Diasfora
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: frankcapri on February 06, 2009, 12:39:55 AM
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I watched the movie last weekend without knowing anything at all about it, and
found myself wondering what was going to happen next. To my dismay, since
the movie didn't make enough money, there probably won't be a second film.
After reading about the film, I saw that it was based on a trilogy by Philip Pullman
called His Dark Materials. What I read also mentioned that the film downplayed
a lot of the religious stuff the books contain, so it made it even more attractive
for me reading the books.
Just wondering if anyone had read the books and if you had anything positive or negative to say about them.
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Never head of it frank, but it sounds interesting...
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I got themovie,,,and im still looking for the books
Good movie though,,too bad it didnt make enough money for there to be another
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Never head of it frank,
Well I didn't reckon you were ;)
I liked the movie well enough, but when I read that the books were like
a darker Harry Potter, I thought it might be worth a shot.
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I know there's a movie, but I haven't seen it.
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I was just joking about your missing R in heard ;)
I think it's worth watching if you like talking animals, interesting fantasy settings and conspiracies :)
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^ Why did you post that? ???
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I thought it would give a little understanding of what's in the movie ;D
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Loved the movie. Thought about reading the books but after christ's review, maybe I'll skip them.
/me wonders what jhb posted to get JF's dander up
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I read the whole thing but didn't like them much.
The first book didn't engage me as much as it should have but I kept on reading the series because I like to finish them. Hence, I've read all the Twilight books.
I did not find the mix of religion and science here as very plausible or interesting.
Harry Potter was more entertaining. I still think Harry could have grown more as a character instead of just getting luckier.
Even if you like talking animals, angels, pyschos and cutting instruments, you may still not like this.
To each his own though.
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Thanks for your insight Christ & Subvinorosa. I doubt that reading those three books
would be a big investment of my time, but I imagine there are better fantasy books
I could read that are more entertaining. I don't mind authors that have crazy ideas,
but the pedo angle is definitely a real turn off.
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Frank, read any Neil Stephenson? I supposed it's a waste to ask you if you've read any Card.
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I haven't actually read either of those authors. Been meaning to read Ender's Game for awhile,
but I've been reluctant since somebody spoiled that book for me a long time ago.
If you got some suggestions, I'm all eyes :)
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Any of the Discworld novels by Terry Prachette,,Ive read them all.
Each one I laughed so hard I peed myself. lol
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Recently I've been reading a lot of Science Fiction, so I'm kinda looking for a change of pace.
I've heard a lot of good things about Terry Pratchett, any ideas of where I should
start?
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I'll check it out after I finish with the second Dune book. Thanks :)
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I'll check it out after I finish with the second Dune book. Thanks :)
You'll forget about it by the time you finish that book frank... :D
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@Jack: Dune Messiah is actually a much shorter book than the first one ;)
I really enjoyed the first one, but the second one has nearly drained my interest.
I dunno if I really want to continue with the series :-\
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I see what you mean. I'm actually kind of regretting having started the second one.
That first book is such a masterpiece, I should have known I'd be disappointed with the
sophomore effort.
No worries though. In a couple of weeks, I won't remember what it's about anyway :D
I don't know if this happened to you when you read Dune (the first book), but while
I was reading it, I started to feel really weird about leaving the faucet running for too long :-\
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Mission Earth by L Ron Hubbard is easily one of my fave sci fi series.
All 10 BIG THICK books.
Battlefield Earth was good to,,nothing really like the movie ( which sucked bugs).
Now,,for acrossover with horror,,checkout the first 5 books in the Necroscope series by Brian Lumley.
There were more after 5,,,but the original 5 were the best, and should have ended there.
Its a good view of vampires and where they came from.
Very science fictiony if you ask me.
As for Terry Pratchette,,yeah,,gofrom the first one,,they all get better than the last.
His writting is really amazing,,I feel like I know Ridcully and the city of Ank Morpork personaly.
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I have read the first and the second book. If you like fantasy genre, you will love it, and also if you are not some deeply religious person. It is a good fantasy to read and, yet, there are a lot of controversies around it because of the atheistic views of the author.
I haven't gotten the third book yet. Yes, it is little childish, but it is a fun-read and is one of these books that look like they are for kids only, but have some message for adults as well. ;)
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and for other fantasy stuff, Terry Brooks' novels are really worth the reading.
And if you want to have some fun, Terry Pratchett's Discworld is there for you. ;)
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At last count there were what? 36 discworld books?
I think Ive read like 33 of them.
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You ought to,,,theyr good
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I have read the first and the second book. If you like fantasy genre, you will love it, and also if you are not some deeply religious person. It is a good fantasy to read and, yet, there are a lot of controversies around it because of the atheistic views of the author.
I'm pretty much a newbie to the Fantasy genre. Any recommendations are really helpful to me at this point.
I'm actually kinda reluctant to venture any further with the Golden Compass stuff because of what Christ
said about the pedo stuff. I'm not saying that they're not good books, but since I haven't really
ventured into the Fantasy realm besides JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis, I'm sure there are much better
places I could start.
What Terry Brooks novels would you recommend?
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Well, for Terry Brooks, almost any of his Shannara novels (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shannara) is good. I started with The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara Trilogy, which pretty good, but if you wish you could start from the beginning. Or, you can read critically acclaimed The Original Shannara Trilogy, which will be soon adapted into movies. ;)
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They are? Holy Cats!!!!
I hope they do a good job and dont butcher them, those were good books.
You guys might want totry out the origanal Swords trilogy by Fred Saberhagen.
Kinda gives you an idea tothink about religion before its over.
Atleast it did me.
Horror wise,,checkout the Saltmarsh books.
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Terry Pratchette's short story Johny And The Bomb had laughing so hard.
Something about a time traveling shoppingcart lol
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Don't you want to read Twilight frank?
They're really, really, very good. ::)
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David Gemmell's first three in the Drenai Series are book's I reread every few years. :)
Legend (1984) (Originally published in the USA as Against the Horde, re-released as Legend)
The King Beyond the Gate (1985)
Waylander (1986)
But read them in this order
Waylander
Legend
The King Beyond the Gate
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David Eddings, but refer to his Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Eddings) for what to read first in the series.
As CMF has said about Terry Brooks, The Shannara series are a good read.
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I've read a lot of Stephen R. Lawhead, fantasy writer who focuses a lot on Celtic lore. My favorite series of his is The Song of Alblion.
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I've read a lot of Stephen R. Lawhead, fantasy writer who focuses a lot on Celtic lore. My favorite series of his is The Song of Alblion.
I have only read The Pendragon Cycle, I enjoyed them
Taliesin (1987)
Merlin (1988)
Arthur (1989)
Pendragon (1994)
Grail (1997) Haven't read this one yet
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Twilight is for girls.
*ptoo*
Fevre Dream (GRRMartin) is a good vampire book for boys.
Hahaha I was kidding Christ. But thanks for the recommendation. I'll check if Fevre Dream is available next door.
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Ive got a teenage daughter so I have seen the movie. Seriously, if I were 14 I would of moved into the theater..... Definate heart throb material. But all of her friends say the books were so much better so I think I might just give em a shot. I loved Harry Potter so what the hell....
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Harry Potter is way better than Twilight. >:(
The proof is that not only kids, but adults like it as well.
I find the HP series a complex ones which deals on so many different levels.
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I hate toadmit it,,,but the HP novels were really good.
They are almost on the level of the Ender series,,made mainly for kids,,but ended up being read more by adults before it was over.
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One the only book series that I actually paid extra to get the advanced copy of. Loved them.
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Horror wise,,checkout the Saltmarsh books.
Not finding them. Only see an environemental series with this name
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I've never read the books.... just watched the movies.
I find the movies really sucky. :-X
The first two were too childish. Then, they started to omit things from the novels. Especially, in the last one, probably half the story was cut. :-\
Read the books, they are worth it. ;)
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They are? Holy Cats!!!!
I hope they do a good job and dont butcher them, those were good books.
You guys might want totry out the origanal Swords trilogy by Fred Saberhagen.
Kinda gives you an idea tothink about religion before its over.
Atleast it did me.
Horror wise,,checkout the Saltmarsh books.
wow that takes me back.
the many coloured land series by julian may. i've starting reading these again.
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The Icewind Dale trilogy by R A Salvatore.
Actualy any of his Forgotten Realms series are good.
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The Icewind Dale trilogy by R A Salvatore.
Actualy any of his Forgotten Realms series are good.
Would agree with that, I have read a lot of the Forgotten Realms books.
The Hunter's Blades Trilogy is great as well. What a hero in Drizzt Do'Urden
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No KIDDING!!!!
Talk about the ultimate outcast from society.
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I find the movies really sucky. :-X
The first two were too childish. Then, they started to omit things from the novels. Especially, in the last one, probably half the story was cut. :-\
Read the books, they are worth it. ;)
I agree. However, in the first movie, Harry was still pretty much a child. So, I think it's forgivable. After that, all downhill. Movies are not worth watching except if you love special effects. Which children do. Like mine. So I have to watch.
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I find the movies really sucky. :-X
The first two were too childish. Then, they started to omit things from the novels. Especially, in the last one, probably half the story was cut. :-\
Read the books, they are worth it. ;)
I completely agree. The books might have start off being written for kids but it was obvious after the first couple that Rowling shifted it to an older audience. Also, a little side tangant, what was the point of Rowling outing Dumbledore after the fact? Not knocking on the lifestyle, just saying that it had no bearing or weight on the story. It might be me but, even though I liked the HP series, Rowling is a bit of an odd duck.
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i'm going through all my old books and am re-reading.
amazing how good they can be a 4 / 5 / 6 th time around. :D :D
i am looking for a book to last me on holiday soon .8 hour flight to the usa .
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Not fantasy, but I also liked reading Tom Clancy's stuff but it seems it's more ghostwriters anymore. I really liked Robert Ludlam's stuff too.
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i like tom's early work. but not now.
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Any of the Discworld novels by Terry Prachette,,Ive read them all.
Each one I laughed so hard I peed myself. lol
I am a huge Pratchett fan too and I actually queued up in a book signing to meet him once (only time I have ever done that). There was a program on last week with him revealing how Alzheimer's is now affecting his writing, and it was quite tragic in all honesty, and don't expect too much from him in the future.
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Man, that's sad.
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I am a huge Pratchett fan too and I actually queued up in a book signing to meet him once (only time I have ever done that). There was a program on last week with him revealing how Alzheimer's is now affecting his writing, and it was quite tragic in all honesty, and don't expect too much from him in the future.
Its just sad,,anything that brings about good in the world gets taken from us.
Kinda makes it all so,,,futile
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Bombed.
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I am a huge Pratchett fan too and I actually queued up in a book signing to meet him once (only time I have ever done that). There was a program on last week with him revealing how Alzheimer's is now affecting his writing, and it was quite tragic in all honesty, and don't expect too much from him in the future.
sad prog.
i think pratchett has the most signed boooks out in circulation. hard to find one not signed :D
sad about him . i do like his books. you can read how he has evolved from his early books to later ones
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Yeah you can,,and you learned about the Disc World as hedid.
I kinda feellike I know Sam Vimes personaly,,him andthe rest of the watch.
Id read about Mustrum Ridcully andalmost knowwhat hesgoing to do next.
Pratchette is a hell of a writer.
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i hoped he'd write more of rincewind , made me howl with laughter
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Rincewind,,the coward that became ahero for being cowardly lol
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I will preface this by saying that, in general, I'm not big on fantasy, so I rarely ever recommend the genre. Having said that:
I read The Wheel of Time series written by Robert Jordan for a while which was a sprawling fantasy epic that regularly gets compared to Lord of the Rings.
Each book begins with: The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again.
This particular tale takes place in the forgotten myth of the hero who was needed to save the world from The Dark One, only to destroy it in trying. Rand al Thor is the reincarnation of this original hero. Again, he has no memories initially and doesn't really believe in what he's doing because suddenly things from stories he was told as a child are coming out of the woodwork and living and breathing. He will eventually begin to hear the voice of the original hero in his head, and he will converse with it. It will scream at him to kill certain people on sight before they can betray him (because everyone else is a reincarnation of that 'myth' as well, but Rand keeps the urge in check.
It's magic system is pretty cool, too. Magic users channel a power called The One Source that works differently through men than it does women (basically, each side is more proficient in a certain set of elemental forces than the other), and if men and women channel together, the channel is even more powerful. The Dark One has, however, managed to taint the male half of the power, and they are eventually driven insane from using it. The women have a task to still all male magic users (essentially magickal castration) before this can occur.
While it seems like a straightforward Light vs. Dark scenario, it's not popcorn in the slightest. I could never convey to you the density of the story in a few lines here, but remember what I said about my not digging fantasy in general. One of the series' neatest conventions is that each chapter is written in first person from the perspective of a particular character in the story. So you'll sometimes get more than one viewpoint on something that happened in the story depending on who's eyes you were seeing it through. And the three main male characters, Rand, Mat and Perrin will individually comment to themselves on how easy the other two have it with women. It can also confound the reader by having a character walk straight into an ambush that you knew was coming, but they were clueless about. It's also kind of neat to see things like Rand talking to the voice in his head from another's perspective, where the reader knows what's going on but the character thinks Rand's losing his mind.
Now for the drawbacks: the series is on the 11th book I think, and each one is between 600-700 pages - these are not light reads, but more of a commitment. I've read through the 10th book, but the story just keeps getting bigger. It's supposed to lead to some final battle, but the number of tangents the author goes on are lengthy and tedious at times. Basically, I see no end in sight...
And, worst of all, the author died last year, so it's potentially unfinished - his wife is supposed to take up the mantle, but I dunno...
I don't read much fantasy, but I read these for quite awhile and there's some cool stuff in there.
Note: Do not play The Wheel of Time video game.
Ever.
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i hated those books. started off so well and then just turned into a political nightmare.
by the 6th book i gave up. a pity really
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I liked the Chronicles Of Amber by Roger Zelazney
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The Riftwar series of books by Raymond E. Feist. I have enjoyed the one's I have read.
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The Orion series was fascinating,,It caused me to think about alotof subjects we all take for granted
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The Riftwar series of books by Raymond E. Feist. I have enjoyed the one's I have read.
try his other books
daughter / servant / mistress of the empire there good.
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New fantasy novels are a dangerous turf to go wandering into these days as there seems so many--and so many bad ones--so I'm thrilled when I find one that I enjoy. The most recent series I read that I can recommend would be the "Acacia Trilogy" by David Anthony Durham.
http://nethspace.blogspot.com/2012/03/review-acacia-trilogy-by-david-anthony.html (http://nethspace.blogspot.com/2012/03/review-acacia-trilogy-by-david-anthony.html)
My next book (on order now) will be an old one I had when I was 15 and never managed to read: The Worm Ouroboros by E. R. Eddison, published in 1922. I'll let you all know about it when I get my new copy and read it.
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Did he write A Fish Dinner in Memison? I remember those titles in the bookstore when I was younger. The covers were strange and beautiful. Somehow I never read them, perhaps because I was reading a bunch of Greek drama and philosophy.
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^ Yep, that's the guy 6. Good memory. :)
In the early 70's Ballantine Books came out with a slew of older fantasy stuff (capitalizing on the 60's Tolkien revival, I guess) by folks like William Morris (yes, that William Morris), Lord Dunsany, Robert W.Chambers, etc. The covers were bizarre, sometime "trippy," and fun to look at. I tried the Worm novel back then but it was tough going for a 15 year old... almost Elizabethan in style, ornate Victorian stuff. E. R. Eddison, like Morris, was part of the Pre-Raphaelite writer crowd.