[polishgenius]

Briar King, on 23 May 2018 - 02:22 AM, said:

Speaking of that I have managed to put away about 40 pgs total of Crimson the entire time I have been reading Fitz. Lol stalled out big time on Malazan project.

I did that too. I've just finished the Crippled God, about a year after starting my re-read, and of that time, including all the ICE books apart from Blood and Bone and Assail, I think about two months were spent on RotCG alone, which I stalled on so hard that I had to read RG in the middle to restart the engine. None of the other books took me more than a couple of weeks, and most of them a few days.

Which is weird because I liked it a lot the first time.

[JPK]

polishgenius, on 23 May 2018 - 04:53 PM, said:

Briar King, on 23 May 2018 - 02:22 AM, said:

Speaking of that I have managed to put away about 40 pgs total of Crimson the entire time I have been reading Fitz. Lol stalled out big time on Malazan project.

I did that too. I've just finished the Crippled God, about a year after starting my re-read, and of that time, including all the ICE books apart from Blood and Bone and Assail, I think about two months were spent on RotCG alone, which I stalled on so hard that I had to read RG in the middle to restart the engine. None of the other books took me more than a couple of weeks, and most of them a few days.

Which is weird because I liked it a lot the first time.

I'm having the same issue atm. I /know/ I should be actively listening to it during my commute, but almost every time I get in the car I find I'd rather be listening to the Welcome to Night Vale podcast. I've got great stuff lined up for when I finish it (TtH, Bobiverse 2, Culture 2), but that was time well spent on 32 episodes of Night Vale instead. I suspect I'd be half as far on WtNV if it was pretty much any other book I'm listening to.

[worry]

No spoilers but:

Spoiler

I will say that nothing is glossed over, even if Fitz writes about it that way initially. You'll get moments of remembrance of characters throughout the series. It's just a matter of the way Fitz processes his emotions. Not saying everybody gets that emotional punch in the gut moment, but nobody is just like one-and-done and then gone from Fitz's head.

[Esa1996]

Finally finished Wars of Light and Shadow 9 a month or two back. Overall a really good series I think, even if I had some problems with the writing.

After finishing WOLAS I moved onto Michelle West's Essalieyan Universe. Read the first three books in the House War series and then switched over to the Sacred Hunt series (Which I'm reading now) that takes place at the same time but with mostly different characters. Next up is the Sun Sword series that takes place around 16 years after these and then onto books 4 - 8 (Of which 7 and 8 are yet to be released) of the House War series that take place right after the Sun Sword. And then, once it gets written, I'll be reading the End of Days series that takes place somewhere after the last House War book. One might call the series structure confusing Anyway, the writing is great and the characterization is perhaps even better. Both are among the best I've ever seen. The action, apart from House War 1 which was very much a build up book, is good, though it's not quite on Malazan levels of epic. The plot has been pretty decent too even if the scope has been very small thus far. I'm guessing it will get bigger in the future though, based on the stuff that has been foreshadowed (Or even just looking at the name of the last series, End of Days). Another big bonus this series has is that it's not a bunch of trilogies like so many other fantasy series. Everything seems to have been planned from the start and the author isn't trying to squeeze everything into trilogies either. The Sacred Hunt is two books, the Sun Sword is six books and the House War will be eight books. There is no word on how long the End of Days will be once finished.

[Andorion]

Esa1996, on 24 May 2018 - 12:17 PM, said:

Finally finished Wars of Light and Shadow 9 a month or two back. Overall a really good series I think, even if I had some problems with the writing.

After finishing WOLAS I moved onto Michelle West's Essalieyan Universe. Read the first three books in the House War series and then switched over to the Sacred Hunt series (Which I'm reading now) that takes place at the same time but with mostly different characters. Next up is the Sun Sword series that takes place around 16 years after these and then onto books 4 - 8 (Of which 7 and 8 are yet to be released) of the House War series that take place right after the Sun Sword. And then, once it gets written, I'll be reading the End of Days series that takes place somewhere after the last House War book. One might call the series structure confusing Anyway, the writing is great and the characterization is perhaps even better. Both are among the best I've ever seen. The action, apart from House War 1 which was very much a build up book, is good, though it's not quite on Malazan levels of epic. The plot has been pretty decent too even if the scope has been very small thus far. I'm guessing it will get bigger in the future though, based on the stuff that has been foreshadowed (Or even just looking at the name of the last series, End of Days). Another big bonus this series has is that it's not a bunch of trilogies like so many other fantasy series. Everything seems to have been planned from the start and the author isn't trying to squeeze everything into trilogies either. The Sacred Hunt is two books, the Sun Sword is six books and the House War will be eight books. There is no word on how long the End of Days will be once finished.

Nice to hear praise for Michelle West, I read some of the books she wrote as Michelle Sagara and I really loved those.

[QuickTidal]

Andorion, on 24 May 2018 - 04:34 PM, said:

Esa1996, on 24 May 2018 - 12:17 PM, said:

Finally finished Wars of Light and Shadow 9 a month or two back. Overall a really good series I think, even if I had some problems with the writing.

After finishing WOLAS I moved onto Michelle West's Essalieyan Universe. Read the first three books in the House War series and then switched over to the Sacred Hunt series (Which I'm reading now) that takes place at the same time but with mostly different characters. Next up is the Sun Sword series that takes place around 16 years after these and then onto books 4 - 8 (Of which 7 and 8 are yet to be released) of the House War series that take place right after the Sun Sword. And then, once it gets written, I'll be reading the End of Days series that takes place somewhere after the last House War book. One might call the series structure confusing Anyway, the writing is great and the characterization is perhaps even better. Both are among the best I've ever seen. The action, apart from House War 1 which was very much a build up book, is good, though it's not quite on Malazan levels of epic. The plot has been pretty decent too even if the scope has been very small thus far. I'm guessing it will get bigger in the future though, based on the stuff that has been foreshadowed (Or even just looking at the name of the last series, End of Days). Another big bonus this series has is that it's not a bunch of trilogies like so many other fantasy series. Everything seems to have been planned from the start and the author isn't trying to squeeze everything into trilogies either. The Sacred Hunt is two books, the Sun Sword is six books and the House War will be eight books. There is no word on how long the End of Days will be once finished.

Nice to hear praise for Michelle West, I read some of the books she wrote as Michelle Sagara and I really loved those.

She's also a really nice woman. She worked at one of our local SFF speciality book stores in my city. I met her years ago, not realizing who she was till many years later.

[acesn8s]

I believe I read Hunter's Oath many years ago. For some reason, I never picked up the next book.

[Mentalist]

The last qquarter of "The Red Knight" is in DIRE need of an editor. Typo upon typo.

That being said, I stayed up an extra hour last night because that final battle for Lissen Carack was super-hard to put down.

In commute, I'm about 70% into "Farlander"- this slowed down since I was away from home for like 5 days (though I did read about a chapter during the weekend). I'm still not sure how I feel about this book. The setting is cool, but the plot isn't really striking any chords with me. And the Mann Empire is seriously off-putting. There's only so much institutionalized depravity I can handle.

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 25 May 2018 - 02:32 PM

[polishgenius]

Mentalist, on 25 May 2018 - 02:31 PM, said:

The last qquarter of "The Red Knight" is in DIRE need of an editor. Typo upon typo.

That being said, I stayed up an extra hour last night because that final battle for Lissen Carack was super-hard to put down.

Yeah, that series, especially the first two or three books, are typo-riddled. Book 2 is particularly notable because as well as just typos, there are a number of GotMism-like adjustments/mistakes between books 1 and 2 and it isn't always immediately obvious which is which.

But yeah, the battles in the series are absolutely superb.

[acesn8s]

I finished Leviathan's Wake during lunch. Bought Caliban's War for the holiday weekend.

[Whisperzzzzzzz]

Accidentally tapped delete instead of quote — why is there no confirmation when deleting a post?

Anywho, I was trying to quote my post where I talked about how I was really enjoying A Crown For Cold Silver. I've just finished it and immediately ordered the second. While a lot of unnecessary time is spent in certain characters' heads as they repeatedly question and belittle themselves, and one or two of the POVs were skippable, the book made up for it in other areas. Despite the culturebuilding being heavily inspired by our world, the overall worldbuilding was stellar — there's a ton of awesome depth throughout. And I'm very curious about where the next book will go.

Reading Pratchett's Mort for some lighter fare.

This post has been edited by Whisperzzzzzzz: 26 May 2018 - 12:05 AM

[End of Disc One]

I hope you enjoy A Blade if Black Steel more than I did. I loved ACfCS but didn’t get through book 2.

[Mentalist]

Whisperzzzzzzz, on 26 May 2018 - 12:03 AM, said:

Accidentally tapped delete instead of quote — why is there no confirmation when deleting a post?

Anywho, I was trying to quote my post where I talked about how I was really enjoying A Crown For Cold Silver. I've just finished it and immediately ordered the second. While a lot of unnecessary time is spent in certain characters' heads as they repeatedly question and belittle themselves, and one or two of the POVs were skippable, the book made up for it in other areas. Despite the culturebuilding being heavily inspired by our world, the overall worldbuilding was stellar — there's a ton of awesome depth throughout. And I'm very curious about where the next book will go.

Reading Pratchett's Mort for some lighter fare.

just waiting for the third book to be out in TPB before buying. I really like this series.

Book 2 has some pacing issues, but the humour and characters made up for it for me.

EDIT: apparently, it's already out in stores, ahead of the official release date (June 5th). Well, I know what i'll be grabbing this weekend and reading next!

[Whisperzzzzzzz]

End of Disc One, on 26 May 2018 - 12:35 AM, said:

I hope you enjoy A Blade if Black Steel more than I did. I loved ACfCS but didn’t get through book 2.

What issues did you have with it?

Mentalist, on 26 May 2018 - 12:37 AM, said:

Whisperzzzzzzz, on 26 May 2018 - 12:03 AM, said:

Accidentally tapped delete instead of quote — why is there no confirmation when deleting a post?

Anywho, I was trying to quote my post where I talked about how I was really enjoying A Crown For Cold Silver. I've just finished it and immediately ordered the second. While a lot of unnecessary time is spent in certain characters' heads as they repeatedly question and belittle themselves, and one or two of the POVs were skippable, the book made up for it in other areas. Despite the culturebuilding being heavily inspired by our world, the overall worldbuilding was stellar — there's a ton of awesome depth throughout. And I'm very curious about where the next book will go.

Reading Pratchett's Mort for some lighter fare.

just waiting for the third book to be out in TPB before buying. I really like this series.

Book 2 has some pacing issues, but the humour and characters made up for it for me.

EDIT: apparently, it's already out in stores, ahead of the official release date (June 5th). Well, I know what i'll be grabbing this weekend and reading next!

If I end up liking book 2 and continue on to 3, then that's perfect timing!

This post has been edited by Whisperzzzzzzz: 26 May 2018 - 02:19 AM

[End of Disc One]

Book 2 was slower, which is ok, but I stopped finding it funny which was a problem since not much was happening. That’s very subjective though.

[Mentalist]

Finished Red Knight

There's another series I definitely want to read in its entirety now.

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 26 May 2018 - 02:54 AM

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

Briar King, on 26 May 2018 - 03:17 AM, said:

On pg 150 of Fitz 7. Well that was unexpected. I'm not even sure how I feel about it. I'm not exp my typical emo that Robin always makes me feel. This whole thing is just off and I'm kinda MEH about it.

Spoiler

Molly having a 2 yr old pregnancy and birthing a tiny "pale" baby. I have a whole list of things on my mind like how the Fool explained how Whites are born and what happened to Nettle if Fitz and Molly carry the genes or maybe this has something to do with Fitz and the Fools body swap bringing Fool back to life or this is something to do with dragons once more being in the world mating...lots more I could say.

Agreed, but

Spoiler

I thought the run up to the birth was beautifully written, I really felt the sadness of Molly's apparent slow descent into madness, and the way Fitz felt he was losing her. It really touched something raw in me - my grandmother passed away the year before the book came out, and it was how I remember feeling when her memory and acuity started to fade. I found it very powerful!

[EmperorMagus]

TheRetiredBridgeburner, on 26 May 2018 - 09:05 PM, said:

Briar King, on 26 May 2018 - 03:17 AM, said:

On pg 150 of Fitz 7. Well that was unexpected. I'm not even sure how I feel about it. I'm not exp my typical emo that Robin always makes me feel. This whole thing is just off and I'm kinda MEH about it.

Spoiler

Molly having a 2 yr old pregnancy and birthing a tiny "pale" baby. I have a whole list of things on my mind like how the Fool explained how Whites are born and what happened to Nettle if Fitz and Molly carry the genes or maybe this has something to do with Fitz and the Fools body swap bringing Fool back to life or this is something to do with dragons once more being in the world mating...lots more I could say.

Agreed, but

Spoiler

I thought the run up to the birth was beautifully written, I really felt the sadness of Molly's apparent slow descent into madness, and the way Fitz felt he was losing her. It really touched something raw in me - my grandmother passed away the year before the book came out, and it was how I remember feeling when her memory and acuity started to fade. I found it very powerful!

Spoiler

The most powerful thing about that section of the book, imo, was how quintessentially human Fitz's thoughts and feelings were. The feelings of losing someone you love with all your heart, not being able to do anything about it, not understanding why it's happening, having to tolerate others who mock and judge you for your actions, having to hurt the one you love because of your personal beliefs. It was heartbreaking, and even more painful when it turns out that Molly was sane and correct all along.

I've found just one other writer who can insert so much emotion into his writing, and that's KJ Parker. I think writing like this requires a genius that is one in a hundred million.

[Mentalist]

Finished "Farlander". Can't say I'm a huge fan.

I'll wishlist book 2 on Kindle, but not in any hurry to read any more right now.

For commute tomorrow I'll start "War in Crimson Embers". While at home I'm gonna read Hal Duncan's "Ink"

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 27 May 2018 - 09:58 PM

[Esa1996]

acesn8s, on 24 May 2018 - 06:23 PM, said:

I believe I read Hunter's Oath many years ago. For some reason, I never picked up the next book.

I finished Hunter's Oath on Friday. I understand why you didn't continue the series; I'm not entirely sure whether or not I would have done so had I started with Hunter's Oath (There's a reason why author recommends the House War books as the starting point). Anyway, the book, while definitely not bad, didn't really stand out in anything. The House War books I've read thus far have all had above average characterization and writing, but Hunter's Oath had neither.

I'm currently a few chapters into Hunter's Death. Thus far the book seems to be made of two plot arcs which follow different characters. One of these characters was the main POV in the three House War books I've read, and thus I know her story in much more detail than what is told in Hunter's Death. This is somewhat annoying to be honest, especially as there are subtle differences between what is told in the House War books and what is told in Hunter's Death (Mostly the House War books tell things in far more detail than what Hunter's Death does, but there are still some clear discrepancies between the two).

This post has been edited by Esa1996: 29 May 2018 - 02:35 PM