Tuesday 25 November 2008

What shall I read next? (The Big Fat Hardback Edition...)

Well, the votes are in from last week and the score was 6-4. Who won though? Why, it was none other than Brandon Sanderson and his 'Mistborn' books. I'm reading 'Well of Ascension' as we speak and plan on getting round to 'The Hero of Ages' as soon as I can. The remaining two books in Brent Weeks' 'Night Angels' trilogy will be read in due course...
Thanks to everyone who voted! I'm wondering if you can help me out with something else now...

Over the course of the year I've found myself going for the quick reads, books that aren't too cumbersome on the daily commute and that I can read in a day (or thereabouts). What this has meant that a growing pile of thicker, more hefty, reads have steadily grown on top of my wardrobe over the last few months...
Time is tight, with Christmas approaching all too quickly, but I want to get at least one of these beasts read before the end of the year (maybe more if I can). The only problem is that I don't know which one to pick up first. That's where you come in...
Here's the list,

'Toll the Hounds' - Steven Erikson (I can't believe I still haven't read this...)

'Return of the Crimson Guard' - Ian C. Esslemont (This either... And here I am calling myself a Malazan fan...)

'Fallen' - Tim Lebbon (A little too awkward to carry on the tube which is where I seem to spend most of my waking hours!)

'The Dreaming Void' - Peter F. Hamilton (The lone sci-fi book in the pack, I need to read this if I'm going to stand any chance with the next book...)

'A Cruel Wind' - Glen Cook (Because it's just embarrassing how long this one has been sat on the shelf, we're talking since the middle of 2007...)

'Lord of the Silent Kingdom' - Glen Cook (Ditto)

'Royal Exile' - Fiona McIntosh (Because I'm kidding myself if I think I'm going to finish it this month!)

There are others but these are the big ones that I need to get through (I can't really read 'The Temporal Void' until I've made my way through 'The Dreaming Void' first...) I want to read as many as I can but which one do I read first? You tell me! Leave a comment and whichever book has the most votes by the beginning of December will be the book that I have to finish...

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Either RoTCG or TtH - maybe RoTCG since timeline-wise it's better to read this one first (although it doesn't matter too much. If you are a Malazan fan, read em both ASAP!

Ben said...

My vote is for The Dreaming Void. I suffer the same dilemma you do (i.e., that book is humongous), but once I get into a Hamilton book, I'm always glad I did. Still, the size of the book makes it difficult. To solve this problem, I bought an ARC of the book for about $3 USD....

Ben said...

Incidentally, the sole reason I haven't read Anathem (Stephenson) or the Gone-Away World (Harkaway) is due to their sheer size!

dragonb4 said...

Reading Hero of Ages currently, and loving it. I think it's better than the Well of Ascension. So keep plugging, I look forward to your thoughts.

Anonymous said...

I'm also going with The Dreaming Void - I'm a huge Hamilton fan and I thought this was a great start to the story (and the sequel is simply amazing).

Anonymous said...

It should be at least one of the Malazan books. If you don't do it now you'll have three Malazan books to get caught up on before you know it. Personally, RotCG was a lot more enjoyable and fun to read. TtH trends a little slower and darker but the end was worth it. Pick up whichever you feel in the mood for. BTW, I dragged both these monsters with me on my crowded Tokyo subway commutes ;)

Anonymous said...

I'm going for The Dreaming Void. It's a brilliant example of a big story told on a personal scale.

Or Lord of the Silent Kingdom as I've never heard of it!

JamesY said...

I vote for RotCG. Cos its the book I intend to start next also.