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I'll go ahead and plug The Haunted Mesa by Louis L'Amore again. It shares a lot with Urban Fantasy, but filtered through the lens of a Western instead of Noir or a police procedural. It's one of my favorite books.
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Apr 25, 2017 22:19
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biracial bear for uncut posted:I honestly wouldn't mind reading more Archdruid POV stuff about training new druids and having adventures with werewolves that aren't entirely stupid. Atticus and White Girl can die though. Yeah, White Girl was just pleasantly bland in the background and then in this book suddenly turns into a violent psychopath.
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Apr 25, 2017 22:43
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Dienes posted:Yeah, White Girl was just pleasantly bland in the background and then in this book suddenly turns into a violent psychopath. If you were trapped in a Kevin Hearne novel would you make it 9 books?
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Apr 26, 2017 00:06
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A new Rivers of London short story has just been released for free as an audiobook. http://zenoagency.com/news/surprise-new-peter-grant-audio-short-story-a-rare-book-of-cunning-device-out-now/ http://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/A-Rare-Book-of-Cunning-Device-Audiobook/B071NDRLBK/
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Apr 27, 2017 14:59
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Thorpe posted:I was walking through a local bookstore a few weeks ago and saw this set up on a shelf and had a laugh. Has to make sure is didn't miss peace talks release or something What is this, a picture for ants?!
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Apr 28, 2017 21:33
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Hmm, I actually liked the Iron Druid when I first read it, mostly because of the hippie kind of magic and because it was refreshing change, to have at least a few locations and protagonists from outside the anglo world (US/UK). After reading this thread, the flaws in the "Purloined Poodle" were really obvious, though. The opposite happened with the Laundry files, which annoyed the poo poo out of me for the first few books, because my ethnicity, last name and place of birth showed up as attributes of the bad guys. But then came the "Annihilation Score" and all was forgiven. Although Bob Howard is at least equally as annoying as the Iron Druid, in his own way. Has anybody read the "Tome of Bill" series by Rick Gualtieri? It's about a software developer/nerd being turned into a vampire, who, of course, is destined for greater things. It has an interesting worldbuilding, a lot of silly/nerdy jokes and also a few rear end kicking female protagonists. Maybe a bit like the later seasons of Buffy. The 8th book in the series, "The Last Coven" came out a few weeks ago and brings the whole story to a satisfying end.
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May 5, 2017 14:02
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goethe42 posted:Hmm, I actually liked the Iron Druid when I first read it, mostly because of the hippie kind of magic and because it was refreshing change, to have at least a few locations and protagonists from outside the anglo world (US/UK). After reading this thread, the flaws in the "Purloined Poodle" were really obvious, though. The difference between Bob and Atticus is that Atticus is supposed to be thousands of years old but he acts like a loving teenager.
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May 5, 2017 14:07
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goethe42 posted:The opposite happened with the Laundry files, which annoyed the poo poo out of me for the first few books, because my ethnicity, last name and place of birth showed up as attributes of the bad guys. I am also an American.
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May 5, 2017 14:07
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OneTwentySix posted:You can always read the urban fantasy not worth reading. Iron Druid, anyone? What about the urban fantasy series Simon R. Green wrote? Does that one count as not worth reading, or is there more than one person (me) actually liking that schlock?
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May 5, 2017 14:14
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goethe42 posted:Has anybody read the "Tome of Bill" series by Rick Gualtieri? It's about a software developer/nerd being turned into a vampire, who, of course, is destined for greater things. Tome of Bill was much better than I thought it would be. It kept popping up in my recommendations, so I finally gave it a shot. I ended up liking it for what it was, which is popcorn fiction. It's refreshing to see both strong women characters and a main character that gets seven shades of poo poo stomped out of him on a regular basis as opposed to being AUTHOR INSERT SUPER MAN. ng Libluini posted:What about the urban fantasy series Simon R. Green wrote? Does that one count as not worth reading, or is there more than one person (me) actually liking that schlock? I was a real fan of the Nightside series through the end of the Lilith arc. After that they just got more and more same old/same old as John Taylor just Gary Stu'd his way through the story. Pretty much the same with the Drood series. I will say, I do like his world building. Proteus Jones fucked around with this message at 14:26 on May 5, 2017 |
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May 5, 2017 14:17
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Libluini posted:What about the urban fantasy series Simon R. Green wrote? Does that one count as not worth reading, or is there more than one person (me) actually liking that schlock? I enjoyed it for what it was. Green had some neat ideas but too often his laziness as a writer bogged everything down. I can't necessarily recommend it, but at the same time I won't dissuade anyone from reading it if they're interested. I would suggest not blowing through the whole series at once, though, because that really, REALLY underscores the problems.
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May 5, 2017 14:21
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flosofl posted:I will say, I do like his world building.
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May 5, 2017 14:52
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goethe42 posted:Has anybody read the "Tome of Bill" series by Rick Gualtieri? It's about a software developer/nerd being turned into a vampire, who, of course, is destined for greater things. The writing is terrible, even though he has a decent idea, although the idea is cliched as hell anyway. I read the first one because it kept being recommended to Dresden readers. But, man, the "you're a vampire, here are the rules, but *amazing twist* the rules don't apply to you!!!"
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May 5, 2017 15:55
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I recently read a short story (Nightstalker)set between first and second book and it was really bad. The story and world really starts to fill out with the "Woods of Mourning", the third book I think.Number Ten Cocks posted:I am also an American. Well I'm German and from a small town, so while for an American/Brit/Londoner it may be no big thing to see their hometown or last name from time to time in a book set in the US/UK/London, it was a first for me in the 500 + English books I've read. While the space Nazis were only annoyingly unoriginal, seeing name and town used by an author who additionally shares my initials made me very briefly consider, if this was the start of my very own real life UF adventure.  I mean that's how at least half of them begin, some funky coincidences happen and suddenly the pasty white nerd throws magic fireballs and zippy one-liners like there's no tomorrow (which often there isn't without him or seldom, her). Alas, no dice, but at least it made me read on until the POV book of the violin lady, which made me appreciate the Laundry Files infinitely more, especially as they also give one of the most probable explanations for (former Home Secretary)Theresa May. 
goethe42 fucked around with this message at 22:21 on May 5, 2017 |
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May 5, 2017 22:12
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Finally, finally reading Stiletto after however long since it came out. I'm about halfway through it and I'm enjoying it a lot.
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May 5, 2017 23:15
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Libluini posted:What about the urban fantasy series Simon R. Green wrote? Does that one count as not worth reading, or is there more than one person (me) actually liking that schlock? I've said it before, but while the Nightside sort-of-spinoff standalone Drinking Midnight Wine isn't high lit I find it charming in a way and much less annoying than the mainline Nightside books.
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May 6, 2017 02:27
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Lemniscate Blue posted:I've said it before, but while the Nightside sort-of-spinoff standalone Drinking Midnight Wine isn't high lit I find it charming in a way and much less annoying than the mainline Nightside books. Wasn't that one published before Something From the Nightside? I know Shadows Falls was, but Taylor visits it during the Lilith War. EDIT: Yep, 2001 for Midnight Wine, 2003 for Nightside.
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May 6, 2017 04:51
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Slanderer posted:A new Rivers of London short story has just been released for free as an audiobook. Thanks for the heads up!
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May 6, 2017 05:43
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I just finished the first landry files book. Maybe I'm just jaded but it was awful. The main character felt like a mary sue type person, who never really had to work to achieve anything. The heroine just is magically attracted to him, and he just happens to always make the right decisions. Everyone else is stupid and only he can figure out what to do to win. I really like the math can be a weapon idea, but the rest of it was just nails on a chalkboard. What am i missing that so many people liked about this series?
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May 6, 2017 16:40
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evil_cheese posted:I just finished the first landry files book. Maybe I'm just jaded but it was awful. The main character felt like a mary sue type person, who never really had to work to achieve anything. The heroine just is magically attracted to him, and he just happens to always make the right decisions. Everyone else is stupid and only he can figure out what to do to win. I really like the math can be a weapon idea, but the rest of it was just nails on a chalkboard. What am i missing that so many people liked about this series? I just read the Atrocity Archives too, and got pretty much exactly the same impression. Bob's an entitled rear end in a top hat that deserves nothing. Edit: Also there's a professor in the books that says that 'publishing too much' is a bad thing in academia. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Dienes fucked around with this message at 17:04 on May 6, 2017 |
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May 6, 2017 17:02
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Dienes posted:I just read the Atrocity Archives too, and got pretty much exactly the same impression. Bob's an entitled rear end in a top hat that deserves nothing. It's been a while since I read the books, but wasn't that referring specifically to mathematics and/or metaphysics? Which in the Laundry Files universe makes complete sense.
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May 6, 2017 17:06
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evil_cheese posted:I just finished the first landry files book. Maybe I'm just jaded but it was awful. The main character felt like a mary sue type person, who never really had to work to achieve anything. The heroine just is magically attracted to him, and he just happens to always make the right decisions. Everyone else is stupid and only he can figure out what to do to win. I really like the math can be a weapon idea, but the rest of it was just nails on a chalkboard. What am i missing that so many people liked about this series? The first book is not good. It has good parts, but it's not good overall. The second book drags a bit, but it has one of my favorite plot devices ever. I love all of the ones after that.
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May 6, 2017 17:51
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ConfusedUs posted:The first book is not good. It has good parts, but it's not good overall. The end of the most recent book left me in tears. It was Terry Pratchett level funny.
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May 6, 2017 18:09
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flosofl posted:It's been a while since I read the books, but wasn't that referring specifically to mathematics and/or metaphysics? Which in the Laundry Files universe makes complete sense. Nope - it was the philosophy prof talking about regular academia before she knew about the whole eldritch math thing.
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May 6, 2017 22:41
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I was looking at the Mercy Thompson books today at Chapters, and wondered at how her tattoos change on the covers. I'm only two novels in, but is it ever stated that she has more than the coyote tattoo on her stomach? I'm guessing this falls into the same category as Dresden wearing a hat on the covers of his books.
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May 7, 2017 02:08
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Covers are always inaccurate. She has a single tattoo the whole series and never dresses so you can see it.
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May 7, 2017 02:16
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Dienes posted:Nope - it was the philosophy prof talking about regular academia before she knew about the whole eldritch math thing. This here? quote:“Oh, it was a natural progression. In Edinburgh I was working on inferential reasoning. When I got the job in Arkham I started out doing more of the same, but the belief systems field has been undersubscribed for years, and it seemed like a good place to stake my claim, especially given the interesting closed archives in their stacks: Arkham has a really unique library, you know? I began publishing papers, and that’s about when the poo poo began happening inside the department. Maybe it was departmental politics, but now I’m beginning to wonder.” Pretty sure the meaning of "don't publish too much" here isn't what you interpret it as. Decius fucked around with this message at 04:23 on May 7, 2017 |
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May 7, 2017 04:20
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Decius posted:Pretty sure the meaning of "don't publish too much" here isn't what you interpret it as. Good thing that wasn't at all what I was talking about. Atrocity Archives posted:We eat, and we talk about people things, not necessarily in complimentary terms. Mo explains what it’s like to be married to a New York lawyer and I commiserate, and she asks me what it’s like to live with a manic-depressive psycho bitch from hell, and evidently she’s been talking to Pinky and Brains about things because I find myself describing my relationship with Mhari with sufficient detachment that it might as well be over—ancient history. And she nods and asks if running into Mhari in Accounts and Payroll isn’t embarrassing and this leads to a long discourse on how working for the Laundry is about as embarrassing as things can get: from the paper clip audits to the crazy internal billing system, and about how I hoped that getting into field ops would get me out from under Bridget’s thumb, but no such luck. And Mo explains about tenure track backbiting politics in small American university departments, and about why you can kiss your career goodbye if you publish too much—as well as too little—and about the different ways in which a dual-income no-kiddies couple can self-destruct so messily that I’m left thinking maybe Mhari isn’t that unusual after all. God, I only hope the meaning of "you can kiss your career goodbye if you publish too much" is what I interpret it as. 
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May 7, 2017 14:26
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These excerpts mostly remind me that I really enjoy the Laundry novels, but I wish Charles Stross would write in past tense. Present tense irks the hell out of me for some reason (I know it's a perfectly valid way to write, it's just a personal dislike that I can't back up with reasons) and it's a testament to Stross's skill that I generally stop noticing it partway into each book because I'm so caught up in the story. As opposed to Chuck Wendig, who I just bounce right off of every time I try to read his stuff.
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May 7, 2017 15:16
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I'm not sure whether or not I'll finish the Laundry Files. I expect I probably will - I don't like leaving things incomplete - but at the same time, big, hopeless end-of-the-world plots are about my third least favourite (after assimilation plots where everyone's under some kind of mind control and infection plots where everyone's sick with some kind of disease - those blur together a lot).
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May 7, 2017 15:20
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Dienes posted:Good thing that wasn't at all what I was talking about. To be fair, the old boy's network in academia is really lovely toward women. Mo's perspective is going to be skewed that way.
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May 8, 2017 03:59
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biracial bear for uncut posted:To be fair, the old boy's network in academia is really lovely toward women. Mo's perspective is going to be skewed that way. I don't think the text has even half the nuance you suggest. (And the general advice I've always received/followed was that a lot of pubs was one of the few ways a woman could overcome the Ol' Boys Club.) I think its more of a case of Stross not knowing how research in academia really works and talking out his rear end there. Which is fine, he can have flubs same as anyone. But that doesn't make it any less hysterical. I really like the parts of the novel when they are deep diving into some eldritch poo poo. Its the "What if James Bond was an even more cynical computer janitor?" that I can't get into.
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May 8, 2017 04:37
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Just dropping back in to say that the American Gods TV adaptation is the best urban fantasy I've seen in years. And also, goddamn, it's been three years since Skin Game was released.
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May 8, 2017 06:19
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Ghetto Prince posted:Just dropping back in to say that the American Gods TV adaptation is the best urban fantasy I've seen in years.
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May 8, 2017 06:36
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awesmoe posted:that is an amazingly amazingly low bar. How does it compare to actual good tv? Personally thought ep1 was a little odd, but then I'm very familiar with the book and may take away different things than your average job public. Seems like it would have been better if you could immediately roll into the second ep a la netflix releases, but there you go. Watch episode one, and if it doesn't grab you still watch the start of ep 2 because holy poo poo.
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May 8, 2017 08:17
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Dienes posted:I don't think the text has even half the nuance you suggest. (And the general advice I've always received/followed was that a lot of pubs was one of the few ways a woman could overcome the Ol' Boys Club.) It should probably be pointed out that your criticism doesn't work very well if you're using a word like hysterical to describe it, given the history of that particular word.
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May 8, 2017 12:04
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biracial bear for uncut posted:It should probably be pointed out that your criticism doesn't work very well if you're using a word like hysterical to describe it, given the history of that particular word. That's got to be the most pedantic thing I've ever seen. Ghetto Prince posted:Just dropping back in to say that the American Gods TV adaptation is the best urban fantasy I've seen in years. drat. I guess I'm going to have to get a Starz subscription off Amazon.
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May 8, 2017 13:26
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Dienes posted:That's got to be the most pedantic thing I've ever seen. It was a joke.
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May 8, 2017 13:33
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biracial bear for uncut posted:It was a joke. Woosh on my part, then. You're still funnier than Stross.
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May 8, 2017 16:32
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I forget exactly where the shift happens, but Bob gets a lot more tolerable later on. Also later books shift over to other POVs and stories where Bob rarely has all that much to do with the story--other than just surviving so he can write his reports at the end.
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May 8, 2017 19:43
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