The Book Club

[POOHEAD189]

To be fair Rand does have 3 women madly in love with him for literally no reason I can determine. It must be going around because Lan and Nynaeve are also magically in love by divine fiat and no other reason. At least Perrin and Faile are halfway believable.

@Penny

Yeah, the romances were a huge stretch. I found the Aviendha romance kind of believable, and then the snow thing with the body warming trope was just dramatic enough for me to think it worked.
...But then she still wanted Elayne to be with him, and he still had a thing for the other two girls, and it brought all of the other romance arcs flooding back and I felt it was way too much.

Am I crazy or do you think that a lot of WoT characters would be better off with ones they didn't end up with?

[Penny]

The more I think about it the more silly all the romances seem.

Egwene and Gawyn?
Beralain and Galad?!
Thom and Morraine?

[POOHEAD189]

Exactly! Some were so forced and out of nowhere. I felt like I must have been crazy for awhile.

[0 Azzy 0]

I can't exactly comment too much on some of these that haven't cropped up yet at the point in the series where I am, though I do have to say that romantic relationships are definitely not one of Robert Jordan's strong points. XD

[Penny]

Spoilers, all the romances suck :P

[Penny]

I was hardcore shipping Lanfear and Rand, alas it was not to be.

[0 Azzy 0]

That being said, I do sorta like the non-romantic interpersonal relationships in the books, often finding them both obnoxious yet strangely realistic. Particularly all the inane bickering that, while they do drag some parts of the book on longer than necessary, also seem to kinda make the characters feel more like people.

[POOHEAD189]

I can't exactly comment too much on some of these that haven't cropped up yet at the point in the series where I am, though I do have to say that romantic relationships are definitely not one of Robert Jordan's strong points. XD

@0 Azzy 0

What book are you on? Sorry I thought you completed the series.

I was hardcore shipping Lanfear and Rand, alas it was not to be.

@Penny

That is a twisted ship right there. Then again I'm usually not better with any pairings I have.

[Penny]

That is a twisted ship right there.

@POOHEAD189

I like what I like!

@0 Azzy 0
I remember there being a whole book that is basically Nynaeve and Elayne bitching at each other.

[0 Azzy 0]

What book are you on? Sorry I thought you completed the series.

@POOHEAD189

Middle of the 10th book, so pretty far along but not quite there yet.

I remember there being a whole book that is basically Nynaeve and Elayne bitching at each other.

@Penny

Yeaaaaaaaah, I do remember being constantly like: "good god, just be mature adults and get back to advancing plot". It was mostly in hindsight that I kinda grudgingly admitted that there are plenty of people in real life who just don't get along and will just snipe at each other back and forth forever if forced to be in close proximity. Turns out Nynaeve just has a rather toxic personality. XD

[POOHEAD189]

Yeah, the 5th book isn't given such an apocalyptic name like "The Fires of Heaven" for nothing :P. That was a bitchy read.

[FantasyChic]

Oh I love reading! And I like actual books too! Not that I don't enjoy reading on my phone, but it's just not the same!

As for recommendations of my own. I'll comb through this list later so sorry if I repeat.

Atlas Shrugged

I know this book is long. Like...REALLY long...but wow is it good. It's intriguing and makes you think. Books that make you think like this made me thing are typically taken off the shelves. It may not be THAT bad, but it was a compelling read. It had its funny moments, sad, and upsetting ones too. I definitely recommend it.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (and by association..the other ones that follow it)

If you love a good mystery/suspense book, this book (and series) is one of my favorites. I recently reread the book because I kind of forgot how it played out and I was hooked yet again. I believe the author recently released another one that I haven't read yet (but plan on it). It is a lot of fun reading these.

Jd Robb's IN DEATH series

This is my guilty pleasure book series. I have every single book that has come out in this series and I absolutely love it. It's set in the future and follows a New York police detective. It's action-packed and comical, but it has a lot of heartfelt moments in it too. And they connect super well. Each minor character has his/her own voice too and when you see them you kind of know what to expect, but occasionally there's a surprise thrown in. In fact my favorite character is her partner, Peabody, who I don't feel gets the limelight often enough. Either way, I HIGHLY recommend this series (but PLEASE start at the beginning. It's for the best).

[AlteredTundra]

Anything by Brent Weeks

You can say what you want about this guy. He's not as good as Tolkien or GRRM, but this guy can write serious page-turners. Some pages might not be as action-packed as the others, but I can promise you he'll have you yearning more of his work. Hell, there might be even times you're so angry at him for doing certain things in his stories, but it'll make you want to find out how shit gets better or worse for certain characters. While his plotlines aren't necessarily the most original nor top-3 excitement, he has gripping arcs for his characters and portrays them brilliantly.

If you decide to check his stuff out, I highly recommend starting with The Night Angel Trilogy, then moving to his current series, The Lightbringer Series. Is the latter better than the former? Absolutely, but in order to appreciate how his writing has matured from one to the other, you have to read them in the order of release. They're long(600 page length), but they're worth it. NAT is sort of like Assassin's Creed meets magic meets special artifacts. Lightbringer is all about politics and light and overconfident king-like figures and under-confidence. Ugh, both are great, okay? Just read them. You'll love me after it's all said and done.

Fun fact: there's a continuation of the Night Angel Trilogy on Weeks' official Wattpad and a prequel novella about one of the trilogy's most-beloved characters, Durzo Blint.

Don't say I never did anything for ya! ;D

[NuttsnBolts]

So was meaning to post up but been busy for the past few weeks...

• Starcraft Ghost Nova: Not a bad little cyberpunk like story. Been years since I read it but I still remember elements of it cause it's a simple read and a short story. 300 pages on an A6 style book.
• Born on a Blue Day: An autobiography about Daniel Tammet, a man who suffers Aspergers and yet he leads a completely normal life. His intelligence is amazing and he was able to perform 4 digit multiplication in his head and learn Polish in a week.
• Death Note: Another Note - The LA BB Murder Cases: The Book Netflix should have turned into a movie. It is about an old L case and the first time he worked with Naomi Misora. Engaging, full of mystery, and suspense.
• Matthew Reilly: Just gonna list the author cause it doesn't matter what you really read, he's a brilliant writer. His Scarecrow and Jack West series are both great and I need to spend more time reading his work.
• Neuromancer: A third of the way through this at the moment, but it is easy to see why this was revolutionary. Written decades ago and yet it feels so futuristic with concepts and ideas.

[Penny]

[quote=@NuttsnBolts]

[*]Matthew Reilly: Just gonna list the author cause it doesn't matter what you really read, he's a brilliant writer. His Scarecrow and Jack West series are both great and I need to spend more time reading his work.

[/quote]

I actually met Matthew Reilly when I was in Australia. I've read Ice Station and Temple. I am SHOCKED that Temple isn't an action movie.

[NuttsnBolts]

<Snipped quote by NuttsnBolts>

I actually met Matthew Reilly when I was in Australia. I've read Ice Station and Temple. I am SHOCKED that Temple isn't an action movie.

@Penny

Yeah, I saw him at Supanova when he had a talk and promo for his latest book. Really nice and down to earth guy.

[POOHEAD189]

@NuttsnBolts When'd you go to SuperNova, Nutter? I'm jealous tbh.

[NuttsnBolts]

Last was 3 years ago cause 2 years ago I was in Japan during that time and last year I had something on so I gave it a miss. This year I missed out as well but can't remember why. So honestly... Haven't been for a while.

[POOHEAD189]

Genre: Science Fiction
The Ultramarine Omnibus by Graham McNeill. I've read these books back in...I can't recall. I think Highschool or early years of college, and I'm just getting back into it. I'm just starting the third book in my re-read, so the last book of this omnibus, and there are six books in all (that are written, so two Omnibus'). This omnibus follows the Captain of the 4th company Uriel (as well as a few others, particularly his Sergeant Pasanius), fighting Necrons, Tyranids, and Chaos Space Marines throughout this interesting narrative. McNeill does a fine job by giving the rigid and fairly indoctrinated Space Marine mind a sense of self and a real individuality, which people don't often give to the Astartes very much, especially such a rigid chapter as the Ultramarines. Not only that, but he gives a wide variety of secondary and major human characters, as well as different world politics across the Imperium. I recommend this series for those wanting a good Space Marine read, as well as another Omnibus...


Genre: Science Fiction
The Space Wolf Omnibus by William King. If you're familiar with William King's Warhammer fantasy books, you'll not want to miss this Omnibus either. I never did finish the last book, but that was more from life than lack of enjoyment. William King writes just as well in this Omnibus, following the dark recruitment, training, and missions of Ragnar the Space Wolf, and his squad of Space Wolves. It's a stark contrast to the highly disciplined Ultramarine novels. For those that don't know, the Space Marines are highly encouraged to follow the Codex Astartes, a book of war written by the Ultramarine's Primarch back after the Horus Heresy. Most Chapters follow its example and rules, but a few key ones do not, the Space Wolves particularly among them. Known to have as much skill and discipline in battle as an Ultramarine, but they're also much more independent and separate from other Chapters with their own unique customs and battle doctrine. It's a hell of a Nordic themed read, as well.

[Silver Carrot]

Nice to see some Shanarra love! Heritage of Shanarra is still one of the best Fantasy Trilogies/Quadrilogies of all time in my opinion, up there with;

The Elenium Trilogy by David Eddings.

It's got great characters, magic, evil, high stakes, a complex villainous scheme. Everything you want in a fantasy, to be honest. Check it out if you like Fantasy.

Here are a few other books I recommend.

Call Of The Wild by Jack London.

It's great. It's a story about a dog growing more wild until it goes to live with wolves.

Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

It's a love story, but it's just so full of mystery, tension, and the main character and narrator is filled with paranoia and jealousy, and this comes through in the narration. It's really, really good.

Around The World In 80 Days by Jules Verne

Still one of the best adventure novels of all time despite it's age.