I know everyone is busy and the world is falling apart, but could we get more Ilona book reviews for our self imposed isolation. I could use some escapism right now.
Sean
This is going to be an off-brand recommendation. Usually, we try to recommend books that will appeal to people who read us. I haven’t read any of those lately. Gordon is reading an early Piers Anthony. The title is KIAI! (Jason Striker,) which is, according to him, a “martial arts men’s adventure. If they wrote a book to go along with Big Jim action figures from the 70’s, this would be that book.” Make of that what you will. He says the martial arts are very well written and there are ninjas at the end.
I am also reading a martial arts book, but mine is more fantasy. I am on book 3 of this series, which for me is nothing short of a miracle.
Sacred artists follow a thousand Paths to power, using their souls to control the forces of the natural world.
Lindon is Unsouled, forbidden to learn the sacred arts of his clan.
When faced with a looming fate he cannot ignore, he must rise beyond anything he’s ever known…and forge his own Path.
This is a terrible synopsis, so let me explain this a little bit. It’s a fantasy world, slightly reminiscent of Ancient China in that everyone is a martial artist and they wear robes. The similarities end there.
Our hero, Lindon, lives in a Sacred Valley, an idyllic green valley sheltered by tall mountains. Everything in the Sacred Valley revolves around madra. Madra is a magical force that permeates the world. Each living being has it and every aspect of the world produces it. There is fire madra, water madra, earth madra. Even sunlight generates madra.
Madra can be absorbed. Martial artists cultivate it by pulling it into their core and refining in, using it to push their bodies beyond human limits. Madra enables them to do incredible things. It can give them enhanced sight and indestructible bodies. It allows them to hurl weapons of pure magic and animate constructs. Plants that absorb madra for a long time bear magical spirit fruit and beasts who are exposed to it gain powers, intelligence, and become sacred.
As the martial artist become more proficient in their handling of madra, they begin climbing up the ranks of cultivation. First comes Wood, when you are nothing. Then Copper, which gives you enhanced senses, then Iron which reshapes you body, then Jade, which gives you foundation, then legendary Gold which comes with devastating power. In the Sacred Valley, everyone hopes to attain the rank of Jade.
The more Iron fighters and Jade martial artists a clan has, the stronger it is. That’s why early on, the clans test their children. Each of them dips their hand into a bowl of pure madra and it shows their predestined path. They could become Strikers, Enforcers, Forgers, or Rulers. Each specialization comes with its own unique set of powers.
Lindon is tested. He is a dud. He has magic, he feels madra, but when he dips his hand in to the bowl, nothing happens.
This is a catastrophic development. He is a source of shame to his family and his clan. An abomination, who must be shunned. Nobody will train him. He grows up learning ways to survive in a clan where a child half his age can murder him at will and nobody would bat an eye. He pushes himself, desperately trying to claw his way to Copper and failing.
Then the world ends and everything changes.
This is competence porn of the highest level. Lindon starts at less than zero. He is actually in the negative and he climbs out of that hole, slowly, but surely, at great personal cost. The world is very interesting, but Lindon himself is the main draw.
When beginning writers ask us about characterization, we usually try to explain that the character must be a product of their environment. Lindon is very much a product of his upbringing. He was weak and at the mercy of everyone, so to survive he develops an entirely different set of skills than his peers. He is forced to use his mind to keep on breathing, so he is smart. If he can cheat to win, he will. If he sees an opportunity to trick his opponent, he will take it. Despite being shunned, he is kind and compassionate, but most of all he is hungry to learn. He is starved for knowledge and when he finally finds a teacher, he excels in unexpected ways.
The book has a merest hint of romance. He meets this badass girl, Yerin, who is terrifying, and he travels out of the valley. Most of it is about different types of madra and how to use them and different martial arts. As I said, I’m on book three and I love it. But it’s different from our work in tone, so it may not appeal to you. As always, try the sample first.
Buy links: Amazon KU.
Will Wight’s website: https://www.willwight.com/
Just have to second your recommendation of Will Wights series. I devoured the entire thing over the course of a week.
Looks like something cool to check out!
As for more stuff that might be somewhat similar in tone, how about Seanan McGuire’s InCryptid series or Tanya Huff’s Enchantment Emporium?
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Both are excellent reads!
I love Seanan McGuire’s InCryptid series and after reading all of the ones in print at the time, I moved on to her October Daye books which are also great reads.
I absolutely love the unsouled series by wight and I devour them as quickly as I devpour your books, check out the red rising series too by another author, Peirce brown they are completely different yet their is some overarching likenesses.
Yes!
I liked this series as well. Can’t wait for the next one in the Unsouled.
Actually this sounds rather fantastic! I just started a surprisingly good “fluff” series for easy happy brain right now (like the contemporary romance middle age married couples have life and romance angst but you know it’s all gonna be happy in the end? That’s my best kind of fluff). BUT usually after finishing a series I want something totally different after, so I’m queuing this up!! Thanks ????
Also my kindergartner is having an extended spring break because the schools are closed statewide for 2.5 weeks so I’ll need some mental downtime in the form of books nightly to decompress, so perfect timing ????????
Love this series…would welcome more recommendations for competence porn from this community…
Sounds interesting. And considering my head first dive into asian drama lately, thanks in part to you greasing the downward path, right up my alley.
I love your synopsis. I’ve never seen the term “competence porn”. I assume that’s what The Martian was and I absolutely loved that. I’ll pick this one up based on your rec!
It’s always nice to expand your reading horizons, thanks for the recommendation. Have you read the spellminger series by Terry Mancour or the Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch?
Second the Rivers of London series by Aaronovitch.
Thanks Ilona! Not always, but frequently enough I’ve enjoyed the books you recommend. And this one is on Kindle Unlimited! I’ve found some good authors on Kindle Unlimited. I’ve had to wade through trash and more trash to find the gems, (download, read a page, maybe 2 pages, hit Return to Kindle, repeat) but there are gems and if I really like a book or series and know I’ll read again, I buy the book outright. I think it’s a good venue for new authors to trial and build up a reader base. And when you can get a six month subscription for half price, it’s especially a good deal! I recommend Hailey Edwards Beginners Guide to Necromancy series. It’s Urban Fantasy. Great characters, danger, humor, romance but not too much romance, clever and original, all the good stuff we look for. Check it out when you need rest from writing! And I hope you are feeling better in general. You had enough to deal with lately.
Downloaded! Thank you. A new series, and KU to boot, is a gift right now.
Here’s a link https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2678797-jason-striker-master-of-martial-arts to it on goodreads. It really is not a bad book.
About a gazillion years ago I read a bunch of his Xanth series and really enjoyed them. Okay maybe a gazillion is a bit of an exaggeration but I just realized it was at least 30 years ago. Time flies
It was over a gazillion for me. 35+ years I think. Xanth was fun but I got a bit tired of it after book…5? Like eating too much candy. Anthony had a couple other series that were also decent IIRC.
I’ve read the entire series that’s been published thus far and love it. It’s very reminiscent of shonen anime without all the things that can make a lot of shonen awful and predictable.
If we are going for different strokes, I actually am reading a lot of Sophie Kinsella right now. Her heroines and heroes are as feminist as they can be. The story is never entirely predictable, and the pace and wit is always funny.
This sounds fantastic – right up my alley. But if all I’d read was that synopsis, I highly doubt I’d be giving it a try. Thanks for this!
This book series (Cradle, by Will Wight) is an absolute gem! Lindon is such a good protagonist who’s primary goal is stoping something the strongest people on his world die fighting. Should he fail, his entire home will be destroyed. And he goes on this journey with 100% believability!
One of my favorite part of the book is when Lindon is competing with two Iron’s (people at iron gain Captain America like strength) while he is still unsouled (about as strong as you or I) and wins because he finds an unorthodox way of passing the challange. And he keeps doing that time and again!
Just try it. If you read for 10 minutes and don’t finish the entire book, i’d eat my boot!
Science Fiction:
The Wess’har series by Karen Traviss
The Indranan War series by KB Wager
Fantasy:
Books by TA White
The Lana Harvey Reapers series by Angela Roquet
Loved the Indranan war series!
I figure if you like it, I probably will too. I’ve read some in this genre which were intriguing at first, but ultimatly didn’t pan out for the series. Thanks for the recommend.
I love love love this series!! It keeps getting better as it goes! I think of it as a cousin to Dragon Ball Z.
That hooked me…
One of my all time favorite books is the Paladin by C J Cherryh, Taizu is such a great female lead, the pig farmer girl learns to fight, trained by the greatest swordsman in the country, with a bad knee who has been banished to a small mountain home. No magic, but the book is magical.
Starts with The Sheepfarmer’s Daughter, adn continues. I agree that it’s an excellent series.
Also, I love her “Cats in Space” series (as my friend called it when I tried to get him to read it), the Chanur series. Starts with Pride of Chanur.
The Sheepfarmer’s Daughter – which I agree is great, if not always cheerful – is the first of a trilogy collectively called The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon.
Loved the Chanur series!
I love this book too!! The political intrigue was fun too.
I love the cradle series. It comes in just after the kate daniels books for me. I also have to say for anyone on the fence, Unsouled is easily the worst book in the cradle series and things really catch on fire from book 3 onwards.
Thank you so much for sharing your reading material. Also, thanks to the other readers for sharing theirs as well. Looking forward to reading them.
Thank you for the recommendations. I will shortly be housebound due to double knee replacement surgery. Needed some new reading material. Love getting steered towards writers that I am unfamiliar with their writing.
Just in time – I was searching for something new. I tried the sample and liked it. Thanks!
Your book recommendations are always a win for me, so I’m going to go for it. ????
I am going in another direction. Reading cozy mysteries. I like Kate Carlisle book series. It starts with Homicide in Hardcover. You get info on book restorations, food and wine , and Brooklyn is a hoot. She is always tripping over bodies. Much to her consternation.
Thinking of rereading Cat and Bones. Love Jeanine frost.
And Pat Briggs has new book coming out next week.
But will check out your Will.
Today’s crazy, 2 millennials were on line at grocery store. They bought a large wagon Full of Kleenex, and some matches.
That is all. The store was selling the mini hand sanitizer for $6-8 dollars.
Every stay calm and wash your hands. Then make tea or coffee and read.
Waiting eagerly for the Pasty Briggs. But why Tuesday? I’d have more reading time over the weekend!
Patty! Damn auto corrupt…
For reasons that escape me, but probably have to do with shipping schedules and sales reporting, Tuesday is the most popular release day. Well over half of the American new releases come out on a Tuesday.
I track the new books I am interested in with an Amazon list. I have 4 “possible preorders” for March 31st, 5 for April 21st, and only 3 for May 5th. Most dates will have only a single book, but if there are more on a day, chances are good it’s a Tuesday.
Right? I don’t know who makes these decisions but they don’t work full time.
I love Kate Carlisle. Also reading Vicki Delaney Sherlock Bookshop mysteries featuring Gemma, an Englishwoman who moved to US following an romantic/business disaster. Not a big Holmes fan herself, she e hibits manyof his characteristics. Surprisingly, in the most recent book, found out that she isn’t the considered the smart one in her family. Good character development, love interest tending towards a possible HEA.
Some gooders I found include Elizabeth Hunter vampire series especially Tensin. It’s a LENGTHY Series mostly KU that is tricky to figure out where to start. Mostly read them all and fairly easy to fall in anywhere. My other favs right now are my autistic/aspergergers/Vietnamese/super nerd outstanding contemporary romances by Helen hoang the kissing quotient is first maybe. Outstanding.
that is a very good wuxia/cultivation book. the best i’ve read actually – even better than chinese webnovel originals.
Went to Wal-Mart to get Rx as pitting soil. They got a truck of toilet paper yesterday morning and the shelves were totally empty by afternoon. Good grief. Thanks for the recommends, the list is long. Roll on Tuesday!
Anything by Guy Gavriel Kay. Start with the Fionavar Tapestry trilogy. My absolute favorite is the Lions of al-Rassan. Gifted writer who creates wonderful worlds and characters (sound familiar?). Fascinating and fully absorbing reads.
I have just discovered RJ Barker and The Bone Ships, a fascinating world not like anything else I have come across. He is inspired by CS Forester’s Hornblower series, if you haven’t come across them, do try them, they start with Mr Midshipman Hornblower, he becomes famous as the snotty who was seasick in Spithead. If you like those, and tall ships are your thing, then there is Patrick O’Brien and Alexander Kent. AK also writes Naval Adventures set in WWII and since he was in the wavy navy (Fleet Reserve) for the whole of the war they ring with authenticity. The best of the WWII Naval adventures is probably Nicolas Monsarrat’s ‘The Cruel Sea’ but Alistair McClean’s HMS Ulysses comes a very short second. All available on kindle.
Now to look at some of your recommendations BDH! Just thought I would take the list in a slightly different direction, though I would second Patti Briggs, she’s an auto buy, and TA White.
Thanks, I always appreciate book recs and now more than ever! Carrie Vaughn’s The Immortal Conquistador (featuring Rick from her excellent Kitty Norville series) just came out so I’m currently reading that, but I will check out Unsouled next 🙂
Jeezeloueeze. Lots of great recommendations. How about:
The Cast Series (by Michelle Sagara)
The Ancillary Series (by Ann Leckie)
The Walker Papers Series (by C. E. Murphy)
The Rabbit Trilogy (by Lorna Freeman — if you can find it)
and of course:
All the Liad books by Steve Miller and Sharon Lee
Thanks for the recommendations always looking for new reads. Currently I am rereading Jayne Castle (AKA Jayne Ann Krentz) Rainshadow series.
I love that series! I was sad when someone on here said that there wouldn’t be anymore new ones. I didn’t verify that though, so I’m hoping that there will be more. ????
Jayne Ann Krentz seems to be only writing what I would say is her modern day series and her older series under Amanda Quick. She hasn’t written a futuristic story since Illusion Town. I wish she would write them too.
Me too!
For different reads, i’m actually really enjoying craig schaefer. I started with his Harmony Black series (that first book still gives me nightmares) and then inhaled the Daniel Faust series. He writes so fast! and its still good which is amazing!
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@savil, I love the Daniel Faust series – I just got finished rereading it again prior to reading the latest release. And there’s a couple of series that tie in with Daniel Black – The Revanche Cycle and The Wisdom’s Grave Trilogy). They’re not absolutely integral to the Faust story but really fleshes it out. Oh, and Daniel makes an appearance in Wisdom’s Grave.
Just a heads up, it gets even better. By the time you get to the end of what’s currently available, you’ll roll around your house in full Gollum mode, crying about needing more of your precious.
I just read Ben Aaronovitch’s new book in the Peter Grant series False Value. There is a bit about Norse weapons and jewellery infused with magic and I thought he must be reading Kate Daniels ‘re Magic Gifts.
I could not believe the grocery stores this week. I went to do shopping for a trip to my mother’s this weekend and it was insane. Ralph’s was well stocked, but Trader Joe’s was demolished and Sprouts was so crowded I left. Even Total Wines was packed with customers stocking up on booze.
On the road trip from L.A. to Phoenix I had a grocery packed car and got shot at while driving at 75 miles an hour and it went through both windshields! It was after midnight near Banning and it was raining so hard and I had to stop and make all the necessary arrangements. Thank goodness for Ice chests and cooler bags.
You like games as well as books right? So why not explore stories set in or about Role Playing Games of the future? LitRPG is a huge, new genre.. try some free samples from amazon and see if they appeal.
Bushido Online by Nikita Thorn – It’s character driven and the first chapter still makes me cry.
Mahanenko’s Shaman series. – ground breaking series is a must read.
Alexey Osadchuk – hero has to make money online to pay for daughter’s operation
I love the whole russian cultural background to a game set in the future (mothers, daschas, public attitudes, to police, military service etc etc….).
OH totally forgot about this genre, I read Threadbare series by Andrew Seiple, it’s about a magical girl’s Teddy Bear in an LitRPG world, such a neat series, it had some issues, but I seriously loved how he worked LitRPG into the story and the main character was a teddy bear who saves the day which was so cool.
Makes me think of the Codex Alera series by Jim Butcher
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Loved Alera series x 100!!
+Marjorie m. Liu’s Dirk & Steele
+ann bishop ‘s Others series
+Rachel Bach’s Paradox series
+patty (of course)
+Bujold (of course)
Maybe Michelle sagara’s Chronicles of Elantra… 15 book series ???? I liked That too! Plus lots of the other books recommended here were awesome!
Doomsday Book by Connie Willis – This one is a little off track but it does involve time travel. And it will make you appreciate the fact that compared to somethings Covid-19 is a walk in the park.
Meanwhile, WFH another hour or so and then off to try Unsouled. Thanks to Ilona, Gordon and the BDH for all recommendations!
I have a fondness for Naomi Novik and her books “Uprooted” and “Spinning Silver”.
Comsidering Ilona’s book reference, I think you may like this trilogy:
https://kyliechan.com/dark-heavens/
Best wishes for all ????
I also want to recommend both Elizabeth Moon andTanja Huff. They have good series. Space opera.
Old Science fiction, try Larry Niven, and Poul Anderson.
Larry Niven Fallen Angels was good . “Mote in God’s Eye.”
This reminds me a little of Jim Butcher’s Codex Alera, the hero had no magic at first, had to rely on wits and worked his way slowly up to the top. Loved that series, and will look into this one.
I love the Amaranthine books by Forthright but that may very well have been because of an IA recommendation, haha.
Great review, and sounds like a good book that I’ll never be able to take seriously because Madra is Irish for Dog…
Omgoodness, I absolutely love Will Wight. I’ve read a few of his books and I’m a huge fan. Thanks for promoting his work!
Thanks for the book ideas. Also try Rachael Aaron (Kindle Unlimited!!)the dragon series is great, gets better as it goes on. And she just completed a trilogy with a male writer about online game players that get sucked into the game world. And she has a new series that I love, also set in the dragon universe. Totally differently, I discovered an English writer from the past who wrote many different novels, different types of stories too; not much action adventure, but engaging characters and visiting another time and culture, D.E. Stevenson. And a lot of her stuff is on Kindle Unlimited, too. The last one I read was called The English Air, great stuff.
I have found so many great books as recommendations by Ilona and Gordon.
I second whoever said Michelle Sagara’s Chronicles of Elantra, just read her latest, still love them 15 books in. Linesman series by SK Dunstall, is my second favorite series after Ilona’s Hidden Legacy series. The Others by Anne Bishop, Amaranthine Series by Forthright, and then my total guilty pleasure JAK’s Arcane Society. These are like comfort food for me, they are the books I pick up when I’m stressed and need to calm down. Kindle Unlimited I just read a paranormal cozy mystery series that was really funny, Jordaina Sydney Robinson’s Afterlife adventures, made me LOL
This book sounds like a Chinese web novel! Really! I love to read those, but I prefer female characters. If you like it, the best book I can recommend is Shen Yi Di Nu, that it’s about a girl who transmigred firm the modern world to ancient China, were the law of the stronger applies, and she is weak and her father family tried to kill her, and she ends overturning her family. I love it. Is well translated, and you can fin it here, if someone is interested: https://springraintranslations.wordpress.com/sydn/
I was intrigued about Ilona’s recommendation, I’m going to try and read.
Thanks authorlords! ????