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Jedit posted:Good Omens isn't a terrible choice. No, but you know about broken clocks. Also, LotR not even mentioned. And while Abercrombie writes some good books, I would never put him on a top 10 of all time. It is a list from someone who only seems to have read fantasy from like the last 10-15 years or so, with no sense of perspective.
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Feb 20, 2017 15:19
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Cardiac posted:No, but you know about broken clocks. Biggest crime is no Moorcock.
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Feb 20, 2017 15:43
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:My favorite fantasy-lists-and-rankings site is http://greatsfandf.com/ because this is fantastic, a mixture of ullillillia and academic snobbishness. I love it! edit: quote:The English Language: 
Burning Rain fucked around with this message at 15:46 on Feb 20, 2017 |
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Feb 20, 2017 15:44
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Speaking of somewhat classic stuff, I think it's about the time for my once every five years attempt to have a go at Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast novels again and hopefully not bounce right off. Somehow it's been rough to digest every time, as fascinating as it actually is.
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Feb 20, 2017 16:00
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:My favorite fantasy-lists-and-rankings site is http://greatsfandf.com/ because I feel like this guy is like my polar opposite - even his website makes my eyes start to glaze over in a few minutes. The vast majority of the stuff he's recommending I've never even heard of beyond the obvious classics. It's hard to get a real sense for a lot of the books on his site because it's so all over the place too - you've got massive lists of books and authors and then many? most? of them have no actual information beyond a few words as to why they are on this list, while he writes long meandering essays about nothing on other pages.
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Feb 20, 2017 16:14
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anilEhilated posted:Provided he actually ever writes it. Is it just me or is the title for the series kind of oddly picked? I mean, the entire premise of it is that the guy in question is the Best Dude Ever and done every legendary deed Rothfuss could think of, so why focus on this one?
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Feb 20, 2017 17:05
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edit: nm
less laughter fucked around with this message at 21:13 on Feb 20, 2017 |
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Feb 20, 2017 18:46
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Wolpertinger posted:I feel like this guy is like my polar opposite - even his website makes my eyes start to glaze over in a few minutes. The vast majority of the stuff he's recommending I've never even heard of beyond the obvious classics. It's hard to get a real sense for a lot of the books on his site because it's so all over the place too - you've got massive lists of books and authors and then many? most? of them have no actual information beyond a few words as to why they are on this list, while he writes long meandering essays about nothing on other pages. No no it's absolutely necessary for a *good* website to make sure there's a five inch margin on the left side of the page and the core information doesn't start till you scroll down two full screens On the other hand, detailed analysis of James Branch Cabell in short, the internet is a land of contrasts
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Feb 20, 2017 18:56
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The Nebula Award nominees have been announced. What are the must-reads this year?
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Feb 20, 2017 19:09
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Cardiac posted:No, but you know about broken clocks. Nothing wrong with a list of good modern fantasy, but this isn't even really that since it includes Wheel of Time. (I could have sworn some of these series were older than they are...) The best recent fantasy I've read was written by women, notably Valente and Jemisin. Not a single woman on that list, but clearly Sanderson is amazing enough to be on there three times. And I like Dresden Files, but I would put Daniel Faust well above that series to represent good urban fantasy. I haven't read any of these but Dresden and Name of the Wind, but would I be safe in guessing that the rest also don't show particularly good sexual politics or diversity?
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Feb 20, 2017 19:10
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Echo Cian posted:
I can't speak for all of them but the Wheel of Time was relatively progressive on gender when it first came out, i.e., in 1990.
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Feb 20, 2017 19:14
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Captain_Person posted:The Nebula Award nominees have been announced. I've read All the Birds in the Sky, Ninefox Gambit, and Everfair. Birds was a really good story that I had a few nitpicks with but otherwise enjoyed. It is the sort of thing where I can definitely see it being someone's favorite book. Ninefox was a good, unique space opera type thing. Everfair was good and was set in the Belgian Congo, but I thought it struggled a bit by trying to cover too much ground. All 3 are worth reading, but I'm not sure they're must reads. Birds and Ninefox are both pretty quick reads. For Novellas, I read Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe, Ballad of Black Tom, and Taste of Honey. That first two are interesting because they are both retellings of Lovecraft, just with different spins. Vellitt Boe is told from within the Dream World, and is a way to sort of find a place for women in the Lovecraft Cannon. Black Tom is rewrite of The Horror at Red Hook with the protagonist as a street musician from Harlem. Your preference likely depends on what you want out of your Lovecraft inspired fiction. A Taste of Honey is a reflection on a a week or so that was a turning point for the main character's life. Nominally set in the same world as Sorcerer of the Wildeeps, it's strictly speaking fantasy, but the fantasy elements play little part in the story. As is usual with Wilson, the narrative does explore different orientations and classes.
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Feb 20, 2017 19:32
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Captain_Person posted:The Nebula Award nominees have been announced. Really? Ninefox Gamit? Really?
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Feb 20, 2017 19:55
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anilEhilated posted:Provided he actually ever writes it. Is it just me or is the title for the series kind of oddly picked? I mean, the entire premise of it is that the guy in question is the Best Dude Ever and done every legendary deed Rothfuss could think of, so why focus on this one? I continue to be amused by the idea that Kvothe killed a king is the equivalent of that guy with the one goat and no matter what he does, no matter how many legendary quests he completes, nobody will shut up about that one stupid, whiny rear end in a top hat he killed who just happened to be king of somewhere. EDIT: It turns out there's even this thing called a 'line of succession', so if you kill a king, someone else replaces him automatically! And people still won't shut up about it!
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Feb 20, 2017 22:36
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StrixNebulosa posted:I wish I could get into any of her books. Earthsea didn't take for me, Left Hand of Darkness didn't work... Lathe of Heaven is the one I recommend to people who bounce off her heavier fare. It also happens to be my favorite.
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Feb 20, 2017 22:49
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It's always a bummer when a much-lauded author doesn't work for me. Her writing style just...I bounced off of it in the first chapter and couldn't crack it, so I haven't tried with her others yet.
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I'm four chapters into Ninefox Gambit and it reads like moderately dire tumblr fanfic level gobbledygook. Can anyone explain why this got good reviews?
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Feb 20, 2017 22:56
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StrixNebulosa posted:If we're gonna go with the best fantasy novel of all time, let's go with the Zimiamvia Trilogy by ER Eddison, if only because it's ancient, thick with prose, and it inspired Lord of the Rings. A lot of LeGuin's stuff is heavily mannered and you can see the really strong Lord Dunsany influence, so I can see why shed put some readers off. Still though I think she's the only fantasy author other than Tolkien and Dunsany to actually pull that style off, and at her best her themes are more nuanced and complex than either of them. And then in SF, read Moon is a Harsh Mistress and then read The Dispossessed immediately after.
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Feb 20, 2017 23:05
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:No no it's absolutely necessary for a *good* website to make sure there's a five inch margin on the left side of the page and the core information doesn't start till you scroll down two full screens This guy has five-starred Jack Vance and wrote a huge essay about why he's awesome, so he's alright in my book.
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Feb 20, 2017 23:11
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Yeah I've got to say, I was quite interested in Ninefox Gambit, and it left me cold the whole way through. I didn't care at all about the characters or setting, the writing itself was nothing special, and I've barely thought about it since finishing.
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Feb 20, 2017 23:12
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Megazver posted:This guy has five-starred Jack Vance and wrote a huge essay about why he's awesome, so he's alright in my book.
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Feb 20, 2017 23:48
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Captain_Person posted:The Nebula Award nominees have been announced. I'm catching up the short fiction side of things, have only read a couple of them this round. Here's the ones that are up for free: Novelettes: “Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea”, Sarah Pinsker “Blood Grains Speak Through Memories”, Jason Sanford “You’ll Surely Drown Here If You Stay”, Alyssa Wong Short Stories: “Our Talons Can Crush Galaxies”, Brooke Bolander <- this is terrible, how did this get nominated? “Seasons of Glass and Iron”, Amal El-Mohtar “Things With Beards”, Sam J. Miller “A Fist of Permutations in Lightning and Wildflowers”, Alyssa Wong “Welcome to the Medical Clinic at the Interplanetary Relay Station│Hours Since the Last Patient Death: 0”, Caroline M. Yoachim
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Feb 21, 2017 00:13
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ShutteredIn posted:Short Stories: I don't understand how it got published. Even a you-pay-me-to-publish-your-crap periodical should have thought twice about their life choices before cashing that check.
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Feb 21, 2017 00:19
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Krazyface posted:Yeah I've got to say, I was quite interested in Ninefox Gambit, and it left me cold the whole way through. I didn't care at all about the characters or setting, the writing itself was nothing special, and I've barely thought about it since finishing. Same. 
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Feb 21, 2017 00:23
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Is there anything more demoralizing than googling a book and spotting "#1" and "trilogy"?
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Feb 21, 2017 01:09
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BravestOfTheLamps posted:Is there anything more demoralizing than googling a book and spotting "#1" and "trilogy"? "Genre: Young-Adult."
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Feb 21, 2017 01:25
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Wolf Pussy posted:I'm four chapters into Ninefox Gambit and it reads like moderately dire tumblr fanfic level gobbledygook. Can anyone explain why this got good reviews? It sounds like you were coming into it with some of your own baggage.
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Feb 21, 2017 01:45
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C.M. Kruger posted:"Genre: Young-Adult." after you've read the whole book and are wondering what the gently caress the author was even thinking
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Feb 21, 2017 02:38
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I remember Ninefox Gambit being OK but it didn't particularly grab me either. It was a bit confused in places and I forgot most of the story as soon as I'd finished the book. I read nearly all of the Taltos series recently on recommendation from this thread and it was mostly pretty fun. Have to say that the Khaavren Romances dragged a bit though, especially the Viscount books. I get the joke and all and Brust mainly does it well, but five books felt a bit much - the pacing isn't quite there and it became quite a trudge at times. I got on to Tiassa and was relieved to be back to a more lively flow, finding out what our favourite assassin-with-a-heart is up to, although it felt like one of the weaker books in the series. And then two-thirds through it suddenly turns back into faux-Dumas and I had to put the book down.
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Feb 21, 2017 02:40
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I tried to read a sample of Ninefox Gambit and had a hard time telling what was going on and how things in that universe work. I'm willing to give it another shot later.Hieronymous Alloy posted:No no it's absolutely necessary for a *good* website to make sure there's a five inch margin on the left side of the page and the core information doesn't start till you scroll down two full screens I'm willing to put up with the site writer's condescending attitude if it'll sell me on some underappreciated gems. Edit: that first preface says that the page was last modified in 1970, so that might explain the formatting. Solitair fucked around with this message at 04:13 on Feb 21, 2017 |
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Feb 21, 2017 04:08
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Ninefox Gambit sounds kind of interesting but am I the only one who is really judgemental about the names of empires that get put into the summary blurbs? Hexarchate makes me cringe for some reason. Which is rich considering I loving love The Algebraist, whose summary kicks off with "Fassin Taak, a Slow Seer at the Court of the Nasqueron Dwellers..." Oh also I read the first two books of the Three-Body Problem and...well I was interested in the outcome but didn't really enjoy reading them. There's no flow, it's just weird data dumps in different contexts intercut with bad dialog that is also usually just a weird, stilted data dump. Is it at all worth finishing the trilogy? Inspector_666 fucked around with this message at 05:08 on Feb 21, 2017 |
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Feb 21, 2017 05:02
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Hexarchate doesn't seem so bad, the empire is divided into parts each ruled by a sort of priest-governor, and there are six of them. It's more descriptive than it is a nonsense SF&F name, although I'm sure it was chosen for the unfamiliarity of the sound too.
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Feb 21, 2017 05:10
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Solitair posted:
top left corner says 2012 for last site modification. But yeah I really wasn't being all that ironic when I called it my favorite. Bizarre formatting and pretentiousness aside, the guy has seriously done his homework and every time I run out of things to read I can dig through there and find a new recommendation. I entirely disagree at a fundamental level with the guy's approach ( even apart from the arguable invalidity of the high art/ low art distinction, it seems invalid to rank authors instead of individual books) but if you're gonna be doing an all-time ranking list, you should at minimum show your work, and that guy has, in a way that's useful.
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Feb 21, 2017 06:13
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Solitair posted:I tried to read a sample of Ninefox Gambit and had a hard time telling what was going on and how things in that universe work. I'm willing to give it another shot later. I read it all and still don't know what was going on. I enjoyed it though.
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Feb 21, 2017 12:54
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Ninefox Gambit was very good and it's called the Hexarchate because it was a Heptarchate before, and this may be kind of a big deal in the series. Also calendar space magic ritual holidays with the involvement of the population make shiny technology work. It's a bit 40K really.
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Feb 21, 2017 13:07
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Solitair posted:I tried to read a sample of Ninefox Gambit and had a hard time telling what was going on and how things in that universe work. I'm willing to give it another shot later. Yeah, it juts kind of drops you into the middle with a bunch of jargon. I thought it became relatively clear, at least in the abstract, after a few chapters. That first one is sorta rough though.
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Feb 21, 2017 15:42
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Junkenstein posted:I read it all and still don't know what was going on. I enjoyed it though. Cheris is a soldier for a galactic empire (the hexarchate). They keep power by enforcing a ritual calendar of holidays and sacrifices. Wherever this calendar is observed, the laws of physics serve the empire's needs. When a critical fortress starts to observe a heretical calendar, Cheris is chosen for a suicide mission to reconquer it. Her only hope is the mind of an undead general who put down a similar revolt - except he also went insane and shot his entire crew. Too bad he's been attached to Cheris literally as her shadow.
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Feb 21, 2017 15:42
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Ninefox is pretty heavy with making it pretty clear that everything is a weird mishmash of the chinese zodiac and a lot of chinese martial arts principles almost immediately after the opening fight scene (I mean it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the ash and fire references for the bird on the Kel banners makes them Pheonix - which is also why the reincarnation cult that was previously put down also is a little interesting, if probably being a double-foreshadowing or something.) It's not exactly subtle when pretty much every chapter begins with the greek chorus making fun of how it's the year of the cow, day of the chicken, hour of the rooster (early joke spoiler: "why the hell is there a rooster and a chicken!?") The names of the hextarchy etc are also clearly explained in the first 10-20 of the book, which takes roughly 30 minutes to get through. But I've grown used to goons who consider themselves intelligent and well-rounded people who begin flailing and crying whenever a word has more than three syllables or some kind of cultural/historical/mythological connotations in their space fighty and sword fighty books.. The popularly-highlighted quotes in Ninefox reinforce that it's probably not just goons, some of them are kind of embarrassing. Perhaps recommending Ninefox should begin with "TRIGGER WARNING: If you get really really upset at the Vlad Taltos series' silly animal houses, run far and run fast." BravestOfTheLamps posted:Is there anything more demoralizing than googling a book and spotting "#1" and "trilogy"? coyo7e fucked around with this message at 15:56 on Feb 21, 2017 |
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Feb 21, 2017 15:46
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BravestOfTheLamps posted:Is there anything more demoralizing than googling a book and spotting "#1" and "trilogy"? Buying a three book series thinking its a trilogy only to find out after finishing the third book its actually an unspecified amount of books and you have to wait years for the conclusion. Or just buying any George Martin book at any point in time, both pretty demoralizing.
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Feb 21, 2017 20:08
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General Battuta posted:Wherever this calendar is observed, the laws of physics serve the empire's needs. This threw me for a loop because it's such a weird idea but when I internalized it the rest was a simple extrapolation. Plotwise the book had a bit of first volume syndrome going on but I enjoyed it nevertheless.
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Feb 21, 2017 20:21
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coyo7e posted:Ninefox is pretty heavy with making it pretty clear that everything is a weird mishmash of the chinese zodiac and a lot of chinese martial arts principles almost immediately after the opening fight scene (I mean it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the ash and fire references for the bird on the Kel banners makes them Pheonix - which is also why the reincarnation cult that was previously put down also is a little interesting, if probably being a double-foreshadowing or something.) What the heck? You're basically writing fan fiction about why people didn't enjoy Ninefox. I found the setup and universe super intriguing, but I don't think it's unfair to say that the book is pretty flat. It suffers from the Dune problem of most of the interesting things happening offscreen and the reader finding out via a conversation two characters are having about said things. I do not feel this way because I'm a middlebrow Sinophobic. Antti posted:This threw me for a loop because it's such a weird idea but when I internalized it the rest was a simple extrapolation. It's a loving great idea, but the book never really pays it off. I read the book less than six months ago and I'm having trouble recalling one example of exotic calendrical physics.
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Feb 21, 2017 20:24
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