Ciaran Posted September 6, 2011 Report Share Posted September 6, 2011 Honestly I have not gotten to Feast of Crows yet. So I might end up eating my words. I here good things about the Honor Harrington series. I might reserve the first book at my local library and check it out There's nothing that you mentioned that I'm all that interested in :-/ Martin lost me as a fan a long while ago. A lot of my friends have found his latest to be one of the biggest disapointments they've ever read. We're from a WoT fan site, so that's saying a LOT... The Harrington books seem like cheap, pulp sci fi. Could be okay I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edonil Posted September 6, 2011 Report Share Posted September 6, 2011 I've only got one or two criticisms of the series that I feel are serious, and then one that's less serious. He does repeat his descriptions of space travel and space combat in every book, not copy paste, but it does reach an eye rolling point because of how common it is. It's a reasonable thing for him to do, honestly, because if someone just jumps into the middle of it, they'll be horribly lost. The other complaint, and it's the same one that applies to any long series, is the cast size. Now, it's not as bad as Wheel of Time. Minor characters stay minor characters unless there's a very good reason in the story. But, a couple of the characters have similar names that they go by (most of the military characters are referred to by last name) and it can get confusing in the middle of a fight who's where. He does do a good job with it, I will give him that much. And often, if a minor character shows up, he'll at least explain where they came from beforehand. My less serious complaint, is the characters that he kills. On both sides, people are so real, that when he kills someone who's been a major character, you either cheer about it because they're that big a psychopath, (and honestly, only a handful of those) or you want to throw the book across the room because you love the character he just killed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edonil Posted September 6, 2011 Report Share Posted September 6, 2011 The Harrington books seem like cheap, pulp sci fi. Could be okay I think. I'd give it a recommendation, at least check out On Basilisk Station. He's done a good job with keeping it interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buhallin Posted September 6, 2011 Report Share Posted September 6, 2011 Feast for Crows is rough. I literally finished Dance with Dragons like 5 minutes ago, and it gets things moving back in the right direction, if not a complete redemption from Feast. I like Martin because, as he himself puts it, you can never be comfortable. His willingness to kill off characters is unparalleled in anything I've read (although edonil's description of Weber's work sounds close). Nothing is sacred, and it lends every page a level of tense anticipation that is seriously lacking in most other books, especially fantasy. But this thread isn't supposed to be about what we LIKE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edonil Posted September 6, 2011 Report Share Posted September 6, 2011 What, Buhallin, never had a love/hate relationship with books? I've considered skipping Feast and reading Dance with Dragons. Just not sure that I care. However, I will say that even Weber's and Abnett's willingness to kill characters pales besides Martin's. Weber is willing to kill off minor characters in droves, but there are some characters who seem to be somewhat invulnerable. Oddly enough, from reading the author's notes in Storm of Shadows, Honor herself isn't one of those...or at least wasn't supposed to be. Because of a joint venture project with another author, the plot sped up so fast that he ran out of time to kill her and let the next planned generation of characters take over in order to follow his plans. Not that I'm complaining, Honor's bar none my favorite heroine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ciaran Posted September 6, 2011 Report Share Posted September 6, 2011 I like Martin because, as he himself puts it, you can never be comfortable. His willingness to kill off characters is unparalleled in anything I've read (although edonil's description of Weber's work sounds close). Nothing is sacred, and it lends every page a level of tense anticipation that is seriously lacking in most other books, especially fantasy. I dunno, I just feel as though someone else does it MUCH better. There's really nothing to his books that I feel I can only get from him, and with time a premium for reading, he gets axed. It quickly hit me that I didn't give a damn about his characters, so there was never any real tension for me. He's somewhere near Salvatore for me now... Neat premise though. Political fantasy is such a great concept. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edonil Posted September 6, 2011 Report Share Posted September 6, 2011 Ah, Salvatore...I think I only got as far through those books as I did (I read up to The Orc King) because I started with The Lone Drow in 8th grade and thought it was awesome. Now? I'm quite comfortable whenever I reread those books with staying very early on... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRC Posted September 7, 2011 Report Share Posted September 7, 2011 The Harrington books seem like cheap, pulp sci fi. Could be okay I think. Harrington starts of strong and goes steadily downhill, book-after-book. It's a perfect example of how power-creep can ruin a setting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldwine119 Posted September 7, 2011 Report Share Posted September 7, 2011 That sounded nauseating. Lovin' reduced to gruntin with abhumans- nasty at best. i do wonder how she did her research- pictures nasty old lady hanging out in Vampire/bloodletters club, blahh. If a book has ever ticked me off- I usually don't have the intestinal fortitude (esp if I'm on the can- sorry) to finish it. I have felt embarrassed for some writters in fact, more often for childishness or predictability- my mother in law dared me to read one of her crap dime novels once, made it to the end of chapter one then- fling, the book went on the floor lol. _________________ coach outlet Coach Handbags Coach Outlet Stores Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpiralngCadavr Posted September 14, 2011 Report Share Posted September 14, 2011 I'd say, all of the last few books in an Orson Scott Card series (of the ones I've read, haven't read one in 7+ years at this point). There's always one that I just can't finish, a couple books from the end. Also, not that I'd necessarily call them books, but lately the Warmachine fiction has really ticked me off-- part of why I made the leap to Malifaux. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokey616 Posted September 14, 2011 Report Share Posted September 14, 2011 Try catching up on Asher! Being introduced to his stuff by someone who has read it all was like having teeth pulled! "Yeah, The Skinner is a great place to start Asher!" I was told, so like a lost 8 yr old I delved into his amazingly rich world of descriptive landscapes and amazing sci fi originality, only to be met with a huge range of unexplained parties and quick mentions of things that have taken books to explain previously. It was like listening to an "in joke" and really not having a clue when to laugh. " Stick with it" and " here borrow a few more books, you'll see, he's absolute genius" I was told. So I did. I painstakingly dragged myself through about nine books still thinking I understand nothing of this guys mindset and what though process he was trying to instill in his readers. Until I read the one about cormack as a kid. And it was like a penny dropping. Why oh why didnt I read this one first!!! The moral of the story is this... Even though you might not enjoy what this author is righting about presently, they do have on and off days and ensuring the mass populace enjoys every word you write is impossible, but the next you read in the series may wake up sorry for the running Talking about annoying books... Anyone read vert by Jeff noon? Joyfully annoying stuff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokey616 Posted September 14, 2011 Report Share Posted September 14, 2011 That said, I believe I'm one of those readers who exiles a book just because it doesn't cater to my every literary whim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishtank Posted October 2, 2011 Report Share Posted October 2, 2011 Pretty old trhead....but SOMEONE necro'd it...so.... Katherine Kerr's Deverry series. I LOVED the first four or so books. The next four were fine, and I think it was about there everything got tied up neatly. Or...so we thought. She. Kept. Going. The whole series is about souls connecting through different incarnations...and she focussed on a couple of incarnations that were just...well...dull...and kinda connected to the story from the first books in a way that made you think she might be doing something very clever. So I put up with the dry, uninteresting characters for three more books, slogged my way through the fourth of the third set...which was supposed to be the last...and find out she has decided to stretch out the story EVEN MORE...I have the next one in the series. I've had it a couple of years now. I just can't motivate myself to pick it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cambrius Posted October 4, 2011 Report Share Posted October 4, 2011 The Wheel of Time series kinda cheesed me off. It just felt like the story was too big, the subplots and side stories weighed the whole thing down, and it became difficult to pick up on a character you haven't read about in two books. It was admirable how huge the story was, all told, it just didn't fit into a novel format. I got the impression that the Wheel of Time might have been a satisfying read if we were able to absorb it in the same way Neo learned Kung Fu in The Matrix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.