What Did You Read Today?

[Meacon Keaton]

I wanted to start reading Game of Thrones.. should I not?

I plan to soon. Don't let them stop you. Kongo doesn't like anything, and Will is Canadian.

[Liam]

I wanted to start reading Game of Thrones.. should I not?

If you can read any widely marketed book in the last few years, you'll be fine. For many people I feel like Game of Thrones is their first foray into this sort of character-based political fantasy. I already read through much of the Wheel of Time before getting to this, so a lot of the tropes were similar. I gave it a shot because I was promised really good writing, which I personally didn't find. So yeah, while I can't personally recommend it, definitely check it out for yourself.

However, Jordan's writing never attains the subtlety or sophistication of, say, George RR Martin

from Amazon.co.uk

Just throwing it out there

[KONGO]

Jordan is a worse writer, but that doesn't mean Martin is any good. I read Wheel of Time when I was much younger and had a less discerning taste in prose.

[Liam]

I prefer non-fiction as a general rule.

[KONGO]

Have you read The Line Upon a Wind? Beautiful book about the Napoleonic Wars, specifically the naval aspect and Lord Nelson's jaunts through the Mediterranean. My favorite non-fiction book by a mile. May have to have an interest in that sort of stuff but I think it's very engaging.

[SRN]

I hate all writing.

[Liam]

Have you read The Line Upon a Wind? Beautiful book about the Napoleonic Wars, specifically the naval aspect and Lord Nelson's jaunts through the Mediterranean. My favorite non-fiction book by a mile. May have to have an interest in that sort of stuff but I think it's very engaging.

My problem at the moment is my lack of time for reading. Used to do it on the journey to work, but have limited time now.

Will have a look into it, sounds interesting. A man I used to work with talked to me about that kinda stuff, and I'm getting more into military history generally.

[METALMAN]

Finished Cocaine Nights by J.G. Ballard. I love J.G. Ballard, would be tempted to place him as the best author of the 20th century, and this was all kinda dystopian like his other stuff, but there was something markedly different about it. Still really enjoyed it.

[The Sandman]

Finished the first Hunger Games book and it was good, but i kind of expected it to be even darker, though my acknowledge about the whole trilogy was pretty much that it's similar idea to Battle Royale and the way they made it sound in the film's interviews made me think it would be more brutal or something, anyway a pretty good read, need to get the other two sometime.

Going to start Murakami's The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle next.

Edited May 23, 2012 by The Sandman

[Summers]

I fucking hate trumpets in ska.

and ska.

[SRN]

I would also like to note that I hate everything that other people like.

[Skummy]

I never got into Game Of Thrones, but it was better than some fantasy tripe.

The problem with fantasy writing isn't the reams of exposition which - as you say - are largely necessary, it's the often flowery, overly fancy faux-intelligent manner in which it's mostly written.

My problem with the vast majority of fantasy novels, though, is that everyone tries to write Tolkein. It doesn't matter what they claim to be writing - they're writing Middle Earth. It's all dwarves and elves and orcs and dragons and wizards and all the rest of it, all following the same rules and logic. Throw in a quest, and you're done.

If you want a genuinely compelling and brilliant fantasy novel that's got absolutely no connection to all that crap, read the Gormenghast Trilogy. It's the best.

[KONGO]

If you want a genuinely compelling and brilliant fantasy novel that's got absolutely no connection to all that crap, read the Gormenghast Trilogy. It's the best.

Skummy is a very bright man. I can't believe this escaped me. I've read the first one and loved it, but I haven't kept on because the version I have is all of them combined into one which is too big a book for me to sit down with. I managed to get the first one in a standalone from the library. But yes, Gormenghast is awesome.

[Skummy]

To be fair, the third book is completely un-necessary, and the fourth one (written by Mervyn Peake's widow) even moreso. Understandable under the circumstances, but you can get pretty much the entire story from the first two books and not miss anything by leaving out the others.

[KONGO]

When I finish the Border Trilogy, I may have to dig into the second book, then. Though I will probably get through a palate cleanser first.

And about the fantasy being Middle-Earth thing, I agree definitely, but a lot of that has to do with that sense of adventure. Gormenghast, for instance, is not an adventure book at all. I feel like it's fairly difficult to come up with an original adventure setting. And I think it's tough to write anything with swords and magic that isn't comparable to Middle-Earth. One of the only successes I can think of is Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun which just gives such a weird, twisted, and dark world.

Also agreed on the faux-intelligent writing. Another reason I really dug The Mote in God's Eye. Pournelle and Niven put forth no pretension that they were great writers. They wrote very simply and it's something I appreciated so much.

[Skummy]

I think it's possible to write an adventure story without it being Lord Of The Rings-lite, or without pulling monsters from the Dungeons & Dragons bestiary.

Fantasy hasn't been my strongest area for some time, so don't ask me to give too many examples, but just off the top of my head - look at Star Wars. It's a fantasy adventure story far more than it's strictly sci-fi, but the space setting allows the freedom to invent new races, new worlds, new concepts and all the rest, without relying on the standard set of fantasy tropes and character types. Would it be that difficult to create a similarly compelling world in a different setting?

Ultimately, I don't much like Tolkein when Tolkein's writing it, never mind when hundreds of other hacks try it. Perhaps we need to look to fantasy fiction written before Tolkein just to prove it's easily done, but again, not really my area.

[KONGO]

Yes. It's very difficult. So much has been done and it's so easy to become too cognizant of that fact, which stifles your creativity. Most people just write what they want to write instead, which means they write a lot of take-offs that have one original idea in them.

[Skummy]

I'm the biggest hypocrite in this, incidentally, in that two of the three short stories I'm currently working on are shamelessly Lovecraft-inspired. And there's no guarantee that the third one won't go the same way.

[SRN]

These days, with all the fantasy writing and fantasy worlds that has been created over the years, I agree with Kong that it is hard to come up with an original concept today. Granted, I have never been the biggest fan of Tolkien but that is mostly because of the writing itself and not the setting. But I will definetely check out Gormenghast; it sounds interesting from the brief look I had at it on Wikipedia.

[KONGO]

I think the best way is to start with your original concept and build out from there. But again, that's easy to say, a lot more difficult to do.