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I loathe Goodkind. He's so fUCking preachy I want to put in for vacation, fly to wherever the fUCk he lives, arrange an introduction and slap his stupid, smarmy, self-righteous fat face.

But anyway: things I do like. I would certainly recommend the rest of Pratchett's Discworld series. You might like the ones that revolve around the witches more than the others, so maybe start with Equal Rites or Wyrd Sisters.

I absolutely loved Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle trilogy.

Again I recommend Hal Duncan's fabulous Vellum. The sequel was worth a read as well.

I think Gaiman's best work is his Sandman graphic novel series. He wrote the story Stardust which is the basis for the movie, and also co-wrote Good Omens with Terry Pratchett, if you like him and the dry British humor, Douglas Adams-style.

I'm currently slowly plowing my way through the Dune series, one bathroom break at a time. It wouldn't be so bad if there weren't 54689012 books already and the deceased author's son still writing more sequels. Eventually I also want to try Discworld but I don't think I'll live long enough to go through another expansive sci-fi universe.

The Abhorsen trilogy.
I'm actually reading the first book right now. It seems pretty good so far. I'm also re-reading the Wheel of Time series.

Don't do it. You won't be completely satisfied with the end of the third book, so you'll read more. And ten books later, you'll feel like you've wasted years of your life. Each book in the series has the exact same plot. Someone's stolen, someone's tortured, and someone's reunited. That's about all he can do, I think.

As to Gainman, look for his short story Orange in The Starry Rift. I hear him read it at Balticon 40 and everytime I read it I hear his voice. He wrote it while while waiting for a plane and it's well worth looking for the book as all the writers sent great stories for this YA book.

I've been reading a bit of Chuck Klosterman lately. The subject matter isn't weighty, but he's a pretty good read.

At work I'm reading - One More Step: An Autobiography by M.S. Kholi. He's a mountaineer who climbed many Himalayan peaks for the first time, was trained by Tenzing, was mates with Ed Hillary, survived some trying times during partition and had an all round interesting life.

At home I've just finished reading The Gone Away World by Nick Harkaway(Son of John Le Carre). Its a bit unusual to say the least, but its got ninjas, pirates, post armageddon destruction and some wikked writing.

I've just started A Feast for Crows by George R R Martin. Oddly I love the series but I have an unexplained dislike for the author. (He's a fat beardy ****).

Also I am half way thru re-reading the Malazan Series by Steven Erikson because he's the best 'fantasy' writer there ever was and every time I read the series, I understand just a little bit more of whats going on.

And I'm waiting for this to arrive so I can take it on holiday with me. (Off surfing in Sumatra again :D )

And finally, I'm reading the Age of Conan forums again as I give the game yet another go....

Conkidinkly a mate of mine was the 2nd unit director on the Legend of the Seeker TV series, which was based on Terry Goodkinds books. This weekend, they were selling off loadsa stuff now that the series has been canned. I bought some lurvly stuff including a sword or two, a big fuck off banquet table, some black iron lanterns and some other bits and pices from the sets all for NZ$100!!

Very nice.

Kinda too bad they canned it. I actually enjoyed the TV series far more than the books! Total departure, but a fun story all by itself. The problem with that series is that Goodkind just couldn't help doing the "one up the last bad guy" thing. So each book, the threat is worse than the last, which after a while kinda has to strain credulity that these horrific things were just waiting in the wings allowing the relatively fluffy-bunnyish bad guys before them to appear to be on the brink of world domination/destruction/whatever. Add to that contrivance the incredibly annoyingly long winded dialogs and inner monologues as the various characters continually have to introspectively consider every freaking detail of their relationships with all the other characters ad-nauseum. Yes. We all know that the guilt of being the heir to the Rahl fortune (palace and everything) is just so weighty, and all the suffering of your subjects under the previous administration must be terrible, and having to deal with your hottie wife who also has to rule her own portion of the world is just terrible, and how on earth will you deal with that cadre of **********(es?) who constantly want to "serve" you, whilst saving the world from yet another in a long line of bad guys, while wielding an improbable array of magic and a super-duper-sword-of-awesomeness is just so depressingly difficult! Woe is you Richard... Seriously. Does the guy ever stop whining?

The first couple books are good. I'd stop there though...



As to Dune. Read the first 3 books. Maybe read God Emperor, but it's not necessary. Honestly, the rest of the Dune books are kinds like reading Tolkien's Simarillian. Great if you're really really really interested in every detail of the back and side and front stories, but you pretty much got the meat of the story already.

I read the books years ago, and to me they are the sort of fantasy writing i really can't be ***** with. In fact i left fantasy alone altogether for years until i discovered the aforementioned Malazan series.

The Tv series...I watched a couple of them with the director fella I mentioned ( he doesn't have a TV at home believe it or not (wich is why he was aroun at my house at 5.30 on sunday morning so he could watch AC Milan winning some soccer match or other), so he bought some discs around to mine to see them...) Its on commercial TV here and I dont watch commercial TV cos of the err.... commercials, but it seemd ok. I'll watch it off a disc sometime I expect.

One thing I am watching tho is Spartacus. Its filmed just up the road here so I know a bunch of people who are working it, and I've gotta say I'm really enjoying it so far. It took a couple of episodes to get into it, but its getting into its stride and its got loadsa blood and bewbs and some willys for the gurls and gheys!

I'm hoping to be around for when the sell off their sets and props. There are some choice peices I've spotted already.....Unfortunately they are all set for at least the next series so far...

Yeah. Took me a couple to get into it as well. It's not quite on a par with Rome, but it's got it's own flavor that "works" (over the top blood and guts stuff). And the subplots and sneaky nastiness is fun. You haven't seen the whole season yet? The final episode is like a good steak: Bloody. ;)

It does get tedious after God Emperor, they way Herbert tends to dance around actual events, instead going into the dialog before and after anything happens. His son (and that other co-author) manage the action a bit better, so I'm looking forward to the rest of their additions.

Killing civilians, in Goodkind's. It'd be tolerable, perhaps, if he could write anything without riddling it with cliches.



Only, you know, Tolkien could put a sentence together without drooling.



It's a shame, because some of his early stuff shows real promise. His main problem is that he's just far too in love with how imaginative he thinks he's being, to the point where it's obtrusive and obnoxious; the best example of this is Neverwhere, which is borderline unreadable as a result. Good Omens is pretty good, though I imagine Pratchett's the one tot hank for that.

Hmm, lets see, what has been in the pile recently. Aside from the usual technical journal and airplane history/military history, lots of the usual fiction as well. Been reading the "complete hammers slammers" volumes 1 and 2, apperently I missed a few of the stories along the way so that has been good to catch up. Read the Liadan universe books up to Saltation, which was pretty good. Read Raymond E Feist's latest riftworld, wasn't all that impressed actually.

Started reading Stephen Donaldson's "the gap into..." series again. Ive never read that one all the way through, keep getting destracted around the middle. Also re-read David Weber's Honor Harrington series in preperation for the new one that comes out in june. Also the latest in the Armageddon Reef series, which was good, but a bit of a backstory builder book, not so much action. Necessary though.

Elizabeth moon came out with a new Pakseneron novel, been debating picking that up, may wait for softcover on that one. I did grab the new Robin Hobb novel, continuation of the assasins apprentice series chain, sort of. Haven't read that one yet. Got caught up on all the Glenn Cook books I was missing, that was fun. A few dozen new author books and singles i've been trying to see if any of them were possibiilities, no real major leads so far though. I've kind of tapped out my sources at the moment for new authors.