I've already added a bunch of these to my book list. As soon as I have some cash to spare I'll be looking out for them.
Question about Garth Nix though; is his work consistent? I remember reading one of his books a long time ago, I think it was called Mister Monday. It wasn't very good.
That was from his "Keys to the Kingsom" series. It gets better as it goes along-- Mister Monday being my least favorite of them. His writing in The Abhorsen, Ragwitch, and Shade's Children are all stellar though!
Edit to add: I never bought the Keys series; I went to the library for those. Save some money and see if you like them enough to buy by going to your local library and digging in there!
Yeah, that was how I found them. Mister Monday was the only one my school library had at the time and it didn't tickle me so I decided not to pursue the rest of the series.
Also Kire; I bought the first Firekeeper book. It's sitting in my "Not Yet Read" drawer until I can get through what I currently have. The Princess Mononoke girl-raised-by-wolves flashbacks inspired me to get that first so we'll see how it goes. 83
More information than just names and titles would be appreciated on my end, it's easier for me to gauge a purchase on a book if I know the person doing the recommending. I could read synopsis' and reviews all day and still feel wary.
Post by Shiro Usagi on Apr 9, 2016 23:22:06 GMT -5
Well...
Everyone is recommending this big giant epic series and authors...and Bunny isn't really one for those sorts of things. Bunny prefers smaller scale series or novelizations of something preexisting.
So with that in mind for Sir Obsession Bunny offers her real list of things:
The Resident Evil Series by S.D.Perry. The majority of the books in the series are novelizations of the stories from the games up to Resident Evil: Code Veronica. She does also write three wholly original stories as well that fit between the events of the games in places. All of the books are 100% approved by Capcom, having been written and released in Japanese first then later released in English. The books based on the games add a lot of detail to the stories as presented in the games while also filling in plot holes that you would otherwise have to read the games production notes or read the "Biohazard Bible" to get. The original stories that are also included in the series are also pretty good I think, and they also serve to expand on some details within the previous mentioned production notes and "Biohazard Bible" that are otherwise just off handedly mentioned.
Robotech Series by Jack McKinney. This one is harder to explain well because it is not a straight up novelization of the series by Harmony Gold. The books were meant to be an expanded canon of the Robotech storyline made for young adults, the actual show at the time being meant older kids to younger teens. It was originally written in 12 books over a 12 month period, and so 3 different authors actually wrote the books, and so the "Author" Jack McKinney is just a pseudonym combining the three authors names. Anyway, it is a highly expanded look at the canon presented by the Robotech anime, which is a cluster of three different anime series within the Macross franchise. The novels do a better job at filling in gaps and plot holes that the show just glossed over, but in doing so often has to change the shows original canon in order to make events fit in to an orderly timeline. The timeline as presented in the novels was also further messed up by the revised Macross Saga timeline made after the books were published. In the end it is still a great series that does a great job explaining things just glossed over by the show as presented to the English speaking world, even if timeline issues make it semicanon at best.
Mobile Suit Gundam: Awakening, Escalation, Confrontation by Yoshiyuki Tomino, Tramslated by Frederik I. Schoot: The English translation for this was actually very difficult for me to obtain as it seems to be completely out of print in English. This novel is the book that started the entire Gundam franchise. It lead to the original anime for Mobile Suit Gundam, and is very very different from the product we know from that anime. It is a purely adult novel with scenes of brutal violence, sex, and other assorted "not kid friendly" themes. It is an interesting look at how one of the biggest franchises in Japan started.
The Walking Dead Series by Robert Kirkman and Jay Bonansinga: These novels are kind of like the expanded universe from Star Wars in that they follow and greatly expand upon a character from the show, in this case the majority of them follow the story of The Governor who was the villain in the AMC's series Season 3. The novels in the series follow him from the beginning of the outbreak down to his death in the TV series, the last couple of books being a retelling of events from the series from his point of view. After his death the novels look at Woodbury's surviving citizens and how they deal with the death of their leader and move forward. It is a really good series that tells the story from the villains point of view, and really allows you to understand him on a deep personal level, which makes rewatching Season 3 of the show more...impactful.
Oh, the works of Tamora Pierce. I don't even know what half of her series are called, but she's written a massive number of books for an interconnected universe. I'm pretty sure I read absolutely everything my library had to offer from her.
And while I'm throwing out authors without remembering series names, Brian Jaques. Though for him it's ok, because I'm pretty sure every book from Redwall to Salamandastrom is a complete story in and of itself.
Post by Mirabelle Bonnet on Apr 14, 2016 11:25:26 GMT -5
Skulduggery Pleasant [Series] - A girl wising for more than a normal life is pulled into a world of magic, lead by a skeleton detective. As the series progresses, she learns more about magic and which skills she has the aptitude for. Each book typically has its own foe she has to overcome, some of them span two books, but they're all very unique. The short of it is that a girl is pulled into a world of magic by way of her late Uncle Gordon's will.
A Series of Unfortunate Events [Series]- On the older side, but I still recommend it. It's about orphans who are trying to escape their distant uncle who's trying to inherit their fortune.
The house on Falling Star Hill - To be honest, I forget how this one starts but I remember it being pretty good. A kid gets thrown into a world that's almost completely backwards from the world he's called home all his life.
My fair Assassin [Series]- Each book focuses on a different girl, but they're all from the same coven. They're all daughters of a god who's willed them to train in the arts of seduction and killing, using those skills they're tasked with missions of assassinating targets their god/father marks. Pretty good, if a bit lovey. TL;DR- A series about Ninja Nun Assassins
The Raven Cycle [Series] - A girl in a family full of psychics is the only one who lacks any sort of ability, is pulled into an absurd quest to raise an ancient Welsh king by a group of boarding school boys. Lots of mystery in this one, and tons of twists to couple that. I really like this one!
The Heir Chronicles [Series]- A boy finds out that his hometown is not as normal as he thought. Rather, it turns out to be a safe haven for the magically gifted in a world torn apart by wars.
The last book in the Universe- A boy is tasked with guarding an ancient relic and keeping it safe. Not all that easy to do in the distant future when everything is chaos and the world is in ruin.
[Obligatory Percy Jackson/Lost Hero insert]
(Might come back later with more suggestions as I remember them, but take this first few <3)
Ok, I began Through Wolf's Eyes on Kire's suggestion and it's good so far. It's paced a little too quickly I find, lots of exposition, but we'll see how we go from here.
Last Edit: May 9, 2016 12:12:26 GMT -5 by Progress
It does progress very quickly-- but for the amount of content to cover? It ends up being a genuinely enjoyable read. Let me know how you enjoy it when you reach the end, it's one of my favorites!
At Kire's suggestion I've finished Through The Wolf's Eyes. It's a good read! It has a few pacing issues and the first third of the book has a couple of exposition bombs pertaining to the relationships that this person has with literally everybody else in the entire world ever because they're so important. Found myself zoning out once or twice as I read them because I didn't find myself caring enough. I'm not sure what changed though; if the author just got better at it or if I became used to it or what, but the final two thirds were very fluid and easy to follow when it came to describing the connections of houses and nobles.
The main character was a real treat, I only wish that her fledgling stages of learning human society lasted a little longer, it reminded me a little of Xiaobei. I could read about Firekeeper learning English for chapters upon chapters and the stubbornness with which she both persists and refuses in certain lessons is very endearing.
King Tedric is fantastic too, setting up all of these little noble chickens to his benefit and then being like "That's not my problem." When they complain.
Fuck Jet Shield.
Fuck Saphire Shield but then Saphire Shield you poor sweet baby. Q.Q
Writing was a little weed in place with pauses in character dialogue that extended a little too long just so that the author could splice it with a little more exposition. It disrupts the natural flow of the conversation and made me re-read sentences a couple of times to make sure I understood the meaning of the characters words.
Good book overall though, definitely interesting in tracking down the others in the series and seeing how the story continues.
I've only read the first three; I need to treat myself the next time I go to Powell's and grab the rest. Three had much the same issue that the first book did, but the characters are still so good I can't even be mad.
Also super happy you enjoyed it-- and I agree, exploring more of Firekeeper's adjustment period would have been enjoyable for me as well.
I recently finished reading Frankenstein, and I must say that it's still really good. Definitely a classic for all the right reasons, and well worth a read.
Finished "The Three Body Problem" by Liu Cixin a couple weeks ago and might go back for a reread.
This is not light reading material, for the record, and is some pretty heavy sci-fi with a lot of history/clffnotes at the bottom of the pages to try and clear the lack of historical knowledge/political issues that Western audiences don't really know/hear about/read about unless they're in college. Honestly, a quarter way through the book and I had half a mind to quit reading and go take some fucking physics courses to better understand some of the shit that I knew I wasn't grasping in the way I should be/needed to in order to fully enjoy the material and then come back to it. Still might.
(I'm still annoyed that it took me halfway through the book to stop going "okay fuck, why is this harder to keep tabs on than the entire cast and perspective switches of AOIAF, this is bullshi-- WAIT OOOH OKAY I GET IT NOW.")
Good read though, I need to get the next book in the trilogy soon. Thanks Value for the recommendation on this one. (Also read it, you nerd, I wanna pick your brain about it.)
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