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The Martin family dinner is pretty much the only thing in Ward that's left me eager to find out what happens next. Every 2-3 weeks I catch back up on it and enjoy it, but then I'm perfectly fine with just forgetting about it for a while. It has a lot of really amazing scenes, but as a story? Eh.
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Aug 8, 2018 03:07
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I'm always eager to read on right after I finish a chapter, but then once it's been a few days I'm fine with letting it wait a little longer.
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Aug 8, 2018 03:56
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quote:Masego patted Thief’s shoulder. You just know Hierophant is patting himself on the back, thinking, "I am killing this social poo poo today."
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Aug 8, 2018 13:02
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I really like Ward, but yeah it’s really kind of meandering. I’m continuing reading under the assumption that eventually the pacing will tighten up to something more closely resembling Worm, but while I’d probably keep reading even if that didn’t happen I can totally understand why someone would feel differently.
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Aug 8, 2018 15:58
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Autonomous Monster posted:You just know Hierophant is patting himself on the back, thinking, "I am killing this social poo poo today." It was a really good line. Also, I appreciate that Catherine finally used her Mantle for something that wasn't regenerating, very basic ice creation, glamour, or super strength/speed. She will figure out how to use it properly yet, and it was even a trick that Akua hadn't utilized.
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Aug 8, 2018 17:49
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Interesting to note that Akua has basically finished her transition from "imprisoned magical weapon" to "member of The Woe", which gives her a lot more narrative options.
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Aug 8, 2018 21:29
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Plorkyeran posted:The Martin family dinner is pretty much the only thing in Ward that's left me eager to find out what happens next. Every 2-3 weeks I catch back up on it and enjoy it, but then I'm perfectly fine with just forgetting about it for a while. It has a lot of really amazing scenes, but as a story? Eh. I'm sorta here (randomly catching back up every few weeks), but it doesn't bother me at all. When I read Ward I enjoy it, and I still feel comfortable waiting to see how/if things come together. Like, I'm not yet at the point where I've lost trust that the author will lead things in a good direction in the long term and can still enjoy each chapter just fine. I like that it lacks the sorta exhausting feeling Worm had, too.
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Aug 8, 2018 21:40
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I'm so glad that Akua managed to clearly and unambiguously lose, but then continue to stick around in the story.
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Aug 9, 2018 01:29
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Akua's particular form of Evil basically guaranteed she'd lose. If not to Catherine/Black, then to heroes later on.
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Aug 9, 2018 03:07
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I think I've gone through most of topwebfiction's higher-ranked stuff, so it's hit the point where a lot of what I haven't read looks reaaally questionable. Any recommendations that they're missing? I liked Worm, loved Twig, PracGuide is super-fun, Mother of Learning has writing issues but I'm super invested. Couldn't get past Wandering Inn's first chapter because of the poor writing, hate anything the avoiding death on a daily basis guy wrote, touched, or even looked at funny.
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Aug 10, 2018 03:49
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Omi no Kami posted:I think I've gone through most of topwebfiction's higher-ranked stuff, so it's hit the point where a lot of what I haven't read looks reaaally questionable. Any recommendations that they're missing? I liked Worm, loved Twig, PracGuide is super-fun, Mother of Learning has writing issues but I'm super invested. Couldn't get past Wandering Inn's first chapter because of the poor writing, hate anything the avoiding death on a daily basis guy wrote, touched, or even looked at funny. *coughs audibly* Otherwise, I follow Inheritors off and on -- despite a pretty shaky start, it shows promise when it's establishing its own identity (as opposed to chasing an idea of what a superhero web serial Should Be). Chosen Shackles is a Cyberpunk story with great presentation and generally interesting but sometimes the prose can become a bit incoherent. Touch is okay but also a bit weird and I feel the recent updates have been a big drop in quality. Advent was a nice short read but not really a serial as such, and kind of too easily figured out for the suspense and tension it was trying to generate. Anything except for those that I've read would probably fall under 'poor writing'. At the very least, they're much harder to recommend unless someone is, say, looking for an epic fantasy or something like Worm but with plants. Milkfred E. Moore fucked around with this message at 04:20 on Aug 10, 2018 |
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Aug 10, 2018 04:13
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Qualifying the following statements with "in the sphere of web serials" but I thought The Gods are Bastards and The Iron Teeth were both pretty good when I read them a while back. I haven't been keeping up with either of them but I can say I enjoyed the first handful of volumes of both.
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Aug 10, 2018 04:40
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Iron teeth is super good with periods of p boring interspersed.
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Aug 10, 2018 04:54
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Omi no Kami posted:I think I've gone through most of topwebfiction's higher-ranked stuff, so it's hit the point where a lot of what I haven't read looks reaaally questionable. Any recommendations that they're missing? I liked Worm, loved Twig, PracGuide is super-fun, Mother of Learning has writing issues but I'm super invested. Couldn't get past Wandering Inn's first chapter because of the poor writing, hate anything the avoiding death on a daily basis guy wrote, touched, or even looked at funny. Worth the Candle is fun. The Daily Grind, too.
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Aug 10, 2018 04:54
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Hakram: “I feel faint. Like a dove. A dove that is sick.”Omi no Kami posted:I think I've gone through most of topwebfiction's higher-ranked stuff, so it's hit the point where a lot of what I haven't read looks reaaally questionable. Any recommendations that they're missing? I liked Worm, loved Twig, PracGuide is super-fun, Mother of Learning has writing issues but I'm super invested. Couldn't get past Wandering Inn's first chapter because of the poor writing, hate anything the avoiding death on a daily basis guy wrote, touched, or even looked at funny. The web serial/quest thing I think I've mentioned before, Forge of Destiny, is the only good thing I've read in the vein of "people fighting and becoming stronger," largely because it doesn't have the same "power fantasy/wish fulfillment" angle to it that drat near every other story of that nature has. Parts can be a little rough around the edges, but what it does well it does really well - namely, the author is extremely good at making it seem like all the side characters have their own lives that don't revolve around the protagonist, and the protagonist will naturally grow apart from someone if she doesn't spend much time with them, etc. The setting is also very interesting. There's reader choice involved in various actions the protagonist takes, though you can read it using "reader mode" and just ignore that stuff. I feel like that sort of thing (involving reader choice) normally wouldn't work well, but it somehow does in this case.
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Aug 10, 2018 06:59
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Omi no Kami posted:Couldn't get past Wandering Inn's first chapter because of the poor writing You should probably give it another pass, it improves very quickly as the writer gets in her groove. Nowadays it's arguably one of the best actively updating serials up there with Ward and Prac Guide, albeit for entirely different reasons.
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Aug 10, 2018 07:07
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Yeah the writing in TWI is really ropey at first, it took me 2 or 3 attempts to get into it, but once they start writing properly, it really takes off. Try pushing through.
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Aug 10, 2018 09:34
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Whereas I'm finding TWI to decline in quality drastically. I'm up to 2.19, and my opinion of it dropped drastically due to the "patreon reward" that's got vivid depictions of gnoll / drake ding dongs.
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Aug 10, 2018 13:24
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n/m turns out I'm wrong about something. Kalas fucked around with this message at 14:23 on Aug 10, 2018 |
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Aug 10, 2018 14:21
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tithin posted:Whereas I'm finding TWI to decline in quality drastically. If that's also the one where Erin is comically courted by a bunch of people then I'm reasonably sure that's the low point and never happens again, having read to the start of vol 4. It's a real bad chapter though
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Aug 10, 2018 14:36
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Gitro posted:If that's also the one where Erin is comically courted by a bunch of people then I'm reasonably sure that's the low point and never happens again, having read to the start of vol 4. I hope so. I'm still reading, but it severely deflated my tenuous enjoyment of it up to then. I have a few problems with this one that I can't quite put into words yet. It's enjoyable, I like the overall feel of it, but there's a few things that just sour it immensely.
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Aug 10, 2018 14:41
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The weird dick chapter was an April fool's day prank that isn't canon and the author has acknowledged didn't go over well and will never happen again. Book 2 in general is kinda the low point of the series imo. In other news, the first post-volume side chapter of TGAB is out and it's insanely loving good oh my god I've been waiting for this since practically the beginning of the story 
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Aug 11, 2018 03:22
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There's something about TWI that I don't really like, but it's hard to put my finger on it. The best way I can describe it is that I have trouble fully "trusting" the author and feel like there isn't as much of a clear vision for where it's going. This isn't to say that all stories need some clear endpoint, since slice of life is obviously a thing, but if that's the case (and your work isn't just focused on comedy or something) you need to have a really strong handle on the setting/characters (and they need to be interesting). Like, Forge of Destiny is partially driven by reader choice, so obviously there's no set end point, but because the author obviously has an extremely strong grasp on the characters/setting he can still make things feel really natural. All this being said, it's still head and shoulders above most web serials, but I'd put it below some of the other big ones like wildbow's stories or PracGuide.
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Aug 11, 2018 17:25
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Ytlaya posted:There's something about TWI that I don't really like, but it's hard to put my finger on it. The best way I can describe it is that I have trouble fully "trusting" the author and feel like there isn't as much of a clear vision for where it's going. This isn't to say that all stories need some clear endpoint, since slice of life is obviously a thing, but if that's the case (and your work isn't just focused on comedy or something) you need to have a really strong handle on the setting/characters (and they need to be interesting). Like, Forge of Destiny is partially driven by reader choice, so obviously there's no set end point, but because the author obviously has an extremely strong grasp on the characters/setting he can still make things feel really natural. Today's chapter was fantastic and I suspect there's more stuff planned out then you'd think. This chapter is a perfect example of a call back to stuff that happened awhile ago suddenly becoming relevant. Also E chapters are fun either way. All that being said, it's very rare to see stuff planned out too far in advance. I actually have fallen far behind Ward because it meanders too much. Practical Guide burnt me out around the time the Winter court showed up. Though I still kick a few bucks to both authors each month on Patreon anyways, at some point I'm sure I'll bing and catch up.
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Aug 11, 2018 17:44
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I understand what you mean about the vague feeling of something being wrong with it, I felt that way for a long time too and still do sometimes. I've just learned to ignore it and am only occasionally disappointed by that! The story certainly ain't perfect and a few chapters have been big duds imo, but I still love it to death. The narration is a lot more... friendly, I guess? Than Wildbow's stuff is, which I enjoy a lot especially when contrasted with a lot of modern fantasy-adjacent fiction that has a much darker tone. That's a lot of the reason why I like TGAB so much too despite its small pile of flaws.
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Aug 11, 2018 18:54
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Is there an actual plot to the Wandering Inn or does it just meander like I got the impression that it does?
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Aug 11, 2018 19:39
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Sampatrick posted:Is there an actual plot to the Wandering Inn or does it just meander like I got the impression that it does? It meanders but it builds up to something and then everything gets messy (repeat). There's probably an overarching plot of the gods being not so dead or returning or the like. The Ants definitely are scared of something. The Necromancer / Goblin Army thing is still going on as well. We haven't been getting as many 'mechanics' insights with Ryoka off on her multi volume run. When she pops up again she's going to be one hell of a Checkov's Gun or Dues Ex Machina depending.
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Aug 11, 2018 19:44
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I would prefer TWI a lot more if it had stuck to its initial premise of running a growing inn in a video game fantasy world.
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Aug 11, 2018 20:13
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Jon Joe posted:I would prefer TWI a lot more if it had stuck to its initial premise of running a growing inn in a video game fantasy world. Is that not the premise? What is it about?
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Aug 11, 2018 20:23
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Panacea and Goddess go on a cute lunch date.  Everyone's gotta be all panicky about it though, way to show your support, assholes!
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Aug 11, 2018 20:41
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The Shortest Path posted:Panacea and Goddess go on a cute lunch date. It does make a lot of sense; Goddess is essentially being set up as a mirror/foil to Victoria, what with the similar powersets (just massively different in strength). Amy "moving on" from Victoria to Goddess fits really well with that.
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Aug 11, 2018 22:33
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So, I was wondering about why Dead King views Catherine as an immortal in a way that presumably other characters in the setting aren't (his wording implies that the Immortal Club would just be him and Catherine, though that's not 100%). After all, all villains are technically immortal in the sense that they can live forever like Ranger as long as they're not killed. I wonder if it's possible that Catherine flat-out can't be killed unless her soul is directly hosed with; after all, her body itself is a construct, so there's no reason to think that any amount of it being destroyed would truly kill her. That's basically the case with fey in general - immortal unless their souls are used to fuel sorcery or something. edit: Btw, regarding Ward, has Rain ever commented on how Snag's death affected his powers? I'm kinda curious how his powers would be "buffed" if the other members of his cluster died.
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Aug 12, 2018 01:10
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Ytlaya posted:So, I was wondering about why Dead King views Catherine as an immortal in a way that presumably other characters in the setting aren't (his wording implies that the Immortal Club would just be him and Catherine, though that's not 100%). After all, all villains are technically immortal in the sense that they can live forever like Ranger as long as they're not killed. I wonder if it's possible that Catherine flat-out can't be killed unless her soul is directly hosed with; after all, her body itself is a construct, so there's no reason to think that any amount of it being destroyed would truly kill her. That's basically the case with fey in general - immortal unless their souls are used to fuel sorcery or something. Probably put Bard in that group. She maintains continuity of consciousness in a way that White Knight doesn’t. The rest of the Fae are outside of creation and don’t count.
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Aug 12, 2018 02:34
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Ytlaya posted:So, I was wondering about why Dead King views Catherine as an immortal in a way that presumably other characters in the setting aren't (his wording implies that the Immortal Club would just be him and Catherine, though that's not 100%). After all, all villains are technically immortal in the sense that they can live forever like Ranger as long as they're not killed. I wonder if it's possible that Catherine flat-out can't be killed unless her soul is directly hosed with; after all, her body itself is a construct, so there's no reason to think that any amount of it being destroyed would truly kill her. That's basically the case with fey in general - immortal unless their souls are used to fuel sorcery or something. the dead king and catherine are immortal who are also named. villains live until they get killed
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Aug 12, 2018 02:36
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Ward: I like how even though it felt like WB was trying to do a "Look at how evil conservative talk shows are" thing, his version ended up being like twenty times less infuriating than the real thing. It bugs me that it went even remotely well though; based on both the format and Victoria's justified but uncomfortable on-air freakout, I would've expected pretty major negative backlash from their appearance. Also, Amy showing up makes me really mad- her relationship with Victoria and how that will go is one of the biggest story points I was looking forward to getting out of Ward, and the fact that she's apparently mixed in with the stupid Goddess/conspiracy stuff that I care less and less about with each chapter bums me out.
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Aug 12, 2018 03:48
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Ytlaya posted:So, I was wondering about why Dead King views Catherine as an immortal in a way that presumably other characters in the setting aren't (his wording implies that the Immortal Club would just be him and Catherine, though that's not 100%). After all, all villains are technically immortal in the sense that they can live forever like Ranger as long as they're not killed. I wonder if it's possible that Catherine flat-out can't be killed unless her soul is directly hosed with; after all, her body itself is a construct, so there's no reason to think that any amount of it being destroyed would truly kill her. That's basically the case with fey in general - immortal unless their souls are used to fuel sorcery or something. I'm pretty certain Bard is also part of that club. The reason Catherine is different is because she obtained immortality in a way separate from her villainy. In fact, her being a villain is arguable right now, I don't think we've seen any actual powers that'd come from a Villain Name since she ended up becoming Winter. Even her zombies are Winter powered, not Evil powered. SerSpook fucked around with this message at 04:23 on Aug 12, 2018 |
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Aug 12, 2018 04:17
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Ytlaya posted:So, I was wondering about why Dead King views Catherine as an immortal in a way that presumably other characters in the setting aren't (his wording implies that the Immortal Club would just be him and Catherine, though that's not 100%). After all, all villains are technically immortal in the sense that they can live forever like Ranger as long as they're not killed. I wonder if it's possible that Catherine flat-out can't be killed unless her soul is directly hosed with; after all, her body itself is a construct, so there's no reason to think that any amount of it being destroyed would truly kill her. That's basically the case with fey in general - immortal unless their souls are used to fuel sorcery or something. (PGtE) Well she's lost half her body and her head and it was just a minor inconvenience. It's distinctly different from how the Fey work, though: they reform with the changing of the seasons, and seemingly don't otherwise have the ability to repair damage done to them
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Aug 12, 2018 05:05
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SerSpook posted:I'm pretty certain Bard is also part of that club. There's been a few mentions that the Squire name does sorta still exist and is attached to her; it's just nearly powerless.
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Aug 12, 2018 05:06
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SerSpook posted:I'm pretty certain Bard is also part of that club. What are her Words right now? She has FALL for her domain, but does she have others we’ve seen since she went full Winter?
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Aug 12, 2018 05:21
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Omi no Kami posted:Ward: I like how even though it felt like WB was trying to do a "Look at how evil conservative talk shows are" thing, his version ended up being like twenty times less infuriating than the real thing. It bugs me that it went even remotely well though; based on both the format and Victoria's justified but uncomfortable on-air freakout, I would've expected pretty major negative backlash from their appearance. God, we get it, you don't like the story, you don't need to comment on every loving chapter with some kind of spin on how you don't like it and it's bad writing on WB's part. A large number of your complaints amount to "why is there superhero intrigue in this superhero intrigue story", and now we've gotten to the point where you're mad that the story did something you wanted it to do because it tied into the aforementioned superhero intrigue.
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Aug 12, 2018 05:38
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