Welcome to a SAFE comments section! I know this is the internet and all, but I have some rather old-fashioned beliefs about treating other humans with RESPECT, and therefore I will delete any unkind comments. Thanks so much for your thoughtful and courteous participation - I look forward to hearing from you!
Jolien recommended your review! It’s about one of my favorite novels, but it becomes quickly one of my favorite reviews too! I especially love all the quotes, and that you show what connected with you personally. Thank you! I’m looking forward to discover your backlog. 😊
This sounds really good Josh, and I will try reading it at come point. I appreciate your review, and especially how you talked about how other people have rated other books in the series.
You might really enjoy The Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner. Some put the series within the YA sphere because of the first sorta coming of age story. But I found the whole series quite adult and detailed with difficult themes. It goes to some pretty dark places. And, similar to many of Lois McMaster Bujold’s books, the gods are real (but quite distant.) Anyway, the whole series it’s more about royal families in adjoining countries, so not exactly like LMB, but the “feel” is much the same, imo. The first book is pretty quest-y and feels like a farm boy story at first & some DNF it, but it’s a much deeper story than at first glance & I encourage folks to finish it and then dive into book 2. You really need the back story for the rest of the series. The audio books are really good if you like to listen to your stories sometimes. Thanks for giving me a space to rec some awesome fantasy!
Enjoyed your review. Bujold series aren't really series but rather settings though there are some sequences of works within the settings. Also some of the early Vorkosigan works have been reprinted in omnibuses so instead of Warrior's Apprentice you might want to look for "Young Miles" which contains that work plus a novella and a second novel "The Vor Game". These are early works written back in the late 1980s while she was still developing as a writer but do show Miles as a young man. The second omnibus, Miles, Mystery and Mayhem, contains again two novels and a novella and need not be read next (one of the novels doesn't even have Miles in it though he is mentioned). However the third omnibus, Miles Errant, contains "Brothers in Arms" and "Mirror Dance" which are essential to read before "Memory" (considered to be one of her best works, her one line description of it is "Miles hits 30, 30 hits back").
I love the Vorkosigan series, but mostly the Cordelia books. (Cordelia is Miles’ mom.) Honestly, Miles reminds me of my ADHD son. My favorites are the World of the Five Gods books and I dearly love the Penric & Desdemona novellas. In Curse, I agree that Caseril (sp??) is a brilliant character. It was interesting to me how old he seemed (the weight of war, PTSD??) but iirc he’s only in his late 30s. Ista in Souls is also a complicated and fascinating character.
@@cheryllovestoread Thanks, Cheryl - I really appreciate hearing your thoughts on Bujold's works! (And my 11-year old son was recently diagnosed with ADHD and a couple of learning disabilities, so that's something I can relate to.)
@@joshyaksOh my, Miles can be very impulsive! Brilliant, but impulsive. I think you’ll like him. Also, Bujold wrote a four or five book series called The Sharing Knife. It’s more of a fantasy romance, so isn’t for everybody, but I liked it. Interesting, there is a pretty big age gap between the main characters. I wonder if Bujold married a much older man????
Yaaaaay, this is such a good review! I’m so happy you loved it that much. I laughed when you said ‘I must be old and ragged’ 😂. Some of it definitely hasn’t aged well but I’ve kinda accepted that it’s bound to happen with some of the old school fantasy authors. I’m hoping to read Paladin of Souls later this year! I suspect I’ll have a similar experience to you.
Thanks, Zara! I appreciate you, and I know that if you recommend a book, whether or not it's a style that fits my personal tastes, it's going to be a great book!
Welcome to a SAFE comments section! I know this is the internet and all, but I have some rather old-fashioned beliefs about treating other humans with RESPECT, and therefore I will delete any unkind comments. Thanks so much for your thoughtful and courteous participation - I look forward to hearing from you!
Jolien recommended your review! It’s about one of my favorite novels, but it becomes quickly one of my favorite reviews too! I especially love all the quotes, and that you show what connected with you personally. Thank you!
I’m looking forward to discover your backlog. 😊
Oh, that's so nice of Jolien! And I'm absolutely delighted to have you here - anyone who can appreciate a 45-minute review is a special person! :)
This sounds really good Josh, and I will try reading it at come point. I appreciate your review, and especially how you talked about how other people have rated other books in the series.
Thanks, Charles! As always, I look forward to hearing your thoughts on it eventually!
You might really enjoy The Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner. Some put the series within the YA sphere because of the first sorta coming of age story. But I found the whole series quite adult and detailed with difficult themes. It goes to some pretty dark places. And, similar to many of Lois McMaster Bujold’s books, the gods are real (but quite distant.) Anyway, the whole series it’s more about royal families in adjoining countries, so not exactly like LMB, but the “feel” is much the same, imo.
The first book is pretty quest-y and feels like a farm boy story at first & some DNF it, but it’s a much deeper story than at first glance & I encourage folks to finish it and then dive into book 2. You really need the back story for the rest of the series.
The audio books are really good if you like to listen to your stories sometimes.
Thanks for giving me a space to rec some awesome fantasy!
I'm grateful for the recommendation, and I trust the tastes of anyone who is a Lois McMaster Bujold fan! I'll add this series to the TBR.
Enjoyed your review. Bujold series aren't really series but rather settings though there are some sequences of works within the settings. Also some of the early Vorkosigan works have been reprinted in omnibuses so instead of Warrior's Apprentice you might want to look for "Young Miles" which contains that work plus a novella and a second novel "The Vor Game". These are early works written back in the late 1980s while she was still developing as a writer but do show Miles as a young man. The second omnibus, Miles, Mystery and Mayhem, contains again two novels and a novella and need not be read next (one of the novels doesn't even have Miles in it though he is mentioned). However the third omnibus, Miles Errant, contains "Brothers in Arms" and "Mirror Dance" which are essential to read before "Memory" (considered to be one of her best works, her one line description of it is "Miles hits 30, 30 hits back").
That's SO helpful to know! Thank you very much!
I love the Vorkosigan series, but mostly the Cordelia books. (Cordelia is Miles’ mom.)
Honestly, Miles reminds me of my ADHD son.
My favorites are the World of the Five Gods books and I dearly love the Penric & Desdemona novellas.
In Curse, I agree that Caseril (sp??) is a brilliant character. It was interesting to me how old he seemed (the weight of war, PTSD??) but iirc he’s only in his late 30s.
Ista in Souls is also a complicated and fascinating character.
@@cheryllovestoread Thanks, Cheryl - I really appreciate hearing your thoughts on Bujold's works! (And my 11-year old son was recently diagnosed with ADHD and a couple of learning disabilities, so that's something I can relate to.)
@@joshyaksOh my, Miles can be very impulsive! Brilliant, but impulsive. I think you’ll like him.
Also, Bujold wrote a four or five book series called The Sharing Knife. It’s more of a fantasy romance, so isn’t for everybody, but I liked it. Interesting, there is a pretty big age gap between the main characters. I wonder if Bujold married a much older man????
Yaaaaay, this is such a good review! I’m so happy you loved it that much.
I laughed when you said ‘I must be old and ragged’ 😂. Some of it definitely hasn’t aged well but I’ve kinda accepted that it’s bound to happen with some of the old school fantasy authors.
I’m hoping to read Paladin of Souls later this year! I suspect I’ll have a similar experience to you.
Thanks, Zara! I appreciate you, and I know that if you recommend a book, whether or not it's a style that fits my personal tastes, it's going to be a great book!
I can see why you enjoyed this booked based on what you've shared here.
For sure! Thanks for being such a faithful viewer, Paul!