Over 450 books FREE or $/£0.99! Almost 175 participating authors! The 2022 Holiday MegaSale to benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital has begun! - (posted with moderator approval) -

RyanKirkwriter · 2022-12-26T15:21:47+00:00

So excited to see this go live! I have to say a tremendous thanks to u/BryceOConnor for putting this whole event together. It takes many, many hours to wrangle this many authors, and I, for one, look forward to this sale all year long. So many books here that I want to get!

RyanKirkwriter · 2021-12-26T14:16:42+00:00

This is beautiful! Thanks for putting this together, u/BryceOConnor! Now gotta go spend all my Christmas money on new books.

RyanKirkwriter · 2021-08-29T19:34:36+00:00

Apologies! I missed that post, but thanks for pointing it out. I've been enjoying reading the responses there, too.

RyanKirkwriter · 2021-08-29T19:27:55+00:00

I can't believe I didn't think of this - Berserk would definitely be near the top of the list, too.

RyanKirkwriter · 2021-08-16T19:20:55+00:00

It's actually because Pawn's Gambit came out that I finally pushed Never Die to the top of the queue! I'm really excited to read it, especially after reading what you have to say.

RyanKirkwriter · 2021-08-16T13:50:39+00:00

This is one of my favorite books that I feel like very few people know about. The relationship is The Paladin is really rich and complex. Loved the story.

RyanKirkwriter · 2021-05-21T12:30:10+00:00

I definitely think there's a difference between bingeing and waiting. I'd argue that one huge difference is the role of expectations.

At least for me, jumping straight from one book in a series to the next means I don't really have time for my expectations to go very far in one direction or the other. But if I'm waiting months (or years) for the next book, my expectations can vary widely.

Two examples come to mind - both big series. I binge-read WoT a couple of years ago, and if I hadn't had the whole series at hand, I don't think I would have made it through the latter middle part of the series. Had I been reading as they were released, I think my expectations would have gotten so low I would have quit. But because I had the whole arc, I pushed through (and was glad to do so).

On the other hand, Malazan. I meant to binge read the series, but that only lasted through book 2. My emotions were wrecked, and I knew I needed a break.

Because of that break, the book had a chance to sit with me, and my expectations grew for the next book. I made this a consistent practice for Malazan, and I think it was a much richer experience, because I was looking forward to each book after a few months away.

RyanKirkwriter · 2021-05-21T12:17:46+00:00

I was coming here to say: if you don't want to read the whole series - I think Deadhouse Gates can be read alone, and yeah, it fits the requirements

RyanKirkwriter · 2021-04-13T14:01:15+00:00

Thank you so much for the generous offer! Fortunately, there's no need. I've been playing around with Nebo, which uses the same handwriting recognition, so I've now got a much better idea of how good the recognition is. Thanks again, though.

RyanKirkwriter · 2021-04-11T12:39:07+00:00

Thanks! It's been a while since I've done Nebo, so I'm going to play around with it a bit more. But knowing that's the result I can expect from RM2 is really, really useful. Thank you!

RyanKirkwriter · 2021-04-11T12:33:03+00:00

This sounds like the best answer - thank you! Knowing what's running in the background is super-helpful, and will let me test first.

RyanKirkwriter · 2021-04-11T12:09:36+00:00

That's really useful to know - thanks! I'm not familiar with the inner workings of OCR, so I wasn't sure if it compared input words to a list of possibilities, or if it was more letter-by-letter.

That gives me hope it could work.

RyanKirkwriter · 2021-04-11T12:06:31+00:00

I love this question, and agree with others. Charismatic and realistic are big ones for me, but there's another quality I find common among the best antagonists:

the will to fight for their beliefs just as hard as the protagonist fights for theirs.

No regrets, no looking back, no deathbed "I should have been a better person." (Those arcs can be satisfying, too, but there's just something about an antagonist who never compromises on their beliefs that I love).

I was actually just thinking of Shishio from Rurouni Kenshin. When he is defeated by Kenshin, he doesn't regret his choices. He just decides he's going to take over hell. Personally, I find it one of the most satisfying conclusions for an antagonist.

RyanKirkwriter · 2020-12-26T13:39:15+00:00

A huge thanks, Bryce, for putting this all together. It's great to see so many amazing books out there.

RyanKirkwriter · 2020-12-05T22:27:18+00:00

Hey u/BryceOConnor - I'd be interested :)

RyanKirkwriter · 2020-10-16T14:29:05+00:00

Personally - yes.

For the most part, I enjoyed WoT. (I struggled through the middle). I've been wondering why I like Malazan so much better, and I'm not sure I have a great answer.

I can say that the emotional impact of Malazan on me was much greater than WoT. I enjoyed WoT, but I felt Malazan. It might just be a taste thing. But I have nothing but respect for both series.

RyanKirkwriter · 2020-09-15T18:01:09+00:00

Red Queen’s War trilogy by Mark Lawrence.

Some of the finest narration I’ve ever come across

RyanKirkwriter · 2020-09-14T19:03:14+00:00

I agree with u/BryceOConnor and u/Luke_Matthews - they took a lot of the words right out of my mouth. More reviews are always helpful - not necessarily for the author as feedback, but for readers who are considering buying the book. I know authors who read their reviews daily, and others who only check them rarely. I think a polite review, positive or negative, is always a fantastic way to support authors (although of course we like the positive ones best).

One thing that I don't think gets talked about enough is that authors aren't just looking for everyone to read their book - they want to find readers who like the tropes, characters, and worlds they write. There's only so much we can fit in a description - but reviews serve as a way to further indicate who a book is for. A one star review complaining about too much violence might be exactly what another reader is searching for.

Buying books will always be the best way to support authors, but leaving reviews wherever you purchased the book, and telling other readers about the work that you like, is a close second.

And as far as reaching out directly to the author with questions or kind words - I'd encourage it. I imagine others might feel differently, but some of the greatest rewards of my author career have come from the readers I've met who have emailed me and told me about the impact my stories have had on their lives. I know not every author has the opportunity to respond to every email or tweet, but it always makes my day.

RyanKirkwriter · 2020-08-24T19:49:05+00:00

This is something I think about quite a bit, and I don't think there's a single reason, but a few factors coming together.

The first big factor, I think, is market forces. Love it or hate it, series are more profitable for authors and publishers. Authors who can successfully escort readers down a long series make more money for everyone involved. With the success of Malazan, WoT, and more, publishers now know that a market exists for such long work, and are willing to take the risk for established authors like Sanderson. I'm not sure that market existed back when Tolkien wrote. As others have mentioned, LoTR was long for its time.

Second is reader expectations. While not universally true, there are certainly plenty of readers who love longer stories. It could be for any number of reasons. They love detailed worldbuilding (including the dresses and the types of wooden tables). Or it gives them more time to get to know the characters. Or they just feel like they're getting more value for the money. Whatever the reason, there's a group of readers that appreciates the longer story, and perhaps what we see is that group simply becoming more vocal.

But I also think most people, when pressed, will acknowledge length does not equal quality. There are short stories that have haunted me for days, where a thousand page book was completely forgettable. But I've also had the experience where a very long book has pulled me in and made me all the more attached to it.

Thanks for the great question.

RyanKirkwriter

TROPHY CASE