I've... made a huge mistake.
I've... made a huge mistake.
No, it's not hoping for another season of Arrested Development, although that last one on Netflix was a bit iffy. It's that I did something that I promised to myself that I wouldn't do.
I began a new series before it's finished.
I know! I know! Woe is me... I should know better, considering all the excellent ones I'm juggling (and have been for years). But I couldn't help myself.
I've been jonesing to catch up on what Michael J Sullivan has been working on, since I love Riyria so much, and I swore to myself two years ago, when he dropped the first of five (now six!) books, that I would wait. Even though this was a new series with new characters and might not bear too much resemblance to the Riyria Revelations and Chronicles, it was set in the same world, 3000 years before so I had an inkling that it would be great. I was so wrong.
It's not great. It's wonderful.
He's managed to bring the same feeling of depth and cohesion into the story, right from the first book, that I was already captivated by the ensemble cast and their plots by the first half of the book. The second book managed to be better than the first one, in my opinion... and therein lies the issue, because I now have to WAIT... <sob> wait and wait until the series is done.
It's really shaping up to be a wonderful story, and I'm so glad he's already written it (according to his blog), just the usual revisions and tweaks that go into 6-book series. So while I'm somewhat annoyed at myself for not being strong enough to wait until it was at least closer to being published, I'm so glad I read these first two entries into the Legends of the First Empire series because they're marvelous. 5 stars.
If you ever check my "Read" book list on Goodreads, you might see some great books have only received 4 stars. It's because I use the ratings the following way:
1 Star = Waste of life (I regret reading the book, or I didn't even finish it).
2 Stars = It's OK. I can learn about the things I don't want to do when I write.
3 Stars = Good book. I enjoyed it and would recommend it to folks.
4 Stars = Great book. I really liked it and it's something everyone should read.
5 Stars = I Love this book, and I will likely re-read it multiple times if I get the chance.
Suffice to say that there are some series for which the love is so strong I might put 5 stars across the board, just because, but I try not to. The example being Dirk Pitt, the dashing hero, whose exploits are always awesome but some were just clearly better than others, and they're marked as such. In any case, That's my rating and I try to stick by it. 5 stars means that I have either already read the book multiple times (something I used to do when I was younger) or will read it again if I find the books in my queue aren't compelling enough.
Of course, it could just be The Stormlight Archive or The Kingkiller Chronicles, which I have to read again just to get caught up in such dense and rich worlds, but that's a separate thing.
In any case, if, like me, you're a glutton for self-imposed punishment and torture of waiting for great book series to culminate, check out the Legends of the First Empire series, which is fairly standalone from Riyria Revelations & Chronicles, but I really think reading those first will make it more enjoyable. I know it was the case for me.
Now is when I make the promise again: I will not delve into another epic and unfinished series.... mmm.. although there is Jim Butcher's Aeronaut ... no! stop!
-Chair!
No, it's not hoping for another season of Arrested Development, although that last one on Netflix was a bit iffy. It's that I did something that I promised to myself that I wouldn't do.
I began a new series before it's finished.
I know! I know! Woe is me... I should know better, considering all the excellent ones I'm juggling (and have been for years). But I couldn't help myself.
I've been jonesing to catch up on what Michael J Sullivan has been working on, since I love Riyria so much, and I swore to myself two years ago, when he dropped the first of five (now six!) books, that I would wait. Even though this was a new series with new characters and might not bear too much resemblance to the Riyria Revelations and Chronicles, it was set in the same world, 3000 years before so I had an inkling that it would be great. I was so wrong.
It's not great. It's wonderful.
He's managed to bring the same feeling of depth and cohesion into the story, right from the first book, that I was already captivated by the ensemble cast and their plots by the first half of the book. The second book managed to be better than the first one, in my opinion... and therein lies the issue, because I now have to WAIT... <sob> wait and wait until the series is done.
It's really shaping up to be a wonderful story, and I'm so glad he's already written it (according to his blog), just the usual revisions and tweaks that go into 6-book series. So while I'm somewhat annoyed at myself for not being strong enough to wait until it was at least closer to being published, I'm so glad I read these first two entries into the Legends of the First Empire series because they're marvelous. 5 stars.
If you ever check my "Read" book list on Goodreads, you might see some great books have only received 4 stars. It's because I use the ratings the following way:
1 Star = Waste of life (I regret reading the book, or I didn't even finish it).
2 Stars = It's OK. I can learn about the things I don't want to do when I write.
3 Stars = Good book. I enjoyed it and would recommend it to folks.
4 Stars = Great book. I really liked it and it's something everyone should read.
5 Stars = I Love this book, and I will likely re-read it multiple times if I get the chance.
Suffice to say that there are some series for which the love is so strong I might put 5 stars across the board, just because, but I try not to. The example being Dirk Pitt, the dashing hero, whose exploits are always awesome but some were just clearly better than others, and they're marked as such. In any case, That's my rating and I try to stick by it. 5 stars means that I have either already read the book multiple times (something I used to do when I was younger) or will read it again if I find the books in my queue aren't compelling enough.
Of course, it could just be The Stormlight Archive or The Kingkiller Chronicles, which I have to read again just to get caught up in such dense and rich worlds, but that's a separate thing.
In any case, if, like me, you're a glutton for self-imposed punishment and torture of waiting for great book series to culminate, check out the Legends of the First Empire series, which is fairly standalone from Riyria Revelations & Chronicles, but I really think reading those first will make it more enjoyable. I know it was the case for me.
Now is when I make the promise again: I will not delve into another epic and unfinished series.... mmm.. although there is Jim Butcher's Aeronaut ... no! stop!
-Chair!