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[jon bones]

And racists are lining up to read Name of the Wind, why?

no idea, couldn't slog through it. main character wasn't much of anything except a ginger.

White power fantasy?

I'm trying to remember if there are POC in Name of The Wind. The only ones I remember are the Adem, the notAsians who practice notKungfu and regurgitate notZen-koans. Also they have low sex inhibitions so Kvothe gets laid a lot at the height of his yellow fever.

lol is that true? talk about white nerd fantasy

 

[PSqueak]

It's funny how both Kingkiller and Ready Player One are loved so much on Reddit, but hated on NeoGAF. Why is that?

I, personally, didn't like either, but didn't hate them too.

RPO represents gamers like Reddit users are, Gaffers feel misrepresented and talked down by RPO.

 

[Haly]

lol is that true? talk about white nerd fantasy

“Is it fascinating, our wall?” she asked, gesturing gentle amusement, curiosity with one hand. “What do you think of it?”

“I think it is beautiful,” I responded in Ademic, careful to make only brief eye contact.

Her hand tilted in an unfamiliar gesture. “Beautiful?”

I gave the barest of shrugs. “There is beauty that belongs to simple things of function.”

“Perhaps you are mistaking a word,” she said. Gentle apology. “Beauty is a flower or a woman or a gem. Perhaps you mean to say ‘utility.’ A wall is useful.”

“Useful, but beautiful as well.”

“Perhaps a thing gains beauty being used.”

“Perhaps a thing is used according to its beauty,” I countered, wondering if this was the Adem equivalent of small talk. If it was, I preferred it to the insipid gossip of the Maer’s court.

“What of my hat?” she asked, touching it with a hand. “Is it beautiful because it is used?” It was knitted from a thick homespun wool and dyed a bright cornsilk yellow. It was slightly lopsided, and its stitching was uneven in places. “It seems very warm,” I said carefully.

Not even architects masturbate this furiously at walls.

“How far have you come in your training?” Shehyn asked.

"I have studied the Ketan for a month.”

She turned to face me and raised her hands. “Are you ready?”

I could not help but think that she was shorter than me by six inches and old enough to be my grandmother. Her lopsided yellow hat didn’t make her look terribly intimidating either. “Perhaps,” I said, and raised my hands as well.

Shehyn came toward me slowly, making Hands like Knives. I countered with Catching Rain. Then I made Climbing Iron and Fast Inward, but could not touch her. She quickened slightly, made Turning Breath and Striking Forward at the same time. I stopped one with Fan Water, but couldn’t escape the other. She touched me below my ribs then on my temple, softly as you would press a finger to someone’s lips.

Nothing I tried had any effect on her. I made Thrown Lighting, but she simply stepped away, not even bothering to counter. Once or twice I felt the brush of cloth against my hands as I came close enough to touch her white shirt, but that was all. It was like trying to strike a piece of hanging string.

I set my teeth and made Threshing Wheat, Pressing Cider, and Mother at the Stream, moving seamlessly from one to the other in a flurry of blows.

I'm not sure if he's describing martial arts or a MMO class' rotation.

Penthe paused and glanced significantly downward. “That is unless you are diseased?”

I blushed at this. “What? No! Of course not!”

“Are you certain?”

“I have studied at the Medica,” I said somewhat stiffly. “The greatest school of medicine in all the world. I know all about the diseases a person might catch, how to spot them and how to treat them.”

Penthe gave me a skeptical look. “I do not question you in particular. But it is well known that barbarians are quite frequently diseased in their sex.”

I shook my head. “This is just another foolish story. I assure you the barbarians are no more diseased than the Adem. In fact, I expect we may be less.”

She shook her head, her eyes serious. “No. You are wrong in this. Of a hundred barbarians, how many would you say were so afflicted?”

It was an easy statistic I knew from the Medica. “Out of every hundred? Perhaps five. More among those who work in brothels or frequent such places, of course.”

Penthe’s face showed obvious disgust and she shivered. “Of one hundred Adem, none are so afflicted,” she said firmly. Absolute.

“Oh come now.” I held up my hand, making a circle with my fingers. “None?”

“None,” she said with grim certainty. “The only place we could catch such a thing is from a barbarian, and those who travel are warned.”

Gotta make sure the other party is clean down there before you engage in hot, epic fantasy sex. You never know what you might catch in the forests of Lothlorien

 

[Boombloxer]

Sounds like the plot of the Last Starfighter.

Or an updated Ender's Game.

 

[firehawk12]

"Reddit was like Mos Eisley Spaceport. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy."

Spoiler

Am I doing it right?

No, if you were Cline, you would write this:

Reddit reminded me of that George Lucas science fiction classic Star Wars. No, not that terrible film Phantom Menace, but the real first Star Wars film where Obi-Wan Kenobi described the Mos Eisley Cantina as a "wretched hive of scum and villainy".

 

[The Technomancer]

Like...I wouldn't want Gabe Newell as a design consultant on my big game. The dude's a genius buisnessman, but I don't think he's particularly well known as a designer is he?

 

[Haly]

No, if you were Cline, you would write this:

Reddit reminded me of that George Lucas science fiction classic Star Wars. No, not that terrible film Phantom Menace, but the real first Star Wars film where Obi-Wan Kenobi described the Mos Eisley Cantina as a "wretched hive of scum and villainy".

The original-content:reference ratio is way too high.

All those wasted words that could be referencing things instead.

 

[The Technomancer]

White power fantasy?

I'm trying to remember if there are POC in Name of The Wind. The only ones I remember are the Adem, the notAsians who practice notKungfu and regurgitate notZen-koans. Also they have low sex inhibitions so Kvothe gets laid a lot at the height of his yellow fever.

Don't forget, they also laughably think that babies just happen without men and that sex is just for fun. Those funny backwards people.

 

[firehawk12]

The original-content:reference ratio is way too high.

All those wasted words that could be referencing things instead.

George Lucas Star Wars Mos Eisley Catina Obi-Wan Kenobi "wretched hive of scum and villainy".

 

[Atrophis]

Rothfuss wank.

Yo, gonna need more warning if your about to quote Rothfuss. Don't want to get vomit all over my stuff.

 

[Haly]

Yo, gonna need more warning if your about to quote Rothfuss. Don't want to get vomit all over my stuff.

Like one of these?

NECKBEARD PROSE AHEAD

 

[Cyan]

Not even architects masturbate this furiously at walls.

I gotta be real, I started reading that passage and was like "wow, Cline has gotten way better, this is actually pretty readable--oh."

Rothfuss has his own issues, but I do mostly like his prose.

 

[The Technomancer]

I gotta be real, I started reading that passage and was like "wow, Cline has gotten way better, this is actually pretty readable--oh."

Rothfuss has his own issues, but I do mostly like his prose.

Rothfuss's prose is just fine, its his plots and his characters I don't like

...wait I have an idea

What if we could combine Sanderson, GRRM and Rothfuss into one mega-author?

 

[Haly]

Yes. I forget to mention that while Rothfuss has his faults, he's an actual writer. It's a lot harder with his books to just pick a sentence and laugh at it. You need some context to really feel the cringe.

But oh the cringeeeee.

 

[Atrophis]

Like one of these?

NECKBEARD PROSE AHEAD

Yeah, that would work. Twee, try hard shite through and through. Rothfuss is actually one of the worst because you can tell in every sentence the man is convinced he's the next coming of Shakespeare. Exhibit A - Slow Regard of blah blah blah.

 

[aeolist]

man, the second kingkiller book was such a fucking downer

i really liked the name of the wind and the sequel was just a wet fart of a book

 

[Emarv]

I've always felt like Cline is the nerd-equivalent of someone like Stephanie Meyer. I honestly think in the traditional publishing system, he would not have the level of success he currently has. I read most of RPO before putting it down.

He's obviously hitting a nerve with a certain demographic, but his lack of literary skill or even understanding how humans interact just prevents me from even touching Armada. I hope Spielberg never touches RPO.

 

[Mumei]

Rothfuss's prose is just fine, its his plots and his characters I don't like

...wait I have an idea

What if we could combine Sanderson, GRRM and Rothfuss into one mega-author?

Well.

I mean, if we could combine GRRM with Sanderson's productivity, I suppose I could go for that.

 

[Haly]

Maybe we can combine Ursula K. LeGuin with a baby to reset her telomeres instead.

 

[MisterR]

I liked RPO and I'm looking forward to reading Armada.

I liken them to summer blockbuster films whose entire purpose is to just entertain me for a little while.

I'm the type of person that will end up going into the book thinking it's terrible just because other people are telling me so. I tend to shy away from the reviews until I've made my own opinion about the material.

I love to read, though. I can find enjoyment even in kids books. I'm reading Animorphs to my kids right now, and I think I'm enjoying it as much as they are.

So I guess I'm going to stay positive and hope I enjoy the quick read.

Yep, they are just light, entertaining summer reads. I don't think anyone thinks they are great works of literature or anything. Enjoy what you enjoy.

 

[Slayven]

Well.

I mean, if we could combine GRRM with Sanderson's productivity, I suppose I could go for that.

I would love more Wildcard books

 

[Kadayi]

rpo sucked so hard. cliched and predictable with terrible prose. pass for me.

^This

When your protagonists solution to every challenge is simply to say 'fortunately I happen to be an expert in '<insert 80s reference> having spent spent 100s of hours <watching/playing/listening to> (delete as appropriate) it. It's not really much of a challenge.

 

[Mumei]

Maybe we can combine Ursula K. LeGuin with a baby to reset her telomeres instead.

Wait, I like this idea better. Also, Wolfe. He's in his 80s. D:

 

[Talka]

The hate in this thread for RPO makes me so happy. Probably the worst book I've read since I was a small child.

I'm curious whether it'll work as a movie (I assume it's inevitable one's in production?). There were so many problems with the book, but by far the worst parts were the prose and the plotting. Maybe a competent writer and director could find some kernel of something worthwhile in there? Maybe make it a critique of pop culture nostalgia instead of a cringe-fest celebration of it?

 

[Narag]

The hate in this thread for RPO makes me so happy. Probably the worst book I've read since I was a small child.

I'm curious whether it'll work as a movie (I assume it's inevitable one's in production?). There were so many problems with the book, but by far the worst parts were the prose and the plotting. Maybe a competent writer and director could find some kernel of something worthwhile in there? Maybe make it a critique of pop culture nostalgia instead of a cringe-fest celebration of it?

Spielberg is directing. Get hype.

 

[Ape Gone Insane]

Yeah, that would work. Twee, try hard shite through and through. Rothfuss is actually one of the worst because you can tell in every sentence the man is convinced he's the next coming of Shakespeare. Exhibit A - Slow Regard of blah blah blah.

"It was deep and wide as autumn’s ending. It was heavy as a great river-smooth stone. It was the patient, cut-flower sound of a man who is waiting to die.”

 

[styl3s]

It's funny how both Kingkiller and Ready Player One are loved so much on Reddit, but hated on NeoGAF. Why is that?

I, personally, didn't like either, but didn't hate them too.

GAF seems to hate a lot of popular things but really it's just the minor few sound more vocal because you can't downvote them into oblivion. The Walking Dead TV thread every year is a prime example.

I love RPO and Armada i think they are fun to just lay back on a sunday afternoon and close your eyes, turn up the volume and lose yourself for a few hours (yes, i listen to audiobooks i don't read them)

 

[HK-47]

Portal reference.

This should be illegal. Even Valve themselves were sick of that.

 

[HK-47]

I try not to resent others' success, you know? At least Ernest Cline is out there writing books and creating something...

But I can't with him. It pisses me off that this dude is getting rich.

Is he creating or regurgitating?

 

[Das Ace]

White power fantasy?

I'm trying to remember if there are POC in Name of The Wind. The only ones I remember are the Adem, the notAsians who practice notKungfu and regurgitate notZen-koans. Also they have low sex inhibitions so Kvothe gets laid a lot at the height of his yellow fever.

Uh, What? His blacksmith professor mentor dude is black. All the not-russian people in the book are black.

edit: What is it about Name of the Wind specifically that gets so many contrarians out on their soap box's? It happens in ever pop-fantasy thread. Surely their are worse novels to complain about.

 

[Haly]

It's mostly the mainstream success. Like, why would I complain about The Darkness that Came Before's copious amounts of rape and misogyny? No one would know what I'm talking about. I don't like talking to myself, that's not why I'm here in a semi-public forum.

I'm here to talk to others. And I see a lot of people have read The Name of the Wind so I can engage with them on that common ground.

 

[Miker]

okay, so this is the final version?

Holy shit. Is this in the final version or not? It can't be, right? Right?

 

[Lokimaru]

Just finished the book and am now listening to the Audio Book. I liked it, i've always thought that if the US developed humaniod drones that controlled like FPS bald space marines we'd be unstoppable. But then the Japanese would just invent sword weilding juggle drones to counter and so on. I did wonder why their were no Sword weilding or Tacticle Espionage Aphids cause I'd be all over that shit (Character action games are my Jam.). I mean wouldn't taking out those spider drones using Dynasty Warrior or GoW type tactics be more effective? Those games are geared to Mowing down hundreds of enemies. Give me a drone with Chain swords like Kratos and I would hold the line like Leonides at the Hot Gates. Not only that shouldn't they have had guys skilled at Star Craft type tactical games overseeing the battles to maxim man power usage instead of it being a free for all. Don't mean to second guess the guy but if your gonna use gaming to train people for combat, use all of it.

 

[reelbigtink]

I'm like 1/3 of the way through Armada and really hating it. I'm so sorry I had good things to say about RPO earlier in the thread. Please forgive me.

It's impossible to root for any of these weird characters and the reference thing is out of hand. Jesus.

 

[linkboy]

I liked RPO and I'm looking forward to reading Armada.

I liken them to summer blockbuster films whose entire purpose is to just entertain me for a little while.

I'm the type of person that will end up going into the book thinking it's terrible just because other people are telling me so. I tend to shy away from the reviews until I've made my own opinion about the material.

I love to read, though. I can find enjoyment even in kids books. I'm reading Animorphs to my kids right now, and I think I'm enjoying it as much as they are.

So I guess I'm going to stay positive and hope I enjoy the quick read.

Same here. I went into RPO blind when a friend recommended it for a book club.

Is it a book that's going to win awards, no, did I find it entertaining, yes.

I'm flying back to the states next week and I'm going to read armada on the flight. It'll be a good way to kill some time.

 

[Haly]

Please forgive me.

 

[Conkersbadfurday]

My review copy of Aramda came in the mail today! I shall start it this weekend, try my absolute best at being objective and professional, and then downward spiral into loathing because fuck Penguin for publishing Cline's garbage and not my own.

I will say though, excellent cover. Very pretty looking book.

Also glad when these threads somehow turn into hatred on Rothfuss, because fuck him too.

 

[Lokimaru]

Portal reference.

If you finished the book you'll realize that line is actually

Spoiler

relevent to the plot.

 

[jon bones]

I'm like 1/3 of the way through Armada and really hating it. I'm so sorry I had good things to say about RPO earlier in the thread. Please forgive me.

everyone makes mistakes

If you finished the book you'll realize that line is actually

Spoiler

relevent to the plot.

does that make it any less terrible?

Spoiler

no

 

[Pilgrimzero]

Just finished the book and am now listening to the Audio Book. I liked it, i've always thought that if the US developed humaniod drones that controlled like FPS bald space marines we'd be unstoppable. But then the Japanese would just invent sword weilding juggle drones to counter and so on. I did wonder why their were no Sword weilding or Tacticle Espionage Aphids cause I'd be all over that shit (Character action games are my Jam.). I mean wouldn't taking out those spider drones using Dynasty Warrior or GoW type tactics be more effective? Those games are geared to Mowing down hundreds of enemies. Give me a drone with Chain swords like Kratos and I would hold the line like Leonides at the Hot Gates. Not only that shouldn't they have had guys skilled at Star Craft type tactical games overseeing the battles to maxim man power usage instead of it being a free for all. Don't mean to second guess the guy but if your gonna use gaming to train people for combat, use all of it.

There is a reason why combat evolved into gun warfare. Typically a dude with an assault rifle will beat a dude with a sword, despite what anime tells us.

Same goes for robots.

Also, there is also a reason why we don't have bipedal humanoid tanks. Because it's a lot harder to knock something over that on treads. Human Beings who have masters walking still get knocked over with relative ease. Now imagine a huge billion dollar robot that's not as padded as we are...

As cool looking as it would be to have walking robots sword fighting for real, it's just not very tactically feasible.

 

[Conkersbadfurday]

Fifty pages in. Thus far, the book's biggest crime is being boring. Nothing much has happened, and the only real "world building" Cline has given me is to explain a bunch of video games.

Main character could be a gary stu if certain things keep up, or at least, a gary stu in Cline's eyes. Given his obsessions, his author insert would be a bit different from the norm.

 

[Haly]

If you finished the book you'll realize that line is actually

Spoiler

relevent to the plot.

I'm not sure if that's better or worse, actually. I'm really torn on this.

 

[Conkersbadfurday]

Finished the book. Was bored through almost all of it, and it really doesn't offer any sort of jeopardy until around page 200. Nothing matters until then, at least in terms of people being in danger.

The final twist at the end is stupid.

Spoiler

South park did it better with their space cash episode on literally every level imaginable and with twenty minutes of show time.

Whole thing reads like fanfiction written by a dude who wants to retroactively make his childhood seem less shitty. "No guys, my obsession with scifi wasn't a waste of time, see! I could use it to save the world!"

Somehow worse than RPO. At least that had an interesting idea or two to it, and all the annoying references made contextual sense. Here they only exist because Cline does'nt know how to write.

 

[Kin5290]

"It was deep and wide as autumn’s ending. It was heavy as a great river-smooth stone. It was the patient, cut-flower sound of a man who is waiting to die.”

What the fuck does this even MEAN?!

Actually, "cut-flower" sound sounds like it's written by a guy who watches too much anime. He saw some master swordsman character cut a flower and have it stay in one piece for a second before falling apart, and thought it was cool despite being total bullshit.

 

[Conkersbadfurday]

What the fuck does this even MEAN?!

Actually, "cut-flower" sound sounds like it's written by a guy who watches too much anime. He saw some master swordsman character cut a flower and have it stay in one piece for a second before falling apart, and thought it was cool despite being total bullshit.

The funny part is, the prose in those books is the best part. Goes downhill from there.

 

[Slayven]

What the fuck does this even MEAN?!

Actually, "cut-flower" sound sounds like it's written by a guy who watches too much anime. He saw some master swordsman character cut a flower and have it stay in one piece for a second before falling apart, and thought it was cool despite being total bullshit.

Anime you say?

I read the whole thing, was way better then it had any right to be.

 

[Dresden]

http://deadline.com/2015/08/ready-player-one-ernest-cline-author-next-book-film-rights-1201496871/

Ernest Cline is becoming the next Hollywood franchise author. The sci-fi novelist behind Ready Player One, which Steven Spielberg will ready-player-one-featuredhelm for Warner Bros, just made another whopping deal with Crown Publishing (a division of Penguin Random House) which we’re hearing is a mid seven-figure pact for his next yarn — and that’s for U.S. rights only.

 

[FO-totality]

http://deadline.com/2015/08/ready-player-one-ernest-cline-author-next-book-film-rights-1201496871/

Well shit like Twilight got movies and sequels, I really shouldn't be surprised at this point, but I remain disappointed in their decisions.

 

[InfiniteNine]

http://deadline.com/2015/08/ready-player-one-ernest-cline-author-next-book-film-rights-1201496871/

Oh I thought this was public knowledge since this dude was at the Atari: Game Over showing at the Alamo Draft House after the Classic Game Fest doing a Q&A after the documentary.
I didn't know who he was so a lot of what he said flew over my head but I remember him saying that Steven Spielberg was working on a movie of his book and him having a giant ET model with him.

 

[PhoncipleBone]

Christ on a bike. I look at the inside flap to the Felicia Day book and there is a quote from Cline about her. Even in the one paragraph blurb he can't stop from making a pop culture reference.