Random Thoughts....

Jay said:
As I mentioned earlier, I am starting to read the LOTR trilogy. Can anyone recommend books that are in a similar vein after I am done reading these three?
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He?s not a fantasy writer, but are you familiar with Bernard Cornwell?
 
There are days, and then there are DAYS! Should not have gotten out of bed this morning, and a few too many hours until I return.

Definately time for chocolate!
 
Twerp128 said:
I see it like this, I have this paperback of Homer's Odyssey you see, and that wraps up in a clean 500 pages. Now my friend's Twilight book was sitting at nearly 550 pages. I can't for the life of me understand why Twilight has 50 more pages than Homer's epic. For what, 50 more pages of angsty, vampire-tween, sexual tension. I set down the book only unsatisfied that I didn't know if the truck she had bought was a stick-shift! Plus, how many new parents have you met with kids named Isabella? Fuck, when I have a kid I'm naming it Telemachus.
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Ah yes that is another way to look at it inefficient use of language though I don't know if using an epic poem as comparison is good. Poetry by its definition will probably be more space efficient then prose. Still a good point to make.

The last Harry Potter book as a hard cover is some 700 pages long but it never feels wordy and overdone. I am sure you could trim 50-100 pages out of it if you really had to and still get the story done but it probably wouldn't be as rich. I don't have my copy of The Stand around at the moment but I think the new edition that came out in the 90s is over 1,000 pages long and honestly I never thought of it as overdone. I know King left out several hundred pages from the first edition in the 70s because his editor thought those passages were too extreme. In the foreword to the 90s edition King said there are still a couple hundred pages that he hasn't published yet. I think even the full unabridged version of The Stand would be just about right.

You could probably cut 150 pages out of Twilight and still get the story across just as well.
 
Jay said:
As I mentioned earlier, I am starting to read the LOTR trilogy. Can anyone recommend books that are in a similar vein after I am done reading these three?
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Have you read the trilogy of Earthsea by Le Guin?
Is "lighter" than Tolkien, but is very good
 
Jay said:
As I mentioned earlier, I am starting to read the LOTR trilogy. Can anyone recommend books that are in a similar vein after I am done reading these three?
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If you're interested in the series itself, there's always the Silmarillion, which feels more like the Iliad in style than the more personal Odyssey of the LOTR trilogy.
 
Jay said:
As I mentioned earlier, I am starting to read the LOTR trilogy. Can anyone recommend books that are in a similar vein after I am done reading these three?
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The Trillium series is something you should check out. I think it is maybe geared a bit more to women but is still a good series.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trillium_series

There is another series I would recommend that is more young adult but still good but I am blanking on the name now.

Edit:

Ahh The Chronicles of Prydain

A good series that is in the same theme as LOTR.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Prydain
 
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Jay said:
As I mentioned earlier, I am starting to read the LOTR trilogy. Can anyone recommend books that are in a similar vein after I am done reading these three?
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David Eddings The Belgariad Series. I found the second series (The Mallorean) a little similar, but still worth a read. I prefer the Elenium series of all of them.
 
Ducky.gif


Rubber ducky.

Most random thought ever.
 
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Evel said:
Ducky.gif


Rubber ducky.

Most random thought ever.
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dolphinblueoceanheliumballoon.jpg

I like dolphin balloons. They look like they are swimming in the air.

argatoga said:
I had to do a double take after passing this:

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&q=koura%20road%20bainbridge%20wa&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl

Speaking of roads, if you keep following I5 north you end up at a dead end road in Prudhoe Bay Alaska (yes it changes names).
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I passed a sign recently warning of constant clipper ships at a road intersection where there was no water for miles :|
 
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katwalk said:
No you could cut out 548. Online summaries are more than enough.
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I have never read Twilight, but I can summarize the stories in record breaking speed!

Twilight: Stupid girl pines after creepy sparkle vampire.
New Moon: Stupid girl pines after creepy sparkle vampire and lame werewolf.
Eclipse: Stupid girl pines after creepy sparkle vampire and lame werewolf.
Breaking dawn: Stupid girl has sex with creepy vampire and horrors ensue.
 
ashspet said:
David Eddings The Belgariad Series. I found the second series (The Mallorean) a little similar, but still worth a read. I prefer the Elenium series of all of them.
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The Mallorean is deliberately similar as (and I'm not spoiling anything here) the characters and story points out very early on that that universe keeps running in cycles and is stuck in a rut.

The Elenium is great, but I think the best of his works was the sequel series to that, The Tamuli (which is better only if you read the Elenium first.) The character Stragen and his takes on slavery and literary criticism are not to be missed.

Also - "constructive Elenishism." :D
 
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Twerp128 said:
Oh, and sorry BlaRo I understand your a big Twilight fan, or whatever they call them, Twihards, Twats, something like that?
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:? The only part of that placenta-soaked abortion I ever touched was an illegal PDF of the third one that my (female) roommate sent me so I could see how many times the phrase "little nudger" popped up. Because people who use that phrase should be taken out back behind the shed and Old Yeller'd.
 
I can't recall how many times did it appear, 40?
 
Spectre said:
The Elenium is great, but I think the best of his works was the sequel series to that, The Tamuli (which is better only if you read the Elenium first.) The character Stragen and his takes on slavery and literary criticism are not to be missed.

Also - "constructive Elenishism." :D
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OK, yes. If you want to read stuff into your stories! Many hours of unpacking the tales can be done. :grin:
 
ashspet said:
OK, yes. If you want to read stuff into your stories! Many hours of unpacking the tales can be done. :grin:
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As can any really great work of literature - but still, even at a surface level, it's a great read and quite funny.

Another favorite is the apparently unmanned castle that obliterates nearby offensive people. With fire. :D

The best part is that the whole series is actually pretty much PG-13, thus proving that you don't have to insert gratuitous sex into your fantasy novels to write a successful epic.
 
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Holy shit, I have been watching (and have become slightly nervous as a result) the recent batch of storms. There were some reports of downed trees in some parts of town, and it was pretty effin' windy, based on watching the box elder. Other than that, I am safe.
 
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