I've been reading the Kane series by Karl Edward Wagner. Nothing fancy; just pulpy sword & sorcery. The protagonist, Kane, is closer to being a villain than an anti-hero. He's Cain from the Bible, if the Bible had been written by Robert E. Howard. Elder gods, ancient Lovecraftian aliens etc. There are about a dozen short stories and three novels. I prefer the short stories. The best of the bunch, imo:

The Dark Muse
Misericorde
The Other One
Reflections for the Winter of my Soul
Two Suns Setting

https://i.imgur.com/qwlm0yd.jpg




I'm also reading The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfus. I'm not really enjoying it. Young orphan boy trains to fulfill his destiny and avenge the death of his parents. The plot is so standard it almost feels like a YA novel.

The worst part is that the main character is awesome at everything. He's insufferably confident - and for good reason - because every setback is just a minor prelude to his next triumph.

I kind of get that with The Name of the Wind. The pace is maddening - it has been 10 years since the second book was released. Dude writes at a Martinian pace.

But the writing, the actual composition and word choice, is genius. This passage still haunts me.

It was night again. The Waystone Inn lay in silence, and it was a silence of three parts.

The most obvious part was a hollow, echoing quiet, made by things that were lacking. If there had been a wind it would have sighed through the trees, set the inn’s sign creaking on its hooks, and brushed the silence down the road like trailing autumn leaves. If there had been a crowd, even a handful of men inside the inn, they would have filled the silence with conversation and laughter, the clatter and clamor one expects from a drinking house during the dark hours of night. If there had been music...but no, of course there was no music. In fact there were none of these things, and so the silence remained.

Inside the Waystone a pair of men huddled at one corner of the bar. They drank with quiet determination, avoiding serious discussions of troubling news. In doing this they added a small, sullen silence to the larger, hollow one. It made an alloy of sorts, a counterpoint.

The third silence was not an easy thing to notice. If you listened for an hour, you might begin to feel it in the wooden floor underfoot and in the rough, splintering barrels behind the bar. It was in the weight of the black stone hearth that held the heat of a long dead fire. It was in the slow back and forth of a white linen cloth rubbing along the grain of the bar. And it was in the hands of the man who stood there, polishing a stretch of mahogany that already gleamed in the lamplight.

The man had true-red hair, red as flame. His eyes were dark and distant, and he moved with the subtle certainty that comes from knowing many things.

The Waystone was his, just as the third silence was his. This was appropriate, as it was the greatest silence of the three, wrapping the others inside itself. It was deep and wide as autumn’s ending. It was heavy as a great river-smooth stone. It was the patient, cut-flower sound of a man who is waiting to die.

That cover reminded me of this book I picked up used as a teen.

Post apocalyptic stuff that I remember being a fun read. Been probably 30+ years since I read it. My copy is pretty fragile, so I'll have to see if I can find it as an ebook.

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/AVgAA...ll5/s-l640.jpg

Interesting. That is the same author who wrote Kirinyaga which I mentioned on the last page. He passed away early last year.

Been getting to read a lot with COVID and now winter wonderland.

Tried to read the Shadow Campaigns by Django Wexler which is a fantasy series set in an era analogous to the Napoleonic era. I liked the first one, but then it just started dragging.

I then read the first Powder Mage trilogy by Brian McClellan. Loved this, so I went on to the second trilogy and am finishing up the first book now. My understanding is that they're making this into a television series in the future, which would be awesome.

I had the same issue with the Shadow Campaigns. First book was great, couldn't finish the second book.

I'll look at adding the Powder Mage to my reading list. I've got a big back log right now though.

Let's see, I finished up the last of the Karl Edward Wagner stuff with the novel Dark Crusade. It was ok, but the short stories I listed above are better.

Next I read Sea of Rust by C. Robert Cargill. It kept me entertained. I wish the robots had been written a little less human.

Then I read some Arthur C. Clark. The Star, If I Forget Thee Oh Earth, and The Sentinel were highlights.

I also read a pretty good short story by Fredric Brown called Letter to a Phoenix.


I'm still slowly tracking down old stories by Robert Sheckley. They've all been disappointing so far so I may have to give this up. Maybe all of his best stuff has already been collected.

Currently I'm reading Going Postal by Terry Pratchet.

Just finished up the Malazan Book of the Fallen. What a great ride! Unfortunately it’s going to be a couple years before I can start a reread mixing in the ICE books, but hopefully that will give Erikson enough time to finish Kharkanas and the Karsa trilogy. I’m going to be going through some serious Malazan withdrawals in the short term though.

The re-read is even better. Congrats!

Steven Erikson makes every other fantasy writer look like a lightweight. The guy is a genius.

I picked up the whole series on audio and I picked up even more listening to the series after reading it twice.

I finished my re-read last month, got a lot more out of it the second time through.

Yeah, I’ve simply never read anything in the genre that approaches his thematic depth. I could absolutely get lost in his prose with his characters not even moving the plot along, but just having some meta conversation on the nature of hero’s journey and just be rapt.

And if that kind of thing is not for you, then the epic set pieces are sure to please everyone.

Has anyone read the ICE stuff or the Kharkanas stuff that’s been released? I’m curious how it stacks up.

No, haven’t read any of that.

Kharkanas is dry, and depressing, but still brilliant. Seeing Anomandaris BEFORE he BECAME Anomander is incredible.

ICE is up and down. The first few books read like they are his first few books.

The path to Ascendancy stuff is really excellent and tells the backstory of Kellanved and Dancer. I also would highly recommend checking out The Return of the Crimson Guard, which shows some key pieces of the main timeline/story.

Knight of Knives is also good reading to supplement the main timeline, though it isn't incredibly strong writing.

ICE answers some key questions/fills in key backstory. The writing isn't as sharp and the scope is less epic. But it's worthwhile if you want more time in the world and want more questions answered.

You've hit it pretty spot on. Return of the Crimson Guard is the best ICE story, and I'd say they all are worth a read. I have only read them once, but may go back and reread again.

Kharkanas is brutal reading. It has a peculiar rhythm to it that takes some time to get in tune with. Had I been able to read it when I was much younger with no family and more free time, I think I would have enjoyed it more. I never finished the 2nd book.