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Mr_Moustache
Joined: 01 Oct 2006
Posts: 9129
Location: The thing in itself that is Will
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 Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 9:13 am Post subject: |
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And we all know that Pratchett has missed so many of those clear-cut opportunities to be funny. Like not caring about maps in a fantasy novel. And we all know that fantasy is serial business.
On topic: House of the Dead and The Gambler. I recently read Oblomov which was very nice, and I love Gogol, so I thought it was a bit of a glaring omission to have not read any Dostoevsky. Also, literature is cheaper than pulp nowadays, so yay.
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Darqcyde
Joined: 10 Jul 2006
Posts: 11860
Location: A false vacuum abiding in ignorance.
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| Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 9:25 am Post subject: |
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| Mr_Moustache wrote: | And we all know that Pratchett has missed so many of those clear-cut opportunities to be funny. Like not caring about maps in a fantasy novel. And we all know that fantasy is serial business.
On topic: House of the Dead and The Gambler. I recently read Oblomov which was very nice, and I love Gogol, so I thought it was a bit of a glaring omission to have not read any Dostoevsky. Also, literature is cheaper than pulp nowadays, so yay. |
No, but producing comedy material is.
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WheelsOfConfusion
Joined: 09 Jul 2006
Posts: 14013
Location: Unknown Kaddath
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| Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 9:47 am Post subject: |
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| In this thread, Darqcyde tells Terry Pratchett how to write comedy. |
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Arc Tempest
Joined: 27 Jan 2007
Posts: 5316
Location: Oregon
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| Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 1:07 pm Post subject: |
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Cold Days.
It's nice to finally have a Dresden book that doesn't make me want to brain Jim at the end.
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TheJabawack
Joined: 05 Jul 2012
Posts: 84
Location: Caught somewhere in time
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| Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 3:36 pm Post subject: |
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| fritterdonut wrote: | Just finished a term paper on Jack Kerouac's "On The Road".
2000 words on discussing the spontaneous prose, and how it both exists and doesn't exist in the book. Rather ironic that he wrote it so spontaneously, then spent a solid 6 or so years editing and revising the thing to get it published. He typed the original draft over the course of 3 weeks, on a 120 foot long roll of teletype paper.
Interesting stuff. |
That is intresting. All on a single roll? 
So spontaneous prose ends up not being so spontaneous when published.
| Arc Tempest wrote: | Cold Days.
It's nice to finally have a Dresden book that doesn't make me want to
brain Jim at the end. |
As for Dresden books, I'd like to start reading the series. It is essential that I start from the beginning or it is episodic enough to be read out of order?
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Arc Tempest
Joined: 27 Jan 2007
Posts: 5316
Location: Oregon
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| Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 4:50 pm Post subject: |
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The later you start, the more previous stories will be spoiled, but you can start just about anywhere. The first book is actually a bit shaky in terms of writing, so I generally suggest Grave Peril or Summer Knight.
I myself started on Dead Beat.
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Canopus
Joined: 13 Sep 2010
Posts: 623
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| Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 4:51 pm Post subject: |
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Maps aren't necessary for Pratchett's style since comedy quite literally operates on the boundaries of the unexpected. If I had a detailed analysis of a joke, that would go against the point now wouldn't it? Though to be fair, Discworld, while classic, isn't standard fantasy.
I haven't read anything in ages. Time to fix that. |
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eureka00
Joined: 09 Jul 2006
Posts: 2065
Location: Pretzel City
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| Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 4:54 pm Post subject: |
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I guess I fail to see how maps or lack thereof would impede my enjoyment of a book. I use my imagination so pictures aren't necessary. Maybe Pratchett says it better himself.
| Terry Pratchett wrote: | | “You can't map a sense of humor. Anyway, what is a fantasy map but a space beyond which There Be Dragons? On the Discworld we know that There Be Dragons Everywhere. They might not all have scales and forked tongues, but they Be Here all right, grinning and jostling and trying to sell you souvenirs. ” |
However:
| Wikipedia wrote: | Furthermore, there are four "Mapps": The Streets of Ankh-Morpork (1993), The Discworld Mapp (1995), A Tourist Guide to Lancre (1998), and Death's Domain (1999). The first two were drawn by Stephen Player, based on plans by Pratchett and Stephen Briggs, the third is a collaboration between Briggs and Kidby, and the last is by Paul Kidby. All also contain booklets written by Pratchett and Briggs
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There be "Mapps"!
Geography influences human interaction but a story shouldn't need a map to explain the human interaction of the story...that's the part with the words.
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Last edited by eureka00 on Thu Nov 29, 2012 4:58 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Arc Tempest
Joined: 27 Jan 2007
Posts: 5316
Location: Oregon
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| Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 4:54 pm Post subject: |
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Slight addendum, do NOT start at or after Changes. Read everything before it in whatever order you like, but make sure you hit Changes - Ghost Story - Cold Days after everything else.
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Canopus
Joined: 13 Sep 2010
Posts: 623
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| Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 5:10 pm Post subject: |
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| You feel very strongly about this don't you? |
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Michael
Joined: 09 Jul 2006
Posts: 11046
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| Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 5:29 pm Post subject: |
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Go easy on this maps things people 
It doesn't make sense to me, since I don't value geography particularly, but I've found the same with languages - Klingon and Tolkien's various constructs impede my enjoyment rather than encourage it - and with politics and drama (aka all of game of thrones). In my view, there's enough of that crap in the real world and an escape into fantasy should _not_ include, memorising long names, family traditions, epochs of invented dynasties, fictional history, altered laws of physics (+ magick) etc.
Which places me in an extreme, obviously limited group of people who can only enjoy romantic comedies without too much engagement or only small (or incrementally introduced) fantasy worlds. On the other end there's comic book guy and, I guess, in some ways darqcyde, who can't enjoy a novel if the geography doesn't make sense. But then again, the main points I took from the last batman movie were A. Bruce Wayne uses a versioning system and B. screenwriters don't know what "prototype" means.
To each their own? |
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WheelsOfConfusion
Joined: 09 Jul 2006
Posts: 14013
Location: Unknown Kaddath
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| Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 7:06 pm Post subject: |
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| It's not THAT uncommon. I'm kind of sick of the overly-detailed worldbuilding and "magick systems" too. |
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eureka00
Joined: 09 Jul 2006
Posts: 2065
Location: Pretzel City
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| Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 7:13 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | escape into fantasy should _not_ include, memorising long names, family traditions, epochs of invented dynasties, fictional history, altered laws of physics (+ magick) etc.
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Think of the nerds! By the way, I almost bought the damn Game of Thrones set that included giant maps so I'm not entirely innocent of enjoying a good map. So are you guys starting a fantastical cartography club? Let's play a name that map game.
No cheating now. 
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Darqcyde
Joined: 10 Jul 2006
Posts: 11860
Location: A false vacuum abiding in ignorance.
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| Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 8:02 pm Post subject: |
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| Michael wrote: | | Go easy on this maps things people |
But poring over them gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling inside, like hot cocoa or chicken noodle soup on a cold day. I used to spend hours looking at USGS maps back in my younger days.
A good map is like a good movie trailer, it should tantalize and tease while offering hints of epicness to come.
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Arc Tempest
Joined: 27 Jan 2007
Posts: 5316
Location: Oregon
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| Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 8:27 pm Post subject: |
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| eureka00 wrote: | | Quote: | escape into fantasy should _not_ include, memorising long names, family traditions, epochs of invented dynasties, fictional history, altered laws of physics (+ magick) etc.
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Think of the nerds! By the way, I almost bought the damn Game of Thrones set that included giant maps so I'm not entirely innocent of enjoying a good map. So are you guys starting a fantastical cartography club? Let's play a name that map game.
No cheating now. |
Name of the Wind / Wise Man's Fear.
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The older I get, the more certain I become of one thing. True and abiding cynicism is simply a form of cowardice. |
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