|
|
Post by Alatariel on Oct 3, 2021 16:48:36 GMT -6
I'm more partial to The Sandman myself. Primarily because of the innovative pantheon he produced there. And it had the best version of Death I've ever seen. Outside of Discworld's of course. Sandman is phenomenal. HIGHLY recommend it. Also, Good Omens which he co-wrote with Terry Pratchett. The Amazon Prime series is also brilliant and amazingly well-done. Personally, I love Gaiman. Neverwhere was my first Gaiman book and enjoyed it even though the villains were gross, but American Gods was stunning and Anansi Boys very well done (it ties into American Gods, but you don't have to read one to understand or appreciate the other). Definitely read Stardust, it's fairly different from the movie. And the Graveyard book, a middle grade novel, is beautiful. The story is so poignant. |
|
|
|
Post by Mazulla on Oct 3, 2021 17:33:08 GMT -6
One of the reasons why I prefer his short stories. Anything outside of them I felt was slow paced. Like the story would drag on before it'll eventually get to the good stuff. But by then I'd have checked out. Gaiman has an otherworldly imagination but, most of his main characters tend to be dull when compared to the more eccentric ensemble. Agreed. I read Neverwhere years ago as part of LegendFire's then-book club, and it was the first thing I had ever read of Gaiman's. I remember being charmed by the richness of his imagination, even if I didn't like the book much. I can't remember why I didn't really get into the book, but it was probably for the reasons you name, Mazulla. I own Stardust, but haven't read it yet. After watching the movie a dozen times by now, I worry I know the story too well for the book to keep me interested. Though I should at least give it a shot, eh? And, yes, I can't get enough of his short stories. So bizarre and challenging. I have collections Smoke and Mirrors and Fragile Things. Any recommendations for others of his collected shorts? Yes, I can definitely agree his imagination is amazing! I'm glad to see other people felt the same way.
I should have checked, but I didn't realize he had other short story collections! I'll have to look into Smoke and Mirrors and Fragile Things. The only short story collection I read by him was Norse Mythology, which was retellings of the Norse gods, and I thought it was very well-done, engaging, and entertaining.
|
|
|
|
Post by Mazulla on Oct 3, 2021 17:35:58 GMT -6
I'm more partial to The Sandman myself. Primarily because of the innovative pantheon he produced there. And it had the best version of Death I've ever seen. Outside of Discworld's of course. Sandman is phenomenal. HIGHLY recommend it. Also, Good Omens which he co-wrote with Terry Pratchett. The Amazon Prime series is also brilliant and amazingly well-done. Personally, I love Gaiman. Neverwhere was my first Gaiman book and enjoyed it even though the villains were gross, but American Gods was stunning and Anansi Boys very well done (it ties into American Gods, but you don't have to read one to understand or appreciate the other). Definitely read Stardust, it's fairly different from the movie. And the Graveyard book, a middle grade novel, is beautiful. The story is so poignant. Thanks for the recommendations on Sandman!  I've seen quite a lot of ads for that one recently (the book and audiobook), and I wasn't sure if I wanted to delve into that one or not. |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 3, 2021 17:53:08 GMT -6
I listened to the Sandman Audiobook recently, and it was great. The second volume is coming out soon.
|
|
|
|
Post by Valhalla Erikson on Oct 3, 2021 20:22:04 GMT -6
This will sound a little controversial to some and, speaking as a huge Stephen King fan, I really didn't care for the novel variation of IT.
Calling it despicable would sound a little harsh, more like underwhelmed by the whole thing. It didn't help that I have friends who'd go and call the book the greatest piece of horror literature. The constant flashback scenes would take me out of the book and there are a few things in the story I find completely unnecessary. Not going to spoil what it is but anyone who might have read the story knows what I'm talking about.
IT is a prime example that the adaptation(It: Chapter One) is better than the book because I thought the concept of a group of kids battling a cosmic horror sounds interesting. And would much prefer the story was just that. While the readers fill in the blanks on what happens to them as adults.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 4, 2021 15:35:04 GMT -6
Yeah. I know exactly what you're talking about. Not entirely sure what Mr. King was thinking, or why he's still able to sell books after that.
|
|
|
|
Post by Valhalla Erikson on Oct 4, 2021 15:50:52 GMT -6
Yeah. I know exactly what you're talking about. Not entirely sure what Mr. King was thinking, or why he's still able to sell books after that. He was doing some heavy drugs back in the day. |
|
Bird
Counselor 
Posts: 349
Custom Title: World Creator and Destroyer
Preferred Pronouns: they/them/their
HARD: 1700
MEDIUM: 400
EASY: 110
|
Post by Bird on Nov 5, 2021 22:45:40 GMT -6
I'm quoting this older post to ask if you've bothered watching the Netflix series and what you thought of it. Kinda off topic, but not. So my husband loved the series, and now he wants to read the books, so I told him Ala hated the book so be warned. He said, bless him, "It's a unique idea." To which I replied, "But not." He said, "The Fold is new." I said, "Yep, the Fold is a cool take on common old tropes." So after having watched Season 1, I'm wondering why Netflix bothered converting it to film. There are dozens of elements in the story that are in thousands of other fantasy stories. So why this one? Also, just saying, the two main actors drove me frigging bonkers. The villain, obviously, is a tried and true actor who did his job well and, to me, made the villain a guy I love to hate and hate to love. But those two main actors, jeez, had they been to acting school yet? I kept thinking, "Is Netflix losing money--or did they spend too much on location and special effects--that they'd cast these two people from some amateur waaaaaay-off Broadway university theatre?" For the first three episodes, I couldn't even watch them. I played with my cat and listened to their scenes instead, b/c they were so fake. That lip-licking habit the main girl kept doing was like "I have to fill this silence with something until I remember my line, so I'll lick my lips, but I don't even know I'm doing this annoying body language thing." AAAAAAARGH!!! But then there were moments of brilliance that got me really engaged in the story itself, but not until halfway through the series. And then that cliffhanger in the final episode. I guess I'll stick around for Season 2. So have you watched it yet, Ala? I actually really enjoyed the Netflix series! It is super trope-y in some ways and you're right, Alina and Mal are both lukewarm actors at best. I feel like they do get a little better later on, at least? From what I've gathered, the series is much better than the book series (which I have not read). If it's as bad as Ala is saying, I'm not sure if I could sit through them. The special effects were awesome, though... and I agree, the villain was quite effective. I also just loved the atmosphere inside of the Breach. So creepy! If I had a complaint about at least the Netflix series it'd simply be that the whole thing was just so violent. There was just so much in the way of grotesque and icky things that happened. I guess it's realistic, but do we really need every gory detail?  I run into this problem a lot with Netflix series, though. I guess they don't need to censor themselves like TV things, so they feel free to add in a lot of otherwise shocking violence.
Are there any other series that y'all liked the TV show or movie for but not the books? I feel like the opposite is true often for me, but it's rare when the cinema version is better.
My Turn to add a take! I watched the series, and honestly I did not give a flying rat's ass about Alina and Mal. Yeah, the villain is ok, and well, he gets really creepy by the end. (Why did Alina not listen to anyone who warned her against him? What the heck. I admit the villain's actor does a phenomenal job with what he had.) BUT Why has NO ONE talked about the best part of the series??? The Six of Crows gang? Jesper, Inej, and Kaz? They STOLE THE SHOW. Forget about Alina and Mal. Pffft. Whatever. They do stuff. It's irritating. The actors tried hard to make their roles work but their story-arcs sucked. But Jesper? Inej? Kaz? HOLY SHIT THEY ARE AWESOME. I watched the show for them alone. Everything they did was perfection on the screen. They are found family (Jesper is so gay, I love it) and they do heists. I want a show that is just about them. And they are NOT in the original Shadow and Bone series. So if you love those characters, do not read Shadow and Bone. Read the Six of Crows and King of Scars books. (Which I haven't finished but I really love Six of Crows. Give me more of Jesper, Inej, and Kaz anyday). |
|
|
|
Post by Alatariel on Nov 6, 2021 13:50:14 GMT -6
I actually really enjoyed the Netflix series! It is super trope-y in some ways and you're right, Alina and Mal are both lukewarm actors at best. I feel like they do get a little better later on, at least? From what I've gathered, the series is much better than the book series (which I have not read). If it's as bad as Ala is saying, I'm not sure if I could sit through them. The special effects were awesome, though... and I agree, the villain was quite effective. I also just loved the atmosphere inside of the Breach. So creepy! If I had a complaint about at least the Netflix series it'd simply be that the whole thing was just so violent. There was just so much in the way of grotesque and icky things that happened. I guess it's realistic, but do we really need every gory detail? I run into this problem a lot with Netflix series, though. I guess they don't need to censor themselves like TV things, so they feel free to add in a lot of otherwise shocking violence.
Are there any other series that y'all liked the TV show or movie for but not the books? I feel like the opposite is true often for me, but it's rare when the cinema version is better.
My Turn to add a take! I watched the series, and honestly I did not give a flying rat's ass about Alina and Mal. Yeah, the villain is ok, and well, he gets really creepy by the end. (Why did Alina not listen to anyone who warned her against him? What the heck. I admit the villain's actor does a phenomenal job with what he had.) BUT Why has NO ONE talked about the best part of the series??? The Six of Crows gang? Jesper, Inej, and Kaz? They STOLE THE SHOW. Forget about Alina and Mal. Pffft. Whatever. They do stuff. It's irritating. The actors tried hard to make their roles work but their story-arcs sucked. But Jesper? Inej? Kaz? HOLY SHIT THEY ARE AWESOME. I watched the show for them alone. Everything they did was perfection on the screen. They are found family (Jesper is so gay, I love it) and they do heists. I want a show that is just about them. And they are NOT in the original Shadow and Bone series. So if you love those characters, do not read Shadow and Bone. Read the Six of Crows and King of Scars books. (Which I haven't finished but I really love Six of Crows. Give me more of Jesper, Inej, and Kaz anyday). Oh yes. They are by far the only reason the Shadow and Bone show was worth anything. And as you said, they aren't even in the book version! hahaha. They realized the source material for Shadow and Bone was hardcore lacking and desperately added a new plotline for the best characters Leigh Bardugo ever created: The Six of Crows. They other two being the "witch" and the faux-nordic dude who get into a shipwreck. They join the band of thieves eventually (which I'm sure Bird knows from reading the book). But the writers of the show even had to drastically change Alina and Mal from the book versions to make them tolerable. Alina- they made mix-race. She was not in the books. Without that add bit of character background, she's just so unbelievably dull. And Mal, he as a Grade A Jerk in the books. Resented Alina for her power, forced her to give them up when they went on the run, made her feel like crap all the time, blamed her for everything, and was super toxic. I hated him so much, and she hero-worshipped him. I loooooved the Darkling until they made him give up the pretense of being nice to Alina, then he turned into the typical mustached twirling bad guy who's just sooooo evil for no reason. They had to give him a legit reason in the book to create the whatever-it's-called because in the books it was 'just cuz' and 'I want more power' kind of cliche crap. UGH. There are a lot of people who genuinely love the books and it baffles me. Even the "best" character (who comes in book 2) bugged me. He was just soooo cliche, too. The roguish swaggery pirate captain Jack Sparrow wannabe who OF COURSE falls for Alina even though she is basically a cardboard cutout the entire series. |
|
I've seen quite a lot of ads for that one recently (the book and audiobook), and I wasn't sure if I wanted to delve into that one or not.
I run into this problem a lot with Netflix series, though. I guess they don't need to censor themselves like TV things, so they feel free to add in a lot of otherwise shocking violence. 
All Legends entries have been posted. 
Okie dokie. A bit later than I had hoped, but the results of the Legends Contest have been announced! Great job, everyone.
Sept 1, 2024 14:57:41 GMT -6
*
Okie dokie. A bit later than I had hoped, but the results of the Legends Contest have been announced! Great job, everyone.
Sept 1, 2024 14:57:41 GMT -6
*