Not bothered as much as I am bemused by the ad hominems, to be honest
Larry Send a noteboard - 12/04/2010 04:11:12 AM
But when someone points out perceived flaws and doesn't praise what you praise, it's okay to roast that person without giving due consideration to what s/he has observed?
I think you missed out on the fun a few years ago of the "great clodding foot of nerdism" that another author, M. John Harrison, wrote in regards to "worldbuilding." Sometimes, less is more and more is much, much less.
No I just have no interest in a sarcasm filled pseudo-review that has not a single original criticism in it. Show me something new or a fresh take on something and I'm happy to take it seriously. Show me a foot stamping poorly thought out whine about something and I'm going to dismiss you as uninteresting.
I dunno, for a first time reader, his comments certainly have been interesting and has reminded me of certain things that vaguely troubled me years ago, particularly the comments on gender relations in the latest review. The rest is just commentary, which considering the various ways it's been used over the years, can be interpreted in several ways

Or it's just a sign that he wrote MOR fantasy that most readers read as an equivalent of a popcorn flick. They don't want or care to think too much about it. Similar to how most of Terry Goodkind's readers are not supporters of his Objectivist-leaning thoughts, despite those opinions shaping several of his SoT novels.
Spending 20 years reading a series is not my idea of a fun time. Have too many books to review, short fiction to read for anthologies, and translations to be done in my spare time to spend too much time on any particular author or literary genre. But if that floats your boat, OK, but I just wouldn't think that would be SOP for most readers.
Yet note that Roberts doesn't point any of these things out in his review? Don't you find it interesting that millions of readers are out there snapping up RJs work despite it's rather obvious flaws? Shouldn't Roberts at least bother with that question? If it's such utter trash, why then have so many people spent so many years with it? No one is arguing that WoT is a great work of literary achievement, or that RJ was more than an average writer.
I said it's MOR fantasy, in my opinion. That would constitute something that would have "mass appeal" precisely because it isn't anything more or less than standard, average fare. And as such, very little MOR is going to be spectacular in anything of a "creative" nature.
IMO these books are all about simple enjoyment. Much like seeing a blockbuster film. I still don't see why you bother reading the series if you are time pressed, don't enjoy them and think they are poorly written. If you just want to see how the story ends (which btw tells me you are more vested than you let on) there are a million places to find out online.
I picked up #10 on a dare to write something sarcastic, never read the novel version of the prequel, and read #11 and #12 only because I received a review copy of the latter. I have as much vested in this series now as I do in finishing King's Dark Tower series (which I haven't bothered reading since the fifth book came out) or in Martin's SOIAF series (I've only read the first three and although I have an autographed copy of the fourth, haven't read more than a few pages of that). In other words, only when I have a compelling reason to read something, do I bother with a multi-volume work.
It is quite amusing how some think that just because one pays closer attention to how a story is constructed that s/he cannot appreciate the story being told as well. I'd argue that in several cases, the enjoyment can be heightened from being more aware of these things. I heard the audio samples and thought they were tedious. Of course, I can finish the typical book in about 2-3 hours if I decide to spend that much time on a work, so the audio parts tend to be too slow for my liking 

Then you aren't reading enough types of fantasy, then. The books I mention in that link are very, very different from epic fantasies.
I burned out on the research parts 13 years ago, after I earned my MA in History 

I find it amusing when writers/reviewers spend so much time working themselves up over poorly constructed sentences and minor plot lines that they lose track of the central themes of a work. Or are so focused on attempts at humor (IMO Sarcasm is difficult to pull off in writing) that they lose control of what they are writing. I'm also not a fan of reviewers that add nothing to the longer conversation. Don't re-hash the same arguments 50 other reviews have put out there and expect me to be impressed.
Then I guess you haven't read any of my reviews, then?

I agree, the audiobooks aren't really floating my boat, but I thought I'd give them a shot ... I don't hate them, but I'd rather just read the book.
Do you have a Fantasy novel you would recommend?
Well, for older works, Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast novels were very good. I'll give the link to those reviews below. Then there are the five reviews of Gene Wolfe's masterpiece The Book of the New Sun series and its coda. Here's the URL for those:
http://ofblog.blogspot.com/search/label/Book%20of%20the%20New%20Sun
The amusing consequence of Roberts' reviews and the discussions here is that I'm contemplating re-reading the first 11 WoT volumes for the first time in ages (well, 10 years for the first 9). Of course, there's a poll on that, as I'm also considering re-reading Frank Herbert's Dune novels as well.
Illusions fall like the husk of a fruit, one after another, and the fruit is experience. - Narrator, Sylvie
Je suis méchant.
Je suis méchant.
Author Adam Roberts tackled the WoT.
- 19/03/2010 09:30:25 PM
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Heh, While I agree with him about it being derivative, I still encourage people to read it.
- 20/03/2010 02:36:47 AM
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My problem with the reviews:
- 20/03/2010 06:29:08 AM
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Hear Hear !!!
.......................
=
........................ *NM*
- 20/03/2010 06:37:11 AM
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.......................
=
........................ *NM*
- 20/03/2010 06:37:11 AM
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well I agree and disagree
- 20/03/2010 06:51:29 AM
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Re: well I agree and disagree
- 20/03/2010 02:12:43 PM
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I'm amused by some of the responses
- 20/03/2010 07:20:03 PM
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Are you suggesting that we are unqualified to disagree with him ?
- 20/03/2010 11:21:44 PM
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No, I said rather that it's ridiculous to make such disparaging comments about his takes
- 20/03/2010 11:37:56 PM
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I will reply to myself: What's the problem McFly , chicken ?
- 21/03/2010 12:29:36 AM
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My sister called me chicken once
- 10/04/2010 01:18:31 AM
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Re: I'm amused by some of the responses
- 23/03/2010 04:50:42 PM
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And I'm even more amused by this response
- 24/03/2010 01:11:50 AM
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- 24/03/2010 01:11:50 AM
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On a completely unrelated note...
- 24/03/2010 06:15:25 AM
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Ha!
- 24/03/2010 06:34:48 AM
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- 24/03/2010 06:34:48 AM
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My congratulations then
. *NM*
- 24/03/2010 06:36:11 AM
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. *NM*
- 24/03/2010 06:36:11 AM
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Wow, you guys have completely missed the point of the Wheel of Time series
- 22/03/2010 05:28:07 PM
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- 22/03/2010 05:28:07 PM
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There's a point to it?
- 22/03/2010 06:47:12 PM
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- 22/03/2010 06:47:12 PM
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Yes, RJ has explained it at least a few times and the main sequence of each book invokes his message *NM*
- 24/03/2010 02:09:01 AM
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You're not taking me seriously now, are you?
- 24/03/2010 02:54:37 AM
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- 24/03/2010 02:54:37 AM
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I meant the reason why RJ wrote WoT in the first place
- 24/03/2010 06:39:47 AM
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And which, arguably, could be viewed as being done in a hackneyed way
- 24/03/2010 07:15:55 AM
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I thought the point was to write about a bunch of stuff happening?
- 09/04/2010 03:42:49 PM
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pfft wth-ever
- 26/03/2010 12:35:53 AM
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Dude's been up for more awards for his writing than RJ ever was
- 26/03/2010 12:28:19 PM
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bla bla bla
- 29/03/2010 06:17:07 AM
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Wow. That post was more entertaining than Mr. Roberts' review. Thank you
*NM*
- 29/03/2010 08:23:41 AM
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*NM*
- 29/03/2010 08:23:41 AM
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You must have low standards for entertainment
- 29/03/2010 08:54:03 AM
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Re: You must have low standards for entertainment
- 29/03/2010 09:13:44 AM
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I know you were, thus the
at the least of my comment
- 29/03/2010 09:19:30 AM
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at the least of my comment
- 29/03/2010 09:19:30 AM
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Unimpressed
- 29/03/2010 10:50:07 PM
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Isn't that a bit uncharitable, Dom, considering how much you approved of what I did with CoT?
- 30/03/2010 12:03:48 AM
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Re: Dude's been up for more awards for his writing than RJ ever was
- 29/03/2010 04:32:23 PM
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Might want to re-read their Wikis again.
- 29/03/2010 07:07:11 PM
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Awards
- 29/03/2010 07:42:03 PM
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That link is out of date
- 29/03/2010 07:54:56 PM
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Re: That link is out of date
- 29/03/2010 08:22:03 PM
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This is a battle of win/lose?
- 29/03/2010 08:47:54 PM
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Re: This is a battle of win/lose?
- 29/03/2010 09:03:07 PM
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*considers employing the Chewbacca defense*
- 29/03/2010 09:28:06 PM
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Re: *considers employing the Chewbacca defense*
- 29/03/2010 09:44:58 PM
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The final point explains the "defense"
- 30/03/2010 12:24:56 AM
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Re: The final point explains the "defense"
- 30/03/2010 01:33:04 PM
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No, no, no
- 30/03/2010 06:38:41 PM
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Re: No, no, no
- 30/03/2010 07:51:34 PM
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Still continuing, huh?
- 31/03/2010 02:10:13 AM
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Re: Still continuing, huh?
- 31/03/2010 03:56:57 PM
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He's now reviewed the third book
- 26/03/2010 12:27:16 PM
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Well, this time I must disagree with him
.
- 29/03/2010 07:31:40 AM
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.
- 29/03/2010 07:31:40 AM
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I don't think he was claiming that RJ was alone in doing that
- 29/03/2010 07:44:07 AM
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Hah!
- 29/03/2010 06:07:28 PM
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Well...
- 29/03/2010 06:52:10 PM
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Differing perspectives, I guess.
- 29/03/2010 07:58:13 PM
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I suppose
- 29/03/2010 08:50:43 PM
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Re: I suppose
- 30/03/2010 12:18:30 AM
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Hey, DomA, do you know why the Shienarans randomly speak in the Old Tongue?
- 30/03/2010 12:52:01 AM
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Re: Hey, DomA, do you know why the Shienarans randomly speak in the Old Tongue?
- 30/03/2010 07:45:08 AM
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But why only them?
- 30/03/2010 08:07:00 AM
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The Shadow Rising review
- 02/04/2010 09:42:53 AM
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I wonder if this borders on trolling
- 02/04/2010 02:29:58 PM
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That would be a mistake
- 02/04/2010 09:16:25 PM
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Re: That would be a mistake
- 02/04/2010 10:28:56 PM
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I agree, Roberts is more and more coming across to me as just bitter
- 10/04/2010 01:24:52 AM
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Little late to this one as well
- 10/04/2010 11:12:04 AM
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Perhaps you should have led with this bit
- 10/04/2010 02:52:23 PM
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I guess I just presumed that people would read the header to his blog
- 12/04/2010 03:54:10 AM
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- 12/04/2010 03:54:10 AM
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What review? I couldn't find one...
- 02/04/2010 08:00:45 PM
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Re: What review? I couldn't find one...
- 02/04/2010 09:22:13 PM
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See my comment below
- 02/04/2010 09:32:54 PM
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Re: See my comment below
- 03/04/2010 09:31:22 AM
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Sorry I'm late in responding, but I've been quite busy this week
- 07/04/2010 09:45:48 PM
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Speaking of irritation
- 02/04/2010 10:50:04 PM
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To be fair, even among the RaFOers there have been tons of posts that missed certain events
- 09/04/2010 03:47:30 PM
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Commentary, then?
- 02/04/2010 09:27:18 PM
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- 02/04/2010 09:27:18 PM
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Here's the thing...
- 02/04/2010 10:11:18 PM
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Re: Here's the thing...
- 02/04/2010 10:31:56 PM
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Re: Commentary, then?
- 05/04/2010 03:44:07 PM
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- 05/04/2010 03:44:07 PM
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for a man that bitterly complains about an author who is padding his work
- 08/04/2010 09:41:07 PM
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1400 words is long-winded?
- 09/04/2010 10:07:41 AM
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- 09/04/2010 10:07:41 AM
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since you can sum up those 1400 words in about 25 yes that's longwinded
- 09/04/2010 01:36:16 PM
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Except I didn't really sum it up, as I left out quite a bit
- 10/04/2010 11:15:42 AM
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You are very defensive over this
- 10/04/2010 01:54:15 PM
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Nah, more of a devil's advocate than anything else
- 12/04/2010 03:57:12 AM
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Well Larry I have started reading Gradsil by Adam Roberts
- 07/04/2010 08:59:28 PM
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I demand a paragraph by paragraph review, with footnotes!
- 07/04/2010 09:50:39 PM
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Re: I demand a paragraph by paragraph review, with footnotes!
- 08/04/2010 01:06:20 PM
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Which Invisible Man?
- 09/04/2010 09:58:44 AM
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He brings up some interesting points, if in an unnecessarily rude manner
- 08/04/2010 12:42:25 PM
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To be honest, I doubt most readers of the series obsess over it that much
- 09/04/2010 10:05:49 AM
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- 09/04/2010 10:05:49 AM
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Re: To be honest, I doubt most readers of the series obsess over it that much
- 09/04/2010 01:28:17 PM
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- 09/04/2010 01:28:17 PM
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Re: To be honest, I doubt most readers of the series obsess over it that much
- 10/04/2010 11:40:22 AM
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- 10/04/2010 11:40:22 AM
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why are you so bothered by people being unimpressed with Roberts?
- 10/04/2010 02:19:08 PM
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Not bothered as much as I am bemused by the ad hominems, to be honest
- 12/04/2010 04:11:12 AM
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And in vol. 5, Roberts discovers the horrors of the circus
- 09/04/2010 09:57:03 AM
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Basically he just states the "nothing happens"-argument...
- 09/04/2010 03:26:02 PM
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Well, what was really resolved here?
- 10/04/2010 11:25:25 AM
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Well...
- 12/04/2010 05:05:20 PM
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So very little was resolved and much was set into motion, then?
- 12/04/2010 06:55:45 PM
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Yes...
- 12/04/2010 10:51:08 PM
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Ever read Umberto Eco's How To Travel with a Salmon?
- 12/04/2010 11:07:19 PM
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I guess...
- 13/04/2010 10:03:03 AM
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Sounds like you value prolixity for the sake of prolixity, to be honest
- 13/04/2010 04:41:07 PM
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Nah...
- 13/04/2010 05:29:34 PM
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He's read and enjoyed Proust, among others
- 13/04/2010 07:37:39 PM
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Ah, well...
- 13/04/2010 09:45:45 PM
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Dismissive, much?
- 13/04/2010 10:52:30 PM
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- 13/04/2010 10:52:30 PM
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About that bifurcation...
- 14/04/2010 02:02:15 AM
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Sorry that I was busy yesterday and didn't have a chance to reply until now
- 15/04/2010 01:46:54 PM
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I'm sorry, but he's totally right. "The Circus" made me put down this series for 5 YEARS.
- 09/04/2010 03:38:16 PM
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Lord of Chaos commentary
- 16/04/2010 03:39:39 PM
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No no. It was Lord of Heaven!
- 16/04/2010 05:51:11 PM
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Yeah, I noticed that
- 16/04/2010 11:16:26 PM
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- 16/04/2010 11:16:26 PM
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I would love the see him review Goodkind...
- 16/04/2010 11:51:07 PM
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I don't wish that on anyone who doesn't have copious amounts of alcohol
- 16/04/2010 11:57:41 PM
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A Crown of Swords - or is it deco-porn?
- 23/04/2010 08:36:17 AM
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Re: A Crown of Swords - or is it deco-porn?
- 29/04/2010 06:02:28 PM
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I disagree
- 29/04/2010 09:34:49 PM
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The Path of Daggers commentary
- 07/05/2010 10:39:03 AM
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Winter's Heart
- 21/05/2010 12:46:14 PM
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I think WH was my least favorite of the WoT novels I re-read
- 21/05/2010 04:49:31 PM
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Re: I think WH was my least favorite of the WoT novels I re-read
- 25/05/2010 05:05:09 PM
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WH was my least favorite novel in the series, and that is saying a lot.
- 28/05/2010 03:15:13 PM
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I completely agree with his KoD post. Here is my favorite quote:
- 28/05/2010 03:08:31 PM
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Roberts reflects back on WoT 1-11, with answers to questions asked of him
- 25/06/2010 12:51:29 PM
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This guy should be burned at the stake
- 25/06/2010 03:22:34 PM
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Are you done making a fool out of yourself, Mark?
- 26/06/2010 06:53:37 PM
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Oh come on...
- 26/06/2010 09:06:01 PM
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Well, the burning at the stake was a bit much...
- 26/06/2010 10:19:40 PM
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Well, really! You brought the comment to his notice...
- 26/06/2010 11:34:08 PM
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And your point is...?
- 27/06/2010 12:37:00 AM
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Well...
- 27/06/2010 05:38:12 AM
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Indeed... I think it's rather clear that Larry's goal has been to cause trouble
- 27/06/2010 10:57:36 AM
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It's not about honour being beschmirched. It's about poor quality arguments. *NM*
- 30/03/2011 04:09:23 PM
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One year later...
- 27/03/2011 03:40:29 AM
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Re: One year later...
- 28/03/2011 05:03:32 PM
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I see you subconsciously support critical takes.
- 28/03/2011 11:41:48 PM
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No I conciously support telling you and him that you are pathetic, arrogent, & jelous. *NM*
- 30/03/2011 01:40:36 PM
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Jealous?
- 30/03/2011 05:20:32 PM
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You both are jelous of Jordan's tremendous succes.
- 30/03/2011 10:27:36 PM
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Please learn how to spell the word "jealous" before tossing it about in the cavalier fashion you do
- 30/03/2011 10:54:36 PM
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The fact that you teach is supposed to be a surprise?
- 31/03/2011 01:23:45 PM
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After reading the standard-issue checklist of generic, tossabout pejoratives...
- 01/04/2011 03:06:18 PM
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I agree, I didn't even notice it was an old post, definitely did not deserve to be revived. *NM*
- 30/03/2011 02:41:12 PM
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Now I notice as well that this is a year old. You're very silly, Larry, very silly. *NM*
- 30/03/2011 04:13:38 PM
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Yep!
- 30/03/2011 05:16:38 PM
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- 30/03/2011 05:16:38 PM
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He's not an "author", he's just a stupid troll, do not feed him *NM*
- 30/03/2011 02:39:19 PM
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