Fantastic discussion! Like Josh, I suffer from mild aphantasia - very fuzzy pictures in my head. But I can recall sounds, music and voices in my head as though I’m listening to a cd
Deadhouse Gates is quite probably my favorite novel of the MBotF. Great to see you two on your Malazan journey! I'm so glad I read these as they were published without all the social media nonsense 😂
Another Deadhouse Gates fan! Love that, it's my favorite of the four I've read as well. What an incredible book. I think you had the best experience too, reading Malazan without the pressure is the way to go if you can. :)
@@ToriTalks2One of the people I worked with was also reading it, we'd both buy them as they came out and have great fun talking about them until the next book came out, then we'd do it again. We didn't have to deal with the elitism from some of the fans, or of having to have other people tell us what to read or what to think about certain books. I have read a lot of terrible books, but that is also important, you get to know the strengths and limitations of the various genres.
I learned so much about you both. 😊 Thoroughly enjoyed this and hearing about your tastes and shared love for music. I don't know much about music myself but I second the Pern series by McCaffrey. I think Mercedes Lackey's Bardic Voices might also feature music.
My favorite Malazan so far is #7. It also broke my heart. So I haven't picked up #8 (over a year). I think I will in 2025. My first Russian novel was Dr Zhivago. Anna Karenina was my second. I, too, read all the genres but primarily fantasy and historical fiction, so I agree with Josh that variety is the key to avoiding slumps.
Reaper's Gale? That's one I feel like I don't hear mentioned very often, so that's really cool to look forward to! Variety is hugely helpful in avoiding slumps, I completely agree.
City of last chances has been routinely described as "fantasy les miz", including by the author himself. House of Open Wounds is one of the most amazong fantasy books I read, It is difficult to explain how Tchaikovsky can nail down worldbuilding, characters and prose so damn well all at the same time.
@@ToriTalks2His 'Recluce' series is pretty good too, although it has become a bit 'samey' as it's gone on. I like the magic being order vs chaos and it takes a physical toll on it's practitioners the more they wield, usually temporarily, making them dependent on others and not all-powerful.
Lions would be in my Top 3 GGK alongside Under Heaven and A Brightness Long Ago. Under Heaven has one of the most impactful 1st chapters I've ever read. He's probably my favourite Fantasy author atm. Him or Robin Hobb. He's a more chill Hobb for History enthusiasts. I hope you like his books but when it comes to recommending books to you I'm very much a pessimist 😂 The only books of his I haven't read yet are Fionavar Tapestry, Ysabel, River of Stars and A Song for Arbonne which i keep DNFing for whatever reason. Yeah reading Malazan and Wars of Light & Shadow at once (at least for a 1st time read) is a bad move. I've tried talking John at Talking Story out of it but he never listens to me 😂
I have Under Heaven on my TBR too, that one sounds super intriguing, especially with the Asian influence. John's crazy, but I hope he has some fun XD My husband also dnfed Song for Arbonne, which is interesting because so many GGK fans absolutely love it.
Such a great discussion! I’ve watched all of Josh’s videos and really enjoy how he talks about books.
Thank you! Josh is super great and a really fun conversationalist. He's got great taste!
Fantastic discussion! Like Josh, I suffer from mild aphantasia - very fuzzy pictures in my head. But I can recall sounds, music and voices in my head as though I’m listening to a cd
Thanks so much for watching!!! Aphantasia is such a fascinating thing, and how wide of a spectrum it seems to be.
Deadhouse Gates is quite probably my favorite novel of the MBotF.
Great to see you two on your Malazan journey!
I'm so glad I read these as they were published without all the social media nonsense 😂
Another Deadhouse Gates fan! Love that, it's my favorite of the four I've read as well. What an incredible book. I think you had the best experience too, reading Malazan without the pressure is the way to go if you can. :)
@@ToriTalks2One of the people I worked with was also reading it, we'd both buy them as they came out and have great fun talking about them until the next book came out, then we'd do it again.
We didn't have to deal with the elitism from some of the fans, or of having to have other people tell us what to read or what to think about certain books.
I have read a lot of terrible books, but that is also important, you get to know the strengths and limitations of the various genres.
I learned so much about you both. 😊 Thoroughly enjoyed this and hearing about your tastes and shared love for music.
I don't know much about music myself but I second the Pern series by McCaffrey. I think Mercedes Lackey's Bardic Voices might also feature music.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Kathi! Thank you for watching 🥰 There are more music-featuring books than I thought!
My favorite Malazan so far is #7. It also broke my heart. So I haven't picked up #8 (over a year). I think I will in 2025.
My first Russian novel was Dr Zhivago. Anna Karenina was my second.
I, too, read all the genres but primarily fantasy and historical fiction, so I agree with Josh that variety is the key to avoiding slumps.
Reaper's Gale? That's one I feel like I don't hear mentioned very often, so that's really cool to look forward to!
Variety is hugely helpful in avoiding slumps, I completely agree.
@ToriTalks2 yes, Reaper's Gale. No one seems to talk about it, but I loved it.
City of last chances has been routinely described as "fantasy les miz", including by the author himself. House of Open Wounds is one of the most amazong fantasy books I read, It is difficult to explain how Tchaikovsky can nail down worldbuilding, characters and prose so damn well all at the same time.
I can't wait to read more of his work, I've really enjoyed the two books of his that I read. And fantasy "Les Mis" sounds amazing!
Have either of you read The Spellsong Cycle by L.E. Modesitt Jr.? That's a music based fantasy series.
I have not! But I'll look into it, thanks for the recommendation!
@@ToriTalks2His 'Recluce' series is pretty good too, although it has become a bit 'samey' as it's gone on. I like the magic being order vs chaos and it takes a physical toll on it's practitioners the more they wield, usually temporarily, making them dependent on others and not all-powerful.
Lions would be in my Top 3 GGK alongside Under Heaven and A Brightness Long Ago. Under Heaven has one of the most impactful 1st chapters I've ever read. He's probably my favourite Fantasy author atm. Him or Robin Hobb. He's a more chill Hobb for History enthusiasts. I hope you like his books but when it comes to recommending books to you I'm very much a pessimist 😂
The only books of his I haven't read yet are Fionavar Tapestry, Ysabel, River of Stars and A Song for Arbonne which i keep DNFing for whatever reason.
Yeah reading Malazan and Wars of Light & Shadow at once (at least for a 1st time read) is a bad move. I've tried talking John at Talking Story out of it but he never listens to me 😂
I have Under Heaven on my TBR too, that one sounds super intriguing, especially with the Asian influence. John's crazy, but I hope he has some fun XD
My husband also dnfed Song for Arbonne, which is interesting because so many GGK fans absolutely love it.