[Tiste Simeon]

Yes Glotka is not ready to forget! There's something quite thrilling about quite how nasty he is. I enjoyed that trilogy fwiw, it's a lot of fun if you let it be even though most of the characters are pretty horrible.

Seems like your scumbag ex might have just liked it because "hurr durr violence" though.

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

Most likely!

Thing is, I was put off trying any Brandon Sanderson despite multiple recommendations because I thought he came across as such an insufferable ass with the WOT TV series stuff, but then Tress of the Emerald Sea turned out to be a thoroughly great book, so I'm in the mindset of revisiting things I haven't given a chance

[Tiste Simeon]

TheRetiredBridgeburner, on 21 July 2025 - 07:21 AM, said:

Most likely!

Thing is, I was put off trying any Brandon Sanderson despite multiple recommendations because I thought he came across as such an insufferable ass with the WOT TV series stuff, but then Tress of the Emerald Sea turned out to be a thoroughly great book, so I'm in the mindset of revisiting things I haven't given a chance

I'm very much a believer in seeing what the fuss is about with an open mind. So I tried WoT and hated it. I'm trying Stormlight Archive and actually quite enjoying it. I tried the ACOTAR books and they definitely weren't for me, but that's ok.

I'd be disinclined to read something that someone like your ex tried to push on me though so I get it.

[Abyss]

TheRetiredBridgeburner, on 21 July 2025 - 06:56 AM, said:

Macros, on 18 July 2025 - 04:38 AM, said:

So the friend reading the Blade itself is about 40% in.
Has declared 'its such a boy book!'

I'm going to give The Blade Itself a go when I finish the book I'm reading currently. Mr NAB and his dad have all the Abercrombie books between them.

I tried it before absolutely years ago because my horrible ex badgered me about it - he read Gemmell's Legend because I really liked it, proceeded to make out it's the worst book committed to page (this was a thing - anything I liked had to be terrible and for less intelligent people) and tell me why The Blade Itself was infinitely more intellectual and better in every way. I got about a third of the way through and gave up, but I don't think given the setup I gave it a fair chance. I seem to remember being enraged by the idea of calling Legend generic and then recommending me that.... but there we are. I do however remember Glokta as a character VIVIDLY all these years later.

It's kind of a ridiculous comparison, LEGEND is a self contained seige story, TBI is part one of a trilo, almost entirely setup, and standing by itself relies only on the hooks to propel a reader fwd. LEGEND held my attention, TBI barely that, if i hadn't had bks 2 and 3 in hand i may have gone years before i picked up another Abercrombie.

Tiste Simeon, on 21 July 2025 - 07:08 AM, said:

Yes Glotka is not ready to forget! There's something quite thrilling about quite how nasty he is. I enjoyed that trilogy fwiw, it's a lot of fun if you let it be even though most of the characters are pretty horrible.
...

Glotka is great, memorable, original, nasty yet likeable. I appreciate JA's ability to write characters like that and it continues to run thru his following books. There's a reason BEST SERVED COLD is a favorite of mine and it's not for the nice upstanding brave heroes.

[Abyss]

Abyss, on 08 July 2025 - 03:37 PM, said:

Abyss, on 02 July 2025 - 07:09 PM, said:

Meanwhile, in the Department of Just Finished... I was jonesing for something whimsical after THE DEVILS, and a brush through my earbook library/TRP brought me to THE THIRTEENTH PALADIN, by Torsten Weitz, specifically an Audible compilation of books 1-3 of the 13 book series.

It's cheesy and predictable and derivative and just barely original, and i'm thoroughly enjoying it. The narrator Gildart Jackson, just sells it so earnestly that even where i predict what's going to happen, his voices are so well done that i'm still into the story.

There's a chosen one, a crusty old ranger mentor, elves are delicate magical forest dwellers and dwarves are rough underground little people, every female character is graceful and mysterious, the Big Bad is called 'The Adversary' and his borderline idiot servants are 'Dark Ones'... the MC is a plucky village boy torn from obscurity and destined to save the world, FFS the dwarf warrior just used the words "joie de vivre" so apparently someone somewhere in this totally fictional world speaks French.... it's all very very basic but damn if books 1 and 2 didn't yank me right in and hold my attention. Starting bk 3 now.

Well into bk 3 and still enjoying but some of the wording was starting to annoy me.... some strange word choices like 'red alert' and 'attack mode' in a very medieval set fantasy. Also, two more 'joie de vivre's. Also also a sword that two different people are apparently carrying at the same time in two different places.

A brief google reveals that the german to english translator was either not very good at their job, not a fantasy lit fan, or so underpaid as not to care... they evidently missed that the sword was a type of blade, not a name. Thankfully, 'transformer' was replaced by 'doppelganger' quickly enough so i stopped expecting Megatron to show up.

To be clear, i am still very much enjoying this. The overall story is benefitting from becoming a little more complex and the characters obtaining a little more depth. The author is slow to unpeel the onions but as he does the characters and their situation become progressively more engaging. In a more or less stock 'chosen one must level up, assemble allies, challenge the Big Bad' story, the author to his credit isn't afraid to be clear that he's playing a long game.

50% thru book 4 and the surly yet jolly yet taciturn yet artistic (at the forge, duh) Dwarf warrior just told someone they earned "bonus points". Also, the female character's "supple grace showed off her suppleness". I swear the translator is actively trying to throw readers out of the book.

I am enjoying this, despite or even because of how predictable it's been. I seem to be in a weird stage of appreciating simplicity in my reading.

[JPK]

Slow Ben, on 19 July 2025 - 02:48 AM, said:

Finally digging into the Powder Mage trilogy, which has been in my trp for about a decade now. About 1/4 through the first book.

They just dump your ass right in the middle of a conflict and just go go go from there huh? You just pick up the lore and magic and characters on the go, but it doesn’t feel forced or difficult, digging it so far

Sometimes it's funny to me how often people on this board end up reading the same thing at almost the same time without planning it. I'm currently working on THE AUTUMN REPUBLIC (book 3) in audio.

I'm curious to see what you think at the end of the first book. I have thoughts about some of the stuff the author plays with but it's best left alone until the end of book 1.

This post has been edited by JPK: 22 July 2025 - 05:57 PM

[Mentalist]

Finished re-reading "Shadows of Self" yesterday.

Onto "Bands of Mourning"

[Abyss]

Abyss, on 21 July 2025 - 03:05 PM, said:

Abyss, on 08 July 2025 - 03:37 PM, said:

Abyss, on 02 July 2025 - 07:09 PM, said:

Meanwhile, in the Department of Just Finished... I was jonesing for something whimsical after THE DEVILS, and a brush through my earbook library/TRP brought me to THE THIRTEENTH PALADIN, by Torsten Weitz, specifically an Audible compilation of books 1-3 of the 13 book series.

It's cheesy and predictable and derivative and just barely original, and i'm thoroughly enjoying it. The narrator Gildart Jackson, just sells it so earnestly that even where i predict what's going to happen, his voices are so well done that i'm still into the story.

There's a chosen one, a crusty old ranger mentor, elves are delicate magical forest dwellers and dwarves are rough underground little people, every female character is graceful and mysterious, the Big Bad is called 'The Adversary' and his borderline idiot servants are 'Dark Ones'... the MC is a plucky village boy torn from obscurity and destined to save the world, FFS the dwarf warrior just used the words "joie de vivre" so apparently someone somewhere in this totally fictional world speaks French.... it's all very very basic but damn if books 1 and 2 didn't yank me right in and hold my attention. Starting bk 3 now.

Well into bk 3 and still enjoying but some of the wording was starting to annoy me.... some strange word choices like 'red alert' and 'attack mode' in a very medieval set fantasy. Also, two more 'joie de vivre's. Also also a sword that two different people are apparently carrying at the same time in two different places.

A brief google reveals that the german to english translator was either not very good at their job, not a fantasy lit fan, or so underpaid as not to care... they evidently missed that the sword was a type of blade, not a name. Thankfully, 'transformer' was replaced by 'doppelganger' quickly enough so i stopped expecting Megatron to show up.

To be clear, i am still very much enjoying this. The overall story is benefitting from becoming a little more complex and the characters obtaining a little more depth. The author is slow to unpeel the onions but as he does the characters and their situation become progressively more engaging. In a more or less stock 'chosen one must level up, assemble allies, challenge the Big Bad' story, the author to his credit isn't afraid to be clear that he's playing a long game.

50% thru book 4 and the surly yet jolly yet taciturn yet artistic (at the forge, duh) Dwarf warrior just told someone they earned "bonus points". Also, the female character's "supple grace showed off her suppleness". I swear the translator is actively trying to throw readers out of the book.

I am enjoying this, despite or even because of how predictable it's been. I seem to be in a weird stage of appreciating simplicity in my reading.

And having Just Finished the satisfactory pirate ocean voyages of book 4 and advanced into the palace intrigue / zombie story of book 5, we can add: "he studied the facial expressions on their faces" and "they were stunned by the sight of a paladin, with a giant wolf riding a unicorn" ... i could almost hear the narrator trying not to burst out laughing at that last one.


To be clear i'm still, still, very much enjoying this, and the occasional translation flub is more a source of amusement than a 'throwing me out of the story' thing.

[amphibian]

Hail Mary by Andy Weir was a very good read - better by a wide margin than The Martian due to being less of a "guy puzzle solves everything" and more of a series of puzzles/challenges intermixed with real character work.

I think the buddy dynamic really works well in both ways it gets done in this book.

I skipped Armada, has anyone read it?

[Abyss]

amphibian, on 30 July 2025 - 01:24 AM, said:

Hail Mary by Andy Weir was a very good read - better by a wide margin than The Martian due to being less of a "guy puzzle solves everything" and more of a series of puzzles/challenges intermixed with real character work.

I think the buddy dynamic really works well in both ways it gets done in this book.

I skipped Armada, has anyone read it?

ARMADA was written by Ernest Cline, the READY PLAYER ONE author. Are you maybe thinking of ARTEMIS, also by Andy Weir?

I can tell you ARMADA was a weak follow up to RP1, has some fun retro video game themes but overall just a predictable story told without much flourish.

I haven't read ARTEMIS yet, it gets a lot of flack mainly for not being THE MARTIAN 2.

[amphibian]

I was indeed thinking of Artemis. Armada, I don't really have interest in going through because I can't fundamentally vibe with the incessant nostalgia of Ready Player 1.

[polishgenius]

amphibian, on 30 July 2025 - 01:24 AM, said:

Hail Mary by Andy Weir was a very good read - better by a wide margin than The Martian due to being less of a "guy puzzle solves everything" and more of a series of puzzles/challenges intermixed with real character work.

I think the buddy dynamic really works well in both ways it gets done in this book.

I skipped Armada, has anyone read it?

Funny, I had the opposite opinion: I prefer the Martian a fair bit coz I think there are parts where Weir's tried to force a similar style onto a story that would have benefited, in parts, from something very different in tone and and structure. Though it did settle in for the second half.

Spoiler

To whit, I don't think the amnesiac flashback setup did the early part of the book any favours, I think the whole finding-out-and-setting-up part could have been played straight and given a lot more scope, given us a look at more characters. Additionally though this is very subjective I didn't think the jokey tone fit very well with the isolation-horror type setup. It got it together for the second part though, which ultimately is probably what Weir was more interested in anyway.

Anyway I've been in a bit of a reading doldrum but I've just started Metal From Heaven, by August Clarke, an anticapitalist revenge thriller type thing with some excellent prose. Only just started but it's caught my attention.

[Briar King]

Finished Exodus. What a fun ride and yeah I’m definitely eagerly awaiting bk2 and the game one day.

My plan was to go straight to a reread of the Commonwealth bks but I just learned about Dresden 18 coming in January and the call to pick back up my reread of that that I had paused to reread WoT shortly before Wheel of PRIME S1 aired so grabbed Death Mask and knocked it out in 3 days. I’m now 3 chapters into Blood Rites. So fun to go through again.

This post has been edited by Briar King: 08 August 2025 - 05:55 AM

[Slow Ben]

 JPK, on 22 July 2025 - 05:43 PM, said:

 Slow Ben, on 19 July 2025 - 02:48 AM, said:

Finally digging into the Powder Mage trilogy, which has been in my trp for about a decade now. About 1/4 through the first book.

They just dump your ass right in the middle of a conflict and just go go go from there huh? You just pick up the lore and magic and characters on the go, but it doesn’t feel forced or difficult, digging it so far

Sometimes it's funny to me how often people on this board end up reading the same thing at almost the same time without planning it. I'm currently working on THE AUTUMN REPUBLIC (book 3) in audio.

I'm curious to see what you think at the end of the first book. I have thoughts about some of the stuff the author plays with but it's best left alone until the end of book 1.

That’s cool. I’m headed on Vaca in the morning, should finish it up then.

Book 2 won’t be in before we head out so I’ll finally start Lawrence’s The Girl and the Stars. I know literally nothing about this series.

[Macros]

Have you read any of his other work?

About 30% into the book that held here heart

[Slow Ben]

Macros, on 03 August 2025 - 06:07 PM, said:

Have you read any of his other work?

About 30% into the book that held here heart

Everything up to Holy Sister. Enjoyed it all. Although the Sister trilogy wasnt as good as the first two.

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

Started The Blade Itself

Glokta is every bit as awful as I remember!

This post has been edited by TheRetiredBridgeburner: 05 August 2025 - 08:03 AM

[QuickTidal]

THE SILMARILLION. Every now and again I get the itch for a re-read.

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

QuickTidal, on 05 August 2025 - 11:38 AM, said:

THE SILMARILLION. Every now and again I get the itch for a re-read.

I listened to the Andy Serkis audiobook again recently. I recognise that itch!

[QuickTidal]

TheRetiredBridgeburner, on 05 August 2025 - 12:25 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 05 August 2025 - 11:38 AM, said:

THE SILMARILLION. Every now and again I get the itch for a re-read.

I listened to the Andy Serkis audiobook again recently. I recognise that itch!

I'm SOOOOO tempted to get audible for another three month stint to listen to it with his narration. He's such a great narrator.

EDIT: And I did it. I can listen on my way to and from work.

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 05 August 2025 - 01:05 PM