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General Emergency posted:I'm struggling through Way of the Kings because someone said it would go insane DragonBall Z poo poo but I'm now like three quarters in and... It's just so boring. Nothing is happening. Kaladin moans about and is a sad sack of poo poo. The girl is exited about studying and the General is thinking of retirement. This has gone on for hundreds of pages. Jesus. It doesn't help that the pov characters have zero interaction and everyone else has a one note personality. Should I just give up again or soldier through? You're almost to the 'Sanderson Avalanche', hang in there. He seems to be getting a little better about pacing but a lot of the meat in Sanderson novels happens in the last 20% of the book.
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Aug 14, 2014 02:05
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spootime posted:Anyone got any recommendations for a new series to start? I was thinking of reading Richard Morgans fantasy series as I really liked the Altered Carbon books, but I haven't heard all that much about it. Land Fit for Heroes is basically 'gently caress character tropes - the series'. Read it.
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Aug 14, 2014 02:16
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eriktown posted:I read the Fuzzy books when I was a little kid and thought they were awesome :3 Every couple of months I read a few more Theodore Sturgeon short stories from his collected works. There's so much "if this shook me up this much how bad would it be for dames" kind of talk and a lot of "why I outta pop you one" machismo. It's weird and occasionally annoying. I feel the same way watching old silver screen films though.
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Aug 14, 2014 02:39
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Ugh. I bought one of his books a while back when amazon had a sale on his ebook stuff. Worst god damned book I ever read, but then again, MY FAULT for not thinking it'd be something based in a 60's mentality. Basically the story of a retarded dude who had a HORRIBLE SECRET and would go apeshit and try to kill people if he thought they knew it, and it turned out he liked to drink blood from his girlfriend to calm down. I can see this being horrifying 50 years ago, but today it's just like "Dude that's kinda hosed up, let us never speak of it again.", kinda like bronies. I guess I've just seen some poo poo man, and it changes ya. 
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Aug 14, 2014 04:38
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Pyroclastic posted:I picked up H. Beam Piper's Little Fuzzy collected editions at Half Price Books the other day. I liked Scalzi's recent retelling, and decided to keep an eye out for the originals. Yeah, they've dated really hard. I read a bunch of Piper's stuff when Scalzi's book came out (Piper wrote a book titled "Space Viking!") and it's all like that. To be fair though, paternalistic treatment of noble-savage adorable baby bear aliens was still mainstream scifi trope twenty years later, and not just with Ewoks -- look at something like C.J. Cherryh's Downbelow Station, which in every other respect is a brilliant novel.
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Aug 14, 2014 04:52
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Velius posted:I, also, really enjoy the Land Fit for Heroes. The setting is interesting, and it's more than a little refreshing to have two of three leads in a fantasy series be GLBT. It's only a little grim, not excessively so, and has the usual violence Morgan is known for. 
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Aug 14, 2014 11:37
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Forgall posted:Only a little grim? Yeah, I reckon. Even the decadent scumbag Emperor isn't portrayed as completely irredeemable; he shows mercy to Archeth's shipbuilder buddy and generally makes it clear that while he definitely enjoys the perks of his position, he's not handpuppet evil, just a product of court society and in a pretty difficult position vis a vis internal rebellion and the conflict between church and state. Ringil rescues his cousin, nobody the main characters really value has died since the series began, and the main characters likewise have frequent opportunities to kick rear end and be awesome. If the series was really that grim, we'd still be wallowing in misery right now.
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Aug 14, 2014 14:42
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I'm almost done with the second book in the Fionavar Tapestry. For some reason, after finishing Fionavar, I now have the urge to read...Dragonlance. So, re-reading Chronicles for the first time in 15 years, plus adding some weird trilogy from the early 2000s placed in between books 1 and 2, good idea or great idea? Can't be worse than picking up and slogging through Words of Radiance, right?
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Aug 14, 2014 17:38
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eriktown posted:Yeah, I reckon. Even the decadent scumbag Emperor isn't portrayed as completely irredeemable; he shows mercy to Archeth's shipbuilder buddy and generally makes it clear that while he definitely enjoys the perks of his position, he's not handpuppet evil, just a product of court society and in a pretty difficult position vis a vis internal rebellion and the conflict between church and state. Ringil rescues his cousin, nobody the main characters really value has died since the series began, and the main characters likewise have frequent opportunities to kick rear end and be awesome. If the series was really that grim, we'd still be wallowing in misery right now. Yeah but you haven't finished the series yet. Also a reminder that the main antagonists cut off peoples' heads and attach them to tree stumps so they can live out eternity in perpetual torment. Nothing grim there.
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Aug 14, 2014 18:10
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RVProfootballer posted:I'm almost done with the second book in the Fionavar Tapestry. For some reason, after finishing Fionavar, I now have the urge to read...Dragonlance. So, re-reading Chronicles for the first time in 15 years, plus adding some weird trilogy from the early 2000s placed in between books 1 and 2, good idea or great idea? Can't be worse than picking up and slogging through Words of Radiance, right? If you think Sanderson is a bad writer and a slog to get through I have no idea why you think it wouldn't be agonizing for you to read Weis and Hickman. IMO Legend of Huma and then a few comedy-oriented books are the only readable ones.
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Aug 14, 2014 18:31
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RVProfootballer posted:I'm almost done with the second book in the Fionavar Tapestry. For some reason, after finishing Fionavar, I now have the urge to read...Dragonlance. So, re-reading Chronicles for the first time in 15 years, plus adding some weird trilogy from the early 2000s placed in between books 1 and 2, good idea or great idea? Can't be worse than picking up and slogging through Words of Radiance, right? I loved Dragonlance when I was a kid but they didn't hold up very well at all when I was feeling nostalgic a couple years ago and tried reading one of them again. If you still have them laying around then sure, give em a go again, but I wouldn't spend money on them.
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Aug 14, 2014 18:38
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ZerodotJander posted:If you think Sanderson is a bad writer and a slog to get through I have no idea why you think it wouldn't be agonizing for you to read Weis and Hickman.
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Aug 14, 2014 18:39
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Ornamented Death posted:Yeah but you haven't finished the series yet.
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Aug 14, 2014 18:43
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Cardiovorax posted:Weis and Hickman aren't so bad when they aren't writing lovely D&D fanfiction. Darksword was pretty okay. I remember thinking those books actually were worse than the original DragonLance trilogy when I read them as a teenager. In any case I don't see how someone who sneers at Sanderson would find any of their works readable. Sanderson has lots of faults if you hold him to a high standard but he's still leaps and bounds better than most genre authors who have bad prose, dull characters, boring plots, and uninteresting worlds.
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Aug 14, 2014 19:05
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Considering he also writes bad prose, dull characters, uninteresting worlds and boring plots I don't really see why he would be. Something about their writing just appealed to me more, but if you disliked it I'm not going to fight over it.
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Aug 14, 2014 19:19
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savinhill posted:I loved Dragonlance when I was a kid but they didn't hold up very well at all when I was feeling nostalgic a couple years ago and tried reading one of them again. If you still have them laying around then sure, give em a go again, but I wouldn't spend money on them. ZerodotJander posted:I remember thinking those books actually were worse than the original DragonLance trilogy when I read them as a teenager. In any case I don't see how someone who sneers at Sanderson would find any of their works readable. Sanderson has lots of faults if you hold him to a high standard but he's still leaps and bounds better than most genre authors who have bad prose, dull characters, boring plots, and uninteresting worlds. Haha, sounds good, about what I expected. I made it through Way of Kings, but it took me awhile due to lack of interest. I only mentioned Sanderson because if Dragonlance was basically Sanderson-level writing + slightly quicker pace + nostalgia, I thought it might be doable. I do still have the Chronicles books somewhere, so I'll probably give the first a try again and not expect to make it very far.
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Aug 14, 2014 19:21
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Cardiovorax posted:Considering he also writes bad prose, dull characters, uninteresting worlds and boring plots I don't really see why he would be. Something about their writing just appealed to me more, but if you disliked it I'm not going to fight over it. If you can track down a copy, there's an annotated omnibus collection of Chronicles with lots of notes by Weis and Hickmen. The notes are interesting -- at least, many of them. Most of the Hickman notes make him sound like an rear end, although that's amusing in its own right. At the least it's a handy large format collection of the books. For my money, Chronicles stands up better than most of the Brooks, Eddings and Feist books I was reading at the same time back in the day. There's also a similar annotated omnibus of Legends, but i haven't read my copy yet, so I can't vouch for those annotations.
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Aug 14, 2014 20:58
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Ornamented Death posted:Yeah but you haven't finished the series yet. Now THAT'S the grimdark part. 
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Aug 14, 2014 21:06
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I'm rereading Blindsight and I have a question: what does topology mean in the context of information?
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Aug 15, 2014 01:12
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zoux posted:I'm rereading Blindsight and I have a question: what does topology mean in the context of information? I am guessing it refers to the network topology of linked ideas or concepts.
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Aug 15, 2014 01:27
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zoux posted:I'm rereading Blindsight and I have a question: what does topology mean in the context of information?
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Aug 15, 2014 01:53
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zoux posted:I'm rereading Blindsight and I have a question: what does topology mean in the context of information? It's been a while, but doesn't the protagonist talk about translating information in terms of rotating surfaces? Topology is, literally*, the study of surfaces. (*alright, that's not exactly a rigorous definition) eriktown posted:I am guessing it refers to the network topology of linked ideas or concepts. Or that. Might be the same thing, actually.
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Aug 15, 2014 01:55
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mystes posted:I don't think it really means anything in Blindsight. It's just supposed to show that Siri has a special ability to process information (and in particular understand people) in a way different from normal humans. You could literally substitute "aura" (OK, you'd have to change a couple associated verbs as well, too) and it would work, it just wouldn't have the right feel. So it's just kind of a gestalt sense that puts together a number of informational cues?
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Aug 15, 2014 02:03
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zoux posted:So it's just kind of a gestalt sense that puts together a number of informational cues? mystes fucked around with this message at 02:13 on Aug 15, 2014 |
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Aug 15, 2014 02:09
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Cardiovorax posted:Weis and Hickman aren't so bad when they aren't writing lovely D&D fanfiction. Darksword was pretty okay. Star of the Guardians still holds up. It's essentially a more political Star Wars with shades of grey, which helps.
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Aug 15, 2014 02:11
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eriktown posted:Now THAT'S the grimdark part. On the other hand, I finished The Dark Defiles today and have no one with which to discuss it .Great book, and a fitting end to the series btw.
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Aug 15, 2014 02:51
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Ornamented Death posted:On the other hand, I finished The Dark Defiles today and have no one with which to discuss it Main question: Is Takeshi Kovacs Dakovash?.
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Aug 15, 2014 07:29
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Not TDD spoilers but The Cold Commands spoilers: of course he is! Come on! Dakovash, Tak Kovacs, Kelgris, Quellcrist, Dakovash talking about taking weapons from those bird aliens... Come on! Some people really don't like this theory but I think it's so blindingly obvious. The fact that Kelgris is a dick and murdered a prostitute just to talk to a priest is totally in character. More Magicians series impressions: God, I still hate Elliot. He's such a hypocritical fop. He bitches about how wrong it is to take guns into Fillory and complains about the wrongness of imperialism when Quentin mentions claiming land and then bankrupts the realm to plate his chambers in gold and while on Earth did nothing to ever contribute to anything. It's like reading about a Debate & Discussion poster. UGGGHHH. Neurosis fucked around with this message at 08:13 on Aug 15, 2014 |
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Aug 15, 2014 08:07
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Neurosis posted:Not TDD spoilers but The Cold Commands spoilers: of course he is! Come on! Dakovash, Tak Kovacs, Kelgris, Quellcrist, Dakovash talking about taking weapons from those bird aliens... Come on! Some people really don't like this theory but I think it's so blindingly obvious. The fact that Kelgris is a dick and murdered a prostitute just to talk to a priest is totally in character. Yeah, I think it is a completely bullshit idea that only detracts from the story. The story stands on its own and have no need to add stuff from other series. His other non-Kovacs books are great (Market Forces and Black Man, or as you say in US Thirteen), and adding Kovacs into the storyline is just cheesy.
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Aug 15, 2014 08:21
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I really don't mind it. The setting clearly has sci-fi elements, given what we see in TCC. I used to dislike mixing sci-fi with my fantasy, but I trust Morgan. Something in TDD might change my mind, though.
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Aug 15, 2014 08:27
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I have an Echopraxia Q: Is The Colonel a separate novella or is an extracted part of the novel? I want to know if I should read it in advance or not. I was going to read the Lev Grossman short stories "The Girl in the Mirror" and "The Duel" but it turned out they were just chapters from The Magician's Land published separately; so I'd like to know if this is the same deal.
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Aug 15, 2014 14:03
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Hedrigall posted:I have an Echopraxia Q: It's just a linking part. It doesn't really matter, but it gives you a little more insight into one of the Echopraxia concepts and lets you know Siri's dad is an okay guy.
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Aug 15, 2014 14:07
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Another Echopraxia question: Is the book mostly about the vampires taking over? Does it happen in the time in which Siri is shuttling back?
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Aug 15, 2014 14:11
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zoux posted:Another Echopraxia question: Is the book mostly about the vampires taking over? Does it happen in the time in which Siri is shuttling back? Eh... Society breaks down. It touches the world tangentially. Which is probably my biggest problem with the book.
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Aug 15, 2014 17:08
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I've just finished reading Alistair Reynold's Redemption Ark. Revelation Space was cool and Chasm City was better, but I found this one a little disappointing. Does the series start to trail off now or is it worth picking up Absolution Gap?
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Aug 15, 2014 22:11
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big scary monsters posted:I've just finished reading Alistair Reynold's Redemption Ark. Revelation Space was cool and Chasm City was better, but I found this one a little disappointing. Does the series start to trail off now or is it worth picking up Absolution Gap? I hated Absolution Gap, and I've enjoyed most of Reynolds stuff. There's virtually no space action that I can recall and most of the book centers on some dumb cultists. Then comes the ending, which I found extremely dissatisfying to the extent of making the earlier books worse in retrospect. I'd recommend stopping at Absolution and reading the other stuff he's written. I might be in the minority but I actually liked Century Rain, although Chasm City and House of Suns are probably his most well regarded stuff. Reynolds newest series I found to be a total snoozer. Velius fucked around with this message at 22:38 on Aug 15, 2014 |
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Aug 15, 2014 22:36
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Velius posted:I hated Absolution Gap, and I've enjoyed most of Reynolds stuff. There's virtually no space action that I can recall and most of the book centers on some dumb cultists. Then comes the ending, which I found extremely dissatisfying to the extent of making the earlier books worse in retrospect. I'd recommend stopping at Absolution and reading the other stuff he's written. I might be in the minority but I actually liked Century Rain, although Chasm City and House of Suns are probably his most well regarded stuff. Reynolds newest series I found to be a total snoozer. I agree completely and I enjoy his short fiction a lot as well. Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days, Zima Blue and Galactic North are all good, as are his novellas. Edit: I've not read Deep Navigation, I'll have to see if I can hunt it down somewhere.
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Aug 16, 2014 02:19
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Is the shadowmarch series by Tad Williams decent? Is it something that's more like LOTR, or malazan, or WOT?
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Aug 16, 2014 13:26
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Ika posted:Is the shadowmarch series by Tad Williams decent? Is it something that's more like LOTR, or malazan, or WOT? ASoIaF.
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Aug 16, 2014 14:43
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Neurosis posted:...
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Aug 16, 2014 17:03
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