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What are you reading? V1


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17 hours ago, Broncofan said:

Two comments:

1.  Jordan's Wheel of Time doesn't hold up well over time - but at the time when it was released, it was just so much more in-depth and more world-building than the fantasy novels before it.   Pretty much every author was putting out trilogies LOTR-style, and always with the same idea (poor boy orphan bastard-prince in disguise, or falls in love with maiden princess trying to live up to royalty expectations).   At the time, WoT was ground-breaking.   I'm a little surprised you find it slow going in the first 3 novels, but I read them as they were released, so given what fantasy was like then and how it is now, I can see how it appears slow compared to how GRRM & other series move along.   Before WoT, world building was so superficial with the Feists/Brooks/Eddings of the world.    Now, compared to what we get with series today, though, I get that it doesn't age well - just keep in mind that without Jordan's series, I don't know that we get publishers who sign off on GRRM's world, or others so complex.    Doesn't mean you have to go through that pain of 14 books, though (he really milked that series in the middle third of that series, Sanderson finished it off as well as anyone could have).

2.  If you really want something with more bite, and more in line with GRRM, I highly recommend Steven Erikson (and then his colleague, Ian Esslemont) Malazan's Book of the Fallen series.   Warning, it's incredibly deep and complex - but much like GRRM - they are NOT afraid to kill off characters as part of strong storytelling.   And these are complex, nuanced characters, and a world so stunning, I think they need 3 separate websites to keep the stories straight there.   The mythology they create with their ancient races is sometimes incredibly hard to keep up with, but the characters, their development and stories Erikson created are just amazing, I daresay on par or even better than GRRM's peak (not the TV series, but book-level - man, those Bridge Burners, and Mael/Tehoct, the Claw, Crimson Guard, Tiste Andii, man so many favorites) - Erikson's the one guy I rate over GRRM at their peak.  THAT good.   Gardens of the Moon, Deadhouse Gates - amazing books, and the whole series is just top-shelf.  Cannot recommend enough.

Im surprised too, because from people who don't like GRRM books say that it's hard to follow, gets lost here and there, moves slowly and it jumping from place to place.

 

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3 hours ago, Calvert28 said:

Im surprised too, because from people who don't like GRRM books say that it's hard to follow, gets lost here and there, moves slowly and it jumping from place to place.

 

Erikson's series wouldn't be for that crowd lol.   It's not slow at all, but it jumps around so much you need an encyclopedia sized book for the character list alone.

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Just now, Broncofan said:

Erikson's series wouldn't be for that crowd lol.   It's not slow at all, but it jumps around so much you need an encyclopedia sized book for the character list alone.

1200 and counting if Martin gets his azz in gear.

Just heard we won't have the book this year. I have just about gave up on the whole damn thing. Even if by some miracle we get the 6th one I have zero hope we get the last.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 7/10/2018 at 6:11 PM, Broncofan said:

1.  Jordan's Wheel of Time doesn't hold up well over time - but at the time when it was released, it was just so much more in-depth and more world-building than the fantasy novels before it.   Pretty much every author was putting out trilogies LOTR-style, and always with the same idea (poor boy orphan bastard-prince in disguise, or falls in love with maiden princess trying to live up to royalty expectations).   At the time, WoT was ground-breaking.   I'm a little surprised you find it slow going in the first 3 novels, but I read them as they were released, so given what fantasy was like then and how it is now, I can see how it appears slow compared to how GRRM & other series move along.   Before WoT, world building was so superficial with the Feists/Brooks/Eddings of the world.    Now, compared to what we get with series today, though, I get that it doesn't age well - just keep in mind that without Jordan's series, I don't know that we get publishers who sign off on GRRM's world, or others so complex.    Doesn't mean you have to go through that pain of 14 books, though (he really milked that series in the middle third of that series, Sanderson finished it off as well as anyone could have).

 

It wasn't that it was necessarily slow moving in the first three. They do read pretty well. It's just that it's painfully obvious when he's fluffing the piece up for no real reason. The thing that finally killed it for me was the constant dream sequences that were all just more or less the same thing played out over and over again with maybe one tiny drop of new information in each one. What had he really accomplished over the course of three massive books? A neat world with the whole eternal battle of light vs. darkness, yin/yang, good vs. evil thing with some gender politics thrown in for spice, a few major plot points, and a bunch of people criss-crossing a map. At some point I just got tired of his constantly moving people around for no good reason. It's not that it wasn't interesting when it actually pulls its elements together, but man he could've done it so much more efficiently.

 

I'll check out Erikson. Thank you for the rec.

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18 hours ago, Malfatron said:

I re-read Jurassic Park on the flight.

Excellent story. Well worth the re-read.

 

I'm reading this now and all the details and differences really make me hope we get a Jurassic Park series on HBO.  I feel like the movies have just gotten way too far away from what made the first one so incredible, and that book has SOOOOOO much material that could be used in a TV series.  The entire first episode could be John Hammond gathering the funds for the island alone. 

I just couldn't get the image of John Hammond carrying around that pygmy elephant attempting to get investors out of my head.  Then the idea of Grant getting obnoxious calls about raising dinosaurs.  That scene with the little dinosaurs eating that baby and all the mentions of workers getting attacked/eaten/killed by dinosaurs. 

I will always and forever love Spielberg's Jurassic Park, but it could be a dark and terrifying and awesome TV series.  They'll obviously never remake it as a movie, but a TV series on HBO would be the greatest thing ever. 

The entire first season could go through everything that happened before Grant even went to the island. 

I need to get about 500 million dollars and Steven Spielberg's blessing.  I'll do it myself.  If anybody knows Spielberg or has 500 million dollars, PM me. 

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On 8/30/2018 at 6:46 PM, titansNvolsR#1 said:

About halfway with Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams. Friend lent me Catch-22, but I'm undecided if I'll read it. 

Bought Malazan Book of the Fallen book 1 and might start that. At some point, I've been buying books on Kindle and physical and not reading any of them so trying to catch up.

I was changing a diaper on my bed and my child peed when I took it off so I’m pretty much sleeping on a damp pee towel right now

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