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Apoffys posted:Does anyone know what's going on with book two in the Checquy Files? I pre-ordered it last week because it had a release date this summer, then the next day Amazon pushed the date back to 2016 and now it's been pushed back again (to 2020!). I just checked the author's website and it apparently hasn't been updated since 2013 (at which point he was making good progress it seems). Sill showing as June release for me
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Feb 25, 2015 15:49
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ConfusedUs posted:Sill showing as June release for me Amazon is showing me January 26, 2016. Incidentally, the author is definitely still alive, for what that's worth: https://twitter.com/DenimAlley
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Feb 25, 2015 16:13
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Those are all speculative dates, most likely. He has a day job, he's still working on it. Whenever he actually finishes it, you'll hear about it.
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Feb 25, 2015 16:33
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Just finished the second Rivers of London book and I've got to ask, is the protagonist always going to be this dim? I mean, I can buy that characters have blind spots, but falling into a torrid affair with a person of interest in a murder investigation and not twigging to something being seriously off about the whole thing until the bodies are literally piling up in front of him was kinda of a stretch.
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Feb 28, 2015 08:05
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Skippy McPants posted:Just finished the second Rivers of London book and I've got to ask, is the protagonist always going to be this dim? I mean, I can buy that characters have blind spots, but falling into a torrid affair with a person of interest in a murder investigation and not twigging to something being seriously off about the whole thing until the bodies are literally piling up in front of him was kinda of a stretch. In fairness, she didn't really realize she was the murderer either. There's also the possibility she was (unconsciously) messing with his head, though I don't recall for certain any more. Peter's not an idiot, but he is prone to distraction. (He arguably has ADHD or something similar.) Personally I think it's brilliant, because in most books of this stripe, him being shoved into Paperwork Division at the start of Rivers of London would have been a grave injustice because he is actually the Chosen Most Amazing Hero or whatever, whereas here it actually makes a lot of sense. He's capable of flashes of absolute brilliance, but he has a hard time staying on task, which makes it more difficult for him to be a good cop or a good magician, and it's probably the reason he did so poorly in school. He does get better with time and experience, but it never really goes away, nor should it.
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Feb 28, 2015 15:44
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Pete's a giant spaz but unlike Harry his gooniness is endearing and relatable to me wereas Harry just gets irritating. Can anybody vouch for "The Wolves of London" by Mark Morris? I just saw it in the bookstore today and it caught my eye.
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Mar 1, 2015 02:52
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docbeard posted:In fairness, she didn't really realize she was the murderer either. There's also the possibility she was (unconsciously) messing with his head, though I don't recall for certain any more. If it was his head being messed with I could buy that, but nothing like that is ever mentioned. Nobody ever even calls him on being a complete idiot for missing the obvious, but he's just a complete dunce about it. "Hey, there's a clear connection between dead jazz men and the women they were seeing. Here's one of those ladies now, and she's coming on to me real hard. Should I, a) be super suspicious and worried, or b) bang her. Hmm. Hrmmmmmmm. I'm not asking that the main character be a genius, but when something is telegraphed that hard in the first few chapters, and they don't pick up on it until the climax (rimshot) it starts to feel contrived really quickly.
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Mar 1, 2015 06:57
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Skippy McPants posted:If it was his head being messed with I could buy that, but nothing like that is ever mentioned. Nobody ever even calls him on being a complete idiot for missing the obvious, but he's just a complete dunce about it. "Hey, there's a clear connection between dead jazz men and the women they were seeing. Here's one of those ladies now, and she's coming on to me real hard. Should I, a) be super suspicious and worried, or b) bang her. Hmm. Hrmmmmmmm. Part of the thing with those books is that you can't trust everything Peter says. He keeps telling the reader how clever he is and meanwhile everyone else around him, especially Leslie, is 10x more competent. He mainly gets by on pluckiness basically. That said, the jazz vampires had shown the ability to mess with people's heads so it's not that much of a leap. The actual height of his stupidity in that book is not the vampires, but the part where he tries to be clever with Abigail and manages to get outwitted by a prepubescent girl into training her in magic.
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Mar 1, 2015 07:18
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Scorchy posted:Part of the thing with those books is that you can't trust everything Peter says. He keeps telling the reader how clever he is and meanwhile everyone else around him, especially Leslie, is 10x more competent. He mainly gets by on pluckiness basically. That said, the jazz vampires had shown the ability to mess with people's heads so it's not that much of a leap. The actual height of his stupidity in that book is not the vampires, but the part where he tries to be clever with Abigail and manages to get outwitted by a prepubescent girl into training her in magic. I only read the first book but I found Peter to be pretty dull. Mars4523 fucked around with this message at 07:30 on Mar 1, 2015 |
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Mar 1, 2015 07:24
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Mars4523 posted:Why isn't Leslie the protagonist, anyways? Keep reading. You'll find out.
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Mar 1, 2015 07:30
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Leslie is a much better character then Peter, yeah. The unreliable narrator thing is cute but it doesn't endear me to Peter any more.
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Mar 1, 2015 07:39
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ImpAtom posted:Leslie is a much better character then Peter, yeah. The unreliable narrator thing is cute but it doesn't endear me to Peter any more. Hey, nightingale is even better at things than leslie! why isn't he the protagonist?
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Mar 1, 2015 08:06
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awesmoe posted:Hey, nightingale is even better at things than leslie! why isn't he the protagonist?
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Mar 1, 2015 08:23
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Mars4523 posted:Nightingale the veteran who has done it all before. He's the mentor, which is a vital role. But the series starts with introducing us to two rookies, where one is a good copper and the other is Peter. I think he literally ruminates on how easy the circumstances could have been flipped if he was the one to get coffee instead of her. So, why's he the lead? Because stories about the specialest dude ever born fulfilling his/her destiny to be #1 are boring as poo poo
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Mar 1, 2015 08:26
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Leslie is the better cop, but Peter's the better wizard. Partly because the traits that make him a bad copper (absentmindedness, idle curiosity, etc.) make him a better wizard (better able to resist compulsion, detect vestigia), but also partly because Peter underestimates himself (as does nearly everyone else); when there's a real crisis Peter consistently outperforms everyone's expectations (well, except Nightingale's). Peter's also more creative than Leslie. Hieronymous Alloy fucked around with this message at 09:02 on Mar 1, 2015 |
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Mar 1, 2015 08:57
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Mars4523 posted:Nightingale the veteran who has done it all before. He's the mentor, which is a vital role. But the series starts with introducing us to two rookies, where one is a good copper and the other is Peter. I think he literally ruminates on how easy the circumstances could have been flipped if he was the one to get coffee instead of her. So, why's he the lead? Because it's more interesting when the book is about a fuckup, imo. Peter is a lovely street cop who's on the verge of an exciting career in desk work when he lucks into a position as a sorcerer's apprentice that just happens to also let him be a 'real' cop. That is, imo, much more interesting than a story about an actual good cop falling into the same thing.
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Mar 1, 2015 10:16
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Khizan posted:Because it's more interesting when the book is about a fuckup, imo. Peter is a lovely street cop who's on the verge of an exciting career in desk work when he lucks into a position as a sorcerer's apprentice that just happens to also let him be a 'real' cop. That is, imo, much more interesting than a story about an actual good cop falling into the same thing. Yes, we hardly need another book about, "turns out he's SPECIAL" like Dresden. Admittedly, Dresden is so entertaining in spite of the tropes.
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Mar 1, 2015 14:50
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I did get the impression that the jazz vampire had him under a spell. Perhaps without even consciously realizing it. But I don't otherwise remember much about that book now.
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Mar 1, 2015 15:35
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Megazver posted:I did get the impression that the jazz vampire had him under a spell. Perhaps without even consciously realizing it. But I don't otherwise remember much about that book now. Yeah that is almost exactly what was happening. He did have slight cauliflower brain because of the feeding. Plus its not like the other victims had no changes to there behavior before they died either
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Mar 1, 2015 15:39
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Rumda posted:Yeah that is almost exactly what was happening. He did have slight cauliflower brain because of the feeding. Plus its not like the other victims had no changes to there behavior before they died either If you didn't figure this out before, you should have gotten it at the same time he did when his mom went ballistic. It's interesting to see how some folks just hate Peter as a protagonist though. If you hate him for his incompetence/not being Leslie and you read the first two then you should read through book 3 and then give up/be OK.
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Mar 1, 2015 18:19
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Leslie is the better cop, but Peter's the better wizard. This is really hard for me to buy with the way Leslie got into magic. Peter is a creative person but he shows a lack of concentration and focus which makes him worse at being a wizard. His talent is obviously supposed to be that he's non-standard and can approach things from a different angle but I don't think it makes him better.
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Mar 1, 2015 18:38
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Protagonists are usually less interesting than the side characters by default. Luke Skywalker to Han Solo, Batman to The Joker, Fry to everyone else. It's this idea that in order for the audience to be immersed fully, the protagonist needs to be blank in order to easier project upon. Naturally it translates into the protagonist being dumb/bland/etc. Oh and as for all the  over Peter not getting how he was dating a sex vampire, leme settle this once and for all by stating the obvious: he was thinking with his penis and not with his head.
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Mar 1, 2015 18:39
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I... like Peter just fine and have no strong feelings about Leslie.
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Mar 1, 2015 21:24
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Benny the Snake posted:Protagonists are usually less interesting than the side characters by default. Luke Skywalker to Han Solo, Batman to The Joker, Fry to everyone else. It's this idea that in order for the audience to be immersed fully, the protagonist needs to be blank in order to easier project upon. Naturally it translates into the protagonist being dumb/bland/etc. She's like a tractor beam of hotness. 
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Mar 1, 2015 21:34
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I think Peter's a fantastic protagonist specifically because of his flaws. They make him more interesting, not less. I would totally read a series about Lesley (not 'Leslie' goddammit American publishers) too, mind.
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Mar 1, 2015 22:28
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I've only just started the second book, myself, but I think it's clear that Peter does have one thing Lesley, it seems, does not. The bottom half of his face.
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Mar 2, 2015 00:45
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Wheat Loaf posted:I've only just started the second book, myself, but I think it's clear that Peter does have one thing Lesley, it seems, does not. Not empty quoting and I laughed out loud in a fast food line
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Mar 2, 2015 01:10
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Yeah, Peter absolutely has the better nose for police work these days.
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Mar 2, 2015 01:41
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I would love a set of Nightingale and Leslie side stories like Dresden's Side Jobs. The Massacre at Ettersberg in detail.
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Mar 2, 2015 03:18
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so I'm not sure if it really counts as urban fantasy since it is set in the 1300s instead of modern times, but I want to drop a plug for Son of the Morning by Mark Alder (http://www.amazon.com/Son-of-the-Morning/dp/0575115157) You get dropped in England and France at the start of the 100 years war, with from what I can tell painstaking attention to detail to the realities of life at the time. The magic side of it is that God is real, Satan is real, and Lucifer is real - Lucifer is an egalitarian, God is an authoritarian. God, through his angels, manifestly supports the divine right of kings and the "you feed us, we fight for you in war and pray for you in peace" mythos the nobility used. Catherdals house angels, the relics of saints work, and rituals and prayers get results. Lucifer is some sort of democratic communist and supports peasant revolts and wants to end the feudal system and God's dominion over the earth and man. Demons slip loose (or are summoned) from hell and agitate the commoners, battle angles, and provide weapons to the oppressed. Satan is hell's jailer and has his own agenda. The AntiChrist has been born at a time when Edward III is making war on Phillip VI, and there is a whole lot of political skullduggery going on as at least 12 human factions and 6 divine factions are all scrambling for various relics, artifacts, and weapons to bring their side into ascendance. Prose is a little run on, dialogue reminds me of A Knight's Tale - more movie funnies and one liners than you'd expect but it keeps it punchy. But overall it is a lot of fun so far. It's pretty long too - the book had been building towards a denouement, both in pacing and narrative threads, and when that was done I looked and was on'y 55% of the way through.
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Mar 2, 2015 05:03
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Fried Chicken posted:
Have you read Stephen Brust's Taltos series? If so, is the dialogue similar in quality? Because Taltos has some really amazing dialogue.
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Mar 2, 2015 05:07
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Peter's "special skill" is that he is dumb enough to do things that proper cops/wizards wouldn't even consider trying. It's like the girl wizard in Discworld who used teleportation magic without using an anchor which is considered impossible/unspeakably dangerous but she didn't know that so it worked fine.
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Mar 2, 2015 05:17
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Fried Chicken posted:Son of the Morning Then you find out it's supposed to be start of a trilogy.
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Mar 2, 2015 13:00
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Fried Chicken posted:so I'm not sure if it really counts as urban fantasy since it is set in the 1300s instead of modern times, but I want to drop a plug for Son of the Morning by Mark Alder (http://www.amazon.com/Son-of-the-Morning/dp/0575115157) Thanks for posting this, this is my poo poo. Just bought it  The one star review containing only the word "Blasphemous" made me buy it even faster
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Mar 2, 2015 19:41
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That book isn't on Play books and now I'm sad. I prefer not to buy from Amazon when possible
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Mar 2, 2015 20:20
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I got a new copy of "Broken Homes" from the Rivers of London series and I've noticed quite a few pages between 170 and 200 have smeared printing. Is that consistent with all copies or should I get a new copy?
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Mar 4, 2015 00:52
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Mar 4, 2015 03:07
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Yessssssssssssss
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Mar 4, 2015 03:08
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I hope that guy is never described as wearing a scarf.
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Mar 4, 2015 03:12
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RosaParksOfDip posted:I hope that guy is never described as wearing a scarf. Yessssssssssssss
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Mar 4, 2015 03:12
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