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ToxicFrog posted:
I gave up on McGuire after she went mental about that awards show and how she was POSITIVE someone was going to make fun of her weight. I'd rather chunk my cash at authors that I like, that are fairly low on the crazy scale. Granted, wigging out about potentially being made fun of is lower on the "What the poo poo?" scale than Card's complete douchebaggery, but still, if I'm gonna be supporting someone I'd rather it not be an asshat.
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Jun 3, 2016 03:33
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Phanatic posted:I really liked City of Stairs and City of Blades. How are Robert Bennett's earlier books? I liked all of them, though he's definitely improved over time.
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Jun 3, 2016 03:43
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I know this question gets asked a lot around the internet, but I would love another fantasy/sci-fi (especially SF!) series that has these elements from Game of Thrones: no real single main character, no character safe from death/extreme misfortune, and (slightly less important) lots of political scheming/maneuvering I know a lot of people recommend Joe Abercrombie as being grim/low fantasy, but the main characters do seem to have a kind of plot armor that many characters in GoT never had, especially in the first 3 books
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Jun 3, 2016 06:56
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blue squares posted:but the main characters do seem to have a kind of plot armor that many characters in GoT never had, especially in the first 3 books Lol Anyway, sounds like what you need is Tacitus's Annals and Histories. They're pretty fantastic(al). BravestOfTheLamps fucked around with this message at 08:00 on Jun 3, 2016 |
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Jun 3, 2016 07:58
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blue squares posted:I know this question gets asked a lot around the internet, but I would love another fantasy/sci-fi (especially SF!) series that has these elements from Game of Thrones: no real single main character, no character safe from death/extreme misfortune, and (slightly less important) lots of political scheming/maneuvering The Expanse series?
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Jun 3, 2016 08:59
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blue squares posted:I know this question gets asked a lot around the internet, but I would love another fantasy/sci-fi (especially SF!) series that has these elements from Game of Thrones: no real single main character, no character safe from death/extreme misfortune, and (slightly less important) lots of political scheming/maneuvering Hugh Cook, especially (for the political) The Wicked and the Witless and The Werewolf and the Wormlord - The Walrus and the Warwolf is a) in print and b) a better place to start though. There is no single main character for the series as a whole, I mean, but the individual novels are short enough you can read two or three of them in the time it takes to read a single modern fat fantasy novel.
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Jun 3, 2016 09:44
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blue squares posted:I know this question gets asked a lot around the internet, but I would love another fantasy/sci-fi (especially SF!) series that has these elements from Game of Thrones: no real single main character, no character safe from death/extreme misfortune, and (slightly less important) lots of political scheming/maneuvering Eh, there is plenty of characters with die-hard plot armour in GoT. There is always Malazan, where important characters do die (some come back though, but hey, they do that in GoT as well so....). Amberskin posted:The Expanse series? Contains a lot of plot-armour on the main characters.
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Jun 3, 2016 12:12
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Just finished my first Culture book with Player of Games. Really enjoyed it, and I want to read more. Is there a preferred order to reading them? It wasn't hard to follow the plot in Player of Games, but not a lot about The Culture was explained much, so it felt like I missed some more subtle things here and there.
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Jun 3, 2016 12:37
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blue squares posted:I know this question gets asked a lot around the internet, but I would love another fantasy/sci-fi (especially SF!) series that has these elements from Game of Thrones: no real single main character, no character safe from death/extreme misfortune, and (slightly less important) lots of political scheming/maneuvering Luna: New Moon by Ian McDonald is the story of warring corporate family dynasties on the Moon. I believe there's talk of a TV show, and every single article will call it GoT in Space.
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Jun 3, 2016 13:02
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Sjonkel posted:Just finished my first Culture book with Player of Games. Really enjoyed it, and I want to read more. Is there a preferred order to reading them? It wasn't hard to follow the plot in Player of Games, but not a lot about The Culture was explained much, so it felt like I missed some more subtle things here and there. Just go on in the order of publication because the books are kind of chronological, but not really that linked. Read Use of Weapons next and Consider Phlebas next and after that you can go in any way you prefer. Don't forget The Algebraist, which is not part of the Culture series, but owns in it's own way.
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Jun 3, 2016 13:07
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Is "all of the main characters aren't slated for death" really supposed to be knock against a series?
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Jun 3, 2016 13:48
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mcustic posted:Just go on in the order of publication because the books are kind of chronological, but not really that linked. Read Use of Weapons next and Consider Phlebas next and after that you can go in any way you prefer. Don't forget The Algebraist, which is not part of the Culture series, but owns in it's own way. Against A Dark Background is a favourite of mine too. Maybe not anyone else's favourite, but
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Jun 3, 2016 14:27
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Autonomous Monster posted:Against A Dark Background is a favourite of mine too. Maybe not anyone else's favourite, but I just forgot about that one. Yeah, it's very good.
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Jun 3, 2016 15:30
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Rough Lobster posted:Is "all of the main characters aren't slated for death" really supposed to be knock against a series? If "plot armour" is bothering you as the reader, it means that the writing is not working for you, not that plot armour itself is bad. The trick is that the author can still encourage a feeling of jeopardy or introduce tension some other way without the protagonist being under a threat of death. Threat of death can be an element, but there are also other elements that can be used, either way. It's kind of like the "characters refuse to talk each other, tragedy ensues" device. I hate it, because it's rarely done properly, but it can be done properly. People happily go watch James Bond movies although James Bond is never going to die (unless it's the cold open in You Only Live Twice or Skyfall), and even there people know that he's not really going to die and can still enjoy the movie.
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Jun 3, 2016 15:43
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House Louse posted:Hugh Cook, especially (for the political) The Wicked and the Witless and The Werewolf and the Wormlord - The Walrus and the Warwolf Junkenstein posted:Luna: New Moon by Ian McDonald is the story of warring corporate family dynasties on the Moon. I believe there's talk of a TV show, and every single article will call it GoT in Space. Thanks for both of these suggestions. New Moon especially looks cool
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Jun 3, 2016 16:02
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Antti posted:If "plot armour" is bothering you as the reader, it means that the writing is not working for you, not that plot armour itself is bad. The trick is that the author can still encourage a feeling of jeopardy or introduce tension some other way without the protagonist being under a threat of death. Threat of death can be an element, but there are also other elements that can be used, either way. Most of the time, knowing that a character is safe doesn't interfere with my enjoyment of a book. Otherwise, I'd almost never enjoy books! But even years later I remember what it was like to read the Red Wedding. Few books I've read ever blew my mind like that.
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Jun 3, 2016 16:05
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blue squares posted:Most of the time, knowing that a character is safe doesn't interfere with my enjoyment of a book. Otherwise, I'd almost never enjoy books! But even years later I remember what it was like to read the Red Wedding. Few books I've read ever blew my mind like that. Okay, I get your point now. You are just looking for the same kind of surprise factor and I totally see that. Also it wasn't even you who used the term "plot armour" in the first place!
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Jun 3, 2016 16:06
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blue squares posted:I know this question gets asked a lot around the internet, but I would love another fantasy/sci-fi (especially SF!) series that has these elements from Game of Thrones: no real single main character, no character safe from death/extreme misfortune, and (slightly less important) lots of political scheming/maneuvering You might like Prince of Nothing if you're a fan of the "extreme misfortune" angle.
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Jun 3, 2016 16:46
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Strom Cuzewon posted:You might like Prince of Nothing if you're a fan of the "extreme misfortune" angle. As well if you are a fan of "extreme". blue squares posted:Most of the time, knowing that a character is safe doesn't interfere with my enjoyment of a book. Otherwise, I'd almost never enjoy books! But even years later I remember what it was like to read the Red Wedding. Few books I've read ever blew my mind like that. Banks Use of Weapons seems like an obvious suggestion in this case.
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Jun 3, 2016 17:56
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Cardiac posted:As well if you are a fan of "extreme". It's no worse than Malazan or Game of Thrones, or indeed Use of Weapons.
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Jun 3, 2016 18:08
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Coldforge posted:It's also free if you don't have kindle unlimited, which is convenient and nice. ... It's showing as free with unlimited, $2.99 without for me?
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Jun 3, 2016 19:10
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WarLocke posted:... It's showing as free with unlimited, $2.99 without for me? Might have been a limited time promo for the book's release.
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Jun 3, 2016 19:39
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Strom Cuzewon posted:It's no worse than Malazan or Game of Thrones, or indeed Use of Weapons. Wait the poo poo eaters were in Phlebas. Weapons had the guy with like thirty goddamn dicks. So significantly less extreme.
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Jun 3, 2016 23:18
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No, the guy with all the dicks was in hydrogen sonata, and it was a hundred or so. Edit: The suggestion of over a hundred penises was a mistake made by another character in the novel; the actual maximum number of penises was "about sixty."
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Jun 3, 2016 23:20
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chrisoya posted:No, the guy with all the dicks was in hydrogen sonata, and it was a hundred or so. It's actually a fraction of that.
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Jun 4, 2016 01:17
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Talk about a guy who has a lot of douchebag friends.
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Jun 4, 2016 01:25
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So, there's a character that's basically a walking embodiment of a bag of dicks?
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Jun 4, 2016 02:30
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It's ART, you loving squares!
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Jun 4, 2016 04:12
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Not a bag so much as an object to which a large number of dicks are attached.
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Jun 4, 2016 04:20
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Motherfucker had like 30 goddamn dicks.
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Jun 4, 2016 04:27
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Haven't been able to read much sci fi recently (Invasive by Chuck Wendig was pretty good, better than Zeroes) but just started Arcadia and hot drat we have a winner. It's shortlisted for the Arthur C Clarke award, and given how good Children of Time is and it is also shortlisted, I must assume the Arthur C Clarke award is the only worthwhile SFF award.
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Jun 4, 2016 07:15
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I thought I was being all subtle and clever with that reference.
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Jun 4, 2016 09:44
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DigitalRaven posted:The Nightmare Stacks is out at the end of the month. Alex the vampire as the Laundry's point-man against fairyland. Well then! I ended up reading Ship of Fools by Russo, which turns out to be what I was looking for (but didn't get) when I picked up Planetfall earlier this year, followed by Indexing by McGuire. I am enjoying the poo poo out of it; secret government agencies defending the world against eldritch horrors are very much my jam (which is not hard to predict considering how much I like the Laundry books and The Rook). Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:I gave up on McGuire after she went mental about that awards show and how she was POSITIVE someone was going to make fun of her weight. If you're talking about her reaction to Jonathan Ross being (briefly) selected to MC the Hugos at Loncon3, it seems kind of weird to single out McGuire for that (or blame her for his withdrawal), given that he got a lot more heat from people like Charles Stross and Patrick Nielsen Hayden, one of the Loncon3 directors resigned over the decision, and as a result of all of this he had already offered to withdraw before McGuire even woke up and started reacting to the news. If you're not talking about that, please clarify. In any case, "wigging out about potentially being made fun of" doesn't even register as something that should make me consider not supporting an author, and I think it's a difference in kind, not degree, from the kind of poo poo authors like Card, Corella, or Beale do in actively trying to make life worse for other people.
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Jun 4, 2016 22:42
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Due to Luna: New Moon being out only on Hardcover and the other series recommended to me being out of print, I picked up The Blade Itself and Leviathan Wakes. I think I'll read both concurrently.
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Jun 4, 2016 23:12
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blue squares posted:Due to Luna: New Moon being out only on Hardcover and the other series recommended to me being out of print, I picked up The Blade Itself and Leviathan Wakes. I think I'll read both concurrently. Check Abebooks. Usually trade paperback copies are available from the UK. The cost ends up being the same or cheaper than Amazon more often than not.
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Jun 4, 2016 23:21
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Just FYI but Luna: New Moon is shite.
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Jun 5, 2016 00:02
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Luna: New Moon was great -- easily one of the best books I've read this year with Fifth Season being the other one. Too Like The Lightning has also been great so far, but I'm only halfway through it. What didn't you like about it?
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Jun 5, 2016 00:11
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He can't write. There's a whole scene where a chick 3D prints dildos and has sex with an AI and then the last sentence is 'chick was an asexual' I'm like, yeah no poo poo mate you just showed me that in graphic detail. The rest of his writing overwrought. The whole premise is both ludicrous and a gimmick. First, the harsh libertarian bent isn't really a critique at all, and in no way did it ever feel like a realistic projection of the future. Second, the whole games of thrones on the moon thing is hella lame. Planting medieval tropes and tech in the future is awful. And none of the characters were any good. They were all poo poo bags in some family drama I just couldn't care about. Throw in a bit of diversity because that's what you're meant to do as a white male writer these days and it felt very, very forced. Too many elements spoiled the broth, I suppose. The best I read last year were The Traitor, Children of Time and if the first 20% is anything to go off, Arcadia.
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Jun 5, 2016 00:45
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the_homemaster posted:And none of the characters were any good. They were all poo poo bags in some family drama I just couldn't care about. Throw in a bit of diversity because that's what you're meant to do as a white male writer these days and it felt very, very forced. Too many elements spoiled the broth, I suppose. I felt the same way about Luna: New Moon. I just didn't find any of the characters interesting and the plot seemed like it was trying too hard for the GoT family rivalries (IN SPACE) angle. I didn't hate it but overall it was a pretty disappointing read. I loved TTBC and Children of Time though. I've never heard of Arcadia but it sounds like I should read it soon.
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Jun 5, 2016 04:52
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the_homemaster posted:Second, the whole games of thrones on the moon thing is hella lame. Planting medieval tropes and tech in the future is awful. But Dune is already Game of Thrones in space and it owns, mostly! quote:And none of the characters were any good. They were all poo poo bags in some family drama I just couldn't care about. Throw in a bit of diversity because that's what you're meant to do as a white male writer these days and it felt very, very forced. Too many elements spoiled the broth, I suppose. But everybody* in The Traitor is a shitbag with a bunch of diversity thrown in by a white writer!  (I have not yet read Luna: New Moon) Oh and cross posting from the TTBC thread, one of the artists who worked on Skyrim did an awesome Tain Hu!
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