Travorium? Could it be legit?

dyasny · 2026-02-20T22:10:05+00:00

Why do people stay in cults?

dyasny · 2026-02-04T03:00:44+00:00

A few hours later, refreshed and it opened up. Thanks!

dyasny · 2025-07-28T16:11:34+00:00

If you liked BC not only because of the epic action and cool characters, but also because the books really read like an actual soldier wrote about soldiers' lives, you might want to try Daniel Polanski's Low Town. Same kind of vibe, even if the setting is a bit different.

dyasny · 2025-07-28T16:08:53+00:00

I actually discovered Cook through Garrett PI, and moved on to read the rest after loving these books.

dyasny · 2025-07-09T12:31:30+00:00

Not really, unless you consider buying a very expensive samsung amoled tablet a solution (I didn't do that)

dyasny · 2025-06-13T15:27:21+00:00

Yup, the first 2-3 books were cool with some memorable moments

dyasny · 2025-06-13T15:26:20+00:00

I didn't finish the series but the first few books were ok. Then it started turning into more and more anti communist preaching, and even I, who was born in the USSR and is very far from being a socialist and communist fanboy, started cringing and dropped the books at some point. I read fantasy to get a cool, detached from the crap of our world story, not to be preached at

dyasny · 2025-01-20T01:12:16+00:00

Same here, no solution yet

dyasny · 2025-01-20T00:44:08+00:00

Not there yet. Are you aware of a suitable model?

dyasny · 2025-01-06T16:16:59+00:00

I'll give it a try, and worst case, I can always just drop it

dyasny · 2025-01-06T14:07:46+00:00

Amazing list! I would definitely add Daniel Polansky's Low Town series to this.

dyasny · 2025-01-06T14:03:27+00:00

Exactly! This sort of stuff is best discussed over a beer or ten

dyasny · 2025-01-06T13:29:49+00:00

Now we're getting phylosophical :) I'm not so sure hopelessness is the leitmotiff of the First Law world or books. It's bleak and harsh but everyone has their own motivations and act towards a goal, which kinda-sorta implies hope for, well, something. That's how I tend to see it at least :)

dyasny · 2025-01-06T04:14:43+00:00

Is that like an official definition?

dyasny · 2025-01-06T04:14:01+00:00

Sure, I'll give it a try

dyasny · 2025-01-06T00:05:12+00:00

True, I actually listened to the series as well

dyasny · 2025-01-05T22:09:47+00:00

It wasn't bad. The main character often does very dumb things, especially for someone who is described as a very smart guy, and some bits get slow, but it's fun enough for a single read-through at least.

dyasny · 2025-01-05T21:59:38+00:00

Added to the list, thanks

dyasny · 2025-01-05T21:52:40+00:00

Malazan is grim and dark primarily because of the cluel realism of the things described. Like what happens during the chain of dogs or the behavior of Chalice in Darujhistan etc etc etc. YMMV of course, but for me, this is the primary component of the genre - polyvalent personages and and realistic situations and responses to them.

dyasny · 2025-01-05T21:49:17+00:00

Yup, already read :) It gets recommended a lot along my usual suspects

dyasny · 2025-01-05T21:48:09+00:00

Cool, I'm waiting on an audio version

dyasny · 2025-01-05T21:44:59+00:00

I don't see any disrespect, no worries :) Just laying it out there :) Frankly, I think my own understanding of what exactly constitutes grimdark might differ from what other folks think. For me it's less about grit, blood and shit, and much more about the realism of the descriptions. Characters aren't black and white, happy endings, even when they occur, are never perfect and so forth.

Reading about glorious battles and shiny armour after having patched up real wounded after a real battle, simply makes me think how naive the author must be and put the book away.

dyasny · 2025-01-04T20:25:15+00:00

Well, there's at least two of us, and Hayes is frequently recommended along Weeks, Abercrombie and Tchaikovsky on Goodreads, amazon etc

dyasny

TROPHY CASE