Robert's comments

Robert's comments from the Fantasy Book Club group.

Note: Robert is no longer a member of this group.

This Is Not The Michael You're Looking For wrote: "I don't remember the full details, but in Elizabeth Haydon's Symphony of Ages, Achmed invented this crossbow-like device which shoots multiple razor sharp little discs which he curve around walls a..."

He called it a Cwellan, and he'd use it to take people's heads off from like a mile away WHILE around corners (he had a unique gift allowing him to locate them). The devastating thing about it is that it fired in three disc bursts, and all three discs would hit the same exact spot, so the second and third discs would drive the first disc even deeper into the target, causing even more damage. It really was a vicious weapon!

H wrote: "I used to go to the library a lot as a kid but they stopped buying new books and instead began spending all their money on videos and comics...Once I read all the comics, I stopped going."

I understand what you are saying. When I lived in Bloomington, IN, the library was huge and had lots of new stuff everytime I went. When I moved to Columbus, OH, the nearest library was very small, and only had a few shelves of non-fiction.

What I found though, is that I can go to the website for the Columbus Metropolitan Library, and from their website I can request books from all of the library branches in the city and have them sent to my local branch for me, where I can pick them up and return them.

Maybe if you are having trouble finding something new at your branch, you can check out their website and see if they can do something similar for you?

JG wrote: "I think it's telling that whenever I see/hear almost anyone from this movie in something else, I don't think, "Oh, that's Cary Elwes," I think "Oh, look, it's Wesley!"

And I also just realized tha..."

Yeah, made the first Saw movie a little disconcerting for me....Westley, you're fat!!!!

Inigo has and always will be my perfect image of the refined swordsman. Educated, intelligent, fierce, and determined to achieve his goals no matter what.

Plus he's hilarious!

Yep, pulled one on me. Once I realized it, I did enjoy the author's comments, especially those against himself. The only part I did not like was the "alternate ending" proposed by S. Morgenstern, which pretty much ruined the feel of the ending.

Robin wrote: "I agree - I could not have asked for better casting - probably one of the finest casting jobs since Luke/Hans/Leia in Star Wars."

You are now my hero for the next 15 minutes for working a Star Wars reference into a love story discussion!

I do have to agree. Somehow, someway, that casting director struck upon gold, and came up with the perfect cast for this story. I really can't imagine anyone else playing any of these rolls without ruining the story.

Everything was wrapped at the end, what is there to make a sequel about? Buttercup and Westley probably went and lived on a farm, Ingigo became a Pirate probably with Fezzik right beside him. There's nothing left.

Not to mention that at this point this story has a HUGE fan base. Absolutely enormous. Trying to write a sequel at this point would have far too many expectations on it, and if it didn't live up to those in even the slightest it would be a complete failure. I say leave well enough alone!

I grew up on the movie, and read the book in highschool. For me, the entire time I read the book, I saw the movie cast. Anytime I read a line, I heard the cast's voices and inflections. This is one of those stories that can be really good either way. However, I think to be truly appreciated you have to hear the delivery of the lines. Half of what makes all the quotes so memorable is the manner in which they are delivered, and you just cant get that off of a page.

Now, to be fair, the book made a bigger deal of some things, like rhyming, that helped explain the backgrounds of the characters more, which I enjoyed.

All in all, I have to agree though, and say I like watching the movie more than I like reading the book.

This is one of my favorite classic stories. There's something for everyone in it (Fencing, fighting, chases, pirates...true love!), and it's really good for anyone of any age.

The plot line is simple but good, and the characters are all very well written. Everyone will have their favorite, but none of the characters are really hateable. Humperdink is snake, but he never really did anything to make go "OMG I hate that guy!!!".

There were a few things in the book that I didn't expect, having grown up on the movie, but I think they added more depth to the storyline. Kind of like when I read Willow (having grown up on that movie as well).

Omg, I love this story!

"Marrwiage is what bwings us togevah today. That Bwessed awangement, that dweam within a dweam!"

"there is a shortage of perfect breasts in this world. Twould be a pity to damage yours."

"Life IS pain! Anyone who says otherwise is selling something."

Gotta agree. The whole reason the series works as an 12 book series is because you are not reading about one character for 12 books, or even two groups of characters for 12 books. If i remember correctly, at this point there are something like 8 or 9 different groups wandering around to read about, and to tell it all requires a series of this size!

At this point, I am enjoying all of the character's story lines. For a while, it was frustrating with Aviendha, Nynaeve, and Elayne, but once Brigitte smacked them down for being ingrates, they got a lot better.

Now, my question is you have admittedly not read the eries. What made you think it just dragged along for the sake of making money? I say, try reading the first few books and see what you think!

Chris wrote: "But then we'd have to figure out which of those two to skip when the GR book comes up. "

Alternate them. For the first one, put up a poll, asking everyone which they would like to read with the GR book for the month: Classic or New. After than, just alternate them. If the poll shows that everyone wants a GR and a New book the first time, then the second time a GR book comes along, it gets read with a classic.

I just finished reading Animist by Eve Forward. It was pretty good, and VERY stand alone. The setting could be used for more, and so could the characters, but everything in this novel is wrapped up pretty neatly by the end.

Sounds reasonable. Yeah, from my understanding, Robert Jordan had the last few chapters of the entire story written, and notes on the bulk of it. His intent was to make A Memory of Light the last book, no matter how large it needed to be to do so. Without him to drive that particular point, it is possible it might get broken up, but I am hoping they will stay true with Jordan's original vision.

I undertsand what you are saying, it does seem to move rather quickly. On top of that, I saw a lot of things that reminded me of Wheel of Time, especially once you get deeper into the series. Still, I think it' a pretty good story in it's own right: I like how magic works, and all the different magical creatures out there like Dreamwalkers and Confessors. It's interesting.

Jim wrote: "Goofing with gender roles in fantasy bugs me. Men & womens' historical roles didn't just happen by accident. There are physical differences in the sexes. Women are fully as capable as men in man..."

If I had wanted my stories and roles to be historically accurate, I would have picked up reading Alternate History novels, not Fantasy.

I think the point in an author having a female protagonist is not to show that "Women can be just as good as men" but rather that "This woman is just as good as a man". It adds a new dimension to the character. Yes, they are frequently not as strong, but they make up for it by being a little quicker, or a little more clever, or a better planner. It forces the character to not rely on brawn so much, and to find alternative means to compensate. I can see what you mean about not putting her in the front line, where you typically see everyone on one side fall down while the other side pushes through when they first join battle. That is all about strength and bracing yourself for the collision. But I see no reason why a woman who has been trained in sword and armor can't be in that same mass of fighting people, just a little further back. Once the two army's are mixed together, the forward progression slows, and in some instances comes to a stop. It is far less about strength and much more about speed and the accuracy of your strikes at this point. The faster you are, the more you can attack and the more you can block. Strength comes into play very little in that. In fact,in most battles, "fancy" sword play is pretty useless. You don't have time for parries, spins, or fancy footwork. If you don't want anyone getting you from behind, you need to do away with the guy in front of you with as few strikes as possible, and I can see where a well trained woman would be able to thrive in that battle.

Myself, I enjoy it either way. Kahlan from Sword of Truth is a strong, skilled woman, and I enjoyed reading about her battles in the series. Likewise, Rand is an extremely skilled swordsman in addition to being a channeler, and the battles he has fought blade to blade in are amazing. I am unable to say which of the two makes a better hero or warrior, most likely neither. All I care about is that the characters are well written, and have excellent explanations for their skill. We saw Rand earn his Heron-mark blade through hard work, and Kahlan's father was a King and warrior chosen because of the training he could give her for battle. The same goes for magic using heroes. A well written character is not tarnished in my eyes by sex. It is the writing that makes me hate or love them.

Assassin's Apprentice is really good. A fresh setting, fresh magic system, and all kinda of intrigue. I really enjoyed the entire series, and there are a of different issues that get raised in the novel that are worthy of group discussion.

I've discussed Neverwhere with the Sci-Fi/Fantasy club, even saw the movie for it. Pretty good, but out of the two, I like Assassin's Apprentice more.