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it's been a while since i read it but when he finds out it wasn't a training sim or whatever doesn't ender straight up say he would have blown up their planet anyway if he had known the truth?
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Jul 18, 2013 03:15
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Thanks for all the suggestions guys, I actually copy pasted every post replying to me in a text file for future reference. I'm about ~60 pages into Night Angel and I think it's so-so. Not bad, but I looked at it on wikipedia and it seems like it's pretty convoluted as far as all these different types of powers and mages and talents and ways to use them. It almost reminds me of Sanderson in the way the magic/talent is well defined. I generally don't like that sort of thing, but it doesn't seem like it's going to really be a big deal. I'll keep reading for now.Echo Cian posted:
It's hard to say. I'm just weird I guess. I'm so used to liking big epic books that focus on a lot of characters, so I feel..claustrophobic? maybe with a first person view. Also, just seing "I did this" and then "I did that" makes me feel like I'm reading a simple story from grade school even if it's a complex story. Like I said, I'm just a weirdo. edit: I think I may check out Raymond Feist's Magician stuff next, if Night Angel isn't good, or after Night Angel. His books seem to get good reviews and the idea there's 20 something of them set in the same world really excites me. Did I mention I like to get invested in a series? I remember dude saying start with Magician: Apprentice but other than that is there a solid time-line to follow as I read or any kind of preferred reading order with the trilogies/series to all those books? Drunk Driver Dad fucked around with this message at 03:32 on Jul 18, 2013 |
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Jul 18, 2013 03:21
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BlazinLow305 posted:I remember dude saying start with Magician: Apprentice but other than that is there a solid time-line to follow as I read or any kind of preferred reading order with the trilogies/series to all those books? It's been a while since I read these, but I'd read them in the order they're written. Some of the series are more central to the (somewhat loose) grand story arc than others though, essentially any books involving Pug (the central character from Magician) to any significant degree. Like the original Riftwar Saga, then the Serpentwar Saga, then Conclave of Shadows (possibly) and the remainders from then on out.. I personally enjoyed those more than the side novels which are mainly there to flesh out secondary characters (Krondor's Sons, Legends of the Riftwar etc). The latter category is skippable. Then again the Riftwar series I enjoyed the most is The Empire Trilogy, which is mainly (solely?) written by Janny Wurts... Vinterstum fucked around with this message at 04:00 on Jul 18, 2013 |
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Jul 18, 2013 03:57
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BlazinLow305 posted:... maybe with a first person view. Also, just seing "I did this" and then "I did that" makes me feel like I'm reading a simple story from grade school even if it's a complex story. Like I said, I'm just a weirdo. Flowers for Algernon is pretty much exactly both these things at once, and it is awesome. 
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Jul 18, 2013 04:17
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Stuporstar posted:Flowers for Algernon is pretty much exactly both these things at once, and it is awesome. Ah, I don't doubt you. It's not that I actually hate or think first person is inferior. It just takes me out of the narrative I suppose. I assume if the story was sufficiently gripping, I could deal with it.
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Jul 18, 2013 04:37
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BlazinLow305 posted:Ah, I don't doubt you. It's not that I actually hate or think first person is inferior. It just takes me out of the narrative I suppose. I assume if the story was sufficiently gripping, I could deal with it. I'm half joking because the book is epistolary and in the beginning the narrator can't even spell. His writing becomes clearer and more refined as his intelligence is enhanced, so I was riffing on the grade school level prose being used to tell a complex and compelling story. When done well, first person is great. It's just difficult to do well. If the narrator's voice isn't compelling, it can really kill a story for you. Edit: On another note, I have a ton of 60s paperbacks that I bought years ago and finally decided to read all the damned things to decide which are keepers and which to trade in for better books. I've only just discovered that I really dig Robert Silverberg, but only the stuff he wrote since the late 60s. Philip Jose Farmer is next on the list, and I haven't read his stuff either. I have no idea what to expect, but so far I am thanking my college-age self for randomly buying SF from used bookstores purely based on trippy covers because I wanted to be an illustrator and was looking for study material. I've found a new love for progressive 60s SF. Stuporstar fucked around with this message at 06:28 on Jul 18, 2013 |
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Jul 18, 2013 06:10
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BlazinLow305 posted:
They're written in time order, and each book (even the old ones) has a list of books. You could also check out http://www.crydee.com/, but be careful what you read on there as I saw something that was a bit of a spoiler right on the front page. http://www.crydee.com/raymond-feist/books is probably safer to start, and http://www.crydee.com/raymond-feist/reading-order will tell you obvious things (look at the menu on the left). Even better for you is that the final book of the entire cycle is being written now, so unlike the rest of the suckers who have been following it for 30 years, you can probably just plough through start to finish. Feist is moving on to a new series when this one's done. Hope that helps!
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Jul 18, 2013 07:14
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Stuporstar posted:Flowers for Algernon is pretty much exactly both these things at once, and it is awesome.
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Jul 18, 2013 08:36
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Charlz Guybon posted:Anyone know if these books are as much pulp fun as the titles/covers indicate? The title of the third book in particular is fantastic. They're definitely ripping off the Flashman aesthetic as hard as they can. I've never read them but my instinct is to say that they'd be inferior to George MacDonald Fraser's Flashman books by a country mile. Flashman isn't science fiction - it's blackly comic historical fiction - but just read those instead unless you've got some pathological need for lasers and aliens, I think.
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Jul 18, 2013 08:51
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Kalenn Istarion posted:Feist is moving on to a new series when this one's done. Must have started a new D&D campaign. Anyway, I started Feist with the Serpentwar Saga and then went back and read the Riftwar saga and I was happy with that. No one mentioned the Demonwar Saga yet but thats because it wasn't all that good. Neither is the latest trilogy.
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Jul 18, 2013 11:18
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John Charity Spring posted:They're definitely ripping off the Flashman aesthetic as hard as they can. I've never read them but my instinct is to say that they'd be inferior to George MacDonald Fraser's Flashman books by a country mile. Flashman isn't science fiction - it's blackly comic historical fiction - but just read those instead unless you've got some pathological need for lasers and aliens, I think. What thread are we in?
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Jul 18, 2013 12:59
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Charlz Guybon posted:Anyone know if these books are as much pulp fun as the titles/covers indicate? The title of the third book in particular is fantastic. I bought and read the first two or three and honestly they aren't great. I got done supply laughs out of them, particularly the gruff w warrior race guy and the android PI, but generally the same jokes were repeated each volume. I chose not to read further but your mileage may vary.
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Jul 18, 2013 13:44
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In my head, Magician is still the best fantasy book I've ever read.
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Jul 18, 2013 14:21
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Charlz Guybon posted:Anyone know if these books are as much pulp fun as the titles/covers indicate? The title of the third book in particular is fantastic. The author tells his jokes with a shotgun, but when he hits he really hits. It's probably worth reading them just for Suruk the Slayer.
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Jul 18, 2013 15:52
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coyo7e posted:That is not quite fair though, since you seem to be coming from a background of literature, while it sounds they may have a more pulp background in which first person often tends to be nigh unbearable and they may be gunshy. You're right. That's not quite fair. I read nothing but SFF my entire teens, gobbling up my dad's entire library, but that was so long ago I forgot how bad first person can be in a more pulpy novel. I've spent the last decade or so trying to catch up on all the lit I used to refuse to read, so it's only now I'm returning to SF looking for more than cool gadgets and space battles. I'm still a total sucker for anything about aliens though, as long they're more than a plot device to set up space battles. I just read Robert Silverberg's Downward to Earth which was an excellent piece of anthropological SF inspired by Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. I'm looking for more of that kind of thing: humans land on planet, meet the natives, overcome their differences in communication and gradually come to understand each other. The more alien, and the more the author has a basic understanding of biology the better. Anyone have recommendations?
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Jul 18, 2013 20:28
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BlazinLow305 posted:Ah, I don't doubt you. It's not that I actually hate or think first person is inferior. It just takes me out of the narrative I suppose. I assume if the story was sufficiently gripping, I could deal with it. Maybe you've just read some bad first-person. In that case, I'll add Carol Berg to my recommendations. Song of the Beast is a standalone novel and may be the best place to start to see if you like the style before you try one of her series, though it's pretty slow-paced from what I remember. If you prefer action, try Among Thieves by Douglas Hulick instead; bit of a slow start (to me at least) but it got good. Also seconding the earlier recommendation for Garth Nix's Sabriel. I think he's got another book in the series coming out soon, too. It's in progress at least.
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Jul 18, 2013 23:58
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If you're gonna go for a sci-fi Flashman rip off you might as well read the Caiaphas Cain 40K books.
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Jul 19, 2013 03:30
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BlazinLow305 posted:I remember dude saying start with Magician: Apprentice but other than that is there a solid time-line to follow as I read or any kind of preferred reading order with the trilogies/series to all those books? Here is a great blog post about just that. It notes chronological order instead of publication order, which I tend to prefer. It's what I followed when I read it. I would only change one thing, which is DO NOT go on to the "Legends of the Riftwar" trilogy after finishing A Darkness at Sethanon. A Darkness was a really great conclusion to the first story arc, and going to Honored Enemy was kind of a let down. Like, I'd only recommend Honored Enemy to people who are HUGE fans of the series, a great read after you're 15 books in or so because it is light hearted and fun. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it!
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Jul 19, 2013 10:03
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So, apparently Rothfuss's Kingkiller Chronicles has gotten optioned for a tv series by Fox. That's... going to be the most incredibly boring show ever. Has anyone read Seventh Son or whatever the series is that the movie is coming out soon? Looked interesting, even though it had Jeff Bridges doing a horrible Bane impression.
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Jul 19, 2013 10:05
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Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:So, apparently Rothfuss's Kingkiller Chronicles has gotten optioned for a tv series by Fox. Haha, GoT is ultra-successful, quick we need to copy that with another popular fantasy series! Don't get me wrong, I love the Kingkiller chronicles and don't give a poo poo about half the things this forum seems to hate about them, but there is no way that can be a good show.
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Jul 19, 2013 17:25
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Carrier posted:Haha, GoT is ultra-successful, quick we need to copy that with another popular fantasy series! I, for one, am looking forward to the season consisting solely of faerie porn.
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Jul 19, 2013 17:31
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I just finished Peter hamilton's "Great North Road," and loved it. Usually I move on to my next book immediately, but it has left me wanting to sit down and think about everything the boom contained. Just immensely satisfying in its scope and the way everything wove together by the end. But I'm pretty sure I've never read anything else by Hamilton. What else by him should I consider now?
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Jul 19, 2013 17:40
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They should cast a goon to play Kvothe.
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Jul 19, 2013 17:44
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McCoy Pauley posted:I just finished Peter hamilton's "Great North Road," and loved it. Usually I move on to my next book immediately, but it has left me wanting to sit down and think about everything the boom contained. Just immensely satisfying in its scope and the way everything wove together by the end. The Night's Dawn trilogy is goofy as hell but I thought it was fun.
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Jul 19, 2013 17:55
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Can't wait for the arc repeated for three seasons where he has to pay a crazy amount of money for tuition and then has to borrow it, and oh no he isn't going to have enough to pay it back, but gets enough at the last minute.
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Jul 19, 2013 17:55
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systran posted:They should cast a goon to play Kvothe. Rupert Grint could play Kvothe and Emma Watson Della.
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Jul 19, 2013 17:56
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Victorkm posted:Rupert Grint could play Kvothe and Emma Watson Della. Who would play Kote the Bartender / Failure / Lying Storyteller? I'd rather see Feist's series made into a TV show. The way it's written would be pretty easy to serialize. Make each trilogy a season - there's probably a similar amount of content in a Feist trilogy to a GRRM book. e: spoilers added for those that haven't read the books.
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Jul 19, 2013 18:13
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Paul Bettany. Or Robert Webb.
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Jul 19, 2013 18:17
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Junkenstein posted:In my head, Magician is still the best fantasy book I've ever read.
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Jul 19, 2013 18:39
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Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:Has anyone read Seventh Son or whatever the series is that the movie is coming out soon? Looked interesting, even though it had Jeff Bridges doing a horrible Bane impression. Then I found out you were talking about The Wardstone Chronicles, the first of which (Spook's Apprentice) is being made into a movie with Jeff Bridges as the titular Spook. But I've never heard if they're any good, or what level of YA they are (I'm assuming pretty young.)
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Jul 19, 2013 19:04
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syphon posted:It's probably just me viewing it through the rose-tinted glasses of Nostalgia, but I agree. That book is what got me started reading Fantasy. I re-read it a few weeks ago, the previous time was I want to say around 94. I still thought it was pretty good. There were a few cliches and what not but overall I thought it was a pretty good read and stood up well to my memory. It also gave me a pang of wanting to play old school D&D.
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Jul 19, 2013 20:15
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coyo7e posted:or what level of YA they are (I'm assuming pretty young.) It's shelved as "middle readers" at my bookstore. I try to avoid that section like the plague.
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Jul 19, 2013 20:51
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calandryll posted:I re-read it a few weeks ago, the previous time was I want to say around 94. I still thought it was pretty good. There were a few cliches and what not but overall I thought it was a pretty good read and stood up well to my memory. It also gave me a pang of wanting to play old school D&D. So I'm not the only one! I always thought Pug was cool, and it's lovely that his wife died and everyone he knows is slowly getting hosed over. e: Although kind of interesting that in one of the most recent books Nakor has returned from the dead as a demon. ee: Further, I miss 2nd edition D&D a lot. I think the new rules are stupid and the tiles are just a retarded money grab. gently caress them. Kalenn Istarion fucked around with this message at 22:08 on Jul 19, 2013 |
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Jul 19, 2013 22:05
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RE: Robert Silverberg chat, I just reread his book A Time of Changes, and it was even better than I remembered. It's from '71, and really reminiscent of LeGuin. I'd strongly recommend it if you're a fan of either one of them.
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Jul 19, 2013 22:31
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Blog Free or Die posted:RE: Robert Silverberg chat, I just reread his book A Time of Changes, and it was even better than I remembered. It's from '71, and really reminiscent of LeGuin. I'd strongly recommend it if you're a fan of either one of them. Definitely interested. I'll have to track a copy down. I'm finding Philip Jose Farmer's writing so obtuse, meandering, and boring that my eyes slide off the page. His descriptions of characters are just checklists, and then he glosses over or completely fails to describe the details of anything potentially interesting. I guess I'll be trading those in to the used bookstore unread.
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Jul 20, 2013 00:55
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Carrier posted:Haha, GoT is ultra-successful, quick we need to copy that with another popular fantasy series! This was my thought. The books aren't for me, but I can see why some people love them. But I note that its traditional weaknesses (plot, pacing) are things you kind of need in a TV show. And its biggest strength (prose) is something that's...decidedly hard to convey without abusing the heck out of inner monologue. I'll be curious to see how it does, but I don't think the medium fits.
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Jul 20, 2013 01:58
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House Louse posted:Urban Fantasy I just finished her latest, The Drowning Girl. I didn't like it as much as The Red Tree, but it's a very good read. She experiments with a different voice and POV, which shift around quite a bit. There are a couple short stories written within the story. I meant to start a thread just for her books, but I don't think I could do them all justice, and it's been a while since I read some of them. I'm recommending though for anyone who hasn't yet to read Silk, it's a bit rough and has some first time author kinks in it but is still fantastic, and Murder of Angels is a followup to that written some time later. Just do yourself a favor and don't dwell on the cover art for these early books. Some of it is unfortunate to say the least. They seem to have gotten a lot better as she's seen some success.
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Jul 20, 2013 02:08
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Looked her up on wikipedia, and I gotta say, she is definitely a unique author simply because of this notation :quote:Kiernan is a transsexual,[6] a lesbian, and an atheist pagan.[7] She lives in Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. with her partner: photographer and doll maker Kathryn A. Pollnac.[8] A transsexual lesbian atheist pagan horror writer. That's gotta give you a unique perspective when writing.
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Jul 20, 2013 02:24
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Kiernan's short stories are phenomenal and SubPress needs to get off their asses and release her collections as ebooks.
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Jul 20, 2013 02:49
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I don't get the atheist pagan part. Is that like telling mom that if dad doesn't have to go to the saturnalia neither do you?
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Jul 20, 2013 03:47
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