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Decius posted:Thanks a lot for the link, 10 seconds later I had it on my Kindle. Gotta love the Brave New World we're living in
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Jun 25, 2010 19:08
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A Nice Boy posted:Welp, just finished the trilogy and moving onto BSC, but goddamn, wanted to vent a little: One of the things I like most about these books is how everyone gets hosed. No one ends better than they started. I hate happy endings, and it's pretty refreshing see this dismal poo poo play out.
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Jun 25, 2010 21:26
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Bummey posted:One of the things I like most about these books is how everyone gets hosed. No one ends better than they started. I hate happy endings, and it's pretty refreshing see this dismal poo poo play out. I hate unrealistically happy endings, but I wouldn't mind a character or two finding a little bit of peace. 
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Jun 25, 2010 22:38
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A Nice Boy posted:I hate unrealistically happy endings, but I wouldn't mind a character or two finding a little bit of peace. In his own way, Shivers found peace with himself.
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Jun 25, 2010 22:45
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Joshtafari posted:I just read the story yesterday. It's a nice little story about a band of misfits in the North. Curious to know if the characters are going to be featured in 'The Heroes', or if this story will have no bearing on the new book. It's relatively short (27 pages), so I'm not sure it's worth picking the book up unless you are interested in some of the other authors, too. Yes, most of the authors of the collection are onex I'm quite fond of, so even with the rather short Abercrombie story (which is pretty good regardless of length) I'm quite happy with it, and glad for the link. Decius fucked around with this message at 07:54 on Jun 26, 2010 |
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Jun 26, 2010 07:43
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Finished Before They Are Hanged, why does that tsundere demon-lady call her companions "pinks" when she is colourblind?  I hope Mr. Abercrombie fixes glaring goofs like this in the last book. Great series otherwise. I can't wait for Logen's reunion with his homies, and him tearing this Fenris the Feared a new one.
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Jun 28, 2010 13:23
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Meningism posted:why does that tsundere demon-lady call her companions "pinks" when she is colourblind? I would assume she can easily see skin tone, if not colour, and that she grew up in a country where light skinned people are referred to as 'pink' and picked it up as you would any generally used turn of phrase that you are regularly exposed to. Just guessing of course, it's not something I noticed.
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Jun 28, 2010 13:58
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Who is the man that would risk his neck For his brother man? SHENKT! Can you dig it? Who's the cat that won't cop out When there's danger all about? SHENKT! Right On! They say this cat Shenkt is a bad mother SHUT YOUR MOUTH! I'm talkin' 'bout Shenkt. THEN WE CAN DIG IT! He's a complicated man But no one understands him but his woman CAS SHENKT! Just finished BSC. I now need a book solely on Shenkt. Bayaz and Khalul are not willing to sort their problems out like men, so Shenkt is first in line to give them a taste of their own medicine.
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Jun 28, 2010 15:18
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Tipped posted:
Yeah I really liked that he introduced a third, minor player in the big mystical struggle. Bayaz and the Union, Khalul and the Ghurkish and now Shenkt and Styria.
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Jun 28, 2010 19:42
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Meningism posted:Finished Before They Are Hanged, why does that tsundere demon-lady call her companions "pinks" when she is colourblind? "Pink" is a common slur amongst the southerners when talking about northerners, as their skin is darker.
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Jun 28, 2010 22:06
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Meningism posted:Finished Before They Are Hanged, why does that tsundere demon-lady call her companions "pinks" when she is colourblind? It's not a glaring flaw. It's not even a flaw. Logen himself called her out on this, asking her why she called everyone pinks when she couldn't see color. It basically came down to programmed racial prejudice. She didn't actually know (or care) his or anyone else's skin color, but she'd been exposed to the racism all her life that it just came naturally to her. She's still a lovely character.
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Jun 28, 2010 23:07
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Yeah she kinda got on my nerves, but she had her purposes. Really love this guy, its just a shame he's writing now instead of 10 years ago, because if he had a vast library of stuff for me to catch up on I wouldn't be bored out of my mind trying to find something new to read...
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Jun 29, 2010 17:03
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Yeah, what the hell should I read after Best Served Cold? I've read these, the Malazans, ASoIaF, Locke Lamora, and WoT lately. Need something new to dive into!
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Jun 30, 2010 00:53
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A Nice Boy posted:Yeah, what the hell should I read after Best Served Cold? Empire in Black and Gold by Adrian Tchaikovsky is a pretty OK trilogy. Weird setting, sort of a low fantasy industrial revolution with varying races of people who carry traits based on their insect relation. It's about a cluster of feuding, inwardly focused, city states in an area known as the Lowlands, being invaded by a foreign Wasp army that they refuse to acknowledge as a threat. You follow a group of people fighting against the wasps, trying to unite the Lowlands (to little effect) against the invaders. It's entertaining enough, nothing really amazing. I haven't given up on the books down yet, but they certainly haven't caught my attention like Joe's "just one more chapter and then I'll go to sl-- oh god it's 5am" series did. vvv Also, no elves in this series. Bummey fucked around with this message at 03:41 on Jun 30, 2010 |
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Jun 30, 2010 02:03
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A Nice Boy posted:Yeah, what the hell should I read after Best Served Cold? The Iron Elves books by Chris Evans are pretty good.
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Jun 30, 2010 03:02
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A Nice Boy posted:Yeah, what the hell should I read after Best Served Cold? The Prince of Nothing series by R. Scott Bakker.
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Jun 30, 2010 07:33
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Mr.48 posted:The Prince of Nothing series by R. Scott Bakker. Nice, thanks for reminding me...I think this is now next on my list. The cover blurb by Erikson certainly helps. ;p
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Jun 30, 2010 08:55
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A Nice Boy posted:Yeah, what the hell should I read after Best Served Cold? I recommended this in the Ice and Fire thread a while back, and a few people said they thought the writer sucked, although no one chimed in on these particular books, and no one else piped up saying it was good either, so I backed off, thinking maybe I was wrong... but then I lent it to a RL friend last month, and he burned through the whole thing super fast and told me he thought it was incredible and the best series he'd read in a long while. He also likes Ice and Fire, and Joe Abercrombie, so I'm gonna throw it out there again: Bernard Cornwell's King Arthur series. It's 3 books long, and it's finished. There's closure at the end. It's not an in-progress series or anything. I felt it started a little on the slower side, but I got into it for sure by the halfway point of the first book, and I was really, really, really hooked on it halfway through the second book. I actually mistakenly thought I was on the 3rd book already while halfway through book 2, and that I had misunderstood it to be a trilogy, and started to get really disappointed that I was going to have to wait a half a week to get a book 4 delivered from Amazon, because I wanted to turn pages on it that bad. Cornwell writes historical fiction. I'd read his Stonehenge before, but really wouldn't recommend that blindly, although it was OK. I haven't read anything else of his. But this series is GOOD. It's the Arthur legends told as if they actually happened like around 500 AD, told from the viewpoint of a man who becomes a soldier in Arthur's army and a close personal friend of his. It's very... politically driven, as the story of any young "warlord" trying to unite a tribal-esque England would have to be, so it's got a bit of that Ice and Fire feel to it. Definitely not a fantasy book, as it's weighed heavily in realism, but superstitions and Druids (Merlin) play into how things unfold, so it kinda plays like low fantasy. Worth checking out, absolutely, imo. I have Prince of Nothing sitting on my bookshelves, but not sure I'm going to start it right away. Anyone have opinions on the Night Angel trilogy? Khatib fucked around with this message at 22:29 on Jun 30, 2010 |
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Jun 30, 2010 22:23
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A Nice Boy posted:Yeah, what the hell should I read after Best Served Cold?
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Jun 30, 2010 22:35
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Khatib posted:Bernard Cornwell's Warlord Chronicles Brilliant books. Cornwell is generally a good author although his most famous books, the Sharpe series, vary from formulaic and mediocre to really very good. This trilogy about King Arthur is easily his best, though. Recommended to anyone.
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Jun 30, 2010 23:06
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I also enjoyed his Grail Quest / Harlequin trilogy set during the hundred years war, some really excellent battle scenes to be had in that. Both my father and father-in-law love the Sharpe books, but I find them remarkably hit or miss.
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Jul 1, 2010 09:16
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Khatib posted:Anyone have opinions on the Night Angel trilogy? I got all 3 at a used book store, read through the first 4 chapters of the first book and put it down for about 6 months. I mentioned to a friend how boring I thought it was, and he told me to give it another shot, so I picked up from where I left off and absolutely loved it. The first book kinda takes a kid from his pre-pubescent period up to his late teens, and when he's young its really loving slow, but it does pick up. And they talk about boobs a lot, so theres that.
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Jul 1, 2010 14:55
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I just finished the first book. I enjoyed it but it had a lot more build-up than I was expecting. It's not really a stand-alone novel but given the praise heaped upon the trilogy I expect it will all tie together very well. I particularly liked the Navigator and his overly dramatic reaction when Logen questioned his navigating skills.
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Jul 2, 2010 04:47
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Markeh posted:I just finished the first book. I enjoyed it but it had a lot more build-up than I was expecting. It's not really a stand-alone novel but given the praise heaped upon the trilogy I expect it will all tie together very well. Its really not supposed to be able to stand alone. He put them out so quickly though that it doesn't really matter. By the time most of the world realized his awesome, all the books were for sale.
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Jul 2, 2010 15:02
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Oh man...BSC is crazy so far. I have to admit, I think I like it better than the trilogy. But Cosca. For that matter, Shiver's EYE.Can you guess what part I just read?
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Jul 4, 2010 07:35
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A Nice Boy posted:Oh man...BSC is crazy so far. I have to admit, I think I like it better than the trilogy. The part with Shiver's eye was just loving painful to read... Its rare that I actually cringe at words written on a page, but this was really rough. (Cringe at the thought of the action, not at poor writing.)
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Jul 5, 2010 04:09
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TShields posted:The part with Shiver's eye was just loving painful to read... Its rare that I actually cringe at words written on a page, but this was really rough. (Cringe at the thought of the action, not at poor writing.) Completely agree...During that part my brain was somewhere in the "No...He wouldn't...It's gotta be fake...Aaaauuughghghhh...." zone.
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Jul 5, 2010 09:15
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I started reading Blade Itself the other day and after a few chapters it's not getting me. I'll reply for everyone and say "hey, bengraven, keep reading as it will get better eventually". Okay, thanks for the heads up, will keep going.
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Jul 5, 2010 21:59
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bengraven posted:I started reading Blade Itself the other day and after a few chapters it's not getting me. Yeah, his first novel really felt like a first novel, to me. But I'm on Best Served Cold, and I can tell you, they get better and better to the point where this is one of my favorite fantasy novels, I think.
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Jul 6, 2010 03:07
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Just to clarify, I was taking the piss with the "colourblind + pinks is a glaring flaw" stuff; please don't be mad. Ok, see you folks when I finish Last Argument (could take a while, since I've decided to power through the whole MYTH series by Robert Asprin first)
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Jul 6, 2010 07:31
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Whoever recommended Night Angel's Trilogy: gently caress you.
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Jul 6, 2010 18:32
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Stayed up til whenever last night to finish Last Argument of Kings. Enjoyed the trilogy overall, going to check out the standalone novels for sure. Spoilery stuff: Like others, the total lack of happy endings was a bit of a bummer. And Logen got the Tony Soprano treatment so who knows what happened to him. Given the start of the first novel, I'm inclined to believe he survived though. As for Bayaz, he is definitely the bad guy. He killed Juvens, Tolomei, and Kanedias and kicked the whole thing off. Khalul's evil poo poo is a response to him. All of Bayaz's meddling just made me think of predestination. It's interesting how Khalul's side features organized religion, while in Bayaz's union he essentially just plays god. I just started reading the Swords and Dark Magic anthology instead of plunging ahead with Best Served Cold. Have read a good number of the authors in it already, hoping to be turned on to new ones to read too.
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Jul 7, 2010 14:30
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Weaponized Cum posted:Whoever recommended Night Angel's Trilogy: gently caress you. I'm not sure if you're joking but I agree. I purchased the book and got about 50 pages into it and gave up. The writing style, plot and characters were terrible to me. On a brighter note, I'd rather have seen HBO make The First Law trilogy instead of ASoIaF. Or maybe make a movie trilogy. The stories definitely have the characters and plot for it, although I think that poo poo might be a little too dark and depressing for Hollywood. Hughmoris fucked around with this message at 15:09 on Jul 7, 2010 |
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Jul 7, 2010 15:05
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One thing I liked, and I don't think it's been mentioned yet, is how he handled descriptions. Rather than having pages and pages of world building things only warranted detail if the characters weren't used to them. I don't think Shanka got a proper description until the second book because the only people who encountered them until then had been dealing with them their whole lives and didn't need to stop and marvel at how they looked. Similarly, Logen doesn't really get a proper description until he encounters people who've never met him before because the story's from his point of view and he doesn't care what he looks like. Jezal, on the other hand, is always preening about how good looking he is cause he's vain. Wow, that sounded like a book report... anyway. I liked it.
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Jul 7, 2010 20:19
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Silentgoldfish posted:One thing I liked, and I don't think it's been mentioned yet, is how he handled descriptions. Rather than having pages and pages of world building things only warranted detail if the characters weren't used to them. This, when Logan first arrives in Adua his experience of the city compared to Glokta or Jezel worked perfectly. We had seen the city through the eyes of people who live and work there for half the book, but it's only with Logan's arrival that what it is really like comes to life and we get a clear picture of the scale of the place, and this is entirely consistent with the characters. It's good writing and that is one of my favourite scenes in the books.
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Jul 7, 2010 22:45
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Jekub posted:It's good writing and that is one of my favourite scenes in the books. One of the things that strikes me the most about this scene, and really the trilogy in its entirety, is that it's Abercrombie's first book (or series of books). Right now, at the start of his career, he's better than 99% of fantasy writers.
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Jul 8, 2010 00:16
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Hughmoris posted:I'm not sure if you're joking but I agree. I purchased the book and got about 50 pages into it and gave up. The writing style, plot and characters were terrible to me. I wish I wasn't joking. Who the hell reads that crap. I got like 200 pages in and there have been at least 3 "I already knew. It is all part of my plan" moments. A terrible prose makes it much worse.
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Jul 8, 2010 00:28
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I put the series to the side for a bit, but I do like one thing: The descriptions of Glotka in pain are almost painful.
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Jul 8, 2010 00:37
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bengraven posted:I put the series to the side for a bit, but I do like one thing: Just wait till you get to Best Served Cold. There's a scene with a main character that will make you squirm.
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Jul 8, 2010 02:06
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Hughmoris posted:I'm not sure if you're joking but I agree. I purchased the book and got about 50 pages into it and gave up. The writing style, plot and characters were terrible to me. I really liked the Night Angel trilogy. Really, I liked it more then TFL. The plot moves well and Brent Weeks doesn't feel as compelled to dip into grimdark realism for the sake of doing something different. That being said, every single character is some fantasy stereotype and the power levels flirt with DBZ-style nonsense. I understand hating it. Also it steals from Wheel of Time indiscriminately.
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Jul 8, 2010 19:50
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