Quote:
Originally Posted by Glengoyne
I'm a fan of the Dresden books, but someone else told me it was a shame Butcher had ended the Dresden series, because "everything else he has written is garbage". So I'm kind of glad to hear a different perspective on it.
That said...if you have a positive of view of the Belgariad and the Malloreon, then I'm not sure how much benefit of the doubt I can give you on Butcher. I really enjoyed the story, and loved the characters, up until the end.
The Feinstein book is on my short list as well. |
I think your criticism is spot on with Eddings. I first read the books many moons ago, which certainly shaped my first impression. Basically, I fell in love with the characters, and the story was good enough that I didn't mind its wrinkles. The Malloreon was not nearly on the same level as the Belgariad, but again I loved the characters so much that I was excited to get back into a story with them involved, so I didn't mind the repetition as much. Basically, I'm a sucker for epic high fantasy...for example, even though I know that they're not nearly as good, I still enjoy the middle 7 books or so of the Wheel of Time, even though they're universally reviled as complete mediocrity (if not completely awful).
If you weren't all that big a fan of the Belgariad, then I would steer clear of the Codex Alera. The characters are fantastic and the story starts out amazing...but even though I loved it, I can honestly say that by the end the storyline isn't nearly as amazing as it was at the beginning.
Are You Kidding Me? was great, like most of the Feinstein books I've read. Rocco makes for a pretty awesome character, and the story is pretty incredible even if the ending is anti-climactic.