tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8184562969471581744.post3796939448274066898..comments2024-03-04T02:09:30.979-06:00Comments on One Man's Pony Ramblings: For a Change, Let's Talk About Actual Books (Part 11)Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8184562969471581744.post-6144184999168390952013-12-21T23:41:22.396-06:002013-12-21T23:41:22.396-06:00The fourth book has some good stuff in it that'...The fourth book has some good stuff in it that's just as interesting as the previous books; the problem is that it keeps getting interrupted by far less interesting stuff.<br /><br />For an analogy, suppose you're watching an episode of a TV series you like. The main plot of the episode is really really great, but there's a B-plot that keeps interrupting it that's far, far less interesting. That's what reading the fourth book is like; you've got lots of interesting stuff that keeps getting interrupted by stuff that's less interesting.<br /><br />The good news is that it's not that hard to recognize which parts are interesting and which aren't, so it's not hard to skip or skim the more boring parts.Lord Sethnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8184562969471581744.post-67368299994780943532013-12-21T03:07:34.182-06:002013-12-21T03:07:34.182-06:00Absolutely not, I'm afraid. Book three is wher...Absolutely not, I'm afraid. Book three is where things get *really* interesting, so it's a set-up for even more disappointment.<br /><br />Thing is, I don't remember dislike the fourth one, just the fifth. Maybe I was just too caught up in the story to care at that point. Hopefully the sixth brings it all back together.Lightsidelucnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8184562969471581744.post-529608317559351272013-12-21T01:21:02.212-06:002013-12-21T01:21:02.212-06:00If one wanted to read no further than the third bo...If one wanted to read no further than the third book so as to avoid the deteriorating quality, would there be a good stopping point where things feel somewhat complete (like how <i>A New Hope</i> works as a singular <i>Star Wars</i> film)?Holly Oatshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01703437987958922954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8184562969471581744.post-29602665642985818192013-12-20T17:51:34.979-06:002013-12-20T17:51:34.979-06:00"Trash" might be hyperbole on my part, b..."Trash" might be hyperbole on my part, but the basic problem is still there. You and Lightside and Juggernaught all talk about the quality of the series as having worsened, and I'm not seeing anyone disputing that. So what I'm getting from you guys is that if I read the whole series as it is now, I would not consistently enjoy it.DannyJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13273313206696087395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8184562969471581744.post-10297804741605712162013-12-20T17:33:34.234-06:002013-12-20T17:33:34.234-06:00Nothing too exciting; one of the FiMFic mods used ...Nothing too exciting; one of the FiMFic mods used something like "Twilight Sparkle Eats Peaches" as a hypothetical title in a post about story tagging, and then a bunch of people went and wrote stories about Twilight eating peaches. I didn't read any of them, but it was (and at a glance, still appears to be) a thing.Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11581572699330155065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8184562969471581744.post-52673230926033291042013-12-20T17:27:15.317-06:002013-12-20T17:27:15.317-06:00At the risk of learning something I'm better o...At the risk of learning something I'm better off not knowing... Peachpocalypse?InquisitorMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10209346997929773686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8184562969471581744.post-29209392166395869812013-12-20T17:20:39.950-06:002013-12-20T17:20:39.950-06:00I agree with pretty much everything you and Luc sa...I agree with pretty much everything you and Luc said, though I still enjoyed Dances With Dragons. I think it's just that book 4 was such a slog for me that it was a palpable relief to be getting back to some of my favorite characters, even if it did mean no Lannisters until towards the end.Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11581572699330155065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8184562969471581744.post-88437747444798282732013-12-20T17:18:23.220-06:002013-12-20T17:18:23.220-06:00If it makes you feel better, I went into work toda...If it makes you feel better, I went into work today despite being sick. I don't want to be "that guy who takes a 'sick day' to get a long Christmas break," even if I <i>am</i> actually sick.Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11581572699330155065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8184562969471581744.post-21961347577085933522013-12-20T17:16:57.926-06:002013-12-20T17:16:57.926-06:00I didn't comment on the Peachpocalypse because...I didn't comment on the Peachpocalypse because I have nothing to say about the Peachpocalypse. It's like the gak stories, or the pony instruction manuals before them; it's best to just roll your eyes and take comfort in the fact that it will soon be a memory, occasionally dredged up to confuse new fans but otherwise forgotten.<br /><br />As for GoT... I wouldn't say it was trash in the later books, but it definitely drops off in terms of narrative coherence; there's a difference between having a sprawling, loosely connected narrative (say, like in the first three books) and just having a bunch of people doing stuff.Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11581572699330155065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8184562969471581744.post-69279003581561457722013-12-20T16:50:11.328-06:002013-12-20T16:50:11.328-06:00What? Most recent post since Peachgate, and nary e...What? Most recent post since Peachgate, and nary even a passing "I don't get it or care either, so here's the review," in the introductory paragraph? I thought you were <i>the fanfic guy</i>, Chris. Instead I come in here and find that you've started reviewing graphic novels on the side now, flirting with other mediums like some cheap trollop.<br /><br />You changed, man.<br /><br />Also this right here is exactly why I never got into <i>Game of Thrones</i>. I keep getting it recommended to me, and then I come here and see everyone talking about how the series devolved into trash in the later books. I feel like if I read and actually liked the first book, I'd just be setting myself up for disappointment. It's like wondering if you want to get into the <i>Mass Effect</i> games when the first time you heard of the series was everyone raging over ME3's ending. Or if you were about to get into DC comics when suddenly there's a reboot and the regular readers online start making suicide pacts. It's just not a good sign, you know?DannyJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13273313206696087395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8184562969471581744.post-38251864892779477972013-12-20T10:40:11.991-06:002013-12-20T10:40:11.991-06:00Sigh. "Throw shit at the wall"Sigh. "Throw shit at the wall"xjuggernaughtxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12286896058684660654noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8184562969471581744.post-14285576838088233762013-12-20T10:38:50.228-06:002013-12-20T10:38:50.228-06:00Dances with Dragons is undoubtedly more entertaini...Dances with Dragons is undoubtedly more entertaining than A Feast for Crows, but it still seemed like he was fumbling around in the dark. Whereas the first three books all seemed to be converging, book five seems to have the characters all moving away from each other, sometimes in directions that are fairly ridiculous.<br /><br />And it certainly doesn't help that I DON'T CARE ABOUT DORNE! He hasn't done one single thing to make me interested in that place in all the time he's gone back to it. I hate it every time we switch to that part of the story. <br /><br />So yes, I'm sticking with the series because it's still interesting in parts, but I'm far, far less interested than I was at the end of book 3. Book fours mire of boredom and pointless, coupled with book five's "those shit at the wall and see what sticks" feel has soured me on the series.xjuggernaughtxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12286896058684660654noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8184562969471581744.post-245197959930728322013-12-20T06:57:27.010-06:002013-12-20T06:57:27.010-06:00This is literally everything I know about Game of ...<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Krz-dyD-UQ" rel="nofollow">This</a> is literally everything I know about Game of Thrones.Present Perfecthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16195959811544391904noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8184562969471581744.post-36546770795096929252013-12-20T03:51:25.570-06:002013-12-20T03:51:25.570-06:00Dance with Dragons was a slow trudge for me. Perha...Dance with Dragons was a slow trudge for me. Perhaps it's because I had caught up with book four and DwD came about a year or two after that, so my terrible memory had forgotten many of the plot points. In either case, the story felt like it was spreading itself too thin with all the (to me, at least) tertiary characters. I get that he wants to tell the whole story, but they just aren't that interesting, nevermind the fact that everyone's hoping he doesn't keel over to do like his characters and die in a sudden way. Not exactly hale and healthy, he is. Finish the main plotline and then go back to do those side-stories.Lightsidelucnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8184562969471581744.post-34595705627848262222013-12-20T00:26:50.102-06:002013-12-20T00:26:50.102-06:00Wait...
People STAY HOME when they get colds? I w...Wait...<br /><br />People STAY HOME when they get colds? I wasn't even considered sick unless I was vomiting blood. What a spoiled generation this is.InsertAuthorHerehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16563861820054827515noreply@blogger.com