Anything recent releases good?
I really enjoyed Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed. I was expecting the same sort of fantasy series pap that one usually gets when presented with “Book 1 of the blah blah blah saga,” but this was something special. It was well-written, engaging, and fun.
Thoroughly enjoyed The Skin Map by Stephen Lawhead recently.
And Boneshaker by Kate Milford is good in a Something Wicked This Way Comes sort of way…
Also the Patrick Rothfuss’ “Kingkiller Chronicle”. Book 1: The Name of the Wind, and Book 2: The Wise Man’s Fear. Book 3 yet to come. I’ve enjoyed them far more than I thought I would.
I just read Throne of the Crescent Moon, and while I enjoyed it, I didn’t think it was anything special–sorry! It had moderately entertaining characters, but was overall pretty predictable (not necessarily in a bad way) and didn’t break any new ground, except possibly for its clear basis in Muslim, not Christian, mythology.
As for Rothfuss, I loved the first book and loathed the second one. I’m really hoping that the third one pulls it together.
Some that I like: The Lies of Locke Lamora (Oceans 11 in a fantasy city, more-or-less); Perdido Street Station (you’ll love it or hate it, nobody seems blah about it–a baroque sprawling weird novel in a fantasy city); and the Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher (modern detective series starring a wizard, very tongue-in-cheek but very clever).