Fantasy Tournament - Week 3 & 4
We're in week four! I read two books until I reached the 25% mark, chose a winner, and shortlisted four books to read their samples over the next week. Check out the previous weeks to catch up with the progress!
Previous weeks
The Library at Mount Char vs. The Green Bone Saga
The Library at Mount Char is going fine, but not perfectly. It caused me a mini reading slump and that's not a good sign for the sake of this tournament. There were some time jumps that confused me for a while till I realized that they were flashbacks. The last chapter I read before the 25% mark introduced a new character. This detached character was my last straw, and I decided to let aside the book for now. Even though I'm still interested in the characters and the world, I'm not invested enough in the story.
Jade City, the first book of the Green Bone Saga, is moving along better. Finally, I'm reading some intriguing fictional political tension after a long time. I can't wait to see how the conflict shapes the characters' futures. I hope the author won't derail the political situation with the action-packed "war" side of the story. So far, I continue to enjoy the character plots, and I'm curious about their future, dynamics with each other, motives, and contribution to the story. Jade City is my choice for round three of this branch.
Sun Eater vs. The Second Apocalypse
Based on the descriptions and reviews, these two books fall into the same bucket for me: hard sci-fi, which I'm not the biggest fan of. I struggled with choosing one because none of them captured me that much. I ended up with The Second Apocalypse, which sounded more epic, with a richer world-building, a dark and thought-provoking setup, and good prose. Let's see if the sample lives up to these perceptions.
Theonite vs. First Law World
Theonite sounds like a typical fantasy series. I'm amazed by its self-publishing success, especially "The Sword of Kaigen ", a stand-alone tied to this series. However, I couldn't find a personal appeal to be interested in the first book. I'll return to this series one day, but not during this tournament.
On the other hand, I've been waiting to read First Law World for a long time. It's another pioneering book in the grim-dark fantasy genre, and I'm all there for it.
Terra Ignota vs. Remembrance of Earth's Past
Based on the descriptions, Terra Ignota is a hard sci-fi, dystopian, distant future story. Can you see me? I'm running away. The other option, Remembrance of Earth's Past, is not that different, with the exception of having aliens. However, I like the fact that, for once, a popular story has not emerged from the Western world. I'm curious about this series more, and I'll choose this one for the next round.
The Band vs. The Emperor's Soul
The Band is a classic adventure book with a humor twist. It should be a fun read but not a page-turner for me. On the other hand, I've heard many great things about the Emperor's Soul after reading Elantris. I liked the Elantris world and plan to read more Sanderson books, so let's go with this one.
That's it for this week's update on the tournament. I'll read the samples for the upcoming week and choose two to continue.