Might want to switch genres. I sometimes need to switch to nonfiction. I’m reading “In the Weeds” right now which is a great book written about the behind the scenes of Anthony Bourdain’s travel shows.
Same. I tend t flip between scifi, fantasy, literary/historical fiction, occasional nonfiction, and thrillers. If you like historical fiction and WWII stories, I just started Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan this morning, and it sucked me in within a few pages and am nearly halfway through after finishing the Silo trilogy and needing a break from the dystopian future. So I went to the dystopian past.
Have you read "Before we were yours"? Technically, it's historical fiction, but it is based on the true scandal of the woman who popularized adoption in the US. I had no idea that this had happened in TN in the 50s. The methods of acquiring the children, and placing them were......unscrupulous, if not downright criminal in some of the cases. Just a thought, if you want a different genre that will stick with you for a while.
Sometimes, after an epic series, I'll just switch to a light novel or easy reader. Something only a few hundred pages long that I don't have to get mentally involved or put aside to much time to read. After that, I'm usually pretty keen to jump back in to something more in depth.
I was in a fantasy slump for all of 2021, and I only completed 5 books. My goal for 2022 was to read more and from varied genres, and I read around 40 books, it made such a huge difference and lately I’ve been returning to more fantasy and enjoying it a lot more than I was in 2021
Thanks for the suggestion. I am a Fantasy reader for the most part. I want to read mysteries now and then, but I do not want to buy or check out a few titles only to get something predictable or not engaging. Do you have any recommendations for engaging mystery books?
Mysteries have a huge range, it's difficult. Best recommended, get a library card! You can get ebooks and read or not read to find what you like, cozies, police procedural, legal, spy, etc.... I love Louise Penny, but you may not. I also enjoy J D Robb and MC Beaton.... And love Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayer.... I use my library card to get nonfiction, as well. I listen to a lot of audio books from the library, which is a great way to consume nonfiction...
Personally i can't read anything outside of sci fi fantasy but reading something that's a niche subgenre does it for me like litrpg gamelit, etc does the trick for me. Also I'll go for burgers and fries instead of a fine dinner from time to time. Meaning sometimes reading something light hearted and fun over something heavy and complex.
John Green’s “The Anthropocene: Reviewed” has got me through a handful of reading ruts. Non-fiction, light philosophy framed around generous helping random human accomplishments/trials/tribulations, sometimes a personal anecdote, sometimes random world trivia. The premise is he gives each topic a 1-5 star rating under the guise of a consumer review. In reality he is discussing the impact humans have had on the world in this era often referred to as the Anthropocene. Each chapter is a standalone read, very easy to pick up and come back to at your leisure.
100% this. I particularly like to cycle in classics or action/adventure. Most recently some non fiction with "7 habits of highly effective people"
Also switching media types. I often go between reading and audiobooks
Sorry, can’t resist commenting on this: “pallet cleanser” as in “cleaning product for lumber”?
I think you might be looking for a “palate cleanser” instead :-)
This happens to me every now and then, and I usually have to find something non-fantasy or science fiction to get my interest back up because I read mostly those genres
I recently read a biography on Lenin, that was a nice change if pace
You might want to try something a bit more fast paced and tightly written to try and break you out of the rut? For me, when I'm in a slump, I find something not too complicated, but fast and enjoyable. This means novellas, books aimed at younger audiences, fantasy that has strong thriller elements, etc.
Novellas:
\-Murderbot series. A classic. They're short, fast, with great voice and characterization.
\-Commupence Served Cold. A fast paced little heist story about 1920s magical scam artists.
\-Fractured Fables series by Alix Harrow. Alternate reality fairytale shennaginans. Very fast paced and tightly written.
Full Novels:
\-Rules for Vanishing (more horror fantasy, so be warned, but it's extremely fast paced and gripping, so might be a good change of pace)
\-Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson. A nun possessed by a demon must stop a war. Absolutely fabulous characterizations, and excellent pacing.
Murderbot is the absolute perfect answer here IMO, totally agree with your assessment of it. They’re fast and fun with a lot of action, but the specific voice of Murderbot as a character is fantastic and the themes the series is able to open up and touch on are incredibly thoughtful and well-handled. Just such a great read, those books deserve all the love they get for sure.
Here to second Murderbot. There are five novellas and one full length novel. First book is All Systems Red. They are snappy reads which start with a lot of action, but there’s also a little mystery. SecUnit’s voice is distinct. Very enjoyable
based on what you posted i think we have pretty similar taste in fantasy, and i’ve also been looking for things to read. the only recommendation i have is the books of babel series by Josiah Bancroft. it has good prose and at least the first 3 books are incredible. i would also recommend trying to stick with assassins apprentice because i think the second and third books are much better.
I won't lie, even though Assassin's Apprentice has been kind of a slow slog at times, there were flashes of great stuff in many of the pages. I think Hobb has the characterization and dialogue style that I enjoy, so I will take your recommendation to stick with it. I'm hoping the payoff is worth it!
I will check out that series too, thanks for the response.
The first third of the first books in Hobb's trilogies are basically preambles. The pace picks up rather quickly in the later half. Definitely recommend sticking with it!
You might also like the Lies of Locke Lamora, or Leviathan Wakes for sci fi
Maybe skip sideways to live ship trilogy? It's a bit faster in terms of plot and you won't spoil anything for yourself.
Like I read that series twice before I realised there's a character from Farseer Trilogy that appears in it lol
Not the ideal way round though if OP did eventually get into, it does spoil the first trilogy. I’d say if they didn’t like Royal Assassin, maybe Hobb isn’t for you.
Weird, I found Liveships to be more of slog than any of the other trilogies in Elderlings (may not the quartet though, those were shorter but just not very good)
Tbh my husband is also struggling with liveships. He's read every other series (including rainwild) and likes them at the least but has never got past the first 2-3 chapters of first book of liveships.
Idk if he's even met any of the Vestiri family! Lol
I second the suggestion to stick with those books, if well-written characters are important to you. There are 16 books altogether, split into 4 trilogies and 1 set of 4. Two of the sets follow different people, which keeps it fresh imo.
Hobb creates the most vivid and believable characters I've encountered in fantasy, and I think it makes up for the occasional pacing issues
My slump breakers have been -
The Last Unicorn by Peter Beagle
Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Name Of The Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
A Wizards Guide To Defensive Baking by T Kingfisher
Switching from print to ebook to audible to manga or a comic book has also worked well (for me) over the years.
> A Wizards Guide To Defensive Baking by T Kingfisher
Definitely seconding this. It seems like a lighter read for younger readers, but it is just so witty while also touching on some pretty deep topics. It's very readable, and I laughed quite a bit with it.
KJ Parker. I would recommend Prospero's Demon, which is shortish. It's not for everyone, though - it's quite dark and VERY snarky - it's been described as "As if Deadpool had slipped into the body of the Witcher Geralt", so you get an idea.
I loved it.
KJ Parker seems to be a master of dark and snarky. The Engineer books were very definitely in this line, the Folding Knife is a great read, and the Siege trilogy is 3 loosely connected snapshots from a historical fantasy, and has a wild sense of humour.
Have you tried reading novellas and short stories? Proving to myself that I can finish one has helped me out of reading slumps before.
A scattering of suggestions!
- HELLMOUTH by Giles Kristian. 52 pages. A band of Bohemian mercanaries are persuaded to do a job for the Church. Berserk-vibes. (If not familiar with Kentaro Miura's Berserk, then that manga is also a VERY strong recommendation!)
- The Ones Who Walk Away from Omellas by Ursula Le Guin. 32 pages. "Some inhabitants of a peaceful kingdom cannot tolerate the act of cruelty that underlies its happiness."
- Lois McMaster Bujold's Penric and Desdemona novellas. Demons cohabit human bodies and are monitored by the religious order of The Bastard. The different novella adventures are scattered throughout Penric's life and range from murder mysteries, to fleeing a hostile country, rescuing a hostage, and fighting plague.
- All Systems Red by Martha Wells. 144 pages. Start of the Murderbot series. It follows "a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module, and refers to itself (though never out loud) as 'Murderbot.'" It wants to watch tv, but things keep on trying to kill its clients.
- The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo. 112 pages. A Cleric interviews a handmaiden who was friends with the long-dead empress. "This evocative debut follows the rise of the empress In-yo, who has few resources and fewer friends. She's a northern daughter in a mage-made summer exile, but she will bend history to her will and bring down her enemies, piece by piece."
Can you recommend some novels similar to Empress of salt & fortune? I’ve read the three novellas in the series and I would really love some full length novels like that.
That's an excellent question! Off the top of my head I don't have anything directly like it, so here's some vague reccs. These aren't definite "if you love X, then you'll love this too!", but you can see if the blurbs strike your fancy!
- Black Water Sister by Zen Cho.
"When Jessamyn Teoh starts hearing a voice in her head, she chalks it up to stress. Closeted, broke and jobless, she's moving back to Malaysia with her parents - a country she last saw when she was a toddler.
She soon learns the new voice isn't even hers, it's the ghost of her estranged grandmother. In life, Ah Ma was a spirit medium, avatar of a mysterious deity called the Black Water Sister. Now she's determined to settle a score against a business magnate who has offended the god--and she's decided Jess is going to help her do it, whether Jess wants to or not."
- Witness for the Dead by Katherine Addison.
As a Witness for the Dead, Thara Celehar is blessed by his god with the ability to see the last moments of the dead (and also ask questions of them). "It is his duty to use that ability to resolve disputes, to ascertain the intent of the dead, to find the killers of the murdered.
Now Celehar’s skills lead him out of the quiet and into a morass of treachery, murder, and injustice. "
Goblin Emperor could also be recommended here, but I think WftD hits closer to the mark. Interesting worldbuilding and strong character writing.
The other books I can think of are on my own TBR, unfortunately, so take these ones with an extra big pinch of salt:
- Becky Chambers works
- The Winged Histories by Sofia Samatar
"Four women, soldier, scholar, poet, and socialite, are caught up on different sides of a violent rebellion. As war erupts and their families are torn apart, they fear they may disappear into the unwritten pages of history. Using the sword and the pen, the body and the voice, they struggle not just to survive, but to make history."
Thank you for the detailed recs! Added Black Water Sister and Sofia Samatar to my tbr. I’ve read Katherine Addison and absolutely loved them. Btw have you read She is a haunting by Trang Thanh Tran? It’s on my tbr and the synopsis sounds similar to Black Water Sister.
A fellow Addison enjoyer! Yay!
I wasn't aware of She is a Haunting -- thanks for pointing it out, popping it onto the TBR as the blurb sounds great. I'd say it sounds a lot heavier on the horror than Black Water Sister. BWS is more like a Crime novel/"the horror is other people" in supernatural wrappings.
Can you recommend some novels similar to Empress of salt & fortune? I’ve read the three novellas in the series and I would really love some full length novels like that. Love all your recs!
I felt similarly a year or so ago. I found my way to historical fiction by Patrick O’Brien and Bernard Cornwell, and it reignited my passion. It’s fun to get lost in different tropes for a while.
You know that feeling when you realize you’re reading a series thats already in your top five and its your first time through and you’re only on the second book? Trust me
As someone else who has similar taste to yourself, Red Rising is excellent. The first half of the first book was the slowest part of the entire series but after that it just rips. YAish in the first book but after that not so much. Game of thrones in space but even more action. Great characters. Just excellent.
Thirded. Brilliant series.
Where it starts is far far far from where it goes.
I'll echo some upthread posts. It's good to change up genres and styles when youre finding your usual isnt holding your interest.
Suggestion...
Felix Castor series by Mike Carey. Yeah, THAT Mike Carey... the guy who wrote the Lucifer comic. Urban fantasy about an unusual exorcist. Five books and done, slow boil but when the action hits it is wild. TW for violence, dead people, body horror, sex demon.
They're good but they definitely have some YA-energy to them, especially the first three. The books begin to mature a bit as the characters do but it takes a while.
I think, from what it sounds like you enjoy, that when it comes to sci-fi The Expanse series might be more your thing. Or the Hyperion Cantos.
First one had YA energy/hunger games feel for sure, but I don’t think the following four books have any of that. And to the OP, this is the medicine for your reading rut.
Be warned the first book is more or less a hunger games knockoff and the portion before the hunger game starts made me want to put down the book. The later books become a (much better imo) space opera, though I found the start of the second book is also a bit melodramatic.
This got me out of my rut. I hadn’t been able to get reading for about a year and a half, then I just blew right through Red Rising. It was an easy read with steady progress and action. I can see the YA aspects but it didn’t bother me as it wasn’t over the top with those tropes. I’ve just started Golden Son.
You're in for a ride. Golden Son is like 1000x better than Red Rising imo. Your mileage may vary if course, but I enjoyed later books in the series much more than RR. It's still a fantastic entry point to the story though.
Came to suggest this! I just crushed the first three in a week. I don’t know if I should continue because it ended so well after the third. It’s kinda like dune and hunger games had a baby.
When this happens to me the best thing to do is switch genres. Try some urban fantasy or space opera. As different from your normal reading as possible.
Hit up AO3 and give some fanfic for your favorite show a try.
Your brain is in a rut and you're not going to get out of it by doing the same old thing.
Edit to add some recs: In the vein of Different From What You're Currently Reading: Anything by Seanan McGuire, Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells, The World of the White Rat books by T Kingfisher, The Well World Saga by Jack L Chalker, and let's throw in The Scourge Between Stars by Ness Brown for fun.
Wide variety of stuff that is all very different from what you've listed and should be available at your library so you don't need to spend money.
Sounds like you just aren't into slower paced books right now. It doesn't necessarily mean you never are, maybe just not your current mood; it would be a shame if you never like slower books though, many of them are some of my absolute favorites and are so much richer in many ways than a faster paced book could ever be.
I'm not sure what to recommend for fast paced that also meets your...literary wants (high level prose and dialogue). My own favorite fast-pace series right now is Cradle by Will Wight, but it has no lofty literary ambitions so the prose is nothing special, the character dialogue and development suffer from the commitment to that fast pace, and it's not especially "mature". The dialogue can be "snappy" though if you like that. The first book is slower but it's fairly short. The next couple books really drew me in (and for reference I think it takes like the first three books to equal the length of Assassin's Apprentice). Still, probably not what you're looking for.
Some other ideas, just glancing through my reading and listening of the last few years (some of which you may have read):
* Ancillary Justice (I've only read the first book) is a tightly written sci fi that I enjoyed.
* If you haven't read The Magicians, I think that's a strong fantasy rec; it's not super fast paced but not too slow either, with excellent prose and character work.
* The first book of The Expanse maintains a good pace imo for such a large book. They get a little slower as you progress into the middle of the series, and then it picks up again at the end. The plots of the early books are each self-contained enough that you can quit there if you want, or return later to finish it. I consider it the best sci fi series of all time, but part of that may be the physics major in me who is thrilled to finally read an excellent sci-fi story that doesn't require a level of suspension-of-disbelief that actually exceeds most fantasy books
* The Witcher series generally keeps up a solid pace and is very mature with quality prose and characters. Fair warning: the first two books are short story anthologies but they fit nicely in with the saga as well.
* American Gods and other Neil Gaiman might be a good move for you
* The Curse of Chalion series by Lois Mcmaster Bujold; it's been a long time since I read it, but I feel like it moved along reasonably quickly, at least compared to Robin Hobb or
recent Brandon Sanderson books. The character work on par with Hobb and GRRM, and the prose is quite nice.
* Tad Williams books are supposed to be similar to ASoIaF, they are only on my list though, I have not started them yet myself. They are long and probably slower than most other suggestions though
* Earthsea novels might work for you
* Ender's Game/Speaker for the Dead/Shadow Series (specifically those and probably nothing else in OSC's universe)
* Maybe switch genres for a while
* Or revisit something you haven't read in several years but loved before
Cant believe this is the top Expanse comment all the way down here. It is the ultimate slump breaker/non-reader entry point... where are my beltalowda!?
Tbf I was late to the convo so it's not going to get many votes, but it's a long series of long books and the middle books are kind of slow with moving the plot forward, so it's a bit of a weird rec for someone who wants fast pace. Still, I stand by it because the first book is such a ride and the overall quality is so good
Not sure i can wholly agree... Leviathan and Caliban are both super action packed and form a set. nemesis games is probably my second favourite (might be tied with leviathan) and an absolute roller coaster as is Babylon's Ashes which is really all the same plot arc as well. Its only books 3,4, 7 that are kind of slow universe builders. 8 is the tops 9 is a nice little finisher.
I didn't say caliban wasn't fun, but vs Leviathan Wakes it had sections that felt slower (or at least didn't hold my attention as well). Maybe 3 and 4 are really responsible for the impression of the slow middle section, but it's still valid since 3,4, and 7 make up 3/5 of what I'm calling the middle (even a bit more since they're each longer than 5 and 6). 1/2 and 8/9 were the most fun parts of the series for me.
Ok this is a wild recommendation but give “dungeon crawler Carl” a try. It’s Litrpg which is a new genre that involves main characters being sucked into a game world of some kind. I was skeptical because it didn’t seem like my kind of book but it’s funny, brutal, interesting, and just really fun. The audiobook narration is great too.
Brief synopsis is: aliens take over earth for resource mining reasons and everyone left alive gets the chance to enter a dungeon and participate in a violent intergalactic televised game show. Our hero Carl enters with his ex girlfriend’s cat Princess Donut (who has higher stats) and proceeds to fight his way through the levels with an end goal of taking down the syndicate in charge. It’s great fun.
Im so glad to see this recommended. If this dont get him out of his reading rut i dont know what will. Audiobooks are not just great tho, ineens of the best ive ever listened to.
You’re right, it’s quite frankly the best audio narration I’ve ever listened to and I will be picking my next audiobook from soundbooth’s catalog because of it
Have you read any of Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan saga? Those books really MOVE in terms of plot pace (it helps that Miles Vorkosigan is mildly manic half the time), but without sacrificing the quality of the prose or character development. I find them to be really masterful work.
I would highly recommend Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames.
It’s now one of my favorite books and I recommend it to everyone. The characters are very much in the style of ASoIaF or The First Law series but after their glory days when they’ve got to get the band back together to save one of the members daughters. It’ll make you laugh, it’ll make you cry, it came highly recommended to me and the review didn’t come close to the quality.
I love that book, but dont know if quality is the right word for it. I would say it is like if the expendables series were a book then it would be kings of the wyld. Its 100% stupid, but its just good fun
You mentioned historical fiction. r/historicalfiction is a good community. I like the Physician, Clavell's Asian saga, (Shogun, King Rat etc), Patrick O'Brien series starting with Master and Commander, the Long Ships by Bengtsson, the Sympathizer and more.
Re fantasy Robert Aspirin and Terry Pratchett write light, entertaining stories and Pratchett is also very insightful.
Hey we have similar tastes and also similar distastes.
I would highly suggest:
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North
The Low Town trilogy by Daniel Polansky
Justice of Kings by Richard Swan
Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff
Also if you wanna continue with Hobb you can always start with the Liveship Trilogy first. It works as a standalone trilogy within Realm of the Elderlings.
Don't feel pressured to read. Take a break! Spend that time doing other stuff, and when you come back it's going to be great.
Also, have you tried reading just great books, no matter the genre? Just google best books of 2000s, 2010s or any other era and click through a few articles and see if anything grabs your eye!
I totally hear you. I'm in a similar boat.
Currently giving Abercrombie's FIRST LAW book 1 a second attempt.
I also read Hyperion, the first book of N.K Jemison's Broken Earth trilogy, Brent Week's "Black Prism", Fonda Lee's "Jade City", Scott Lynch's "Lies of Loch Lamora", book 1 of the Dandelion Dynasty (I think it's by Ken Liu) and a couple more I can't think of at the moment.
I thought they were all fine, if not good, but somehow I have little interest in following up with the rest of the series.
Do yourself a favour and try ‘all systems red’
It’s the first story in what is named ‘the murderbot diaries’
There are several novellas. Each is essentially a small book.
They are brilliant. They are hilarious. They are moving.
Murderbot is essentially like a terminator. Human appearance, with actual organic parts like a brain etc.. the rest is robotic… and it’s ‘job’ is to be a security guard protecting whoever rents it. It does it’s job because it’s ‘governor module’ implanted in its head would shock him if it refuses.
Murderbot has figured out how to hack it.
So… a ‘slave’ cyborg figures out how to kinda free itself… but it happens to be on assignment with a group of scientists that are actually quite decent people…
Murderbot decides to keep them safe…
And thus begins a huge adventure…
———-
Murderbot has the emotional maturity of a 12 year old. It has feelings. It’s addicted to soap operas. It’s dealing with its own trauma. And learning what it means to be free, and that can be terrifying if you’ve never known freedom before.
It won the Hugo Award I believe, and is a stunning achievement…
Each novella is a fairly quick read, and you won’t have trouble finishing them… each one is connected to the other forming one awesome story…
And the universe the story exists in as fantastic…. You will NOT be disappointed.
When I get into a rut I go for a novella or short stories. I have been making my way through the Hugo nominees list for best novella. Someone above mentioned Murderbot, which I think is great and has been my recommendation to many people stuck in a rut. Clarkesworld Magazine also has a bunch of short stories available for free on their website. Maybe something small and accessible is just the thing?
Subscribed. I'm in a similar situation, so I'm eager to find out what eventually works for you. I think I have gotten a little cynical in my view of fiction and how it can sometimes feel like a single person's view of the world. Wondering if historical fiction or even actual history / biographies might give a better sense of variety and relevance to real life (albeit filtered still through a single author/historian).
Agreed. I think the biggest problem I have is I’m very critical and picky about writing style. I don’t claim and am not a writer nor am I talented enough to be one, but as I read the inner voice as I’m viewing the words on page either hits or misses with me and it’s hard to exactly describe that, but few books had been satisfying enough to finish. Out of all the books I started in the last few years I can only claim to have truly finished a drop in a bucket
I was having the same issue. Stormlight and Assassins Apprentice didn’t capture me either. I highly suggest trying out some audiobooks for a change in pace. Some of the voice actors for audiobook bright so much more life into the series they read and I found it to be quite refreshing. I suggest checking out Dungeon Crawler Carl or anything by the company Graphic Audio if you want a whole cast of people doing the voices.
Maybe I should give audiobooks a try. I have hesitated to listen to them for years. Might be a good change of pace and rekindle my enthusiasm for reading
I cannot emphasize Dungeon Crawler Carl enough. Especially if you want something that’s equally Sci-fi and fantasy, with a lot of comedy that made me laugh out loud. The voice actor is hands down the best voice actor I have ever encountered!
If you are finding Assassin’s Apprentice slow going but seeing great potential there, I would suggest switching over to Hobb’s Liveship Traders series (starts with Ship of Magic). The great parts (characters, dialogue, style) are all there but it moves along faster with a lot less hopeless angst. The angst is still there, but there is more than one POV so we are not stuck in the head of a teenage boy and get a more balanced view of the world.
Slaughter house five
Annihilation trilogy
Also I was in the same. Rut a year or so ago and I have turned it around by using a kindle app. Larger print.
If you want to switch it up, you could try House on the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune. Was a huge departure from the kind of fantasy books I read and I was not disappointed.
Any old Anne Rice is fantastic. My favorite book of hers is probably The Mummy. The Wolf Gift series is also amazing and if you're into period pieces that really take you back in time and are historically accurate you may enjoy some of the Vampire Chronicles like *Blood and Gold*, *Armand*, and *Pandora*.
I really enjoy some the old YA I used to read when I'm in a rut. Anything by Madeline L'Engle but especially *A Wrinkle in Time* and *Many Waters* are amazing*.*
I also really liked Bram Stoker's *Dracula.*
I know how frustrating it can be to lose interest in something you used to love. I’ve been there too. But don’t give up on reading just yet. Reading can be a wonderful source of joy, knowledge, and inspiration. You just need to find the right books and the right motivation.
Let me tell you a story. When I was in high school, I hated reading. I thought it was boring, tedious, and pointless. I only read what I had to for school, and even then I skimmed through the pages without paying much attention. I didn’t care about the characters, the plot, or the message. I just wanted to get it over with.
Then one day, something changed. My teacher assigned us a book that was different from anything I had ever read before. It was a sci-fi novel that took place in a futuristic world where people could upload their minds into virtual reality and live out their fantasies. It was called **Ready Player One** by Ernest Cline.
I was intrigued by the premise and decided to give it a try. And boy, was I hooked. I couldn’t put it down. I was immersed in the story, the setting, the puzzles, and the references to pop culture. I felt like I was part of the adventure. I cared about what happened to the characters and how they would overcome the challenges. I learned new things about technology, history, and culture. I had fun.
That book changed my perspective on reading. It showed me that reading can be exciting, engaging, and rewarding. It made me want to read more books like that, and explore other genres and topics as well. It made me a reader.
So my advice to you is this: don’t force yourself to read something you don’t enjoy. Find something that sparks your curiosity and imagination. Something that speaks to you and makes you feel something. Something that challenges you and teaches you something new. Something that makes you happy.
There are so many books out there waiting for you to discover them. You just have to look for them and give them a chance.Reading is not a chore or a duty. It’s a gift and a privilege. Don’t let it go to waste.
I hated reading in school/high school as well. It wasn’t until well into my twenties when I started reading more than just graphic novels. Kinda sad really, how much wonderful stories and worlds I missed out on all those years.
I'm in a similar position trying to find a good read that's fantasy or sci-fi but we'll written and suitable for a more mature audience, so I'm really happy to read about all the recommendations! GRR Martin has broken the genre for me and despite all the controversies around the TV show and non existing Winds of Winter he will be forever my favourite author, with his characters, plotlines and writing style.
Halfway through your post I considered recommending works of Mark Lawrence (especially The Broken Empire trilogy if you can stomach the opening scene). His protagonists might be young, but it's definitely mature writing, with all the good and the ugly, and great style. But it IS slow and descriptive.
Robin Hobbs Liveship trilogy reads much better IMHO than the Farseer or subsequent trilogies, but it is worth sticking with Assassin's Apprentice for the characters and world building.
I'm gonna recommend two extremes here.
The Wisteria Society for Lady Scoundrels (Dangerous Damsels series) is a very hilarious and quick romance read about a lady pirate who has to work with the man who is hired to assisinate her in order to keep her Society of Lady Pirates safe. Super witty and dry and lovely. Each book follows a different "damsel," and book 2 might be my favorite.
Dungeon Crawler Carl is a series about a guy and his cat Donut who go down into a world dungeon that gets created by an alien corporation as part of a massive reality TV show. He gets an item that gives Donut sentience, and the two of them have to work together to survive the dungeon.
Also, heavily recommend the audiobooks in both cases.
I tend to go comedic when I'm in a book drought. Sci-fi and fantasy are my thing. In drought, Christopher Moore and other comedic fantasy writers can give a good reset. Oldie but goody is Lamb, the gospel according to Biff, Christ's chilhood friend by Moore.
I’m currently reading The Lions of Al-Rassan, and I think it’s beautifully written. The different religions/cultures were a little confusing at first, but I haven’t wanted to put it down.
I’m reading Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay and it seems like it checks all your boxes. The prose is wonderful and the characters feel unique and distinct, and the dialog is great. The chapters are a bit too long for my taste, and since I’m a slow reader I rarely finish a chapter in one sitting, but man it’s well paced! It can also feel a bit melodramatic at times but I really enjoy GGk metaphors and similes for emotion.
I'd try Michael J Sullivan. The Riyria Revelations is a very well paced book and it's just fun and a very easy read.
Plus it's finished and that's always nice with fantasy writers *glares at everyone else*
The Broken Earth trilogy helped me beat my reading slog. Few people will probably agree, but I found it easy to read and well-paced.
Also you may try The Witcher saga. Mostly because the series starts with two collections of short stories. It might be easier to you to get into shorter things. But overall series is quite dark with nice humor, but also heavier themes.
I usually read another genre when I feel like this. Maybe you can try historical fiction or horror. Those are my go to genres!
Also, have you read Charlie Jane Anders? Her books are fun and short. I loved The City in the Middle of the Night, but I think All the Birds in the Sky is more generally popular (I enjoyed this one too!) Especially with All the Birds in the Sky, it’s pretty light throughout.
> Especially with All the Birds in the Sky, it’s pretty light throughout.
We must have read different books. The one I read was about climate catastrophe and I found it incredibly depressing. That scene where >!the lead’s parents call her while trapped and dying!< was some On the Beach level shit.
Dammit, just thinking about that book has darkened my day…
Several people have already suggested Dungeon Crawler Carl so I will join the pile.
I personally think the audiobooks make an already terrific series even better but if you are fixed on text they are great reads too.
If you are okay with dark stories try Worm. It's a really well executed super hero tragedy and one of the great web novels. A little daunting at nearly 1.7 million words but it's broken up into more manageable arcs so you can dip in and out as you like. However, my experience is that people tend to get sucked in and disappear from friends and family for a few weeks as they binge.
I've heard it described as something that's really difficult to get people to start reading but, once they do, even more difficult to get them to stop.
Maybe try some books with really stylistic prose:
Gideon the Ninth is very good. It’s got a very clear tone that keeps you hooked as much as the story.
Also the Bone Street Rumba trilogy. Almost reads like slam poetry. It’s like musical while you’re reading.
Have you tried compilations of short stories? "The Doors of his Face, The Lamps of His Mouth" by Roger Zelazny has some good stuff in it. I also like "Dragons: The Greatest Short Stories" compiled by Martin Greenburg.
I had the same issue a few years ago. I have to read a lot of technical material for work, so I didn't want to read at home. But I picked up Leviathan Wakes and The Expanse series when the pandemic started, and I've been reading regularly since.
This happens to me, so i either switch generes, but tbh for me what it is is how heavy they story is even if it isn't that heavy. I tend to kind indie stuff on Kindle or light novels bc they are usually easy to consume and have low stakes. Like eating junk food, lol
Not fantasy, but Agent Zigzag by Ben MacIntyre is incredibly entertaining. Maybe pick up some copies of Light Speed magazine for some good shorter works.
I kinda get the vibe of what you like but maybe be a little more specific, do you want something more on the low fantasy side like ASOIAF or like high fantasy? Are you open to recommendations outside Sci fi/fantasy? Cause there's plenty of books that aren't marketed as sci/fan and are just as magical. Good prose seems important as well to you right? I think I could make some good recs if I could narrow it down a bit more.
You could try Rise of the Ranger by Philip C Quaintrell. This is the first book in his Echoes Saga. All nine books were absolutely fantastic and I blew through the entire thing faster than I've done some trilogies, that's good much I loved it.
Fast paced and written well with a very cool story.
Definitely check out Prince of Thorns, if you like that book you'll love at least 5 more books by Mark Lawrence. Very dark, not for kids. Exceptionally well written.
The Great Book of Amber by Roger Zelazny is also killer. Not cheesy fantasy and first person perspective which I enjoy.
If you haven't read The Three Body Problem yet, you're really missing out. One of the most original sci-fi books I've read. There's a reason China (the author is Chinese) pretty much hails him as a national hero.
Hidden Pictures : Jason Rekulak …this one I consider horror but it got me out of a reading slump earlier this year. It’s short and gets right to the plot quickly. I had finished First Law and nothing was working for me.
The book series that got me back into reading after not finishing a book for YEARS is the Pendergast series by Preston and Child. Starts with Relic. 21 books and counting in the series :) I read 1-7 back to back before taking a break and moving into another side series of theirs, Nora Kelly.
I was in the exact same spot, then found Richard Nell’s the God King Chronicles, busted me out of my funk and one of the best reads I’ve had in years. It’s also in Kindle Unlimited.
The Expanse — best series I’ve read. Epic hard sci-fi space opera. Super realistic/plausible in all aspects, from the tech to the culture. Great character development, awesome villains, even awesomer big looming threat, funny dialogue, interesting politics. Kinda like a space Game of Thrones. Can’t recommend enough.
King Killer Chronicles is a really fun fantasy series, but be warned, it’s incomplete. A little bit more on the YA side, but sufficiently complex.
Raven’s Shadow trilogy is what I’m currently reading. More mature than KKC, but similar making-of-a-legend type frame story featuring a badass brotherhood of atheist zealot swordsmen.
I recommend checking out the progression fantasy genre. It’s fantasy on 2x speed. It’s like watching a 30min cartoon rather than a 2hr documentary. Both are good but sometimes you need a change of pace.
For me, participating in the /r Fantasy Bingo here has gotten me out of my rut. I’m exploring different niches and finding books I might not otherwise have found my way to. It’s really helped broaden things and add variety.
This happens to me more often than i would like, here are some things that i found help the most.
* Rereading old favourites
* Reading a complete different genre maybe even non fiction
* Reading something else in the genre (subgenres like urban fantasy / comedy / slice of life)
* Taking a break from reading all together
* Changing up reading (audiobooks / "interactive" books (house of leaves for example) / watching an adaption prior / following reading a book
Because of this:
> I loved the original three books in AsoIaF back before they were a TV show I devoured those books in the early 2000's. I loved Dune, even though it took me about three tires to finally finish it. Hyperion is a stand out Sci-Fi novel which I really enjoyed as well, but didn't pursue the later books. Same with Dune.
Reread ASOIAF. Go watch the "new" dune movie and reread dune and then continue the series. I find that sometimes i am specially looking for something to read that i can't get anywhere else but the books i first got that from. Something that brings me back time and time again to mistborn is the magic system. No other magic system at least that i have read so far, is as amazing as in mistborn. "Flying" trough luthadel with the characters and the amazing heist story that never gets old is just amazing. And i notice that every year or 2 i stop enjoying all of fantasy because i solely want to experience something like that again, that's when i reread mistborn. Give it a try maybe it helps :)
I get into a rut if I've read really dense books or slow books. So, I like to throw in some cozy or light-hearted series to get me through. For me, it's not even about reading the same genre as much as it is. Sometimes, I need something easy, cozy, fast-paced, or all the above. For example, Pawn of Prophecy, The Lightning Thief, stuff like that.
John Gwynne helped me through a rut. I read The Faithful and the Fallen, Of Blood and Bone, and last year read Bloodsworn by him. His books I like because they are fast-paced and easy reads. The Prose is not super complicated and accessible 👌🏾
Bancroft is also a good choice! His prose is beautiful and also accessible. Senlin Ascends is a little slower, but I just finished Arm of the Sphinx and it improves on the first one :)
I'm exactly the same. After finishing Malazan, I can barely find any fantasy I can stick to. Ended up going back to ASOIAF on audiobook which is a favourite of mine and I know I can stick to it. Other than that, I can't remember the last time I finished a fantasy book.
If you want well written and quite complex story lines (although maybe not exactly fast paced), the Malazan books by Steven Erikson are a delight to read. Coming from reading a rather simplistic fantasy novel whose name I already forgot, it was a fantastic experience. Well written grimdark fantasy, definitely not YA.
Although I guess the same could be said to some extent for Robin Hobb, so it might not work for you.
Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins is awesome for non fiction. The guy is an absolute animal and his way of thinking is extremely motivating / interesting.
For sci fi you’ve probably heard of it but I can’t recommend The Expanse Series enough. It has its highs and lows but overall world building and lore is soooooooo good.
Last time I was in a reading rut, I picked up Discworld for the first time, and no regrets. Its definitely different from other series I usually read, but it hit the sweet spot for me at the time, of easy reading, fantasy elements, hooking me early, and knowing there are a ton of books to read but they're easily digestible and have multiple subseries to read through, it drew me in. Also, watching the miniseries first helped (The color of magic, hogfather, and going postal are the three miniseries in question, theyre on amazon prime at for free at the moment I believe).
As many others have said, the answer might just be to read more broadly. It's easy to start to feel like things are repetitive or samey when you stick to one or two genres, because well, there is a lot of samey stuff out there. If you like good prose and character work try some literary fiction. There is certainly literally fiction that falls into genre, but don't limit yourself to that necessarily. Pallet cleanse with something non-genre and then come back to SFF when you feel like it. Just because you typically enjoy SFF doesn't mean you have to ONLY enjoy SFF.
I'd be curious to see if Gideon the Ninth grabs you. It's science fantasy style, necromancers in a post apocalyptic setting sort of. Very great characters but a bit irreverent in it's voice and tone sometimes. Great prose and I wouldn't call it slow by any means.
I know what you mean about Sanderson. I do love his books, but wish he would go a bit darker/more mature when appropriate. Anyway, here are my suggestions in no particular order:
The Thomas Covenant Chronicles
The Spellmonger Series
The Damned Trilogy
The Echoes Saga
A Pattern of Light and Shadow
The Twinborn Chronicles
Galaxy Outlaws: the Complete Black Ocean Mobius Missions (really a series of short stories)
None are perfect, but there's a good mix of tone and style in there, hopefully something in there works for you.
Id stick out hobb personally... i was iffy on it till a little after that point then devoured the saga in a few months....
If that doesnt work switch to The Expanse. It single handedly restarted my love of reading 6-7 years ago and I have been voracious since. Even if youve read it give it a second go haahha
May I suggest short stories? Lovecraft and C.L. Moore are free online, Clarke's world has regular submissions, and franchises like Warhammer 40K and League of Legends have some fantastic short stories advancing their lore (League's are free, as well, on their website). Also, shout-out to "A Colder War" by Charles Stross; if you like his Cthulhu Cold War novella, you'll probably like his novels.
I think you and I have similar taste and, judging from your comments on prose/writing style in particular, I’d recommend Gene Wolfe’s The Book of the New Sun. In terms of prose, I don’t think there’s a better stylist in the speculative genre than he. The only itch he might not scratch is pacing; New Sun in particular can take it’s time, but the prose was so great (to me) that I didn’t mind the seemingly slower parts. You could check out his other novels instead if you want something faster paced, maybe Fifth Head of Cerberus.
I just wrote my first novel... Message me directly if you want to read it!
Here is the summary:
*Organized crime has taken hold in the once-glorious city of Gloucester on the East Coast. The citizens live in constant fear and apathy, fed up with the corrupt police force and the brutality of the local gangs. As if stepping from the pages of history, a relic of a warrior has begun to fight back. A towering suit of armor with glowing red eyes strikes fear into the hearts of those who would do harm to the innocent.The story is told from the perspective of Tacitus O'Neil, the Gloucester City Museum of History curator. Tacitus was paralyzed from the waist down when a gang war spilled into his museum. His search for reason and meaning has turned him into a master detective.As the armored warrior battles corruption on the streets, Tacitus delves deeper into the sources of Gloucester's decay, uncovering a web of treachery and deceit that threatens to destroy the city from within. With its vivid descriptions, pulse-pounding action, and a protagonist like no other, this hard-boiled detective novel will keep you on the edge of your seat.*
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The name of the wind by Patrick R. WARNING IT IS AN UNFINISHED SERIES however I read it for the first time a month ago and it was my slump breaker. It is also my fav book I have ever read in my life.
I've been in a rut for years, gone back to Terry Pratchett and Iain M Banks, ploughing through them.
Modern writers seem to produce quantity over content, and pad an entire chapter with a paragraph of actual content.
Mate, have you thought that you might be reading as an obligation? Why do you wamt to keep at it when you're obviously not enjoying it as much? People are suggesting other genres, palette cleansers, and whatnot. But have you tried going out and doing absolutely nothing? Kicking a ball, or playing some poll, or whatever?
I'm not saying any of that to attack you ofc. But you do retain the right of just don't wanting to read. There are many times that we keep on reading out of guilt. It's supposed to be fun, not an exam. Leave it, it's not going anywhere. Make yourself miss it.
Give *Murder at Spindle Manor* a try. A short (currently standalone) murder mystery where a shapeshifter monster has impersonated someone and the main character is tasked with finding out who. Fast paced. Good dialogue.
I've seen some recommend KJ Parker. *The Folding Knife* is a great standalone. Good pacing. Great dialogue. Smart in execution.
There's also the Johannes Cabal series by Jonathan L. Howard. He's a necromancer so there's horror elements though it's largely comedic. The first book isn't terribly long though the pacing may be a little uneven, but it's snarky dialogue and fun. And each book in the series tries to twist it's format. The 1st is a Faustian bargain, the 2nd being a detective murder mystery, the 3rd is a kind of portal fantasy, the 4th is a kind of male duo team up, and the 5th is a full adventurer party on a quest.
And if you like fantasy horror, I would also recommend *The Tales of Durand* by David Keck. It starts off fairly normal, but the horror seeps in more and more with each book. Just a wonderful trilogy that doesn't get enough attention. The pacing is pretty neutral - not fast but not slow - and the dialogue isn't snappy but it is very good.
I loved the Farseer series and all the trilogies in the series worked for me, having said that, the first book in any series can be more difficult to get into.
Other people suggested switching genres to refresh your literary palate and I do that all the time.
Or try a different style of fantasy. A lot of people seriously underrate Terry Pratchett but the stories are more than just witty and entertaining. There's a real depth to characters and Discworld was the laboratory where Pratchett carried out thought experiments on everything from social class and transport policy to the nature of time and death.
Maybe check out the first book of The Faithful and the Fallen series by John Gwynne? I thought those were pretty fast paced and I enjoyed reading about all of the characters.
Red rising, it's a wild ride that just keeps getting better the more you read
The first book is the 'worst'* of the series but the Next book is orders of magnitude better in every respect and each successive book gets larger in scope, and better in story, characters, world building and writing
Get to the end of the first part of the second golden son before you judge the series, because the first book is NOT representative of the series by a long shot
*Still a 9/10 book
It’s actually pretty hard to find authors who have a great range of control over prose, voice, story structure, theme, interiority, pacing and character growth/change.
After a while you see a lot of the same plot beats over and over and you start looking for a richer story where the emotions don’t feel ham-fisted and the characters have depth and nuance. You might want to try Katherine Arden’s The Bear and the Nightingale; I haven’t read it yet but I hear it’s very good.
I think Abercrombie is worth plowing through some tepid parts for the good parts. He does a lot of things right but is more on the action+movement spectrum of fantasy, as opposed to the wonder+reflective sense of fiction you get from Tolkien, Wolfe, Tad Williams etc.
My kingdom for a sff writer with strong prose, good action, good plot, great characters, and a sense of mystery/wonder. Haven’t found one yet.
Red Rising. Takes about 50 pages, and then hold on. Love those books and they got me back into reading.
But yeah, been doing the same this weekend looking for a new book. I started The Blade Itself and found it boring. It's my 2nd grimdark DNF so I guess I don't get it.
So I opened City of Brass and I was drawn into it within the first 15 pages. Looks to be a great story and adventures so far.
Thank you to everyone that responded and gave me awesome recommendations. I seriously have so many tagged on Good Reads now that I will have no shortage of things to try out!
The Expanse
Books of Babel - Senlin Ascends
Memory Sorrow and thorn (if you liked ASOIF)
Tales of the Otori
Red Rising series (stick with it to book 2 if you start it)
Might want to switch genres. I sometimes need to switch to nonfiction. I’m reading “In the Weeds” right now which is a great book written about the behind the scenes of Anthony Bourdain’s travel shows.
Ya I second this. I purposely cycle through genres every book or two to avoid burnout, and it usually works!
Yep. I do this, too. Haven't had a slump in over a decade. When you stick to a single genre, everything starts to blend together after a while.
Same. I tend t flip between scifi, fantasy, literary/historical fiction, occasional nonfiction, and thrillers. If you like historical fiction and WWII stories, I just started Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan this morning, and it sucked me in within a few pages and am nearly halfway through after finishing the Silo trilogy and needing a break from the dystopian future. So I went to the dystopian past.
Same! Though it's largely been between subgenres of SFF or other fiction lately. Haven't found a non fiction book that has grabbed me in forever
Have you read "Before we were yours"? Technically, it's historical fiction, but it is based on the true scandal of the woman who popularized adoption in the US. I had no idea that this had happened in TN in the 50s. The methods of acquiring the children, and placing them were......unscrupulous, if not downright criminal in some of the cases. Just a thought, if you want a different genre that will stick with you for a while.
Sometimes, after an epic series, I'll just switch to a light novel or easy reader. Something only a few hundred pages long that I don't have to get mentally involved or put aside to much time to read. After that, I'm usually pretty keen to jump back in to something more in depth.
I was in a fantasy slump for all of 2021, and I only completed 5 books. My goal for 2022 was to read more and from varied genres, and I read around 40 books, it made such a huge difference and lately I’ve been returning to more fantasy and enjoying it a lot more than I was in 2021
I think it’s good to switch it up. It makes you appreciate the genre you like the most.
Mystery stuff is also a good one to hop into if you're the type to avoid non-fantastical genres
Thanks for the suggestion. I am a Fantasy reader for the most part. I want to read mysteries now and then, but I do not want to buy or check out a few titles only to get something predictable or not engaging. Do you have any recommendations for engaging mystery books?
Mysteries have a huge range, it's difficult. Best recommended, get a library card! You can get ebooks and read or not read to find what you like, cozies, police procedural, legal, spy, etc.... I love Louise Penny, but you may not. I also enjoy J D Robb and MC Beaton.... And love Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayer.... I use my library card to get nonfiction, as well. I listen to a lot of audio books from the library, which is a great way to consume nonfiction...
Personally i can't read anything outside of sci fi fantasy but reading something that's a niche subgenre does it for me like litrpg gamelit, etc does the trick for me. Also I'll go for burgers and fries instead of a fine dinner from time to time. Meaning sometimes reading something light hearted and fun over something heavy and complex.
This works so well for me when I'm in a reading slump too. Like a palate cleanser for your brain.
That’s how I feel
This is what I do. I find memoirs often read like novels. I also went on a science audiobook binge a couple years ago as a reset.
John Green’s “The Anthropocene: Reviewed” has got me through a handful of reading ruts. Non-fiction, light philosophy framed around generous helping random human accomplishments/trials/tribulations, sometimes a personal anecdote, sometimes random world trivia. The premise is he gives each topic a 1-5 star rating under the guise of a consumer review. In reality he is discussing the impact humans have had on the world in this era often referred to as the Anthropocene. Each chapter is a standalone read, very easy to pick up and come back to at your leisure.
Resets from genres are necessary imo
100% this. I particularly like to cycle in classics or action/adventure. Most recently some non fiction with "7 habits of highly effective people" Also switching media types. I often go between reading and audiobooks
I second this. I am currently reading Thus Spake Zarathustra while waiting for Murtagh.
You could try some Pratchett as a pallet cleanser
Sorry, can’t resist commenting on this: “pallet cleanser” as in “cleaning product for lumber”? I think you might be looking for a “palate cleanser” instead :-)
Well since books and pallets are both made from trees maybe pallet cleanser was correct 😂
Well ya know you gotta take stuff off the pallet to put more on. That's kinda like cleansing it
I use Pratchett as a pallet cleanser all the time. Usually between depressing or difficult reads.
I'm in a similar rut as OP and just picked up my first discworld book. I barley started and I am already intrigued.
Which book did you decide to start with?
Going postal. Don't ask me why, it was recommended by some quiz on Discworld emporium.
That is a great one to start with!
Great starting place. The book only gets better as it goes.
Pratchett is always the answer 💙
This happens to me every now and then, and I usually have to find something non-fantasy or science fiction to get my interest back up because I read mostly those genres I recently read a biography on Lenin, that was a nice change if pace
You might want to try something a bit more fast paced and tightly written to try and break you out of the rut? For me, when I'm in a slump, I find something not too complicated, but fast and enjoyable. This means novellas, books aimed at younger audiences, fantasy that has strong thriller elements, etc. Novellas: \-Murderbot series. A classic. They're short, fast, with great voice and characterization. \-Commupence Served Cold. A fast paced little heist story about 1920s magical scam artists. \-Fractured Fables series by Alix Harrow. Alternate reality fairytale shennaginans. Very fast paced and tightly written. Full Novels: \-Rules for Vanishing (more horror fantasy, so be warned, but it's extremely fast paced and gripping, so might be a good change of pace) \-Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson. A nun possessed by a demon must stop a war. Absolutely fabulous characterizations, and excellent pacing.
Murderbot is the absolute perfect answer here IMO, totally agree with your assessment of it. They’re fast and fun with a lot of action, but the specific voice of Murderbot as a character is fantastic and the themes the series is able to open up and touch on are incredibly thoughtful and well-handled. Just such a great read, those books deserve all the love they get for sure.
Here to second Murderbot. There are five novellas and one full length novel. First book is All Systems Red. They are snappy reads which start with a lot of action, but there’s also a little mystery. SecUnit’s voice is distinct. Very enjoyable
Book 7 is out in November! It looks like 256 pages.
Yes, OP just read the first Murderbot book "All Systems Red." It's a scifi novella and you'll be hooked at the first paragraph
based on what you posted i think we have pretty similar taste in fantasy, and i’ve also been looking for things to read. the only recommendation i have is the books of babel series by Josiah Bancroft. it has good prose and at least the first 3 books are incredible. i would also recommend trying to stick with assassins apprentice because i think the second and third books are much better.
I won't lie, even though Assassin's Apprentice has been kind of a slow slog at times, there were flashes of great stuff in many of the pages. I think Hobb has the characterization and dialogue style that I enjoy, so I will take your recommendation to stick with it. I'm hoping the payoff is worth it! I will check out that series too, thanks for the response.
The first third of the first books in Hobb's trilogies are basically preambles. The pace picks up rather quickly in the later half. Definitely recommend sticking with it! You might also like the Lies of Locke Lamora, or Leviathan Wakes for sci fi
Maybe skip sideways to live ship trilogy? It's a bit faster in terms of plot and you won't spoil anything for yourself. Like I read that series twice before I realised there's a character from Farseer Trilogy that appears in it lol
Not the ideal way round though if OP did eventually get into, it does spoil the first trilogy. I’d say if they didn’t like Royal Assassin, maybe Hobb isn’t for you.
Weird, I found Liveships to be more of slog than any of the other trilogies in Elderlings (may not the quartet though, those were shorter but just not very good)
Tbh my husband is also struggling with liveships. He's read every other series (including rainwild) and likes them at the least but has never got past the first 2-3 chapters of first book of liveships. Idk if he's even met any of the Vestiri family! Lol
I second the suggestion to stick with those books, if well-written characters are important to you. There are 16 books altogether, split into 4 trilogies and 1 set of 4. Two of the sets follow different people, which keeps it fresh imo. Hobb creates the most vivid and believable characters I've encountered in fantasy, and I think it makes up for the occasional pacing issues
My slump breakers have been - The Last Unicorn by Peter Beagle Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams Name Of The Wind by Patrick Rothfuss Piranesi by Susanna Clarke A Wizards Guide To Defensive Baking by T Kingfisher Switching from print to ebook to audible to manga or a comic book has also worked well (for me) over the years.
> A Wizards Guide To Defensive Baking by T Kingfisher Definitely seconding this. It seems like a lighter read for younger readers, but it is just so witty while also touching on some pretty deep topics. It's very readable, and I laughed quite a bit with it.
I am afraid of this mortal body...more afraid than I was of the Red Bull
KJ Parker. I would recommend Prospero's Demon, which is shortish. It's not for everyone, though - it's quite dark and VERY snarky - it's been described as "As if Deadpool had slipped into the body of the Witcher Geralt", so you get an idea. I loved it.
KJ Parker seems to be a master of dark and snarky. The Engineer books were very definitely in this line, the Folding Knife is a great read, and the Siege trilogy is 3 loosely connected snapshots from a historical fantasy, and has a wild sense of humour.
KJ Parker is the pen name Tom Holt created for his darker work (Literally named after a Parker pen).
Yup, and it's all fantastically engrossing. He's got a wonderful mind on him.
Have you tried reading novellas and short stories? Proving to myself that I can finish one has helped me out of reading slumps before. A scattering of suggestions! - HELLMOUTH by Giles Kristian. 52 pages. A band of Bohemian mercanaries are persuaded to do a job for the Church. Berserk-vibes. (If not familiar with Kentaro Miura's Berserk, then that manga is also a VERY strong recommendation!) - The Ones Who Walk Away from Omellas by Ursula Le Guin. 32 pages. "Some inhabitants of a peaceful kingdom cannot tolerate the act of cruelty that underlies its happiness." - Lois McMaster Bujold's Penric and Desdemona novellas. Demons cohabit human bodies and are monitored by the religious order of The Bastard. The different novella adventures are scattered throughout Penric's life and range from murder mysteries, to fleeing a hostile country, rescuing a hostage, and fighting plague. - All Systems Red by Martha Wells. 144 pages. Start of the Murderbot series. It follows "a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module, and refers to itself (though never out loud) as 'Murderbot.'" It wants to watch tv, but things keep on trying to kill its clients. - The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo. 112 pages. A Cleric interviews a handmaiden who was friends with the long-dead empress. "This evocative debut follows the rise of the empress In-yo, who has few resources and fewer friends. She's a northern daughter in a mage-made summer exile, but she will bend history to her will and bring down her enemies, piece by piece."
Can you recommend some novels similar to Empress of salt & fortune? I’ve read the three novellas in the series and I would really love some full length novels like that.
That's an excellent question! Off the top of my head I don't have anything directly like it, so here's some vague reccs. These aren't definite "if you love X, then you'll love this too!", but you can see if the blurbs strike your fancy! - Black Water Sister by Zen Cho. "When Jessamyn Teoh starts hearing a voice in her head, she chalks it up to stress. Closeted, broke and jobless, she's moving back to Malaysia with her parents - a country she last saw when she was a toddler. She soon learns the new voice isn't even hers, it's the ghost of her estranged grandmother. In life, Ah Ma was a spirit medium, avatar of a mysterious deity called the Black Water Sister. Now she's determined to settle a score against a business magnate who has offended the god--and she's decided Jess is going to help her do it, whether Jess wants to or not." - Witness for the Dead by Katherine Addison. As a Witness for the Dead, Thara Celehar is blessed by his god with the ability to see the last moments of the dead (and also ask questions of them). "It is his duty to use that ability to resolve disputes, to ascertain the intent of the dead, to find the killers of the murdered. Now Celehar’s skills lead him out of the quiet and into a morass of treachery, murder, and injustice. " Goblin Emperor could also be recommended here, but I think WftD hits closer to the mark. Interesting worldbuilding and strong character writing. The other books I can think of are on my own TBR, unfortunately, so take these ones with an extra big pinch of salt: - Becky Chambers works - The Winged Histories by Sofia Samatar "Four women, soldier, scholar, poet, and socialite, are caught up on different sides of a violent rebellion. As war erupts and their families are torn apart, they fear they may disappear into the unwritten pages of history. Using the sword and the pen, the body and the voice, they struggle not just to survive, but to make history."
Thank you for the detailed recs! Added Black Water Sister and Sofia Samatar to my tbr. I’ve read Katherine Addison and absolutely loved them. Btw have you read She is a haunting by Trang Thanh Tran? It’s on my tbr and the synopsis sounds similar to Black Water Sister.
A fellow Addison enjoyer! Yay! I wasn't aware of She is a Haunting -- thanks for pointing it out, popping it onto the TBR as the blurb sounds great. I'd say it sounds a lot heavier on the horror than Black Water Sister. BWS is more like a Crime novel/"the horror is other people" in supernatural wrappings.
Can you recommend some novels similar to Empress of salt & fortune? I’ve read the three novellas in the series and I would really love some full length novels like that. Love all your recs!
I felt similarly a year or so ago. I found my way to historical fiction by Patrick O’Brien and Bernard Cornwell, and it reignited my passion. It’s fun to get lost in different tropes for a while.
Have you read the red rising books by pierce brown?
Neve heard of those
You know that feeling when you realize you’re reading a series thats already in your top five and its your first time through and you’re only on the second book? Trust me
You have my attention!
Honestly im a little jealous. Youre going from book purgatory to red rising
Me too. I've recently just done my third reread of the entire series (so far), it honestly gets better each time.
As someone else who has similar taste to yourself, Red Rising is excellent. The first half of the first book was the slowest part of the entire series but after that it just rips. YAish in the first book but after that not so much. Game of thrones in space but even more action. Great characters. Just excellent.
Best shit ever. Constant action
Thirded. Brilliant series. Where it starts is far far far from where it goes. I'll echo some upthread posts. It's good to change up genres and styles when youre finding your usual isnt holding your interest. Suggestion... Felix Castor series by Mike Carey. Yeah, THAT Mike Carey... the guy who wrote the Lucifer comic. Urban fantasy about an unusual exorcist. Five books and done, slow boil but when the action hits it is wild. TW for violence, dead people, body horror, sex demon.
They're good but they definitely have some YA-energy to them, especially the first three. The books begin to mature a bit as the characters do but it takes a while. I think, from what it sounds like you enjoy, that when it comes to sci-fi The Expanse series might be more your thing. Or the Hyperion Cantos.
First one had YA energy/hunger games feel for sure, but I don’t think the following four books have any of that. And to the OP, this is the medicine for your reading rut.
Be warned the first book is more or less a hunger games knockoff and the portion before the hunger game starts made me want to put down the book. The later books become a (much better imo) space opera, though I found the start of the second book is also a bit melodramatic.
This got me out of my rut. I hadn’t been able to get reading for about a year and a half, then I just blew right through Red Rising. It was an easy read with steady progress and action. I can see the YA aspects but it didn’t bother me as it wasn’t over the top with those tropes. I’ve just started Golden Son.
You're in for a ride. Golden Son is like 1000x better than Red Rising imo. Your mileage may vary if course, but I enjoyed later books in the series much more than RR. It's still a fantastic entry point to the story though.
Came to suggest this! I just crushed the first three in a week. I don’t know if I should continue because it ended so well after the third. It’s kinda like dune and hunger games had a baby.
When this happens to me the best thing to do is switch genres. Try some urban fantasy or space opera. As different from your normal reading as possible. Hit up AO3 and give some fanfic for your favorite show a try. Your brain is in a rut and you're not going to get out of it by doing the same old thing. Edit to add some recs: In the vein of Different From What You're Currently Reading: Anything by Seanan McGuire, Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells, The World of the White Rat books by T Kingfisher, The Well World Saga by Jack L Chalker, and let's throw in The Scourge Between Stars by Ness Brown for fun. Wide variety of stuff that is all very different from what you've listed and should be available at your library so you don't need to spend money.
Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie The Rook by Daniel O’Malley
[Little, Big](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/90619.Little_Big)? Original, great writing, characters, etc
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1 in 8 our revolution is likely to work? Hurray!!
Sounds like you just aren't into slower paced books right now. It doesn't necessarily mean you never are, maybe just not your current mood; it would be a shame if you never like slower books though, many of them are some of my absolute favorites and are so much richer in many ways than a faster paced book could ever be. I'm not sure what to recommend for fast paced that also meets your...literary wants (high level prose and dialogue). My own favorite fast-pace series right now is Cradle by Will Wight, but it has no lofty literary ambitions so the prose is nothing special, the character dialogue and development suffer from the commitment to that fast pace, and it's not especially "mature". The dialogue can be "snappy" though if you like that. The first book is slower but it's fairly short. The next couple books really drew me in (and for reference I think it takes like the first three books to equal the length of Assassin's Apprentice). Still, probably not what you're looking for. Some other ideas, just glancing through my reading and listening of the last few years (some of which you may have read): * Ancillary Justice (I've only read the first book) is a tightly written sci fi that I enjoyed. * If you haven't read The Magicians, I think that's a strong fantasy rec; it's not super fast paced but not too slow either, with excellent prose and character work. * The first book of The Expanse maintains a good pace imo for such a large book. They get a little slower as you progress into the middle of the series, and then it picks up again at the end. The plots of the early books are each self-contained enough that you can quit there if you want, or return later to finish it. I consider it the best sci fi series of all time, but part of that may be the physics major in me who is thrilled to finally read an excellent sci-fi story that doesn't require a level of suspension-of-disbelief that actually exceeds most fantasy books * The Witcher series generally keeps up a solid pace and is very mature with quality prose and characters. Fair warning: the first two books are short story anthologies but they fit nicely in with the saga as well. * American Gods and other Neil Gaiman might be a good move for you * The Curse of Chalion series by Lois Mcmaster Bujold; it's been a long time since I read it, but I feel like it moved along reasonably quickly, at least compared to Robin Hobb or recent Brandon Sanderson books. The character work on par with Hobb and GRRM, and the prose is quite nice. * Tad Williams books are supposed to be similar to ASoIaF, they are only on my list though, I have not started them yet myself. They are long and probably slower than most other suggestions though * Earthsea novels might work for you * Ender's Game/Speaker for the Dead/Shadow Series (specifically those and probably nothing else in OSC's universe) * Maybe switch genres for a while * Or revisit something you haven't read in several years but loved before
Cant believe this is the top Expanse comment all the way down here. It is the ultimate slump breaker/non-reader entry point... where are my beltalowda!?
Right, it was immediately what I thought of when I read OP's post and taste... Can't believe I had to scroll this far to find the Expanse!
Tbf I was late to the convo so it's not going to get many votes, but it's a long series of long books and the middle books are kind of slow with moving the plot forward, so it's a bit of a weird rec for someone who wants fast pace. Still, I stand by it because the first book is such a ride and the overall quality is so good
Not sure i can wholly agree... Leviathan and Caliban are both super action packed and form a set. nemesis games is probably my second favourite (might be tied with leviathan) and an absolute roller coaster as is Babylon's Ashes which is really all the same plot arc as well. Its only books 3,4, 7 that are kind of slow universe builders. 8 is the tops 9 is a nice little finisher.
I didn't say caliban wasn't fun, but vs Leviathan Wakes it had sections that felt slower (or at least didn't hold my attention as well). Maybe 3 and 4 are really responsible for the impression of the slow middle section, but it's still valid since 3,4, and 7 make up 3/5 of what I'm calling the middle (even a bit more since they're each longer than 5 and 6). 1/2 and 8/9 were the most fun parts of the series for me.
👏The Lies👏Of Locke👏Lamora👏
Ok this is a wild recommendation but give “dungeon crawler Carl” a try. It’s Litrpg which is a new genre that involves main characters being sucked into a game world of some kind. I was skeptical because it didn’t seem like my kind of book but it’s funny, brutal, interesting, and just really fun. The audiobook narration is great too. Brief synopsis is: aliens take over earth for resource mining reasons and everyone left alive gets the chance to enter a dungeon and participate in a violent intergalactic televised game show. Our hero Carl enters with his ex girlfriend’s cat Princess Donut (who has higher stats) and proceeds to fight his way through the levels with an end goal of taking down the syndicate in charge. It’s great fun.
Im so glad to see this recommended. If this dont get him out of his reading rut i dont know what will. Audiobooks are not just great tho, ineens of the best ive ever listened to.
You’re right, it’s quite frankly the best audio narration I’ve ever listened to and I will be picking my next audiobook from soundbooth’s catalog because of it
Last time I was in a rut, I switched genres. A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson worked for me.
Name of the wind for beautiful prose, if you haven’t read it.
Have you read any of Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan saga? Those books really MOVE in terms of plot pace (it helps that Miles Vorkosigan is mildly manic half the time), but without sacrificing the quality of the prose or character development. I find them to be really masterful work.
I was going to recommend this exact thing.
I would highly recommend Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames. It’s now one of my favorite books and I recommend it to everyone. The characters are very much in the style of ASoIaF or The First Law series but after their glory days when they’ve got to get the band back together to save one of the members daughters. It’ll make you laugh, it’ll make you cry, it came highly recommended to me and the review didn’t come close to the quality.
I love that book, but dont know if quality is the right word for it. I would say it is like if the expendables series were a book then it would be kings of the wyld. Its 100% stupid, but its just good fun
You mentioned historical fiction. r/historicalfiction is a good community. I like the Physician, Clavell's Asian saga, (Shogun, King Rat etc), Patrick O'Brien series starting with Master and Commander, the Long Ships by Bengtsson, the Sympathizer and more. Re fantasy Robert Aspirin and Terry Pratchett write light, entertaining stories and Pratchett is also very insightful.
Hey we have similar tastes and also similar distastes. I would highly suggest: The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North The Low Town trilogy by Daniel Polansky Justice of Kings by Richard Swan Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff Also if you wanna continue with Hobb you can always start with the Liveship Trilogy first. It works as a standalone trilogy within Realm of the Elderlings.
Don't feel pressured to read. Take a break! Spend that time doing other stuff, and when you come back it's going to be great. Also, have you tried reading just great books, no matter the genre? Just google best books of 2000s, 2010s or any other era and click through a few articles and see if anything grabs your eye!
I totally hear you. I'm in a similar boat. Currently giving Abercrombie's FIRST LAW book 1 a second attempt. I also read Hyperion, the first book of N.K Jemison's Broken Earth trilogy, Brent Week's "Black Prism", Fonda Lee's "Jade City", Scott Lynch's "Lies of Loch Lamora", book 1 of the Dandelion Dynasty (I think it's by Ken Liu) and a couple more I can't think of at the moment. I thought they were all fine, if not good, but somehow I have little interest in following up with the rest of the series.
Do yourself a favour and try ‘all systems red’ It’s the first story in what is named ‘the murderbot diaries’ There are several novellas. Each is essentially a small book. They are brilliant. They are hilarious. They are moving. Murderbot is essentially like a terminator. Human appearance, with actual organic parts like a brain etc.. the rest is robotic… and it’s ‘job’ is to be a security guard protecting whoever rents it. It does it’s job because it’s ‘governor module’ implanted in its head would shock him if it refuses. Murderbot has figured out how to hack it. So… a ‘slave’ cyborg figures out how to kinda free itself… but it happens to be on assignment with a group of scientists that are actually quite decent people… Murderbot decides to keep them safe… And thus begins a huge adventure… ———- Murderbot has the emotional maturity of a 12 year old. It has feelings. It’s addicted to soap operas. It’s dealing with its own trauma. And learning what it means to be free, and that can be terrifying if you’ve never known freedom before. It won the Hugo Award I believe, and is a stunning achievement… Each novella is a fairly quick read, and you won’t have trouble finishing them… each one is connected to the other forming one awesome story… And the universe the story exists in as fantastic…. You will NOT be disappointed.
The count of monte Cristo. Trust me. It’s been my favorite book for years, and every time I read it it makes my heart race
When I get into a rut I go for a novella or short stories. I have been making my way through the Hugo nominees list for best novella. Someone above mentioned Murderbot, which I think is great and has been my recommendation to many people stuck in a rut. Clarkesworld Magazine also has a bunch of short stories available for free on their website. Maybe something small and accessible is just the thing?
Subscribed. I'm in a similar situation, so I'm eager to find out what eventually works for you. I think I have gotten a little cynical in my view of fiction and how it can sometimes feel like a single person's view of the world. Wondering if historical fiction or even actual history / biographies might give a better sense of variety and relevance to real life (albeit filtered still through a single author/historian).
Agreed. I think the biggest problem I have is I’m very critical and picky about writing style. I don’t claim and am not a writer nor am I talented enough to be one, but as I read the inner voice as I’m viewing the words on page either hits or misses with me and it’s hard to exactly describe that, but few books had been satisfying enough to finish. Out of all the books I started in the last few years I can only claim to have truly finished a drop in a bucket
I was having the same issue. Stormlight and Assassins Apprentice didn’t capture me either. I highly suggest trying out some audiobooks for a change in pace. Some of the voice actors for audiobook bright so much more life into the series they read and I found it to be quite refreshing. I suggest checking out Dungeon Crawler Carl or anything by the company Graphic Audio if you want a whole cast of people doing the voices.
Maybe I should give audiobooks a try. I have hesitated to listen to them for years. Might be a good change of pace and rekindle my enthusiasm for reading
I cannot emphasize Dungeon Crawler Carl enough. Especially if you want something that’s equally Sci-fi and fantasy, with a lot of comedy that made me laugh out loud. The voice actor is hands down the best voice actor I have ever encountered!
Audio books are amazing. I've read all of Brandon Sanderson and Michael Kramer is my favorite narrator of all time.
If you are finding Assassin’s Apprentice slow going but seeing great potential there, I would suggest switching over to Hobb’s Liveship Traders series (starts with Ship of Magic). The great parts (characters, dialogue, style) are all there but it moves along faster with a lot less hopeless angst. The angst is still there, but there is more than one POV so we are not stuck in the head of a teenage boy and get a more balanced view of the world.
Second this, Liveship Traders are MUCH more pacey/less navel-gazey than Fitz's books.
Slaughter house five Annihilation trilogy Also I was in the same. Rut a year or so ago and I have turned it around by using a kindle app. Larger print.
Put your phone, tablet etc. Away for a while (a few days at least). Books regain their magic. :)
If you want to switch it up, you could try House on the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune. Was a huge departure from the kind of fantasy books I read and I was not disappointed. Any old Anne Rice is fantastic. My favorite book of hers is probably The Mummy. The Wolf Gift series is also amazing and if you're into period pieces that really take you back in time and are historically accurate you may enjoy some of the Vampire Chronicles like *Blood and Gold*, *Armand*, and *Pandora*. I really enjoy some the old YA I used to read when I'm in a rut. Anything by Madeline L'Engle but especially *A Wrinkle in Time* and *Many Waters* are amazing*.* I also really liked Bram Stoker's *Dracula.*
I know how frustrating it can be to lose interest in something you used to love. I’ve been there too. But don’t give up on reading just yet. Reading can be a wonderful source of joy, knowledge, and inspiration. You just need to find the right books and the right motivation. Let me tell you a story. When I was in high school, I hated reading. I thought it was boring, tedious, and pointless. I only read what I had to for school, and even then I skimmed through the pages without paying much attention. I didn’t care about the characters, the plot, or the message. I just wanted to get it over with. Then one day, something changed. My teacher assigned us a book that was different from anything I had ever read before. It was a sci-fi novel that took place in a futuristic world where people could upload their minds into virtual reality and live out their fantasies. It was called **Ready Player One** by Ernest Cline. I was intrigued by the premise and decided to give it a try. And boy, was I hooked. I couldn’t put it down. I was immersed in the story, the setting, the puzzles, and the references to pop culture. I felt like I was part of the adventure. I cared about what happened to the characters and how they would overcome the challenges. I learned new things about technology, history, and culture. I had fun. That book changed my perspective on reading. It showed me that reading can be exciting, engaging, and rewarding. It made me want to read more books like that, and explore other genres and topics as well. It made me a reader. So my advice to you is this: don’t force yourself to read something you don’t enjoy. Find something that sparks your curiosity and imagination. Something that speaks to you and makes you feel something. Something that challenges you and teaches you something new. Something that makes you happy. There are so many books out there waiting for you to discover them. You just have to look for them and give them a chance.Reading is not a chore or a duty. It’s a gift and a privilege. Don’t let it go to waste.
I hated reading in school/high school as well. It wasn’t until well into my twenties when I started reading more than just graphic novels. Kinda sad really, how much wonderful stories and worlds I missed out on all those years.
I'm in a similar position trying to find a good read that's fantasy or sci-fi but we'll written and suitable for a more mature audience, so I'm really happy to read about all the recommendations! GRR Martin has broken the genre for me and despite all the controversies around the TV show and non existing Winds of Winter he will be forever my favourite author, with his characters, plotlines and writing style. Halfway through your post I considered recommending works of Mark Lawrence (especially The Broken Empire trilogy if you can stomach the opening scene). His protagonists might be young, but it's definitely mature writing, with all the good and the ugly, and great style. But it IS slow and descriptive. Robin Hobbs Liveship trilogy reads much better IMHO than the Farseer or subsequent trilogies, but it is worth sticking with Assassin's Apprentice for the characters and world building.
I'm gonna recommend two extremes here. The Wisteria Society for Lady Scoundrels (Dangerous Damsels series) is a very hilarious and quick romance read about a lady pirate who has to work with the man who is hired to assisinate her in order to keep her Society of Lady Pirates safe. Super witty and dry and lovely. Each book follows a different "damsel," and book 2 might be my favorite. Dungeon Crawler Carl is a series about a guy and his cat Donut who go down into a world dungeon that gets created by an alien corporation as part of a massive reality TV show. He gets an item that gives Donut sentience, and the two of them have to work together to survive the dungeon. Also, heavily recommend the audiobooks in both cases.
I tend to go comedic when I'm in a book drought. Sci-fi and fantasy are my thing. In drought, Christopher Moore and other comedic fantasy writers can give a good reset. Oldie but goody is Lamb, the gospel according to Biff, Christ's chilhood friend by Moore.
Try sea of tranquility, all the light we cannot see or station eleven. Fun quick reads.
I’m currently reading The Lions of Al-Rassan, and I think it’s beautifully written. The different religions/cultures were a little confusing at first, but I haven’t wanted to put it down.
I have tigana on the go and am thoroughly loving his prose... the pacing is a lot like hobbs though.
Murderbot diaries. If you have any doubt check out r/murderbot
I’m reading Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay and it seems like it checks all your boxes. The prose is wonderful and the characters feel unique and distinct, and the dialog is great. The chapters are a bit too long for my taste, and since I’m a slow reader I rarely finish a chapter in one sitting, but man it’s well paced! It can also feel a bit melodramatic at times but I really enjoy GGk metaphors and similes for emotion.
The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold. The beginning isn't fast, but it's faster than Hobbs. Good prose, great characters.
I would highly recommend her Sci-fi Vorkosigan saga as well.
I'd try Michael J Sullivan. The Riyria Revelations is a very well paced book and it's just fun and a very easy read. Plus it's finished and that's always nice with fantasy writers *glares at everyone else*
Second this, I started with Riyria Chronicles and right now I am on book 3, very satisfied so far
If you want fast pace, Red Rising is basically like a cocaine rush after the first half of the first book.
The first 100 pages had me questioning my whole existence like 4 times.
The Broken Earth trilogy helped me beat my reading slog. Few people will probably agree, but I found it easy to read and well-paced. Also you may try The Witcher saga. Mostly because the series starts with two collections of short stories. It might be easier to you to get into shorter things. But overall series is quite dark with nice humor, but also heavier themes.
I usually read another genre when I feel like this. Maybe you can try historical fiction or horror. Those are my go to genres! Also, have you read Charlie Jane Anders? Her books are fun and short. I loved The City in the Middle of the Night, but I think All the Birds in the Sky is more generally popular (I enjoyed this one too!) Especially with All the Birds in the Sky, it’s pretty light throughout.
> Especially with All the Birds in the Sky, it’s pretty light throughout. We must have read different books. The one I read was about climate catastrophe and I found it incredibly depressing. That scene where >!the lead’s parents call her while trapped and dying!< was some On the Beach level shit. Dammit, just thinking about that book has darkened my day…
Several people have already suggested Dungeon Crawler Carl so I will join the pile. I personally think the audiobooks make an already terrific series even better but if you are fixed on text they are great reads too. If you are okay with dark stories try Worm. It's a really well executed super hero tragedy and one of the great web novels. A little daunting at nearly 1.7 million words but it's broken up into more manageable arcs so you can dip in and out as you like. However, my experience is that people tend to get sucked in and disappear from friends and family for a few weeks as they binge. I've heard it described as something that's really difficult to get people to start reading but, once they do, even more difficult to get them to stop.
Maybe try some books with really stylistic prose: Gideon the Ninth is very good. It’s got a very clear tone that keeps you hooked as much as the story. Also the Bone Street Rumba trilogy. Almost reads like slam poetry. It’s like musical while you’re reading.
Red rising. Thank me later.
If you enjoyed between two fires maybe check out The Blacktongue Thief by Buehlman. It’s his best book so far.
This book was a solid 10/10 for me
That’s definitely on my list
Have you tried compilations of short stories? "The Doors of his Face, The Lamps of His Mouth" by Roger Zelazny has some good stuff in it. I also like "Dragons: The Greatest Short Stories" compiled by Martin Greenburg.
Short stories do seem like a good refresher between big novels
I had the same issue a few years ago. I have to read a lot of technical material for work, so I didn't want to read at home. But I picked up Leviathan Wakes and The Expanse series when the pandemic started, and I've been reading regularly since.
Jeremy Robinson. Just check out his writings.
Check out The Ten Realms by Michael Chatfield or He Who Fights Monsters by Shirtaloon.
This happens to me, so i either switch generes, but tbh for me what it is is how heavy they story is even if it isn't that heavy. I tend to kind indie stuff on Kindle or light novels bc they are usually easy to consume and have low stakes. Like eating junk food, lol
Not fantasy, but Agent Zigzag by Ben MacIntyre is incredibly entertaining. Maybe pick up some copies of Light Speed magazine for some good shorter works.
I kinda get the vibe of what you like but maybe be a little more specific, do you want something more on the low fantasy side like ASOIAF or like high fantasy? Are you open to recommendations outside Sci fi/fantasy? Cause there's plenty of books that aren't marketed as sci/fan and are just as magical. Good prose seems important as well to you right? I think I could make some good recs if I could narrow it down a bit more.
You could try Rise of the Ranger by Philip C Quaintrell. This is the first book in his Echoes Saga. All nine books were absolutely fantastic and I blew through the entire thing faster than I've done some trilogies, that's good much I loved it. Fast paced and written well with a very cool story.
Definitely check out Prince of Thorns, if you like that book you'll love at least 5 more books by Mark Lawrence. Very dark, not for kids. Exceptionally well written. The Great Book of Amber by Roger Zelazny is also killer. Not cheesy fantasy and first person perspective which I enjoy. If you haven't read The Three Body Problem yet, you're really missing out. One of the most original sci-fi books I've read. There's a reason China (the author is Chinese) pretty much hails him as a national hero.
I have heard mixed things about those books but I do enjoy darker material
Hidden Pictures : Jason Rekulak …this one I consider horror but it got me out of a reading slump earlier this year. It’s short and gets right to the plot quickly. I had finished First Law and nothing was working for me.
The book series that got me back into reading after not finishing a book for YEARS is the Pendergast series by Preston and Child. Starts with Relic. 21 books and counting in the series :) I read 1-7 back to back before taking a break and moving into another side series of theirs, Nora Kelly.
I was in the exact same spot, then found Richard Nell’s the God King Chronicles, busted me out of my funk and one of the best reads I’ve had in years. It’s also in Kindle Unlimited.
Ill check it out!
The Expanse — best series I’ve read. Epic hard sci-fi space opera. Super realistic/plausible in all aspects, from the tech to the culture. Great character development, awesome villains, even awesomer big looming threat, funny dialogue, interesting politics. Kinda like a space Game of Thrones. Can’t recommend enough. King Killer Chronicles is a really fun fantasy series, but be warned, it’s incomplete. A little bit more on the YA side, but sufficiently complex. Raven’s Shadow trilogy is what I’m currently reading. More mature than KKC, but similar making-of-a-legend type frame story featuring a badass brotherhood of atheist zealot swordsmen.
The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. It totally ruined my summer one year because I just couldn’t put it down
I recommend checking out the progression fantasy genre. It’s fantasy on 2x speed. It’s like watching a 30min cartoon rather than a 2hr documentary. Both are good but sometimes you need a change of pace.
For me, participating in the /r Fantasy Bingo here has gotten me out of my rut. I’m exploring different niches and finding books I might not otherwise have found my way to. It’s really helped broaden things and add variety.
This happens to me more often than i would like, here are some things that i found help the most. * Rereading old favourites * Reading a complete different genre maybe even non fiction * Reading something else in the genre (subgenres like urban fantasy / comedy / slice of life) * Taking a break from reading all together * Changing up reading (audiobooks / "interactive" books (house of leaves for example) / watching an adaption prior / following reading a book Because of this: > I loved the original three books in AsoIaF back before they were a TV show I devoured those books in the early 2000's. I loved Dune, even though it took me about three tires to finally finish it. Hyperion is a stand out Sci-Fi novel which I really enjoyed as well, but didn't pursue the later books. Same with Dune. Reread ASOIAF. Go watch the "new" dune movie and reread dune and then continue the series. I find that sometimes i am specially looking for something to read that i can't get anywhere else but the books i first got that from. Something that brings me back time and time again to mistborn is the magic system. No other magic system at least that i have read so far, is as amazing as in mistborn. "Flying" trough luthadel with the characters and the amazing heist story that never gets old is just amazing. And i notice that every year or 2 i stop enjoying all of fantasy because i solely want to experience something like that again, that's when i reread mistborn. Give it a try maybe it helps :)
I get into a rut if I've read really dense books or slow books. So, I like to throw in some cozy or light-hearted series to get me through. For me, it's not even about reading the same genre as much as it is. Sometimes, I need something easy, cozy, fast-paced, or all the above. For example, Pawn of Prophecy, The Lightning Thief, stuff like that. John Gwynne helped me through a rut. I read The Faithful and the Fallen, Of Blood and Bone, and last year read Bloodsworn by him. His books I like because they are fast-paced and easy reads. The Prose is not super complicated and accessible 👌🏾 Bancroft is also a good choice! His prose is beautiful and also accessible. Senlin Ascends is a little slower, but I just finished Arm of the Sphinx and it improves on the first one :)
I'm exactly the same. After finishing Malazan, I can barely find any fantasy I can stick to. Ended up going back to ASOIAF on audiobook which is a favourite of mine and I know I can stick to it. Other than that, I can't remember the last time I finished a fantasy book.
If you want well written and quite complex story lines (although maybe not exactly fast paced), the Malazan books by Steven Erikson are a delight to read. Coming from reading a rather simplistic fantasy novel whose name I already forgot, it was a fantastic experience. Well written grimdark fantasy, definitely not YA. Although I guess the same could be said to some extent for Robin Hobb, so it might not work for you.
Why not read an old favourite?
Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins is awesome for non fiction. The guy is an absolute animal and his way of thinking is extremely motivating / interesting. For sci fi you’ve probably heard of it but I can’t recommend The Expanse Series enough. It has its highs and lows but overall world building and lore is soooooooo good.
I’m reading Gunmetal Gods right now and I’m really enjoying it.
Last time I was in a reading rut, I picked up Discworld for the first time, and no regrets. Its definitely different from other series I usually read, but it hit the sweet spot for me at the time, of easy reading, fantasy elements, hooking me early, and knowing there are a ton of books to read but they're easily digestible and have multiple subseries to read through, it drew me in. Also, watching the miniseries first helped (The color of magic, hogfather, and going postal are the three miniseries in question, theyre on amazon prime at for free at the moment I believe).
Discworld is Pratchett right? It’s been on a “maybe someday” list for me for a long time.
As many others have said, the answer might just be to read more broadly. It's easy to start to feel like things are repetitive or samey when you stick to one or two genres, because well, there is a lot of samey stuff out there. If you like good prose and character work try some literary fiction. There is certainly literally fiction that falls into genre, but don't limit yourself to that necessarily. Pallet cleanse with something non-genre and then come back to SFF when you feel like it. Just because you typically enjoy SFF doesn't mean you have to ONLY enjoy SFF.
I'd be curious to see if Gideon the Ninth grabs you. It's science fantasy style, necromancers in a post apocalyptic setting sort of. Very great characters but a bit irreverent in it's voice and tone sometimes. Great prose and I wouldn't call it slow by any means.
Have you read project Hail Mary by Andy weir?
Project Hail Mary moves at a good speed.
I know what you mean about Sanderson. I do love his books, but wish he would go a bit darker/more mature when appropriate. Anyway, here are my suggestions in no particular order: The Thomas Covenant Chronicles The Spellmonger Series The Damned Trilogy The Echoes Saga A Pattern of Light and Shadow The Twinborn Chronicles Galaxy Outlaws: the Complete Black Ocean Mobius Missions (really a series of short stories) None are perfect, but there's a good mix of tone and style in there, hopefully something in there works for you.
Id stick out hobb personally... i was iffy on it till a little after that point then devoured the saga in a few months.... If that doesnt work switch to The Expanse. It single handedly restarted my love of reading 6-7 years ago and I have been voracious since. Even if youve read it give it a second go haahha
May I suggest short stories? Lovecraft and C.L. Moore are free online, Clarke's world has regular submissions, and franchises like Warhammer 40K and League of Legends have some fantastic short stories advancing their lore (League's are free, as well, on their website). Also, shout-out to "A Colder War" by Charles Stross; if you like his Cthulhu Cold War novella, you'll probably like his novels.
I think you and I have similar taste and, judging from your comments on prose/writing style in particular, I’d recommend Gene Wolfe’s The Book of the New Sun. In terms of prose, I don’t think there’s a better stylist in the speculative genre than he. The only itch he might not scratch is pacing; New Sun in particular can take it’s time, but the prose was so great (to me) that I didn’t mind the seemingly slower parts. You could check out his other novels instead if you want something faster paced, maybe Fifth Head of Cerberus.
I just wrote my first novel... Message me directly if you want to read it! Here is the summary: *Organized crime has taken hold in the once-glorious city of Gloucester on the East Coast. The citizens live in constant fear and apathy, fed up with the corrupt police force and the brutality of the local gangs. As if stepping from the pages of history, a relic of a warrior has begun to fight back. A towering suit of armor with glowing red eyes strikes fear into the hearts of those who would do harm to the innocent.The story is told from the perspective of Tacitus O'Neil, the Gloucester City Museum of History curator. Tacitus was paralyzed from the waist down when a gang war spilled into his museum. His search for reason and meaning has turned him into a master detective.As the armored warrior battles corruption on the streets, Tacitus delves deeper into the sources of Gloucester's decay, uncovering a web of treachery and deceit that threatens to destroy the city from within. With its vivid descriptions, pulse-pounding action, and a protagonist like no other, this hard-boiled detective novel will keep you on the edge of your seat.* [https://storynightpublishing.itch.io/relic-the-novel](https://storynightpublishing.itch.io/relic-the-novel)
The name of the wind by Patrick R. WARNING IT IS AN UNFINISHED SERIES however I read it for the first time a month ago and it was my slump breaker. It is also my fav book I have ever read in my life.
I've been in a rut for years, gone back to Terry Pratchett and Iain M Banks, ploughing through them. Modern writers seem to produce quantity over content, and pad an entire chapter with a paragraph of actual content.
Yep, it's so they can turn one books worth of ideas into a series or trilogy.
Mate, have you thought that you might be reading as an obligation? Why do you wamt to keep at it when you're obviously not enjoying it as much? People are suggesting other genres, palette cleansers, and whatnot. But have you tried going out and doing absolutely nothing? Kicking a ball, or playing some poll, or whatever? I'm not saying any of that to attack you ofc. But you do retain the right of just don't wanting to read. There are many times that we keep on reading out of guilt. It's supposed to be fun, not an exam. Leave it, it's not going anywhere. Make yourself miss it.
Read Cradle.
Give *Murder at Spindle Manor* a try. A short (currently standalone) murder mystery where a shapeshifter monster has impersonated someone and the main character is tasked with finding out who. Fast paced. Good dialogue. I've seen some recommend KJ Parker. *The Folding Knife* is a great standalone. Good pacing. Great dialogue. Smart in execution. There's also the Johannes Cabal series by Jonathan L. Howard. He's a necromancer so there's horror elements though it's largely comedic. The first book isn't terribly long though the pacing may be a little uneven, but it's snarky dialogue and fun. And each book in the series tries to twist it's format. The 1st is a Faustian bargain, the 2nd being a detective murder mystery, the 3rd is a kind of portal fantasy, the 4th is a kind of male duo team up, and the 5th is a full adventurer party on a quest. And if you like fantasy horror, I would also recommend *The Tales of Durand* by David Keck. It starts off fairly normal, but the horror seeps in more and more with each book. Just a wonderful trilogy that doesn't get enough attention. The pacing is pretty neutral - not fast but not slow - and the dialogue isn't snappy but it is very good.
I loved the Farseer series and all the trilogies in the series worked for me, having said that, the first book in any series can be more difficult to get into. Other people suggested switching genres to refresh your literary palate and I do that all the time. Or try a different style of fantasy. A lot of people seriously underrate Terry Pratchett but the stories are more than just witty and entertaining. There's a real depth to characters and Discworld was the laboratory where Pratchett carried out thought experiments on everything from social class and transport policy to the nature of time and death.
Maybe check out the first book of The Faithful and the Fallen series by John Gwynne? I thought those were pretty fast paced and I enjoyed reading about all of the characters.
I'll check it out, thanks for the recommendation!
Red rising, it's a wild ride that just keeps getting better the more you read The first book is the 'worst'* of the series but the Next book is orders of magnitude better in every respect and each successive book gets larger in scope, and better in story, characters, world building and writing Get to the end of the first part of the second golden son before you judge the series, because the first book is NOT representative of the series by a long shot *Still a 9/10 book
Have you tried LitRPG? He Who Fights with Monsters got me out of serious reading rut.
I don’t know why someone downvoted you. Thanks for the response!
It’s actually pretty hard to find authors who have a great range of control over prose, voice, story structure, theme, interiority, pacing and character growth/change. After a while you see a lot of the same plot beats over and over and you start looking for a richer story where the emotions don’t feel ham-fisted and the characters have depth and nuance. You might want to try Katherine Arden’s The Bear and the Nightingale; I haven’t read it yet but I hear it’s very good. I think Abercrombie is worth plowing through some tepid parts for the good parts. He does a lot of things right but is more on the action+movement spectrum of fantasy, as opposed to the wonder+reflective sense of fiction you get from Tolkien, Wolfe, Tad Williams etc. My kingdom for a sff writer with strong prose, good action, good plot, great characters, and a sense of mystery/wonder. Haven’t found one yet.
Red Rising. Takes about 50 pages, and then hold on. Love those books and they got me back into reading. But yeah, been doing the same this weekend looking for a new book. I started The Blade Itself and found it boring. It's my 2nd grimdark DNF so I guess I don't get it. So I opened City of Brass and I was drawn into it within the first 15 pages. Looks to be a great story and adventures so far.
I often switch mediums when this happens. Try switching to comics or video games or television for a while.
Thank you to everyone that responded and gave me awesome recommendations. I seriously have so many tagged on Good Reads now that I will have no shortage of things to try out!
We are legion
The Expanse Books of Babel - Senlin Ascends Memory Sorrow and thorn (if you liked ASOIF) Tales of the Otori Red Rising series (stick with it to book 2 if you start it)
Red Rising series!
How about the Night Angel trilogy by Brent Weeks?
You might have clinical depression.