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Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG Jesus christ what is wrong with you Craig Schaefer! So many books so fast. Is this 5 in 2 years in just this series alone?
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Aug 1, 2015 19:18
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THE NEW DANIEL FAUST BOOK IS OUT AND ON KINDLE UNLIMITED 
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Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG Holy gently caress! That's my weekend reading sorted. That guy does like, what 3-4 books a year? I'm pretty sure he managed two Daniel Faust and two Revanche Cycle books in the last twelve months. And they're good! He posts on his blog a ton too. If you haven't already, check his stuff out.
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Aug 1, 2015 20:03
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Victorkm posted:Jesus christ what is wrong with you Craig Schaefer! So many books so fast. Is this 5 in 2 years in just this series alone? Yup. 3 in 2014, 2 this year (so far), with the last one released in January. I think he had the first 3 set and ready to go before he released em, but he's basically apparently an A.I. that solely exists to take 5$ out of my wallet every 3-6 months. He's going to have the new Harmony Black series rolling out as well, so that's probably going to be 3 books a year at least. He's like the anti-GRRM.
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Aug 1, 2015 21:26
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Have a big backlist is one of the keys to being able to make a living as a writer, so it's a good plan.
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Aug 2, 2015 00:06
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Great Joe posted:Maybe start reading actual sagas like Brennu-Njáls Saga or Grettis Saga before you start throwing around words you don't actually know what they mean, just a thought. Your only two posts in this thread are pedantic dickery. I am glad that guy liked those books.
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Aug 2, 2015 00:36
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angel opportunity posted:I'm loving red Mars...it feels like I'm actually on Mars watching it be terraformed and colonized Yeah, I've been doing a re-read of the series and (ka) wow is it good! I'm much more patient with the slow pace now that I know what to expect. If you like Red I'm sure you'll enjoy Green, and at the very least the first half of Blue. I seem to recall the last bit sort of meandering, (not there yet) but I'm a lot more at home with the characters this time, and just finishing their stories will be satisfying. Also, the quasi-4th book, The Martians, is pretty good too. It's a collection of some of his older fiction set on Mars, (Green Mars, a novella about climbing Olympus Mons, is loving great) some alternate-future-history stuff with the same cast as in the main Mars Trilogy, some extra side stories set within the continuity of the main trilogy, a few little notes on the actual writing of it, some bits about the land, farming, Big Man, and the little red people. And other things too. It's a great companion piece.
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Aug 2, 2015 03:10
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I've taken the plunge and started in on the Revelation Space series. I just finished the first one and was wondering about something. There's the one chapter where Volyova confronts Sajaki in the biome area with the holograms of a previous meeting playing. The chapter ends with him knocking her down with a bamboo sword and approaching her with a syringe in hand... Did that go anywhere? I was expecting him to have injected her with nanomachines that would paralyze her at a critical point or something, but I don't remember it being brought up again.
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Aug 2, 2015 03:45
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minor point but his shakuhachi isn't a sword, it's a flute that he uses like a weapon. edit: i had no idea what the gently caress that was until i reread it recently and had to look it up. i think it makes sajaki a little more interesting than somebody who just carries around a wooden katana. andrew smash fucked around with this message at 04:39 on Aug 2, 2015 |
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Aug 2, 2015 04:17
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Get The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu for $1.99 on Amazon (US only?). It's a timed deal though no end date is known right now. Also, today's Kindle Daily Deal on Amazon is Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind for $1.99.
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Aug 2, 2015 12:16
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Fart of Presto posted:Get The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu for $1.99 on Amazon (US only?). It's a timed deal though no end date is known right now. Yep, still £5 in the UK, though that's 33% less than it was when I originally wishlisted it. Fortunately I've still got a huge amount of Longships to finish, and it's pretty good so far. http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/registry/wishlist/ref=nav_wish_list?view=null&filter=price-drop is my favourite tab these days (not a referral; it's the "most discounted items on the wishlist of whoever is logged in" thing)
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Aug 2, 2015 13:00
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andrew smash posted:minor point but his shakuhachi isn't a sword, it's a flute that he uses like a weapon.
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Aug 2, 2015 13:53
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I just finished that first Malorum Gates book (because I heard about it on NPR) and really loved it. The writing wasn't exactly first rate, but the world building was fantastic. And it reminded me of how much I used to love fantasy/sci-fi genre. The thing is, I read almost exclusively non-fiction historical works or biography these days because it's been so long since I've found fiction worth my while. My favorite series from old days were Dan Simmons Hyperion stuff, KSRs Mars Trilogy, some things by Tad Williams like Otherland and Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, of course Tolkien, and back in Jr. High I ate up all the Dragonlance books because of course I did (though I picked up my old copy of the Legend of Human and it was atrocious). So I guess I'm posting this to ask if there is anything really good these days with really high quality writing and an interesting world that isn't GOT.
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Aug 2, 2015 14:46
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Malazan. It's a love-it-or-hate-it deal, though.
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Aug 2, 2015 16:02
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anilEhilated posted:Malazan. It's a love-it-or-hate-it deal, though. I have a lower opinion of people who hate it for being 'too confusing', though. Dislike it for other reasons, okay sure, but... Drifter fucked around with this message at 16:48 on Aug 2, 2015 |
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Aug 2, 2015 16:44
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Mr. Wiggles posted:I just finished that first Malorum Gates book (because I heard about it on NPR) and really loved it. The writing wasn't exactly first rate, but the world building was fantastic. And it reminded me of how much I used to love fantasy/sci-fi genre. The thing is, I read almost exclusively non-fiction historical works or biography these days because it's been so long since I've found fiction worth my while. My favorite series from old days were Dan Simmons Hyperion stuff, KSRs Mars Trilogy, some things by Tad Williams like Otherland and Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, of course Tolkien, and back in Jr. High I ate up all the Dragonlance books because of course I did (though I picked up my old copy of the Legend of Human and it was atrocious). It's got a great world, asks really interesting questions, doesn't fall into traditional fantasy/sci-fi categories, and is one of the better books I've read this decade, regardless of genre.
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Aug 2, 2015 16:49
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Azathoth posted:The Half-Made World by Felix Gilman. The sequel Rise of Ransom City I also very much enjoyed, but it is a COMPLETELY different style than the bizarro-Western adventure story. Also, it doesn't have Creedmoor has a focus character, which makes it automatically a step down. On a totally different note, consider pretty much anything by CJ Cherryh, undisputed master of writing alien psychologies. My personal favorite of hers might be the Cyteen duology, but it's a little tricky to get one's head around potentially. Goatse James Bond fucked around with this message at 17:58 on Aug 2, 2015 |
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Aug 2, 2015 17:55
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Mr. Wiggles posted:
The Prince of Nothing and Aspect Emperor books are the best mix of quality, complex writing, unique, super-interesting setting/worldbuilding, plus an awesome plot and ideas you can get from a fantasy series of recent times.
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Aug 2, 2015 17:58
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Welp, finished The Killing Floor Blues, and holy poo poo. It starts off pretty much right at the end of the last book, and basically just keeps on rolling. There's a bit of a new supporting cast since it takes place in a prison and it'd be weird for the entire supporting cast from the previous books to be a few cells over, but what I like is that each of the new characters introduced (even for small stuff) have their own unique voice and feel. No one really comes across as a trope. There's some incredibly creepy magic, a bit more backstory and "lore" from this particular universe, and sort of a general feeling of "Oh... oh drat." once the realizations set in about the plot. All in all, if you like the series, you are probably gonna love this one. If you've got KU you can get all the books in the series if you haven't read em yet and want to give em a shot.
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Aug 2, 2015 17:59
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Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:Welp, finished The Killing Floor Blues, and holy poo poo. What series?
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Aug 2, 2015 18:13
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The Daniel Faust series. Only 5 books so far (including this one), but all are awesome. The first one kinda doesn't really hook you with the story till about chapter 3 though.
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Aug 2, 2015 18:15
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Fart of Presto posted:Get The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu for $1.99 on Amazon (US only?). It's a timed deal though no end date is known right now. Appreciate the heads up, I've been wanting to read this. You're a very nice person.
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Aug 2, 2015 18:20
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Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:Welp, finished The Killing Floor Blues, and holy poo poo. Agreed, that was awesome. Not only was it a taut prison-break thriller, it was also a pretty sharp critique of privatized prisons and the prison system in general. Looked like Schaefer did a lot of research. I read the book in one sitting.
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Aug 2, 2015 18:48
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savinhill posted:The Prince of Nothing and Aspect Emperor books are the best mix of quality, complex writing, unique, super-interesting setting/worldbuilding, plus an awesome plot and ideas you can get from a fantasy series of recent times. Same thing goes for this series as for Malazan though, either you love it or hate it. I guess Abercrombie First Law should be thrown in there as well as the default non-GoT recommendation in this thread. Since he/she/it enjoyed Tad Williams, Robin Hobb should also be a good recommendation. As for Half-Made World / Ransom City, the books are rather short so while the world building is pretty good, it ends rather quickly and leaves a bunch of questions open.
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Aug 2, 2015 18:54
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Fart of Presto posted:Also, today's Kindle Daily Deal on Amazon is Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind for $1.99. Posting this without a warning is mean. Someone might buy it and read it.
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Aug 2, 2015 19:36
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withak posted:Posting this without a warning is mean. Someone might buy it and read it. yeah, still not worth the price.
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Aug 2, 2015 19:40
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coming off of things like Xanth and Shannara and Dragonlance, Goodkind certainly felt like a step into edgier and grittier fantasy to a tween.
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Aug 2, 2015 20:10
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Mr. Wiggles posted:I just finished that first Malorum Gates book (because I heard about it on NPR) and really loved it. The writing wasn't exactly first rate, but the world building was fantastic. And it reminded me of how much I used to love fantasy/sci-fi genre. The thing is, I read almost exclusively non-fiction historical works or biography these days because it's been so long since I've found fiction worth my while. My favorite series from old days were Dan Simmons Hyperion stuff, KSRs Mars Trilogy, some things by Tad Williams like Otherland and Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, of course Tolkien, and back in Jr. High I ate up all the Dragonlance books because of course I did (though I picked up my old copy of the Legend of Human and it was atrocious). everyone read Hard to be a God
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Aug 2, 2015 21:37
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corn in the bible posted:everyone read Hard to be a God Yes. But please do not watch the 1989 movie! (There is a new one, a russian one from 2014, which I haven't watched).
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Aug 2, 2015 22:01
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I was given a link to an imgur post(?) by a friend who knows my terrible weakness - superhero books ( I haven't read it, so it could be utter poo poo - there are a lot of positive reviews, at least. Apparently some rando author, Blake Northcott, is giving away her book one of a series Arena Mode for free on Amazon -USA and Amazon -UK. I figure a free book never hurt anyone, and since it got solid reviews it's not some type of lovely spam post on my end. 
Drifter fucked around with this message at 22:52 on Aug 2, 2015 |
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Aug 2, 2015 22:50
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Drifter posted:I was given a link to an imgur post(?) by a friend who knows my terrible weakness - superhero books ( Ever read Worm?
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Aug 2, 2015 23:10
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withak posted:Posting this without a warning is mean. Someone might buy it and read it. 
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Aug 2, 2015 23:14
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Silver2195 posted:Ever read Worm? I have not. it's that webserial thing that's a billion pages or something, right? Is it purchasable? Is it any good? I did really enjoy Devil's Cape, however. 
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Aug 3, 2015 00:14
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Drifter posted:I have not. it's that webserial thing that's a billion pages or something, right? The author is considering selling a revised version eventually, but as of now, the free version on the web is the only one. It is indeed good; it has a very interesting main character, it manages to be dark without going full Wild Cards, it shows off some creative uses of superpowers as well as creative variations on common powers, and it has a setting that actually makes a fair amount of sense. I should note that the earlier stuff is somewhat unrepresentative in terms of tone. https://parahumans.wordpress.com/table-of-contents/
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Aug 3, 2015 01:38
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Man, Killing Floor Blues was great, the only problem is now we've got to wait for the next one - Half of that book was just set up for a big finale we won't get 'till next book. Fortunately, considering the author, we will probably only have to wait a couple months.
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Aug 3, 2015 02:25
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Wolpertinger posted:Man, Killing Floor Blues was great, the only problem is now we've got to wait for the next one - Half of that book was just set up for a big finale we won't get 'till next book. Fortunately, considering the author, we will probably only have to wait a couple months. Huh. I seem to have stalled out halfway through book 4. I guess I'll give it another shot.
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Aug 3, 2015 02:33
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Jim Butcher has never been the most progressive of writers, but what the hell is with the gender roles and politics in the Codex Alera series? They make no sense, especially the fact that legion commanders would willingly waste a large pool of extremely powerful Earthcrafters by allowing them to go into sex work (with all of the concomitant risks) rather than recruiting them as engineers or Knights Terra. Our Hero is literally the only person in the setting to think of using these women tactically, even though they have the known ability to raise massive siege walls in a matter of hours or open and exploit massive gaps in enemy defenses, given proper training. This is a setting where the greatest soldiers in the world could be female out of innate characteristics that have nothing to do with their gender, but women still have second class status that has only begun to change.
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Aug 3, 2015 03:17
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Drifter posted:I have not. it's that webserial thing that's a billion pages or something, right? Seconding Worm. The worldbuilding and characters are very good. There are some rough patches pacing-wise, and the first arc or so isn't really representative of the story, are my only admonitions. Also I find the protagonist unlikeable. Good character, but unlikeable. Still really enjoyable, and I'm eagerly anticipating the rewrite going on.
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Aug 3, 2015 06:24
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Mars4523 posted:Jim Butcher has never been the most progressive of writers, but what the hell is with the gender roles and politics in the Codex Alera series? They make no sense, especially the fact that legion commanders would willingly waste a large pool of extremely powerful Earthcrafters by allowing them to go into sex work (with all of the concomitant risks) rather than recruiting them as engineers or Knights Terra. Our Hero is literally the only person in the setting to think of using these women tactically, even though they have the known ability to raise massive siege walls in a matter of hours or open and exploit massive gaps in enemy defenses, given proper training. Well, apparently the conceit there is that that society was made from a bunch of roman soldiers from our world that got stranded there, so I guess the massive sexism of roman culture just stuck, which isn't that hard to imagine.
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Aug 3, 2015 07:34
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Wolpertinger posted:Well, apparently the conceit there is that that society was made from a bunch of roman soldiers from our world that got stranded there, so I guess the massive sexism of roman culture just stuck, which isn't that hard to imagine. The thing is that changing Roman society in a way that a large percentage of women were as capable or more capable of engaging in certain tasks, especially military tasks, would also fundamentally change Roman society on a gender relations level. If women are given the ability to be walking superweapons and exemplars of military or trade crafts through some kind of intrinsic quality, there would be no keeping women in the proverbial kitchen. It's actually mentioned that Knight level furycrafters are incredibly powerful force multipliers in the Aleran legions, to the point that a minor lord's forces which were disproportionately Knight-heavy gave the elite of the Aleran military elite a serious mauling before getting put down. Knight level furycrafters are a limited resource and very expensive, and through simple chance 50% of them will be born female. It doesn't seem particularly reasonable that Aleran lords would give up such a considerable strategic advantage, especially when legends and histories of heroic female Knights from the Taming of Alera centuries past should still exist. Mars4523 fucked around with this message at 08:02 on Aug 3, 2015 |
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Aug 3, 2015 07:56
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I just finished K. J. Parker's new book, Savages. Now, what I'd like to know is if Tom Holt's books written under his name are similar to the ones he writes as Parker?
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Aug 3, 2015 08:16
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