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Since you can't get any serious amount of cash for bitcoins, taxes should be a snap. I doubt that the IRS cares what your balance is on the Magic: The Gathering Online Exchange.
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Dec 31, 2013 04:00
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withak posted:Since you can't get any serious amount of cash for bitcoins, taxes should be a snap. I doubt that the IRS cares what your balance is on the Magic: The Gathering Online Exchange. Quoting this so you can't edit the weird away. Wrong thread I presume?
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Dec 31, 2013 04:07
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About 200 pages from the end of Republic Of Handball and am loving it very much as well as cheering wildly each time the aforementioned new author obsession is there on the page.
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Dec 31, 2013 04:20
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darth cookie posted:Quoting this so you can't edit the weird away. I stand by every post that I make.  Yeah wrong thread.
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Dec 31, 2013 04:23
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Please, for the love of god, keep bitcoins out of this thread at least.
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Dec 31, 2013 05:04
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But Locke would scam the poo poo out of bitcoin users just for fun.
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Dec 31, 2013 07:28
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I guess we have fan fiction to write when the book doesn't come out.
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Dec 31, 2013 07:35
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Jeffrey posted:I guess we have fan fiction to write when the book doesn't come out. I saw Lynch earlier this year. Fun fact: It was at a bar.
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Jan 2, 2014 13:30
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.... what was he drinking?
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Jan 2, 2014 13:44
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darth cookie posted:.... what was he drinking? Austershalin brandy.
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Jan 2, 2014 15:15
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BananaNutkins posted:Austershalin brandy. The 506?
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Jan 3, 2014 15:15
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Just finished book 3, it was kind of a hot mess, but I still enjoyed reading it and basically devoured it. I guess I'm in the minority in that I liked the Moncraine Company subplot better than the main plot, it even seemed more fleshed out in a few ways, and to me this series strongest pull has always been the idea of an elite thief crew and how they operate. It's strange to me that such a thick rear end tome of a book could feel wanting for content, but the main plot definitely was. We get a lot of the end results reported to us about the election rigging, but not any of the deep how's and not many interesting games and twists a long the way, I mean the best one was probably the one that occured right off the start with the bumping and pocket picking with Locke and Sabetha in disguise, which had great comedy and action. Also, I feel like Lynch just isn't that great at writing compelling surprising twists and reveals, as funny as that sounds for a series about capers and a master con artist. There were a couple in the first book, some eye rollers in book 2 ( after all that prep and discussion, they stole some paintings, really?), and basically 'whatever' kind of ones in this book. I feel like he's heading down the path of being like, the M. Knight Shyamalan of fantasy fiction.
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Jan 3, 2014 16:06
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Loving Life Partner posted:some eye rollers in book 2 ( after all that prep and discussion, they stole some paintings, really?) I really liked that heist from book 2 The whole time he keeps bringing attention to the fact that the vault is impregnable and then at the end - yup it is, we're just stealing the paintings guy. I thought it was quite clever anyway.
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Jan 3, 2014 19:41
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MrFlibble posted:I really liked that heist from book 2 The whole time he keeps bringing attention to the fact that the vault is impregnable and then at the end - yup it is, we're just stealing the paintings guy. I thought it was quite clever anyway. It was clever, but just kind of deflating, *book2* after all the talk about the vault and its amazing properties, they glue the door shut, cut some paintings out of their frames and rappel down the side with hidden ropes. It was all telegraphed well, I guess I just want more of the impossible from Locke.
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Jan 3, 2014 19:45
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Whatever happened to that guy from the cliffs? I forget.
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Jan 3, 2014 22:51
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Loving Life Partner posted:It was clever, but just kind of deflating, *book2* after all the talk about the vault and its amazing properties, they glue the door shut, cut some paintings out of their frames and rappel down the side with hidden ropes. It was all telegraphed well, I guess I just want more of the impossible from Locke. That was always the point of the books though. The "Thorn of Camorr" is a myth, and the reality of Locke and his crew is far more mundane. Yes, they are exceptional thieves, but their key trick is to awe their marks with an extraordinary-sounding scheme while they rob them. The more audacious the lie, the easier it is to sell.
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Jan 4, 2014 08:15
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I am not a fan of the third book. I find myself disliking Locke more with each book. The whole Locke/sabertha thing feels like it was lifted from Dawson's creek or something. All the whining and angst.
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Jan 4, 2014 08:26
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Otto Von Jizzmark posted:I am not a fan of the third book. I find myself disliking Locke more with each book. The whole Locke/sabertha thing feels like it was lifted from Dawson's creek or something. All the whining and angst. I think it's clear that while Locke may be the protagonist of the series, Jean is the hero. I think this set up works well, though the narrative in the last book was so lacking that even two well written and entertaining leads (three if we count Sabers) couldn't make up for it.
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Jan 5, 2014 07:53
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HeroOfTheRevolution posted:I think it's clear that while Locke may be the protagonist of the series, Jean is the hero. I think this set up works well, though the narrative in the last book was so lacking that even two well written and entertaining leads (three if we count Sabers) couldn't make up for it. The more I think about book three the less satisfied with it I am. So it seems it's sort of a schtick that their Big Plots never work. Or rather, they do 'work' but it turns out to be worthless. On one hand, that makes things less than satisfying, especially when the heists don't measure up. On the other hand, if that is part of the greater narrative I feel that he should really emphasize it far more than it has been, either narratively, thematically, or in character. And the horrible Lock/Sabertha romance was really unforgivable. If there's one surefire way to piss me off when it comes to relationship writing it's to claim "women are capricious and that's how they are so they get a pass at being horrible jerks." No. That's not acceptable for either side of the relationship. But it seems to be horribly commonplace when it comes to fantasy (and maybe other genres? I dunno). The cheesy love-at-first-sight thing is...well, barely in character for Locke but everything else dealing with Sabertha was unsatisfying. And I liked the Montcraine Players subplot better than the nearly-nonexistent main plot too.
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Jan 5, 2014 15:22
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HeroOfTheRevolution posted:I think it's clear that while Locke may be the protagonist of the series, Jean is the hero. I don't know how this thread got so far without anyone realising that the flashbacks to Locke's childhood are essentially a retelling of Oliver Twist. Jean is Oliver, Locke is the Artful Dodger, the Thiefmaker is Fagin and Sabetha is Nancy.
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Jan 6, 2014 20:39
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Jedit posted:I don't know how this thread got so far without anyone realising that the flashbacks to Locke's childhood are essentially a retelling of Oliver Twist. Jean is Oliver, Locke is the Artful Dodger, the Thiefmaker is Fagin and Sabetha is Nancy. There are thieves, orphans, and poor people. That's about it?
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Jan 7, 2014 01:47
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Daetrin posted:And the horrible Lock/Sabertha romance was really unforgivable. If there's one surefire way to piss me off when it comes to relationship writing it's to claim "women are capricious and that's how they are so they get a pass at being horrible jerks." No. That's not acceptable for either side of the relationship. But it seems to be horribly commonplace when it comes to fantasy (and maybe other genres? I dunno). The cheesy love-at-first-sight thing is...well, barely in character for Locke but everything else dealing with Sabertha was unsatisfying.
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Jan 8, 2014 03:50
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I agree with your basic complaints, but I'm inclined to give Lynch a break on this one. The guy was literally mentally ill for the majority of the time he was writing it. With that in mind, its not so bad. Not great, but not the worst thing I've ever read. So I'll see how the next one goes. 
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Jan 8, 2014 05:02
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Whalley posted:It was loving pointless and the whole "OH BUT OF COURSE I WOULD NEVER BE WITH ANYBODY ELSE" line made me put the book down for a week. I was down with the romance all the way through Sabetha saying that what she loves about Locke is that he loves to tell the world to gently caress off, then it got awful. It's horrible writing that I thought Lynch would be better than, but gently caress. I loved the first two books. Like, loved. I can see how this book sets up a whole lot more, but I don't want what they're setting up. Romance is definitely Lynch's biggest weakness in writing, but I think his other strengths make up for it.
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Jan 8, 2014 06:24
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I liked when Locke talked about how he's been obsessed with Sabetha since he was like five, and then she promptly tells him to gently caress off because that's creepy as hell. Or I did, until it turns out she was fine with all that, and the problem all along was  creepy Camorri mutilation fetish.
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Jan 8, 2014 17:20
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Strategic Tea posted:I liked when Locke talked about how he's been obsessed with Sabetha since he was like five, and then she promptly tells him to gently caress off because that's creepy as hell. Or I did, until it turns out she was fine with all that, and the problem all along was The world this is all set in, it's dark, but between the ANCIENT SPACE ALIENS, the culturally-appropriate and commonplace redhead rape, and Lamora's MYSTERIOUS PAST, it's like he wants to get rid of the amazing fun aspects (axe-wielding shark fighters, rad indestructible glass cities, legit interesting religions) to write Every Fantasy Book Ever and we've already got those books and they're awful.
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Jan 8, 2014 18:57
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Yeah it really felt like the only purpose behind the redhead stuff was to artificially stir up some drama in a convoluted way. Locke can be dumb sometimes, just have him say something stupid instead! That's a much more reasonable way to make them mad at each other.
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Jan 8, 2014 20:44
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Srice posted:Yeah it really felt like the only purpose behind the redhead stuff was to artificially stir up some drama in a convoluted way. Locke can be dumb sometimes, just have him say something stupid instead! That's a much more reasonable way to make them mad at each other. Not to mention it went nowhere. They get interrupted mid fight, then the next thing that happens is Sabetha having Locke spirited away to a secret cell for a sex romp. Bleh.
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Jan 8, 2014 20:50
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Lynch and Rothfuss are going to coauthor a tween series about romance and love and it's going to be so, gratuitously bad.
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Jan 8, 2014 20:57
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Whalley posted:Seriously, it was a loving weird thing and I thought her reaction was awesome, right up until Scott Lynch deemed it worldbuildingly appropriate that all redheads are potential victims of horrific rape and abuse. That's what made me get really mad at Book 3; not just the lovely romance, but the fact that Lynch thinks this is a DARK TWIST to add to a character and not a horrific loving thing that is also just straight up lousy shithead writing. The thing with world-building is that less is usually more. Its really fun to imagine the details of the world's back-story using the few nuggets of information the author provides as starting points. However, as a fantasy novel turns into a series, every author feels the need to expand on the back-story of his or her world, which takes away from what the reader imagines by locking it down to something more concrete. It might please some readers but for the majority their own imaginations will always outdo the author on details, because everyone imagines the most awesome thing for themselves. Its the same reason sex-scenes in books are pretty much always bad: its just a matter of every reader having their own idea of what is appropriate which rarely coincides with the authors opinion on the matter.
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Jan 9, 2014 01:28
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The only fantasy author who can write sex scenes is Joe Abercrombie. They are consistently awesome/grotesque/hilarious. The double sex scene in Best Served Cold s one of my favorite uses of perspective switching in literature.
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Jan 9, 2014 10:39
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BananaNutkins posted:The only fantasy author who can write sex scenes is Joe Abercrombie. They are consistently awesome/grotesque/hilarious. The double sex scene in Best Served Cold s one of my favorite uses of perspective switching in literature. Jesus Christ. I was just going to bring this guy up and say the exact opposite. The man is a deviant. Every scene is drawn out, nasty and seriously makes me think he's never actually had a joyful experience between the sheets.
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Jan 9, 2014 10:48
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That one worked well, and the Logen and Ferro scene always cracks me up.
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Jan 9, 2014 10:49
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Mr.48 posted:The thing with world-building is that less is usually more. Its really fun to imagine the details of the world's back-story using the few nuggets of information the author provides as starting points. However, as a fantasy novel turns into a series, every author feels the need to expand on the back-story of his or her world, which takes away from what the reader imagines by locking it down to something more concrete. It might please some readers but for the majority their own imaginations will always outdo the author on details, because everyone imagines the most awesome thing for themselves. Its the same reason sex-scenes in books are pretty much always bad: its just a matter of every reader having their own idea of what is appropriate which rarely coincides with the authors opinion on the matter. The thing with world building is that you have absolute control over every detail, and one detail Lynch thought would be appropriate, and in fact, plot-appropriate, was raping gingers to death.
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Jan 9, 2014 15:00
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Whalley posted:The thing with world building is that you have absolute control over every detail, and one detail Lynch thought would be appropriate, and in fact, plot-appropriate, was raping gingers to death. I don't think this is a valid criticism (maybe I'm misunderstanding you?). You can't and shouldn't expect authors to make fantasy settings devoid of all evil or suffering, and it's not valid to criticize authors for simply including the existing of rape (even systematized rape) in their world. I'll agree with you to the extent that authors shouldn't fetishize rape or include voyeuristic scenes and descriptions -- "rapey" is a pejorative for a reason, and it's a reason that's caused me to throw away several books unfinished (Ken Follett, looking at you). But It seems like you're criticizing Lynch for merely including systematic rape in his setting, but that's something that existed to one degree or another in all medieval societies (through feudal serfdom and/or slavery if nothing else).
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Jan 9, 2014 16:16
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Whalley posted:The thing with world building is that you have absolute control over every detail, and one detail Lynch thought would be appropriate, and in fact, plot-appropriate, was raping gingers to death. Actually, the thing that made it jarring was that it came out of left field. Before Sabetha tells us about it, we had no reason to believe that such a thing exists in this world. It was poor worldbuilding because of that.
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Jan 9, 2014 16:58
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:I don't think this is a valid criticism (maybe I'm misunderstanding you?). You can't and shouldn't expect authors to make fantasy settings devoid of all evil or suffering, and it's not valid to criticize authors for simply including the existing of rape (even systematized rape) in their world. You could remove the romantic subplot entirely and it wouldn't hurt the book much at all. We got through two novels with nothing but a handful of pages setting her up as Locke's muse however, it might have been better overall if she'd stayed that way.
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Jan 9, 2014 18:09
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BananaNutkins posted:Actually, the thing that made it jarring was that it came out of left field. Before Sabetha tells us about it, we had no reason to believe that such a thing exists in this world. It was poor worldbuilding because of that. I think because the thief maker exists we'd need at some point to broach the subject of child rape. Lynch's world is gritty and dark as hell, and we've got characters who ruthlessly exploit children, but sexual exploitation is never even mentioned. At some point that probably needs to be explained, to explain why it isn't happening or indicate how the characters dealt with it when it did, and now that we're in a book focusing on the adventures of female child thieves that's especially pressing.
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Jan 9, 2014 18:18
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:I think because the thief maker exists we'd need at some point to broach the subject of child rape. Lynch's world is gritty and dark as hell, and we've got characters who ruthlessly exploit children, but sexual exploitation is never even mentioned. At some point that probably needs to be explained, to explain why it isn't happening or indicate how the characters dealt with it when it did, and now that we're in a book focusing on the adventures of female child thieves that's especially pressing.
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Jan 9, 2014 18:49
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coyo7e posted:That's definitely a valid point and it does add some darker tones to what's otherwise a fairly glossy version of medieval slumland however, there were not really any other mentions of this kind of thing going on, and having Sabetha immediately attack Locke with it because of a single line from when he was 5 years old, seems to come from way out of left field and feels like poor writing or a forced crisis. Yeah, that I'll agree with. I think it's just Lynch being really bad at writing romance and women, though, rather than goonish rape-fascination or whatever.
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Jan 9, 2014 19:48
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