What did you just read?

  • Guest, it's time once again for the hotly contested and exciting FoH Asshat Tournament!



    Go here and fill out your bracket!
    Who's been the biggest Asshat in the last year? Once again, only you can decide!

Oblio

Utah
<Gold Donor>
11,253
24,001
I just started The Shadow of What Was Lost by James Islington. I picked it up on audible just because I like the narrator (Kramer does Sanderson's stuff) and it had good ratings. I am about 3 hours in and I really like it so far.
 
  • 1Like
Reactions: 1 user

Campbell1oo4

Ahn'Qiraj Raider
1,930
6,136
Those Terrible Middle Ages! Debunking the Myths by Regine Pernoud

A short but dense book which tackles certain myths that modern people believe about the medieval ages. Very interesting. I studied history in college but never focused on the medieval era and it turns out most of what I believed was completely false.

I will include some of the interesting things that Pernoud writes about...

First she tackles the idea that they never built anything well or created beautiful art. They did indeed built various churches and strongholds (in the Romanesque style) that combined both a utilitarian function and a style. This reveals the "substance over form" spirit that runs through the medieval age and stands in contrast with the 'classical' mindset that triumphant aesthetic over all. Structures were built to show the 'unseen' world that hides behind the world that we can see and hear.

Additionally the medieval age saw the creation of novels (the romantic epic), illuminated manuscripts, the musical scale and the clock. Theater productions were also widespread, being put on and enjoyed by the common people. These stories were often dramatization of the Gospel stories.

Moving away from culture to politics... the Classical Era in Ancient Greece was one of concentrated power in cities. The Medieval Era in Europe saw the de-centralization of power from the city to the rural strongholds of knights. In the early medieval era there were kings but they were lords like any others and their role was more moral than rooted in military power. The King was simply the lord that the other lords trusted to make the right decision if a problem rose up between them. It was a moral role.

Furthermore, the Medieval Era saw the end of slavery. There were serfs but a serf is not a slave. A serf had more rights such as the right to marry, to buy a house, to pass his inheritance down to his children, to enter a trade. He could not leave his land, but he could not be removed from it. His lord also did not have the power of life and death over him.

Such a society operated on 'customs' and not 'laws.' The idea of one body of law comes from Ancient Greece was used to solidify power under a central institution (a Monarch). This we do not see until the later medieval era. The creation of a codex of laws and the collection of power in the State led directly to end of the Medieval Era.

Custom is the social code agreed upon (unconsciously most like) between people. It is just what is right and it doesn't need to be written down. Once laws were collected they were used by the State as tools of power (though the intentions might have been right in the beginning).

From politics to social issues... Women in classical times were the property of their husbands and fathers. It was not so in the Medieval Era. A woman could join a convent and get a fine education, she could enter a trade, own property and vote in both urban and rural assemblies. She didn't have power over her marriage partner but neither did her husband (marriages were arranged by parents).

And finally the church... For the first 2/3 of the medieval era the Church had no secular power. The Church operated on a moral authority. When it sought out heresy it very rarely burned anyone, instead sending them off to pilgrimages or having them wear a special insignia on their clothing. Again there was no law. People listened to the church because they believed in the truth of the Gospel (their custom) and the church was the champion of that truth.

It wasn't until monarchs wrestled with the church for the right to appoint bishops (and won) that the church became morally bankrupt. Church officers became mouth pieces of the State. They used their religious education and teachings to uphold a law. Heretics were often people who undermined State authority and were burned for shallow 'religious' infractions.

----

A short synopsis but one I wrote for I found this book very interesting.

I do have some problems with the translation. I needed quite a bit more work. Some sentences I needed to re-read several times before I understood what it was trying to say.

Regina Peroud seems to be a legit scholar, so I take what she says on faith. The result is a new look at Classical Greece (I don't like it) and a new look at Medieval Europe. Why can't we have decentralized powers and agrarian societies nowadays? I am more and more convinced that the Renaissance and the Industrial Revolution were mistakes.
 
  • 1Like
Reactions: 1 user

Burren

Ahn'Qiraj Raider
4,005
5,251
The Night Lords Omnibus. Been a couple of years since I've read any sci-fi and specifically, 40k. It was a fun read and an interesting perspective since it was about traitor marines, instead of the good guys. The author did a good job of making the character relatable and likable, despite their goals. The character's perspective on how things played out makes sense.

Sure wish Abnett would write again.
 
  • 2Like
Reactions: 1 users

Kajiimagi

<Gold Donor>
1,245
1,594
War of the roses - Stormbirds. Historical fiction by Conn Iggulden. It was just OK. I got more out of looking up the actual events than reading the book. Writing style was fine , it just seemed to be dragged out as he wanted to write multiple books as a series.
 

Campbell1oo4

Ahn'Qiraj Raider
1,930
6,136
War of the roses - Stormbirds. Historical fiction by Conn Iggulden. It was just OK. I got more out of looking up the actual events than reading the book. Writing style was fine , it just seemed to be dragged out as he wanted to write multiple books as a series.

I read his book on Genghis Khan and this is what I would say. Strong OKAY.

It's like he finds these interesting ideas and then he draws them out to the point of boredom. He needs to learn how to up the pace. Going slow is fine when you have some deep contemplations to do like Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian.

Speaking of McCarthy I read the first 40 pages of his new book The Passenger.

It was terrible. I couldn't get any further it was so bad. Like fan fiction you'd read on some forum in the early 2000s. Dude is 89 and has clearly lost his touch. Damn shame.
 

Kajiimagi

<Gold Donor>
1,245
1,594
I read his book on Genghis Khan and this is what I would say. Strong OKAY.

It's like he finds these interesting ideas and then he draws them out to the point of boredom. He needs to learn how to up the pace. Going slow is fine when you have some deep contemplations to do like Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian.

Speaking of McCarthy I read the first 40 pages of his new book The Passenger.

It was terrible. I couldn't get any further it was so bad. Like fan fiction you'd read on some forum in the early 2000s. Dude is 89 and has clearly lost his touch. Damn shame.
I must be a heathen, I could not get into Blood Meridian at all.
 
  • 2WTF
Reactions: 1 users

Campbell1oo4

Ahn'Qiraj Raider
1,930
6,136
I must be a heathen, I could not get into Blood Meridian at all.

I think I know why. It's written in a very alien style. Not English syntax at all but something like the original Hebrew of the Old Testament.

"The man got down from the horse and took from the boot holster a rifle and aimed the thing at the Indianos coming up over the ridge and they went down in an explosion of gore their blood splayed out over the ground like the artistry of some insane god painted upon the ground."

It can make for epic writing, like the description of the army of horribles in the first few chapters. He is imitating Faulkner, I believe, but when you read Faulkner you get lost halfway through the sentence and have to reread it to understand what the man is saying.
 

Kajiimagi

<Gold Donor>
1,245
1,594
I think I know why. It's written in a very alien style. Not English syntax at all but something like the original Hebrew of the Old Testament.

"The man got down from the horse and took from the boot holster a rifle and aimed the thing at the Indianos coming up over the ridge and they went down in an explosion of gore their blood splayed out over the ground like the artistry of some insane god painted upon the ground."

It can make for epic writing, like the description of the army of horribles in the first few chapters. He is imitating Faulkner, I believe, but when you read Faulkner you get lost halfway through the sentence and have to reread it to understand what the man is saying.
Yeah that was a big part of it. I did try , I gave up like halfway through the book. I just could not get into it.
It seemed to me like Scott Turow/ Presumed Innocent. That is one excellent book .......but it takes 100 or so pages to understand his writing style and get into it. When you do, wow.
I tried it as so many on this board love the book. Maybe I need the comic book version . LOL


On another note, I completely agree on Conn Iggulden. I am trying to read his Greece/Persian book. Same issue, I have more 'fun' from hitting Wikipedia on items he described than the book itself.
 

Oblio

Utah
<Gold Donor>
11,253
24,001
Recently I finished The Licanius Trilogy by James Islington. It is good, borderline great but just isn't quite there.

Things done right are the magic system and time travel. Without giving too much away I will say "fate" is a huge part of the story and there are a group of people that have visions of future events. Those visions always come true, however, the perspective of the vision can be misleading.

The thing not done so well or could be improved on is his writing. It is very direct which I don't mind, but it does make you appreciate Martin and Erikson's ability to wax poetically when describing a soup stain on an old tabard. Islington kind of writes like Erikson in the sense that there are few if any info dumps, there are a fair amount of characters and he tends to bounce around from scene to scene that could be years apart. It wasn't too bad to follow, but the number one complaint I have seen about this trilogy is Islington's writing style.

Overall I do recommend it if you are looking for a new world and characters.

His new trilogy coming out is called The Hierarchy Trilogy, I am curious to see how much his writing has improved if at all.
 
  • 1Like
Reactions: 1 user

Asshat wormie

2023 Asshat Award Winner
<Gold Donor>
16,820
30,963
Just finished John Gwynne's The Faithful and the Fallen and Of Blood and Bone series. Both take place in the same world, with the latter series taking place 130 years later but continuing the storyline of the former. The Faithful and the Fallen was a great series. It was a fast paced typical heroes journey story. If one has any sort of experience reading fantasy, there was nothing novel about these books but they are exactly as how Gwynne describes them, i.e. "A love story to the genres fans". Of Blood and Bone follows in kind but is somewhat weaker. The characters are given much less time to develop and, I felt, suffer a bit from a Mary Sue syndrome. Regardless of that, these books were still a very good read and I would recommend both series but certainly the first one. Also, both are a very easy read and I consumed all 7 books (about 3000 pages) in a month and a half. Definitely worth the time if you like fantasy.

Onto The Earthsea Cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin!
 
  • 1Like
Reactions: 1 user

Oblio

Utah
<Gold Donor>
11,253
24,001
I have never read any of Mark Lawrence's work, but I have seen some of his books recommended on here. Since I have a bunch of Audible credits that I need to spend, I went ahead and picked up the Broken Empire Trilogy as well as the Red Queen's War Trilogy.

Can anyone speak to his other works, like Books of the Ancestor series of Nick Heyes series?

Also, any thoughts on Erikson's Willful Child series?
 

Void

Experiencer
<Gold Donor>
9,374
10,989

I've read the previous books in the series, and the related intertwined series (Six Sacred Swords being one), and for the most part I really enjoyed them. I think I'm done 43% into this 700 page book. The main character has always been a "don't touch me" autist, which was annoying but I could deal with it, except it is mentioned every few pages now. On top of that, the author uses ellipses constantly, which is fine in some cases (King Henry Tapes) because it fits the characters doing it. This is done for every character, in dialogue and in private thoughts, like they are too fucking slow and can't even form a coherent thought without taking a "breath" and drooling for a moment. I've encountered a couple other authors that do this, so perhaps it is a pet peeve of mine, but do I really need to see this sort of thing constantly? "That's...a really good point. I think...I think I'll take up sucking dick. Because...yes, because I'm a faggot." Just type it out! Or say, "Blah blah blah dick sucking faggot," he said hesitantly.

But that's not the breaking point. It was already sneaking into previous parts of this book, but the woke is real. I just got a lecture about privilege thrown in my face (via the others shitting on the autist character no less) and I think I'm done after that. There are some characters that I really, really like, but they are mostly side characters in this series (one was a main in a different series, which was awesome), and since I'm instead stuck with the autist and a couple of other cardboard cutouts in this series, I just can't go on. I hate leaving books unfinished, particularly in long/intertwined series that I've enjoyed, and I've finished much worse books, but I feel like maybe it is time for me to finally learn and cut bait. And stop giving the author KU money for reading when I hate it. Fuck.
 
  • 2Like
  • 1Solidarity
Reactions: 2 users

Ukerric

Bearded Ape
<Silver Donator>
7,862
9,413

But that's not the breaking point. It was already sneaking into previous parts of this book, but the woke is real.
It shouldn't surprise you. The author is one of the founders-slash-moderators of reddit's r/progressionfantasy, which is now permanently flagged with the full Progressive Pride flag (the rainbow with the added race bits), to piss off "nazis", with a promise that, every time someone - anyone - complains, they'll keep it up one more month (since we can't see mod messages, we even have to take them on their word someone must have complained recently).
 

Void

Experiencer
<Gold Donor>
9,374
10,989
It shouldn't surprise you. The author is one of the founders-slash-moderators of reddit's r/progressionfantasy, which is now permanently flagged with the full Progressive Pride flag (the rainbow with the added race bits), to piss off "nazis", with a promise that, every time someone - anyone - complains, they'll keep it up one more month (since we can't see mod messages, we even have to take them on their word someone must have complained recently).
I had no idea that was a place/thing. I don't get any reddit beyond what people link here or a specific google search about something where I figure reddit might have a good answer. Just reinforces my decision to never actually brose that cesspool of shit. Thanks for the info. That just cemented my decision to quit reading it. He Who Fights With Monsters 9 just came out on KU anyway, so I've already got something else to read (not that that series is great anymore, but it is vastly better than this shit).
 

Kajiimagi

<Gold Donor>
1,245
1,594
I have never read any of Mark Lawrence's work, but I have seen some of his books recommended on here. Since I have a bunch of Audible credits that I need to spend, I went ahead and picked up the Broken Empire Trilogy as well as the Red Queen's War Trilogy.

Can anyone speak to his other works, like Books of the Ancestor series of Nick Heyes series?

Also, any thoughts on Erikson's Willful Child series?
I tried getting into willful child because I the Malazan books are my #1 series but I could not get into it.
 
  • 1Like
Reactions: 1 user

zzeris

King Turd of Shit Hill
<Gold Donor>
18,748
72,981
Recently I finished The Licanius Trilogy by James Islington. It is good, borderline great but just isn't quite there.

Things done right are the magic system and time travel. Without giving too much away I will say "fate" is a huge part of the story and there are a group of people that have visions of future events. Those visions always come true, however, the perspective of the vision can be misleading.

The thing not done so well or could be improved on is his writing. It is very direct which I don't mind, but it does make you appreciate Martin and Erikson's ability to wax poetically when describing a soup stain on an old tabard. Islington kind of writes like Erikson in the sense that there are few if any info dumps, there are a fair amount of characters and he tends to bounce around from scene to scene that could be years apart. It wasn't too bad to follow, but the number one complaint I have seen about this trilogy is Islington's writing style.

Overall I do recommend it if you are looking for a new world and characters.

His new trilogy coming out is called The Hierarchy Trilogy, I am curious to see how much his writing has improved if at all.

Never finished the series but got to last book and felt exactly the same. Didn’t really enjoy the characters that much either. Let me know if he improves. I just don’t have the patience anymore for bad writers or average books.
 
  • 1Like
Reactions: 1 user

Intrinsic

Person of Whiteness
<Gold Donor>
14,146
11,471
Nona the Ninth - I still really don’t know what to make of this series, but in a good way. It is just so bizzare. There’s been so much time between my readings of Gideon the Ninth and Harrow the Ninth that little details are lost. Once again it took about 46% of the book for things to really click in place but when they did it was off to the races.

Tamsyn Muir can do the quirky meme stuff drapped over with Fantasy SciFi pretty well. Writing from the perspective of Nona, a 6-month old teenager, was pretty charming and cute at times. But she really writes the serious parts and the world building parts very well. The flashback/dream sequence parts with John were awesome.

I’d love to pick up the SubPress special editions of these and lock in rights to Alecto the Ninth. As well as pick up some of her other work and see how it compares. Floralinda and the Forty-Flight tower maybe.

Then I’ll definitely start my Malazan re-read, and finish more Black Library… and catch up on Sanderson. Oh and Laundry File book 7
 
  • 2Like
Reactions: 1 users

Intrinsic

Person of Whiteness
<Gold Donor>
14,146
11,471
Princess Floralinda and the Forty Flight Tower by Tamsyn Muir

So I did end up grabbing this novella on Kindle (also looking for a hard copy), and it was really great. It got a little played out by the end, so better that it was a novella and quick easy read. But it is funny and clever and well written. Really good pickup in my opinion.

She hasn’t written that much. Now with one more Locked Tomb novel and apparently a sequel to Floralinda in the works, pretty interested to see where her career goes.

I also picked up a collection of short stories by Caitlyn Kiernan called Bradbury Weather and another collection from Tom Reamy called Under the Hollywood Sign which I may get in eBook too just to start reading. Honestly not that familiar with either author but am trying to branch out.
 
  • 2Like
Reactions: 1 users