Chompa’s Comments (group member since Feb 16, 2015)

Chompa’s comments from the Grimdark Fantasy group.

I was excited to see this in my email as a giveaway this morning.

https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...

This is a book I've really been looking forward to reading.

Silvana, that looks really good. I just checked out the trailer. Seems like I have another series to add to the watch list.

Probably too late unless you are west coast, Paul. My top three would have to be Abercrombie's First Law trilogy. Scott Lynch's Gentleman Bastards series and Daniel Polansky's Low Town. The last one is mash up with the hard-boiled detective genre, but really good.

The Blade Itself
The Lies of Locke Lamora
Low Town

Ditto. I started the third Low Town last night. Not far in, but already greatly enjoying it.

I got around to reading Jon's first short The Beast in the Rocks: Koholt Chronicles, Book I. Tales from the World of All and enjoyed it.

I mention in my review needing to adapt to the writing. That's not a bad thing necessarily. Every time I read Cormac McCarthy I have the same problem, but after diving in for a bit find the writing flows well.

The book is very much in a Grimdark vein. I'll have to read the next one - it is on my kindle reader and ready to roll.

Ben Affleck as Batman is one I'm going to wait on. I was initially less than enthused (big screen Daredevil several years ago... yikes), but I hold out hope. Affleck is kind of a fanboy and I hope that love of the source material will shine through.

Drew Barrymore - the look and voice both bother me.

The Preacher by Garth Ennis is being produced for AMC. I loved that comic series, but have deep fears that they can translate that to TV.

It will take a lot more superhero shows to wear me out it seems.

For me Grimdark is a grittier, more realistic take on fantasy. The characters tend to be flawed and generally not heroic.

As has been stated at times in this group, labeling is a double-edged sword. It is great for finding other stories or books that are similar, but it also seems to set limits that may not be applicable. I for one appreciate labels to help me understand and categorize books and find new ones.

I'm a gigantic super-hero/Star Wars/Star Trek nerd. Let's not forget Dungeons and Dragons nerd too, but this is about movies and we don't speak of the D&D movies ever.

I've been on a binge of all superhero related TV shows. Right now I'd say that DC is beating Marvel on the small screen (the opposite of the big screen). Arrow, Flash and Gotham are all solid performers. Agents of SHIELD and Agent Carter are both very good too from the Marvel side.

Daredevil on Netflix is probably the gold standard, but that's a 10 episode season that was crafted with love and maybe some sort of magic. It is the Grimdark of superhero TV. I'm really looking forward to Jessica Jones which I believe is premiering in 10 days on Netflix.

Welcome Paul!

This thread is all over the place. I love it.

Jennifer Connelly is an attractive young lady.

Drew Barrymore was okay in ET. Not sure I can stand her since that time.

A book that was similar, but not as enjoyable to me was The Sword-Edged Blonde. Once again, it is the private eye vibe in a fantasy world.

I just finished book two of Low Town. I found it much darker than the first book and not quite as good.

I loved the book of The Martian and frankly was quite pleased with how the movie was done. The technical aspects, while fine in the book, would have been snoozeville in a movie. I thought the final rescue was a bit over the top and am saddened they didn't use the books ending, but overall I really liked the film.

The Greatcoat books have been on my list for a bit. Sound really good.

The whole community coming together about the missing girl is something that actually rang false to me. It feels (and maybe even says) that Low Town has that sort of thing happen all the time.

Slang and speech: I personally love the way Warden responds to people. It is straight-up a steal from so many detective novels, especially the old hard-boiled types. He is always making smart-ass quips and being sarcastic. I can totally hear Humphrey Bogart saying half his lines (not that I picture Bogey in the role).

Brittany is not a broad nor a bro. I was trying to figure that out til I see that it was an auto-correct issue. Sherlock and Watson is dead on.

Uprooted keeps showing up in comments the last few months. I really need to read that.

A female partnership that I thought of is Winter Ihernglass and Jane from the Django Wexler's Shadow Campaigns. Winter is a character I really enjoyed. Jane not so much.

Book 2 has more revelations about Warden's past, but I've yet to discover his fall from grace.

Honestly, I couldn't think of a female/female partnership. I've never read either of the ones Heather mentioned, but it generally strikes me that in fiction we do not see many of those relationships.

Bromance is not a term that I find offensive. I instead see it as amusing.

Regarding Bromance: I tend to think of Kirk and Spock, Aubrey and Maturin (from Patrick O'Brian, Samwise and Frodo, and Jean and Locke. These are men who love each other very deeply, but not in a "romantic" way despite the name Bromance.

It seems that some might perceive it as unmanly or even homosexual. I argue the opposite. It takes a strength of character to accept and value such a friendship.

On a personal note, I lost my best friend nearly two years ago. I'm still very close to his wife and sons, but there is a huge hole where he existed. Reading books where these bromances are present is bittersweet, but overall I love them when well portrayed. Apologies if this too personal.