R.A. Salvatore

[Rainswept]

I'm a big reader of Fantasy/Sci fi, and I also used to work in a bookstore. I'm surprised that so many threads on here get lots of attention even tho they aren't terribly popular books, while books every nerd I know has read don't have their own thread.

So I'll trot out one of my guilty pleasures. I've been following Drizzt Do'Urden's adventures since 1991, which is longer than many of our posters have been alive.

So let's hear it, how many of you read books about the Dark Elf, his whirring scimitars, and his 600lb magic panther?

[Hqrsie]

I am so fucking sick of Drizzt, Bruenor, Cattie-Brie and all the other over hyped characters that he refuses to give up.

I read and enjoyed The Halfling's Gem and the rest of the Icewind Dale chronicles (I even played the PC games back in the day; they were fun) and even enjoyed the Legacy of the Drow series, but with the dozen books after that, he's just tanked what could have been memorable characters by giving them repeatable, predictable plot lines and continually using Deus Ex Machina to keep his main characters alive.


The only author in fantasy writing I see more guilty of this is that twat Terry Goodkind. "Wizard's First Rule" was a decent read, even tho it repeated the themes from every fantasy series from Tolkien onwards. When I picked up the sequel, all of the sudden the tidy ending from the last book (dark lord vanquished, hidden powers discovered, love attained) never happened in a "but wait, the dark lord is BACK and your girl had 2nd thoughts and you need to rediscover your other secret-secret power" type way he dragged the exact same premise out another dozen books or so.

Most fantasy series these days just reek of stale, recycled characters and ideas that pander to fan bases that turn at the slightest sign of being challenged with anything new.

[Rainswept]

Goodkind started out well, but then he started ripping off Ayn Rand constantly, and I liked her stories better when she told them.

[Hqrsie]

I guess most fantasy authors panic after their first success that allows them to move out of their mom's basement and fall into the "write more of the same so long as it sells" trap.

[Detective TurtleHolmes]

and I also used to work in a bookstore.

I just gained a bucket load of respect for you.

[Rainswept]

Oh I loved that job. If I could have made a living at it I wouldn't have been unhappy working there forever.

Plus, it's an awesome place to meet smart women.

[Hqrsie]

Here's a question. When you stopped working there, how long did it take you to be able to pass a bookshelf and not automatically start rearranging and organizing them? It's been 4 years since I worked at one and I still do it. I only worked there for 3 years.

[Rainswept]

I only have trouble if I see a book in the wrong section. Last I checked Nora Roberts wasn't Sci-Fi for example.

[Taidje Khan]

What the hell? There are two other people here who have worked at a bookstore? That's so odd.

Only Sci-fi I can stand is Asimov and Vonnegut.

Only Fantasy I can stand is Tolkien and C.S. Lewis.

There are exceptions, but they aren't springing to mind, and my library is all the way downstairs.

[Mad Willyum Bonney]

I had a summer job in a Comic book store back in the day . Used book stores are my favorite haunts , sadly they seem to be disappearing in this city .

What ever happened to used book stores ?

[Detective TurtleHolmes]

Oh I loved that job. If I could have made a living at it I wouldn't have been unhappy working there forever.

Plus, it's an awesome place to meet smart women.

Future nostalgia setting in...


It has been my dream to work in a bookshop. I would be ecstatic if I ever created my own one. I'd have (relatively) cheap books, lots of 'em, and it would be two stories with a spiral staircase...

*daydreaming of future occupation*

[Taidje Khan]

Comic book store

No.

[Rainswept]

What the hell? There are two other people here who have worked at a bookstore? That's so odd.

Only Sci-fi I can stand is Asimov and Vonnegut.

A: It's not odd if you consider this is a site found by people concerned about education.

B: Pick up Ender's Game. After you love it come back to me for more suggestions.

[Hqrsie]

B: Pick up Ender's Game. After you love it come back to me for more suggestions.

Agreed. Orson Scott Card's first few were terrific.


On more of the "science" end of sci-fi, a really good high-concept writer is Robert J. Sawyer.


My two best recommendations of his writing would be Factoring Humanity and Flashforward.

Definitely worthwhile and enjoyable reads.

[Taidje Khan]

A: It's not odd if you consider this is a site found by people concerned about education.

Word. Still, it's a pretty unique occupation.

B: Pick up Ender's Game. After you love it come back to me for more suggestions.

Give me a month or so dude, I just picked up another armfull of books.

In the meantime, since you indicated that you haven't read it yet, give All Quiet On The Western Front a whirl.

You have heard of it for a reason.