[Whisperzzzzzzz]

Is this K.M. McKinley's Brass God, third in its series? Synopsis makes it sound worthwhile.

This post has been edited by Whisperzzzzzzz: 14 February 2019 - 10:25 PM

[polishgenius]

I need to get back into Brass God. I've enjoyed the series so far despite some odd pacing issues across the books, but the beginning of Brass God clunked me out of it temporarily. Will have to pick it up again soon.


While continuing Black Panther, Red Wolf- nearly finished, still weird as fuck, simultaneously goes where you think it will and nowhere near where you think it will, but it's very good- I also read the latest Miles Cameron book, Dark Forge. It's basically an extended battle sequence and it's great.

[Mentalist]

Whisperzzzzzzz, on 14 February 2019 - 10:25 PM, said:

Is this K.M. McKinley's Brass God, third in its series? Synopsis makes it sound worthwhile.

Yes, it is. It may sound a bit formulaic, what with a whole bunch of siblings each doing important things, but the books' scope quickly takes the focus off specific characters, and it's more about the interweaving plots and original world-building.

[Andorion]

Mentalist, on 15 February 2019 - 01:22 AM, said:

Whisperzzzzzzz, on 14 February 2019 - 10:25 PM, said:

Is this K.M. McKinley's Brass God, third in its series? Synopsis makes it sound worthwhile.

Yes, it is. It may sound a bit formulaic, what with a whole bunch of siblings each doing important things, but the books' scope quickly takes the focus off specific characters, and it's more about the interweaving plots and original world-building.

Yeah I like that series a lot as well. All the siblings, the very original worldbuilding - it just works for me.

Regarding Simmons, I find it a bit funny how variable by quality his books are. Like Hyperion is awesome, the Terror is in a class by itself, and yet Carrion Comfort and Abominable are just totally forgettable.

[Mentalist]

I did not expect McKinley to be this good. It's probably some of the best fantasy I've read in the last few years.

Thinking on what to read next for the commute. Keeping up with the "clear the to-read pile off the shelves", I'll try Hitchhiker's guide to the Universe" next.

@ Ando: I need to read more Simmons. "Drood" and "Illium" are both somewhere on that want to read list. I also need to find a complete volume of the Cantos somewhere and re-read that in English (only read it translated before)

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 15 February 2019 - 03:23 AM

[Tatterdemalion]

I am reading:

Kindle: David Benem - The Wrath of Heroes
Book: Josiah Bancroft - Arm of the Sphinx

Recently finished Prince of Fools, which I enjoyed a lot, though sometimes was too sleek for its own good, if that's even a thing.

[Aptorian]

I read that as Arm of the Sphincter and got really curious for a second.

[Andorion]

I am in a mood for a lot of sci-fi short fiction. Recommend me all the best science fiction and fantasy anthologies. I have saved up some cash. Might as well go shopping.

Edit: On second thought, lets make a new thread on this.

This post has been edited by Andorion: 15 February 2019 - 05:23 PM

[Zeto Demerzel]

• Re-read of DG - struggling, to be honest. My first Malazan re-read isn't going too well. Did expect DG and DoD to give me trouble (bit too mean for me) and that's how it rolls.
• The Fifth Season - 2/3 of the way through and enjoying it.
• Taltos 5 - Phoenix - as usual, a very fun, fast read.

[Macros]

my reading has really stalled out recently pace wise, think I've let myself slide into a rabbit hole of youtube videos and more4 app in the evenings instead of reading.

which annoys me, but I am really struggling to give a shit to finish How To Be Good by Hornsby. its not a long book but I'm half way and its just a waffling meander, not the fun type, the so far pointless type

[Andorion]

I just read "Those Who Walk Away From Omelas" After a long time a piece of fiction made me sit back and think for some time.

I need to read more Le Guin

[Zetubal]

She is the Darkness (aka Black Company 6) turned out to be a disappointment and the reason for that is a bit of everything, really.

First of all, this is one of those novels where, in spite of lots of major and minor things happening, it still manages to feel uneventful. While I don't claim to understand the "why" of this completely, I am fairly certain that it has to do with the lack of both tension and personal stakes. Much of the book is about the BC getting (unexpectedly) easy victories. Their army embarks on a supposedly unthinkable winter campaign - it works fine. Longshadow and the Howler send an army of shadows against them - the protagonists easily repel their onslaught with Lady's bamboo guns. Mogaba's army has this great defensible position at the pass - Blade turns on him and he loses the battle. Overlook is this big hunk of a fortress that was built up as a major bastion over the course of three entire novels - Lady's troops manage to enter it on their first conventional assault. Then they dig in, carve a tunnel through its walls and take out its garrison. Shadows flood from the Shadowgate - the bamboo still does the job. Now, I know that there are actually a couple of ways to put this in perspective. The chief one being that Kina and Catcher are responsible for Longshadow's erratic behavior since they used magic to make him dumb. Um...kay. I guess that speaks for itself.

Another major gripe lies with Murgen himself. When I say that the novel lacks tension and personal stakes, that basically boils down to "Murgen doesn't feel/convey much tension and hardly has personal stakes". For one thing, he's hardly ever at the front lines. He observes one-sided battles from safe distances throughout most of the novel. Even on rare occasions like when he ventures into the heart of Kiaulune or when - for no apparent reason - he leads one of the assault parties inside Overlook, he stays at the back for the most part. The distance he takes from ongoing events subsequently makes it impossible for readers to get a feel for these events. The previous novels dealt with this in a much more engaging manner. Croaker and Lady's books were ripe with humane and relatable emotions that served as driving forces for the narrative. Even in Bleak Seasons Murgen was at least the main character. In She is the Darkness he kind of tags along as a magical scout. His apathy is frustrating, his narrative is full of repetitions. Even when he learns hints of what might be important news, he often doesn't bother to press an issue - especially when dealing with the Nyueng Bao.

Three more things to finish my rant.
1) I've actually read a couple of reviews claiming that this is an anti-war novel that uses apathy and detached narration to convey the "brutalization" of the characters. As someone who's read books like Waiting for the Barbarian's or All Quiet on the Western Front, I'd say She is the Darkness doesn't hold up at all in that sense. Murgen is fully capable of feeling a normal range of emotions - even for other people, as evidenced by his interactions. The fact that he writes is such a self-absorbed meandering manner that frequently only mentions "annal-worthy" stuff in passing simply makes him seem like a dick. When Croaker left out gruesome details, it was relatively understandable because he indirectly admits that he feels guilty for some of it, he takes neither pleasure nor pride, and he deliberate alters his story so as to cast a more forgiving light on some of his brethren. Murgen doesn't mention thousands perishing in an assault because it doesn't concern him much. Which is exactly the problem.
2) The ending is a huge let down. After all this build-up, I kind of expected some twist or at least a consequential unleashing of Kina. What I didn't expect was Catcher pulling a Wily Coyote trick wherein her diabolical plan is to...get the Company elites to enter a cavern and then collapse the door behind them. Honestly, that's just silly, and as far as plans go, it's incredibly ill-planned.
3) The novel boasts the single worst scene in the series. There's this one moment where Croaker criticizes Murgen's writing as Annalist. Croaker basically makes most of the points I just made. And Murgen's (or Cook's, because let's face it, this is cringy self-inserting at this point) response is what? Right, he literally thinks to himself that there's never any merit to listening to one's critics. And that's it. Classy.

Bottom line: Boring, repetitive, devoid of tensions, passion, horror, or anything else that emotionally hooked me. Easily the worst in the series for me.
On to Water Sleeps.

[Zeto Demerzel]

Zetubal, on 18 February 2019 - 11:34 PM, said:

She is the Darkness (aka Black Company 6) turned out to be a disappointment and the reason for that is a bit of everything, really.

Thought She is the Darkness was pretty shit too. Thankfully, Water Sleeps features a new narrator (won't spoiler) who is entirely adorable and the book ranks up there for me with The White Rose.

[Abyss]

That was the book where the series fell apart for me.


In brighter news, Clines’ latest, DEAD MOON, is as fun as a sack full of zombie heads in a bowling arena. Not his usual weird sf, or his usual EX HEROES type zombie thing, but good fun. I see why it’s being marketed as some kind of trilo ender with 14 and THE FOLD, but at the 1/3rd ish point it seems a stretch. That’s aside tho.

[Abyss]

Gabriele, on 06 February 2019 - 06:09 PM, said:

Abyss, on 04 February 2019 - 06:06 PM, said:

...

I preferred Jack Ryan and Silk.

Silk, that was the merchant with a side business of spying and assassination and a dislike for porridge, right? Can't blame him about the porridge, I hate that stuff, too. Eddings' books came out past my teenage time, but I enjoyed them as light hearted snacks in between the heavier stuff. Feist's Magician was quite fun, too. Fortunately, Fantasy now offers some main courses with Erikson, Martin and their ilk - those are keepers as much as Thomas Mann, Tolkien or Dostojevsky.

Eddings and Feist are very much products of their time and byproducts of when you read them.

I read the Belgariad at 13, Magician shortly thereafter, so these were like formative books.

And Silk is just the shit.

Abyss, on 08 February 2019 - 04:15 PM, said:

polishgenius, on 07 February 2019 - 09:03 PM, said:

Abyss, on 07 February 2019 - 04:53 PM, said:

Macros, on 07 February 2019 - 08:18 AM, said:

Rereading The Straight Razor Cure by Daniel Polanski

Ah. Just started his LOW TOWN.

That's the same book.

I should catch up on that series. I enjoyed Straight Low Razor Town but never read more. I did try Those Above the first of his more recent series but there was a plot point in it that REALLY FUCKING ANNOYED ME though I cannot now remember what it was... think it was either some kind of mindless sexism or something really classist, though. Just remember being uncomfortable reading it.

Macros, on 08 February 2019 - 10:04 AM, said:

Yah, Those above I've stalled out on a 1/4 way in.

The Low Town trilogy is great stuff. The warden is an excellent character.

As an aside I had this conversation with Loki a long time ago in the pictionaty thread.

Its called the Low Town trilogy here, with 3 novels (straight razor cure, Tomorrow the Killing and She Who Waits) but with her the first book is just called Low Town

Certainly enjoying it so far. Great earbook narrator, interesting protagonist.

So i enjoyed the hell out of that book. It moved well, had a fun anti-hero, good setting, not wildly original but very well realized.
The 'big twist' was obvious, even predictable, but nicely done and logical.

I would have grabbed, immediately, the second and third earbooks for immediate consumption.

...Except that they don't exist. Only the first book got the earbook.


I AM SO VERY VERY PISSED.

Abyss, on 19 February 2019 - 05:11 AM, said:

In brighter news, Clines’ latest, DEAD MOON, is as fun as a sack full of zombie heads in a bowling arena. Not his usual weird sf, or his usual EX HEROES type zombie thing, but good fun. I see why it’s being marketed as some kind of trilo ender with 14 and THE FOLD, but at the 1/3rd ish point it seems a stretch. That’s aside tho.

Another hour or so into this... look, it's zombies on the moon.

That's obvious from the blurb, the promos, everything. The challenge is how does Clines make a 'zombies on the moon' story work. The answer is he more or less goes full 80s action/horror with the plot, then has fun with it.
And it works. Even the obvious 'which member of the cast is going to die next' element is done well, considering it's a book and not a movie.

Still enjoying.

[Zetubal]

It's nice to read that I wasn't the only person to dislike She is the Darkness here. I am curious though: IIRC there were some people here who argued that BC gets progressively better with every entry. Anyone care to comment what's supposed to be good (or even great) about She is the Darkness?

[Macros]

Abyss, on 19 February 2019 - 04:07 PM, said:

Gabriele, on 06 February 2019 - 06:09 PM, said:

Abyss, on 04 February 2019 - 06:06 PM, said:

...

I preferred Jack Ryan and Silk.

Silk, that was the merchant with a side business of spying and assassination and a dislike for porridge, right? Can't blame him about the porridge, I hate that stuff, too. Eddings' books came out past my teenage time, but I enjoyed them as light hearted snacks in between the heavier stuff. Feist's Magician was quite fun, too. Fortunately, Fantasy now offers some main courses with Erikson, Martin and their ilk - those are keepers as much as Thomas Mann, Tolkien or Dostojevsky.

Eddings and Feist are very much products of their time and byproducts of when you read them.

I read the Belgariad at 13, Magician shortly thereafter, so these were like formative books.

And Silk is just shit.

Abyss, on 08 February 2019 - 04:15 PM, said:

polishgenius, on 07 February 2019 - 09:03 PM, said:

Abyss, on 07 February 2019 - 04:53 PM, said:

Macros, on 07 February 2019 - 08:18 AM, said:

Rereading The Straight Razor Cure by Daniel Polanski

Ah. Just started his LOW TOWN.

That's the same book.

I should catch up on that series. I enjoyed Straight Low Razor Town but never read more. I did try Those Above the first of his more recent series but there was a plot point in it that REALLY FUCKING ANNOYED ME though I cannot now remember what it was... think it was either some kind of mindless sexism or something really classist, though. Just remember being uncomfortable reading it.

Macros, on 08 February 2019 - 10:04 AM, said:

Yah, Those above I've stalled out on a 1/4 way in.

The Low Town trilogy is great stuff. The warden is an excellent character.

As an aside I had this conversation with Loki a long time ago in the pictionaty thread.

Its called the Low Town trilogy here, with 3 novels (straight razor cure, Tomorrow the Killing and She Who Waits) but with her the first book is just called Low Town

Certainly enjoying it so far. Great earbook narrator, interesting protagonist.

So i enjoyed the hell out of that book. It moved well, had a fun anti-hero, good setting, not wildly original but very well realized.
The 'big twist' was obvious, even predictable, but nicely done and logical.

I would have grabbed, immediately, the second and third earbooks for immediate consumption.

...Except that they don't exist. Only the first book got the earbook.


I AM SO VERY VERY PISSED.

Man up and dead tree it or ebook them.. so very worthwhile

This post has been edited by Macros: 19 February 2019 - 05:07 PM

[polishgenius]

Ha, funny seeing that Abyss Feist/Eddings/Silk post come back up coz I was literally just about to come here and post about how I've just re-read the Fiest/Wurts Empire trilogy for the first time in years, how I'd forgotten how much I like those books and how, most importantly, Arakasi is the best fantasy spymaster character and you can tell Silk that from me.




Then I started a recent debut, The Gutter Prayer by Gareth Hanrahan. Only a short way in but it's got a real good vibe, something like Robert Jackson Bennet's divine cities by way of a visit to Bas-Lag.

[Abyss]

polishgenius, on 19 February 2019 - 07:24 PM, said:

Ha, funny seeing that Abyss Feist/Eddings/Silk post come back up coz I was literally just about to come here and post about how I've just re-read the Fiest/Wurts Empire trilogy for the first time in years, how I'd forgotten how much I like those books and how, most importantly, Arakasi is the best fantasy spymaster character and you can tell Silk that from me.
...

That trilogy is the bestest part of the entire series, and far more 'mature' than the Feist books that preceded it.

Arakasi was a great character. A clever spy, a master of disguise, a spider at the center of his web of information and lies.
Until he went and got stabbed in the head, offscreen, by some random thug, and had to retire.

Silk NEVER got stabbed. At all. Anywhere.

[polishgenius]

All I'm saying is that if Silk had been Mara's spymaster, she'd have got killed two minutes into her reign.

Also Arakasi had to retire because he fell in luuuuuuuuuuuurve, not coz of the stabby stabby.