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Cardiac posted:That's it, I can't take Daniel Abraham anymore. I'm about halfway through Wakes and I've got to admit I'm not feeling it all too much. It's interesting enough to keep going but I'm not blown away like I thought I would be. I've seen so much praise for the first book and I'm wondering why?...
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Sep 18, 2013 17:28
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Schneider Heim posted:I've read two books from her The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms and The Broken Kingdoms. They're part of a trilogy. I haven't read the third book because I'm lazy, but her women protagonists are well-written and interesting. I hope I enjoy the other two as much as the one I did get to.
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Sep 18, 2013 17:32
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Ingram posted:I'm about halfway through Wakes and I've got to admit I'm not feeling it all too much. It's interesting enough to keep going but I'm not blown away like I thought I would be. I've seen so much praise for the first book and I'm wondering why?... I don't know either. When I started reading it I was amped for solar system only space opera, but when it got to the actual characters it was just a struggle for me to bear with them. Then the reveal of the horrible evil plot was just completely lackluster and almost laughable.
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Sep 18, 2013 22:04
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muike posted:I don't know either. When I started reading it I was amped for solar system only space opera, but when it got to the actual characters it was just a struggle for me to bear with them. Then the reveal of the horrible evil plot was just completely lackluster and almost laughable. I like solar system only space drama too but i thought the quantum thief was much better. The system in TQT/TFP seems so much larger than the system in Leviathan Wakes despite the technology of TQF being considerably more advanced. Also if you like single solar system no-FTL type settings, Banks' Against a Dark Background is pretty good.
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Sep 18, 2013 23:22
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andrew smash posted:I like solar system only space drama too but i thought the quantum thief was much better. The system in TQT/TFP seems so much larger than the system in Leviathan Wakes despite the technology of TQF being considerably more advanced. TQT is definitely much better than the Expanse. I really need to get a copy of the sequel. quote:Also if you like single solar system no-FTL type settings, Banks' Against a Dark Background is pretty good. Another is Ryk Spoor/Eric Flint's Boundary/Threshhold/Portal series. Much closer to our time, maybe only a decade or two ahead although the tech does pick up pace thanks to discoveries made throughout the books. Overall, it's OK; I think Spoor's Grand Central Arena is much better, but it's a very different sort of story. I think Baen needs to be renamed Baen-Flint or something; it's like he's a credited author on half of their recent books.
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Sep 19, 2013 05:58
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The last time I moved my ragged copy of Arthur C Clarke's short stories did not make it. I'm looking for the title of his story about these creatures who lived in the sun, and made the jump to earth. The story is ambiguous about their identities and in the end, their whole heroic effort shows up as a blip on a ship's radar at sea and then they die, I think. If anyone can help me out with this, I'd love to share it with my grade 10 English class. Thanks!
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Sep 19, 2013 06:20
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So Harry Connolly, author of the "Twenty Palaces" series (also known as the best Urban Fantasy series ever), is Kickstarting an epic fantasy trilogy. It's been up an hour or so and he already got 5K out of the 10K he asked for. I am super happy for him 'cause he's an awesome loving writer and you should all pledge your money: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1179145430/the-great-way-an-epic-fantasy-trilogy-by-harry-con Pledge it, bitches.
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Sep 19, 2013 19:41
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Why does he need a kickstarter? He's a previously published author writing a book, for gently caress's sake.
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Sep 19, 2013 22:07
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Dryb posted:Why does he need a kickstarter? He's a previously published author writing a book, for gently caress's sake. He's a previously published author writing a book. That's a pretty good reason in and of itself. Also, his last series got cancelled for lack of readership, dinnit?
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Sep 19, 2013 22:08
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Dryb posted:Why does he need a kickstarter? He's a previously published author writing a book, for gently caress's sake. Because his series was cancelled because of sales and all publishers refused to buy his new series because of midlist death spiral. Being "published" is hardly the ticket to gravy train a lot of people think it is.
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Sep 19, 2013 22:11
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He did go through the publisher submission thing. His blog goes into more detail about it, but essentially the publishers he submitted the series to responded that it needed to be more like George RR Martin, that it wasn't grimdark enough.
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Sep 19, 2013 22:33
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Megazver posted:Because his series was cancelled because of sales and all publishers refused to buy his new series because of midlist death spiral. Being "published" is hardly the ticket to gravy train a lot of people think it is. Yeah, even being published and being super talented is no guarantee that an author can actually make a living writing. I hope this guy's successful with his Kickstarter and more authors in his situation can use it in the future.
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Sep 19, 2013 22:51
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savinhill posted:Yeah, even being published and being super talented is no guarantee that an author can actually make a living writing. I hope this guy's successful with his Kickstarter and more authors in his situation can use it in the future. He's at 8.5K/10K six hours in, so I think he'll manage. Also, from Twitter: quote:Michael W Lucas @mwlauthor 3h This is kinda ambiguous and he's been quite resistant to the idea of crowdfunding more 20P books before... but perhaps being on the verge of successfully crowdfunding a book in 12 hours is weakening his resolve? Fingers crossed.
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Sep 19, 2013 23:02
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Megazver posted:This is kinda ambiguous and he's been quite resistant to the idea of crowdfunding more 20P books before... but perhaps being on the verge of successfully crowdfunding a book in 12 hours is weakening his resolve? Fingers crossed. He actually addressed it somewhat on his blog already: http://www.harryjconnolly.com/blog/?p=8081 quote:As I write this, my Kickstarter project is at 80% of goal after only four and a half hours. So, that’s wacky pants and completely unexpected.
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Sep 19, 2013 23:10
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fermun posted:He actually addressed it somewhat on his blog already: So what we really want is to have him make sure the twenty palaces rights are sorted out and crowd fund the book we want to read.
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Sep 20, 2013 01:01
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Fallorn posted:So what we really want is to have him make sure the twenty palaces rights are sorted out and crowd fund the book we want to read. He already has the rights. He said he wasn't going to crowdfund a 20P book in the near future because each book in the series actually sold less than the previous one and continuing to write more at this juncture is a road into oblivion. He is going to try and write something else that hopefully draw a new audience and after he finds something that works and draws more eyes to his work, he'll try to revive 20P. EDIT: He did it! 10K in under eight hours! 
Megazver fucked around with this message at 01:55 on Sep 20, 2013 |
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Sep 20, 2013 01:11
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Dryb posted:Why does he need a kickstarter? He's a previously published author writing a book, for gently caress's sake. Other people have already pointed this out, but I just want to reinforce that getting a novel published is the start of your struggles, not the end. Most writers basically work book to book, and if one fails, their career under that name's done.
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Sep 20, 2013 01:44
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General Battuta posted:Other people have already pointed this out, but I just want to reinforce that getting a novel published is the start of your struggles, not the end. Most writers basically work book to book, and if one fails, their career under that name's done. Adding to this, Charles Stross, himself one of the most successful midlist-authors, wrote quite a bit about the publishing industry and especially about the realities of being an author.
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Sep 20, 2013 15:35
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Stross' articles on writing are really good, and so was that one by Holly Lisle. The big statistic is that British full-time writers who earn over 50% of their income from writing make £23,000 on average, and you can multiply that by 60% if you're a woman. And this was before the financial crisis.Dryb posted:Why does he need a kickstarter? He's a previously published author writing a book, for gently caress's sake. That's probably why. Someone without a career could just say "Screw these rejections, I'm gonna self-publish!". But Connolly presumably needs the money and this is his most marketable skill, to put it crudely. Speaking of money, Strange Horizons is holding its annual fundraising drive; if you like their stuff, please donate a few dollars.
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Sep 20, 2013 17:47
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fermun posted:He did go through the publisher submission thing. His blog goes into more detail about it, but essentially the publishers he submitted the series to responded that it needed to be more like George RR Martin, that it wasn't grimdark enough. coyo7e fucked around with this message at 17:59 on Sep 20, 2013 |
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Sep 20, 2013 17:57
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fermun posted:He did go through the publisher submission thing. His blog goes into more detail about it, but essentially the publishers he submitted the series to responded that it needed to be more like George RR Martin, that it wasn't grimdark enough. That is really depressing and I was hoping this general obsession with grimdark bullshit would recede, not get worse to the point that it is actually a publisher demand.
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Sep 20, 2013 18:10
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Oh Snapple! posted:That is really depressing and I was hoping this general obsession with grimdark bullshit would recede, not get worse to the point that it is actually a publisher demand. I have a feeling that it was more that his new series was a little too quirky to be considered a mainstream moneyticket. That, coupled with his sales record. With that said, I do feel we've just about hit peak grimdark. Sanderson's Way of Kings was refreshing to me because of how positive it was, despite some iffy writing and character work.
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Sep 20, 2013 18:31
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BananaNutkins posted:I have a feeling that it was more that his new series was a little too quirky to be considered a mainstream moneyticket. That, coupled with his sales record. With that said, I do feel we've just about hit peak grimdark. Sanderson's Way of Kings was refreshing to me because of how positive it was, despite some iffy writing and character work. I absolutely agree on that. I know I was critical of Sanderson a little while ago, but I really do hope for his continued success due to things like this. I've really just gotten tired of cynical works in general, honestly. I'd like it to go away for a while.
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Sep 20, 2013 19:00
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BananaNutkins posted:I have a feeling that it was more that his new series was a little too quirky to be considered a mainstream moneyticket. That, coupled with his sales record. With that said, I do feel we've just about hit peak grimdark. Sanderson's Way of Kings was refreshing to me because of how positive it was, despite some iffy writing and character work. That is entirely possible to be a part of it. Even though his Kickstarter has done far better than he was personally expecting, with $17,000 so far after about 30 hours, this is the response to a trilogy. For an author, $17,000 directly to him in preorders is great, for a publisher, this is still in a series not worth their time. The third Twenty Palaces book sold ~10,000 copies at $8 each and was considered a bad enough failure to have the series cancelled. I liked his writing for 20 Palaces and I hope he does well enough that he can do the Amazon promotion thing, especially since the only way that we'll ever see another 20P book is if he has a hit.
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Sep 20, 2013 20:21
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I read one of the Twenty Palaces and it's not really my cup of tea, but I think it's good if this model allows authors with a small but dedicated audience to successfully sell their books (and really, in this case what value is a publisher contributing anyway). Although, if he's already written a first draft of the whole trilogy I'm not sure if I totally see the point of a kickstarter rather than just finishing and selling it in ebook form like Hugh Howey.
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Sep 20, 2013 20:26
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mystes posted:Although, if he's already written a first draft of the whole trilogy I'm not sure if I totally see the point of a kickstarter rather than just finishing and selling it in ebook form like Hugh Howey. Editing and covers cost money.
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Sep 20, 2013 20:44
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Megazver posted:Editing and covers cost money. That was the stretch goals for the recent Lawrence Watt Evans kick starter. Something like "$5000 I hire this particular editor $8000 I commission this particular artist".
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Sep 20, 2013 20:51
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Hugh Howey's Wool series isn't typical for self-published things. This would have gone entirely self published, self edited, and had no art if the Kickstarter hadn't met it's goal, but there are other things that make a book more professional and give a greater chance of success which require money up front. Wool was 56 pages, which is 25000 words. This is a trilogy of 350,000 words, which is 780 pages, or Wool 1-6. He needs to register 4 ISBNs, he needs to send it to an editor, epic fantasy typically has maps and cover art so he needs an artist for that, he wants to do a run of 100 hardcovers and a couple hundred trade paperbacks, etc. He has some dedicated fans who are willing to preorder via Kickstarter to cover the costs of making the trilogy more professional, so why not?
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Sep 20, 2013 20:59
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Oh Snapple! posted:I absolutely agree on that. I know I was critical of Sanderson a little while ago, but I really do hope for his continued success due to things like this. I feel like the publishing industry sometimes lags a little behind the reading consensus, hence why we're only now seeing the tail end of dystopian YA, even though The Hunger Games has been done for awhile. I don't think it can get much more grimdark than The Broken Empire trilogy.
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Sep 21, 2013 02:08
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Just finished up a recommendation from a friend. The Translators by Gord Rollo. I already liked Crimson and Jigsaw Man, so I knew there was a good chance I'd like this book, but drat it blew me away. It's really, really good. It lives up to the description of "apocalyptic thriller" that the author gave. He... I dunno, he takes a LOT of random poo poo and somehow mixes it all together to have it work all perfectly. The book covers stuff from incan temples to pyramids to loch ness and it just somehow gels into this great read. It's one of the few books I've read this year that I say is worth picking up. I'd describe it better, but the way he merges everything into the main plot kinda kills the ability to give any more details without spoiling something else about the plot. 5$ on kindle at the moment (and I assume everywhere else) with the paperback being something like 12.95? Honestly, the cover art sold me on it before the story did. Just loving look at it :  He had a cooler looking pic of an incan temple, but I can't find it at the moment.
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Sep 21, 2013 16:57
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Can anyone recommend some good Harlan Ellison? I've read The Region Between and I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream. I loved both and they've made an impression on me.
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Sep 21, 2013 18:55
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Rough Lobster posted:Can anyone recommend some good Harlan Ellison? I've read The Region Between and I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream. I loved both and they've made an impression on me. I enjoyed a good chunk of the stories in Shatterday and Paingod. The documentary about him, Dreams with Sharp Teeth, was also enjoyable (and possibly still streaming free on Amazon Prime.) He's got a pretty varied output, and I don't think I've ever gotten a collection of his that had a 100% hit rate (or even close), but those two were overall pretty strong. Plus, you can watch the worlds youngest Bruce Willis in the Twilight Zone version of Shatterday.
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Sep 21, 2013 21:19
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The best thing to do is pick up "The Essential Ellison", as it contains the best of his writing on various topics. The time he got arrested, "Our Little Miss", Getting forced into screenplays for "The Starlost", a full screenplay for a bond-esque movie, the post-apocalyptic "A boy and his dog" which was made into a movie, "Deathbird", and it contains "I have no mouth and I must scream" which you've already read.
Bhodi fucked around with this message at 23:09 on Sep 21, 2013 |
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Sep 21, 2013 23:06
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Rough Lobster posted:Can anyone recommend some good Harlan Ellison? I've read The Region Between and I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream. I loved both and they've made an impression on me. The Last Dangerous Visions, of course! Seriously: he's mostly famous for his stories, not novels. Deathbird Stories is good, and Neil Gaiman's made a decent living off it, too. The SF Encyclopaedia is really good for this kind of question.
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Sep 21, 2013 23:14
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Rough Lobster posted:Can anyone recommend some good Harlan Ellison? I've read The Region Between and I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream. I loved both and they've made an impression on me. Strange Wine is a must-read collection.
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Sep 22, 2013 00:10
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Is Codex Born any good? I thought the concept for the first book was pretty great, but I didn't end up enjoying that much.
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Sep 22, 2013 06:31
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I thought that it was better than the first book. If you enjoyed the first book, you'll enjoy the second.
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Sep 22, 2013 06:51
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For some reason I've gotten a bit nostalgic about the Charles de Lint Newford stories that I read when I was a teenager. Were these actually any good or am I going to ruin my memories by rereading them as an adult? This feels like a stupid question, but I'd rather not ruin something I think fondly of. Unless, y'know, it's worth the fondness, I guess?
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Sep 22, 2013 09:13
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Xandu posted:Is Codex Born any good? I enjoyed it, better than the first book, and the development of Lena is - while sometimes a bit clumsy - interesting and rather refreshing for a female character in the genre, especially with her origin. And the ending makes one rather interested in the next book. Decius fucked around with this message at 09:21 on Sep 22, 2013 |
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Sep 22, 2013 09:18
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I recently read the original Dune series by Frank Herbert and I see that there have been a number of prequels written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J Anderson. I was wondering if these prequels are worth the read or do people think they don't stand up to the original.
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Sep 22, 2013 11:54
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