EragonFollow

Wait. That shit actually a good read? I'll have to check it out.

Edited, Oct 28th 2006 at 10:31pm PDT by Lubriderm

Yep, I'm waiting for the third book to come out, both the first and second book left me wanting more. Definitely more than I expected from such a young writer.

First one is "Eragon", second is called "Eldest".

http://www.alagaesia.com

I read Eragon and to be honest I thought the book wasn't that great. You can find lifted names from all the popular fantasy books out there and while some of the characters have very elaborate fantasy names, other characters have very plain ones. Like Neil.

For a teen, impressive. I liked the dragon and I have a mule named Saphira, but I constantly found myself irritated with it, so I never did buy book two.

I got the book back when we were all reading it. I had to force myself to get through half of it. The kid has a good enough writing ability, but the book seemed too forced in some places, or something. I should not try to get my point across when I've just woken up and not had any coffee yet.

Anyway, I ended up giving it to my 16 y/o son, who loves it.

...

[:huh:]


@lube: FFFFFFFFFFFrunkis

Have him try to flame me and we'll find out!

Well... November's coming up real soon here...

Remember that Gorilla that did abstract paintings that sold for thousands?

They were Shit

But they were painted by a Gorilla. So fUckwits like you would part with greenbacks.

Eragon books are the 'My Little Pwny' version of Litritchure

Not all of it. Give the "Kushiel's Legacy" trilogy by Jacqueline Carey a try. It's not Elves/Dwarves/Dragons fantasy, it's more an alternate version of European history, that deals heavily with a very unique premise for a religion.

Basic premise is this: when Christ (referred to as Yeshua ben Yosef) was crucified, his blood mingled with the Magdelene's tears in the earth and from the union, a semi-divine being named Elua was born. When God ignored this misbegotten grandson, some angels left Heaven to become his protectors and companions. They wandered around a while, then settled about where France would be and formed a homeland, Terre D'Ange. Thus the people of that land have the blood of angels in their veins and they worship these angelic forebears, and their credo is "Love as thou wilt."

In this land, prostitution is a sacred calling, because one of Elua's companions (named Naamah) would "lie in the stews with strangers when Elua hungered." The heroine, Phedre, is a Servant of Naamah. She's also a genuine *********, or an anguisette due to a mark in her eye known as Kushiel's Dart. Kushiel was another of Elua's companions, and before he left Heaven, he had been the punisher of God, chastening and scourging penitents so that they could enter Heaven shriven of their sins. For him, punishment was an act of love, and certain chosen mortals are born in particular to bear punishment, such as Phedre.

Trust me, there's no confusing this stuff with Tolkien.

The writing is extremely elegant and sophisticated--sometimes it reads like poetry. Sex is NOT all the books are about, and what sex there is is much better written than your run-of-the-mill bodice-ripper. While the heroine's profession and proclivities play an important part in advancing the plot, it's mainly an extremely good story that deals with the political intrigue behind the throne of the realm, as Phedre is also trained as a spy by the person to whom she's indentured, the prostitution is how she gets through the door to do the spying.

The order is:
Kushiel's Dart
Kushiel's Chosen
Kushiel's Avatar

There's a new trilogy coming out, starting with Kushiel's Scion which is focused on a character you don't meet until the third book of the first trilogy. Frankly, I didn't enjoy it as much, though it wasn't so bad that I'm not willing to read the two that are still forthcoming, in the hopes it will improve.

Edited, Oct 29th 2006 at 4:47pm PST by Ambrya

The previews didn't look that bad, but nothing new either. LOTR type scenery, w/Harry Potterish CG scenes.

For those looking for younger fantasy alternatives, give Tamora Pierce a try. I've been reading her first, Song of the Lioness quartet since grade school. Since then she's done a few more series, all set within the same world as far as I know.

How are the Redwall books, anyone know? I see them placed as a 9-12 age range. We are looking for a series to read through. The reading level is right for my son, I am just curious if the storyline will hold him.