Now Reading...

Hey, I'm 45 years old and never married. Not sure I'm ready for that level of commitment. :lol: Seriously, it does sound like something I would enjoy. I'm wondering, though, if it's worth it for a newbie to invest that much time on such an epic project, especially knowing that someone else had to use the original author's notes to finish the series.



I'm actually liking the story better now that I've started at the *beginning*! But it still feels like the writing is a little too forced - it just doesn't "flow" to the point that I can completely lose myself in the story.

as for the wheel of time
it's a pretty decent series if you're looking for a series as opposed to just some kind of "stand-alone" fantasy novel

i've heard people say the 3rd is the best in the series
i've also heard that the 3rd is readable even if you haven't read the first 2

so maybe you might just want to read the 3rd book by itself maybe

as for the Eragon series
here's my thoughts on that
http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/philosopher/693955-classics-sometimes-crap.html
 

Thanks for the thoughts on WOT, although totally disagree on Eragon vs. LOTR. I’m liking Eragon better now that I’m in the 3rd book, but the writing still isn’t “flowing” well enough for me to get completely lost in the story or really wrapped up in the characters. LOTR was pure poetry from start to finish. And yes, I *read* the LOTR series…multiple times. The first time was back in the Dark Ages, when there were no movies, graphic novels, or audiobooks. :p
 
Upon a friends recommendation, starting "Perdido Street Station" by China Mieville. We'll see how it goes. I like steampunk a lot, but don't really get into magic in novels anymore.
 
If you are going to read the WoT series, do not skip the first two books and start on the second, it needs to be read in order.

i disagree on this

@ Luna TEKKE
the 4th one prolly won't make sense if you haven't read any of the first 3, but the 3rd one is still readable even if you haven't read the first 2

this is a book series that has a glossary at the end of each individual book
and there's riduculously extensive world-building going on here, so whether you're starting at the 1st book or the 3rd, i would tell you to read through (maybe even memorize) the glossary of the book you're holding before you even try to start reading the actual text
 
although totally disagree on Eragon vs. LOTR. I’m liking Eragon better now that I’m in the 3rd book, but the writing still isn’t “flowing” well enough for me to get completely lost in the story or really wrapped up in the characters. LOTR was pure poetry from start to finish. And yes, I *read* the LOTR series…multiple times. The first time was back in the Dark Ages, when there were no movies, graphic novels, or audiobooks. :p

well
here's the thing
the 3rd book is "better written" from a technical point-of-veiw than the 1st one because the 1st Eragon book was Paolini's 1st book, so obviously he's gonna get better at writing over time

but
with Tolkien, he didn't
 
Raise a glass to Iain Banks today, who died of cancer at 59. Way too young.

What I'm reading now:

eBook:

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pBook:

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Official description blurb since the cover is a bit vague:

On Christmas Day in 1893, every man, woman and child in a remote gold mining town disappeared, belongings forsaken, meals left to freeze in vacant cabins; and not a single bone was ever found. One hundred thirteen years later, two backcountry guides are hired by a history professor and his journalist daughter to lead them into the abandoned mining town so that they can learn what happened. With them is a psychic, and a paranormal photographer—as the town is rumored to be haunted. A party that tried to explore the town years ago was never heard from again. What this crew is about to discover is that twenty miles from civilization, with a blizzard bearing down, they are not alone, and the past is very much alive
 
i disagree on this

@ Luna TEKKE
the 4th one prolly won't make sense if you haven't read any of the first 3, but the 3rd one is still readable even if you haven't read the first 2

this is a book series that has a glossary at the end of each individual book
and there's riduculously extensive world-building going on here, so whether you're starting at the 1st book or the 3rd, i would tell you to read through (maybe even memorize) the glossary of the book you're holding before you even try to start reading the actual text

Can you explain how the third book can be read standalone without reading the first two? I know Jordan rehashed a lot of details at the beginning of each book for a while, but I feel like you'd still miss a lot by skipping those first two entirely. I kinda want to try this, but I'm at the end of book 4 of A Song of Ice and Fire and will start on book 5 immediately.

And that glossary tactic is odd. I would certainly advise flipping to it while you're reading, though. Also, later on, those glossary entries can spoil things if you're not careful.
 
Can you explain how the third book can be read standalone without reading the first two? I know Jordan rehashed a lot of details at the beginning of each book for a while, but I feel like you'd still miss a lot by skipping those first two entirely. I kinda want to try this, but I'm at the end of book 4 of A Song of Ice and Fire and will start on book 5 immediately.

And that glossary tactic is odd. I would certainly advise flipping to it while you're reading, though. Also, later on, those glossary entries can spoil things if you're not careful.

"that glossary tactic" is how i read fiction books that have a glossary

it helps me to understand the world that the characters are living in

it works pretty good for the 3rd book of the Wheel of Time
read the glossary at the end of the 3rd book, then read the text of the 3rd book
if you do it this way, you'll be able to read the 3rd book with out having to read the first 2 books beforehand
 
Can you explain how the third book can be read standalone without reading the first two? I know Jordan rehashed a lot of details at the beginning of each book for a while, but I feel like you'd still miss a lot by skipping those first two entirely. I kinda want to try this, but I'm at the end of book 4 of A Song of Ice and Fire and will start on book 5 immediately.

And that glossary tactic is odd. I would certainly advise flipping to it while you're reading, though. Also, later on, those glossary entries can spoil things if you're not careful.

Don't do it. Books 1 and 2 are both good reads. Why skip them? Now it may be worth trying on books 8-11...
 
Don't do it. Books 1 and 2 are both good reads. Why skip them? Now it may be worth trying on books 8-11...

i only mentioned reading the 3rd "as a stand alone" because

A
someone at some point, somewhere on ultimate metal, mentioned the 3rd as being "the best of the series" and "definately better than the 1st 2"

and

B
it's possible to read the 3rd one first if you read the glossary before reading the text
 
And that glossary tactic is odd. I would certainly advise flipping to it while you're reading, though. Also, later on, those glossary entries can spoil things if you're not careful.

why is "that glossary tactic odd"??

like seriously it's how i've always read fantasy books that have a glossary
read the glossary first, then read the text, like why the fucking hell doesn't everyone do this
if the book even has a goddamm glossary, i'm gonna read glossary first because it's really fucking annoying when you're reading a book and every single fucking page contains 1 or 2 words that don't exist in your standard wal-mart dictionary
 
why is "that glossary tactic odd"??

It's odd because usually one gets all the info from the actual story, and the glossary or index is used for reference in case you forget who someone is, what country a certain city is located, etc.

Reading the glossary first can spoil things, too. At the beginning of Book 1, when a certain character is being attacked by horrible things, there's a certain suspense in that you don't know what the Hell these things are. But if you read the entry for these creatures in the back of the book before reading ... well ... you already know what they are, what they're capable of, how they're organized in their homeland, etc., and it just takes away from the experience a bit.

It works for you, and that's great. I only say "odd" because most people don't do it that way.