Miles Cameron's Traitor Son Cycle

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Cuttlefish

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« on: July 21, 2017, 01:57:30 am »
Curious if anyone has read this series of books. Here's a link to the first one:

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13616278-the-red-knight

I finished the third one day, after finishing the previous two a few years back. I am not recommending this series in any way, I have actually grown to dislike it, and the only reason I kept reading is because I'm kind of a completionist, at these things, not sure if I'll pick up the fourth book though.

Anyway, I hate every character (the lead character is a huge Mary Sue that excels at everything he does, and not in a übermensch Kellhus kind of way; various other characters have very weak and simple personalities, etc.), three books in and I am not even sure what the story is supposed to be about and, well, the setting. A lot of fantasy writers toil hard to create deep, engaging and rich settings; the author here has had the brilliant idea of just ripping off the real world, bending it slightly, adding magic to it and calling it a day.

To his credit, he knows the Middle Ages well; not specifically the politics of it, but the warfare and life style. Most of it reads as a filler, though; there is hardly any depth.

Anyway, why did I open this thread? Because I'm curious if anyone else has read it, and how they compared it to Bakker. Maybe five or ten years ago, I would've eaten it up, but nowadays, it is simply not very engaging at all.

Wilshire

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« Reply #1 on: January 11, 2018, 07:31:20 pm »
Hey, MSJ, weren't you looking for someone to talk about these books with?
-A wild Wilshire appears-
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One of the other conditions of possibility.

MSJ

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« Reply #2 on: January 11, 2018, 10:42:35 pm »
Cuttlefish, the pay off comes at the end and its huge, very huge.

ETA: sorry busy at the moment. But, the Captain is far from a Mary Sue. I'll explain in spoilers when I have the time. Also, I knew going into the series that books 2 and 3 are a little weaker and more of a setup to the last two books. Cuttlefish, my advice, don't give up as it gets better and better.
« Last Edit: January 11, 2018, 11:21:56 pm by MSJ »
“No. I am your end. Before your eyes I will put your seed to the knife. I will quarter your carcass and feed it to the dogs. Your bones I will grind to dust and cast to the winds. I will strike down those who speak your name or the name of your fathers, until ‘Yursalka’ becomes as meaningless as infant babble. I will blot you out, hunt down your every trace! The track of your life has come to me,

MSJ

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« Reply #3 on: January 12, 2018, 12:50:17 am »
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“No. I am your end. Before your eyes I will put your seed to the knife. I will quarter your carcass and feed it to the dogs. Your bones I will grind to dust and cast to the winds. I will strike down those who speak your name or the name of your fathers, until ‘Yursalka’ becomes as meaningless as infant babble. I will blot you out, hunt down your every trace! The track of your life has come to me,

MSJ

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« Reply #4 on: January 12, 2018, 12:56:38 am »
Quote from:  Cuttlefish
A lot of fantasy writers toil hard to create deep, engaging and rich settings; the author here has had the brilliant idea of just ripping off the real world, bending it slightly, adding magic to it and calling it a day.

Again, don't know how far you've gotten, but this is far from the case. And, there are many clues to the exact opposite of your statement strung throughout the books. Its one of the most original worlds/ideas I've seen in fantasy. If you haven't finished, my advice is RAFO big time. If not, your missing out.
“No. I am your end. Before your eyes I will put your seed to the knife. I will quarter your carcass and feed it to the dogs. Your bones I will grind to dust and cast to the winds. I will strike down those who speak your name or the name of your fathers, until ‘Yursalka’ becomes as meaningless as infant babble. I will blot you out, hunt down your every trace! The track of your life has come to me,