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Wade Wilson posted:I'm a little skeptical of the review that calls it "What American Gods should have been". That seems like a pretty fair review to me. I'll admit I think American Gods is one of Gaiman's worst novels though.
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Oct 28, 2015 15:18
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Wade Wilson posted:I'm a little skeptical of the review that calls it "What American Gods should have been".
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Oct 28, 2015 15:58
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:That seems like a pretty fair review to me. I'll admit I think American Gods is one of Gaiman's worst novels though. Eh. By the time I was finished reading it I was pretty much in agreement with the foreword by Gaiman in the edition of it I have (10th Anniversary Edition). It's every bit as fractured and open to various interpretations of what it is trying to be as the nation it is about. You have Shadow's story, then you have all of the background exposition stories about various gods that are only tangentially related, then at some point you realize you're reading various selections from the stories written by Mr. Ibis (of which Shadow's narrative is only one of them that you keep coming back to). Or the narrative viewpoint is Mr. Ibis himself. I'd have to go back and read it again to refresh my memory of it.
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Oct 28, 2015 20:40
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I liked American Gods well enough, but I preferred Neverwhere. The only other Gaiman anything I've read (I've seen the episodes of Babylon 5 and Doctor Who he wrote) is the Fragile Things short story collection, which I'm reading at the moment. Must get round to Sandman one of these days.
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Oct 28, 2015 20:45
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The Ocean at the end of the Lane and The Graveyard Book were also pretty good.
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Oct 28, 2015 21:03
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Wheat Loaf posted:I liked American Gods well enough, but I preferred Neverwhere. The only other Gaiman anything I've read (I've seen the episodes of Babylon 5 and Doctor Who he wrote) is the Fragile Things short story collection, which I'm reading at the moment. I really enjoyed American Gods. I'm reading it's sort of sequel now, Anansi Boys, and it's alright, but really low key compared to Gods. Anyone here read it?
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Oct 28, 2015 21:11
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thrawn527 posted:I really enjoyed American Gods. I'm reading it's sort of sequel now, Anansi Boys, and it's alright, but really low key compared to Gods. Anyone here read it? First time I read those two, I preferred American Gods. But on re-reads, I came to appreciate Anansi Boys more, and I still feel that way today. I found that the mystery and "weirdness" is the glue that holds American Gods together. Once that's gone, the actual story isn't all that interesting.
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Oct 28, 2015 21:19
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I quit Anansi Boys around the part where Spider disguises himself as Fat Charlie, rapes Fat Charlie's fiancee, and she decides she's in love with Spider, not Fat Charlie, because of it. It was really cringey and eye roll-y. Like I thought the book was okay before that (I don't really like how Gaiman just kind of meanders around forever before the story goes anywhere) and just had no interest in continuing it after that. E: vvv fair Magres fucked around with this message at 21:31 on Oct 28, 2015 |
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Oct 28, 2015 21:21
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Magres posted:I quit Anansi Boys around the part where Spider disguises himself as Fat Charlie, rapes Fat Charlie's fiancee, and she decides she's in love with Spider, not Fat Charlie, because of it. It was really cringey and eye roll-y Yeah, I almost quit at that point, too. It does get better after that, but that part was pretty awful. Like, I'm 70% through it, and I'm not 100% what I would say it's "about". Two brothers, sons of a trickster God, meet each other. One is a push over with no powers, one is an rear end in a top hat with powers. The rear end in a top hat ruins the other one's life, and they hate each other. But then they don't, and are working together to escape birds. Also, there's the ghost of a woman we barely met who was killed in some embezzlement plot I couldn't care less about. Also, the ex-fiance is now on a cruise with her mom. It's gotten better after we got done with the Spider is an rear end in a top hat routine. But it's not great. Or all that focused.
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Oct 28, 2015 21:27
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I have Anasi Boys on my "to read" list. Hopefully I'll get to it further down the line.
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Oct 28, 2015 22:05
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Blasphemeral posted:And this quote just sold me. I snagged a used hardcover, though. Love hardcovers. Speaking of hardcovers, I should assume at this point that the Storm Front reissue didn't sell well enough to continue with the rest of the series, right?
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Oct 29, 2015 03:51
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Wheat Loaf posted:I liked American Gods well enough, but I preferred Neverwhere. The only other Gaiman anything I've read (I've seen the episodes of Babylon 5 and Doctor Who he wrote) is the Fragile Things short story collection, which I'm reading at the moment. Seconding the recommendation for The Ocean at the End of the Lane. I really enjoyed it. Megazver posted:The Library on Mount Char is $2,99 on Amazon. The "buy now with one click" is the greatest money vacuum Amazon ever invented. It's only $3 I say to myself. Not to mention all the major book series that I follow that I buy at the preorder $10-15. Again and again and again and now I have multiple thousands of dollars worth of Kindle content. This is now on my Iphone.
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Oct 29, 2015 04:05
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Poopy Palpy posted:Speaking of hardcovers, I should assume at this point that the Storm Front reissue didn't sell well enough to continue with the rest of the series, right? Apparently not...? Which is a real shame, because I really wanna fill out my hardcover collection, but not at $100+ a pop. I bought the first one, for what it's worth. M_Gargantua posted:The "buy now with one click" is the greatest money vacuum Amazon ever invented. It's only $3 I say to myself. Not to mention all the major book series that I follow that I buy at the preorder $10-15. Again and again and again and now I have multiple thousands of dollars worth of Kindle content. This is now on my Iphone. This is why I have that feature firmly and permanently turned off. When they first added it, and were putting on the pressure to use it exclusively, I sent them an angry feedback and didn't buy anything on Amazon for almost two years. I think they got the message.
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Oct 29, 2015 15:06
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ConfusedUs posted:First time I read those two, I preferred American Gods. Yeah, my reaction to AG, having read a lot of other fantasy, was that it didn't really seem that fantastic or weird; other authors have done better treatments of simar concepts and overall it was just predictable. Gaiman can be a truly great author when the spirit moves him but sometimes he's just coasting on his reputation and AG felt to me like one of those times. It isn't actively bad but by the standards of Gaiman's other work it isnt particularly original or compelling.
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Oct 29, 2015 20:44
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Yeah, my reaction to AG, having read a lot of other fantasy, was that it didn't really seem that fantastic or weird; other authors have done better treatments of simar concepts and overall it was just predictable. Probably why I was so readily impressed by AG, then - it's only the second one of his books I'd read. 
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Oct 29, 2015 23:32
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Finally finished Aeronaut's Windlass The book seriously doesn't get interesting until the plucky band of heroes fully assembles. Before that I was putting it down pretty often. I actually dug the self-contained feeling of it all. I really think "God in Heaven" is absurdly overused, though. It gets pretty obnoxious by the end when listening to the audiobook. I wonder if anything will come of how it seems like this is a far-future Earth. There's Latin and Albion, which seems pretty weird for a random fantastical setting.
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Oct 30, 2015 16:44
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Wheat Loaf posted:Probably why I was so readily impressed by AG, then - it's only the second one of his books I'd read. It's the first book I've read by him, and I love it. What should be my next Gaiman, after Anansi Boys (I've only read those 2)?
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Oct 30, 2015 18:20
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thrawn527 posted:It's the first book I've read by him, and I love it. What should be my next Gaiman, after Anansi Boys (I've only read those 2)?
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Oct 30, 2015 18:21
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I think you should just read Sandman. Keep in mind that the first volume is a little rougher than the rest of it.
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Oct 30, 2015 19:03
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Neverwhere is a lot of fun, and I liked Anansi Boys better than American Gods. It's less desolate.
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Oct 30, 2015 20:15
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I would have liked it if American Gods had taken a bit more of a look at the actual gods who emerged from America rather than the ones who came with the people who settled it. I was entertained how the personification of the Internet is an obese, spotty, foul-mouthed teenager who dresses like Neo from The Matrix because he thinks it makes him look badass. Even if it is really predictable, I'm not sure what else it could have been in 2000-2001. I finished Fragile Things - I unfortunately had a bit less left than I anticipated, because the last story was "Monarch of the Glen" which was already included in my edition of AG.
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Oct 31, 2015 00:28
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I'll check out Neverwhere, thanks. Sandman is a comic, right? I'm not against that, per se, but I'm more looking for books to read on my Paper White Kindle.
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Oct 31, 2015 00:49
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thrawn527 posted:I'll check out Neverwhere, thanks. Neverwhere is your best bet then for Gaiman. Sandman is his best work but its a ten volume comic. His best novel is Stardust but you should read the version with Charles Vess's illustrations rather than the eBook.
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Oct 31, 2015 01:00
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Neverwhere is great, who said it was terrible? Hipsters that watched the tv series?
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Oct 31, 2015 02:00
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The Neverwhere TV show is my only experience with Gaiman. Edit: wait, no, I forgot Stardust was Gaiman. Whoops. Nihilarian fucked around with this message at 02:48 on Oct 31, 2015 |
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Oct 31, 2015 02:33
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Coraline and The Graveyard Book are both children's novels, but they're really good.
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Oct 31, 2015 03:41
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Wheat Loaf posted:I would have liked it if American Gods had taken a bit more of a look at the actual gods who emerged from America
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Oct 31, 2015 05:58
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bowmore posted:You are not supposed to talk about native american gods lest you give them more power There was the buffalo man and the fire under the earth. Sam Blackcrow also name drops White Buffalo Woman coming back to kick everyone's rear end. Also Whiskey Jack and Johnny Appleseed and Harry Bluejay. Did Wheat Loaf read the book? Some Pinko Commie fucked around with this message at 17:25 on Nov 1, 2015 |
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Nov 1, 2015 02:46
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Wade Wilson posted:Did Wheat Loaf read the book? Aw, I've read a lot of stuff between now and then - it all jumbles together a bit.  Edit: I guess what I was thinking of was more along the lines of the new modern gods who are trying to replace the old ones, like Internet kid and TV lady. Wheat Loaf fucked around with this message at 03:53 on Nov 1, 2015 |
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Nov 1, 2015 03:50
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I just finished reading chapter 30 and 31 of changes, then immediately re-read them. I've never done that before. poo poo is getting real.
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Nov 1, 2015 11:20
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I picked up "The Library at Mount Char" on Friday, and am almost finished with it. It is a very good book, that I would have no problems recommending to anyone that was looking for something to read in this genre. I would place it on par with "American Gods," if you enjoyed that you absolutely will enjoy this.
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Nov 2, 2015 17:30
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The Fool posted:I picked up "The Library at Mount Char" on Friday, and am almost finished with it. I finished it over the weekend while it was pouring rain. I thought it was less "American Gods" and more "Jehovah is a jerk + murder mystery + The Sixth Sense". Mostly because the bit about it taking place in America was irrelevant (also because Carolyn is the one responsible for Father being missing all along. None of the geographical references really tied anything together, the only constant being Highway 78. The idea that Carolyn could take Father by surprise and kill him, yet somehow David was able to nearly kill her if not for Erwin being there to shoot him in the head at the right moment, just seems wrong in the context of how badass Father was supposed to be compared to David. Also, Steve got hosed over, as did all of humanity, and Carolyn as the protagonist was awful, as there was no real question that she would prevail. The writing itself was pretty well done, I just didn't like any of the world building that went into it. It is nothing like American Gods or anywhere near "what American Gods should have been" like that one reviewer said on Amazon. It is also nowhere near the level of American Gods in terms of how entertaining it was. No one character was anywhere near as entertaining as Mr. Wednesday, for example. Hell, the most provocative character in it was as memorable as the man in the gray suit in Las Vegas. I would have been pissed about paying full retail for that book vs. the $3 on the Kindle. This review on the Boston Globe pretty well matches how I feel about it. https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/2015/07/02/book-review-the-library-mount-char-scott-hawkins/50m9Vgja8MeTUTaeBTlLQM/story.html Some Pinko Commie fucked around with this message at 21:16 on Nov 2, 2015 |
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Nov 2, 2015 21:11
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Just finished Changes wow, that certainly was a nice finish to 9 books worth of build up. I always had a feeling that Ebenezar was his grandfather, and loved the fact that finding out more about his mother that she was basically a punk wizard going wherever she wants to go. It all goes to poo poo for Harry, even though he basically wipes out the worst species of vampire. I read the two chapters where he accepted the mantle of Winter Knight twice because I was in a bit of shock and read it way too fast the first time. I was expecting him to die because I had already had it spoiled for me before I started reading the series but I didn't know how, the Death Curse gave me shivers when it was first used in Death Masks and it did the same thing to me right at the end.
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Nov 3, 2015 23:31
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Cinder Spires is good and overly steam-punk for no good reason. I am very intrigued to learn more about the universe, how they got there, and so on and so forth. For example, what is so valuable that Cavendish would go though all that trouble just to get a list of names from the Index
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Nov 4, 2015 04:14
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I've been listening to the Cinder Spires audiobook on my daily commute and I'm about halfway through. Despite the prologue being awful, and nearly every character being a ham-fisted trope, I'm kinda loving it.
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Nov 4, 2015 14:05
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Dietrich posted:Cinder Spires is good and overly steam-punk for no good reason. I am very intrigued to learn more about the universe, how they got there, and so on and so forth. I'm presuming that whatever dark force that was sending her messages that Folly intercepted (and nearly got eaten by) needs those names to summon itself or others of its kind into the real world. Cthulhu-esque cosmic horrors, in other words. If he's being really cheeky, the world on the surface is Harry Dresden's Earth having been blown the hell up by the same cosmic horrors, with the survivors of humanity having built and fled into the Spires as a last ditch defense or some such.
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Nov 4, 2015 17:00
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jng2058 posted:I'm presuming that whatever dark force that was sending her messages that Folly intercepted (and nearly got eaten by) needs those names to summon itself or others of its kind into the real world. Cthulhu-esque cosmic horrors, in other words. If he's being really cheeky, the world on the surface is Harry Dresden's Earth having been blown the hell up by the same cosmic horrors, with the survivors of humanity having built and fled into the Spires as a last ditch defense or some such. Cue Captain Grimm kneeling in front of a
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Nov 4, 2015 17:42
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Wade Wilson posted:I finished it over the weekend while it was pouring rain. I just finished the book. While I still thoroughly enjoyed it, and my recommendation still stands, I do feel like the book started fall apart in the last 1/4. It felt like the author was trying to pull off a Snatch-style "moment of clarity" where all the different events coalesce into something that makes sense, and he fell a little short. I don't agree with the issues you had with Carolyn, the entire point of the book was how monstrous and disconnected from humanity she had to be in order to replace God. And Steve was put in her life in order for her to have an anchor in humanity and bring her back.
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Nov 4, 2015 18:57
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I agree with that. I just finished Library at Mount Char and overall really enjoyed it, but the last part of the book wasn't particularly good.
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Nov 4, 2015 20:09
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That's the first time I've seen someone say Windlass was too steampunk. It's usually people claiming it's not Steampunk enough!
Rygar201 fucked around with this message at 06:35 on Nov 5, 2015 |
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Nov 4, 2015 20:52
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