|
Hub Cat posted:Yeah they were human at the time of the bombing, but I'm not sure its been made clear if vampires are born that way or creatures altered in some way(there was a line about infected rats in Lies Sleeping). Peter and Walid go back and forth a bit on it but I think its still up in the air whether they could actually be vampires or just vampire-like humans. The first book is one of those parody movies in book form. They set up exactly something from Harry Potter or Narnia, comment on how much it sucks, and then the scene ends. The entire book is pointless garbage about how much the author hates Harry Potter and Narnia, and has nothing to actually say about it. I'm not even sure why the Harry Potter section is there because I can't actually think of a single scene that was actually written out, instead of summarized and skipped over. We see basically nothing of the first three years, and the book could have just started on graduation day and we would have learned about as much about the setting and characters. EDIT: Also I got a distinct impression that the book was originally written to be exactly Harry Potter with them being the same age as Harry Potter starting off and stuff, because of how the main characters are constantly called 'kids' and despite at the time them being in their mid-twenties. Also not even Julia, there's a bunch of awful nonsense all around. The whole thing with Julia is like, the shallowest most basic-rear end Relationship Drama you'd expect from a bad soap opera. Kchama fucked around with this message at 23:11 on Feb 6, 2020 |
#
?
Feb 6, 2020 23:04
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 4, 2024 15:30 |
|
|
Kchama posted:The first book is one of those parody movies in book form. They set up exactly something from Harry Potter or Narnia, comment on how much it sucks, and then the scene ends. The entire book is pointless garbage about how much the author hates Harry Potter and Narnia, and has nothing to actually say about it. I'm not even sure why the Harry Potter section is there because I can't actually think of a single scene that was actually written out, instead of summarized and skipped over. We see basically nothing of the first three years, and the book could have just started on graduated day and we would have learned about as much about the setting and characters. It gets worse in a lot of ways in the second book where it introduces a long lasting bestiality rape plotline.
|
|
#
?
Feb 6, 2020 23:08
|
|
|
Zore posted:It gets worse in a lot of ways in the second book where it introduces a long lasting bestiality rape plotline. It already had a bestiality rape plotline in the first book, but it wasn't long-lasting because nothing in the first book lasted.
|
|
#
?
Feb 6, 2020 23:09
|
|
|
The relationship triangle stuff isn't even the tip of the iceberg with Julia. Her learning magic [spoilers for The Magician King also gross] involves her basically becoming an addict leading to her prostituting herself to learn magic and finally when she finds some real friends to learn magic with they attempt to summon a friendly god culminating in a scene where all her friends are brutally killed and she is graphically raped. God gently caress Lev Grossman I'd forgotten about most of this.
Hub Cat fucked around with this message at 02:29 on Feb 7, 2020 |
|
#
?
Feb 6, 2020 23:39
|
|
|
Artonos posted:I was trying to pay a lot closer attention to things that I thought were inconsistencies in Peters narrative. One of the things I really liked was that Peter makes so many excuses for Leslie and I think she's definitely more insane than he assumes. I liked that it all came to a head at the end of Lies Sleeping. I actually liked Lies Sleeping better than Foxglove Summer (which I checked out on after about 40 pages), but I think the bolded part is really at the heart of it. Peter just couldn't believe that Leslie would happily let London burn/explode/collapse in on itself to get her revenge on Mr. Punch, and now he can't avoid it. Though I agree the Beverly storyline is...not great, mainly because I got the impression in the earlier books that getting involved with one of the Rivers as a mortal was dangerous, and now everybody's like "Oh, yeah, Peter's girlfriend the river deity no big deal".
|
|
#
?
Feb 7, 2020 00:51
|
|
|
Fighting Trousers posted:I actually liked Lies Sleeping better than Foxglove Summer (which I checked out on after about 40 pages), but I think the bolded part is really at the heart of it. Peter just couldn't believe that Leslie would happily let London burn/explode/collapse in on itself to get her revenge on Mr. Punch, and now he can't avoid it. It is dangerous. Do it wrong, have the wrong attitude, etc., and you drown (or spend the rest of your natural life doing scut work for Mama Thames as witness skinhead guy) Still, Peter is also "dangerous." He's learned things and more importantly through his actions he's managed to earn the respect of the Rivers. He's not the only one. Sahra Guleed is literally a Muslim Ninja learning sword magic. Abigail is considered to be "terrifying" by the German magic folks who know about her apprenticeship with Nightingale. Levels have been gained. Characters have progressed. Stuff that would have scared the piss out of Peter in Midnight Riot doesn't, anymore. That all said, things are changing. With Beverly pregnant, figure conflict might very well arise between Peter and others in the "River family" that have their own plans for his and Beverly's child.
|
|
#
?
Feb 7, 2020 03:55
|
|
|
The latest Verus was pretty bad. After he gets the (soon to be replaced in the next book I'm sure) wand arm the action scenes feel dull with no real suspense. Also that weird real world politics interjection at the start was very immersion breaking.
|
|
#
?
Feb 7, 2020 04:45
|
|
|
I forgot Brief Cases had come out because I stopped following Dresden, but finding out by seeing it going on Kindle for 99p was a pleasant surprise
|
|
#
?
Feb 7, 2020 11:32
|
|
|
FairyNuff posted:The latest Verus was pretty bad. I'm pretty sure trivializing combat is the purpose of that. I mean, LOL if you didn't see that coming given the last major piece of advice Arachne gave him.
|
|
#
?
Feb 7, 2020 12:04
|
|
|
Kchama posted:Someone told me that The Magicians was amazing so I took time off of Let's Read On Basilisk Station to check it out and I'm sorry, Butcher. I'm sorry Weber. I called you both the worst and you're not. Oh, you're not. Did your friend mean the TV show maybe? It might be based on the same book series but its way better and abandons the books to become something pretty fun. Sadly the first season is not great (the season that sticks to the books the most) so that makes it a bit hard for me to recommend. If it matters I think the show has a really nice take on fillory being a place with people who are worthy of respect even if it's not the perfect land they dreamed of when they were kids.
|
|
#
?
Feb 7, 2020 14:30
|
|
|
FairyNuff posted:The latest Verus was pretty bad. Mild disagree, for two reasons. Reason 1: While they didn't have suspense in the same way that his usual combat scenes did, it was still interesting seeing how the Fateweaver cut things so closely. I think that Jacka managed to write something that powerful about as well as you can. Reason 2: Once he bonds with the Fateweaver, there's a significant tonal shift in the text itself that is somewhat purposefully dispassionate and calculated. Alex isn't Alex when he bonds with the Fateweaver. Alex is someone else. It's meant to be that way and is nothing like any of Alex's other engagements. Also, I had a thought the other day. I think Arachne is the one that cursed Luna's family, specifically to influence events at this point in time.
|
|
#
?
Feb 7, 2020 16:39
|
|
|
NerdyMcNerdNerd posted:Also, I had a thought the other day. I think Arachne is the one that cursed Luna's family, specifically to influence events at this point in time. That is almost as dumb as Morgan giving a poo poo about Dresden because he promised his mom that he'd look out for him. The fact that Arachne is herself a cursed entity from a wildly different cultural background than the curse that was put on Luna's family pretty much shoots that down.
|
|
#
?
Feb 7, 2020 17:19
|
|
|
biracial bear for uncut posted:I'm pretty sure trivializing combat is the purpose of that. I mean, LOL if you didn't see that coming given the last major piece of advice Arachne gave him. NerdyMcNerdNerd posted:Reason 1: While they didn't have suspense in the same way that his usual combat scenes did, it was still interesting seeing how the Fateweaver cut things so closely. I think that Jacka managed to write something that powerful about as well as you can. Yeah I get these (good) points, I still felt that it made it very dull to read through! 
|
|
#
?
Feb 7, 2020 17:39
|
|
|
I was okay with it because Alex spent the last six books getting the poo poo beaten out of him nonstop and a (obviously temporary) change from that was a mild relief Also holy poo poo I am glad I never listened to the people who insisted to me The Magicians was "Harry Potter but good"
|
|
#
?
Feb 7, 2020 22:10
|
|
|
Xun posted:Did your friend mean the TV show maybe? It might be based on the same book series but its way better and abandons the books to become something pretty fun. Sadly the first season is not great (the season that sticks to the books the most) so that makes it a bit hard for me to recommend. It was people IN THIS SUBFORUM, so I would assume they're talking about the book! ImpAtom posted:Also holy poo poo I am glad I never listened to the people who insisted to me The Magicians was "Harry Potter but good" It makes me yearn to read Harry Potter instead.
|
|
#
?
Feb 8, 2020 00:51
|
|
|
Kchama posted:It was people IN THIS SUBFORUM, so I would assume they're talking about the book! Yeah, there have definitely been people in this thread recommending that poo poo series of books. "It's like grown-up Harry Potter. In college. With like, drugs and sex!"
|
|
#
?
Feb 8, 2020 20:46
|
|
|
Proteus Jones posted:Yeah, there have definitely been people in this thread recommending that poo poo series of books. "It's like grown-up Harry Potter. In college. With like, drugs and sex!" And depression! So much depression.
|
|
#
?
Feb 9, 2020 02:04
|
|
|
Proteus Jones posted:Yeah, there have definitely been people in this thread recommending that poo poo series of books. "It's like grown-up Harry Potter. In college. With like, drugs and sex!" Straight up Harry Potter is better in every way. And dare say more grown up, to boot.
|
|
#
?
Feb 9, 2020 02:41
|
|
|
Proteus Jones posted:Yeah, there have definitely been people in this thread recommending that poo poo series of books. "It's like grown-up Harry Potter. In college. With like, drugs and sex!" That's probably the worst way to get me to want to try something. "Harry Potter with drugs and sex? So, it's like every lovely HP fanfic ever? Cool. Gonna give that one a miss." Kchama posted:Straight up Harry Potter is better in every way. And dare say more grown up, to boot. Haven't read the Grossman series and don't intend to after all this so I'm willing to take this statement on faith.
|
|
#
?
Feb 9, 2020 03:02
|
|
|
I don't think I've ever encountered a "$setting but for/with adults" thing that was actually any good.
|
|
#
?
Feb 9, 2020 03:21
|
|
|
Aerdan posted:I don't think I've ever encountered a "$setting but for/with adults" thing that was actually any good. They do tend to cut themselves on all The Edge they're trying to show.
|
|
#
?
Feb 9, 2020 17:58
|
|
|
Aerdan posted:I don't think I've ever encountered a "$setting but for/with adults" thing that was actually any good. I've seen it happen once, maybe twice, depending on your criteria. The first one (which is the "maybe") was Battlestar Galactica. The last 70s show was pretty much "Star Wars on TV." Despite the circumstances (almost all of humanity is dead except for the folks in the Galactica fleet) there's still a party ship, "Pyramid" and other goofy poo poo that made the show pretty "kid friendly." The 2003 miniseries and SyFy series from the 2000s takes the basic premise (the Cylons kill almost all of humanity) and plays it straight, which resulted two and a half excellent seasons. A half season that was utter rear end, another half-season that was mostly mediocre and a final half-season that needed to be watching while on Prozac because it was seriously loving depressing. Meanwhile, the one that counts for me was GIJOE: Resolute. Back in 2009, the year that GIJOE: The Rise of Cobra kind of shat the bed GIJOE-wise, Warren "Castlevania" Ellis wrote a series of 11 5-10 minutes shorts that were later combined into a full movie. Resolute used as much as possible the original voice actors and animation style of the original 80s cartoon series. And people died. Guns shot bullets. That parachuting-out-at-the-last-second stuff ended. Cobra Commander debuted his new Cobra superweapon by completely destroying Moscow and its 10 million inhabitants. Basically, this was GIJOE for the now-adult fans of the original cartoon series and it was awesome.
|
|
#
?
Feb 9, 2020 23:03
|
|
|
Finally caught up on the thread, been skipping it until I got caught up on rivers / verus / laundry / etc. Whats the recommended reading order for the faust side stories? I've read almost all the faust books, and I think started one of the side series. Should I finish that and the second side series before reading the remaining faust books and possibly the new harmony black book?
|
|
#
?
Feb 9, 2020 23:47
|
|
|
Ika posted:Finally caught up on the thread, been skipping it until I got caught up on rivers / verus / laundry / etc. Faust is fun, but I'm finding it's better taken in small doses so one doesn't mind the samey-ness of the stories. e: VVV And I guess I'm still the only goon who likes Harmony Black. Honestly, the only book in that series I'd consider actively bad is Glass Predator. anilEhilated fucked around with this message at 12:09 on Feb 10, 2020 |
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2020 10:57
|
|
|
Ika posted:Finally caught up on the thread, been skipping it until I got caught up on rivers / verus / laundry / etc. Never read a stand-alone Harmony Black book. There is literally nothing to be gained by it.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2020 11:53
|
|
|
anilEhilated posted:e: VVV And I guess I'm still the only goon who likes Harmony Black. Honestly, the only book in that series I'd consider actively bad is Glass Predator. Same here, I thought the new one was a lot of fun.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2020 13:26
|
|
|
anilEhilated posted:e: VVV And I guess I'm still the only goon who likes Harmony Black. I'd like Harmony Black a lot more if she wasn't so unbelievably stupid about literally every decision she makes.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2020 13:29
|
|
|
biracial bear for uncut posted:I'd like Harmony Black a lot more if she wasn't so unbelievably stupid about literally every decision she makes. I mean, we like Harry. Kidding, mostly. I pick at Dresden but I'm genuinely looking forward to the next book, whenever it arrives. Really like Faust, tho, and guess what? If you haven't read the series, it's on Kindle Unlimited. Same with Harmony Black. Great way to check them out for little cost. Sandman Slim is up there, too. Related: Podcast 'I Don't Even Own A Television' did an episode recently on a book called ' Tales From The Nightside' which was exactly what I thought Sandman was going to be and why I avoided it for so long.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2020 16:20
|
|
|
NerdyMcNerdNerd posted:I mean, we like Harry. You haven't seen my recent posts about the series, eh? quote:Kidding, mostly. I pick at Dresden but I'm genuinely looking forward to the next book, whenever it arrives. Really like Faust, tho, and guess what? If you haven't read the series, it's on Kindle Unlimited. Same with Harmony Black. Great way to check them out for little cost. Sandman Slim is up there, too. I mostly read this thread to find out about other, better books to read in the same genre. Harmony Black is basically a combination of the worst elements of Murphy and Dresden and I hate it.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2020 16:26
|
|
|
biracial bear for uncut posted:You haven't seen my recent posts about the series, eh? Harmony Black. I know this isn't right, but at this point I'm picturing the ditzy vampire played by Mercedes McNab in Buffy and Angel trying to go goth and failing miserably.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2020 16:48
|
|
|
It's not as good as Faust, but I've been enjoying Harmony Black. Plus, I'm a sucker for shared universe stories. Spoilers for Locust Job: I'm really curious to see how the next Black book goes now that the Enemy has her in his sights.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2020 17:08
|
|
|
Everyone posted:Harmony Black. I know this isn't right, but at this point I'm picturing the ditzy vampire played by Mercedes McNab in Buffy and Angel trying to go goth and failing miserably. Fairly close, except not a vampire. Goodreads posted:Harmony Black is much more than your average FBI special agent. In addition to being a practicing witch, she’s also an operative for Vigilant Lock, an off-the-books program created to battle occult threats—by any means necessary. Despite her dedication to fighting the monsters threatening society, Harmony has become deeply conflicted about her job. Her last investigation resulted in a pile of dead bodies, and she suspects the wrong people are being punished for it.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2020 17:46
|
|
|
Everyone posted:Harmony Black. I know this isn't right, but at this point I'm picturing the ditzy vampire played by Mercedes McNab in Buffy and Angel trying to go goth and failing miserably. Except she's hyper-serious, the perpetual straight man to her partner, and doesn't wear anything remotely gothy, ever? StonecutterJoe fucked around with this message at 19:04 on Feb 10, 2020 |
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2020 17:54
|
|
|
Oh yeah - this isn't a book but it's urban fantasy anyways: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-yRN55iaQY lil nas x gets turned into a vampire, raps while being hunted, meets up with nas, dodges bullets, etc
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2020 23:49
|
|
|
Pfft, Doc Brown did it 5 years ago. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXW2-qbSKpA
|
|
#
?
Feb 11, 2020 00:02
|
|
|
biracial bear for uncut posted:Fairly close, except not a vampire. Well... that certainly was a description, wasn't it. So, she's an FBI-agent/witch/black-ops supernatural task force member? Okie-dokie then. I think if I want to see an extra-legal team deal with weird poo poo, I'll just read Jonathan Maberry's "Joe Ledger" series. Or Christopher Farnsworth's Nathanial Cade. Honestly, I liked that series's take on the Boogeyman He's a kind of demon that possesses and mutates people into Jason Vorhees/Michael Myers slasher types that have a side of entropy/luck control (cars don't start, phones don't work, all the stupid poo poo from horror movies happens in "real life" around The Boogeyman.)
|
|
#
?
Feb 11, 2020 02:47
|
|
|
Everyone posted:Well... that certainly was a description, wasn't it. In Harmony Black the Bogeyman is the souls of the victims of the previous bogeyman, tormented and tortured until they are insane with fear and anger, then sent out to harvest another child--all to feed an old necromancer in his pocket dimension that knows if he ever leaves his pocket dimension himself that there will be literal Hell to pay because of how he got his powerset. Harmony Black also suffers hard from "the villains are more interesting than the protagonist" syndrome.
|
|
#
?
Feb 11, 2020 03:31
|
|
|
Harmony black suffers from the author writing a woman who mostly keeps her clothes on and doesn't fall in love with the handsome monster. I'm mostly joking. I like the Harmony Black series and an emotionally distant forensic account with magic powers is a pretty awesome character. I also like that three of the four main characters are female and all of them are pretty damaged by life (and let's be honest, by men). Its more like Scully from the Xfiles and her ragtag team of broken aces saving the world from Evil Bezos and his ilk.
|
|
#
?
Feb 11, 2020 13:59
|
|
|
I really liked the creepy X-Files vibe of the first Harmony Black, and the sorta woodland UFO conspiracy X-Files vibe of the second, but the next couple were my least favourite of all the Faustverse stuff. Enjoyed the new one though. I think the Black books get more hate than they deserve.
|
|
#
?
Feb 11, 2020 14:16
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 4, 2024 15:30 |
|
|
Junkenstein posted:I really liked the creepy X-Files vibe of the first Harmony Black, and the sorta woodland UFO conspiracy X-Files vibe of the second, but the next couple were my least favourite of all the Faustverse stuff.
|
|
#
?
Feb 11, 2020 14:52
|
|