourite.. but if I had to probably Best Served Cold.

All of them easily in the top dozen books I’ve read in my life and I’ve been reading for 50 years. And really am more of a sci-fi fan than the above which the author describes as grim fantasy.

 

[CroydonDog]

Hi mate, i did start a book thread a while ago, with limited success. Be good to get it going again.

 

[Alan79]

If you’re a reader, may I suggest you have a look at my favourite author by some way - Joe Abercrombie.

“The First Law” universe involves the first Trilogy:

The Blade Itself
Before They Are Hanged
Last Argument of Kings

Three stand alones in the same universe:

Best Served Cold
The Heroes
Red Country

2nd Trilogy:

A Little Hatred
The Trouble With Peace
The Wisdom of The Crowds

if you like Game of Thrones you’ll looooooooove The First Law universe. Biggest difference is this bloke actually writes, his done all of the above (500+ pages each) and another young adults teens trilogy in the time George Rail Road Martin has written one book. You don’t wait around on this bloke to deliver, in fact he promised fansthey would get the 2nd trilogy one book per year and delivered - actually had them all written before he published the first.

what makes his stuff so great are the characters and dialogue which I think he does better than anybody, and are widely accepted by critics as superb.

Like GRR Martin there are no real good and bad guys, more like bad and worse, yet you’ll come to love them as they have their own sense of honour. Some of the “good guys… or better than others guys” are a crippled torturer, a brooding warrior who goes into trance like rages where friend and foe alike are seen as dead or soon dead, double crossing mercenary and vengeful killers.

Be warned, not for the faint hearted - violent, bloody, wicked, twisted - but all for the context of story.

And if you like audiobooks I promise you that you’ll never come across a better combo than Joe Abercrombie and Steven Pacy (narrator).

I can’t say there’s anything less than an outstanding book among them, no duds, hard to pick a favourite.. but if I had to probably Best Served Cold.

All of them easily in the top dozen books I’ve read in my life and I’ve been reading for 50 years. And really am more of a sci-fi fan than the above.

Never read anything by Abercrombie. But Robin Hobb created an absolutely brilliant series of trilogies which she wrapped up recently. While each trilogy was good as a standalone story, they all bore some link to a mysterious and forgotten past in the world she created and that sense of mystery just nagged at the subconscious mind to get closure. In the last trilogy in this world she pulled all the strings together and finally gave me that closure.

Highly recommended that you have a look at her books.

 

[Bulldog Wrestler]

An older George R.R.Martin book that I loved reading years back, was Windhaven.

 

[Roll the Bones]

I just finished my first Conn Iggulden book 'Wolf of the Plains'. Loved it. Will read the rest of that series, and then will start on The Emperor series. It's historical fiction, not a fantasy series, but I really liked it. I haven't read a novel in that style for a long time.

 

[Bulldog Wrestler]

Shadow of the Conqueror by Shad Brooks is pretty good. A graphic novel version will soon be available via crowd funding. Former DC artist Mike S. Miller has done all the artwork. For anyone interested in medieval stuff, Shad has a YouTube channel covering weapons, castles and life during the period.

 

[Bulldog Wrestler]

Loved reading these, years ago...

 

[dogzofwar]

Wow i read brooks thank god but no not into books either

 

[Bulldog Wrestler]

Probably over 30 years since I last read it, but I highly enjoyed this one. Might be time to dig it out, and give it another read.

 

[Doogie]

Loved reading these, years ago...

They're the later edition covers, 2nd thing I ever read (after my mother thought me trying to relate to a rapist leper with a white gold ring would work as an 8 yr old). Got into everything at that time, Feist, Tad Williams, Dragonlance etc., GG Kay, Shanarra to name a few until the until wheel of time (yep - looking at u Amazon - don't fck it up). Grabbed US 1st editions all the way through that (expect the 1st). Fckng lot of money sitting in boxes in the garage but I digress...

One of my faves of all time (and if I'm recommending something this is my go to). Julian May - Pliocene Exiles. Linking mythology, aliens, mind powers, time travel seamlessly that you could almost say today its real was a pretty cool thing. If not, Thomas Covenant is always worth a read (although I met Steven Donaldson once, one of the worlds truest anal vegetable growers). Both are good stuff.

 

[Bulldog Wrestler]

They're the later edition covers, 2nd thing I ever read (after my mother thought me trying to relate to a rapist leper with a white gold ring would work as an 8 yr old). Got into everything at that time, Feist, Tad Williams, Dragonlance etc., GG Kay, Shanarra to name a few until the until wheel of time (yep - looking at u Amazon - don't fck it up). Grabbed US 1st editions all the way through that (expect the 1st). Fckng lot of money sitting in boxes in the garage but I digress...

One of my faves of all time (and if I'm recommending something this is my go to). Julian May - Pliocene Exiles. Linking mythology, aliens, mind powers, time travel seamlessly that you could almost say today its real was a pretty cool thing. If not, Thomas Covenant is always worth a read (although I met Steven Donaldson once, one of the worlds truest anal vegetable growers). Both are good stuff.

Yeah, they aren't my actual copies. I'm too lazy to drag them out and take a pic.

I seem to have more books than I'm ever going to read, or re-read, but can't bring myself to part with any.

I liked that TV series they started of Shanarra (Chronicles), but disappointed they didn't continue with it.

 

[CrittaMagic69]

Dead set how do you even read books? I try reading but the images in my head are like

 

[Doogie]

Yeah, they aren't my actual copies. I'm too lazy to drag them out and take a pic.

I seem to have more books than I'm ever going to read, or re-read, but can't bring myself to part with any.

I liked that TV series they started of Shanarra (Chronicles), but disappointed they didn't continue with it.

Was gunna say, fairly shitty floorboards . Books are fckng tragic. You just cannot bring yourself to give em away or dump them. Too much invested back in the day. I've about 20 boxes in the garage. Missus uses that part of the garage as an excuse to dump rubbish (as you've got rubbish in those boxes). Bloody cow is a fckng hoarder [groan].

Don't know about the Shanarra series, it didn't really grab me that much. Watchable but wasn't like I was hanging for series 7 of GOT if u know what I mean. Mid November WOT starts on Prime I believe. Trailers are around. Series 2 is already signed.

Spent over 20 years riding that series. I'm hoping we get all of it on TV. Just don't see it happening. GOT didn't have a predictable ending to begin with. WOT does. Just can see it getting stale unless they put some bigger left field stuff in it than what was in the books. Shame...

 

[Roll the Bones]

I remember reading this when I was about 18 and really enjoying it. Wonder if it holds up today.

 

[Bulldog Wrestler]

These are a set of three, covering different time periods. Not a bad read for anyone interested in this sort of topic. They were released one a year, over a three year period, so I was luck enough to get one each Christmas, as a gift.

 

[CroydonDog]

Was gunna say, fairly shitty floorboards . Books are fckng tragic. You just cannot bring yourself to give em away or dump them. Too much invested back in the day. I've about 20 boxes in the garage. Missus uses that part of the garage as an excuse to dump rubbish (as you've got rubbish in those boxes). Bloody cow is a fckng hoarder [groan].

Don't know about the Shanarra series, it didn't really grab me that much. Watchable but wasn't like I was hanging for series 7 of GOT if u know what I mean. Mid November WOT starts on Prime I believe. Trailers are around. Series 2 is already signed.

Spent over 20 years riding that series. I'm hoping we get all of it on TV. Just don't see it happening. GOT didn't have a predictable ending to begin with. WOT does. Just can see it getting stale unless they put some bigger left field stuff in it than what was in the books. Shame...

I always used to be one to never throw out books (couldn't bring myself to do it), but after them sitting in boxes in the shed for a couple years since we last moved (and with little kids, i wasn't keen on having tall bookshelves in the new place), i finally went through them a few weeks ago, and took most of them to a charity book shop near home, along with heap of old dvds. I only kept ones that hold some real sentimental value, plus of course my biographies of Steven Mortimer, Terry Lamb and Hazem el Masri.

 

[Mr 95%]

If anybody is a Star Wars fan..I suggest you get a hold of the Thrawn triology by Timothy Zahn, Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, and The Last Command. They were the first official stories licensed and approved by Lucas for the expanded universe..until now..where they have been tossed out as cannon and replaced by the latest Star War films..

As a big fan of Star Wars, Zahn’s treatment of the universe post the victory of the Rebellion is, to me, a more logical step in what would occur after the demise of the Empire. I felt the movies made what happened in the original trilogies redundant as the universe was still under the thumb of an Empire, ie the New World Order, and the Rebels ie. the Resistance was still fighting them. Anyway besides that these stories are great.. I highly recommend them..

ps..Zahn‘s name for the capital of the Star Was galaxy, Coruscant, was adopted by Lucas..

 

[alchemist]

View attachment 31868
Loved reading these, years ago...

both the Belgariad and the Mallorean are good reads but they need to be read as a whole at one go because the individual books read more like chapters in one story rather than a 5 story series of books

 

[Bulldog Wrestler]

If anybody is a Star Wars fan..I suggest you get a hold of the Thrawn triology by Timothy Zahn, Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, and The Last Command. They were the first official stories licensed and approved by Lucas for the expanded universe..until now..where they have been tossed out as cannon and replaced by the latest Star War films..

As a big fan of Star Wars, Zahn’s treatment of the universe post the victory of the Rebellion is, to me, a more logical step in what would occur after the demise of the Empire. I felt the movies made what happened in the original trilogies redundant as the universe was still under the thumb of an Empire, ie the New World Order, and the Rebels ie. the Resistance was still fighting them. Anyway besides that these stories are great.. I highly recommend them..

ps..Zahn‘s name for the capital of the Star Was galaxy, Coruscant, was adopted by Lucas..

View attachment 32382

I have this one sitting in my get around to eventually pile...

I've been trying to pick up some of the others and put them aside too.

 

[Bulldog Wrestler]

both the Belgariad and the Mallorean are good reads but they need to be read as a whole at one go because the individual books read more like chapters in one story rather than a 5 story series of books

100% - I pretty much binge read them all, about 30 years ago.