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OT: What book are you currently reading?

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Re: OT: What book are you currently reading? 

Post#501 » by Guano » Fri Aug 9, 2019 6:37 am

K-DOT wrote:
Guano wrote:
thebuzzardman wrote:
Ha! That was kind of a long digression. I really liked the books otherwise. It's that 12 years and counting for book 3? And it nowhere in sight? Nah.

Luckily, I read two other series right after it where the same thing kind of happened!

Scott Lynch "Lies of Locke Lamora" etc - ultimately, each book was too much like the other and sort of "young adult-ish" so I don't care. I think it's been 6 years.

Jonathan Renshaw - "Book of Wonder" - only 4 years, so that's brief

There's much better guys to read in the genre anyway, and who actually produced books regularly, like Sanderson, Cook, Butcher etc etc.

I really did like the Rothfuss books though.



Somehow the book is enjoyable even though Kvothe is annoying af.



Kdot, where you at in your Malazan read through?

anyone looking to read the series might want to use this as a companion guide. It was fairly helpful when I read the series.
https://www.tor.com/series/malazan-reread-of-the-fallen/

Got through book 4 a week or so ago, haven't really read much of 5 yet.

Honestly, I feel like it's just gotten better each book overall, but I do have to admit to being a tad disappointed in the battles in book 4. Loved the camp intrigue stuff, but the Malazans kind of just show up and everyone's already dead in the end. But the character moments are as good as they've ever been, like Fiddler hugging it out with Kalam and Quick, Felisin's end, and just Karsa being a f*cking boss the whole time

Might take me a while to get into Tides though. Just not a big fan of prequels, and the Trull chapters felt kind of flat to me cause it feels like a knockoff of Toc and Tool's journey in book 3. But, I do really enjoy the worldbuilding, so I am looking forward to it

Kvothe's basically the MC of a bad self-insert power fantasy anime at this point. Anything that was intriguing about his character was thrown out the window after he left Tarbean, and whatever was left got destroyed when he became a sex god for no reason


Kvothe reads like the authors attempt to live through the character.

I read the Esslemont books in my read through, so I can't even really remember what happens in what books - it just blends together. There are a lot of battles that stand out (next book has an epic battle). He is also great at portraying the desperation of his characters in battle scenes - one of the great ways he makes flawed characters sympathetic. There are so many holy **** moments throughout that series - it's wild. The world building in it is mind-numbingly impressive; races, time span, universes, magic system, gods.

I'm actually jealous that you get to read all this **** for the first time. this series is so damn epic on so many levels. I never suggest it to anyone because telling someone to embark on a complex heavy 10+ book series is rude af - but I love talking it up. It's so good that it's ruined a lot of fantasy for me.

I'm currently reading the 3rd book of the Red Queen's War by Mark Lawrence - it's okayish. Really enjoyed The Jorg series(forgot what it was called). I appreciate flawed protagonist in fantasy series, and he was definitely that. Jal's flaws just feel too forced in this series. But the world and conflict is enough to keep me turning the pages. though the second books pace was a little too slow. I've read much worse but much better - it's decent.
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Re: OT: What book are you currently reading? 

Post#502 » by bearadonisdna » Wed Aug 14, 2019 2:29 am

Just fyi, necromancy is heavily frowned upon by most major religions.
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Re: OT: What book are you currently reading? 

Post#503 » by thebuzzardman » Wed Aug 14, 2019 10:50 am

As stated in the "I'm bored" topic, added McMafia (really good so far) and rereading Peter Cook's "The Black Company" series to my list.
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Re: OT: What book are you currently reading? 

Post#504 » by NYKAL » Wed Aug 14, 2019 4:49 pm

thebuzzardman wrote:
Cubbies2120 wrote:
Synciere wrote:
I didn't even know it had been released!

There goes my weekend!

What's KKC, Stormlight, and First Law?


Kingkiller Chronicles by Pat Rothfuss - Single POV high fantasy where the MC is a generational prodigy.

Stormlight Archives by Brandon Sanderson - A multi-pov epic fantasy with some kick ass world building and magic system.


Don't go getting people into Kingkiller Chronicles, only to have them frustrated by having to wait another 10 years for the least book of the series!
:D


DING DING...yup!!! I refuse to let him George RR Martin me so, I took him OFF my authors list. I'm re-reading the Big Book of Amber by Roger Zelani
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Re: OT: What book are you currently reading? 

Post#505 » by B8RcDeMktfxC » Wed Aug 14, 2019 5:03 pm

I find it intriguing how many Knicks fans are into fantasy worlds. There has to be some connection there ;)
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Re: OT: What book are you currently reading? 

Post#506 » by thebuzzardman » Wed Aug 14, 2019 7:44 pm

NYKAL wrote:
thebuzzardman wrote:
Cubbies2120 wrote:
Kingkiller Chronicles by Pat Rothfuss - Single POV high fantasy where the MC is a generational prodigy.

Stormlight Archives by Brandon Sanderson - A multi-pov epic fantasy with some kick ass world building and magic system.


Don't go getting people into Kingkiller Chronicles, only to have them frustrated by having to wait another 10 years for the least book of the series!
:D


DING DING...yup!!! I refuse to let him George RR Martin me so, I took him OFF my authors list. I'm re-reading the Big Book of Amber by Roger Zelani


I believe that's Zelazny.

I reread those about 2 years ago in entirety. What is there, 12 books? Whatever it is, it reads pretty fast. I really like those books. I think some of it is nostalgia, because I think they've been surpassed by other people, but that style of of hard boiled detective noir and high fantasy is pretty cool.

It's a series I reread every so often.

Earthsea Trilogy I reread every year for like 10 years, until I just quit a few years ago. I don't like the later books. But those first 3 are GREAT.
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Re: OT: What book are you currently reading? 

Post#507 » by thebuzzardman » Wed Aug 14, 2019 7:46 pm

Oh, also on deck to reread:

Old Mans War.

Now, I initially only knew about the one book. Loved it, forgot about it, then last year found out it's got a whole series off it which a couple of friends whose opinion I respect said the entire series is good.

So I'll dig into the rest soon
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Re: OT: What book are you currently reading? 

Post#508 » by Synciere » Wed Aug 14, 2019 7:54 pm

NYKAL wrote:
thebuzzardman wrote:
Cubbies2120 wrote:
Kingkiller Chronicles by Pat Rothfuss - Single POV high fantasy where the MC is a generational prodigy.

Stormlight Archives by Brandon Sanderson - A multi-pov epic fantasy with some kick ass world building and magic system.


Don't go getting people into Kingkiller Chronicles, only to have them frustrated by having to wait another 10 years for the least book of the series!
:D


DING DING...yup!!! I refuse to let him George RR Martin me so, I took him OFF my authors list. I'm re-reading the Big Book of Amber by Roger Zelani


Yeah I've done some research into the books mentioned here. i'm not into fantasy at all, and I'm surprised the Red Rising series seems to be placed in the fantasy genre by so many readers. I think of Red Rising as just futuristic sci-fi. Pierce Brown has written six (?) books since the first one in 2014, so no waiting here....
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Re: OT: What book are you currently reading? 

Post#509 » by Cubbies2120 » Wed Aug 14, 2019 11:44 pm

Synciere wrote:
NYKAL wrote:
thebuzzardman wrote:
Don't go getting people into Kingkiller Chronicles, only to have them frustrated by having to wait another 10 years for the least book of the series!
:D


DING DING...yup!!! I refuse to let him George RR Martin me so, I took him OFF my authors list. I'm re-reading the Big Book of Amber by Roger Zelani


Yeah I've done some research into the books mentioned here. i'm not into fantasy at all, and I'm surprised the Red Rising series seems to be placed in the fantasy genre by so many readers. I think of Red Rising as just futuristic sci-fi. Pierce Brown has written six (?) books since the first one in 2014, so no waiting here....


Well even PB himself described it as "Science-Fantasy" during his Reddit AMA couple weeks ago. It kinda makes sense considering the lore he borrows from the ancient greek/roman cultures.
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Re: OT: What book are you currently reading? 

Post#510 » by DOT » Thu Aug 15, 2019 12:08 am

Cubbies2120 wrote:
Synciere wrote:
NYKAL wrote:
DING DING...yup!!! I refuse to let him George RR Martin me so, I took him OFF my authors list. I'm re-reading the Big Book of Amber by Roger Zelani


Yeah I've done some research into the books mentioned here. i'm not into fantasy at all, and I'm surprised the Red Rising series seems to be placed in the fantasy genre by so many readers. I think of Red Rising as just futuristic sci-fi. Pierce Brown has written six (?) books since the first one in 2014, so no waiting here....


Well even PB himself described it as "Science-Fantasy" during his Reddit AMA couple weeks ago. It kinda makes sense considering the lore he borrows from the ancient greek/roman cultures.

I mean, when you think about it, really the only difference between sci-fi and fantasy is, sci-fi gives an attempt to explain their magic by using technobabble, fantasy just says, it's magic, now shut up

That's why you can have a post apocalyptic sci-fi story masquerading as a fantasy story, like the Prince of Thornes, or Half a World, something like that. Once you reach a certain tech level on the Kardashev scale, it's just magic.
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Re: OT: What book are you currently reading? 

Post#511 » by Bank Shot » Sun Aug 18, 2019 6:12 pm

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson - I saw the show first and then went hunting for the book. Not super scary and unlike the show, the focus is only one character and her breakdown, but it was a really good read. Nell, Theo, and a completely different version of Luke are in the book. The actresses who played Nell and Theo absolutely nailed their book counterparts.

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss - This series gets a ton of hype and although I wasn't blown away by the first book, I did find the overall plot very interesting. A nice start to what should be a very interesting trilo....

The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss - Oh no. Oh no, no, no. What the **** is this garbage. I'm not sure I have ever had a book disrespect my time like this. 1,100 pages of really bad filler that felt like it was written by a 12-year-old with a raging boner. The first 400 pages are a rehash of the first book. The Hermione and Ron rip-offs seem to only exist to tell the main character how great he is. Actually, you could say the same thing about 80% of the side characters in this book. We then get a section where a teenage boy becomes the most trusted advisor of one of the most powerful men in the world without even breaking a sweat. After that nonsense is done, we get some grocery store book porn. After that, we get the most boring training montage I have ever read that is mixed with some more sex scenes that feel like they were written by someone who has never had sex. We get all of this without moving forward what should be a pretty interesting overarching plot.

The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss - Imagine Dunk and Egg except instead of the pair going on an adventure, Egg stays in a castle basement, has extreme OCD, and does Feng Shui for almost 200 pages. That is what this book is. To top it off, Rothfuss included one of the grossest introductions that I have read. According to him, if you don't like the book, it's because you don't get it. No. This is trash, he knows it, and he's trying to cover his ass.

Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege by Anthony Beevor - A cautionary tale that examines the impact of electing idiots with severe NPD. The world is very fortunate that Stalin's brain was slightly less broken than Hitler's. Also a very interesting and depressing look at the suffering that took place at Stalingrad.

All the Pieces Matter: The Inside Story of The Wire by Jonathan Abrams - A must-read for fans of The Wire. It's a collection of interviews with all the actors, writers, and producers on the show. I usually find books like this boring but all the stories really pulled me in. Do you think you would like reading stories about McNulty and Bunk judging pretty pussy competitions? If the answer is yes, you will like this book.

Hacking Darwin: Genetic Engineering and the Future of Humanity by Jamie Metzl - A really interesting look at where we are with genetic engineering (further along than most think) and what challenges genetic engineering will create (given that the world seems set on electing cowards with IQs of 75, we are probably ****).

2001: A Space Odyssey - A classic. I knew what was coming but still enjoyed it.

The Wandering Earth by Cixin Liu - It's a collection of short stories by the guy who wrote the Three-Body Problem trilogy. If you love the trilogy (I do) or enjoy big idea science fiction, you will enjoy this book.

Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer - I've heard that the rest of the trilogy is disappointing, which is a shame because this is a great book. VanderMeer is an awesome writer. One of the most atmospheric books I have ever read. There are some similarities to the movie but the plot goes in a completely different direction over the second half of the book.

A Ringside Affair: Boxing's Last Golden Age by James Lawton - This is the best sports book I have ever read. It's a behind the scenes look at all the mega fights from the early 80s to the early 2000s. It starts with Ali screaming in an MSG lockerroom because his scrambled brain can't handle the lights and ends with Tyson feeling absolutely lost after getting pummeled by Lennox Lewis. Along the way, you get into the minds of Ali, Foreman, SRL, Hagler, Hearns, Duran, Tyson, Riddick Bowe, Buster Douglas, Lewis, etc. I've read 33 books this year and this is in my top-3. I don't think you have to love boxing to read this book. It doesn't focus that much on what happened in the fights. It focuses more on the men who were getting in the ring and to me, that is more interesting.

Basketball (and Other Things) by Shea Serrano - Serrano is like Bill Simmons except if Simmons knew something about basketball. It's a fun read.

The Man in the High Castle by Philip Dick - Meh. Great idea. Meh execution.
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Re: OT: What book are you currently reading? 

Post#512 » by Guano » Sun Aug 18, 2019 8:17 pm

I actually forgot how much of an annoying f*ck Kovthe/Rothfuss was in that book until I read your review. countless times he insults his readers intelligence with **** like I can't describe it because I'm just on another level than you plebs. ****. That. Guy.
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Re: OT: What book are you currently reading? 

Post#513 » by DOT » Mon Aug 19, 2019 12:50 am

Are We Ther Yet wrote:
K-DOT wrote:
Clyde_Style wrote:
True, you are Mr. Intensity at times :lol:

Spoiler:
It was obvious from early on that Khaleesi was nutz 8-)

:lol:

I still say, I have no problem with that being her end, my problem is how the show got there. They foreshadowed it, but didn't show the character development the right way. They really could have made both the last two episodes their own seasons, let the characters get to that point organically

Spoiler:
Like, have her accidentally burn the city by means of setting off the wildfire caches she doesn't know about, and have her start off in the eyes of the commoners (who don't know any better and think it was intentional) as the bad guy, and have that public resentment boil over to the point where she can no longer tell innocent from enemy and starts going full Mad Queen and burning everyone like daddy. Would've been better than her being sad cause none of the northerners love her


I will never not be pissed at how the show got to that ending

Spoiler:
Also, they should have made it clear that Bran was f*cking manipulating everything to get his way to power. Cause that's what happened in my headcanon, but they don't make it clear. Really tells you something when they take the script they submitted for an Emmy off the internet because everyone realized how stupid it was


Rant over for now


I want to open those spoilers so bad!! I decided to stop watching when they were passing the books. Ugh!!!

Good

I actually dropped the books halfway through 5. I might re-read them at some point, but I'm in the middle of a really great series right now, and have a ton on my to-read list already. Moved this to the book thread to keep discussions on track

With how GoT ended, without spoilers, I can totally see that being the ending GRRM has planned. Just, when he writes it, it'll be expanded on and characters' actions will make sense. Plus, them not including fAegon in the show is probably what f*cked them over the most, cause I'm pretty sure he's an integral reason why one of the characters ends up where they do, and is the driving force behind the conflict in the last book or two
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Re: OT: What book are you currently reading? 

Post#514 » by Clyde_Style » Mon Aug 19, 2019 2:13 am

Uh oh, I triggered K-Dot
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Re: OT: What book are you currently reading? 

Post#515 » by DOT » Mon Aug 19, 2019 2:16 am

Clyde_Style wrote:Uh oh, I triggered K-Dot

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Re: OT: What book are you currently reading? 

Post#516 » by DOLPHIN2020 » Wed Aug 21, 2019 6:59 am

Just finished The Border by Don Winslow. last part of the trilogy about the Mexican Cartels.

Pretty good but the Power of the Dog and The Cartel were better. Winslow mixes the book with a Trump like president whose son in law is involved with mafia money, making book more political.

Still a good read.
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Re: OT: What book are you currently reading? 

Post#517 » by Guano » Thu Aug 22, 2019 12:11 am

K-DOT wrote:
Are We Ther Yet wrote:
K-DOT wrote: :lol:

I still say, I have no problem with that being her end, my problem is how the show got there. They foreshadowed it, but didn't show the character development the right way. They really could have made both the last two episodes their own seasons, let the characters get to that point organically

Spoiler:
Like, have her accidentally burn the city by means of setting off the wildfire caches she doesn't know about, and have her start off in the eyes of the commoners (who don't know any better and think it was intentional) as the bad guy, and have that public resentment boil over to the point where she can no longer tell innocent from enemy and starts going full Mad Queen and burning everyone like daddy. Would've been better than her being sad cause none of the northerners love her


I will never not be pissed at how the show got to that ending

Spoiler:
Also, they should have made it clear that Bran was f*cking manipulating everything to get his way to power. Cause that's what happened in my headcanon, but they don't make it clear. Really tells you something when they take the script they submitted for an Emmy off the internet because everyone realized how stupid it was


Rant over for now


I want to open those spoilers so bad!! I decided to stop watching when they were passing the books. Ugh!!!

Good

I actually dropped the books halfway through 5. I might re-read them at some point, but I'm in the middle of a really great series right now, and have a ton on my to-read list already. Moved this to the book thread to keep discussions on track

With how GoT ended, without spoilers, I can totally see that being the ending GRRM has planned. Just, when he writes it, it'll be expanded on and characters' actions will make sense. Plus, them not including fAegon in the show is probably what f*cked them over the most, cause I'm pretty sure he's an integral reason why one of the characters ends up where they do, and is the driving force behind the conflict in the last book or two


why you doing us like this - "but I'm in the middle of a really great series right now" then not drop what you're reading?
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Re: OT: What book are you currently reading? 

Post#518 » by DOT » Thu Aug 22, 2019 12:37 am

Guano wrote:
K-DOT wrote:
Are We Ther Yet wrote:
I want to open those spoilers so bad!! I decided to stop watching when they were passing the books. Ugh!!!

Good

I actually dropped the books halfway through 5. I might re-read them at some point, but I'm in the middle of a really great series right now, and have a ton on my to-read list already. Moved this to the book thread to keep discussions on track

With how GoT ended, without spoilers, I can totally see that being the ending GRRM has planned. Just, when he writes it, it'll be expanded on and characters' actions will make sense. Plus, them not including fAegon in the show is probably what f*cked them over the most, cause I'm pretty sure he's an integral reason why one of the characters ends up where they do, and is the driving force behind the conflict in the last book or two


why you doing us like this - "but I'm in the middle of a really great series right now" then not drop what you're reading?

Cause it's still Malazan

Been trying to read Midnight Tides for like a month now, but every time I start, I get interrupted by something. I've made it like 80 pages in, so there's some progress
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Re: OT: What book are you currently reading? 

Post#519 » by DrCoach » Sat Aug 24, 2019 1:33 am

Just got The Alchemist for my trip
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Re: OT: What book are you currently reading? 

Post#520 » by Guano » Sun Sep 1, 2019 6:05 pm

K-DOT wrote:
Guano wrote:
K-DOT wrote:Good

I actually dropped the books halfway through 5. I might re-read them at some point, but I'm in the middle of a really great series right now, and have a ton on my to-read list already. Moved this to the book thread to keep discussions on track

With how GoT ended, without spoilers, I can totally see that being the ending GRRM has planned. Just, when he writes it, it'll be expanded on and characters' actions will make sense. Plus, them not including fAegon in the show is probably what f*cked them over the most, cause I'm pretty sure he's an integral reason why one of the characters ends up where they do, and is the driving force behind the conflict in the last book or two


why you doing us like this - "but I'm in the middle of a really great series right now" then not drop what you're reading?

Cause it's still Malazan

Been trying to read Midnight Tides for like a month now, but every time I start, I get interrupted by something. I've made it like 80 pages in, so there's some progress


gotd*m, my mind is a sieve
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