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Ccs posted:If you like Sanderson you'll like The Powder Mage cause the author was taught by Sanderson and has absorbed a lot of his writing patterns. Dear god.
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May 5, 2018 19:35
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Arcsquad12 posted:Any good gunpowder fantasy novels? I've seen the Powder Mage trilogy in my store and it seems interesting. The Thousand Names by Django Wexler was pretty good, I thought
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May 5, 2018 19:43
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Arcsquad12 posted:Any good gunpowder fantasy novels? I've seen the Powder Mage trilogy in my store and it seems interesting. The Half-Made World was pretty good.
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May 5, 2018 19:55
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Arcsquad12 posted:Any good gunpowder fantasy novels? I've seen the Powder Mage trilogy in my store and it seems interesting.
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May 5, 2018 20:17
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Powder Mage series has wizards who fuel their magic by snorting gunpowder like its cocaine. Take that as a warning or praise.
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May 5, 2018 20:40
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Ccs posted:If you like Sanderson you'll like The Powder Mage cause the author was taught by Sanderson and has absorbed a lot of his writing patterns. Yeah, it's clunky Sanderson pastiche.
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May 5, 2018 20:46
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Get the Powder Mage books from the library if you want to read them. Django Wexler has the similarly styled Thousand Names series that's less fantastic and hews a lot closer to the actual Napoleonic period. It's good but I haven't finished it so I dunno if the last books go to poo poo. Glen Cook's Instrumentalities of the Night is great, it's set in a fantasy version of the Crusades period Mediterranean that's heading into a supernatural ice apocalypse, and has a lot of more early modern style stuff in it instead. However the series got canceled while he was writing the third book, so the last two books are somewhat rushed. Other stuff: Temeraire by Naomi Novik. It's the Napoleonic Wars but with dragons that are crewed like tallships. Only read part of the series ages ago, first few books are good but I hear the series declines over time, and it's kinda fanficy in style. Guns of the Dawn by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Apparently it's very good but I haven't gotten around to it yet. Cold Iron by Stina Lecht. Again I haven't read it but it appears to have the usual "middle quality fantasy" reviews, and looks to cut more towards a typical fantasy story but with guns.
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May 5, 2018 20:51
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C.M. Kruger posted:Get the Powder Mage books from the library if you want to read them. First couple Temeraire books are really really enjoyable, but I agree they degrade pretty quickly. I'm a bit of a sucker for dragons with a connection to a rider (Eragon series was my childhood basically). Side note, anyone have any other suggestions for that genre?
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May 5, 2018 21:51
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spiderbyte posted:First couple Temeraire books are really really enjoyable, but I agree they degrade pretty quickly. I'm a bit of a sucker for dragons with a connection to a rider (Eragon series was my childhood basically). Side note, anyone have any other suggestions for that genre? What is it with people begging to be recommended the Pern series recently??? Re gunpowder - you should begin and end with the Felix Gilman books - half made world and rise of ransom city. Great stuff.
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May 5, 2018 23:03
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pospysyl posted:Dear god. lol
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May 5, 2018 23:39
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uberkeyzer posted:What is it with people begging to be recommended the Pern series recently??? It’s mostly funny because that’s like the foundational text of the dragons as magic psychic ponies genre. Guys I’m looking for 70s era sf/fantasy hybrid fiction where psychic magic pony dragons are used to battle an existential environmental threat. Also maybe there can be some hot dragon/rider telepathy sexual action. Any recs???
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May 5, 2018 23:45
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uberkeyzer posted:It’s mostly funny because that’s like the foundational text of the dragons as magic psychic ponies genre. Trrrry Cherryh's Rider at the Gates 
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May 5, 2018 23:58
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uberkeyzer posted:It’s mostly funny because that’s like the foundational text of the dragons as magic psychic ponies genre. DRAGONLANCE was the Empire Strikes back followup to that genre. The books were what they were, the 2 series of Dragonlance universe PC games were fun & memorable though(One series had a proto-Darkest Dungeon look, the others were Goldbox engine games). Overall the Dragonlance books were readable + entertaining, not as sex perv creepy as Ed Greenwood & his Elminister books, which manage to somehow out mary-sue Gary Gygax's Gord the Rogue series.
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May 6, 2018 00:04
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navyjack posted:The Thousand Names by Django Wexler was pretty good, I thought I only read the first one and thought it was just way more of the same-old same-old.
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May 6, 2018 01:16
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Yep. I found them all on their publisher's websites pretty much the day after I asked the question. What about the novels and novellas? Does anyone know which ones aren't in the supporting membership packet?
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May 6, 2018 05:09
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pospysyl posted:Dear god. I found the Powder Mage series to be more fun than Sanderson in terms of writing. Less self suffering characters for sure. It is an enjoyable and fast paced read without too many literary pretensions.
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May 6, 2018 06:49
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Cardiac posted:I found the Powder Mage series to be more fun than Sanderson in terms of writing. Less self suffering characters for sure. I've only read Sanderson's stuff after reading the Powder Mage books, but I recall the prose being less wooden than Sanderson too.
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May 6, 2018 08:26
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uberkeyzer posted:What is it with people begging to be recommended the Pern series recently??? Heh, read it already unfortunately. Was also a great read.
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May 6, 2018 22:06
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Also for those who don't know, McClellan kept writing more Powder Mage books after the first trilogy, I think the second book in the new trilogy comes out soon. Fake edit: it comes out May 15th: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0756CYZ7G/ Looking at his pacing for writing the main books and a bunch of novellas, looks like he picked up some of Sanderson's writing productivity too.
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May 6, 2018 22:50
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Fwiw I don't like Sanderson but really enjoyed the powder mage books. I'm a sucker for non standard fantasy with great world building. The first book starts with a military coup which sets the tone. I didn't care for many of the characters but still a fun ride. I read the Thousand Names and remember also liking the world but it didn't make as much of an impression and I never got around to the sequels.
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May 6, 2018 23:35
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I can't believe I am asking this but what are the good or at least not please-commissar-end-me-now-bad Warhammer 40K novels? I'm looking at the Ciaphas Cain ones and Dan Abnett, any others? Also which is the one about Grey Knights slaughtering Sisters of Battle to wear their blood as a costume so I can specifically avoid that one?
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May 6, 2018 23:49
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occamsnailfile posted:I can't believe I am asking this but what are the good or at least not please-commissar-end-me-now-bad Warhammer 40K novels? I'm looking at the Ciaphas Cain ones and Dan Abnett, any others? Also which is the one about Grey Knights slaughtering Sisters of Battle to wear their blood as a costume so I can specifically avoid that one? Those have their own thread ghetto, titled "black library." https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3494493
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May 6, 2018 23:59
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occamsnailfile posted:I can't believe I am asking this but what are the good or at least not please-commissar-end-me-now-bad Warhammer 40K novels? I'm looking at the Ciaphas Cain ones and Dan Abnett, any others? Also which is the one about Grey Knights slaughtering Sisters of Battle to wear their blood as a costume so I can specifically avoid that one? That was in a rulebook codex so its easy to avoid. Dan Annett, Sandy Mitchell and Aaron Demski-Bowden are your top three, if you want more details check out the thread proper.
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May 7, 2018 00:05
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Cheers y’all, that’s what I needed to know—suppose I should have figured there was a thread.
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May 7, 2018 00:10
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Cicero posted:Also for those who don't know, McClellan kept writing more Powder Mage books after the first trilogy, I think the second book in the new trilogy comes out soon. It is already out in Europe since I am expecting it (and Asher The soldier) in the mail today or tomorrow. Publication dates are weird.
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May 7, 2018 05:52
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uberkeyzer posted:What is it with people begging to be recommended the Pern series recently??? They don't seem to get brought up, well, ever, but his earlier novels (Thunderer and the sequel Gears of the City) are also quite good. It's a very weird concept and the execution is rougher than Half-Made World, but I really enjoyed them both.
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May 7, 2018 06:28
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occamsnailfile posted:I can't believe I am asking this but what are the good or at least not please-commissar-end-me-now-bad Warhammer 40K novels? I'm looking at the Ciaphas Cain ones and Dan Abnett, any others? Also which is the one about Grey Knights slaughtering Sisters of Battle to wear their blood as a costume so I can specifically avoid that one?
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May 7, 2018 13:11
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jazzed for Baru 2: Electric Baruloo 90s Cringe Rock posted:Ian Watson's Space Marine, and his Inquisition War trilogy. please note that you have to be in a certain headspace to enjoy ian watson like if you go in expecting something...conventionally enjoyable, you are gonna bounce
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May 7, 2018 18:24
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That novel Children of Time is back on an ebook sale at Amazon for $0.99, https://www.amazon.com/Children-Time-Winner-Arthur-Clarke-ebook/dp/B00SN93AHU I really liked it, and a lot of other goons did too. I gifted it to a couple friends, but one (who liked the Expanse books) didn't care for it and quit after 1/4th to 1/3rd of it, didnt like specifically the "alien" viewpoint and that just blew my mind, as I thought those chapters were some of the most interesting and fun stuff of the novel.
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May 7, 2018 19:03
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Yeah, echoing thread consensus, it was a really good read and everyone should pick it up for a buck.
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May 7, 2018 19:27
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I'm halfway through Murderbot and I like it. Looks like the author is gearing up to churn out sequels while people have it on their minds. Books 2, 3, and 4 are coming out in May, August, and October respectively, of this year. e: Oh, but only 160 pages each. But still charging $10 for Kindle and $16 for hardcover. Jeez.
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May 8, 2018 01:43
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Raere posted:I'm halfway through Murderbot and I like it. Looks like the author is gearing up to churn out sequels while people have it on their minds. Books 2, 3, and 4 are coming out in May, August, and October respectively, of this year. Yeah, novella prices are weird like that. Usually about 4 to 6 weeks the price plummets on the e-books. Most of the “I must buy this at any cost!” sales are done at that point
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May 8, 2018 02:13
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navyjack posted:The Thousand Names by Django Wexler was pretty good, I thought I think the quality stays pretty consistent throughout, though the ending is not exactly a surprise.
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May 8, 2018 16:09
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This thread is always looking for good, diverse stuff so check out S A Chakraborty. Her Islamic myth series has its first book, City of Brass, out. I found her cause she does these Twitter retellings of the old Arabian Nights style stories. She’s doing one now, which is why I thought to post about her: https://twitter.com/schakrabs/status/993880582462627841?s=21 She’s funny and the book is pretty good, so check it out if interested
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May 8, 2018 17:08
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navyjack posted:This thread is always looking for good, diverse stuff so check out S A Chakraborty. Her Islamic myth series has its first book, City of Brass, out. These retellings own bones, thanks for reminding me I need to pick up City of Brass now that it's out.
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May 8, 2018 17:26
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Finished the latest Murderbot novella. It was fun, but it really did feel a little too short? Like it's the first quarter of an actual novel versus a self-contained and satisfying novella. So I do feel it's a bit excessive to bring them out for $10 a pop when it's less a set of novellas and more paying by chapter. But I really, really love Murderbot's character so the money will be purged.
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May 8, 2018 18:03
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coolusername posted:Finished the latest Murderbot novella. It was fun, but it really did feel a little too short? Like it's the first quarter of an actual novel versus a self-contained and satisfying novella. So I do feel it's a bit excessive to bring them out for $10 a pop when it's less a set of novellas and more paying by chapter. I'm really excited to read this but I can in no way justify :tenbux: for it, especially because what you're saying here seems to be the consensus. A good friend of mine said he felt a bit like he was being conned into paying $40 over time for a novel-length ebook. Especially since the first one dropped down to $4 not that long after release. It strikes me as so weird, every other Tor novella I've gotten has been really reasonably priced. But then, most of them I got well after they came out so maybe this is normal pricing and I never noticed it? Also most of the novellas I've gotten from Tor have been more horror-y (Ballad of Black Tom, Twilight Pariah, etc) and horror ebooks always seem to be priced a little lower than average.
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May 8, 2018 18:15
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navyjack posted:This thread is always looking for good, diverse stuff so check out S A Chakraborty. Her Islamic myth series has its first book, City of Brass, out. This is fantastic. Her retelling of the 1001 Nights version of City of Brass is really good too (she links to it in the Death Statue, NO! thread)
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May 8, 2018 18:21
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MockingQuantum posted:I'm really excited to read this but I can in no way justify :tenbux: for it, especially because what you're saying here seems to be the consensus. A good friend of mine said he felt a bit like he was being conned into paying $40 over time for a novel-length ebook. Especially since the first one dropped down to $4 not that long after release. Tor always cranks up the price of the novellas to "paper back novel" when first released, especially with established and well-regarded authors. They know there's a market of fans who will snatch up anything by their favorite authors and drat the cost. Once those sales are out the way, the price settles to more reasonable levels. If it's too much, set a reminder to go back and purchase after about 4 to 6 weeks. It usually drops to $3 or $4 by then.
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May 8, 2018 18:24
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Proteus Jones posted:Tor always cranks up the price of the novellas to "paper back novel" when first released, especially with established and well-regarded authors. They know there's a market of fans who will snatch up anything by their favorite authors and drat the cost. Once those sales are out the way, the price settles to more reasonable levels. Ah cool, good to know. Speaking of Tor novellas, anybody read Brian Evenson's The Warren? I like his short stories quite a bit, but never read anything longer by him.
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May 8, 2018 18:27
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