Support NeoGAF

[Speschal K]

Decided to try to get into Malazan again. I kind of petered out around book 4-5 last time around, but I'm chalking it up to me not being 100% up to speed when it came to the bigger picture. Now I'm going through it at a much slower rate, and with some amount of knowledge beforehand, and it's still really enjoyable.

Still on this, it's pretty dense:

Sadly I don't have as much reading time right now. It's funny that as an English teacher I don't always have the time to read because I spend so much time re-reading the texts I teach or planning on how to teach kids to read. Oh well.

Came here to post this, just started book 1 again for the third (and likely last) time. Malazan seems like an amazing series with deep lore. It's interesting how in the preface the author indicates that its readers fall into one of two categories: those who lose interest about one third through the first book, and those who go on to read the entire series. I currently identify as the former, trying to identify as the latter.

 

[FlowersisBritish]

So I was reading things, but decided to drop it all. Instead I'm going to do a weirdly ambitious thing, I am going to read a bunch of horror short stories since its October. Specifically horror stories from the bellow book. If I read one a day... i won't finish it but I'll be really close. So far(three stories in) its a fantastic collection. Puala Guran really knows how to pick them. From what little I've read, definitely recommend.

What I read,
The Quiet Room by V. H. Leslie Pretty good. Didn't blow my socks off, but there were some interesting spooks for a mostly typical ghost story, and I did like the ending, which is probably the most important part of any horror story.

Emotional Dues by Simon Strantzas. Fantastic! Holy cow! Really drives home what horror has been missing for a good long while, and that's strong characters. Not in a physical sense, but characters with a lot of stuff going on, those with very lived lives for the horror to reflect on. It was very creative, very scary, sometimes the writing was a little unclear, but overall A+ would recommend.

Screams of Dragons by Kelley Armstrong Another really really good one. Not actually a fantasy story believe it or not. Lots of clever ideas in this that were working fantastically well, and another one that really tried to stick its end(well... endgame. The end end was alright, not really my cup of tea, but still well done). Curiously the story takes place in the author's Cainsville series, and I have to admit the story was def interesting enough I'm probably going to check it out later.

 

[fakefaker]

Finished off Feed by Mira Grant tonight. It was pretty good, quick to read, but had some issues that made you wince or shake your head. Continuing the trilogy with Deadline by Mira Grant.

 

[NekoFever]

I'm reading HHhH by Laurent Binet. It's about the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich by Czechoslovakian partisans in WW2. Heydrich was the head of the SS in Eastern Europe and one of the main architects of the Holocaust, and his assassination led to a several massacres in reprisal.

Very odd structure - none of the chapters are longer than a couple of pages, and it keeps switching between the historical account and kind of a journalistic account of the author's research and journey into learning about Heydrich. I'm enjoying it a lot, though. It's a really fascinating account.

The title is a joke from the time. It stands for "Himmlers Hirn heißt Heydrich" ("Himmler's brain is called Heydrich").

 

[TimmmV]

I need a few recommendations.

I've recently gotten interested in graphic novels. So far, I've only read the Scott Pilgrim series and I just finished Volume 1 and 2 of Saga. I really like Scott Pilgrim, and I am absolutely loving Saga. What other "must read" graphic novels are there out there that have a similar tone to either. To be specific, Saga is probably more up my alley of the two, but I'd be interested in reading something like Pilgrim if it's also great.

If you are getting interested in graphic novels in general then you should look at both Maus and Watchmen. I don't think they will be similar in style to the examples you gave (haven't got round to reading either), but they are the best graphic novels I've read and basically recommend them to anyone looking to get into reading comics.

I've just finished reading Masters of Doom, which is a fairly interesting story about the people who founded id software, and the internal politics that went on between the founders. Fairly interesting if you like mid-90s FPS games.

Spoiler

John Carmack comes across as a brilliant programmer but kind of an arsehole

Next is It by Stephen King, kind of daunting because its probably the longest book I'll have ever read!

 

[sparky2112]

Came here to post this, just started book 1 again for the third (and likely last) time. Malazan seems like an amazing series with deep lore. It's interesting how in the preface the author indicates that its readers fall into one of two categories: those who lose interest about one third through the first book, and those who go on to read the entire series. I currently identify as the former, trying to identify as the latter.

Seems like the detailed re-read at Tor.com would be fairly essential - or at least helpful. If I ever make a run at Malazan again, I will spend a lot of time absorbing those pages...

 

[Peru]

Lots of debate atm over the big reveal of who Elena Ferrante really is. I skimmed the NYRB article in a baffled state - it reads like a spy story, like some Watergate event, but no, it's just paragraph after paragraph of details about how this journalist dug through the trash to unmask a writer who has been very explicit about why she doesn't want to be known.

 

[malts]

Still working on Gravity's Rainbow. Work has been crazy lately so I haven't had much time to read, but I have a couple decent length flights coming up in the next week so hopefully I can finally make some progress. Enjoying it so far and not finding it quite as dense or difficult to follow as I had worried I might.

 

[Maklershed]

Does anyone know of a good translation of The Canterbury Tales that's digestible for a simpleton such as myself?

 

[Zelenogorsk]

The Shining.

A hundred pages away from finishing it. Loving it. The parts at the beginning with Tony are scary as all hell. As a fan of the movie it's nice to get a lot more depth with the characters and the hotel.

Got all my stuff from amazon after they forgot to pack in Dune.

Drawing of the Three is one of my favorite Stephen King books. It goes by at lightning speed (which can't be said for some of the other Dark Tower books).

 

[kevin1025]

Lots of debate atm over the big reveal of who Elena Ferrante really is. I skimmed the NYRB article in a baffled state - it reads like a spy story, like some Watergate event, but no, it's just paragraph after paragraph of details about how this journalist dug through the trash to unmask a writer who has been very explicit about why she doesn't want to be known.

I definitely understand the need for uncovering mysteries, but it's always nice to have some mysteries. Same with Thomas Pynchon being hidden away, and the whole Robert Galbraith thing (though that mystery being solved was really cool). Since Ferrante asked to be anonymous, going and spoiling it isn't nice. At the same time, though... finding out who it is is a tiny bit satisfying.

 

[sparky2112]

Since Ferrante asked to be anonymous, going and spoiling it isn't nice. At the same time, though... finding out who it is is a tiny bit satisfying.

Haven't looked. I'm assuming it's an Italian, so I wouldn't know one way or the other...

 

[kevin1025]

Haven't looked. I'm assuming it's an Italian, so I wouldn't know one way or the other...

I won't ruin it! Yeah, I didn't know who it was, though apparently it's someone that people would know on that side of the world.

 

[Erico]

Just finished - A Soldier of the Great War by Mark Helprin

The book suffers from excessive self indulgence of the protagonist's guiding philosophy, a somewhat platitudinous, positive spirituality mixed with a bit of soft theism, to the point where the protagonist feels like a pontificating sounding board. By the end of the novel, Helprin, as narrator, seems almost in a tearful ecstasy, praising the immensity of his work.

However, it IS an immense work, and I did enjoy the novel very much. It's strength is in its beautiful prose and narrative: a collection of compelling and evocative vignettes using the First World War's Italian Front as a backdrop, with a variety of interesting characters. A somewhat pompous, but beautiful novel.

 

[Hop]

(I was near the end of both the books I posted above, so I'm already at new stuff.)

Reading:

Listening:

Mega Man 3 is much like the other Boss Fight books, for better and worse.

The $100 Startup isn't much I haven't heard before, and the narrator is pretty rubbish. No cadence or emphasis. I could read better than that. Hey, maybe there's something I can do as a side business... 🤔

 

[kevin1025]

I decided to break up the Fall of Giants massive book with some light fluffy reading:

Hoo boy, this book. When it's not bragging, it's giving half answers. It's illuminating, to say the least!

 

[sparky2112]

Just finished - A Soldier of the Great War by Mark Helprin

The book suffers from excessive self indulgence of the protagonist's guiding philosophy, a somewhat platitudinous, positive spirituality mixed with a bit of soft theism, to the point where the protagonist feels like a pontificating sounding board. By the end of the novel, Helprin, as narrator, seems almost in a tearful ecstasy, praising the immensity of his work.

However, it IS an immense work, and I did enjoy the novel very much. It's strength is in its beautiful prose and narrative: a collection of compelling and evocative vignettes using the First World War's Italian Front as a backdrop, with a variety of interesting characters. A somewhat pompous, but beautiful novel.

Helprin is a pompous douche and a liar, but he also happens to be an amazing writer, so you take the good, ignore the bad, and get on with it.

 

[Arenesus]

Just finished up book 5 of 5 with Neal Asher's Line War

I really enjoyed the series as a whole, definitely one of my favorite sci-fi books alongside Kovacs and Jean Le Flambeur. Still, I've never seen any love for it here on GAF.

My next book is N. K. Jemisin's The Fifth Season

The tagline "THIS IS THE WAY THE WORLD ENDS . . . FOR THE LAST TIME." is what caught my attention.

 

[Burger]

Finished The Fifth Season, then straight on to The Obelisk Gate which I finished last night.

So good, I encourage everyone to read them.

 

[a very cute dog]

I've finished reading Solaris by Stanisław Lem, which was great, if not very depressing and a bit dry with its technical descriptions. Now I'm reading Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy. It's stunning, which I knew, since I've read part of it before. Not sure why I dropped it. There are a lot of superlatives dropped on this book but so far they feel well-deserved.

EDIT:

Finished The Fifth Season, then straight on to The Obelisk Gate which I finished last night.

So good, I encourage everyone to read them.

I have the Fifth Season waiting on my Kindle now! I don't know anything about it. What did you like about it?

 

[Mumei]

Robin Hobb's The Realm of the Elderlings spoilers:

Spoiler

Yes, the silver/ skill thing is really interesting, if/ when! you read the Fitz and Fool books, I have hopes we might learn something about it (I think that's not too much of a spoiler, sorry if so).

Also, totally agree about Rapskal. His story was a good one, even though he was so endearing and it was sad how he changed, it was great the way Hobb did it, showing in that way how dragons can take so much as well as give. I vaguely recall thinking maybe she went too far in that direction, in the first (?) series the Fool was all like, humans need dragons so humans aren't top dog, and I agreed, but the balance seems like it could really tip towards dragons... that is, I think the not-quite-right dragons are deluding themselves about how dependent they are, but for Tintaglia and any fully healthy dragons I thought it might be different (I don't recall properly, I read them very quickly and didn't pause to think about some things.) Anyway I though the ambivalence was pretty well done.

March 2017 is so far away...

I finished reading Fool's Assassin and Fool's Quest yesterday.

Spoiler

Good Christ Fitz got hit hard with the idiot stick. It would have been one thing if, say, he had hired a few guards, a journeyman skill apprentice to be there for messages when he was away, and the like, and things still went south because no one (not just Fitz) estimated the potential threats. But instead he's portrayed as naive enough to believe that simply because he himself wants to leave behind his former life, that means that unilateral disarmament is the correct choice to make! And then there is the utter failure to communicate properly with Fool about what went down when he stabbed him. I mean, the stabbing itself was lunacy but even if you can get past that how can you possibly miss a) The Fool describes his suddenly being able to see the way he used to be able to see, b) this happening right before he was stabbed. Is it really too hard for Fitz to say, "You were holding my daughter, not a young boy" right then, instead of making us wait for pages upon pages? And also, Fitz knows that he and The Fool became one flesh, one being when he brought The Fool back from the dead. Why is he so pigheadedly offended by the notion that The Fool was somehow involved? Everything about that girl is portentous - from her gestation to her birth to her first speaking to her precocious maturity and intelligence. And yet even when Fool begins piecing it together and Fitz discovers her dream diaries, he's still acting blind. It's absurd! And then he's apparently unlearned whatever it was that he'd learned by The Tawny Man trilogy, with repeated scenes where he acts like an idiot and gets chewed out — or scenes where he could probably do a better job of defending himself if he actually tried explaining his thought process and the problems with theirs.

The Fool was also acting dumb, but not nearly as dumb. If he'd known it was Fitz's daughter it wouldn't have taken him however many hundreds of pages to put things together. <_< And I was more sympathetic to his lack of emotional balance.

... But despite all this, I still really, really enjoyed it. Especially that ending! There's so much coming together there - the Farseer trilogies, the Liveship Traders trilogy, and the Rain Wilds tetralogy all intersect there. Plus we get an entirely new glimpse of the possibilities of the Skill which raises questions about future applications and also answers an issue that was seriously bothering me in the Rain Wilds tetralogy, which was incredible power imbalance of requiring the new Elderlings to get the permission of the dragons in order to breed safely and successfully. If everything the dragons are doing to the Elderlings is done through the Skill, and Fitz is able to perform at that supercharged level in Kelsingra (I'm assuming that Fitz is the one who is "dragon-touched" by a long-dead dragon through his bloodline?).

I'm curious: If dragons are capable of manipulating the bodies of Elderlings to sculpt them in a particular way through the Skill, and if Fitz is capable of doing the same albeit at a much greater cost to his stamina, is it possible that a Skill Coterie could physically affect a dragon? It is clearly possible for a dragon to be less powerful than a human in a dream, so this apparent expansion in what is possible makes me wonder what might be possible in the real world, too.

 

[kswiston]

So many white (or black in classic) bars.

I still have about 40% of Royal Assassin to go. Fitz character is annoyingly melodramatic, which I guess makes him a well written teenager. It's also hard to take talk of undying love from 15-16 year olds seriously as I inch closer to being a jaded middle aged man (still 5.5 years left of being young!)

I assume he ages by the time we get to the stuff in Mumei's wall of spoilers.

 

[Mumei]

So many white (or black in classic) bars.

I still have about 40% of Royal Assassin to go. Fitz character is annoyingly melodramatic, which I guess makes him a well written teenager. It's also hard to take talk of undying love from 15-16 year olds seriously as I inch closer to being a jaded middle aged man (still 5.5 years left of being young!)

I assume he ages by the time we get to the stuff in Mumei's wall of spoilers.

In the second trilogy featuring him he is in his mid-30s. I just read the first two books of the third trilogy. He is indeed even older there. #spoilers

 

[Incandenza]

What a coincidence, I started reading Assassin's Apprentice a few days ago. Only 50 pages in, but it's great so far. It's cool to know I'll get to watch 30+ years of this guy's life play out over the course of the series.

 

[kswiston]

In the second trilogy featuring him he is in his mid-30s. I just read the first two books of the third trilogy. He is indeed even older there. #spoilers

Figured he didn't die in this trilogy when the third one is called The Fitz and the Fool

 

[dukeoflegs]

I'm reading Divine Encounters: A Guide to Visions, Angels and Other Emissaries by Zacharia Sitchin. I've been finding it really interesting especially all the links he finds between different cultures scriptures and stories. The Aliens part is a little difficult to stay on board with.

 

[fakefaker]

I gave up up Deadline by Mira Grant and so there goes the rest of the trilogy. I wasn't enjoying the book, so went off to goodreads and read a bunch of reviews to see if it gets any better. Nope. Stuff it. So onto The Shining by Stephen King since I've heard it's damn well better then what I was just reading.

 

[Mattdaddy]

This might already be known on here, but I just found out so I thought I would share. If anyone is a fan R Scott Bakker's Prince of Nothing/Aspect Emperor series, the latest book just released this summer. Its called The Great Ordeal (after being changed from Unholy Consult).

Its a pretty dark series, but probably my 3rd favorite fantasy stuff behind GRRM and Joe Abercrombie.

Anyway, its been like 5 or 6 years since the last book so if anyone out there was a fan of the series, there you go.

 

[The Doc]

.

 

[Mumei]

Remember to put giant pictures in quotes to make them smaller. :x

 

[Peru]

Apropos the Ferrante debacle

In October of 1778, when Evelina was entering its second print run, George Huddesford published his satirical poem Warley. In the poem (his first published work, as Evelina was for Burney), Huddesford exposes (Frances) Burney as the author of Evelina in terms which are less than endearing:

Poetasters I hold it a sin to encourage,
Let a pump or a horse pond supply them with porridge.
Will your scurrilous dogg&#8217;rel a dinner ensure ye,
Or the fee-simple pay of your Manor of Drury?
Will your metre a Council engage or Attorney,
Or gain approbation from dear little Burney*?

An asterisk next to Burney&#8217;s name laconically explained, at the bottom of the page, that she was &#8220;The Authoress of Evelina,&#8221; destroying, at a stroke, the complex undertakings which Burney had made to protect her identity.
-
Burney told Susanna this was a &#8220;vile poem&#8221; and &#8220;she couldn&#8217;t eat or sleep for a week&#8221; because of &#8220;vehemence
and vexation&#8221; (Harman 129).

Although the NYRB guy didn't wax poetic it was all done with a certain glee and odd enthusiasm. Of course mystery begets interest, and maybe some day the name is revealed. But to go it it like a hawk..

 

[fakefaker]

Remember to put giant pictures in quotes to make them smaller. :x

Well I didn't know that, thank you!

 

[The Doc]

Remember to put giant pictures in quotes to make them smaller. :x

sorry i was on mobile
looked like a normal picture

 

[mu cephei]

Robin Hobb's The Realm of the Elderlings spoilers:

I finished reading Fool's Assassin and Fool's Quest yesterday.

Spoiler

Good Christ Fitz got hit hard with the idiot stick. It would have been one thing if, say, he had hired a few guards, a journeyman skill apprentice to be there for messages when he was away, and the like, and things still went south because no one (not just Fitz) estimated the potential threats. But instead he's portrayed as naive enough to believe that simply because he himself wants to leave behind his former life, that means that unilateral disarmament is the correct choice to make! And then there is the utter failure to communicate properly with Fool about what went down when he stabbed him. I mean, the stabbing itself was lunacy but even if you can get past that how can you possibly miss a) The Fool describes his suddenly being able to see the way he used to be able to see, b) this happening right before he was stabbed. Is it really too hard for Fitz to say, "You were holding my daughter, not a young boy" right then, instead of making us wait for pages upon pages? And also, Fitz knows that he and The Fool became one flesh, one being when he brought The Fool back from the dead. Why is he so pigheadedly offended by the notion that The Fool was somehow involved? Everything about that girl is portentous - from her gestation to her birth to her first speaking to her precocious maturity and intelligence. And yet even when Fool begins piecing it together and Fitz discovers her dream diaries, he's still acting blind. It's absurd! And then he's apparently unlearned whatever it was that he'd learned by The Tawny Man trilogy, with repeated scenes where he acts like an idiot and gets chewed out — or scenes where he could probably do a better job of defending himself if he actually tried explaining his thought process and the problems with theirs.

The Fool was also acting dumb, but not nearly as dumb. If he'd known it was Fitz's daughter it wouldn't have taken him however many hundreds of pages to put things together. <_< And I was more sympathetic to his lack of emotional balance.

... But despite all this, I still really, really enjoyed it. Especially that ending! There's so much coming together there - the Farseer trilogies, the Liveship Traders trilogy, and the Rain Wilds tetralogy all intersect there. Plus we get an entirely new glimpse of the possibilities of the Skill which raises questions about future applications and also answers an issue that was seriously bothering me in the Rain Wilds tetralogy, which was incredible power imbalance of requiring the new Elderlings to get the permission of the dragons in order to breed safely and successfully. If everything the dragons are doing to the Elderlings is done through the Skill, and Fitz is able to perform at that supercharged level in Kelsingra (I'm assuming that Fitz is the one who is "dragon-touched" by a long-dead dragon through his bloodline?).

I'm curious: If dragons are capable of manipulating the bodies of Elderlings to sculpt them in a particular way through the Skill, and if Fitz is capable of doing the same albeit at a much greater cost to his stamina, is it possible that a Skill Coterie could physically affect a dragon? It is clearly possible for a dragon to be less powerful than a human in a dream, so this apparent expansion in what is possible makes me wonder what might be possible in the real world, too.

Spoiler

Totally walloped with the idiot stick

Great post. Your first paragraph sums up my reactions pretty much perfectly. Fitz not recognising what his daughter was (I mean, the dream diary, come on!) and the Fool’s visions while holding her, and not putting it together, it was ridiculous. And Fitz not defending himself about his family wanting to take Bee away. And being so unpleasant about the Fool being a part of his daughter, that was stupid and odd and annoying. Also the reasons for not fully healing the Fool seemed a bit forced.

I agree that the Fool isn’t as idiotic as Fitz, but I thought the communication between them both on important things was really bad, and it wasn’t just Fitz, the Fool wasn’t talking either (although this wasn’t un-Fool-like, I suppose, but he might have learned by now!) which led to unnecessary bloat in the journey preparation. Also, I thought the Fool’s character changed in ways I wasn’t sure about; partly it was the personal revenge thing, although possibly I was either misreading, or I’m misremembering. It’s probably well explained by what he’s been through and his ’lack of emotional balance’, as you said.

Regarding the power imbalance between the dragons and the elderlings, I think I was interested that it showed the difficulties of regenerating a destroyed culture, that things aren’t going to be balanced, that they don’t have the traditions passed down, they don’t know how they need to behave and it’s not going to work (although I’m not sure it’s been conclusively established the dragons and elderings of old had an equal relationship either? I don’t recall). If it’s going to work it’ll need to take a new path, which as you pointed out, brings Fitz and the Skill and new applications into it which is very interesting!

How it’s all coming together is very exciting Also I love your speculation about a Skill coterie being able to affect a dragon. Gives me a sense of foreboding! I don’t recall the ending in detail (other than I thought it was amazing) but yeah, pretty sure I thought it was Fitz who was ‘dragon-touched’.

And there’s still the Clerres/ White Prophet/ Servants storyline, I don’t know how all this is going to fit in one last book! Which isn’t out until May 2017 now D: well at least that means there’s plenty of time for an entire series spanning re-read, which you’re making me want to start immediately!

 

[JonnyKong]

By eck, I've never seen so much blacked out text!

 

[TestMonkey]

Finished off Feed by Mira Grant tonight. It was pretty good, quick to read, but had some issues that made you wince or shake your head. Continuing the trilogy with Deadline by Mira Grant.

I really enjoyed the series. Seemed like a natural progression of the zombie genre. Grant's cliffhangers on the first two books were pretty good.

 

[thomaser]

Finished Patrick Modiano's "Missing Person". Really good about memory loss and the search for an identity. Should be fun to analyze, with all kinds of metaphors and allusions and stuff like that.

Now, a book someone recommended in one of these "What Are You Reading?"-treads a few years back: "Believe in People" by the Czech writer Karel Capek. It's a selection of articles and letters. He's one of the most famous writers in his homeland, but outside it he's best known for inventing the word "robot".

 

[Sparse]

Finished Bukowski's Post Office. Hank is a bit of a shit human being, but never let it be said he doesn't know what he wants from life.
Next is Slaughterhouse-5.

 

[Ghostshark]

I had to stop on The Dark Tower: Gunslinger to reread the first six chapters again. This book is batshit crazy. Did my reading comprehension just drop to a first grader's level, or did

Spoiler

the man in black really resurrect a dead guy by spitting on him, and then ninja flipping over him repeatedly? When I saw McConaughey cast as a person called "the man in black," this was the complete opposite of how I expected the character to behave.

 

[fakefaker]

I really enjoyed the series. Seemed like a natural progression of the zombie genre. Grant's cliffhangers on the first two books were pretty good.

Haha, when I checked the reviews on Goodreads, I was clearly in the 2 star camp with Deadline, and decided to give it up as I wasn't enjoying it. I'm glad you liked it tho!

 

[Mumei]

Well I didn't know that, thank you!

Yes, it's great!

sorry i was on mobile
looked like a normal picture

On mobile I think the resizing is automatic. I always use desktop, myself.

Spoiler

Totally walloped with the idiot stick

Great post. Your first paragraph sums up my reactions pretty much perfectly. Fitz not recognising what his daughter was (I mean, the dream diary, come on!) and the Fool’s visions while holding her, and not putting it together, it was ridiculous. And Fitz not defending himself about his family wanting to take Bee away. And being so unpleasant about the Fool being a part of his daughter, that was stupid and odd and annoying. Also the reasons for not fully healing the Fool seemed a bit forced.

I agree that the Fool isn’t as idiotic as Fitz, but I thought the communication between them both on important things was really bad, and it wasn’t just Fitz, the Fool wasn’t talking either (although this wasn’t un-Fool-like, I suppose, but he might have learned by now!) which led to unnecessary bloat in the journey preparation. Also, I thought the Fool’s character changed in ways I wasn’t sure about; partly it was the personal revenge thing, although possibly I was either misreading, or I’m misremembering. It’s probably well explained by what he’s been through and his ’lack of emotional balance’, as you said.

Regarding the power imbalance between the dragons and the elderlings, I think I was interested that it showed the difficulties of regenerating a destroyed culture, that things aren’t going to be balanced, that they don’t have the traditions passed down, they don’t know how they need to behave and it’s not going to work (although I’m not sure it’s been conclusively established the dragons and elderings of old had an equal relationship either? I don’t recall). If it’s going to work it’ll need to take a new path, which as you pointed out, brings Fitz and the Skill and new applications into it which is very interesting!

How it’s all coming together is very exciting Also I love your speculation about a Skill coterie being able to affect a dragon. Gives me a sense of foreboding! I don’t recall the ending in detail (other than I thought it was amazing) but yeah, pretty sure I thought it was Fitz who was ‘dragon-touched’.

And there’s still the Clerres/ White Prophet/ Servants storyline, I don’t know how all this is going to fit in one last book! Which isn’t out until May 2017 now D: well at least that means there’s plenty of time for an entire series spanning re-read, which you’re making me want to start immediately!

Spoiler

I thought that the reasons for not healing Fool actually worked; the connection between them causing Fitz to take on (to a lesser degree) the injuries he healed was a significant drawback on his ability to heal him himself, particularly when it came to the damage to his eyes. And as weak as Fool was, it made sense that he wasn't nearly up to the possibility of a skill coterie healing, either.

The Fool's character changes felt believable to me, when you consider that it had been decades since they last saw each other and went through some rather... traumatic experiences. I can make sense of The Fool's changes; the experiences of torture and what he has learned about the Servants' plots and abilities explains his behavior to me. I can't justify Fitz's incredible ability to blind himself to the truth, though.

And while you are right that it hasn't been conclusively established that dragons and elderlings of old had an equal relationship, the Fool says that humans need dragons to "Keep the balance. Humanity fears no rivals. You have forgotten what it was to share the world with creatures as arrogantly superior as yourselves" and that, "Dragons are no better than humans. They are little different at all from men. They will hold up a mirror to humanity's selfishness." He's obviously not omniscient or anything, but to me it never sounded like the endgame would be that humans (or elderlings, as the case may be) would be enthralled to dragons. It sounds like he expects dragons to balance humans. I think the operative word here is "share."

By eck, I've never seen so much blacked out text!

We'd normally be sending these as PMs but this is more fun.

 

[Mike M]

Finally finished Johnathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. Overall I thought it was a good experience, but I definitely feel like it was really oversold. It takes forever to get moving, and the third act was kind of underwhelming for me given that I was told how intense it got. The ending in particular stuck in my craw.

Spoiler

It was explicitly stated that the enchantments on the various characters would end when the caster died, but never explained what the difference was between an enchantment and any other sort of spell. Why does the curse remain on Strange and Norrell while all the rest are released? Not entirely clear why the Raven King would show such interest in them (well, as much interest as he pays anything in the book) and intend them to be instrumental in the restoration of magic, but leave them hanging when they can't escape eternal midnight or get too far away from one another.

 

[Deleted member 125677]

We'd normally be sending these as PMs but this is more fun.

This is what a book thread would have looked like if Internet existed in DDR!

 

[Grizzlyjin]

Was in the mood for some fiction. Most of my summer reads were historical nonfiction so I decided to switch it up for Fall.

Sometimes I get writer cravings and I was definitely in the mood for some Hornby. Was interested to see Hornby handle writing a female lead since he usually sticks to snarky but lovable male heroes. I'd say the title is a little deceptive. The lead is our introduction into the meat & potatoes of thr story but the focus becomes broader than I would have expected. Enjoying it so far though.

EDIT: Oh, I'm still biting off pieces of my reread of Beethoven: Anguish and Triumph

 

[Dead Prince]

Finished off Feed by Mira Grant tonight. It was pretty good, quick to read, but had some issues that made you wince or shake your head. Continuing the trilogy with Deadline by Mira Grant.

ah sweet. someone else into Mira Grant.



currently reading these two

 

[Mollymauk]

Re-read IT by Stephen King for the first time in over a decade, such a captivating read and probably my favorite novel of his, so incredibly well-paced for a 1000 pager. I feel so empty finishing it, the core group of characters is so easy to fall in love with and makes me nostalgic for my own childhood. I fucking love how

Spoiler

weird and metaphysical it gets at the end, it's like an ayahuasca trip.

I hope the move re-make coming next year can capture some of the magic of the book, but I'm tempering my expectations...

Good to hear. I've had it sitting my my Kindle for years, and just started it this morning.

 

[oatmeal]

Re-read IT by Stephen King for the first time in over a decade, such a captivating read and probably my favorite novel of his, so incredibly well-paced for a 1000 pager. I feel so empty finishing it, the core group of characters is so easy to fall in love with and makes me nostalgic for my own childhood. I fucking love how

Spoiler

weird and metaphysical it gets at the end, it's like an ayahuasca trip.

I hope the move re-make coming next year can capture some of the magic of the book, but I'm tempering my expectations...

IT is ridiculously good.

I missed it immediately.

 

[mu cephei]

Spoiler

I thought that the reasons for not healing Fool actually worked; the connection between them causing Fitz to take on (to a lesser degree) the injuries he healed was a significant drawback on his ability to heal him himself, particularly when it came to the damage to his eyes. And as weak as Fool was, it made sense that he wasn't nearly up to the possibility of a skill coterie healing, either.

The Fool's character changes felt believable to me, when you consider that it had been decades since they last saw each other and went through some rather... traumatic experiences. I can make sense of The Fool's changes; the experiences of torture and what he has learned about the Servants' plots and abilities explains his behavior to me. I can't justify Fitz's incredible ability to blind himself to the truth, though.

And while you are right that it hasn't been conclusively established that dragons and elderlings of old had an equal relationship, the Fool says that humans need dragons to "Keep the balance. Humanity fears no rivals. You have forgotten what it was to share the world with creatures as arrogantly superior as yourselves" and that, "Dragons are no better than humans. They are little different at all from men. They will hold up a mirror to humanity's selfishness." He's obviously not omniscient or anything, but to me it never sounded like the endgame would be that humans (or elderlings, as the case may be) would be enthralled to dragons. It sounds like he expects dragons to balance humans. I think the operative word here is "share."

Spoiler

The best explanation for Fitz imo is that he&#8217;s going senile/ entering a second childhood :/

To me, the inability to heal the Fool came across as rather contrived. It seemed to me that for the story, Hobb wanted the Fool incapacitated/ handicapped, and invented reasons for him to stay so - which of course is fine, but I didn&#8217;t find those reasons convincing (that the Skill can heal doesn&#8217;t help here) - this is rather than follow the logic of world, of the magic and character abilities, to end up with the result she wanted. Evidently you found it believable though, and unfortunately I can&#8217;t remember specifics of what I had trouble with (at a guess, from the reasons you gave, I think maybe part of it was I thought they should try a combination of Fitz and coterie in small gradual stages; at the least, that they should have tried harder). I&#8217;m not too sure a re-read will fix this, but a re-read will probably fix my doubts about the Fool, which you have gone some way to allaying I&#8217;m glad you thought the changes were believable, I wanted confirmation everything was fine.

Regarding the potential imbalance between humans and dragons, I didn&#8217;t mean to suggest they weren&#8217;t equal in the past, just that I couldn&#8217;t remember what exactly we&#8217;d been told about it, but of course you&#8217;re right that my implication was that it was possible there would be unpleasant surprises, and, following, that the Fool was either misleading, or wrong. Which although not likely does raise interesting possibilities (there are different kinds of balance after all!) and he is blind now, just when it appears the dragons are not understanding and fulfilling their obligations and it could all go horribly wrong...

 

[Maklershed]

Finished Absolution Gap and now I must take a break from Revelation Space and scifi so I'm going with The Pirates of Somalia: Inside Their Hidden World


The Pirates of Somalia: Inside Their Hidden World by Jay Bahadur

 

[RangerX]

I've just started Joe Abercrombie's The Blade Itself. I've heard mixed things on him as an author, but its pretty good so far.