Books

The Reckoners is a superhero trilogy (Steelheart, Firefight, Calamity) by Brandon Sanderson, but without the heroes.

In a modern-like era, the Calamity, a red star, appeared in the sky, and people started getting superpowers.  The problem is, there are supervillains, but no superheroes (though a religion whose medallion is a stylized "S" believes that the heroes will come).  As a result, most of the world is plunged into chaos, and the Reckoners are the only ones who are fighting back.

The Slow Regard of Silent Things is a short story featuring Auri, a character from the Kingkiller Chronicle.  The book is unique and good.

The story it tells doesn't have a lot of the normal elements of a story.  There is only one character, so the only dialogue is with inanimate objects.  There isn't a lot of action.  There is, however, a strong sense of identity.

I read the the Night Angel trilogy because I liked Brent Weeks' other major work, the Lightbringer Series.  Broadly speaking, Night Angel is about redemption from the shadows.  The big themes in the book are love, the ethics of kill-to-save, and the ethics of power.

The book has most of the fantasy tropes that you would expect.  There are the old prophecies, old magic that has been lost to the world, and even mithril ("mistarille").  No Elves or Dwarves, though.

My favorite books:

Fiction

The Way of Kings is the first book in the 10 book Stormlight Archive.  And what an introduction!

Warbreaker is a fantasy novel where magic comes from perception ("breath") and color. A person can give part of their perception away to others. Someone who has bought the perception of many others will see the world as supremely beautiful. Magic happens when people give their perception to inanimate objects.

Elantris is Brandon Sanderson's first novel.  I checked it out because I enjoyed Mistborn, and I liked Elantris as well.

Elantris is the city of gods.  However, one decade before the book takes place, the gods fell from grace, losing their magic and throwing the world into political turmoil.  

I have read 15 books by Jim Butcher in the Dresden Files universe, so I decided to give his other series, Codex Alera, a shot.

Background

Unlike the Dresden Files, which are urban fantasy, Codex Alera is a more traditional fantasy series. Magic involves controlling elemental spirits (fire, earth, air, water, metal, and wood), and all humans, except for Tavi, the protagonist, can do some degree of magic. There are several other sentient races in the world, but the Alerans are modeled after Romans.  There is also plenty of political intrigue and romance.

If you have any experience with your voice, don't bother with this book.

"Voice Power" has some advice that is probably good, but it's buried in a mountain of meh where the author talks about how his advice comes from admiring Elvis and how the author knows all kinds of rock stars.  

The chronology of Witcher books:

• The Last Wish
• Sword of Destiny
• Blood of Elves
• Times of Contempt
• Baptism of Fire
• The Swallow's Tower
• Lady of the Lake

"The Last Wish" was a series of standalone short stories. "Sword of Destiny" is a series of short stories, but they are tied together more closely, and they lead directly in to the novels, so "Blood of Elves" and future books might be confusing without it.