OT: Blues Forum Lounge (Home of All Things OT) - Part 2019

[joe galiba]

IIRC, someone on this board mentioned a fantasy book series called ‘The Wheel of Time’.

Does this ring a bell for anyone?

Thanks

i have read it a couple of times
4,500,000 words for the whole series of 14 books
80 million or so books sold world wide
i liked it a lot, but it takes quite a whole to read all the way through
the last three books were finished by Brandon Sanderson based upon Robert Jordon’s notes after he died of cancer
Sanderson’s Mistborn and Stormlight series are both pretty good as well

 

[ChicagoBlues]

What about it? I’ve read the first 4 or 5 books in the series. I doubt I’m the one who brought it up.

Because someone at work mentioned this series to knowing my interests.

I will start reading them.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

i have read it a couple of times
4,500,000 words for the whole series of 14 books
80 million or so books sold world wide
i liked it a lot, but it takes quite a whole to read all the way through
the last three books were finished by Brandon Sanderson based upon Robert Jordon’s notes after he died of cancer
Sanderson’s Mistborn and Stormlight series are both pretty good as well

Thanks for the feedback.

 

[tfriede2]

Anyone else have spectrum internet and get a new modem shipped to them? Installed today and now the internet doesn’t work. Beautiful, Spectrum, just great...thanks for making my internet faster! Already chatted online with help person, nothing worked, have technician scheduled tomorrow

 

[AVictoryDive]

Anyone else have spectrum internet and get a new modem shipped to them? Installed today and now the internet doesn’t work. Beautiful, Spectrum, just great...thanks for making my internet faster! Already chatted online with help person, nothing worked, have technician scheduled tomorrow

Need to either call them or you can activate it from your spectrum account

 

[tfriede2]

Need to either call them or you can activate it from your spectrum account

Yeah, I activated it through my account and there’s still no internet. I put my old one back in and went through all the same activation steps, and the old one works

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

Because someone at work mentioned this series to knowing my interests.

I will start reading them.

I would read everything Joe Abercrombie wrote before starting that plodding series. Wheel of Time had some high points, but I ran out of gas before getting through it, and I’m not usually very picky.

 

[AVictoryDive]

Yeah, I activated it through my account and there’s still no internet. I put my old one back in and went through all the same activation steps, and the old one works

Yeah I’m not tech savvy but your best bet is to call them. They might need to activate it on their end too

 

[tfriede2]

Yeah I’m not tech savvy but your best bet is to call them. They might need to activate it on their end too

Online person sent a reset code to the modem and had me unplug it, all that - nothing worked, unfortunately

 

[Majorityof1]

Because someone at work mentioned this series to knowing my interests.

I will start reading them.

If you are a big fan of fantasy books, then they are a must read. Its one of the preeminent series of the genre, and justifiably so. However as @Stupendous Yappi pointed out, it can get to be a bit of a slog. Books 1-6 are really good. Then books 7-10 bog down. The author created too many side character and side plot points, then he didn't know how to wrap them all up. He also has a bad habit of going into too much detail on minutia (you will read more about the flavor of various teas than you ever cared to). So the books just keep bloating. There are some definite high points in that middle section, but overall the quality takes a noticeable dip. Just be prepared for the slog and realize its ok to skim over the more mundane bits of those books. The author Jordan, started to right the ship with book 11 thankfully. Unfortunately he passed away before he could finish it. The last 3 books were written by a different author, Brandon Sanderson. Sanderson has become my favorite author, because I felt he did such a good job wrapping up the series. And because his own stuff is really good. So Books 11-14 go back to being stellar, making the whole thing IMHO worth reading.

Yappi also recommended Joe Abercrombie, who is very good. Abercrombie writes more grim dark fantasy where there is no real hero, everyone is just varying shades of bad. Wheel of time is more classic fantasy of light vs darkness with the farm boy fated to save the world from the big evil.

Amazon is making a Wheel of Time series, if you would just rather watch it then read it as well. Its currently in production and should release to Prime this year or next.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

If you are a big fan of fantasy books, then they are a must read. Its one of the preeminent series of the genre, and justifiably so. However as @Stupendous Yappi pointed out, it can get to be a bit of a slog. Books 1-6 are really good. Then books 7-10 bog down. The author created too many side character and side plot points, then he didn't know how to wrap them all up. He also has a bad habit of going into too much detail on minutia (you will read more about the flavor of various teas than you ever cared to). So the books just keep bloating. There are some definite high points in that middle section, but overall the quality takes a noticeable dip. Just be prepared for the slog and realize its ok to skim over the more mundane bits of those books. The author Jordan, started to right the ship with book 11 thankfully. Unfortunately he passed away before he could finish it. The last 3 books were written by a different author, Brandon Sanderson. Sanderson has become my favorite author, because I felt he did such a good job wrapping up the series. And because his own stuff is really good. So Books 11-14 go back to being stellar, making the whole thing IMHO worth reading.

Yappi also recommended Joe Abercrombie, who is very good. Abercrombie writes more grim dark fantasy where there is no real hero, everyone is just varying shades of bad. Wheel of time is more classic fantasy of light vs darkness with the farm boy fated to save the world from the big evil.

Amazon is making a Wheel of Time series, if you would just rather watch it then read it as well. Its currently in production and should release to Prime this year or next.

Wow dood! You’re really getting me pumped up for this.

I have never been a big fan of the fantasy genre, BUT the light vs darkness aspect of this particular series is what is catching my interest as it seems quite apropos for the times we are in.

I write a lot and I think that most of what I write would comfortably fit into the fantasy genre. Never meant it to be that way, but it is.

Very excited. Thank you so much.

 

[brokeu91]

Another fantastic fantasy author was Terry Pratchett. He’s one of the best ever. His books were comedy, but they were genius.

 

[tfriede2]

Anyone else have spectrum internet and get a new modem shipped to them? Installed today and now the internet doesn’t work. Beautiful, Spectrum, just great...thanks for making my internet faster! Already chatted online with help person, nothing worked, have technician scheduled tomorrow

Update - technician and the help guy that technician called can’t get it to work either (so far)...wonderful.

 

[Bobby Orrtuzzo]

Update - technician and the help guy that technician called can’t get it to work either (so far)...wonderful.

I have spectrum and a few years back we had issues with the internet randomly dropping out. Had a tech come over and couldn’t figure it out, so they sent out a different one. Long story short it turned out the wiring from the box outside that ran into my house was apparently old, so they replaced that and it seemed to work and haven’t had issues since.

No idea if that would solve your issues but could be something to look at

 

[tfriede2]

I have spectrum and a few years back we had issues with the internet randomly dropping out. Had a tech come over and couldn’t figure it out, so they sent out a different one. Long story short it turned out the wiring from the box outside that ran into my house was apparently old, so they replaced that and it seemed to work and haven’t had issues since.

No idea if that would solve your issues but could be something to look at

Our old modem worked fine - they just randomly sent us a new one. Tech said it was defective, swapped it out with another new one, which works. All good now.

 

[EastonBlues22]

Majorityof1 summed up the WoT series pretty well. Skimming is your friend, especially in the middle books, but I think it's definitely worth a read if you're into that genre. It's a pretty iconic series.

I'll also second his recommendation for Sanderson's other works. I really enjoyed his Mistborn books and the Stormlight Archives (unfinished).

If Rothfuss ever finishes the Kingkiller Chronicles, I'll start recommending that one, too.

 

[BadgersandBlues]

Sanderson is a great author. The Stormlight Archives has been a pretty sweet series so far, I thought Mistborn dragged a little in book 2, but it finished well enough.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

If you are a big fan of fantasy books, then they are a must read. Its one of the preeminent series of the genre, and justifiably so. However as @Stupendous Yappi pointed out, it can get to be a bit of a slog. Books 1-6 are really good. Then books 7-10 bog down. The author created too many side character and side plot points, then he didn't know how to wrap them all up. He also has a bad habit of going into too much detail on minutia (you will read more about the flavor of various teas than you ever cared to). So the books just keep bloating. There are some definite high points in that middle section, but overall the quality takes a noticeable dip. Just be prepared for the slog and realize its ok to skim over the more mundane bits of those books. The author Jordan, started to right the ship with book 11 thankfully. Unfortunately he passed away before he could finish it. The last 3 books were written by a different author, Brandon Sanderson. Sanderson has become my favorite author, because I felt he did such a good job wrapping up the series. And because his own stuff is really good. So Books 11-14 go back to being stellar, making the whole thing IMHO worth reading.

Yappi also recommended Joe Abercrombie, who is very good. Abercrombie writes more grim dark fantasy where there is no real hero, everyone is just varying shades of bad. Wheel of time is more classic fantasy of light vs darkness with the farm boy fated to save the world from the big evil.

Amazon is making a Wheel of Time series, if you would just rather watch it then read it as well. Its currently in production and should release to Prime this year or next.

I don't really agree with that description of Abercrombie's storytelling. Or rather, I think the term "grimdark" is an oversimplification of a style of realism. Maybe I have a beef with that vernacular altogether.

The characters are complex. There may not be "heros" in the sense of a character who is always in the right, but there is heroism. I think this is a much more realistic way to write characters, where the people are flawed and make mistakes. But the protagonists are generally very heroic, and there is certainly a battle of good vs evil going on.

 

[Majorityof1]

I don't really agree with that description of Abercrombie's storytelling. Or rather, I think the term "grimdark" is an oversimplification of a style of realism. Maybe I have a beef with that vernacular altogether.

The characters are complex. There may not be "heros" in the sense of a character who is always in the right, but there is heroism. I think this is a much more realistic way to write characters, where the people are flawed and make mistakes. But the protagonists are generally very heroic, and there is certainly a battle of good vs evil going on.

Grimdark is just a term for a subgenre of fantasy. As fantasy grows in popularity, it is sprouting new sub-genres to classify it. Like all genres/sub-genre, it is never exact. By its very nature it has to be an oversimplification so it can apply to a wide variety of different works. Grimdark is a newer sub-genre and is rising in popularity (check out Mark Lawrence, he is also fantastic). It tends to be more gritty, violent and yes, have more realistic portrayals as its heroes as flawed figures, rather than the standard white knight of more classic or high fantasy.

I agree there are heroes in Abecrombie. But they are very violent and flawed individuals who are heroic (arguably more so) because they can overcome those flaws to rise to the occasion or even because their selfishness puts them on the right side. The main characters are a violent Barbarian nicknamed the Bloody nine, a torturer, and a noble who is a lecherous layabout. They are all a far cry from say Aragorn in LOTR, who while he doesn't want to be king, still dedicates his life to leading the Rangers to keep humanity safe and would never ever be tempted by the one ring.

I am not labeling Abecrombie as grimdark as a knock. He is a tremendous author. His character work is especially top notch. I love his books. I casually follow a couple "booktubers" to get some recommendations on good fantasy. I have learned that a decent number of fantasy fans don't like Abecrombie or anything that veers toward grimdark. So I put that caveat in there to give Chicago some more context. His friends recommended Wheel of Time for a reason. He later said he was drawn to the light v. Dark aspect. I feel that is a much stronger theme in WoT than Abecrombie.

Light v dark may be there in Abecrombie and Grimdark, as the better natures of men can eventually shine though. It is much more clearly represented in High or classic fantasy like WoT and LoTR. You know Gandalf is good and Sauron is bad. You know the Dragon Reborn is good and the Dark One has it right there in his name. The sides are clearly drawn. While minor players may shift, the main pillars stay constant. The difference with Abecrombie is that you don't always know where characters stand, and you may even end up rooting for people who are only being heroic for less than heroic reasons.

 

[AVictoryDive]

Grimdark is just a term for a subgenre of fantasy. As fantasy grows in popularity, it is sprouting new sub-genres to classify it. Like all genres/sub-genre, it is never exact. By its very nature it has to be an oversimplification so it can apply to a wide variety of different works. Grimdark is a newer sub-genre and is rising in popularity (check out Mark Lawrence, he is also fantastic). It tends to be more gritty, violent and yes, have more realistic portrayals as its heroes as flawed figures, rather than the standard white knight of more classic or high fantasy.

I agree there are heroes in Abecrombie. But they are very violent and flawed individuals who are heroic (arguably more so) because they can overcome those flaws to rise to the occasion or even because their selfishness puts them on the right side. The main characters are a violent Barbarian nicknamed the Bloody nine, a torturer, and a noble who is a lecherous layabout. They are all a far cry from say Aragorn in LOTR, who while he doesn't want to be king, still dedicates his life to leading the Rangers to keep humanity safe and would never ever be tempted by the one ring.

I am not labeling Abecrombie as grimdark as a knock. He is a tremendous author. His character work is especially top notch. I love his books. I casually follow a couple "booktubers" to get some recommendations on good fantasy. I have learned that a decent number of fantasy fans don't like Abecrombie or anything that veers toward grimdark. So I put that caveat in there to give Chicago some more context. His friends recommended Wheel of Time for a reason. He later said he was drawn to the light v. Dark aspect. I feel that is a much stronger theme in WoT than Abecrombie.

Light v dark may be there in Abecrombie and Grimdark, as the better natures of men can eventually shine though. It is much more clearly represented in High or classic fantasy like WoT and LoTR. You know Gandalf is good and Sauron is bad. You know the Dragon Reborn is good and the Dark One has it right there in his name. The sides are clearly drawn. While minor players may shift, the main pillars stay constant. The difference with Abecrombie is that you don't always know where characters stand, and you may even end up rooting for people who are only being heroic for less than heroic reasons.

What are some good titles from Abercrombie and/or Lawrence? Always looking to read more to feel less stupid

 

[Majorityof1]

What are some good titles from Abercrombie and/or Lawrence? Always looking to read more to feel less stupid

Abecrombie has a 3 book series called "First Law". The first book is "The Blade Itself", then"Before They are Hanged" and finally "Last Argument of Kings. His second trilogy, while good, isn't up to the first. It takes place in a different universe and can be ignored or read whenever. His third trilogy is back with the First Law characters and is supposedly excellent. I am waiting on the 3rd book to release start it.

Mark Lawrence's first trilogy is the only one I have read. I own the next two trilogies but haven't gotten to them yet. The first series is called Broken Empire. Books are "Prince of Thorns", "King of Thorns" and then "Emperor of Thorns". The second trilogy is same world but a different time period. The one that garners the most praise is his third trilogy called, Book of the Ancestors Trilogy: "Red Sister", "Grey sister" and "Holy Sister" which is a different world and could be read first.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

I don't really agree with that description of Abercrombie's storytelling. Or rather, I think the term "grimdark" is an oversimplification of a style of realism. Maybe I have a beef with that vernacular altogether.

The characters are complex. There may not be "heros" in the sense of a character who is always in the right, but there is heroism. I think this is a much more realistic way to write characters, where the people are flawed and make mistakes. But the protagonists are generally very heroic, and there is certainly a battle of good vs evil going on.

Acknowledging that pretty much most of the characters are “bad”, there is still a continuum, a scale of light/dark & good/evil.

“I’m not as bad as you.”

-

What attracts me to WoT & fantasy in general is how the writers are condensing such inter-dimensional, lofty ideas and richness into a sort of 3D representation for us humans.

I’m interested in the structure and overall context of the story. Sort of clinical for me, but also amazing in a topical sense.

EDIT: Weird post and out of context. My response to @Stupendous Yappi was in relation to the concept of grimdark, but it came out weird. It’s gotten kind of.......ummm....recreational out here in Arizona.

 

[Renard]

I made chicken cacciatore for the first time today. I’m not even sure if I’ve ever eaten it before. But damn if my house doesn’t smell good right now!

When Joe Torre was still a major league catcher, someone said that he was afraid of collisions at home plate, and dubbed him "chicken catcher Torre."

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

Abecrombie has a 3 book series called "First Law". The first book is "The Blade Itself", then"Before They are Hanged" and finally "Last Argument of Kings. His second trilogy, while good, isn't up to the first. It takes place in a different universe and can be ignored or read whenever. His third trilogy is back with the First Law characters and is supposedly excellent. I am waiting on the 3rd book to release start it.

Mark Lawrence's first trilogy is the only one I have read. I own the next two trilogies but haven't gotten to them yet. The first series is called Broken Empire. Books are "Prince of Thorns", "King of Thorns" and then "Emperor of Thorns". The second trilogy is same world but a different time period. The one that garners the most praise is his third trilogy called, Book of the Ancestors Trilogy: "Red Sister", "Grey sister" and "Holy Sister" which is a different world and could be read first.

Abercrombie’s second trilogy Majority described is Shattered Earth, and it is a youth series. I think that’s probably why it doesn’t compare well with the First Law. The titles are Half a King, Half a War, etc. I enjoyed it, but the books are shorter and it’s less complicated / toned down. I agree with skipping it unless you’ve read his other stuff and loved it.

Abercrombie has a second ‘trilogy’ in the world of First Law which is long completed, although it’s not truly a trilogy since the books are stand alone novels. This includes probably his very best novel “Heroes”. It’s the story of a single battle for a hill, told from several points of view. If you read it after everything that came before, you’ll recognize several characters and recognize the sides represented in the battle. But it’s also a novel that someone could just pick up and read in isolation, deliberately written that way. The other titles are Best Served Cold and Red Country. I actually enjoyed these three even more than the original First Law trilogy.

There is a 3rd trilogy that is set in First Law world some time in the future. The 3rd title is due out this year. I haven’t read these yet. The first book in this one is A Little Hatred.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

When Joe Torre was still a major league catcher, someone said that he was afraid of collisions at home plate, and dubbed him "chicken catcher Torre."

Last night I cooked (for the first time) stuffed cabbage rolls. The sauce turned out fantastic. I think I can make a good spaghetti sauce from that base in the future. My dad used to make these sometimes. I never saw him look at a recipe for anything.