General Discussion

@Rustea LUCKY!!!! I'm about as far from australia as one can get, and I havent had the chance for anything like that; my sister lived in perth for a time, and I unsuccessfully tried to persuade her to check around for shaun tan stuff [emoji=fae sad size=1] I have tho, and I love the arrival!!! I really love the take on the surrealism of the country, it really captures the feeling of alienation and isolation. shaun tan is an EXPERT at depicting a sense of not belonging

- All the books from Chris Carter.
- Also I was absolutely into Red, White & Royal blue. I loved this book.
- many more tbh

Thanks, y'all, for giving me some new titles to order from my library!

I'm about finished reading all the Discworld books in the Sam Vines arc, (having just discovered one I missed) having started in the middle with "Night Watch" due to its relevance to current events: it's a manual for how policing should be done. The main character is a bit crusty, but his heart is in the right place. It's made fun because Discworld is full of magic and mythical storybook characters - witches & wizards, trolls & dwarves, werewolves & vampires, goblins, golems, zombies, and others, all going about their day to day living. Typical prejudices are presented with humor, so you get biting commentary in disguise. Sam just wants to be a cop, and take care of his city, but politics intrude, along with other complications. I am a late convert, but these books are great! I'm sorry Terry Pratchett is no longer around to make more.

A book I remember enjoying a lot was The Bunker Diary by Kevin Brooks. It was basically about 6 people who had been kidnapped and were now trying to survive in an underground bunker as their kidnapper watches every move they make upstairs, it was written in the perspective of the main character as diary logs. I won’t be able to read it for a while though since it was in the school library and thanks to covid, it isn’t open anymore and probably won’t be for a long time

The Huntress by Kate Quinn is one of my favorite books! It's a historical fiction mystery, it has 3 main characters which usually having more than one pov it ruins the story but without all the povs, it wouldn't be a full book. It is set in both post WW 11 and during WW 11 since one character was a Russian bomber pilot. I can go on and on and on about how this book is awesome. By the first 3 chapters I knew who the person they were looking for was but the book is so captivating that I couldn't put it down. I just had to know more!
The Huntress and The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah both battle over my number 1 fave book' so, I just can't leave this beauty out. This is another historical novel taking place in France during WW 11, (I know, I can't resist historical novels though!) There is 2 povs, and they are both sisters. The younger sister is a nut-job and is constantly going in and out of boarding schools. While the older sister is a teacher with a single child and a loving husband.

Now, these books are not to be read for the faint of heart. But as long as you are mature, I really recommend it. I plan on reading more books by both of the authors since these are the first and only book I have read by Kristin Hannah and Kate Quinn.

Literally anything in the Discworld canon is good, although my personal favorites are "Reaper Man", "Wyrd Sisters", and "Guards! Guards!". I'd sum up the Discworld in general as "comedic deconstruction of modern fantasy tropes", but that's kind of long and pretentious, so a better summary would probably be "fantasy-comedy jaunt through deus-ex-machina-land". Seriously, Pratchett is the master of the deus ex machina.

What else is there to say? His characters are beautifully written, with a perfect balance between exaggerated comedic personalities and realism. The world is well-developed and occasionally heaps exposition on you-- but, inexplicably, the exposition dumps work! I can't explain it, it just works! It just goes! Just read it. So good.

@RheoTastic I totally agree! I love the mood created in his art! The Arrival in particular is special for me bc it's the first of his books I read. I remember picking it up of a library shelf when I was younger and just being completely absorbed.

hey, i was just thinking about house of the scorpion!

anyways, i've been really into 'into the woods' by emily carroll recently. its a compilation of 5 short horror stories in comic form. they all have really good art, and are pretty good in the horror department too. my favourite would be the nesting place, but i'd advise to skip it if you aren't fond of body horror.

also junji ito's stories! god his art is good.

everything by patrick ness a monster calls, the chaos walking trilogy, and more than this are my favorites. a monster calls is about grief, but everyone can relate to something in it. every time i go through a rough patch, I read it. i recommend it to everyone. the illustrations are absolutely amazing. the movie is also good! [img]https://i.pinimg.com/736x/da/f6/50/daf6505b53154043f405295fe6620596--a-monster-calls-book-illustrations.jpg[/img] chaos walking is sci-fi in which humans have colonized a planet with something in the air that makes you able to hear others' thoughts... but it only affects men. women are immune, so they are blank spots in the noise. you can imagine the dark storylines that can come from this. overall, it's a very hopeful, powerful story about fighting for freedom and peace. a movie was scheduled to release this year or the next, but i havent seen any recent updates: :( tom holland and daisy ridley play the main 2, and freaking MADS MIKKELSEN plays the Big Bad. Ness is screenwriter for this (like he was for a monster calls) so i have high hopes!!! more than this is a story about... well, i cant say too much without spoiling it! it has to deal with mental illness. main character is gay (like the author himself). it starts off as a hypothetical 'you remember dying but wake up in your own room' thing, then goes a bit sci-fi.

Some dragon books I've read recently that I thought were pretty awesome:

- Age of Fire series by E.E. Knight. I think this might be the best series told from the POV of dragons yet. Its a traditional fantasy following the lives of three dragon siblings and their impact on the world. The first three books tell the story from each sibling's perspective from hatchling-hood to dragonhood so you can start with any one of them before going on to book 4. I think book three (3rd sibling's story) is my absolute favorite.

- The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter. Its an African-inspired fantasy revenge story with really interesting lore. It feels kind of like a shounen manga which some may like and some may not. I have book two on my shelf, but haven't gotten to it yet.

- The Waters of Nyra by Kellly Michelle Baker. An indie published book from the POV of an enslaved dragon geared towards young readers. Its kinda rough around the edges and could have used a few more drafts and beta readers, but I think it introduced some cool concepts like a human-less and humanoid-less dragon world.

- The Summer Dragon by Todd Lockwood. Written by a pretty prolific fantasy illustrator accompanied by some beautiful illustrations though I wouldn't quite call it an illustrated novel. It follows a girl and her family who breeds dragons for their government, has dragons as religion, and a lot of fantasy politics. Only issue is that its been 6 years since it came out and no update on when book 2's release date (NotW and ASoIaF readers can be heard laughing in the background but also crying)

Some non-dragon-y books that I read last year that are pretty dang awesome too:

- The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. Mixes contemporary with fantasy. Has really interesting little stories told inbetween the plot that all tie together in a very satisfying manner. Should note that Morgenstern's prose may be offputting to some, but I think its fun in a sing-song sort of way.

- Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch. Possibly my favorite first book of a series ever. The story follows a band of thieves pulling off intricate, high stakes heists in a Venetian-inspired fantasy setting. I should say reader's discretion advised if you don't like a lot of violence.