[Andorion]

worry, on 01 January 2016 - 02:55 AM, said:

Save that kind of talk for PMs, you rascal!

Worry reading WoT is either going to be one of the best things that ever happened to this forum, or time we started looking for nuclear shelters

Please please do a read and describe thread like I did in the subforum!

[worry]

That is...ominous.

Frankly I don't think I have the level of focus necessary for the kind of dedicated thread you and others here can pull off, and I definitely don't read doorstoppers as fast as you do. But I'll try to post more thoughts in here as I go.

[Abyss]

worry, on 31 December 2015 - 10:42 PM, said:

...David Eddings was Chris Rock next to RJ...

You are my hero for at least the next half hour.

[Andorion]

worry, on 01 January 2016 - 03:09 AM, said:

That is...ominous.

Frankly I don't think I have the level of focus necessary for the kind of dedicated thread you and others here can pull off, and I definitely don't read doorstoppers as fast as you do. But I'll try to post more thoughts in here as I go.

I am sure you will love it. WoT can be very enteraining

[Stalker]

Last book of the year was Sapkowski's Blood of Elves. Was interested in more of Geralt after The Witcher 1-3 over the last many years. Enjoyed it overall but there were a few places where the translation felt jarring and there didn't seem to be enough of a focus on Geralt. Not quite what I was expecting but does provide some interesting backstory for the games I've enjoyed.

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

Abyss, on 01 January 2016 - 03:26 AM, said:

worry, on 31 December 2015 - 10:42 PM, said:

...David Eddings was Chris Rock next to RJ...

You are my hero for at least the next half hour.

And mine. That's brilliant!

[Andorion]

Si I finished Wolfe's Shadow of the Torturer.

Is it just me, or did nothing much happen? I feel like I missed something. The book ends on a cliffhangery note but the events preceding make very little sense.

[Lycaenion]

Started on Ursula K. Le Guin's The Earthsea Quartet

[Macros]

Oh man, just wait till worry gets to the orgy!!

[Baco Xtath]

Andorion, on 01 January 2016 - 09:28 AM, said:

Si I finished Wolfe's Shadow of the Torturer.

Is it just me, or did nothing much happen? I feel like I missed something. The book ends on a cliffhangery note but the events preceding make very little sense.

It's a quarter of a book, you read, not a stand-alone. The four comprise the Book of the New Sun so reading any four by itself won't work. It's been almost a decade since I read them so I don't recall much of what happened in the first but I do know you have to read them all to really appreciate them.

I'm 3 hrs into Imajica by Clive Barker and enjoying it. It's a 37 hr audiobook so I'm ready for the long haul. Also listening to Karen Memory and going to start the Curious Case of the Clockwork Man.

[Andorion]

Baco Xtath, on 01 January 2016 - 04:34 PM, said:

Andorion, on 01 January 2016 - 09:28 AM, said:

Si I finished Wolfe's Shadow of the Torturer.

Is it just me, or did nothing much happen? I feel like I missed something. The book ends on a cliffhangery note but the events preceding make very little sense.

It's a quarter of a book, you read, not a stand-alone. The four comprise the Book of the New Sun so reading any four by itself won't work. It's been almost a decade since I read them so I don't recall much of what happened in the first but I do know you have to read them all to really appreciate them.

I'm 3 hrs into Imajica by Clive Barker and enjoying it. It's a 37 hr audiobook so I'm ready for the long haul. Also listening to Karen Memory and going to start the Curious Case of the Clockwork Man.

Yeah, I figured later it would be complete in four parts. Already started the next book.

This post has been edited by Andorion: 01 January 2016 - 05:19 PM

[Abyss]

Baco Xtath, on 01 January 2016 - 04:34 PM, said:

I'm 3 hrs into Imajica by Clive Barker and enjoying it. It's a 37 hr audiobook so I'm ready for the long haul.

Oh, you are in for a treat.
...also some really weird sex scenes.

[Salt-Man Z]

Andorion, on 01 January 2016 - 09:28 AM, said:

Si I finished Wolfe's Shadow of the Torturer.

Is it just me, or did nothing much happen? I feel like I missed something. The book ends on a cliffhangery note but the events preceding make very little sense.

Yeah, the endings of the first two parts both do this rushed, confusing ending. (Kim Stanley Robinson calls these Wolfe's "slingshot endings.") For SHADOW, you never get a clear explanation of what happened, but there are hints about it later. (The second book's is easier to suss out, with the biggest clue being given at the end of the whole Book.) In either case, the cause of what happened is never as important to Severian as the effect. And you'll see throughout the series that though there are numerous manipulations and happenings going on in the background, Severian generally only concerns himself with what's happening to him at the present moment. It's up to the reader (but totally optional!) to try and piece together the "real" story behind the events in Severian's tale.

[Andorion]

Salt-Man Z, on 01 January 2016 - 09:00 PM, said:

Andorion, on 01 January 2016 - 09:28 AM, said:

Si I finished Wolfe's Shadow of the Torturer.

Is it just me, or did nothing much happen? I feel like I missed something. The book ends on a cliffhangery note but the events preceding make very little sense.

Yeah, the endings of the first two parts both do this rushed, confusing ending. (Kim Stanley Robinson calls these Wolfe's "slingshot endings.") For SHADOW, you never get a clear explanation of what happened, but there are hints about it later. (The second book's is easier to suss out, with the biggest clue being given at the end of the whole Book.) In either case, the cause of what happened is never as important to Severian as the effect. And you'll see throughout the series that though there are numerous manipulations and happenings going on in the background, Severian generally only concerns himself with what's happening to him at the present moment. It's up to the reader (but totally optional!) to try and piece together the "real" story behind the events in Severian's tale.

Yeah, that is something that struck me. I mean a lot of crazy stuff seems to be happening around him, but he just shrugs and gets on with it.

Spoiler

Why didn't he die when that leaf struck him? Those leaves can kill as members of the public dies when Agilus struck them
What was the point of the Agia arc? Just to try to steal his sword? The fact that they ended up in the tent temple of the Pelerines and she stole the Conciliator jewel was no accident, right?

[Salt-Man Z]

Yeah, a lot of stuff will become much clearer by the end of the series (though it won't all necessarily be spelled out explicitly.) As Severian himself says near the end:

Severian said:

Have I told you all I promised? I am aware that at various places in my narrative I have pledged that this or that should be made clear in the knitting up of the story. I remember them all, I am sure, but then I remember so much else. Before you assume that I have cheated you, read again, as I will write again.

[polishgenius]

The thing that Book of the New Sun is very well known for is that it rewards reread. You probably won't understand it all on a first go. Reading back earlier things with the later things in mind gives more answers.

[Macros]

onto king of foxes now, man midkemia took such a nosedive in quality after rage of a demon king

[Maark Abbott]

worry, on 31 December 2015 - 10:42 PM, said:

About halfway into The Shadow Rises by RJ. Way more enjoyable than any of the first three books, for some reason. There's even been a few successful bids at humor! Like before this, David Eddings was Chris Rock next to RJ, and now all of a sudden I've loled multiple times.

On the other hand

Spoiler

Perrin, the one likable Two Rivers dude, just spanked his girlfriend. RJ, you got some splainin' to do!

Spoiler

It's because her skirt wasn't smooth, she hadn't sniffed in three pages and she hadn't disparaged a man with an analogy about sheep, the herding thereof or the contents of said man's head being made of a sheep's fluffy outer layer.

3/4 through Kvothe & Chums 1. After this I'm onto King's Dragon by Kate Elliott (heard good things about this series).

This post has been edited by Maark: 02 January 2016 - 02:29 PM

[JPK]

I stated Blood Miridian by Cormac McCarthy this morning. My sister-in-law offered to loan it to me and I remembered someone in here recommended it (Worry, I think?) back when I was struggling with Hondo by L'Amour. 25 pages in so far and my only thought is that The Kid is a violent little shit ain't he...

[Abyss]

Macros, on 02 January 2016 - 11:18 AM, said:

onto king of foxes now, man midkemia took such a nosedive in quality after rage of a demon king

Quit while you're ahead!