So glad to hear you enjoyed «Return to Edan»! How Professor Chase so effortlessly weaves compassionate parables and events straight out of the Holy Bible, together epic battles straight out Gemmell’s «Legend», baffles my mind! Seren (especially when together with Dayraven) was a character that reminded me a lot of the Pevensie Sisters (together with Aslan the Lion) from CS Lewis’s «The Chronicles of Narnia» and aspects of both Tenar and Tehanu (together with Ged Sparrowhawk) from Ursula K LeGuin’s «The Earthsea Cycle»! In November I finished «The Name of the Wind» by Patrick Rothfuss, «Hild» by Nicola Griffith (Historical Fiction set among the 7th Century Anglo Saxons) and the «Siege» Trilogy by KJ Parker (Satirical Fantasy). My December TBR «Brother Red» by Adrian Selby (Grimdark Fantasy, standalone «mid-quel» to «Snakewood» and its standalone prequel «The Winter Road» inspired by Trading Companies such as the Hanseatic League or the East India Company) «After Rome» by Morgan Llywelyn (Historical Fiction set in a Post-Roman Britain) «The River of Stars» by Guy Gavriel Kay (Fantasy inspired by Song Dynasty China) «Bold Ascension» by Vaughn Roycroft (which I am expecting any day now!) My December MBR «Alv Erlingsson» by Tore Skeie (Historical Fiction about a 13th Century Norwegian Jarl who became a Privateer and Rebel) «Judas Blossom» by Stephen Aryan (Fantasy inspired by the Mongol Conquest of Persia) For 2024 I plan to start with «Stonehenge» by Bernard Cornwell (about the Creation of Stonehenge during the Neolithic Period), «Imperium» by Robert Harris (about the Roman Politician Cicero), «Når Landet Mørknar» (approx.: «When the Land Darkens”) by Tore Kvæven (set in the Norse Settlement of Greenland during the 13th Century, winner of the Norwegian Brage Prize for Best Norwegian Novel in 2018), «Egil Skallagrimsson» by Halvor Tjønn (about the (in-)famous 10th Century Icelandic Viking & Skald who became a Bloodsworn Enemy of the Norwegian Viking King Eirik Bloodaxe), «The Dragon Lord» by David Drake (Arthurian S&S), «The Last Light of the Sun» by Guy Gavriel Kay and the «Lyonesse» Trilogy by Jack Vance!
I'm starting River of Stars tonight! And excited to do so. I read Stonehenge a few years ago, and although I didn't rate it as high as some others by Cornwell, it's honestly stuck with me more than some others.
Thanks again for this entertaining reading wrap-up. I like how you mix genres. And A Song for Arbonne is very high on my TBR, and after your words has moved up even higher. I might even postpone reading Assassin's Quest for this!
Love to hear that you found a potential new all-time favourite! You are making me so excited to get back to more GGK again! And I am beyond eager to do a binge read of the Edan trilogy next year. Already enjoyed book 1 so this bodes well for the direction of the series. Hope December is treating you well!!
Excellent video as always. I truly enjoy your videos and use your synapses to guide my book purchases. Keep doing what you do my friend. I love your channel Mr. Red Fury Books!
I’m glad you enjoyed Cat’s Cradle! One of the few books I can say that literally made me laugh and made me think. I haven’t read any Michael Connelly but the Bosch TV show was pretty good. My in-laws love it haha
The Bosch adaptation was a pleasant surprise for me. What I like most about Connelly's thrillers is the realism factor; he doesn't rely upon over the top scenes to make it compelling, and the show embraced that.
Oh, I remember earlier in the year voting for you to read Song for Arbonne out of some choices. No idea of it won the choice at that point but I am glad you have read it. I loved the book but I just had a feeling you would find even more to appreciate in it than I did, and looks like I may have been right. Looking forward to hearing your full thoughts.
A Song For Arbonne is one of my favourite GGK books, Although personally I like Lions and the Sarantine Mosaic more. My book of the month was The Broken Sword - Poul Anderson, closely followed by Cursed (A Fantasy Anthology, with curses as the theme). The Broken Sword was published in 1954 (same year as LOTR) and reads like a Saga from ancient times.
Wow, what an epic video! I'm glad to hear such great things about Return to Edan. I enjoyed The Way of Edan, and I'm already planning to finish the series next year. Like you, I enjoyed Philip Chase's writing style: it has an authentic ring to it, and I felt that I was reading a story about pre-modern people in a pre-modern world. This is also how I tried to write The Rosteval Saga: the dialog, word choices, narrative style, etc., are all designed to immerse the reader into a world that is essentially pre-modern.
Here's what I read in November Waypoints by sam heugen memoir Back to the prairie by melissa Gilbert memoir Holly by Stephen king Kulti by Mariana Zapata Practical magic by alice Hoffman Cytonic by Brandon Sanderson Your a mean one Matthew prince Window shopping by tessa bailey All I want for Christmas by Maggie knox Savage run by cj box The mind series by s.t abby
Josh I just downloaded the Song for Arbonne from Hoopla, so I will finally try GGK! I am finishing up Mistress after watching the 5 minute spoiler free discussion on Allen’s channel. I am enjoying it again Since my husband loves sports related books I just ordered the Coach Wooden book for him from the library. Lastly, I remember liking Vonnegut’s Breakfast of Champions.
Revenge of the Rose is also my least favorite Elric so far, and I haven’t read on since! It helped a lot hearing your critiques of it. It did have a great beginning and end!
I admire how widely spread your reading selections are genre-wise. I'm with you on Philip's book. It was my favorite of the Edan Trilogy. Still haven't got to Moorcock yet, but for sure in 2024. Man, you read a LOT in November!
That was a really good month!!! I saw you review The Ferryman by Justin Cronin on Goodreads and I took that suggestion and read it. It was amazing!! I need to dive further into Elric. Great video man.
I have to stop watching book tube. I've just bought 3 of those books you mentioned, AND, in the boxes in the car with books headed to charity, you mentioned 2 that I retrieved. I'll never get the piles down to manageable amounts. However, I do thank you for your presentations. They make those books sound truly great.
Cat's Cradle has been on my WTR for awhile (obviously 😅😺) but i wasn't sure since i didn't get along with Slaughterhouse Five... but now you've made me think i may like it. I own A Song for Arbonne so can't wait to hear more of what you think of it.
Just re-read the first Elric today. 🙂 The hard thing with Elric was the stories were written totally out of the order of those hardbacks, there were quite a few short stories that aren’t in those books, and at some point Moorcock went full on Eternal Champion, where you’d also need to read Corum, Jerry Cornelius, Hawkmoon, etc. to put everything together. 🙄
Yes, I almost wish I had encountered a lot of these tales as originally put together. They're still enjoyable but there's a bit of disconnect amidst most of the novels.
Great video Josh! Sounds like some great hits wits a few mediocre misses. Thanks for steering me clear of the Buffy story. It sounds terrible lol. I’m really hoping I love the Elric stories. Haven’t started them yet.
I know you weren’t super high on Soldier Son, but I finished that in November and LOVED it - instant favorite ❤ Also started Matthew Corbett by Robert McCammon which has been stellar so far!
A Song for Arbonne is also a personal favourite of mine. In fact. Kay is my favourite author of any genre. I read the first three Kingsbridge books but lost interest at the start of the fourth because it was, sounding to much like the previous. His Century Trilogy was my favourite series. In November I finished three books. Lord Foul's Bane by Stephen Donaldson, my favourite of the month. Gave it 4 stars. Stormbird by Conn Iggulden. It was alright, I'm currently reading the next book in the series. 3 stars And my least favourite was Fairy Tale by Stephen King. I lost interest about one third of the way in and would have dnf’d it had I not found the audio version to help push me through the physical book. This month I plan on finishing Margaret of Anjou (Conn Iggulden) and The Illearth War (Stephen Donaldson). I will probably finish a third but I don't yet know which book it will be.
After loving Pillars, enjoying World Without End and DNFing Column, I think I’m finished with that series. Cat’s Cradle sounds interesting, I haven’t read a lot of classic sci fi.
I look forward to hearing your detailed impressions of A Song for Arbonne. It's hard to imagine a book more suited to the tastes of a discerning fantasy reader and musician like yourself.
Speaking of consistency, Bernard Cornwell never misses for me. The Warlord Chronicles are some of my favorite books of all time, and I’m currently reading Burning Land, the 5th book in the Saxon Tales, and I’m enjoying it immensely. I read Black Echo by Connolly, and I thought Bosch lacked depth. It was an okay read for me. Should I keep going in the Harry Bosch series?? Does it get better??
Black Echo was Connelly's first novel, so the character does get more depth as you go along. As for Cornwell, I agree! I haven't read any of the Saxon Tales, but I've read about a dozen others and he's top 10 for me of all time for sure.
Quite a ecletic wrap up. I have the same feeling about Ken Folet (I love The Pillars of the Earth & The World withot End) but after i read The Century Trilogy I gave mysef a pause from his books (I didn't like the last book, awful). This year I've been into Russian Classic Literature and Fathers & Sons is one of my must read, but I aven;t be able to find a good Spanish Translation. Great Video ✨
I have tried reading fantasy. The Blade Itself, Red Rising, Jade City and The Winter King. None of these compelled me to continue the series except possibly The Blade Itself. On booktube fantasy is all the rage but I guess I am too old (70) or expect too much.
New sub watching your backlist. You open up with Buffy audiobook? Christopher Golden was the writer in The TV series. Love Buffy, but wont by getting this. Thank you. I'll look into trying some books instead. 0.5 😂🤜 I wont be reading any Russian literature, due to my husbands family is from Ukraine 🇺🇦 Enough said.yes Im salty. I just read all of the Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne. Very fun books between heavy hiters.I did read Lonesome Dove. My new all time favorite, next would be The Stand. After college, 2 young kids, single, I never wanted to read again, until King. Im thankful to him daily. Great job, suce a range.
So glad to hear you enjoyed «Return to Edan»! How Professor Chase so effortlessly weaves compassionate parables and events straight out of the Holy Bible, together epic battles straight out Gemmell’s «Legend», baffles my mind! Seren (especially when together with Dayraven) was a character that reminded me a lot of the Pevensie Sisters (together with Aslan the Lion) from CS Lewis’s «The Chronicles of Narnia» and aspects of both Tenar and Tehanu (together with Ged Sparrowhawk) from Ursula K LeGuin’s «The Earthsea Cycle»!
In November I finished «The Name of the Wind» by Patrick Rothfuss, «Hild» by Nicola Griffith (Historical Fiction set among the 7th Century Anglo Saxons) and the «Siege» Trilogy by KJ Parker (Satirical Fantasy).
My December TBR
«Brother Red» by Adrian Selby (Grimdark Fantasy, standalone «mid-quel» to «Snakewood» and its standalone prequel «The Winter Road» inspired by Trading Companies such as the Hanseatic League or the East India Company)
«After Rome» by Morgan Llywelyn (Historical Fiction set in a Post-Roman Britain)
«The River of Stars» by Guy Gavriel Kay (Fantasy inspired by Song Dynasty China)
«Bold Ascension» by Vaughn Roycroft (which I am expecting any day now!)
My December MBR
«Alv Erlingsson» by Tore Skeie (Historical Fiction about a 13th Century Norwegian Jarl who became a Privateer and Rebel)
«Judas Blossom» by Stephen Aryan (Fantasy inspired by the Mongol Conquest of Persia)
For 2024 I plan to start with «Stonehenge» by Bernard Cornwell (about the Creation of Stonehenge during the Neolithic Period), «Imperium» by Robert Harris (about the Roman Politician Cicero), «Når Landet Mørknar» (approx.: «When the Land Darkens”) by Tore Kvæven (set in the Norse Settlement of Greenland during the 13th Century, winner of the Norwegian Brage Prize for Best Norwegian Novel in 2018), «Egil Skallagrimsson» by Halvor Tjønn (about the (in-)famous 10th Century Icelandic Viking & Skald who became a Bloodsworn Enemy of the Norwegian Viking King Eirik Bloodaxe), «The Dragon Lord» by David Drake (Arthurian S&S), «The Last Light of the Sun» by Guy Gavriel Kay and the «Lyonesse» Trilogy by Jack Vance!
I'm starting River of Stars tonight! And excited to do so. I read Stonehenge a few years ago, and although I didn't rate it as high as some others by Cornwell, it's honestly stuck with me more than some others.
Currently reading Resurrection Walk. I've also read all of Connollys books, and I agree, consistently excellent, and this one is no different.
It’s great to hear someone have a similar experience with Return to Edan as I had 😀
Thanks again for this entertaining reading wrap-up. I like how you mix genres. And A Song for Arbonne is very high on my TBR, and after your words has moved up even higher. I might even postpone reading Assassin's Quest for this!
I'd never say to delay anything by Hobb, but GGK would be a close option to supplant her temporarily!
Love to hear that you found a potential new all-time favourite! You are making me so excited to get back to more GGK again!
And I am beyond eager to do a binge read of the Edan trilogy next year. Already enjoyed book 1 so this bodes well for the direction of the series. Hope December is treating you well!!
If you liked the first book, I think you'll love where the Edan series ends up. It's absolutely worth your time!
I really need to get to A Song for Arbonne. My favourite read of November was Ken Liu's Wall of Storms.
I hope you enjoy it when it comes around!
Excellent video as always. I truly enjoy your videos and use your synapses to guide my book purchases. Keep doing what you do my friend. I love your channel Mr. Red Fury Books!
Thanks so much - this comment made my morning!
I’m glad you enjoyed Cat’s Cradle! One of the few books I can say that literally made me laugh and made me think.
I haven’t read any Michael Connelly but the Bosch TV show was pretty good. My in-laws love it haha
The Bosch adaptation was a pleasant surprise for me. What I like most about Connelly's thrillers is the realism factor; he doesn't rely upon over the top scenes to make it compelling, and the show embraced that.
Song for Arbonne is up in February for me and now I can’t wait. Thanks my friend.
Awesome! I hope you love it as I do!
So glad that you enjoyed A Song for Arbonne. Looking forward to your video about it.
Thanks! That video will be out Wednesday.
Oh, I remember earlier in the year voting for you to read Song for Arbonne out of some choices. No idea of it won the choice at that point but I am glad you have read it. I loved the book but I just had a feeling you would find even more to appreciate in it than I did, and looks like I may have been right. Looking forward to hearing your full thoughts.
Glad you love A Song for Arbonne as well! That video will be out on Wednesday.
A Song For Arbonne is one of my favourite GGK books, Although personally I like Lions and the Sarantine Mosaic more.
My book of the month was The Broken Sword - Poul Anderson, closely followed by Cursed (A Fantasy Anthology, with curses as the theme).
The Broken Sword was published in 1954 (same year as LOTR) and reads like a Saga from ancient times.
I'm definitely looking forward to reading Sarantine Mosaic hopefully next year. I'm definitely loving GGK right now.
Wow, what an epic video! I'm glad to hear such great things about Return to Edan. I enjoyed The Way of Edan, and I'm already planning to finish the series next year.
Like you, I enjoyed Philip Chase's writing style: it has an authentic ring to it, and I felt that I was reading a story about pre-modern people in a pre-modern world. This is also how I tried to write The Rosteval Saga: the dialog, word choices, narrative style, etc., are all designed to immerse the reader into a world that is essentially pre-modern.
Here's what I read in November
Waypoints by sam heugen memoir
Back to the prairie by melissa Gilbert memoir
Holly by Stephen king
Kulti by Mariana Zapata
Practical magic by alice Hoffman
Cytonic by Brandon Sanderson
Your a mean one Matthew prince
Window shopping by tessa bailey
All I want for Christmas by Maggie knox
Savage run by cj box
The mind series by s.t abby
Looking forward to Fathers & Sons and Kurt Vonnegut in 2024.
I hope Fathers and Sons works better for you than it did for me. I'll be reading more Vonnegut next year too!
Josh I just downloaded the Song for Arbonne from Hoopla, so I will finally try GGK! I am finishing up Mistress after watching the 5 minute spoiler free discussion on Allen’s channel. I am enjoying it again Since my husband loves sports related books I just ordered the Coach Wooden book for him from the library. Lastly, I remember liking Vonnegut’s Breakfast of Champions.
I hope you love A Song for Arbonne, and hope your husband enjoys the Wooden book as I did!
Revenge of the Rose is also my least favorite Elric so far, and I haven’t read on since! It helped a lot hearing your critiques of it. It did have a great beginning and end!
Hopefully when you get to The Bane of the Black Sword it becomes your favorite as it is mine so far!
I admire how widely spread your reading selections are genre-wise. I'm with you on Philip's book. It was my favorite of the Edan Trilogy. Still haven't got to Moorcock yet, but for sure in 2024. Man, you read a LOT in November!
Yeah, November was a prolific month! Glad you also enjoyed Return to Edan - he really stuck the landing!
That was a really good month!!! I saw you review The Ferryman by Justin Cronin on Goodreads and I took that suggestion and read it. It was amazing!! I need to dive further into Elric. Great video man.
Glad you liked The Ferryman! I saw your blurb on Matt's channel - it was my #2 new release this year after Return to Edan.
I have to stop watching book tube. I've just bought 3 of those books you mentioned, AND, in the boxes in the car with books headed to charity, you mentioned 2 that I retrieved. I'll never get the piles down to manageable amounts. However, I do thank you for your presentations. They make those books sound truly great.
The struggle is real! I do hope that any books you buy because of my recommendations turn into favorites! :)
Cat's Cradle has been on my WTR for awhile (obviously 😅😺) but i wasn't sure since i didn't get along with Slaughterhouse Five... but now you've made me think i may like it.
I own A Song for Arbonne so can't wait to hear more of what you think of it.
Cat's Cradle felt like the same author as Slaughterhouse-5 but didn't. Which makes no sense. But Vonnegut. lol
Just re-read the first Elric today. 🙂 The hard thing with Elric was the stories were written totally out of the order of those hardbacks, there were quite a few short stories that aren’t in those books, and at some point Moorcock went full on Eternal Champion, where you’d also need to read Corum, Jerry Cornelius, Hawkmoon, etc. to put everything together. 🙄
Yes, I almost wish I had encountered a lot of these tales as originally put together. They're still enjoyable but there's a bit of disconnect amidst most of the novels.
You say “bad soap opera” like it’s a bad thing! That’s it - I’ll be watching your twin brother’s videos from now on 😜!
HA!
Great video Josh! Sounds like some great hits wits a few mediocre misses. Thanks for steering me clear of the Buffy story. It sounds terrible lol. I’m really hoping I love the Elric stories. Haven’t started them yet.
That's an accurate assessment! And for sure avoid that Buffy story!
I know you weren’t super high on Soldier Son, but I finished that in November and LOVED it - instant favorite ❤ Also started Matthew Corbett by Robert McCammon which has been stellar so far!
I suspect that I'll really enjoy those Matthew Corbett books when I find the time to fit them in. Glad Soldier Son worked for you!
I think you’ll like them!
A Song for Arbonne is also a personal favourite of mine. In fact. Kay is my favourite author of any genre.
I read the first three Kingsbridge books but lost interest at the start of the fourth because it was, sounding to much like the previous. His Century Trilogy was my favourite series.
In November I finished three books.
Lord Foul's Bane by Stephen Donaldson, my favourite of the month. Gave it 4 stars.
Stormbird by Conn Iggulden. It was alright, I'm currently reading the next book in the series. 3 stars
And my least favourite was Fairy Tale by Stephen King. I lost interest about one third of the way in and would have dnf’d it had I not found the audio version to help push me through the physical book.
This month I plan on finishing Margaret of Anjou (Conn Iggulden) and The Illearth War (Stephen Donaldson).
I will probably finish a third but I don't yet know which book it will be.
I need to reread the Thomas Covenant books. I read them in high school but I'm sure I'd feel much different about them today.
After loving Pillars, enjoying World Without End and DNFing Column, I think I’m finished with that series. Cat’s Cradle sounds interesting, I haven’t read a lot of classic sci fi.
Cat's Cradle is definitely unique. As for the Kingsbridge series, I did enjoy The Evening and Morning ,which was a prequel.
I look forward to hearing your detailed impressions of A Song for Arbonne. It's hard to imagine a book more suited to the tastes of a discerning fantasy reader and musician like yourself.
Yes, the music connections really resonated with me. The video will be out on Wednesday!
Speaking of consistency, Bernard Cornwell never misses for me. The Warlord Chronicles are some of my favorite books of all time, and I’m currently reading Burning Land, the 5th book in the Saxon Tales, and I’m enjoying it immensely.
I read Black Echo by Connolly, and I thought Bosch lacked depth. It was an okay read for me. Should I keep going in the Harry Bosch series?? Does it get better??
Black Echo was Connelly's first novel, so the character does get more depth as you go along. As for Cornwell, I agree! I haven't read any of the Saxon Tales, but I've read about a dozen others and he's top 10 for me of all time for sure.
Quite a ecletic wrap up. I have the same feeling about Ken Folet (I love The Pillars of the Earth & The World withot End) but after i read The Century Trilogy I gave mysef a pause from his books (I didn't like the last book, awful). This year I've been into Russian Classic Literature and Fathers & Sons is one of my must read, but I aven;t be able to find a good Spanish Translation. Great Video ✨
Yes, 6 genres in a month might be a record for me! I hope you enjoy Fathers and Sons more than I did!
I have tried reading fantasy. The Blade Itself, Red Rising, Jade City and The Winter King. None of these compelled me to continue the series except possibly The Blade Itself. On booktube fantasy is all the rage but I guess I am too old (70) or expect too much.
That's quite an eclectic mix, so maybe that genre isn't for you. We all have different tastes.
New sub watching your backlist. You open up with Buffy audiobook? Christopher Golden was the writer in The TV series. Love Buffy, but wont by getting this. Thank you. I'll look into trying some books instead. 0.5 😂🤜
I wont be reading any Russian literature, due to my husbands family is from Ukraine 🇺🇦 Enough said.yes Im salty.
I just read all of the Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne. Very fun books between heavy hiters.I did read Lonesome Dove. My new all time favorite, next would be The Stand. After college, 2 young kids, single, I never wanted to read again, until King. Im thankful to him daily.
Great job, suce a range.
Glad to steer you away from that awful Buffy audiobook! Glad you're also a King fan! I have another big King video planned for later this year!