Category: book Nook
Two of my favorite fantasy series are His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman and The Dark is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper. I do like Harry Potter, but I think those two series make you think more and are more dark and serious. The worlds the authors create are also sometimes more interesting than any of the stuff J.K. Rowling comes up with. Has anyone else read those books?
The best fantasy series is yet unpublished...
Lord of the Rings is my all-time classic favorite trilogy. I'm getting into the Dragonlance series and would like to read the Eternal Champions by Michael Moorcock and the Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan to see how good they are. The Harry Potter series is really to get little kids in elementary school and junior high into fantasy, then hopefully they'll start reading the better material.
Oh wow, someone else who likes The Dark Is Rising. I thought I was the only one!
I don't know why but I really like Robert Holdstock stuff. (sp?) It's weird and confusing but I like it anyway.
Will have to check out some of the other books you guys are talking about.
Yeah, not too many people know about The Dark is Rising. I'm not really into Lord of the Rings, but my brother's obsessed. He's seen all the movies and has read everything in the trilogy and even some other Middle Earth stuff Tolkeen wrote. I do like Harry Potter and I think the most recent two books could be for more mature audiences. I've found I've related to Harry more reading them.
I can't get into Lord of the Rings. Is something wrong with me? The movies are the best sleep aid I've ever known and the books either start off OK and get boring or just never pick up. I'm dreading the third one but I hate only reading half of a series. Any ideas?
I've read many fantasy serieseseseses in my time... that was funny... I've liked every one that I've read, including "The Dark Is Rising", Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, The Sword of Truth Series, and the first of The Weel of Time. I also read the first book of a series whose name I cannot remember called "A Game of Thrones" by, I think, Robert R. Martin.
I'm not too sure on that author, but that's about all I've read in the series department. I'd be thrilled with some recommendations.
Hmmmmm, I adore the Harry Potter series. Lol! they are cool! especially the seventh.
I love J. R. R. Tokien, and read the trilogy and the Hobit. The weel of time made me fall straight to sleep. I read half of it. Lmao! I also love C. S. Lewis. Need to read some more of it. Let me see, Christopher Paolini is all right. Read his first book.
Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden series I think would be my favorite, but it's a close call between a few different ones.
Harry Potter, the Dark is Rising, and I couldn't get in to the Lord of the Rings at all. It put me to sleep. lol
I love the Lord of the Rings books. They are probably my favorite fantasy series. On a totally different level, I really like most Tamora Pierce books, particularly the Protector of the Small series. Harry Potter is good, but there are many writers who are superior to Rowling who have not gained the fame she did.
Lol! You need a lot of patience to read tolkien. J. K. Roling has just captured so many people's hearts.
Lord of the Rings is boring in my oppinion. Tamora pierce is good what I've read of hers anyway. I also like Harry Potter.
Tolkien tends to be abstract, so that might be another reason.
My favorite is definitely Harry Potter. I'm in the middle of rereading the series, again, and I can't wait to get my hands on The Tales of Beadle the Bard!
Namaste,
Becky
I love twilight .... haha, is that even fantasy? lol, but I love it. And, I definitely love harry potter. JK Rowling is brilliant. I hate the lord of the rings though. ugh, it put me to sleep. It's just so boring. But, hmm, I also like tamora Pierce's books. All of them are really good. Christopher paolini is awesome too. I can't wait for the fourth book to come out now. His dark Materials has to be one of the best series out there I think. It's just so serious and it really makes you think, that's why I like it. I tried reading the dark is rising books, but, I couldn't get in to them, dunno why. And there's probably tons of other fantasy series I've read that I can't remember, lol
the wheel of time is probably one of the best fantacy series' i've ever read. along with the pern books buy anne mcaffery. and the inheritance cycle is shaping up to be quite good as well. lets see what the next book brings there.
keep the suggestions coming people. i'm always looking for new series' to read.
I'm currently reading Wheel of Time. This is my first time reading the books and I'm really into them. I also love Harry Potter, Twilight, Sword of Truth, Inheritance, and Discworld. His Dark Materials was ok.
The best is The Weather Wardon Series by Rachel Caine.
Loved HP, twilight, and his dark materials. (Loved the movies to!)
Harry Potter and the Tolkien series, The Silmarillion, The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings.
Jen.
I've always been hooked on the Drizzt novels by R. A. Salvatore. I also liked the Balgariad by David Eddings and the Kings Blades series by Dave Duncan. David Gemmell's heroic fantasies are also great in my oppinion. If I think of anything else I'll post again but that's all that poppeed into my head.
I was reading his dark Materials, but I couldn't get in to it only because it was narrated by Susanne toren. Books like those, should be narrated by british people. i'm sorry if that seems harsh, but I feel it brings more of an authentic feel to teh books. i've heard that His Dark Materials is available commercially, and it's narrated by Phillip Pullman. if anyone has seen t hem at booksstores, please let me know.
and my apologies for typos.
The his dark materials trilogyis available from audible.com. it is read by the author. For the people who cannot get into the LOTR movies, you need to read the books first. If you cannot get through the boks, don't feel bad. Tolkien is absolutely amazing, but it can be hard to follow his trail. He chose each and every word he wrote very carefully. If it wasn't for him, I don't think fantasy would be as far along as it is. I do like Harry Potter as well. I think what makes Tolkien better than Rowling is his appeal to the intelectual. However, I think that Rowling has a wider audience because she's pretty accessible. I just finished the series for the first time, and I enjoyed. I am currently trying to reread Lord of the rings as well. I've seen the first two films and plan to watch the third one soon. Don't misunderstand me, if you can't get through Tolkien, you aren't an idiot. I read the lord of the rings for the first time because I was forced to so for a class on the inklings. We had to read the one volume edition (which is how Tolkien wanted it to be published originally), in three weeks. That, was rough, but it was so worth it. If you can get through, you will feel like you've really accomplished something.
am reading wheel of time my self at minute. Dark materials is good but only if its the full cast version. Also like David Eddings david Gemell plus lots more
Jack
I think it's unfair to compare series as different as HP and Discworld, for instance. I don't think Discworld is really a "fantasy series" in that sense of the word. They are not about drama and do not really compose a single story line. Pratchett uses his own mythical setting for his books but only to create framework for a lot of cheap jokes, wordplay and criticizing "our world" indirectly. I think the setting of the books is not essential to their enjoyment and that's a very different premise from the other "fantasy" series I've read, where the world has huge influence on its characters and there is usually a huge good vs evil struggle going on.
I think HP is aimed squarely at completely different audience from, say, LOTR, Dune, Wheel of time and the like. Part of its success is that it's the first well crafted fantasy series aimed at younger adults and kids, also because the setting is partly real world, though very loosely so. I enjoy HP thorroughly as a reader but it didn't leave much with me except wondering whether the Carolina Hurricanes would be able to suck any more at quittage than ice hockey.
LOTR must get a huge credit for being the books that started it all, that drew on mythological elements from around the world and brought them together into its own setting. Without Tolkien's work the genre would never have taken off as we know it and the few series I've read have a lot of direct or indirect references to LOTR, it doesn't mean that you have to enjoy them, but they should command a lot of respect from readers. It starts of rather slow and rather boring, but if you get past the first 4 chapters in the Fellowship and you aren't captivated by chapter 5 you are one strange reader, he has rlapses with tens of pages devoted to rhyming and odd creatures singing, that have little to do with the plot, but it also makes the books stand out. We all know the espionage guy, saves some woman, lots of sexual scenes, they eventually fall in love, he's working for the president and his best friend turns out to be the bad guy, the formula is incredibly tried by now, which makes fantasy rather a refreshing read and the strange creatures and characters that are unreal really create atmosphere, even if they sometimes seem boring. I've read LoTR about 20 times now and still love it.
I just finished the Wheel of Time (first 11 books, the last book is being written by Brandon Sanderson with Robert Jordan's notes and instructions, he died a few years ago buthis wife wanted his work competed). The series borrows heavily from LOTR, even Jordan himself said the setting of the Two Rivers was influenced partly by LOTR and partly by the place where he lived and wrote the books (Charleston, SC, in fact it sits between two rivers). The series is excellent but a very epic undertaking, so epic that there are hundreds of pages that seem to have little to do with the plot and a lot of them don't work as well as, perhaps, heintended. But for the sheer completeness of his world and the grand setting and plot weaving of the series it's something people should read. The first book is excellent, starts off quicker than LOTR and keeps its suspence from chapters 8 to 30, then it lapses into more character introducing category until the last few chapters. The next book is halfway between the simplicity of the first and the grand, world-reorganizing, settings of the later books so it doesn't succeed very well, but after that we're into some heavy duty politics and tens of main characters and it's quite a read. I recommend the series strongly, though I am doubtul whether the last book can bring it together convincingly, I don't think HP managed to and the last book in "Series of Unfortunate Events" which isn't exactly fantasy but definitely recommended reading, at least the first 2 and books 8 through 10, was a complete letdown, in fact "the End", in my opinion, was the weakest book in the series, provided no answers and disappointed on every level.
I've heard Sword of Truth is excellent but haven't read it yet, I'll look into the other recommended ones here when I have time, i.e. when I continue procrastinating overmy Microsoft study material, I've been awfully good at that lately.
cheers
-B
wow that was some post! am currently in to book five in the wheel of time,m enjoy it hugely. and need to spend time reading the unabridged LOTR - got the bbc dramatisation which whilst good don't give a full picture.
Best
Jack
wheel of time is great. The only reason people can't get in to lotr is because Tolkeean is very, very detailed. I've tried reading them several times when I was yonger and couldn't get in to them. Now that I am older, it is a very interesting read. Sword of truth is excellent. Anothere fantacy series to check out would be the gatekeeper by Anthony Horrowitz.
Mine would be Lord of the Rings, I have both the unabridged and BBC ast versions, Harry Potter and David Eddings' Belgariad and Malloreon series. It's truly unfortuate however, that the versions available from Audible.com don't compare to the ones available from NLS. Cameron Beirle, while not necessarily a horrible narrator, just doesn't capture the story the way Jon Beryl's narration did. Now if it had been someone like, say, Gerard Doyle, it might have worked.
I love the audible reading of those books. Only heard parts of the first book from NLS and it seemed bland to me. Maybe I didn't read enough. I like how Cameron used different distinct voices for each character and I don't recall the NLS guy doing that. Just my oppinion though.
I also love books by Tamora Pierce and I'm reading the Inkheart series.
the book game of thrones is by george r r martin. and the series is song of ice and fire. I am reading book 4. it is a good series. there is a lot of political intreague and twists on plots. It keeps a reader guessing as to what is really going on. They are pretty in depth and I warn now, George r. r. martin will not hesitate to kill main characters who are loved.
I read the lord of the rings books and they were good but I can't read them again. his work is very slow and it is hard trying ot get to the next great event in the book. however, his work is fantastic and he is the one we have to thank for so many of our books today. Many have been influenced by reading lotr.
I love the sword of truth books. it is one of my absolute favorite series, even though I don't care for the later books as much as the first 6. the wheel of time is also an engaging series. It hhas a lot of plot lines going on at once and you really have to pay attention to keep up.
p is a good series too. different for me as I don't usually like urban fantasy but that I did enjoy. the later books are definitely more mature and you see different elements that weren't present in the first few.
I just finished the first dresden book and it is ok, but not my favorite. to me, he has a very elementary style of writing and it was hard for me to keep focused on what he was writing. I read the eddings books too but don't care for them much either.
I like this thread though I have found new authors to try and I am always looking for that.
True, Cameron Beirle does accents but he just doesn't capture the humor in the series as far as i'm concerned. Jon Beryl did that very well, particularly in the later books.
Got a new favorite.
The Sord Of Truth series.
as I said before I too love the sword of truth series. even if the later books were some what disappointing. has anyone read the golden compass books? I have heard of them and someone I know says they are really good. there are also tad williams books I am looking into trying.
I heard they were better. I was a little disappointed at his vine thing in the first book. I am just starting it, and I had trouble going through that Part. "The vine!"
another engaging series would have to be the legacy of the force series.
I've loved Tolkien since I was ten, and my favorite book by him is The Silmarilion. My more modern favorites include the A Song of Ice and Fire series and The Mysts of Avalon series. I've read them, but those Terry Goodkind books just make me roll my eyes a lot, way too cheesy for my taste, but, yes, I did read them all.
I've read the Kate andrews series and loved it. Also the mortal instruments, and one of patricia briggs books, "Masks".
well I've never read lotr. I love the wheel of time series. Also a song of ice and fire is a fantastic read! I liked the sword of truth, but much more books 1 throught 6 and book 11. I hated and found it very hard finishing the books between those. I like a bit of social commentary, but in those particular books, it's rammed down your throat again again and again. Too much! I do like the lord of the aisles series by david drake, but I've only read the first 3 books. At the time I had a scanner so I could read the print books. But the library only has books 5 and 6 on tape, and I'd like to reread the first 3 and then the 4th before I read those. lol I don't understand why they don't have the first 4 on tape. go figure. The eyes of the dragon was a good book, considering that when I think of stephen king, I think of horror and not fantasy. I mainly like medieval fantasy, but I absolutely love the hp books, and have lost count of how many times I've read them. lol
Some I'm always looking for recommendations.
Jen
lol I meant the lord of the isles, not aisles. rofl he's the lord of the supermarket! roflroflrofl
I love reading in general, but my preference is toward scrience fiction and fantasy. The Lord of the Rings is good read in braille and done well on a dramatized CD version. The Sword of Truth got kind of long and the middle books were hard to get into, but still good, but the final book of the series leaves lots of questions at the end. Harry Potter was written well, and no, I don't think it's just for little kids and I know many adults who read it. Again, the ending of the final book leaves several questions. The Wheel of Time is another long series and The Gathering Storm is scheduled to be released in the beginning of November on audio and in print. There were a couple of books in that series that dragged on a bit with not enough action. As for the Dark Materials series, I've only read the first book so far and I liked how he can weave fantasy and fact together. I also like the Dragonriders of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey and you don't know how many times I wished that I could impress a dragon and fly. Another good series that is available from most co-operating NLS libraries is written by David Eddings. He has the Belgariad series of 7, the Malorion series of 7, and then the two better series each with 3, the Elanium and the Talmuli. Sorry about the spellings. Terry Brooks Shanara series is quite good as well and available on audio and from NLS because most of the audio versions are abridged. R. A. Salvatore is another great writer with several series out and George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire books are long, but well written, filled with intrigue and action. I've only read Eragon by Christopher Paolini, but I think it would've been better if my loaned library braille copy didn't have so many spelling errors. Someone didn't proofread that one before they did it in braille. As for the Dragonlance, I think this is one of the best series and there are many more in that series than most people know. Some other good authors are Farland, Asprin, Gaiman, Brin, Drake, Galbaldon, Laurell K. Hamilton, Bernard Cornwell, Mercedes Lackey, Patricia Kennealy-Morrison, Patrick Carman, Juliet Marillier, Karen Marie Moning, Alice Hoffman, Ed Greenwood, William Nicholson, and many more, but I'm running out of room. I guess I really ghot in this kind of stuff and now I'm working on publishing my own fantasy series.
speaking of the wheel of time, how do you think the gathering storm will turn out?
If you are looking for the books by David Webber, try the website:
Http://www.webscriptions.net
That is the bean library which offers all of their books free for the disabled. They are in a variety of formats and can even be read online. The Lord of the Isles series is all there.
I am curious to see how the wheel of time plays out. even the new author said that it is not going to be exactly the same since he is not Jordan. I can't wait though. There are so many loose ends to tie up though. lol
I've read that Egwene will feature largely and continue her heroics, her performance in "Knife of Dreams" was amazing and catapaulted her into my favorite character status, as annoying as she's often been up til now.
Rand is supposed to suffer some other major disasters and become an ever more cold and distant figure, I believe he will be tortured, yet again, poor guy.
My guess is Mat's big expedition to free Morraine is for the next book, although I am not sure at all.
The book will be 50 chapters, not counting a prologue, part of which I've read, and is one of the best pieces of writing in the series, Jordan really excelled, I know he wrote most of it shortly before he died.
I hope the series will not faulter, it's too good, and I also hope it won't continue for years like Dragonlands, although I never liked it much. But one of the most precious thing about a fantasy series, in my opinion, is that it has a beginning and an end, else it may turn into a cheap immitation of itself.
Only 6 weeks to go now.
Cheers
-B
I agree with you. That is one of the many reasons I love fantasy so much. I guess it also appeals to me because it takes talent to take something that isn't real and write it in a way that it sounds completely plausible to the reader. Also, it doesn't leave the reader swimming in confusion about it. I love the creativity. and well, face it, I just love the idea of fantasy worlds. lol But yes, I can't wait to get my hands on that book. You read the prolog? I want to get a hold of that too just to get a taste. Though, that is equal to torture since I stil have to wait. You are right, poor Rand. If he is going to be tortured more he has gone through so much. and I like the woman Iguaine is becoming. I like Paren too. And yes, I wonder what is going to happen with Moraine. Honestly I really need to reread the books so that it is all fresh in my mind again. Those books have such a complex plot with so many things happening at the same time. lol But yes bring the book on, I am ready. *smile*
I just found a recounting of the prologue on someone's blog, who went to Jordan conn, and they wre played a recording of him resiting the prologue.
Did you kow there is a reread going on on www.tor.com. Basically the Wheelof Time expert, Leigh Butler, summarizes a few chapter 3 times a week with commentary and discussions, she's into "Lord of Chaos" by now and it's a heck of a lot of fun to read, you should check it out.
You should reread "Knife of Dreams" at least, Perin is cool but Faile annoys the heck out of me so I'llhave to view them with mixed emotions. Mat is pure awesomeness though, the man is one of the coolest fantasy characters of all time.
Oo thanks for telling me about that. I will definitely have to take a look at that. lol and yes, I don't much care for faile either. I try to pay attention to Paren and ignore her. lol Yes, Matt is great. What do you think of Tuan. I apoligize for bad spelling I haven't ever seen these names in braille so they are terribly mutilated. Jordan will forgive my lack of spelling ability in this case. lolol But yes, I will reread all the books though. I like to have a story fresh in my mind. It has been several years since I read them last.
Tuin is brilliant, so ruthless, but hers and Mat's story is actually romantic, in a very twisted sort of way, same with Perin and Afile in the Shadow Rising, but after that she just annoys the heck out of me, and he's a little bit too much of a knight for my taste sometimes, but very cool scene in the Crossroads of Twilight where he snaps questioning the Shaido prisoner.
Of the "super girls" I like Nyneve too but Alaine just has very few bad ass moments for me, she's awfully stuck up.
Of the minor characters I think Verin is the most fascinating, because I can't decide if she's black aja or not, same with lod Bashier, the man is just absolutely awesome.
Did you know there are, aparently, 1883 named characters in the books so far, and there will be a lot more.
I've heard mixed reviews about the Wheel of Time. Some say it's great while others say the books drag forever. After reading everyone's posts I think I'll check it out along with the Song of Ice and Fire series.
Song of ice and fire another series that I enjoyed. It is full of intreague and definitely keeps you on your toes. I think that Martin is great and deceiving the reader. You think you understand what is going on and something new comes into play.
The Wheel of Time is not for everyone and there are a few parts in the later books I simply don't enjoy, but part of what I like about it is the sheer scale of what is going on and it inevitably causes the plot to slow down a bit. You don't notice this in the first 5 books at all, I think the 4th and the 5th are the best fantasy books I have ever read, after that some people lose interest. I don't, but I understand why some of them would.
Worth checking out.
You can read and comment on the first chapter of the upcoming Wheel Of Time book by going here: http://www.tor.com/gatheringstorm/register
His Dark Materials Trilogy is very very good. the golden compous movie was very bad.
Has anyone read the the scent of shadows taste of night touch of twlight and city of souls. I am trying to find an audio verison of city of souls if you know where i can download please send a email thanks
I don't get how so many are into Diana Gabaldon's series... all the books are so long with so many non-important details... snore!
the only stumbling block I found out with tor, is the fact that the captcha doesn't work with webvisum and even the solona operators couldn't define it... As for Rand, How much more is he going to have to suffer? He's suffered enough all ready
Do you want me to send you the chapter?
i've read it. great chapter!
I don't think the Harry Potterseries compairs well with stuff like Lotr or the Wheel of time. It is to much influenced by other genres to really be a fantasy series. That does not make it any worse though.
I recenty finnished the Dark Tower series by stephen King and just started discworld. His dark materials and the inheritnce are ok to.
I hadn't heard that Robert Jordan died! So, whose taking over the writing of the Wheel of Time series?
Also who finished the Dark Tower series as I haven't seen a conclusion to that one. I think I got to Wolves of the Kala and Song of Suzanna.
I've only read the Golden Compass so far in the Dark Matterials series and I agree, the book was good, but the movies sucked.
However, they did a really good job on the Lord of the Rings movies.
The Harry Potter movies are good, but I did prefer Richard Harris as the headmaster and not this other guy. Lots of loose ends in that series when it ended though.
Anyone read the Pern series by Anne and Todd McCaffrey, mother and son not husband and wife. In 2010 there will be two releases in that series, Dragongirl and Dragonknight.
I really like the original Dragonlance series, but the movie on the first book of that one sucked too.
It's almost time for the second tv season of Legend of the Seeker based on the Sword of Truth series by Terry Brooks. The books were good and some loose ends at the end of last book too, but the tv series, while not bad, doesn't exactly follow the books in order.
George R. R. Martin's Dance of Dragons is also out if anyone is reading the Song of Ice and Fire.
I dn't know if anyone reads anything by Piers Anthony, but he's got several series out, Xanth series, Blue Adept series and Incarnations of Immortality, all of which are fairly good.
R. A. Salvatore has some really good books out, but you really need to look over the web to find audio copies or from NLS.
David Eddings various series are really good as well. Series 1 is Belgariad and then the Mallorean follows it. Next series is the Elanium and its followed by the Tamuli series.
The young wizards series by Diann Duane is good for something light to read.
Laurell K. Hamilton writes sort of fantasy erotic/modern suspense with the Gentry series or she writes about vampires in the Anita Blake series.
Can someone let me know who is taking over the Wheel of Time and whoose finishing the Dark Tower series so I can finish that one?
Chastity
Stephen King finished the Dark Tower series. I too read all the books but after Wolves of the Calla it just got to be too bizarre for me. I mean Stephen King blatently inserted himself into the story. I just couldn't get into it. Right now as I said in another topic I'm reading the Bartimaeus trilogy by Jonathan Stroud for the first time.
I've never read a good one actually. I never read any romanticists things in fantasy. I've seen romanticist philosophical fiction, action, science fiction, and western, but never fantasy.
Can anyone tell me who is taking over the writing of the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan?
Also who is finishing or finished the Dark Tower series that was Stephen King's. Is Song of Suzanna the last in that series?
Stephen King finished the Dark Tower some eyars ago. THe last volume is called The Dark Tower. I was more than a little disappointed to be honest.
Just out of curiosity, what made you think someone else had taken over that series? Stephen King's still alive. But no, he actually finished the Dark Tower series three years ago at least.
Brandon Sanderson is going to be taking over the wheel of time series... I just hope he doesn't fuck it up. Jordan left a pretty detailed plotline behind, and if Sanderson doesn't follow it, that's gonna piss off a lot of jordan's fans.
Thanks for the info and yeh, I hope he doesn't mess it up either. I've never heard of this guy. I'll have to do some research.
He wrote a series called mistborn. He's got a nice style of writing, but you can tell it's a different voice.
Brandon is quite a good writer. They have posted the preface and chapters one and two so far. Chapter 1 is a bit bland, but it always is for the WOT books as it is merely setting up plot lines. Chapter 2 is chillingly good, and you can really appreciate both writers there, Egwene is kicking some serious ass already there. Brandon was chosen because of his Robert Jordan obituary that he posted online. He has been a WOT fan since the beginning of the series and he works closely with Hariet, Jordan´s wife and editor, as well as two other people whose job is to make sure the plot line is consistent and Jordan´s notes are followed as closely as possible. The story is released on Tuesday and I expect very sleepless nights thereafter until I have wrapped up the reading. brandonsanderson.com is Brandon´s own web site and blog page and he talks a lot about the stories, his progress, he does a reread and commentary on all the books in his blog and he really puts a heck of a lot of work into this. He said he had 80 hour weeks pretty much since he took on the project.
I am expecting a lot out of this, the books so far are by leaps and bounds the best series I have read, remind me a lot of Dune and Lord of the Rings, sort of combined, and you see a lot of plot lines that HP books borrowed slightly from, not in a bad way, but I´d say he is definitely an influence.
So, come Tuesday.
that is an excellent book! But, why do you think Rand destroyed the choden kal?
I mean, all that power!