The House of Hades (The Heroes of Olympus, #4) The House of Hades discussion


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NICO… YOU KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT O.o

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message 4651: by Deaths coming (new)

Deaths coming torture mastrer-if you want someone torture he wil And I will say this, I think the reason why it felt so "Corny" is because Rick is finding trouble with his audience with the fact they are growing up, so he is trying to change it from young adult to adult, however it is a change for the series, I think that's why it feels so weird


message 4652: by [deleted user] (last edited Oct 10, 2015 09:23PM) (new)

Of course it felt watered down. He's a school teacher. Being politically correct and safe is probably totally ingrained in him. It sure seems like that in his stories anyway.


message 4653: by Deaths coming (new)

Deaths coming torture mastrer-if you want someone torture he wil Sorry, can you please stop? It's clear your just not a fan of his work and got to old for his work


message 4654: by [deleted user] (new)

Why can't people have negative opinions? They're called comments, not compliments.


message 4655: by Deaths coming (new)

Deaths coming torture mastrer-if you want someone torture he wil You can have negative opinion, however it's clear that you are not the target audience and seem to be making more comments about the actually author instead of the book


message 4656: by [deleted user] (last edited Oct 10, 2015 09:27PM) (new)

I guess Percy got too old for his work too, considering I'm the same age as him. :P


message 4657: by [deleted user] (last edited Oct 10, 2015 09:28PM) (new)

I made exactly one.


message 4658: by Deaths coming (new)

Deaths coming torture mastrer-if you want someone torture he wil I actually agree with that aspect, Rick does need a brand new series, so he can get back to his target audience, as I said in my comment, he's trying to keep up with us growing however the writing is still young adult, like 14 to 15 when most of the fans of the series are now 18 to 20, it's time to end it


message 4659: by [deleted user] (last edited Oct 10, 2015 09:34PM) (new)

I don't know if it's really good to just say "well, they're for ages ____" as an excuse for people losing interest in a story. The Harry Potter books never had that problem, because they had elements that were truly rewarding (and therefore good for anybody). Saying a story is "supposed" to only be good for a certain kind of person seems kind of like an excuse for not having anything really worth while in the first place.
Just because kids are easier to sucker doesn't mean they're getting something they deserve or that is more suited to them.


message 4660: by [deleted user] (new)

I literally have no idea what is going on but okay.


message 4661: by Deaths coming (new)

Deaths coming torture mastrer-if you want someone torture he wil While that is true to some aspect, however this is the thing, I still enjoy percy Jackson, even though I grown out of it and all of that, and I am not going to act like it's perfect, and this is fact, there are demographics, when you get older you do look for different things, saying that it's an excuse doesn't work because they designed it for younger readers, which as I said is a valid reason. Like would you recomand to a 20 year old a Disney movie? No you wouldn't however that doesn't make the Disney movie bad


message 4662: by [deleted user] (last edited Oct 10, 2015 09:39PM) (new)

Abigail,

Huh? Why do you feel the need to tell us that?
Just try to think of something interesting to say about the book then.


message 4663: by [deleted user] (last edited Oct 10, 2015 09:43PM) (new)

Yes, of course I would. EVERYONE likes Disney movies.
Disney movies are purposely and artfully corny.

I don't believe in things being "aimed at different ages." That's a lie. Either something is quality or it isn't.
If there's even a shred of quality worth appreciating, then anybody can appreciate it. Percy Jackson is lacking something if it fails to appeal to fans as they get older.
If there is something you appreciated about it before, you can still appreciate it now, as you just said.


message 4664: by Deaths coming (new)

Deaths coming torture mastrer-if you want someone torture he wil I am sorry I have disagree with you there, of course there are things aimed at different ages, would you show game of thrones to a 5 year old? And sorry how about the wiggles? While yes you can go, that is good however I am out of it's age range


message 4665: by [deleted user] (last edited Oct 10, 2015 09:47PM) (new)

The wiggles is an example of something bad quality.
I wouldn't even show it to my little brother, because HE'S better than that, even if it's "aimed" at him.
I'd give him the Disney movie.

And Game of Thrones? I wouldn't show it to a kid for a different reason. Because they can't fully understand certain things, not because they shouldn't appreciate it.


message 4666: by Deaths coming (new)

Deaths coming torture mastrer-if you want someone torture he wil Really? The wiggles is bad quality? sorry to say that is purly opinion, the wiggles is one of my fav child hood shows, and what you are saying is completely ignoring demographics, which have been studied for years for marketing purposes


message 4667: by Deaths coming (new)

Deaths coming torture mastrer-if you want someone torture he wil Of course you can go something is bad for everyone, however it's clear when something is aimed at a certain age, and guess what? You can respect that it still good and everything, however you can't enjoy it


message 4668: by [deleted user] (new)

Liking something is the opinion.
Something being bad quality is the fact. The Wiggles is definitely not a well-developed masterpiece show.
Liking or disliking a thing is independent of determining its quality. I could love the wiggles, and it would be the same.


message 4669: by Deaths coming (new)

Deaths coming torture mastrer-if you want someone torture he wil Then how in the hell do you determine if something is bad quality? Like the most you can do is say the effects are good, and that's probably it, everything else is subjective, you can show trends in what's good, like saying this is the staple of good acting to most people, however that's it


message 4670: by [deleted user] (last edited Oct 10, 2015 09:53PM) (new)

WHAT may I ask is good quality about the Wiggles?

There are countless little-kid shows of people going around singing badly written songs. Certain kids might associate a stronger liking with it, for whatever arbitrary reason, kids are weird. But the liking remains independent of quality.


message 4671: by Deaths coming (new)

Deaths coming torture mastrer-if you want someone torture he wil And what determines good quality? You still haven't answered that


message 4672: by [deleted user] (last edited Oct 10, 2015 09:56PM) (new)

There's character development, plot structure, voice, style, how much it challenges your way of thinking ethically and logically, etc, etc, etc. Musical talent, to name one thing. Unless you're saying the Wiggles compare to Mozart and it's just subjective.
Of course quality is a real thing.


message 4673: by [deleted user] (new)

Bad and good are only based on opinion.


message 4674: by [deleted user] (new)

If we're talking about entertainment value, that's one thing.
But there's a LOT to discuss when it comes to a book.


message 4675: by [deleted user] (new)

Actually they're not.
Liking and disliking are opinions.
Things can be more and less worthy of our liking.

Don't be a relativist.


message 4676: by Deaths coming (new)

Deaths coming torture mastrer-if you want someone torture he wil All of which is subjective, quality is real but I will say this to the end of my days, almost everything is subjective , now of course there are levels, like Mozart is better, however that is a master piece by almost anyone's choice


message 4677: by [deleted user] (new)

Exactly. That's why discussion is good. We can talk about how to make something a higher level.


message 4678: by [deleted user] (last edited Oct 10, 2015 10:02PM) (new)

Sometimes all the little "subjective" things add up, and you get a masterpiece. Not when you say, "well, it's not worth talking about because everything is subjective anyway."
It's worth thinking about and discussing these things. It is.


message 4679: by Deaths coming (new)

Deaths coming torture mastrer-if you want someone torture he wil Okay, however this is the thing, as we get older we look for different things, that's why there are things aimed at younger kids, that's why there are "Boy" toys and "girl" toys, because of demographics


message 4680: by Deaths coming (new)

Deaths coming torture mastrer-if you want someone torture he wil sorry need to go and eat


message 4681: by [deleted user] (last edited Oct 10, 2015 10:03PM) (new)

Just because we look for different things doesn't mean they are more worthy to us.

I enjoyed toys for boys and girls when I was little. Quality is quality.


message 4682: by [deleted user] (new)

Ok, thanks for the discussion.


message 4683: by [deleted user] (last edited Oct 10, 2015 10:25PM) (new)

Just for the heck of it, here's a quote from C. S. Lewis:

"Objects do not merely receive, but merit our approval or disapproval, our reverence or our contempt, etc".

Not as much as we pretend these days is actually "subjective." There ARE ways to tell stories that are intrinsically better quality. Read Poetics by Aristotle. Read books about character development. Denying quality and saying "everything is just subjective" is ironically the most close minded thing of all.
Some things have more value, despite any feelings we personally have toward them. An opinion is how we FEEL about something, not how something IS.
That's why it's important to discuss books with each other and find out what the important things are to improve. Otherwise we are just lazy and fooling ourselves.


message 4684: by Matthew (new) - rated it 5 stars

Matthew I feel while that while there are works of objectively higher quality than others, such as Mozart versus The Wiggles, when you leave the realms of the sublime and the abysmal, there is a strong element of subjectivity involved. I read Poetics (And gave it 5 stars) and several other books about storytelling. Although I suspect Blue disagrees, I feel that Riordan's work falls into that middle spectrum.

It's also important to recognize the difference between that the demographic a work is made for and the demographic which enjoys said work are not the same thing, and just because the creator of a work has/had a demographic in mind does not necessarily mean they should market it to the demographic at the expense of everyone else.

I do think, to tie these points together, that the ability of a work to appeal to all sorts of people regardless of age, sex, cultural background, and so on is a good sign of objective quality, such as with Harry Potter, as it can signify an archetypal resonance with the audience.


message 4685: by [deleted user] (last edited Oct 13, 2015 09:14AM) (new)

I'm not sure what you mean about things that aren't sublime or abysmal necessarily being subjective for reason of falling in middle ground. Can't those works be closer to one or the other? Closer to being sublime or abysmal, if not ultimately reaching either?
I'm sure in stories like Percy Jackson there are elements on both sides. Some people who the good parts appeal to find it worth sticking around for the the bad parts. Taste is subjective, but we can all challenge ourselves to think about how it could've been a stronger story.

I definitely agree with the point that appeal to all types of people is a sign of objective quality. Marketing at the expense of others is an odd idea, at least if it's going to serve no purpose except to limit the amount of human nature you incorporate. Which is exactly what Middle Grade and YA do. (And I'm not talking about mature content. I'm talking about the general dumbing down of the tone).


message 4686: by Kevin (new) - rated it 4 stars

Kevin Deaths coming wrote: "like Mozart is better, however that is a master piece by almost anyone's choice ..."

I would disagree about that being a masterpiece.

I do however, agree that everything is subjective.


message 4687: by Matthew (new) - rated it 5 stars

Matthew Blue wrote: "I'm not sure what you mean about things that aren't sublime or abysmal necessarily being subjective for reason of falling in middle ground. Can't those works be closer to one or the other? Closer t..."

I'm saying that it's blurry, even though some are closer to one end than others, yes. The issue is that some people may love certain elements of a story, while others hate them.


message 4688: by [deleted user] (last edited Oct 13, 2015 08:24PM) (new)

Blurry is a good word.

Kevin, so you objectively believe that everything is subjective?


message 4689: by [deleted user] (last edited Oct 13, 2015 08:41PM) (new)

The way I see it, if I say blue is my favorite color, that is a subjective statement. I am merely saying that I like it the best.
However, if I say blue is the best color, I must be prepared to prove it, as I am stating what I believe to be a fact.
If we say all colors are equal and one preference is as good as another, that is another belief of fact. There is always room for debate when someone claims something is true, and if there are people out there who say Percy Jackson is a good book, there is room for people to say it is a bad one.

There is a difference we need to recognize between fact and preference, whether or not the fact of the matter is always clear. Simply denying that fact exists though, is always useless, such as in Abigail's comment which implys bad and good are always pure opinion. What a worthless attitude.
I used to say that in my art class, but when you really look in depth at the work that goes into anything you realize quickly that it's not true and you were pretty arrogant to think that. You will always be able to break the rules better once you know them.


message 4690: by Emily (new)

Emily W Blogger, as you said a few days ago (I couldn't check my feed for a few days) that we should get over it is a very deceiving statement. Telling me or Ihearthawaii to get over a book is like saying "go die in a hole," you are also mocking the entirety of good reads because the purpose of this site is to read books, review them, and discuss them with both the author and other readers. Telling someone to get over a book is basically just vetoing this whole site.


message 4691: by Blogger (new) - rated it 5 stars

Blogger Girl Misinterpretation
Oil on canvas
2015


message 4693: by [deleted user] (new)

Whenever the conversation gets interesting, that's when they stop responding and start putting one liners or memes. You guys are disappointing.


message 4694: by Kevin (new) - rated it 4 stars

Kevin Blue wrote: "Whenever the conversation gets interesting, that's when they stop responding and start putting one liners or memes. You guys are disappointing."

Is the meme directed towards me?

I'm just observing(not in the discussion), and I am having genuine enjoyment at the response people are giving. They are trying to get out of the lock you and others have put them in(view spoiler)


message 4695: by Ray (new) - rated it 4 stars

Ray Tbh, I think you guys have gone pretty far off-topic. You seem to be using this as a sort of inefficient chatroom


message 4696: by Kevin (new) - rated it 4 stars

Kevin Ray wrote: "Tbh, I think you guys have gone pretty far off-topic. You seem to be using this as a sort of inefficient chatroom"

A few pages back it was a chatroom.... people were roleplaying and pretending to be brother and sister....


message 4697: by [deleted user] (last edited Oct 15, 2015 08:28PM) (new)

As long as people are talking about interesting stuff, it's fine for a discussion, I think.

Oh well, I like this discussion because it makes you think, even if it's kind of a struggle to have consistent back and forth with people bopping in and out. I just stick around for the heck of it.


message 4698: by Emily (new)

Emily W Same! I haven't been paying much attention since Ihearthawaii and I were in a battle with Kevin not too long ago.


message 4699: by Blogger (last edited Oct 22, 2015 07:15AM) (new) - rated it 5 stars

Blogger Girl Emily wrote: "Same! I haven't been paying much attention since Ihearthawaii and I were in a battle with Kevin not too long ago."

You call that a battle? Please. Ihearthawaii is a joke


message 4700: by Azwaar Khan (new) - added it

Azwaar Khan I was shocked to you know. I mean, this is a children book and suddenly Nico is gay for a second and I'm like...what?


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