The whole Rating game thing is a big political thing anyway. As far as I'm aware from my perusal of secondary sources (and ignorance of the actual LNs in question), they serve a purpose as a sort of combination blood sport/reputation builder. They're not supposed to be an objective test of who's got the best peerage afaik.
Recreational Literary Endeavors
- Thread starter Luthorne
- Start date
Seems to be used to settle a lot.
Quoting from volume 7
Which creates kind of a problem there. Just before they'd mentioned that Kiba and Ise had probably already surpassed Rias (and Akeno). Now maybe they'd only have that thinking in these games, but if you're spending your time training with that kind of mentality then I'd say you're seriously crippling yourself in actual fights where Rias would be one of the least valuable members and the one to sacrifice instead of Kiba or Ise.
I know, shonen action works have all these rules and tournaments because that's what's expected and it lets the writer add all sorts of tension and clever use of them. It just runs into problems when you realize that these people are also supposed to be preparing to fight for their lives against superpowered terrorists.
Edit.
Will say that there are just some pretty amusing moments such as the breast god.
Quoting from volume 7
Which creates kind of a problem there. Just before they'd mentioned that Kiba and Ise had probably already surpassed Rias (and Akeno). Now maybe they'd only have that thinking in these games, but if you're spending your time training with that kind of mentality then I'd say you're seriously crippling yourself in actual fights where Rias would be one of the least valuable members and the one to sacrifice instead of Kiba or Ise.
I know, shonen action works have all these rules and tournaments because that's what's expected and it lets the writer add all sorts of tension and clever use of them. It just runs into problems when you realize that these people are also supposed to be preparing to fight for their lives against superpowered terrorists.
Edit.
Will say that there are just some pretty amusing moments such as the breast god.
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Just got done reading The Death of WCW (10 Anniversary Edition).
Man, I forgot just how bad some of those shows could get. Talk about Nostalgia Filter. Goes to show how much of a fan I was.
If you've got any interest in wrestling, or had watched WCW programming in the '90's/early 00's, I highly recommend picking this book up. It's a great look into the backstage happenings of one of the great wrestling promotions, how they rose to nearly dominate the American wrestling scene, and how they ultimately fell so far as to close down.
Man, I forgot just how bad some of those shows could get. Talk about Nostalgia Filter. Goes to show how much of a fan I was.
If you've got any interest in wrestling, or had watched WCW programming in the '90's/early 00's, I highly recommend picking this book up. It's a great look into the backstage happenings of one of the great wrestling promotions, how they rose to nearly dominate the American wrestling scene, and how they ultimately fell so far as to close down.
Stross' Rhesus Factor. I would have liked to see more of general Mahogany Row but it isn't bad. However I wonder if Stross had originally had different plans because there are some things about the characters that seem to suddenly shift partway through the book.
And was the messed up oversexed Buffy knockoff really necessary?
And was the messed up oversexed Buffy knockoff really necessary?
I just finished The Thousand Names and The Shadow Throne both by Django Wexler. They are what is currently being called gunpowder fantasy/flintlock fantasy/muskets and magic. Much as normal fantasy combines magic with medieval weapons and society, gunpowder fantasy does the same with the 17th through 19th centuries. Most common is a distinct Napoleonic feel. I've decided I really like this subgenre.
These two books are really cool. They combine cool battle scenes fill of blasting muskets and blaring cannon, with a hidden undercurrent of magic. Unlike other works in the subgenre (such as Brian McClellan's Powder Mage trilogy which is also very good), the magic is hidden from the common man. Oh the man on the street believes in magic but only as something which happened a long time ago or a long way away. It's a bit of a shock, then, when the main characters start encountering the explicit supernatural.
These two books are really cool. They combine cool battle scenes fill of blasting muskets and blaring cannon, with a hidden undercurrent of magic. Unlike other works in the subgenre (such as Brian McClellan's Powder Mage trilogy which is also very good), the magic is hidden from the common man. Oh the man on the street believes in magic but only as something which happened a long time ago or a long way away. It's a bit of a shock, then, when the main characters start encountering the explicit supernatural.
Reading Wicked City: The Scarlet Clan
It's the third (and to my knowledge, final) book in the Wicked City series, which spawned the anime movie of the same name.
The demoness Mackie, member of the Black Guard that keeps the peace between demons and humans, is about to give birth to the first known half-human/half-demon child, and various demons seek to prevent its birth, any way that they can. Her lover, and father of her child, Taki, is fighting to protect the two with everything he can.
It's the third (and to my knowledge, final) book in the Wicked City series, which spawned the anime movie of the same name.
The demoness Mackie, member of the Black Guard that keeps the peace between demons and humans, is about to give birth to the first known half-human/half-demon child, and various demons seek to prevent its birth, any way that they can. Her lover, and father of her child, Taki, is fighting to protect the two with everything he can.
As Schlock Mercenary's author was advertising the soon to be out third in the series I went and read the first two books of the Powder Mage trilogy by Brian McClellan, specifically Promise of Blood and The Crimson Campaign. I hadn't actually read The Crimson Campaign before, but it was good. They both were! The story moves along nicely and I'm looking forward to the final book in the trilogy (barring trilogy creep) The Autumn Republic.
So I picked up the first two Powder Mage books and the Shadow Campaigns books, and read them in a three day period. Powder Mage had a great first book, but the second was really quite disappointing, and the ending didn't interest me for the third book. Shadow Campaigns had a much rougher start, but finished strong. I preferred Powder Mage's approach to magic, but Shadow Campaigns feels better realized. Thanks for bringing both to my attention, gents.
Tried Ian Tregillis' Bitter Seeds, first part of his The Milkweed Triptych. I think you can sort of tell from it that he's starting out. It's English warlocks vs. Nazi X-Men, but it runs into the problem of being too dark (to me anyway) for its length. So you don't just get constantly assaulted with "things are awful" in each page, but I don't think I felt much connection to the things and people ruined to let me get into the characters' minds and see how they're forced to greater atrocities.
However, Nazi X-Men vs. English warlocks with the addition of eldritch monster things. I don't think I'm going to bother with the rest, but I will watch this author's creations in the future. I think he's got something to offer.
However, Nazi X-Men vs. English warlocks with the addition of eldritch monster things. I don't think I'm going to bother with the rest, but I will watch this author's creations in the future. I think he's got something to offer.
Just finished Please Don't Tell My Parents I Blew Up The Moon, the sequel to the very fun novel Please Don't Tell My Parents I'm a Supervillain. In this novel, 13 year old mad scientist Penelope Akk goes to Jupiter to have super villain/super hero adventures there. Needless to say, things get complicated.
It's a good book, but I can't help but feel it lacks some of the manic energy which so enlivened the first.
It's a good book, but I can't help but feel it lacks some of the manic energy which so enlivened the first.
Just finished the Traveler's Gate Trilogy by Will Wight.
They are really the quintessential self-published fantasy novels - short of literary polish but high on cool ideas.
The big idea in this case is Travellers and Territories. Travellers are the series' wizards. They bind themselves to a Territory - a self contained extra-dimensional realm - and gain the ability to summon things from the territories - creatures, magical attacks, abilities and more. Each Territory has a different theme and as a result gives different magic. The House of Blades appears as the inside of a giant house, rooms, corridors and so on. By defeating room guardians, you gain the right to call on magical powers. Others like Endross are realms of destructive lighting, which is called upon to blast your foes.
The story is fairly good (if not as clever as it seems to think), characters are fine and the actions is exciting. If you are into ePublished books, I'd give at least the first book a look.
They are really the quintessential self-published fantasy novels - short of literary polish but high on cool ideas.
The big idea in this case is Travellers and Territories. Travellers are the series' wizards. They bind themselves to a Territory - a self contained extra-dimensional realm - and gain the ability to summon things from the territories - creatures, magical attacks, abilities and more. Each Territory has a different theme and as a result gives different magic. The House of Blades appears as the inside of a giant house, rooms, corridors and so on. By defeating room guardians, you gain the right to call on magical powers. Others like Endross are realms of destructive lighting, which is called upon to blast your foes.
The story is fairly good (if not as clever as it seems to think), characters are fine and the actions is exciting. If you are into ePublished books, I'd give at least the first book a look.
Just finished a re-read of a book I read in middle school: The Truthsayer's Apprentice, by Deborah Christian. She worked for TSR for years and it shows. The Truthsayer's Apprentice could be a Dungeons and Dragons book, since the characters very clearly map on to classes and archetypes from tabletop games, but it's presented so unselfconsciously that it doesn't feel awkward at all, or obvious unless you're looking for it.
It's basically about two adventuring parties who are competing to acquire and escape with the traditional robe of the Truthsayer, adviser to kings. One group has the robe, the other group has the Truthsayer's apprentice, who saw the murder of his predecessor and doesn't realize his rescuers are also after the robe. It's a standalone, which is a real pity with the quality of the world building and the hook the author left for follow ups.
It's basically about two adventuring parties who are competing to acquire and escape with the traditional robe of the Truthsayer, adviser to kings. One group has the robe, the other group has the Truthsayer's apprentice, who saw the murder of his predecessor and doesn't realize his rescuers are also after the robe. It's a standalone, which is a real pity with the quality of the world building and the hook the author left for follow ups.
Finished Reading Devil is a Part-timer. Pretty good overall if you were a fan of the anime and just want a funny read.
Dresden Files 5-6. Man that was rough for Harry. But hey least he's got a bit more help this time.
Still reading Spice Wolf 1. It's a bit of a slow read but still enjoyable. Holo and Lawrence's dialogue and interaction is always the best highlight of the story.
Dresden Files 5-6. Man that was rough for Harry. But hey least he's got a bit more help this time.
Still reading Spice Wolf 1. It's a bit of a slow read but still enjoyable. Holo and Lawrence's dialogue and interaction is always the best highlight of the story.
Simon R Green has a book for a new series, the Ishmael Jones mystery. This first one, well I think it has some good points but I also think that it's got missed opportunities, some annoying developments and something close to a deus ex machina (alright, you could infer that it might happen, but no way could you be at all sure). Sadly, since it's a sci fi mystery I can't really even go into what I think those are and it seems to me that the villain really caused their own disaster by being plain dumb.
But hey, maybe some new approaches will be good for him as he adjusts to the new format and so far no obvious constant references to the Drood.
But hey, maybe some new approaches will be good for him as he adjusts to the new format and so far no obvious constant references to the Drood.