"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
03/30/2015 at 12:15 • Filed to: None
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"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
03/30/2015 at 12:15 • Filed to: None | 0
| 12 |
(This is mostly for I Am S1l3nc3's benefit). I've now finished up the last three books of Jim Butcher's Codex Alera. (Later this week, I'll cover !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .) Still recommended, as the series manages to keep up a one-or-more-sudden-twist-per-book rate that keeps you engaged. The final two are bulky, but there's not a lot of dead weight.
The battlefield/strategy side of the books (something not really a focus of the Dresden Files) continues to be strong, although that somewhat takes a back seat to intrigue in parts of books 4 and 5. The overall tone stays mostly still advanced YA category, particularly in the romance threads (just on the edge of being ham), but violence levels might suggest parental guidance. Butcher at least knows enough to stay clear of the explicit in bed with this series, and that's probably a good thing, because on some points he suffers from Joss Whedon limits on everybody talking in the same *sort* of snappy dialogue, and in anything outright porny (or at any rate, more porny than foreboding sexual tension - a bit more than there really needs to be) that could be a disaster. But no - this is Roman Honor Harrington Dude Buffy Against The Zerg - so it works perfectly.
As a partial spoiler, what seems to be a passing horror plot element in the first book and a bit of an "uh-oh" note in the second does grow to be the all-encompassing threat to the nature of existence, without much indication of that from the start. It's a compelling sort of enemy, but thankfully isn't the only one, because it would otherwise lose a lot more of its fire without the succession of more tangible and less alien Evil Gits that otherwise occupy the hero's time.
Another not-quite-flaw is that the hero's tactical gifts are a little too consistently perfect - typically when he gets outmaneuvered it isn't his fault. Then again, some would probably read a biography of Alexander or Julius Caesar the same way - and that's kind of the point. The hero being a bit Ender is the focus of most of what's going on, because he *is* supposed to be that sort of figure.
I should note the series is not for everyone, as there are some brainwashing and related "sexual terror" themes that will be over-the-line skeevy for some. Never is this a thing that Good Guys Do, but still. We're not talking John Norman here at all, but reader discretion is advised.
Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig
> RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
03/30/2015 at 12:47 |
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Codex Alera is near the top of my reading list. I've heard good things, and since I once worked on a faux-Roman (Fauxman?) fantasy novel myself, I'm interested to see what he does.
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RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
> Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig
03/30/2015 at 12:51 |
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I bought the first book (after I heard Butcher himself describe it at a writer's panel at DragonCon), was left wanting to know what happened next, and then picked up the next two. Those went interesting enough places I went "eh, what the hell" and grabbed the remaining three. No regret that I did.
Oh, and he was incredibly hung over at that panel. Quite funny. He was there, and another several big name s were as well.
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Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig
> RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
03/30/2015 at 13:04 |
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Nice. Butcher lives in my area. I'm hoping to meet him someday. I'm surprised I've never heard of Gene Wolfe. After reading the Wiki I want to read all his books. He's on the list.
I didn't know you were a fantasy fan. I'll have to keep you updated on the automotive fantasy I'm writing now. I just started chapter 20 on Saturday, and I'm hoping to have a complete, readable draft by August.
jariten1781
> Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig
03/30/2015 at 13:12 |
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Gene Wolfe is by far my favorite author in history. I have first editions of everything he's written and have probably read his whole catalog 4 or 5 times over. That said, he's very much a 'take it or leave it' author. You'll either adore his stuff and the multiple reads required to really piece together the story or you'll wish you'd never heard of him. Most people are in the second category which is why he never really hit it big even though he's roundly considered a top-tier (if not the top) talent by critics and other authors.
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RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
> Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig
03/30/2015 at 13:18 |
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Gene Wolfe is a little difficult to read, for some of the same reasons Patrick Rothfuss is - taking a while to get rolling, and engaging in so many new words and the like in the worldbuilding that about by the fourth completely alien term or concept you have to say "okay, I'm lost". A very lyrical sort of writing doesn't really help with that. If you push on through, it gets better. Wolfe also tends to write in first person, like many of the old school authors.
I'd compare and contrast with Borges: while JLB writes in a reasonably simple manner to drop concepts and ideas that are absolutely Baroque on your brain, Wolfe or Rothfuss tend to use a lot of words describing something simple if it's something other than just an idea to give it color. Less practical things to describe high concept, more high concept to describe practical things.
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Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig
> RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
03/30/2015 at 13:24 |
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I see. I'm shooting in my own work for the Lotus method of keeping it simple, light, and quick-paced. But I don't mind a good, detailed block of nerdism, either, if it's done well. Rothfuss is one of my favorites. Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings is the best I've ever read in terms of balancing pacing and worldbuilding minutiae.
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Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig
> jariten1781
03/30/2015 at 13:25 |
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Well, I'll definitely give him a shot. Generally I tend to enjoy the more polarizing authors.
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RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
> Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig
03/30/2015 at 13:27 |
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shado… is probably one of the better places to start with Gene Wolfe. I made the mistake of trying to break into his Book of the Short Sun first for his long-form fiction, and was instantly lost. (I'd read a couple short stories of his first.)
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RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
> jariten1781
03/30/2015 at 13:30 |
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I've mentioned on here before his short story How I Lost the Second World War... and how much I liked it, but it contains quite a lot of WTF. Probably his most Jalop-worthy work.
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jariten1781
> Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig
03/30/2015 at 13:44 |
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I recommend reading 'The Fifth Head of Cerberus" as a litmus test. It's a good smattering of what you'd be getting into. 3 short stories where you can get a feel for his writing. If you find it readable (a lot of people don't) and interesting then the next stop is "Book of the New Sun". If you really like those, continue with the rest of the Solar Cycle (long sun -> short sun), or step off into the Latro series (Soldier in the Mist, Soldier of Sidon).
I always recommend reading every Wolfe series at least twice since he drops so many things early into his writing that cannot be appreciated until you have the whole work as reference. My suggested reading order for the Solar Cycle (which is written so it can be read in any order) is 'New Sun' twice then 'Long Sun' then 'Short Sun' then New-Long-Short again.
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Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig
> jariten1781
03/30/2015 at 16:09 |
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Saving this for reference. Thanks!
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Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig
> RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
03/30/2015 at 16:10 |
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Nice. Logged for reference. Thanks!