I love fantasy though I didn't like the way for example Tolkien wrote his LoTR series, it's not the same writing style I hope? ( if not I'll give it a chance )
Sorry, but Feist is one of the worst fantasy-writers these days. He started out brilliant with Magician and the Empress-trilogy but that's about it. Riftwar and Serpentwar-series were mediocre and all the rest is just horrible crap.
There are tons of much better stuff* out there, please, read it :P
* Hobb, Jordan (RIP), Erikson, Martin, Dragonlance, etc.
In your opinion Rhand mate ;) Feist is actually a very acclaimed writer, selling over 15 million books.
Tolkein is a hugely celebrated author yet Kevin does not like him, that does not make him wrong, nor does it mean Tolkein was infact crap, all it means is that different people attach themselves to different authors more than others.
It's like choosing a mouse....its what fits the user ;)
For example I think Hobb is complete gash, over hyped and his books are slow and uninvolving, for me...However I love Jordans Wheel of Time series.
Magician is part of the Riftwar btw :P The Riftwar series is arguably the best of his work, but the Serpent War Saga was not bad, and Conclave of Shadows is great.
I am not arguing this over vent with you :P so we may have to agree to disagree ;D
Sorry, but selling a lot of stuff doesn't make you good. But ofcourse, then we can start discussing what is "good". But seriously, if you've read his Riftwar Legacy, his Legends of the Riftwar and his Conclave of Shadows you can't possibly hold on to the fact that he's a good writer. He used to write some amazing books like the Empire-trilogy but after the Serpentwar-saga he just went for easy books for easy bucks.
Speaking in terms of quality you can't possibly say that he's work is better than for example Jordan or Erikson.
Ofcourse, everybody's taste is different but sometimes there are opinions that have become a fact. Like Godfather I is better than Godfather III for example. Or that Epic Movie is just a horrible waste of money. It's just like this with Feists latest works, it's utter crap. Although I must admit I haven't read anything after Talon of the Silver Hawk since it was so bad.
Hobb is indeed a woman...real name is Megan I believe. I was typing quickly, bite me :P
Riftwar is better than Serpent...agreed but his writing is far from mediocre. I'll never convince you though and you'll never make me fold ;)
Saying a writer is bad because you dont personally like him though is a little narrow minded matey. Feist is not measured by his sales but also by his reviews and his fans, just as Hobb, Jordan and Tokien were/are.
It's impossible to argue subjectivity so stop making me type long paragraphs :P
As I said I love Jordan's books, but I cannot say they are better or worse than Feist, his style of writing and story-telling is different.
Another well thought out comment. I am old enough to have read the books before they were a film. Infact they were syllabus when I read them and its very rare to think yourself 'trendy' by liking a book you have to learn at school.
Kinda difficult to tell what's it about since it consists out of dozens of storylines. The grand theme is pretty standard ofcourse, there's a bad deity that threatens the world and needs to be defeated, but he barely writes about it. You don't have your average heroes neither which is one of the reasons it's so fantastic. The grand theme is just something glooming at the horizon so far, but it is expected to explode in the following books.
One major advantage to other writers is that he writes amazingly fast. One book a year on average, while most writers take 1,5/2 years to finish one.
Aha, well, up until book 6 it's really good (general opinion) but then Jordan get's a little setback and book 7-10 aren't as good unfortunately. Personally I still like them but not everybody is made for that kind of stuff. Book 11 is once again really good.
ik heb mss 3-4 boeken volledig gelezen op school rest allemaal samenvattingen en meestal betere punten als ik samenvatting las me zo nog uitleg over die speciale dinges lol :p
Sci-Fi:
Steven Donaldson- The Gap Cycle (series)
Orson Scott Card - Ender series, Shadow series
Isaac Asimov - Foundation series, Robot novels
Arthur C Clarke - Rendezvous with Rama
Criminal:
Michael Connelly
Val McDermid
Patricia Cornwell
Misc:
Simon Singh - The Code Book (history of cryptography, a lot more exciting than it sounds)
Douglas Coupland - Microserfs
I know the type of book which you're trying to avoid, but the genre has some amazing titles as well. Most good novels cross genres, and will inevitably have some aspect of love in them.
- Brave New World (Huxley) [science fiction, dystopia]
- Lolita (Nabakov) ['love' story, paedophilia]
- Animal Farm (Orwell) [best book ever written]
- Lady Chatterley's Lover (Lawrence) [Love story and the impact of industrialisation on humanity]
- Brighton Rock (Greene) (British gangs in the 1930s and religion]
- The Children of Hurin (Tolkien) [fantasy]
You're asking a silly question really. The number of books worth reading is immense and highly subjective. There's a tendency to attribute an author with one definitive book, which often results in problems. (I think it's partly laziness really. You can read one book and say you've read the best of x thus your opinion is credible).
The definitive book of Tolkien is The Lord of the Rings. You'll have people arguing endlessly how bad and over rated it's, thus how bad and over rated Tolkien is. They're partly right, but it's unfair. LOTR is probably the worst of Tolkiens' books. The Hobbit, The Children of Hurin and Similirian are all better by far. But if they didn't like LOTR then they won't have read any of the others.
Some better, less 'mainstream' writers might have a few titles accredited. Orwell is a good example. His definitive titles are Animal Farm and 1984. But all of his books (that I've read) are good. I think Animal Farm is actually better than 1984, which I'm currently reading (on page 150 at the moment).
Brave New World is similar to 1984 in a lot of ways. Huxley goes much further along the line and discusses the idea of using genetics (and class concious) to control society. Orwell is more realistic and commentates on the behaviour which he sees in the present ('30/40s) and predicts in the future. Much of it true.
1984 was a great book and reminded me alot of V for Vendetta, imagine that right? anyways... it was a very good book, one of the 2 that I enjoyed that year in English. I liked Lord of the Flies alot too, but thats more of a kid type book almost...
np, btw I still wantz mah bird!
and its alder :~<
now i wont give you the bird
I started at left arm but then I became so weak I dropped the razer and I couldn't reach it anymore. Now I'm bored again :/
taking my ARCHOS 404 :D
Mike "Nest" Adler
he he
Raymond E Feist.
Start with the Rift War Trilogy (Magician, Silverthorn, Darkness at Sethanon) and then go from there.
Try Magician, its the first book in the first series he wrote :)
There are tons of much better stuff* out there, please, read it :P
* Hobb, Jordan (RIP), Erikson, Martin, Dragonlance, etc.
Tolkein is a hugely celebrated author yet Kevin does not like him, that does not make him wrong, nor does it mean Tolkein was infact crap, all it means is that different people attach themselves to different authors more than others.
It's like choosing a mouse....its what fits the user ;)
For example I think Hobb is complete gash, over hyped and his books are slow and uninvolving, for me...However I love Jordans Wheel of Time series.
Magician is part of the Riftwar btw :P The Riftwar series is arguably the best of his work, but the Serpent War Saga was not bad, and Conclave of Shadows is great.
I am not arguing this over vent with you :P so we may have to agree to disagree ;D
Speaking in terms of quality you can't possibly say that he's work is better than for example Jordan or Erikson.
Ofcourse, everybody's taste is different but sometimes there are opinions that have become a fact. Like Godfather I is better than Godfather III for example. Or that Epic Movie is just a horrible waste of money. It's just like this with Feists latest works, it's utter crap. Although I must admit I haven't read anything after Talon of the Silver Hawk since it was so bad.
PS: Tolkien IS crap :P
PPS: Isn't Hobb a woman?
Riftwar is better than Serpent...agreed but his writing is far from mediocre. I'll never convince you though and you'll never make me fold ;)
Saying a writer is bad because you dont personally like him though is a little narrow minded matey. Feist is not measured by his sales but also by his reviews and his fans, just as Hobb, Jordan and Tokien were/are.
It's impossible to argue subjectivity so stop making me type long paragraphs :P
As I said I love Jordan's books, but I cannot say they are better or worse than Feist, his style of writing and story-telling is different.
Now leave me alone you bully :'(
So far it consists out of 8 books and it is by far the best serie I have ever read. The guy is a mastermind, unbelievable.
One major advantage to other writers is that he writes amazingly fast. One book a year on average, while most writers take 1,5/2 years to finish one.
very good too
And by the time he finished book 11 Sandersson prolly will have finished book 12. At least, I hope so :o)
1984 and Animal Farm by George Orwell (1984 is better)
Steven Donaldson- The Gap Cycle (series)
Orson Scott Card - Ender series, Shadow series
Isaac Asimov - Foundation series, Robot novels
Arthur C Clarke - Rendezvous with Rama
Criminal:
Michael Connelly
Val McDermid
Patricia Cornwell
Misc:
Simon Singh - The Code Book (history of cryptography, a lot more exciting than it sounds)
Douglas Coupland - Microserfs
fantasy:
Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold
fantasy with lots of humor
Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
cyberpunk:
Neuromancer by William Gibson
other:
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
Otherland by Tad Williams (it's a series)
I think reading is just a way to broaden your horizon a bit.
tnx for the help btw
All Tolkien's books
Wilbur Smith's South Africa serie is worth of reading
duizend schitterende zonnen / de vliegeraar
(all 3 are available in english as well ofc you'll have to look the english titles up urself (except for the kiterunner))
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
Kaas by Willem Elsschot
AANRADERTJE!
maar o zo fucking vet
I know the type of book which you're trying to avoid, but the genre has some amazing titles as well. Most good novels cross genres, and will inevitably have some aspect of love in them.
- Brave New World (Huxley) [science fiction, dystopia]
- Lolita (Nabakov) ['love' story, paedophilia]
- Animal Farm (Orwell) [best book ever written]
- Lady Chatterley's Lover (Lawrence) [Love story and the impact of industrialisation on humanity]
- Brighton Rock (Greene) (British gangs in the 1930s and religion]
- The Children of Hurin (Tolkien) [fantasy]
You're asking a silly question really. The number of books worth reading is immense and highly subjective. There's a tendency to attribute an author with one definitive book, which often results in problems. (I think it's partly laziness really. You can read one book and say you've read the best of x thus your opinion is credible).
The definitive book of Tolkien is The Lord of the Rings. You'll have people arguing endlessly how bad and over rated it's, thus how bad and over rated Tolkien is. They're partly right, but it's unfair. LOTR is probably the worst of Tolkiens' books. The Hobbit, The Children of Hurin and Similirian are all better by far. But if they didn't like LOTR then they won't have read any of the others.
Some better, less 'mainstream' writers might have a few titles accredited. Orwell is a good example. His definitive titles are Animal Farm and 1984. But all of his books (that I've read) are good. I think Animal Farm is actually better than 1984, which I'm currently reading (on page 150 at the moment).
tnx for the response btw, was helpful