Signor Finzione

I agree, it can be a real pain trying to read heavy books. (My cat doesn't mind being used as a book prop, though, as long as you stroke her while you're reading! ). I think fantasy books do seem to be larger than most other genres - looking around at a lot of the newer stuff, the books seem to be getting bigger and bigger! Happy Sunday reading to you too, and good luck with your Kindle hint-dropping.

Wow, that's quite a collection! Which have been your favourites? I seem to remember enjoying it, but read it while on holiday so didn't quite get into it as much as I wanted to - being next to a swimming pool with loads of noisy children splashing and screaming isn't the best environment for reading! . We're all clearly lovely people who put others first!

Thanks Gaia. It's annoying when the cover art for a series/author doesn't match isn't it? I'm almost ashamed to say it but it was the cover art that actually made me want to read Sanderson in the first place!

It's been a while since I've really bothered with a reading plan, but I thought it was about time I whipped my mind back into shape and got organised! This is mainly because I've bought a few hardbacks over the last few months, and it would be annoying if the paperback versions came out before I'd even had the chance to read them. So, here's a picture of my 'Mini TBR', which will probably take me three or four months to wade through: (They're organised by size rather than reading order!) I'm pretty awful at taking pictures and some of them are a bit unclear. The one at the very top is The Sword in the Storm by David Gemmell, and the bottom two are The Emperor's Blades by Brian Staveley and Valour by John Gwynne (this one was a pre-order and only arrived yesterday - another pleasant surprise!). I also have a couple of pre-orders that should be arriving in the next few months, which will make the pile a bit bigger. These are The Crimson Campaign by Brian McClellan (May), Prince of Fools by Mark Lawrence (June) and The Broken Eye by Brent Weeks (August). I'll post pics as they arrive (I'm very excited).

Thank you! I'm starting Lexicon today.

Not silly - I do the same thing with mine! I'm the same with Discworld. It's such a huge series, and I seem to keep buying them randomly but never reading them. I think I've only read 10 but own about 25. I'm looking forward to reading your review of The Daylight War. I have all three books in the series so far but have only ever read The Painted Man, quite a long time ago. Ooh, another one to add to your 'Robin Hobb: Unread' shelf? I must say I'm always tempted to buy Robin Hobb's books - they're so shiny!

That's very narrow-minded of you, to say you "won't" read something despite knowing nothing about it. I think you'll find a huge amount of fantasy is influenced by D&D, whether the influence is acknowledged by the writer or not.

I have, and he does make a very fair point. It's silly that the YA tag does put me off books that I'd probably enjoy - after all, some of the best series' I've read have been YA (The Hunger Games, Garth Nix's Abhorsen Chronicles, Harry Potter, etc.). Either way, I'll definitely be reading Half a King. I like being able to read a preview (like the ones at the end of books published by Orbit), but I don't like reading more than a short chapter or two. I get too far into the story and it frustrates me when I can't read any more, plus if I do eventually buy the book it means re-reading a hefty chunk from the beginning, which is annoying. Although probably less annoying with Joe's books than others - I must have read the chapter 1 extract at least 3 times now.

I know! The only thing better than a book is a free book! Thanks very much! Hope you like it.

Yeah, but look at the colour of the background - it's so pretty!! And at least they all match.

Thank you! The cover is quite striking isn't it? Awesome, I'm glad to hear he enjoyed it. I think I'll be starting it tomorrow - I look forward to comparing thoughts!

Is that what happens in the sequels? THAT I'd read.

New anthology due out later this year. It's called Rogues, and is edited by GRRM and Gardner Dozois. It has stories by Scott Lynch, Patrick Rothfuss, Joe Abercrombie and others, as well as yet another Song of Ice and Fire short story.

Cover art reveal for Esslemont's upcoming novel Assail: Awesome artwork as always. ETA: Sorry it's so damn huge . . .

My wishlist has actually got longer after doing that.

We've all been there!

K'Chain Che'Malle are T-Rexes with swords instead of arms: awesome. Tiste Andii are kick-a$$ warriors who live forever and can turn into dragons: awesome. Bene Gesserit are . . . erm, random old women in charge of a vague kind of selective breeding programme with unclear motives? Not awesome.

He does write great reviews. I'm really glad you posted this - much as I love Applecrumble, the YA tag kind of put me off this one. I'm now really excited to read it (the lack of sex scenes is probably a good thing given that he has a habit of writing quite disgusting ones ). I re-read the first chapter (I think I read it a while ago when Steve posted it) and then had to make myself stop - I know he'll drag me into it and then leave me hanging. He really does have great skill in writing characters, though, doesn't he? What did everyone make of the First Law graphic novels? He posted quite a lot of those on his website at one time . . .

It is a silly name isn't it? For some reason it was 'Bene Gesserit' that annoyed me.

Barrayar sounds really interesting - although I'm guessing you'd have to have read Shards beforehand? You seem to be having a really enjoyable reading year so far. It's always fun reading your reviews where you've clearly loved the book. Also, I posted this in Devi's, Tim's and Athena's threads and thought I'd better not leave you out. It's one of those Reddit things to count how many fantasy series' you've read. I bet you've read loads more than me - I've never even heard of half of them!

What an amazing haul Devi!! Love love LOVE the new books! And so glad they made you feel a bit better. Hope you enjoy the Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare. I really enjoyed the first book (haven't read the other two yet), and it seems you got them for an absolute bargain! I've posted this in a couple of other threads too: I came across this the other day and thought you might like it. It's one of those Reddit things to count how many fantasy series' you've read.

Seriously, 47 books is amazing. I doubt I'll have managed that even by the end of the year! And thanks for teaching me a new word! Boekenweek. Boekenweek. I love how it sounds. I've posted this in a couple of other threads too, but I came across this the other day and thought you might like it. It's one of those Reddit list things, and it counts how many fantasy series' you've read. I got 35. I bet you'll have at least twice that.

Great reviews Tim. The Fade sounds really interesting - I've been looking at some of Wooding's other books since reading Retribution Falls - and I'm glad you enjoyed Shaman's Crossing. I've only ever read Hobb's Farseer Trilogy, and was a bit underwhelmed by it - and, as Steve says, the last books drags on and on and on (and on, and on, and on ) I came across this the other day and thought you might like it. It's one of those Reddit things to count how many fantasy series' you've read. I got 35.

So, book update: some of you know I occasionally get sent free books from publishers on account of my blog. I had a nice surprise the other day when I came home to find, not one, but two of these on my doormat! Neither are the kind of thing I'd normally choose for myself, but the beauty of being on mailing lists is that getting sent the books for free can encourage you to read outside your comfort zone: after all, you have nothing to lose by trying them! Here are the books: And the synopses from Amazon: Red Moon: Every teenage girl thinks she's different. When government agents kick down Claire Forrester's front door and murder her parents, Claire realises just how different she is. Patrick Gamble was nothing special until the day he got on a plane and, hours later, stepped off it, the only passenger left alive. A hero. President Chase Williams has vowed to eradicate the menace. Unknown to the electorate, however, he is becoming the very thing he has sworn to destroy. Each of them is caught up in a war that so far has been controlled with laws and violence and drugs. But an uprising is about to leave them damaged, lost, and tied to one another for ever. The night of the red moon is coming, when an unrecognizable world will emerge, and the battle for humanity will begin. And Lexicon: Two years ago, something terrible was unleashed in an Australian mining town called Broken Hill. Thousands died. Few people know what really happened. Emily Ruff is one of them. She belongs to an elite organisation of 'poets': masters of manipulation who use language to warp others to their will. She was one of their most promising recruits until she made a catastrophic mistake: she fell in love. Wil Parke knows the truth too, only he doesn't remember it. And he doesn't know why he's immune to the poets' powers. But he knows he needs to run. As their stories converge, the past is revealed, and the race is on for a deadly weapon: a word. Because the poets know that words can kill... I'm actually quite looking forward to reading Lexicon. And hopefully Red Moon won't be too much of a generic werewolf story . . .

Thanks a lot guys! Would definitely recommend it.