[QuickTidal]

Abyss, on 21 February 2018 - 02:37 PM, said:

Started HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD and huh, this is not very good.

Ignore the villain of the book when you get there...but the story that is interesting in there is about Albus living in his fathers shadow, and Scorpius living in his fathers shadow, and who those two older men have become long AFTER their exploits. On THAT level...it's a GREAT story...but some of the framing narrative is a little hinky.

[Andorion]

QuickTidal, on 21 February 2018 - 03:06 PM, said:

Abyss, on 21 February 2018 - 02:37 PM, said:

Started HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD and huh, this is not very good.

Ignore the villain of the book when you get there...but the story that is interesting in there is about Albus living in his fathers shadow, and Scorpius living in his fathers shadow, and who those two older men have become long AFTER their exploits. On THAT level...it's a GREAT story...but some of the framing narrative is a little hinky.

Little? They got practically everything wrong in that book. I just pretend its fan fiction

[End of Disc One]

Andorion, on 21 February 2018 - 04:37 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 21 February 2018 - 03:06 PM, said:

Abyss, on 21 February 2018 - 02:37 PM, said:

Started HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD and huh, this is not very good.

Ignore the villain of the book when you get there...but the story that is interesting in there is about Albus living in his fathers shadow, and Scorpius living in his fathers shadow, and who those two older men have become long AFTER their exploits. On THAT level...it's a GREAT story...but some of the framing narrative is a little hinky.

Little? They got practically everything wrong in that book. I just pretend its fan fiction

Goodreads winner for best fantasy book of the year

[QuickTidal]

Andorion, on 21 February 2018 - 04:37 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 21 February 2018 - 03:06 PM, said:

Abyss, on 21 February 2018 - 02:37 PM, said:

Started HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD and huh, this is not very good.

Ignore the villain of the book when you get there...but the story that is interesting in there is about Albus living in his fathers shadow, and Scorpius living in his fathers shadow, and who those two older men have become long AFTER their exploits. On THAT level...it's a GREAT story...but some of the framing narrative is a little hinky.

Little? They got practically everything wrong in that book. I just pretend its fan fiction

I'm not sure what issues you have with it, I found it fine.

[Andorion]

QuickTidal, on 21 February 2018 - 05:09 PM, said:

Andorion, on 21 February 2018 - 04:37 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 21 February 2018 - 03:06 PM, said:

Abyss, on 21 February 2018 - 02:37 PM, said:

Started HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD and huh, this is not very good.

Ignore the villain of the book when you get there...but the story that is interesting in there is about Albus living in his fathers shadow, and Scorpius living in his fathers shadow, and who those two older men have become long AFTER their exploits. On THAT level...it's a GREAT story...but some of the framing narrative is a little hinky.

Little? They got practically everything wrong in that book. I just pretend its fan fiction

I'm not sure what issues you have with it, I found it fine.

Several issues

Spoiler

The structure of time travel is fundamentally broken. In the original series time travel is a closed loop. Thus harry always saw himself conjure the patronus. You simply could not change the present by altering the past, as going by the physics of the universe, the past would always have been changed and the present would always have been different. Thus the fundamental premise of the story is broken.

I really did not like Ron's character at all.

Also Voldemort.....has a child? .....Just...no.. I simply could not accept that - Voldemort's fundamental driving force was that he wanted to be immortal - the drive to reproduce would be utterly alien to him as no one in his mind would be a true successor.

Also other stuff I am forgetting at the moment

[QuickTidal]

Andorion, on 21 February 2018 - 06:04 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 21 February 2018 - 05:09 PM, said:

Andorion, on 21 February 2018 - 04:37 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 21 February 2018 - 03:06 PM, said:

Abyss, on 21 February 2018 - 02:37 PM, said:

Started HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD and huh, this is not very good.

Ignore the villain of the book when you get there...but the story that is interesting in there is about Albus living in his fathers shadow, and Scorpius living in his fathers shadow, and who those two older men have become long AFTER their exploits. On THAT level...it's a GREAT story...but some of the framing narrative is a little hinky.

Little? They got practically everything wrong in that book. I just pretend its fan fiction

I'm not sure what issues you have with it, I found it fine.

Several issues

Spoiler

The structure of time travel is fundamentally broken. In the original series time travel is a closed loop. Thus harry always saw himself conjure the patronus. You simply could not change the present by altering the past, as going by the physics of the universe, the past would always have been changed and the present would always have been different. Thus the fundamental premise of the story is broken.

It is noted in the story that the new Time Turner is actually a new prototype that allows the changes to the timeline that the ones from the original series couldn't. And considering Magic Tech (to coin a phrase) has what? About 25 years of time in which the Ministry to work on such a device and refine it...I see no issue with things in the Wizarding universe leaping forward as our own tech does in 25 years time.

I really did not like Ron's character at all.

Eh, I get why you'd say that...but it really felt like the progression from who he was in high school (the layabout, football obsessed, utterly clueless guy who ends up with the smart-as-a-tack girlfriend) to who he becomes as an adult.

Also Voldemort.....has a child? .....Just...no.. I simply could not accept that - Voldemort's fundamental driving force was that he wanted to be immortal - the drive to reproduce would be utterly alien to him as no one in his mind would be a true successor.

See, I think Delphini was written over the top, which is why I dislike her, but I feel like her existence makes perfect sense. Before Riddle becomes Voldemort proper...(aka when he still looked like a human) he has an affair with Bellatrix....because what are the ways one lives forever? Other than magical ways like Horcruxes...they are children. And you also have to this about it this way...Voldemort's most hidden, yet most blatant PURPOSEFUL Horcrux (AKA not Harry)....was his snake Nagini. A creature and familiar he kept by his side throughout his second life. I have doubts that Riddle KNEW about Bellatrix's pregnancy before he went down on the night the Potter's died...but then I could TOTALLY see him wanting a human offspring of his blood to possibly ALSO be a horcux for his longevity in the future...and that was his plan with the affair (with a pure blood witch from an old family). It makes sense to me, even if I thought the execution of her as a character is a tad off. Nothing in the original series conflicts with the idea that Tom Riddle might have the desire to procreate for his own ends...and I feel like Nagini is the non-human example of that.

Also other stuff I am forgetting at the moment

Replies in red within the spoiler tag.

[Salt-Man Z]

Abyss, on 21 February 2018 - 02:37 PM, said:

Finished Ruthanna Emerys' WINTER'S TIDE. Satisfying. I enjoyed the original take on the Cthulhu mythos, even if i found it a bit jarring from the usual. The finale suffers a bit for using magic as a catch-all problem solver, but the characters and world are solid, and overall i enjoyed the book and would consider reading the next one.

Yeah, Tor.com seems to be doing a lot of "contemporary authors in conversation with HPL" recently, and I have to say I'm quite enjoying how they turn out. I found "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath" to be dreadfully boring, but Kij Johnson's DREAM-QUEST OF VELLITT BOE is pretty cool. She's off to see Randolph Carter (!) right now...

[worry]

stone monkey, on 19 February 2018 - 11:35 PM, said:

Finished George Orwell's Down and Out In Paris and London on the way into work this morning. If you've only read his novels, I think you're probably vastly underrating how good Orwell actually was. His non-fiction is riveting and (despite some, what appear to be, missteps primarily due to him being a man of his time, place and class) wonderfully humane.

Total agreement. The sections that consider what the dispossessed owe (or rather don't owe) the rest of society, even when on the receiving end of charity, really did have an impact on the way I think, feel, and act.

[Andorion]

QuickTidal, on 21 February 2018 - 06:29 PM, said:

Andorion, on 21 February 2018 - 06:04 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 21 February 2018 - 05:09 PM, said:

Andorion, on 21 February 2018 - 04:37 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 21 February 2018 - 03:06 PM, said:

Abyss, on 21 February 2018 - 02:37 PM, said:

Started HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD and huh, this is not very good.

Ignore the villain of the book when you get there...but the story that is interesting in there is about Albus living in his fathers shadow, and Scorpius living in his fathers shadow, and who those two older men have become long AFTER their exploits. On THAT level...it's a GREAT story...but some of the framing narrative is a little hinky.

Little? They got practically everything wrong in that book. I just pretend its fan fiction

I'm not sure what issues you have with it, I found it fine.

Several issues

Spoiler

The structure of time travel is fundamentally broken. In the original series time travel is a closed loop. Thus harry always saw himself conjure the patronus. You simply could not change the present by altering the past, as going by the physics of the universe, the past would always have been changed and the present would always have been different. Thus the fundamental premise of the story is broken.

It is noted in the story that the new Time Turner is actually a new prototype that allows the changes to the timeline that the ones from the original series couldn't. And considering Magic Tech (to coin a phrase) has what? About 25 years of time in which the Ministry to work on such a device and refine it...I see no issue with things in the Wizarding universe leaping forward as our own tech does in 25 years time.

I really did not like Ron's character at all.

Eh, I get why you'd say that...but it really felt like the progression from who he was in high school (the layabout, football obsessed, utterly clueless guy who ends up with the smart-as-a-tack girlfriend) to who he becomes as an adult.

Also Voldemort.....has a child? .....Just...no.. I simply could not accept that - Voldemort's fundamental driving force was that he wanted to be immortal - the drive to reproduce would be utterly alien to him as no one in his mind would be a true successor.

See, I think Delphini was written over the top, which is why I dislike her, but I feel like her existence makes perfect sense. Before Riddle becomes Voldemort proper...(aka when he still looked like a human) he has an affair with Bellatrix....because what are the ways one lives forever? Other than magical ways like Horcruxes...they are children. And you also have to this about it this way...Voldemort's most hidden, yet most blatant PURPOSEFUL Horcrux (AKA not Harry)....was his snake Nagini. A creature and familiar he kept by his side throughout his second life. I have doubts that Riddle KNEW about Bellatrix's pregnancy before he went down on the night the Potter's died...but then I could TOTALLY see him wanting a human offspring of his blood to possibly ALSO be a horcux for his longevity in the future...and that was his plan with the affair (with a pure blood witch from an old family). It makes sense to me, even if I thought the execution of her as a character is a tad off. Nothing in the original series conflicts with the idea that Tom Riddle might have the desire to procreate for his own ends...and I feel like Nagini is the non-human example of that.

Also other stuff I am forgetting at the moment

Replies in red within the spoiler tag.

Replies and additions"

Spoiler

Timeturners - I remember the new time turners were more powerful which allowed someone to go further back than before, but was it ever mentioned that they changed the nature of time travel? Because my own impression was that the authors had not understood Rowlong's original time travel mechanisme

Ron - I think you are doing him a disservice here. Ron was always more than that - he always stood out for his sheer courage and loyalty. They took a couple of his character traits and then magnified them beyond recognition

Voldemort - Does the timeline hold up here - if Bellatrix had the baby before Voldemort fell for the first time? How old would the daughter be then?
Also - where did the baby go? Bellatrix and her entire family went to Azkaban, we know that the two families closest to her - the Blacks and the Malfoys never raised her - and frankly this is the sort of thing that would have been mentioned by either Bellatrix or Voldemort in the later books - the retcon is just a bit too much here.

Also the idea of Harry being a bad father just does not sit right with me. Harry knows better than most the problems of a bad childhood, of growing up in the shadow of fame - he would go out of his way to ensure his son did not face that. He is literally the one person who would know what problems his children would face and also not to expect gigantic things from them. His character was twisted a bit too badly.

Also, this part I don't remember well but something about the Potters in Godric's Hollow struck me as wrong - i think there was something a bit off about the Fidelius charm mechanics, but I don't remember the details.

[Andorion]

The Swampfather, on 22 February 2018 - 01:32 AM, said:

Is that stuff "official" official or did she just say ok you have my permission to make a play now give me your money? This doesn't sound like good stuff imo.

From reading the book/play I got the impression that Rowling had very little input and the authors she gave permission to just did their own thing. I have seen many HP fans say that they will treat it as fan fiction because of this

[Abyss]

Part of the problem with CURSED CHILD is just the format... it's a theater play script, and that requires certain elements (exposition, lame fx, movement limited by staging) that were never in the HP books or even the movies.
It sets the entire thing off on the wrong foot because the author could be Rowlings' clone and not be able to work with the world the way she did.

At the halfway mark and it's gotten better. ish. Will finish.

[QuickTidal]

Andorion, on 22 February 2018 - 01:36 AM, said:

The Swampfather, on 22 February 2018 - 01:32 AM, said:

Is that stuff "official" official or did she just say ok you have my permission to make a play now give me your money? This doesn't sound like good stuff imo.

From reading the book/play I got the impression that Rowling had very little input and the authors she gave permission to just did their own thing. I have seen many HP fans say that they will treat it as fan fiction because of this

This is incorrect. She wrote out the story with Thorne and the other author, and then Thorne scripted it. Any story points she not only approved, but had her hands directly in. Rowling is NOT one to let others randomly play in her franchise unchecked. This is not something she does.

[Abyss]

QuickTidal, on 22 February 2018 - 02:30 AM, said:

Andorion, on 22 February 2018 - 01:36 AM, said:

The Swampfather, on 22 February 2018 - 01:32 AM, said:

Is that stuff "official" official or did she just say ok you have my permission to make a play now give me your money? This doesn't sound like good stuff imo.

From reading the book/play I got the impression that Rowling had very little input and the authors she gave permission to just did their own thing. I have seen many HP fans say that they will treat it as fan fiction because of this

This is incorrect. She wrote out the story with Thorne and the other author, and then Thorne scripted it. Any story points she not only approved, but had her hands directly in. Rowling is NOT one to let others randomly play in her franchise unchecked. This is not something she does.

Yeah, critique it all one wants, but it's no more fanfic than ICE's books to SE's.

[Tiste Simeon]

Abyss, on 22 February 2018 - 02:05 AM, said:

Part of the problem with CURSED CHILD is just the format... it's a theater play script, and that requires certain elements (exposition, lame fx, movement limited by staging) that were never in the HP books or even the movies.
It sets the entire thing off on the wrong foot because the author could be Rowlings' clone and not be able to work with the world the way she did.

At the halfway mark and it's gotten better. ish. Will finish.

Yeah I was very unimpressed reading it but I would still go and see it given half a chance!

[Tiste Simeon]

Also I'm now on RG after finishing ROTCG.

[Maark Abbott]

Literally every step towards Golgotterath is immeasurably brutal, beautifully laid out, and sublimely written. It's been a good long while since I read anything this good.

[QuickTidal]

Tiste Simeon, on 22 February 2018 - 04:57 AM, said:

Also I'm now on RG after finishing ROTCG.

I'm a pace behind you, about halfway through a ROTCG re-read...I forgot how good this book was!

[Andorion]

QuickTidal, on 22 February 2018 - 01:06 PM, said:

Tiste Simeon, on 22 February 2018 - 04:57 AM, said:

Also I'm now on RG after finishing ROTCG.

I'm a pace behind you, about halfway through a ROTCG re-read...I forgot how good this book was!

On the topic of Malazan rereads, I finished Deadhouse Gates today. That ending never really loses its impact

[Tiste Simeon]

Andorion, on 22 February 2018 - 01:10 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 22 February 2018 - 01:06 PM, said:

Tiste Simeon, on 22 February 2018 - 04:57 AM, said:

Also I'm now on RG after finishing ROTCG.

I'm a pace behind you, about halfway through a ROTCG re-read...I forgot how good this book was!

On the topic of Malazan rereads, I finished Deadhouse Gates today. That ending never really loses its impact

Yeah Ando I felt the rage and sadness begin to rise as I got closer to the end...

QT yes! And the ending is a really full on convergence that starts about 3/4 of the way through and just keeps picking up pace! So good...

[Abyss]

Tiste Simeon, on 22 February 2018 - 01:31 PM, said:

Andorion, on 22 February 2018 - 01:10 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 22 February 2018 - 01:06 PM, said:

Tiste Simeon, on 22 February 2018 - 04:57 AM, said:

Also I'm now on RG after finishing ROTCG.

I'm a pace behind you, about halfway through a ROTCG re-read...I forgot how good this book was!

On the topic of Malazan rereads, I finished Deadhouse Gates today. That ending never really loses its impact

Yeah Ando I felt the rage and sadness begin to rise as I got closer to the end...

QT yes! And the ending is a really full on convergence that starts about 3/4 of the way through and just keeps picking up pace! So good...

It's always blown my mind how the end (THAT end) of DG, has even more impact, even knowing what is coming.
The conclusions of the other storylines are pretty epic too tho. I've always liked that about the book, you get THAT, but then you get that.