OT: What book are you currently reading?

[DOT]

I was a little disappointed with Iron Rain

Spoiler:

My main gripe is that I just really didn't care about Lyria and Ephraim's story that much. Like, it was cool and all, and they did eventually impact the plot as a whole, but I think it could've been done better if instead of them we got the perspective of Pax,
and have it be set 15 years after Morning Star instead of 10. Pax and Electra act like teenagers anyways (I get they're genetically engineered humans, but still it's kind of weird to remember that they're only like 9 and 10 at the time of the book), and it would actually give them something to do. Plus, we could see how Pax views Darrow from his own viewpoint instead of having Darrow tell us what he thinks Pax thinks

I fully expected Darrow to be dead by the end of it, it just seemed like a natural endpoint for him. Like, the first trilogy was his story,
then move on to Lysander's story. If y'all have read the Shattered Sea books, that's something I think they do well, is that the main character of the first book is only the main character for that book, and while he's still around for books 2 and 3, they're told through different characters, which I really liked, and we get to really see how other people see him, something which we got a little of in Lysander's chapters, but that should've been more of the story

Spoiler:

I didn't mind the Ephraim story line, but I completely agree with you on Lyria, just useless filler IMO. For as important Pax and Electra are to the book and the ending of the book, we never really got much from them. Though I do suspect we will get a ton of chapters about them in the next book, well I hope we do at least. Maybe we see Servo, Victra and Electra in the same scenes in the next book with Pax continuing his mysterious brooding with Mustang.

Darrow dying is the logical finishing line for him, one thing that will be interesting to see is will Lysander have his story or will it be Pax inheriting Darrow's war and continues the fight against Lysander? I've never read the Shattered Sea books, but I've read books like that. The Ex-Heros series does a good job of juggling it's characters.

Spoiler:

I think it's gonna be Lysander's story from here on out, mostly cause we get his viewpoint. Or he could just die horrifically next book, wouldn't rule that one out either

It's almost kind of slipping into GOT season 7, if you watch it, in the sense that people just start not dying instead of it being as ruthless as it used to be. Like, I'm sorry, but Kavax is dead, and there shouldn't be any question about it. The fact that he's still alive (in a coma, but still) kinda takes away from the atmosphere that's been building up the last few books. Like, I genuinely accepted that Sevro was dead in the 3rd book, cause it wouldn't be the first time. And then Cassius being killed offscreen is a huge red flag for me that he's still alive, cause we didn't see a body

I dunno, just feels like there wasn't as much weight behind character's actions any more. Yeah Darrow kills Wulfgar by accident,
but I'm pretty sure he wasn't in the first 3 books, and if he was, I honestly forgot about him, so there's not much weight to it. Same thing with Ephraim's squad getting killed, I just didn't really care about them. Ephraim himself is a fine character, just feels unnecessary

[mrpoetryNmotion]

Been dedicating my free time to reading through some books I've bought but haven't read yet. So far this year:

This Is How You Lose Her, Junot Diaz (Already read Oscar, but damn is Junot a great writer...)
Drown, Junot Diaz
Ready Player One, Earnest Cline (Looking forward to the movie coming soon)
Don't Call Us Dead, Danez Smith (Contemporary poetry...but a lot of good poems on the current state of affairs for young black males in America, being a gay male, and being HIV positive. Mind expanding as I cannot relate to the last two and can only half relate to the first)
1984, George Orwell (One of those rare books where I just kept on saying WTF towards the end and at the end...)
Animal Farm, George Orwell (Obvious parallels with the Russian Revolution and just so damn good)

Debating what to read next, as I have a billion things on my shelf. Maybe Lord of the Flies... I have quite a few classics yet I have to read.

Has anyone read Name of the Wind? On my shelf, but probably won't get to it for a while..

[DOT]

Been dedicating my free time to reading through some books I've bought but haven't read yet. So far this year:

This Is How You Lose Her, Junot Diaz (Already read Oscar, but damn is Junot a great writer...)
Drown, Junot Diaz
Ready Player One, Earnest Cline (Looking forward to the movie coming soon)
Don't Call Us Dead, Danez Smith (Contemporary poetry...but a lot of good poems on the current state of affairs for young black males in America, being a gay male, and being HIV positive. Mind expanding as I cannot relate to the last two and can only half relate to the first)
1984, George Orwell (One of those rare books where I just kept on saying WTF towards the end and at the end...)
Animal Farm, George Orwell (Obvious parallels with the Russian Revolution and just so damn good)

Debating what to read next, as I have a billion things on my shelf. Maybe Lord of the Flies... I have quite a few classics yet I have to read.

Has anyone read Name of the Wind? On my shelf, but probably won't get to it for a while..

Name of the Wind is really good imo

It's sequel, Wise Man's Fear, is pure garbage and Doors of Stone might not even come out next year (Wise Man's Fear came out in 2011, fyi)

The reason it's taking so long is that so many things are set up in Name of the Wind that are really not touched on in Wise Man's Fear, so the writer, Patrick Rothfuss, is trying to find a way to end it satisfyingly, which he probably won't be able to do

Name of the Wind is kind of Harry Potter meets Lord of the Rings. Teenage main character who's a prodigy at everything (and I mean everything) goes to a magic school and has to learn about a dark evil that killed his parents that he makes it his mission to destroy

Also, the love interest is the worst character that's ever been written. Good book, I'd recommend it.

[NBA Fan 1234]

Spoiler:

As for the TV, YAAAAA!!! I saw!!! Dude, I was so pumped. This is what I’ve been saying from the beginning!! Would make an OK movie because it’s an amazing story, but it’d be rushed and would be forced to leave out so much. Needs a series to fully flush everything out. Was talking with my dad a few weeks back and said it’d be as big as GOT. I need to find a way into that show. I’d make a good Darrow. Also actually told him what you said after I read the first 3 books and how you said it might suck for me waiting a couple months, but you were waiting WAY longer so I had it easy. I now understand you’re pain.

I said this before both here and to my dad and friends, but books after this just seem meh. Even shows! Travelers and Frontier were better before I got caught up in the world of Red Rising. An anime series on this (or similar) would be sick too...in addition to the live action, of course. I think I’m going to reread them after Altered Carbon - maybe not the full AC series, though.

It's safe to say that this is your favorite series of books? I thoroughly enjoy it, obviously many people do. I think you like it even more than I do, but it's definitely up there for me. I'm amused at some of the fan art that's out there, people have some interesting takes on Servo. I wish it's HBO that gets to make it, mainly because I have the most faith in them doing it right and it would be the perfect show to replace GOT. So many interesting characters that people would fall in love with, I'd thoroughly enjoy seeing how ruthless a TV show could make the Jackal.

I'm finishing the Sprawl Trilogy at the moment and then I'm going to dive into Mistborn trilogy. If you like Altered Carbon, there are plenty of steampunk books out there that could satisfy that niche. I would say read Ready Player One before the movie comes out, probably my favorite read in quite some time.

Yah, I think it is my favorite series. If not HBO, Starz did/has done a solid job with Black Sails (from what I remember of it, at least). It cannot be on cable, though. It needs to be a premium channel so they can get it right. I feel like Jackal would be on the same level as Ramsay Bolton?

I've read great things about Mistborn. A lot of people on the Media Forum have read it or are reading it now and they like it. As for the Altered Carbon book, I'm reading it because of the show. I'm maybe 1/4 in and think it's solid, but not sold on it yet. Ready Player One I planned on reading before the movie came out.

Been dedicating my free time to reading through some books I've bought but haven't read yet. So far this year:

This Is How You Lose Her, Junot Diaz (Already read Oscar, but damn is Junot a great writer...)
Drown, Junot Diaz
Ready Player One, Earnest Cline (Looking forward to the movie coming soon)
Don't Call Us Dead, Danez Smith (Contemporary poetry...but a lot of good poems on the current state of affairs for young black males in America, being a gay male, and being HIV positive. Mind expanding as I cannot relate to the last two and can only half relate to the first)
1984, George Orwell (One of those rare books where I just kept on saying WTF towards the end and at the end...)
Animal Farm, George Orwell (Obvious parallels with the Russian Revolution and just so damn good)

Debating what to read next, as I have a billion things on my shelf. Maybe Lord of the Flies... I have quite a few classics yet I have to read.

Has anyone read Name of the Wind? On my shelf, but probably won't get to it for a while..

1984 is my favorite school assigned book. LOVE that book.

I was a little disappointed with Iron Rain

Spoiler:

My main gripe is that I just really didn't care about Lyria and Ephraim's story that much. Like, it was cool and all, and they did eventually impact the plot as a whole, but I think it could've been done better if instead of them we got the perspective of Pax,
and have it be set 15 years after Morning Star instead of 10. Pax and Electra act like teenagers anyways (I get they're genetically engineered humans, but still it's kind of weird to remember that they're only like 9 and 10 at the time of the book), and it would actually give them something to do. Plus, we could see how Pax views Darrow from his own viewpoint instead of having Darrow tell us what he thinks Pax thinks

I fully expected Darrow to be dead by the end of it, it just seemed like a natural endpoint for him. Like, the first trilogy was his story,
then move on to Lysander's story. If y'all have read the Shattered Sea books, that's something I think they do well, is that the main character of the first book is only the main character for that book, and while he's still around for books 2 and 3, they're told through different characters, which I really liked, and we get to really see how other people see him, something which we got a little of in Lysander's chapters, but that should've been more of the story

Spoiler:

I didn't mind the Ephraim story line, but I completely agree with you on Lyria, just useless filler IMO. For as important Pax and Electra are to the book and the ending of the book, we never really got much from them. Though I do suspect we will get a ton of chapters about them in the next book, well I hope we do at least. Maybe we see Servo, Victra and Electra in the same scenes in the next book with Pax continuing his mysterious brooding with Mustang.

Darrow dying is the logical finishing line for him, one thing that will be interesting to see is will Lysander have his story or will it be Pax inheriting Darrow's war and continues the fight against Lysander? I've never read the Shattered Sea books, but I've read books like that. The Ex-Heros series does a good job of juggling it's characters.

Spoiler:

I think it's gonna be Lysander's story from here on out, mostly cause we get his viewpoint. Or he could just die horrifically next book, wouldn't rule that one out either

It's almost kind of slipping into GOT season 7, if you watch it, in the sense that people just start not dying instead of it being as ruthless as it used to be. Like, I'm sorry, but Kavax is dead, and there shouldn't be any question about it. The fact that he's still alive (in a coma, but still) kinda takes away from the atmosphere that's been building up the last few books. Like, I genuinely accepted that Sevro was dead in the 3rd book, cause it wouldn't be the first time. And then Cassius being killed offscreen is a huge red flag for me that he's still alive, cause we didn't see a body

I dunno, just feels like there wasn't as much weight behind character's actions any more. Yeah Darrow kills Wulfgar by accident,
but I'm pretty sure he wasn't in the first 3 books, and if he was, I honestly forgot about him, so there's not much weight to it. Same thing with Ephraim's squad getting killed, I just didn't really care about them. Ephraim himself is a fine character, just feels unnecessary

Spoiler:

Ugh, I hope it's not Lysander's story. I get he has the real claim and wants to bring back what he believes are the good days, but meh...I just don't like him as the main character.

Wulfgar was added in for the last book and really was just a throwaway character, but I think the point was to make Darrow human. He killed him accidentally, but the consequences on his actions were pretty big.

[NYKAL]

Spoiler:

As for the TV, YAAAAA!!! I saw!!! Dude, I was so pumped. This is what I’ve been saying from the beginning!! Would make an OK movie because it’s an amazing story, but it’d be rushed and would be forced to leave out so much. Needs a series to fully flush everything out. Was talking with my dad a few weeks back and said it’d be as big as GOT. I need to find a way into that show. I’d make a good Darrow. Also actually told him what you said after I read the first 3 books and how you said it might suck for me waiting a couple months, but you were waiting WAY longer so I had it easy. I now understand you’re pain.

I said this before both here and to my dad and friends, but books after this just seem meh. Even shows! Travelers and Frontier were better before I got caught up in the world of Red Rising. An anime series on this (or similar) would be sick too...in addition to the live action, of course. I think I’m going to reread them after Altered Carbon - maybe not the full AC series, though.

It's safe to say that this is your favorite series of books? I thoroughly enjoy it, obviously many people do. I think you like it even more than I do, but it's definitely up there for me. I'm amused at some of the fan art that's out there, people have some interesting takes on Servo. I wish it's HBO that gets to make it, mainly because I have the most faith in them doing it right and it would be the perfect show to replace GOT. So many interesting characters that people would fall in love with, I'd thoroughly enjoy seeing how ruthless a TV show could make the Jackal.

I'm finishing the Sprawl Trilogy at the moment and then I'm going to dive into Mistborn trilogy. If you like Altered Carbon, there are plenty of steampunk books out there that could satisfy that niche. I would say read Ready Player One before the movie comes out, probably my favorite read in quite some time.

Yah, I think it is my favorite series. If not HBO, Starz did/has done a solid job with Black Sails (from what I remember of it, at least). It cannot be on cable, though. It needs to be a premium channel so they can get it right. I feel like Jackal would be on the same level as Ramsay Bolton?

I've read great things about Mistborn. A lot of people on the Media Forum have read it or are reading it now and they like it. As for the Altered Carbon book, I'm reading it because of the show. I'm maybe 1/4 in and think it's solid, but not sold on it yet. Ready Player One I planned on reading before the movie came out.

Been dedicating my free time to reading through some books I've bought but haven't read yet. So far this year:

This Is How You Lose Her, Junot Diaz (Already read Oscar, but damn is Junot a great writer...)
Drown, Junot Diaz
Ready Player One, Earnest Cline (Looking forward to the movie coming soon)
Don't Call Us Dead, Danez Smith (Contemporary poetry...but a lot of good poems on the current state of affairs for young black males in America, being a gay male, and being HIV positive. Mind expanding as I cannot relate to the last two and can only half relate to the first)
1984, George Orwell (One of those rare books where I just kept on saying WTF towards the end and at the end...)
Animal Farm, George Orwell (Obvious parallels with the Russian Revolution and just so damn good)

Debating what to read next, as I have a billion things on my shelf. Maybe Lord of the Flies... I have quite a few classics yet I have to read.

Has anyone read Name of the Wind? On my shelf, but probably won't get to it for a while..

1984 is my favorite school assigned book. LOVE that book.

Spoiler:

I didn't mind the Ephraim story line, but I completely agree with you on Lyria, just useless filler IMO. For as important Pax and Electra are to the book and the ending of the book, we never really got much from them. Though I do suspect we will get a ton of chapters about them in the next book, well I hope we do at least. Maybe we see Servo, Victra and Electra in the same scenes in the next book with Pax continuing his mysterious brooding with Mustang.

Darrow dying is the logical finishing line for him, one thing that will be interesting to see is will Lysander have his story or will it be Pax inheriting Darrow's war and continues the fight against Lysander? I've never read the Shattered Sea books, but I've read books like that. The Ex-Heros series does a good job of juggling it's characters.

Spoiler:

I think it's gonna be Lysander's story from here on out, mostly cause we get his viewpoint. Or he could just die horrifically next book, wouldn't rule that one out either

It's almost kind of slipping into GOT season 7, if you watch it, in the sense that people just start not dying instead of it being as ruthless as it used to be. Like, I'm sorry, but Kavax is dead, and there shouldn't be any question about it. The fact that he's still alive (in a coma, but still) kinda takes away from the atmosphere that's been building up the last few books. Like, I genuinely accepted that Sevro was dead in the 3rd book, cause it wouldn't be the first time. And then Cassius being killed offscreen is a huge red flag for me that he's still alive, cause we didn't see a body

I dunno, just feels like there wasn't as much weight behind character's actions any more. Yeah Darrow kills Wulfgar by accident,
but I'm pretty sure he wasn't in the first 3 books, and if he was, I honestly forgot about him, so there's not much weight to it. Same thing with Ephraim's squad getting killed, I just didn't really care about them. Ephraim himself is a fine character, just feels unnecessary

Spoiler:

Ugh, I hope it's not Lysander's story. I get he has the real claim and wants to bring back what he believes are the good days, but meh...I just don't like him as the main character.

Wulfgar was added in for the last book and really was just a throwaway character, but I think the point was to make Darrow human. He killed him accidentally, but the consequences on his actions were pretty big.

someone I trust mentioned Mistborn to me sometime ago but, I never got to it. Thanks for the reminder Reading the Romance of the 3Kingdoms now.

[NBA Fan 1234]

I couldn't keep reading Altered Carbon...just didn't like it, which is sad because I really enjoyed the show.

Switched over to Genome (The Extinction Files book 2) by AG Riddle. Great author, great books.

[Cubbies2120]

Name of the Wind is really good imo

Agreed

It's sequel, Wise Man's Fear, is pure garbage and Doors of Stone might not even come out next year (Wise Man's Fear came out in 2011, fyi)

The reason it's taking so long is that so many things are set up in Name of the Wind that are really not touched on in Wise Man's Fear, so the writer, Patrick Rothfuss, is trying to find a way to end it satisfyingly, which he probably won't be able to do

I disagree about Wise Man's Fear. But, I suspect that this may be due to the the fact that I was already informed that WMF will exclusively focus on young Kvothe's training and very little insight will be given on the main plot line. This meant that I was saved from discovering this unfortunate fact at the end of a very long(but gripping) book.

As for book # 3, Doors of Stone is suppose to cover the events dating from the party at the King's Arms to the day Kvothe and Bast came to their present position at the Waystone Inn - Confirmed by Patrick Rothfuss himself

Below is what I think that means(it does include spoilers from book 1 & 2).

Spoiler:

I don't think Kvothe has dealt with the Chandrian yet. In fact, I don't even think he has found any of the hidden Amyr yet(at least knowingly). However, I'm sure we will get a lot more info on both factions in the third book. I also think that he will cross paths with one or more of their members in book 3(considering he did cross path with one of the Chandrian in book 2). But I definitely don't expect an all out battle quite just yet. IMO, Kingkiller Chronicle is basically a prequel series to an adult Kvothe's quest for vengence.

The final resolution won't happen until the very end of Rothfuss' next book(series?). Meaning we may well be in for a 10-20 yr wait for the final resolution. This would really suck, but I can live with this fact as PR continues to put out equally good work. GRRM has trained me well.

Also, the love interest is the worst character that's ever been written.

I can't really disagree with this. However, I honestly think this is done on purpose by Patrick Rothfuss. We, like Kvothe, still know next to nothing about her(which is excruciatingly frustrating considering the amount of time spent on her). She is clearly way more involved in the main plot line, somehow.

Spoiler:

Her patron's behavior and his need for secrecy. Their presence at the wedding at Mauthen Farm. Her being used to case the joint right before the tragedy there. Her(and her patrons) presence in Severen while the Maer was on the verge of death. And finally "that" song(and it's twisted facts) are just to big a things to be discarded as mere coincidences.

Sadly, I don't expect PR to give us any more insight into her until after the events of Doors of Stone. I'm sure they will continue crossing paths but I expect it their relationship to remain more of the same

Good book, I'd recommend it.

Agreed

[DOT]

Name of the Wind is really good imo

Agreed

It's sequel, Wise Man's Fear, is pure garbage and Doors of Stone might not even come out next year (Wise Man's Fear came out in 2011, fyi)

The reason it's taking so long is that so many things are set up in Name of the Wind that are really not touched on in Wise Man's Fear, so the writer, Patrick Rothfuss, is trying to find a way to end it satisfyingly, which he probably won't be able to do

I disagree about Wise Man's Fear. But, I suspect that this may be due to the the fact that I was already informed that WMF will exclusively focus on young Kvothe's training and very little insight will be given on the main plot line. This meant that I was saved from discovering this unfortunate fact at the end of a very long(but gripping) book.

As for book # 3, Doors of Stone is suppose to cover the events dating from the party at the King's Arms to the day Kvothe and Bast came to their present position at the Waystone Inn - Confirmed by Patrick Rothfuss himself

Below is what I think that means(it does include spoilers from book 1 & 2).

Spoiler:

I don't think Kvothe has dealt with the Chandrian yet. In fact, I don't even think he has found any of the hidden Amyr yet(at least knowingly). However, I'm sure we will get a lot more info on both factions in the third book. I also think that he will cross paths with one or more of their members in book 3(considering he did cross path with one of the Chandrian in book 2). But I definitely don't expect an all out battle quite just yet. IMO, Kingkiller Chronicle is basically a prequel series to an adult Kvothe's quest for vengence.

The final resolution won't happen until the very end of Rothfuss' next book(series?). Meaning we may well be in for a 10-20 yr wait for the final resolution. This would really suck, but I can live with this fact as PR continues to put out equally good work. GRRM has trained me well.

Also, the love interest is the worst character that's ever been written.

I can't really disagree with this. However, I honestly think this is done on purpose by Patrick Rothfuss. We, like Kvothe, still know next to nothing about her(which is excruciatingly frustrating considering the amount of time spent on her). She is clearly way more involved in the main plot line, somehow.

Spoiler:

Her patron's behavior and his need for secrecy. Their presence at the wedding at Mauthen Farm. Her being used to case the joint right before the tragedy there. Her(and her patrons) presence in Severen while the Maer was on the verge of death. And finally "that" song(and it's twisted facts) are just to big a things to be discarded as mere coincidences.

Sadly, I don't expect PR to give us any more insight into her until after the events of Doors of Stone. I'm sure they will continue crossing paths but I expect it their relationship to remain more of the same

Good book, I'd recommend it.

Agreed

Haven't read the book in a couple years, so my exact recollection is gonna be a bit off

My biggest gripe honestly is

Spoiler:

the sex goddess part. Like, honestly it just felt like a bad power fantasy at that point "and then the virgin Kvothe became the best sexer that ever lived"

Also, Rothfuss has a nasty habit of intentionally skipping over parts of the story that would probably be more interesting than what actually was in the book. Like, we basically see none of Kvothe living in the city (forget the exact name of the city), and the part where he gets shipwrecked and survives by floating on his guitar thing case.

From a storytelling perspective, it just feels like he's been setting up way too many plot threads for them to close satisfactorily in the third book. It'd make sense if he was writing this as a prequel of sorts, but there's just so many events that are brought up but Kvothe hasn't gotten to telling Chronicler about, and he only has one more day

And I get that the point is Kvothe is an unreliable narrator, really it's kinda refreshing to read a story from a biased perspective, but at certain points it just feels like Rothfuss is lazy at least in his storytelling, his prose and wordplay is always on point. I've given him the benefit of the doubt before when it comes to stuff like that, but I honestly can't tell if most of the mistakes are intentional or not

I'm definitely gonna pick up Doors of Stone, but my expectations are extremely low for it to be good

[Cubbies2120]

My biggest gripe honestly is

Spoiler:

the sex goddess part. Like, honestly it just felt like a bad power fantasy at that point "and then the virgin Kvothe became the best sexer that ever lived"

Also, Rothfuss has a nasty habit of intentionally skipping over parts of the story that would probably be more interesting than what actually was in the book. Like, we basically see none of Kvothe living in the city (forget the exact name of the city), and the part where he gets shipwrecked and survives by floating on his guitar thing case.

Spoiler:

The Felurian part definitely was definitely outta left field. Felt like I was reading some weird combo of twilight/fify shades But it did serve a purpose.

1 Introduced Kvothe to the Fae world, more importantly the Cthaeh(Oracle in the tree)
2 Get Kvothe over his awkward phase so he can continue building his reputation which is clearly so important to his younger self.
3 Got Kvothe to realize what Elodin was teaching him (although I don't think I would've been thinking about school if I were him there)

But yeah, it didn't have to be as long as it was. As you said, some of the time could've been used to give us the details of Kvothe's shipwreck on his way to Severen. Skipping over those details did seem like lazy writing on PR's part.

From a storytelling perspective, it just feels like he's been setting up way too many plot threads for them to close satisfactorily in the third book. It'd make sense if he was writing this as a prequel of sorts,...

Spoiler:

I strongly believe that it is indeed a prequel series. PR has all but confirmed this, in his own words...The contents of book 3 are suppose to show how "Kvothe's life arrived to where he is now". "Now" being the start of book one.

Do you think it looks like he's beat the Chandrian at the start of book 1? I don't.

but there's just so many events that are brought up but Kvothe hasn't gotten to telling Chronicler about, and he only has one more day

Spoiler:

We will have to wait a lot longer for many of these answers if the prequel theory hold true.

[SmoothLefty21]

After years of nagging from my wife I finally gave in and started the Harry Potter books last month.

We were talking about books/movies which strayed into discussing the best villains and she adamantly argued that Voldemort is a better villain than Darth Vader. At that point, I had to read the books if only for the sake of winning this argument lol. I've only seen bits and pieces of the movies, and my biggest takeaway was that Voldemort was too funny/ridiculous looking to be mentioned in the same breath as Vader.

I'm halfway through the fifth book. I like them more than I expected though they're absurdly long for what they are once you reach the fourth book. The first 300 pages could be condensed to 100 and are mostly the same in each book; he's miserable at his aunt/uncle's waiting for school to start, he takes the train to school, the academic year gets off to a rocky start, they introduce a new DATDA professor, etc. Of course Rowling is adding new details to set up later action but still, it's a bit too much. She's re-writing the same book seven times, I gather. Those who read the books as they came out probably weren't that bothered by it but when you're reading all seven in succession it begins to wear on you.

There is quite a bit of deus ex machina and new magic is introduced when it's convenient but overall they're entertaining books. I can't help but suspend belief quite a bit when reading a series like this and not nit-pick it. The world-building is impressive, the characters are great and I like that it doesn't take the genre too seriously, granted it's a YA series.

The teenage angst in the fifth book is off the charts, btw. Harry needs a blunt and a blowjob. I'm certain this will be my least favorite book in the series (my wife swears this is the only book where Harry has a bug up his arse).


Once I wrap these up I'm going to read Colum McCann's Let The Great World Spin.

[Cubbies2120]

Finished the Stormlight Archive.

I'm thoroughly impressed with pretty much every aspect of this series. The world, the unique magic system, the characters and pacing, for an epic fantasy, were all exceptional.


Also blitzed through Ready Player One in anticipation of the movie release this week.

This book is pure fun, as long as you take it for exactly what it is - A massive love letter to the 80's pop culture, specifically the sci-fi, fantasy & gaming genre. Don't expect any deep life lessons, an epic journey or any of that stuff. It's simply a light-hearted joy ride full of 80's references.

[thebuzzardman]

Name of the Wind is really good imo

Agreed

It's sequel, Wise Man's Fear, is pure garbage and Doors of Stone might not even come out next year (Wise Man's Fear came out in 2011, fyi)

The reason it's taking so long is that so many things are set up in Name of the Wind that are really not touched on in Wise Man's Fear, so the writer, Patrick Rothfuss, is trying to find a way to end it satisfyingly, which he probably won't be able to do

I disagree about Wise Man's Fear. But, I suspect that this may be due to the the fact that I was already informed that WMF will exclusively focus on young Kvothe's training and very little insight will be given on the main plot line. This meant that I was saved from discovering this unfortunate fact at the end of a very long(but gripping) book.

As for book # 3, Doors of Stone is suppose to cover the events dating from the party at the King's Arms to the day Kvothe and Bast came to their present position at the Waystone Inn - Confirmed by Patrick Rothfuss himself

Below is what I think that means(it does include spoilers from book 1 & 2).

Spoiler:

I don't think Kvothe has dealt with the Chandrian yet. In fact, I don't even think he has found any of the hidden Amyr yet(at least knowingly). However, I'm sure we will get a lot more info on both factions in the third book. I also think that he will cross paths with one or more of their members in book 3(considering he did cross path with one of the Chandrian in book 2). But I definitely don't expect an all out battle quite just yet. IMO, Kingkiller Chronicle is basically a prequel series to an adult Kvothe's quest for vengence.

The final resolution won't happen until the very end of Rothfuss' next book(series?). Meaning we may well be in for a 10-20 yr wait for the final resolution. This would really suck, but I can live with this fact as PR continues to put out equally good work. GRRM has trained me well.

Also, the love interest is the worst character that's ever been written.

I can't really disagree with this. However, I honestly think this is done on purpose by Patrick Rothfuss. We, like Kvothe, still know next to nothing about her(which is excruciatingly frustrating considering the amount of time spent on her). She is clearly way more involved in the main plot line, somehow.

Spoiler:

Her patron's behavior and his need for secrecy. Their presence at the wedding at Mauthen Farm. Her being used to case the joint right before the tragedy there. Her(and her patrons) presence in Severen while the Maer was on the verge of death. And finally "that" song(and it's twisted facts) are just to big a things to be discarded as mere coincidences.

Sadly, I don't expect PR to give us any more insight into her until after the events of Doors of Stone. I'm sure they will continue crossing paths but I expect it their relationship to remain more of the same

Good book, I'd recommend it.

Agreed

Missed all this discussion. Good points all the way around. I liked WMF though. I didn't think it was garbage. I can get a little uncritical when I like the story and the character. I liked it enough to read it more than once - same for both books. Part of that is because Rothruss probably won't put out the 3rd book ever.

*edit - While WMF focuses on the training and sort of digresses from the first books main plot, I feel like the author was setting up a lot of stuff and it hangs together pretty well as one big book, which is how I've read them. Annoying, WMF also is sort of a classic 2nd book/movie in a trilogy, where it sets up a lot, and then....7 years later or whatever, still no payoff.

[DOT]

Name of the Wind is really good imo

Agreed

It's sequel, Wise Man's Fear, is pure garbage and Doors of Stone might not even come out next year (Wise Man's Fear came out in 2011, fyi)

The reason it's taking so long is that so many things are set up in Name of the Wind that are really not touched on in Wise Man's Fear, so the writer, Patrick Rothfuss, is trying to find a way to end it satisfyingly, which he probably won't be able to do

I disagree about Wise Man's Fear. But, I suspect that this may be due to the the fact that I was already informed that WMF will exclusively focus on young Kvothe's training and very little insight will be given on the main plot line. This meant that I was saved from discovering this unfortunate fact at the end of a very long(but gripping) book.

As for book # 3, Doors of Stone is suppose to cover the events dating from the party at the King's Arms to the day Kvothe and Bast came to their present position at the Waystone Inn - Confirmed by Patrick Rothfuss himself

Below is what I think that means(it does include spoilers from book 1 & 2).

Spoiler:

I don't think Kvothe has dealt with the Chandrian yet. In fact, I don't even think he has found any of the hidden Amyr yet(at least knowingly). However, I'm sure we will get a lot more info on both factions in the third book. I also think that he will cross paths with one or more of their members in book 3(considering he did cross path with one of the Chandrian in book 2). But I definitely don't expect an all out battle quite just yet. IMO, Kingkiller Chronicle is basically a prequel series to an adult Kvothe's quest for vengence.

The final resolution won't happen until the very end of Rothfuss' next book(series?). Meaning we may well be in for a 10-20 yr wait for the final resolution. This would really suck, but I can live with this fact as PR continues to put out equally good work. GRRM has trained me well.

Also, the love interest is the worst character that's ever been written.

I can't really disagree with this. However, I honestly think this is done on purpose by Patrick Rothfuss. We, like Kvothe, still know next to nothing about her(which is excruciatingly frustrating considering the amount of time spent on her). She is clearly way more involved in the main plot line, somehow.

Spoiler:

Her patron's behavior and his need for secrecy. Their presence at the wedding at Mauthen Farm. Her being used to case the joint right before the tragedy there. Her(and her patrons) presence in Severen while the Maer was on the verge of death. And finally "that" song(and it's twisted facts) are just to big a things to be discarded as mere coincidences.

Sadly, I don't expect PR to give us any more insight into her until after the events of Doors of Stone. I'm sure they will continue crossing paths but I expect it their relationship to remain more of the same

Good book, I'd recommend it.

Agreed

Missed all this discussion. Good points all the way around. I liked WMF though. I didn't think it was garbage. I can get a little uncritical when I like the story and the character. I liked it enough to read it more than once - same for both books. Part of that is because Rothruss probably won't put out the 3rd book ever.

*edit - While WMF focuses on the training and sort of digresses from the first books main plot, I feel like the author was setting up a lot of stuff and it hangs together pretty well as one big book, which is how I've read them. Annoying, WMF also is sort of a classic 2nd book/movie in a trilogy, where it sets up a lot, and then....7 years later or whatever, still no payoff.

Went back and re-read both books last week, and wmf definitely isn't as bad as I remember it being

The whole thing with Felurian is still stupid, and I still hate Denna as a character, but overall it's decent

I do think a lot of it is I've just been waiting for so long to get some sort of closure, and still nothing. And I hadn't read it in like 5 years, so my recollection was a bit off. At least Rothfuss is still youngish, it's not like he's GRRM and he might have a heart attack any day. Also I've been spoiled by Brandon Sanderson. I don't know how he does it, but he writes so many books. Last year was the first time in years he only had one book come out, meanwhile 7 years and still tbd on Doors of Stone

[jvsimonetti0514]

So I just finished Iron Gold and it was just okay. It really felt like the first half of the book was just recapping the events from the fall of Lune. Those stories were so much more interesting than what was actually happening in the "IRL". This book had a real Dance of Dragons/ Feast for Crows feel to me. It like spent it's entire time setting up the next book and not giving you a full three act story arc. It almost like he needed to get through all of the BS to put all the pieces in the right place to tell the story he actually wants to tell.

I don't really like that he decided to do multiple POV's after only the first 3 books were just one. Only really Lysander and Ephraim had any character development that had some sort of payoff at the end of the book. At least I'm still excited for the next book unlike I am for the next Star Wars movie.

[Cubbies2120]

Missed all this discussion. Good points all the way around. I liked WMF though. I didn't think it was garbage. I can get a little uncritical when I like the story and the character. I liked it enough to read it more than once - same for both books. Part of that is because Rothruss probably won't put out the 3rd book ever.

*edit - While WMF focuses on the training and sort of digresses from the first books main plot, I feel like the author was setting up a lot of stuff and it hangs together pretty well as one big book, which is how I've read them. Annoying, WMF also is sort of a classic 2nd book/movie in a trilogy, where it sets up a lot, and then....7 years later or whatever, still no payoff.

I'm still not sure how DoS is gonna work. Rothfuss has stated that it will close the door on Kvothe's arc that began in book one.

Spoiler:

That means a big chunk of the book will dedicated to Kvothe narrating the events from the end of WMF to the day he met the Chronicler. Following that, PR has to take the story from the 3rd night at the inn to the resolution of the Kvothe vs Chandrian plot.

This means one of two things

1. The Chandrian encounter is gonna be squished in at the end. This will piss off everyone as the ending will likely be rushed and unsatisfactory after 7+ years of wait.
or
2. DoS will make a run at the Guinness book record for longest book ever

Alpha manuscript of DoS from 2013(from wiki)


Seems like even PR is not sure how to go about DoS

[thebuzzardman]

Missed all this discussion. Good points all the way around. I liked WMF though. I didn't think it was garbage. I can get a little uncritical when I like the story and the character. I liked it enough to read it more than once - same for both books. Part of that is because Rothruss probably won't put out the 3rd book ever.

*edit - While WMF focuses on the training and sort of digresses from the first books main plot, I feel like the author was setting up a lot of stuff and it hangs together pretty well as one big book, which is how I've read them. Annoying, WMF also is sort of a classic 2nd book/movie in a trilogy, where it sets up a lot, and then....7 years later or whatever, still no payoff.

I'm still not sure how DoS is gonna work. Rothfuss has stated that it will close the door on Kvothe's arc that began in book one.

Spoiler:

That means a big chunk of the book will dedicated to Kvothe narrating the events from the end of WMF to the day he met the Chronicler. Following that, PR has to take the story from the 3rd night at the inn to the resolution of the Kvothe vs Chandrian plot.

This means one of two things

1. The Chandrian encounter is gonna be squished in at the end. This will piss off everyone as the ending will likely be rushed and unsatisfactory after 7+ years of wait.
or
2. DoS will make a run at the Guinness book record for longest book ever

Alpha manuscript of DoS from 2013(from wiki)


Seems like even PR is not sure how to go about DoS

Everything I've read about the books indicates they are pretty layered in meaning and you can see he's set up a lot of complex relationships, levels of meaning and symbolism, in what appears to be a sort of simple tale. I think the hard part is he wants to really "get it right" and it's an extremely ambitious undertaking. Just tying up the story would be easy enough, but he has this whole multi layered mythology thing he's doing with it and I think that's the hard part - making it all make sense. Just a thought. Probably not a unique one either; I've read enough Reddit sections on it.

[Javier Acosta]

Jusat finished:



On audiobook:

[gavran]

Why are you listening to a Hungarian book?

[King of Canada]

Name of the Wind is really good imo

Agreed

It's sequel, Wise Man's Fear, is pure garbage and Doors of Stone might not even come out next year (Wise Man's Fear came out in 2011, fyi)

The reason it's taking so long is that so many things are set up in Name of the Wind that are really not touched on in Wise Man's Fear, so the writer, Patrick Rothfuss, is trying to find a way to end it satisfyingly, which he probably won't be able to do

I disagree about Wise Man's Fear. But, I suspect that this may be due to the the fact that I was already informed that WMF will exclusively focus on young Kvothe's training and very little insight will be given on the main plot line. This meant that I was saved from discovering this unfortunate fact at the end of a very long(but gripping) book.

As for book # 3, Doors of Stone is suppose to cover the events dating from the party at the King's Arms to the day Kvothe and Bast came to their present position at the Waystone Inn - Confirmed by Patrick Rothfuss himself

Below is what I think that means(it does include spoilers from book 1 & 2).

Spoiler:

I don't think Kvothe has dealt with the Chandrian yet. In fact, I don't even think he has found any of the hidden Amyr yet(at least knowingly). However, I'm sure we will get a lot more info on both factions in the third book. I also think that he will cross paths with one or more of their members in book 3(considering he did cross path with one of the Chandrian in book 2). But I definitely don't expect an all out battle quite just yet. IMO, Kingkiller Chronicle is basically a prequel series to an adult Kvothe's quest for vengence.

The final resolution won't happen until the very end of Rothfuss' next book(series?). Meaning we may well be in for a 10-20 yr wait for the final resolution. This would really suck, but I can live with this fact as PR continues to put out equally good work. GRRM has trained me well.

Also, the love interest is the worst character that's ever been written.

I can't really disagree with this. However, I honestly think this is done on purpose by Patrick Rothfuss. We, like Kvothe, still know next to nothing about her(which is excruciatingly frustrating considering the amount of time spent on her). She is clearly way more involved in the main plot line, somehow.

Spoiler:

Her patron's behavior and his need for secrecy. Their presence at the wedding at Mauthen Farm. Her being used to case the joint right before the tragedy there. Her(and her patrons) presence in Severen while the Maer was on the verge of death. And finally "that" song(and it's twisted facts) are just to big a things to be discarded as mere coincidences.

Sadly, I don't expect PR to give us any more insight into her until after the events of Doors of Stone. I'm sure they will continue crossing paths but I expect it their relationship to remain more of the same

Good book, I'd recommend it.

Agreed

Haven't read the book in a couple years, so my exact recollection is gonna be a bit off

My biggest gripe honestly is

Spoiler:

the sex goddess part. Like, honestly it just felt like a bad power fantasy at that point "and then the virgin Kvothe became the best sexer that ever lived"

Also, Rothfuss has a nasty habit of intentionally skipping over parts of the story that would probably be more interesting than what actually was in the book. Like, we basically see none of Kvothe living in the city (forget the exact name of the city), and the part where he gets shipwrecked and survives by floating on his guitar thing case.

From a storytelling perspective, it just feels like he's been setting up way too many plot threads for them to close satisfactorily in the third book. It'd make sense if he was writing this as a prequel of sorts, but there's just so many events that are brought up but Kvothe hasn't gotten to telling Chronicler about, and he only has one more day

And I get that the point is Kvothe is an unreliable narrator, really it's kinda refreshing to read a story from a biased perspective, but at certain points it just feels like Rothfuss is lazy at least in his storytelling, his prose and wordplay is always on point. I've given him the benefit of the doubt before when it comes to stuff like that, but I honestly can't tell if most of the mistakes are intentional or not

I'm definitely gonna pick up Doors of Stone, but my expectations are extremely low for it to be good

I read Name of the Wind years ago after GRRM recommended it, and really enjoyed it. Years later I tried to read the second book and couldn't remember any of the first book, so couldn't get into it at all.

[NYKAL]

Been dedicating my free time to reading through some books I've bought but haven't read yet. So far this year:

This Is How You Lose Her, Junot Diaz (Already read Oscar, but damn is Junot a great writer...)
Drown, Junot Diaz
Ready Player One, Earnest Cline (Looking forward to the movie coming soon)
Don't Call Us Dead, Danez Smith (Contemporary poetry...but a lot of good poems on the current state of affairs for young black males in America, being a gay male, and being HIV positive. Mind expanding as I cannot relate to the last two and can only half relate to the first)
1984, George Orwell (One of those rare books where I just kept on saying WTF towards the end and at the end...)
Animal Farm, George Orwell (Obvious parallels with the Russian Revolution and just so damn good)

Debating what to read next, as I have a billion things on my shelf. Maybe Lord of the Flies... I have quite a few classics yet I have to read.

Has anyone read Name of the Wind? On my shelf, but probably won't get to it for a while..

Name of the Wind is really good imo

It's sequel, Wise Man's Fear, is pure garbage and Doors of Stone might not even come out next year (Wise Man's Fear came out in 2011, fyi)

The reason it's taking so long is that so many things are set up in Name of the Wind that are really not touched on in Wise Man's Fear, so the writer, Patrick Rothfuss, is trying to find a way to end it satisfyingly, which he probably won't be able to do

Name of the Wind is kind of Harry Potter meets Lord of the Rings. Teenage main character who's a prodigy at everything (and I mean everything) goes to a magic school and has to learn about a dark evil that killed his parents that he makes it his mission to destroy

Also, the love interest is the worst character that's ever been written. Good book, I'd recommend it.

I agree with everything said, including the bit about Doors of Stone. Dude seems like the next George RR Martin and I'm not messing with nay series that takes 10+years per book. I might be dead before he finishes just like a lot of George RR Martin fans...considering his first book came out in the lat 80's.

It sucks but, the Red series is the only one I (happily) took a chance on prior to the entire series being complete because now, I wait for them all to come out.

I'm reading the Core by Peter V Brett. Then its off to World Newton.....been collecting them for a few years and now, time to dive in.