[Andorion]

Maark, on 02 March 2016 - 03:30 PM, said:

I'll check it out. One thing they already have going for them is that nothing could possibly be as bad as TWOK.

The setting is fun, I love the industrial world, the action is good, and frequent, but the humour, Gods below, the humour. This is the sort of humour Quick Ben makes a hole under and Kalam chucks in a borrowed Cusser after.

[T77]

Mentalist, on 01 March 2016 - 03:49 PM, said:

Yeah, I felt some parts of WoR were significantly improved over WoK. A few things annoyed me *cough* Kal *cough*, but overall his pacing was much better, and the ending shows promise of actually having enough stuff to sustain a 10-book epic. Maybe.

So I'm still not ready to totally give up on Sanderson, but by no means is he a Tier 1 writer for me.

I feel the same way about Sanderson. I didn't care for the first Misborn book, And I like WoK and WoR, but just think they're okay. He's in my B list.

[QuickTidal]

Imperial Historian, on 02 March 2016 - 03:29 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 02 March 2016 - 01:38 PM, said:

UPROOTED by Naomi Novik.

Ugh, what a shitshow.

A few chapters in and so far this is Beauty & The Beast (Grumpy asshole regularly kidnaps young special girls) + She's All That (no seriously, frumpy girl doesn't realize how beautiful she is till it's pointed out to her) + Fairytaleland (minus any real worldbuilding).

As well written as Novik can (sometimes she's great, sometimes she's awful) be, but goddamn I could not be more bored by the story and the plodding nature of everything. Also, take a BIT of a lesson from Harry Potter and if you are going to have spells to use, they should require work....you should not be able to, untrained, just say them and have magic happen. Even Hermione practiced FFS.

Yeah, I'm not feeling it, and may put it down. I'm glad I waited till paperback to try this one out.

This book starts off like it's going to be a fairly cliched beauty and the beast retelling, but then it hits it's stride and subverts all that and is wonderfully written throughout. One of the best fantasy books I read last year, the portrayal of the wild is one of the best done villains I've read in fantasy. Leaps and bounds above Noviks other stuff. Give it a chance.

Andorion, on 02 March 2016 - 03:58 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 02 March 2016 - 01:38 PM, said:

UPROOTED by Naomi Novik.

Ugh, what a shitshow.

A few chapters in and so far this is Beauty & The Beast (Grumpy asshole regularly kidnaps young special girls) + She's All That (no seriously, frumpy girl doesn't realize how beautiful she is till it's pointed out to her) + Fairytaleland (minus any real worldbuilding).

As well written as Novik can (sometimes she's great, sometimes she's awful) be, but goddamn I could not be more bored by the story and the plodding nature of everything. Also, take a BIT of a lesson from Harry Potter and if you are going to have spells to use, they should require work....you should not be able to, untrained, just say them and have magic happen. Even Hermione practiced FFS.

Yeah, I'm not feeling it, and may put it down. I'm glad I waited till paperback to try this one out.

Give it a chance. I had the same thoughts as you early on, but then the book got better. Novik does a good job of subverting the familiar

This would require patience I don't think I currently possess. Your recommendations will mean that it stays in my ToRead pile for a future attempt (instead of being sold off)...but as it stands, I want to chuck it across the room.

[Imperial Historian]

QuickTidal, on 02 March 2016 - 04:21 PM, said:

This would require patience I don't think I currently possess. Your recommendations will mean that it stays in my ToRead pile for a future attempt (instead of being sold off)...but as it stands, I want to chuck it across the room.

I just remembered this book was recommended by polishgenius... this may explain everything

(note to self, uprooted doesn't get the coveted double stamp of approval)

[polishgenius]

Imperial Historian, on 02 March 2016 - 04:56 PM, said:

(note to self, uprooted doesn't get the coveted double stamp of approval)

Many have tried, few have succeeded.

[QuickTidal]

polishgenius, on 02 March 2016 - 05:44 PM, said:

Imperial Historian, on 02 March 2016 - 04:56 PM, said:

(note to self, uprooted doesn't get the coveted double stamp of approval)

Many have tried, few have succeeded.

The double stamp is the gold standard of book recommendations for a reason. If it happened too often it would not be special.

I wish we'd kept a list somewhere PG. I can't recall most of them as it stands.

[Maark Abbott]

It is said that the double stamp takes the form of Dragnipur crossed by a Toblakai blade, and in the background is the face of a white, undead cat.

[polishgenius]

QuickTidal, on 02 March 2016 - 06:41 PM, said:

I wish we'd kept a list somewhere PG. I can't recall most of them as it stands.

Me neither. Apart from the very obvious (Dresden, Caine, Malazan).

Maybe we should start a topic to keep track.

[QuickTidal]

polishgenius, on 02 March 2016 - 07:10 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 02 March 2016 - 06:41 PM, said:

I wish we'd kept a list somewhere PG. I can't recall most of them as it stands.

Me neither. Apart from the very obvious (Dresden, Caine, Malazan).

Maybe we should start a topic to keep track.

Hehe, okay next time we agree we can do just that. Now all it needs a catchy title.

[theocean]

Anyone suggest anything close to the traitors son cycle. Ive gotten my malazan re read out of the way. Farseer, Prince of thorns series. Trying to find another series before FOL debuts.

[polishgenius]

Depends what you're liking in Traitor's Son really. I can't really think of anything similar in the way it matches the military precision with the fairytale background and magic, but:

In attitude it shares a few things with Joe Abercrombie's First Law and sequels, although Prince of Thorns is a closer comparison there.

The in-depth military campaign thing is done amazingly by Mary Gentle's Ash: a Secret History, which isn't a series but is so fucking massive that it's not far off just by itself.




Also, while it's not particularly similar to Traitor's Son, the last book in Daniel Abraham's Dagger and Coin series comes out tomorrow so now might be a good time to get into that. It's lower-key, especially on the magic, but the character work is just brilliant (and while it has its share of traditionally awesome moments, the way its centered around the characters means it has a nice line in seemingly quieter, less normally obvious awesome moments).

[theocean]

polishgenius, on 02 March 2016 - 10:27 PM, said:

Depends what you're liking in Traitor's Son really. I can't really think of anything similar in the way it matches the military precision with the fairytale background and magic, but:

In attitude it shares a few things with Joe Abercrombie's First Law and sequels, although Prince of Thorns is a closer comparison there.

The in-depth military campaign thing is done amazingly by Mary Gentle's Ash: a Secret History, which isn't a series but is so fucking massive that it's not far off just by itself.




Also, while it's not particularly similar to Traitor's Son, the last book in Daniel Abraham's Dagger and Coin series comes out tomorrow so now might be a good time to get into that. It's lower-key, especially on the magic, but the character work is just brilliant (and while it has its share of traditionally awesome moments, the way its centered around the characters means it has a nice line in seemingly quieter, less normally obvious awesome moments).

Sold on dagger and coin I guess. Thank you

[Stalker]

Just finished Chains of the Heretic, the final book of Jeff Salyards' Bloodsounders Arc. Highly recommend the series, which is about a scribe embedded in a company of highly trained soldiers. I think the strongest part of the trilogy is the characterization, though there's a lot of action, and a great plot too. Each book picks up immediately after where the last one left off so taken as a whole, it's a fantastic series. Though on its own, book one is more setup than anything else. Worth a look.

[Salt-Man Z]

Stalker, on 03 March 2016 - 02:41 AM, said:

Just finished Chains of the Heretic, the final book of Jeff Salyards' Bloodsounders Arc. Highly recommend the series, which is about a scribe embedded in a company of highly trained soldiers. I think the strongest part of the trilogy is the characterization, though there's a lot of action, and a great plot too. Each book picks up immediately after where the last one left off so taken as a whole, it's a fantastic series. Though on its own, book one is more setup than anything else. Worth a look.

Ah, I didn't even realize that was out yet. I really enjoyed the first two, but was surprised to hear the third book was the end. When I got the first book from Salyards himself, I asked him if it was going to be a trilogy or ongoing series or what, and his response seemed to indicate a more open-ended deal. Indeed, the first two books almost feel like a prologue to the "real" action. Still, I'll have to read Chains sooner than later. ::Goes to check Amazon::

[Stalker]

Salt-Man Z said:

1456977538[/url]' post='1223049']

Stalker said:

1456972890[/url]' post='1223044']
Just finished Chains of the Heretic, the final book of Jeff Salyards' Bloodsounders Arc. Highly recommend the series, which is about a scribe embedded in a company of highly trained soldiers. I think the strongest part of the trilogy is the characterization, though there's a lot of action, and a great plot too. Each book picks up immediately after where the last one left off so taken as a whole, it's a fantastic series. Though on its own, book one is more setup than anything else. Worth a look.

Ah, I didn't even realize that was out yet. I really enjoyed the first two, but was surprised to hear the third book was the end. When I got the first book from Salyards himself, I asked him if it was going to be a trilogy or ongoing series or what, and his response seemed to indicate a more open-ended deal. Indeed, the first two books almost feel like a prologue to the "real" action. Still, I'll have to read Chains sooner than later. ::Goes to check Amazon::

A more open-ended deal would have been my take having finished these three novels. Considering the name, arc rather than trilogy, also seems to fit in line with that idea. That said, the plot of these three novels is nicely wrapped up.
I really enjoyed them though, and hope there are more novels in the world. It's rare for me to read at work (and during work) and I certainly did with this series.

[Whisperzzzzzzz]

Accidentally deleted my previous post while trying to quote it - why is there no confirmation on delete? I was able to recover the text from the cached page though:

"About 150 pages from the end of Queen Of Fire. So far it's been a very strong conclusion to Ryan's Raven's Shadow series, with many entertaining reveals and battle sequences. While it's a long book, I haven't felt that it dragged at any point. One small nit I have is that it's relatively obvious when Ryan has consigned a character to die later in a chapter, so a lot of the impact of those big deaths is lost. But overall, I've had trouble putting the book down and can't wait to see how the ending plays out."

One more thing I have to complain about after finishing QoF and then skimming through book 1 again very quickly - the character development was a lot shallower for secondary and tertiary characters in the later two books than it was in the first. I'm tempted to attribute this to two things - the expansiveness of the character roster by the end of the series and the introduction of multiple POVs in books 2 & 3 (whereas book 1 was mostly a single POV).

Still a fun, almost great series overall.

Stalker, on 03 March 2016 - 02:41 AM, said:

Just finished Chains of the Heretic, the final book of Jeff Salyards' Bloodsounders Arc. Highly recommend the series, which is about a scribe embedded in a company of highly trained soldiers. I think the strongest part of the trilogy is the characterization, though there's a lot of action, and a great plot too. Each book picks up immediately after where the last one left off so taken as a whole, it's a fantastic series. Though on its own, book one is more setup than anything else. Worth a look.

This sounds comparable to The Black Company series, based off your short description. Any thoughts on their similarities?

This post has been edited by Whisperzzzzzzz: 03 March 2016 - 05:13 AM

[Stalker]

Whisperzzzzzzz said:

1456981848[/url]' post='1223056']

Stalker said:

1456972890[/url]' post='1223044']
Just finished Chains of the Heretic, the final book of Jeff Salyards' Bloodsounders Arc. Highly recommend the series, which is about a scribe embedded in a company of highly trained soldiers. I think the strongest part of the trilogy is the characterization, though there's a lot of action, and a great plot too. Each book picks up immediately after where the last one left off so taken as a whole, it's a fantastic series. Though on its own, book one is more setup than anything else. Worth a look.

This sounds comparable to The Black Company series, based off your short description. Any thoughts on their similarities?

When I was looking to see if this series had been mentioned previously, I saw SMZ had a great post. The below is taken from that post, found Here

Quote

I've seen a number of comparisons to Glen Cook's Black Company books, and...I dunno, getting compared to Cook is kind of the default thing when you're talking about first-person military fantasy. Salyards' book is gritty and bloody and grunt-level and narrated by an archivist, yes, but it has a very different feel for a few reasons. First is Arki's perspective as an outsider to the Syldoon group: he's out of his depth in this new world of soldiery and intrigue right alongside the reader. Secondly, although this is very much aa fantasy novel, the fantastical elements play little to no role in this book (though presumably they'll be far more important later in the series.) There are no mages wielding powerful magic in battle here—it's just swords and crossbows and shields, prowess and guts and determination, and luck. The action is decidedly mundane, and feels that much more visceral and real for it. Finally, though the Black Company is ground-level in scope, there's still an epic war going on in the background; Scourge of the Betrayer is much more intimate, and though there are, in fact, long-range machinations going on behind the scenes, they feel far more subtle and less immediate.

I'd agree with that overall. Comparisons are bound to happen, based on the description "scribe in a mercenary company". Is it as bleak as the Black Company? No, but it does match it in gritty action. Another similarity is that it develops a few key characters and focuses on them, their discussions and plans. Much like Croaker, Goblin, One-Eye, etc. Definitely some similarities and more as the series builds, but enough differences to keep it fresh.

[Whisperzzzzzzz]

Stalker, on 03 March 2016 - 05:32 AM, said:

Whisperzzzzzzz said:

1456981848[/url]' post='1223056']

Stalker said:

1456972890[/url]' post='1223044']
Just finished Chains of the Heretic, the final book of Jeff Salyards' Bloodsounders Arc. Highly recommend the series, which is about a scribe embedded in a company of highly trained soldiers. I think the strongest part of the trilogy is the characterization, though there's a lot of action, and a great plot too. Each book picks up immediately after where the last one left off so taken as a whole, it's a fantastic series. Though on its own, book one is more setup than anything else. Worth a look.

This sounds comparable to The Black Company series, based off your short description. Any thoughts on their similarities?

When I was looking to see if this series had been mentioned previously, I saw SMZ had a great post. The below is taken from that post, found Here

Quote

I've seen a number of comparisons to Glen Cook's Black Company books, and...I dunno, getting compared to Cook is kind of the default thing when you're talking about first-person military fantasy. Salyards' book is gritty and bloody and grunt-level and narrated by an archivist, yes, but it has a very different feel for a few reasons. First is Arki's perspective as an outsider to the Syldoon group: he's out of his depth in this new world of soldiery and intrigue right alongside the reader. Secondly, although this is very much aa fantasy novel, the fantastical elements play little to no role in this book (though presumably they'll be far more important later in the series.) There are no mages wielding powerful magic in battle here—it's just swords and crossbows and shields, prowess and guts and determination, and luck. The action is decidedly mundane, and feels that much more visceral and real for it. Finally, though the Black Company is ground-level in scope, there's still an epic war going on in the background; Scourge of the Betrayer is much more intimate, and though there are, in fact, long-range machinations going on behind the scenes, they feel far more subtle and less immediate.

I'd agree with that overall. Comparisons are bound to happen, based on the description "scribe in a mercenary company". Is it as bleak as the Black Company? No, but it does match it in gritty action. Another similarity is that it develops a few key characters and focuses on them, their discussions and plans. Much like Croaker, Goblin, One-Eye, etc. Definitely some similarities and more as the series builds, but enough differences to keep it fresh.

Sounds like I'll dig it then, even if it's a bit mundane! Adding it to my list.

EDIT: Jeeze, the paperback is $14.73 on Amazon!? That's a bit loony.

This post has been edited by Whisperzzzzzzz: 03 March 2016 - 07:12 AM

[EmperorMagus]

Whisperzzzzzzz, on 03 March 2016 - 07:08 AM, said:

Stalker, on 03 March 2016 - 05:32 AM, said:

Whisperzzzzzzz, on 03 March 2016 - 05:10 AM, said:

Stalker, on 03 March 2016 - 02:41 AM, said:

Just finished Chains of the Heretic, the final book of Jeff Salyards' Bloodsounders Arc. Highly recommend the series, which is about a scribe embedded in a company of highly trained soldiers. I think the strongest part of the trilogy is the characterization, though there's a lot of action, and a great plot too. Each book picks up immediately after where the last one left off so taken as a whole, it's a fantastic series. Though on its own, book one is more setup than anything else. Worth a look.

This sounds comparable to The Black Company series, based off your short description. Any thoughts on their similarities?

When I was looking to see if this series had been mentioned previously, I saw SMZ had a great post. The below is taken from that post, found Here

Quote

I've seen a number of comparisons to Glen Cook's Black Company books, and...I dunno, getting compared to Cook is kind of the default thing when you're talking about first-person military fantasy. Salyards' book is gritty and bloody and grunt-level and narrated by an archivist, yes, but it has a very different feel for a few reasons. First is Arki's perspective as an outsider to the Syldoon group: he's out of his depth in this new world of soldiery and intrigue right alongside the reader. Secondly, although this is very much aa fantasy novel, the fantastical elements play little to no role in this book (though presumably they'll be far more important later in the series.) There are no mages wielding powerful magic in battle here—it's just swords and crossbows and shields, prowess and guts and determination, and luck. The action is decidedly mundane, and feels that much more visceral and real for it. Finally, though the Black Company is ground-level in scope, there's still an epic war going on in the background; Scourge of the Betrayer is much more intimate, and though there are, in fact, long-range machinations going on behind the scenes, they feel far more subtle and less immediate.

I'd agree with that overall. Comparisons are bound to happen, based on the description "scribe in a mercenary company". Is it as bleak as the Black Company? No, but it does match it in gritty action. Another similarity is that it develops a few key characters and focuses on them, their discussions and plans. Much like Croaker, Goblin, One-Eye, etc. Definitely some similarities and more as the series builds, but enough differences to keep it fresh.

Sounds like I'll dig it then, even if it's a bit mundane! Adding it to my list.

EDIT: Jeeze, the paperback is $14.73 on Amazon!? That's a bit loony.

This reminded me of the woes of buying American stuff in CAD.
It hurts.

[Puck]

Whisperzzzzzzz, on 03 March 2016 - 07:08 AM, said:

Sounds like I'll dig it then, even if it's a bit mundane! Adding it to my list.

EDIT: Jeeze, the paperback is $14.73 on Amazon!? That's a bit loony.

(Snipped the previous quotes for brevity's sake.)

That's what I was thinking as well. Then I looked up the ebooks, same problem with the price. Even the German translation is cheaper, and that's a first for me.