EDIT: 12:15 EST here. Going to take a break and get some food. I’ll try to get back later, in between jaunts signing the stacks of books from the RASalvaStore.com e-signing!
END EDIT
Well, anything within reason, that is.I’m R.A. Salvatore…Bob, and I’ve been writing fantasy novels for more than 35 years. I’m best known for my Legend of Drizzt novels (except on Kashyyyk, but that’s another story), which have been running from the beginning of my career and are still going strong with the release this week of “Lolth’s Warrior,” the 39th book (along with the 5 Cleric Quintet books, the Stone of Tymora Trilogy, an anthology of collected stories, and the “Dao of Drizzt” - I’ve done a lot of work in the Forgotten Realms).
I’ve got a bunch of other books, including 14 (with 3 more coming) in my DemonWars world of Corona.
I’ve worked on video games and tabletop RPGs, as well…it’s been a busy …
Just read it. Malazan fans are a cool bunch, but they like to scare people away from it. It’s not a damn James Joyce novel, it’s just that characters talk and think about the world they inhabit as if they actually live there, instead of explaining every little thing in their heads. The prose is digestible and well-written, the stakes are high, the atmosphere is wonderful, the characters are sick as fuck, and weird fantasy shit happens frequently. You will get confused, but the mystery of the world is what makes it fun. Stay away from breakdowns of the series, even the “spoiler free” ones, because they’ll just ruin the magic for you.
And by all means, take breaks between books if you feel yourself getting burnt out. It’s okay if you forget a couple things. The books are huge, you can’t be expected to remember all that shit even if you read them all consecutively. Enjoy them at your own pace.
Edit: There’s a lot of comments that took this …
Just saw that she announced on her facebook page that she’s writing a new book featuring >!Bee Farseer!< !! Seems like it’s very early days but I’m already getting excited since ROTE is one of my favourite series
I’m tired of the “no I won’t sacrifice my friends pet rabbit to save the planet, there must be another way” trope, especially when their success ultimately justifies their action. Give me examples where trying to be 100% morally good backfires hard and makes everything worse.
I’ve been reading fantasy my whole life. I’d say I have a pretty solid grasp on the genre as a whole. My wife started reading fantasy a couple years ago. She’s been wanting me to read some series she’s liked. I’ve been trying to, but I can’t get more than halfway through without cringing away.
She’s really wanted me to get into Sarah J. Maas. I’ve truly tried to like the writing and engage with the story, but it reads like a teenagers fan fiction. I don’t mean to offend anyone who likes her, but it makes me cringe.
My wife is already insecure, saying she thinks that I think she “doesn’t read real fantasy”, which I’ve never said or implied. I don’t want to discourage her from reading all together, but I can’t pretend to like the series.
So I pose the question, how do you tell your spouse you really hate a series that they love and want you to enjoy with them?
EDIT: Yeah, I can understand that I sound like an asshole with the cringing comments. It’s something for me to work on. …
The age isn’t really important but the life stage is. I just started City of Brass after hearing how good it is, and like within the first 10 minutes of listening, I can just feel the “sass” of a young woman who thinks she knows how the world works and it’s immediately turning me off.
Not to say that I’m not going to continue because that’s far too early and immature to DNF but I’m scarred from Rin and Poppy War.
I think I’ve just come to realize that I don’t like young, naive characters who ALSO think they know how the world works or should. Some female characters that I’ve resonated with:
Shae from Greenbone Saga Jez from Retribution Falls Julia from The Magicians (tv show)
So I guess what I’m saying is what books have a female MC who’s older, experienced, and approach the world with nuance?
I say this as a man who’s noticed how female dominated most literary spaces tend to be. Most book clubs are female dominated, a lot of booktok and whatnot seems geared towards women, and many online literary communities/forums seem to be mostly women. I know a good deal of men who haven’t seriously read a novel in years. And it’s like a positive feedback loop: the more feminine that reading seems, the less interested men are in doing it.
I see this as an issue, firstly, because of how much men could benefit from reading more. A lot of my greatest life lessons have come from sources as diverse as Harry Potter, Ulysses, The Old Man and the Sea, and Song of Solomon. Regularly reading substantive books sharpens intellect, strengthens concentration, and, perhaps most importantly, builds emotional intelligence and empathy. Moreover, I have few men to talk with about books. Obviously, I don’t mind discussing with women, but as men, we bring our own unique perspectives in analyzing literature …
What I mean is, I’ve often observed writers unduly stressing themselves out over the identity of their characters - be it black, gay, a woman, etc. They feel a pressure to tie this identity into the story, as if needing to explain and justify the character’s existence based on these traits. I’ve seen readers ask questions like, “Why is the character black?” Perhaps this is a reaction to that scrutiny.
In comparison, when a character is white or a man, there’s seldom a call for justification. Their identity isn’t dissected or tied directly to their story arc. They are simply allowed to “be.” They’re characters with likes, dislikes, and goals, independent of their racial or gender identity.
Now, diving deeper, this pattern is perplexing. In the real world, people just are. Not every individual, whether they belong to a minority or not, has their entire life defined by that aspect of their identity. Some are just living their lives. …
I saw a comment about how professor Snape from Harry Potter was just an a glorified incel. That struck me for some reason because there is truth to that. He was obsessed with a woman who didn’t love him and joined a facist ideological group. He redeems himself as we all know but it left me questioning what other books have incel type characters or just involuntary celibate characters in general. I read the sound and the fury and one of the main characters “Quentin” could be viewed as an incel. He was a virgin who was painfully obsessed with his sister losing her virginity and woman having sex before marriage in general. He ends up killing himself.
By smart I don’t necessarily mean mathematical-scientific smarts, but I don’t want to exclude that either. As an example… I recently started reading Stephenson’s The Baroque Cycle, and it’s clear you are reading something written by a very smart person, not to mention someone who has simply done a stupendous amount of research. I’m about half way through, and while the story seems to be meandering, I can certainly appreciate the sheer brilliance and great accomplishment that is this book.
Of course, extra points for books that are both smart and entertaining. :)
A short introduction to the book (as spoiler free as possible)
The story starts in the somewhat near future when Mars has been settled and follows a 80 years young life systems engineer as she is travelling on a spaceship as “something” is about to happen and change her life forever.
It shares some elements of the Red Mars books of following engineers and scientists as the main protagonists, and of course there is plenty of politics as in many KSR books. The story is at points challenging to read and slow giving it the time it needs and always worth the effort.
Many of the ideas and themes of this book have also later found there way into Red Mars and 2312 and I recommend it to anyone that liked them.
I listened to it on audible and the audio book is well presented.
I’m not usually one to write long reviews but I think Eon was a fantastic book. Very big Rendezvous with Rama vibes. Hard-ish SF and somewhat of a space opera (not the best description).
Anyway, I highly recommend checking it out. I’m on to the sequel now.
Kind of a weird question I know. I just finished Station Eleven and I was absolutely enthralled through the whole thing. When I reached the end I could tell this was a book that would stay with me. But I’m having trouble understanding why I liked it so much. There wasn’t really a plot, and the web of characters and decisions don’t really culminate into anything. Halfway through the book I could tell that there wouldn’t be any clear-cut ending or resolution. The characters are all normal people, and nothing mysterious or interesting happens despite the apocalyptic setting. Any sort of tension (like with the Prophet) is minimized with the constant POV switches. The conflict at the end is resolved suddenly and then the book just ends. All elements that would normally make me stop reading.
My best guess would be to say that the book is written like a fragmented dream, where I get little bits and pieces of a larger picture and everything is written with a sense of …
Are there any hard science fiction novels about humans making radio contact with aliens, but the distances are so vast that it is impossible inconceivable to ever meet them? Where even two-way communication takes hundreds of years? Something like >!Contact by Carl Sagan but without the Machine!<?
I guess the themes might be similar to novels where humanity finds alien artifacts but no living aliens. But I’m specifically interested in stories that feature very slow two-way communication with living aliens, just no actual physical interaction.
I can see where such a novel could be pretty unsatisfying, but it seems like such an obvious (and realistic) idea that there must be something out there.
Edit: Thank you for all of the great suggestions. I’ve added a lot of books to my list!
​
I guess something like the Martian where a single person brings technology to place that has none and successfully advanced their technology. Does that book exist?
The scene where the lawyer meets the digging forman and the lawyer says “I had to promise to conduct a very thorough on-site inspection” and the forman says “Hammond hates inspections. They slow everything down”
I’ve seen this movie dozens of times and it’s the first time I realized that Hammond’s hatred of inspections is one of the major reasons the park failed. It’s a subtle bit of foreshadowing that’s easy to miss.
What examples do you have from movies that you didn’t catch until you watched multiple times?
Edit: a word because it was annoying people, apparently.
Edit the second: apparently we made it to the front page. Can’t believe a post about a 30 year old movie made it this big. Also this post got picked up by gamesradar.com. link Thanks to u/CaspinLange for point this out to me.
With The Blind Side being revealed as pretty much fiction, which other movies did you find out were pretty much just made up and historical in name only?
We all know Hollywood takes liberties with the truth in order to make a more compelling story (Tom Hanks character in Catch Me If You Can was completely fictional) or just made up (Russell Crowe’s imaginary friends in A Beautiful Mind). But which movies did you not know where inaccurate until much later?
I just watched M. Night Shyamalan’s new movie “Knock at the cabin”. I thought the movie was kind of mediocre, but Bautista’s performance stood out to me. I thought he did a great job. Compared to the Rock and Cena I think Bautista has way more range and can handle everything from comedy to more serious roles. His small scene in blade runner was awesome and I am also looking forward to seeing more of him in Dune. Cena and The Rock always seem to be playing the same character in every movie and they can be good when the movie is written with that kind of character in mind, but Bautista’s acting chops IMO are a step above the others. What do you guys think of him?