Why is it so good?
The Lightbringer series by author Brent Weeks.
The type of “magic” in this fantasy series is unlike any other that I know of. Light can be split by some people into it’s individual colors, 1st book is The Black Prism, and those colors are able to be used/cast in a physical form with each color having specific properties and effects on the person that has the ability to use that color. Green is wild/free, red is anger/impulsive and so on. The prism, god chosen representative, is able to use all colors without limits. Murder, spies, politics, love, plot twists, magic…it’s got it all.
The reading is fairly easy and the story is easy to follow. This is, I think, the 4th time I am listening to the series. All of Brent Weeks books have been good…but something about this series is great.
It really made me start wondering how we can see infrared, ultraviolet and even the x ray light spectrums, but we have yet to do so in the microwave spectrum. It’d be awesome to see the world through such lens. Imagine being able to see through walls with WiFi and cell towers illuminating everything.
https://youtu.be/jibvu9BHV_k?si=Q80rb2tB_Cz0TdWM
Totally not book related but your comment made me think of it… Good episode on colors.
Just finished Adrian Tchaikovsky’s “Service Model”. It was excellent. But be warned, if you’re looking for military, adventure sci fi with snarky AI’s this will not be your cup of tea. The author takes on modern societal issues in the setting of post collapse human society. Yes, I’m aware of the dichotomy there.
If you do want snarky AI’s and adventure, then I recommend the following series:
“Backyard Starship” series. I think it’s up to book 17 so far and the quality of the books have stayed pretty consistent. The prequel series “The Peacemaker Wars” is also pretty good.
“Expeditionary Force” The quality does NOT stay consistent in this series and quite frankly, it’s not very well written. However, it’s like Lofthouse cookies, a lot of mediocre ingredients come together to make something great. I am a die hard fan of the series and highly recommend it if you want something that just removes you from reality for a while.
The farseer triology.
It’s pretty interesting fantasy from about 20 odd years ago
character driven introspective
I read (listened) to it for the first time last year. The audiobooks I had sounded like they were ripped from cassette, it was AWFUL.
I ended up getting the ebooks and read the first trilogy after stopping halfway through the first audiobook.
My wife loved them when they were new and had been asking me to read them for awhile, but I was kinda disappointed in them. Really interesting magic system, I just felt like the writing was too simplistic.
Also, your uncle inhabiting your body to have sex with someone was a pretty wild thing to read.
I’m currently listening to all 50 something books of the Horus Heresy - Warhammer 40k stuff - it’s a bit of a mixed bag, different writers and different narrators for each book, however the underlying story is just plain epic.
If I was to recommend a set of audio books, I highly, highly recommend ‘The wandering inn’ by pirateaba - epic books by a proliferate writer - if you manage to get into it, there are hundreds of hours of great story read by a truly talented narrator (Andrea parsneu).
It’s been a real hit with myself and my circle!
Network Effect by Martha Wells, read by Kevin R Free.
It’s a great book, and the reading/delivery is really entertaining. I highly recommend it if you’re a fan of science fiction!
Murderbot is awesome!, pardon me for awhile while I calm down to an episode of Sanctuary Moon.
I’ve been listening to the graphic audio versions of The Stormlight Archives by Brandon Sanderson.
I just finished listening to Joe Abercrombie’s First Law Trilogy. The narrator was fantastic. Probably the best I’ve listened.
Steven Gould - Jumper
Barring the character names and teleportation it shares little with the movie, though I think the movie wasn’t all that bad tbh. The idea is a kid with an abusive single dad discovers he can teleport. He acts like a kid would, making lots of mistakes, and figures out his teleportation and how to live.
The novel is a little old so characters are a little shallow and stereotypical but honestly way less than expected. I have listened to the novels before but come back every so often for a repeat.
There’s a podcast done by a well known Tolkien nerd in which he reads The Silmarillion and explains it along the way. I’ve been slowly making my way through it while driving to work and falling asleep.
Please share the podcast name! That sounds like something I’d enjoy.
Sorry, Bilbo. The name of the podcast on Spotify is simply, “reading and explaining the Silmarillion”.
You can’t introduce that without name dropping! I need a good long nerd fix
My goodness, falling asleep while you drive is dangerous!
Well I always wake up where I’m meant to be. When that stops happening I’ll stop doing it.
Currently listening to Starter Villain
Guy inherited his “billionaire” estranged uncles “parking garage” business, only for his ancillary businesses to be more interesting.
Someone You Can Build a Nest In.
A funny little romance as told from the point of view of the monster terrorizing a town. She tries her best to woo a human and actually is a pretty supportive partner. It’s so weird and I love it.
I’m relistening to Max Brooks’ “Zombie Survival Guide” while commuting and High Howey’s “Dust” (from the Silo trilogy) when I can focus. I managed to listen to 15 books this year so far, and I am really proud of myself for that. :)
I’m reading James Michener’Alaska, and it’s a fantastic story. It is a very well crafted character drama and it has excellent pacing.
I just read Cormac McCarthy’The Road and it was also an incredible read, though it kind of crushed me emotionally for a while afterwards!
I think everyone that wishes for the fall of civilization should have to read The Road - That was a bleak story.
Mariette Lindsteins “Pako Kultista” (or Lång väg hem Mina 25 år i sekten) that tells of her life in the scientology cult, almost finished it. Couldn’t find if it had an English translation. It’s chilling to listen to how the members are thoroughly abused, controlled and forced to become husks of themselves.
Best audio book I’ve listened to… Dungeon Crawler Carl. Great story. Amazing audio book production.
God that series it’s so good, I love the growth the characters have and the voice actor is great.
Another amazing one is The wandering Inn. Similar genres and a fucking amazing voice actress. The world building is top notch and they do something that not a lot of books do, they account for time really well. Lots of series just sorta skim through and you find yourself not being sure what the time line looks like. It’s pretty easy to follow the time line in this.
Dungeon Crawler Carl 4, The Gate of the Feral Gods by Matthew Dinniman. Its just good fun and the sound effects are amazing. Though I think Carl sounds too old for a 27 year old.
It has also been a good break after Pet Sematary by Stephen King.
I highly rate dungeon crawler Carl, the narrator (Jeff Hayes) is fantastic! The plot just keeps getting thicker, I hope you relish it as much as I did!
