Poll #3 July 2021 Read

[SailorScoutMandy | 782]

Poll will run from June 28th until July 2nd midnight. 

Also running a second poll with this, would anyone be interested in a second read-a-long with Dune?

As always feel free to take your time with your current read and join in whenever you are ready.  

 

Choices are:

The Way of Kinds by Brandon Sanderson

Roshar is a world of stone and storms. Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soilless ground. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter.

It has been centuries since the fall of the ten consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor that transform ordinary men into near-invincible warriors. Men trade kingdoms for Shardblades. Wars were fought for them, and won by them.

One such war rages on a ruined landscape called the Shattered Plains. There, Kaladin, who traded his medical apprenticeship for a spear to protect his little brother, has been reduced to slavery. In a war that makes no sense, where ten armies fight separately against a single foe, he struggles to save his men and to fathom the leaders who consider them expendable.

Brightlord Dalinar Kholin commands one of those other armies. Like his brother, the late king, he is fascinated by an ancient text called The Way of Kings. Troubled by over-powering visions of ancient times and the Knights Radiant, he has begun to doubt his own sanity.

Across the ocean, an untried young woman named Shallan seeks to train under an eminent scholar and notorious heretic, Dalinar's niece, Jasnah. Though she genuinely loves learning, Shallan's motives are less than pure. As she plans a daring theft, her research for Jasnah hints at secrets of the Knights Radiant and the true cause of the war.

The result of over ten years of planning, writing, and world-building, The Way of Kings is but the opening movement of the Stormlight Archive, a bold masterpiece in the making.

Speak again the ancient oaths:

Life before death.
Strength before weakness.
Journey before Destination.

and return to men the Shards they once bore.

The Knights Radiant must stand again.

A Spell for Chameleon by Piers Anthony 

Xanth was the enchanted land where magic ruled - where every citizen had a special spell only he could cast. It was a land of centaurs and dragons and basilisks.

For Bink of North Village, however, Xanth was no fairy tale. He alone had no magic. And unless he got some - and got some fast! - he would be exiled. Forever!

But the Good Magician Humfrey was convinced that Bink did indeed have magic. In fact, both Beauregard the genie and the magic wall chart insisted that Bink had magic. Magic as powerful as any possessed by the King or by Good Magician Humfrey - or even by the Evil Magician Trent

Be that as it may, no one could fathom the nature of Bink's very special magic. Bink was in despair. This was even worse than having no magic at all..and he would still be exiled!

 

Hyperion by Dan Simmons

On the world called Hyperion, beyond the law of the Hegemony of Man, there waits the creature called the Shrike. There are those who worship it. There are those who fear it. And there are those who have vowed to destroy it. In the Valley of the Time Tombs, where huge, brooding structures move backward through time, the Shrike waits for them all. On the eve of Armageddon, with the entire galaxy at war, seven pilgrims set forth on a final voyage to Hyperion seeking the answers to the unsolved riddles of their lives. Each carries a desperate hope—and a terrible secret. And one may hold the fate of humanity in his hands.

 

Mythos: The Greek Myths Retold by Stephen Fry

Rediscover the thrills, grandeur, and unabashed fun of the Greek myths—stylishly retold by Stephen Fry. This legendary writer, actor, and comedian breathes new life into beloved tales. From Persephone's pomegranate seeds to Prometheus's fire, from devious divine schemes to immortal love affairs, Fry draws out the humor and pathos in each story and reveals its relevance for our own time. Illustrated throughout with classical art inspired by the myths, this gorgeous volume invites you to explore a captivating world, with a brilliant storyteller as your guide.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,528]

Oh, good Lord.  I've had copies of the Stormlight Archive for years, but haven't been ready to commit to them.  Especially since only 4 of the 10 books are finished.  Coupled with how long Way of Kings is, and the fact that I planned on starting another high fantasy series this week, I'll have to vote for something else.  But I want to vote for that.

[SailorScoutMandy | 782]

5 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Oh, good Lord.  I've had copies of the Stormlight Archive for years, but haven't been ready to commit to them.  Especially since only 4 of the 10 books are finished.  Coupled with how long Way of Kings is, and the fact that I planned on starting another high fantasy series this week, I'll have to vote for something else.  But I want to vote for that.

I uhhh may not have thought about the page count when adding it oops. Lol

[G-type | 2,482]

It was impressive how Sanderson was able wrap up Jordan's Wheel of Time books. Maybe George RR Martin should hire him to ghost write the rest of Game of Thrones...

[Aguy | 772]

Would I? Yes.

Should I? Maybe.

Could I? No.

[SailorScoutMandy | 782]

49 minutes ago, Aguy said:

Would I? Yes.

Should I? Maybe.

Could I? No.

Oh that's not that bad, psshh. Gotta have something to read with morning coffee or on lunch

[Aguy | 772]

1 hour ago, SailorScoutMandy said:

Oh that's not that bad, psshh. Gotta have something to read with morning coffee or on lunch

I can usually get in a good 45 minute session in each day, 2 if I'm lucky, but I'm not looking for one more thing to stress out about not finishing.