Grimdark #3 -Bakkerview

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The Great Scald

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« Reply #15 on: April 29, 2015, 02:08:39 pm »
I noticed a fanfic on Bakker's site that also deals with the outbreak of the Shrial-Sorcerer war. It's called "The Burning of Carythusal" or something like that.

I actually liked that fanfic better than this Grimdark vignette - in the fanfic story, the war breaks out when Shriah strikes the first blow, by dressing up the Mysunsai mercs as Shrial envoys and sneak-attacking the Scarlet Spires during a truce meeting. This version is a lot better than Bakker's low-effort pulp story where the Spires start the war by bewitching a gladiator into killing the Ainoni royals.

It's a shame that this story wasn't better written, because I know Bakker can do a lot better. It wasn't terrible, but it's a far cry from "The False Sun", which was brilliant.


« Last Edit: April 29, 2015, 02:10:37 pm by Auriga »

The Great Scald

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« Reply #16 on: April 29, 2015, 02:23:23 pm »
Other comments on this story:

- The protagonist was okay for a swords-n-sandals pulp story, although he could've been given more depth - Bakker pulled it off well with Cnaiur, and could've done the same here
- Shinurta was creepy and disturbing, reminded me of Iyokus
- The use of magic was really clever, intelligent use of sorcery by the people of a setting where anti-magic defenses are common
- The setting was good, Carythusal really felt like a depraved Neo-Babylon or late imperial Rome
- The Queen could've been better written, but it's still nice to see a non-prostitute female character in Bakker
- The dialogue ranged from decent to cringeworthy

Wilshire

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« Reply #17 on: April 29, 2015, 02:58:04 pm »
It is a shame that he didn't make more of an effort to leverage his only step into the limelight (however dim) more effectively. Might have been mentioned above or elsewhere, but its like he either is completely unaware or totally dismissive of fans (and acquiring new ones). He hasn't had any exposure anywhere in 4ish years, and this is what he put out... Its certainly not a mystery to me why he's a "mid-list"
author even though his writing is worth so much more :P.
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Bolivar

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« Reply #18 on: April 29, 2015, 09:55:23 pm »
The ending was a little abrupt but I'm going to give the whole thing another shot, as I suspect it might read a bit better in one sitting rather than split how it was.