Reddit reviews Without Bloodshed (Starbreaker Series Book 1)
We found 5 Reddit comments about Without Bloodshed (Starbreaker Series Book 1). Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
My book is up on there, and my second book will be when it comes out in about a week. The title is Forging Divinity. I think it would probably suit your tastes - I work as a systems designer for a RPG company, and you seem to like RPGish styles of books.
Here's a quick blurb:
Some say that in the city of Orlyn, godhood is on sale to the highest bidder. Thousands flock to the city each year, hoping for a chance at immortality.
Lydia Hastings is a knowledge sorcerer, capable of extracting information from anything she touches. When she travels to Orlyn to validate the claims of the local faith, she discovers a conspiracy that could lead to a war between the world's three greatest powers. At the focal point is a prisoner who bears a striking resemblance to the long-missing leader of the pantheon she worships.
Rescuing the prisoner would require risking her carefully cultivated cover - but his execution could mean the end of everything Lydia holds dear.
If you're in the mood for science fantasy, I'd also strongly recommend Without Bloodshed by /u/starbreakerauthor. I believe that should be up on the lending library as well. He writes very believable characters (including his antagonists) and interesting technology.
ANSI Standard Fantasy
Check out The First Law by Joe Abercrombie:
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If you want to read about badass thieves, check out Scott Lynch's Gentleman Bastards:
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Speaking of thieves, Michael J. Sullivan's Riyria Chronicles is good clean fun in the tradition of Fritz Leiber's classic stories of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser (which you should also read).
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You might also like Forging Divinity and Stealing Sorcery by Andrew Rowe (/u/Salaris). People will recommend Brandon Sanderson, but I think Rowe does Sandersonian fantasy better than Sanderson himself. (And I got four words for anybody who thinks that's blasphemy: "Come at me, bro.")
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People will also recommend Patrick Rothfuss' Kingkiller Chronicles:
My opinion is that you should read him for his prose, and treat his protagonist as an unreliable narrator.
Science Fantasy
All of the above is medieval or Renaissance fantasy, and most of the recommendations you'll get are for medieval/Renaissance fantasy, but my own preference is for science fantasy. I write it, and so I try to read as much of it as I can as well.
I don't think you can go wrong with Michael Moorcock. He's very prolific, but much of his early work is in novellas that are now published as compilations. He's one of the first big "multiverse" writers, and many of his stories involve an eternal conflict between Law and Chaos, as well as an Eternal Champion who serves the cosmic balance by opposing whichever force is dominant on his world. The Eternal Champion has had many incarnations, but only one (Erekose) remembers the others: Elric, Corum, Dorian Hawkmoon, Jerry Cornelius, Oswald Bastable, etc. I started with the Hawkmoon books, but Moorcock's probably best known for Elric.
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If you haven't read Frank Herbert's Dune, I strongly suggest doing so. It's a labyrinthine novel normally marketed as science fiction, but it reads like fantasy. You've probably heard of it.
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Chances are you haven't heard of Roger Zelazny, which is a shame. His Amber novels, starting with Nine Princes in Amber, are excellent reads, though many will argue that the novels starring Corwin are better than those featuring his son Merlin.
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There are also various "dying earth" writers and series, starting with Jack Vance and his Dying Earth novels:
These novels are set in a far-future earth where magic and science are indistinguishable from one another and spellcasters fire off magicks as if they were D&D wizards (mainly because Gary Gygax borrowed from Vance).
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Another dying earth series you'll see mentioned is Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun. It's excellent, but the prose is so dense and complex that when people complain to me that my books aren't easy reading, I tell them, "You think I'm tough? Go read Gene Wolfe."
New Sun's protagonist, Severian the journeyman torturer, is one of fantasy's classic unreliable narrators.
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And then there's M. John Harrison's Viriconium novels, an odd series. The prose is gorgeous, but the first in the series, The Pastel City, is the only one of the bunch that actually reads like fantasy. The sequel, A Storm of Wings, picks up where The Pastel City left off but gets profoundly weird, and subsequent novels leave fantasy behind altogether.
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Getting back to science fantasy for people who aren't as pretentious as I am, I'd be remiss if I didn't recommend Celia S. Friedman's Coldfire Trilogy.
Further details here.
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But one of my favorites is C. J. Cherryh's Morgaine Saga
Morgaine is the last of a team of scientists sent to close the space-time gates the qhal refurbished and abused to the point of causing the complete collapse of the space-time continuum. Armed primarily with her sword Changeling, which is itself a gate, Morgaine closes each gate behind her and destroys it.
But it isn't Morgaine's viewpoint we get, but that of Vanye, an outcast warrior who finds himself bound to Morgaine's service because he was desperate enough to ask shelter of her at any price. Vanye doesn't have the education to understand the technological tools Morgaine uses as anything but witchcraft, but his honor drives him to fight beside her despite his fear.
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If you like cowboys, you don't have to settle for Stephen King's The Dark Tower and what I like to call the "new game plus" ending. You could also read S. A. Hunt's (/u/authorsahunt) The Outlaw King:
The series is ongoing, but these three books alone will keep you busy for a while.
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Finally, I'm going to recommend my own work (assuming you've read this far). My Starbreaker series is near-future science fantasy set in an alternate history and inspired by classic heavy metal (Judas Priest, Queensryche, Iron Maiden, Blue Oyster Cult, etc). I write about all-too-human androids and swashbuckling sopranos exposing corruption and fighting demons from outer space. I write about a dark lord who wears white who already rules the world and is trying to save it. I've got friendly AIs, transoceanic maglevs, questions of whether the end justifies the means, and a great big Maine Coon cat who can play Texas Hold 'Em, but can't bluff worth a damn.
Starbreaker started out as a big-ass novel, but is now a series:
If you've read this far, thanks. I don't usually post at such length on Reddit.
I picked up this book by a fellow /r/fantasy denizen and it sounds quite promising, haven't had a chance to read it yet but I will read it as soon as I can.
Planning to read the Riyria books soon and taking note of the books recommended in this thread, I want to read & review more good indies.
If you like sci-fi/fantasy mashups, the Kindle edition of my first novel goes on sale tomorrow. Good luck getting your carpal tunnel fixed.
You might also want to check out Forging Divinity and Stealing Sorcery by /u/Salaris; he does a better job of Sanderson-esque fantasy than Sanderson himself, with better characterization and prose.
/u/ashearmstrong's A Demon in the Desert was a short, fun Weird West romp.
I also enjoyed Ken Liu's The Grace of Kings and The Wall of Storms, but the detached historical perspective can make the characters seem simple at times. Try the samples.
Without Bloodshed by Matthew Graybosch (asuraemulator)
>“All who threaten me die.”
>These words made Morgan Stormrider’s reputation as one of the Phoenix Society’s deadliest IRD officers. He served with distinction as the Society’s avenger, hunting down anybody who dared kill an Adversary in the line of duty. After a decade spent living by the sword, Morgan seeks to bid a farewell to arms and make a new life with his friends as a musician.
>Regardless of his faltering faith, the Phoenix Society has a final mission for Morgan Stormrider after a dictator’s accusations make him a liability to the organization. He must put everything aside, travel to Boston, and prove he is not the Society’s assassin. He must put down Alexander Liebenthal’s coup while taking him alive.
>Despite the gravity of his task, Morgan cannot put aside his ex-girlfriend’s murder, or efforts to frame him and his closest friends for the crime. He cannot ignore a request from a trusted friend to investigate the theft of designs for a weapon before which even gods stand defenseless. He cannot disregard the corruption implied in the Phoenix Society’s willingness to make him a scapegoat should he fail to resolve the crisis in Boston without bloodshed.
>The words with which Morgan Stormrider forged his reputation haunt him still.