TSF Book Club
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I have been working my way through about 20 books (so far) by Craig Schaefer.
Without giving too much away as the saga unfolds as you proceed there are three separate but overlapping story arcs featuring respectively a likeable rogue / con man semi-mobster magician, a FBI black ops agent and a pair of unlikely heroines set in modern day USA but one where magic exists as do hell, demons and a host of other things that go bump in the night.
I discovered the author because Kindle recommended it based on my reading of Charles Stross' Laundry Files. If you enjoy that then these series will be your thing.
There are an evolving series of nebulous secret controlling adversaries. It's a very well thought out and detailed universe (well multiverse).
I read it one series after another but if you google you can read them as a timeline which would be more rewarding.
Thoroughly recommend
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@dogmeat said in TSF Book Club:
I have been working my way through about 20 books (so far) by Craig Schaefer.
Without giving too much away as the saga unfolds as you proceed there are three separate but overlapping story arcs featuring respectively a likeable rogue / con man semi-mobster magician, a FBI black ops agent and a pair of unlikely heroines set in modern day USA but one where magic exists as do hell, demons and a host of other things that go bump in the night.
I discovered the author because Kindle recommended it based on my reading of Charles Stross' Laundry Files. If you enjoy that then these series will be your thing.
There are an evolving series of nebulous secret controlling adversaries. It's a very well thought out and detailed universe (well multiverse).
I read it one series after another but if you google you can read them as a timeline which would be more rewarding.
Thoroughly recommend
What’s the #1 volume to start with? Sounds interesting
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@MajorRage said in TSF Book Club:
David Baldacci - a calamity of souls.
Very Grisham like, absolutely fantastic. Certainly in the top 5 books I’ve ever read.
Will have a look Major. I just got back from a wander to library, and believe it or not just found this tread for first time. I will be checking all posts, as I read a hell of a lot now I retired.
I have found our library real good, if there a book they haven't got will often buy it in if you put in a request. I just did one for Ken Folletts latest book, as I a real fan of his, have read all his books over the years. -
@voodoo Here's the authors recommended reading order
I rad all the faust then all the harmony and am now on the final book of the Wisdoms Grave trilogy which I wouldn't recommend as it has sorted fucked with my brain although still enjoying them big time.
Prolific author - 32 books in 11 years
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Further to my post above, I would love any recommendations. I enjoy historical fiction quite a bit and have read a few, and as I said all Ken Follett's (who I tend to find the benchmark, personal opinion), a lot of Bernard Cornwell, most of Conn Iggulden. Also tend to enjoy Harlen Coben, etc etc.
So I not a highbrow reader or anything, just read for enjoyment/entertainment type thing.
I will say no recommendation would be ignored etc, as I know we all have differing tastes, but find sometimes I find some author etc a bit different and think, why didn't I get into these before? -
@Dan54 pretty sure I’ve mentioned him on here before but Derek Robinson writes great books about fighter pilots. Start with the booker shortlisted, Goshawk Squadron about a fighter squadron in WW1. Robinson’s WW2 novels are also excellent especially Piece of Cake (39-End of Battle of Britain) and a Good Clean Fight (Desert War up to El Alamein) and have a young kiwi pilot as a central character.
If you haven’t read Patrick O’Brien’s Aubrey/Maturin books you’re in for a treat. They are ostensibly about the Royal Navy in the Napoleonic wars but are really much more than that. Friendship, the difficulties and joys of love and marriage, career frustrations, coping with impossible parents and in-laws. In short, they deal with what it means to be human. Highly recommend.
Ditto Wolf Hall by Hillary Mantel. first of a series about Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII’s prime minister. Astonishingly good.
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@Smuts said in TSF Book Club:
@Dan54 pretty sure I’ve mentioned him on here before but Derek Robinson writes great books about fighter pilots. Start with the booker shortlisted, Goshawk Squadron about a fighter squadron in WW1. Robinson’s WW2 novels are also excellent especially Piece of Cake (39-End of Battle of Britain) and a Good Clean Fight (Desert War up to El Alamein) and have a young kiwi pilot as a central character.
If you haven’t read Patrick O’Brien’s Aubrey/Maturin books you’re in for a treat. They are ostensibly about the Royal Navy in the Napoleonic wars but are really much more than that. Friendship, the difficulties and joys of love and marriage, career frustrations, coping with impossible parents and in-laws. In short, they deal with what it means to be human. Highly recommend.
Ditto Wolf Hall by Hillary Mantel. first of a series about Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII’s prime minister. Astonishingly good.
Cheers Smuts, have taken note, and will start having a look. Great to have something to look for, will start with checking library's data and go from there.
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@voodoo I've just started the Revanche Cycle which the author says is the start of the timeline. I'm guessing it is. I'm two books in and you are just starting to see the parallels but it is very different to all the other books I've read.
It reads like a totally unrelated Fantasy series with (as yet) none of the darkness or characters of the other books. It's only know that you can see that this is one of the parallel earths in their medieval / early renaissance period. It's an OK read but totally misrepresentative of the style or flavour of the other books. If you're interested I would start with Faust 1 and take it from there. Treat this Cycle as a back story if and when you're keen