this post was submitted on 28 Sep 2023
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Science Fiction

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Lemmy World Rules

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Powell’s Essential List: 25 Best Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books of the 21st Century (So Far) (www.powells.com)
submitted 1 year ago by AFKBRBChocolate@lemmy.world to c/sciencefiction@lemmy.world
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I'm not sure when it was written, but I ran across this list of the best science fiction and fantasy books this century, and I resonated with the ones I've read, so I thought I'd see what others thought of it. Have you read many of them?

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[–] llamapocalypse@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (9 children)

A lot of those are excellent but The Priory of the Orange Tree is one of the most boring books I've ever read. The high-level idea isn't bad, but the big bads are just evil because... they are? Most of the characters are pretty flat, the worldbuilding is incredibly shallow (ok the religions seem semi-interesting, but they get mostly glossed over) and I only finished it to see if there was something to all the hype that I was missing. Having major characters be women/LGBT+/POC is awesome, but those things alone can't carry a book, especially one this big.

Bitching over, sorry. Replace that one with The Library at Mount Char or How To Lose The Time War.

Edit: bitching NOT over, where the hell is goddamn Baru Cormorant?!

[–] soupspoon@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

I agree with everything you said about Priory, and would add that the sex scenes were maybe the most badly written to the point it was painful. I almost never give up on a book even when I should, but I had to leave this one unfinished. And I've finally stopped seeing the cover of the second one and thinking ooh what's this? Before I realize it's nothing I want to read. I liked How to Lose the Time War pretty well and will check out your other recommendations!

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