Long Price Quartet or Acts of Caine

[wolverine]

I have not finished Long Price or Caine, but through 3 books of each, I prefer Cain.

Well, yes, what the spock dog hybrid thing said. Also if you, say, don't do ebooks, the second Caine book will cost you about 9 million dollars or so. It's why I've never read them. *ducks rocks*

Hardly.

[Darth Richard II]

Yes, you missed the post about the prices coming down I assume? I trashed paperback of that thing used to go for 80 dollars.

[Happy Ent]

I found Caine to be intense and exciting, cynical, brutal, and gripping. Long Price starts very slow—the prologue was embarrassingly cliched—, understated, mildly annoying, but ultimately satisfying. Still one of the better completed series around, so absolutely worth reading.

They are very different. What you prefer may depend very much on how cynical your view of human nature is.

[3CityApache]

I'm really looking for a lot of intrigue and something to make ya think.

I haven't read LP yet, but Acts of Caine will definitely fry your brain, especially book four. Stover's fantastic and vastly underrated (even if it's not the case on this board).

[Michael Seswatha Jordan]

Thanks guys. I will definitely read both of them, but I think I'll give Acts of Caine a go. Appreciate your thoughts.

[Galbrod]

In taking up the Caine series you are certainly in for a treat!

[MisterOJ]

Put me in this category as well.

Wait... there's actually a fantasy series I have read that you haven't? How about that.

As much as that fact pleases me, though, you really should read Caine.

[DaveSumm]

I didn't really get on with the magic system in Acts of Caine, but then if I recall correctly MSJ you're a Malazan fan so I can't imagine it'll bother you.

[Werthead]

Late to the party but Acts of Caine is by far the superior of the two series. Long Price is still absolutely fantastic but it gets a bit weaker as it gets along. Caine is structurally one of the most inventive fantasy series ever written and is a brain-fryingly smart series whilst not skimping on the action.

[Spockydog]

Late to the party but Acts of Caine is by far the superior of the two series.

Blleeeeuuuuurrrrggghhhhhhhh!

[Francis Buck]

I've TLPQ, and I read the first three Acts of Caine books. If I had to choose, I'd say I slightly prefer Acts of Caine. But only slightly.

[polishgenius]

Long Price is still absolutely fantastic but it gets a bit weaker as it gets along.

Say whaaaaaaaaaat?

[Francis Buck]

Many people disagree but I thought the fourth book in TLPQ was the weakest, while the third was the best. I didn't like the way the central conflict was handled in the final book.

I also think the first Caine book is the best one overall (again though, I haven't finished the last one).

[RedEyedGhost]

Say whaaaaaaaaaat?

Definitely not strong enough in your disbelief. My reaction was Da FUUUUUUCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKK??? :shocked:

[shortstark]

There are completed series that are better than LPQ I would imagine, but by far!!.. Anyways this has motivated me to add Heroes Die to my Kindle pile..

[Little Valkyrie]

I thought the first Caine book was excellent and genuinely innovative in its genre mashupness, but I got less and less tolerant of the "Instead, it's actually THIS" and the bland philosophical preaching in the later books, so I admittedly started to skim. Long Price just got better and better.

[Francis Buck]

I thought the first Caine book was excellent and genuinely innovative in its genre mashupness, but I got less and less tolerant of the "Instead, it's actually THIS" and the bland philosophical preaching in the later books, so I admittedly started to skim. Long Price just got better and better.

This was my issue with the sequels, or really just the second book in particular. I didn't really like how crazy and "metaphysical" it got, especially since it wasn't really doing anything philosophically that hasn't been done in other works (and done better, in my opinion).

Basically once it started to really delve into the various gods and their associated magic and stuff, the world-building started to get...I don't know, too vague? I have no problem with magical solutions to problems in a work of fantasy, but I think it needs to feel internally consistent and not as if the magic can basically do anything. It felt like I was being introduced to the existence of all this stuff at the exact moment it became relevant to the plot, as opposed to feeling as though these things all worked and existed in the world already. Overall, I just didn't like the approach to magic in-general, honestly.

To be fair I thought this was somewhat rectified in the third installment, and I've heard a lot of people say the fourth book enhances earlier events in the series.

Contrast this with the magic in TLPQ, which I thought was pretty well realized and very unique.

[3CityApache]

Francis, read Caine's Law. Really do.

[Michael Seswatha Jordan]

I didn't really get on with the magic system in Acts of Caine, but then if I recall correctly MSJ you're a Malazan fan so I can't imagine it'll bother you.

Yes and the whole magic and it HAS to make sense doesn't get to me. Its magic, so therefore.....it doesn't have to make sense. I guess I like there to be some consistency, but I don't worry about dotting every I and all.

[Rhom]

Hmmm... so I'm getting some flack for not having read this series then, and yet I'm a dinosaur who doesn't do ebooks. So I'm pretty much SOL? Will there be a future release much like the omnibus editions of TLPQ?