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[IronyOwl]

Seriously, he's a deconstruction of a Sue, like the rest of the book is a deconstruction of fantasy.

That's great and all but my issue isn't that he's too dickish or not dickish enough, it's that he's absurdly powerful in an absurd number of ways for (as far as I've read) thoroughly inadequate reasons.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I don't need him to be the bad guy, I need him to get out of the goddamned way so the nihilist barbarians and literally soul-less orc hordes can have a nice gentlemanly discussion with the decadent notRomans and scheming magicrats without The Power of Meditation And Also Eugenics And I Guess A Lot Of Philosophy We Get Really Really Bored Up Here Guys Which I Guess Makes You Super Awesome mucking everything up.

He's not interesting and he doesn't fit well, and suddenly being revealed to be evil after all probably isn't going to do much for that.

Also, have you read Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy? If you have, then reading the first book of Prince of Nothing is like reading the first book of that and not carrying on. You don't get to see...

I've not and that sounds like it could be interesting, but I see certain logistical concerns with needing to read an entire trilogy to get the payoff. A work should be enjoyable in substance, not just capped with something awesome.

As for myself: Still have Wise Man's Fear and Slow Regard of Silent Things sitting on my desk with bookmarks early on. I need to get back to those. There's another recommendation: Rothfuss is one of the only good new fantasy authors out there. Read that shit too.

Man, I'm trying to get through The Name of the Wind and the wank is seriously dragging on me. They roped me in with stone spider demons and the recommendations of everyone I've ever heard had read it, and now it's some edgy anime-haired legendary hero pontificating about his illustrious childhood against the backdrop of his current despair, pet bishie, and despair. It's making it rather difficult to continue.

How far in are you? Because the main thrust of things is that he kept fucking up and making bad decisions over and over, and only managed to slide by because of the largely undeserved kindness of others. The technique used, of him relating events from his perspective, helps highlight the difference between even his better moments versus the behavior and feats we see without the lens of his perceptions and the fog of time, in which he is not only scarcely more capable than ordinary people but also ultimately unwilling to put what power he does have to use, instead electing to hide himself away from the world.

It's in many respects a deconstruction of the traditional path of the fantasy hero and the mythos of the same, though I'll avoid mentioning all the specifics for the sake of avoiding spoilers. It reveals through his narration the sheer amount of coincidence, luck, and screwing up behind the perfect larger-than-life facade of commonly circulated rumors and stories.

Not far; he just got the note about doing well at the academy. But I mean, the whole childhood thing is dragging, and the in-between parts thus far have been more wank. It's an awfully long spell to break if he intends to reveal that he's not actually a complete genius since birth at some point, for instance.

I guess I'll take your word for it that he's going somewhere with this and we're not just going to sit around listening to him describe how awesome he is, though.

[Willfor]

So basically, The Fifth Season (NK Jemisin) is my book of the year 2015, really looking forward to the next installment.

It's highly likely that the fourth Gentlemen Bastards book is going to be out this year, and I am hopeful it's going to be my 2016 book of the year, but there are a number of contenders. Robin Hobb's final(? You really never know) Fitz book is also coming out this year, the new Expanse book will likely be a great read and I've been on board with that series since the first book.

I might keep going with Sam Sykes, I started with The City Stained Red, and it's pretty decent for what it is. It's not really my style, but I like him as an author, kinda want to support him.

October Daye #10 is another one I'm really looking forward to this year.

Isn't there a Guy Gavriel Kay book out this year?

Too many books, too many books.

[nullBolt]

That's great and all but my issue isn't that he's too dickish or not dickish enough, it's that he's absurdly powerful in an absurd number of ways for (as far as I've read) thoroughly inadequate reasons.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I don't need him to be the bad guy, I need him to get out of the goddamned way so the nihilist barbarians and literally soul-less orc hordes can have a nice gentlemanly discussion with the decadent notRomans and scheming magicrats without The Power of Meditation And Also Eugenics And I Guess A Lot Of Philosophy We Get Really Really Bored Up Here Guys Which I Guess Makes You Super Awesome mucking everything up.

He's not interesting and he doesn't fit well, and suddenly being revealed to be evil after all probably isn't going to do much for that.

He's not suddenly revealed to be evil, it's there all throughout the books. He's technically probably the good guy but every reader is going to hate him. Trust me, just read them. Preferably twice because it's amazing to see what you miss.

As an example of what you'll be missing out on:

Spoiler: MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE BOOKS DON'T FUCKING READ IT (click to show/hide)

Cnaiur, Breaker of Horses and Men, intentionally drives himself insane so that Kellhus can't predict what he's doing. He then pretty much repels an invasion single-handedly, tries to give himself his final svarzond by cutting his throat, fucks it up, fucks the Emperor himself and then joins with the Consult (the bad guys) and starts fucking one of the spiderface monstrosities.

You ARE missing out. That's one plot thread out of about six.

I've not and that sounds like it could be interesting, but I see certain logistical concerns with needing to read an entire trilogy to get the payoff. A work should be enjoyable in substance, not just capped with something awesome.

The books have one of the best depictions of a berserker I've ever seen in Logen Nine-Fingers (aka The Bloody Nine). It's enjoyable throughout but the inevitable payoff seals the series.

[Flying Dice]

-snip-

Not far; he just got the note about doing well at the academy. But I mean, the whole childhood thing is dragging, and the in-between parts thus far have been more wank. It's an awfully long spell to break if he intends to reveal that he's not actually a complete genius since birth at some point, for instance.

I guess I'll take your word for it that he's going somewhere with this and we're not just going to sit around listening to him describe how awesome he is, though.

*shrugs*

It sounds like you've already convinced yourself. I enjoy it in equal measure for the character interactions, the unconventional style, and the schadenfreude, but it sounds like you've already latched onto this conception of it being endless wanking of a Sue despite that not actually being the case, alongside the desire for an endpoint rather than a story. I might be able to muster a more comprehensive argument if you were more specific about what you're seeing as wank.

[Tack]

On the topic of "Badguy main characters", prince of thorns by Mark Laurence does it.
I really like the way the character development worked in that one.

I might check out prince of nothing though- after mistborn.

[Bohandas]

What've you all been reading in the genre of "speculative fiction"?\

Discworld, Spellsinger, the Book of the SubGenius, the works of H.P.Lovecraft, and the webcomic Intragalactic

[TheBiggerFish]

PTW.

[Willfor]

PTW.

Are you entirely sure you're not PTR?

:V

[TheBiggerFish]

PTR, too.

[Ghazkull]

Okay i finished the first and second book of Prince of Nothing because you guys brought me back to it...what. the. fuck.

This already reads like a Fatal-Game become flesh and goddamnit i read your spoiler and now i'm not sure i want to really mentally scar myself by reading part 3...but then again...how bad is it going to get?

Even more fucked up then it already is at the end of part 2?

[Culise]

Yeah, I read that spoiler, visibly and physically twitched, and decided that between IronyOwl's assessment and that spoiler being something that one would hypothetically regret missing out on, it probably was not going to be a series I would be interested in.  Ever.  It may be slightly amusing to note, though, that the very first part and its stated consequence probably annoyed me more than the very last part; I suspect the Internet has thoroughly corrupted me.

That said, the mention of the fourth book in the Gentlemen Bastards series coming out this year has piqued my interest a bit, so posting to watch.  It also occurs to me that it fits in very well with the "bad guy protagonists" as well; let's be honest, after all, and point out that the eponymous Bastards only come off as good when their enemy happens to be worse than they are, and they have no compunctions at all about targeting others as well. ^_^

[Parsely]

Anyone have any recommendations for military sci-fi that drop the politics? I just like reading about combat.

Recently I finished the first story of Bolo! and didn't enjoy it that much. I listened to Roadside Picnic and felt mostly bored, but the bits when they were in the Zone were fun. Metro 2033 so far has been completely amazing.

[ChairmanPoo]

I recently read "the aeronaut's windlass". Not bad but I perceived an undercurrent of cultural imperialism that irked me quite a bit.

Doesnt help that I'm more prone to be irked by such things due to recent events

[Erkki]

It's been a while since I read it but I REALLY liked "A deepness in the sky" by Vernor Vinge.

It's about 2 opposing expeditions to a planet from which humanity first picked up radio waves made by intelligent life.

I liked that one a lot too.

Anyone else read Alistair Reynolds space operas or Hannu Rajaniemi's Quantum Thief trilogy?

[Flying Dice]

Anyone have any recommendations for military sci-fi that drop the politics? I just like reading about combat.

Recently I finished the first story of Bolo! and didn't enjoy it that much. I listened to Roadside Picnic and felt mostly bored, but the bits when they were in the Zone were fun. Metro 2033 so far has been completely amazing.

Drake's Hammer's Slammers stories are generally just mercs being mercs. Walter Jon Williams wrote this space opera trilogy called Dread Empire's Fall--it's got a little politics, but they're utterly alien, and tend to be eclipsed by the mountains of antimatter missiles and character drama. Bonus points for doing space combat in a style I've never seen before. Seriously, go watch the Stalker film. If Roadside Picnic bored you, it might bore you a little too, but I found it to be absolutely enthralling. If you haven't already, all of Dan Abnett's 40K stuff is great even if you don't like the setting. A lot of Larry Niven's stuff is fun, start with the Man-Kzin wars material.

Only a little bit of Vernor Vinge's books center on combat in space, and it's not really "military" anyways, but he's my general recommendation for everyone everywhere. Erkki, if you liked A Deepness in the Sky, do yourself a favor and pick up his other stuff. Rainbows End is a slightly cyberpunk mind trip. A Fire Upon the Deep and The Children of the Sky explore the greater universe of the same setting as ADitS and it is the most goddamn well-conceived and original vision of a galactic structure that I've seen in any SF.