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Don't feel bad if you just don't like Malazan. It appeals to a very specific subset of fantasy readers and there are lots of folks who just don't like it. I'm one of the latter. I tried to marathon the whole series on a series of long plane flights and it really was just painful after about book six; I got bogged down somewhere in the 8th and never finished.
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Dec 3, 2014 02:16
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There's no huge mythical payoff at the end of Malazan and anyone who claims otherwise has misled you. If you're not enjoying the journey then the destination isn't going to blow you away either. I think the big appeal of the series is the feeling of exploration and unexpected events that come up, setting the books apart from more standard "there's a Big Bad Guy and we're going to set up to fight him" fantasy stories.
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Dec 3, 2014 02:29
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The Ninth Layer posted:There's no huge mythical payoff at the end of Malazan and anyone who claims otherwise has misled you. If you're not enjoying the journey then the destination isn't going to blow you away either. I think the big appeal of the series is the feeling of exploration and unexpected events that come up, setting the books apart from more standard "there's a Big Bad Guy and we're going to set up to fight him" fantasy stories. Deadhouse gates and the march of chain of dogs was the best thing in all 10 books. Ever body should at least read until that.
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Dec 3, 2014 09:31
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RVProfootballer posted:Yeah, I feel pretty similarly to you. I made it a lot farther but found I just didn't really care what happened anymore, as it was sure to be another fight between people I could barely distinguish. There never seemed to be a coherent frame of reference for what to expect from anyone, if that makes sense. Dude A fought and won against B, but then C totally smashed A, and I never felt like there was any logic to it. One second there's a demigod wrecking whole armies, and the next a random soldier dude stabs him with a dagger and kills him, that kind of thing. I wanted to like it, and there were a solid 2-3 books in there I quite liked, but overall I was disappointed. On a similar note, can anyone explain what Oponn and Shadow/Rope were up to in Gardens? Everyone kept going on about seeing their influence, and the importance of the coin and sword, but I've not a scoobies what they actually wanted to achieve.
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Dec 3, 2014 09:50
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Alastair Reynolds new book title: Blue Remembered Earth -> On The Steel Breeze -> Poseidon's Wake Also, there's going to be a "Best of Alastair Reynolds" short story collection next year! Exciting time for Reynolds fans. http://outtherebooks.wordpress.com/2014/12/03/some-more-2015-alastair-reynolds-info-including-the-title-of-the-next-novel/
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Dec 3, 2014 13:04
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Apologies if it's been beaten to death in this thread -- but what's the consensus on The Martian by Andy Wier? Worth reading? I see generally good reviews, but with a not insubstantial amount of people who seem to absolutely hate it. Normally I wouldn't give it too much credence, but most people seem to talk badly about the writing style which is something I can be sensitive to. Is it worth a read?
Damo fucked around with this message at 13:14 on Dec 3, 2014 |
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Dec 3, 2014 13:10
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I liked it. It's a bit weird. It's like a partial diary of a guy trapped on mars, and an actual story written from a different perspective of people at nasa trying to figure out how to get him home. Still, worth a read. I think it won best in science fiction for goodreads.
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Dec 3, 2014 13:22
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Talking about the Goodread awards, anything, erm, good in there? I see City of Stairs, which I'm currently enjoying, but there also seems to be some questionable stuff in there as well.
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Dec 3, 2014 14:38
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Junkenstein posted:Talking about the Goodread awards, anything, erm, good in there? I see City of Stairs, which I'm currently enjoying, but there also seems to be some questionable stuff in there as well. I couldn't get into City of Stairs. It felt too political. I might try it again because I keep seeing good things being said about it.
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Dec 3, 2014 15:18
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I'm halfway through City of Stairs and the present tense is still irking me. It just feels like they are not making actual use of the present tense and that it was done for no real reason. I strongly feel that third-person past is the default, and unless you have a good reason to deviate from that, don't. First-person present is also another form of a default, but third-person present is just really weird to me. I have some other weird aversions to the writing style in general, but I'm enjoying the story itself so far. I'm reading it very slowly though and rarely feel a big urge to keep reading it, though I will finish it.
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Dec 3, 2014 15:56
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Damo posted:Apologies if it's been beaten to death in this thread -- but what's the consensus on The Martian by Andy Wier? Worth reading? I see generally good reviews, but with a not insubstantial amount of people who seem to absolutely hate it. Normally I wouldn't give it too much credence, but most people seem to talk badly about the writing style which is something I can be sensitive to. Is it worth a read? Good history, good main character, quite amusing writing style. If you like the "classic" science fiction in the sense of Arthur C. Clarke works, you will enjoy it. If you expect big Literature, you will be dissapointed.
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Dec 3, 2014 16:09
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systran posted:I'm halfway through City of Stairs and the present tense is still irking me. It just feels like they are not making actual use of the present tense and that it was done for no real reason. I strongly feel that third-person past is the default, and unless you have a good reason to deviate from that, don't. First-person present is also another form of a default, but third-person present is just really weird to me. This was another thing. It didn't keep my attention very well and there are too many books on my reading list to waste time on one that doesn't grip me. Now that I'm a little further into the The Peripheral, things are starting to make sense and I'm really like it.
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Dec 3, 2014 16:19
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Damo posted:The Martian by Andy Wier? My two cents to add to the discussion are these: the diary-style bits with the protagonist are real good, the scenes with the NASA scientists are real bad--full of clunky dialogue and boring characters. Honestly they kinda feel like they're from a completely different novel. Thankfully those NASA scenes only make up like 25% of the book so it's easy to gloss over. I think if I read it again (and I probably will at some point) I'm going to skip those scenes entirely and see how it changes the feel of the story.
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Dec 3, 2014 16:36
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Mark Watney is man's man. A steely eyed missile man.
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Dec 3, 2014 16:53
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I'm reading The Martian now and enjoying it in general, but I'm not too impressed with the diary writing. It feels sort of lazy to me, I guess. It could've been written in 3rd person with lots of internal monologue from Mark and then had much better writing about the scenery and stuff. I haven't read them, but if I remember correctly there were other Mars books that basically had Mars as a well-described character, which some people found boring. I think that would've been a better format for this book, as then I think things like Mark's utter isolation and Mars' desolation could've come through a lot better.
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Dec 3, 2014 17:49
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RVProfootballer posted:I'm reading The Martian now and enjoying it in general, but I'm not too impressed with the diary writing. It feels sort of lazy to me, I guess. It could've been written in 3rd person with lots of internal monologue from Mark and then had much better writing about the scenery and stuff. I haven't read them, but if I remember correctly there were other Mars books that basically had Mars as a well-described character, which some people found boring. I think that would've been a better format for this book, as then I think things like Mark's utter isolation and Mars' desolation could've come through a lot better. mystes fucked around with this message at 17:54 on Dec 3, 2014 |
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Dec 3, 2014 17:50
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RVProfootballer posted:I'm reading The Martian now and enjoying it in general, but I'm not too impressed with the diary writing. It feels sort of lazy to me, I guess. It could've been written in 3rd person with lots of internal monologue from Mark and then had much better writing about the scenery and stuff. I haven't read them, but if I remember correctly there were other Mars books that basically had Mars as a well-described character, which some people found boring. I think that would've been a better format for this book, as then I think things like Mark's utter isolation and Mars' desolation could've come through a lot better. You're thinking to the Mars Trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson. I've only read the first of them, Red Mars; it's excellent but yes, it's very dense and spends about as much time describing environments as it does relaying the story. If that's not your cup of tea then I can easily see how one might find them difficult to enjoy.
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Dec 3, 2014 18:32
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RVProfootballer posted:I'm reading The Martian now and enjoying it in general, but I'm not too impressed with the diary writing. It feels sort of lazy to me, I guess. It could've been written in 3rd person with lots of internal monologue from Mark and then had much better writing about the scenery and stuff. I haven't read them, but if I remember correctly there were other Mars books that basically had Mars as a well-described character, which some people found boring. I think that would've been a better format for this book, as then I think things like Mark's utter isolation and Mars' desolation could've come through a lot better. I think this is partly because the author originally wrote it as a serialized blog, in which he challenged himself with overcoming technical problems. It wasn't intended as a book until fans of the blog encouraged him to make it available in ebook format, then he put it out as a novel and it was a huge success. It's actually very interesting how it came to be.
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Dec 3, 2014 18:59
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Is any of the stuff in the latest StoryBundle (http://storybundle.com/fiction) any good? I see some VanderMeer in there and people seem to like Annihilation, but I'm not sure if his other work is any good. I haven't heard of any of the other authors in there at all.
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Dec 3, 2014 19:15
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Well I'm going to have to chip in just because I want WorldCon in Helsinki very, very badly.
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Dec 3, 2014 19:24
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Fiendish Dr. Wu posted:I think this is partly because the author originally wrote it as a serialized blog, in which he challenged himself with overcoming technical problems. It wasn't intended as a book until fans of the blog encouraged him to make it available in ebook format, then he put it out as a novel and it was a huge success. It's actually very interesting how it came to be. Ah, I didn't know that, but it makes complete sense given how it's written.
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Dec 3, 2014 19:34
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Soviet Canuckistan posted:Is any of the stuff in the latest StoryBundle (http://storybundle.com/fiction) any good? I see some VanderMeer in there and people seem to like Annihilation, but I'm not sure if his other work is any good. I haven't heard of any of the other authors in there at all. For my money VanderMeer's other stuff is significantly better than the Southern Reach Trilogy. All the Ambergris books are good.
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Dec 3, 2014 19:34
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Elyv posted:FWIW, he doesn't come back as a particularly significant character, just has a couple of occasional cameos iirc Other than him being awesome  Grimwall posted:Deadhouse gates and the march of chain of dogs was the best thing in all 10 books. Ever body should at least read until that. I will not admit to throwing the book down in disgust after Coltaine died.  Strom Cuzewon posted:On a similar note, can anyone explain what Oponn and Shadow/Rope were up to in Gardens? Everyone kept going on about seeing their influence, and the importance of the coin and sword, but I've not a scoobies what they actually wanted to achieve. Much of their motivation is spoilerish if you haven't read later books. My (broad) interpretation, having not read it in a while, and hopefully without giving things away, is this: Oponn is the God(s) of luck and is capricious; when people speak of Oponn's influence it's intended largely to be a reference to the impact of chance. The holder of the coin is a sort of avatar for them and is a pivot for major events. As their luck goes so do events go. The Rope gets a lot more prominent later but his motivation could be broadly described as 'trying to keep humanity alive while consolidating power amongst the gods (ascendants).'
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Dec 3, 2014 19:51
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Kalenn Istarion posted:
So the entire plot of the first book is contained in later books? That's not a story. That's a sequence of events.
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Dec 3, 2014 20:06
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http://storybundle.com/books/384 Has anyone read this one? Is it good?
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Dec 3, 2014 20:07
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How about this one? http://vodo.net/Primebooks/best2014/?utm_campaign=twines&utm_medium=email&utm_source=twine#buy
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Dec 3, 2014 20:11
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Hedrigall posted:Alastair Reynolds new book title: Guess it's a good time to become a fan! Also, the Martian is best as an audiobook.
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Dec 4, 2014 02:25
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GENDERWEIRD GREEDO posted:Anybody read Proxima by Stephen Baxter? I have a question about one part of ending: I don't know if the answer is really given in Proxima. However I'm reading Ultima and you get a definite answer. Robert Braemann is Yuri's father. He had Yuri frozen, then was uploaded into Earthshine with 9 other people.
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Dec 4, 2014 04:15
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n4 posted:I don't know if the answer is really given in Proxima. However I'm reading Ultima and you get a definite answer. I thought that might be the case and almost mentioned it, but decided not to because it seemed like it would be silly for her to react so strongly to a surname that could be shared by a lot of people. Thanks for following up! It's completely ridiculous, too, that Ultima isn't going to be released in the US until August 2015. What the gently caress? Tiny Timbs fucked around with this message at 04:20 on Dec 4, 2014 |
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Dec 4, 2014 04:17
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GENDERWEIRD GREEDO posted:It's completely ridiculous, too, that Ultima isn't going to be released in the US until August 2015. What the gently caress? You know, you're allowed to order books online from overseas. Many websites offer free shipping worldwide too! But keep it a secret or the CIA might come after you 
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Dec 4, 2014 04:39
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Hedrigall posted:You know, you're allowed to order books online from overseas. Many websites offer free shipping worldwide too! But keep it a secret or the CIA might come after you Argh the freaking tone of this post! Ack! Tiny Timbs fucked around with this message at 04:46 on Dec 4, 2014 |
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Dec 4, 2014 04:44
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GENDERWEIRD GREEDO posted:Argh the freaking tone of this post! Ack! Oh hey Cathy 
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Dec 4, 2014 04:46
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Ordering physical books is so last century anyway, I don't do that poo poo anymore unless it's autographed. I still have boxes of books I'm never going to unpack from my last move.
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Dec 4, 2014 04:47
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Soviet Canuckistan posted:Is any of the stuff in the latest StoryBundle (http://storybundle.com/fiction) any good? I see some VanderMeer in there and people seem to like Annihilation, but I'm not sure if his other work is any good. I haven't heard of any of the other authors in there at all. What is Amos Tutuola doing in a storybundle? It just seems so weird...
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Dec 4, 2014 05:27
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Poked about on Sebastien de Castell's website. So excited that Traitor's Blade is getting a sequel. Seriously good fuckin' book.
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Dec 4, 2014 05:28
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Strom Cuzewon posted:So the entire plot of the first book is contained in later books? 
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Dec 4, 2014 05:39
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I read the first Dagger & Coin book and found it was not very ambitious for most the story- and I found that very refreshing. Have been tired of the epic fantasy focus on world politics with dozens of viewpoints. I also enjoyed Cithrin's analytical personality. I would read an entire book of Geder just exploring the wilderness and deciphering history but he seems to be going down a dark path. Going to continue reading the series. Would love to hear others opinions on this series.
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Dec 4, 2014 18:10
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For anyone anticipating The Magicians TV series, meet Quentin and Alice: Jason Ralph as Quentin drat, spot on!  Sosie Bacon (daughter of Kevin) as Alice Uh, sure, ok. http://deadline.com/2014/12/jason-ralph-sosie-bacon-to-star-in-the-magicians-on-syfy-1201307406/ Hedrigall fucked around with this message at 00:44 on Dec 5, 2014 |
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Dec 5, 2014 00:41
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Anyone else feel like the fantasy category on goodreads is a loving joke? 90% of the 'best fantasy' is The Vampire hosed Me Volume 8 or Witch in a Big City Volume 7. Where is the version of goodreads that isn't run by 45 year old cat ladies?
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Dec 5, 2014 19:00
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It's what the people want.
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