Book Discussion

BrainBlow

BrainBlow

Well-Known Member
LT: Wasn't there a literature/book thread? Or was it bombed, too?
*Edit: Neat.

Also, has anyone read the Raven's Shadow series? I see good reviews for it, but I'm wondering if it will scratch my particular medieval fantasy itches.
I like 'em gritty, but not grimdark.
It can have elves and fairies, sorcerers and giant leviathans in them, or very few or subtle magical elements in them. The stories can be optimistic and adventurous, too. That's fine. But corpses still rot. People usually shit at least once a day. Steel rusts. Wounds inflame and can fester. All that good, realistic grit.
If the pretty elves aren't at least inferred to be squatting behind their glittering trees every once in awhile to take a dump then the whole book can just fuck off!
Intrigue and scheming plots on top of it is also right up my alley. Preferably with the viewpoint characters being responsible for a lot of the scheming.
Stories where characters only thwart schemes aren't as fun, unless schemes get thwarted with more schemes.

Just finished the first book in the Night Angel Trilogy. Scratched that itch well enough, even if it did veer on grimdark sometimes.
I try to avoid gorging on a whole series at once, though, so I tend to start a new series once I'm done, or start on the sequel of some other one I was reading previously. Remembering who is who usually isn't much of a problem.
Thinking of starting The Way of Kings next. That's some good 40-damn hours worth of listening to do on Audible.

Really looking forward to the eventual release of the third book in the Kingkiller Chronicles series, though. And I guess I should continue on the next book in the Malazan Book of the Fallen series, too, though that's a lot of books, and each one pretty darn long it seems.
 
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Literature Discussion

^ The Malazan Books aren't just long, they're also dense as fuck. They're definitely worth the read if you're looking for gritty fantasy that doesn't go all grimdark, but you do have to plow right into the dense mythology of the series. It's worth the effort, but I understand if that turns some people off. They're books that require some work to really get into and get the most out of them.

This thread is for discussing anything and everything book related.

Tell us what you're reading and how you feel about it. If you've finished a book or a series then write a review for it. If you're looking for advice about what to read next then post in here and hopefully someone can answer your question. Or if you want to discuss certain themes of a book or just certain writing styles then this is the thread to post in.
 
Re: Literature Discussion

Oh I've already finished the first book of Malazan Book of the Fallen, so I'm aware. Honestly, and people think ASoIF is hard to follow regarding who is who?
The power levels in that story are kind of whack, though. So much shit of an immense scale is thrown at the reader right away so that it's impossible to know what "normal" magic is supposed to be like.
It was good, but there was also an issue of who to really focus on story-wise.
Hard to get invested in characters that I'm not sure are actually the main ones.

And the ending was kind of an anti-climax, what with the
"super powerful entity is gonna fuck sh--- oh, it's gone. Now what?"
Still, it seems implied that the next book will have a more focused, if still dense narrative, unless it starts introducing shitloads of new characters in completely new places that the story will then constantly switch to and from.

But again, has anyone read the Raven's Shadow series?
Sounds like it's about paladins or something.
 
Re: Literature Discussion

Recently I've been getting back into the Discworld series, and I never really realised just how satirical they are on real life. I mean, it's blindingly obvious now, but to 14 year old me it definitely wasn't.

Also, they're just a massive amount of fun. Especially any book involving Sam Vines.
 
Re: Literature Discussion

If anyone is into hard science fiction in space check out http://www.thehumanreach.net/

All science is real (except fusion but that's in near future). Also, the author has hands on military intelligence experience and it shows in how he writes about spook world. Great read and it's only like 3 dollars on kindle.
 
Re: Literature Discussion

I've got to get back into Joe Abercrombie. Will probably read the first Shattered Sea book for the third time as a start.
 
Re: Literature Discussion

There's that pretentious part of me that's apparently triggered when someone calls genre fiction literature. Thankfully I'm not that obnoxious... well not enough not to still write it in a different context.

Anyway, I liked Malazan when I was a kid. It was like edgier DBZ and it somehow worked for me, with big scope and heroes and armies and magic and powerups and what not. But all I remember so far is some god with 7 puppies and his lackey god Cotillon. Only name I remember because once upon a time I found it cool.

I'm finishing Siddhartha by Herman Hesse atm. I'm unsure what I was expecting but I'm pleasantly surprised by the easy narrative and very straightforward and simple message that really fits with the consistent tone and pace that really makes it feel like a journey. Prose is really well made as well, emulating the old fashioned writing somewhat resembling Greeks, with all the honoring and what not, but still modern in construction. It's a beautiful mix and the content is good as well. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone that shows a slight interest into oriental religions.

I'll definitely have to follow it up with that one book I can't remember the name where Buddha leads a rebellion against transcended humans in space. Does it ring any bells?
 
Re: Literature Discussion

I recently started using https://www.goodreads.com/ It's similar to A-P but the main focus is on books. That might help you find something new to read. I'm KnoxSe7eN on there if anyone wants to add me as a friend.

I finished the Witcher novels a month or so back. I really liked them, though it felt like the author just wanted to finish the story by the last book. "Season of Storms" isn't completely fan translated into English yet. From what I have heard it's fairly inconsequential to the rest of the story. Edit: I also just started reading the comics.

Right now I am reading a book in the Dragon Age series "The Masked Empire" which has been a bit heavy in Orlesian politics. I think I am getting close to the action picking up. The other three novels in the series I have read are The Stolen Throne, The Calling, and Asunder. Those all had pretty grand adventures.

I'm thinking about reading some of the Forgotten Realms novels. Also waiting for the release of The Winds of Winter.
 
Re: Literature Discussion

Goodreads have an almost useless rec database (at least for me for some reason). Even most shitty books get 3.5 stars there, probably upvoted by fanboys. Or books not even released have reviews with 4 stars. I got burned by their recs few times so now I steer clear. But it's cool that it works for you.
 
Re: Literature Discussion

Naga said:
There's that pretentious part of me that's apparently triggered when someone calls genre fiction literature. Thankfully I'm not that obnoxious... well not enough not to still write it in a different context.
Click to expand...

I figured someone would bring this up eventually. I pretty much just named the thread this way because I think it sounds better than Book Discussion.
 
Re: Literature Discussion

Uriel said:
Goodreads have an almost useless rec database (at least for me for some reason). Even most shitty books get 3.5 stars there, probably upvoted by fanboys. Or books not even released have reviews with 4 stars. I got burned by their recs few times so now I steer clear. But it's cool that it works for you.
Click to expand...
I am still new to that site. Mainly been using it to keep track of what I have read, want to read and new content from authors. I have yet to use the rec system on it yet. That's a shame it doesn't work well.

Does anyone know of a better site that is similar to goodreads?
 
Re: Literature Discussion

KnoxSe7eN said:
I am still new to that site. Mainly been using it to keep track of what I have read, want to read and new content from authors. I have yet to use the rec system on it yet. That's a shame it doesn't work well.

Does anyone know of a better site that is similar to goodreads?
Click to expand...

Nah, Goodreads is fine.

Trick is to find and add people that share a similar taste (probably if you rate/value things in a similar way), so you could either read their reviews to see if you'd like something or not. If you're looking at mass opinion anywhere you won't get far.

Now that I look at my friend list it's pretty much literary fiction elitists and philosophy enthusiasts and I'm content with it, I think.
 
Re: Literature Discussion

Naga said:
Trick is to find and add people that share a similar taste (probably if you rate/value things in a similar way), so you could either read their reviews to see if you'd like something or not. If you're looking at mass opinion anywhere you won't get far.
Click to expand...

And that's way more effort than I'm willing to put into that site. If they can't put a little effort into curating their ratings I'm out. It's easier to google "best sf/fantasy books of last year" once in the year and buy those ;-)
 
Currently reading Carsick: John Waters Hitchhikes Across America & Selected Writings of Guillaume Apollinaire. Both are great.
 
I'm a big time Stephen King and Brian Lumley fan myself, but as I have become behind on things the most recent book I've finished reading is/was 1984 by George Orwell and it's rare for me to find books anymore new so I basically re-read what I got, but I still have a few new left I haven't read, they are good in doctor offices while I wait sort of thing, it's called The Infinite by Douglas Clegg. not bad thus far, but I'm only a few chapters in.

I have books to trade for money/books so maybe I might get lucky and find some more books of interest, until then it's reading what I got sort of thing.
 
Anyone here a Anita Blake fan? Laurell K. Hamilton is a pretty awesome author... if you're not opposed to vampire/supernatural stuff.

I read a lot of stories on wattpad too. Does anyone else here like to find stuff to read on wattpad?
 
Finished Shakespeare's Othello, a.k.a. 16th century's Yeezy twitter.

It was like Romeo and Juliet, but not as good. Tad more tragic because of one on-point rusemaster character.
 
Passed through half of Herman Hesse's Steppenwolf and I'm quite fond of his writing style. I don't like the dynamics and the flow between his characters and their progression, but I still think there's a good quality to it. While it's hard to believe in so much convenience here, as opposed to Siddhartha where it all felt really natural, Steppenwolf is more personal but not as on-point. Sure, it can potentially make the message, that's - truth be told, given out in the second chapter - significantly more substantial. There's charm to it and I love some of his narrative choices; where sometimes tiny redundant paragraphs can give more insight into everything that an entirety of a chapter, but I know it would be absurd of me to demand such consistency. He's really good, but not the greatest.

In breaks from Steppenwolf I read Osamu Dazai's No Longer Human, knowing how much influenced Japan and the fact that I saw it mentioned a couple of times in various anime, and also watching Aoi Bongaku which is a direct adaptation. Incredibly enough, it's really similar to Steppenwolf, but poorer in terms of content. In terms of prose and structure, they're definitely up there. NLH is short and on-point the way Hesse's Siddhartha was. That doesn't necessarily mean that it makes it batter for choosing that direction, but I admit that it fits perfectly into straightforward books with little to no need for redundancy. While NLH is straightforward with its theme and premise, Steppenwolf allows itself a benefit of a doubt and questions itself quite a lot, which makes for some interesting parts that can potentially mean a lot if it build successfully onto it. I do hope, that Steppenwolf will suddenly charm me with a twist to its narrative, because after I read NLH I fear that reading much of the same from Hesse will not impress me and I'm on a good streak lately.
 
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