Kevin's Watch

The plot moves very slowly for large sections of the books, but you'd probably miss too much if you skipped ahead.

Book 9 isn't too bad. Book 10 has very little plot, though.

I can tell you this: in Knife of Dreams, Jordan made me like both Egwene and Nynaeve for the first time since the start of the series. In that one book, they were intelligent, mature characters. Unfortunately the rest of the book was a bit rushed, especially the Rand sections.

Yeah, I suppose Malazan would awaken those parts of my brain that fell asleep during the last über-prolonged instance of self-changing dresses in Tel'aran'rhiod, but that'll have to wait till I can comfortably sit in an armchair with a paperback again. Whyyy can't they exist on audio?

Hmh...maybe I'll try to wend my way through Winter's Heart (looks like it's "only" 24hrs on audio as opposed to the 41 hrs of I-already-forgot-half-of-what-happened-in-Lord-of-Chaos) and read the Wikipedia version of #10. Good to hear that the characters get some actual development in the later volumes, however. A few show some potential, plus I kinda like Jordan's wry humor, but this series could easily be a few thousand pages shorter if the cast spent less time idling about and blushing to everything that moves.

Vraith wrote:

Orlion wrote:Just finished Endymion. Will read Rise of Endymion.... eventually.

Now reading The Black Company by Glenn Cook.

Why can't I like the "black company" books? I've only read a couple [one, couldn't stand it, peeps I trust here said "no!they're good!" read another couldn't stand it]. Really, tell me what I'm missing!

I dont know why you wouldn't like it. I read the Black Company Omnibus last year and loved it. then I went on to read the other books from this world. Once I got used to how its written and got myself into the story, I couldn't put it down. I think what I liked about it was that it was different that most of what I had read. From how it is written to the Character development. I love the idea that they are mercs and they usually don't care about why the war is going on or what side they are on.

Fist and Faith wrote:Pretty sure Malazan is the proper course of action here.

Obviously in Fistworld, Malazan is the answer to all questions

It just occurred to me as well that we might have a heretic in our midst. Since the Last Chrons have so disappointed the Fist I am beginning to wonder if he has not gone over to the Erikson/Esslemont side

I tremble to think of the colossal nature of the battle that might be waged if Fist had to be cast out of the Watch, something akin to the overthrow of Satan in Milton's Paradise Lost maybe. I want tickets


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On a much more banal level of existence I am coming to the end of two sci-fi novels just now: Veteran by Gavin Smith and The Quiet War by Paul McCauley.

Both are good. I learned about a new genre, called 'combat sci-fi' when I started reading Veteran and that fairly sums it up. It's not as good as something by, say John Scalzi or Joe Haldeman, but it's well written and moves along at a good pace. The combat scenes do feel a bit computer-gamish but Smith was a scriptwriter and they remain clear and vivid throughout.

The Quiet War is a densely written book, a bit space-operaish, but well executed with some really good detail. There's plenty to get your teeth into and the story fairly flies along. I read it quite quickly.

I'd recommmend The Quiet War before Veteran but it probably depends on your preferences.

u.

Brace yourself for heresy, Uss: while Covenant will always be my favourite series, the one that holds that specail place in my heart.....Malazan is better.

And I'm only halfway through.



Edit: Noticed the typo. I'm gonna leave it there since it accidentally put "Cail" in the sentence, which can only make for awesome.

Cambo wrote:Brace yourself for heresy, Uss: while Covenant will always be my favourite series, the one that holds that specail place in my heart.....Malazan is better.

And I'm only halfway through.



Edit: Noticed the typo. I'm gonna leave it there since it accidentally put "Cail" in the sentence, which can only make for awesome.

*Unseathes his assassin knives*

Cambo wrote:Brace yourself for heresy, Uss: while Covenant will always be my favourite series, the one that holds that specail place in my heart.....Malazan is better.

I see that it may already be too late, that Fist's (and Cail's ) influence has already worked its way into the minds of the unwary. I'm beginning to feel out-gunned

u.

I would rather rule in Seven Cities than serve in the Land!!!!!!!!!


Yeah, that's the ticket!


The first two Chrons are certainly the equal of Malazan. Better in some ways, not as good in others. I won't ever try to say one is better. The Chrons have the advantage of having come in my late teens. They've been a part of me for a few decades, and helped me become the person I am. (Such as it is. ) Malazan came only five years ago. Not the opportunity to have the same impact on the developing me. But it breathed a new life into me that I didn't know I had room for, and showed me depths of writing that I never knew possible.

Yeah, ultimately they are two very different works. It's like comparing the Lord of the Rings with The Black Company. They are both two very different books with very different writing styles, very different themes, and so forth. Variety is the spice of life, and sometimes, you prefer some mercenaries dispensing the hurt over the lyrical prose of elves.

And an apt analogy, Fist. Seven Cities is Pandemonium.

Zorm wrote: So those who have read the series: does it get any better past book 10 or so? Would I miss much if I skipped a few volumes entirely and maybe jumped straight to Knife of Dreams?

It gets better. I've said before that I would say Sanderson rescued the series, if Knife of Dreams hadn't shown that Jordan had finally found his way again. 11 is decent, and 12 & 13 are pretty good.

10, unfortunately, is deadly. You'll do fine with a synopsis...only 1 or 2 things actually happen in it. But definitely read from 11 on...big improvement.

--A

Last night I started on the Chronicles of the Black Company by Glen Cook. It is immediately obvious just how large an influence this work had on Erikson's Malazan works, in terms of character, setting, and events. What stands out, however, is the incredibly sparse writing style - everything is recounted with the minimum amount of information required, with a lot of short, sharp sentences. Things move along quickly.

Avatar wrote: It gets better. I've said before that I would say Sanderson rescued the series, if Knife of Dreams hadn't shown that Jordan had finally found his way again. 11 is decent, and 12 & 13 are pretty good.

10, unfortunately, is deadly. You'll do fine with a synopsis...only 1 or 2 things actually happen in it. But definitely read from 11 on...big improvement.

Ok, that restores my hopes that I might be able to finish the series this time round. Plus I recall reading somewhere that book 14 comes out sometime next autumn.

Hmm, have to take a peek at the Black Company sometime soon-ish also. Bought the first volume from Audible's sale a while back.

I've had omnibuses of Black Company and Dread Empire on my shelves for a couple of years. At this point I'm just using random numbers and coin flips to work through my unwieldy to-read pile.

The Ballad of Beta-2, by Samuel R Delany. Haven't read this in decades, and finally got my hands on it again. I've been dying to re-read it, because I remember that this novella blew me away. (It's a story about an adventure to understand what a song, at first glance only doggerel, is really about. And it's as much of a linguistic adventure as a sci-fi one.)

Kindred, Octavia E. Butler.

I've got a book of SRD's short stories out... mostly ones that are in "Daughter of Regals," but it also has a few others like "The Woman Who Loved Pigs" and "The Killing Stroke."

still reading Modesitt's Scholar...

You people crack me up. random coin flips to choose which thing to read next? (okay, I can see that having a place..) "sometimes, you prefer some mercenaries dispensing the hurt over the lyrical prose of elves. "?

I have 70-something books and I'm indecisive. Of course I use coin flips.

Almost done with Shadows Linger by Glen Cook. It turned out to be a really fun book, different from the first, exciting, and a good transition piece between the first book and The White Rose.

You should read them, Vraith

Weirdly enough, I've only just realised people were discussing that series here before I said I'd started it. Heh. Synchronicity?

Murrin wrote:Weirdly enough, I've only just realised people were discussing that series here before I said I'd started it. Heh. Synchronicity?

Well, that would explained why you said it in such a formulaic way! (i.e. "Title" by Author)