Currently I am reading two books. [b]Battlemage[/b], by Stephen Aryan. A neat book of war, where a coalition of nations descend upon a single country that has summoned Battle Mages, who are a dying breed, to protect the kingdom along with their armies. There's three main characters. Balfruss, the traveling court wizard and Battlemage who is summoned to the capital to help in the defense, Vargus, a legendary swordsman who is keeping his previous identities a secret for an unknown reason, and Taladra the Princess who is also master of spies and whispers, who seeks to undo the coalition set against them with diplomacy. I'm not too far in, but so far it seems a fair read. The world is somewhat vague, though it still provides enough info for me to not be lost. Enjoyable so far. [b]The Belgariad[/b], by David Eddings. Never read this popular series, but I'm reading the first novel. It's a book that uses all of the classic tropes of fantasy. Essentially David Eddings way of saying "fuck you" to people who considered traditional arthurian fantasy boring or tiresome. It's a very good read and popular, and even though I am only a short way in I'm liking it. Reminds me of the Wheel of Time a bit.