[Macros]

Ive misplaced the first book of her first series, only about 50 pages in and not overly concerned about finding it right now alas

[Abyss]

I expect that i will finish Brown's LIGHT BRINGER, then Sanderson's YUMI, before i jump back into Essalyan. Am somewhat divided whether to move to Sun Sword bk 3 or House War bk 1.

[Whisperzzzzzzz]

QuickTidal, on 27 July 2023 - 11:57 AM, said:

I own it and so I'm going to read it...and to be fair there has been more than one book over the years that you didn't like that I enjoyed a lot.

I love every Black Company book...but, Port of Shadows is terrible and should not exist. You should just skip it, though maybe there's value in reading it and joining the hate fan club?

This post has been edited by Whisperzzzzzzz: 27 July 2023 - 04:03 PM

[QuickTidal]

Sorted out that ELRIC is not for me. It's WAY more S&M/tortury/clive barker-y than I thought it would be...and yeah, I can't square that. I understand Elric is intentionally not as decadent as the rest of the Melniboneans, but holy hell...that's a no from me dawg.

[Cyphon]

Yeah I couldn't make it through the only Clive barker book I've read. It was good but, unrelentingly grim.

Nearly finished the earthsea trilogy which is a nice gentle read and you can see the influence it had everywhere.

[Abyss]

QuickTidal, on 28 July 2023 - 01:38 PM, said:

Sorted out that ELRIC is not for me. It's WAY more S&M/tortury/clive barker-y than I thought it would be...

Cyphon, on 28 July 2023 - 04:24 PM, said:

Yeah I couldn't make it through the only Clive barker book I've read. It was good but, unrelentingly grim.
...

Clive has a certain tone for most of his work, but i would recommend IMAJICA to anyone. Less grim, less body horror/torture, more insane.

[Chance]

QuickTidal, on 28 July 2023 - 01:38 PM, said:

Sorted out that ELRIC is not for me. It's WAY more S&M/tortury/clive barker-y than I thought it would be...and yeah, I can't square that. I understand Elric is intentionally not as decadent as the rest of the Melniboneans, but holy hell...that's a no from me dawg.

How far did you get? Elric kinda starts very heavy on Melniboneans are bad a theme that basically takes a lot less space later. It becoming more strange/insane sword and sorcery once Elric gets of the island but that might be book two it was a while since I read them

Quote

Clive has a certain tone for most of his work, but i would recommend IMAJICA to anyone. Less grim, less body horror/torture, more insane.

Imajica and Weaveworld remain vivid for me, would recommend to anyone in for some crazy reading.

This post has been edited by Chance: 28 July 2023 - 05:13 PM

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

QuickTidal, on 28 July 2023 - 01:38 PM, said:

Sorted out that ELRIC is not for me. It's WAY more S&M/tortury/clive barker-y than I thought it would be...and yeah, I can't square that. I understand Elric is intentionally not as decadent as the rest of the Melniboneans, but holy hell...that's a no from me dawg.

I loved them when I was nine (the books, that is---not the Melniboneans...)....

The prose paled relative to Shakespeare though
Perhaps that's not a fair comparison...

[Cyphon]

It was IMAJICA I was reading. It was good but I was struggling to read so I DNF'd and moved on. Might come back to it once day.

[Mentalist]

Still 300 pages to go in Durfee's last book, and the Apocalypse already started.

I'm curious how it's gonna get resolved now.

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 29 July 2023 - 08:22 PM

[Tiste Simeon]

Cyphon, on 29 July 2023 - 04:57 AM, said:

It was IMAJICA I was reading. It was good but I was struggling to read so I DNF'd and moved on. Might come back to it once day.

I finished this but pretty much hated it by the end. The concept was great the execution not so much (in my mind anyway)

[Abyss]

Tiste Simeon, on 30 July 2023 - 08:05 AM, said:

Cyphon, on 29 July 2023 - 04:57 AM, said:

It was IMAJICA I was reading. It was good but I was struggling to read so I DNF'd and moved on. Might come back to it once day.

I finished this but pretty much hated it by the end. The concept was great the execution not so much (in my mind anyway)

Interesting. I've read it twice, it utterly captured me.
It is a VERY different book, bucks the tropes and expectations repeatedly, which is a very Barker thing to do, but stays away from the body horror and graphic violence that is also usually very Barker.

[Mentalist]

wrapped up the last bk in the "Five Warrior Angels" trilogy.

For the next 2 weeks of beach reading it's gonna be "Rhythm of War"

[Abyss]

Mentalist, on 01 August 2023 - 06:28 AM, said:

wrapped up the last bk in the "Five Warrior Angels" trilogy.

So all in, how was that?

Quote

For the next 2 weeks of beach reading it's gonna be "Rhythm of War"

[Mentalist]

Abyss, on 01 August 2023 - 12:57 PM, said:

Mentalist, on 01 August 2023 - 06:28 AM, said:

wrapped up the last bk in the "Five Warrior Angels" trilogy.

So all in, how was that?

Quote

For the next 2 weeks of beach reading it's gonna be "Rhythm of War"

1) mixed. Durfee's big thing is subverting the "chosen one" trope. Except sometimes he doesn't. And most characters have plot-mandated blindness towards some glaringly obvious things.
Portions of the books are travelogues, which... Can be okay, but can also drag in some parts.

The ending has some serious bad-ass moments, even though too many people have plot armor for my tastes. Feels like he's gotten a bit too enamoured with the "subverting prophecies" theme.

Overall, it's an okay grimdark popcorn read.

[Tiste Simeon]

So, big news. Decided to read WoT. I'm 10% into Eye of the World.

[Macros]

so 99% of the way to the crossroads of shite to go

[worry]

[Salt-Man Z]

worry, on 27 July 2023 - 12:22 PM, said:

I think the series gets better as it goes, and the last two books are the best.

As slow as it went at times, I loved the "Glittering Stone" saga. The last two books gave me a very Erikson vibe, if that makes any sense, especially given how anti-Erikson (writing-wise) the first trilogy feels.

[amphibian]

I really liked the South Asian fantasy blend and very much understood why Cook fractured the narrative. The jump in settings to go north initially was a bigger shock to me.

But he functionally stopped writing for decades and then released a loop back to early series rather than forging on ahead. Big missed opportunity and we're unlikely to see more Black Company (even if I bought Port of Shadows and all the others).