I read a bunch of those Prey books years ago. They are among my favorites in that particular genre. I second the recommendation, although I would be surprised if you haven’t already read some.
Edited to add: I used to love those Reacher books but lost interest when they went into military life. Yuck.
Edited again to add: Don’t laugh, but the first few Alex Cross books by James Patterson are really good. I turned away from Patterson when he wrote those execrable books about flying children, and then he became a human corporation and I’m not sure any new James Patterson books were actually written by James Patterson.
Edited to add: I used to love those Reacher books but lost interest when they went into military life. Yuck.
Edited again to add: Don’t laugh, but the first few Alex Cross books by James Patterson are really good. I turned away from Patterson when he wrote those execrable books about flying children, and then he became a human corporation and I’m not sure any new James Patterson books were actually written by James Patterson.
This post was last modified: 10-22-2025, 04:11 PM by Jen.
I've been reading the most recent book of the "The Stormlight Archives" series by Brandon Sanderson.
The series caught my interest with the first book mostly because of the worldbuilding (I'm a worldbuilder myself and interested in such things). The setting felt kind of fresh compared to the usual high fantasy, there are really cool details in it - and on the other hand it didn't feel as brutal and dark as a Game of Thrones.
Through the books, characters become very depressed or have other mental issues, and it felt like an interesting idea to have such serious themes convincingly implemented into an epic fictional story. Many fantasy stories were just about fighting with sword or magic against each other or dragons, but here you have characters also fighting against themselves and who they are. Well, it is definitely a matter of taste, but I liked that.
The story was gripping so far, for me, but also had its lengths. I wasn't 100% happy with the last book (don't want to spoil anyone), but that's fine - I will continue reading the serious once the next book is published. Only half of the planned 10 books have been released, and usually I do not like to start reading such a huge series at all as long as not all books have been finished.
Overall, Brandon Sanderson is a fine author to me, overall, but English is not my native language (and I am reading the English original), so another reader might have a different opinion about that.
The series caught my interest with the first book mostly because of the worldbuilding (I'm a worldbuilder myself and interested in such things). The setting felt kind of fresh compared to the usual high fantasy, there are really cool details in it - and on the other hand it didn't feel as brutal and dark as a Game of Thrones.
Through the books, characters become very depressed or have other mental issues, and it felt like an interesting idea to have such serious themes convincingly implemented into an epic fictional story. Many fantasy stories were just about fighting with sword or magic against each other or dragons, but here you have characters also fighting against themselves and who they are. Well, it is definitely a matter of taste, but I liked that.
The story was gripping so far, for me, but also had its lengths. I wasn't 100% happy with the last book (don't want to spoil anyone), but that's fine - I will continue reading the serious once the next book is published. Only half of the planned 10 books have been released, and usually I do not like to start reading such a huge series at all as long as not all books have been finished.
Overall, Brandon Sanderson is a fine author to me, overall, but English is not my native language (and I am reading the English original), so another reader might have a different opinion about that.
I really like Brandon Sanderson as well, and English is my only language. I read a lot of Mistborn years ago and some of Stormbringer but then lost track of where I was in both series and had moved on by the time I realized. There is a series of more recent books he did called The Secret Project that is just beautiful, and a little out of the norm for him.
I've really struggled to enjoy Brandon Sanderson's writing, although I know he's super popular among fellow fantasy fans. I've read Elantris and the first Mistborn trilogy. I thought Mistborn started fairly well but I hated it by the final book.
Nothing particularly highbrow but I've been burning through Ben Aaronovitch's 'Rivers of London' series over the summer and into the early Autumn.
Some nice twists on legendary magic, folklore, history and with at least one Doctor Who reference in every book!
Some nice twists on legendary magic, folklore, history and with at least one Doctor Who reference in every book!