Bah! I have to admit I am not a fan of Feist. I do however adore the Divine Lois. Check out anything by Lois McMaster Bujold. From rollicking space opera to deep psychological insight fantasy drama. Also very dry, deadpan funny. Good entry points - Memory, Diplomatic Immunity, The Curse of Chalion, Falling Free, The Sharing Knife - for a selection from her major universes. But she does perpetrate serieses, so enter at your own risk.
Comment on Daily Discussion Thread: 🚂 Wednesday, November 20, 2024
calhoon2005@aussie.zone 3 days ago
I finished reading the Expanse last night. I’ve not been that engaged with a book series since I discovered Tom Clancy as a 12 year old who was obsessed with Navy aircraft. Don’t really know what to read now… I saw an interview with Henry Cavill where he was asked his go to sci fi writers. Without hesitation the first thing he said was anything by Robert E Feist… So I guess I’ll try that…
TheWitchofThornbury@aussie.zone 3 days ago
dumblederp@aussie.zone 2 days ago
The Altered Carbon books are pretty good.
Seagoon_@aussie.zone 2 days ago
I admit I haven’t read any modern science fiction lately , the newest was His Dark Materials.
StudChud@aussie.zone 2 days ago
God no. Not Feist. 😭
His women characters suck majorly. The only time he gets it right is The Empire Trilogy, and the only reason is because he collaborated with Janny Wurts (a woman).
If you do read his stuff, avoid Faerie Tale at all costs.
Major Spoiler for Faerie Tale and TW: Grape and SA
Pan raping a teenager is not something I was prepared for, Feist writes her so awfully. He doesn’t know what a woman is.
Sorry for the rant. I think I just hate Feist. No one should stop you from enjoying a piece of art (novels in this case).
calhoon2005@aussie.zone 2 days ago
Noted. And off my to read list.
StudChud@aussie.zone 2 days ago
Lol you don’t have to do that 😬😭 feist did write a huge arcing sci-fi/fantasy series that is super unique imo. I’m just AFAB so his writing of women is super apparent to me. But he is a beloved renowned writer with original ideas!
Paul Stewart - The Edge Chronicles, illustrated by Chris Riddell is a great series. Mostly fantasy with sci-fi elements, unique beautiful story.
TheWitchofThornbury@aussie.zone 2 days ago
Tend to agree with all of that. I much prefer L E Modesitt Jr if I want stock characters with a predictable plotline. He’s a much better wordsmith than Feist.
calhoon2005@aussie.zone 2 days ago
Oh… Well. Some strong opinions. I’ll strike Feist of the list then. …scared to ask now… What about Brandon Sanderson?
Duenan@aussie.zone 2 days ago
I used to read LE modesitt ages ago and own a few too.
Interesting take on magic from what I remember.
I don’t think I ever got onto Feist myself.
I was a big fan of Anne McCaffrey but was biased because of my love for dragons.
Tolkien was very hard for me to digest, The Hobbit was the hardest read I’d ever done.
TheWitchofThornbury@aussie.zone 2 days ago
Modesitt has one huuuuuge failing - all his tall dark and handsome heroes are pretty much identical. And the female characters are strong alright, but also smug and kinda offensive in how they interact with people. I do like how he puts emphasis on how magic comes at a price, and that price can be high. He got better as he got older - his recent ones are much more readable too. The Imager Portfolio is imo his best long work to date.
I used to love Anne McCaffrey too - the dragons are adorable, but she too did the same saleable story over and over. After a bit you could predict the end by the finish of the third chapter or so. If not earlier, and I got bored with that.
Tolkein I met as a reader when I was 8. The Hobbit was wunnderful at that age. LOTR came soon after and I loved it until I had to study it in year 12 high school. Which killed it for many years. I haven’t seen the films - don’t know that I want to as I’m not a film person for the most part.
For light sci-fi/fantasy, I still have a strong affection for Mercedes Lackey - simple stories, well told and believable. May include dragons/magic but not guaranteed. Perfect light reading. Along with T Kingfisher - The Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking was some of the best YA stuff I’ve read recently.
George RR Martin has been a favorite for years - once you get past his obsession with zombies and cartoon characters he tells a good yarn well. Along with Kim Stanley Robinson. The Tuf Voyaging collection is a standout for me. However, the Divine Lois and Connie Willis are my current fab fave authors. Because intelligent and self and socially aware and not in the slightest bit condescending. They make you work but it’s worth it.