|
Yeah; I wasn't a huge fan of how Butters' interactions with the Almighty was all literal MMO trappings. It's a cute punchline...but it's completely at odds with how Michael talked about it in earlier books
|
#
?
Jan 1, 2017 02:12
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 16, 2024 18:33 |
|
|
I think it's been strongly hinted, if not outright stated (either in the books or by Jim himself) that a lot of the magic surrounding the swords adapts itself to each wielder. So while Michael's experience is very much that of the stereotypical medieval knight, the same trappings wouldn't "fit" Butters, for lack of a better term.
|
|
#
?
Jan 1, 2017 02:41
|
|
|
Ornamented Death posted:I think it's been strongly hinted, if not outright stated (either in the books or by Jim himself) that a lot of the magic surrounding the swords adapts itself to each wielder. So while Michael's experience is very much that of the stereotypical medieval knight, the same trappings wouldn't "fit" Butters, for lack of a better term. I mostly meant in the sense of how explicit things are for Butters. Literal Quest Giving NPCs.
|
|
#
?
Jan 1, 2017 03:38
|
|
|
I wonder how the same man would have appeared to Michael. With Butters he had the glowy ! to follow, which ties into free will since he always has the option of not doing that sidequest. I wonder if it would have been a ray of light from above. Interesting note, Michael would have been able to help just as well from his medic training as a corpsman.
|
|
#
?
Jan 1, 2017 04:19
|
|
|
jivjov posted:I mostly meant in the sense of how explicit things are for Butters. Literal Quest Giving NPCs. Maybe Butters wouldn't have gotten it if it was less explicit.
|
|
#
?
Jan 1, 2017 12:58
|
|
|
Think of it as the tutorial level, sometimes the game has to beat you over the head with some of the mechanics before it can get subtle.
|
|
#
?
Jan 1, 2017 14:23
|
|
|
Just seen that amazon has a synopsis of the next laundry files book:quote:Bob Howard's career in the Laundry, the secret British government agency dedicated to protecting the world from the supernatural, has involved brilliant hacking, ancient magic, and combat with creatures of pure evil. It has also involved a wearying amount of paperwork and office politics, and his expense reports are still a mess. Interesting if rather British concept, our government does have a habit of privatising every single thing it thinks it can get away with. If anyone thinks selling off our defence against eldritch horrors might be going a bit too far, well just look at what happened with QinetiQ / DSTL in the defence sector. Then National Rail, then British Gas, then the recent Post Office fiasco... Shame about the ~six month wait though.
|
|
#
?
Jan 1, 2017 17:19
|
|
|
420 Gank Mid posted:Think of it as the tutorial level, sometimes the game has to beat you over the head with some of the mechanics before it can get subtle. Well when Sasha and Micheal were heading to the airport in one of the earlier books, they were discussing that they could each perceive Nicodemus and the other Denariians inside the airport, but they each felt it differently. I think Sasha smelled rotten food, but for Micheal it was more like a Detect Evil spell from D&D. I think it definitely is based on the personality of the wielder.
|
|
#
?
Jan 1, 2017 20:13
|
|
|
RockyB posted:Interesting if rather British concept, our government does have a habit of privatising every single thing it thinks it can get away with. If anyone thinks selling off our defence against eldritch horrors might be going a bit too far, well just look at what happened with QinetiQ / DSTL in the defence sector. Then National Rail, then British Gas, then the recent Post Office fiasco... Isn't most of the six month wait because the book was just about done, brexit happened, and stross said that his entire satire of the british government was much tamer than reality and he had to rewrite it all?
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2017 21:33
|
|
|
Finished the first Mercy Thompson book today. Wasn't nearly as Anita-Blakey as I thought it might be. I kept expecting it to suddenly jerk the wheel and veer off into paranormal romance, but it stayed the course. I would peg it somewhere between Dresden Files and Magic Bites.
|
|
#
?
Jan 5, 2017 03:31
|
|
|
NerdyMcNerdNerd posted:Finished the first Mercy Thompson book today. Wasn't nearly as Anita-Blakey as I thought it might be. I kept expecting it to suddenly jerk the wheel and veer off into paranormal romance, but it stayed the course. I would peg it somewhere between Dresden Files and Magic Bites. One of my favorite series. The relationship stuff is a large part of the stories, but never cringe-worthy or shower-worthy. Briggs is a good writer.
|
|
#
?
Jan 5, 2017 07:17
|
|
|
I'm gonna go against the flow and advise avoiding the Mercy Thompson series. It definitely never reaches Anita Blake levels of supernatural sex, but the romance arc still majorly ruins the series. The first few books are really promising but the romantic relationship gets into this poorly written sub/dom thing with her boyfriend as the dom, just with every instance of the words "sub" and "dom" replaced with "pack" and "alpha". This gets incredibly bad at the point where Mercy is raped by someone who drugs her with a mind control serum and is dealing with PTSD from it. Her boyfriend cures her of being raped and having PTSD by being ~sooo alpha <3 <3 <3~ and forcing himself on her while they're alone in his house.. That was the fourth or fifth book I think? I noped out hard at that point. See also, the women of the werewolf tribes ALL know Mercy and just hate her because unlike them, she can shapeshift whenever she wants, so she can have babies since she won't kill them by shapeshifting if she doesn't want to.
|
|
#
?
Jan 5, 2017 15:44
|
|
|
Thanks for the above warning, I've had enough of male authors writing cringe inducing stuff like that disrespecting women.
|
|
#
?
Jan 5, 2017 16:10
|
|
|
-Fish- posted:This gets incredibly bad at the point where Mercy is raped by someone who drugs her with a mind control serum and is dealing with PTSD from it. Her boyfriend cures her of being raped and having PTSD by being ~sooo alpha <3 <3 <3~ and forcing himself on her while they're alone in his house.. This kills the book. I was willing to put aside the other stuff as a product of the setting, even if it was a little 'eh'. Oh well. The last one is kind of funny because I just assumed it was some of the ones that actually knew her.
|
|
#
?
Jan 5, 2017 16:57
|
|
|
Number Ten Cocks posted:Thanks for the above warning, I've had enough of male authors writing cringe inducing stuff like that disrespecting women. But it's written by a woman?
|
|
#
?
Jan 5, 2017 20:12
|
|
|
NerdyMcNerdNerd posted:This kills the book. It's another point in favor for the Kate Daniels series that it doesn't have any of this poo poo. The lore stuff is pretty bullshit, but the characters are more or less solid.
|
|
#
?
Jan 5, 2017 20:37
|
|
|
-Fish- posted:I'm gonna go against the flow and advise avoiding the Mercy Thompson series. It definitely never reaches Anita Blake levels of supernatural sex, but the romance arc still majorly ruins the series. The first few books are really promising but the romantic relationship gets into this poorly written sub/dom thing with her boyfriend as the dom, just with every instance of the words "sub" and "dom" replaced with "pack" and "alpha". This gets incredibly bad at the point where Mercy is raped by someone who drugs her with a mind control serum and is dealing with PTSD from it. Her boyfriend cures her of being raped and having PTSD by being ~sooo alpha <3 <3 <3~ and forcing himself on her while they're alone in his house.. That was the fourth or fifth book I think? I noped out hard at that point. See also, the women of the werewolf tribes ALL know Mercy and just hate her because unlike them, she can shapeshift whenever she wants, so she can have babies since she won't kill them by shapeshifting if she doesn't want to. In general, Patricia Briggs has a problem with using rape as a crutch when she wants to add drama or make a flat character seem more interesting. See the entire back story for the Alpha and Omega series, for example.
|
|
#
?
Jan 5, 2017 20:49
|
|
|
wheatpuppy posted:In general, Patricia Briggs has a problem with using rape as a crutch when she wants to add drama or make a flat character seem more interesting. See the entire back story for the Alpha and Omega series, for example. What I hate about her books are the fact the women are strong because of the authority/strength they get from their über-male mate. I've just started the October Daye series. It seems pretty good, but I've been let down before so preparing for the worst.
|
|
#
?
Jan 5, 2017 20:56
|
|
|
Mars4523 posted:It's another point in favor for the Kate Daniels series that it doesn't have any of this poo poo. The lore stuff is pretty bullshit, but the characters are more or less solid. It doesn't have any of the rape stuff that I noticed, but the Kate Daniels books are still ruined by the terrible werewolf "oh so ~alpha~" stuff. You can pretty much describe the plot of each book as "Interesting capable female protagonist gets in over her head and has to be rescued by her werewolf alpha millionaire pack leader boyfriend."
|
|
#
?
Jan 5, 2017 20:59
|
|
|
flosofl posted:What I hate about her books are the fact the women are strong because of the authority/strength they get from their über-male mate. It's been ages since I read early October Daye, but if I recall.. I enjoyed the first book, then there was a slight dip into stereotypical annoying plot fare, and then it got enjoyable again. It's a series I really enjoy- for the characters especially- but kinda like Dresden, I definitely remember a quality dip in the beginning.
|
|
#
?
Jan 5, 2017 21:09
|
|
|
flosofl posted:What I hate about her books are the fact the women are strong because of the authority/strength they get from their über-male mate. Khizan posted:It doesn't have any of the rape stuff that I noticed, but the Kate Daniels books are still ruined by the terrible werewolf "oh so ~alpha~" stuff. You can pretty much describe the plot of each book as "Interesting capable female protagonist gets in over her head and has to be rescued by her werewolf alpha millionaire pack leader boyfriend."
|
|
#
?
Jan 5, 2017 21:38
|
|
|
Anyone read any of the kindle unlimited Urban Fantasy? I want to talk about some of those series because they are wonderful popcorn fiction. Steve McHugh's Hellequin Chronicles are super fun to read and stories take over a large period of time with things years ago coming up and messing with the world. Richard Raley's The King Henry Tapes has a main character nicknamed foul mouth and the world building I highly enjoy it is a fun read and characters have growth and development that is enjoyable to see develop. Closer to the John Ringo and Larry Correia end of the spectrum. (I don't share many personal views with them but I enjoy the tales they weave) Michael Anderle's Kutherian Gambit books are entertaining to read and I get a new one just about every month on kindle unlimited. The man knows how to be prolific and cross promote other series and authors and writes about how to be indie and make money. Lets talk about the stuff that is in the genre that maybe is ebook only and fun to read.
|
|
#
?
Jan 5, 2017 23:25
|
|
|
Khizan posted:It doesn't have any of the rape stuff that I noticed, but the Kate Daniels books are still ruined by the terrible werewolf "oh so ~alpha~" stuff. You can pretty much describe the plot of each book as "Interesting capable female protagonist gets in over her head and has to be rescued by her werewolf alpha millionaire pack leader boyfriend." I really liked it when she hosed up his bachelor's pad to assert herself and indicate her interest.
|
|
#
?
Jan 5, 2017 23:54
|
|
|
flosofl posted:What I hate about her books are the fact the women are strong because of the authority/strength they get from their über-male mate. There's no rape or sexual assault at all in October Daye. Toby is strong on her own merits. She does have love interests but I never felt like she was subsumed by her partners. It is a little rough in the beginning but Rosemary and Rue was her first published book. It quickly became one of my favorite series.
|
|
#
?
Jan 6, 2017 00:31
|
|
|
Fallorn posted:Anyone read any of the kindle unlimited Urban Fantasy? I want to talk about some of those series because they are wonderful popcorn fiction. Dienes posted:I really liked it when she hosed up his bachelor's pad to assert herself and indicate her interest. Mars4523 fucked around with this message at 01:19 on Jan 6, 2017 |
|
#
?
Jan 6, 2017 01:14
|
|
|
NerdyMcNerdNerd posted:Finished the first Mercy Thompson book today. Wasn't nearly as Anita-Blakey as I thought it might be. I kept expecting it to suddenly jerk the wheel and veer off into paranormal romance, but it stayed the course. I would peg it somewhere between Dresden Files and Magic Bites. I stalled out at about a 100 pages into it. The alpha male werewolf bullshit--and Mercy's reaction to it--was getting to be a bit much. What with Curran in the Kate Daniels series and take your pick of any werewolf in Mercy, it seems the key to finding love in the UF universe is to be an arrogant prick and just watch the women swoon.
|
|
#
?
Jan 6, 2017 01:45
|
|
|
flosofl posted:What I hate about her books are the fact the women are strong because of the authority/strength they get from their über-male mate. That's simply not true about the Briggs series. An early criticism in the thread was that the female lead is more powerful than the werewolves. Mercy doesnt derive power from the wolves and isn't connected to the wolves until about book 5. The other series makes a point of separating the power of the lead from boyfriend power. The romance stuff is badly written, but can also be skipped without the story suffering.
|
|
#
?
Jan 6, 2017 02:01
|
|
|
We're only a few months from the 3rd anniversary of Skin Game coming out. I wonder if we will get any more information before that. I wonder if we should be worried he is having this much trouble writing it.
|
|
#
?
Jan 6, 2017 04:11
|
|
|
Oroborus posted:We're only a few months from the 3rd anniversary of Skin Game coming out. I wonder if we will get any more information before that. Iirc he got divorced and remarried since Skin Game, so I don't think it's trouble writing it, just stuff beside that getting in the way
|
|
#
?
Jan 6, 2017 05:41
|
|
|
wheatpuppy posted:In general, I would just like to read about swords and magic and mythical creatures fighting and stuff without my books taking a sudden header into the rape end of the pool, thanks fantasy/UF authors. Robot Wendigo posted:I stalled out at about a 100 pages into it. The alpha male werewolf bullshit--and Mercy's reaction to it--was getting to be a bit much. What with Curran in the Kate Daniels series and take your pick of any werewolf in Mercy, it seems the key to finding love in the UF universe is to be an arrogant prick and just watch the women swoon. The 'alpha' stuff doesn't bother me so much anymore, probably because it is in every drat piece of fiction that focuses on shape-shifters, even if they are cats or birds or whatever. That DBZ Alpha-Aura kind of thing werewolves do is also oddly prevalent. The arrogance thing is just common in every genre, and... I guess I'll give more of a pass because it can be kind of hard to get the hang of writing someone that comes across as confident, but not arrogant. It isn't so bad as long as the guy does things that show he is a good guy under all that brass. I dunno about the werewolves in Mercy Thompson, at least in the first book. Adam's a bit brash sometimes, but that seems part of his relationship with Mercy. She yanks his chain knowing full well how he'll react, and he makes a show of being annoyed. It made sense to me because coyotes normally slot into the trickster archetype anyways. On the other hand, of the two chill wolves in the book, one was magic, and the other was gay. Kind of wonder if you could write a werewolf UF book without all the dumber alpha stuff and the usual baggage, or if it would just bomb hardcore because the target demo won't buy anything else. Oroborus posted:We're only a few months from the 3rd anniversary of Skin Game coming out. I wonder if we will get any more information before that. Didn't he finish Codex and start up Cinder Spires? He's been putting out some Dresden fiction, too. It isn't like he's just stopped writing. Maybe he'll release Peace Talks in 2017... then we can read it in two days and wait another three years for the next one. 
|
|
#
?
Jan 6, 2017 05:52
|
|
|
Jeeze, I guess I'm a monster. Still going to read Patricia Briggs, though.
|
|
#
?
Jan 6, 2017 06:18
|
|
|
EVGA Longoria posted:Iirc he got divorced and remarried since Skin Game, so I don't think it's trouble writing it, just stuff beside that getting in the way Things like having to have his house re?-redone because the previous contractors hosed up and so he was living with his fiancee for a while (and thus cut off from his writing zone).
|
|
#
?
Jan 6, 2017 06:35
|
|
|
Mars4523 posted:The Daniel Faust and Harmony Black series by Craig Schaefer are all on Kindle Unlimited. They're good to great urban fantasy with a darker tone, but they're not overly edgy in the way that a lot of darker UF gets. If Dresden Files is the benchmark for male led urban fantasy, Faust is considerably above par. I read Schaefer's fantasy series and while very good I have a hard time getting into the right head space to read his writing at times. Wizchine posted:Jeeze, I guess I'm a monster. Still going to read Patricia Briggs, though. Doesn't mean you are a monster, it's a lot of the same stuff all over the paranormal romance and connected genres. Hell at least it isn't Kushiel's Legacy now that poo poo was hard to read for a book group.
|
|
#
?
Jan 6, 2017 07:10
|
|
|
Aerdan posted:Things like having to have his house re?-redone because the previous contractors hosed up and so he was living with his fiancee for a while (and thus cut off from his writing zone). Also his dog died.
|
|
#
?
Jan 6, 2017 08:00
|
|
|
OmniBeer posted:It's been ages since I read early October Daye, but if I recall.. I enjoyed the first book, then there was a slight dip into stereotypical annoying plot fare, and then it got enjoyable again. Blackfish posted:There's no rape or sexual assault at all in October Daye. The first two books are a bit rough in places as our author gets her feet under her, without being as bad as Storm Front and Fool Moon, then An Artificial Night (Book 3) compares favorably to Grave Peril. It's definitely a series anyone who likes dresden should try out.
|
|
#
?
Jan 6, 2017 13:25
|
|
|
Tunicate posted:Also his dog died. And his truck broke down.
|
|
#
?
Jan 6, 2017 15:42
|
|
|
EVGA Longoria posted:Iirc he got divorced and remarried since Skin Game, so I don't think it's trouble writing it, just stuff beside that getting in the way Tunicate posted:Also his dog died. Number Ten Cocks posted:And his truck broke down. drat. Maybe he should start writing country music lyrics. (I hope he doesn't actually start writing country music lyrics.)
|
|
#
?
Jan 6, 2017 16:37
|
|
|
Blasphemeral posted:drat. Maybe he should start writing country music lyrics. Because of you the next book will actually be a country album. It's all your fault.
|
|
#
?
Jan 6, 2017 16:40
|
|
|
Oh poo poo did eyebrow dog die? Now I'm sad. 
|
|
#
?
Jan 6, 2017 16:45
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 16, 2024 18:33 |
|
|
NerdyMcNerdNerd posted:
Good point. As a fifty year old man, I'm pretty sure I'm not the target audience for romantic urban fantasy and its attendant tropes. I still enjoy it, but there is clearly a formula here that works.
|
|
#
?
Jan 6, 2017 21:29
|
|