Why do you like this series?

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What Came Before

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« Reply #60 on: May 14, 2013, 11:48:11 pm »
Quote from: Bakker User
Quote from: Callan S.
Generally one eats with ones mouth.

"The foolish speak from the stomach, the clever from the tongue, the wise from the rectum, for they alone know where their shit comes from." - RSB (TPB)

Now that I think about it, there's quite a lot of abdominal/fecal imagery in Bakker's writing. Explain that!

What Came Before

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« Reply #61 on: May 14, 2013, 11:48:26 pm »
Quote from: Madness
Its generally omitted from public discourse, media, as "over the line?"

mrganondorf

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« Reply #62 on: May 18, 2014, 11:49:19 pm »
1. I have to agree with everyone who said names.  This really makes Bakker's whole story persuasive for me, all, ALL of the names feel right and resonant.  Nouns, top to bottom, create the Earwan suspension of disbelief strong in my imagination.  I have no idea how he does it, but it's a problem for me reading other fantasy.  To me, he's in a class with Tolkien and no one else that I know.  I'm trying to think of a name I didn't like and can't.  "Sohonc" doesn't sound quite right…

2. Don't know the literary term for this, but I love Bakker's pace of revelation.  He's kept a nice steady stream of surprises going without starving us (although it feels that way) and while still leaving us hungry for more.  I guess TUC will show us if he's got it just right.

3. Love the constant harping on the way a character's reason conforms to their desires.

4. The CONVERSATIONS!!!  Maithanet/Inrilatas, Kellhus/Aurang, Kellhus/Moenghus, damn I want some more.

5. Have to agree with everyone else that the bad guys seem properly bad in the Bakkerverse.  The villains evility is the measure of what good or not-so-good guys must overcome by the end…or fail tragically!  Bakker raises the bar sooo high.

6. The religion.  I suspect a strong motive for Bakker doing the SA is to show people what a universe would really be like if it was objectively aligned to spiritual realities.  Not exactly what C.S. Lewis was hoping for.

7. The gritty and surprising details Bakker includes about things like migrations, sieges, and battles.

lol, Auriga

SilentRoamer

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« Reply #63 on: May 20, 2014, 01:03:17 pm »
Same reasons as everyone else.

1. Epic moments: Sometimes the fanboy moments literally make me drool. Library of Sauglish. Siege of Shimeh. Travelling through Cil Aujas. Akka and Cleric vs Wutteat. Seriously epic moments!

2. Characters - Odd one for me this, first read I hated everyone except Kellhus who I thought was THE MAN. I hated Esmi and Akka for being weak and flawed. I think I was expecting usual fantasy types - heroes who are flawed are normally positively flawed. My re-read totally changed my opinion, I was an adult during my re-read and had children and a changed world view. I now appreciate flawed characters and see them as real. For me, after my re-read I just love Akka. Kellhus is still THE MAN but I have a place in my heart for Akka.

3. World building - I am a huge fan of good solid world building and Bakkers is some of the deepest and most subtle. Bakker always shows, he never tells. The extent of realism is great.

4. Prose - Quite simply the best prose I have ever read. I found the lyrical and poetic style similar to Stephen R Donaldson, I appreciated this much more on my re-read which leads me into my last point.

5. Layers of revelation - I have never read something where a re-read was so rewarding and actually gave me more than the initial read. The first times I read PoN I thought it merely about Kellhus dominating the three seas, a re-read was so different.

Come on TUC!

Wilshire

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« Reply #64 on: May 20, 2014, 05:31:02 pm »
5. Layers of revelation - I have never read something where a re-read was so rewarding and actually gave me more than the initial read. The first times I read PoN I thought it merely about Kellhus dominating the three seas, a re-read was so different.

It feels like reading a different book the 2nd go around. I can never recommend highly enough doing a re-read of this series.
One of the other conditions of possibility.

mrganondorf

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« Reply #65 on: May 27, 2014, 02:16:58 am »
5. Layers of revelation - I have never read something where a re-read was so rewarding and actually gave me more than the initial read. The first times I read PoN I thought it merely about Kellhus dominating the three seas, a re-read was so different.

It feels like reading a different book the 2nd go around. I can never recommend highly enough doing a re-read of this series.

2nd, 3rd, 4th, so much still to get out of it!