Long time lurker..

[oestcote]

Hi all,

 

Just wanted to briefly introduce myself. I'm a long time lurker of the board and a long time fan of WoT/Fantasy in general. I picked up the series when I was in 5th grade, just before Crown of Swords was released; since then, I've had to endure the agonizing waits for the subsequent books and, due to this, have reread the series quite a few times, in both English and French. I credit WoT and LoTR with sparking my interest in Fantasy genre and have, since then, done my best to soak up as much as this genre as to offer. Currently, some of my favourite authors/books are (in no particular order):

 

Robert Jordan (obviously)

Guy Gavriel Kay (Tigana and Lions of Al-Rassan being my two favourites by the author)

Joe Abercrombie (loved the first trilogy and his subsequent stand-alone novels, although I feel they were inferior to his original work. Even met him once in London!)

Patrick Rothfuss

Scott Lynch

George R.R. Martin (ASoIaF is probably my second favourite series behind WoT. The fact that it has turned into an HBO series has given me greater chance to convert friends, which is a definite plus)

Glen Cook (thought Black Company was fantastic)

Roger Zelazny (Chronicles of Amber)

Neil Gaiman (Neverwhere and American Gods)

R. Scott Bakker (Prince of Nothing and the Aspect-Emperor series)

 

 

Nods definitely go to Raymond E. Feist and R.A. Salvatore, as they contributed to my early discovery and love of fantasy, however I feel that I have outgrown them now. Unfortunately, I admit that I have never read any of Brandon Sanderson's books (although I think, based on what he has done with WoT so far, I believe that he is an incredible writer). In the near future, I plan to pick up his Mistborn series and, when I have the time, take a stab at the Malazan books

 

 

 

For a bit about myself..

 

I'm a 25 y/o male who used to work in the Ad industry (just recently quit my job and moved from the UK to Portland, Oregon to help my brother market his start up company). I received a B.A. in Marketing/Advertising in the U.S. and France and an MBA in London. I've lived in quite a few countries and the one thing that has always been constant in my life is the fantasy genre. In fact, it truly has been a familiar anchor to hold onto when I felt new in certain places and has helped in being somewhat of a discussion topic for meeting new people and developing strong friendships (through, of course, a common interest).

 

Now that I'm back, however, there is no one around with whom I can discuss my addiction. I figured now was a better time than any to join the board and, slowly but surely, engage in the myriad of discussions I see on this forum. The one thing that I like about this place is the heavy focus on analysis. While I tend to be more of a passive reader and less inclined to dive into heavy analysis of the story/characters, I've found myself more and more attracted to this approach, so I look forward to learning more and more about this series while also, at some point, being able to contribute some of my own thoughts.

 

Since I feel like I'm starting to ramble now, I'll cut myself short. In short, I just wanted to stop by, introduce myself, and let you all know how much I appreciate that this place exists ;)

 

 

Hopefully you'll start seeing more posts from me soon..

[John E. Kelley]

Welcome to DM. You've taken your first step into a much larger world....

 

Also, you have a very impressive list of authors there. I would just like to suggest you add David Eddings to that list (granted, it's much easier reading, but a lot of fun), and at the risk of incurring the anger of 99% of the members here, Terry Goodkind. I think that everyone here besides me hates him, but anyone who's honest will admit that the first 4-5 books of his series was good (until he went all Ayn Rand on us). Regardless, glad to have you with us, and check out the forums, there are a lot of fun areas here besides the Discussion threads and we can always use a new Mafia player.

[oestcote]

Hi Ishmael,

 

Thanks for the warm welcome.

 

Ive definitely read Eddings (I've always had a soft spot in my heart for Silk) as well as Goodkind, although I began to lose interest after he started to become so preachy. That, and I'm convinced the man is insane..

 

On that note, thanks for the suggestions. I'd love to hear any and all that you guys may have.

[Ledinna Sedai]

Welcome to DM!!

 

Who is your least-favourite WoT character? And who's your favourite Forsaken?

 

Feel free to ask if you've got any questions about DM!

 

I hope you will like it here!

[Elgee]

Hi there Oestcote, and welcome to DM! I thoroughly enjoyed your intro thread, I must say. Would you be at all interested in role playing? You write so beautifully, so I hope so

[Aiel Heart]

Welcome to dm!!!

 

Forgive me for the short introduction I just got back "in town"

 

Which parts and characters are your favorites?

 

If you have any questions just ask!!