This is exactly what I’m feeling with Malazan Book 10. I’ve been reading it from March, 2020, and it has helped me a lot going through the quarantine and stuff. It has become my favourite fantasy series during the journey. Yesterday I finished Book 9, ‘Dust of Dreams’ and thought, Man I can’t wait to get into Book 10, ‘The Crippled God’, the last book of the series. It was seating on my bookshelf and I picked it up. But I just can’t start it. I read two paragraphs of the book and I out it back down because it feels like this is it, the end of the epic. I’ll not get to know more of these characters I so love and enjoy. The intrigue will end, the mysteries solved, the questions answered (though knowing Erikson, I’ll still have a lot of unanswered questions lol), the journey will be over. Have you guys ever felt the same about a series?
Sometimes i hear that “this chunk of book should be cut, nothing significant happens/no character progression” or “the book dragged in this part and it affected the pacing of overall story” and i kinda disagree with this.
It takes me 100⁄200 pages to sink in into thr story, world and attach to characters. But, when it clicks, especially with the characters i don’t mind reading chapters where they are just “doing things” and the plot is not moving forward a lot. I want to hang out with them, to just be in that world, and i want to read whatever they are doing.
And it doesn’t even matter what is the style of fantasy book i’m reading. Of course i like action-packed or heavy hitting emotionally chapters, but at the same time it’s just fun to hang out with heroes, villains and explore the world, even if it didn’t have any essential informations about the intrigue/characters.
Calling all Tolkien fans! Picture that moment on the shores of the Grey Havens. Picture Frodo, Bilbo, Galadriel, Gandalf, and Elrond standing on that White Ship, and picture them departing Middle Earth in the final minutes of the Third Age. Now I’ve already done a fun fact about sailing West from the perspective of Bilbo and Galadriel, and I’ll certainly write one about Gandalf in the next few days, but today’s fun fact is going to focus on Elrond, and I hope to try and untangle what this moment truly means from his perspective.
Now I have to be honest, in my opinion Elrond’s character is a little short-changed in Peter Jackson’s movies. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy Hugo Weaving’s performance, but I feel that by the power of the butterfly effect, changing Aragorn into a more reluctant king, changed Elrond into a more stern and less sympathetic version of himself. My favourite quotation of Tolkien’s, about Elrond, comes from The …
I need help. Please tell me I am not the only one who has this struggle. I swore I would never do it again, Patrick and I were through. He had strung me along for long enough and a clean break was best.
Yesterday I started yet another reread of Name of the Wind. I can’t help myself. Like metal to a loden stone I have once again been drawn completely into this story. It is just too damn good. Even though I know pain is coming when I finish, the overwhelming itch that can’t be scratched, the desperate yearning for the third book, I just can’t stay away. Please help!
P.S. - there is not a more wholesome character in all of literature than one Trapis of Tarbean.
Hi, I’m Janny Wurts, professional author and illustrator, everything creative, craziness and curiosity from reading ‘all the books’ to competitive bagpiping to microbiology/marine research. AMA and question everything!
I was reading “The Perfect Marriage” by Adam Mitzner and there was a moment that made me say that’s not even close to correct. A lawyer was speaking to a character explaining a charge and said:
“Murder in the second, which is the most serious charge for murder that is premeditated but not involving a police officer.”
And it completely took me out of the situation because I immediately went no that’s not how that works. 2nd is typically NOT premeditated which is its main distinguishing factor from 1st. The involvement of a police officer does not have any bearing on it at all. Unless I’m severely mistaken, but I don’t think I am.
Has this happened to any of you where you’ve seen something obviously wrong and it just kills the mood for you?
EDIT: apparently in NY where this book is set saves 1st degree murder for really specific circumstances and then labels all other premeditated murder as 2nd so I was mistaken. I googled second degree murder premeditation before posting to confirm …
As someone who buys books all the time, I am often attracted by a pretty cover. If the cover is pretty, I am inclined to check out the book’s synopsis. In the cases of books I am already decided on, I always pick the edition with the nicest cover and I am willing to pay some extra for it. It bugs me that so many books have ugly, unattractive covers. Those I buy used, at the cheapest prices available. There is a special delight to look at a beautiful colored novel while reading it and later admiring among the others, on the shelf.
Edit: great responses, everyone. Just to clarify, the cover is not the only reason I choose a book. If the cover is ugly but I like the story, I buy it, but I will buy a used cheap one, whereas a beautiful cover makes me want to have it new, and be willing to pay more for it. So, yes beauty sells
I’ve always enjoyed the idea of speaking to snakes in the Harry Potter series. When Ron uses it to get into the Chamber of Secrets in the final book I was more excited than I should have been. That being said I think that it was poorly implemented in the books aside from that. I’m rewatching the first movie and I got to the scene of Harry in the reptile room at the beginning. I began to think of how strange he must have looked speaking this language to the people around them. Then I realized that he seems to switch between parseltounge and English without conscious thought. This is evident in the dualing scene with Draco in the second book. This would paint the Dursleys in a slightly more sympathetic light, not by much but at least a little. While I would never treat a child that way I can see how it might be concerning if not out right horrifying. Imagine you were at a family function and your adopted son started speaking in tounges, in this case hissing like a black metal …
Martha Wells signed a contract with Tor.com to write three more Murderbot Diaries, plus three more non-Murderbot Diaries books. It looks like there will be one book per year, 2022 will be the non-Murderbot Diaries book Witch King.
I just think those two attributes are unfortunate and a bit jarring when reading. I love following along with his character’s reasoning but it will inevitably be overshadowed by something totally out of sync.
I want to give him extra props though because I think he intentionally or unintentionally stumbled on one of the cutest and most endearing single-word pieces of dialogue ever;
A-maze!
Whether they be joke names like Douglas Adams’ Slartibartfast and Arkady Martine’s Thirty-Six All-Terrain Tundra Vehicle, or names given in earnest but still outlandish please share your favorite ridiculous character names.
Tchaikovsky is maybe my favorite author at the moment. I’ve been dying to see what he can do when he breaks free from the shackles of hard sci-fi and tries a full-blown space opera setting so I’ve been very much looking forward to this one.
I’m still reading Luna by Ian McDonald but I took a peek at the prologue of Shards of Earth and was drawn in instantly. Really evocative start.
I think it doesn’t come out in the US until August, which seems weird.
A friend and I have had an ongoing inside joke for over a decade where we make ridiculous flat-earth arguments, like “those ceiling tiles wouldn’t be parallel if the earth were curved.” She has a little collection of anything she can find that’s flat-earth related, like models and maps people have made.
I gave her Discworld books, which she loved. I also offered Ringworld, Flatland, The Planiverse, but she’s limiting her collection to flat disc shaped 3D planets, especially earth.
Is there anything else out there I’m missing?
Hi,
I’d love it to be space-opera since they tend to have a lot of world building anyway but it doesn’t have to be. I love the idea of a really cool/unique setting that you discover one short at a time.
Edit: Wow, thank you so much I never expected so many replies! I’m looking through all the books, I want to buy a few at the same time.
Amazon has really been stepping up to the plate in regards to the streaming wars. The Boys and Invincible are really big hits, and switching over to the weekly model has helped their service in spades. They are the second most subscribed streaming service in the U.S. behind Netflix. They are also producing a five-season Lord of the Rings series that will surely get major attention. They also had really big movie hits with Coming 2 America and Borat, and they have a deal with MGM pending.
The only thing setting Prime Video back is their aesthetic. Prime Video is one of the ugliest streaming services I have ever seen. The interface is glitchy and ghetto, and does not radiate any sort of wow factor. Netflix, HBO Max, and Disney+ are sleek and professional, with dynamic colors and trending pages. The services feel updated and catered to your interests. Prime Video is too cluttered, combining free movies and TV with products you must pay for. Going on the app is such a pain and a slog …
I enjoy a lot of Will Ferrell’s work. I love Anchorman, I really enjoyed Talladega Nights, but some of his other work can be pretty hit or miss. So I always put him in the category of “Funny with hints of greatness but not there”.
Mark Wahlberg, on the other hand… Not exactly a brilliant track record in my opinion.
So how the hell did the two manage to make the masterpiece that is “The Other Guys”?!
The movie is wall to wall packed with hilarious material. Ferrell and Wahlberg have this incredible chemistry as the characters just riff from one another. Alan (Ferrell) is this quircky and uptight accountant who is aloof to the fact he’s somehow extremely attractive to women while Terry (Wahlberg) is a guy with deep emotional troubles and infantile tendencies obcessed with being a good detective.
And holy crap the number of iconic scenes: Alan not realizing he was a pimp at college, Alan’s ex girfriend and her husband attacking him, …