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Dr. MonkeyThunder posted:What Mouse is supposed to look like never really congealed for me until I remembered that mouse isn't just a foo-dog, he's a mutt foo-dog. He can look like whatever you want as long as it's ginormous. I know it's not technically accurate but I've imagined him as a neapolitan mastiff. They're huge, I think they're adorable, and they have a reputation for both being incredibly protective and ridiculously good with children. Those are both important qualities to Mouse's personality to me. They also have very similar faces to the breed Foo-dogs are supposed to be. I always pictured him as a Caucasian Shepherd, which Butcher has confirmed. It's the description of Mouse's fur that does it. They are very intelligent, but also terrifying when provoked.
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Jul 1, 2013 00:58
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I wish I could find the pic someone posted in this thread as "Mouse and Murphy" which worked pretty well.
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Jul 1, 2013 01:22
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Devorum posted:I always pictured him as a Caucasian Shepherd, which Butcher has confirmed. It's the description of Mouse's fur that does it. They are very intelligent, but also terrifying when provoked. That's a goddamned horse-dog 
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Jul 1, 2013 02:04
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Direwolf.
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Jul 1, 2013 02:37
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Devorum posted:I always pictured him as a Caucasian Shepherd, which Butcher has confirmed. It's the description of Mouse's fur that does it. They are very intelligent, but also terrifying when provoked. Yeah, that's pretty much what I imagined him like, although I didn't know that breed. Speaking of which, holy crap that is a bigass dog breed, the upper end of the average range is 30 inches tall and 200 pounds. I can only imagine what an abnormally large one would look like in person, that would be a sight to see.
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Jul 1, 2013 03:04
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I initially pictured Mouse as an Irish Wolfhound, but when his bulk and shagginess was described more, I pictured a Bouvier. My friend used to own one and he was an awesomely trained and very protective scary big black dog.   My friend got engaged to a girl who's family breeds Tibetan Mastiffs, and while they're awesome dogs, I can't get that image (or the Caucasian Shepherd, which is similar) into my head. Mouse is a Bouvier as far as I'm concerned.
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Jul 1, 2013 05:20
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AlphaDog posted:I initially pictured Mouse as an Irish Wolfhound, but when his bulk and shagginess was described more, I pictured a Bouvier. My friend used to own one and he was an awesomely trained and very protective scary big black dog. Oh dear god, I thought that was a bear at first.
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Jul 1, 2013 05:21
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AlphaDog posted:Tibetan Mastiffs Ah now I remember. Here's the picture I was talking about. Credit to someone in this thread.  Mouse (I picture him all black) + Murphy
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Jul 1, 2013 05:37
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RosaParksOfDip posted:The thing that really annoyed me about the meme usage in this one was that they didn't even fit when he said them. It's like he had tourettes and couldn't help himself. In a couple of the previous books it was pretty annoying but it fit. This one was just... ugh. That being said, this is one of the better books as far as character development and purposeful story. Atticus is still a stupid poo poo who I really want to just die, though. he has the mental development of a 12 year old. Sometimes it's amusing, most of the time it's just stupid and childish.
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Jul 1, 2013 16:14
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I dunno why, I always picture Mouse as a giant komondor
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Jul 1, 2013 19:06
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Verloc posted:Despite it being lower volume this time around, I found Atticus' meme-based coprolalia to be especially jarring in this book because it is one of the best written stories in the series. It's like Hearne got through his first draft, re-read, and was like "whoa whoa, got way too much character growth and engrossing plot development in here, better dial up the lolcats a little", then came back in and dropped random LOL INTERNET in a couple of places. I agree completely. Okay, sure, you can keep the single "one does not simply.." and make jokes about cats on the internet. But no. That super-forced rickroll poo poo has to go.
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Jul 2, 2013 02:48
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Loving Life Partner posted:I dunno why, I always picture Mouse as a giant komondor I did the same thing for a while, then he sort of changed to a light gray Bouvier in my head. I've been reading the books again recently and trying to picture a Tibetan Mastiff or Caucasian Shepherd but it just doesn't seem to fit.
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Jul 2, 2013 04:36
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Mister supremacy. Unrelated to pet news, I read The New York Magician yesterday. It's fairly short at just over 150 pages but a good read. Rather than a continuous narritive, it's presented as a series of small vignettes over the course of an indeterminate period of time. It's about a man born with the ability to see the supernatural, and he gets by by doing favours for the various supernatural denizens of the city and by being polite (just like his granny taught him to be). If you have the time, I'd recommend it. The author has nothing else on the Kindle store, so you'll be left wanting if you're after more.
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Jul 2, 2013 06:26
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Bhodi posted:I agree completely. So the positive stuff about Hunted in the thread had me actually considering getting another book of his but you just reminded me of his entire conversation in loving lolcats speech and noooooooooooo gently caress you forever for thinking that wasn't awful Hearne.
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Jul 3, 2013 02:18
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Can I recommend Tea With the Black Dragon? I'm not really sure if it's urban fantasy, but it's quite good.
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Jul 3, 2013 02:28
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Illuyankas posted:So the positive stuff about Hunted in the thread had me actually considering getting another book of his but you just reminded me of his entire conversation in loving lolcats speech and noooooooooooo gently caress you forever for thinking that wasn't awful Hearne. To be fair, it was like three lines, not an entire conversation. It was still stupid, but Hearne's detractors have really blown that particular scene way, way out of proportion. If nothing else, in a weird way the lolcats served a purpose, unlike the moronic rickroll in Hunted. Tricked and Trapped are really the worst of what Hearne's published so far, and Hunted is a huge step back in the right direction. The problem is that he was pretty far down the path to unreadably terrible so he still has a ways to go to get back to the promise of the first two books.
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Jul 3, 2013 04:04
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Ornamented Death posted:To be fair, it was like three lines, not an entire conversation. It was still stupid, but Hearne's detractors have really blown that particular scene way, way out of proportion. If nothing else, in a weird way the lolcats served a purpose, unlike the moronic rickroll in Hunted. Yeah- having finished Hunted, it's decent. He still does the stupid internet humor thing, but, the story kind of shines through, and I look forward to actually seeing what he does with it. Also, as someone noted, the short story Two Ravens and a Crow was included, and surprised me by being really good. All the interesting story elements of the main books, practically none of the lolrandom problems, and it was legitimately fun to read through. Makes me wonder if Hearne is just using the internet junk as an artificial lengthener for his stories, since the shorter one seemed so much better.
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Jul 3, 2013 04:19
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OmniBeer posted:Yeah- having finished Hunted, it's decent. He still does the stupid internet humor thing, but, the story kind of shines through, and I look forward to actually seeing what he does with it. There's really not that much random meme poo poo. It just really stands out because it's forced. Hearne's problem is with pacing and escalation. He rapidly hit a point where Atticus was just offing deities left and right, slaughtering entire pantheons. And so he had to shoehorn in a lot of new poo poo that worked (more or less) within the rules of the world he'd created. And thus we have "true" immortals like the Olympians instead of the sorta immortals like the Norse. He spends so much time creating flimsy challenges for Atticus that he can't focus on the character interactions. This is why Two Ravens is good (and it's light-years better than any of the novels, really, it's that good). He spends the entire novella with Atticus and the Morrigan, using Odin as a foil. Throw in a quick action scene at the end, and boom, you have something that's actually good.
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Jul 3, 2013 04:24
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I liked the bit in Two Ravens where Odin explained why Atticus was a loving moron regarding the bit about alternate Thors taking original Thor's spot from one of the other books (when he offers that as a reason not to kill Thor when Leif originally pursues the issue), but that was about it. My thing is, I can't help but have this moment reading one of Hearne's books where every time a cool idea is brought up I think of another author that did the same thing but did it a hundred times better (a lot of parallels in characters and situations already done in Jim Butcher's books--skinwalkers, Odin, The Erlking/Lord Herne, etc.). I will agree that it isn't that the books are constantly spotted with internet references, it's just that when they do come up they are so jarring and out of place that it basically ruins the entire segment of the book you're reading. I mean, regarding the lolcats thing, you've got a chase scene going on where nobody involved wants to close to grips with the deity chasing them and there is this side thing of a conversation between Atticus and Leif where they're trying to one-up each other with Shakespeare quotes during the chase. That's fine, but then you get lolcats out of nowhere and it just completely fucks tone of the chase. It isn't even remotely funny, it doesn't fit the rest of that part of the story and really just makes Atticus a dick. If Hearne is just trolling his readers with this poo poo, bravo, it worked. Then there is "for the win" when the Morrigan is trying to go out with some bit of class and Atticus loving ruins it with that bullshit. There's just no way in hell the Morrigan character was in love with Atticus, though I could see why that would make a goddess commit suicide. I was glad when Atticus ate a loving bullet and died, but disappointed when it turned out that nope, his soul catcher charm worked and he's still immortal and nothing will kill him off. Hearne should just kill the immortal neckbeard and stick with the adventures of Fierce Druid and Dog(s). The books would be far better that way. Some Pinko Commie fucked around with this message at 13:26 on Jul 3, 2013 |
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Jul 3, 2013 13:23
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Wade Wilson posted:his soul catcher charm worked and he's still immortal and nothing will kill him off. This did bother me, he was completely clueless about them when they were first introduced but through some bullshit deus ex machina he had one all along. It would have made much more sense if he decided to make one of his own after seeing Laksha's soul catcher
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Jul 3, 2013 14:54
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Clinton1011 posted:This did bother me, he was completely clueless about them when they were first introduced but through some bullshit deus ex machina he had one all along. I don't really have a problem with that part honestly - he mentioned in book 4 that he'd made it as a hail mary back when Aenghus Og was still a threat. Him expanding on that in the latest book to specify the 19th century isn't much of a leap, even if he does claim it was in response to muskets becoming a problem now.
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Jul 3, 2013 15:28
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I tried reading the Iron Druid series, but I couldn't get through the first chapter or two. I'm not saying it's because of bad writing like the first Dresden Book, it just felt like... I dunno? It felt like the author read the Dresden files and thought to himself 'you know what would make this series even better? An all-powerful protagonist.' And then went on to write a watered down version of DF with an even more annoying main character.
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Jul 3, 2013 15:52
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The way I see it, it seems like Iron Druid is derivative of the Dresden Files, and weaker because of it, whereas something like Rivers of London could be said to have been inspired by Butcher's writing but is very much its own thing and all the better for it. Edit: VVVVV I wouldn't say it's a good series, more that it's not bad, and seemed promising in the first two books. Somewhat entertaining but pretty flawed. AllTerrineVehicle fucked around with this message at 16:05 on Jul 3, 2013 |
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Jul 3, 2013 15:59
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What's actually good about Iron Druid? I have yet to see a post in this thread that made me want to read those books.
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Jul 3, 2013 16:01
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:What's actually good about Iron Druid? I have yet to see a post in this thread that made me want to read those books. There are lots of concepts and characters that would make for a good story, but Atticus fucks them all up by being the narrator. Check out the short novella Two Ravens and one Crow if you don't give a poo poo about chronology spoilers for an idea of how good the series could be, but isn't because the author keeps putting these jarring, out of place references into the longer books. What he needs is an editor that says "No, you know what? gently caress all this 4chan poo poo, write a proper book without these stupid meme references."
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Jul 3, 2013 16:11
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AllTerrineVehicle posted:entertaining but pretty flawed. This is what needs to be on one of Hearne's book covers.
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Jul 3, 2013 16:11
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:What's actually good about Iron Druid? I have yet to see a post in this thread that made me want to read those books. It's easy to focus on the bad, because books 4 and 5 were, well, pretty bad. Poor plotting, horrible internet memes, no tension...they just meandered around with the protagonist being a douche and getting away with it. However, the series started off pretty strong. Most importantly, it's a different take on a modern fantasy. It's much more about nature and deities than about cities and people. The sidekick character is genuinely funny for the first few books. The more I think about it, the more I realize that the core problem is that the books are shallow. Instead of exploring deeper, the author just spreads the scope of the novels. There's no sense of place, many of the more interesting aspects just kinda get forgotten in favor of a new shiny.
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Jul 3, 2013 16:18
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I think the best thing I can say about the books is they are fun. Despite my complaints I buy every book on release day and finish them in a day or two so they are not terrible. Then again I have read every Night Side book by Simon Green so there might be something wrong with my taste in books.
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Jul 3, 2013 17:45
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Clinton1011 posted:I think the best thing I can say about the books is they are fun. Despite my complaints I buy every book on release day and finish them in a day or two so they are not terrible. "Suzie Shooter, also known as Shotgun Suzie, and Oh Christ It's Her Run" Congratulations you have read every Night Side book (oh god I have).
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Jul 3, 2013 18:04
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We should start a support group  .
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Jul 3, 2013 19:41
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I got the audio book for Hunted, and I never minded Oberon until I heard the way the reader does his voice. I always heard him in my head as a normal human voice that says stuff a dog would say, but the audio book reader gives him a stupid cartoony dog voice. I think I'll stick to reading my trash fiction normally from now on.
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Jul 3, 2013 19:43
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Yeah, I heard that the audiobook version has him sounding like the bastard child of Scooby Doo or something and I knew I couldn't bear to listen to that.
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Jul 3, 2013 20:56
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I always imagined him sounding like that dog from UP.
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Jul 3, 2013 21:13
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Wade Wilson posted:Yeah, I heard that the audiobook version has him sounding like the bastard child of Scooby Doo or something and I knew I couldn't bear to listen to that. That's pretty accurate. Like Scooby Doo as a heavy smoker.
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Jul 3, 2013 21:26
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Piell posted:"Suzie Shooter, also known as Shotgun Suzie, and Oh Christ It's Her Run" Replace "Suzie Shooter" with "Hazel D'Ark," and now you've also read the Deathstalker series. Replace it with "Fisher," and now you've read "Hawk & Fisher" and the Blue Moon. And, of course, "Molly Metcalf" and now you're done with the Drood books. (oh god I have).
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Jul 3, 2013 21:54
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My other half has started reading Dresden and Rivers of London after me bugging her for a while, and has promised me that she'll tell me what she thinks of characters and where she thinks the plot is going. Since everyone here always seems to find that funny I might post them here if they're amusing.
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Jul 3, 2013 22:35
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While we're on the subject of bad books we read anyway (aka "the topic when there's not a new DF book"), there's a new Laurell K Hamilton book out. I went back and read one or two that had come out since I'd stopped and I didn't totally hate them but I haven't caught up or wanted to. I've read that the new one actually has a plot and action that's not x-rated. I kind of want to read it. Did someone mention a support group? Back to books that aren't terrible--I'm reading the latest Kim Harrison Hollows book and I got it in audio so I can listen while I knit. I only did 6 chapters that way but I caught so many repeated phrases and motivations. Ugh. I think those area easier to deal with when reading because they don't take up so much time. But anyway, I'm glad I picked this series back up. I'd dropped it after I got sick of the will they/won't they tension between Rachel and Ivy and Rachel's life becoming worse and worse. She still gets poo poo heaped on her but she recognizes (and jokes about) it and she has allies now so it's not as bad. I can't think of many series that fixed problems like that. Most of the time it has to do with character growth and some authors seem set on keeping their protagonist clueless/stupid/miserable for too long. I was actually okay with all the relationship angst in LKH for a while because characters were talking things out and it seemed like that would lead to changes and they'd move on. After maybe 5 books of deep conversations during weird sex, I finally realized that wasn't happening.
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Jul 5, 2013 17:10
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If we're talking about non-terrible books, I've been having fun going through Richard Kadrey's Sandman Slim books. Guy gets sent to Hell, comes back for REVENGE! Kind of schlocky, but in a good, violent way. I'm on the fourth right now and I'm liking it so far and there's a fifth book coming out at the end of the month.
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Jul 6, 2013 03:53
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Mr. Fowl posted:If we're talking about non-terrible books, I've been having fun going through Richard Kadrey's Sandman Slim books. Guy gets sent to Hell, comes back for REVENGE! Kind of schlocky, but in a good, violent way. I'm on the fourth right now and I'm liking it so far and there's a fifth book coming out at the end of the month. Those are somewhat odd, but enjoyable. I'd only read the first three- does the fourth hold up? I was considering nabbing it since I saw a new one was coming out. Also.. A lot of people recommended the Greywalker series, and I ended up reading all of them out of some sense of completionism, but.. Bleh. I was not a fan. Started good, but ended up just feeling convoluted and not enjoyable by the end.
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Jul 6, 2013 04:19
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OmniBeer posted:Those are somewhat odd, but enjoyable. I'd only read the first three- does the fourth hold up? I was considering nabbing it since I saw a new one was coming out. Can't really give an opinion yet. I'm barely a chapter in, but I have high hopes. It's certainly not Dresden, but thus far it's been a fun series. Power creep is a bit insane, but I think that's part of the charm. From the get-go he's kind of a murder machine and it just goes up from there.
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Jul 6, 2013 04:54
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