Chris's comments
(member since Feb 02, 2009)
Chris's comments from the SciFi and Fantasy Book Club group.
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I would say yes, it is basically the same thing as traditional reading.
The brain is taking in the same information, each and every word, in the proper order. The content is the same (assuming you are not reading an abridged version).
That being said, there might be some added variables to reading by audio, in that you get the narrator's tweak of the material. Not that they're changing anything, but they may stress certain things a particular way. That's neither good nor bad, or it could be both.
Yeah..and you can order extra books if you don't want to wait for your automatic selection to come around. I pre-ordered The Gathering Storm just the other day. 10 bucks for the new WoT hardcover. Can't beat that.
Not to mention, Dawn...BOMC2 books are all $9.95, which includes shipping.In the other club, they all cost several dollars more and then tack on more dollars for shipping.
The only thing about BOMC2 is that you have a queue and are sent a book every month. But if you can buy one ten dollar book a month, that's cool. It work for me.
I'll let Robin get with you there...they did have a different publisher when I got the first one, so they might not be in print from that one anymore up there.
Peregrine, I've ordered mine through Robin and Michael's website.
Manuel wrote: "I remember in the early 80's. One of the TV networks reported a fictional terrorist event happening in Charleston S Carolina. At the end of the program, a nuclear bomb destroys Charleston. The whole thing was being "reported" from a fake CNN style newsroom.Again, many people thought it was the real thing. ..."
Dude..I remember that....
Wikipedia has some good summaries of the first books, for a quick reminder of what happened and who is who.
Nothing on GRRM's website. It's probably not an additional delay, but rather the same delay we've been experiencing ever since the "I'm splitting the book so I can release part now and part in a shorter amount of time" thing started oh, 5 years ago.He's excited about his HBO series that is casting now. Between that, traveling all over the world to conventions, following two professional football teams, and editing every compilation in the Fantasy genre, he's hard at work on the book.
In short, he is STILL writing the thing. Amazon has no idea, nor have they ever known when to expect it. They are guessing, and they are praying that if the thing ever does appear to the public, that his readers will still be living and want to read the thing.......
Carolyn, I didn't necessarily mean you when I said "argument". It had descended to that level before either of us posted anything.
I like your definition of the post apocalpyse and watching the society rebuild. In Shannara, at least, that has occured, and some of the later books show that story. The early ones I wouldn't put in this category because they didn't touch on that subject very much, and it was very 'epic fantasy'. I can't say for sure about the Elliott series, but I thought the points made in its favor were fine.
The only real disagreement I might have with what you said is the fact that it should take place here, on this planet. Other places could have one too. In fact, in some of those stories, it actually turned out to be this world after all that was destroyed, but I won't give examples as they are spoilers...
Just as Brooke did with her examples of Satan and the Wicked Witch. Readily established villains who get a shot at telling the story from their perspective. Most villains don't see themselves as such, unless they're slapstick adversaries on an old cartoon, like Snidely Whiplash or Boris & Natasha.
And to the orcs of Cirith Ungol, even hereos such as Frodo and Sam would be villains. Superman is a villain to Lex Luthor.
So what we need is a clear case of a universally accepted villain telling his/her story from his/her own perspective. Anti-heroes are simply too "gray" to be true "villains." Sure, we could focus on anti-heroes, and while I think that would be a great category theme all its own, I feel that it negates the whole point of studying a tale from a villain's perspective.
Wouldn't a technology-free, medieval type "fantasy" society be an example of what might emerge from an apocalypse?
Or are we only talking about certain kinds of apocalypses?
Just like with any label we attach to a book, some will fit it better than others, and some people will disagree. Is it really worth arguing about?
I'll agree with Brooke that all the anti-heroes don't really fit this category. They're more their own category. I see Kvothe, Thomas Covenant, Jimmy the Hand, and Fafhrd & the Mouser as anti-heroes.
Wizard's First Rule does have some POV from Darken Rahl's perpective, but not a huge part of the book. Also, didn't this group already read that?
Also Brooke, by the definition of a villain from one book having the POV in the nominated book (which I like, btw), I think we can include Lestat. He's certainly heroic in his own way, but Louis cast him as a villain in Interview. And some of his victims would certainly call him villainous....
Liz, I'd thought of that series too, but as Brooke says, the group already covered A Game of Thrones.
Also, the villain POVs don't really get going good until about the third book.
I'll second Banewrecker.
Your review is very well written, Ben. And for the most part, I agree. I gave it more stars simply because I enjoyed the read. I am optimistic that Keyes will give us something more in the other books. Have you read those?That being said, I can forgive the tropes and standard fare plot if it's setting something else up later. But no, I would certainly not want to read three more books like this.
Fantasy Themes:
-Through the Looking Glass Theme (character moved from normal "real" world to a fantasy realm)
-Historical Fantasy (either alt-history or a fantasy realm based on a historical location/time period)
-Stand alone fantasy theme (one book only)
-Point of View from a villian's eyes
-Discworld
-Fantasy anthology/collection (could even have a theme on the collection)
-Tolkien rip-offs (might make for interesting or heated discussions)
To be honest, sometimes it is refreshing to see a story that is told in only three books. More often than not, the series will sprawl over a dozen books or so. And while that's not a bad thing if the story is good, it's nice to be able to sit down and actually finish something without taking years.
So that being said, I'll answer the original question. Yes, it would be nice to see more stand alone books. Especially for a group like this, where we pick a different book each month to discuss. After several months of reading the first of a series, we now have started a whole bunch of series and either have to stop after one, or commit ourselves to more and more books over time.
Those were pretty funny. And Stephen probably has the most character development in the book.
I also like Anne, for her feistiness. And the Queen, for the way she brings everything together in a crisis.
It was the basis of the first Crash movie, the one with Holly Hunter. Not the best picture winner.
Honestly, I hated that movie enough that I couldn't read a book that inspired it. It's one of the few movies that I walked away from.
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