I got about half-way through the first novel a few months ago and gave up. I heard that eventually, after several books, it all has some grand and incredibly impressive/deep point. It just didn't seem worth it to me to read several books before I would be able to figure out why the first one was allegedly good. The narrative seemed to be drifting aimlessly up to the point where I quit. Not my cup of tea.

I'm reluctant to criticize what some literati have called "The Greatest American Novel of the Twentieth Century" and out myself as a troglodyte but after forcing my way to the end I was left with a profound mixture of awe - for its scope and breadth of imagination - and confusion - for its gob-smacking lack of narrative coherence.

I'll probably read it again some time, but for now I'm going to finish reading the imminently enjoyable Lud-in-the-Mist and re-read Moorcock's Corum novels, then finally dig into REH's Solomon Kane.

Some of the books they call classics just floor me that they even made it to that status, with that said I don't think anyone should ever have any anxiety at all challenging a literary classic as a book everyone should read because I will be honest there a few literary classics that I feel I lost the portion of my life to the reading of them.

With that in mind stopped at Barnes and Noble today picked books three and four out the drizzt serious and volumes 16-18 in the Negima manga

Well, strange as it may be with planning a Realms campaign for gaming, got myself back into rereading the War of the Souls Dragonlance trilogy

Read the entire Elenium (David Eddings- Diamond Throne, Ruby Knight, and Sapphire Rose) yesterday. Working on the follow up trilogy, the Tamuli (Domes of Fire, the Shining Ones, and Hidden City). I'm thinking on doing a class based on the Church Knights in the book. They're a bit different from either a Pally or a pure knight...and 100% bad ass.

Funny thing, I just read through the same thing and had a discussion with R and Tree about this I think on R's houserules thread.

As far as the Church Knight Class is concerned What I was thinking of doing was taking R's house rules paladin since he gave them dlerical magic, which is essential what they use in the novels. I was going to give them the warhorse and the lance ability of the Knight. If you play with alignments, I was going to allow them to use Church Law and serving the greater good rule their decisions for lawfully good alignment. To balance it back out I was thinking of stripping their away their disease and poisin resistance ( I can't remember what all a paladin has right now and don't have a book in front of me.)

Have you read his Delagraid and Mallorean (not sure on the spelling) yet?

I've just been tinkering a bit with it today. The warhorse, lance, +1 save vs magic, +2 save vs fear, knight's command/inspire ability, & cleric magic of 1st-3rd lvl at first blush. Alignment is more Neutral Good than Lawful Good. (Gotta admit, some of the things they did definitely were not upholding the law, just the greater good.)

Well to me it was under their interpretation of "christian" law but definitely not church law, however when they paid off the vicar to command them on a pilgrimage lolz

Substituting names on the warrants to temporarily remove problem patriarchs was good too.

The thing with lawful alignment though is that law is everything, inflexibly so (more or less). Sir Bevier is probably the closest in the group to lawful good. But even he was a bit more flexible than the general concept of a lawful good alignment allows. By rights, Azash would be Lawful Evil. You obey his laws, don't act outside the party line or else it's 'goodnight gracie.'

Could you imagine trying to do up stats for Bhelliom? Talk about power creep in overdrive...

How is this going, Julian? I have the set in my "To Read" pile, which has become a big enough pile to warrant its own bookshelf.

I am working on "Pathfinder RPG: Ultimate Campaign," "U2 by U2," my C.S. Lewis Anthology (non-fiction), Jack Vance's Dying Earth series, the novel "Ready Player One" by Ernest Cline (a Christmas 2012 gift), Swords Against Death by Fritz Leiber, The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny (Book One: Nine Princes of Amber was amazing), and The Complete Compleat Enchanter, to name what I can remember from memory. Ultimate Campaign jumped to 1st on the list when it arrived so I can use it in my current C&C Greyhawk campaign.

Recently read; Second Sister by Dean Koontz. I've been trying for years to understand horror novels as a genre and it just isn't clicking with me. I've read maybe a little over half a dozen horror novels and none of them are "horrific" or "scary". Most of them are not even all that well written. I don't find horror movies all that scary either so I'm beginning to realize that it has to be me and not the genre/medium. I find true crime to be a better fit when looking for something that can draw out some kind emotional response.

Currently I'm in a, "Can't decide which book I want to ride with." feeling so I'm cycling; The Passage by Justin Cronin; Neuromancer by William Gibson and; River God by Wilbur Smith. I'm occasionally throwing in the Fiasco rpg.

Last night I was more into; The Passage so I think I'm going to break the rotation and just finish that one. (Then most likely move onto the next book in the series.)

I fell in love with the Japanese horror series Vampire Hunter D by Hideyuki Kikuchi but never found it to be scary just more a gritty post-nuclear vampire series, very good reads though in my opinion. The art in it is also superb and phenomal, done by Yoshitaka Amano.

Considering that I am a fan of the Drizzt novels it is going well. A lot of people consider him kind of whiny or filled with angst but I tend to have the same philosophical bend and find the insights interesting. As well I see them as a successor to some of the pulp fantasy that D&D came from.

Nice. I read about half the first book a few years ago before real life interrupted things and my reading fell by the wayside. I wish I could remember where I left off, but the last thing I can recall was a battle with giants. Formorian, IIRC, though they could be something else from the 1e MMII.

Thanks, Julian. Enjoy the rest of your read!

Fantastic awesome fun!!

Dwarves looks quite interesting.



I finally purchased the last in the Prism Pentad Series. At this point, I've sort of lost interest in it. Still love the Dark Sun setting, and the only reason I'm reading it is to complete what I started and of course to see how it ends.



Still have "We Only Move Forward" to get through as well.



In the audio-book world, I'm nearing the end of "The Swords of Lankhmar" (5th book of Leibers series). Listened to books 1-4 as well, been quite an adventure.



Next in the cue will Elric of Melnibone (in audio unabridged), then I'll bounce back to the rest of the Lankhmar series.

Finished Elric and Swords of Lankhmar on audio. Have the last of the Prism Pentad series and We move only forward on the backburner.

But here is some interesting options for you book reader/listeners out there. I downloaded and got a subscription to Audible. Audible is an audio-book company, and has an app for iPhones. Much to my surprise there was a lot of Fantasy and Sci-Fi on there. Anyway, it breaks it all down by chapters, you can listen to multiple books and bookmarks it for you, there's an option to go back 30 seconds if you missed something as well. I'll use it when commuting to work or working out and it's great.

I was very happy to see the AD&D Series on there and started with White Plume Mountain by Paul Kidd. Which is the first in the series which includes Temple of Elemental Evil, Keep on the Border Lands, Descent into the Depths, Queen of the Demonweb Pits, and Tomb of Horrors also reading There's a Crack in Your Armor by Perry Stone



http://www.audible.com/pd/Sci-Fi-Fantasy/White-Plume-Mountain-Audiobook/B00AW2YXR2/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srTtl?qid=1406246511&sr=1-1



http://www.audible.com/pd/Religion-Spirituality/Theres-a-Crack-in-Your-Armor-Audiobook/B00JZYEAVM/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srTtl?qid=1406247003&sr=1-1

I never do anything right,

I'm finally reading A Game of Thrones and SO LOVING IT! WOW!

A few weeks back, I procured an interesting couple of old tomes... Holy Bibles from just before, and just after, the turn to 1900. Both have Apocrypha included, which in itself is great, but one has a treatise on the Christian denominations, written by an atheist. It is hilarious.

Reading "Oath of Swords" by David Weber. About halfway through and I'm enjoying it. I like the way he spends time on the differences in the cultures of the different races. I've never read any of his stuff before, so it's new to me. Good fun so far.

I finished Brandon Sanderson's Words of Radiance (good book, but too damn long) and rapidly chewing through Elizabeth Moon's latest book the in the Paks-verse (so far, sub-par for the current series and very disappointing compared to the original Paks trilogy).

I've seen that series of four Dwarves books at Hasting's. Are they really good?

Just finished . . A Morbid Taste for Bones ~ 1st book in the Chronicles of Brother Cadfael.

Very good. Easy but interesting historical type novel.

Just finished "The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom" by Christopher Healy and loved it. I read it so I could greenlight it for my 11 year-old son. Had I had any reservations about it (or if it was crap), I would have steered him clear. Instead, he can borrow from the library as I did for his summer reading list.

I just started "Unapologetic: Why, Despite Everything, Christianity Can Still Make Surprising Emotional Sense" and am digging it so far.

Been on a bit of a 19th century fiction kick. Wrapping up a half-dozen Jules Verne novels, then on to some HG Wells. Read some Sherlock Holmes earlier in the summer, along with a few newer, less substantial novels (the latest Stephen King, and a few novelizations of the show LEVERAGE).

"I'm reluctant to criticize what some literati have called "The Greatest American Novel of the Twentieth Century" and out myself as a troglodyte but after forcing my way to the end I was left with a profound mixture of awe - for its scope and breadth of imagination - and confusion - for its gob-smacking lack of narrative coherence."


As a degreed literati, let me just say that all literati have some pet novel they call the Greatest Whatever of the Whatever. It doesn't make us right.

That being said, American literature is poorly represented in literary circles because so many of my fellows are snobs and dislike the literature that best defines America's lasting contribution: our genre stuff! We invented this stuff in the pre-war pulps and it has changed literature forever and yet few literati will even call it literature at all because it is neither reminiscent of British literature nor filled with heavy, dramatic hyperrealism. True American literature is mythic and heroic, often philosophical but individually so, and more pragmatically written than literature from across the pond. It's a shame really because most of America's greatest voices are being dismissed in favor of the pretentious or politically correct/popular. Oh well. Soapbox put away...

I just finished reading Watership Down, the New Testament, Meg, and several Bernard Cornwell novels from his Saxon series. I am currently rereading Hamilton's Mythology and the sequel to Meg (because sharks eating people never fails to entertain me). Next up- either Shardik or Tales from Watership Down and Moby Dick.

I really enjoyed 'em. Written by a german author and so translated, but it gives the writing something a bit different. And having dwarves be the end all, get all, rather than those uppity elves is refreshing. Dwarves save the world in these books! Well described world, with a good logic to how things work. Great enemies, interesting characters, especially the travelling actor/bard! Get the first one, the story there comes a to a satisfying conclusion, so if you don't read the other three, you still have had some fun reading. But if you love it, then buy the rest. That's how I worked thru 'em.

Just finished the Cathrand voyage series by Robert V.S. Redick. Most of the series takes place on an immense sailing ship. Fascinating world, good characters, though a few stereotypes, included. Great innovations in beasties and magic.

the four books are:
1. The Red Wolf Conspiracy
2. The Ruling Sea
3. The River of Shadows
4. The Night of the Swarm