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There's something to be said for vampires and sexual assault allegories but I don't want to talk about that, I want to talk about how interesting this worldbuilding is, or how dumb vampires using katanas is. e: has anyone in here read Chicagoland Vampires?
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Apr 17, 2020 19:22
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biracial bear for uncut posted:It's because there is no such thing as UF that doesn't have bad presentations of those things. Or if there is, it hasn't been recommended recently in this thread. The Rook does a pretty good job of it. Conrad Grantchester's bachelor pad is a running joke.
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Apr 17, 2020 20:05
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The Rivers of London books probably come closest to being least problematic.
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Apr 17, 2020 20:07
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ConfusedUs posted:The Rook does a pretty good job of it. Conrad Grantchester's bachelor pad is a running joke. Threatening Myfanwy with pre-and-post lobotomy rape (by underlings if not by the main villain himself) before she cuts loose and murders almost everyone in the room was pretty loving dire, though. The_Doctor posted:The Rivers of London books probably come closest to being least problematic. The jazz vampires are cringey, but yeah. It isn't as blatant as other series at least.
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Apr 17, 2020 20:12
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It's been a bit since I read the Rook but I feel like Myfanwy falls into Men writing Women a lot, it's still a fun read and I'll eventually get around to reading Stiletto though.
Hub Cat fucked around with this message at 20:36 on Apr 17, 2020 |
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Apr 17, 2020 20:33
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Midnight Mayor series has no cringey scenes, or even cringey descriptions of bodies, so far as I recall.
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Apr 17, 2020 21:20
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biracial bear for uncut posted:Threatening Myfanwy with pre-and-post lobotomy rape (by underlings if not by the main villain himself) before she cuts loose and murders almost everyone in the room was pretty loving dire, though. I dunno. That seems the appropriate reaction. Cutting loose, that is.
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Apr 17, 2020 21:37
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StrixNebulosa posted:This is where I'd usually bust in with opinions on whatever UF I've been reading, but classic epic fantasy overtook me and Anita Blake will just have to wait. I also asked people what they're reading and they answered. So now we're all sitting around waiting for dresden to drop. I'm actually waiting for Stephen Blackmoore's newest entry to his Eric Carter series, which drops 4/28. It's set in Los Angeles - the real Los Angeles like Downtown, San Fernando Valley, etc. and not Hollywood stereotypes - and has incorporated the narco-trafficker patron saint Santa Muerte, Aztec mythology and other off-the-beaten-path stuff. The main story arc to date ended in the last book, so I'm curious in what direction it goes now.
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Apr 17, 2020 22:07
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Wizchine posted:I'm actually waiting for Stephen Blackmoore's newest entry to his Eric Carter series, which drops 4/28. It's set in Los Angeles - the real Los Angeles like Downtown, San Fernando Valley, etc. and not Hollywood stereotypes - and has incorporated the narco-trafficker patron saint Santa Muerte, Aztec mythology and other off-the-beaten-path stuff. The main story arc to date ended in the last book, so I'm curious in what direction it goes now. No one in my non-goon circle has read this UF so I might be the first to check it out! Thanks for the rec! e: also seriously the fact that it has a finished main story arc is incredibly appealing. I've never met a genre more prone to being unfinished with the authors leaving me in the lurch.
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Apr 17, 2020 22:30
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There's a fun one-off book in the same universe that he wrote prior to the Eric Carter series, with a different protagonist: City of the Lost. Perhaps try that for a spin first to see if you like Blackmoore's style.
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Apr 17, 2020 22:56
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torgeaux posted:Midnight Mayor series has no cringey scenes, or even cringey descriptions of bodies, so far as I recall. Also, the Midnight Mayor series leads into Magicals Anonymous, which does include a vampire. But the vampire is a germaphobe who is completely grossed out by how unsanitary vampirism is, so it becomes kind of gloriously funny.
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Apr 17, 2020 23:18
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biracial bear for uncut posted:It's because there is no such thing as UF that doesn't have bad presentations of those things. Or if there is, it hasn't been recommended recently in this thread. Honestly, I don't remember Twenty Palaces having anything overtly troubling in that regard either, but it's been a while since I read that series. anilEhilated fucked around with this message at 23:23 on Apr 17, 2020 |
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Apr 17, 2020 23:19
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Wizchine posted:I'm actually waiting for Stephen Blackmoore's newest entry to his Eric Carter series, which drops 4/28. It's set in Los Angeles - the real Los Angeles like Downtown, San Fernando Valley, etc. and not Hollywood stereotypes - and has incorporated the narco-trafficker patron saint Santa Muerte, Aztec mythology and other off-the-beaten-path stuff. The main story arc to date ended in the last book, so I'm curious in what direction it goes now. Same. City of the Lost is one that gets overlooked in the same “Eric Carter” world. It was released before Dead Things and has a bunch of locations and characters that show up in the main series. It’s kind of... Noir Zombie Detective and Joe Sunday is the best. I’ve been wishing for a sequel to that book forever.
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Apr 18, 2020 00:49
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Everyone posted:Also, the Midnight Mayor series leads into Magicals Anonymous, which does include a vampire. But the vampire is a germaphobe who is completely grossed out by how unsanitary vampirism is, so it becomes kind of gloriously funny. Hemophobic vampire that must be fed via IV to prevent unfortunate mid-feeding fainting (and death of donor) remains a highlight of my trawl through the library's PNR section a few summers ago. I can't remember which of the various "vampire romances" it was though.
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Apr 18, 2020 02:09
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ConfusedUs posted:I dunno. That seems the appropriate reaction. Cutting loose, that is. The threats being made at all were dire. anilEhilated posted:A Key, an Egg, an Unfortunate Remark, but that's cozy UF. Twenty Palaces just had godawful editing and a protagonist that dumb lucks his way to victory.
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Apr 18, 2020 03:56
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biracial bear for uncut posted:The threats being made at all were dire. I get the sense that your take is that there is literally no good way to handle the subject, other than "don't." I don't agree with that, but you do you. No skin off my back.
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Apr 18, 2020 04:07
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So it looks like we're probably not getting any more Felix Castor books. From an r/fantasy AMA: "I'd really like to. The main reason it hasn't happened yet is that M.R.Carey has been more successful than Mike. That means it's a lot easier to pitch an M.R.Carey novel and get it commissioned than to go back to a series I wrote as Mike. The sad fact is that sales on the Castor books were only okay. On Thicker Than Water and Naming Of the Beasts they showed a drop. Orbit US tried a re-issue a couple of years back, but it didn't get much take-up. So I've got to choose my moment and plead my case."
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Apr 18, 2020 05:16
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Does The Magicians count as urban fantasy? I read the first book on the recommendation of a gal I went on a few dates with and by the time I reached the end, the more I thought about it, the more I  and I just have to vent. Spoilers ahead.It's a story of an incredibly magically-gifted teenager who at first just seems angsty, but gradually reveals himself to be a sociopathic narcissist who blames everyone but himself for his own failures. After he graduates from school, he coasts on the sacrifices of those around him and the magical community's plutocratic indulgence of all its failson layabouts. At several points along the way, whatshisface has a momentary flash of self-awareness and questions whether he's actually to blame, but immediately pulls a Principal Skinner and blames everyone else. I'd thought this was leading up to some sort of comeuppance and real character growth, but, nope, his companions lose their lives against the big bad while the protagonist flails about ineffectually. He then goes back to Earth, gets handed a high-paying corporate job where he does literally nothing and mopes, before his surviving companions resurface in the final page to literally call out the unfinished plot points and allow the sequel to start with things more or less reset. I'm genuinely confused about the authorial intent. Is the protagonist just an author surrogate and this is his actual mindset? Is the author just writing pulp and deliberately insulting the reader? Most bad books I just let go, but this one and its apparent popularity just confounds me enough to plague me months after I read it. Oh, and there's a sex scene that is kind of explicitly non-consensual, but is explained away as "they were just literal unthinking animals at the time, guys, so it's all good!" Cugel the Clever fucked around with this message at 05:32 on Apr 18, 2020 |
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Apr 18, 2020 05:26
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Cugel the Clever posted:Does The Magicians count as urban fantasy? I read the first book on the recommendation of a gal I went on a few dates with and by the time I reached the end, the more I thought about it, the more I Quentin was a deliberate attempt by the author to write an anti-Harry Potter, he is intentionally mediocre all the way through the series to try and subvert the "chosen one" protagonist, it's also worth pointing out that he has clinical depression. The authors intent was that he is like a teenager in the early books and he grows up some by the end but it's really not worth reading the rest of the books to get there. Hub Cat fucked around with this message at 08:50 on Apr 18, 2020 |
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Apr 18, 2020 05:37
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Cugel the Clever posted:Does The Magicians count as urban fantasy? I read the first book on the recommendation of a gal I went on a few dates with and by the time I reached the end, the more I thought about it, the more I It's just a terrible book through and through.
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Apr 18, 2020 05:47
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Hub Cat posted:Quentin was a deliberate attempt by the author to write an anti-Harry Potter, he is intentionally mediocre all the way through the series to try and subvert the "chosen one" protagonist, it's also worth pointing out that he has clinical depression. It’s also the book’s deliberate intention to portray a magical university that functions like an actual elite Ivy League college (Lev Grossman went to both Harvard and Yale.) including the crippling neuroses of many of the students, their deep personal dissatisfaction, and the systematic rewarding of bad behavior and enforced inequality. It’s Less Than Zero, but magic.
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Apr 18, 2020 14:13
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Old Kentucky Shark posted:It’s also the book’s deliberate intention to portray a magical university that functions like an actual elite Ivy League college (Lev Grossman went to both Harvard and Yale.) including the crippling neuroses of many of the students, their deep personal dissatisfaction, and the systematic rewarding of bad behavior and enforced inequality. It sounds like an interesting attempt but not something I have any desire to read.
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Apr 18, 2020 14:20
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It's a more interesting book to analyze than read, for sure. Lev is not a compelling author, but his one weird idea is interesting.
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Apr 18, 2020 14:24
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Old Kentucky Shark posted:It’s also the book’s deliberate intention to portray a magical university that functions like an actual elite Ivy League college (Lev Grossman went to both Harvard and Yale.) including the crippling neuroses of many of the students, their deep personal dissatisfaction, and the systematic rewarding of bad behavior and enforced inequality.
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Apr 18, 2020 15:39
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has there ever been an urban fantasy story about drug kingpin wizards selling illicit magic potions on the streets
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Apr 18, 2020 16:52
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Literally the plot of the first Dresden book
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Apr 18, 2020 18:49
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I looked up the first book and nah that sucks I mean like wizards in robes and beards on the street being like "Hey kid, want some eye of newt"
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Apr 18, 2020 19:10
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ConfusedUs posted:Literally the plot of the first Dresden book
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Apr 18, 2020 19:26
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Mel Mudkiper posted:I looked up the first book and nah that sucks I mean like wizards in robes and beards on the street being like "Hey kid, want some eye of newt" anilEhilated fucked around with this message at 19:29 on Apr 18, 2020 |
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Apr 18, 2020 19:27
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Cugel the Clever posted:Does The Magicians count as urban fantasy? I read the first book on the recommendation of a gal I went on a few dates with and by the time I reached the end, the more I thought about it, the more I If you’re looking for actual character growth for Quentin, you won’t find it until the second and third books. He is a deeply flawed man child who has the power of a god but feels inadequate. You should definitely watch the SyFy series though. After the first few episodes it gets really good, and Quentin has a lot of growth throughout, especially by the third season.
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Apr 19, 2020 06:09
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i strictly absolutely cannot recommend the magicians just because of the loving terrible awful no good rape scene in the second book, but i will say that i really enjoyed julia's arc outside of that? 90% of it felt solid, it's just that 10% that ruins it for me.
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Apr 19, 2020 06:23
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I just finished the first Sandman Slim novel. I saw it mentioned in the op briefly but don't see much talk about the series. I thought it was a fun enough story, might keep going. I guess it's not a thread favorite, does it get worse or something?
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Apr 19, 2020 13:38
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Borrowed Ladder posted:I just finished the first Sandman Slim novel. I saw it mentioned in the op briefly but don't see much talk about the series. I thought it was a fun enough story, might keep going. I guess it's not a thread favorite, does it get worse or something? Consensus was book one was a real good step, book 2 was a serious step back. After that, no consensus at all. Some like them, some hate them.
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Apr 19, 2020 14:10
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Borrowed Ladder posted:I just finished the first Sandman Slim novel. I saw it mentioned in the op briefly but don't see much talk about the series. I thought it was a fun enough story, might keep going. I guess it's not a thread favorite, does it get worse or something? It's exactly what you'd think it is the whole way through. They're all up on Kindle Unlimited so.
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Apr 19, 2020 14:13
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Borrowed Ladder posted:I just finished the first Sandman Slim novel. I saw it mentioned in the op briefly but don't see much talk about the series. I thought it was a fun enough story, might keep going. I guess it's not a thread favorite, does it get worse or something? There just isn't much to talk about, the series isn't exactly deep or difficult to follow.
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Apr 19, 2020 16:40
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Borrowed Ladder posted:I just finished the first Sandman Slim novel. I saw it mentioned in the op briefly but don't see much talk about the series. I thought it was a fun enough story, might keep going. I guess it's not a thread favorite, does it get worse or something? The series is a blast. If you liked the first one, keep going.
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Apr 19, 2020 19:25
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The Sandman Slim series is like you took Dresden and took out all the feminist friendly material. DRESDEN for Christ sake. It's male fantasy on steroids.
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Apr 19, 2020 19:46
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Wizchine posted:The series is a blast. If you liked the first one, keep going.  biracial bear for uncut posted:There just isn't much to talk about, the series isn't exactly deep or difficult to follow. That's Urban Fantasy in a nutshell.
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Apr 19, 2020 20:17
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Proteus Jones posted:
The difference being Sandman Slim is Mary Sue turned up to 11. His most basic magic attack lays waste to everything that isn't God & nothing ever stands a chance of killing him.
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Apr 19, 2020 20:57
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NerdyMcNerdNerd posted:It's exactly what you'd think it is the whole way through. This is it, really. There's no "The first books are a bit rough but it picks up at book 3" like with Dresden or Verus. What you see is what you get for the entire series.
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Apr 19, 2020 21:02
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