I just finished reading End of Faith by Sam Harris. Good book, though I don’t agree with all his points. We need more vocal people like him. The book deserves a full review which hopefully I’ll get around to.

I try to read something serious occasionally. When I’m done though, I indulge in my ‘brain candy’ as I call it. For me, it’s science fiction and medieval fantasy series. The fantasy genre is plagued with tired archetypes that are reused over and over again, often by the same author. I’ve started series by Robert Jordan, David Eddings, Terry Brooks and others only to get bored.  So, I haven’t read much fantasy lately but rather science fiction and the recently popular contemporary fiction along the lines of Neil Gaiman.

Still, I just enjoy a good fantasy adventure rife with dragons, elves, evil sorcerors, goblins and brave warriors. Hey, either it’s your thing or it’s not. One series I always was curious about were the books based on the Dungeons & Dragons worlds (Forgotten Realms, DragonLance, etc.). But it’s intimidating to approach that section of the bookstore (they literally have their set of shelves) as there are so many, and you don’t know where to start. Well, you start of course, at the beginning. And what began it all for the D&D books was Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman’s classic Dragon Lance Dragon series. They were released twenty five years ago and have been re-released lately in a collector series. So far I’m just well into the first book. Yes, it reads a bit like a roleplaying adventure turned into a novel, but if you RPG, you’ll love it.

 Dragons of Autumn Twilight

 Next up (I’m reading two books at once like I usually do: one at work and one at home) is one recommended by a co-worker of mine. I’d seen the book several times at B&N but never picked it up. So far it’s very enjoyable high fantasy. It has some hints of a fairly unique world setting. I can definitely see myself diving deep into this series, cozied up in a comfortable chair reading away.

Magic of Recluse by  L.E. Modesitt, Jr.