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/lit/ - Literature

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3909399 No.3909399 [Reply] [Original]

This series any good?

>> No.3909414

The first story, which was about the first 50 pages, was very gripping.
It all goes downhill from there.

>> No.3909417

Mediocre. It has a strange feel to it, there definitely is a lot of potential in the idea, but it never really delivers.

>> No.3909459

>>3909399
The first book promises pretty much and has a strange, mythical feel to it, but the series never delivers its promises. I suggest to read only the firs book.

>> No.3909541

>>3909399
It isn't worth it and people flatter it for pretty dumb reasons. For example, they frequently mention the structure of the first book (as to imitate the structure of the Canterbury Tales). They never mention how bland and awful the imitation is

>> No.3909573

The first two were definitely worth a read if you like Sci-Fi, OP. I haven't read the last two. If you read the first one you'll probably feel obliged to read the second.

It's true, so far, that it does not deliver on all that it promises, but it's a fun ride.

>> No.3909582

>>3909414
Was that the priest's story? Because that's the only one I remember, it was great.

>> No.3909590

>>3909582
not him but that one was precisely the only one I really liked. I also love expedition stories though so it had an advantage from the start

>> No.3910046

>>3909590
agreeing. the priest's was eerie and riveting. i barely remember the others. i think i liked the one about the jewish guy and his timesick baby? i did like the book overall and i grabbed the sequel when i saw it used somewhere. vague plans to read that.

>> No.3910260

>>3910046
The Priest's story was creepy like you said. The scholar's one I found was pretty heart-breaking, and made me think of how parents deal with terminally ill children. The Consul's story I liked too because I found it had the most vivid imagery - reminded me of the game Riven.

Second book is good, but you may need a refresher

>> No.3910697

>>3909399
yes. dear god, yes. read them, they are gorgeous.

>> No.3910709

No, and you can tell from the cover.

Publishing companies conveinently make the covers to all pulp, pleb, low-brow, immature trash the same: that glossy-ish titling with the ye olde pseudo-medieval art work (or the 2hightech4u 80s computer-user mentality displays for scifi)

>> No.3910735
File: 49 KB, 326x500, schismatrix1.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
3910735

>>3910709
No. A lot of scifi books have shitty covers. Take Schismatrix for example.

>> No.3910744

>>3910735
Nice reading comprehension.

I meant instead of a medieval cartoon scifi has some alien warmachine draw up: both are shit

>> No.3910810
File: 17 KB, 261x401, siddhartha.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
3910810

>>3910744
Nice covers were precisely the reason I started reading sci-fi and I do not regret it. I like covers with realistic art, fuck that abstract shit that looks like puke-stains and is supposed to make a book all deep and artsy (pic related).

>> No.3910841

I once read this series in Japanese when I`m 15.
Translators are awesome and energetic,like translators of "Remembrance of Things Past"

>> No.3910858
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3910858

>>3910709
>making the oldest and most cliched assumptions

>> No.3910911

>>3909399
>This series any good?
I didn't like it _at all_, but in all honesty, there are much worse sci-fi books.

>> No.3910934

I fucking hated the series, because it strings you along for so fucking long, pretending there are resolutions and answers at the end, but NOPE. Future space jesus did it lol! SO RANDUMB XD

>> No.3911007

Its fucking amazing

>> No.3911035

>>3910709
>first time coming to /lit/
>mfw people actually complain about book covers.

>> No.3911101

>>3911035

The cover of a book (assuming you've not watched the film or anything) is the first impression you get from it, it is how it wants to be seen. (By publishers, not the author.) It also gives you your first mental image of the book so if it's shitty, might fuck up your reading.

>> No.3911103

the Priest's story was about going to a jungle and the strange cloned people with the parasitic cruciform..

I think I've read the first book twice...started the second one but couldn't finish.

>> No.3911140

>>3909541
well said

>> No.3911194

>>3911101
>It also gives you your first mental image of the book so if it's shitty, might fuck up your reading.
Yeah, no. Learn to separate the cover from the text.

>> No.3911231

Read the first two for sure. I enjoyed all four books but that's just me.

Definitely unique.

>> No.3911894

The story with the daughter aging backwards made me shed a tear or two. Thought that that was a really great short story just in itself.

>> No.3912742

The first book is god tier. The second rounds off the story pretty well and does have some very good moments even if it isnt quite as well crafted as the first.
You could probably skip the last two (though id did enjoy parts of them.
Theres too much retconning in the last two and the new antagonists really are not threatening at all. Plus they kind of ruin the Shrike.

>> No.3912789

>>3912742
>not threatening
>Radamanth Nemes
Sure gave ME fucking nightmares.

>> No.3912798

>>3910934
It's all about empathy. How did you not get that?

>> No.3912937

OK, here's how it went for me.
Started reading one afternoon, fell asleep, priest story incredibly boring. Leave the book.
After some time, pick it up again, priest story not that bad, eager to learn more about this universe. Finish the book, with periods of reading 50-100 pages at once and reading like 2 pages a day. Ending is blue balls.
Start second book immediately after first, stop reading 30 pages in, leave it. Pick it up again a few weeks after, read a lot, don't read at all, rince and repeat. Finish it, some closure I guess, but not the kind I wanted.
Overall, it's well written as far as sci-fi goes, although I found it pretentious at times, especially with the poet (although it may be intentional), didn't receive the fullfilment that I anticipated.
Meh, this was a long and shitty post.

>> No.3912961

>>3911101
"don't judge a book by its cover"

>> No.3913594

>tfw you will never swim in a zero-g ball of water hanging in a transparent contaiment field in outer space

>> No.3913864

>>3912961
Except when you actually learn that publishing companies gear money and research towards cover-making in order to entice their certain demographic, that saying becomes moot.

>> No.3913872
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3913872

>>3912961
Just a question, would you ever think that this was a good book judging ONLY from the cover (P.S.ONLY FROM THE COVER)?

>> No.3913875

>>3913872
>>3913864
Yes okay, "don't judge a book by its cover" is a great rule of thumb but you'd have to be dumb to apply it completely and dumber to feel that needs pointing out and for fucks sake it doesn't usually refer to books.
Ugh. People.

Double-ugh. Tripfriends.
Suicide-pact with sunhawk pls.

>> No.3914416

>tfw you will never have zero-g sex with a qtp2t who will be going to have been the mother of your child in a bizarre 3 year time fold

>> No.3914434

>>3909399
Yeah the first two are great. The 2nd two, not so much but they're enjoyable esp since you'll be familiar with the universe.

Good books.

Fucking amazing a+++ books/writing for scifi.

>> No.3914444

>>3910709
You can't judge a book by its cover, bro.