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Inspector 34 posted:Guess I'll start Alex Verus then! How many books are in the series so far? Is it finished or on-going? Ten or so books so far, next one comes out in a few days, author has said it will be finished in "a few" more books. Wouldn't surprise me if the series topped out at 12 books, maybe 14 max, it's very clearly moving to a conclusion.
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Jun 29, 2018 04:43
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:ALso I just did a search and apparently the "Shadow Police" / London Falling series has been discontinued (at least for now) due the publisher. So, no more books in that series. =(. Still three solid entries though. There are three? I only knew about two! Beachcomber posted:Is it worth pushing through? I hated it and put it down. I started, and stopped, the book twice. It was on my third try that I pushed through. It was worth it, but god drat is the opening bad.
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Jun 29, 2018 04:54
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:ALso I just did a search and apparently the "Shadow Police" / London Falling series has been discontinued (at least for now) due the publisher. So, no more books in that series. =(. Still three solid entries though. Wow! That loving sucks! They were just starting to get into the overarching story, and Who Killed Sherlock Holmes was an absolute banger.
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Jun 29, 2018 05:17
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ConfusedUs posted:I started, and stopped, the book twice. It was on my third try that I pushed through. The first part of the first book takes a lot of time world-building in a very incoherent way. It wasn’t until my second read through that I could keep the characters straight.
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Jun 30, 2018 00:55
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pseudonordic posted:The first part of the first book takes a lot of time world-building in a very incoherent way. It wasn’t until my second read through that I could keep the characters straight. That's deliberate, but something being deliberate doesn't always mean it's a good choice. You're meant to be as confused as they are and it unfortunately works.
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Jun 30, 2018 02:01
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Inspector 34 posted:Guess I'll start Alex Verus then! How many books are in the series so far? Is it finished or on-going? You should be warned that the way magic works in Verus is less consistent than it is in the original Dresden books with the efficacy and relative power of things swinging wildly from scene to scene. It slowly improves through the first three books, but not fast or consistently enough for me to push on to the fourth.
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Jun 30, 2018 04:25
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LLSix posted:You should be warned that the way magic works in Verus is less consistent than it is in the original Dresden books with the efficacy and relative power of things swinging wildly from scene to scene. It slowly improves through the first three books, but not fast or consistently enough for me to push on to the fourth. I don’t remember this at all. Do you have a specific instance?
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Jun 30, 2018 05:22
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LLSix posted:You should be warned that the way magic works in Verus is less consistent than it is in the original Dresden books with the efficacy and relative power of things swinging wildly from scene to scene. It slowly improves through the first three books, but not fast or consistently enough for me to push on to the fourth.
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Jun 30, 2018 08:24
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The first Verus book seems fine compared to most other books in the genre. For example, Johannes Cabal might be more rewarding in successive books but the initial volume was one of the few instances where I felt cheated of my time in reading it. Then again I don't mind Storm Front or Full Moon so I may be in the minority on this point.
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Jun 30, 2018 09:18
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Any word on a release date for peace talks yet? Big October / November - new Rivers and new Laundry - who else is due soon?
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Jun 30, 2018 09:25
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Daric posted:I don’t remember this at all. Do you have a specific instance? I don't think it's so much actual inconsistency as there's no basis for comparison until several books in. As he repeatedly beats us over the head with, Alex is pretty weak in terms of raw power, so another mage being a serious threat to him doesn't actually tell us about the other mage since it seems any elemental mage is a threat to him. Hell, even adepts pose a significant threat to Alex. Later, once Alex starts teaming up with other mages, a hierarchy starts to form, but even that's somewhat opaque because Alex's tactical strengths tip the scales a lot. And then there are cases of mages with powers that are pretty much undefined to the reader (Richard) but everyone is loving terrified of them.
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Jun 30, 2018 13:38
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Daric posted:I don’t remember this at all. Do you have a specific instance? The first major use of Verus's magic is sorting through futures to figure out how to make Cinder choose not to attack him. Later in the same book, Verus is unable to see past a choice someone hasn't made yet.
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Jun 30, 2018 14:38
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LLSix posted:The first major use of Verus's magic is sorting through futures to figure out how to make Cinder choose not to attack him. Later in the same book, Verus is unable to see past a choice someone hasn't made yet. That's explained I believe -- at several points he talks about how most people don't actually actively choose their actions, they just operate on rails based on their environment -- people have free will, but don't use it. In that first conversation with Cinder Cinder is behaving predictably -- if X or Y happens, he WILL attack. He's not actually making a free choice, just reacting, and hence, he's predictable. Later on, he's facing people who are making considered "free" decisions, and that's not predictable in the same way. . There is a little retconning in the later books and there are a couple of non-explainable magic plot holes later in the series that may be better examples for your case though In the second book he manages to hurt the dude who has wished for immunity from harm; the strength of his force-walls seems to vary entirely based on the needs of the plot.
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Jun 30, 2018 15:46
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:That's explained I believe -- at several points he talks about how most people don't actually actively choose their actions, they just operate on rails based on their environment -- people have free will, but don't use it. He also just straight up invents some kind of universal magic that every mage can use in the latest 2 books which contradicts a ton of the previous work since it literally never shows up or is mentioned until he wants to hide what kind of mage someone is for a reveal.
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Jun 30, 2018 15:50
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Zore posted:He also just straight up invents some kind of universal magic that every mage can use in the latest 2 books which contradicts a ton of the previous work since it literally never shows up or is mentioned until he wants to hide what kind of mage someone is for a reveal. Eh, that falls under retconning I think. From the start there are certain things like detecting magic in items and using gate stones that he's established "any mage" can do, he just formalizes it later on. I mean, the books are candy and he seems to be writing, like, one every six months, there are definitely some flaws, but 
Hieronymous Alloy fucked around with this message at 15:59 on Jun 30, 2018 |
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Jun 30, 2018 15:54
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Eh, that falls under retconning I think. From the start there are certain things like detecting magic in items and using gate stones that he's established "any mage" can do, he just formalizes it later on. Right but then Richard pops up and is shooting generic energy bolts and pulling up shields which is like explicitly something most mages cannot do but is handwaved as ' universal spells anyone can used'. Which uh doesn't track with what Alex can do. At all. Somebody fucked around with this message at 16:07 on Jun 30, 2018 |
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Jun 30, 2018 16:02
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Zore posted:Right but then Richard pops up and is shooting generic energy bolts and pulling up shields which is like explicitly something most mages cannot do but is handwaved as ' universal spells anyone can used'. Right, but Alex is also "what the gently caress" about it, it's very clear that somehow Richard is breaking the rules and that's the point. (Presumably with something he got from the alien dimension he traveled to) (My guess: he Harvested a Djinn or something) (I added spoiler tags to your post because for some reason we've been doing that) Hieronymous Alloy fucked around with this message at 16:15 on Jun 30, 2018 |
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Jun 30, 2018 16:07
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Right, but Alex is also "what the gently caress" about it, it's very clear that somehow Richard is breaking the rules and that's the point. (Presumably with something he got from the alien dimension he traveled to) (My guess: he Harvested a Djinn or something) Just flagging you missed it in the quote  And the way I read it Alex was surprised he was so effective with items and generic spells, not that he could do it.
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Jun 30, 2018 16:14
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Zore posted:Just flagging you missed it in the quote zing Ok, yeah, I see how you could read it that way. My take was that Alex isn't surprised by anything Richard does, because he's richard-whipped; if Richard suddenly grew four extra arms, Alex would just accept it
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Jun 30, 2018 16:17
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And since we don’t know yet, Richard may be using a ton of items and one offs that his minions make.
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Jun 30, 2018 16:27
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I fell off the Laundry wagon a few books ago - what has been happening with it most recently? Has it regrown its sense of humour or is it still all dreary and glum?
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Jun 30, 2018 16:56
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Wheat Loaf posted:I fell off the Laundry wagon a few books ago - what has been happening with it most recently? Not sure where you stopped, but Bob is the Eater of Souls now...sorta, evil elves from another dimension invaded and are now claiming asylum, Nyarlathotep is now in charge of the Laundry.
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Jun 30, 2018 17:52
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Yeah, poo poo is super dark now. The lightheartedness of the earlier novels is gone. Which is a good thing. It was appropriate for the early books, but as poo poo gets ratcheted up, it’s time to leave that behind and buckle down.
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Jun 30, 2018 18:18
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M_Gargantua posted:And since we don’t know yet, Richard may be using a ton of items and one offs that his minions make. Well his gateways, defensive shield, and offensive multi-whip spells weren’t from this source.
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Jun 30, 2018 18:20
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Right, but Alex is also "what the gently caress" about it, it's very clear that somehow Richard is breaking the rules and that's the point. (Presumably with something he got from the alien dimension he traveled to) (My guess: he Harvested a Djinn or something) Nah, harvesting as presented with Deleo makes you stronger at your existing magic, it doesn’t give you the magic type of the thing you harvested or broaden your capabilities. Richard found an alternate reality where people (or things) just have a more sophisticated/flexible and generalized method of magic, which he learned. The actual power level of what he does is not exceptional. Wxhode fucked around with this message at 18:25 on Jun 30, 2018 |
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Jun 30, 2018 18:23
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Wxhode posted:Nah, harvesting as presented with Deleo makes you stronger at your existing magic, it doesn’t give you the magic type of the thing you harvested or broaden your capabilities. Did they actually spell out what benefit harvesting provides? The only thing I remember Alex knowing about it is that it a) made you more powerful b) made you crazy
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Jun 30, 2018 18:27
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LLSix posted:Did they actually spell out what benefit harvesting provides? The only thing I remember Alex knowing about it is that it More power, some fraction of what the harvested person had. Rachel was a weak water mage. Deleo is a powerful water mage. The ice dude would have been a more powerful ice dude, not the same plus impressive clothing weaving abilities.
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Jun 30, 2018 18:30
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hangedman1984 posted:Not sure where you stopped, but Bob is the Eater of Souls now...sorta, evil elves from another dimension invaded and are now claiming asylum, Nyarlathotep is now in charge of the Laundry. The last one I read is the one where Mo is the viewpoint character.
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Jun 30, 2018 19:29
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Wheat Loaf posted:The last one I read is the one where Mo is the viewpoint character. There are two after that. They’re better.
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Jun 30, 2018 20:12
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They are not less bleak and depressing, though.
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Jul 1, 2018 09:15
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:ALso I just did a search and apparently the "Shadow Police" / London Falling series has been discontinued (at least for now) due the publisher. So, no more books in that series. =(. Still three solid entries though. fortunately it's not "they own the rights and inexplicably decided to sit on them", it's "they decided not to commission any more from Cornell" so he's doing other stuff (including Lychford, which is pretty fun if not nearly as dark) for a bit
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Jul 2, 2018 22:26
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Steven Brust's "The Good Guys" is as solid as anything else in this genre and we should start recommending it to people more frequently. Pity it seems to be a one-off.
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Jul 3, 2018 04:04
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I didn’t like it much. I love Brust but Good Guys didn’t do it for me.
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Jul 3, 2018 04:30
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ConfusedUs posted:I didn’t like it much. Yeah, it was like 20 Palaces, but worse in every respect
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Jul 3, 2018 12:22
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cultureulterior posted:Yeah, it was like 20 Palaces, but worse in every respect Actively wishing more bad things would happen to every character in the book?
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Jul 3, 2018 16:30
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biracial bear for uncut posted:Actively wishing more bad things would happen to every character in the book? I really disliked the main detective dude. He was a dick, and his weird verbal tick "PO-lice" was obnoxious as hell. The two female characters were alright, but underwritten. I feel I never got to know them well. The only character I liked was the non-magical mercenary dude. He was awesome.
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Jul 3, 2018 17:43
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New Alex Verus dropped today.
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Jul 3, 2018 18:19
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It happened to drop the first day of my vacation. I’m already halfway done...
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Jul 3, 2018 18:37
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Wxhode posted:New Alex Verus dropped today. This owns. The books are pretty short, but I'm glad that he is able to put them out on a consistent schedule
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Jul 3, 2018 18:46
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Wxhode posted:New Alex Verus dropped today. I started it last night and stayed up way too late reading it. I'm about halfway done, maybe a bit less. It's pretty good, but every Verus book is pretty good.
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Jul 3, 2018 20:32
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