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Steven Eriksons Malazan speed would be interesting too. You'd have to ignore the huge gap between writing book 1 and 2 seeing as he spent years trying to sell it. I'm assuming we go from publication date anyway though. He was putting out 1,000 page monsters on a 12 monthly basis until nearly the end when he slowed a little under the weight of the series. He vowed to slow down after it finished and has still been publishing at an okay speed. Edit: 10 books over just under 12 years for a total of 3.3 million words. The books were all in the 200-400k word range and had between 12 and 18 months between them. Masonity fucked around with this message at 09:08 on May 23, 2015 |
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May 23, 2015 09:03
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YggiDee posted:I kinda want to see how Terry Pratchett's output compares to the rest here. He wrote a lot of books, a lot of books, holy poo poo, but I imagine they're all a fair bit shorter than A Feast of Crows or w/e all those GOT books are called. Also they're largely self-contained, which probably made it easier. According to LSpace http://www.lspace.org/books/analysis/statistics.html it's over 15 million words for Pratchett - and that page is pretty out of date. Sanderson must be well over a million by now; Way of Kings alone is 300k http://fantasy-faction.com/forum/fantasy-book-discussion/word-counts-of-epic-fantasy-novels/. But I think I read somewhere that the most prolific authors in the world are actually trashy romance novelists... so let's not forget that quantity and quality are different. Interestingly, one of the more prolific authors at the moment is the web-serialist Wildbow AKA JC McCrae. His first story was over 1.5 million words alone. Again, quantity =/= quality, but in this case, the quality's remarkably high for a mostly un-edited work, and whilst his second story wasn't brilliant, the one currently in progress is looking very good. thespaceinvader fucked around with this message at 12:41 on May 23, 2015 |
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May 23, 2015 12:26
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thespaceinvader posted:.Interestingly, one of the more prolific authors at the moment is the web-serialist Wildbow AKA JC McCrae. His first story was over 3 million words alone. Again, quantity =/= quality, but in this case, the quality's remarkably high for a mostly un-edited work, and whilst his second story wasn't brilliant, the one currently in progress is looking very good. Worm is 1.68 million actually. Pact was about half that. Still, two and a half million words in 4 years is well and truly nuts. It's all a first draft, really, but it's still impressive.
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May 23, 2015 12:37
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Fixed, thanks.
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May 23, 2015 12:41
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thespaceinvader posted:Interestingly, one of the more prolific authors at the moment is the web-serialist Wildbow AKA JC McCrae. His first story was over 1.5 million words alone. Again, quantity =/= quality, but in this case, the quality's remarkably high for a mostly un-edited work, and whilst his second story wasn't brilliant, the one currently in progress is looking very good. I think Wikipedia used to acknowledge an Ah! My Goddess fanfic which was more than two million words long in its estimation of the longest prose stories, though I guess that doesn't really count? (inb4 tedious debate about the validity and relative merits of fanfiction)
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May 23, 2015 13:05
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tentacles posted:Holding up WoT as an example of great writing is a good way to make the other side's point for them You could say the same about 95% of the stuff we discuss in this thread, though. Even at its best the Dresden series isn't all that much more sophisticated than a good Scooby-Doo episode.
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May 23, 2015 13:27
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:You could say the same about 95% of the stuff we discuss in this thread, though. Even at its best the Dresden series isn't all that much more sophisticated than a good Scooby-Doo episode. This of course begs the discussion of who is Scrappy-Doo
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May 23, 2015 14:06
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Fried Chicken posted:This of course begs the discussion of who is Scrappy-Doo .... Murphy? If this thread is anything to go by? Personally I think Murphy's great and I don't understand y'all at all. 
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May 23, 2015 14:11
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tentacles posted:Holding up WoT as an example of great writing is a good way to make the other side's point for them Eye of the world is great. WoT has issues. Thyrork posted:.... Murphy? If this thread is anything to go by? Personally I think Murphy's great and I don't understand y'all at all. She makes no goddamn sense but fills a necessary role. If you read Dresden without Dresden, it would be much like Garfield without Garfield, the slow decline of a beat cop into granny batman. I like Marcone, Charity, even Hendricks better as characters, but none of them fill the space Murphy does, despite being equally mundane. Anias fucked around with this message at 15:16 on May 23, 2015 |
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May 23, 2015 15:13
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Fried Chicken posted:This of course begs the discussion of who is Scrappy-Doo Arguably any character introduced by the Paranet Papers. Mama Cass Elliot and the Harlem Globetrotters will always be more canonical members of the Scooby Doo cast that that ragamuffin Scrappy. 
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May 23, 2015 15:15
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:You could say the same about 95% of the stuff we discuss in this thread, though. Even at its best the Dresden series isn't all that much more sophisticated than a good Scooby-Doo episode. I would pay good money to watch an episode where Fred ritually sacrificed Velma to genocide a sentient race from Scoobyworld (as masterminded by Shaggy)
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May 23, 2015 15:40
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tentacles posted:I would pay good money to watch an episode where Fred ritually sacrificed Velma to genocide a sentient race from Scoobyworld (as masterminded by Shaggy) The live action Scooby Doo movie from like a decade ago more or less did this (except instead of Fred it was Scrappy).
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May 23, 2015 16:07
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Anias posted:She makes no goddamn sense but fills a necessary role. If you read Dresden without Dresden, it would be much like Garfield without Garfield, the slow decline of a beat cop into granny batman. I'm almost certain I've asked about the characters' ages before, but how old is Murphy meant to be at the moment? The series has covered around 10 years since Storm Front; the last few have been grouped much closer together, whereas previously there'd be about a year between each book. Harry mentions in (I think) Changes that he's known Billy for about 10 years, at least, and they first met in the second book. You don't notice Harry ageing, at least, since his magic keeps him vital, but I think he mentions Michael had been starting to slow down even before his injuries force him to retire from being a full-time Knight of the Cross.
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May 23, 2015 16:14
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tentacles posted:I would pay good money to watch an episode where Fred ritually sacrificed Velma to genocide a sentient race from Scoobyworld (as masterminded by Shaggy) 
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May 23, 2015 16:15
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tentacles posted:I would pay good money to watch an episode where Fred ritually sacrificed Velma to genocide a sentient race from Scoobyworld (as masterminded by Shaggy) Here is a description from the final episode of the last Scooby Doo series: "The gang and original Mystery Incorporated stand before the Evil Entity. The Entity grabs Scooby-Doo, and mentions that he must die and be reborn as a vessel for its darkness. Scooby breaks free, but Pericles volunteers to be possessed by the being, to which the Entity agrees. Professor Pericles believes he has gained ultimate power (due to his growth in size and appearance), but the Evil Entity kills Pericles and mutates his body into a squid-like monster. The Entity then assumes control of the Kriegstaffelbots and summons other evil Anunnaki, who proceed to offer the townspeople for the Entity to consume" Wheat Loaf posted:I'm almost certain I've asked about the characters' ages before, but how old is Murphy meant to be at the moment? The series has covered around 10 years since Storm Front; the last few have been grouped much closer together, whereas previously there'd be about a year between each book. Harry mentions in (I think) Changes that he's known Billy for about 10 years, at least, and they first met in the second book. You don't notice Harry ageing, at least, since his magic keeps him vital, but I think he mentions Michael had been starting to slow down even before his injuries force him to retire from being a full-time Knight of the Cross. Karen was 29 in Stormfront. Skin Game is rough ~15 years afterwards so she is mid-40s. However Michael in his 40s when we were introduced to him so Murphy is right now hitting the point Michael was at during the start of the series. Even if she becomes a Knight of the Cross or whatever next book, as long as the basic patterns holds she would still have plenty of years left to be a Knight. I'll point out that an old man Japanese with cancer was a completely viable and extremely deadly Knight of the Cross. The other Knights of the Cross are also older than Murphy is. Also if you want to discuss who Scrappy Doo is: The character who was introduced later in the series, who dominates huge chunks of the plot, who honestly has kind of lovely plot and whose episodes drag down the series, and who is a long-lost relative of the main character? It's Thomas. ImpAtom fucked around with this message at 17:01 on May 23, 2015 |
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May 23, 2015 16:49
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ImpAtom posted:Here is a description from the final episode of the last Scooby Doo series: That's beautiful. The blood curse is on the viewing audience!
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May 23, 2015 17:29
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88% into Dead Beat, and Harry and Butters are...taking a ride... I love this loving book. I'll post full thoughts when I'm done. But holy poo poo, I love this book.
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May 23, 2015 20:58
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thrawn527 posted:88% into Dead Beat, and Harry and Butters are...taking a ride... Heh, when I got to that point I got so excited i threw the book across the room. Then ran over grabbed it, and kept going. Shortly after I got a friend to start reading the series. When he got to that point I got a gibbering happy text from him. It is probably the best book in the series, though Changes comes close.
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May 23, 2015 22:37
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thrawn527 posted:88% into Dead Beat, and Harry and Butters are...taking a ride... I've been waiting for this post since you said you started Dead Beat. 
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May 23, 2015 23:04
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Dead Beat was good. Like, really good. It feels like the first book where Butcher stops world building and just gets to live in the world he's been building this whole time. There are elements from each previous book, and he gets to play with all the pieces he's wonderfully set up. Vampires, the wolf pack, demons, fairies, white council, etc., they're all here. It's fun, intense, exciting, and probably my favorite of the series so far. I had already decided this like 75% in. And then Harry rides a zombie T-Rex into two armies of zombies led by dueling Necromancers. I knew something with a T-Rex was coming from the image in the OP. But that didn't stop me from grinning and laughing like an idiot the whole sequence. It's just so...perfect. And cathartic, the way Sue just rips into the enemies he's been battling the whole book. ...I need to get everyone I know reading these books. They're so good.
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May 23, 2015 23:21
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thrawn527 posted:Dead Beat was good. Like, really good. It feels like the first book where Butcher stops world building and just gets to live in the world he's been building this whole time. There are elements from each previous book, and he gets to play with all the pieces he's wonderfully set up. Vampires, the wolf pack, demons, fairies, white council, etc., they're all here. It's fun, intense, exciting, and probably my favorite of the series so far. I had already decided this like 75% in. Dead Beat while amazing is actually topped by a few books after it for me. Small Favor, Turn Coat, Changes just to name a few. The Dinoride really did kick start a crazy pace for awhile.
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May 23, 2015 23:38
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In fact small favor, turn coat, and changes are back to back, so yeah that whole section of the arc is a fuckin ride. Also, you got White Night up soon, some folks dislike it, but it's one of my favorites.
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May 23, 2015 23:41
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So what's with the whole "DIE ALONE" curse? A Kirk thing where, because it was said by Liver Spots, he figures he now knows he'll die alone whether it's true or not? Actual curse? Stop asking questions?
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May 23, 2015 23:45
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thrawn527 posted:So what's with the whole "DIE ALONE" curse? A Kirk thing where he figures he now knows he'll die alone? Actual curse? Stop asking questions? 
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May 23, 2015 23:46
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thrawn527 posted:So what's with the whole "DIE ALONE" curse? A Kirk thing where, because it was said, he figures he now knows he'll die alone whether it's true or not? Actual curse? Stop asking questions? All I will say is that it is relevant. That's all.
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May 23, 2015 23:47
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Yeah yeah alright. I'll say I'm most curious about that, and fallen angel coin lady (can't remember her name).
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May 23, 2015 23:48
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thrawn527 posted:Yeah yeah alright. I'll say I'm most curious about that, and fallen angel coin lady (can't remember her name). Lasciel. Also relevant.
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May 23, 2015 23:50
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jivjov posted:Lasciel. Also relevant. That much I figured. It'd be impossible for her to not be relevant. But still good to know. Also Butters is awesome, and Mouse is, like, really smart for a dog. And the best.
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May 23, 2015 23:52
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May 24, 2015 00:00
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Wittgen posted:Worm is 1.68 million actually. Pact was about half that. That reminds me I need to back and finish Pact. I lost interest in it about two thirds of the way through (around about February this year) when I realised I'd lost my mental image of what the protagonist even looked like
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May 24, 2015 00:03
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May 24, 2015 00:05
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thrawn527 posted:So what's with the whole "DIE ALONE" curse? A Kirk thing where, because it was said by Liver Spots, he figures he now knows he'll die alone whether it's true or not? Actual curse? Stop asking questions? Well, Harry' has already talked about Death Curses, and Quintus was enough of a practitioner that he could throw one... As for what it means, I'll refer you to all the " "
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May 24, 2015 00:12
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Skippy McPants posted:Well, Harry' has already talked about Death Curses, and Quintus was enough of a practitioner that he could throw one... As for what it means, I'll refer you to all the " Sure, but that is not at all what I've been lead to believe a Death Curse is like. But yeah, I'll read and find out.
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May 24, 2015 00:15
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thrawn527 posted:So what's with the whole "DIE ALONE" curse? A Kirk thing where, because it was said by Liver Spots, he figures he now knows he'll die alone whether it's true or not? Actual curse? Stop asking questions? He was actually speaking German - "The Alone". We don't know what it means yet.
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May 24, 2015 00:17
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thrawn527 posted:Sure, but that is not at all what I've been lead to believe a Death Curse is like. But yeah, I'll read and find out. A death curse can be pretty much anything. It's just whatever you pour all of your life force into. You don't even have to be dying to do it...but it would kill you to do so.
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May 24, 2015 00:19
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My favourite part of Dead Beat is the implication that Morgan ended up wearing and using Butters' polka suit to keep the zombie dinosaur going at the end.
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May 24, 2015 00:22
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thrawn527 posted:So what's with the whole "DIE ALONE" curse? A Kirk thing where, because it was said by Liver Spots, he figures he now knows he'll die alone whether it's true or not? Actual curse? Stop asking questions?
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May 24, 2015 00:25
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jivjov posted:A death curse can be pretty much anything. It's just whatever you pour all of your life force into. You don't even have to be dying to do it...but it would kill you to do so. Yep It's basically burning you out for one last superduper spell. In grave peril or summer knight, when the reds took out archangel, the senior council member there (petrovich?) released a death curse that nuked the whole site.
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May 24, 2015 00:26
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The funny thing is Harry also did something similar in Grave Peril when he nuked the red court. It is the only time in the series his heart stops due to using to much magic but the white god saves him due to Michaels prayer.
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May 24, 2015 00:37
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The end of Dead Beat is still probably my favorite moment in the series. There are better books - just barely. There are more amazing moments. There are some phenomenal endings in other books. But the last stretch of Dead Beat really sums up Dresden Files in a perfect package and serves it up neatly for you on a silver platter. It shows you what type of stakes the series can have, the type of humor the book can carry, and the batshit "haha, what? YES!" moments that I live for. I wish I could use it as a scene to describe to people to get them hooked because I know a few I could draw in that way, but it's just too good to spoil early. It's peak Harry Dresden and for the longest time I thought nothing would ever beat it. Thankfully I was wrong, but it's my favorite moment forever.
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May 24, 2015 00:47
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