[HoosierDaddy]

Bridgeburner, have you read his Codex Alera series?

Finished the Shades of Magic series by V.E. Schwab. Decent world building, fairly cool ideas and magic, and not overly complex, but also not YA. Made for fun and quick reading. I'd recommend for a semi-light read between heavier series.

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

HoosierDaddy, on 20 June 2018 - 10:49 PM, said:

Bridgeburner, have you read his Codex Alera series?

Not yet no, any good?

[worry]

Finished The Warrior-Prophet. My feelings for this one weren't that different from the first book, except the events were more interesting. I like that he kinda summarizes the battles. It's very Glen Cook-ian sometimes, though not quite as effective.
Now onto Brief Cases!

[Mentalist]

TheRetiredBridgeburner, on 21 June 2018 - 05:44 AM, said:

HoosierDaddy, on 20 June 2018 - 10:49 PM, said:

Bridgeburner, have you read his Codex Alera series?

Not yet no, any good?

The first is a painfully by the numbers "farmboy becomes chosen one to save family from barbarians"

The second is like A Storm of Swords on crack.

The rest are decent, but not as good.


Imho.

[Andorion]

TheRetiredBridgeburner, on 21 June 2018 - 05:44 AM, said:

HoosierDaddy, on 20 June 2018 - 10:49 PM, said:

Bridgeburner, have you read his Codex Alera series?

Not yet no, any good?

Fun and entertaining. Can be a bit stereotypical in places, but the premise and the worldbuilding is pretty good, characters are decentish, pace and action are very enjoyable.

[Macros]

One is stumbling and clichéd, 2 ok, 3/4 probably the best then 5 is average and 6 didn't happen

[Chance]

Decided to continue reading the next of A Trail of Steel and Blood after finishing Sasha on the virtue of being on a easier then starting something else. Its gathering speed but like the first it was a bit slow to start.

Macros, on 21 June 2018 - 12:13 PM, said:

One is stumbling and clichéd, 2 ok, 3/4 probably the best then 5 is average and 6 didn't happen

Can only agree 2-5 are decent fantasy occasionally great fantasy, 1 is pretty poor and really your better off fantasizing an ending of your own rather then reading 6.

This post has been edited by Chance: 21 June 2018 - 05:34 PM

[QuickTidal]

Andorion, on 21 June 2018 - 11:45 AM, said:

TheRetiredBridgeburner, on 21 June 2018 - 05:44 AM, said:

HoosierDaddy, on 20 June 2018 - 10:49 PM, said:

Bridgeburner, have you read his Codex Alera series?

Not yet no, any good?

Fun and entertaining. Can be a bit stereotypical in places, but the premise and the worldbuilding is pretty good, characters are decentish, pace and action are very enjoyable.

And it was all started on a DARE by a fan.

Jim said he could write about anything and make it a success using the formula his teacher from Uni taught him, and was challenged on it by someone, so he asked for two random things to make a book series about and the fan said:

Pokemon & The Lost Roman Legion.

And that's exactly what he did.

Oh, and I liked Book 6. I may be one of the only ones, but I enjoyed the ending.

[polishgenius]

Codex Alera is mostly a load of entertainingly written piffle. Which is to say it's got loads of potential to be great but keeps spoiling it by being totally in love with its own main character (in a way which Dresden Files never comes close to).

Book 5 is good, though. And I'm one of the few who liked book 1.

[polishgenius]

eta: odd double postage there.

This post has been edited by polishgenius: 21 June 2018 - 05:58 PM

[polishgenius]

Anyway, coz I can't get the third book in Yoon Ha Lee's Machineries of Empire just yet, I'm giving the first two a quick reread and it's certainly holding up. Superb weird space opera.

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

I think I may tentatively give them a go at some point.... a certain impish part of me wants to know just how bad 6 is after all those comments!

[worry]

I liked the finale. But agree that the first book is kind of a dud.

[Tiste Simeon]

QuickTidal, on 21 June 2018 - 05:43 PM, said:

Andorion, on 21 June 2018 - 11:45 AM, said:

TheRetiredBridgeburner, on 21 June 2018 - 05:44 AM, said:

HoosierDaddy, on 20 June 2018 - 10:49 PM, said:

Bridgeburner, have you read his Codex Alera series?

Not yet no, any good?

Fun and entertaining. Can be a bit stereotypical in places, but the premise and the worldbuilding is pretty good, characters are decentish, pace and action are very enjoyable.

And it was all started on a DARE by a fan.

Jim said he could write about anything and make it a success using the formula his teacher from Uni taught him, and was challenged on it by someone, so he asked for two random things to make a book series about and the fan said:

Pokemon & The Lost Roman Legion.

And that's exactly what he did.

Oh, and I liked Book 6. I may be one of the only ones, but I enjoyed the ending.

I'm with QT. Book 6 was fine don't get the hate. The whole series is just entertaining and fun without ever being too serious. One of the books did annoy me a bit because it suffered from "long arduous trek" trope but otherwise it's a fast paced series. Even book 1 was good enough to keep me going.

[Macros]

I felt, as the books individually are quite short, it didn't suffer long trek syndrome. But we'll not get into why book 6 was pants again, I and (I think) Aptnhave already explained it several times.

RTB, don't get me wrong, as a whole it is an enjoyable enough series, a bit YA at points but on the whole a lot better than plenty of the garbage out there. And Butcher does know how to write action scenes. Knowing what made him write the series definitely lifts it (I'll try dig out the interview about it)
Book one does suffer from being book one in an experiment, and book 6 felt.... Forced? Superfluous?
I dunno, hell you might like it like those other weirdos.
If you don't like it by book 3 it ain't for you but if you try it definitely ignore your book one misgivings and carry on (a reco I believe I got from here)

[Macros]

Haven't read Dresden.
Amman ambivalent codex fan (sorry BK fuckin'A)
But this clip made me like Butcher as a person so much

[Slow Ben]

Macros, on 21 June 2018 - 09:32 PM, said:

Haven't read Dresden.

This has been a week of reading stories of children ripped from their parents arms and locked in metal cages, but thats the saddest thing i've read all week.

[HoosierDaddy]

Slow Ben, on 21 June 2018 - 10:23 PM, said:

Macros, on 21 June 2018 - 09:32 PM, said:

Haven't read Dresden.

This has been a week of reading stories of children ripped from their parents arms and locked in metal cages, but thats the saddest thing i've read all week.

The only thing to make me smile at that entire situation.

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

I am the Bachelorette, on 22 June 2018 - 05:53 AM, said:

I was planning on slowing down for Fitz 7-9 from my 1-6 pace. Being sick for so long really slowed me down more then I obviously expected but I'm only on pg 288 of 8 after a week of being back in normal health. Can't say I'm enjoying them much. I don't like old characters personalities this go round, I'm not emotionally connecting to any of the new ones, I'm bored with the story progression.

Been a huge let down overall so far.

Spoiler

I read them spaced out on release, which I think helped a bit in this regard. However, I can't disagree entirely. I struggled with The Fool (although some explanation does follow) and no matter what I just couldn't connect with Bee at all. Overall though I felt there was enough pay off in the last book and a fitting end to the Elderlings cycle as a whole.

[Maark Abbott]

Nothing. For the first time in... well, ever, really, I have no inclination to read. No desire at all.