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I just finished the fourth alera book based largely on the video describing the bet,and some reccomendation here. I am quickly running out of books and the next Dresden is too far off. This series is pretty fun
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Sep 8, 2012 03:51
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fermun posted:The Iron Druid books get recommended every now and then, so I thought I would mention the novella, which I haven't seen mentioned. This was a neat novella - not complete side-story like the Dresden Files ones tend to be, but it advances the plot a bit nicely mid time-skip before the next book starts.
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Sep 8, 2012 17:30
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Tornhelm posted:This was a neat novella - not complete side-story like the Dresden Files ones tend to be, but it advances the plot a bit nicely mid time-skip before the next book starts. I would say it might actually be required reading for the series. Lots of stuff central to the plot happens.
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Sep 8, 2012 18:33
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Trevor Hale posted:Exactly. It is a fun book in serious need of one more draft or a stricter editor. I stopped reading it fairly close to the end when I realized I didn't care what happened. Not sure if I'll bother with Butcher's work further unless it really does get considerably better at some point. Seriously Storm Front reads like a cast-off from a Creative Writing 101 class - which I know it kind of is.
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Sep 8, 2012 22:02
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Argali posted:I stopped reading it fairly close to the end when I realized I didn't care what happened. Not sure if I'll bother with Butcher's work further unless it really does get considerably better at some point. Seriously Storm Front reads like a cast-off from a Creative Writing 101 class - which I know it kind of is. It does get significantly better. It depends on why Storm Front bothered you. If you liked the basic idea but felt it was just too much like a cheap rough draft, it might be worth continuing. If you just think wizards are silly, don't bother. A good example is Morgan. If you thought Morgan's character was just a lazy caricature, that's a fair critique as of Storm Front, but he's really developed heavily as the books progress, and later in the series Harry has a realization that the Morgan we saw in Storm Front was a dramatically unfair mis-characterization on Harry's part; the bad writing gets "retconned" as poor judgment of others on the part of the viewpoint character.
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Sep 8, 2012 22:10
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The best retcon is still Harry telling Peabody that he got the title of the Erlking's book wrong, and Peabody's response that German is "an untidy language." And at that point, any readers who've studied any language besides English begin laughing uncontrollably.
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Sep 8, 2012 22:21
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:It does get significantly better. It depends on why Storm Front bothered you. If you liked the basic idea but felt it was just too much like a cheap rough draft, it might be worth continuing. If you just think wizards are silly, don't bother. I liked the basic idea, I just hated his character development and the attempt to shoehorn urban fantasy into pulp noir. Actually I think my main reaction to reading some Butcher is: Does anyone out there write urban fantasy like this who can actually write?
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Sep 9, 2012 13:24
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Are you trolling at this point? Multiple people have pointed out that the first book was basically a creative writing exercise, and get substantially better from then on. If you like the basic idea, stick with it and the series gets better and better (especially once you hit the fourth book). If you don't like it enough to finish the first book, that's ok, but don't judge the guy harshly. If you are looking for more urban fantasy, the Rivers of London trilogy is excellent. It's full of British slang, which I found delightful and hilarious even without understanding some of it at first. The first book is called Midnight Riot here in the US.
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Sep 9, 2012 14:18
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Clinton1011 posted:I would say it might actually be required reading for the series. Lots of stuff central to the plot happens. I just read it yesterday. It's good and I wish it was so much longer.
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Sep 12, 2012 13:39
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What if instead of magic, Dresden could conjure up hallucinations of characters to help him solve people's problems? http://www.amazon.com/Legion-ebook/dp/B0099D4KEG/ This is Sanderson's new novella, and for three bucks, its drat good entertainment. It owns and it really shows that his writing is starting to mature. If you've been on the fence about Sanderson, give this a try, you should be able to finish it in one night. If it reads like a pilot episode for a TV series, thats because it is. He sold the TV rights and its hopeful that it gets greenlit.
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Sep 13, 2012 15:00
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:The problem is that really detailed descriptions of setting are a staple of the noir genre. Look at L.A. Confidential or almost anything by Hammett or Chandler. I read a lot of noir and other detective fiction in between Dresden books so the contrast gets really jarring. It's not a huge criticism but it's one of the things that separates a truly world-class writer from a pulp author. (The best example of someone doing this right within-genre is the aforementioned Rivers of London series, or maybe Gaiman's _Neverwhere_). There's a pretty good argument to be made that while yes the location is as much of a character in noir as the characters themselves are, Dresden's world is the crazy magical poo poo, and not the physical city of Chicago.
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Sep 13, 2012 16:28
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Dickeye posted:There's a pretty good argument to be made that while yes the location is as much of a character in noir as the characters themselves are, Dresden's world is the crazy magical poo poo, and not the physical city of Chicago. Oh yes! That's one reason why the Rivers of London series is such a good counterpoint to Dresden -- it's "real world" setting is immensely more detailed, but the Dresdenverse has much more detail on the magical-world side of things. I'm hoping that with Cold Days we get a lot more background info on the faerie side. Anyway, I just got through reading the Bigfoot shorts now that they're all out. They're neat little stories and very much in the "small life lesson plus some asskicking" vein. Only real problem is they're *short*, to the point that I'd suggest just finding the collections in the bookstore and reading them standing there. All three of them together basically make one long short story or short novella. Hieronymous Alloy fucked around with this message at 07:34 on Sep 16, 2012 |
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Sep 16, 2012 07:24
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Cartoon Man posted:What if instead of magic, Dresden could conjure up hallucinations of characters to help him solve people's problems? Sounds kind of like this.
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Sep 16, 2012 11:42
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Skellen posted:Sounds kind of like this. Kinda but not really. It's implied it's an advanced photographic memory combined with his schizophrenia. Like at one point he idly flips through an English to Hebrew dictionary and 5 minutes later a translator walks up to him and offers her services. And he also treats them as discrete physical entities, so if, say, his handwriting expert isn't there with him he either has to physically bring the sample over to her or he just plain can't figure it out at all. It also treats his disease with respect and points out that no, it isn't multiple personalities, which is nice.
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Sep 16, 2012 19:41
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Cartoon Man posted:What if instead of magic, Dresden could conjure up hallucinations of characters to help him solve people's problems? Just picked this up from Amazon, definitely worth the three bucks if you've got a kindle. I wouldn't pick up the hardcopy though, it's just too short to justify paying hardcover prices.
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Sep 17, 2012 10:01
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pseudonordic posted:https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=202503400054128571587.0004a9eed5af835396cfa&msa=0 Where's Demonreach? 
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Sep 17, 2012 17:38
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CarterUSM posted:Where's Demonreach? Unmarked, so no dumbasses try to go there, obviously.
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Sep 17, 2012 17:59
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I started reading the Garrett, P.I. series and I'm on the 3rd book now. It's good, not as good as the Dresden files, but they're entertaining. I'll let you know how the rest of the series is.
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Sep 18, 2012 03:25
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pseudonordic posted:https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=202503400054128571587.0004a9eed5af835396cfa&msa=0 quote:St Mary of the Angels Roman Catholic Church 
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Sep 18, 2012 23:05
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Backstory: Small favor was the first Dresden Files book I read, and it got me hooked. Then I read Turncoat, which was, at the time, the most recent book. So I already had a pretty strong foundation of enjoying the books when I read through Stormfront and Fool Moon, and they really didn't bother me that much. Eventually I read through the whole series, and every now and then I'll reread one of my favorites, (Changes, anyone?). That being said, I just finished marathoning through the entire series in anticipation of Cold Days. The ending of Turncoat (this was only my second time reading it) hit me so much harder, knowing the whole history of Harry and Morgan's relationship. "They're going to pin it on me. Let them. I want it." Was just so metal. Morgan just did his job as hard as he loving could right up to the end. Also, with all the little turns of phrase people like to to complain about Butcher over-using, I'm surprised that no one ever mentions, "And then Thomas went still. But not like, regular human still, he was like SUPER still like a sexy statue, and that's how I knew he was upset. Seriously, like really really still."
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Sep 18, 2012 23:39
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Mr. Bad Guy posted:Also, with all the little turns of phrase people like to to complain about Butcher over-using, I'm surprised that no one ever mentions, "And then Thomas went still. But not like, regular human still, he was like SUPER still like a sexy statue, and that's how I knew he was upset. Seriously, like really really still." That little writing quirk is the one thing that really bugs me about the Dresden books. He's said in interviews that it's supposed to help reinforce the characters by having a set of words/phrases that you only use hen referring to those characters, and it kinda makes sense to remind people of character traits since these books have a very "episodic" feel to them, but for a bigger fan of the series, someone who rereads the books frequently and stays connected even during the months between books, it can get annoying.
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Sep 18, 2012 23:58
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Mr. Bad Guy posted:The ending of Turncoat (this was only my second time reading it) hit me so much harder, knowing the whole history of Harry and Morgan's relationship. "They're going to pin it on me. Let them. I want it." Was just so metal. Morgan just did his job as hard as he loving could right up to the end. I was pretty lukewarm toward Morgan until Turncoat, at which point he became one of my favorite characters in the series. I think overall that ended up being one of the stronger books in part due to it developing Morgans character so well, but also because the Skinwalker loving terrified me in a way that no other antagonist has been able to. E: Have you ever re-read your post and realized you used the same phrase like 7 times? Pendent fucked around with this message at 01:48 on Sep 19, 2012 |
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Sep 19, 2012 01:14
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The Walker posted:I was pretty lukewarm toward Morgan until Turncoat, at which point he became one of my favorite characters in the series. I think overall that ended up being one of the stronger books in the series in part due to it developing Morgans character so well, but also because the Skinwalker loving terrified me in a way that no other antagonist in the series has been able to. Turn Coat is absolutely one of the best in the series.
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Sep 19, 2012 01:32
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The Walker posted:the Skinwalker loving terrified me in a way that no other antagonist has been able to.
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Sep 19, 2012 09:04
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I miss Sue the T-Rex. The virtual dresdenverse map reminded me about her 
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Sep 19, 2012 13:14
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Virigoth posted:I miss Sue the T-Rex. The virtual dresdenverse map reminded me about her To bad she normally takes so much juice to raise that it'll never happen again. Last time it took three master necromancers working in concert with Halloween to weaken the veil. It would probably take an apocalypse to get a repeat performance.
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Sep 19, 2012 16:47
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Dr. MonkeyThunder posted:To bad she normally takes so much juice to raise that it'll never happen again. Last time it took three master necromancers working in concert with Halloween to weaken the veil. Well, one of the last books is called "Hell's Bells".
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Sep 19, 2012 17:00
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Dr. MonkeyThunder posted:
Butcher is on record stating the series will be capped off with a big apocalyptic trilogy. I think I just made a really high pitched "EEEEEEEEEEEE" sound.
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Sep 19, 2012 17:01
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I thought the reason Harry pulled it off was that he tapped dirctly into a ley line under the museum.
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Sep 19, 2012 17:10
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Clinton1011 posted:I thought the reason Harry pulled it off was that he tapped dirctly into a ley line under the museum. That too, it was a confluence of a whole lot of poo poo that boils down to basically "right place, right time". A big apocalypse would probably provide the right time again, and Harry's even more powerful as well as delicate and precise, so he'd definitely be able to do it again.
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Sep 19, 2012 17:15
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I started my first Dresden re-read and am about halfway through Storm Front. The first book is still kind of fun, but understandably a little hokey in places. I really don't like any of the Murphy/Dresden parts in this book, its clear that their relationship could have been written better by a more experienced Butcher. However, lots of this book still holds up well, things like when Toot Toot is first summoned/captured. When Harry first goes to meet with Bianca, its written very well and still had me tense up even knowing how it plays out come book 3. I also love the scene where we are introduced to Bob and Harry makes a love potion. Still funny as poo poo... "Bob, why are we using Tequila instead of Champagne as a base? Isn't that kind of slutty?" "Shut up and just pour it in...who's the expert here?!" 
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Sep 19, 2012 18:13
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Cartoon Man posted:I started my first Dresden re-read and am about halfway through Storm Front. The first book is still kind of fun, but understandably a little hokey in places. I really don't like any of the Murphy/Dresden parts in this book, its clear that their relationship could have been written better by a more experienced Butcher. Agreed. And parts of Fool Moon are really well done too. The Loup-Garou in the police station is amazing. I like the scene in the Full Moon garage where everything goes to hell. And Marcone gets a lot of screen time, too. Marcone is always fun to read. Fool Moon has high peaks and really low valleys. On average, Storm Front is better. And everything from Grave Peril forward is better than either. 
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Sep 19, 2012 18:18
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I loved Bob from the start. Harry: You can't just go around killing people. Bob: I know, that's why you should. Harry: No I mean I can't just go around killing people. Bob: Sure you can, you've done it before and you have a new gun and everything. I'll get Mister and the bullets you grab the gun.
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Sep 19, 2012 18:46
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ConfusedUs posted:Marcone is always fun to read. I would not be opposed to an Accords-Signatory Marcone series.
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Sep 19, 2012 18:52
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Cartoon Man posted:I also love the scene where we are introduced to Bob and Harry makes a love potion. Still funny as poo poo... If there's one thing I really miss from the early books, it's the potion mixing scenes. What ever happened to those anyway? Hell, in Changes (IIRC) the Merlin shows up strapped for bear with two potion bandoliers and he still doesn't go into more detail about them.
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Sep 19, 2012 19:39
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404GoonNotFound posted:If there's one thing I really miss from the early books, it's the potion mixing scenes. What ever happened to those anyway? Hell, in Changes (IIRC) the Merlin shows up strapped for bear with two potion bandoliers and he still doesn't go into more detail about them. And in Changes, Harry whips up those anti gravity and anti fae glamour potions off screen. My personal theory is that Butcher has plans for cool in depth potion-fu in the future and doesn't want to harp on it too hard until then. Much like how he waited until proven guilty and turncoat to get down and dirty on thaumaturgy details.
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Sep 19, 2012 19:53
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404GoonNotFound posted:If there's one thing I really miss from the early books, it's the potion mixing scenes. What ever happened to those anyway? Hell, in Changes (IIRC) the Merlin shows up strapped for bear with two potion bandoliers and he still doesn't go into more detail about them. The in-book reason is that Harry's good enough he doesn't really need a lot of help anymore. At the beginning, he needed a guiding hand at every step. Now he's the Iron Chef. Although it would have been fun to see him teaching Molly potions. Taking on the Bob role, so to speak. With Bob fuming that he can't talk.
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Sep 19, 2012 20:26
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Mr. Bad Guy posted:Also, with all the little turns of phrase people like to to complain about Butcher over-using, I'm surprised that no one ever mentions, "And then Thomas went still. But not like, regular human still, he was like SUPER still like a sexy statue, and that's how I knew he was upset. Seriously, like really really still." Eventually, people will write, "The vampire went as still as a vampire" because the whole "vampire turns into beautiful and deadly stone and is amazing and remarkable and this is so fantastic" thing will be a given. I want to write a massive crossover piece of fanfiction with popular vampire characters just so they can all be in a room pissed at each other and doing the statue thing. Oh hey, speaking of playing with characters and tropes--Jim C Hines' newest book is Libriomancer and I think it'd be another good one for Dresden Files fans. It doesn't tie into any of his other books except that one (I think kind of minor) character is in it. But that character was literally pulled from a book. Libriomancers can reach into books and pull items out. So the main character reached into one of Hines' books and pulled out a spider creature. The guy's a librarian because he was taken off of active magic-user duty. I didn't get very far. I think the tone was just too light for me when I started it. BUT one of the ideas that got introduced was that supernatural creatures are created by books and pop culture. There were sparkly vampires. I think I should give the book another chance. It seems like it'd be a lot of fun and right up the alley of any SF/F nerd.
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Sep 20, 2012 01:03
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ConfusedUs posted:The in-book reason is that Harry's good enough he doesn't really need a lot of help anymore. At the beginning, he needed a guiding hand at every step. Now he's the Iron Chef.
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Sep 20, 2012 05:35
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Almost done with my Storm Front re-read. There's a really lame part in this book where Harry leaves the restaurant where he confronted one of Marcone's men for double crossing his boss. Harry is kind of numb and just starts wandering the streets, lost. It reads like the author is lost at this point and doesn't know how to get Harry to the next location. There's a nice backstory about Harry's dad given during this sequence, but honestly that could have been put into the story anywhere. Then all of a sudden Harry ends up back at the murder scene and the plot moves forward. As I said before, its just kind of hokey. But the scorpion fight later is pretty awesome.
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Sep 21, 2012 16:43
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