One thing I've always wondered about fantasy heroes... you spend some undetermined amount of time saving the world, accomplish your goal, get a little fan fare, and then what? Where do you go from that? After you save the world, is everything else a let down or do you spend the rest of your life just feeling unnaturally good about yourself?
Well, if you're playing Dragon Age, you decide you want to see what's going on with the other endings and you start thinking about which save games you're going to re-load from. Planning your next character. This is probably the first RPG ever where I felt like I wanted to actually play the whole darn thing again. The characters really are that good.
Whenever I finish a good book wherein I got attached to the characters, I'm always a little bummed that the book is finished. I feel that way about Dragon Age, too. But since most books don't take me over 100 hours to read, there's also a bit of relief that whatever I do next, I'll be able to visit Ferelden in a much more relaxed manner, dropping by when I need to get a break from the real world, without the intense compulsion to want to know how the story ends.
Speaking of stories... if you're looking for another good fantasy series to pick up, might I recommend Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos books? I've just finished up Taltos
and Yendi
and just started Dragon
(I'm reading them in chronological order for the character, as opposed to the order they were written in) and while they aren't deep, they are really just a lot of fun. I really love books written in first person, and these don't disappoint, as the main character, Vlad, is a wisecracking assassin with a mini-dragon familiar and penchant for witchcraft and getting in and out of challenging situations. These books just make me happy to read, and because they are pretty light weight, it's easy to pick them up and put them down as necessary.
Not only did I finish up DA today, I also got the pleasure of getting to finish up assembly of that AVL loom I mentioned last week. All it's major pieces are in place, so warping might happen soon. I'm so excited about getting to weave on a floor loom, I could just dance. I mean, wow, warping a loom that I can sit inside... actually having to throw that shuttle for a fair number of inches. Foot treadles. Too. Wonderful. For. Words.
And then there's the squares and the swatching. I have 4 new squares for my Targhee blanket, and I'm one swatch away from starting John's sweater. Not monumental knitting productivity, but enough to make me really itchy to get things started on Aspinwall!
Well, if you're playing Dragon Age, you decide you want to see what's going on with the other endings and you start thinking about which save games you're going to re-load from. Planning your next character. This is probably the first RPG ever where I felt like I wanted to actually play the whole darn thing again. The characters really are that good.
Whenever I finish a good book wherein I got attached to the characters, I'm always a little bummed that the book is finished. I feel that way about Dragon Age, too. But since most books don't take me over 100 hours to read, there's also a bit of relief that whatever I do next, I'll be able to visit Ferelden in a much more relaxed manner, dropping by when I need to get a break from the real world, without the intense compulsion to want to know how the story ends.
Speaking of stories... if you're looking for another good fantasy series to pick up, might I recommend Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos books? I've just finished up Taltos
and Yendi
and just started Dragon
(I'm reading them in chronological order for the character, as opposed to the order they were written in) and while they aren't deep, they are really just a lot of fun. I really love books written in first person, and these don't disappoint, as the main character, Vlad, is a wisecracking assassin with a mini-dragon familiar and penchant for witchcraft and getting in and out of challenging situations. These books just make me happy to read, and because they are pretty light weight, it's easy to pick them up and put them down as necessary. Not only did I finish up DA today, I also got the pleasure of getting to finish up assembly of that AVL loom I mentioned last week. All it's major pieces are in place, so warping might happen soon. I'm so excited about getting to weave on a floor loom, I could just dance. I mean, wow, warping a loom that I can sit inside... actually having to throw that shuttle for a fair number of inches. Foot treadles. Too. Wonderful. For. Words.
And then there's the squares and the swatching. I have 4 new squares for my Targhee blanket, and I'm one swatch away from starting John's sweater. Not monumental knitting productivity, but enough to make me really itchy to get things started on Aspinwall!
I just read Neverwhere on your recommendation and it was great so I'll add these to my list to look into.
If you like first person you should look into The Thirteenth Tale, by Diane Setterfield. It isn't fantasy but it's a great story with a lot of twists and very interesting characters.
I read a lot of fantasy books, and this is definitely one of the series that my friends really enjoyed. I'll have to add this back to the TBR list for whenever I finally finish all of my library books.
Hmm...more books. Unfortunately I am a library hound rather that book purchaser and can't find Taltos. That is actually the first time the library system here has failed me. Reserved Neverwhere though.
My husband got me started on the Vlad Taltos series. We read those in publication order which was a bit confusing.
You might want to try the "romances" (Brust's term), The Phoenix Guards and Five Hundred Years After. They are a little bit of pre-history of the Empire written in a different style. My DH didn't care for them but I found them entertaining. The Viscount of Adrilankha series, which is composed of The Paths of the Dead, The Lord of Castle Black, and Sethra Lavode fits in between The Phoenix Guards and the Vlad Taltos stories. Neither series has Vlad as a character.
I probably shouldn't tell you this... but the Vlad Taltos series takes a serious turn into left field around the 4th or 5th book (Teckla.) IMHO, it becomes a lot "deeper" and a lot less fun. Hope your opinion differs from mine - other people in my family adore the later books and barely tolerate the early ones.