Reader discussion: Shaman

Public reader discussion about Shaman in the WeRead Catalog by Robert Shea.

Fantasy with shaman, tribal, psychedelic drug themes?

By cipherSail937

I’m trying to find more fantasy that scratches any of these itches. Would Dune actually count? It’s on my list, but I’m not 100% sure it matches what I’m looking for. I’d also love anything with a really strong “apprentice learns from a wise mentor” vibe. I ended up enjoying Robin Hobb’s Soldiers Son trilogy mainly because of the shaman/spiritual side of it, even though I know people don’t always rate it the highest. It was the first Hobb I read, so I might be a bit biased. And I’m definitely into stuff that leans hard into visions, spiritualism, that kind of thing. One last thought: I get the sense the Stormlight Archive might touch some of these themes too, especially with how it handles magic, but I’m a little hesitant because of the author’s personal religious beliefs. I’m fine reading books by people of any faith—I just worry about it feeling like “mormon ethics/ideas” are pushing through the story too much. Sorry if that came off a bit blunt.

Are there any video game books that are actually surprisingly good?

By Patience_Badger

It’s kind of wild how many video game tie-in books there are—like Mass Effect, Dead Space, Resident Evil, Halo, and a bunch of others. They’re either straight-up tied to what happens in the game or they’re in the same world. I’ve always skipped them though, mostly because I figured they’d be kinda low effort. Has anyone actually read these and had them turn out to be really good? Also, to make sure we’re on the same page: I mean books based on game series that were made after the games, not stuff like The Witcher or Metro 2033 that existed before.

Books that blew your mind with the scale and scope of their settings, ideas and concepts

By OliviaLovesBooks90

I’m on the hunt for books that really go all out—big “wow” factor, mind-melting, epic cosmic weirdness. Like the sort of thing you get with the Xeelee stuff (Baxter), House of Suns (Reynolds), or Diaspora (Egan). The scale feels massive, and the concepts are smart and kind of wild. What else should I read? And please, no Blindsight.