[polishgenius]

Macros, on 25 March 2016 - 09:33 AM, said:

Lets not mention the redemption of Althalus then shall we?

Oh damnit.....

Trust me, Dreamers was worse.

[Macros]

I didn't think that was possible. I think possibly my parents might have bought me one of this series, based upon seeing weddings name on my bookshelf. Is there a fleet, lured into a sea that looks lime its full of gold or something? What ever the hell it was, I think it was an weddings book and I lasted a few chapters.

Redemption was awful, the worst weddings I have read.
But I read all his other stuff quite young, even at that age the tamuli felt tired, iirc it was even more of a rehash of the selenium than the mallorean was of the belgariad.

I kinda want to reread the belgariad now, but on the other hand... I really don't want to

Eta....sigh, autocorrect, why do you hate me so much?

This post has been edited by Macros: 25 March 2016 - 11:47 AM

[Gabriele]

polishgenius, on 23 March 2016 - 10:56 PM, said:

I'm currently reading The Dread Wyrm, the third in the Traitor Son cycle by Miles Cameron. I'm so glad I took another shot at The Red Knight when I struggled with the opening back when, because I'm absolutely loving this series now.

Hm, maybe I should give the books another try.

[Andorion]

Someway into Dune and I cannot believe how fast this book sucked me in. Rereading it after 6 or so years is like reading a new book

[Tiste Simeon]

Macros, on 25 March 2016 - 09:33 AM, said:

Lets not mention the redemption of Althalus then shall we?

Oh damnit.....

I think I remember that one... Was there a cat who was actually a goddess?

[Mentalist]

Finished "Of bone and Thunder" by Chris Evans. This is good, squad-based "war never changes" stuff.

Not much of a plot, but it plays for poignancy--which it mostly delivers. And it's a fun ride, with crossbow infantry, dragons as aviation and magic-users as radiomen/women. Good pacing, archetypical, but fun characters, well-written action. And it's a standalone. I'd recommend this over the Iron Elves.

In commute, finished 2 out of the 3 stories in the second volume of Corum. The setting is much more grounded, but with Corum being a willing hero this time around, it's pretty by the numbers heroic fantasy, no real surprises- so it feels blander than the earlier Corum stuff. Also, heavier on the Celtic names, which make my tongue twist and my eyes glaze over. Should be done next week, unless I take it on my trip tomorrow.

I really should be starting the FoD re-read, but I recently discovered that I still have another Noreela novel by Tim Lebbon, "Fallen" unread. It's technically the 4th in the series, but I believe that following the Dusk-Dawn duology the rest are standalones. SO I think I'll quickly skim over the ending of "Dawn" again, and then give "Fallen" a read.

EDIT: read the last 50 pgs of "Dawn" again (those books kick ass, I need to re-read that duo sometime), and then looked @ the map in "Fallen" and realized it's set about a thousand years earlier.
about 150 pgs in, and it's good to be back in Lebbon's world. His characters are all so deliciously darkly messed up.

Maark, you should read "Dusk". You'd love it.

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 02 May 2016 - 05:04 PM

[Andorion]

Briar King, on 25 March 2016 - 06:37 PM, said:

I thought you hadn't read Dune before.

I had, but it was a long time back. I think I wrote 6, but it was more like 8. Honestly all I remembered was it was a desert and there were giant worms.

[Andorion]

Briar King, on 25 March 2016 - 06:59 PM, said:

What about the other bks?

No I only read Dune. I didn't even know there were sequels until recently

[Salt-Man Z]

I've read the original 6 Dune books twice. The last time was in high school, so like...20 years ago. (Holy crap.) Well overdue for a reread, methinks. (They're that good.)

[Macros]

Pawn of Prophecy.

Nothing really happened.

I must have just melded all 10 books together in my head and forgotten how dull book one really was.
Was I this easily entertained as a youth?
I was concerned that once I read Pawn I would succumb to a childish longing for punishment akin to my recent self flagellant foray into Feist's protracted struggle to milk the poor midkemia cow to death, and be compelled to read all 10 again. But I feel no such compulsion, this book was... Well a nothing really. Whiny teen get scolded by Aunt could be the tagline for nearly every page. Blargh. I had such fond memories, I knew they were dross on a real level compared to modern fantasy, but I thought I would have at least got a nostalgia kick from rereading, like I reread a Hardy Boys book a few years ago, just to see, and yes it was tosh, but it was enjoyable tosh.
Pawn of Prophecy is just all tosh.

[Macros]

Just starting Simon Scarrows latest Eagles book, Britania.
I wasn't even aware it was out!
Macro and Cato, Rome's answer to sharpe and harper

This post has been edited by Macros: 25 March 2016 - 09:54 PM

[worry]

"She would have been pretty without that frown." Oh is that so? Great character work. Anyone ever get the feeling RJ mighta been one of those "Smile, sweetheart!" guys to women on the street? Like maybe he ate the early bird special down at the Winking Wench Pub & Grill every Thursday and only tipped 10% to the waitresses who wouldn't smile and flirt with him?

[Grief]

RJ's depiction of women -- in fact, of people in general imo, though there's a distinction between poor characterisation and gender issues -- is not one of the strong points of the series.

Though frankly I think the series is hugely overrated anyway. It's cliche, repetitive, poorly paced and the characterisation and dialogue is often very clunky. Taken as a whole I'd have to rate it as mediocre really. It's one of those series where it's hard to separate the acclaim from nostalgia and the popularity of the series.

Most people I know IRL who rate WoT really highly are the people who read it early in their fantasy-reading lives. Most people I know who read it once they were already well acquainted with the genre didn't really get the hype. Of course, this is anecdotal, and doesn't only apply to WoT. But I do find that certain series' have this issue much more than others, I suppose because they're more popular and common introductions to the genre (the most contentious author in this regard would obviously be Tolkien).

[Abyss]

Andorion, on 25 March 2016 - 06:56 PM, said:

Briar King, on 25 March 2016 - 06:37 PM, said:

I thought you hadn't read Dune before.

I had, but it was a long time back. I think I wrote 6, but it was more like 8. Honestly all I remembered was it was a desert and there were giant worms.

And drugs.Lots and lots of spacedrugs.

[Abyss]

Macros, on 25 March 2016 - 09:28 PM, said:

Pawn of Prophecy.

Nothing really happened.

I must have just melded all 10 books together in my head and forgotten how dull book one really was.
Was I this easily entertained as a youth?
I was concerned that once I read Pawn I would succumb to a childish longing for punishment akin to my recent self flagellant foray into Feist's protracted struggle to milk the poor midkemia cow to death, and be compelled to read all 10 again. But I feel no such compulsion, this book was... Well a nothing really. Whiny teen get scolded by Aunt could be the tagline for nearly every page. Blargh. I had such fond memories, I knew they were dross on a real level compared to modern fantasy, but I thought I would have at least got a nostalgia kick from rereading, like I reread a Hardy Boys book a few years ago, just to see, and yes it was tosh, but it was enjoyable tosh.
Pawn of Prophecy is just all tosh.

Not tosh at all, but utter setup, except for a bit at the end that's mostly Garion avoiding people doing the real fighting. QUEEN OF SORCERY is when stuff gets fun.

[worry]

Well I've been pretty consistently giving it 3/5 stars on Goodreads, so I'd agree it's middling, but I'm only on book 6. It's my understanding that the decline is 7-10 w/ CoT the absolute nadir, and then Sanderson brings it back up to par w/ 11-13 (didn't include the novella there, though I do plan to read it). I'm actually looking forward to the worst ones, out of morbid curiosity and self-flagellation for my many sins.

[Grief]

Zoolanderis Derake, on 26 March 2016 - 04:45 AM, said:

Well I've been pretty consistently giving it 3/5 stars on Goodreads, so I'd agree it's middling, but I'm only on book 6. It's my understanding that the decline is 7-10 w/ CoT the absolute nadir, and then Sanderson brings it back up to par w/ 11-13 (didn't include the novella there, though I do plan to read it). I'm actually looking forward to the worst ones, out of morbid curiosity and self-flagellation for my many sins.

I don't actually remember minding book 7 too much -- I remember it as formulaic rather than mindnumbingly dull -- but I can see why people consider it the start of the decline with hindsight. 3/5 is probably fair for a lot of the series; it's not aggressively bad so much as agressively bland.

[Macros]

Just wait till you get to the part where the ladies see Rands calves, WITHOUT HOSE COVERING THEM!!
Necklines plunge to dangerous new lows and braids are tugged furiously (not a euphemism)

[Abyss]

I dunno... I thought the revelation that all the braid pulling was to generate strength in The One Power was pretty clever.

[Gabriele]

Macros, on 25 March 2016 - 09:54 PM, said:

Just starting Simon Scarrows latest Eagles book, Britania.
I wasn't even aware it was out!
Macro and Cato, Rome's answer to sharpe and harper

It's out since fall. Next time I'll alert you when I got it.