I always liked and will read still read Eddings. Easy to read and unlike say Robert Jordan who I also like does not need to waste 2-3 parargraphs about the same character pulling on her hair.

What soured me on him works as a writer was the Dreamer series of books. I have never written books myself, yet he tried to rehash the same story from the Belgariad and possibly the Mallereon and hoped none of the readers would notice. We have many of the similar characters from the first series just renamed yet they act very similar. Trying to pass a mostly rehashed series of characters and thinking the fans won't notice was the smart thing to do especially given he passed away shortly after unless I am mistaken.

I kept everything except the Dreamer series which I gave to a friend who was also a Eddings fan who then gave them away to goodwill with the rest of his Eddings novels.

Quote from: Ghostmaker;1141571Reread them. Even if they're the equivalent of B-movies, they're still fun. And I still consider Belgarath one of the best subversions of the 'wise old wizard' concept I've ever seen (for those not in the know, Belgarath is the wise old mentor figure, seven thousand years old. He's also totally disrespectable if you don't actually know who he is -- he comes off as an itinerant storyteller who drinks too much and shamelessly flirts with the ladies. This isn't entirely all an act, either).

Eh maybe some day.  Just on book 3 of Dresden re-read so I got a ways to go.  And I'll have a backlog of trashy Age of Sigmar novels to get through when finished lol.

Quote from: Ghostmaker;1141571Reread them. Even if they're the equivalent of B-movies, they're still fun. And I still consider Belgarath one of the best subversions of the 'wise old wizard' concept I've ever seen (for those not in the know, Belgarath is the wise old mentor figure, seven thousand years old. He's also totally disrespectable if you don't actually know who he is -- he comes off as an itinerant storyteller who drinks too much and shamelessly flirts with the ladies. This isn't entirely all an act, either).

To Eddings' credit, he is very good with characterization.  While some of the characters (especially once he gets to the Diamond Throne trilogies) can be a little two dimensional, most of them have both character arcs and confounding traits.  I think the best evidence of this is, by the time you are done, you know the characters well enough to say what they would do in any given situation.  That's a mark of pretty good characterization.

Quote from: Eirikrautha;1141695To Eddings' credit, he is very good with characterization.  While some of the characters (especially once he gets to the Diamond Throne trilogies) can be a little two dimensional, most of them have both character arcs and confounding traits.  I think the best evidence of this is, by the time you are done, you know the characters well enough to say what they would do in any given situation.  That's a mark of pretty good characterization.

Characterization is his best quality as a writer and the main reason to reread any of his work. Even in the one-off, non-fantasy novel he did, "The Loser", that trend is strong.  Furthermore, it is the relative lack of quality characterization that dooms the "Dreamers" series.

I'm reading the first Witcher book and enjoying it so far...

To all those reading Peace Talks, am I the only one that felt like the whole book was just a weak lead-up to the next book? OK, it was also a chance to name drop practically every supernatural Harry has ever encountered, but really...almost nothing happens. I love the DFs, but this one is not one of the better ones.

Quote from: HappyDaze;1142177To all those reading Peace Talks, am I the only one that felt like the whole book was just a weak lead-up to the next book? OK, it was also a chance to name drop practically every supernatural Harry has ever encountered, but really...almost nothing happens. I love the DFs, but this one is not one of the better ones.

My biggest complaint is that everyone seems to be acting like idiots so that there can be some conflict.

Quote from: Shasarak;1142183My biggest complaint is that everyone seems to be acting like idiots so that there can be some conflict.

Very much this. The conflict between Harry and Ebenezer felt EXTREMELY forced. I'm really hoping Butcher comes up with a good reason in the next book for Thomas' actions.

And I have a real problem with the Fomor. I've never really cared that much for them, but this new plot is just so, so stupid. Their plan makes no sense unless they're trying to lose on purpose. Sure, lets just piss everybody off and then walk out to let them plan their defenses. That's a lot smarter than launching a surprise assault when the hex goes off . . . or, better yet, sending this apparently OP Titan to go knock down the Outer Gates with a surprise attack from the inside while everyone else is busy at the talks or fighting the Outsiders.

Quote from: HappyDaze;1142177To all those reading Peace Talks, am I the only one that felt like the whole book was just a weak lead-up to the next book? OK, it was also a chance to name drop practically every supernatural Harry has ever encountered, but really...almost nothing happens. I love the DFs, but this one is not one of the better ones.

Sounds like I should wait until this fall/winter to pick it up then. Which isn't a huge struggle with how long I've already been waiting and how busy I am with life. Maybe I'll pick them both up for Christmas.

I've been reading Man of Gold by M.A.R Barker and Battlefield Earth by the crazy alien guy L. Ron Hubbard. Luckily Battlefield Earth isn't anywhere as awful as people say it is, at least in my opinion.

I'm about halfway through Poul Anderson's "Mother of Kings".  He has such a deft touch with dark age pseudo-historical mixed with a touch of a fantasy.  The writing is a great example of how straight-forward text can convey a tone.  It's also kind of depressing, because Anderson also has no illusions about the range of human nature, which nearly always appears in his work.

I was quarantined for the last month with the 'rona, so I actually put away 12 books in the last month. However, currently, I am reading "Grunt Life" by Weston Ochse. Not bad, the closest sort of thing being stuff like Monster Hunter Inc, only with aliens. Lots of equipment porn and bravado.

I am biting the bullet and reading "Lovecraft Country" and half way through out.

So far it seems like a rather mundane supernatural story with black characters in an over-emphasized racist setting. The writing itself is professional enough. Lovecraft is used symbolically or as a source for an oversized SJW wood tick.

I'm kind of betwixt and between at the moment.

I just finished Albert Speer's Inside the Third Reich, which I'd never read before even though it's been around almost as long as I have. At some point I'll surely read the more recent debunking of Speer's personal mythology, but probably not this year, there's only so much Nazi biography I can take at a time. RPG value: nil.

I am presently finishing Jane Harrison's  Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion, which I have read several times before and always enjoy. RPG value: Depends how much you want to drill down into setting religions in general, and the classical Greek pantheon in particular, but I find her emphasis on festivals, superstition, rituals of aversion, cthonic deities (plus keres and heroes), and mystery cults a useful corrective to the ho-hum Olympians.

So what's next? I don't read much genre fiction anymore, except for Jack Vance, who I re-read regularly. But I had a big Vance re-read late last year, so no, too soon. Not sure what's next.

Hello, everyone. First time poster here.

I've got a lot of "superversive" books (sci-fi and urban fantasy, mostly) during this quarentine.

Most recent purchases, include:

The Jake Cutter Conspiracy, by R. Kyle Hannah

The Dream of the Iron Dragon, by Robert Kroese

Storm Between the Stars, by Karl K. Gallagher

Also, Steve Hackett's autobiography, A Genesis in my Bed.