The Fantasy/Sci-Fi Books Thread Book • Page 142

I was curious about that one.

It’s irrational, but I don’t feel compelled to read anything from him that isn’t First Law.

 

The Heroes is extremely good

 

The Devils is fantastic. I really don’t understand the hate I’ve seen for it. If you even remotely like Abercrombie, I really don’t get how you wouldn’t have a good time with The Devils.

 

I didn't realize it was getting hate - the jacket is covered with glowing praise from other authors

 

the negative comments I've seen mostly seem to revolve around it being a bit repetitive, which I could see as once the journey starts its basically travel bit, big boss fight, travel bit, big boss fight, travel, boss fight. Will see what the last quarter is like, but I'm enjoying the heck out of it

 

Just seeing it a lot on some discord servers and from a couple of reading buddies

 

finally had a day off from work and finished The Devils. I absolutely loved it. thought it was fantastic. action packed. very funny the whole way through. great characters. really cool setting. I wouldn't say it was repetitive so much as episodic once their mission starts, but I did read this in fits and starts with sometimes as much as a week in between sittings.

spoilers: the big death at the end caught me off guard, not so much out of grief for the character, although I did really like her a lot, but moreso out of how they all had survived so many ridiculous shenanigans up to that point and had gotten the ever loving shit kicked out of them so many times without any of them dying and then boom.

definitely a great summer read for anyone who's a fan of Abercrombie

 

yikes

I definitely hope they do not go for live action with this

I would totally be open to a new film version of The Hobbit though that sticks more closely to the book, preferably in a totally different style, like animated, CG or otherwise

if they were to do LOTR over again, I really think they should do it in a totally different style and go for an entirely different vibe - I'm picturing some sort of animated / CG blend that takes a very unique painting style like watercolor and brings it to full movement & life. a good example that jumps to mind for me is the bonus stuff Amazon produced for their Wheel of Time show to get people into the world and help them learn the backstory - it had such a cool visual style that it made me wish the whole show has just been done that way

but they need to break away from PJ's entire aesthetic & visual language / design for Middle Earth

 

While there are exceptions, i just dont think animation is appealing en masse when its not for families. Though if there was ever a franchise....

I did enjoy war of the rohirrim. Surprised it was critically panned but audience score seems much better and as an absolute casual with minimal lore knowledge, it was great to me. Tho i dont think it did well financially...

However, i have to ask why in general we would need a new LOTR to begin with. Some movies age gracefully and stand the test of time with no need for a fresh coat of paint.

 

I just watched the LOTR trilogy recently and both my wife and I remarked on how much it held up. The CGI is still good enough by today’s standards, there’s no need to remake this any time soon.

 

Oh, I absolutely agree with you 100%. No need whatsoever. I am just not sure Warner Bros will see or understand that and they may just go ahead and do it anyway.

There are so many other books/series that deserve a chance at a solid screen adaptation.

Or, God forbid, they make an original fantasy movie that's not based on a book and isn't a remake.

 

I was thinking something like The Wild Robot where it's not really 'animation' in the traditional sense but it has a gorgeous visual style.

I honestly think something along those lines would have made much more sense for PJ's Hobbit movies where there was so much CGI anyway.

 

just finished The First Law trilogy, I understand the Joe Abercrombie hype

 

I finished A Feast For Crows over the weekend and I'm so high on that I had to go start The Hedge Night, which I finished in two days (really fast for me, AFFC took me two months). Will probably finally watch GOT sometime soon

Jealous of people who can read a book per week tbh

 

Yeah I see people who have read like 50 books already this year. I'm happy to have read 16 so far this year, which outpaces last year. I'm a pretty slow reader

 

it's me, hi. it's all because of running and a long work commute, haha.

 

Damn, I've read like 8 which is a good clip for me based on previous slump years, but it's not a competition in the end, except to just encourage more reading, which is a better use of my time than some of the other entertainment choices I choose. I'm doing better at reading a chapter at 10pm instead of getting on counterstrike and getting wound up.

It's funny that if you go on places like reddit fantasy, it seems love it or hate it, (with more love), but there's a good bit of disdain for how the overall arc turned out. That includes my wife who was so mad at the end that she hasn't taken another recommendation since and genuinely views following through and finishing it as a waste of her time.

Shrug - I'm with you. I loved it. I only read the first standalone 'best served cold' but I'd recommend that. I want to get back to the other 2 standalones and then to the next first law trilogy but as stated above, 1 book a month isn't going to get me through my want to read anytime soon.

I'll probably do the Devils first as it's standalone (for now) and sounds like a good 'popcorn' read that won't take me too long.

 

My general goal is to read one physical book and about 1.5 audiobooks per month. However fantasy is a bad genre for audiobooks for me, because I only listen about 40 minutes a day on my commute. Exception is if I decide to mix audio and physical to get through a long book faster. Also 1000 page physical book is always going to take me more than a month.

Re: The First Law -- I loved the characters and their perspectives, but the plot takes a backseat. I can live with that trade off. Need to pick up The Devils

 

To no one who has been around these parts' surprise, I did not care for The First Law trilogy.

 

I wish I could do audiobooks in the car. I have a long commute five days a week at least. I tried them for a little while but I wasn't able to pay attention and realized I was missing parts and having to go back. I've been able to do podcasts though, because I don't really care if I miss part of a podcast, but missing part of a book doesn't work.

 

Yea, audiobooks are hit and miss. Longer more 'boring' drives are better. I can't navigate traffic on the way to work, while thinking about my work day ahead and do audio books. I have some days where I rewind the same 2 minutes until I just give up.

The perfect time for them for me are on long walks, doing the dishes, cooking, sorting laundry etc.

 

I'm at 26 books on the year. Almost exclusively audiobooks

 

I’ve read 53 books thus far. I believe 49 of them audio.

 

I usually read during lunch and before bed. Having just finished a book and not having anything lined up yet, what am I supposed to do during lunch? Eat my food in silence?? Look at my phone???

 

I'm on Ryan Cahill's third book. The scope jump between each book is frankly comical.