originally posted by Melanie Trumbull
How is it that I am the first person (according to search feature) to mention James Treadwell here? He has just completed one trilogy, and it is so good that words fail me.
In fact, I am including a link to an online review, by someone who puts into words what I found beyond me to say.
http://www.risingshadow.net/articles/284-a-review-of-james-treadwell-s-anarchy
Treadwell has admitted to the influence of Susan Cooper and her books about England/Wales. In Treadwell's books, the setting is largely Cornwall, although there is an eventful digression to Vancouver Island.
Let me know what the rest of you think.
The three books, in order, are: Advent Anarchy Arcadia
originally posted by Clansman
I just finished Guy Kay's latest, River of Stars.
My goodness, but that man can write!
I'll have to look up this Treadwell fellow, though…
originally posted by Phome
Desperate for new reading materials in fantasy/sci-fi (but not horror, or modern cross overs, nor King Arthur type stuff - by personal preference).
I'll be in a completely non-internet zone for about 3 weeks next month, so need to plan ahead. And some of the new stuff that looks great on Kindle is not available on Kobo (so sad 
).
Today, I decided perhaps I need to go back in time. I've never read any of the Pern novels or anything else by Anne McCaffrey.
Other thoughts?
originally posted by Phome
Oh, and also, does anyone have advice on how to get a legal copy of an e-book not yet available on Kobo.
For instance, Brent Week's book Blinding Knife. I think my Kobo will take any number of formats, but I know I cannot use the Kindle format.
I want to do this the right, ethical way, but am not well versed in this stuff.
originally posted by Maggie
Phone,
The program called "Calibre" is an e-book management program that also has the ability to convert from one format to another. So long as you buy the book in one format, it seems to be able to convert them into a new format.
It should be legal to convert formats. I personally think it is also ethical, but maybe someone else will disagree with me.
originally posted by Trys
Calbre will not convert copy protected files. I.e., a protect Amazon Kindle format cannot be converted into a non-Kindle format using Calibre.
I used Calibre to create Janny's e-stories.
originally posted by Jim
Hi Phome, I strongly suggest reading the "Pern series" by Anne McCaffrey. She's one of my all time favorite authors. What other authors do you like, it would give us a better idea of the type of stories that interest you.
originally posted by Phome
Hi all,
Thanks for the advice. I may look into Calibre - seems like this is the way to go. Found some other software too that can convert files that are not protected versions (Kindle, alas, remains for Amazon products). It seems a little jarring that we can buy a paper book and hand it to a friend for free. And anyone can read it. But suddenly the e-books are a whole different ball game. I'm not averse to paying for what I read, but that I'm also forced to invest in multiple electronic products I find very off-putting, esp as someone who is all about environmental sustainability.
Jim - thanks for the Pern series advice. I already bought a couple of the older books on kobo. And having read backwards through this thread, I also want to thank the person who recommended R.M. Meluch. Just finished reading The Myriad and it was great! Although the part 3 threw me off completely. It's been a while since an author made me readjust my entire world. Not sure I liked it, but I am starting book 2 anyhow 
8 of my favorite under the radar books: great reads to pick up while you wait for Destiny's Conflict:
http://www.bookwormblues.net/2015/08/18/guest-post-janny-wurts-on-a-select-list- of-8-astonishing-overlooked-sff-titles/
originally posted by Melanie Trumbull
Am I the only one following Robin Hobb's latest books right now?
Hobb is in the middle of another trilogy. The trilogy name is "Fitz and the Fool", and two of the three books are now available; the second trilogy book, "Fool's Quest," just came out this summer.
Hobb is tying together all of her Six Duchies books, those that come in groups of three or even four, she has been writing them for decades now. This latest one revives a mysterious character from the Liveship series which introduced the sea serpents and saw the hatching of a dragon from a wizardwood cocoon. Then near the end of "Fool's Quest" come the Rain Wild dragons and their self-styled Elderlings, with their well of liquid silver. You can guess that the Fool is present, but he is hardly the only character. All the surviving members of the royal Farseer dynasty make an appearance, especially the illegitimate ones; and the Outlanders from the Tawny Man series are accounted for. Central to the Quest of the title are the Skill-pillars and the use of the Skill itself. All the previous books are building to a climax that will be brought to bear in Book Three, for which I have yet to learn the title. Is anyone else reading these latest books?
originally posted by Melanie Trumbull
The author, Morgan Llywelyn, I just now learned about her, but she has been writing about Ireland in general and the Celts in particular for decades. I just attempted to search BookNook for her, and I can't find any reference to her name. This surprises me. Surely others have read her work or posted about her books. Her latest book, Only The Stones Survive, presents the clash between the Tuatha de Danann, the Fir Bolg, the Iverni, and the newly arrived Milesians. She has also written the books Druids and Bard.
originally posted by Melanie Trumbull
Robin Jarvis is another fantasy writer with a strong online following and a fanfiction network inspired by his books.
I am just getting acquainted with him as a mature adult. Jarvis, a UK author, has been publishing "young adult" books, in groups/series of three, for a little over twenty years. So there is today a whole generation of adults who grew up with Robin Jarvis books in their adolescent years. Some of them still carry a torch for Jarvis's books and the worlds in them.
But in my native US, it is, Robin Who? People who read his books here, well, they do exist, but they are in the minority.
originally posted by Melanie Trumbull
Robin Hobb's book "Assassin's Fate" was released in bookstores, both brick-and-mortar and virtual, this past week. It concludes not only the current trilogy but also the entire Six Duchies world-building series of books – her sixteenth.
I fear that this book would make a poor introduction to someone who has never before heard of Robin Hobb and her Six Duchies fantasies. Too much backstory and prior knowledge are needed in order to know what she is writing about.
That said, as conclusions go, this one sets the bar very high indeed. In fact I have to resort to one of those big Greek words that I mostly avoid using:
Apotheosis.
originally posted by Melanie Trumbull
Ursula K. LeGuin has died.
1929 - 2018
She seems the last of a generation,
although this may be a mistake on my part.
In her final Earthsea volume (the fifth),
she remarked that life is a gift to mankind –
and that death is also a gift.
originally posted by Clansman
That was very well said, Melanie.
LeGuin was one of the pioneers, to be sure. I remember reading Earthsea with relish in one of the armchairs in my high school library. The Left Hand of Darkness is a seminal work in science fiction fantasy. She had a beautiful ancient myth-like quality to her writing in Earthsea, and it has been too long since I visited Ged, or recommended LeGuin to anyone.
originally posted by Auna
At Janny's suggestion, I'm going to plug my own book which I'm quite proud of
The Summoner and the Seer by C. Gold is a 102k word fantasy story about a wizard cursed to forget everything each sunrise, a woman who hates him because he murdered her family so she had him jailed and tormented as payback, and a vision which says she can let the world burn or break the wizard out of his jail, recover his memory, and hopefully save the world. This is book 1 in a planned 5 book series, but it has no evil cliffhanger, just nuances of trouble to come. So feel free to check it out. Available only on Amazon and free for people in the Kindle Unlimited program. (Best way for newbie authors to get exposure.)
I had a lot of fun writing this story, but had even more fun learning the whole self-publishing thing. I could run on about how enjoyable it is and how empowered I feel to be in charge of everything, but I'll just say this; it was and still is a heady feeling to have a paper copy of MY book in MY hand. My hubby thinks it's really cool too. And this month, I was never so excited to get tax forms in my life as when I received a tax form for my book royalties!
One last little personal nugget–I published my novel on the day of our wedding anniversary. I also gave the hubby a short story to read for his birthday. He was touched–he never had someone write him a story before. Yep, I'm rather enjoying this author thing!
originally posted by Hunter
For those in Australia, you may seen that Ray Feist is touring in June!
originally posted by Melanie Trumbull
I have just discovered Neil Miller Gunn, better known as Neil M. Gunn or simply Neil Gunn.
This Scottish author was born as the nineteenth century became the twentieth, and lived through the nineteen-sixties, dying at an advanced age in his native Scotland.
By then, the great Scottish author Dorothy Dunnett was at her peak, writing elaborate historical fiction with intricate plots and mind-numbing detail. I'm just not smart enough for Mrs. Dunnett, I'm sorry to say. While she has all my respect, she has but little of my affection. I'm too simple-minded to delight in the multiple layers of her historical fiction.
Neil Gunn, however, is a writer I cannot resist. He comes out of a Scottish Highland ancestry with a great oral tradition. Although Gunn was raised without the Gaelic, and was limited to the varied forms of English and Scots, he cleaves, in spirit, to the Celtic bards. I delight in his English writing, and I agree with the North American critic who said, They don't write like this anymore.
"The Silver Darlings" was made into a film shortly after the book was published. The book is revered, the film was a failure. Since then John McGrath, he of "The Cheviot, The Stag, and the Black Black Oil," has adapted "The Silver Darlings" for the stage, where theatrical productions have been mounted with success. Maybe a remake, cinematically speaking, is in order.
But most enchanting of Gunn's work is two volumes in particular. One, a book of chapters like self-contained short stories (some began life as such, published in periodicals), called "Young Art and Old Hector"; and the later book, "The Green Isle of the Great Deep." Readers of all ages love these two books.
originally posted by Frank T Davis
After approx 20 years I've decided to reread Carolyn Cherryh's FANTASY novels. As a first step, I decided to determine if she has written fantasy novels that I do not currently have in my library. I have the following:
+ Fortress in the Eye of Time '95
+ Fortress of Eagles '98
+ Fortress of Owls '99
+ Fortress of Dragons '00
+ The Complete Morgaine '15 (4 novels published '76 to '88)
A check of Amazon revealed that she has added a 5th Fortress novel (Fortress of Ice) which I have ordered.
I will greatly appreciate it if you can provide titles of other FANTASY novels that she has written. Any review comments will also be greatly appreciated.
My library contains only a smattering of Sci-Fi novels. At this time I'm limiting myself mainly to FANTASY.
Thank You Very Much.
Frank
originally posted by Auna
I used to scrounge used book stores for CJ Cherryh books that I hadn't gotten yet back when I was a poor student and could only afford the used, yellowing nuggets of entertainment. It became quite an obsession. Her stuff (both fantasy and scifi) is just that good. Sorry, I don't have the list anymore that I compiled. It was already yellowed the last time I recall looking at it anyway.
I know you said fantasy only, but one of the reasons I enjoyed her Chanur series so much was the culture building she did with the 'cat' race. And while they used spaceships, it never got very technical that I recall.
And while Foreigner is technically scifi, the story is mostly about a human trying to navigate this alien culture which was fascinating and had a very fantasy vibe to it (think assassin culture). It gets more scifi after that first book when they get contacted.
Actually, if I recall, Morgain was a blend of fantasy and scifi. She uses tech to get to the various worlds so she can seal them off. Now that I think about it, I'm blaming Cherryh for my desire to straddle fantasy and scifi in my own writing. 
Anyway, I quickly browsed her Amazon page and my own fading memories for a few of her fantasy books.
The Paladin is listed as scifi but that was a Japanese based feudal culture. I loved the female heroine in this one. The guy was sexist, but he was a product of his times.
There are three books in the Rusalka series: Dvorak, Chernevog, Yvgenie - Based on Russian folklore. I learned what a Rusalka was by reading this series.
The Dreaming Tree combines two fantasy stories - Dreamstone and Tree of Swords and Jewels. I don't actually remember much about these, but I don't recall ever reading a Cherryh book I didn't love. She is one of the very few authors on my buy anything written by her list and I recently answered a Facebook question about prominent women in scifi and mentioned her. So she made a huge lasting impression on me.
I found all these in just a few minutes. So you should be able to find everything she wrote between her Amazon page and her website. Good luck and happy reading!