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I think I'll pass on Magicians then. There's probably enough other stuff out there to check out and from what people are saying it sounds like I'd probably end up walking away from it like I've done with Rothfuss after book 2 of Dumbass Harry Potter and the Sex Ninjas/Goddess.Patrick Spens posted:I mean (character spoilers for Fitz Farseer) Fitz losing all faith in the people he ostensibly works for, and then slowly regaining it, is pretty much his entire character arc through two entire trilogies. That is not a story that makes any sense unless he has good reason to feel betrayed. And since he is betrayed by incompetence and imperfection rather than actual treachery, Hobb is going to dwell on how much his life sucks. The end of Tawny Man kinda retcons that with Fitz getting back what he had put in to Girl-on-a-Dragon since when he gave away those parts of himself he essentially broke himself and never realized it, which is why after all that he starts to make more logical choices, especially regarding Molly. Though for all I know her newest trilogy might be undoing that. I'm only on the last Rain Wilds book now and I'm not sure if I want to start the new book because I hate the whole "here's some cliffhangers for the next few years" thing if the series ends up being enjoyable. I can give Sanderson a pass on it since he's some sort of weird book writing robot and not some sluggish shithead like GRRM (or Rothfuss).
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Jun 1, 2015 23:18
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It's not fair to try and compare Rothfuss to Grossman. If you made it through two books of The Name of the Wind, I mean, well...you can only go up from there. The Magicians was interesting, and I'd suggest giving the first a try, as it felt relatively complete. You won't get some resolution to certain things, but you won't be disappointed if you decide not to read further down that series. I enjoyed it.
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Jun 1, 2015 23:23
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RVProfootballer posted:I would really strongly disagree about it having strong characters or that it's all very thought out. To use an in vogue comparison (sorry Battuta!), ASOIAF has a similarly ridiculously complicated cast of characters and many intertwining plot threads, and feels almost infinitely more well thought out and with far more memorable characters. This is hilarious since it's painfully obvious that GRRM absolutely did not plan out his series for poo poo and has caused him all kinds of problems and delayed him writing more and now no one is going to give a gently caress because the HBO series will become the definitive version of his world. Sure he planned out his character interactions well but ignored the rest of the loving story. fritz posted:I'm an active reader who likes big sweeping stories and I thought Malazan disappeared up its own rear end about 2/3 of the way thru the series. (Loved 'Gardens of the Moon' tho, primarily for the 'in media res' / 'what the gently caress is all this' stuff going on, and it's the only one of the series I kept after the last purge) This just shows you weren't reading it closely enough because it becomes obvious that it was up its own rear end the entire time  Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:I'm the opposite. I didn't like the first book although I forced myself to finish it. I felt like it was trying to turn fantasy tropes on their heads (I'm pretty sure that's actually the entire point of the book) but he wasn't really a good enough writer to do so. Ha Ha it's funny they go through a literal D&D dungeon crawl but it's not done in a clever of skillful way, the writing felt amateurish and I just didn't feel entertained or challenged in my perception of fantasy standards. A lot of other people liked it though so I guess it just didn't appeal to me I just found that the four books of The Dying Earth are on Kindle...for some reason I could never find them before, but at least I know what I'm reading tonight
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Jun 2, 2015 00:52
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I think The Magicians is definitely worth trying to read for anyone with an interest in the genre. Like Drifter says it's interesting. It's very much a self-aware analysis of fantasy tropes as well as being a love letter to a lot of them. It paints a realistic look at how magic would function in our world which I haven't really seen done as well. I think where it loses a lot of people is that it feels like a very millennial book at times with privileged early 20s kids wondering what to do with their lives after graduating from their prestigious school. I enjoyed that though because it feels like something that would happen rather than in Harry Potter where people happily accept the very limited career paths open to them.
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Jun 2, 2015 01:06
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I don't think it's a particularly interesting, realistic or thought provoking depiction of how magic would function in our world at all but I will agree with the rest.
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Jun 2, 2015 15:37
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Any opinions on Vermillion by Molly Tanzer?
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Jun 2, 2015 15:46
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Junkenstein posted:Any opinions on Vermillion by Molly Tanzer? Got buzz and an excellent cover.
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Jun 2, 2015 15:52
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Yeah, that's how it popped up on my radar.
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Jun 2, 2015 16:18
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Levitate posted:I just found that the four books of The Dying Earth are on Kindle...for some reason I could never find them before, but at least I know what I'm reading tonight You've made a good decision.
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Jun 2, 2015 20:16
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As a reminder, book 2 of the greatcoats series came out today in america. Book 1 was probably my favorite book from last year. New one is called knights shadow.
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Jun 2, 2015 21:24
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Dilber posted:As a reminder, book 2 of the greatcoats series came out today in america. Book 1 was probably my favorite book from last year. I imported this a few months back. It is great.
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Jun 2, 2015 21:52
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I am struggling through Discworld and thought this thread could help. I just finished Colour of Magic and started Light Fantastic. There are time when Prachett sounds like he is trying so hard to be Douglas Adams that is takes me completely out of the story. Some parts of the book are amazing and genuine, other times the narrative structure completely falls apart. There are huge gaping plot holes that I just can't get over and Deus ex Machina types of situations. Somehow Douglas Adams (or maybe it was the age I read them at) so seamlessly dealt with those situations for which I feel Pratchett doesn't have the talent. The problem is that some parts are so drat good. I am not a huge fantasy fan so how do the books fair going forward?
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Jun 2, 2015 21:57
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York_M_Chan posted:I am struggling through Discworld and thought this thread could help. You're reading some of the rougher entries into the series. In fact I would say that the first two books are probably the worst. If you're determined to read Discworld in order, just know that the quality really improves in later books. If you're not too concerned about completion or reading in order, I'd suggest skipping to Guards, Guards! and going from there.
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Jun 2, 2015 22:00
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Read Mort, Wyrd Sisters and Guards Guards. All will be well. Don't try to read Discworld in publication order.
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Jun 2, 2015 22:12
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Sextro posted:So despite being armed with the pile of suggested books I'm reading Revelation Space in the kindle app. Has anyone else read it on an iPhone 6 at default font size? I am getting whiplash from view point changes being separated only by a paragraph break. If you are talking about John Lee you are out of line my friend!
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Jun 3, 2015 00:00
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gohmak posted:If you are talking about John Lee you are out of line my friend! I didn't say I disliked it. Just it took me a moment to find my feet in the story well enough to follow it seamlessly between audio/text.
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Jun 3, 2015 00:14
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Sextro posted:I didn't say I disliked it. Just it took me a moment to find my feet in the story well enough to follow it seamlessly between audio/text. I personally hate doing the whispersync voice stuff,I enjoy the narration too much to miss parts of it once I've started and will happily have a separate audiobook and book going simultaneously.
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Jun 3, 2015 02:12
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I just finished The Water Knife by Bacilogupi, liked it a lot, flew right through it. I hope they make an adaption out of it sometime, cuz it would make for an awesome scifi western like that Young Ones movie from last year.
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Jun 3, 2015 02:28
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Hedrigall posted:Read Mort, Wyrd Sisters and Guards Guards. All will be well. Don't try to read Discworld in publication order. Not first anyway, it's pretty rewarding to reread in pub order though. There are excellent reading order guides available. Once you've read the above-mentioned three books, pick a series you like and run with it. http://www.lspace.org/books/reading-order-guides/
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Jun 3, 2015 02:49
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syphon posted:If you're referring to the character I think you are (Julia, the victim of said rape), the storyline for that particular character moves forward dramatically in book 3, particularly at the ending of the series. For the record, I loved The Magicians, the entire series, but the resolution to the plot point you mentioned Julia's rape was one of the weakest points of The Magician's Land. I was psyched by the twist when Azmodeus got the knife to kill a god at the end of the heist. The resolution being entirely "off screen" and Julia offhandedly mentioning, yeah Reynard got what was coming to him.. Major cop out. The weakest part of the last book, which I otherwise felt finished off the series quite nicely. Excited for the TV series, sure to disappoint. The Magicians is not a series for everyone.
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Jun 3, 2015 03:19
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andrew smash posted:I personally hate doing the whispersync voice stuff,I enjoy the narration too much to miss parts of it once I've started and will happily have a separate audiobook and book going simultaneously. I've always thought about doing this but then I'd basically double my spending on books/audiobooks. Or maybe it'd stay the same because I'm splitting my attention?
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Jun 3, 2015 03:22
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Summer is just perfect for catching up on my to-read pile: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel rocks as a piece of apocalyptic literature that isn't necessarily obsessed with violence, tragedy, or action as much as it is the inner lives and histories of its characters. Really fantastic. The Affinities by Robert Charles Wilson has a cool idea (what if those stupid personality tests actually meant something?) that's timely (strangers already meet up and hang out these days for no good reason, what does that mean for people and our society?!) that turns out to be really, really boring (...nothing happens and the big personality test clubs are washed away like they never happened in a single paragraph at the end of the book, despite people being apparently willing to kill for them?!!). I got the feeling the author just didn't feel like getting ambitious or writing sequels and hit the usual 350-page limit. EDIT: Actually, the more I think about it, the angrier I get. Wilson basically undermined his entire premise at the end. I want to un-read this book so I can read something else with that time instead. Combed Thunderclap fucked around with this message at 04:04 on Jun 3, 2015 |
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Jun 3, 2015 03:54
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Sextro posted:I've always thought about doing this but then I'd basically double my spending on books/audiobooks. Or maybe it'd stay the same because I'm splitting my attention? I dunno, i basically think of them as two separate activities almost. Audiobooks are for commuting, exercising, yard and house work, and books are for relaxing and reading actively. I guess it helps that basically every audiobook I have is a book i've already read.
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Jun 3, 2015 04:17
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andrew smash posted:I dunno, i basically think of them as two separate activities almost. Audiobooks are for commuting, exercising, yard and house work, and books are for relaxing and reading actively. I guess it helps that basically every audiobook I have is a book i've already read. I work 6 days a week and commute 40 minutes each way and my job affords me 1-4 hours per day of reading per shift (gym time is metal/EDM time). On top of my recreational reading I'm going through novels like a wheat thresher.
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Jun 3, 2015 04:26
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So goons, Reynolds has a new book out called Slow Bullets, and James Corey has a new one out for the Expanse series. I just put them on my reader so I haven't had a chance to read them yet. Any good?
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Jun 3, 2015 07:27
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Ahh Yes posted:So goons, Reynolds has a new book out called Slow Bullets, and James Corey has a new one out for the Expanse series. Slow Bullets is just a novella but it's getting more hype and critical praise than his actual new novel Poseidon's Wake. I hope my copy arrives soon, I want to see if it's all it's cracked up to be.
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Jun 3, 2015 07:56
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On going through some of Reynolds' older stuff again recently (specifically house of Suns and revelation space), whenever he tries to come up with some sort of social ritual or ceremony that's appropriate for the setting, I'm struck by how stilted and weird they are. I'm thinking specifically about the revelation space wedding and the house of Suns funeral. I think they're supposed to be moving but I honestly don't think Reynolds has that in his repertoire, or at least didn't back then.
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Jun 3, 2015 08:22
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Yeah they feel kinda mechanistic and just plain cold to me. I've recently come out of my second Cherryh binge, having finished the entire A/U series last, and while not every scifi plot needs to have her particular level of emotional torment attached to it, I'm not particularly keen on returning to the more beep-boop inhumane corners of the genre.
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Jun 3, 2015 10:16
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I gotta say though, I do love the line "Behold, the Wedding Gun!"
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Jun 3, 2015 12:42
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Ahh Yes posted:So goons, Reynolds has a new book out called Slow Bullets, and James Corey has a new one out for the Expanse series. Where did you get an electronic copy of Slow Bullets? This release is confusing me. Apparently it's out, but the release date isn't until next week? Reynolds tweeted that yesterday was the publication date, is that different from release date? Amazon.co.uk for example is saying I can have the book delivered tomorrow even though the release date is the 9th June. And there's no kindle version available as far as I can see, even though you seem to be able to pre-order a kindle version directly from the publisher. What's going on?
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Jun 3, 2015 13:41
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Junkenstein posted:Where did you get an electronic copy of Slow Bullets? This release is confusing me. Apparently it's out, but the release date isn't until next week? Reynolds tweeted that yesterday was the publication date, is that different from release date? Amazon.co.uk for example is saying I can have the book delivered tomorrow even though the release date is the 9th June. And there's no kindle version available as far as I can see, even though you seem to be able to pre-order a kindle version directly from the publisher. What's going on? I don't know, this is really weird. Amazon US is saying the release date is June 9, but I just ordered it and it immediately loaded on my Kindle. Something be hosed up, yo. Conversely, I can't read Poseidon's Children in the US until, like, some time next year, and I can't read Rajaniemi's short story collection at all. Publishing. What an industry!
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Jun 3, 2015 14:46
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Huh, maybe a UK kindle version will suddenly appear next Tuesday then. Odd.
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Jun 3, 2015 14:58
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My copy of Slow Bullets (preordered from Amazon) arrived last week. It feels more like older Reynolds than his newer stuff, all cramped and claustrophobic. I enjoyed it a bunch.
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Jun 3, 2015 15:23
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Just finished The Last Policeman trilogy. It was damned good. Detective fiction + speculative/pre-apocalyptic fiction (asteroid going to destroy earth in ~6 months) + just the right amount of melodrama + memorable characters + protagonist is flawed but not completely annoying = super quick, enjoyable reads. Also, first books I've read that does first person present tense (no I didn't read the Hunger Games), and got used to it after about 3 pages.
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Jun 3, 2015 16:15
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Paragon8 posted:It paints a realistic look at how magic would function in our world which I haven't really seen done as well. This is a contradiction in terms, right?
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Jun 3, 2015 16:28
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House Louse posted:This is a contradiction in terms, right? Well, the idea behind treating unrealistic concepts realistically is that everything but for the conceit in question operates realistically... I don't think the Magicians did that at all since the magical society is basically an irrelevance which is not subject to the 'real' world. The books' merits such as they are come from the characters and not the world, which isn't very good, in my opinion.
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Jun 3, 2015 16:36
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Neurosis posted:Well, the idea behind treating unrealistic concepts realistically is that everything but for the conceit in question operates realistically... I don't think the Magicians did that at all since the magical society is basically an irrelevance which is not subject to the 'real' world. The books' merits such as they are come from the characters and not the world, which isn't very good, in my opinion. I don't know. Some of the book is the main character trying to come to grips with the divide between the magical society and the non magical one. I think it's entirely fair to have the 'magical community' relegated off to the side as opposed to being a fantasy Xanthian world or something. I liked the characters. Maybe not as people, but as the characters themselves. They were sufficiently interesting. I don't need to be best friends with a person I'm reading about.
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Jun 3, 2015 16:40
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Kesper North posted:I don't know, this is really weird. Amazon US is saying the release date is June 9, but I just ordered it and it immediately loaded on my Kindle.  Maybe?Poseidon's Wake audiobook is not available in the U.S. I'm reading Chasm City again because that novel is loving amazing and Nemesis Games which is starting out Abaddon's Gate boring.
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Jun 3, 2015 17:34
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So, on a whim, I've begun the Iron Druid books. I'm most of the way through the second one and, by and large, it's decent popcorn fiction with accessible prose. His repetition of certain phrases ("I drew power from the Earth," ad nauseum), frequent wordy descriptions about stuff you've either already heard before or stuff that has no bearing on the story (like long winded details about the food they're eating), and then constant, repetitive gags (oh, the dog thinks French Poodles are hot, this elderly Irish woman drinks whiskey and hates Brits) all have me thinking I'll stop after this book. I guess my question is: do the books get any better as he gets more experience writing?
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Jun 3, 2015 19:35
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They get worse.
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Jun 3, 2015 19:43
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