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Book Club Suggestions - Fantasy Category


Sweetlion

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I used to be an avid reader, and read tons of books when I was in school. Lately, with work and busier life I end up reading mostly online stories in GA (thanks again you wonderful authors), but I still like to hold "real" paper books from time to time. 

My idea with the blog entrances Book Club Suggestions is to share some a book in a particular category, and have you guys do the same (if someone joins me). When growing up I felt that most books I found and read were "strong heroes, sensitive princesses, ugly villains", and rarely touched "atypical" sexuality and/or gender differences. Thus being in GA I will probably have that in mind, but please feel free to share any good book.

 

My suggestion for today in Fantasy is not actually a book, but a series of 3 books I read when I was a teenager/young adult: The Stone Dance of the Chameleon series by Ricardo Pinto starts with The Chosen, followed by The Standing Dead and finally The Third God. The author is a gay man, Portuguese descent that lives in the UK, and you can find the books on Amazon. These  books tell the story of a teen boy in a strange world with a strong stratified society that values the purity of the blood above all. Being nicer than his peers, he doesn't seem to fit in the complex scheme of the imperial court, and we will learn how he deals with the notions of good and evil, of finding love and betrayal. The story is a little slow to start (which is reflected in the 3.5 stars on Amazon for book 1), but becomes more complex and interesting in the following books (book 3 has a rating of 4.5 stars on Amazon). 

What I liked in this story is that while it is fantasy, there is no magic of the usual kind, just a very complex caste society that it is very human in all its atrocities.

 

Hope you enjoy, and please share a fantasy story you liked.

 

 

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PS: next entry will be either historic fiction or crime novels, so start thinking about your favorites =P

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Congrats on starting a blog, Leo! I think it's a great idea, and I will contribute when I can. I've read a lot of fantasy over the years, but I don't think I've read these. The only fantasy I've found that has main characters who are gay is in the Nightrunner Series by Lynn Flewelling. 

 

My absolute favorite series of books in the fantasy/supernatural genre is the Necroscope series by Brian Lumley. He takes the Vampire world to a whole new level. :)  There are a lot of books in this series and I have them all. Without going to look, I think there are thirteen of them. Cheers... Gary.... 

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Thanks Gary. It doesn't have to be "gay themed", I plan on doing it from books I read. Surely I will pay special attention to sexually, gender or just "different"types of characters, but it can be whatever, as long as it as good book. I just want to share and learn from others about books I might not know. There is no point is saying  that The Lord of the Rings or the Song of Ice and Fire are great books, most people know them. So bring on your hidden gems :2thumbs: 

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3 hours ago, Sweetlion said:

Thanks Gary. It doesn't have to be "gay themed", I plan on doing it from books I read. Surely I will pay special attention to sexually, gender or just "different"types of characters, but it can be whatever, as long as it as good book. I just want to share and learn from others about books I might not know. There is no point is saying  that The Lord of the Rings or the Song of Ice and Fire are great books, most people know them. So bring on your hidden gems :2thumbs: 

Yeah, I understood that. I was just pointing out one series that did... since this is Gay Authors. :P  I really like a lot of Anne Rice's stuff too, but everyone knows her. The Lives of the Mayfair Witches series is her very best, I think, and I've read virtually everything of hers. 

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This series can best be described as High Fantasy. No simple story is this, it delves deep and wide into the culture and landscape of this world. The Chosen, the first book in the series sets the tone, it is alien—yet believably rigorous—and richly described. I own a full series of first editions copies, printed in the U.K., as part of my personal library—along with an uncorrected book proof copy of The Standing Dead that I picked up in a used bookstore here in Boston, MA.

 

Ricardo Pinto, the author, has written on his blog (I’m a follower) that he has re-edited this series, having reduced the the text by a quarter. He has broken the books into seven parts, for practical and artistic reason: there are four new ‘hinge chapters.’ The text is being proofread and Mr. Pinto is working on new covers of his own design. The second edition will be available in paperback and as ebooks and will be released soon.

 

Like @Sweetlion, I can highly recommend this series. For those who’s attention span is “long-winded” read the original books, otherwise wait for the more concise second editions. Either way, the fantasy reader won’t be disappointed.

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