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Messages - Wilshire

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16
Literature / Re: Yearly Reading Targets 2022
« on: October 11, 2022, 11:16:55 pm »
The Torch that Ignites the Stars by Andrew Rowe (12)
An amusing, quick read, but not really something I can recommend. Rowe as some modest talent but is by no stretch a great author. These books are "litrpgs", which basically means they are closer to watching someone play a videogame than reading a a traditional book, while still being full of genre tropes. Despite this, I find them entertaining when I'm in the right mood and this book delivered exactly as expected.

17
Literature / Re: Yearly Reading Targets 2022
« on: September 26, 2022, 02:20:41 pm »
Among Others by Jo Walton (11)

This book was great, but I didn't actually enjoy it. The writing was easy get lost in, but the story itself just wasn't that appealing. The life and times of a Welsh14 year old in 70's England just never hooked me, but despite that I still wanted to read it to the end. There are some well imagined fantasy elements, including magic and magical creatures, and it is something of a love letter to the genre as a whole as much time is spent discussing many well-known names in the SFF genre at the time.

18
News/Announcements / Re: Blog Post from Bryan Bakker (03 June 2022)
« on: July 22, 2022, 03:08:02 pm »
Life ebbs and flows. Maybe once he's empty-nesting in a dozen years or so he'll be getting bored and will start writing again.

19
Literature / Re: Yearly Reading Targets 2022
« on: July 06, 2022, 12:09:27 pm »
She deserves to be on a great many lists because the prose is interesting to read. Leaning towards purple, but it fits her fantasy settings. Its possible I was just not in the mood for this type of book, because its not substantially different plot-wise than Od Magic, meaning it has a relatively generic plot with predictable outcomes that are not at all the focus of the story. This is definitely something to be aware of when picking up any McKilip, but not necessarily a demerit. Forgotten Beasts specifically didn't do it for me though. It uses a lot of magical/fantasy animals and/or animal tropes, which is also something I've never been too interested in either.

I'd still recommend Od Magic to anyone who reads fantasy. The internet is full of requests for fantasy with "good writing", and while that means a lot of different things to different people Od Magic is probably a good recommendation most of the time.

20
Literature / Re: Yearly Reading Targets 2022
« on: July 01, 2022, 01:22:25 pm »
 The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia A. McKillip (10)

Meh. This was recommended along side her more widely read Od Magic, and I am very glad I read Od Magic first. This one didn't have nearly the same spark of wistful fantasy. Largely about a witch who could talk to magical animals, the concept was entertaining but it wasn't enough to make a whole book out of. Despite being pretty short, it still seemed to drag. Honestly the whole thing could have been a short story, maybe a novella, with just the first two chapters, one in the middle, and the last one. Instead it goes on for about 12, and that's just too many to get the point across. Pretty disappointed with this one, considering how whimsical and satisfying Od Magic was. If you want to try McKillip, because she does have great prose, I'd avoid this one.

21
Literature / Re: Yearly Reading Targets 2022
« on: June 27, 2022, 01:45:00 pm »
Always a shame when that happens. It does make me slightly more sympathetic towards publishers wanting/expecting new authors to show up with complete series now, with the drop in quality so apparent for second books I can really see why. I'm sure a better publisher with better editors and support for authors would help workshop a lot of those issues away, but obviously this doesn't happen.

22
News/Announcements / Blog Post from Bryan Bakker (03 June 2022)
« on: June 24, 2022, 01:53:28 pm »
See link:
https://www.newsload.ca/post/insights-on-the-second-apocalypse-book-series

Quote
What's Going On With Scott Now?

For those interested in the now, some have commented on the fact that Scott has been quiet online in recent years. Suffice it to say he has gone through a lot. His singular focus right now is raising his daughter and building his family's future.

As for the future of the series, I've heard him say two things, over the years, about how the Second Apocalypse should end:

    One was that there would be a third trilogy outlining the blow by blow of 'you know who's' rise. I know outlines exist for such a story, but just outlines.

    The other is that the story is finished. That 'The Unholy Consult', is a fitting way to end a sprawling epic about the death of meaning.

For my part, I can't help but to think that this massive story was where Scott's creative life began and, it would not surprise me if, after his real life trials are complete, he doesn't return to it, before the end.

Like a favourite old coat - warm and comfortable - and smelling of sulfur (:

Sometimes, life does come full circle.

Thanks for reading.

23
Literature / Re: Yearly Reading Targets 2022
« on: June 18, 2022, 08:47:19 pm »
Fountains of Paradise by Arthur C Clark (9)

Surprisingly good. A lot of old scifi seems to miss that having an actual story makes for a better book. It didn't knock my socks off or anything, but it reasonably earn its accolades as a hugo/nebula winner. The characters are mediocre, but the plot is interesting enough and Clark does a good job weaving in past/present/future stories into a cohesive whole.

24
Literature / Re: Yearly Reading Targets 2022
« on: June 13, 2022, 07:20:34 pm »
The Wisdom of Crowds Joe Abercrombie (8 )

I liked this series. Abercrombie actually did a good job not falling into his own standard format, which was refreshing. Its a fun series, with predictably a bunch of easy to love and hate characters. Overall the story wasn't your typical fantasy revolution story, and the industrialization setting was also pretty unique. As The P mentioned above, the last 10%ish of the book is a bit odd. It just takes way too long to finish after the plot climax. This doesn't ruin the book, but its a clumsy finish.

Overall it was good, but I still enjoyed First Law better.

25
Literature / Re: Yearly Reading Targets 2022
« on: May 13, 2022, 12:12:08 pm »
The Trouble with Peace by Joe Abercrombie (7)

Gratifyingly, this was better than A Little Hatred. The trouble with the first book, in comparison to Blade Itself, is that it spent a tremendous amount of time being an introductory novel (which Blade Itself never did). This one felt like it flowed a lot better, and was more of what I expected from Abercrombie. He continues to be a great writer, writing characters that you really want to succeed or fail depending on who they are, and then smacking you in the face with those wants as he turns things upside down. Where I was uninterested in continuing the story after A Little Hatred, here I am definitely excited to start The Wisdom of Crowds right away.

26
Literature / Re: Yearly Reading Targets 2022
« on: May 05, 2022, 02:43:31 pm »
Unspoken Name by A K Larkwood (6)

This book was... not good. My primary dislike is that there's nothing exceptional about it. Its bland and generic throughout, making it difficult to read. All the characters are flat and have little to no growth, the prose style is very bland and uninteresting which makes the book feel like it goes on forever, and there's little to no descriptions of the apparently complex/intricate worlds/religions/gods/politics/etc. so everything feels dead and lifeless (and leaves the impression of being under construction, with strings and scaffolding still visible). Beyond that, the book is split into 3 parts, which combined make the book take much too long, but individually are too short to tell a reasonable story. There's really just no reason to read this.

27
Literature / Re: Yearly Reading Targets 2022
« on: April 13, 2022, 04:51:01 pm »
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (5)
A fun quick read. Weir went back to where he's comfortable - which is writing about a lonely, or at least solitary, male scientist solving problems. While this sounds like a boring plot, as with Martian, Weir does a great job making it fun. While its definitely on the more Fiction side of Science Fiction, the writing and plot are entertaining and focused enough to make it entertaining throughout. Worth the read if you want a light scifi novel.

The Builders by Daniel Polansky (11)
It sounds to me like the author either didn't like, or didn't feel comfortable, writing human characters, but that's just a guess. I dislike fantasy being set in half built worlds with lazy worldbuilding stapled onto real world places/histories. Making up lore is one of the prime factors that set Fantasy apart, so doing a bad job at it ruins the book, at least imo.

28
Literature / Re: Yearly Reading Targets 2022
« on: April 07, 2022, 01:02:50 pm »
The Fall of Dragons by Miles Cameron (4)

Finished! Feel like it took forever, but despite that I think the series is very good. The plot doesn't devolve too much in the direction I was afraid of (a contest between gods), which kept most of the stories feeling very relevant. There are a few nice emotional high moments throughout, and especially near the end, but it is very predictable. A large part of the final book, and the series, revolves around movements of troops. This creates pacing issues, but I now think its a feature of the story. Things move a lot more slowly when you are attempting to moving 50k troops vs. 500. The entire story really feels like a  vehicle for explaining how troop movement and placement works, which isn't necessarily a bad thing but it also holds this story back from being great. Ultimately too much time in later books is spent describing logistics, which makes it feel like a grind. But getting through that, most of the characters are entertaining and the plot is satisfying to resolve.

I'd recommend it, especially to anyone who thinks "I wish someone would write a book about mundane XYZ". Not because there isn't any great evil to vanquish (there is), or because there is an absence of magic (a tremendous amount of the later books revolve around magic), but because none of that stuff supersedes the hours it takes 10k troops to wheel about into a battle formation from a marching line, or a lack of arrows collapsing an army.  If logistics don't sound very interesting, its hard to recommend this too highly as a series, though the first one or two books is probably worth reading. I'm glad I read it, and might seek out some more Cameron in a few years to see how his writing develops.

29
Literature / Re: Yearly Reading Targets 2022
« on: March 11, 2022, 02:30:53 pm »
The Plague of Swords by Miles Cameron (3)
Pretty good. More of what I'd call standard Cameron at this point. The point feels a bit belabored, but the characters are worth reading about and the increase in scope continues to be logical. The tightest book of the series was definitely the first one, but I'm enjoying it enough to really want to finish it out. I dont expect any shocking plot twists or revelations - the destination become clear since around the end of book 2 - but the investment in time is definitely worth it for me.

The Trouble with Peace by Joe Abercrombie (10)
This could easily top The First Law trilogy.  It probably will; Abercrombie has improved over the years.
Well its definitely on my list this year, maybe even up next after I finish Traitor Son.

30
Literature / Re: Yearly Reading Targets 2022
« on: March 01, 2022, 10:19:05 pm »
I am considering grabbing The Trouble With Peace since its on sale. A Little Hatred did grab me as much as I remember Blade Itself, but that was literally hundreds of books ago. Abercrombie is still very good and, of course, if you're looking for good characters/development then look no further.

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