Book Recommendation Thread

[da_fox2279]

So... anyone who follows incandescens' works might be interested in knowing that she's going to be published professionally.

Tor UK is releasing her first book, The Invisible Library, in paperback in January.

Here's the press release (from over a year ago. I literally just found out, from her LJ).

 

[Fellgrave]

Been rereading one of my all time favourites after I finally replaced my decade old hardcover of Gardens of the Moon for a new paperback edition. It kicks off what is the most epic fantasy series I've ever read, and the first actual book I read after moving on from Harry Potter when I was a kid. The series is full of gods, magic, epic battles, and interesting characters, plus complex plots and callbacks in the latter books all the way to the first and vice versa. There's so much worldbuilding and so many subtle and not so subtle chekhov's guns it can be real easy to miss something until it shows up later.

Man I'd forgotten how much I loved this series.

 

[Glimmervoid]

I could never get past the first few chapters. Any tips?

 

[Fellgrave]

Um... not sure really. I had more problems with stopping and putting it down than getting into it. I really don't know what to suggest. Maybe reading it in sections every couple days or so? I don't know. Huh. Well, this is certainly food for thought.

 

[goldenarms]

Um... not sure really. I had more problems with stopping and putting it down than getting into it. I really don't know what to suggest. Maybe reading it in sections every couple days or so? I don't know. Huh. Well, this is certainly food for thought.

I do something similar with White Collar -- watch a episode or two, then put it down for the day to let my brain digest it, because DAMN! That Neal Caffrey...

 

[zerohour]

The Warded Man and its sequels by Peter V. Brett.  Demons stalk the night and have hunted humanity to the brink of extinction.  Only Wards, mystical symbols, are capable of keeping people safe, but one young man, Arlen Bales, seeks out wards that can actually save humanity.

Stormdancer and its sequels by Jay Kristoff
Arashitoras are supposed to be extinct. So when Yukiko and her warrior father Masaru are sent to capture one for the Shõgun, they fear that their lives are over – everyone knows what happens to those who fail the Lord of the Shima Isles. But the mission proves less impossible and more deadly than anyone expects
Japanese steampunk, which is a welcome change from standard steampunk.  Only real complaint is that I figured out what was happening about a third of the way through the first book, thanks to knowing the title of the last book.  Still a great read though.

 

[da_fox2279]

Barnes and Noble has The Wizard of Oz: The First Five Novels available as a ebook for the Nook/Nook app for free. Don't know for how long, though.

If you're interested, grab while you can.

 

[chronodekar]

I want to recommend "Mother of Learning" by Domagoj Kurmaic

The book appears to be published by amazon but it started as a web-novel, you can read the whole thing for free here,

https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/21220/mother-of-learning

Above link is the complete story and a Damn Good One.

The plot takes place in a fantasy world where magic was the main source of power for years, but recently technological advancements have progressed to the point of being viable alternatives. We follow the story of a boy named Zorian who is attending 3rd year of magical academy at Cyoria. The first chapter opens up with him returning to the academy to start his 3rd year. Within a month, an invasion occurs and the next thing Zorian knows is that everyone is running for their lives (himself included). During the scuffle, he encounters another classmate, Zach who is fighting back against the enemy. It soon becomes obvious to the reader that Zach is a time-traveller. Near the end of the invasion, Zorian gets caught up in a spell intended for Zach and the next thing he knows is that the month is repeating. Groundhog-day style.

The story is divided into 3 arcs, but the published book splits the last arc into two, so ... the print edition has 4 books.

The first arc is about Zorian exploring his new situation of being in a time-loop. He starts out *very* lost, afraid and cautious. Near the end of the first arc, due to plot reasons, he makes a concentrated effort to stop the invasion - with consequences.

The second arc is about him exploring the circumstances of the invasion - why was it launched? What does the enemy hope to accomplish? And are there more people stuck in the time-loop?

The third and last arc is about making final preparations to leave the time-loop with a wonderful finale and awesome conclusion!


More than the conclusion (which *is* very satisfying!), what makes me recommend the story is the journey. This is an amazing piece of writing! Once you get over the first few chapters - the story picks up the pace. Even though the overall theme is about being stuck in a time-loop, the story does not get repetitive. There is *always* something new happening with each chapter. New characters make appearances, previous oddities get explained and the world, simply put, opens up extravagantly!

Unless the very idea of fantasy/magic/time-loops puts you off, I highly recommend reading "Mother of Learning". It's *worth* it.

-chronodekar