|
I forget his name, but I always liked Bob and Mo's preacher friend.
|
#
?
May 8, 2017 20:17
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 15, 2024 10:15 |
|
|
hangedman1984 posted:I forget his name, but I always liked Bob and Mo's preacher friend. Pete (I don't remember his second name).
|
|
#
?
May 8, 2017 20:24
|
|
|
I don't really see what's wrong with Bob: he's a competent protagonist. The early books are a specific pastiche of Len Deighton's Cold War spy novels so Bob is basically young Michael Caine (who played the protag in films like Ipcress file etc).
|
|
#
?
May 9, 2017 15:03
|
|
|
Beefeater1980 posted:I don't really see what's wrong with Bob: he's a competent protagonist. The early books are a specific pastiche of Len Deighton's Cold War spy novels so Bob is basically young Michael Caine (who played the protag in films like Ipcress file etc). Early Bob is basically Dilbert. It depends on how much tolerance you have for "I'm so much smarter than my stupid jerk managers" stuff which conveniently goes away once Bob becomes a manager.
|
|
#
?
May 9, 2017 15:32
|
|
|
The OP is a couple years old, so I'd like to confirm that the following series are still recommended, and maybe get a relative ranking between them to know which one to start on first: The Laundry Files Rivers of London Alex Verus Rook/Stiletto
|
|
#
?
May 9, 2017 21:28
|
|
|
Klungar posted:The OP is a couple years old, so I'd like to confirm that the following series are still recommended, and maybe get a relative ranking between them to know which one to start on first: The Laundry Files is an okay but extremely inconsistent read and it veers between surprisingly good (usually when it's dealing with the Otherworld Horror) and godawful (when it's getting cutely meta.) At its worst it is completely unreadable and what its worst is will depend on who you are, though its been somewhat getting better. If you can get past the second book you'll probably continue to enjoy it. Rivers of London tends to be really well received here and is the one most people will probably recommend you start with. I personally found the protagonist intolerable but it's worth noting he's intentionally that way and is supposed to be kind of an idiot and unreliable narrator at times .(This applies to Laundry Files as well but is better executed in RoL.) It's easily the most competent of the three and if you like the protagonist more than I do it'll probably be your favorite of the lot. Alex Verus is probably the most 'tryhard' of the three and the first book is 100% bog standard Too Cool For Words urban fantasy protagonist. It takes 2/3 books to get going but once it does it actually begins to work very well and it's developed nicely. Rivers of London is better written but I find Verus easier to read, largely because it seems more willing to treat its protagonist like they are a poo poo. I haven't read Rook unfortunately so I can't comment on that one.
|
|
#
?
May 9, 2017 21:36
|
|
|
Klungar posted:The OP is a couple years old, so I'd like to confirm that the following series are still recommended, and maybe get a relative ranking between them to know which one to start on first: Having read at least some, if not all, of the books in each series, that's the order I'd give them. That said, I'd personally put Craig Schaefer's Daniel Faust/Harmony Black books above all of them.
|
|
#
?
May 9, 2017 21:57
|
|
|
I absolutely loved The Rook, it's among my favorite fantasy novels, and the sequel is quite good, too. Highly recommend. I liked Laundry until a certain point and lost interest. There are some fun parts and I liked the early books, but have no interest in re-reading them or trying to pick the series up again. Could not get into Rivers of London - could be because I tried the audiobook, and I have a much higher failure rate when trying audiobooks, but I just wasn't interested. I like Alex Verus quite a lot, but it's not really on the same level of quality as the other three, not that quality and a fun read are the same thing. The early books are fun, and the later books are much better as the author gets better and grows the world.
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2017 00:07
|
|
|
Klungar posted:The OP is a couple years old, so I'd like to confirm that the following series are still recommended, and maybe get a relative ranking between them to know which one to start on first: Rook/Stiletto are both fantastic and would be top of my list. ImpAtom posted:The Laundry Files is an okay but extremely inconsistent read and it veers between surprisingly good (usually when it's dealing with the Otherworld Horror) and godawful (when it's getting cutely meta.) At its worst it is completely unreadable and what its worst is will depend on who you are, though its been somewhat getting better. If you can get past the second book you'll probably continue to enjoy it. I was not a fan of Atrocity Archives for the most part, but I agree - when there's a highpoint its exceptional, and its nearly always the eldritch stuff. Is it like Dresden Files, where you can skip the first two books and still be able to enjoy the (much better) third and fourth novels? Are the short stories better?
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2017 01:21
|
|
|
IMO rook sucked, laundry files is okay, rivers is great, alex verus is pretty good. But I think the thing you can take away from this is that all of those are worth reading to see if you like em.
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2017 01:23
|
|
|
Beefeater1980 posted:I don't really see what's wrong with Bob: he's a competent protagonist. The early books are a specific pastiche of Len Deighton's Cold War spy novels so Bob is basically young Michael Caine (who played the protag in films like Ipcress file etc). Book one is meant to be a Len Deighton pastiche. Book two is Ian Fleming. Book three is Anthony Price. Book four is supposed to be Peter O'Donnell. After that, he abandons the pastiche idea and takes the books in their own direction.
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2017 01:56
|
|
|
awesmoe posted:IMO rook sucked, laundry files is okay, rivers is great, alex verus is pretty good. But I think the thing you can take away from this is that all of those are worth reading to see if you like em.
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2017 02:12
|
|
|
Ornamented Death posted:Having read at least some, if not all, of the books in each series, that's the order I'd give them. That said, I'd personally put Craig Schaefer's Daniel Faust/Harmony Black books above all of them. Agree! Craig Schaffer is a machine. Also, check out Stephen Blackmoore's "Dead Things" (can't remember if that's the name of the series or just a book). It's got a reluctant necromancer willing to burn LA to the ground for the ones he loves. Less ridiculous but about as noir as the Sandman Slim books.
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2017 02:15
|
|
|
The Rook is great. Stiletto is okay. Alex Verus + Rivers of London I enjoyed. Alex Verus feels the most 'Dresden-like'. Rivers of London tends to be a slower burn.
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2017 02:15
|
|
|
navyjack posted:Agree! Craig Schaffer is a machine. Also, check out Stephen Blackmoore's "Dead Things" (can't remember if that's the name of the series or just a book). It's got a reluctant necromancer willing to burn LA to the ground for the ones he loves. Less ridiculous but about as noir as the Sandman Slim books. Yeah, Dead Things is the first book in the Eric Carter series (Dead Things, Broken Souls, and Hungry Ghosts are the 3 entries so far). City of the Lost is a standalone book with a different protagonist, but set in the same Los Angeles "universe". In fact I'd start with that one first - it's the earliest one written, too.
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2017 02:33
|
|
|
Also, the comparison to Kadrey's Sandman Slim stuff is fair - especially with the Los Angeles locale. But Kadrey has everything dialed up to 11 right off the bat in Sandman Slim, whereas Blackmoore's series is a little more grounded (though things get quite a bit more bonkers as it goes along).
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2017 02:37
|
|
|
Dienes posted:Rook/Stiletto are both fantastic and would be top of my list. The short stories are similarly all over the place. I think the third book is where it starts getting its footing (and starts dealing more heavily with Case Nightmare Green) but I don't think it's a case of it getting better and better so much as it has good moments and bad moments. I would say the third book isn't the worst place to start to see if you like where things are going but if you don't it won't get any better.
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2017 02:42
|
|
|
Wizchine posted:Yeah, Dead Things is the first book in the Eric Carter series (Dead Things, Broken Souls, and Hungry Ghosts are the 3 entries so far). City of the Lost is a standalone book with a different protagonist, but set in the same Los Angeles "universe". In fact I'd start with that one first - it's the earliest one written, too. I love City of the Lost so much more than the Eric Carter books (and I do like the Eric Carter books).
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2017 03:13
|
|
|
flosofl posted:I love City of the Lost so much more than the Eric Carter books (and I do like the Eric Carter books). Me too, it's much more lurid and fun. Eric Carter is sort of a boring, blank slate of a character in comparison to Joe Sunday.
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2017 03:38
|
|
|
Chiming in on this. The protagonist from Rivers of London is... a person? I like Peter because he's flawed, but not in an insufferable way, and I feel as though the writer does a good job of implying when Peter's attitude is coloring the narration. I like his take on the fae, and ghosts, and all that, and Peter's approach of scientifiic experimentation with magic adds some nice flavor to it all. Also Nightingale  Alex Verus is very Dresden, and fun, competently written book. The prose didn't blow me away or anything, but I had a hard time putting it down. The only reason I haven't bought and read book 2 is because I've got a bunch of other books to read. How is the Felix Castor series regarded? I'm about a fifth into book one, and it seems pretty interesting.
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2017 04:44
|
|
|
NerdyMcNerdNerd posted:Chiming in on this. I liked them a lot. That being said, he needs to write book 6 already and tie everything up. It's been a while but I thought he had planned a book 6 to explain why the dead started rising and wrap that up. Unless he did and I straight up can't remember.
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2017 04:53
|
|
|
I just feel like the world in the Rivers of London books is incredibly disjointed. Like the world feels super tiny and it feels really artificial as the series went on and he just kept adding ridiculous numbers of hidden things Nightengale just... ignored for 60 years I guess? Like I get he was traumatized, but jesus christ you think he might have noticed all the goddamn magicians running around before Peter showed up. I dunno why, but it just bugs the crap out of me.
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2017 04:57
|
|
|
Just finished Stiletto this morning and enjoyed it a lot. In fact, I might have liked it more than The Rook. Not 100% sure what the purpose of the bit with the crystal guy going after Myfanwy was, though.
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2017 13:35
|
|
|
Crystal guy was just a rando side story investigation. Because the world still goes on outside of bullshit Grafter intrigues. Felix Castor was really good, but don't read it immediately after reading Daniel Faust because there are a lot of really similar character types.
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2017 15:12
|
|
|
NerdyMcNerdNerd posted:How is the Felix Castor series regarded? I'm about a fifth into book one, and it seems pretty interesting. I'm one of the few thread regulars that doesn't like this series. Castor is just too much of an rear end in a top hat for me to find him or his adventures interesting, predominantly because most of the problems he faces, at least through the first two books, are a direct result of him being an rear end in a top hat for no good reason.
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2017 15:53
|
|
|
Ornamented Death posted:I'm one of the few thread regulars that doesn't like this series. Castor is just too much of an rear end in a top hat for me to find him or his adventures interesting, predominantly because most of the problems he faces, at least through the first two books, are a direct result of him being an rear end in a top hat for no good reason. I agree with this. It's a series where I see the potential, but can't get past the main character.
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2017 15:55
|
|
|
Updated the OP a bit to reflect the general nature of this thread as the Urban Fantasy thread. Still a heavy Dresden focus, but I removed the individual book synopses. I put the other book suggestions in their place.
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2017 16:05
|
|
|
ConfusedUs posted:Updated the OP a bit to reflect the general nature of this thread as the Urban Fantasy thread. Still a heavy Dresden focus, but I removed the individual book synopses. I put the other book suggestions in their place. What's this, responsible curation of the OP of a megathread? Friend, I don't think you know how things work around these parts...
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2017 16:08
|
|
|
Ornamented Death posted:What's this, responsible curation of the OP of a megathread? Friend, I don't think you know how things work around these parts... Well I have been wanting to make an entirely new thread for like a year, but haven't. 
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2017 16:18
|
|
|
biracial bear for uncut posted:Crystal guy was just a rando side story investigation. Because the world still goes on outside of bullshit Grafter intrigues. Sure, that's something I like about it, but I wasn't sure if that was something that had carried over from The Rook since it's been a while since I read that book.
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2017 16:18
|
|
|
Wheat Loaf posted:Sure, that's something I like about it, but I wasn't sure if that was something that had carried over from The Rook since it's been a while since I read that book. Nah, it's very much a side thing. At best it's self-contained and a bit distracting from the main story, at worst it's a superfluous worldbuiding/sequel hook
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2017 16:21
|
|
|
It was nice to have Shantay in the book, at least. I hope there is another one (don't know if O'Malley has indicated any such intentions) but am prepared for the inevitable long wait for it. 
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2017 16:23
|
|
|
Wheat Loaf posted:It was nice to have Shantay in the book, at least. O'Malley has indicated he has ideas for future works, but as far as I know he hasn't committed to anything.
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2017 16:34
|
|
|
ConfusedUs posted:Well I have been wanting to make an entirely new thread for like a year, but haven't. Add October Daye. Same advice that it picks up in book 3 and just goes.
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2017 18:32
|
|
|
Anias posted:Add October Daye. Same advice that it picks up in book 3 and just goes. Anyone want to second this? I haven't read it myself.
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2017 18:37
|
|
|
ConfusedUs posted:Anyone want to second this? I haven't read it myself. I will. It's decent through book three, and then It gets really good. She's a pretty good strong female lead. I never got a Mary Sue vibe since she regularly is at the receiving end of stompings and clownings, a lot of times because of decisions she's made or things she's failed to do. Plus, the relationship she's in never ends up being "thank god I have a man to ride in and save my bacon" They save each other at times and have a fairly equitable relationship, and even then she's usually the one saving herself. It's a partnership with give and take like any reasonably happy couple would have. Her interactions with the Fae and family history are complicated, beleivable and never really feel contrived. Most of the secondary characters feel like they have a history and motivations that don't always include the main character. I went into the series just looking for something I could kill some time and not feel I wasted it. What I got was pleasantly beyond my expectations for most of this genre. Don't get me wrong, it's no "classic in our times", but for what it is it's really good. Proteus Jones fucked around with this message at 19:00 on May 10, 2017 |
|
#
?
May 10, 2017 18:57
|
|
|
ConfusedUs posted:Anyone want to second this? I haven't read it myself. October daye is great (Barring the first book) and is really good alongside dresden. Where harry dresden uses pop culture references and action scenes, Daye seems a bit more toned down. There's some good foreshadowing and interesting plot twists in the overall "meta" of the novels, but each novel by itself is "Okay". Nothing like Changes or Proven Guilty. Also power creep is becoming a bit of a thing with her blood magic but it doesn't seem to be getting sterotypical yet.
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2017 19:25
|
|
|
Okay someone give me a short blurb (couple sentences) describing what the series is about and maybe why someone would want to read it. Kinda like what's already up there.
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2017 19:54
|
|
|
How do people about Tim Pratt's Marla Mason series? I loved his short story collections, but haven't tried the series.
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2017 20:38
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 15, 2024 10:15 |
|
|
October Daye knows how cruel Faerie can be to its changeling children. Born in San Francisco and carried to the Summerlands by her pureblood mother when she was just a child, she was raised in a world that never seemed capable of understanding her. She ran away the moment the opportunity presented itself, only to find that the human world wasn't any better. Things have been going downhill ever since. The October Daye books follow the adventures of October "Toby" Daye as she tries to find her footing in a world that seems a little more interested in killing her than she'd like. The first ten books in the series are available now: Rosemary and Rue, A Local Habitation, An Artificial Night, Late Eclipses, One Salt Sea, Ashes of Honor, Chimes at Midnight, The Winter Long, A Red-Rose Chain, and Once Broken Faith. As with Dresden, the first two are good, the third is great and things pick up from there.
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2017 20:55
|
|