What are we reading?

[Gusington]

^That the same Stephen Pressfield of Gates of Fire and other ancient books?

[Airborne Rifles]

^That the same Stephen Pressfield of Gates of Fire and other ancient books?

The same.

[Gusington]

That guy is prolific...lotsa titles.

[Airborne Rifles]

Yeah, I didn't know he was Jewish until I read this book. It's not a novel, but not your traditional history book either.

[undercovergeek]

Am now over 3/4 of the way through Towers of Midnight.  I can barely put it down; talk about a page-turner! 


Sanderson was obviously bound and determined to resolve as many loose threads and secondary storylines in this book as possible.  It's not a bad thing, really, but the pace is almost breathtaking at times.  (And I thought Knife of Dreams moved quickly!  Sheesh...) 

Minor spoiler:  When Perrin names his new weapon (after forging it), I'm not gonna deny I got a big lump in my throat...and tears in my eyes.  Now *that's* good writing.

youre going to make me start this arent you?

[MetalDog]

DON'T DO IT GEEK!  Despite what Jason and Martok say, you'll never get back the time you spent slogging through five or eight books to get to the good stuff.

[undercovergeek]

thats what i thought - have i got to grind through some bad stuff to get to the juicy bits?

[JasonPratt]

^^

There are 4 to 6 books of juicy bits (depending on the taste of who's counting), then a slog of varying levels of slogginess (depending somewhat on taste, patience, and how hyped you were for getting the book at last after a couple of years waiting ;) ), until Book 11, Knife of Dreams starts.

It is not at all as sloggy as how Martin's epic is turning out to be. And Tor.com has had one of its editors (or authors I forget which), Leigh Butler, post up a chapter summary with humorous/insightful/annoyed commentary for each book for free (for in print for a pittance via Amazon), so if you finally lose enough momentum you can crib from her through the worst of it. Though she accidentally spoils a bit sometimes in the sloggier parts as, like many of us, she gave up late in the slog so she knows where the plot is going up to a point.

I recommend it with those reservations.

[undercovergeek]

i actually like Martins slog

[Martok]

thats what i thought - have i got to grind through some bad stuff to get to the juicy bits?

FWIW geek, in doing this re-read of the series, the only two books I've found to be "sloggy" at all were 9 & 10 (Winter's Heart and Crossroads of Twilight).  Otherwise, the series has been pretty well-paced, at least for me. 


That being said, I know a lot of folks struggle to get through the first book (Eye of the World) -- perhaps because there's as much world-building as plot going on (which of course some folks just aren't interested in).  For that reason, I generally recommend people at least read The Great Hunt in addition before deciding whether to continue reading the series or give up on it. 

(I know a number of of folks say one should even read the the third book, The Dragon Reborn, as well before deciding.  If you're not grabbed by *that* point, however, then you definitely shouldn't continue.) 

i actually like Martins slog

Heh.  Then you should have no problem with Jordan.  Martin's writing makes Jordan's work look like a high-speed car chase in comparison.  ::) 

[MetalDog]

Obviously, JP and Martok are being paid by Jordan's estate to say nice things. :P I will read through just about anything in an effort to say, "I did it."  I made it through Book 8 and said, "Enough."  If it could be said in three words, Jordan took a chapter.  There were characters galore and tedious descriptions of minutiae that even an obsessive/compulsive would think were too much.  And the defenders that tell you that they will grudgingly admit it gets a little slow are doing you a disservice.  Trust me, the time you save reading that could be better spent  doing a 9,000 piece puzzle that looks like the rest of this post

[undercovergeek]

lol, thanks guys, im going to slink away to consider

[vyshka]

Recently read Foundation, and Raymond Feist's Magician: Apprentice. Almost done with Foundation and Empire. Still reading The Lies of Locke Lamora and Cryptonomicon.

[MetalDog]

I envy you if this is your first read through of Foundation and Magician:Apprentice.  Two of my very favorite all time series.

[vyshka]

I envy you if this is your first read through of Foundation and Magician:Apprentice.  Two of my very favorite all time series.

It is my first read of Feist. I've read all of the Foundation books before except Foundation's Edge and Foundation and Earth.