[polishgenius]

Abyss, on 02 November 2015 - 03:03 PM, said:

Funny you should mention.,.. having just finished FIREFIGHT, am starting EVENSONG.

Cool. I'm interested to see where you fall on how it balances awesome/weird...

[End of Disc One]

Halfway through Golden Son (with an "o"). Damn this is awesome.

[Baco Xtath]

Finished Sanderson's Shadows of Self. Again, his humor just really turns me off his works. It can be so freak'n immature that I have a real hard time reading/listening to any of his stuff. However, his imagination does keep me coming back but for how long, I don't know.

[Mentalist]

Chance, on 01 November 2015 - 08:24 PM, said:

Currently reading Dragonfly Falling and finding shadows of apt eminently readable a nice twist on the basic fantasy epic, I must have put down the first one just before it started getting interesting because this time it is very enjoyable light reading.

Andorion, on 01 November 2015 - 06:15 PM, said:

I thought Reynolds was highly popular too, then I started going through a few /r/printsf threads on Reddit, He seems divisive, most people either like him or hate him. Principal objections being too slow, too dark, too much gore (WTF?) His most hated books: Absolution Gap, Pushing Ice. Most loved book House of Suns.

I don't get it. I love Reynolds. Only one I didn't like was Terminal World.

The only explaination is that he went temporarily insane when writing Absolution Gap which is probably one of the worst books I've ever read, it's very hard to imagine the same guy wrote his Poseidon's Children stuff which is soo good.

Personally, I found the Revelation Space trilo + Chasm City interesting, but not as good as Hamliton or Banks' stuff.

I'm still on my Malaz re-read. Having finished TtH, now I'm doing 2 ICE books (SW and OST-decided to read them back-to-back, b/c there's one common storyline I didn't really get the first time around, and it's relevant to the Kharkanas trilo), before digging into the concentrated awesome of DoD and tCG.

One-third through SW right now, contrasting with RotCG, ICE did something stylistically new here. His chapters are few, but each jumps between 5+ ongoing subplots. Meaning each chapter is long. Makes things a bit choppy, but ensures there's action in each segment. I haven't quite made up my mind what I think of it yet.

On my commute read, I'm about halfway through The Iron Jackal, the 3rd "Ketty Jay" book. Fun, light read, like a nice brainless action movie.

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 03 November 2015 - 03:31 PM

[firvulag]

Chance, on 01 November 2015 - 08:24 PM, said:

Currently reading Dragonfly Falling and finding shadows of apt eminently readable a nice twist on the basic fantasy epic, I must have put down the first one just before it started getting interesting because this time it is very enjoyable light reading.

Andorion, on 01 November 2015 - 06:15 PM, said:

I thought Reynolds was highly popular too, then I started going through a few /r/printsf threads on Reddit, He seems divisive, most people either like him or hate him. Principal objections being too slow, too dark, too much gore (WTF?) His most hated books: Absolution Gap, Pushing Ice. Most loved book House of Suns.

I don't get it. I love Reynolds. Only one I didn't like was Terminal World.

The only explaination is that he went temporarily insane when writing Absolution Gap which is probably one of the worst books I've ever read, it's very hard to imagine the same guy wrote his Poseidon's Children stuff which is soo good.

Good grief I feel the exact opposite of this, I loved all his Revelation space novels, but was bitterly disappointed with the Poseidon's Wake trilogy :S

[Chance]

Still reading shadow of apt now into Blood of the Mantis its still entertaining thought some of the POV characters I could really live without say Totho who stands out as being particulary boring. Occationally it also annoy's me that an Not-Apt character can't open a door lock and that they have internal combustion engines and handheld railguns but still got sails and swords as being remotly usesful in warfare.

Quote

Good grief I feel the exact opposite of this, I loved all his Revelation space novels, but was bitterly disappointed with the Poseidon's Wake trilogy :S

I can certainly see how lots of people won't like Poseidon's Wake and its follow ups but anyone liking Absolution Gap that really baffles me.

This post has been edited by Chance: 03 November 2015 - 07:12 PM

[firvulag]

Chance, on 03 November 2015 - 07:08 PM, said:

Still reading shadow of apt now into Blood of the Mantis its still entertaining thought some of the POV characters I could really live without say Totho who stands out as being particulary boring. Occationally it also annoy's me that an Not-Apt character can't open a door lock and that they have internal combustion engines and handheld railguns but still got sails and swords as being remotly usesful in warfare.

Quote

Good grief I feel the exact opposite of this, I loved all his Revelation space novels, but was bitterly disappointed with the Poseidon's Wake trilogy :S

I can certainly see how lots of people won't like Poseidon's Wake and its follow ups but anyone liking Absolution Gap that really baffles me.

It's definitely not the best of the Revelation Space books for sure, but I still liked it a lot, especially the Green Fly sections

The Shadows of the Apt series is certainly one I'm hoping to start soon.

I'm currently reading The Shiva Option by David Weber and Steve White, as part of the Stars at War series. While they're enjoyable they are just way too long for what they are.

[Andorion]

firvulag, on 03 November 2015 - 08:55 PM, said:

Chance, on 03 November 2015 - 07:08 PM, said:

Still reading shadow of apt now into Blood of the Mantis its still entertaining thought some of the POV characters I could really live without say Totho who stands out as being particulary boring. Occationally it also annoy's me that an Not-Apt character can't open a door lock and that they have internal combustion engines and handheld railguns but still got sails and swords as being remotly usesful in warfare.

Quote

Good grief I feel the exact opposite of this, I loved all his Revelation space novels, but was bitterly disappointed with the Poseidon's Wake trilogy :S

I can certainly see how lots of people won't like Poseidon's Wake and its follow ups but anyone liking Absolution Gap that really baffles me.

It's definitely not the best of the Revelation Space books for sure, but I still liked it a lot, especially the Green Fly sections

The Shadows of the Apt series is certainly one I'm hoping to start soon.

I'm currently reading The Shiva Option by David Weber and Steve White, as part of the Stars at War series. While they're enjoyable they are just way too long for what they are.

I don't understand why people don't like Absolution Gap. I had no problems with it.

Highly recommend Shadows of the Apt. Am on book 9 at the moment

[Abyss]

That's a brutal ratio.

[EmperorMagus]

Finished reading Revelation Space and started on Chasm City because that's what I had on hand. I don't like Tanner Mirabel's narration half as much as Ilia or Sylveste but the story flows much much better in this book. I love the slow unravelling of the post plague Yellowstone, it's beautifully done.

[amphibian]

There's a book you can jump to after you're done with the Revelation Space books proper - The Prefect - which explores pre-plague Yellowstone. It's quite good, but it does not tie in with the main series.

(And don't forget Diamond Dogs or Galactic North, as they provide answers to certain things)

[EmperorMagus]

amphibian, on 04 November 2015 - 05:45 AM, said:

There's a book you can jump to after you're done with the Revelation Space books proper - The Prefect - which explores pre-plague Yellowstone. It's quite good, but it does not tie in with the main series.

(And don't forget Diamond Dogs or Galactic North, as they provide answers to certain things)

I'm falling in love. He has written about everything I could possibly want in his universe. I just hope there is an actual confrontation between humans and "The Inhibitors" at some point.

[acesn8s]

I'm about 75% of the way through Otherland 1. The first half of the book was slow, but now that I've gotten my head around the plot I'm making progress.

[Whisperzzzzzzz]

Briar King, on 04 November 2015 - 01:59 AM, said:

Hmm Apt has kinda blown up among the members in the past 2 months. This is a good thing I just wish it was that popular when it was coming out. Still though it's never to late to grow the Apt thread! Enjoy or go get them and enjoy. My advice to people starting is to attempt to get to bk 5 atleast before stopping and your having trouble with the 1st arc in 1-4. Adrian becomes so much better a writer from 5-10.

Yeah, there was even a frontpage thread on /r/fantasy espousing it a few days ago. Something happened to make the series blow up a bit.

[Mentalist]

Whisperzzzzzzz, on 04 November 2015 - 07:04 PM, said:

Briar King, on 04 November 2015 - 01:59 AM, said:

Hmm Apt has kinda blown up among the members in the past 2 months. This is a good thing I just wish it was that popular when it was coming out. Still though it's never to late to grow the Apt thread! Enjoy or go get them and enjoy. My advice to people starting is to attempt to get to bk 5 atleast before stopping and your having trouble with the 1st arc in 1-4. Adrian becomes so much better a writer from 5-10.

Yeah, there was even a frontpage thread on /r/fantasy espousing it a few days ago. Something happened to make the series blow up a bit.

It's now a finished series, so more people will look at it among those who want an "epic" fix, but also a finished story.

The fact that it ends strong is a huge point in its favour, and those who finish it are more likely to gush and recommend it due to that.

[Morgoth]

Briar King, on 04 November 2015 - 01:59 AM, said:

Hmm Apt has kinda blown up among the members in the past 2 months. This is a good thing I just wish it was that popular when it was coming out. Still though it's never to late to grow the Apt thread! Enjoy or go get them and enjoy. My advice to people starting is to attempt to get to bk 5 atleast before stopping and your having trouble with the 1st arc in 1-4. Adrian becomes so much better a writer from 5-10.

Yeah, I lost interest in the series with the second book. I am willing to believe the series picks up, but there is so much else out there that I have yet to read.

This post has been edited by Morgoth: 05 November 2015 - 07:11 AM

[Mentalist]

Morgoth, on 05 November 2015 - 07:11 AM, said:

Briar King, on 04 November 2015 - 01:59 AM, said:

Hmm Apt has kinda blown up among the members in the past 2 months. This is a good thing I just wish it was that popular when it was coming out. Still though it's never to late to grow the Apt thread! Enjoy or go get them and enjoy. My advice to people starting is to attempt to get to bk 5 atleast before stopping and your having trouble with the 1st arc in 1-4. Adrian becomes so much better a writer from 5-10.

Yeah, I lost interest in the series with the second book. I am willing to believe the series picks up, but there is so much else out there that I have yet to read.

Your multiple criticisms of the books remain valid. It's nowhere near as serious and accomplished work as Malaz, and the characterization is for the first 3 books quite atrocious. There are also some pacing issues in early books.

Tchaikovsky's strengths are his world-building, and action scenes. I becomes clear early on, and from that on its a matter of preference. If one values interesting ideas and world over characterization, it's an enjoyable read (moreso later on, as Tchaikovsky's writing improves). If not, then no.
Frankly I don't know if I would've stuck with the series, if not for the fact that I read Bk 2 and 3 on vacation, where I had no other reading material.

[Andorion]

Mentalist, on 05 November 2015 - 02:58 PM, said:

Morgoth, on 05 November 2015 - 07:11 AM, said:

Briar King, on 04 November 2015 - 01:59 AM, said:

Hmm Apt has kinda blown up among the members in the past 2 months. This is a good thing I just wish it was that popular when it was coming out. Still though it's never to late to grow the Apt thread! Enjoy or go get them and enjoy. My advice to people starting is to attempt to get to bk 5 atleast before stopping and your having trouble with the 1st arc in 1-4. Adrian becomes so much better a writer from 5-10.

Yeah, I lost interest in the series with the second book. I am willing to believe the series picks up, but there is so much else out there that I have yet to read.

Your multiple criticisms of the books remain valid. It's nowhere near as serious and accomplished work as Malaz, and the characterization is for the first 3 books quite atrocious. There are also some pacing issues in early books.

Tchaikovsky's strengths are his world-building, and action scenes. I becomes clear early on, and from that on its a matter of preference. If one values interesting ideas and world over characterization, it's an enjoyable read (moreso later on, as Tchaikovsky's writing improves). If not, then no.
Frankly I don't know if I would've stuck with the series, if not for the fact that I read Bk 2 and 3 on vacation, where I had no other reading material.

It improves vastly if Totho isn't there being depressed.

[QuickTidal]

Andorion, on 05 November 2015 - 03:32 PM, said:

It improves vastly if Totho isn't there being depressed.

If it were possible to face-punch a fictional character over and over again...Totho would be first on my list. Seriously. That guy brings down EVERY section of the books he's in. He's worse than Che.

Yeah...I said it.

Fuck Totho.

[Andorion]

QuickTidal, on 05 November 2015 - 03:44 PM, said:

Andorion, on 05 November 2015 - 03:32 PM, said:

It improves vastly if Totho isn't there being depressed.

If it were possible to face-punch a fictional character over and over again...Totho would be first on my list. Seriously. That guy brings down EVERY section of the books he's in. He's worse than Che.

Yeah...I said it.

Fuck Totho.

Che gets better book 7 onwards. Totho on the other hand...