David Gaider
Lead Writer
Joined: 17 Oct 2001
From: Edmonton, AB
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 Posted: Wednesday, 26 May 2004 11:57PM
I thought the "A Man of his Word" series by Dave Duncan was great. I just started reading "the Gilded Chain" recently (also by him) which I hear is excellent (it's been recommended to me by several other designers).
I really disliked the Thomas Covenant "White Gold Wielder" series, though more because of the man's complete passiveness rather than his whining per se. Seven books and it took until the final book for him to actually do anything. It was also relentlessly depressing, and while the "Hope, Memory and Sorrow" series by Tad Williams (of which "To Green Angel Tower" was mentioned above) was similar in tone I actually found it enjoyable. Except maybe for that interminable section in the tunnels underneath the castle... oh, god, I never want to read that part ever again so long as I live.
I stopped reading the "Wheel of Time" series about half-way through the "Path of Daggers". Just... no. I swear every single woman in that series is one sentence away from 'boxing your ears'. I think Robert Jordan has a thing about aggressive women. This series actually influenced DA's story a lot... in that "I think that's in the Wheel of Time series" was a statement that defeated a proposed plot point instantly and irrevocably.
I confess to liking Peirs Anthony's "Magic of Xanth" series, too. Mainly the first trilogy, though. After "Dragon on a Pedestal" it became completely unreadable. Or I grew up, one of the two. He probably was the author who most influenced me while I was growing up, though, which makes me a bit sad. I never did get why everyone had to run around naked at least once in every novel of his. "On a Pale Horse" still stands out of all of his books, though, even if it isn't fantasy.
I know there are relatively obscure fantasy books that I've read and enjoyed recently that I should recommend, but I forget now. Grrr. Oh well. I will go on record, though, by saying that "Spellfire" is the worst fantasy book I have read in my entire life. And that's saying a lot. Don't try to read it to find out if I'm correct, just trust me.
EDIT: Just remembered one, a duology of all things: "The Mirror Of Her Dreams" and "A Man Rides Through", both by Stephen R. Donaldson of "White Gold Wielder" infamy. I forgave him after those two.
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Zevran: "Hello my stocky little friend!"
Oghren: "Huh. You got small breasts for a gal."
Zevran: "Ah. This is where we begin the typical dwarven/elven rivalry, is it?"
Oghren: "Nahhh."
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