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HIJK posted:Eragon is another example of an author with potential getting ruined by hype. There's some decent stuff in the first book (like the dead baby) and if someone had mentored Paolini early on I think he could have been something special. Yeah, my read is that he had raw talent, but was too isolated for it to be nurtured properly.
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Nov 3, 2017 17:41
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my bony fealty posted:Cragon would be a better name for a book than Eragon
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Nov 3, 2017 17:55
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SpacePig posted:It might not be a fan fiction, but it's almost certainly a D&D player character story. So that hits the mark close enough. I was referring to Twilight fanfic (50 Shades of Grey) being bigger than what it was based on and that KKC doesn't have some lovely fanfic-turned-blockbuster yet. Not that KKC is lovely fanfic (it's just lovely). M_Gargantua posted:Great game, but so difficult 14 year old me never beat it. Even cheating. This was before google when I could look up a FAQ for which route to take to not instantly get murdered, or what the secret is for a particular odd encounter. Is that particular encounter the elementals near the end of the game? Because that ended my playthrough as a kid.
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Nov 3, 2017 18:19
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my bony fealty posted:Cragon would be a better name for a book than Eragon Cragon sounds like a hearty root vegetable stew. "The barmaid ladled piping hot cragon into his bowl as he pulled off his wet riding clothes. Looking down he could see it overflowing with carrots, parsnips, and small chunks of a mysterious gray meat. Tucking in he couldn't think of a place he would rather be." Solice Kirsk fucked around with this message at 20:54 on Nov 3, 2017 |
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Nov 3, 2017 20:30
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Evil Fluffy posted:I was referring to Twilight fanfic (50 Shades of Grey) being bigger than what it was based on and that KKC doesn't have some lovely fanfic-turned-blockbuster yet. Not that KKC is lovely fanfic (it's just lovely). Is 50 Shades more popular than Twilight? It sold well and had a movie made but Twilight also sold incredibly well and had a super popular series of movies, while I actually forgot 50 Shades had a goddamn sequel
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Nov 3, 2017 20:40
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Evil Fluffy posted:I was referring to Twilight fanfic (50 Shades of Grey) being bigger than what it was based on and that KKC doesn't have some lovely fanfic-turned-blockbuster yet. Not that KKC is lovely fanfic (it's just lovely). Ah, crap, I forgot that Shades was Twilight fanfic, and not that Twilight was fanfic of something else. Sorry I ruined your joke by only half getting it. 
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Nov 3, 2017 20:54
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Is it cool to hate GRRM because everyone likes him, or have we reached the point where its cool to like him because everyone hates him.
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Nov 3, 2017 20:56
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Lightning Lord posted:Is 50 Shades more popular than Twilight? It sold well and had a movie made but Twilight also sold incredibly well and had a super popular series of movies, while I actually forgot 50 Shades had a goddamn sequel There's two sequels! Which I learned recently when I went to a local bookstore that had multiple copies of all 3 in a 3 foot high stack on the floor for some reason. Strom Cuzewon posted:Is it cool to hate GRRM because everyone likes him, or have we reached the point where its cool to like him because everyone hates him. I think he's a decent writer with some good to great works who very clearly has stopped giving a poo poo about what he's most popular for, which is mostly just funny I think the only people who hate him are the ones who feel.....betrayed.....by that
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Nov 3, 2017 21:04
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I just hate him out of habit.
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Nov 3, 2017 21:14
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my bony fealty posted:There's two sequels! Which I learned recently when I went to a local bookstore that had multiple copies of all 3 in a 3 foot high stack on the floor for some reason. I meant the movie sequel. It came out in February and I totally forgot, but I'm intimately familiar with the fact that Twilight has a bunch of film sequels, sad to say. my bony fealty posted:I think he's a decent writer with some good to great works who very clearly has stopped giving a poo poo about what he's most popular for, which is mostly just funny I don't really like his books but I'm more annoyed by his fans who seem to believe he invented the idea of gritty political fantasy about war and that the genre was entirely unicorns frolicking in rainbow dappled meadows before he transformed it singlehandedly. His books that aren't about making GBS threads in the wastelands are better but still not that great. The Armageddon Rag is kind of a self-indulgent boomer fantasy too.
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Nov 3, 2017 21:24
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I think as with many fantasy authors GRRM needs a decent editor. Half the stuff could be cut out. I don't need a massive tome to murder people with.
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Nov 3, 2017 22:15
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doorstoppers will always be popular though because they make you feel smart when you finish them
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Nov 3, 2017 23:42
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calandryll posted:I think as with many fantasy authors GRRM needs a decent editor. Half the stuff could be cut out. I don't need a massive tome to murder people with. The last one was right around 1000 pages long and I bet an editor could have taken it down to about 150, 200 without losing anything at all.
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Nov 4, 2017 00:36
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Him and Jordan have the same problem where a million pages in they're still introducing new plots and points of view.
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Nov 4, 2017 05:27
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I just can't wait for GoT to be over so I can get an ending. I really really believe those spoilers that were leaked already are gonna be about 90% accurate too.
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Nov 4, 2017 13:45
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Just finished the first two due to a friend that wouldn't shut up about them. A few things (of many) that should have happened instead of what actually happened: The way in which Denna was re-introduced after Kvothe wins his pipes was just incredibly forced and awkward. When Kvothe's searching every corner of the Aeolian looking for the mysterious female singer who joined in with him, one of the two gay dudes at the very last table he searches should have been the actual singer. Not that all tropes need to be subverted of course, but IMO it would have been far more entertaining for the reader if the mythological beauty is sung by a guy. It would have been embarrassing for Kvothe, and that character could have been retained for future moments when Kvothe needs a "reality check." Instead it turns out to be the girl he was crushing over on the caravan ride to the University, like some schlocky teen romance novel. Really the way all the Denna encounters were written was forced and awkward. Kvothe/Denna obviously have some sort of Luke/Leia type psychic connection (the Cthaeh implies as much if the story didn't make it apparent enough) and she's certainly going to play a big role in the story to come, but the way they accidentally encounter each other in unexpected locations wasn't done very well. Maybe my memory's hazy, but I can't remember a single time where Kvothe says "wow denna we seem to be magically following each other around to so many random places what do you think is going on?" I'm assuming the lack of discussion between them on this issue was intentional on Rothfuss' part, but I'm still confused as to why he presented their random encounters in such a haphazard way. Naming the Maer's advisor "Claudicus" was pretty corny. Gee the middle aged king is deathly ill and his doctor is named after the most famous king killer in all literature, whatever could be going on? I realize that most of Kingkiller's readers probably haven't read Hamlet but if Rothfuss wanted to do this reference it could have been more clever. An anagram or something. The troupe masquerading as Edema Ruh that Kvothe encounters and kills after leaving Ademre should have been real Edema Ruh. It's kind of bizarre that they weren't, actually. The story's supposed to be some kind of tragedy where the world is brought into disarray by the hero's own arrogance. Much of Kvothe's pride rests on his identity as an Edema Ruh, and having Kvothe's pride shattered from the revelation his people aren't the noble entertainers that he remembers from his early childhood would be a crucial point in his character arc. Or maybe his own family are the odd ones out, but most Ruh are in fact the thieves and bandits that their reputation makes them out to be. It would also be the right point in the development of the story (ie. Luke confronting Vader at the end of Empire). I guess they could have been actual Edema Ruh, and Kvothe was acting as an unreliable narrator and whitewashing the whole thing. If that was Rothfuss' intent, it wasn't apparent to me. The whole segment was bland and seemed to serve no long term purpose other than the prompt the Maer's wife to banish Kvothe from the castle. I'm sad that the books didn't live up to the hype, I think there's a lot of potential. The detective work involving the Chandrian and all the little clues Rothfuss tosses in were fun, as were most of the mythology stories (though some of it's pretty derivative of the Silmarillion). It's the quintessential fantasy story - orphan boy who, unbeknownst to him, is actually of noble lineage, must gather the strength to find and defeat the Dark Lord and his minions that killed his family. The hero's tragic failure and the way his own tale was told in parallel with all the fake mythology stories he learns along the way could have made the books interesting rather than a trope-fest. Unfortunately the neat magic system and chandrian detective work don't make up for the lack of plot and character development.
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Nov 5, 2017 00:44
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tastyburrito posted:The troupe masquerading as Edema Ruh that Kvothe encounters and kills after leaving Ademre should have been real Edema Ruh. It's kind of bizarre that they weren't, actually. The story's supposed to be some kind of tragedy where the world is brought into disarray by the hero's own arrogance. Much of Kvothe's pride rests on his identity as an Edema Ruh, and having Kvothe's pride shattered from the revelation his people aren't the noble entertainers that he remembers from his early childhood would be a crucial point in his character arc. Or maybe his own family are the odd ones out, but most Ruh are in fact the thieves and bandits that their reputation makes them out to be. It would also be the right point in the development of the story (ie. Luke confronting Vader at the end of Empire). I guess they could have been actual Edema Ruh, and Kvothe was acting as an unreliable narrator and whitewashing the whole thing. If that was Rothfuss' intent, it wasn't apparent to me. The whole segment was bland and seemed to serve no long term purpose other than the prompt the Maer's wife to banish Kvothe from the castle. This is entirely because he was ripping them off from Wheel of Time, and also real-life Romani (who Wheel of Time was using too). So he might have felt it was a bit too racist if they were Literally The Stereotypical Thieves Everyone Thought They Were and went too hard making them Pure Noble People. You can see the seams of how that was actually the first story he wrote about Kvothe, because Kvothe straight up poisons them all lethally before he even finds out about them being rapists or fake Edema Ruh because they were thieves.
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Nov 5, 2017 19:28
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Kchama posted:This is entirely because he was ripping them off from Wheel of Time, and also real-life Romani (who Wheel of Time was using too). So he might have felt it was a bit too racist if they were Literally The Stereotypical Thieves Everyone Thought They Were and went too hard making them Pure Noble People. Oh god how did I miss that this was literally ripped straight out of Wheel of Time, all the way down to the red hair. gently caress.
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Nov 6, 2017 00:45
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calandryll posted:I think as with many fantasy authors GRRM needs a decent editor. Half the stuff could be cut out. I don't need a massive tome to murder people with. It's mostly just when authors get super popular the author/editor relationship gets a bit out of wack I believe.
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Nov 6, 2017 17:00
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ShinsoBEAM! posted:It's mostly just when authors get super popular the author/editor relationship gets a bit out of wack I believe. Seems to be a pattern. See also, Anne Rice, LKH... Ugh, I just revealed my teenage reading habits, didn't I?
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Nov 6, 2017 17:16
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Dirt Road Junglist posted:Seems to be a pattern. See also, Anne Rice, LKH... LKH was less the editor and more the tumultuous divorce. Don't write you and your hubby as the main character and love interest in a book series, folks.
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Nov 6, 2017 18:55
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Dienes posted:LKH was less the editor and more the tumultuous divorce. Don't write you and your hubby as the main character and love interest in a book series, folks. And also don't write your polygamous lovers in as other characters in the same series.
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Nov 6, 2017 19:14
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Dienes posted:LKH was less the editor and more the tumultuous divorce. Don't write you and your hubby as the main character and love interest in a book series, folks. By the same token an editor with greater control could have tightened the reins and told LKH no. Though I guess they're still selling well so who knows.
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Nov 6, 2017 19:23
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Do the exact opposite of what LKH does.
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Nov 6, 2017 20:17
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HIJK posted:Do the exact opposite of what LKH does. This is how I live my life.
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Nov 7, 2017 01:45
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Who's LKH? Google's turning up someone called Lauren K Hamilton - is that the right person?
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Nov 8, 2017 19:27
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Laurell, not Lauren. Her Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series is infamous for devolving almost completely into porn. I don't know why everyone was so insistent on using her initials. Sham bam bamina! fucked around with this message at 19:50 on Nov 8, 2017 |
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Nov 8, 2017 19:46
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A good rule of thumb is that if Penny Arcade does a comic on a book or book series, you should not read it. The Anita Blake series was covered ages ago.  Guess what else was? 
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Nov 8, 2017 20:16
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Then again, they did one on Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos books...
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Nov 8, 2017 20:20
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Sham bam bamina! posted:Laurell, not Lauren. Her Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series is infamous for devolving almost completely into porn. We are trying to avoid summoning the demon
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Nov 8, 2017 20:26
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I think my sister reads LHK now that i know who you are talking about.
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Nov 8, 2017 20:38
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Sham bam bamina! posted:Laurell, not Lauren. Her Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series is infamous for devolving almost completely into porn. Because her name is long and I don't respect her enough to type it all out.
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Nov 9, 2017 00:14
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Dirt Road Junglist posted:I don't respect her enough to type it all out. I thought we were trying to avoid being Rothfuss or Rothfuss like.
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Nov 9, 2017 03:17
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Her name is initials in three parts.
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Nov 9, 2017 04:16
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M_Gargantua posted:I thought we were trying to avoid being Rothfuss or Rothfuss like. Is there a woman in The Name of the Wind whose name is any more or less than 2 syllables?
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Nov 9, 2017 15:13
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The thread needs to see this.quote:I first read The Name of the Wind a few years after it had come out, and I inhaled it. Afterward, it stayed inside my heart, lighting me from within like a candle flame. It was intricate and beautiful and complex, a tale of two different times, and two very different men: the hero of our story, young and full of confidence, and the person he became in the wake of tragedy. Then, I reread it, recognizing and reliving everything again—and yet, I saw more. I saw that the tales told are the same tale, spun out over and over again in different ways. And it blew me away, this recognition of the way stories shift and change and warp over time. And then I read it a third time, and I saw the details of histories underlying the bones of the modern tale, and the rhymes in the words, and the hints of realities hovering beneath this one.
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Nov 9, 2017 17:50
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SpacePig posted:Is there a woman in The Name of the Wind whose name is any more or less than 2 syllables? "Felurian", "Netalia", "Laurian", "Carceret", "Emberlee", "Hetera", "Inyssa", "Meluan", "Meradin", and "Verainia", although none of them are that major a character. Rothfuss loves a 2 syllable name.
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Nov 9, 2017 18:02
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ulmont posted:The thread needs to see this. Fire this hack.
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Nov 9, 2017 18:04
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ulmont posted:"Felurian", "Netalia", "Laurian", "Carceret", "Emberlee", "Hetera", "Inyssa", "Meluan", "Meradin", and "Verainia", although none of them are that major a character. Rothfuss loves a 2 syllable name. I recognize 2 of these names. I was not paying attention much in these books, I guess.
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Nov 9, 2017 18:21
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HIJK posted:Fire this hack. Into the sun, just to be safe.
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Nov 9, 2017 18:24
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