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sirtommygunn posted:It's just kind of strange that a notable seductress has yet to actually succeed at seducing someone. Isn't Binders whole Schtick "Always professional", which means never mixing business with pleasure.
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Jun 27, 2014 18:29
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He's a mortal though which the books have shown are usually pretty corruptible.
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Jun 27, 2014 18:31
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Deptfordx posted:Isn't Binders whole Schtick "Always professional", which means never mixing business with pleasure. I have a sneaking suspicion that Binder was one of Jim's secondary City of Heroes characters (a summoner).
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Jun 27, 2014 18:32
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Just finished the Codex Alera series after running out of other books. I enjoyed it quite a lot actually, was pretty satisfying. What are peoples issues with it?
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Jun 27, 2014 19:52
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Dravs posted:Just finished the Codex Alera series after running out of other books. I enjoyed it quite a lot actually, was pretty satisfying. What are peoples issues with it? Tavi's arc is very, very predictable, the story itself becomes formulaic, and Isana is a horrible human being (and no one ever calls her out on it). Of the three, Isana bothers me the most. I spent every book hoping that she'd get eaten, shived, enslaved, burned, crucified, assimilated, drowned, drawn-and-quartered, flayed, impaled, or otherwise perish.
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Jun 27, 2014 20:18
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:I have a sneaking suspicion that Binder was one of Jim's secondary City of Heroes characters (a summoner). That would explain an incredible amount about Binder. Dravs posted:Just finished the Codex Alera series after running out of other books. I enjoyed it quite a lot actually, was pretty satisfying. What are peoples issues with it? I would say my biggest problems are that it becomes formulaic and that the female cast is pretty goddamn bad, a good chunk of which is that Butcher put a lot of emphasis on romance he wasn't able to back up. Also everything involving the Earth Fury Sex Power which just crossed the line into unnecessarily sleazy way too often. ImpAtom fucked around with this message at 20:25 on Jun 27, 2014 |
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Jun 27, 2014 20:20
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:I have a sneaking suspicion that Binder was one of Jim's secondary City of Heroes characters (a summoner). I always picture him as the guy who plays Crowley on Supernatural, only using the sleazy delivery he had on Firefly.
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Jun 27, 2014 20:32
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ImpAtom posted:That would explain an incredible amount about Binder. I guess I just glossed over the earth fury sex thing putting it down to Butcher being a massive goon. It's pretty tame compared to certain parts of Dresden.
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Jun 27, 2014 20:47
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I liked the first few books, the ones where Tavi was a magicless man in a magical world and had to get by with cleverness and trickery. Once he got his furies and became an unstoppable force of asskickery, all that kind of goes away. Yes, he has a lot of clever tricks with his furycraft that other people don't think of, but he's no longer the underdog.
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Jun 27, 2014 21:01
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OptimusWang posted:I always picture him as the guy who plays Crowley on Supernatural, only using the sleazy delivery he had on Firefly. Yes, this is the generally accepted picture.
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Jun 27, 2014 22:01
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OptimusWang posted:I always picture him as the guy who plays Crowley on Supernatural, only using the sleazy delivery he had on Firefly. I go with an older Bob Hoskins myself (RIP)
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Jun 27, 2014 23:21
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Khizan posted:I liked the first few books, the ones where Tavi was a magicless man in a magical world and had to get by with cleverness and trickery. Once he got his furies and became an unstoppable force of asskickery, all that kind of goes away. Yes, he has a lot of clever tricks with his furycraft that other people don't think of, but he's no longer the underdog. This was part of the reason the last couple books didn't click as well for me. It went from Tavi being the clear underdog using his tricky mind and grit in order to come out ahead, to Tavi is Goku and he will fly around and summon giant blasts of energy to destroy armies. The scope got hosed up too. It's easier to care about a single city/village fighting for survival against alien invaders than it was to care about 90% of the world getting destroyed by the zerg-borg, and all of the remaining human race packing into one city to fight an endless enemy. The romances were kind of a mixed bag. I actually enjoyed Tavi/Kitai, but Bernard/actiongirl was a weird rugged old guy+young girl romance that felt like it was cut/pasted out of a different story entirely. The tone is also all over the place. Most of the time its lighthearted fantasy, but then it'll suddenly insert mind-slavery collars, rape-slaves, Crucifixion, ritual live cannibalism etc. The whole Marat are all cannibals thing got completely swept under the rug after the first book when the Marat became friendly alien allies.
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Jun 28, 2014 00:39
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limited posted:Ditto. I don't mind them too much, expecting how they tend to go. But it's definitely wince-worthy in plenty of places. I'd recommend the Alex Verus books by Benedict Jacka. They can get a bit angsty and drawn out in places, but they're not bad. Might pick up the first one next time I'm in town, has anyone else read them?
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Jun 28, 2014 01:17
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Ika posted:Might pick up the first one next time I'm in town, has anyone else read them? Yes. I prefer Alex Verus over the Iron Druid.
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Jun 28, 2014 01:23
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Ika posted:Might pick up the first one next time I'm in town, has anyone else read them? Imagine if, instead of being powerful but stupid, Dresden was weak but really really smart. Yeah, they're good, read them.
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Jun 28, 2014 02:58
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I'm reading Shattered now and enjoying it. The pop culture/internet stuff did get pretty heavy and annoying for a while but it's tapered off in the last few books. I think it can be mostly justified by Atticus needing to live in the moment so he didn't get dragged under by all he's lived through and all he's lost. It seems like once he started forming relationships that could last beyond less than a mortal lifetime (and with beings other than a death goddess), he stopped spouting off so many memes. In Shattered, others talk about how annoying, impulsive, and selfish he is so Hearne is aware of it. It's like Harry's flaws--they're intentionally part of the character. As for Oberon--I'm in the minority here (but maybe the majority elsewhere) and think he's cute. I like animal interaction, am a dog person, and think Oberon is a good vehicle for infodumps. It's subtle (maybe it's not) but having Oberon around has kept Atticus from becoming isolated and depressed. (Spoilers for the last two books) Granuaile's hound has done this a few times in Shattered just in the part I've read, too. I wouldn't want Mouse to become like Oberon, though. If he did, he'd be Atticus and Harry would be Oberon.
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Jun 28, 2014 04:10
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Why is a different man reading me ghost stories I like the old person who read me Dresden files better Help
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Jun 28, 2014 04:19
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Devi posted:As for Oberon--I'm in the minority here (but maybe the majority elsewhere) and think he's cute. I like animal interaction, am a dog person, and think Oberon is a good vehicle for infodumps. It's subtle (maybe it's not) but having Oberon around has kept Atticus from becoming isolated and depressed. (Spoilers for the last two books) Granuaile's hound has done this a few times in Shattered just in the part I've read, too. I wouldn't want Mouse to become like Oberon, though. If he did, he'd be Atticus and Harry would be Oberon. See, to address that spoiled point.. I actually love Granualie's hound. I think Orlaith's scenes are cute, and fairly basic, and their interaction works pretty well. My problem with Oberon isn't a dislike dogs, or disliking cuteness- I just get grumpy when every few pages there's a paragraph about sausages or poodles or he's used as a further vehicle for pop culture references. I actually liked him in the first book or so, but, by now it kinda gets on my nerves. But like I said, I definitely did like the book overall- and like you said, opening up the POVs more definitely has helped.
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Jun 28, 2014 04:30
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WindmillSlayer posted:Why is a different man reading me ghost stories Pretend that Dresden has a different voice when he's dead. The other guy comes back for the future books.
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Jun 28, 2014 04:33
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computer parts posted:Pretend that Dresden has a different voice when he's dead. The other guy comes back for the future books. Yay! Why did they switch guys? This guy is so worse especially that Dresden is supposed to be all youthful while a spirit
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Jun 28, 2014 04:34
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WindmillSlayer posted:Yay! Why did they switch guys? This guy is so worse especially that Dresden is supposed to be all youthful while a spirit The guy who does them normally just wasn't available for that one for whatever reason.
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Jun 28, 2014 04:41
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Arcsech posted:The guy who does them normally just wasn't available for that one for whatever reason. Ghost Story was delayed, and the change in release schedule didn't jibe with Marsters' schedule. He had previous commitments, and so they had to get someone else to do the audiobook.
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Jun 28, 2014 04:46
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ConfusedUs posted:Ghost Story was delayed, and the change in release schedule didn't jibe with Marsters' schedule. He had previous commitments, and so they had to get someone else to do the audiobook. That's really sucky and I hope one day they redo it with marsters Regardless am enjoying this so far it's nice having Harry not be hyper wizard Ok byebye thread I don't wanna see any spoilers
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Jun 28, 2014 04:51
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ImpAtom posted:That would explain an incredible amount about Binder. What would it explain? he's shown up twice in 15 books and gotten his rear end kicked seven ways from sunday in the first book, and realistically in the second comes out even - but that's literally because he was on the protagonists side in the second one.
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Jun 28, 2014 04:56
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WindmillSlayer posted:Why is a different man reading me ghost stories It's just another one of those Changes.
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Jun 28, 2014 07:13
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Sir Shion posted:What would it explain? he's shown up twice in 15 books and gotten his rear end kicked seven ways from sunday in the first book, and realistically in the second comes out even - but that's literally because he was on the protagonists side in the second one. Because a lot of his gimmicks and especially the way he is written in Skin Game would make a lot more sense as "this is the author's CoH character."
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Jun 28, 2014 07:23
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ImpAtom posted:Because a lot of his gimmicks and especially the way he is written in Skin Game would make a lot more sense as "this is the author's CoH character." I admit I can kind of see it, having played a Mastermind in CoH.
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Jun 28, 2014 13:41
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Ika posted:Might pick up the first one next time I'm in town, has anyone else read them? Yeah, the Alex Verus-series is great. Refreshing to have a protagonist that's weaker than his enemies and actually has to be clever (sometimes even doing something as outrageous as avoiding fights).
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Jun 28, 2014 17:39
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Alex Varus is what I wanted the Iron Druid books to be.
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Jun 29, 2014 01:47
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I like the Alex Versus books, but I almost put it down when he first calls the evil mage group Dark Mages. Like, seriously, you couldn't come up with anything better?
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Jun 29, 2014 03:35
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gninjagnome posted:I like the Alex Versus books, but I almost put it down when he first calls the evil mage group Dark Mages. Like, seriously, you couldn't come up with anything better? Black Mages is copyrighted.
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Jun 29, 2014 03:41
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Illuyankas posted:Black Mages is copyrighted. Also, let's face it, racist. (with a hat tip to the PC Grant / Rivers of London series for pointing that out in hilarious fashion)
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Jun 29, 2014 04:18
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Also, let's face it, racist. (with a hat tip to the PC Grant / Rivers of London series for pointing that out in hilarious fashion) Ethically-Challenged Practitioners. And what's extra hilarious is that Nightingale buys into it!
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Jun 29, 2014 06:18
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I really wish I could get into Rivers of London. My big problem with it is that I like literally everyone in it but the protagonist. If it was Leslie and Nightingale handling poo poo 24/7 I would be all over that.
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Jun 29, 2014 06:30
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ImpAtom posted:I really wish I could get into Rivers of London. My big problem with it is that I like literally everyone in it but the protagonist. If it was Leslie and Nightingale handling poo poo 24/7 I would be all over that. Not after the last book you won't.
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Jun 29, 2014 09:16
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I just started reading this series last week and I was going to post this:Pham Nuwen posted:Edit: Dresden really is a goon with his black coat. Also sometimes you're almost expecting him to tip his hat and say "M'lady" but it's on page loving one. I know Harry doesn't wear a hat but I half expect him to conjure one out of nowhere just so he can tip it at Murphy. It feels like he's some goon's caricature of himself based on what he thinks would be really cool. I really hope he gets better with this as time goes on. I say this mostly because I'm on Fool moon, and since the OP says it's the worst book in the series, I fully expect it to get much better. Even then, I've read well over half of the book in two days. Sure it has it's problems, but Butcher writes really good action scenes. I stayed up far too late last night reading, and as a result am horribly sleep deprived for work today. As a reward, I got Dresdan launching a warewolf like Wile-E-Coyote halfway across the city through several buildings, before binding him using a snoopy doll and chanting to the rhythm of the peanuts theme song. I'd like to believe he left warewolf shaped holes in the walls.
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Jun 29, 2014 14:22
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Dresden will forever be goony but it does become a lot less affecting as time goes on. It's definitely a character thing rather than an author thing though which makes it more tolerable. Until then, enjoy nipple talk!
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Jun 29, 2014 14:58
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WastedJoker posted:It's definitely a character thing rather than an author thing though which makes it more tolerable. That's good. I actually have trouble reading books if I know the author is an enormous tool, and I know next to nothing about Jim Butcher.
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Jun 29, 2014 15:09
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Renegret posted:That's good.  There you go. That's all you need to know. Jim's a geek but he's the best kind of friendly, self-aware, non-disturbing geek.
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Jun 29, 2014 15:22
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Sir Shion posted:Not after the last book you won't. Yeah, I heard about that and decided not to buy the last book. Killed any interest I had in that franchise.
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Jun 29, 2014 19:48
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