36
votes
After two years, and two prior failed attempts, I finally finished reading The Wheel of Time! It's been so long since I chose a book that I don't even know what to read next.
While an extraordinarily long read, I appreciated
remark about the final message of the series
the message of hope that the final book ended on.
I just don't know what to read next.
This was a lot of high fantasy to take in!
I'm likely to resume my read of Band of Brothers, having seen the HBO series twice already. I'm aware of several deviations from the book; that's not relevant here.
But what next? Looking for thought and feeling provoking reads that evoke hope. Could be non-fiction or fiction.
Suggestions?
The Murderbot Diaries are pretty fun and relatively light reading in comparison, the first four novellas form a good first arc, we're three stories into the next arc, and there's supposed to be an adaptation on Apple TV sometime next year.
Any time anyone mentions liking Murderbot (awesome rec btw), I recommend the Finder series (Suzanne Palmer). Can't really say why I have them linked mentally. Both sci-fi in space with misanthropic main characters is my best guess.
Congrats on finishing!!! If you want another epic fantasy series, I would recommend Osten Ard (Memory, Sorrow, Thorn) by Tad Williams. The final book in the 2nd trilogy (which became a quartet accidentally) is due out at the end of the year.
There's also a TON of hype around Janny Wurts's recently-completed series Wars of Light and Shadow, which starts with Curse of the Mistraith. You may or may not care, audio doesn't exist (yet?) for books 2-9 and sales figures on the book 1 audiobook will influence whether the rest get made. (imo this is a very unfortunate situation because I want to read the entire thing in audio, and I don't want to read book 1 and then be unable to continue it in audio format). So I haven't read this personally but a lot of people love it.
The other solid option for huge long big epic is Malazan, 10 long books. This one makes you work as a reader though. I've read book 1 3.5 times and never gotten past book 3 but I really want to complete it some day!!
My big series after WOT was The Expanse which is scifi, but it's another long series with characters that feel like home (the Roci crew) the way the Two Rivers kids do in WOT.
https://reactormag.com/columns/malazan-reread-of-the-fallen/
This chapter by chapter breakdown really helped me get through the first two Malazan books. It was a great companion as I worked through those books and I have not yet felt too overwhelmed. I've really enjoyed the series so far and it definitely feels like growing up from the WoT series.
thanks for linking!!! I actually used that in my most recent attempt, but needing to go back to my PC in between chapters I got annoyed of the constant back and forth, and that was the .5 in my 3.5 times reading book 1.
But, I'm thinking for my next try, I will read the entire set of book 1 chapter summaries FIRST and then read the book afterwards. and maybe same thing for book 2, and hopefully after that just read the rest on my own
(edit - typo fix)
Ah, yeah I can see that being very disprutive to the reading flow. I have it on my phone and read during down time. Hopefully the prereading works for you!
Oh, I read The Expanse. Amazing series.
Actually I have one other rec then, which is Sun Eater by Christopher Ruocchio - it's another space opera, currently 6 books + some novellas + some short stories. Book 1 is mediocre-to-bad (very tropey, I think weirdly the less you read the better it is cos you haven't encountered these tropes before)
but book 1 was his debut novel, and starting with book 2 it's amazing - certainly my favorite ongoing series, and one of my favorite series of all time. Book 7 (the last book) should be out next year!
I was coming in here to recommend Tad Williams' original trilogy. Absolutely love those books.
Started Malazan.
Holy frijoles, Batman! I'm a meager few chapters in. This book is intricate! I can't read it sleepy lest I fail to keep up with it!
Impressive.
wew, good luck!!! I hope you enjoy it & do better with it than I did!!!
I do feel how it makes me work. The attention to essential detail is profound. It's so unapologetic about throwing all of its world building at you, leaving you to pick up the pieces and assemble the puzzle of the history and cultures almost entirely on your own.
"Some" assembly required? Ha!
Someone already suggested Murderbot so I'll add Bobiverse if you're into scifi. It definitely fits your thought and feeling provoking request imo. There are parts of it that are kinda glum but overall I think they portray hope in the form of humanity's unending curiosity to learn and explore.
Let the Dragon ride again on the winds of time.
Strange coincidence. I actually started reading We Are Legion (Bobiverse Book 1) this morning after googling "books similar to project hail mary", which led me to someone recommending Bobiverse on reddit.
And I'm already 76% of the way through the book, since I haven't been able to put it down since I started. I can't speak to the rest of the series yet but the first book really really hooked me, and has been great so far. So I wholeheartedly second the recommendation. cc: @elight
I really enjoyed my recent read of WoT. It wasn't my first read through but my first one where everything was consecutive and somewhat fresh in my mind. Like you, it took me about 2 years as well, although I did have some breaks in there. It's nice to have a literary journey last that long, it really does become part of your daily life for a time. I haven't really read anything since either, other than a few 40k novels.
I keep getting Sanderson recommended to me, so you might want to check that out. Personally, I don't really love A Memory of Light and how that was structured and what was emphasized so I'm kind of hesitant to get into his stuff but it's hard to say if that was really his fault or not. I do think he did quite well overall with the role but for me Tarmon Gai'don was somewhat of a letdown.
The next Tildes Book Club book discussion isn't until the end of Jun, and the book we're currently reading, Project Hail Mary, is pretty short (476 pages) and was highly enjoyable (IMO). So you could pick it up, give it a read next, and join us for the discussion afterwards, if you want to.
Ah! Read it already.
Oh nice. In that case, feel free to join in on the discussion once the topic gets posted at the end of the month. You don't have to have read it recently to join the discussion. :)
p.s. The book for July is The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman, if haven't read that yet.
Huh! May have to. Seeing him at Wolf Trap this summer.
Discworld.
This post pops up from time-to-time and is pretty on point. Half those bullets can show up in half a page sometimes. Pratchett tends to write less... 'grandiose' than most epic fantasy but that's part of why it works so well. You're reading along, minding your business enjoying some light fantasy, and there's a obscure reference that if you look it up is to Russian plays, a ridiculous fantasy custom you'll later learn is "just British", something shockingly true about humanity, and then a character points out there was a "pune, or a play on words". All without feeling like it's trying to be "comedy as commentary".
The "standard disclaimer" is: the first few books are like the first few episodes of a show that doesn't know what it is yet. They're entertaining enough on their own but if it doesn't make sense while reading them why people love the series as a whole, that's why. Personally don't recommend the various "reading orders" other than publication order. That way you get to see the world grow.
If you're just looking for a one-off to see if you like the style I like Small Gods for that. Good Omens is his collaboration with Neil Gaiman and is probably a good 'tone' primer that isn't actually in Discworld.
Tildes book club will be discussing Small Gods at the end of August
If you feel like another high fantasy journey through 10 books, I'd seriously recommend Steven Erikson's Malazan, Book of the Fallen series.
It's the kind of fantasy that doesn't hold hands, but the world he creates is both novel and kept mysterious by his excellent writing. It's funny, has great character moments and is created by an anthropology professor at the University of Victoria (Canada).
As one of my favorite book series, I must always recommend The Well World Series by Jack L. Chalker.
Monk and Robot duology by Becky Chambers - Psalm for the Wild Built is the first.
Sibling Dex is a monk in a utopia that freed the robots long ago. But they're not satisfied with their life and decide to be a nomadic tea monk. And then they're not quite satisfied there either. So they head out into the wilds.
This is one of the books where I highlight a lot of dialogue because I often need to hear it myself. I've seen a lot of criticism of the term "hopepunk" lately but if you want solarpunk that's super hopeful.... This is it.
Be forewarned it is really heavy on philosophy, and I didn't finished it, but it is really beautifully written. I just got bored with it, which is a shame because the author did a good job of crafting that world. I will probably go back to it and finish it, which is embarrassing to say considering it is a novella.
It's definitely not plot heavy and much more of a character study and philosophical moment. But don't be embarrassed, if it didn't vibe, it didn't. (I have not finished WoT after 3-4 attempts for example)
The sequel is also excellent but is very similar so if you don't enjoy the first you probably wouldn't the second
I highly recommend the Farseer trilogy by Robin Hobb. I was hooked from the first chapter in a way that I am rarely gripped these days. It's actually the first trilogy in a now 16 book series. I am personally on book 10 now after about a year and a half of reading. The books that follow the main character FitzChivalry Farseer are some of my favorite books bar none. Book 9, Fool's Fate, has some of the most emotionally powerful moments I have ever read.
I'm going to give the caveat on this one. I find these books deeply depressing. It's a lot of bad stuff happening to the characters over and over. Hobb is merciless to her creations. They're not bad by any means, but I fell off them because I could no longer handle it.
It does provoke feeling though.
As someone who has done all the books, I came here to recommend this very series. Please give it a go!
Also, if you'd like to do a shorter selection, allow me to also recommend The Soldier Son Trilogy, also by Robin Hobb.
I’ll recommend something different: Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer. It’s a beautiful book about our relationship with nature, told both from a Western scientific and indigenous native American perspective. I found it ultimately leaves the reader with some optimism regarding humans’ ability to change for the better, reflected through the lens of native spirituality. It’s one of my favorite books.
I love this book
Okay so before you say "how could a story about life in a gulag be positive?" hear me out:
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich is a <200 page novel written by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn who actually was sent to a gulag. But the story is more about the hope and positivity of persevering in a world that is not only brutal, but also extremely monotonous. Yet Ivan Denisovich remarkably perseveres because he keeps a healthy (and seemingly upbeat) attitude, appreciates life, and rationalizes ways to help others and accept help in return, in spite of all the hardships. Really, skim the reviews on GoodReads because it's a great book!
The Offing by Benjamin Myers is a coming of age story that I found beautiful and hopeful.
Such a pleasant read. If you haven't already, try out The Gallows Pole by the same author. Much darker in tone, but absolutely gripping.
Two that are on the positive side that I enjoyed are the Queen's Thief series (five books) by Megan Whalen Turner and the Merciful Crows duology by Margaret Owen.
The Queen's Thief has big heist thriller energy with a fantasy wrapping, if you like that.
Merciful Crows skews a little YA but has an innovative and interesting magical system and a great main character. I don't want to say too much about it, but the hook at the very beginning sets the tone and it carries through.
If the final message (as you stated it in your spoiler) from WoT resonated for you, you should definitely check out The Stormlight Archive. I personally think that Oathbringer is tear inducingly beautiful with a similar message and the other books in that series are similarly beautiful.
Congrats on finishing the series!
The obvious answer here is to start the Wheel of Time reread! For many, rereads are even better as you can pick up on the nuances / foreshadowing sprinkled liberally throughout.
Pseudo-jokes aside, here are some other series/standalones I’d recommend that I didn’t see called out elsewhere:
A few people have mentioned it previously, but Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen series is absolutely phenomenal and I would highly recommend. It starts with Gardens of the Moon, which might come across as a bit difficult to follow, but if you give it a chance it will all make sense as the book and series move forward. Erikson doesn't lay everything out for you at every opportunity, but allows you as a reader to solve the mystery of the world and what is happening alongside many of the characters. It is one of the best series I have ever read, and I cannot say enough good things about it.
I'd suggest listening along to Ten Very Big Books (A Malazan Read-through Podcast) which has excellent summaries of events almost chapter by chapter and includes interviews with Steven Erikson at the conclusion of each novel.
Sorry I'm late. Definitely finish Band of Brothers. It is a significantly shorter read, obviously, and is interesting to read and see what they changed for the show.