i've read both the trilogies and remember them with great warmth. I wouldn't read them again though and I definitely read them at the right time (early teens, playing RPG games etc)
I don't see what's wrong with them, they're no different to a comic book film or CGi fest or pop CD or chippy tea. it's not going to benefit your mind or body in any great way, but i enjoy it.
As I said above, I only read them (and reviewed them in this fashion) because a woman (okay, the one who controls rabid squirrels 
) "asked" me to do so 
Otherwise, I'd have no interest, since I didn't when I was growing up, as these sorts of stories rarely, if ever, appeal to me. Matters of taste and all (although I do understand some of their appeal to others) 
) "asked" me to do so Otherwise, I'd have no interest, since I didn't when I was growing up, as these sorts of stories rarely, if ever, appeal to me. Matters of taste and all (although I do understand some of their appeal to others) with no history of playing RPG/D&D games. you (one) wouldn't pick them out for their cover art unless the cover art appealed to them (others). once picking it up, the blurb wouldn't appeal to a passing bookshelf peruser. so you (actually you) are completely and utterly, unforgivably not the target audience.
Unforgivably?
Maybe totally not, but unforgivably sounds rather like I'm being condemned to Hell for not being a target D&D person Maybe i got a bit little carried away. i unforgive this insistent close friend of yours though.
in fact it's not even the quality of the writing. would you have enjoyed those trilogies had they have been written (takes 10 minutes to research someone) by William Shakespeare...that shouldn't have needed research really, but you get my point
Interesting question. There are subject matters that I really do not enjoy reading (say, the profile of a pedophile), yet Vladimir Nabokov in Lolita wrote a classic. So perhaps the authors can, to a limited degree, transcend the chosen literary genre?
Interesting question. There are subject matters that I really do not enjoy reading (say, the profile of a pedophile), yet Vladimir Nabokov in Lolita wrote a classic. So perhaps the authors can, to a limited degree, transcend the chosen literary genre?
Lolita is a RomCom where the female lead happens to be a 12 year old girl and the male is a delusional, (what's the word where you deceive yourself, self-deceiving?) buffoon. had the content have been truly reflective of paedophilia and rape, from the perspective of Lolita...
regardless of the style that would've been hard to stomach. however yours remains a very good point.
despite a lack of explicit description the reader knows the content and the themes involved, but due to presentation Lolita is a good book.
would any writer have made that content interest to you? plus imagine if it was a dante or milton or james joyce. it would have been at least double again the length and possibly in prose (what rhymes with Guenhwyvar?) and would you really have enjoyed slogging through Raistlin's stream of consciousness using that stream of consciousness technique that James Joyce (born 1882, died 1941) perfected?
I like to think that my own humble sonnet was a bit more interesting than what Weis and Hickman wrote But that's a good point. I think it depends upon reader tastes. I like a story written with a good style to it (one that fits the tale or perhaps transforms it), as style is integral to a tale (even Weis and Hickman have a style; it's just a very poorly-presented one ) and I think Joyce so totally could have invented words that rhyme with Guenhwyvar
I like to think that my own humble sonnet was a bit more interesting than what Weis and Hickman wrote
But that's a good point. I think it depends upon reader tastes. I like a story written with a good style to it (one that fits the tale or perhaps transforms it), as style is integral to a tale (even Weis and Hickman have a style; it's just a very poorly-presented one ) and I think Joyce so totally could have invented words that rhyme with Guenhwyvar it wasn't. it is. it doesn't. you're wrong and most likely
seriously though. no matter what the content i couldn't read a sonnet/poem about anything and really enjoy it. i have a Poe collection and i really didn't care all that much for The Raven, but the Pit and Pendulum? disturbing.
and you're right it does depend on the reader's taste, reading is completely subjective, which is why you opened such a can of worms with your original post.
i can't define why i like certain books or writers and i'm a pretty broad reader. i do know that what i admire most in a book is reduction and good editing. which is why the Malazan books will never be great, lovecraft, dick and other short story writers are geniuses, there's a difference between telling a story and constructing sentences and it is unforgivable (
) when a writer uses more words than is needed to tell a story.
This may be one of the most dire reviews you shall ever read
- 09/09/2012 09:12:25 PM
2158 Views
A review of a D&D bestiary could be more dire.
- 09/09/2012 11:29:17 PM
1258 Views
Perhaps
- 09/09/2012 11:50:20 PM
1369 Views
They are popular as they are fun, easy reading books
- 10/09/2012 12:11:24 AM
1345 Views
"Popular", "Fun," and "Easy" doesn't have to be equated with poorly-written
- 10/09/2012 12:16:27 AM
1476 Views
Poorly written by what standard?
- 10/09/2012 12:29:17 AM
1429 Views
By the standards of what I enjoyed as a nine year-old?
- 10/09/2012 01:04:12 AM
1368 Views
So like I said, by the standards of Elitist Literary Snobs
- 11/09/2012 12:03:08 AM
1472 Views
Nice attempt at sophistry, but alas, it fails
- 11/09/2012 12:38:24 AM
1375 Views
Was that meant to make any sense?
- 11/09/2012 01:43:13 AM
1521 Views
Re: Was that meant to make any sense?
- 11/09/2012 01:54:23 AM
1363 Views
I'm with Wibble on this (big surprise)
- 12/09/2012 03:07:53 PM
1480 Views
Heh.
- 12/09/2012 03:43:52 PM
1508 Views
Pretty much so
- 12/09/2012 04:19:35 PM
1501 Views
When did you put up that header?
- 12/09/2012 04:35:20 PM
1386 Views
I didn't put it up
- 12/09/2012 04:51:32 PM
1293 Views
I shall tread lightly so.
- 12/09/2012 06:15:51 PM
1433 Views
- 12/09/2012 07:25:29 PM
1280 Views
- 12/09/2012 07:25:29 PM
1280 Views
Re: Pretty much so
- 12/09/2012 08:50:57 PM
1408 Views
You apparently do not read my blog/reviews much
- 12/09/2012 09:07:18 PM
1429 Views
Actually, I read them almost never
- 13/09/2012 03:07:48 PM
1464 Views
I think my IQ dropped a little bit when I parsed what you said
- 13/09/2012 04:16:21 PM
1424 Views
Yep, your usual rebuttal... *NM*
- 17/09/2012 02:14:56 PM
689 Views
No, not really
- 17/09/2012 06:25:15 PM
1240 Views
Yes, Yes, wrap yourself in arrogance and declare yourself correct until your opposite gets bored...
- 17/09/2012 11:12:17 PM
1550 Views
Don't try to argue with them. They've made their judgments. They are better than you.
- 10/09/2012 09:36:17 PM
1379 Views
Defensive much? *NM*
- 10/09/2012 10:31:17 PM
747 Views
*NM*
- 10/09/2012 10:31:17 PM
747 Views
Perhaps. It's annoying, because I tend to agree with you guys - you and Tom and Stephen.
- 11/09/2012 02:32:28 AM
1377 Views
The odd thing that there wasn't any belittling on my part -see other response. *NM*
- 11/09/2012 03:17:36 AM
692 Views
For the record, I wasn't trying to be condescending in my response.
- 11/09/2012 05:52:29 PM
1387 Views
He never said you couldn't enjoy it.
- 10/09/2012 11:10:11 PM
1494 Views
He also went on to compare liking the books to having the standards of a nine-year-old.
- 11/09/2012 02:34:18 AM
1361 Views
You didn't read what I said very well then
- 11/09/2012 03:16:21 AM
1359 Views
You're right. In the context of this thread, I'm basically acting like a raving lunatic.
- 11/09/2012 02:48:19 PM
1391 Views
It's not like any of us have ever been innocent 100% of the time
- 11/09/2012 03:49:22 PM
1324 Views
- 11/09/2012 03:49:22 PM
1324 Views
I believe that they were not meant for adults.
- 10/09/2012 12:30:05 AM
1379 Views
Very few of my friends were reading the books; some played the game, though
- 10/09/2012 01:06:07 AM
1352 Views
Basically, both get dubious kudos for trying something new by the dire standards of the day.
- 10/09/2012 11:38:22 PM
1393 Views
Interesting point
- 11/09/2012 12:41:01 AM
1359 Views
Are you aware of the game's alignment rules? Some of the novels struggle with this.
- 12/09/2012 10:58:37 PM
1371 Views
Not aware of it at all until now
- 12/09/2012 11:18:57 PM
1361 Views
How is that possible?
- 12/09/2012 11:28:33 PM
1318 Views
My dad was (and is) influenced by Evangelicals
- 13/09/2012 12:17:36 AM
1265 Views
Wait, so you didn't read the Chronicles first?
- 13/09/2012 02:12:13 PM
1267 Views
No
- 13/09/2012 02:18:03 PM
1342 Views
Chronicles is considerably weaker
- 13/09/2012 11:14:38 PM
1367 Views
Needless to say, once I finish reading the Icewind Dale trilogy, I'm done with D&D
- 14/09/2012 12:38:47 AM
1480 Views
- 14/09/2012 12:38:47 AM
1480 Views
These threads are so much better than the rape threads! *NM*
- 12/09/2012 04:03:01 AM
771 Views
You're just waiting to see if I'll use hexameter in the next one *NM*
- 12/09/2012 04:32:31 AM
615 Views
*NM*
- 12/09/2012 04:32:31 AM
615 Views
And having now finished Dragonlance: Legends, its very own sonnet
- 13/09/2012 12:31:51 PM
1350 Views
- 13/09/2012 12:31:51 PM
1350 Views
At least you didn't read the Baldur's Gate novelizations
- 14/09/2012 04:29:17 AM
1286 Views
Sssssh!
- 14/09/2012 05:10:19 AM
1356 Views
Baldurs Gate wooooo!
- 14/09/2012 04:13:34 PM
1410 Views
Eh, Star Wars Expanded Universe I could see reading. Some of them are supposed to be good
- 17/09/2012 04:37:05 PM
1714 Views
Is the review dire because of the subject or the sonnet form?
- 14/09/2012 04:24:37 PM
1326 Views
Both
- 14/09/2012 04:36:59 PM
1300 Views
- 14/09/2012 04:36:59 PM
1300 Views
it would be unusual for someone to just randomly pick books like that up
- 14/09/2012 05:05:37 PM
1560 Views
Interesting scenario
- 14/09/2012 10:16:11 PM
1322 Views
Re: Interesting scenario
- 15/09/2012 09:55:59 AM
1525 Views