Prince Alexander Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 I think a protagonist named "Kayne" alone is a dealbreaker for me. It sounds like a name teenager would make up. Can't comment on quality of the book, I don't think heavy magic is my thing, though.On a positive note, glad to see fantasy genre still moving - with hope we might have a rival to ASOIAF coming out at some point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveSumm Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Kayne's the surname, it's Brodar Kayne. And heavy magic's not really my thing, but I'm getting along with it pretty well. The only questionable thing so far is a pair of magic boots that make you run fast, I couldn't help dwelling on the physics of how that would work, why you wouldn't fall over from the momentum etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red snow Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Kayne's the surname, it's Brodar Kayne. And heavy magic's not really my thing, but I'm getting along with it pretty well. The only questionable thing so far is a pair of magic boots that make you run fast, I couldn't help dwelling on the physics of how that would work, why you wouldn't fall over from the momentum etc. I forgot about the Brodar - I was actually reading it as "brother Kanye" with a weird accent :) I probably shouldn't read just before falling asleep.Luke really is a gamer when he uses props from Zelda in his book. Do you have to shuffle on the spot for 2 seconds before charging off? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveSumm Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Apparently not, just instantaneous speed. Hence my momentum/fallover wondering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Migey Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 I didn't think that the boots let the Augmentor run fast, just allowed him to almost teleport short distances, or somehow magically propel himself to a nearby spot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OwaynOTT Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Well the work better than Pratchetts boots where one boot is here and the other a few leagues away Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lothar Imbel Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 I'd say Abercrombie is HardGrim.Speaks a bit to much to be Grim doesn't he? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle Loechner Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 I think a protagonist named "Kayne" alone is a dealbreaker for me. It sounds like a name teenager would make up. Can't comment on quality of the book, I don't think heavy magic is my thing, though.On a positive note, glad to see fantasy genre still moving - with hope we might have a rival to ASOIAF coming out at some point.A novelist has to make roughly twelve million decisions with each book. I think you're bound to dislike a few of them. Doesn't mean you won't like the other 11,999,997. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Migey Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Additionally, within acceptable limits, I think nitpicking on names when you know nothing else about the book is a little unfair. Most names in fantasy sound like names a teenager could make up, but if we judged books just on things like that, we'd deprive ourselves of plenty of good literature. If I turned down AGoT as soon as I found out the continent was named 'Westeros' (which at the time I thought was ridiculous), I'd have missed out on something quite special. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveSumm Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 I didn't think that the boots let the Augmentor run fast, just allowed him to almost teleport short distances, or somehow magically propel himself to a nearby spot.Nah, he runs on the spot really fast to demonstrate them, and Barandas notes there's a gust of wind when he approaches. Ala Clark in Smallville I suppose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prince Alexander Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 A novelist has to make roughly twelve million decisions with each book. I think you're bound to dislike a few of them. Doesn't mean you won't like the other 11,999,997.Well, no, there aren't that many protagonists. I have no issues with any one of the ASOIAF protagonists' names, for example.Also, I'd argue that the smallest thing is often the dealbreaker. If one of the POV names in ASOIAF was, for instance, Eddard "Dark Star" Stark, I'd probably not have read it immediately, and it'd take quite a bit of convincing.Certain names just scream juvenile, often plain cliche, often anime-ish, often videogame-ish. I get that there are only so many names to work with, and author can choose a bad name by accident, or simply because they are aiming at readers who would think a name "Kayne" is awesome. That's fine. I guess I simply can't do without normal, (mostly) realistic names.If you look at ASOIAF, there isn't a single name that screams "overblown!" and if there is one that approaches being too much, e.g. "I am of the night" Darkstar, it does not get a positive fan reaction. There is also no way it'd be a supposedly sympathetic protagonist, but probably a villain, and more stupid than glorious at that.TLDR: names are a big deal - to me. POV names are a huge deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WrathOfTinyKittens Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 I wouldn't worry about it... I mean, you also have Stover's Caine. And Cain is a real surname. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sci-2 Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 I get the name thing to an extent, but that wouldn't stop me if reviewers I respect had given a book favorable reviews. If I was browsing at the bookstore it'd be a bigger concern. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red snow Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 I think a lot of silly names can grow on you if the character or book is good enough. I don't have a problem with Kayne other than I think it's "kanye" which isn't Luke's fault. There's a lot of names in books I love that I initially found ropey, especially ones that make me wonder how you say them, "Kvothe", "Jorg", "Cnaiur", "Red Viper", etc"Darkstar" will always be bad though :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jagilki Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Just saying, I hate this thread because I'm American and can't wait. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sci-2 Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 I thought Darkstar was cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDanish Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 I don't mind names, even silly ones, as long as they're not unpronounceable like Cnaiur or a mouthful like Anasurimbor.Oh look, I mentioned Bakker. Better take a shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveSumm Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Sand dan Glokta actually really annoyed me because it's impossible to say without either pausing between Sand and dan so as to pronounce both D's, or leaving the listener assuming his name is San dan Glokta. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WrathOfTinyKittens Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 TheDanish - The "c" in "Cnaiur" is silent, if that helps.ETA: Sand Dan Glokta bothered me a bit because "sand" is still a word in the Abercrombie-verse. So he might as well be named "Dirt." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jurble Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 What's wrong with names being words? My name is a word. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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