polishgenius Posted March 10, 2019 Share Posted March 10, 2019 3 minutes ago, Jo498 said: It has absolutely nothing to do with a spoof like Life of Brian (or for some reason I read it far "deeper" than it actually was meant, not impossible, but not very likely either). Life of Brian might be a spoof but it's also an absolutely razor-sharp satire/takedown of the same basic principles as Small Gods talks about. From another direction because Small Gods does make it more about how it can be exploited by people running said religion and is overall more serious, but both get into how it's really easy for organised religion to lose itself in minutae and small details and people running headlong after misunderstandings until what the actual religion is supposed to be about gets lost behind a load of irrelevant or misunderstood nonsense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo498 Posted March 10, 2019 Share Posted March 10, 2019 But this is the trite aspect of Small Gods. It would be hardly average if this was all. Such satires have been around since the middle ages. (Life of Brian is one of the movies where it is fare more entertaining to talk about it and quote all the famous passages together etc. than to actually watch it.) That priests are at best bureaucrats, at worst inquisitors and deceivers anyway and that their "flocks" are easily deceived idiots is not very interesting. The interesting point in "Small Gods" is the relation of the problematic, shallow aspect of organized religion with the story of the true believer (in spite of the horrible established religious practice) who appears a fool to them. And then interaction with the mechanisms that the god gains power with more believers. I think it is far deeper than something like Life of Brian (which is purely "negative"). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongRider Posted March 10, 2019 Share Posted March 10, 2019 I can see I need to read Small Gods again, and dig into Pratchett a little deeper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard II Posted March 11, 2019 Share Posted March 11, 2019 On 3/9/2019 at 6:20 PM, HelenaExMachina said: Maybe. It’s low on the list for now though. as for Discworld, everyone is going to differ on their preference but I love the Witches series. I include the Tiffany Aching series in that. I think Wintersmith is my favourite Aching book Well if it helps it triggered some grimdark incels when it came out cause OMG FEMALES ARE TAKING OVER FANTASY! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mosi Mynn Posted March 11, 2019 Share Posted March 11, 2019 6 hours ago, Darth Richard II said: Well if it helps it triggered some grimdark incels when it came out cause OMG FEMALES ARE TAKING OVER FANTASY! Seriously? Granny Weatherwax could take over fantasy with a hat pin Amateurs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard II Posted March 11, 2019 Share Posted March 11, 2019 1 hour ago, Mosi Mynn said: Seriously? Granny Weatherwax could take over fantasy with a hat pin Amateurs. Hahah no no, I meant Red Sister by Lawrence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mosi Mynn Posted March 11, 2019 Share Posted March 11, 2019 My point still stands! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkynJay Posted March 11, 2019 Share Posted March 11, 2019 4 hours ago, Darth Richard II said: Hahah no no, I meant Red Sister by Lawrence. I finally quit giving Lawrence another chance after that one. It reads like a person writing directly to his biggest critics... and missing the point completely. Without the humor his last series had his style of grimdark becomes mundane quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard II Posted March 11, 2019 Share Posted March 11, 2019 4 hours ago, SkynJay said: I finally quit giving Lawrence another chance after that one. It reads like a person writing directly to his biggest critics... and missing the point completely. Without the humor his last series had his style of grimdark becomes mundane quickly. How DARE you have a different opinion then me! Pistols st dawn’ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joey Crows Posted March 11, 2019 Share Posted March 11, 2019 Lord of the Rings for me. To be fair, I've only actually attempted to read the Hobbit, but I've read it about halfway through a couple of times and it just doesn't seem to grab me. So I'm the weirdo haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortstark Posted March 11, 2019 Share Posted March 11, 2019 On 3/7/2019 at 5:31 PM, Darth Richard II said: This thread makes me cry. For real brother, for real ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortstark Posted March 11, 2019 Share Posted March 11, 2019 To be fair though i bounced off long Price at least 3 times before the wise and well read members of this forum convinced me to give it another shot, am i glad i listened? you bet, now one of my top 5 finished series.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Varysblackfyre321 Posted March 12, 2019 Author Share Posted March 12, 2019 I’ve read the Farseer series weirdly. I only read the first two books of her first trilogy, and her last trilogy for the series. From what I read meh, decent, for the most part, but I honestly hated the scenes with the Fool. Also the Raven Shadow series. The first book was awesome, but I honestly couldn’t finish two, so I skipped to three hoping it’d get better and then I just flat out gave up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legitimate_Bastard Posted March 14, 2019 Share Posted March 14, 2019 Have had mediocre success with the Aubrey-Maturin series. Still trying. Hornblower was the bomb, thought I would like O'Brien equally well - but nay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo498 Posted March 15, 2019 Share Posted March 15, 2019 I am somewhat of a Hornblower fan but I find the series uneven as well. It's been a while but both the "Atropos" and the one in the Baltic didn't seem all that great to me. The good thing is that they are all moving along at a decent pace and not too long anyway. Treasure Island was the first somewhat "Great Book" I read at about 8 years old and I had loved ships and pirates even before that because of Pippi Longstocking So I will certainly try at least once again with Aubrey/Maturin; I really liked the movie, it is one of the best historical movies of recent years I think and one of the best "Age of Sail" movies. Both the old Hornblower movie and the series with the young Hornblower are o.k. and there are a few other decent ones but none is a match for Master and Commander. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie Lannister Posted March 19, 2019 Share Posted March 19, 2019 The First Law for me. It's exactly my kind of thing on paper, but aside from Glokta the torturer - who admittedly was an intriguing and genuinely fantastic character - and kinda sorta the jackass nobleman dude, I found the cast extremely dull, and so didn't bother picking book two up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mosi Mynn Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 13 hours ago, Jamie Lannister said: The First Law for me. It's exactly my kind of thing on paper, but aside from Glokta the torturer - who admittedly was an intriguing and genuinely fantastic character - and kinda sorta the jackass nobleman dude, I found the cast extremely dull, and so didn't bother picking book two up. I found the cast incredibly dull too. And I dreaded Glokta's chapters! He was witty and sardonic enough, but it's just so grim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Varysblackfyre321 Posted March 21, 2019 Author Share Posted March 21, 2019 On 3/19/2019 at 4:22 PM, Jamie Lannister said: The First Law for me. It's exactly my kind of thing on paper, but aside from Glokta the torturer - who admittedly was an intriguing and genuinely fantastic character - and kinda sorta the jackass nobleman dude, I found the cast extremely dull, and so didn't bother picking book two up. I could understand, but not exactly agree with your sentiments regarding the First-law. I do think Jezal was an interesting character. He was the typical nobleman, to which in most series would just be one of the antagonists to the protagonist(s) of the story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo498 Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 Jezal seems more like the typical frat boy which is in line with a lot of the First Law being somehow indebted to 1980s-early 2000s movie tropes, only in this case not action but High school and college romcoms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alarich II Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 Aubrey/Maturin is a fantastic series and only loses a bit of direction in the last books (post Waterloo). It's very accurate not only in nautical lingo and description but also on social interactions while telling a great story. I reread the series every 2-3 years. My personal nemesis were: 1. Malazan: bloat, bloat, booooring. No thanks 2. Goodkind/Richard Rahl: really a bit stupid and by the second book it paints a disturbing picture of the authors state of mind 3. Gene Wolfes New Sun: Too clever for me, too much of an unreliable narrator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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