[polishgenius]

Mentalist, on 24 January 2019 - 02:57 PM, said:

up until the point when Lynch decided to suddenly give Locke a "special" backstory.

To be fair, that had been hinted at from the very start.

[Abyss]

QuickTidal, on 24 January 2019 - 02:31 PM, said:

Hammerhead88, on 24 January 2019 - 02:24 PM, said:

Whisperzzzzzzz, on 24 January 2019 - 01:29 AM, said:

Rereading Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora

Love this book. I recommended them to a friend who read them and said 3rd was his favourite. I haven't spoken to him since....

That's so funny! I JUST had this convo with a friend who I recommend books to...she recommended the Lamora series, and I said I'd already read them but that they got worse as they went...and she said she liked the 3rd best....dafuq?

Mentalist, on 24 January 2019 - 02:57 PM, said:

Book 3 wasn't terrible. It ended with a very poor sequel hook, but up to that point I quite liked it. While the underhanded election-riggting shenanigans may seem dumb, you have to realize that there are parts of the world where things are STILL done that way- so it's nowhere near as absurd as you may think it is.

The flashback storyline fleshed out the characters, and overall, it was a fun book, up until the point when Lynch decided to suddenly give Locke a "special" backstory.

Disagree. Book 3 was terrible. Silly, verging on stupid primary storyline. Flat out badly written flashback sequence with a teen romance angle that made (original) Archie comics look like War & Peace.

Couldn't even skim to finish it.

Virgin of High House Bachelor, on 24 January 2019 - 05:13 PM, said:

Book 3 is 19 day old unwashed ballsack.

That is another way we could put it.

[Mentalist]

Finished "No Present like Time".... not bad.

The setting's still cool, the plot had some highs and lows (going back to the same "

Spoiler

Jant somehow saves everyone by getting high and going to the dream world to bring back a solution

method of resolving the story felt contrived. BUt I like the world, so I'll look for more of these books.

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 25 January 2019 - 01:13 AM

[worry]

Is he in Safehold?

[Abyss]

Virgin of High House Bachelor, on 25 January 2019 - 01:36 AM, said:

My god I hate when Trump invades my reality escapes.

worry, on 25 January 2019 - 02:08 AM, said:

Is he in Safehold?

I figured he was a guest judge on Temptation Island.

[worry]

Haha that's so on the nose. I mean you've said they were popcorn-y books but I thought they were played more straight than that. That's like when latter-day SImpsons refers to Steve Mobbs, founder of Mapple.

[Slow Ben]

Hammerhead88, on 24 January 2019 - 02:24 PM, said:

Whisperzzzzzzz, on 24 January 2019 - 01:29 AM, said:

Rereading Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora

Love this book. I recommended them to a friend who read them and said 3rd was his favourite. I haven't spoken to him since....

Rightly so.

[Andorion]

I never really hated the third Bastards, but I found it strange how badass series about cunning conment+pirates turned into a prank war.

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

Andorion, on 25 January 2019 - 04:18 AM, said:

I never really hated the third Bastards, but I found it strange how badass series about cunning conment+pirates turned into a prank war.

I think it suffered for me mostly because I liked Red Seas better than the first one, so it felt like more of a let down by comparison.They are on my intended re-read list though, it's been a few years!

This post has been edited by TheRetiredBridgeburner: 25 January 2019 - 10:06 AM

[Zetubal]

So...Bleak Seasons remained a weird book up until the very end. Really not sure what to make of this. I mean, on the one hand it's great to have another entry that is mainly about the Company doing Company things. Murgen doesn't seem like a bad guy, his kind of unclear rank/standing leads to some interesting conversations with the Old Crew because he can't simply pull rank on them. Learning more about the Siege of Dejagore was also fairly decent - filled in a lot of minor gaps from the previous novel. On the other hand, this novel feels incredibly gimmicky with Murgen's sudden spells, using Smoke's mind to travel into the past and present, the repeated "poetic references" about Kina stirring in her tomb - and none of it is ultimately resolved in a satisfying way. I couldn't shake the feeling that all of this was just crutches to dispense some exposition and show some things that Cook - in his insistence on POV storytelling - didn't know how to do any other way. I mean, it's solid, heck, even good writing - but this is one instance wherein the 1s and 0s of the writer's code are a tad too obvious.

Also, the book doesn't have much of a plot and thus just kind of...ends at some point.

Odd, but not bad. On to She is the Darkness.

This post has been edited by Zetubal: 25 January 2019 - 04:01 PM

[Salt-Man Z]

Zetubal, on 25 January 2019 - 03:59 PM, said:

So...Bleak Seasons...

The Glittering Stone saga is very much a single story drawn out between four books. (Though books 2 and 3 both end on cliffhangers, if I recall.)

[polishgenius]

Finished The Hod King. Bit of a weird one because it's tremendous fun and action-packed and all that but when it comes to actually moving the main plot along, very little actually happened.

That might be ungenerous but it's my impression. It's not even like it's filler, exactly, it's just... not the main plot.

[Slow Ben]

TheRetiredBridgeburner, on 25 January 2019 - 10:06 AM, said:

Andorion, on 25 January 2019 - 04:18 AM, said:

I never really hated the third Bastards, but I found it strange how badass series about cunning conment+pirates turned into a prank war.

I think it suffered for me mostly because I liked Red Seas better than the first one, so it felt like more of a let down by comparison.They are on my intended re-read list though, it's been a few years!

See, that i get. Unlike some, I still thought the 2nd was fantastic.

But the 3rd. gah! I'd like to attempt to re-read it to see if it was a letdown because I hyped it in my head, but i dont think i'll ever be able to convince myself to.

[amphibian]

Zetubal, on 25 January 2019 - 03:59 PM, said:

So...Bleak Seasons remained a weird book up until the very end. Really not sure what to make of this. I mean, on the one hand it's great to have another entry that is mainly about the Company doing Company things. Murgen doesn't seem like a bad guy, his kind of unclear rank/standing leads to some interesting conversations with the Old Crew because he can't simply pull rank on them. Learning more about the Siege of Dejagore was also fairly decent - filled in a lot of minor gaps from the previous novel. On the other hand, this novel feels incredibly gimmicky with Murgen's sudden spells, using Smoke's mind to travel into the past and present, the repeated "poetic references" about Kina stirring in her tomb - and none of it is ultimately resolved in a satisfying way. I couldn't shake the feeling that all of this was just crutches to dispense some exposition and show some things that Cook - in his insistence on POV storytelling - didn't know how to do any other way. I mean, it's solid, heck, even good writing - but this is one instance wherein the 1s and 0s of the writer's code are a tad too obvious.

Also, the book doesn't have much of a plot and thus just kind of...ends at some point.

Odd, but not bad. On to She is the Darkness.

She Is The Darkness will fill in many holes that you're seeing now.

I liked Murgen's narrative weirdness because it made the familiar "reliable" Croaker dynamic change to a more tense "we're not sure WTF is happening" one. That kept me more involved than hearing Croaker grouse over and over about the same few things.

[Puck]

amphibian, on 25 January 2019 - 07:12 PM, said:

I liked Murgen's narrative weirdness because it made the familiar "reliable" Croaker dynamic change to a more tense "we're not sure WTF is happening" one. That kept me more involved than hearing Croaker grouse over and over about the same few things.

Agreed, I really like that. I believe the change in narrative style was necessary, because what was he going to do? Just keep writing as if he was writing from Croaker's PoV? Make no sense. But I'm one of those apparently rare people who actually really like the Glittering Stone books. I think they hold up to the Books of the North. If I want to read the same stuff as in those, I'll just do a reread.

[Whisperzzzzzzz]

Puck, on 25 January 2019 - 07:35 PM, said:

amphibian, on 25 January 2019 - 07:12 PM, said:

I liked Murgen's narrative weirdness because it made the familiar "reliable" Croaker dynamic change to a more tense "we're not sure WTF is happening" one. That kept me more involved than hearing Croaker grouse over and over about the same few things.

Agreed, I really like that. I believe the change in narrative style was necessary, because what was he going to do? Just keep writing as if he was writing from Croaker's PoV? Make no sense. But I'm one of those apparently rare people who actually really like the Glittering Stone books. I think they hold up to the Books of the North. If I want to read the same stuff as in those, I'll just do a reread.

We must be two gems in a pebble-pile then. The Black Company books got better with each subsequent one.

Also, my plan is to only reread TLoLL and not books two or three — I agree with most that they were nowhere near as good.

[Mentalist]

Slow Ben, on 25 January 2019 - 05:33 PM, said:

TheRetiredBridgeburner, on 25 January 2019 - 10:06 AM, said:

Andorion, on 25 January 2019 - 04:18 AM, said:

I never really hated the third Bastards, but I found it strange how badass series about cunning conment+pirates turned into a prank war.

I think it suffered for me mostly because I liked Red Seas better than the first one, so it felt like more of a let down by comparison.They are on my intended re-read list though, it's been a few years!

See, that i get. Unlike some, I still thought the 2nd was fantastic.

But the 3rd. gah! I'd like to attempt to re-read it to see if it was a letdown because I hyped it in my head, but i dont think i'll ever be able to convince myself to.

I think one of the reasons I wasn't particularly dissapointed by 2 or 3 was because I never found the original to be exceptional (unlike many). It was entertaining, but expectations for the series were never exceptionally high.

[Salt-Man Z]

Whisperzzzzzzz, on 25 January 2019 - 08:47 PM, said:

We must be two gems in a pebble-pile then. The Black Company books got better with each subsequent one.

Make that three! The original trilogy was good, but the latter books have a depth and richness that I appreciate a little better.

[Zetubal]

amphibian, on 25 January 2019 - 07:12 PM, said:

She Is The Darkness will fill in many holes that you're seeing now.

I liked Murgen's narrative weirdness because it made the familiar "reliable" Croaker dynamic change to a more tense "we're not sure WTF is happening" one. That kept me more involved than hearing Croaker grouse over and over about the same few things.

Looking forward to that then. Bleak Seasons definitely left me craving more.
I see what you mean, and it sure felt refreshing. Thing is, I also really liked Croaker's books. Or rather: the gripes I had with the 'Croaker novels' had nothing to do with his way of recounting the tale. Especially since the previous books were never purely centered around his Annals but frequently featured plots about different people with different narrative styles. Bomanz, Raven, Marron Shed, Willow&Co., Smoke...

Puck, on 25 January 2019 - 07:35 PM, said:

Agreed, I really like that. I believe the change in narrative style was necessary, because what was he going to do? Just keep writing as if he was writing from Croaker's PoV? Make no sense. But I'm one of those apparently rare people who actually really like the Glittering Stone books. I think they hold up to the Books of the North. If I want to read the same stuff as in those, I'll just do a reread.

I don't think the "makes no sense" argument applies here. I mean, before Dejagore Croaker was still keeping the Annals - despite him being the Captain and orchestrating the campaign against the Shadowmasters. At one point in Shadow Games, he literally states that he's still toying with the idea of taking Murgen as an apprentice and then maybe one day hand over the duties to him if he proves that he's up to the task. It is not until Bleak Seasons that we even learn Murgen had kept any Annals. And while the fact that he did makes enough sense and Bleak Seasons provided an intriguing view into Murgen's mind (as an annalist) - I don' think it wouldn't have made sense if Croaker resumed his duties afterward. To be frank, I was actually surprised to see how easily Croaker passed the duty on. Knowing how obsessed he is with the Company's history and how much of his life he's dedicated to keeping and preserving it, it was really odd to see him hand it over.
Anyway, the point I wanted to make is this: Making Murgen the new Annalist was an artistic choice more than one dictated by logic or necessity. It wouldn't have been unrealistic if Croaker had remained the annalist. And it might've even provided some interesting angles because the Croaker that Murgen records is noticeably different than the one from the past. More driven, nastier, has personal grudges/stakes in his campaign.
// Just to make this clear: I don't mind Murgen or his style - I like both him and Croaker equally.

This post has been edited by Zetubal: 25 January 2019 - 11:51 PM

[Tsundoku]

Zetubal, on 25 January 2019 - 11:49 PM, said:

amphibian, on 25 January 2019 - 07:12 PM, said:

She Is The Darkness will fill in many holes that you're seeing now.

I liked Murgen's narrative weirdness because it made the familiar "reliable" Croaker dynamic change to a more tense "we're not sure WTF is happening" one. That kept me more involved than hearing Croaker grouse over and over about the same few things.

Looking forward to that then. Bleak Seasons definitely left me craving more.
I see what you mean, and it sure felt refreshing. Thing is, I also really liked Croaker's books. Or rather: the gripes I had with the 'Croaker novels' had nothing to do with his way of recounting the tale. Especially since the previous books were never purely centered around his Annals but frequently featured plots about different people with different narrative styles. Bomanz, Raven, Marron Shed, Willow&Co., Smoke...

Puck, on 25 January 2019 - 07:35 PM, said:

Agreed, I really like that. I believe the change in narrative style was necessary, because what was he going to do? Just keep writing as if he was writing from Croaker's PoV? Make no sense. But I'm one of those apparently rare people who actually really like the Glittering Stone books. I think they hold up to the Books of the North. If I want to read the same stuff as in those, I'll just do a reread.

I don't think the "makes no sense" argument applies here. I mean, before Dejagore Croaker was still keeping the Annals - despite him being the Captain and orchestrating the campaign against the Shadowmasters. At one point in Shadow Games, he literally states that he's still toying with the idea of taking Murgen as an apprentice and then maybe one day hand over the duties to him if he proves that he's up to the task. It is not until Bleak Seasons that we even learn Murgen had kept any Annals. And while the fact that he did makes enough sense and Bleak Seasons provided an intriguing view into Murgen's mind (as an annalist) - I don' think it wouldn't have made sense if Croaker resumed his duties afterward. To be frank, I was actually surprised to see how easily Croaker passed the duty on. Knowing how obsessed he is with the Company's history and how much of his life he's dedicated to keeping and preserving it, it was really odd to see him hand it over.
Anyway, the point I wanted to make is this: Making Murgen the new Annalist was an artistic choice more than one dictated by logic or necessity. It wouldn't have been unrealistic if Croaker had remained the annalist. And it might've even provided some interesting angles because the Croaker that Murgen records is noticeably different than the one from the past. More driven, nastier, has personal grudges/stakes in his campaign.
// Just to make this clear: I don't mind Murgen or his style - I like both him and Croaker equally.

This sounds a bit like a "First Chronicles of Amber" vs "Second Chronicles of Amber" thing. I'm a staunch "First" guy - I couldn't even finish the first book in the second chronicles - simply terrible, with a lousy narrator. Such a pity.

This post has been edited by Tsundoku: 26 January 2019 - 01:10 PM