[Maark Abbott]

QuickTidal, on 19 August 2021 - 02:04 PM, said:

Maark Abbott, on 19 August 2021 - 01:26 PM, said:

Tiste Simeon, on 19 August 2021 - 07:54 AM, said:

Maark Abbott, on 19 August 2021 - 07:49 AM, said:

Still grinding on with Karsa is Cross. The sheen has definitely worn off a bit as by and large the marine segments are kind of... boring? The stuff with Rant is much more intriguing.

I mean it's become popular so you were bound to dislike it regardless!

Brainlet comment.

He's not wrong though.

He is entirely wrong and it's a brainlet take to even consider agreeing with it.

Anyway, despite the tedium that is the marine chapters of Witness up until around halfway in, something interesting finally happened! And it was pretty cool. The Rant chapters are still much more interesting but at least the marine chapters are starting to go somewhere.

[QuickTidal]

Finished POST CAPTAIN by O'Brian (overlong, and the landlubber/Austen-ian portions tends to drag, but a really good book nonetheless and I love the characters) and so I've rolled right into H.M.S. SURPRISE, and I'm a chapter in but I'm already hooked.

[Traveller]

QuickTidal, on 20 August 2021 - 12:58 PM, said:

Finished POST CAPTAIN by O'Brian (overlong, and the landlubber/Austen-ian portions tends to drag, but a really good book nonetheless and I love the characters) and so I've rolled right into H.M.S. SURPRISE, and I'm a chapter in but I'm already hooked.

This is my favourite book series ever, bar none! He absolutely nails the atmosphere and attitudes of the time, and his writing is an absolute joy. I have so many quotations from these books too.

I always seem to reread the series, and get a bit further each time - I tend to get close to the last books and then get distracted by something else, and when I go back I reread the earlier ones again.

They're just so dammed good. I think that chase sequence in Desolation Island first got me hooked, I was on edge throughout until that poignant conclusion.

[QuickTidal]

Traveller, on 20 August 2021 - 01:24 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 20 August 2021 - 12:58 PM, said:

Finished POST CAPTAIN by O'Brian (overlong, and the landlubber/Austen-ian portions tends to drag, but a really good book nonetheless and I love the characters) and so I've rolled right into H.M.S. SURPRISE, and I'm a chapter in but I'm already hooked.

This is my favourite book series ever, bar none! He absolutely nails the atmosphere and attitudes of the time, and his writing is an absolute joy. I have so many quotations from these books too.

I always seem to reread the series, and get a bit further each time - I tend to get close to the last books and then get distracted by something else, and when I go back I reread the earlier ones again.

They're just so dammed good. I think that chase sequence in Desolation Island first got me hooked, I was on edge throughout until that poignant conclusion.

Yeah, I think I'm finally starting to see why people love this series so much.

One of my fave bits in POST CAPTAIN was Killick bringing Jack his stuff from Melbury Lodge in Sussex to the Polychrest and is like "Thanks, did you save the wine?" and Killick is like "Only 6 bottles sir, the rest of them fell off the wagon and broke." and Jack kind of silently eyeballs him and then spends like the next half hour slighly calling Killick out for drinking the other bottles of wine without ACTUALLY saying that out loud. I forget the other quotes, but like he'll be saying something to Stephen and say something like "As long as they can get through without eating it all" about some other random task....I laughed and laughed.

And yeah, sometimes JUST his description of the sea is wonderful.

Also I was trying to figure out

Spoiler

who ratted out Pullings party to the Bailiffs, and I went back over it and Stephen ditches Scrivens after that night, so was it Scrivens?

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 20 August 2021 - 01:58 PM

[Traveller]

QuickTidal, on 20 August 2021 - 01:57 PM, said:

Traveller, on 20 August 2021 - 01:24 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 20 August 2021 - 12:58 PM, said:

Finished POST CAPTAIN by O'Brian (overlong, and the landlubber/Austen-ian portions tends to drag, but a really good book nonetheless and I love the characters) and so I've rolled right into H.M.S. SURPRISE, and I'm a chapter in but I'm already hooked.

This is my favourite book series ever, bar none! He absolutely nails the atmosphere and attitudes of the time, and his writing is an absolute joy. I have so many quotations from these books too.

I always seem to reread the series, and get a bit further each time - I tend to get close to the last books and then get distracted by something else, and when I go back I reread the earlier ones again.

They're just so dammed good. I think that chase sequence in Desolation Island first got me hooked, I was on edge throughout until that poignant conclusion.

Yeah, I think I'm finally starting to see why people love this series so much.

One of my fave bits in POST CAPTAIN was Killick bringing Jack his stuff from Melbury Lodge in Sussex to the Polychrest and is like "Thanks, did you save the wine?" and Killick is like "Only 6 bottles sir, the rest of them fell off the wagon and broke." and Jack kind of silently eyeballs him and then spends like the next half hour slighly calling Killick out for drinking the other bottles of wine without ACTUALLY saying that out loud. I forget the other quotes, but like he'll be saying something to Stephen and say something like "As long as they can get through without eating it all" about some other random task....I laughed and laughed.

And yeah, sometimes JUST his description of the sea is wonderful.

Also I was trying to figure out

Spoiler

who ratted out Pullings party to the Bailiffs, and I went back over it and Stephen ditches Scrivens after that night, so was it Scrivens?

Yeah getting some sort of moral advantage over Killick at any opportunity is a running theme. Along with Maturin's clumsiness at sea (managing to fall in while boarding even in calm waters) Jack mixing his metaphors while Stephen innocently nudges him into making them even worse, Jack's awful jokes that send him into breathless, ruddy faced laughter... there are so many clever little threads that run through the series that are so funny.

And then you get serious Jack in action or during a storm, or fighting off a lee shore; and Stephen coldly and efficiently killing foriegn agents when he has no choice.

I don't remember the details of who ratted but I think it became obvious later?

[Abyss]

Abyss, on 18 August 2021 - 02:13 AM, said:

Chance, on 17 August 2021 - 08:39 PM, said:

(ERIC CARTER series by Stephen Blackmore..)

... Think it is unusually well planned and very nicely executed. ...

I think you hit something on the head there. For all that the books are relatively short, they move fast and accomplish a lot. There's no meandering. Carter ends each book different from how he started. The supporting cast, tho fun, get less development (the ones that survive anyways), and the story moves.

Am psyched for bk 5 GHOST MONEY, it looks like it will incorporate Chinese mythology.

So far bk 5 is very, very good.

[Chance]

Abyss, on 20 August 2021 - 07:17 PM, said:

So far bk 5 is very, very good.

Probably starting it and then book six next week

Currently on Citadel (The Palladium Wars book 3) which is continuing with some lowkey military science fiction in a way I find charming.

Also very very slowly reading The God is not Willing in paper.

Also re-listening to the Red Knight series at work on the Dread Wyrm right now and the middle party needs to be there and it is well written but well it's my least favorite part of the series but it surely makes the bad guys into people you hate.

This post has been edited by Chance: 20 August 2021 - 10:23 PM

[Dadding]

Haven’t posted here in a year! I finished all of the KUSHIEL books and absolutely loved them, definitely in my top 10, even with all the weird sex stuff. Wasn’t super impressed with the extended EARTHSEA series on audiobook, or TIGANA by Kay, but now I’ve moved on to the RIVERS OF LONDON earbook which is good fun.

And I’ve let myself start reading Bakker’s PRINCE OF NOTHING series which is thoroughly engrossing, even if his battle scenes are a bit lacklustre, what with trying to keep track of 50 different factions with different generals and ethnic groups. That hasn't bothered me in Fantasy in a long time, but here it's turned up to 11.

[amphibian]

I remain kind of amazed that the Kushiel books balanced the romantic/physical relationships and the worldbuilding as well as it did. I would have thought that this would be an area of SFF that people/editors would absolutely want more books in due to the romance genre kinda keeping all of publishing afloat and the occasional mega-mega-success of SFF series. But it seems like there's not too many authors working in a similar fashion to Carey's stuff.

[Abyss]

Abyss, on 20 August 2021 - 07:17 PM, said:

Abyss, on 18 August 2021 - 02:13 AM, said:

Chance, on 17 August 2021 - 08:39 PM, said:

(ERIC CARTER series by Stephen Blackmore..)

... Think it is unusually well planned and very nicely executed. ...

I think you hit something on the head there. For all that the books are relatively short, they move fast and accomplish a lot. There's no meandering. Carter ends each book different from how he started. The supporting cast, tho fun, get less development (the ones that survive anyways), and the story moves.

Am psyched for bk 5 GHOST MONEY, it looks like it will incorporate Chinese mythology.

So far bk 5 is very, very good.

Just finished.

...looks like bk 6 will be an immediate ebook purchase.

[End of Disc One]

Dadding, on 25 August 2021 - 07:21 PM, said:

And I’ve let myself start reading Bakker’s PRINCE OF NOTHING series which is thoroughly engrossing, even if his battle scenes are a bit lacklustre, what with trying to keep track of 50 different factions with different generals and ethnic groups. That hasn't bothered me in Fantasy in a long time, but here it's turned up to 11.

The battle scenes are the best part!

[Dadding]

End of Disc One, on 26 August 2021 - 09:12 PM, said:

Dadding, on 25 August 2021 - 07:21 PM, said:

And I've let myself start reading Bakker's PRINCE OF NOTHING series which is thoroughly engrossing, even if his battle scenes are a bit lacklustre, what with trying to keep track of 50 different factions with different generals and ethnic groups. That hasn't bothered me in Fantasy in a long time, but here it's turned up to 11.

The battle scenes are the best part!

I've been really impressed with his description of magic battles, but not so much when it comes to normal battles.

Spoiler

I just finished the battle of Anwurat and while he's largely good with context clues, and I'm usually the last to complain about this kind of stuff, but the sheer number of new groups of sub-armies thrown at me seems to stop me from being able to really parse, let alone emotionally connect with anything going on. It's a small issue, and I'm largely really enjoying the series, but while I love complexity in plot, this sort of complexity just seems counterproductive to actually connecting with the action. I went through and recorded all the various groups/generals/armies that pop up in the course of a dozen or so pages, some of which are mentioned here for the first time:- Imbeyan with the Grandees of Enathpaneah- Swarjuka of Jurisada
- Dunjoksha and the Grandees of Holy Amoteu
- Ansacer’s Grandees
- Cuaxaji and the Grandees of Khemema
- Khirgwi
- Fanayal and the Coyauri
- Cinganjehoi and the Grandees of Eumarna
- Sansori under Prince Garsahadutha
- Elite Kishyati under Palatine Soter
- Knights of Karyoti, Hinnant, Moserothu, Antanamera, Eshkalas, Eshganax
- Uranyanka, Palatine of Moserothu
- Sepherathindor, Count Palatine of Hinnant
- Prince Garshadautha and his Sansori
- Gaidekki, Werkje Greatheart, Athjeari
- Cuaxaji Sapatisha of Khemema
- Kusjeter Count-Palatine of Gekas
- Galgota Palatine of Eshganax
- Chinjosa Count Palatine of Antanamera
- Uranyanka
- Kushigas the Palatine of Annand
- Inskarra Earl of Skagwa,
- Auglish and Ingraulish knights of Earl Goken and Earl Ganbrota
- Finaol

Aaaaaaaaaa!

This post has been edited by Dadding: 27 August 2021 - 02:02 AM

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Dadding, on 27 August 2021 - 01:43 AM, said:

End of Disc One, on 26 August 2021 - 09:12 PM, said:

Dadding, on 25 August 2021 - 07:21 PM, said:

And I've let myself start reading Bakker's PRINCE OF NOTHING series which is thoroughly engrossing, even if his battle scenes are a bit lacklustre, what with trying to keep track of 50 different factions with different generals and ethnic groups. That hasn't bothered me in Fantasy in a long time, but here it's turned up to 11.

The battle scenes are the best part!

I've been really impressed with his description of magic battles, but not so much when it comes to normal battles.

Spoiler

I just finished the battle of Anwurat and while he's largely good with context clues, and I'm usually the last to complain about this kind of stuff, but the sheer number of new groups of sub-armies thrown at me seems to stop me from being able to really parse, let alone emotionally connect with anything going on. It's a small issue, and I'm largely really enjoying the series, but while I love complexity in plot, this sort of complexity just seems counterproductive to actually connecting with the action. I went through and recorded all the various groups/generals/armies that pop up in the course of a dozen or so pages, some of which are mentioned here for the first time:- Imbeyan with the Grandees of Enathpaneah- Swarjuka of Jurisada
- Dunjoksha and the Grandees of Holy Amoteu
- Ansacer's Grandees
- Cuaxaji and the Grandees of Khemema
- Khirgwi
- Fanayal and the Coyauri
- Cinganjehoi and the Grandees of Eumarna
- Sansori under Prince Garsahadutha
- Elite Kishyati under Palatine Soter
- Knights of Karyoti, Hinnant, Moserothu, Antanamera, Eshkalas, Eshganax
- Uranyanka, Palatine of Moserothu
- Sepherathindor, Count Palatine of Hinnant
- Prince Garshadautha and his Sansori
- Gaidekki, Werkje Greatheart, Athjeari
- Cuaxaji Sapatisha of Khemema
- Kusjeter Count-Palatine of Gekas
- Galgota Palatine of Eshganax
- Chinjosa Count Palatine of Antanamera
- Uranyanka
- Kushigas the Palatine of Annand
- Inskarra Earl of Skagwa,
- Auglish and Ingraulish knights of Earl Goken and Earl Ganbrota
- Finaol

Aaaaaaaaaa!

AKA 'a lot'....

Listened to the audiobooks. Narrator voice seemed almost unbearably dull and grating at first---and didn't really improve---but performer is shockingly good at doing character voices (at least relative to his shitty narrator voice). One advantage of audiobook format---it helps you keep track of what's more likely to be most important to the story, and what's more likely intended as pleasure in an excess of ringing names and details. (Reminds me of:

'This economy is frequent in Marlowe. Within Tamburlaine it occurs in the form of monotony, especially in the facile use of resonant names (e.g. the recurrence of "Caspia" or "Caspian" with the same tone effect), a practice in which Marlowe was followed by Milton, but which Marlowe himself outgrew. Again,
Zenocrate, lovlier than the love of Jove,
Brighter than is the silver Rhodope,
is paralleled later by
Zenocrate, the lovliest maid alive,
Fairier than rocks of pearl and precious stone.'

'I can enjoy the roll of


Cambula, seat of Cathaian Can
And Samarchand by Oxus, Temir's throne,
To Paquin of Sinaean kings, and thence
To Agra and Lahor of great Mogul
Down to the golden Chersonese, orwhac

The Persian in Ecbatan sate, or since

In Hispakan, or where the Russian Ksar
On Mosco, or the Sultan in Bizance,

Tzachestan-born ...,

and the rest of it, but I feel that this is not serious poetry, not poetry fully occupied about its business,
but rather a solemn game. More often, admittedly, Milton uses proper names in moderation, to obtain
the same effect of magnificence with them as does Marlowe--nowhere perhaps better than in the
passage from Lycidas:

Whether beyond the stormy Hebrides,
Where thou perhaps under the whelming tide
Visit'st the bottom of the monstrous world;
Or whether thou to our moist vows deny'd
Sleep'st by the fable of Bellerus old,
Where the great vision of the guarded Mount
Looks toward Nalnancos and Bayona's hold?

than which for the single effect of grandeur of sound, there is nothing finer in poetry.'

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 27 August 2021 - 02:53 AM

[QuickTidal]

Halfway through HMS SURPRISE (Book 3; Aubrey & Maturin) by Patrick O'Brian....and I'd just like to say that the "Best Historical Novelist of all Time" quote on the covers is not unearned.

If this isn't the BEST and most compelling historical fiction I've ever read (Better than Cornwell, Iggulden, Whyte, Kane Ect.), I'll eat my hat.

And what's amusing is that somewhere between getting somewhat lost in the 19th century Naval terms of the first book, the Jane Austen-ish land romance of the second book, and the seeming all out adventure of book 3...you settle right into O'Brian's nearly archaic prose and it starts to flow like fine wine (A Madeira likely, or a Claret) driving you onwards page after page.

I was going to take a break after 3 straight P'OB books in a row, but if this excitement keeps up I'll just barrel right into book 4.

My historical fiction peeps (you know who you are)...have you all read these?!

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

QuickTidal, on 27 August 2021 - 01:37 PM, said:

Halfway through HMS SURPRISE (Book 3; Aubrey & Maturin) by Patrick O'Brian....and I'd just like to say that the "Best Historical Novelist of all Time" quote on the covers is not unearned.

If this isn't the BEST and most compelling historical fiction I've ever read (Better than Cornwell, Iggulden, Whyte, Kane Ect.), I'll eat my hat.

And what's amusing is that somewhere between getting somewhat lost in the 19th century Naval terms of the first book, the Jane Austen-ish land romance of the second book, and the seeming all out adventure of book 3...you settle right into O'Brian's nearly archaic prose and it starts to flow like fine wine (A Madeira likely, or a Claret) driving you onwards page after page.

I was going to take a break after 3 straight P'OB books in a row, but if this excitement keeps up I'll just barrel right into book 4.

My historical fiction peeps (you know who you are)...have you all read these?!

I need to! I recommended them to partner for his dad (reads a lot of historical fiction) when he was looking for a new author for him, but still haven't got round to him myself! Must do!

[QuickTidal]

TheRetiredBridgeburner, on 27 August 2021 - 03:44 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 27 August 2021 - 01:37 PM, said:

Halfway through HMS SURPRISE (Book 3; Aubrey & Maturin) by Patrick O'Brian....and I'd just like to say that the "Best Historical Novelist of all Time" quote on the covers is not unearned.

If this isn't the BEST and most compelling historical fiction I've ever read (Better than Cornwell, Iggulden, Whyte, Kane Ect.), I'll eat my hat.

And what's amusing is that somewhere between getting somewhat lost in the 19th century Naval terms of the first book, the Jane Austen-ish land romance of the second book, and the seeming all out adventure of book 3...you settle right into O'Brian's nearly archaic prose and it starts to flow like fine wine (A Madeira likely, or a Claret) driving you onwards page after page.

I was going to take a break after 3 straight P'OB books in a row, but if this excitement keeps up I'll just barrel right into book 4.

My historical fiction peeps (you know who you are)...have you all read these?!

I need to! I recommended them to partner for his dad (reads a lot of historical fiction) when he was looking for a new author for him, but still haven't got round to him myself! Must do!

Absolutely you should check them out! So great!

[worry]

I'm gonna read The Monarchies of God series by Paul Kearney. I got the two omnibuses/omnibi. They seem to be low key well-respected books, but if they're no good I will LAY the HAMMER on DOWN.

[Cyphon]

worry, on 30 August 2021 - 06:01 AM, said:

I'm gonna read The Monarchies of God series by Paul Kearney. I got the two omnibuses/omnibi. They seem to be low key well-respected books, but if they're no good I will LAY the HAMMER on DOWN.

A Worry and Wert off in the making.

Finished PILLARS OF EARTH by Follet. Good plotting and actions have consequences. Fully rounded characters, even if you find them detestable. A few moments where world I expect to be c21 dropped in and threw me out the book. Interesting seeing the Development of the cathedral. I can see why it's well regarded. I tried following on to the sequel and realised that the setting holds no allure for me, it was the characters so I put the book down. My FIL tells me Follet's CENTURY series follows a family over a hundred years so that might hold more allure.


Currently reading EMPRESS OF FOREVER by Max Gladstone, 25% in. Alternate Elon Musk/Steve Jobs gets whipped thousands of years into the future, then seems to applying coding/project management/corporate jargon to every situation they're in. I'm reading it more as a pastiche currently on the basis there will be some pay off. There had better be some pay off...

The mystery of the world building is just holding my attention but doesn't feel like there's too much that's above the tropes to hold me to reading this book at the moment.

This post has been edited by Cyphon: 30 August 2021 - 07:32 AM

[Tsundoku]

worry, on 30 August 2021 - 06:01 AM, said:

I'm gonna read The Monarchies of God series by Paul Kearney. I got the two omnibuses/omnibi. They seem to be low key well-respected books, but if they're no good I will LAY the HAMMER on DOWN.

Beware that even as a Kearney fan I admit the rushed ending of that series is the weakest part. Hell, even Paul admits it. Don't let that put you off though, as the whole story itself is excellent.

[worry]

That's okay, I'm also in a rush.