[Baco Xtath]

Abyss, on 12 April 2016 - 03:20 AM, said:

NIGHTWISE is probably the only Blecher not already in the TRPFH, but as SIX GUN TAROT just moved way up, I'll no doubt get it eventually. WHEEL was way too fun not t read more of this author.

Holy shit! You haven't read Six Gun Tarot? I do believe you've just found yourself a new favorite author.

[Puck]

I'm currently reading N. K. Jemisin's The Killing Moon (Dreamblood #1). It feels.. I don't know.. kind of unplished. Some great, well written moments, and the setting is intruiging, but doesn't feel as solid as it could. Kind of like a landscape painting with the major important landmarks missing.

Thanks to the Egypt-themed setting, I find myself comparing it to Bakker's Shigek in The Warrior-Prophet, which had muuuch less screentime and focus but felt much more solid.

That said, it will bridge me across to FoL nicely, and it's not like I dislike it. Just me being too gripey for my own good.

[Macros]

Just finished the Mallorean. Hitting it straight after the Belgariad really highlights the godawfullness that both series have in abundance.
But.
Eh, they're short books and you can switch your brain off as everything is explained 20 times over.
Utter tosh
But, if you can set aside the hatred for Eddings "witty banter" that will slowly boil in your veins, its childishly innocent tosh that will make you think for a minute that maybe the good guys will win out in real life too.

Then someone will look slyly at someone and make a "witty" observation and reality will come crashing back to earth. Nice guys finish last.

Its why they're so good in the bedroom

[polishgenius]

amphibian, on 12 April 2016 - 01:51 AM, said:

Veiled and Burned feel like the same story stretched into two books. It leaves Verus & Co. in a very interesting place though. I like what Jacka did, but wish he'd passed up some stuff in Veiled to give us the content of Burned within that one.

It's gone to an interesting (albeit obvious, tbh) place at the end, but it also highlighted what I think is the weakness of this series- this book is roughly analogous to Changes in Dresden, but that was, what, book twelve? And this is seven, in a series that hasn't been building up its longterms as insistently as Dresden in any case. So when the things happen that happen, it just didn't have the weight to it that Changes did when things came crashing down.


It feels like it's simultaneously stretching things out and rushing them. It's got a good core story- and I don't want to seem too down on it, I am after all buying each one as it comes out- but it's lacking in elaborations.



Anyway.


I then started Beyond Redemption by Michael R. Fletcher, a grimdarky-sort-of-thing with a very nice high concept (belief makes things real, so insane and deluded people's problems manifest as, essentially, magic powers. Albeit some very fucked up ones). I'm mostly enjoying it so far, but two things are bugging me: first, one of the main characters has throughout his appearances been complaining of a bad cold-like illness, and I hate reading that kind of thing, and second, the author's decision (which he did apologise for in the opening to be fair) to give everyone names that are, in German verbs, adjectives, nouns... without changing them at all is driving me up the wall. The first group of main characters we meet are called Bedeckt (covered/overcast), Stehlen (stealing/to steal) and Wichtig (important), and they're just a taster. And I'm only on my way to speaking German. Probably a good job I'm reading it now when I've still got the detachment (I recognise the words, but I still need to think a little to actually translate them when I'm in the flow)- if I came to this in say two years time I reckon there's a chance I'd find it unreadable.


But I am enjoying it, and for non-German speakers who want something with a hint of the Abercrombies to its style but a more out-there, twisted world I'd definitely recommend it on what I've read so far.

This post has been edited by polishgenius: 12 April 2016 - 08:47 PM

[Tiste Simeon]

Macros, on 12 April 2016 - 07:56 PM, said:

Just finished the Mallorean. Hitting it straight after the Belgariad really highlights the godawfullness that both series have in abundance.
But.
Eh, they're short books and you can switch your brain off as everything is explained 20 times over.
Utter tosh
But, if you can set aside the hatred for Eddings "witty banter" that will slowly boil in your veins, its childishly innocent tosh that will make you think for a minute that maybe the good guys will win out in real life too.

Then someone will look slyly at someone and make a "witty" observation and reality will come crashing back to earth. Nice guys finish last.

Its why they're so good in the bedroom

That's why I'm having a break. I'm going to read it but I'm giving it a while.

[Macros]

just reread the belgariad, it will ammount to the same thing

[Tiste Simeon]

Macros, on 12 April 2016 - 09:39 PM, said:

just reread the belgariad, it will ammount to the same thing

But... Kal Zakath (or whatever) is so dangerous and mysterious and he comes on such a journey, both physically and... Within!

[Abyss]

You shut up Zakath was awesome.
Both times.



...on the reading front I was attempting to finally finish REPUBLIC OF THIEVES. Ten more pages (of reading, there were also like thirty skimmed/skipped pages) and I remembered that Life is too short to read bad.

Started that FORGE OF DARKNESS reread instead.

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

Also re-reading Forge of Darkness. So far I'm feeling it's like all Erikson's books, and I'm getting more out of it on the re-read.

[acesn8s]

A Crown for Cold Silver. Only about 60 pages in, I like it.

[QuickTidal]

Finished Grant Morrison & Yannick Paquette's EARTH ONE: WONDER WOMAN trade.

Amazing. Simply one of the best one-shot WW stories I've seen done.

[JPK]

PURGE OF ASHES by some Tattery Minty guy.

[Macros]

was it fresh?

[JPK]

So far, yeah. Having to read it on my phone though, which is kinda annoying. It's what I get for having a kobo instead of a kindle.

[Macros]

I have the kobo too. Im waiting for dead tree version, not because of the kobo thing, because he's a forumite, want the paper version.


ETA - just started traitors Blade, by sebastian de castel

This post has been edited by Macros: 13 April 2016 - 05:43 PM

[Macros]

25% in, bloody enjoyable so far.

so much so I might have to buy the next one tonight. just incase

[QuickTidal]

Macros, on 13 April 2016 - 08:47 PM, said:

25% in, bloody enjoyable so far.

so much so I might have to buy the next one tonight. just incase

2nd one is not QUITE as good, but still right up there enjoyable.

[Mentalist]

I finished Part 1 of "The Shadow Throne", Bk 2 of Wexler's Shadow Campaigns

After starting it on yesterday's commute home, this book graduated to "read in the morning instead of dozing in the subway" category.

The setting is quite good. So far all sides are just doing political maneuvering and feeling each other out, but a revolution setting is my current weakness right now, so I'm engrossed. Feels somewhat similar to RG in some themes, too, and I was one of those who loved the Letheras-based squabbles before Bonehunters showed up.

Totally digging it, unless Wexler does something really bad, I'll have to look for the third book pretty soon.

[Chance]

Ran through A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab and found it delightful in a victorian farytail kind of way. A fairly simply piece of work but interesting and nicely executed will dig into the next one directly.

[Andorion]

Mentalist, on 13 April 2016 - 10:50 PM, said:

I finished Part 1 of "The Shadow Throne", Bk 2 of Wexler's Shadow Campaigns

After starting it on yesterday's commute home, this book graduated to "read in the morning instead of dozing in the subway" category.

The setting is quite good. So far all sides are just doing political maneuvering and feeling each other out, but a revolution setting is my current weakness right now, so I'm engrossed. Feels somewhat similar to RG in some themes, too, and I was one of those who loved the Letheras-based squabbles before Bonehunters showed up.

Totally digging it, unless Wexler does something really bad, I'll have to look for the third book pretty soon.

The series stays pretty strong IMO