Rincewind

I have to say this book had me on the edge of my seat from page one until the last word. It really was something, it has certainly revived my hope in modern fantasy.

The summary for The Emperors Blades the first book in the series from goodreads, "The circle is closing. The stakes are high. And old truths will live again . . . The Emperor has been murdered, leaving the Annurian Empire in turmoil. Now his progeny must bury their grief and prepare to unmask a conspiracy. His son Valyn, training for the empire’s deadliest fighting force, hears the news an ocean away. He expected a challenge, but after several ‘accidents’ and a dying soldier’s warning, he realizes his life is also in danger. Yet before Valyn can take action, he must survive the mercenaries’ brutal final initiation. Meanwhile, the Emperor’s daughter, Minister Adare, hunts her father’s murderer in the capital itself. Court politics can be fatal, but she needs justice. And Kaden, heir to an empire, studies in a remote monastery. Here, the Blank God’s disciples teach their harsh ways – which Kaden must master to unlock their ancient powers. When an imperial delegation arrives, he’s learnt enough to perceive evil intent. But will this keep him alive, as long-hidden powers make their move?" And the link to the book :-) https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17910124.The_Emperor_s_Blades

lol it gets better, they fight on and with the Kettral :-) :-)

Thanks! It is good to be back :-)

That part was quiet cool. Hope I have tempted you into reading them :-) ! And it id nice to be back

Hi again, haven't been online for months (been busy working) but I back anf thought I would say 'Hi' again...:-)

I read the first book (The Emperor's Blades) a few months ago and I just could not put it down, I have to know what happened next and I was so disappointed when I realized that I would need to wait to read the next one, now while roming goodreads I see that the next one in the series, The Providence of Fire has been published and I am off to see if I can get my hands on a copy. Has anyone else read the first one? Wasn't it great?

If you have a colour screened reader or tablet then they do show the books cover as al ebooks come with a cover, even some B&W readers will still show a cover, what kindle and most readers do is open a book at the first age of text rather than the cover. If you page back you should be able to see the cover. :-)

Hi everyone, been away working and did not have a lot of time to come on line but here I am! And he is my opinion on swearing in books. The over (please note OVER) use of swearing in books is, in my opinion, a sign of a week writer who does not have a sufficient vocabulary to fully express their intended story without resorting to vile language. Admittedly I have read a few fantasy book where the characters have used made up swearwords now and again and it has been fine. But then they were made up by the author and little used so... I do not condone the use of swear words in books (because of the aforementioned reason) and because I do not wish to condone or support the use of vile language. It is just not nice. People may think what they like about it but there is a reason why for many years swearing was something looked down upon and seen as rude and vulgar.

If I am enjoying a book I have to admit to being happy to read it in two days. Anyway if I want to I cant just turn back to the first page and reread it!

Yes, something can be a best seller but still not be that good a book, this makes talking about books and what is good a bit hard at times... I think that this is were things get a bit sticky as a personal opinion, likes, dislikes aren't and never will have anything to do with how good a book is. I mean I have a few series that I love and that I read again and again, but I will freely admit that they aren't good books and while good doesn't mean not enjoyable or fun to read there is a difference between good and enjoyable and just enjoyable. A book needs certain things in order to work, I mean you wouldn't read a book that had bad grammar, a rambling plot, and with a un-engaging character and think it good, you might think it enjoyable but not good. Good has a criteria and I don't think that it is subjective at all as is the same for every book, the need for a good plot, engaging characters and a glimmering of a talent for writing doesn't change according to genre or personal likes as every good book has the same fundamental elements to it.

I think this is a glass half full vs. half empty situation. You misunderstand me, I am not saying let's all just read one book, as there are many many genres and sub genres, some of which not every one will like. Sothere are plenty of books to go around and everyone who reads them will get something different out of them, anyway I am so not a conformist. Tell me what to do and I'll do the opposite . But this does not mean that what we read cant be GOOD. Good and different are to different things and by saying good I am not saying X person cant like Y type of books. I'm just asking why Y book can't be well written? My thinking is that in a long series each book is like a little chapter in a greater book and every chapter has a beginning and a middle and a end with a small plot, the immediate events, and a overreaching plot that continues into the next chapter and after having read a few of the Song of Fire and Ice books I feel like GRRM starts a plot, sets it all up, then leaves it with in a book or two without resolving it and at this point either the last book of the series is going to be very very long or he is not going to resolve, finish all the plots that he has started. But that is just my opinion and as you have said, it would be a very boring would if everyone read/like the same things. Well I kind of thought that I was saying that self publishing was not a bad thing...as for reading the flops, I don't but I still have to look through shelves and pages of duds and that is a pain in the.... and I never mentioned anything about limits on what can be published, as what I was thinking about was far more like a search button where I can say "good books only" and magic happiness and a magic computer sorts out all the flops from the diamonds. I think while randomly saying this is bad and this is good, is not done, there are certain rules to writing that if a author does not follow the resulting book can be thought of as bad and to say so is not close minded or arrogant. As things like grammar, plot, characters, spelling, prose and basic writing is important and does count towards the "goodness" of your book.

Well a few years ago a study showed that a quarter of children leaving primary school couldn't spell or add and it doesn't get better the older they get either as I believe one in five leave school still unable to read or write... This doesn't leave a great hope for those that do, to do it well and out of these come the authors of today. Ai! One I don't agree that all is wonderful no matter what children are reading as if parents don't show/teach there kids to know the difference between good writing and bad then that effects what they read and I'm afraid to say that reading is like food, if you only eat junk food then you are never going to be very heathy. Same with junk books. There also seems to be an idea that only badly written books are enjoyable when there are tones of great, fun, well written, good books out there that are fun to read. I don't see why or how in order to become interested in reading you have to start off with the junk food of the literature wold. Two, A Song of Fire and Ice is OK, I do think that Martian is a little to fond of starting a plot and then abandoning it unfinished, by it is OK and I think it will hopefully open up the way for other fantasy TV shows and movies in the future. Three, As a young person, I really don't care if the book I am reading is a paper book, epub, mobi or pdf as long as it is good and I think that self publishing books can be a great way to get a book that might not be what is selling at the moment out into the world. Publishers are only interested in what is going to sell, not always what is good, so I can get behind people wanting to give there book a chance out in the world, I just wish that there was maybe a way to filter the huge amounts of flops from the jewels that are waiting to be found. So for me at least it isn't a nostalgia for the good old days, but rather a almost unbiased opinion (I want say totally unbiased as I know that I have a faint hint of being a book snob about certain books ) of what I am seeing what I try and find new books to read.

I totally understand your frustration, last years sometime I saw a Chinese cookbook for sale in the second hand book store and thought 'YAY Chinese food!' As I LOVE Chinese and found that not only was it filled with boring dishes that had been westernized but that the ingredients had been changed out with things you can get here...