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May the benefactor bless you for making this thread. this series has some of the best dialogue I had the privilege of reading in the fantasy genre, and while "red seas" has its low points, the things that come out of Locke and Jean's mouths not only keeps me reading, but also gives the series some serious reread value. Edit: "nice bird, rear end in a top hat."
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Dec 23, 2012 20:34
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PateraOctopus posted:A few? That book easily could've had 250-300 pages cut from it without sacrificing any forward momentum. Like the scene in which, having just heard in dialogue how two characters broke into a mansion, subdued the guard and laid in wait for the master of the house, we see how those two characters broke into the mansion, subdued the guard and laid in wait for the master of the house (surprise:it happened exactly the way they said it did fifteen pages earlier). Or the constant putting the brakes on full-stop to explain about a bit of architecture, or current fashion in the city, or political realities whose effects have already been made abundantly clear without being fully explicated. And then there's the 50+ page interlude about Locke acquiring a particular suit of clothes, which introduces several new characters and a brand new, fully-realized con, all of which culminates in Locke getting the suit he needed with no complications and never seeing any of those new characters again, except for one who appears for approximately fifteen seconds to deliver a "Hey, those clothes sure look familiar!" joke and then disappear again. The only purpose that entire extended set-piece serves is to further establish that Locke thinks quickly in tight circumstances and can wrap powerful people around his finger, which has already been well-established--it could easily be replaced with any number of simpler ways for Locke to get fancy clothes and change the rest of the book in nothing but incredibly minor ways. Perhaps, then, you should avoid that prequel about how they acquired that bottle of superexpensive brandy that they used in that con to make the Salvaras believe that said brandy was even more expensive than it actually was. I forget the name, but it does exist.
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Aug 30, 2013 15:24
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I'm pirating the new book because my poor sick mother needs an operation, and I can't afford the price of both.
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Sep 7, 2013 13:30
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The Supreme Court posted:I'm forced to steal zip zoom's only copy because he deserves it LIAR!
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Sep 7, 2013 14:44
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Say what you want about Red Seas, The scene with the jeremite redeemers is positively amazing. "The gods have sent your doom, motherfuckers!"
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Sep 17, 2013 16:43
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Lynch has the amazingly rare ability to write good profanity. Profanity in fantasy almost always comes across as the author trying too hard. In Lynch it works, which is really impressive. It's like a fantasy version of deadwood Edit: anyone else take into naming their penis The Sinspire, yet? For me, it's either that or The Dowager Countess. uh zip zoom fucked around with this message at 16:16 on Sep 21, 2013 |
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Sep 17, 2013 17:03
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Vincie posted:I finished Republic of Thieves a few days ago. It wasn't very good. Worse than Red Seas Under Red Skies by quite a bit. That's pretty interesting. Can you tell us more? I've heard that it's more of a romance than anything else, and I'm okay with that if that is the case.
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Sep 27, 2013 18:44
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Okay, see you when you say bad I've got a whole different picture in my mind. I've read some pretty foul poo poo in this genre Mercedes Lackey Edit: hell, right now I'm reading Emperor of Thorns by Mark Lawrence and that's probably the third or fourth most  thing I've put my eyeballs to this decade. Hopefully that will make Republic of Thieves better by comparison.
uh zip zoom fucked around with this message at 21:33 on Sep 27, 2013 |
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Sep 27, 2013 21:28
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spootime posted:Oh Jesus, have you read the end yet?? I don't mean to derail the thread but holy gently caress that book was the worst poo poo I've read since the Warded Man series. Are you just saying that because I made that I'll advised Warded Man thread. (If so, I deserve it.) But to get this thread somewhat back on track, has anyone noticed that many major fantasy series tend to have very weak middles? Crossroads of twilight, A feast for crows, I'm sure there are others and it's really unsurprising. The middle of any series is where the author has to juggle the most amount of plot arcs, while still advancing them at a decent pace and still keeping the readers interested. I would imagine the middle of a fantasy series is probably one of the hardest things to write. Unless, of course, your last name is Sanderson. Edit: sweet jumping gently caress emperor of Thorns is terrible… uh zip zoom fucked around with this message at 19:34 on Sep 29, 2013 |
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Sep 28, 2013 21:22
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Sometimes I wonder if Scott Lynch read way too much Vonnegut in his youth See the cat? See the cradle?
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Oct 9, 2013 17:19
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I wish I could change my username to Beefwit Smallcock.
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Oct 9, 2013 21:59
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Whorelord posted:If I can be the Lord of Whores, you can be whoever you want to be. I thought there was a 15 character limit.
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Oct 11, 2013 01:50
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I'm two thirds of the way through this book, and maybe it's a fault of mine that I don't know how to recognize that fantasy when I read it, but I'm really not seeing any problem thus far. Even all of the scenes in Espara I pretty fun. I just finished the scene between Locke and Sabetha (and also Gennaro, I guess) on the rooftop and it definitely didn't end up the way I had thought it would. I guess I just have way too much empathy for the guy. When I was 16, my virtue was taken by a redheaded woman, and I just have not been the same since.
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Oct 11, 2013 14:56
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The Gunslinger posted:I'm surprised this isn't getting beaten up more here. I'm not sure if others are too forgiving or I'm too harsh but I'm about midway through the book and finding it very disappointing so far. Sorry for the spoiler wall but I couldn't really be specific without it. The Bondsmagi plot device is already getting old, it totally kills any tension or stakes when you can just have a mage pop up to fix or break everything as the story requires. Locke and Jean aren't really given any skin in the game as so far their only mentioned punishment for failure is some money and a trip back to Camorra. That whole section on the ship deserves ridicule, at a few points the characters themselves start to question things in a way that makes it seem like Lynch was simply preempting critics. The cities are starting to blend into the same pastiche and I'm no longer enjoying the overlong descriptions of architecture and elderglass bridges as a result. The character of Sabetha isn't very interesting as most of what we're fed about her is awkward boyhood crush factoids and vague allusions to her past. Totally valid. Before you give up on the series, keep in mind that Scott Lynch had originally intended the series to be about a thief who becomes a politician, and that The Republic of Thieves was intended to be a segue bridging the thief (books one and two) and the politician (books four and so on). That said, I don't think Lynch was doing himself any favors by making this book so much about the bondsmagi, and I agree that their capacity for deus ex machina seems out of place in this world of otherwise mundane spies, theives, assassins, etc. however, I believe that The Falconer is definitely necessary to the story, and I suspect that he will serve as the antagonist for the entire series, similar to, say, Padan Fain (Though I hope that Scott Lynch treats his antagonist better than Robert Jordan did his).
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Oct 23, 2013 15:24
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Grawl posted:Just finished book two. While I read people say the first book is much better, I don't feel that way. But perhaps that's because I was also playing Assassin's Creed IV while reading the second book. I just wish that the characters in the former spoke more like the characters in the latter. "squiggle-hosed the rightwise cock-swabber with a starboard jib"
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Nov 28, 2013 16:07
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Suxpool posted:So I just finished book 5 of The Riyria Revelations and the books share a very similar dynamic to the Lamora books. So check them out maybe. Or don't. Whatever. Am I seeing this right? Is this book really entitled The Rose and the Thorn? Edit: and, surprise surprise, reception for these books ranges from the willingly positive to the viciously negative. Yes, we have an epic fantasy series, people. Also, thanks for the recommendation. I'll be sure to read it, if only because I cannot resist this genre. uh zip zoom fucked around with this message at 14:58 on Dec 2, 2013 |
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Dec 2, 2013 14:56
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BananaNutkins posted:Austershalin brandy. The 506?
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Jan 3, 2014 15:15
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How does one write romance and female characters well in this genre of ours?
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Jan 11, 2014 16:12
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darth cookie posted:Also true. But I think he misses the fine distinction between "dark & gritty" and "nasty." Is there even a distinction to be found? Edit: if so, please point me to the author who has found it. I would love to read their work. I love Glotka as well, but I'm a cripple, and he and I have a great deal in common.
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Feb 18, 2014 14:34
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