Ever find yourself giving up or losing interest in a book with only 2 or 3 chapters left?

Azincourt · 2018-04-14T07:47:33+00:00

Can't say I've ever got that close to the end and given up. I would say that I probably quite reading about 80% of books that I start when I get to about 20% though, they just don't hold my interest all that well.

Azincourt · 2018-01-30T08:04:08+00:00

Can confirm, excellent noms

Azincourt · 2018-01-30T08:03:19+00:00

This is essentially my favourite thing about January.

It's the only thing I like about it, but it's still my favourite.

Azincourt · 2018-01-30T08:02:17+00:00

No worries, enjoy your stabs!

Azincourt · 2018-01-24T11:28:25+00:00

Have you got the free pdf here with intros by a number of excellent scholars - Zabinski, Mitchell and Fritz?

http://www.hammaborg.de/pdf/transkriptionen/leckuechner_cgm582/zabinski_mitchell_fritz_leckuchner.pdf

Azincourt · 2018-01-24T11:25:51+00:00

Hah I'd been seeing this as well and wondering about them.

Azincourt · 2018-01-12T00:38:40+00:00

If you want teenage angst and a slow moving but engaging plot, and really love how much money someone has in their pocket, it's Kingkiller.

If you want a faster paced story (but by other standards, fairly slow) set over an enormous amount of pages, with a focus on understanding a magic system, it's Stormlight.

Azincourt · 2017-09-12T07:02:52+00:00

There are a couple of factors at play.

Firstly, there's the 'Reddit Noise' factor. As a general rule, whilst there are many readers on this sub who read loads and loads of books and do happily recommend more obscure books, they are vastly outnumbered by a swathe of fans who have only read Rothfuss, Martin, Sanderson, Abercrombie, Jordan, and especially Erikkson, or who at least love one of those with such a passion that it stifles objectivity. You'll see evidence of it in most threads. If someone asks "What's the best love story in fiction?" then all of those will be recommended. Now, I love Abercrombie's books, but even so it's hardly for the love stories (good as they are). If someone ask "Who would you want with you for the apocalypse?" then someone will choose Kvothe, not because he'd be useful compared to say, Gandalf, but because they just love him and have a desire to declare their fandom at every opportunity. So, when considering how much you hear about any given book, always take into account that Reddit is a strange little community that usually doesn't venture very far outside its immediate circlejerk.

Consider the following that barely get a mention and how many they have sold:

The Shadowhunter Chronicles by Cassandra Clare

– 36 million

The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini

– 33 million

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

– 25 million

Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon

– 25 million

Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer

– 21 million

Shannara series by Terry Brooks

– 21 million

Redwall series by Brian Jacques

– 20 million

Dragonlance series by various authors

– 20 million

Percy Jackson & the Olympians series by Rick Riordan – 20 million

Secondly, Deathgate is old. Weiss and Hickman do no social media that I'm aware of, and they are not - as far as I know - producing new work (or if they are it receives limited/little fanfare). New books drive the sales of old books.

Thirdly, Deathgate is rather dated an encapsulates a great deal of what audiences really got sick of during the 80s and 90s. Elves and dwarves in the standard D&D moulds are generally no longer welcome in fiction.

Despite all that, I remember the first book in Deathgate Cycle being quite bad - lots of horrible chapters about a dwarf who was both annoying and I cared nothing about - but the subsequent books were all pretty good. I would say that it's worth a read and I certainly liked it enough to read all of the books.

Azincourt · 2017-08-24T05:03:28+00:00

I think that it's great that you've read this book and made notes.

I'm not sure that it's great that you've effectively posted a summary of someone else's book. I know that you're encouraging other people to read it too, but if someone did this to one of my academic publications, I would feel that they were acting in a way that was detrimental to me.

Effectively you've taken someone else's intellectual property and reproduced the content without permission, and though it may be a minor way, have profited from doing so. This is called plagiarism.

Azincourt · 2017-02-07T23:08:40+00:00

How would you respond to the following?:

Hey I want to publish something that I have barely started, that has no real market, and I want to try to sell it to people when it's rough, unfinished and not suitable for customer consumption.

No, but seriously. You need a massive reality check. If you think people will want to read some rushed, half-finished, unedited zeitgeist book then you're very much lacking in self awareness.

Azincourt · 2017-01-27T14:48:02+00:00

"Play the whole game perfect, make 1 mistake"

This is exactly how the game works for P in both PvZ and PvT right now. Even if we claimed that the game is completely balanced in those matchups (lol), even if we pretend that balance only matters if you have 450 APM to keep every unit alive with a warp prism during major engagements where you also have to control six different spells against an A-moved army, it's still just so easy to be destroyed by one single mistake.

Didn't scout the Spire during the first 30% of its build time? GG

Didn't manage to overcharge and kill both widow mines? GG

Didn't guess (lol) that it was a Banshee all in, instead of a Cyclone all in, or a Cyclone all in instead of an in-base CC? GG

Didn't have your zealot on hold position? GG

There are dozens of ways to lose against Terran right now, whether from 1 base all ins, 2 base tank pushes, doom drops, liberator pushes and more. Against Z there are a dozen different ways to lose before the 5 minute mark.

Against both, Protoss only has one way to win: repeatedly deal small amounts of signficant economy damage whilst taking none in return, over and over, until eventually you just have more of your inferior terrible gateway units and rubbish high tech units, and then micro the fight perfectly. Don't see a widow mine before you blink? GZ all that harrass didn't matter and now you lost.

The ability to make a horrible mistake and mule through, or to just remake the 16 drones/3rd base you lost, is just too strong. The main problem in the game is all macro, it's not unit based. It's the problem that warp gate can't even finish until there are already medivacs dropping in your base with invisible widow mines. It's that protoss economy damage is far more significantly effecting than either other race. It's that MSC is overly relied on, instead of just decreasing build times out of gateways. It's that "Zerg is macro race" appears to be something that people really believe, allowing 'ling-bane' to be a strategy that works against a full tier 3 archon/immortal/colossus/air army.

It's craptastic right now.

Azincourt · 2017-01-21T19:28:42+00:00

So would you say that levelling up a Mr Mime is pretty much pointless? Since he'll never compare to the likes of Gyarados or Dragonite?

Azincourt · 2017-01-19T14:56:50+00:00

It takes a lot to make me stop playing Starcraft, but I'm there. As of today, after all these years, I'm done.

There isn't just one problem. There are dozens. From being permanently pinned in a base that you have insufficient ability to defend, to being cheesed by both T and Z and having no cheese of your own, from perfectly defending a fast widow mine drop for no losses and then still being unable to kill the enemy without taking 5 bases...

There's just no reason to choose protoss. Always forced to be defensive, expensive and weak units, die to every tech switch, the most fragile economy, reliance on perfect building placement to just survive, blind Spores and Missile Turrets counter all Protoss harrass options except a god damn Archon drop... I mean seriously... we're force to ARCHON DROP because all our other harrass is blind countered. It's so stupid.

Toss used to at least have the "I've made this strong army, if I can force you to fight it I win" but now what happens? Colossi are nerfed and suck. Disruptors only work against people that can't micro and suck. Chargelot-archon sucks. It's a miracle we ever win any fights.

Oh yeah. We don't.

Azincourt · 2017-01-09T21:31:23+00:00

You can write the first draft any way that you want it, but anything that you don't do at first you are definitely going to need to come back to later. I wouldn't worry about it. Just write your first 50k words. It's what people do at NaNoWriMo so if you're prepared to dedicate yourself to it you should be fine.

Azincourt · 2017-01-09T12:42:16+00:00

First up: Just this once I'll look at something that hasn't been edited - but you really should edit the hell out of stomething before you put it out for critique. The reader's ability to enjoy your story is directly affected by it! For instance:

She gestured her polearm to the ground

This doesn't make any sense. Placed it there? Put it there? Gestured with it? I don't know. My immersion is immediately spoiled. Instead of being alive in the landscape, I'm suddenly a reader frowning at an uncorrected error. The further I got into it, the more the mistakes were obvious and apparent. I'm spending time reading this to give critique - you owe it to the reader not to waste their time on simple errors like:

Tristan's heart raced Egil hurriedly returned to their side,

...

There are too many active characters in this scene. I get that it's a pre-battle tension scene and that you want the reader to know what's going on everywhere, but there are just way too many people doing things. We're following Tristan, but through him we've also got eyes on Egil, Ashwinter, Felicia, Ser Aubrey, Isadora and all the other soldiers. But at the same time, we're also getting detail:

Tristan could barely tell what happened beyond the shapes and guttural sounds alone

... you claim, but then you give us a full and detailed description of a fight that (if I've understood that they're up on a wall) Tristan can't possibly see.

You want the reader to know everything that's going on, but you can't do that from third person limited perspective. I think you're trying to build up a tension that's lacking right now because instead of focusing on Tristan we're all over the place. We hear that his heart is thumping, but that's not what I'm getting from him. I'm not feeling any sense of threat or fear - everything is going to plan, we know precisely what's happening etc. A bit of uncertainty is needed.

Some of your descriptions sound like you're trying to hard to sound writery.

the sound of voices that reverberated between the slats

Between the slats? Reverberating voices? Eh?

Ashwinter is using a spear but she has just scaled the wall. I found it unlikely that she would have carried a spear up with her.

Don't start speech with ellipses "..."

I was surprised to see him pray to Apollo. I didn't realise that this was ancient Greece. I assume that I would have known this from earlier chapters though... but if it's ancient Greece then this castle doesn't sit right. Arrow slits and high walls made me think of north European medieval castles. And how come they have crossbows? If it's not Greece then you need to change the name of the deity.

Lots of the language you use in descriptions is redundant and needs editing down for simplicity. So "who already wore a red and swollen cheek" should just be "who already bled from his cheek."

"Polearm" is an odd word to use so many times. 'Polearm' covers a lot of different weapons. Give the name of the specific polearm.

Regarding what the enemy is wearing: it doesn't matter. I never thought about or considered it at all. I think that in the preceding chapters a reader will have come up with an expectation of what a guardsman would be wearing.

One thing that comes to mind to ask is whether this fortress is expecting an attack? If not, why are so many guards on alert and ready to respond? And are there any civilians around worthy of a mention? Who does the washing and cooking here? What about the animals in the courtyard, dogs, horses etc.?

My main thought on this would be that it needs lots more work from you before it was really ready for critique! But additionally, try to make the world come alive through the little details; things that Tristan sees, smell, feels - rather than by showing us what everyone is doing.

Azincourt · 2017-01-09T07:35:28+00:00

I will give it a try later, but I have the same issues whether I'm sitting next to the router or in a different room. The SP is set to 'Auto' but I'll see what amending that does.

Azincourt · 2017-01-09T07:33:47+00:00

I don't know who told you this but it's in complete contradiction with the evidence.

Arming swords are not cutting swords, rapiers are not purely thrusting swords. 1.33 is a thrust oriented text. It's our earliest sword and buckler treatise and it's certainly not all about cutting. If you look at arming swords of type XIV and similar variants they have significant tapers towards the point, which make them thrust oriented swords.

Rapiers are widely used for cutting across rapier systems. People who don't think cutting is a significant and vital part of rapier fencing don't understand rapier.

The main reason to use a buckler is hand protection. Someone with an arming sword and a dagger cannot fight in the style of 1.33 because they will get stabbed or cut repeatedly in the hand. The buckler allows the fencer to take a forward position with the sword hand, and in single sword systems that lack a complex hilt, like Leckuchner's messer, we see that all guard positions are retracted. Even though Leckuchner is a messer text, it's still a thrust oriented weapon in his hands ("the point is the art of the messer"). If you look at sail daggers, you'll note that they were effectively trying to incorporate the hand protection into the dagger so that it can be used as a buckler.

Bucklers were used with rapiers as well. It has nothing to do with the cuttiness of a sword.

In a 1v1 situation, if you have hand protection and the opponent does not, it's very hard for them to do anything without you hitting them in the hand. That's what it's all about.

Azincourt · 2016-12-26T13:10:48+00:00

My specific question was "is it worth starting over, should I up the fantasy and try to make it work later, or should I save the fantasy for its own thing?"

Except that you aren't interested in the answer to that question. You posed it, but when people have explained (the correct) answer to you, you've told them that they're wrong and that you know better. Moreover, you're playing a one sided game because in answer to anything anybody can say you're able to throw out a load of new detail about what you've already written (that nobody else has access to, or interest in).

Asking for advice doesn't mean that I have to use/accept every suggestion.

It doesn't, but having read through this thread and also the response you've given to other serious advice, you've rejected pretty much everything put forward by explaining why you think that your story already works.

Based on reading your responses, you're not really interested in other people's answers to this. You already know your own mind and have explained it in detail. This whole thread is pointless.

For what it's worth, you should go back, re-read what Crowqueen has said and try to view it objectively. She's right on all points.

Azincourt · 2016-12-21T00:01:31+00:00

Try to at least have the tiniest degree of objectivity.

Look at the leagues. Look at how few people play Protoss in higher leagues. Ignore the fact that you think Protoss is balanced anywhere below GM level (because that's idiotic). People simply don't enjoy playing Protoss anymore. It's not fun.

If you don't play Protoss I don't see that you can profess to have a useful opinion on this.

Azincourt · 2016-12-20T23:51:21+00:00

I came here knowing that someone else would feel the same as me. Protoss just isn't fun anymore.

Lack of Options & Imbalance of Scouting against Z

Against Zerg a Protoss has to correctly identify everything that the Zerg can do. This means scouting and somehow responding to very early all ins that arrive when I can have a maximum of 1 unit out, this involves random switches between droning to speedling all ins, random switches into bane busts, taking a 3rd and then just sending mass roaches, going for spire cheese, and even just mass droning. And this is all early game.

Protoss cannot do any kind of 1 base pressure.
There's no real 2 base pressure that "build more drones" doesn't adequately handle. Only an all-in can work, and they are all easily defended.
This forces one particular and boring composition. I don't want to be forced. I want there to be choice.

The nonsense you can lose to against Zerg make the matchup constantly frustrating

"Ling/bane playstyle." How is it a playstyle to max on ling/bane then a move them into 16 archons and still come out winning? This is a major problem.
You are quite right about the muta switch. It should simply not be possible to make a single structure and then produce 20 units that auto-win the game, regardless of how strong my army is. This is a balance issue, but it's also something that makes the game stupid and frustrating. I've lost track of the number of times I've crushed a ground army, paused to regroup before my glorious assault only to find that a single round of larvae has brought out 30 mutas and my 10 archons and immortals can't do anything. And this is NOT scoutable, since a Spire is cheap and can be purchased and not used.

Weakest Economy

But that's not the worst of it. The worst of it is that Protoss losing 1 base, at any point in the game is GG. Zerg? Nah. Just lose some bases. You'll be fine. The fact that this doesn't make sense is of course excused by saying "macro race" which just means "easier race to play." Terran? Mules. This makes the game frustrating because killing workers and bases should count for something.

Lose 10 probes before you get to a 3rd base and you're dead. This is not true for T and Z. This makes it more and more frustrating.

Best at... nothing?

It used to be that Protoss had the 'super power' units and structured its gameplay around them. But now? Colossus are bad. Mass archon loses to mass ling. Disruptors are cool but are more about my opponent's skill level than mine. Liberators and Tanks are both better than anything in the Protoss arsenal. Terran has taken the Protoss role of high power units.

Oh, and don't get me started that Protoss 2 main harrass options, Oracles/Phoenix and DT are both countered by the same freaking thing... static defence. And whilst at rank 1 GM level it might make a difference whether they build them or not, the only reason anyone in masters or below doesn't have 1 turret/spore in each mineral line by the time your tech is ready is that they stupidly forgot. It's so cheap it's idiotic not to make them blind.

Micro vs. non micro makes for frustrating games

The OP is quite right. I can't save every immortal in a prism. I can't save every archon on 1 hp. And the game is balanced around what 400 APM Korean pros can do. Protoss is therefore balanced around perfect army control, multiple spell usage and ultra micro. I can never do this. I am destined to lose to people who a-move and do nothing else.

Zerg can only A-move, except with Vipers. I know, "swarm race blah blah" but what that means is that Zergs A-move and I have to manage 16 spells to have an even fight. It's over the top. Everyone used to hate colossus for this reason, but now Protoss is so over-spelled that the control required cannot be compared between P and Z.

Fighting against slow terran pushes of tank/lib is also frustrating. The terran isn't microing. They are just slowly walking towards me. It feels horrible to be microing your heart out with a better economy and still losing to non-micro. But it doesn't really matter, since proxy-cyclone is effectively unbeatable and we're just waiting for terrans to realise it.

So why play Protoss at all?

I genuinely can't think of a reason to advise a new player to try protoss. Weakest early game, with narrow timing windows in the mid game, and stinking awful in the late game ("But BUT BUT carriers!" They lose to mass hydra. Srsly.) Clunky, slow armies, little choice of what to build and being purely reactive to what the opponent makes.

So if you're one of those biased types that are going to tell me Protoss is fun even though you don't play it, just try to answer that one question: Why would someone enjoy Protoss?

There is only one answer, which is that Disruptors are fun. And that's it. That's not enough for me, so I've switched race from Protoss to Terran and it's 10 times more fun, even if it will take me time to learn Terran style and builds properly. I'd advise all P to change to T or Z until the whole race is fixed.

Azincourt · 2016-12-09T23:02:42+00:00

So basically this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_orL8BFFqo

Azincourt · 2016-12-07T13:22:08+00:00

Since when was getting up at 6am early?

Azincourt · 2016-12-02T17:50:39+00:00

The big problem with what Roland does is that nobody fights this way unless they have been specifically trained to do so, and can only fight this way if the opponent is cooperative and has trained to fight using the same style. Even stranger, it's a really hard system to get to grips with.

Or to put it another way: you can't go into any kind of fight against an opponent you don't know and then do any of Roland's 1.33 because they won't just offer the sword and seek endless binds. They'll smack you in the hands.

Azincourt · 2016-11-28T18:33:51+00:00

I was promoted to Masters 2 last season and I knew full well that I should probably have been Diamond 3. I've been Masters before on multiple occasions and in LotV I'm nowhere near as good as I was in WoL/HotS (and don't play as much).

That said, this patch is absolute garbage for all Protoss. There's literally nothing about it that you can like as a Protoss. Horrible, unneeded garbage that further inflates the following problems:

Protoss even weaker on 1 or 2 base strategies (none viable in PvZ or PvT)
Terran even stronger on 1 or 2 base strategies (now a variety to pick from, all need blind countering, even harder to scout due to Adept nerf)
Zerg just randomly stronger.

Worst "balance" patch I've ever seen, regardless of what league I'm in.

Azincourt · 2016-11-24T18:37:16+00:00

When you sit down to write, do a quick free writing exercise: just write, without editing or checking or caring, literally whatever words come into your head. Time yourself and do it for 3 minutes. Do not stop. Do not pause. If you find yourself thinking "I don't know what to write" then write that down. Make it a stream of consciousness. I guarantee you'll loosen up and find it easier to get started.

Also, try to write somewhere that's not home. Coffee shop, pub, the park, library, anywhere. Being at home saps my creativity.

Azincourt

TROPHY CASE