[Macros]

QuickTidal, on 12 January 2018 - 05:16 PM, said:

Macros, on 12 January 2018 - 05:06 PM, said:

I think I've only read up to Sabbat Martyr, from memory last time I was getting them only the black library had them on ebook, has this changed or are they still hard to get in digital form?

I think Black Library holds exclusivity rights for the ebooks, so you can't get them off amazon or anything, but they are all avail on the BL website, and those will load up fine on your device was far as I know.

yeah I got the ones I have read off there in ebook, just strikes me as odd, surely its bound to cripple their potential digital sales by cutting out amazon, kobo and the like

[Salt-Man Z]

Macros, on 12 January 2018 - 06:17 PM, said:

just strikes me as odd, surely its bound to cripple their potential digital sales by cutting out amazon, kobo and the like

Games Workshop is like super tightfisted with their IP. Like, I think they tried to sue Blizzard over Warcraft at one point (on account of it being too similar to Warhammer.)

[Macros]

yeah I get that they want to protect their IP.

but this is not a creative issue, this is a distribution issue.

surely it makes sense to make your content available via as many popular outlets as possible? How many people go to shop at the Black Library? People who WANT warhammer books and therefore already know about the universe and what its about etc.
They're missing out on a massive potential audience via the amazon recomendations, business model wise it makes little to no sense to me.
Keep the BL, and retain some stuff exclusively for it, like special editions, anniversary editions etc, but the novels? let amazon sell them by the truckload and roll around in an even bigger pile of cash

[Salt-Man Z]

Oh, I don't disagree.

[Abyss]

Could be a competition thing. Amazon may make it more expensive for another vendor to sell.

Put another way, why lose any percentage to amazon if you have a working e sale site yourself and are easy to find.

[Macros]

I still think the increase in sales would easily offset the percentage amazon would take. I'd imagine with such a back catalogue the BL could cut a very favourable deal

[worry]

It's like CBS going with All Access instead of licensing w/ Netflix or Hulu. And you can't say that wasn't a great idea!

[QuickTidal]

Briar King, on 12 January 2018 - 05:30 PM, said:

Do the books have an EU like timeline included?

I know it’s a multiauthor franchise and intimidating to consider a power read but that’s how I roll when decide.

You can keep track of the Gaunt books, and there is the WH40k Lexicaneum which has timelines for everything...which spans tens of thousands of years. But yeah, you can generally find out where things take place in the timeline.

[polishgenius]

Salt-Man Z, on 12 January 2018 - 06:26 PM, said:

Like, I think they tried to sue Blizzard over Warcraft at one point (on account of it being too similar to Warhammer.)

To be fair, that doesn't take being tightfisted, since Warcraft and Starcraft are blatant takeoffs of Warhammer and Warhammer 40k. I mean, they out and out admit they wanted to make a Warhammer game initially but didn't feel like working through licensing issues.

[stone monkey]

Morgoth, on 12 January 2018 - 07:34 AM, said:

I loved every single one of her books.

Hadn't read her before. I will be reading more of her. I can see why her Hugo wins attracted the ire of the Rabid Puppies. A black woman telling stories about an abused minority being used, bred and enslaved for the gain (and indeed survival) of a society that hates them, their sf has no place for voices like that.

Nick Harkaway's Gnomon, which I also read recently, is pretty fun too... in case you're trying to catch up with me

This post has been edited by stone monkey: 13 January 2018 - 01:36 AM

[worry]

Hundred Thousand Kingdoms has some of that stuff as backdrop to it, though it largely doesn't tell a prole-level story. And it's an entirely different milieu (it's kind of amazing how different all three of her series are from each other -- her imagination is jaw-dropping). But I guess what I'm getting at is that Broken Earth kinda feels like a convergence of her storytelling talents (at this point, fair to say mastery) with the real world concerns that have always been bubbling beneath the surface. It's a work of great empathy, and absolutely a work of art.

[Whisperzzzzzzz]

Briar King, on 13 January 2018 - 02:28 AM, said:

I really need to check her out one day.

The only day better than tomorrow is today!

[Abyss]

Briar King, on 13 January 2018 - 08:54 PM, said:

Back in my bedroom watching Jace play Halo on old Xbox and I look over to a small stack of books and pick up Into the Darkness. This is such a cool twist on WW2 but I always feel guilt in my enjoyment of it but cause it was beyond brutal irl.

The series starts strong and has some fun twists, but overall felt two books too long and utterly hamhanded at times.

[Tsundoku]

Briar King, on 14 January 2018 - 05:18 AM, said:

Abyss, on 14 January 2018 - 04:27 AM, said:

Briar King, on 13 January 2018 - 08:54 PM, said:

Back in my bedroom watching Jace play Halo on old Xbox and I look over to a small stack of books and pick up Into the Darkness. This is such a cool twist on WW2 but I always feel guilt in my enjoyment of it but cause it was beyond brutal irl.

The series starts strong and has some fun twists, but overall felt two books too long and utterly hamhanded at times.

Did you read back to back or as published?

Also Mentalist has been trying to find bks 5&6 for yrs now so if anyone sees any while browsing please let him know. They are hard to find these days. Jaws of Darkness/Out of the Darkness by Harry Turtledove

I read most of that series as they came out, and some were weaker than others. I think I've only read the first 3-4. I'll get around to the rest some day. I have those 2 above on my shelf.
I don't know if I'd call it padding or Turtledove trying to cover too many aspects in too much detail, which isn't supported by his style. The same for his Worldwar and the-South-won-the-civil-war multiple series.

Big fan of the Gaunt's Ghosts series - I have them all. I doubt I'll see a copy of The Warmaster here in Townsville though. Might order it when it goes to paperback.

EDIT: finished American Gods. I can see why people call it unique and hard to classify. I liked it. Even though I was confused for most of the first half, I still found the writing style quite enjoyable to read.

This post has been edited by Tsundoku: 14 January 2018 - 08:39 AM

[Andorion]

Reading The Silver Spike by Glen Cook. A bit meh after the third book.

Finished Infernal Battalion by Django Wexler. Its quite good, but Guns of Empire was better

[Chance]

Andorion, on 14 January 2018 - 09:24 AM, said:

Reading The Silver Spike by Glen Cook. A bit meh after the third book.

It ain't very good at all but it is basically a sidestory.


More or less done with Persepolis Rising listening to the last few minutes and it is good, probably the best of the recent Expanse books even if it has a slow start. Minor spoiler.

Spoiler

I'm however still convinced that the bad guys are basically thinly veiled space nazis and that they are somewhat hard to take serious at times especially when they speak philosophy and history which they obviously haven't learned anything from.

This post has been edited by Chance: 14 January 2018 - 12:20 PM

[Puck]

Chance, on 14 January 2018 - 12:01 PM, said:

Andorion, on 14 January 2018 - 09:24 AM, said:

Reading The Silver Spike by Glen Cook. A bit meh after the third book.

It ain't very good at all but it is basically a sidestory.

Yeah, Silver Spike is notorious for being the worst BC book. It's nice to get that side story, but I skip it on rereads after I tried to read it again once and got stuck halfway through.

[Gabriele]

Macros, on 11 January 2018 - 06:25 AM, said:

Briar King, on 11 January 2018 - 05:48 AM, said:

This is the Rome books you told me about when I just starting First Man in Rome correct Mac?

The series is the 'Eagle' series by Simon Scarrow, I *think* the first in the series is Under The Eagle. It's reminiscent of Sharpe in its make up as in there is a main protagonist with a trusty best friend, an is loose historical fiction. The series is up to about 15/16 books now, but like Sharpe the later novels are suffering a little bit of Mary sue on the main character, but the first...ten at least a page turning popcorn fun, plenty of action and not overly long. A totally contrast to McCullaghs Rome books bear in mind, there's little by way of historical accuracy in them as the main characters are all fictional, and it's not about Rome political arena really, it's about life in the legions on the frontier

I agree the first books are quite entertaining, and the history isn't so far off that it bothered me (compared to Iggulden's Caesar series which I gave up on for that reason).

Roman adventure series seem to be the vogue right now; there's half a dozen of them at least. I haven't read all of them, but I like Douglas Jackson's series about Gaius Valerius Verrens (Hero of Rome) - found that one after I read his standalone debut novel Claudius, told from the POV of the caretaker of Claudius' favourite elephant, which was a decent first effort. Setting of the Verrens novels is from Boudicca to AD 80 (and back to Britain) by now, covering the whole fun of the 4 emperors in several volumes. It's up to vol. 8 published and suffering a bit from the Umptieth book gets repetitive-syndrome, but an entertaining read if you want action and adventure.

Harry Sidebottom is another author worth checking out. He's a professor for Ancient History and his first book suffers a bit from the Explanation Syndrome, but it moves on briskly enough. The Warrior of Rome series (6 volumes) covers the time of Valerian and Gallienus; the 'prequel' trilogy features Maximinus Thrax, among others. The latter one doesn't have a single MC and more politics.

Ben Kane is a mixed bag. I read the first chapters of one of his Hannibal novels but didn't like the writing. The Arminius trilogy is an ok read, though. (My take on the subject is different, but I have access to tons of German research and the newest archaeological finds, some of it not yet published, and my approach is more epic and not focussed on one - usually soldier - MC.)

This post has been edited by Gabriele: 14 January 2018 - 12:37 PM

[End of Disc One]

I enjoyed the Silver Spike, more than book 4. It reminded me of book 2. Haven’t read 5 yet.

[Abyss]

Puck, on 14 January 2018 - 12:14 PM, said:

Chance, on 14 January 2018 - 12:01 PM, said:

Andorion, on 14 January 2018 - 09:24 AM, said:

Reading The Silver Spike by Glen Cook. A bit meh after the third book.

It ain't very good at all but it is basically a sidestory.

Yeah, Silver Spike is notorious for being the worst BC book. It's nice to get that side story, but I skip it on rereads after I tried to read it again once and got stuck halfway through.

End of Disc One, on 14 January 2018 - 02:57 PM, said:

I enjoyed the Silver Spike, more than book 4. It reminded me of book 2. Haven't read 5 yet.

I enjoyed SPIKE. It was very much BLACK COMPANY but with a nice mix of weird the rest of the series doesn't indulge in.