What to read next?

Thursday, March 1, 2012


Alright, it's not often that I have to ask the question since I usually have at least one novel that I really want to read more than the others from my "way too big" to-read pile.  However, this time, after I finish Mazarkis Williams' The Emperor's Knife, I'm not sure what to pick up.  The "On the horizon" image on the blog showed David Tallerman's Giant Thief but after reading a couple of reviews (update: not that they are negative, quite the contrary), I think it will slip farther down the list  (to pick something different from a good old Fantasy debut...). In audiobook, my next pick should be Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed.  Here's the books I am considering:

R. Scott Bakker - The White Luck Warrior
Ian C. Esslemont - Orb, Sceptre, Throne
Col Buchanan - Stands a Shadow
Micheal J. Sullivan - Theft of Swords
Blake Charlton - Spellbound
Sam Sykes - Tome of the Undergates
Adrian Tchaikovsky - Empire in Black and Gold

Is there a novel in this list that you would want me to review more than the others?

16 comments:

Bryce L. said...

I wondering what you'll think of Theft of Swords. I really enjoyed it.

Cursed Armada said...

THE WHITE LUCK WARRIOR!!! PLEASE!!! That book was SOOO good!!!

Tom Lloyd said...

I'd say, the one you know least about as the author's more likely to need the exposure!

Of course, as a (fairly) obscure author I would say that... ;0)

Sascha Walter said...

Hmm, difficult to say, since I haven't read any of the books. But I would interested in your opinion of The White Luck Warrior, since I really enjoyed the Prince of Nothing trilogy.

Hdawg said...

EMPIRE IN BLACK AND GOLD PLEASE!!

Dom said...

I found The White Luck Warrior to be a hard but very engrossing read.

I'd recommand that one.

Tom has a point though, you might want to review the least known author.

Oh and write faster Tom, I await your books.

Myra C said...

Tome of the Undergates or
Spellbound

Anonymous said...

Would enjoy your thoughts on Theft of Swords. Just finished reading series and found it to be very engaging.

David Tallerman said...

I'm intrigued ... which were the reviews that put you off reading Giant Thief? Anyway, I'll be interested to hear your thoughts if and when you get to it - and in the meantime, can I throw my vote behind Empire in Black and Gold? It's fantastic, and the first sequel is if anything even better.

Phil said...

David : I might have to rectify my comment if it was understood that I put it off because of negative reviews since that's not the case. I will read it eventually but from what I read on Far Beyond reality for example : " No dark edges, no genre-bending, just a plain old, fun fantasy story" (it's simply an extract I know but I'll stick to that to make my point) and after reading Seven Princes and The Emperor's Knife, I thought that I would go with something different from a good old fantasy book from a debut author...

Although judging by that, Sullivan's series might fit into this category too...

Phil said...

David: to be fair, I added a precision to my post

Tom: As Dom mentioned, you have a good point. So far, from the comments I think I will go with The White Luck Warrior but I'll probably return to debut authors afterwards. With Ahmed, Fultz and Williams as the book I'm reading or listening to now, I think I'm actually doing it as much as possible.

Also, don't listen to Dom, he's not even up to date on your series!!! :) I still haven't lent him The Ragged Man! :P

David Tallerman said...

Thanks, Phil ... I was more curious than anything. Empire in Black and Gold has plenty of both dark edges and genre bending, though, and you'd never guess it was a debut novel, so my vote remains the same!

Tom Lloyd said...

Dom & Phil: ;0) I'm trying to write faster, honest! Dusk Watchman's done and pending varification of editor's dead/undead status, will be out before not too long.

Then there'll be a Twilight Reign short story collection to follow it, and I'm over halfway through the new book, Moon's Artifice - I'm loving the idea of shorter books. Dusk Watchman is currently 239k (but will be trimmed in the edit I hope) while Moon's only likely to be 140k! Have finally worked out I get paid the same, no matter how long it is...

Cursed Armada said...

So is it safe to say that WLW won the vote??? I might recommend a quick scroll through The Judging Eye before you dig in. The appendix in The Thousand Fold Thought might help too. Above all else though remember, "No weeping on the slog"

Phil said...

Cursed: Indeed, I will have to refresh my memory, and I won't weep! :)

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