Malazan Empire: Reading at t'moment? - Malazan Empire

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Reading at t'moment?

#15061 User is offline   Rictus 

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Posted 16 March 2015 - 10:18 PM

View Postamphibian, on 16 March 2015 - 07:30 PM, said:

View PostRictus, on 16 March 2015 - 06:52 PM, said:

Shadow of the Torturer is making me feel stupid. Actually, every book of his of his I've tried just confounds me. The story grinds on and on, and I'm left empty handed and lost. Frustrating stuff.

The best entry point to Gene Wolfe is The Knight, followed by The Wizard.

What he does in most of his books is to use the "writing in a diary" approach by the hero of the story - but most times, there's sub-text and possible evasions/cover-ups of something sneaky going on as well.

In the New Sun books, Wolfe particularly plays around with Severian's need to romanticize Thecla, embiggen himself as an honest person and throws in a bit of Shakespeare in an actual play being thrown that has all kinds of allusions to stuff in our real world and Severian's world.

In The Knight and The Wizard, the hero, Sir Able of the High Heart, is much more straightforwards and easy to glom onto as a reader. It's also a more straightforwards reinvention of Arthurian/Northern European legends and mythology.


Yes, I suspected his love affairs were something major, seeing how the man falls in love at the drop of a hat. :D I'm not giving up, of course, I'm merely frustrated because of my general cluelessness. Severian and the rest of the actors reached some giant wall -- that's where I'm at, so maybe I have yet to reach some critical juncture where some things become clear, though I'm not holding my breath.
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#15062 User is offline   Rictus 

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Posted 16 March 2015 - 10:20 PM

Yeah, and Latro is very good as well. I'll have to finish the first book finally. So many good stories to read before one dies, so little time.
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#15063 User is offline   Salt-Man Z 

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Posted 17 March 2015 - 02:35 AM

View PostRictus, on 16 March 2015 - 10:18 PM, said:

Severian and the rest of the actors reached some giant wall -- that's where I'm at, so maybe I have yet to reach some critical juncture where some things become clear, though I'm not holding my breath.

Heh. Shadow is probably the most straightforward of the books, plotwise. Things should very gradually become more clear as you go, though, with most of the big insights coming in the latter half of book four. Of course, it's the second reading that's probably the most eye-opening. And even after my five readings, there's plenty of stuff that remains inscrutable.
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#15064 User is offline   Baco Xtath 

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Posted 18 March 2015 - 06:11 AM

Read Leaves on the Wind graphic novel (Serenity's sequel - or the continuation of Firefly.....whatever) and was really disappointed. Also reading the Glass God and starting the Folding Knife (again).
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#15065 User is offline   Maark Abbott 

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Posted 18 March 2015 - 08:30 AM

TDTCB is starting to get weird. What the dick is this talking bird with a person's face? I also seem to recall a warning about bendy demon phalli. It's not gotten that weird yet.
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#15066 User is offline   Andorion 

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Posted 18 March 2015 - 04:43 PM

View PostMaark, on 18 March 2015 - 08:30 AM, said:

TDTCB is starting to get weird. What the dick is this talking bird with a person's face? I also seem to recall a warning about bendy demon phalli. It's not gotten that weird yet.


TDTCB? Sorry, missed that acronym
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#15067 User is offline   McLovin 

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Posted 18 March 2015 - 04:46 PM

The Darkness that Comes Before. Though "bendy demon phalli" should have clued you in.
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#15068 User is offline   Andorion 

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Posted 18 March 2015 - 05:06 PM

View PostMcLovin, on 18 March 2015 - 04:46 PM, said:

The Darkness that Comes Before. Though "bendy demon phalli" should have clued you in.


Oh, Bakker. I haven't read him yet. Waiting for book 6 this year.
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#15069 User is offline   D'iversify 

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Posted 18 March 2015 - 06:40 PM

View PostMaark, on 18 March 2015 - 08:30 AM, said:

TDTCB is starting to get weird. What the dick is this talking bird with a person's face? I also seem to recall a warning about bendy demon phalli. It's not gotten that weird yet.
Trust me, not the weirdest face even in book one.
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#15070 User is offline   Abyss 

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Posted 18 March 2015 - 07:24 PM

View PostAndorion, on 18 March 2015 - 05:06 PM, said:

View PostMcLovin, on 18 March 2015 - 04:46 PM, said:

The Darkness that Comes Before. Though "bendy demon phalli" should have clued you in.


Oh, Bakker. I haven't read him yet. Waiting for book 6 this year.


I suspect you'll be waiting next year too.
Sadly.

I'd suggest picking up the first three. They read well together and the ending is closed.


And then i would recommend waiting for bk6 before starting the second trilo.


View PostD, on 18 March 2015 - 06:40 PM, said:

View PostMaark, on 18 March 2015 - 08:30 AM, said:

TDTCB is starting to get weird. What the dick is this talking bird with a person's face? I also seem to recall a warning about bendy demon phalli. It's not gotten that weird yet.
Trust me, not the weirdest face even in book one.


Hee hee hee.
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#15071 User is offline   Andorion 

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Posted 19 March 2015 - 02:08 AM

View PostAbyss, on 18 March 2015 - 07:24 PM, said:

View PostAndorion, on 18 March 2015 - 05:06 PM, said:

View PostMcLovin, on 18 March 2015 - 04:46 PM, said:

The Darkness that Comes Before. Though "bendy demon phalli" should have clued you in.


Oh, Bakker. I haven't read him yet. Waiting for book 6 this year.


I suspect you'll be waiting next year too.
Sadly.

I'd suggest picking up the first three. They read well together and the ending is closed.


And then i would recommend waiting for bk6 before starting the second trilo.


View PostD, on 18 March 2015 - 06:40 PM, said:

View PostMaark, on 18 March 2015 - 08:30 AM, said:

TDTCB is starting to get weird. What the dick is this talking bird with a person's face? I also seem to recall a warning about bendy demon phalli. It's not gotten that weird yet.
Trust me, not the weirdest face even in book one.


Hee hee hee.


Which is a better fantasy trilogy to start: Mark Lawrence's Thorns, or Bakker's first three?
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#15072 User is offline   amphibian 

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Posted 19 March 2015 - 02:53 AM

That depends on what you're in the mood for. Bakker's is much more of a trip into a truly dark version of Lord of the Rings + the grimmest Viking/Greek/Hindu tragedies you can imagine. The Thorns trilogy is kind of like a fantasy version of Liam Neeson in Taken, but with a child.

I enjoy them both considerably. Both get undeserved crap flung at them that obscures their genuinely good writing skills.

This post has been edited by amphibian: 19 March 2015 - 02:53 AM

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#15073 User is offline   Andorion 

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Posted 19 March 2015 - 03:24 AM

Thorns is on my list for this year. Bakker is a maybe. But both are for later in the year. After Sanderson its time for some smaller books and slightly different genres
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#15074 User is offline   Mentalist 

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Posted 19 March 2015 - 03:37 AM

finished Asher's second "owner" novel, Zero Point today. it's arguably even better than the first. I don't what it is about cyberpunk, but it always gives you the worst villains.

IN this case, Asher got to me. There were points where I wanted to put the book down with the "did that character really just do that? and they're trying to say THAT to justify it?" type of reaction. very few books have gotten me like that.

Add to it the well-written action, solid pacing, and teh cool sciency bits, and you've got a great book. Need to think what I'll read next for my commute. thinking I want to get away from sci-fi a bit, may go for "Republic of thieves", although I wanted to do a re-read of the other "gentlemen Bastards books first.
Hmm, actually no. Think I'll get back to the first Bobby dollar book by Tad Williams, The dirty Streets of Heaven . I need something light-ish for my commute.
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View PostJump Around, on 23 October 2011 - 11:04 AM, said:

And I want to state that Ment has out-weaseled me by far in this game.
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#15075 User is offline   D'iversify 

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Posted 19 March 2015 - 10:19 AM

View PostAndorion, on 19 March 2015 - 02:08 AM, said:

Which is a better fantasy trilogy to start: Mark Lawrence's Thorns, or Bakker's first three?
Not read Lawrence, but I rate Bakker very highly (he is probably my favourite fantasy author at the moment; a heresy, I know, on an Erikson site).
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#15076 User is offline   Tiste Simeon 

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Posted 19 March 2015 - 12:23 PM

Let me save you a lot of boredom: Don't read Bakker. Seriously. I can give you a 5 minute synopsis of everything that happens in the original trilogy (didn't read books 4 & 5) if you wanted.

Thorns is pretty darn entertaining.
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#15077 User is offline   End of Disc One 

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Posted 19 March 2015 - 12:45 PM

I've read the Broken Empire (Thorns) trilogy and the first 2 Bakker books. I think Broken Empire is good, not great. But Bakker is fantastic. Both are very different.
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#15078 User is offline   amphibian 

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Posted 19 March 2015 - 01:03 PM

View PostTiste Simeon, on 19 March 2015 - 12:23 PM, said:

Let me save you a lot of boredom: Don't read Bakker. Seriously. I can give you a 5 minute synopsis of everything that happens in the original trilogy (didn't read books 4 & 5) if you wanted.

No, you cannot do so.
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#15079 User is offline   QuickTidal 

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Posted 19 March 2015 - 01:14 PM

View Postamphibian, on 19 March 2015 - 01:03 PM, said:

View PostTiste Simeon, on 19 March 2015 - 12:23 PM, said:

Let me save you a lot of boredom: Don't read Bakker. Seriously. I can give you a 5 minute synopsis of everything that happens in the original trilogy (didn't read books 4 & 5) if you wanted.

No, you cannot do so.


He kind of can. LOL. But then both Tiste and I were completely unimpressed with Bakker...so we might be biased.

Also Andorion: I'll throw in my lot for Lawrence. Loved the entire trilogy...and the first book of the second trilogy as well. All great stuff.

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 19 March 2015 - 01:15 PM

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#15080 User is offline   QuickTidal 

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Posted 19 March 2015 - 01:20 PM

I'm almost halfway through TO GREEN ANGEL TOWER PART II, the final book in Tad Williams MS&T...and it's been really solid so far. Best storyline in this book so far:

Spoiler

"When the last tree has fallen, and the rivers are poisoned, you cannot eat money, oh no." ~Aurora

"Someone will always try to sell you despair, just so they don't feel alone." ~Ursula Vernon
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