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khorum

khorum

Murder Apologist
24,338
81,363
It's not really about how opaque Gardens is, it's more about how awesome Deadhouse Gates is. You don't need to be some Joyce-spewing litfag to get past gardens true, but anyone who finishes Deadhouse gates is a malazan fan for life.
 
Grimmlokk

Grimmlokk

Ahn'Qiraj Raider
12,190
134
I must be bassackwards. I remember being seriously slowed down by Deadhouse Gates. It's where the series opens up to the larger world and it really dragged for me. Memories of Ice is the one that really got the hooks in me.
 
khorum

khorum

Murder Apologist
24,338
81,363
Not Coltaine and the Wickans? Not Felisin?

Yeah, that's definitely ass backwards.
 
jeffvader

jeffvader

it's only castles burning
402
33
i've been re-reading a bunch of my childhood books (midlife crisis as my 40th approaches i guess) and i just finished thethe dark is risingsequence by susan cooper for the first time.

i could never get through the second book as a kid. this time it was really good, kind of a poor man'swrinkle in timebut camelot stuff.
 
wormie

Asshat wormie

2023 Asshat Award Winner
<Gold Donor>
16,820
30,968
Randin_sl said:
I was given the Sword of Truth series recently, and just finished book 2. For the first 70% of book 1, I honestly couldn't figure out what all the fuss was about with this series (really, for a lot of book 1, if you set aside some of the more unpleasant imagery, the language used makes it read like it was written for an audience that's maybe 13 years old), but most of the way through the first book something clicked, and I found myself really enjoying it.

I vaguely recall hearing somewhere that the series starts to get weird later on down the line, but I'm sufficiently hooked at this point to see it through to the end.
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Read the first 4 books. Burn the rest and forget this shit ever existed.
 
Adebisi

Adebisi

Clump of Cells
<Silver Donator>
27,714
32,826
Bukowski's Post Office.

Probably not a good idea to read Bukowski if you hate your job atm.
 
khalid

khalid

Unelected Mod
14,071
6,775
The End of the Bronze Age: Changes in Warfare and the Catastrophe ca. 1200 B.C. Drews, Robert.

Starts by describing what the Catastrophe was and then going over each of the common explanations for it. Then proposes the thesis that it was changes in military tactics that were the primary factor. Very much enjoyed it but not sure I buy it as the overarching explanation. He has convinced me it contributed though. Fascinating chapter(s) on chariot warfare though, and how they were used and how they couldn't possibly have been used.

Starting on1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed (Turning Points in Ancient History)
to get a different view on the same subject.
 
Intrinsic

Intrinsic

Person of Whiteness
<Gold Donor>
15,059
13,287
Used my 4th of July time at the pool to finish offNeptune's Brood, in my quest to finish the 2014 Hugo nominees. I liked it better than Ancillary Justice and they shared a few of the same themes. Mostly the idea of instantiating consciousness in different bodies spanning 1,000s of years. But Neptune's Brood was largely about finance and how money works in an interstellar society that has no light speed or FTL travel. Some pretty interesting concepts and ideas about fraud, money laundering, and debt.

Also went throughYoga Body: The Origins of Modern Posture Practice - Mark Singleton. Pretty interesting read that probably confirms a lot of our cynical views on modern Yoga but with research and history. If the only thing you can think of more boring than Yoga is reading about Yoga, you may not enjoy this.
 
Szlia

Szlia

Member
6,631
1,376
Just finishedThe Republic of Thieves(Gentlemen Bastards 3). Like the previous two: ENtertaining read, great dialogues, interesting contexts (one half dirty elections and one half theater company), but somewhat underwhelming plot and resolutions.
 
Adebisi

Adebisi

Clump of Cells
<Silver Donator>
27,714
32,826
MurakamiBingo.jpg
 
A

a_skeleton_03

<Banned>
29,948
29,763
Grimmlokk_sl said:
Don't read it out of order. People who suggest that are evil commies that should be sworded with truth.

Read it right. Some people complain about the first book being hard to follow, they are dumbheads. Read it in the right order, don't skip anything. It's an awesome series start to finish(except for large chunks of Toll the Hounds, but even that pays off at the end like every book in the series).

I went in to the series blind, and there's 7,000 posts here that can attest to how dimwitted and slow to pick up on details I am. I had no trouble with book one, and if anything the later books get way more dense with all the characters you have to keep track of all over the world.
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Gardens of the Moon is my favorite of all the books in the series and I have read it like 6 times.
 
Gask

Gask

Silver Baron of the Realm
12,806
49,345
I just finished reading The Magicians by Lev Grossman and.... it was quite horrible. It's a story about a child who barley manages to progress to a man child and his moronic "friends" who go to a magical academy where they learn magic, presumably, when they aren't being angsty, drinking, or screwing one another. Seldom have I read an author who went so far out of his way to ensure that none of his characters were likeable, sympathetic , or redeemable in anyway whatsoever while also creating a magic system so dull and lacking in wonder that I can only assume that it had to be intentional. The MC learns for the sake of competing with those around him alone; he takes no joy in anything he does (for no discernible reason other than him being a giant douchebag), while whining about it constantly, and makes no effort to explore his abilities or even develop an interest in anything at all at any point in the novel. As for the plot, there isn't one, things just randomly happen while the MC and his band of idiotic hedonists do as they wish throughout the book until they go on an adventure to the worst ripoff of Narnia I have ever encountered where in they continue to act like idiots while managing to still be miserable, petulant and general wastes of space. By the end I was hoping that the MC would at least have the decency to hang himself (the way he was written it should have been a temptation a least) but unsurprisingly I was denied even that slim chance of ending things on a high note.

Avoid if you value your time.
 
A

a_skeleton_03

<Banned>
29,948
29,763
Gask_sl said:
I just finished reading The Magicians by Lev Grossman and.... it was quite horrible. It's a story about a child who barley manages to progress to a man child and his moronic "friends" who go to a magical academy where they learn magic, presumably, when they aren't being angsty, drinking, or screwing one another. Seldom have I read an author who went so far out of his way to ensure that none of his characters were likeable, sympathetic , or redeemable in anyway whatsoever and to create a magic system so dull and lacking in wonder. The MC learns for the sake of competing with those around him alone; he takes no joy in anything he does (for no discernible reason other than him being a giant douchebag), while whining about it constantly, and makes no effort to explore his abilities or even develop an interest in anything at all at any point in the novel. As for the plot, there isn't one, things just randomly happen while the MC and his band of idiotic hedonists do as they wish throughout the book until they go on an adventure to the worst ripoff of Narnia I have ever encountered where in they continue to act like idiots while managing to still be miserable, petulant and general wastes of space. By the end I was hoping that the MC would at least have the decency to hang himself (the way he was written it should have been a temptation a least) but unsurprisingly I was denied even that slim chance of ending things on a high note.

Avoid if you value your time.
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I just read the entire trilogy last week and enjoyed it well enough. It gets better in the next two books but I can understand why you didn't like it. Did you read the Narnia books at all, I saw you reference them but just checking? If you didn't it is 100% a worthless trilogy and wouldn't recommend it to others that haven't read at least a couple of those books.

One thing I don't like about his writing is the way he approaches time. One moment he is spending two chapters on a single day, the next moment he is fast forwarding through a year with a barely passable synopsis.
 
Gask

Gask

Silver Baron of the Realm
12,806
49,345
a_skeleton_03_sl said:
I just read the entire trilogy last week and enjoyed it well enough. It gets better in the next two books but I can understand why you didn't like it. Did you read the Narnia books at all, I saw you reference them but just checking? If you didn't it is 100% a worthless trilogy and wouldn't recommend it to others that haven't read at least a couple of those books.

One thing I don't like about his writing is the way he approaches time. One moment he is spending two chapters on a single day, the next moment he is fast forwarding through a year with a barely passable synopsis.
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Yes I did and I agree, at least, that it's a children's series that has its own pros and cons. Still, however derivative the genre is Grossman is rather blatant in his representation of Fillory (what little we see of it) in the first book, which I'm sure he did on purpose for whatever reason. I just found it odd and lazy on his part (on top of everything else that I mentioned) but perhaps there is more to distinguish the two worlds from each other as the series progresses.
 
Grimmlokk

Grimmlokk

Ahn'Qiraj Raider
12,190
134
The second Magicians book fixes a lot of what is wrong with the first book. IE: It makes Quentin was less of a mopey entitled shit. He has some actual self awareness and attempts to stop being such an insufferable cunt. Plus the people around him call him on his shit constantly when he does regress.

Haven't read the 3rd yet, but the 2nd was good enough that I'm looking forward to it.
 
A

a_skeleton_03

<Banned>
29,948
29,763
The third came out on the 4th. If you need it let me know Grimm. I bought it but I think I also have a copy around somewhere. Yes the third book has an even better Quentin, he steadily gets better.
 
Grimmlokk

Grimmlokk

Ahn'Qiraj Raider
12,190
134
It's on my nook, just haven't started it yet. Finishing up the newest Ex-Heroes book now, it's in the queue with the new Monster Hunters Inc. And like 200 more books. I add waaay more books than I read.
 
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