Of books, pitfalls, recommendations and an age-old addiction to SF&F

[maldoror_gw]

Have you ever eaten oysters? Ever had the experience where three bad ones in a row turned you off the species entirely and maybe even permanently?

Comments

[ext_185498]

You might enjoy:

--Cast in Shadow, by Michelle Sagara, and sequels.

--A Fistful of Sky, by Nina Kiriki Hoffman.

--Sunshine, by Robin McKinley.

--Magic Bites, by Ilona Andrews, and sequels.

--Feed, by Mira Grant.

--Paladin of Souls, by Lois McMaster Bujold.

--The Complete Ivory (The Gate of Ivory, Two-Bit Heroes, Guilt-Edged Ivory), by Doris Egan.

--Grasp the Stars, by Jennifer Wingert.

That's all I can think of now- I hope it helps!

[skellywag]

/seconds Cast in Shadow really hard

[maldoror_gw]

Oooh *notes down list of shinies* Thanks!

[wolfco_tr]

/me totally totally backs up that Cast series rec...

Awesome series entirely.

I also want to second that Sunshine by Robin McKinley. I have whole-heartedly wished for a sequel, but alas not only has her writing quality degraded... her proclivity for sequels is non-existent (although she managed a prequel once).

[ext_185498]

No problem! ^_^ I like to share the love...

[ext_185498]

Sunshine falls into that 'illegible' category, unfortunately. I'd give it a pass. Her other books, except for Dragonhaven, are generally awesome. Only read Dragonhaven if you can tolerate a good story that's mangled by being written from the pov of an extremely irritating teenage boy. (Seriously. I kept hoping the dragons would eat him.)

Having scratched one thing off the list, I'll add one back: Blue Moon Rising, by Simon R. Green
It's got pretty much everything you listed that you hate, but give it chance! It's both hysterically funny, and surprisingly grim. You can practically use it as a checklist of fantasy cliches and yet it manages to remain one of my all-time favorite fantasy novels. YMMV, but really it's much better than you'd expect.