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Jordan & Martin, Latest

topic posted Sun, January 8, 2006 - 4:13 PM by  John
Jordan's latest was a vast improvement over the previous, but it's still pretty sad.

Martin was solid, but only getting part of the story kind of sucked, on the other hand it may not be too long before we see the next part.

Anyone out there that has read them, let me know what you thought.
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John
offline John
Canada
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  • Brian
    Brian
    offline 8

    Re: Jordan & Martin, Latest

    Sun, January 8, 2006 - 4:27 PM
    I gave up on Jordan, but I really enjoy the last A Feast For Crows, even though it didn't have some of my favorite characters. I heard an interview with Martin (the Dragonpage podcast; the interview didn't go into any details about his work so it may not be worth your time), in which he said that he'd tried doing a book set five years down the road but couldn't do it.

    He restarted, and then the book got too large. They decided to cut it in half. Because of the restart and change in structure, Martin said he was farther ahead in the series than he normally is when a book is released. The European release date for the next book has been set for February 7, 2007.
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    • John
      John
      offline 75

      Re: Jordan & Martin, Latest

      Mon, January 9, 2006 - 9:40 AM
      I'd pretty much gave up on Jordan years ago, I run a small bookstore that specializes in Sci-fi and Fantasy lit, so I will often read popular material even if I think it sucks.

      That way if I have to defend my stance (Jordan sucks) I can do so with the latest material.

      The big thing I noticed in Knife of Dreams was that the discriptions of female characters seem to rotate through about a dozen options while the male characters seemed to come in about half as many varieties. That might not have been too bad, but he gives a physical discription of nearly all minor and major charaters, the pattern is fairly appernt about halfway through the book. By the end of the novel you get the impression that all these folks came from the same sort of rural gene pool.

      Ah well,
      Hopefully when I publish my works and have to live up to the contract I won't fall into the same trap...
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      • Lorenzo
        Lorenzo
        offline 109

        Re: Jordan & Martin, Latest

        Tue, January 10, 2006 - 9:58 PM
        GRRM's latest book is more than good enough to me, although I wasn't happy with the decision to split it up geographically, should have been temporally.

        I have no desire to read any more of Jordan's books but the first three were really wonderful and I will turn to them in the future for re-reads.
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        • John
          John
          offline 75

          Re: Jordan & Martin, Latest

          Wed, January 11, 2006 - 5:21 AM
          Yes, I did enjoy the first three of Jordans Wheel of Time series too, and there has been a couple of the others since that were fair.
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          • Mich...
            Michael David
            offline 60

            Re: Jordan & Martin, Latest

            Fri, January 13, 2006 - 3:56 AM
            I cant argue with the unevenness of the Wheel of Time, but the Wheel does turn... and I cant help but say that having stuck with it I keep finding myself eager to read the next one and see if it is one of th eoverall better or worse ones. Even when they aren't the greatest, the series is so long that Ihave come to appreciate it in the way soap opera fans must appreciate 'their shows'. Not a ringing endorsement for a genre award, I know, but I do find it a sort of 'comfort food' for my entertainment appetite. And it is not nearly asa painful and dark as some others, like Donaldson who was mentioned and whom I agree gets downright maudlin in the second trilogy...I trudged through that read with much of the same difficulty his characters sufferred traveling around in that world, and found little payoff in the end.

            With Jordan, I have gotten to the point where I dont even care that the epic has gone on so long I dont remember specific things until they are redescribed, I just keep the overall arc somewhere in the back of mmy head and let him repaint the ongoing characters as he re introduces them each time.

            I have the same thing going on with Goodkind in the Sword of Truth series to a lesser degree and with Orson Scott Card and his 7th Son series. I have given up ever hoping for a satisfying ending, but appreciate that they keep feeding me what I like overall...which is more, More, and MORE! Slowly anyway.

            And since I usually check them out at the library, its not like I am rewarding them personally for any contract filler they may be generating, hehe.
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            • Jim
              Jim
              offline 29

              Re: Jordan & Martin, Latest

              Fri, January 13, 2006 - 10:24 AM
              I have to agree with your thoughts there Michael. The WoT and Sword of Truth series are both very much like Soaps. Gotta see what happens next.

              The only thing I would add is that Goodkind, at least, has the decency to actually RESOLVE a plot in each book! Yes, the overall story continues, but the threat or situation that the involve the main characters actually comes to a conclusion.

              Jordan does not do that. Plot resolution Might happen, but it probably won't. And if it does, it is completely over-shadowed by the other 12 plot arcs which are still up in the air. And Mr Jordan, for the love of everything good and sacred, do you HAVE to name and describe every single insignifcant peasant that the characters run into???? I'd love to see a count of the number names he's used through the series. It's GOT to be in the thousands by now. How is anyone supposed to care about (or even keep track of) that many characters???

              I still haven't delved into Martin's series as of yet. I just can't bring myself to start Another epic series. I have heard very good things about it, but it's just a little too overwhelming to jump into at this point.
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            • Matthew
              Matthew
              offline 6

              Re: Jordan & Martin, Latest

              Fri, January 13, 2006 - 10:51 AM
              steven erikson stomps all over both jordan and goodkind, as far as i'm concerned. the song of ice & fire is great, but i really wish george martin could be bothered to turn out work more steadily. ah well, i'm just happy to have them when they come out.
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  • Mark
    Mark
    online 8

    Re: Jordan & Martin, Latest

    Thu, January 26, 2006 - 8:35 AM
    I'm not sure I even want to read Martin's latest. I find after waiting this long that the story doesn't interest me as much, if at all. All I can remember is the overall feeling of disgust I had during the first three. I have to agree with those of you who are tired of the cruelty and sadness. I need a good guy to come out ahead at least once in a while.

    As to Donaldson, I decided long ago that Thomas Covenant was the saddest excuse for a hero I'd ever seen. Linden Avery was much better in the 2nd Chronicles but still not what you'd call heroic. I put off for quite some time picking up the continuance but finally gave in a read it. I don't know what the outcome will be but so far the 1st installment is way better than it's predecessor.

    I can't complain too much about Jordan and Goodkind. The Sword of Truth novels kinda piss me off. I think Goodkind has lost the thread of the story. The Wheel of Time still satisfies some weird thing I've got going on. I really love it.

    They all aggravate me with how long it takes to turn out a new book, but I guess that's just the way it is.
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