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Verus spoiler Well if you were hoping to get a clue as to what Richard’s power is then you’re going to be sorely disappointed. But I enjoyed it. It feels like this is the beginning of something big and the next book is probably just going to be all out war. I feel like these books are never long enough.
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Jul 3, 2018 22:35
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Daric posted:Verus spoiler Well if you were hoping to get a clue as to what Richard’s power is then you’re going to be sorely disappointed. But I enjoyed it. It feels like this is the beginning of something big and the next book is probably just going to be all out war. I feel like these books are never long enough. Weird, he fought the battle exactly the same way Verus did and generally does, by giving commands and executing suspiciously well timed and prepared plans. Yep, no clues here. Wxhode fucked around with this message at 23:05 on Jul 3, 2018 |
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Jul 3, 2018 22:49
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Yeah, Verus feels like it's moving to endgame. This fits with his earlier prediction that the series would wrap up at between 12 to 14 books. http://benedictjacka.co.uk/2017/11/24/how-many-alex-verus-books-will-there-be/
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Jul 3, 2018 22:54
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Wxhode posted:Weird, he fought the battle exactly the same way Verus did and generally does, by giving commands and executing suspiciously well timed and prepared plans. Yep, no clues here. i should never have said get a clue. It’s obvious what his power is but they haven’t come out and said it
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Jul 3, 2018 23:15
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ConfusedUs posted:I really disliked the main detective dude. He was a dick, and his weird verbal tick "PO-lice" was obnoxious as hell. I meant the characters in 20 palaces, not whatever book you are talking about here.
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Jul 5, 2018 04:08
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biracial bear for uncut posted:I meant the characters in 20 palaces, not whatever book you are talking about here. I imagine he was talking about The Good Guys, the book that was being discussed when the 20 Palaces comparison was made.
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Jul 5, 2018 09:48
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Wxhode posted:Weird, he fought the battle exactly the same way Verus did and generally does, by giving commands and executing suspiciously well timed and prepared plans. Yep, no clues here. I really hope this is all a smoke screen, and they go in a different direction. I'd love for Drakh to be an Adept or something, not another Diviner.
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Jul 5, 2018 18:36
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EVGA Longoria posted:I really hope this is all a smoke screen, and they go in a different direction. I'd love for Drakh to be an Adept or something, not another Diviner. My current call is that he's a Fate mage, like a human fateweaver. The problem with Richard as a diviner is he doesn't have the personality traits for it.
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Jul 5, 2018 18:42
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:My current call is that he's a Fate mage, like a human fateweaver. The problem with Richard as a diviner is he doesn't have the personality traits for it. How do you know that? One of the ongoing themes of Verus is that his personality and many of his actions are very much appropriate to success as a dark mage. In the most recent book he admits he’s drawn to acquiring more power. I don’t know if Drahk is curious, but he’s obviously an extremely long term planner, as shown through his apprentice selection, training, and manipulation, as well as his set up to take a 10 year extra dimensional vacation and his Anne/djinn plans. If anything Alex is a limited diviner who can’t do the long range oracular stuff that the two other bigshot diviners do and that would explain the success of Drahk’s strategy.
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Jul 5, 2018 18:49
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:My current call is that he's a Fate mage, like a human fateweaver. The problem with Richard as a diviner is he doesn't have the personality traits for it. Fate mage is ok, still feels a little close to Verus for me. Honestly, I’d like it if he was just that good of a planner and his magic was unrelated. Like, something that just shows that his magic isn’t why he’s dangerous.
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Jul 5, 2018 22:37
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Well, finished the Verus sequel. Pretty happy with most of it. In particular I have nothing but praise for how ruthless Alex has become how can you not love Alex strapping himself with chemical weapons . I agree that this has us on the downhill toward the finish line. I polished this off in less than two days. Unfortunately, I will say that the ending was incredibly hackneyed. C'mon - saying "I love you" solved the denoument? Bleh. .
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Jul 5, 2018 22:47
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gerg_861 posted:Well, finished the Verus sequel. Pretty happy with most of it. In particular I have nothing but praise for how ruthless Alex has become how can you not love Alex strapping himself with chemical weapons . I agree that this has us on the downhill toward the finish line. I polished this off in less than two days. Unfortunately, I will say that the ending was incredibly hackneyed. C'mon - saying "I love you" solved the denoument? Bleh. . That was always going to come into play as a resolution to some threat after the foreshadowing in the deep shadow realm when they got the dream stones. It was clear that Anne’s separate vision involved Alex not coming through in declaring or acting on his feelings for her and then he made it worse by his nonresponse when they got back to reality. Wxhode fucked around with this message at 23:10 on Jul 5, 2018 |
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Jul 5, 2018 23:06
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I feel like in the end though this whole split personality issue wasn't even really that thoroughly resolved - just set back to the status quo, this time with an even bigger, more dangerous Chekhov's gun to be fired in a book or two, since the next time it happens it might be irreversible and all it requires is him to be thoughtless dick like usual and her to feel betrayed for it to happen. Double that onto the fact that he was specifically told that getting that much detail about the future from the dragon changed the future and he can no longer get the ending he might have picked there. I mean, he will probably figure out some loophole... probably, since his powers also involve predicting the future, but I wouldn't be surprised if it ended in tragedy.
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Jul 6, 2018 01:22
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Wolpertinger posted:I feel like in the end though this whole split personality issue wasn't even really that thoroughly resolved - just set back to the status quo, this time with an even bigger, more dangerous Chekhov's gun to be fired in a book or two, since the next time it happens it might be irreversible and all it requires is him to be thoughtless dick like usual and her to feel betrayed for it to happen. Double that onto the fact that he was specifically told that getting that much detail about the future from the dragon changed the future and he can no longer get the ending he might have picked there. Well his pre-dragon outcomes were to use the dreamstone to possibly control the fateweaver and save all of his friends, then die fast, or run for it and let Vari and Anne die. Presumably his new fate could be both better and worse. Maybe he and Anne live, everyone else dies.
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Jul 6, 2018 02:32
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Wxhode posted:Well his pre-dragon outcomes were to use the dreamstone to possibly control the fateweaver and save all of his friends, then die fast, or run for it and let Vari and Anne die. Presumably his new fate could be both better and worse. Maybe he and Anne live, everyone else dies. The obvious out is that *he* can't become powerful enough to save everyone, but maybe Anne can.. VV right, right. Basically he didn't ask the right questions. Hieronymous Alloy fucked around with this message at 03:02 on Jul 6, 2018 |
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Jul 6, 2018 02:44
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:The obvious out is that *he* can't become powerful enough to save everyone, but maybe Anne can. Or, if you want to go cliche and very literal all his friends and allies, together, can - sure, he can't single handedly save everyone by himself, but he doesn't have to.
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Jul 6, 2018 03:01
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So I'm reading through the Delirium Brief again. Did I read the bits about the Senior Auditor correctly and he's basically sacrificed himself to the Black Pharaoh in order to give the UK a chance at survival? Because that's both badass and horrifying, I wonder how the next book is going to open.
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Jul 6, 2018 19:31
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Wxhode posted:New Alex Verus dropped today. It was pretty good. It was more of a deep dive into the political stuff, so a lot of the fight scenes were pretty vestigial and didn't contribute much to the narrative, but that's ok.
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Jul 6, 2018 19:53
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Scorchy posted:It was pretty good. It was more of a deep dive into the political stuff, so a lot of the fight scenes were pretty vestigial and didn't contribute much to the narrative, but that's ok. If Verus and his friends don't end up catalysts in a revolution in Mage society I'll buy the next Kevin Hearne novel and read it.
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Jul 6, 2018 20:01
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biracial bear for uncut posted:So I'm reading through the Delirium Brief again. That was precisely how I read that yeah. I think Mahogany row might be turbofucked now, who even are there big hitters? the fangs are strong but inexperienced. The Dark elf queen has no loyalty to anyone but turbonerd. Bob is... unreliable? Mo's given up her violin playing ways
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Jul 7, 2018 14:07
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tithin posted:That was precisely how I read that yeah. I think Mahogany row might be turbofucked now, who even are there big hitters? the fangs are strong but inexperienced. The Dark elf queen has no loyalty to anyone but turbonerd. Bob is... unreliable? Mo's given up her violin playing ways It's quite possible that, like Bob, Mo is no longer a human being but rather someone who distinctly remembers being human. She shouldn't have survived being so close to the fight between the Black Pharaoh and the Sleeper.
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Jul 7, 2018 19:11
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wiegieman posted:It's quite possible that, like Bob, Mo is no longer a human being but rather someone who distinctly remembers being human. She shouldn't have survived being so close to the fight between the Black Pharaoh and the Sleeper. I’m not sure it’s that. My first thought is what happened to their unborn baby. Is it even their baby or just a shell that had it’s soul scooped out and something else is in residence?
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Jul 7, 2018 22:12
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The good guys is one of the first books in a while that I'm not going to finish. It's like every character is Jack Reacher, in their own way, but without a hint of irony or self-awareness. Not my thing.
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Jul 7, 2018 22:24
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Wolpertinger posted:Or, if you want to go cliche and very literal all his friends and allies, together, can - sure, he can't single handedly save everyone by himself, but he doesn't have to. There is one catch to all of these theories about Verus though. The dragon said that if he sees the context, it's stuck. No chance to change it. Whatever out he may have had before he asked for clarification may very well be gone.
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Jul 8, 2018 07:11
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seaborgium posted:There is one catch to all of these theories about Verus though. The dragon said that if he sees the context, it's stuck. No chance to change it. Whatever out he may have had before he asked for clarification may very well be gone. Still, with that kind of thing you have to be a literal genie - there's a loophole in those words, even if not as big of one as he might like.
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Jul 8, 2018 10:23
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Huh... Doing a reread of Dresden Files and Harry just compared "Papa Raith" as a father figure to Bill Cosby... That comparison sure has aged in all sorts of interesting ways. 
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Jul 8, 2018 22:44
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Yeah, but all of those ways are still accurate.
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Jul 9, 2018 04:04
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Regarding the dragon in Verus: The gimmick is that it exists outside of linear time, right? Basically like the dragon in Grendel. I need to go back and reread that chapter, but I wasn't sure of the full implications. Originally, based on references in previous books, I assumed that from the dragons point of view, the future was static (which is of course irreconcilable with the very notion of probability magic ,as is pointed out, but since that's just an old theological argument about the conflict between omnipotence and free will, the reader is meant to shrug and move on). However, the idea that Alex determined his fate by asking for detailed answers to his questions complicates things. Did Alex really change his fate by interacting with the dragon? Is the dragon able to set the course of events from its realm outside of linear time (since it exists outside of it, it could change past, present and future on a whim)? Or was the dragon just mourning the predestined and inevitable tragedy that Alex had just set into motion (like some poo poo in a Greek play)?
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Jul 9, 2018 21:26
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Srachne's response to verus asking was sad. Guessing some stuff was set in motion, there. I'm looking forward to re-reading that book (MAYBE THE WHOLE SERIES??????? will keep you posted!!)
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Jul 9, 2018 21:39
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Slanderer posted:Regarding the dragon in Verus: I 100% read it as "like some poo poo in a Greek play," but I fully admit that could be wrong.
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Jul 9, 2018 21:42
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The dragon just said that Verus’ fixed/foreseen outcomes would be blown up by asking for more detail. It’s not a given that they are worse, just different. It may now take a different method to convince Rachel, and/or different (but not zero or necessarily more) friends will die by following the same path.
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Jul 9, 2018 21:44
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Wxhode posted:The dragon just said that Verus’ fixed/foreseen outcomes would be blown up by asking for more detail. It’s not a given that they are worse, just different. It may now take a different method to convince Rachel, and/or different (but not zero or necessarily more) friends will die by following the same path. But that's the issue--if the outcome would change, that seems to contradict what was already established about dragon prophecies (that they know what will happen, no free will involved). Changes to the outcome only make sense if the dragon itself is able to alter fate (but literally no one else can).d That's why the greek tragedy interpretation seems more fitting based on what we already know, even if it is less interesting
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Jul 9, 2018 22:28
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Slanderer posted:Regarding the dragon in Verus: This was basically the impression I got also. The sense I have of Verusverse dragons is that they are fourth-dimensional entities: they can see time from the outside and all at once, but are still bound by it in much the same way that the Grendel dragon is, or the Trafalmadorians in Vonnegut's Sirens of Titan, who functionally lack free will because they cannot change their actions even with perfect vision of the future consequences of those actions. (Unlike the Dragon in Grendel, however, Verusverse dragons appear to be presumptively honest). If they say something will happen, it will happen, because they've already seen it happening. There appear to be some situations where they see multiple possibilities but those appear to be rare. The greek play interpretation seems appropriate since y'know Arachne. Hieronymous Alloy fucked around with this message at 22:41 on Jul 9, 2018 |
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Jul 9, 2018 22:39
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Just finished Twenty Palaces and I can't decide if I like it or not. I usually enjoy noir and books where you have to puzzle things out through context, but I still can't make up my mind. Does the rest of the series resemble the first book?
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Jul 10, 2018 22:21
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Spun Dog posted:Just finished Twenty Palaces and I can't decide if I like it or not. I usually enjoy noir and books where you have to puzzle things out through context, but I still can't make up my mind. Does the rest of the series resemble the first book? So, did you read the one where Ray first encountered the supernatural after getting out of prison, or the one where he’s already on the road with Annalise? In publication order, it starts in media res, which I think was a mistake, because of all the stuff you have to puzzle out from not lots of context. I like the books, but I wish he’d started with the “prequel” because I think they’d have done much better.
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Jul 10, 2018 22:34
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navyjack posted:So, did you read the one where Ray first encountered the supernatural after getting out of prison, or the one where he’s already on the road with Annalise? In publication order, it starts in media res, which I think was a mistake, because of all the stuff you have to puzzle out from not lots of context. It was where he first encountered it after getting out of prison. I'd say the characters were kind of interesting, but not very likable.
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Jul 10, 2018 22:43
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It's a first book that actually got self-published last, because the publishers read that one and the sequel and went 'you know what let's just start the series with the second one, we don't want the first one'. If you're on the fence about the series, I'd suggest checking Child of Fire out, you'll probably enjoy it more.
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Jul 10, 2018 23:13
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Benedict Jacka did an AMA on Reddit yesterday: https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/8xnybo/im_benedict_jacka_ask_me_anything_part_iii/ Not much new information, mostly worldbuilding, but he did say he's halfway through Book 10 and then Verus will get 2 more after that so 12 books in total. He also said he might do a spin-off but he probably won't. Verus came about because he was forced to write something different so he may go that route again when he's done.
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Jul 11, 2018 14:21
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Daric posted:Benedict Jacka did an AMA on Reddit yesterday: https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/8xnybo/im_benedict_jacka_ask_me_anything_part_iii/ oh god he used to play eve
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Jul 11, 2018 14:51
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:oh god he used to play eve
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