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[V1LÆM]

Finished Dune.

I'm disappointed with it and it felt like a waste of time. It was enjoyable up until about where the movie ends (Chapter 34 i believe) where Paul and Jessica join the Fremen. After that it just fell flat and towards the end i lost interest. The ending felt like it came out of nowhere and it was a bit silly.

Spoiler

Alia, who is like 2 years old, kills the Baron lmao. I know she has special powers but c'mon. Paul threatens to destroy the spice and the emperor is like "Ok, I give up, you can be emperor now! and here marry my daughter!".

I decided I'm not going to bother reading the other books so read the summaries of them all. Book 2 doesn't seem too bad but the rest sound awful.

I'll definitely watch Part 2 of the movie and I do hope it includes some of Messiah. Maybe once I see it on screen it'll make more sense and I might be convinced to give the book another shot along with Messiah. We'll see.

Maybe i'm just an idiot i found the writing was confusing at times. i had to keep rereading paragraphs because i couldn't follow it. I guess i can't hate the book too much because it seems recent books i've been reading that i can't follow them. I should just stick to simple dumb books

 

[BadBurger]

Finished Dune.

I'm disappointed with it and it felt like a waste of time. It was enjoyable up until about where the movie ends (Chapter 34 i believe) where Paul and Jessica join the Fremen. After that it just fell flat and towards the end i lost interest. The ending felt like it came out of nowhere and it was a bit silly.

Spoiler

Alia, who is like 2 years old, kills the Baron lmao. I know she has special powers but c'mon. Paul threatens to destroy the spice and the emperor is like "Ok, I give up, you can be emperor now! and here marry my daughter!".

I decided I'm not going to bother reading the other books so read the summaries of them all. Book 2 doesn't seem too bad but the rest sound awful.

I'll definitely watch Part 2 of the movie and I do hope it includes some of Messiah. Maybe once I see it on screen it'll make more sense and I might be convinced to give the book another shot along with Messiah. We'll see.

Maybe i'm just an idiot i found the writing was confusing at times. i had to keep rereading paragraphs because i couldn't follow it. I guess i can't hate the book too much because it seems recent books i've been reading that i can't follow them. I should just stick to simple dumb books

I can feel this. I don't know if Dune is heady or just dense with a lot of weird names and phrases being tossed about, but I also felt confused with it at times during my reading of it.

 

[Lasha]

Finished Dune.

I'm disappointed with it and it felt like a waste of time. It was enjoyable up until about where the movie ends (Chapter 34 i believe) where Paul and Jessica join the Fremen. After that it just fell flat and towards the end i lost interest. The ending felt like it came out of nowhere and it was a bit silly.

Spoiler

Alia, who is like 2 years old, kills the Baron lmao. I know she has special powers but c'mon. Paul threatens to destroy the spice and the emperor is like "Ok, I give up, you can be emperor now! and here marry my daughter!".

I decided I'm not going to bother reading the other books so read the summaries of them all. Book 2 doesn't seem too bad but the rest sound awful.

I'll definitely watch Part 2 of the movie and I do hope it includes some of Messiah. Maybe once I see it on screen it'll make more sense and I might be convinced to give the book another shot along with Messiah. We'll see.

Maybe i'm just an idiot i found the writing was confusing at times. i had to keep rereading paragraphs because i couldn't follow it. I guess i can't hate the book too much because it seems recent books i've been reading that i can't follow them. I should just stick to simple dumb books

Think about what spice's position is in the universe and you will see why the ending played out like it did. The later books deal with the fallout of what appears to be a tidy ending.

The writing seems confusing because it's written significantly more formally than modern prose and Herbert uses a lot of in-universe or Arabic words to sell the setting. Dune is also a book that benefits from a subsequent rereading. The universe is presented to you as-is and gradually becomes clearer as you read further into the series.

 

[V1LÆM]

Think about what spice's position is in the universe and you will see why the ending played out like it did. The later books deal with the fallout of what appears to be a tidy ending.

The writing seems confusing because it's written significantly more formally than modern prose and Herbert uses a lot of in-universe or Arabic words to sell the setting. Dune is also a book that benefits from a subsequent rereading. The universe is presented to you as-is and gradually becomes clearer as you read further into the series.

I'll see how I feel after Part 2 movie is out and maybe I'll give it another read then.

 

[Lasha]

I'll see how I feel after Part 2 movie is out and maybe I'll give it another read then.

I have read at least the first two books annually since kindergarten and I still get something out of them. Messiah is definitely worth an attempt. The third and fourth are good enough. I don't recommend going further.

 

[V1LÆM]

I have read at least the first two books annually since kindergarten and I still get something out of them. Messiah is definitely worth an attempt. The third and fourth are good enough. I don't recommend going further.

i know people recommend not reading the books his son done after he died.

i take it you have seen the Lynch movie? if you have do you think it's worth watching that?

 

[Lasha]

I actually enjoyed the Lynch movie. Patrick Stewart as Guerny is worth watching by itself. The tone and plot of the new movie follows the books more closely. You can also look into the sci-fi miniseries. They do a good job of covering the story if you can get past the sometimes awful production values.

 

[FunkMiller]

There are some Warhammer 40k books that are genuinely better reads than the Dune series.

Commence with your angry denunciations.

 

[Imp the Dimp]

Finished Dune.

I'm disappointed with it and it felt like a waste of time. It was enjoyable up until about where the movie ends (Chapter 34 i believe) where Paul and Jessica join the Fremen. After that it just fell flat and towards the end i lost interest. The ending felt like it came out of nowhere and it was a bit silly.

Spoiler

Alia, who is like 2 years old, kills the Baron lmao. I know she has special powers but c'mon. Paul threatens to destroy the spice and the emperor is like "Ok, I give up, you can be emperor now! and here marry my daughter!".

I decided I'm not going to bother reading the other books so read the summaries of them all. Book 2 doesn't seem too bad but the rest sound awful.

I'll definitely watch Part 2 of the movie and I do hope it includes some of Messiah. Maybe once I see it on screen it'll make more sense and I might be convinced to give the book another shot along with Messiah. We'll see.

Maybe i'm just an idiot i found the writing was confusing at times. i had to keep rereading paragraphs because i couldn't follow it. I guess i can't hate the book too much because it seems recent books i've been reading that i can't follow them. I should just stick to simple dumb books

I had the same experience with the book. I enjoyed the first half but it got continuously less interesting. The movie is amazing thouh.

 

[V1LÆM]

I actually enjoyed the Lynch movie. Patrick Stewart as Guerny is worth watching by itself. The tone and plot of the new movie follows the books more closely. You can also look into the sci-fi miniseries. They do a good job of covering the story if you can get past the sometimes awful production values.

i just watched it. it's a bit silly and dated but not as bad as i was expecting it to be lol.

 

[IDKFA]

Just finished this brilliant history book by Dan Jones. Rather than being a full biography of King John, this is a snap shot of life in 1215 England. Not only does it deal with the events of Manga Carta, but also details the lives of English society in the year of Magna Carta.

Dan Jones really is one of the best historians for writing narrative history. Makes me really optimistic for his first novel releasing in September.

 

[StabbyStabStabStabStab]

Just finished the autobiographies of Cosy Fanni Tutti and Holly Johnson, just need to to close off Mark Almonds, just procrastinating a little for some reason...

 

[ahtlas7]

Reading a chronological release of Robert E Howard’s Conan series and I’m super impressed by his writing. I’m really enjoying it.

 

[BigDeadFreak]

Has anyone read any good anthropology books that aren't overly left wing?

I did some anthropology courses at university and it was an interesting subject but it was so woke it was unbearable. Whenever I look at any books on the subject they are clearly pushing a political agenda. I'd love to find one that was just an honest take on the subject.

 

[V1LÆM]

i bought Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. seen it was on sale for 99p (same price I paid for Dune). always wanted to read it but never got around to it. I'll be reading that next

 

[IDKFA]

Just finished this brilliant history book by Dan Jones. Rather than being a full biography of King John, this is a snap shot of life in 1215 England. Not only does it deal with the events of Manga Carta, but also details the lives of English society in the year of Magna Carta.

Dan Jones really is one of the best historians for writing narrative history. Makes me really optimistic for his first novel releasing in September.

Since I last posted, I finished the above book, and although I enjoyed it, it was a little short. I liked the idea of it flipping from the story of King John to then a chapter dedicated to explaining what life was like for the general population in this time period for a certain aspect. For example, one chapter would detail how the people worshiped, then another would explain the diets of people during this time. Great read, beautifully presented, but a little short.

After reading that I wanted to stick with history. So, thought it would be a good idea to go from one of England's worst kings (King John) to read a biography of one of our greatest warrior kings, Edward I, by the fantastic historian Marc Morris.

Sensational. Absolutely brilliant life story of a true warrior king, but also a king who made some shocking decisions based on his constant lust for war and conquest. This is a man who was responsible for destroying the relationship between the kingdoms of Scotland and England, which suffered unrepaired damage and the effects can still be felt today.

A great and terrible king indeed. Probably one of the best history books I've read

I'm now about to start this, and if I'm honest I'm not looking forward to it. Book 1 was pretty good. An interesting concept at least and some likeable set pieces, but probably a little too long. Book 2 was worse and I really struggled with it. Hope book 3 is better. Please tell me the series picks up from here!

 

[AJUMP23]

Satirical polish book about ww1. You should read it.

 

[IDKFA]

Satirical polish book about ww1. You should read it.

Sounds like my cup of tea. However, although I can speak Polish, but my reading of Polish isn't great.

Might check it out. I've been trying to read more Polish text to improve my reading skills.

 

[AJUMP23]

Sounds like my cup of tea. However, although I can speak Polish, but my reading of Polish isn't great.

Might check it out. I've been trying to read more Polish text to improve my reading skills.

There is an excellent English translation. Which is what I am using.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

I was thinking about jumping on the Brandan Sanderson train. What do you guys think of his writing? Im debating between starting the mistborn series or the stormlight archive. Both are well regarded it seems but I fear there may not enough time in the day to get through the stormlight archive.

 

[Mexen]

Now reading

Homo deus by Yuval Nori Harare

Sequel to Homo Sapien. (Which was also great)

It’s about predicting what could happen to humanity in the future

First chapter is about plague and pandemics. A bit spooky

http://[URL]https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MYZ4OUW/?tag=neogaf0e-20

[/URL]

I have both on my TBR. Hope to get around to them soon.

 

[Apocryphon]

There are some Warhammer 40k books that are genuinely better reads than the Dune series.

Commence with your angry denunciations.

This is accurate. I'm knee deep in Galaxy in Flames at the moment. Horus Rising and False Gods were both outstanding books.

 

[IDKFA]

I was thinking about jumping on the Brandan Sanderson train. What do you guys think of his writing? Im debating between starting the mistborn series or the stormlight archive. Both are well regarded it seems but I fear there may not enough time in the day to get through the stormlight archive.

I fucking hated Mistborn. The first book was bang average, then the series took a complete nose dive after that. The whole second book felt like filler and the less said about the third the better.

It's so, so much longer than it needs to be. So much could be scrapped and absolutely nothing of value would be lost. Does Sanderson even have an editor?

And then there is the world building, or lack of it. The world in Mistborn feels so basic and boring. Even during the massive action scenes I felt dead because Sanderson just can't create an interesting world. I also hated the teen drama and Vin, who is our main protagonist, is one of the most naive characters I've ever come across in a novel.

I bust disrespectful nut on those books and on Sanderson.

The magic system is cool and original. I'll give him that. But everything else is dire.

 

[EviLore]

I fucking hated Mistborn. The first book was bang average, then the series took a complete nose dive after that. The whole second book felt like filler and the less said about the third the better.

It's so, so much longer than it needs to be. So much could be scrapped and absolutely nothing of value would be lost. Does Sanderson even have an editor?

And then there is the world building, or lack of it. The world in Mistborn feels so basic and boring. Even during the massive action scenes I felt dead because Sanderson just can't create an interesting world. I also hated the teen drama and Vin, who is our main protagonist, is one of the most naive characters I've ever come across in a novel.

I bust disrespectful nut on those books and on Sanderson.

The magic system is cool and original. I'll give him that. But everything else is dire.

Book 2 could've been 1/2 the length and Book 3 could've been 1/3 the length with nothing of value lost.

Such an insane amount of recapping events and explaining the basics of the magic system for the 100th time any time a character did anything. Zero respect for the audience.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

Hmm. Maybe I'll try the stormlight archive then or no Sanderson at all lol.

How about The Three Body Problem? Ive seen a lot of praise for that.

 

[BLAUcopter]

Waiting for the Heat 2 novel to arrive. Gonna go deep on it as I'm a huge fan of Heat and can't wait to get some more insight on the characters and world.

 

[Lasha]

Has anyone read any good anthropology books that aren't overly left wing?

I did some anthropology courses at university and it was an interesting subject but it was so woke it was unbearable. Whenever I look at any books on the subject they are clearly pushing a political agenda. I'd love to find one that was just an honest take on the subject.

Anthropology has been nothing more than agenda pushing since the American Anthropological Association removed any mention of science from it's mission statement. Actual science is the last reason people go into social sciences.

 

[IDKFA]

Has anyone read any good anthropology books that aren't overly left wing?

I did some anthropology courses at university and it was an interesting subject but it was so woke it was unbearable. Whenever I look at any books on the subject they are clearly pushing a political agenda. I'd love to find one that was just an honest take on the subject.

Serious question, but how is anthropology politically left wing and pushing political agendas.

I know next to nothing about this subject, but interested to hear how it became politically left wing.

 

[Lasha]

Serious question, but how is anthropology politically left wing and pushing political agendas.

I know next to nothing about this subject, but interested to hear how it became politically left wing.

Anthropology experienced a schism in the 2010s. One side consists of tradition anthropologists who use evidence based approaches in their research. The other group of anthropologists see themselves as advocates for marginalized cultures first and have little use for the scientific method if it contradicts that goal. The latter group prevailed and now most publications lean heavily into whatever politics of the current year are.

 

[jufonuk]

Burton on Burton, Tim Burton talking about his movies, written during his earlier career, goes up to Ed Wood. really nice and incitful.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

Well, I picked up a few today.

Despite EviLore and IDKFA not digging Mistborn I decided to try his other fantasy series The Stormlight Archive. I couldn't help but buy into his hype. No big loss if I don't dig it.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0765326353/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Picked up this one for my girlfriend. She digs alternate mythology kind of stuff and this seems to be exceptionally well regarded.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316556343/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Then I picked this one up. Between Two Fires. It was sold to me as something akin to Berserk.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08C9D71PS/?tag=neogaf0e-20

So we'll see what clicks.

 

[IDKFA]

Well, I picked up a few today.

Despite EviLore and IDKFA not digging Mistborn I decided to try his other fantasy series The Stormlight Archive. I couldn't help but buy into his hype. No big loss if I don't dig it.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0765326353/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Picked up this one for my girlfriend. She digs alternate mythology kind of stuff and this seems to be exceptionally well regarded.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316556343/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Then I picked this one up. Between Two Fires. It was sold to me as something akin to Berserk.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08C9D71PS/?tag=neogaf0e-20

So we'll see what clicks.

Wow. Between Two Fires sounds like it's right up my street! A horror novel set in my favourite time period. Reviews also appear to be great.

Purchased!

Thanks for the tip!

 

[Queso de Grande]

Hmm. Maybe I'll try the stormlight archive then or no Sanderson at all lol.

How about The Three Body Problem? Ive seen a lot of praise for that.

I just finished book 2. I really enjoyed the books. They can be a bit dry in parts, but they can give you some fun things to think about. It was also very interesting to read a story like that with the Chinese state of mind. It is so different than what would be written by an American.

 

[IDKFA]

Since I last posted, I finished the above book, and although I enjoyed it, it was a little short. I liked the idea of it flipping from the story of King John to then a chapter dedicated to explaining what life was like for the general population in this time period for a certain aspect. For example, one chapter would detail how the people worshiped, then another would explain the diets of people during this time. Great read, beautifully presented, but a little short.

After reading that I wanted to stick with history. So, thought it would be a good idea to go from one of England's worst kings (King John) to read a biography of one of our greatest warrior kings, Edward I, by the fantastic historian Marc Morris.

Sensational. Absolutely brilliant life story of a true warrior king, but also a king who made some shocking decisions based on his constant lust for war and conquest. This is a man who was responsible for destroying the relationship between the kingdoms of Scotland and England, which suffered unrepaired damage and the effects can still be felt today.

A great and terrible king indeed. Probably one of the best history books I've read

I'm now about to start this, and if I'm honest I'm not looking forward to it. Book 1 was pretty good. An interesting concept at least and some likeable set pieces, but probably a little too long. Book 2 was worse and I really struggled with it. Hope book 3 is better. Please tell me the series picks up from here!

I always forget about this thread because hardly anybody posts here. Doesn't anybody on GAF read on a regular basis?

Anyway, finished Daylight War ages ago and it is, without a doubt, one of the worst books I've ever had the displeasure of reading. It was a fucking chore to get through. The story went absolutely nowhere. Could have stripped half the content out and nothing of value would have been lost.

Pretty much every single character is unlikeable. Arlen's character arc is really bizarre. He went from being this mysterious, brooding bad ass to now just a normal guy, who now oddly talks in a local dialect, when he didn't speak like this in previous books? He went from Demon slaying Batman to Somerset farmer in the space of a single book.

The pointlessly long back story for Inevera was really creepy, and not in a good way. Mr Brett must have a tiny dick, because I lost count of the times we're told of how giant this sex slave's cock is. A cock that we're told Inevera gets a good look at a number of times, while she's a child. Mr Brett also has a fetish for huge and muscular women, because I also lost count of the number of women who were tall and built like bulls.

Dog shit book. I have absolutely zero hope for the last two books in this awful series.

Anyway, I'm now onto a bit of nonfiction. So far this book is amazing. I'm blown away at the information here and after finishing this I don't think I'll ever look at Trees the same way.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

I always forget about this thread because hardly anybody posts here. Doesn't anybody on GAF read on a regular basis?

Anyway, finished Daylight War ages ago and it is, without a doubt, one of the worst books I've ever had the displeasure of reading. It was a fucking chore to get through. The story went absolutely nowhere. Could have stripped half the content out and nothing of value would have been lost.

Pretty much every single character is unlikeable. Arlen's character arc is really bizarre. He went from being this mysterious, brooding bad ass to now just a normal guy, who now oddly talks in a local dialect, when he didn't speak like this in previous books? He went from Demon slaying Batman to Somerset farmer in the space of a single book.

The pointlessly long back story for Inevera was really creepy, and not in a good way. Mr Brett must have a tiny dick, because I lost count of the times we're told of how giant this sex slave's cock is. A cock that we're told Inevera gets a good look at a number of times, while she's a child. Mr Brett also has a fetish for huge and muscular women, because I also lost count of the number of women who were tall and built like bulls.

Dog shit book. I have absolutely zero hope for the last two books in this awful series.

Anyway, I'm now onto a bit of nonfiction. So far this book is amazing. I'm blown away at the information here and after finishing this I don't think I'll ever look at Trees the same way.

Did you read between two fires yet? I'm about half way through. I'm really enjoying it.

 

[IDKFA]

Did you read between two fires yet? I'm about half way through. I'm really enjoying it.

Not yet. Still need to buy it. Was debating whether to get the physical copy, which is hard to get in the UK, or just the cheaper Kindle edition. If the book is as good as the reviews make out, I'll want the physical copy to keep in my personal library.

Either way, I'm buying it soon. Would be the perfect book to read near Halloween from the sounds of it.

Make sure you put in a detailed review in this thread once you've finished it.

 

[BossLackey]

Read The Three-Body Problem and really loved it. Can't wait to read the next one (but I rarely read the next book in a series right after).

About half-way through Children of Time and I'm enjoying it quite a bit. Especially as someone who loves invertebrates and has a couple tarantulas haha.

Also just got a Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition and it's just SO convenient it's absurd. Wish I had picked one up a long time ago.

 

[IDKFA]

Did you read between two fires yet? I'm about half way through. I'm really enjoying it.

Also, did you read any Brandon Sanderson yet?

 

[Lasha]

I've been working my way through the James Bond novels. I've read up to Dr. No. The films diverged so much from the tone of the books. Even the little things like changing baccarat to poker in Casino Royale paint Bond in a different light. High literature these books are not. They make for excellent filler when you want to read something light.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

Also, did you read any Brandon Sanderson yet?

Not yet. I got the first book in his stormlight archive series. It's a biggie. I'll need to clear out my schedule for that which isn't going to be happening soon.

 

[John Marston]

I wanted to get back into the Fantasy genre and I never read Joe Abercrombie's "First Law" trilogy.

After 2 weeks I'm almost done with the 3rd book! Fell in love with the setting, story, characters & its dark humour.

I've already ordered the other 3 stand alone books

 

[IDKFA]

I wanted to get back into the Fantasy genre and I never read Joe Abercrombie's "First Law" trilogy.

After 2 weeks I'm almost done with the 3rd book! Fell in love with the setting, story, characters & its dark humour.

I've already ordered the other 3 stand alone books

Good shout. The First Law books are awesome. Really need to get round to reading them again.

I tried to get into the Shattered Sea series by Joe Abercrombie, but it just wasn't the same quality. It just felt like some half arsed attempt he shat out in his spare time (ironic considering the names of the books in that series).

 

[BadBurger]

I finished The Ink Black Heart from "Robert Galbraith". It got kind of weird, but it was good. The best in the series is still, sadly and far away, the first, The Cuckoo's Calling. 3/5

Working through The Judge's List from John Grisham now. Too many of his books are starting to follow the same formula - just swap Jake Brigance with Lacy Stoltz or one of his other lawyer protags, select a new client who comes from some underserved community or is mysterious and reluctant, add a few near death moments, roll credits. But it's OK, if unchallenging nor provocative, like most of his work.

 

[IDKFA]

This is my first David Gemmell book. Probably should have started with Legend, but I was in the mood for some Greek mythology and this series has been on my TBR list for ages.

I'm only 100 pages in, but so far so good. So nice to go back to decent fiction. It's so good that I can't wait to get back into it. Haven't felt that way about a fiction book for a while.

 

[WhatDidHeSay?]

I aren't sure if posted but the last book I read was the Billy Idol autobiography - it was absolutely fantastic. For those who like this sort of stuff it really is a must read.

 

[NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt]

I finished my reread of The Bands of Mourning

It was great Book. Sanderson world building is second to none and I love how every new book set in cosmere divulge information not previously known. There's always another secret

Next book on my list is The Expanse Book 1

Than

The Lost Metal

All 12 Full Metal Panic Light Novels

The Great Hunt (The Wheel of Time Book 2)

Fire And Blood by George R R Martin

 

[Cyberpunkd]

Finishing the Great Pianists by Schonberg

Incredible book about hundreds of great pianists from Mozart all the way to modern times. Anyone can appreciate it, however you will take much more from it if you play a piano and understand some basic techniques and names.

 

[Queso de Grande]

I am about to finish The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. This has been a really good and fascinating book. Humans discover alien radio signals and the Jesuits embark on a mission trip, but only one priest returns and his hands are mutilated and he had to spend years in prostitution while on the alien planet.

 

[NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt]

I am about to finish The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. This has been a really good and fascinating book. Humans discover alien radio signals and the Jesuits embark on a mission trip, but only one priest returns and his hands are mutilated and he had to spend years in prostitution while on the alien planet.

That was a great book. I read it way back in in Highschool

 

[EviLore]

Well, I picked up a few today.

Despite EviLore and IDKFA not digging Mistborn I decided to try his other fantasy series The Stormlight Archive. I couldn't help but buy into his hype. No big loss if I don't dig it.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0765326353/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Picked up this one for my girlfriend. She digs alternate mythology kind of stuff and this seems to be exceptionally well regarded.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316556343/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Then I picked this one up. Between Two Fires. It was sold to me as something akin to Berserk.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08C9D71PS/?tag=neogaf0e-20

So we'll see what clicks.

Get a chance to check out Stormlight Archive yet? If so, what did you think?