[quote="ThinlineTele"]I opted for a fantasy story with virtually no magic and realistic fighting,[/quote]
Sorry, are you saying there's no magic and no fighting, or no magic, but there is fighting?

/English.

[quote="ThinlineTele"] Not so much "Ooh, a goat demon! I'm putting one of those in my story. And giant swords!"[/quote]
No goat demons? No giant swords? What the hell kinda fantasy story is that? No goat demons, no interest!

Lol, but in all seriousness, good luck with it.

[quote="Blank"][quote="ThinlineTele"]I opted for a fantasy story with virtually no magic and realistic fighting,[/quote]
Sorry, are you saying there's no magic and no fighting, or no magic, but there is fighting?

/English.[/quote]

The latter. Magic no, realistic fighting yes. I quickly found that writing about spells and stuff is tedious. I think that works better in visual forms like comics and games. Now I feel more like I'm writing a novel than the novelization of a game or something.

Things are chugging along quite smoothly. I hit the 150-page mark today (in a 12-point, single-spaced document format), which is a good 25-40% of what I have planned for this book, although what I've written so far will of course be edited considerably once I finish the first draft.

Oh yeah, I finished A Storm of Swords the other day and started on the next book, which I'm kind of dreading since nobody seems to like A Feast For Crows that much. Any recommendations for another good fantasy novel or series to start reading when I finish Ice and Fire?

You can read the Wheel of Time series by the late Robert Jordan. There's 12 (I think) books out so far; the last one should be coming out shortly. He noted everything out so someone else could finish his work. It's pretty fantastic, but can be ridiculously slow at some parts.

It has magic, fighting, a very, very, very detailed and vivid world and a lot of the characters feel authentic. The first book, The Eye of the World, has a bit of a slow start, but once you hit page 30 or so, it really picks up.

Each book is around 800 pages or so, paperback...so it's quite an investment time-wise. If the time required isn't your style, but you want something similar, I'd recommend anything by L.E. Modessit's Saga of Recluce series (although the first book was written in first person and that really tripped me up when I first started it.) Terry Pratchett's books are always fun to read if your into the more humorous aspects of storytelling.


A really good fantasy/sci-fi book I've read recently is On A Pale Horse by Piers Anthony. It's about a guy who accidentally kills death when he's trying to commit suicide, so he's forced to assume the position of the grim reaper....kind of like The Santa Claus with Tim Allen, but much before that came out.

Eh, didn't really mean to doublepost, but didn't want a complete wall of text.

I gave up on War and Peace for the moment. I just got to a stopping point and didn't really feel like picking it up again. It was actually written fairly well and it was easy to understand (when it wasn't in French;) moreso than I would've figured for a book that old...It just didn't keep my interest.


I've started rereading Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. I'd originally started reading the series in middle school, but the books were still coming out then, and it was easy to forget things in the span that it took for them to come out. So I decided to wait until the last book was coming out before I'd reread the series again. I'm currently on the first book, The Eye of the World, and I'm having a blast reading it again. I'm catching up on some of the smaller details that you'd miss on a first read, and absorbing a lot more this time around.

I expect to be reading this series for a month (or three.) After I finish, I don't know what I'll be looking forward to next.

I've taken a break from reading.
I've literally read nothing but Ryu and Haruki Murakami for 2 years.
I'm trying to find another author to fill the void but nothing really appeals to me.

So I'm going on break indefinitely.

[quote="ChubbyRaccoon"]I've taken a break from reading.
I've literally read nothing but Ryu and Haruki Murakami for 2 years.
I'm trying to find another author to fill the void but nothing really appeals to me.

So I'm going on break indefinitely.[/quote]

Books: Not even once.

Really though, I don't get this at all. I'm sure there are more than two authors in the realm of English fiction or nonfiction (translated or not) that could be appealing to you. Try harder?

What'd omnistry say again? Something like: "If it ain't Japanese, it probably ain't good!" Or some such.

[quote="ThinlineTele"]Oh yeah, I finished A Storm of Swords the other day and started on the next book, which I'm kind of dreading since nobody seems to like A Feast For Crows that much. Any recommendations for another good fantasy novel or series to start reading when I finish Ice and Fire?[/quote]

They don't like it because of what happens.

Ursula K. LeGuin's Earthsea books are pretty good and something of a classic, if you haven't checked those out. I haven't read all of them yet, but two I read were good.

I ended my break and found some interesting titles.
More on that later.
About 3/4ths done with Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World.

I'm at the point right now in Murakami novels where the two point of views find a single path where they over lap and everything makes sense.

I'm also thinking of picking up Ender's Game series. I heard the rest weren't as good though.
In a sci-fi/fantasy mood I suppose.

His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman also caught my eye.

School starts on Monday so I'll have less time for that.

[quote="ChubbyRaccoon"]I'm at the point right now in Murakami novels where the two point of views find a single path where they over lap and everything makes sense. [/quote]
This doesn't fucking exist so don't pretend like it does.

I'm a little sick of Murakami. I mean, I've enjoyed most everything of his I've read. A third of the books on my shelf are Murakami. But I'm over it.

Having read so much of his work over the past few years, I've come to the conclusion that when you've read one of his, you've read them all-- at least, to varying degrees. Each of his works is a kind of variation on the same themes and plot. Which is fine. Sometimes.

I like hamburgers. And Murakami's books are kind of like hamburgers at a local joint. The experience is pretty much the same every time you go in. Sure, the first few times it was awesome. Great hamburgers, comfy seats, cold beverages.

But then, by the time you've visited this burger joint for the tenth time, the fifteenth time, things just aren't all that special or satisfying. It isn't enough that the waiter puts a little umbrella in your drink from time to time in an effort to change things up. Sure, it could always be worse-- you could find a roach under the bun or something (You could be reading a James Patterson novel), but just because the place is adequate isn't reason enough to keep filling up on the same boring hamburgers.

And so you move on. Once in a blue moon, one of those hamburgers hits the spot and you remember why you enjoyed them in the first place. But the feeling doesn't last, and after a while you find yourself feeling a little resentful as you consider how many times you patronized the local burger shop when instead you might've been enjoying steak or lobster at another restaurant down the street.

That's my really long-winded way of saying: Murakami was pretty cool for a while, but his books are all too similar and I've gotten bored with him. Once in a great while I still enjoy reading him, but it has less to do with my enjoying his work and more to do with my reminiscing about how I used to enjoy it.

[quote="Lesser_Hamster"]I'm a little sick of Murakami. I mean, I've enjoyed most everything of his I've read. A third of the books on my shelf are Murakami. But I'm over it.

Having read so much of his work over the past few years, I've come to the conclusion that when you've read one of his, you've read them all-- at least, to varying degrees. Each of his works is a kind of variation on the same themes and plot. Which is fine. Sometimes.

I like hamburgers. And Murakami's books are kind of like hamburgers at a local joint. The experience is pretty much the same every time you go in. Sure, the first few times it was awesome. Great hamburgers, comfy seats, cold beverages.

But then, by the time you've visited this burger joint for the tenth time, the fifteenth time, things just aren't all that special or satisfying. It isn't enough that the waiter puts a little umbrella in your drink from time to time in an effort to change things up. Sure, it could always be worse-- you could find a roach under the bun or something (You could be reading a James Patterson novel), but just because the place is adequate isn't reason enough to keep filling up on the same boring hamburgers.

And so you move on. Once in a blue moon, one of those hamburgers hits the spot and you remember why you enjoyed them in the first place. But the feeling doesn't last, and after a while you find yourself feeling a little resentful as you consider how many times you patronized the local burger shop when instead you might've been enjoying steak or lobster at another restaurant down the street.

That's my really long-winded way of saying: Murakami was pretty cool for a while, but his books are all too similar and I've gotten bored with him. Once in a great while I still enjoy reading him, but it has less to do with my enjoying his work and more to do with my reminiscing about how I used to enjoy it.[/quote]
WHAM BAM CHOCOLATE SLAM BADDA BING BADDA BOOM, OVERLAPPING OPINIONS GIVE ME SOME SKIN VANILLA FACE!

[quote="Aplaca"]
WHAM BAM CHOCOLATE SLAM BADDA BING BADDA BOOM, OVERLAPPING OPINIONS GIVE ME SOME SKIN VANILLA FACE![/quote]

LOL.

Also:

[quote="ChubbyRaccoon"]I'm at the point right now in Murakami novels where...everything makes sense.[/quote]



There are times when I read Murakami that I feel he's just making things as convoluted as possible to be pretentious. Or to make up for a paper-thin plot. Or both. I seriously can't recall ever having one of those 'A-ha! Everything makes sense now' moments while reading Murakami.

Aplaca: LOL first of all. Inner ghetto queen came out there. It absolutely makes sense. We already discussed how you like to read for fun and so Murakami isn't up your alley because he's way too complicated for a light read. So shh.

Lesser_Hamster: I do see your point. I can make a checklist of the things he talks about and they all happen. Classical music, cats, cooking, some crazy woman that wants the male main character's peen, some personal reality changing events that are triggered by something small. It all gets recycled. Murakami said he uses all these things because he writes about what he knows and only that. I can understand why it would get boring (you're talking about James Patterson as an example and I feel about him how you feel. Dreadfully boring and repetitive, a sell out. I used to like him a lot and then I read more by him...)

But I look forward to it in his books. "How is a cat going to be important this time? What will the main character cook this time? Hurry up and have sex with her so I can understand what the hell is going on!" I get those "Aha!" moments when the 2 plots become one. The one thing that I find long and boring and repetitive are those 30 page history lessons he puts randomly to explain a person's back story. But, in my humble opinion, at the end of the chaos it makes sense and I'm glad I went through it all. Maybe he does make things complicated and long on purpose but it activates my brain really well and I just think so much for the next few days about it. It's incredibly satisfying to who I am. I'm not sure I'll always feel this way. I still have 4 books to read by him and who knows, they might trigger that same response for me as you. Better yet, I might not even like them. We'll see what happens~

Everything he writes is necessary. The pace or the feels wouldn't be the same if he was direct about it all. It's just kinda how he writes and it works for me