Book Suggestion

[Rendezvous]

I've read (and loved) this series, although I read them BEFORE Robin Hobb. I never noticed the missing words, but I am terrible at picking up on things like that.
While there are small similarities to Robins work, I think any parallels are so small as to not matter. The driving forces of the characters and the characters themselves are intrinsically different aswell as themes and messages brought up.
If you are going to read them, and enjoy them, you need to go in expecting what you'll get. A ripping yarn packed full of action and humour, but none of the thought provoking and heart wrenching plot developments you'll find with Hobb.

[Atthis]

Hi, thanks for adding another opinion.
So it sounds like this is the sort of thing to read when you're bored and crave some action. I'll keep that in mind.

The other day I was reading a review on The Night Angel trilogy and was a bit put off by the awful sounding character names. I mean "Durzo Blint", "Neph Dada" and "Solonariwan Tofusin"!!! Yuk! Somehow to my eye/ear they border on ridiculous.
I always admire authors who are able to invent names for all their characters and places that sound natural in the context of their novels. I have also found that the aptness of names is often (but not always) a good way to quickly judge the quality of a book. And, of course, I think Robin Hobb's name-inventing skills are masterful!

[Albertosaurus Rex]

You know, I was already a bit put off by "Durzo Blint", but those other names... damn. I might give these books a chance one day, but those names are almost enough to stop me from doing so.

By the way, Steven Erikson has this habit of coming up with some rather wild names too...

[Atthis]

By the way, Steven Erikson has this habit of coming up with some rather wild names too...

I just had a look at the Malazan Book of the Fallen character list on Wikipedia. I think my favourites are "Deathsmell" and "Kisswhere". Oh, and I can't forget "Nose Stream"! But at least you can tell the author's just being funny.

Seeing as this is a book suggestion thread, is Erikson's series something you'd recommend? I haven't heard anything about it.

[Albertosaurus Rex]

I haven't even come across those characters yet - I've read just the first three books. Still has some amusing names like "Iskaral Pust".

As for whether I would recommend the series: not really. He has a good imagination but an anoying tendency to explain too little. The first book especially gave me a headache. It drops you smack-bang into the middle of the story and gives very little clues about who the characters are, why the whole war is being fought and how the magic works.
The following books explain more and thus are more comprehensible, but they're very heavygoing at times. And freakishly long. (Memories of Ice is 1200 pages in some printings.)

All in all, it's a very polarizing series that most people either love or hate. And while I don't quite hate it, I'm not exactly the biggest fan.

['thul]

Making up good names is indeed a difficult thing. These beings regularly have that problem in their roleplaying.

[Farseer]

Re: my Night Angel rant

I had already started a rather lengthy reply before finishing the second Night Angel trilogy book, 'Shadow's Edge', but thought I'd postpone it until I was either finished the entire trilogy or in a more positive frame of mind.

Now that I am finished, I can compare the experience to bursting a boil...significant pain, pus and rubbish everywhere, and then finally the relief that it's over. If I hadn't held fast to my unbroken rule of having to finish a book or series once I start it, I'd never have made it through the second installment. Sorry (and you thought I was harsh before?!), but I like what I like !

When I was a child I used to pull out the dictionary, pluck out any number of intelligent-sounding words and then challenge myself to write a story based on those words. For me, it was like Weeks has done pretty much the same thing with this series...he just sat down one day with his notebook of ideas (containing both his own ideas and those he's borrowed), and then commenced to throw it all in to the one story, whether it worked or not.

It could have been so much better because the core story he had to tell was solid and of worth, and it did have a number of interesting elements (Retribution; the ka’kari; Curoch; Ceur’caelestos; some of the history and tales of Jorsin, Ezra and Acaelus etc). On the whole though, I think it was very badly written and, sadly, also at the mercy of atrocious editing. As previously mentioned, there were just too many mistakes throughout all three books for me to ignore them eg “Not only did you want be loved...” (this sentence beginning is missing the ‘to’, as you will notice), and I hated that nobody bothered to correct the author’s annoying sayings such as “a couple days” rather than “a couple of days” (this particular example was repeated too often for it to be anything other than the author writing it just as he would normally have spoken it). I am not an expert in these areas but then neither am I a published author asking the public to pay for my literary talent. If I spend around $30 a book, I expect it to contain very few errors of any kind. That it is a series of books written by an author who has been writing since he was thirteen, and who has also been an English teacher, raises my expectation of the grammar and sentence structure etc to even greater heights. At the very least, I expect it to be proof-read !!

I am no prude but there was also a titanic overload of sex and sexual tension throughout, and such an overkill of words like 'f@#k', 'bang', 'tits' etc (especially in the second book), that it crippled the story rather than enhanced it. If I wanted to read as much of that as I just did, I'd be a fan of either Penthouse or Mills and Boon...which I'm not! I get that a certain amount needed to be included as the reader had to experience the desires and the depravities of the various facets of Midcyru’s society, and can even accept that citizens throughout all of Midcyru obviously use a modern dialogue to match our own, but there was an absurd excess, I thought, and often it came out at ridiculous times that suited neither the character nor the setting. By extension, a majority of the feelings and relationships were convenient for the author, rather than believable for me in any way.

All in all, I won't be reading either the sequel trilogy that’s being planned (there is only one character named 'Nameless' who I am interested in continuing a fantasy journey with!) or the newly-released Lightbringer trilogy. Any Night Angel recommendation from me would only stem from a curiosity to hear of everyone's different responses rather than “I recommend you read it because I think you will enjoy it” (though, as has been mentioned, you may well still enjoy it, depending on what you like and also your expectations).

With my rant now at an end, I do agree with the comments from Rendezvous and hope you'll all come back and make a comment once you’ve read the series...for me, the best thing about our little thePlenty group is that we can tolerate and appreciate varying opinions, no matter how strong they are !

[Nuytsia]

Solonariwan Tofusin !!!! That's worse than any name I've had to come up with for a character in a computer game and *I* only get a few minutes to do it!

Erk if the book is as bad as the names I'll give it a miss (and based on Farseer's review I'd probably give it a miss in any case!)

[Rendezvous]

Im not defending the book, but I feel I should point out that all of the Night Angel books were written and released in one month succession, so I'de put down the horrible spell checking to that. They decided to put a speedy release above precision. Probably not the best approach in the long run.
BUT back to book suggestions!
I love 'The Lies of Locke Lamora' and the sequel 'Red Sea's Under Red Skies' by Scott Lynch and also 'The Name of the Wind' by Patrick Rothfuss.
I cant wait for the next instalments of each.
Both highly recommended to anyone here who hasn't already read them!

[Albertosaurus Rex]

It could have been so much better because the core story he had to tell was solid and of worth, and it did have a number of interesting elements (Retribution; the ka’kari; Curoch; Ceur’caelestos; some of the history and tales of Jorsin, Ezra and Acaelus etc).

How does one pronounce "Ceur’caelestos"? If anything, the names really kill it for me. Fantasy readers get used to weird names, but this is over the op for me.

Solonariwan Tofusin !!!! That's worse than any name I've had to come up with for a character in a computer game and *I* only get a few minutes to do it!

Seconded.