[Cause]

I find I am more selective and discerning as a book reader, TV watcher and Movie watcher. I think its a combination of two things. As I get older and I have a busier work and social life my 'spare' time is more valuable. Also the more I read the better I am able to judge what's quality and what things I personally prefer and what I dislike.

I got a friend into fantasy years back and he was devouring everything in sight and he was shocked how many 'great' books he read I refused to touch or discuss. For him all the tropes were new and exciting but for me, once I had read Malazan. GRRM or bakker I cant read Trudi Caravans Priestess of the White and think wow this is good. If it was one of ten books I had read it would be in my top ten. Having read over a hundred in the last 2/3 years it doesn't even feature in the top 100

I used to find it inconceivable to not finish, now I find it inconceivable to waste my time finishing something I don't enjoy. When someone tells me I need to push through the first season of breaking bad for it to get good I tell them that's now how good TV should work.

Mentalist, on 04 May 2019 - 12:26 AM, said:

K.J.Parker's Engineer books- I think I stopped as some point in book 2? But I may not have gotten that far. It was a slog, and I can't stand reading about a supposed genius spending the whole book patting themselves on the back about how their elaborate scheme is all coming along marvelously. Pretty sure I gave those 2 away as well.

K.J. Parker cant write.
It is known.
It is known!

I have nighmares about the engineering books

This post has been edited by Cause: 09 May 2019 - 07:48 AM

[Cause]

Abyss, on 26 April 2019 - 02:10 PM, said:

Most recent example that comes to mind... Lynch's REPUBLIC OF THIEVES. Made it maybe 30% in, decided i was sliding from bored to hatred, read the last ten pages (barely) and out.

OMG. What happened to this guy. I loved the first book. Second was okay. Third was bad and came out in 2013!!!! I realize I forgot this even existed.

[Gabriele]

Cause, on 09 May 2019 - 08:07 AM, said:

Abyss, on 26 April 2019 - 02:10 PM, said:

Most recent example that comes to mind... Lynch's REPUBLIC OF THIEVES. Made it maybe 30% in, decided i was sliding from bored to hatred, read the last ten pages (barely) and out.

OMG. What happened to this guy. I loved the first book. Second was okay. Third was bad and came out in 2013!!!! I realize I forgot this even existed.

He got a severe depression and is slowly working his way out of the darkness.

[Tiste Simeon]

Here's another thought I had. What do you guys think about continuing a book despite it being fairly badly written, with poor characters and dialogue but dang you want to find out what happens for some reason? I'm like that with what I'm currently listening to on my commute. So many eye roll moments but I like the concept.

[worry]

That was basically Ready Player One's whole deal, and in the end I got what I needed out of it. Being bad at breezy prose is a different beast than being bad at brick-length fantasy/sf/contemporary lit prose though, at least for me.

[Tiste Simeon]

Incidentally the books I'm referring to are very much inspired by Ready Player One. I think I like the concept of entering life like virtual worlds but there just haven't been very well executed versions of that yet.

[RACHEL]

I just finished The Magicians by Lev Grossman yesterday and I won't be finishing the trilogy even though I already have book 2, and despite the fact that I gave it a 4 star on Goodreads. It took me almost half the book till I realized that I thought Quentin was an ass, and that not much exciting stuff happened. Despite all that the book was really readable for reasons I can't explain. I plowed through it in a few days and even when I had already decided I would not continue the series I still kept chugging along. I read a lot of negative reviews and agree with all of it but somehow I still had no problem finishing the book. The thing is I just don't care what happens enough to waste the time it would take to read the next two books. I already read the Wikipedia synopsis of the other two books and I am content. This book gave me the same feeling that the characters seemed to have about everything, Meh.

[Vengeance]

RACHEL, on 16 October 2019 - 03:57 PM, said:

I just finished The Magicians by Lev Grossman yesterday and I won't be finishing the trilogy even though I already have book 2, and despite the fact that I gave it a 4 star on Goodreads. It took me almost half the book till I realized that I thought Quentin was an ass, and that not much exciting stuff happened. Despite all that the book was really readable for reasons I can't explain. I plowed through it in a few days and even when I had already decided I would not continue the series I still kept chugging along. I read a lot of negative reviews and agree with all of it but somehow I still had no problem finishing the book. The thing is I just don't care what happens enough to waste the time it would take to read the next two books. I already read the Wikipedia synopsis of the other two books and I am content. This book gave me the same feeling that the characters seemed to have about everything, Meh.

I felt the same way. I finished the second book then didn't look back.

[Cyphon]

Vengeance, on 16 October 2019 - 05:02 PM, said:

RACHEL, on 16 October 2019 - 03:57 PM, said:

Snip/ Meh.

I felt the same way. I finished the second book then didn't look back.

Agreed. Really didnt work for me.

[Abyss]

Tiste Simeon, on 20 May 2019 - 08:25 PM, said:

Here's another thought I had. What do you guys think about continuing a book despite it being fairly badly written, with poor characters and dialogue but dang you want to find out what happens for some reason? I'm like that with what I'm currently listening to on my commute. So many eye roll moments but I like the concept.

I give you FRAGMENT and PANDEMONIUM. The characters are archetypes, plots are basic, the dialogue is meh... not so much 'bad' as not enough to hold my attention, but the monsters and settings are SO much fun i needed to know what happened next. Had the author written a threequel (tho its telling his publisher passed on the option) i would have bought it. Now he writes historical non-fiction.

Tiste Simeon, on 21 May 2019 - 08:21 AM, said:

Incidentally the books I'm referring to are very much inspired by Ready Player One. I think I like the concept of entering life like virtual worlds but there just haven't been very well executed versions of that yet.

Have you read William's OTHERLAND trilogy?

...because despite my ongoing complaints about the perhaps unnecessary length of the series, it is ALL about virtual worlds and does great things with that.

Vengeance, on 16 October 2019 - 05:02 PM, said:

RACHEL, on 16 October 2019 - 03:57 PM, said:

I just finished The Magicians by Lev Grossman yesterday and I won't be finishing the trilogy even though I already have book 2,...Meh.

I felt the same way. I finished the second book then didn't look back.

Cyphon, on 16 October 2019 - 07:36 PM, said:

Agreed. Really didnt work for me.

You're far from a minority in that, but i will say that book 2 moves the characters and series in interesting ways and expands the POVs beyond Quentin. He remains an ass, albeit less of one, and the wider story makes for a more interesting/engaging read. Book 3 is a very satisfying conclusion.

My point is that if there was anything you enjoyed in book 1, then 2 and 3 likely won't disappoint.

[Tiste Simeon]

Otherland is ace, it just suffers from Tad Williams' perpetual need for an editor. I read the whole thing a few times but not for a number of years now.

[acesn8s]

Tiste Simeon, on 21 May 2019 - 08:21 AM, said:

Incidentally the books I'm referring to are very much inspired by Ready Player One. I think I like the concept of entering life like virtual worlds but there just haven't been very well executed versions of that yet.

Have you read Dream Park by Larry Niven and Steven Barnes? It was first published in 1981, so the tech is a bit dated. It's like a merging of VR and LARPing.


Amazon Link