Percy Jackson, Chaos Titan and Stephen Donaldson, Oh My!

dclary · Sep 29, 2010

Bought a bevy of books yesterday. Got the first three Percy Jacksons ($19.99 boxed set at Borders), Kelly's "3 days to dead" and the first book of the newest Thomas Covenant trilogy.

It's YA Fantasy, Urban Fantasy and High Fantasy. Woooooooot!

Science Fiction seems to be lacking these days. So much emphasis on the science conforming to current knowledge of physics that imagining things beyond our horizons is just not done.

Stew21 · Sep 29, 2010

Kelly's book is amazing.

We LOVE Percy Jackson in our house, and I don't know anything about the Thomas Covenant trilogy.

happy reading.

AceTachyon · Sep 29, 2010

dclary said:
Science Fiction seems to be lacking these days. So much emphasis on the science conforming to current knowledge of physics that imagining things beyond our horizons is just not done.

Have you thought about going with some good old fashioned space adventure? Give Elizabeth Moon's "Vatta's War" series a try. Start with Trading in Danger.

LOG · Sep 29, 2010

I was not impressed by Thomas Covenant series.
Could never pin down why...

dclary · Sep 29, 2010

LOG said:
I was not impressed by Thomas Covenant series.
Could never pin down why...

It's possible you don't like melodrama. The books are thick with it. Fortunately, I thrive on it. So freakin' good. And purple prose up the wahoo. The man is in love with his thesaurus, and so am I.

Shadow_Ferret · Sep 29, 2010

Is Percy Jackson YA? The character is 12. Wouldn't that make it MG?

Williebee · Sep 29, 2010

The Percy Jackson series was fun. Riordan's Tres Navarre detective series is pretty good, too.

MG/YA - Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl series is a lot of fun as well.

LOG · Sep 29, 2010

dclary said:
It's possible you don't like melodrama. The books are thick with it. Fortunately, I thrive on it. So freakin' good. And purple prose up the wahoo. The man is in love with his thesaurus, and so am I.

There's that.
But I remember also having a lot of trouble trying to figure out WTH was going on; I just had a constant sense of, "...What just happened?" as I read them.
I mean that in the "What just physically occurred here?" sense, I could not get a grasp on his descriptions.

Etola · Sep 29, 2010

LOG said:
There's that.
But I remember also having a lot of trouble trying to figure out WTH was going on; I just had a constant sense of, "...What just happened?" as I read them.
I mean that in the "What just physically occurred here?" sense, I could not get a grasp on his descriptions.

I just didn't like Covenant as a character. But that's just me.

And so that this doesn't completely derail the thread, allow me to add that I have heard great things about the Percy Jackson books (though I have not read them myself)! Should be fun book times ahead.

mrockwell · Sep 29, 2010

dclary said:
It's possible you don't like melodrama. The books are thick with it. Fortunately, I thrive on it. So freakin' good. And purple prose up the wahoo. The man is in love with his thesaurus, and so am I.

I read the First Chronicles back in junior high, and I kept a notebook full of all the words I had to look up. I actually met Stephen earlier this month at a local con we were both panelists at and I thanked him for his writing -- his thesaurus love was the main reason I aced the verbal portion of my SATs!

dclary · Sep 29, 2010

AceTachyon said:
Have you thought about going with some good old fashioned space adventure? Give Elizabeth Moon's "Vatta's War" series a try. Start with Trading in Danger.

I found a great series of military sci-fi titles that are very much a horatio hornblower in space... but I couldn't remember the titles of them when perusing...

I'll have to print a list next time I go!

dclary · Sep 29, 2010

Shadow_Ferret said:
Is Percy Jackson YA? The character is 12. Wouldn't that make it MG?

To me anything aimed at kids, but enjoyable as adults is YA. Narnia, Potter, Percy... YA.

Sage · Sep 29, 2010

Shadow_Ferret said:
Is Percy Jackson YA? The character is 12. Wouldn't that make it MG?

Percy Jackson is indeed MG

dclary · Sep 29, 2010

Etola said:
I just didn't like Covenant as a character. But that's just me.

And so that this doesn't completely derail the thread, allow me to add that I have heard great things about the Percy Jackson books (though I have not read them myself)! Should be fun book times ahead.

I'm halfway through the first. It's pretty good, but a little predictable in little ways... but that's possibly because it is aimed at kids, and I do know my greek mythology.

ChaosTitan · Sep 29, 2010

I have the first Thomas Covenant book in my TBR pile. Way near the bottom under a bazillion other books. But I'll get to it one day, I swear.

dclary · Sep 29, 2010

Etola said:
I just didn't like Covenant as a character. But that's just me.

He goes quite out of his way to be unlikeable.

Shadow_Ferret · Sep 29, 2010

I have Percy Jackson from the library. I'm very disheartened. I had taken my adult UF and was transforming it into YA to see if that will get a nibble from the agent front, and I'm realizing that my adult fiction youthified is actually very close to Percy Jackson.

dclary said:
To me anything aimed at kids, but enjoyable as adults is YA. Narnia, Potter, Percy... YA.

So by that logic, if I enjoy Winnie the Pooh, Dr. Seuss, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid, that makes them YA?

Williebee · Sep 29, 2010

I had taken my adult UF and was transforming it into YA to see if that will get a nibble from the agent front, and I'm realizing that my adult fiction youthified is actually very close to Percy Jackson

Not to be TOO snarky, but that may well be a selling point.

Liosse de Velishaf · Sep 29, 2010

dclary said:
To me anything aimed at kids, but enjoyable as adults is YA. Narnia, Potter, Percy... YA.

MG and YA are vastly different markets.

AceTachyon · Sep 29, 2010

dclary said:
I found a great series of military sci-fi titles that are very much a horatio hornblower in space... but I couldn't remember the titles of them when perusing... I'll have to print a list next time I go!

Weber's Honor Harrington? Jack Campbell's Lost Fleet series? R. M. Meluch's Merrimack books?

dclary · Sep 29, 2010

AceTachyon said:
Weber's Honor Harrington? Jack Campbell's Lost Fleet series? R. M. Meluch's Merrimack books?

Lost Fleet sounds right. About a guy who wakes up a 100 years later and finds out he's a war hero/legend?

dclary · Sep 29, 2010

Shadow_Ferret said:
I have Percy Jackson from the library. I'm very disheartened. I had taken my adult UF and was transforming it into YA to see if that will get a nibble from the agent front, and I'm realizing that my adult fiction youthified is actually very close to Percy Jackson.

So by that logic, if I enjoy Winnie the Pooh, Dr. Seuss, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid, that makes them YA?

These are books you'd read of your own volition, and not to share with children?

AceTachyon · Sep 29, 2010

dclary said:
Lost Fleet sounds right. About a guy who wakes up a 100 years later and finds out he's a war hero/legend?

Yes, I believe that's the one.

Shadow_Ferret · Sep 29, 2010

dclary said:
These are books you'd read of your own volition, and not to share with children?

You don't read Green Eggs and Ham for entertainment?

dclary · Sep 29, 2010

Shadow_Ferret said:
You don't read Green Eggs and Ham for entertainment?

I EAT Green Eggs and Ham for entertainment!

Percy Jackson, Chaos Titan and Stephen Donaldson, Oh My!

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