What are you reading this year 2020?

Eyes of Nine · Nov 23, 2020

Richards said:
It seems as if wearing a short skirt is a requirement for wielding a yo-yo as a weapon...funny how Cadderly managed to get around that.

Johnathan

That's more a function of anime norms. Kirby (the video game character) also used a yoyo.

Ralif Redhammer · Nov 23, 2020

The hyper-detailed combat descriptions definitely do tend to drag. I think the problem is that too often, their narrative influence is limited to who wins and loses. They rarely provide character, thematic, or plot development. There is little depth to them beyond the action being depicted.

I remember back in the day that the press blurbs were stuff like "R.A. Salvatore worked as a bouncer, which informs his realistic depictions of combat." <Insert wry chuckle>

Pawndream said:
I finished The Cleric Quintent, a five novel series by R.A. Salvatore this week. I had heard positive things about this series over the years, particularly about the unique characters, but have mixed feelings about the collection.

On one hand, R.A. Salvatore is a gifted writer when it comes to creating light page turners that don't require a lot of thought, but on the other hand, I thought his combat descriptions were unnecessarily lengthy, detailed, and at many times, highly unbelievable. I know, I know, it's fantasy, but still. Also the main character having essentially a Yo-Yo as a primary weapon was a major suspension of disbelief for me.

At any rate, there were fun moments in the books, but also large spans where I wanted the author to narrate through combat rather than providing play-by-play announcer and color commentator for every. single. battle.

Nellisir · Nov 24, 2020

Bit of a slowdown recently. Read Rhialto the Marvellous, by Jack Vance, and Sister Pelagia and the Black Monk, by Boris Akunin. Boris Akunin is apparently a very popular Russian mystery writer, and I suppose it says something that he apparently wrote Sister Pelagia as a three-book diversion from his normal writings, and I'm angry about it. I don't care who his normal protagonist is, I want more Sister Pelagia!! I've read two and one more is Not Enough.

Not sure what I'll read next; kinda thinking I should look for something at least a little different...oh, I think I know.

KahlessNestor · Nov 25, 2020

Still reading Exploring Eberron by Keith Baker.

Finished The Shepherd's Crown, the last Terry Pratchett novel.

Still reading Night of the Assassins: The Untold Story of Hitler's Plot to Kill FDR, Churchill, and Stalin by Howard Blum.

Still reading Dawnshard by Brandon Sanderson.

Still reading Searching for Bobby Fischer.

Started Proven Guilty by Jim Butcher.

Started The Last Threshold by R. A. Salvatore.

Pawndream · Nov 25, 2020

After finishing up The Cleric's Quintet I dove right back into another power fantasy by R.A. Salvatore, Legacy of the Drow. This is a collection of five books featuring the classic characters Drizz't Do'urden, Wulfgar, Bruenor Battlehamer, Cattie Brie, Regis. I am only 50 pages into the first book, but it's been nice revisiting with the characters from the Crystal Shard series.

Why the R.A. Salvatore power fantasy kick lately? After finishing up N.K. Jemisin's Broken Earth trilogy, I desperately needed something light and figured I would check out some 'classics' of the pulp fantasy genre.

Pawndream · Nov 25, 2020

The bit about R.A. Salvatore working as a bouncer prior to hitting it big as a writer, as proof of his "realistic depictions of combat" is laughable.

tardigrade · Nov 25, 2020

Pawndream said:
Why the R.A. Salvatore power fantasy kick lately? After finishing up N.K. Jemisin's Broken Earth trilogy, I desperately needed something light and figured I would check out some 'classics' of the pulp fantasy genre.

Hah - just finishing up book 3 of Broken Earth myself. What did you think?

Although I may have to put it on pause for a few days - I have to read War with the Newts before a SF book club meeting on Monday...

Pawndream · Nov 25, 2020

tardigrade said:
Hah - just finishing up book 3 of Broken Earth myself. What did you think?

Although I may have to put it on pause for a few days - I have to read War with the Newts before a SF book club meeting on Monday...

Honestly, it was a frustrating read. Parts of the Broken Earth series were really engaging, but there were large swaths of what I call meta magical babble I really struggled to get through.

The use of alternate narrators was a neat concept, but also confusing because I wasn't sure who was who until maybe the end of the 2nd book. For the longest time I thought it was an unreliable narrator.

Overall, I am torn on Broken Earth trilogy.

Nellisir · Nov 25, 2020

Read Sandman Slim, by Richard Kadrey. Good solid read, 4/5. I bought it and a sequel at the book sale this fall, ~~but I can't remember where I put the second one so probably reading something else~~. Edit: Found the other book, have started it.
Also finished up the X of Swords crossover (I've read the X-comics for...33 years now), and been reading misc gaming stuff. Got Tome of Beasts II and Tasha's Everlasting Cauldron last week; the DCC Lankhmar boxed set; the Basic Fantasy rulebook and the Basic Fantasy Field Guide; also last week, and Hunters in Death, a hexcrawl setting/mini-campaign fanzine by Gothridge Manor yesterday. So lots to browse through.
(X of Swords is definitely the tightest plotted crossover I've probably ever seen; amazingly good throughout. Tome of Beasts II was excellent; Tasha's is fine but not blowing me away; DCC Lankhmar absolutely blew me away with the insane production values; not so much with the vast number of pages taken up by situation specific charts (this is my first encounter with the DCC rule system and...wow. What a waste of space in this BEAUTIFUL product!!!); Basic Fantasy was fine (knew what I was getting); the Field Guide was actually very good; Hunters in Death was also very good/recommended.)

Eyes of Nine · Nov 26, 2020

Nellisir said:
Read Sandman Slim, by Richard Kadrey. Good solid read, 4/5. I bought it and a sequel at the book sale this fall, but I can't remember where I put the second one so probably reading something else.
Also finished up the X of Swords crossover (I've read the X-comics for...33 years now), and been reading misc gaming stuff. Got Tome of Beasts II and Tasha's Everlasting Cauldron last week; the DCC Lankhmar boxed set; the Basic Fantasy rulebook and the Basic Fantasy Field Guide; also last week, and Hunters in Death, a hexcrawl setting/mini-campaign fanzine by Gothridge Manor yesterday. So lots to browse through.
(X of Swords is definitely the tightest plotted crossover I've probably ever seen; amazingly good throughout. Tome of Beasts II was excellent; Tasha's is fine but not blowing me away; DCC Lankhmar absolutely blew me away with the insane production values; not so much with the vast number of pages taken up by situation specific charts (this is my first encounter with the DCC rule system and...wow. What a waste of space in this BEAUTIFUL product!!!); Basic Fantasy was fine (knew what I was getting); the Field Guide was actually very good; Hunters in Death was also very good/recommended.)

Tasha's you kind of have to read, just to keep up on everything - especially if the players are asking to include it. I do like the optional feats; I'll be allowing them.

Sandman Slim I liked, the 2nd one was pretty good too. I haven't gone on to read the rest; but apparently Kadrey produced the final one in the series this year. I like series that come to an end. (Ah, a quick glance at GoodReads, 12th book coming out next summer will be final volume.) Maybe I'll get back on the train and try to read the rest before the end.