08-14-2017, 05:57 PM | #46 |
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I think I got around 5 or 6 books into the series before figuring out that it was just going round in circles and getting rid of all I had. I suppose book 1 wasn't too bad, but at the time there were plenty of epic fantasy trilogies around which did come to a resolution so I didn't miss it. There were some interesting ideas there, but as there was never any resolution to them (or so it seemed), I gave up. Besides, I always thought it something of another LoTR wanna-be (not in any disparaging sense - much epic fantasy seems to come across that way - and if it's well-written and has something fresh to bring to the trope, then all power to it).
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08-14-2017, 10:48 PM | #47 |
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Obelisk Gate wasn't my pick, but it was good. I also liked All the Birds in the Sky and A Closed and Common Orbit. Not so much the other three. I also liked Every Heart a Doorway a lot and glad it won.
I like to read the Hugo books because while sometimes I like them, and sometimes I don't, it keeps me from reading the same writers over and over, and sometimes I find one I really like. |
08-15-2017, 04:29 AM | #48 |
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The series turned with with the Hugo voter package a few years back (So all 14 bricks in a single epub), comes in at over 10,000 pages I'll have a go when I have a spare year.
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08-15-2017, 04:33 AM | #49 |
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It's a series I very much enjoyed, particularly the last three books, which were written by Brandon Sanderson, who I think personally is a much better writer than Robert Jordan. I have doubts that Jordan would have ever finished it.
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08-15-2017, 02:26 PM | #50 |
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I have that Hugo-package Wheel of Time epub. Been slowly making my way through it for quite a while.
The Dragon Reborn remains one of my all-time favourite fantasy novels, but some others in the series have not been close to its quality. |
08-16-2017, 04:19 PM | #51 | |
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I agree that the last three books written by Sanderson were much better than all except the first few books written by Jordan. |
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08-19-2017, 06:25 AM | #52 |
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I'm a recent convert to WoT, on audiobook with the readers I know from Sanderson's books. Jordan has decidedly Old White Guy sensibilities, but brings a little more to the table than the likes of Eddings. It took me several tries to connect with this series, mostly on Sanderson's recommendation, and I expect I'll slog through to Sanderson's finale. Yes, it's cyclic, but that's written on the tin, isn't it?
For the current round of awards, Jemisin is eminently deserving. The first book had a conceit that paid off by the end and left a little doubt as to how the series could move on, but then the second book dove deep into world building and character and opened things out quite nicely (well, yes, bleakly, but nicely bleakly). I just finished All the Birds in the Sky, and it was good, but yeah, Jemisin would certainly beat it out. It's a tale of a mad scientist and a witch who are star-crossed lovers in a magic-vs-science apocalypse, and as such it's well done, but it rushes a bit toward a conclusion that's a little too tidy. Again, quibbles with a quite enjoyable story. My own impression of the awards field and the genre in general right now is that we're spoiled with riches. There are more voices than ever, feeding back off each other, and it's not like we're not all familiar with the canon and coming from a lot of the same places. If science fiction fans can't come to grips with these concepts, what hope is there for the average ape on this rock? |
08-20-2017, 07:21 PM | #53 | |
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08-22-2017, 12:51 AM | #54 |
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08-23-2017, 01:20 PM | #55 | |
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I'm in the same boat as you. I read the first few and then gave up when it became too much of a slog. |
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08-23-2017, 01:24 PM | #56 | |
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I haven't read A Closed and Common Orbit yet, but predict I will like it, and the summaries of NK Jemisin's works leave me cold so I've never attempted them. Beats me what the Puppies are complaining about. I think storytelling is alive and kicking. |
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08-24-2017, 07:09 PM | #57 |
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I've not read it yet. I did read The Long Way To A Small, Angry Planet and really enjoyed it.. The characters and their interactions are just so good. The plot came second and that was very much OK.
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08-25-2017, 04:03 PM | #58 |
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I think A Closed and Common Orbit was even better than the first book. Without giving too much away I was expecting the main story of the book but the secondary story was totally unexpected and is one I won't forget. At first it seems like there's not much happening in the book and suddenly you're totally gripped.
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08-25-2017, 07:20 PM | #59 | |
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