Book crew: what are you reading?

[Miesha Taint]

Currently reading Steppenwolf. Hesse is 🐐

loved Siddhartha but couldn't get into this or Journey to the East

can't quite place my finger on it

 

[Miesha Taint]

wife started this and loving it

 

[silkforcalde]

had to search my Kindle library for "Sanderson" cuz I couldn't remember

apparently I read the first chapter of the Stormlight and Mistborn series

they were lazily written and poorly edited imo

most of all, they both did bad job of introducing people and places

lazily written and poorly edited is exactly how i would describe the sanderson written WoT books

 

[silkforcalde]

started up New York 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson. This isn't the first time I've had this feeling (I took some breaks from WoT to read some books from Seanan McGuire and others) but man it's refreshing to read a book by a smart person that can actually write.

this book is off to a slow start but it's already really interesting. a couple would be hackers wrote code to destabilize world markets and reduce inequality and right when they activated the code it was almost immediately reverted and they were forced to flee (or they were captured, it's not clear yet) in the middle of NYC long after climate catastrophes had risen the sea level over 50 feet. rest of the chapters have been about different people living in NYC like an immigration lawyer, a day trader, a police inspector, either investigating the disappearance or curious about the event. the chapters have different writing styles based on the characters so far. i want to read The Ministry for the Future a lot from this writer as well.

 

[Dylith]

had to search my Kindle library for "Sanderson" cuz I couldn't remember

apparently I read the first chapter of the Stormlight and Mistborn series

they were lazily written and poorly edited imo

most of all, they both did bad job of introducing people and places

lazily written and poorly edited is exactly how i would describe the sanderson written WoT books

To each their own.

 

[Sphygmo]

Way of kings was the book that made me bail on fantasy as a whole for about a decade


I just got so tired of the bloat and poor writing rampant in the genre. Feast for Crows and dance of dragons were huge blows as well


Way of kings was the most repetitive, dull novel I've ever read

 

[Dylith]

Way of kings was the book that made me bail on fantasy as a whole for about a decade


I just got so tired of the bloat and poor writing rampant in the genre. Feast for Crows and dance of dragons were huge blows as well


Way of kings was the most repetitive, dull novel I've ever read

I agree with the sentiment of bloat in Way of Kings. I thought it could have been easily trimmed by about 30% and still have had the same story line and depth of characters.

The largsr story and imagination of the world though I thought have been excellent.

 

[Sphygmo]

I agree with the sentiment of bloat in Way of Kings. I thought it could have been easily trimmed by about 30% and still have had the same story line and depth of characters.

The largsr story and imagination of the world though I thought have been excellent.

I don't even remember the name of the female character but I don't remember a single thing of consequence happening in any of her chapters


Like 400 pages of studying and moping around that school or whatever it was. I couldn't believe Sanderson thought anyone would ever find that interesting


And then kaladins arc was somewhat intriguing at the start but he made him go thru the exact same sequence of events with slight variation like 20 times

Dude needs a serious editor telling him hey man this is excessive and quite frankly dull

 

[lowfat]

I don't even remember the name of the female character but I don't remember a single thing of consequence happening in any of her chapters


Dude needs a serious editor telling him hey man this is excessive and quite frankly dull

Shallan is one of the best characters of the series.

And I think Sanderson knows what he is doing, since he outsells pretty much every other fantasy author my a mile.

 

[Sphygmo]

Shallan is one of the best characters of the series.

And I think Sanderson knows what he is doing, since he outsells pretty much every other fantasy author my a mile.

Her character was fine, can you tell me one event that occurred with her in that book tho lol

 

[meatball]

I don't even remember the name of the female character but I don't remember a single thing of consequence happening in any of her chapters


Like 400 pages of studying and moping around that school or whatever it was. I couldn't believe Sanderson thought anyone would ever find that interesting


And then kaladins arc was somewhat intriguing at the start but he made him go thru the exact same sequence of events with slight variation like 20 times

Dude needs a serious editor telling him hey man this is excessive and quite frankly dull

sounds like Infinite Jest tbh but i liked the fluff somehow

 

[Dylith]

Her character was fine, can you tell me one event that occurred with her in that book tho lol

The entire premise of the radiants is that they are all broken people. Shallan's spren senses and appreciates lies, particularly the lies she tells herself about herself. She can only advance by admitting those lies / repressed memories to herself. She also develops alter egos / split personalities to help her cope and to allow her to be the different types of people she wants to be.

I think it takes a while to realize how broken her character is, and only later do you appreciate the lies she tells you (the reader) and herself through her narration.

I think he overdid Kal's "brokeness" to an annoying degree. I get that he is filled with doubt and depressed. It is probably the least intetesting internal struggle of all of the characters because it is more mundane, and because he keeps thinking about suicide despite the fact that you know he isnt going to do it. After a while i found myself thinking "i get it, please move on".

I think the obviousness of Kal's struggle is meant to divert attention away from the more subtle, though deeper, struggles of the other characters. In a way he feels like a smokescreen.

A lot of stuff in this series also contain easter eggs from his other books. Most of his series take place in the same universe but on different planets, and you start to see those different worlds start to interact in these books.

 

[amalgamas]

Her character was fine, can you tell me one event that occurred with her in that book tho lol

you sure you want to ask that in a thread where I'm lurking? cause you know I can give you a bullet point list of everything that happened to her

 

[Dylith]

you sure you want to ask that in a thread where I'm lurking? cause you know I can give you a bullet point list of everything that happened to her

Have you read The Emperor's Soul yet?

 

[amalgamas]

The entire premise of the radiants is that they are all broken people. Shallan's spren senses and appreciates lies, particularly the lies she tells herself about herself. She can only advance by admitting those lies / repressed memories to herself. She also develops alter egos / split personalities to help her cope and to allow her to be the different types of people she wants to be.

I think it takes a while to realize how broken her character is, and only later do you appreciate the lies she tells you (the reader) and herself through her narration.

I think he overdid Kal's "brokeness" to an annoying degree. I get that he is filled with doubt and depressed. It is probably the least intetesting internal struggle of all of the characters because it is more mundane, and because he keeps thinking about suicide despite the fact that you know he isnt going to do it. After a while i found myself thinking "i get it, please move on".

I think the obviousness of Kal's struggle is meant to divert attention away from the more subtle, though deeper, struggles of the other characters. In a way he feels like a smokescreen.

A lot of stuff in this series also contain easter eggs from his other books. Most of his series take place in the same universe but on different planets, and you start to see those different worlds start to interact in these books.

Kal's shit really got to me right around Oathbringer, holy fuck his POV scenes after the King's shit were just THE WORST.

 

[Dylith]

Kal's shit really got to me right around Oathbringer, holy fuck his POV scenes after the King's shit were just THE WORST.

I really think he is there to largely divert attention away from the more interesting and subtle maneuverings going on in the background.

 

[amalgamas]

Have you read The Emperor's Soul yet?

absolutely, that's one of my favorite of his novella's

Way more than say Sixth of Dusk or White Sand.

 

[Dylith]

absolutely, that's one of my favorite of his novella's

Way more than say Sixth of Dusk or White Sand.

It plays a big role in the new mistborn book.

He does good novellas and short stories; I liked Edgedancer as well.

 

[Sphygmo]

sounds like Infinite Jest tbh but i liked the fluff somehow

Well he grabs you with that delightful prose


That dude could write

 

[Sphygmo]

I didn't finish it tho bc it was dauntingly long lol

 

[silkforcalde]

Shallan is one of the best characters of the series.

And I think Sanderson knows what he is doing, since he outsells pretty much every other fantasy author my a mile.

being the best selling author is not praise though. all the best selling authors are the worst authors for absolutely obvious reasons given the average level of intelligence out there.

 

[silkforcalde]

jk rowling, one of the worst authors of all time, is also one of the best selling for example

 

[The Grand Inquisitor]

I feel like we need a separate fantasy thread for you nerds.

 

[meatball]

jk rowling, one of the worst authors of all time, is also one of the best selling for example

oh cammannnn

 

[lowfat]

I feel like we need a separate fantasy thread for you nerds.

There is a non fiction thread somewhere.