[Mentalist]

Williams' Bobby Dollar books were decent.

I've got War of the Flowers sitting in the TRP since recently.

*nods in a polite, Canadian way*

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 17 May 2016 - 10:41 PM

[QuickTidal]

Abyss, on 17 May 2016 - 07:54 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 17 May 2016 - 07:44 PM, said:

MS&T shifted easily into my Top 5 fave series after reading it...how could you hate it so? Also, the Sithi singing is rare enough that I barely remember it happening. But yeah, I love the series.

This is how I hate it so: Book 1 is a travelogue with essentially one major event that is just barely described. Like a thousand pages waiting for something interesting to happen and it occupies maybe the last ten pages. But ok, fine, something cool happened, Tad had my attention, let's do this... cue Book 2 a travelogue involving even more people travelling and not much else besides a lot of whining and insecurity by the main characters. Book 3 is almost 75% setup for the finale, manages to still involve a lot of slogging around AND FUCKING ELVES WAGING WAR BY SINGING AT EACH OTHER. One character spends the entire book wandering around a dungeon being uphappy about wandering around a dingeon. Then stuff happens that vaguely rips off the end of LoTR and everyone lives happily ever fucking after except for a couple of supporting character killed off so we could pretend characters were at risk.

Can I ask how long ago you read it?

Also, I think it's relatively unfair to say that any of the books are a travelogue, since so much happens to so many characters in even the first book. Sure lots of those things happen while they travel, but plenty happens to everyone in that time of note, and there are more than just one major event in Book 1.

As to the singing. Again, I think you've possibly overblown it in your mind? Because only the siege of the Norns at Naglimund by the Sithi and the Hernystiri forces has any singing and it's just a spell that takes the Sithi three days to enact...but there is still massive bloodshed and battle at the Siege...it's just that Jiriki and his elves are able to bring the Norn mages out with their song to take them out...the rest of it is a normal battle.

I've seen the complaint about no major characters dying...and it's a little off the mark, lots of people die throughout the books and a few major ones at that. I don't think that because a large portion of leads make it to the end

Spoiler

The end where the reader realizes that the bad guy, the Storm King Ineluki, is not evil, but a bitter, emotionally destroyed creature so devoted to his people in a bad way that he can't even function anymore...and Simon forgiving him ends the war (or at least barters a peace with the Nornish Gardenborn)

so it's not as if the casualties NEEDED to include any more leads.

I dunno, none of that ever bothered me. Tad is verbose and his books tend to be longer than they need to be, but I don't think I could have found anything in MS&T boring (aside from Simon's struggles underground, which bugged me).

And Worry, we Canadian's don't have civil war...we have an ice skating race on the Rideau Canal. The winner gets a Beaver Tail with topping of choice.

[Abyss]

QuickTidal, on 18 May 2016 - 12:37 PM, said:

...
Can I ask how long ago you read it?

About 15ish years, as an adult well established in my literary tastes.

Quote

Also, I think it's relatively unfair to say that any of the books are a travelogue, since so much happens to so many characters in even the first book. Sure lots of those things happen while they travel,

Exactly.
and massive portions of the book and bk 2 are spent describing the slog from point A to point B.

Quote

but plenty happens to everyone in that time of note, and there are more than just one major event in Book 1.

Subjective ... i would say sure stuff happens, but in the realm of fantasy lit only one really important event takes place and it isn't even all that well described.

Quote

As to the singing. Again, I think you've possibly overblown it in your mind? Because only the siege of the Norns at Naglimund by the Sithi and the Hernystiri forces has any singing and it's just a spell that takes the Sithi three days to enact...but there is still massive bloodshed and battle at the Siege...it's just that Jiriki and his elves are able to bring the Norn mages out with their song to take them out...the rest of it is a normal battle.

SPOILERS

SPOILERS

SPOILERS....

It's the big battle finale of the series which has been sorely lacking big battles two and a half books in. The humans and ogre-thingees are killing each other and the lead human runs up to the Elves and says "We're dying here, why are you just standing around singing." and the Important Elf says "We're singing because the Bad Elves would be kicking your asses if we weren't singing, now go kill some more ogres and/or die, tnx.". It should have been epic and instead it was dueling choir practice. No, just no.

Quote

I've seen the complaint about no major characters dying...and it's a little off the mark, lots of people die throughout the books and a few major ones at that. I don't think that because a large portion of leads make it to the end

Spoiler

The end where the reader realizes that the bad guy, the Storm King Ineluki, is not evil, but a bitter, emotionally destroyed creature so devoted to his people in a bad way that he can't even function anymore...and Simon forgiving him ends the war (or at least barters a peace with the Nornish Gardenborn)

so it's not as if the casualties NEEDED to include any more leads.

1. Supporting characters died, but the leads were never in serious jeopardy or even the perception of such.
2. The Big Bad needed a hug. No, just no.

Quote

I dunno, none of that ever bothered me. Tad is verbose and his books tend to be longer than they need to be, but I don't think I could have found anything in MS&T boring (aside from Simon's struggles underground, which bugged me).

Hey fair enough. I just found the entire series frustrating, dull and one instance of Elf Rap Battle to be one too many.

Quote

And Worry, we Canadian's don't have civil war...we have an ice skating race on the Rideau Canal. The winner gets a Beaver Tail with topping of choice.

Go maple syrup/Nutella or go home.

[QuickTidal]

Abyss, on 18 May 2016 - 02:05 PM, said:

Go maple syrup/Nutella or go home.

I would also accept Nutella and Reese Pieces. Either way, now I'm hungry.

[Abyss]

Had a classic the other day. Maybe it was the 4am, maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was the singing and the street performers, but it was The Best Thing Ever.

[QuickTidal]

Abyss, on 18 May 2016 - 03:02 PM, said:

Had a classic the other day. Maybe it was the 4am, maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was the singing and the street performers, but it was The Best Thing Ever.

Not as readily find-able in Toronto as they are in Ottawa and area. Sigh.

We usually only get them in winter for some odd reason. Or if an event decides to set up shop.

The closest we get is going to Canada's Wonderland and having a Funnel Cake.

EDIT, oh but two+ years ago when we were at an open house for late night foods for weddings - at the venue we got married at, they had a booth (we went with ice cream sandwiches as our late-night snack instead of Beaver Tails...mistake) and I'd be lying if I told you I only had one that day.

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 18 May 2016 - 04:01 PM

[Mentalist]

QuickTidal, on 18 May 2016 - 03:59 PM, said:

Abyss, on 18 May 2016 - 03:02 PM, said:

Had a classic the other day. Maybe it was the 4am, maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was the singing and the street performers, but it was The Best Thing Ever.

Not as readily find-able in Toronto as they are in Ottawa and area. Sigh.

We usually only get them in winter for some odd reason. Or if an event decides to set up shop.

The closest we get is going to Canada's Wonderland and having a Funnel Cake.

EDIT, oh but two+ years ago when we were at an open house for late night foods for weddings - at the venue we got married at, they had a booth (we went with ice cream sandwiches as our late-night snack instead of Beaver Tails...mistake) and I'd be lying if I told you I only had one that day.

Wild Water Kingdom used to sell 'em. At least back 4 years ago when I still worked there

[Andorion]

Umm I am going to ask a noob question

What is Nutella? Is it like Peanut butter?

[Mentalist]

Andorion, on 18 May 2016 - 05:55 PM, said:

Umm I am going to ask a noob question

What is Nutella? Is it like Peanut butter?

chocolate (cocoa + milk) and hazelnut butter.

[JPK]

It's great with pretty much everything. Nutella and banana crepes are one if my favorites.

[QuickTidal]

Since it was on sale ($10!) on Comixology, I grabbed the entire 12 issue run for DC Comic's 1985 CRISIS OF INFINITE EARTHS by Wolfman and Perez. Figure it's finally time to actually read this seminal miniseries event.

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 20 May 2016 - 06:44 PM

[Abyss]

I'm pretty sure the Flash slips on Nutella in issue 3.

Oh... um... spoilers.

[Puck]

After reading Wert's review of The Great Ordeal I have just pre-ordered it, together with buying the first two books in the trilogy. I LOVED Bakker's first trilogy. Was going to wait for the second to be complete before tackling it, but my conscience tells me to stop being silly and buy it already.

[Mentalist]

Ordered Purge of Ashes by Tatterdemalion off the Book depository.

Along with it, since I figured may as well kill my last prepaid gift card:

Vellum by Hal Duncan
Byzantium Endures By Moorcock- first of the Colonel Pyat sequence
Epiphany of the Long Sun by Gene Wolfe- Long Sun part 2, since I'm planning to to do a New and Old Sun read at some point this year.

[Tatterdemalion]

Mentalist, on 29 May 2016 - 06:44 PM, said:

Ordered Purge of Ashes by Tatterdemalion off the Book depository.

I thoroughly endorse this book and/or product.

And if a mentalist does it, you know he's on to something. I hope you enjoy it.

Today I finally picked up Dancer's Lament. Read the prologue waiting for car tires to be swapped. Love the opening!

This post has been edited by Tatterdemalion: 02 June 2016 - 12:17 AM

[Salt-Man Z]

Randomly discovered that certain past dead-tree purchases on Amazon "unlock" the Kindle version for $2.99. (It's fairly hidden away: the regular Kindle price is shown unless you're specifically looking at the Kindle edition.) Anyway, I picked up FoL when someone here mentioned it last month, but didn't realize it was a regular thing. But the other day I went digging through my purchase history and snapped up the ones I could. (It appears that maybe it's a publisher-driven thing, too, because all the ones I nabbed were by Tor.) I got:

The Weird ed. by Ann & Jeff VanderMeer
Shadows of Self by Sanderson (for my wife)
and GotM/DG/MoI, which I had purchased as a gift for a friend, not realizing I'd get cheap ebooks as part of the deal!

[HiddenOne]

Yes, found that myself yesterday when I ordered DL and FoL, but I declined. Reading on any screen seems to really bother my eyeballs.

[Salt-Man Z]

HiddenOne, on 10 June 2016 - 07:47 PM, said:

Yes, found that myself yesterday when I ordered DL and FoL, but I declined. Reading on any screen seems to really bother my eyeballs.

E-ink, my man.

[HiddenOne]

Salt-Man Z, on 13 June 2016 - 12:43 PM, said:

HiddenOne, on 10 June 2016 - 07:47 PM, said:

Yes, found that myself yesterday when I ordered DL and FoL, but I declined. Reading on any screen seems to really bother my eyeballs.

E-ink, my man.

Should I go for the old type Kindle or the Paperwhite variant?

[Abyss]

HiddenOne, on 13 June 2016 - 01:37 PM, said:

Salt-Man Z, on 13 June 2016 - 12:43 PM, said:

HiddenOne, on 10 June 2016 - 07:47 PM, said:

Yes, found that myself yesterday when I ordered DL and FoL, but I declined. Reading on any screen seems to really bother my eyeballs.

E-ink, my man.

Should I go for the old type Kindle or the Paperwhite variant?

Paperwhite is supposed to be better.

I'm pretty sure there are tablet reader apps that can produce the same/similar e-ink quality (Caliber maybe?), tho you may run into some fun converting Kindle books.