re: Sci-Fi/Fantasy Recommendation & Discussion Thread

I've never really thought of it before, but I guess I place a premium on intrigue and worldbuilding for lack of a better word moreso than action/battles/fight scenes when reading - or at least that is a common thread in all of the books i really love.

Had the Foundation books been longer, then i definitely wold have noticed the lack of action. But as pretty short books coming in I think under 300 pages mass market paperback covering huge spans of time, I think they have enough going on to keep me in the story the whole time.

I've been listening to Brandon Sanderson and some of his other writing friends' podcast - Writing Excuses - and its really fascinating to get an inside look at the nuts and bolts of how sci fi and fantasy books are put together. They talk about a ton of stuff - for example, how longer fantasy books need to have ebbs and flows in the action, good stopping points for the reader to put it down but keep feeling forward momentum.

Each one is only 15 minutes long so it is very digestible and you will start to notice certain things certain writers are doing, and put a name to a technique you recognize subconsciously. Plus they recommend an audible book in each podcast so I've picked up some solid recommendations for my work drives from them, I've also found some lists of their audible recommendations online if you are looking for that kind of thing.