135
What are the best fictional books you’ve ever read?
(lemmy.world)
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
this post was submitted on 24 Sep 2024
135 points (98.6% liked)
Ask Lemmy
26858 readers
1763 users here now
A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions
Please don't post about US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion@lemmy.world
Rules: (interactive)
1) Be nice and; have fun
Doxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them
2) All posts must end with a '?'
This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?
3) No spam
Please do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.
4) NSFW is okay, within reason
Just remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com.
NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].
5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions.
If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.
Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.
Partnered Communities:
Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
I know they're not everyone's cup of tea, but The Stormlight Archive books speak to me like no other books ever have. They're a huge time investment, but they're all about the journey, not the destination. 😉
Brandon Sanderson writes amazingly rich fantasy stories an created wild lore heavy worlds in his books. But his books are also behemoths with thousands upon thousands of pages that require some serious time and commitment to read. Maybe not the best for beginners to start getting into fiction.
I'd recommend the Harry Potter books because they start easy and get more mature with each book. Also the story and lore is widely known and liked by a lot of people.
I've really enjoyed everything in the Cosmere, but Stormlight is a step above the rest. Last book in this era is out soon. I can't wait.
I know! Have you been reading the chapters on Reactor Mag?
I have not. I can only do the audiobooks, especially for something this long. I'm going to have to go back and listen to the last 5 hours or so of RoW to refresh. It ended so powerfully in the epilogue that I need closure.
Stormlight hit hard in the ptsd feelings. I really love how the series handles mental illnesses and cycles of violence.
Yeah! The latest short novel (Dawnshard) also deals with disability in a great way. He really did his research (he had multiple disabled beta readers give feedback)
Anything by Brandon Sanderson is a pretty safe bet!
One of the few series that I love for making me want to be a better person, then hate it because that’s hard, then love it all over again because it’s worth it.
What's the reading age for this series? I know it doesn't always matter, but some novels it breaks my immersion when I become aware that the reading age is more teenage than adult
Definitely not written for kids. I'd say it's in the "general audience" category. It's fairly clean as far as content goes; so kids could read it. But it's sheer length and number of characters demands the patience and commitment of an experienced reader (if that makes sense).
Cool, Sounds like it's worth a shot
Way of Kings blew my mind when I first read it. I loved it so much. I read it again when the last book came out because I couldn't remember everything that happened, and it's still an amazing book on the second read. Unfortunately, each of the following books in the series is less enjoyable for me. I didn't like the Rhythm of War at all. I know a lot of people love it, but it has become something I don't appreciate at all. I don't know if I'll even finish the series, assuming Brandon ever finishes it himself.
How come?
What? These books are very popular and well-liked. What is this qualification trying to say?
A lot of fantasy readers don't like Sanderson. And so I wanted to acknowledge that. They soothe my soul, but your mileage may vary...
What do you love most about The Stormlight Archive books?
I love the worldbuilding, mystery, and magic system, but I think it's the characters that I love the most. I can identify with these characters so much more than any book I've read before. Their struggles, their thoughts and feelings, and their growth really speaks to me.
Also, the climax of Brando's books are awesome. Fans have dubbed it "The Sanderlanche." Something that B-Money is great at is delivering on promises. He is actually a writing professor at BYU (he's uploaded a lot of his lectures to his YouTube channel), and one of his big things for writers is Plot, Promises, and Progress. It's really exciting when you realize you're in the Sanderlanche, because a bunch of awesome shit is about to go down.
And, most of his books are in the same universe (called the Cosmere), and so it's cool when you recognize a character from one series when they show up in another series.
It is very rare to see that fans have dubbed something, so knowing that fans have dubbed it “The Sanderlanche” is giving it a feeling that this author and his books must be too good and worth checking it out. Anyway, thank you very much for a detailed answer.
He engages with his fan base a lot. So yeah, there are lots of jokes and things like that. It's fun to get involved with everything, but you don't need to in order to just enjoy his books.
By the way, most people suggest starting with the Mistborn series. "The Final Empire" is the first book, and it's really fun. A good introduction to Sanderson. They're still big books, but not quite the commitment of "The Way of Kings," which is the first Stormlight book. Whatever you start with, I hope you enjoy it!!