Abyss, on 25 November 2025 - 02:53 PM, said:
i'll chime in bcs RED RISING is a current fave of mine... bk 1, the first half, is just meh. Predictable by the numbers YA sf. I would have dropped the series right there but for a number of people here and elsewhere absolutely swearing to me on the blood of their ancestors that it gets better. And it does, the back half of bk 1 is like a whole other book, still reads YA, but gets a bit subversive and a lot uglier. Then bks 2 onwards go full adult SF, at times mil/SF, and the author really starts to hit his stride. Bk 4 is setup for the rest of the series and doesn't so much dip as catch its breath for 5 and 6 which just went more and more insane. 7 will be a guaranteed pre-order/day of arrival read for me. Excellent characters, interesting villains, fun tech without going hard sf, reasonable setting similar to the Expanse in scope but very different in feel.
I'll actually add that not only is the first half "meh," it's actively bad. Just terribly written and terribly edited. I came so very close to putting the book down and never looking back. I can't remember now and didn't make notes at the time (because in truth I was on the verge of DNF'ing) but I think it took a good twenty chapters to actually grip me. But once it did it became pretty easy to overlook its flaws. The writing is still... not great. But the story at least gets interesting. Book two is better. Vastly. The growth as a writer is noticeable. The remainder of the first trilogy wasn't as painful to read after slugging through that first half of that first book, which is somewhat surprising given the short time frame in which they were released (and I presume written). That said, I've been stuck on chapter two of Iron Gold for months. I've read several other books since and every time I return to it I just don't have any real desire. I've heard nothing but good things, and having experienced book one I have no doubt it will eventually sink its teeth in and I'll struggle to put it down, but I'm not there yet.
Just closed out Strength of the Few the other day, which was good but not as good as its predecessor and my expectations for future books are now tempered. I'll read them, but they won't be anticipated in the same regard this was.
I've now started a re-read of Stover's Acts of Caine as it's been a good decade since my last and I've gotten married, bought a house, and lost a parent in that time. I'm curious as to how such momentous changes have reshaped my perception of the series (of which I maintain is my favourite of all time). I'm also juggling that with a first time read of F Paul Wilson's Repairman Jack/Adversary works, while waiting on Craig Schaefer to finally spit out Neon Meridian or the next Faust.
"Fuck epiphanies and denouement. Just clobber the structural confines and ramble all over the page."
— Steven Erikson (2008)
Help
Tsundoku, on 01 December 2025 - 11:03 AM, said:
