[QuickTidal]

On the weekend (I've been keeping DANCER'S LAMENT as my daily transit read to help savour it slower, it's that great!) I started Graham Hancock's 1995 theoretical volume FINGERPRINTS OF THE GODS. I hear that a LOT of historians and others dismiss him outright as a quack...and while I'm sure some of his hypotheses are out there and likely not correct, a lot of the other stuff that no one can seem to refute is truly compelling, and his research is HEAVY. Anyways, whether some of his theories are right, or whether it's all bunk, I'm fascinated by the read nonetheless, and if this continues to be the case I'll pick up the recent sequel MAGICIANS OF THE GODS as well.

[Andorion]

Switched to multiple readings after a long time.

Reading Altered Carbon, which is very exciting so far. Aspects of it are reminiscent of Peter Hamilton's Commonwealth books.

The heavy home read is The Rules of the Game: Jutland and British Naval Command. So far, the first chapter has presented me with a lot of stuff I did not know.

[Mentalist]

amphibian, on 13 March 2016 - 04:16 AM, said:

Grace of Kings is an unusual book. It's written kinda like the Iliad with really flat characters and not a whole lot of subtle political stuff, but it works for what it is. The back and forth and the sprawling of the war is fun to read, plus the love stories.

I ended up thinking I probably won't read more Liu, but understanding why it's got great reviews.

I still don't understand why GGK gets good reviews for his Chinese alt history works when better stuff like this is available.

If I was to guess, it's because Kay basically makes his fantasy place a carbon copy of the real world location, changes the names, and then writes whatever lyrical story he wants to tell- his stuff doesn't really use the setting as a selling point- in the sense that yeah, it's there, it unique, but it's not the point the point are the characters and their story.

Whereas in mos other "Asian-themed" fantasy, the setting seems to drive the plot. With "Under Heaven" and it's sequel, I didn't really feel that.

The one time Kay tried to make the setting the gimmick (Tigana), he didn't do nearly as good.

Btw I got about 100 pgs into "Grace of Kings" last night. Liking it so far.

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 02 May 2016 - 04:54 PM

[Abyss]

Baco Xtath, on 14 March 2016 - 12:26 PM, said:

Abyss, on 14 March 2016 - 03:41 AM, said:

... BROTHERHOOD OF THE WHEEL tho... Urban fantasy based on truckers and others who try to protect the highways... That seemed to fit what. Was looking for.
Also, why read one of the hundreds of books in the TRP when I can just buy something shiny and new, amirite?...this should be a fun read.

Listened to Brotherhood of the Wheel over the weekend. Fuck'n awesome book. It's not a collection of shorts, though. There were 4 maybe 5 POVs. I didn't care for the narrator though. One of the characters is described as having a southern/Irish accent and the reader completely fucked it up - not sure how it would sound myself, really. But his reading of it was just either/or, not a mix. Didn't matter, book was awesome.

Noted and glad to hear someone else liked it.

Unfortunate about the narrator, a bad narration can kill a really good book. Conversely, a solid narration can really enhance a decent book into something really enrgossing.

Considering how drawn in I was by BROTHERHOOD's ch1, I'm glad I'm going w ebook.

acesn8s, on 14 March 2016 - 12:30 PM, said:

I'm interested in see how the rest of the book hold up. It sounds pretty cool.

You know I will, but Baco's post is encouraging.

[QuickTidal]

Mentalist, on 14 March 2016 - 01:56 PM, said:

amphibian, on 13 March 2016 - 04:16 AM, said:

Grace of Kings is an unusual book. It's written kinda like the Iliad with really flat characters and not a whole lot of subtle political stuff, but it works for what it is. The back and forth and the sprawling of the war is fun to read, plus the love stories.

I ended up thinking I probably won't read more Liu, but understanding why it's got great reviews.

I still don't understand why GGK gets good reviews for his Chinese alt history works when better stuff like this is available.

If I was to guess, it's because Kay basically makes his fantasy place a carbon copy of the real world location, changes the names, and then writes whatever lyrical story he wants to tell- his stuff doesn't really use the setting as a selling point- in the sense that yeah, it's there, it unique, but it's not th point the point are the characters and their story.

Whereas in mos other "Asian-themed" fantasy, the setting seems to drive the plot. With "Under Heaven" and it's sequel, I didn't really feel that.

The one time Kay tried to make the setting the gimmick (Tigana), he didn't do nearly as good.

Btw I got about 100 pgs into "Grace of Kings" Las night. Liking it so far.

This is it exactly. I tried to put my finger on what was different after Amph mentioned it, but you're right. Kay doesn't worry about the setting because he largely has it established already in the real world and just changes names of things. Sarantium = Byzantium ect. And it's the human stories he laid on top of that which we engage with.

And I briefly tried out Lui's book and did not care for it. It's been peddled as the "next big thing" on the net, and I just could not get into it myself.

[Abyss]

Maark Abbott, on 14 March 2016 - 12:41 PM, said:

Briar King, on 14 March 2016 - 04:14 AM, said:

I don't blame you not wanting to pick up RoT again. Horrible book.

What are the issues with it? I ask because I really enjoyed TLOLL and had considered continuing the series.

Damn Maark, this is a loaded one.




I loved LIES. Utterly totally one of my favorite first novels by a new author. It lived up the hype, it delivered, great characters, great setting, solid action, fun caper, terrific villains, real tension.

RED... was the opposite. The characters were mostly bystanders to events happening around them, or just being propelled by them. The plot meandered... the tangents stalled, and the ultimate resolution was disappointing and a far cry from LIES. I finished this book, I did not particularly enjoy it. The characters just barely carried it forward to its end and I lost a lot of the love for them by then.

REPUBLIC... is all of the things I disliked about RED, only more. I found that the plot doesn't so much meander as outright stall, the stakes are weak, the flashback storyline is YA in the bad sense, bordering on infantile... so here I am, trying to recapture even a bit of the things I so liked about LIES, and failing. It's frustrating because all the pieces are there but the delivery just doesn't work for me. By the time DANCER`S LAMENT arrived and I punted REPUBLIC to the side, I was down to skimming the book hunting for the tiny bits that actually seemed relevant to the bigger story, and I couldn`t even finish that.

With LIES i thought Lynch was a great writer, but his last two efforts haven`t worked for me and barring massive glowing raves, I wont be trying a fourth time.

(and yes, I know about his personal issues and sympathize, but none of that can prompt me to expend dollars and eyetime on books that don't work for me).

[QuickTidal]

Abyss, on 14 March 2016 - 03:01 PM, said:

Maark Abbott, on 14 March 2016 - 12:41 PM, said:

Briar King, on 14 March 2016 - 04:14 AM, said:

I don't blame you not wanting to pick up RoT again. Horrible book.

What are the issues with it? I ask because I really enjoyed TLOLL and had considered continuing the series.

Damn Maark, this is a loaded one.




I loved LIES. Utterly totally one of my favorite first novels by a new author. It lived up the hype, it delivered, great characters, great setting, solid action, fun caper, terrific villains, real tension.

RED... was the opposite. The characters were mostly bystanders to events happening around them, or just being propelled by them. The plot meandered... the tangents stalled, and the ultimate resolution was disappointing and a far cry from LIES. I finished this book, I did not particularly enjoy it. The characters just barely carried it forward to its end and I lost a lot of the love for them by then.

REPUBLIC... is all of the things I disliked about RED, only more. I found that the plot doesn't so much meander as outright stall, the stakes are weak, the flashback storyline is YA in the bad sense, bordering on infantile... so here I am, trying to recapture even a bit of the things I so liked about LIES, and failing. It's frustrating because all the pieces are there but the delivery just doesn't work for me. By the time DANCER`S LAMENT arrived and I punted REPUBLIC to the side, I was down to skimming the book hunting for the tiny bits that actually seemed relevant to the bigger story, and I couldn`t even finish that.

With LIES i thought Lynch was a great writer, but his last two efforts haven`t worked for me and barring massive glowing raves, I wont be trying a fourth time.

(and yes, I know about his personal issues and sympathize, but none of that can prompt me to expend dollars and eyetime on books that don't work for me).

I will second these exact sentiments pretty much. And I am also in the boat that unless the 4th book garners MULTIPLE great reviews...I won't be picking it up. Which really IS sad because of how good LIES was.

[Mentalist]

QuickTidal, on 14 March 2016 - 02:47 PM, said:

Mentalist, on 14 March 2016 - 01:56 PM, said:

amphibian, on 13 March 2016 - 04:16 AM, said:

Grace of Kings is an unusual book. It's written kinda like the Iliad with really flat characters and not a whole lot of subtle political stuff, but it works for what it is. The back and forth and the sprawling of the war is fun to read, plus the love stories.

I ended up thinking I probably won't read more Liu, but understanding why it's got great reviews.

I still don't understand why GGK gets good reviews for his Chinese alt history works when better stuff like this is available.

If I was to guess, it's because Kay basically makes his fantasy place a carbon copy of the real world location, changes the names, and then writes whatever lyrical story he wants to tell- his stuff doesn't really use the setting as a selling point- in the sense that yeah, it's there, it unique, but it's not th point the point are the characters and their story.

Whereas in mos other "Asian-themed" fantasy, the setting seems to drive the plot. With "Under Heaven" and it's sequel, I didn't really feel that.

The one time Kay tried to make the setting the gimmick (Tigana), he didn't do nearly as good.

Btw I got about 100 pgs into "Grace of Kings" Las night. Liking it so far.

This is it exactly. I tried to put my finger on what was different after Amph mentioned it, but you're right. Kay doesn't worry about the setting because he largely has it established already in the real world and just changes names of things. Sarantium = Byzantium ect. And it's the human stories he laid on top of that which we engage with.

And I briefly tried out Lui's book and did not care for it. It's been peddled as the "next big thing" on the net, and I just could not get into it myself.

I don't use anything other than this site for lit reccos, so I was unaware of of hype. I'm not expecting "the next big thing" out of anything I read, really

On its own merit, so far I'm decently interested. My biggest yardstick of "epic" fantasy is a simple question- "can I mentally transpose the situation described into real-world context?" If the answer is "yes", if the world is consistent and believable, then world-building is good, I'm likely to be interested, good characters and strong writing are secondary concerns.

In this sense "Grace of kings" is all right.

Edit: i'll also be a dissenting voice who says "Republic of Thieves" wasn't terrible. It wasn't spectacular, and the ending made me furrow my brow as to where Lynch is taking the series and if he really needed to go there. But overall, read back to back after re-reading the other ones, it's a 3.5/5 novel, imho. And RED was a 2.75, so it's not all bad.

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 02 May 2016 - 04:55 PM

[Andorion]

I just saw this on Goodreads.

Anybody getting Ketty Jay vibes?

[Mentalist]

Andorion, on 14 March 2016 - 05:06 PM, said:

I just saw this on Goodreads.

Anybody getting Ketty Jay vibes?

It definitely hits some of the right notes. Post-alien-induced cataclysm-apocalypse is different.

May have to check this out.

[polishgenius]

I mentioned it a few weeks back, but if you're after a Ketty Jay vibe, you should definitely be giving The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers a try. The setting's pure space opera, but the tone of the piece is very Ketty Jay (also a bit Firefly, obviously). I really liked it a lot.



And in the other direction, if you like the setting and world in Ketty Jay, the Far-Called series by Stephen Hunt has something similar with the huge, huge world they get around by airship and various wacky magics and technologies, though the plot is less crew-on-a-job and more sprawling and quest-y. The writing can be clunky in places, but (unlike earlier books by Hunt which I couldn't get into) it wasn't enough to bother me on this occasion.





Me, I'm currently reading The Labyrinth of Flame, the third in the Shattered Sigil trilogy by Courtney Schafer. Delighted that it came out after kickstarter after Nightshade's issues nearly scuppered the series after two. Schafer certainly knows how to ramp up the tension; enjoying it so far.

[HiddenOne]

Maark Abbott, on 14 March 2016 - 12:41 PM, said:

Briar King, on 14 March 2016 - 04:14 AM, said:

I don't blame you not wanting to pick up RoT again. Horrible book.

What are the issues with it? I ask because I really enjoyed TLOLL and had considered continuing the series.

I, too, would like to know what is wrong with the book, since I am reading Red Seas, it seems fine.


ETA: I have just read the thumbs down galore from the others, so I'll hold off until the books finds its way onto the discount list.

Anybody like the book yet?

This post has been edited by HiddenOne: 14 March 2016 - 06:43 PM

[Mentalist]

HiddenOne, on 14 March 2016 - 06:40 PM, said:

Maark Abbott, on 14 March 2016 - 12:41 PM, said:

Briar King, on 14 March 2016 - 04:14 AM, said:

I don't blame you not wanting to pick up RoT again. Horrible book.

What are the issues with it? I ask because I really enjoyed TLOLL and had considered continuing the series.

I, too, would like to know what is wrong with the book, since I am reading Red Seas, it seems fine.


ETA: I have just read the thumbs down galore from the others, so I'll hold off until the books finds its way onto the discount list.

Anybody like the book yet?

*raises hand*

I think it's ok

[Princess]

I recently started reading Luo Guanzhong's Romance of the Three Kingdoms. It's pretty great so far, although the naming can get really confusing, considering characters are referred to with their given name and courtesy name interchangeably. On that subject, anyone got any suggestions on which of the four great Chinese novels to read after Romance? Dream of the Red Room, Water Margin or Journey to the West?

[amphibian]

If you haven't had much experience with Journey before, pick that one. There's so much good stuff in it that it keeps getting remade and referred to over and over - almost to the point of story fatigue - in movies, shows, and other books.

[amphibian]

Briar King, on 14 March 2016 - 07:10 PM, said:

Lies and Red are fantastic books. Republic just fails on all fronts. At one point your reading about 6 yr olds and it's just wrong. I can't even be bothered to write more on this shitty book other then that I WILL NOT buy another HC bk in this series again. I ll wait the yr for PB.

Red Seas has this missing middle segment that I honestly forgot was missing and invented inside my mind something to fill it a few months after I read it. It's a deeply wounded book as a result and even though the central heist is kinda cool, the overarching story is not there enough to carry the book through. Basically, our empathy with the characters goes into flames for a while.

Republic of Thieves is a decent book. But a ton of ill will carries over from Red Seas, so it gets a bunch of stick it doesn't actually deserve. I'm onboard with the eBook version of next book, not hardcovers. Lynch writes well enough (and got married to Elizabeth Bear) that I think he can get this next installment out in fine form.

[Princess]

Yeah, Journey seems to be the most popular of the four. I'll be sure to pick that one up next, then.

[polishgenius]

amphibian, on 14 March 2016 - 09:32 PM, said:

(and got married to Elizabeth Bear)

An aside: Elizabeth Bear is a fantastic author who doesn't get nearly enough love in my opinion.

[Puck]

polishgenius, on 14 March 2016 - 10:33 PM, said:

amphibian, on 14 March 2016 - 09:32 PM, said:

(and got married to Elizabeth Bear)

An aside: Elizabeth Bear is a fantastic author who doesn't get nearly enough love in my opinion.

^Seconding this.

[Mentalist]

Elizabeth Bear is the reason I'm considering getting an e-reader- her stuff is virtually impossible to find in print in Canadaland, yet, her books sound quite intriguing.

@ PG: Stephen Hunt was added to my Goodreads list. The blurb actually gave me more of a "Crown for Cold Silver"-type vibe. Given I really liked that book, I'm very interested.