All The Tropes

Gushing About Shows You Like (Sugar Wiki)/Literature: Difference between revisions

Page Discussion

Gushing About Shows You Like (Sugar Wiki)/Literature (view source)

Revision as of 10:56, 8 April 2014

877 bytes removed ,  10 years ago
m
Mass update links
VisualWikitext
m (Detag work categories for subpages)
m (Mass update links)
Line 7:
* Mervyn Peake's ''[[Gormenghast]]'' trilogy is the topic of this troper's University dissertation (it's literary on top of being gripping and involving!). Peake's character's are bizarre, but they're also incredibly human; not since reading the [[Harry Potter]] novels as a kid has this troper been so emotionally involved in a piece of literature - some of the deaths in the books haunt him to this day. ''Titus Groan'' is a bit of a slog at first, but once you hit the half-way point you'll be reveling in Peake's elaborate prose - I've never came across another writer who cares so much for the aesthetic quality of words and their sounds: reading Peake's descriptions is like, if you'll excuse me, sex for the mental ear. And the atmosphere... This troper harbours ambitions of being an author, and after finishing ''Titus Alone'' was despondent, knowing he'll never write half as well as Peake.
** Oh God. *sigh of relief* I thought I was the only one enjoying this book for all the beautiful, captivating, detailed prose which can only be compared to baroque music or an elaborated, tenderly-woven tapestry. Who cares about fast-paced plot and action when you can have this instead? I only wish [[Author Existence Failure|Peake had lived up]] to finish all the seven books he had planned.
** Just the novels? Forget [[Stephen King]] and [[HPH.P. Lovecraft]]--''Boy in Darkness'' is the most terrifying thing ever written.
* ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'', easily one of the greatest fantasy epics ever written. The characters are awesome, even the evil ones, the dialogue is snappy and the world is so well realized you can forget its a fantasy sometimes...
** God yes. A roaring second to you on that puppy. My reaction was somewhat like watching a Joss Whedon show: "Omigod, I love this man! But wait, he's killing off my favorite characters. But I can't stop... the story is so compelling...the characters so brilliant..." Martin manages to weave a tale of fantasy that doesn't seem like a fantasy, and the magic is revealed only when you really think about it; things as marvelous and mystical as dragons are bargaining chips and weapons, assassinations are carried out by shadows birthed by a priestess, and the faceless enemy that besieges our heroes could be human, if not for their black hands and shining ice-blue eyes. Young crippled boys can become their pet wolves, and warlocks can make the dead live for thousands of years... and yet when you read it, you say to yourself, "Why isn't this in the history books?" because the world seems so terribly real that he has to be documenting facts, not creating a fiction.
** It almost seemed to me like reading a historical work--because as in real life, there's no moral. Good people get hurt. Bad guys win. And little things spin off and have big consequences. It's such a well-built world as far as that goes; you can imagine it as being a real place, not just existing within the confines of Martin's mind. And all the characters seem like real, breathing people.
** I would like to point out that "Valarian steel" is an [[Fictional Counterpart]] of Damascus blades, which are made with a special technique recently rediscovered. They exist in real life, and are capable of cutting through a falling piece of silk!
* Two words: ''[[Good Omens (Literature)|Good Omens]]''. If you haven't read it yet, get thee to a library! It's worth it.
** Well worth it. Or if you need to bootleg it.... [[Tropers/Meiriona|we have ways]].
*** Psh, all you'd have to do is ask a ''[[Good Omens (Literature)|Good Omens]]'' fan to borrow a copy. I'm on my third one by now, mostly because the first one is still touring another state and the second one got left in the car one time too many. And the third copy is currently in another city being passed around by friends of friends...
*** So... your second copy turned into a Queen album?
*** You can [http://www.amazon.co.uk/Good-Omens-Neil-Gaiman/dp/0552137030/ buy it new] and be confident you're not wasting your money.
** Best apocalypse story This Troper has ever read. Ever.
*** The thing I love is all the semi-obscure references to history and literature. I didn't get them the first time I read it. It didn't matter. Then I got interested in the history of witch hunting and discovered that, for example, the ''Malleus Maleficarum'' is an actual book. Gaiman and Pratchett are a couple of geniuses who [[Shown Their Work|did way more research]][[Genius Bonus|than they needed to.]]
** If you like ''Good Omens'', pick up ''[[The Sandman]]'' and/or a ''[[Discworld (Literature)|Discworld]]'' book. There are many, ''many'' reasons why they're so popular.
** Mmmmmm, Good Omens. Pratchett and Gaiman: two great tastes that taste great together.
* While we're at it, let's have some love for the ''[[Discworld (Literature)|Discworld]]'' books in general. Perfect dry humor, characters that captivate you, incredible plots... Pratchett is a genius. My favorite bit is in ''[[Discworld (Literature)/Men At Arms|Men At Arms]]'', where several characters, talking about kings, bring up the sword-from-a-stone legend and say "Now, a man who can put a sword ''into'' a stone, now, he's a king." At the end of the book, {{spoiler|the "lost" heir to Anhk-Morpork's throne does ''exactly that'' - and [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|he puts it through a bad guy on the way to the stone]]...}} Just absolutely, perfectly done.
** I'm not afraid to say this. I don't care if people thought it was heavy-handed and irritatingly preachy, I loved ''[[Discworld (Literature)/Monstrous Regiment|Monstrous Regiment]]''. It was my gateway Terry Pratchett and I will always have fond memories of it.
*** I '''adore''' ''[[Discworld (Literature)/Monstrous Regiment|Monstrous Regiment]]''. It might possibly be my favourite stand-alone novel. [[Yuri Fangirl|Quite possibly because of all the subtext.]]
** Terry Pratchett is a genius and should be knighted. The end.
*** [[It Got Better|Guess what? He got knighted!]]
** While we're at it, this troper feels obliged to put in a word for ''[[Discworld (Literature)/Small Gods|Small Gods]]'', which she feels does not come up nearly often enough in discussions of ''Discworld'' despite being one of the best books not just in the series but quite possibly in the whole world. If it hadn't been the second ''Discworld'' book she'd read, after ''The Colour of Magic'', she might have dismissed the whole series as a lot of clever nonsense (not that there's anything wrong with that).
** This troper has to add her own for ''[[Discworld (Literature)/Carpe Jugulum|Carpe Jugulum]]''. It's her favorite, mainly due to the awesomeness of the vampires and it being the second book(after Reaper Man) she read, introducing her to the awesomeness that is Granny Weatherwax.
** [[Tropers/Riti Troll|This one]] screamed it on the top of her lungs on a different forum after going "This is coming at me from everywhere, might as well read it." One person borrowed it from a library, another then pointed her to [[Discworld|Reaper Man]] specifically.
** ''A Hat Full of Sky'' introduced [[Tropers/Queen Of Dorkness|me]] to the fact that it is possible to find funny, well-written fantasy. It will forever have a special place in my heart for that reason.
** As soon as I opened up ''[[Discworld (Literature)/Hogfather|Hogfather]],'' and read the dedication - "[[Sincerity Mode|To everyone who ever wanted to believe]]" - I knew that [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|I'd stumbled on something truly magical.]] And I wasn't disappointed. How Sir Pterry can be so ''right'' about everything - about the depravity and sheer ''indifference'' of so much of humanity and life, and yet its beauty and goodness and hope at the same time, will forever baffle and delight me.
*** Seconding Hogfather. For [[Ryumaru|me]], as I mentioned on the character gushing page, it's the scene where {{smallcaps| Death}} rescues the little match girl. Yes, the one from the [[Tear Jerker]] poem. Best. Scene. EVER.
*** ''Hogfather'' is the best book I have ever read. That's it.
*** The sheer amount of awesome, funny and heartwarming in ''[[Discworld (Literature)/Hogfather|Hogfather]]'' can hardly be expressed in words.
** '''Vetinari Vetinari Vetinari Vetinari Vetinari'''. And just to one-up Cosmo Lavish, once more Vetinari.
** I'd like to give a special mention to ''[[Discworld (Literature)/Night Watch|Night Watch]]'' for being the first Discworld book I bought for myself (as opposed to getting from the library), for being the first book I [[Tear Jerker|cried at]], and for just being a damn fine book. The rest of the City Watch books are also amazing, hilarious, heartwarming and tearjerking, often at the same time. And Vimes is just awesome.
* ''[[Harry Potter (Literaturenovel)|Harry Potter]]'' itself is truly amazing. Honestly, how many of you can't say you were disappointed when you didn't get your acceptance letter to Hogwarts at age 11? It combines a well-moving plot, good writing, and absolutely amazingly realistic characters with a truly magical setting that I would love to be a part of more than almost any other.
** I got disappointed. I actually half-believed I would, and actually believed in wizards for a short while. Of course, I wasn't even in 5th grade, and I was even more of a [[Cloudcuckoolander]] than I am now.
** I was VERY disappointed. Still, I read the first book at age 5, so I got 6 whole years of waiting for a Hogwarts letter. 6 amazing years.
Line 71:
** Polgara and Ehlana are two of this troper's favorite characters in literature, ever. And not for the obvious reasons (he's gay)...but because they're awesome, complicated characters with rich personalities and fascinating histories.
* ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' is one of the ''best'' fantasy stories ever written, and This Troper ''will '''cut''' ''anyone who says otherwise.
** [[The Silmarillion]] took all the problems I had with The Lord of the Rings and ''fixed them''. The elves aren't perfect and angelic. There are plenty of female characters. And the sheer amount of story and effort that Tolkien put into it is mindblowing, plus practically all the characters are [[Badass|badass]]. It's like LOTR with awesome x1000.
*** Agreed. 'In the twilight of autumn the ship sailed out of Mithlond, until the seas of the Bent World fell away beneath it, and the winds of the round sky troubled it no more, and borne upon the high airs above the mists of the world it passed into the Ancient West, and an end was come for the Eldar of story and of song.' I wish I could meet that man.
** I'm not that violent, but will agree. "No onslaught more fierce was ever seen in the savage world of beasts, where some desperate small creature armed with little teeth, alone, will spring upon a tower of horn and hide that stands above its fallen mate." No matter [[Heterosexual Life Partners|how]] you [[Ho Yay|take]] that phrase, it's still beautiful writing.
** I love both, but please let's not forget ''[[The Hobbit]]''. Among other virtues, it possesses what may be the single best opening chapter in the entirety of fiction -- drawing you into the realm of magic and inviting you to dream. Tolkien's use of language is just incredible, ''even'' when you remember he was a professor of English literature.
** Will the Tolkienites just unite and say that Tolkien will melt any opposition with his sheer awesomeness? Because I can't even pick a favorite story.
*** Too true. Whilst I love the major works, there are all the gems like ''[[Farmer Giles of Ham (Literature)|Farmer Giles of Ham]]'', ''[[Smith of Wootton Major (Literature)|Smith of Wootton Major]]'' and ''[[Leaf By Niggle (Literature)|Leaf Byby Niggle]]'', which are also awesome.
*** He was an amazing poet as well. Just look at "Errantry".
** Could Tolkien fail at anything in the realm of literature? Well, obviously the answer is yes . . . if he tried really hard to. Thank God he never did.
** I discovered Middle-earth at age 12 and since then everything Tolkien has ever written, plus the film adaptations, have been my all-time favorites. When [[The Hobbit (Filmfilm)|The Hobbit]] movie was announced, I squeed for four hours straight.
* ''[[The HitchhikersHitchhiker's Guide to Thethe Galaxy]]'' is a brilliant [[Deconstruction]] of, well, [[Real Life]]. It revels in its own [[Fridge Logic]] and to say [[It Runs Onon Nonsensoleum]] is an understatement. It jets faster than the speed of light on Nonsensoleum and doesn't even pretend that is rational. The characters are entertaining by themselves, but the real joy is how the entire [[Fridge Logic]] universe is juxtaposed to them, and how human reason pales in comparison to the wide, wide universe. A massive subversion of [[Sci-Fi Writers Have No Sense of Scale]] if there ever was one. And of course, you learn the answer to the ultimate question of Life, The Universe and Everything.
** 42.
*** Should that be spoilered?
Line 86:
*** Dirk Gently definitely [[Needs More Love]].
* [[The Malazan Book of the Fallen]] series has magnificent depth and hordes of interesting and distinct races and individuals, as well as a fascinatingly different magic system and complex mythology and ascendant culture. The story is well written even in its unusual style and the various arcs are paced nicely. Abundance of [[Wangst]] (particularly later on) notwithstanding, it is still a great read and a standout in a genre with too many bad formulaic stories (good formulaic ones too of course).
* Erin Hunter's ''[[Warrior Cats (Literature)|Warriors]]'' series [[Needs More Love]] on this wiki! Sure, it's a series about cats for pre-teens, and sure, it has plenty of flaws, but there's something about it that charms and captivates me like no other book series. I love these kitties.
** Agreed! Especially since some of the books are [[Darker and Edgier]] than even some ''adult'' novels...
** I'm not even finished with ''Bluestar's Prophecy'' and I already adore it. Either because Bluestar is one of my favorite characters, because of the fun in reading a prequel, or because it's just enjoyable overall--perhaps all three of those. It's one of my favorite ''Warriors'' books.
** ''The Darkest Hour'' has been my favorite book for six years, and it probably always will be. Firestar's nine lives ceremony was breathtaking, Tigerstar's death was horrifying, and the battle with BloodClan was just all-around awesome. There are several moments which will stay with me forever. I feel this way about many books in ''[[Warrior Cats (Literature)|Warriors]]'', but ''The Darkest Hour'' really takes the cake.
*** I got shivers from how awesome chapter 28 was.
** For all the hate it gets, ''Power of Three'' was really very good. It was well written, and though it didn't have as many [[Tear Jerker|Tear Jerkers]] as the previous series, it was dark and depressing in the best way possible. The main characters were developed and easy to feel for. It introduced many new elements to the series and challenged the way things had always been done--Jayfeather's lack of respect for StarClan, for example. And then it introduced a threat on a scale we'd never seen before, leading into ''Omen of the Stars'', which continued to be awesome in all the same ways as ''Power of Three''.
Line 95:
** Madeleine L'Engle's Time Quartet are some of, to this troper's mind, the most sublime and beautiful science fiction she's ever read. Perhaps at its heart it's more like fantasy, but the fact that her work is filled with a reverence and a joy for science and scientific discovery must give her a place among Asimov and Bradbury.
** Madeleine L'Engle just exudes happiness and peace with the world. She's been enough of an influence on my worldview since I first read one of her books that I actually wrote my college application essay on ''A Swiftly Tilting Planet.''
** This troper loves Wrinkle, but ''[[A Wind in Thethe Door]]'' is her personal favorite on Proginoskes alone.
*** Seconded
** This troper found ''[[A Wrinkle in Time]]'' when she was a quiet, too-smart, mousy-brown-haired, glasses-wearing ten year old. Meg Murry was a hero that ''looked like her'' and wasn't pining over a boy - the brilliant popular jock ended up pining over her! Wrinkle was also responsible for troper's love of quotes and love for a happy - [[Earn Your Happy Ending|but hard-fought]] - ending. And she just kind of adores the Happy Medium.
Line 108:
* The ''[[Prince of Nothing]]'' trilogy is incredible. It's a series so dark it makes ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' look idealistic. It's about what Nietzsche's ubermensch would actually be like and he's just fascinating to read about. Lastly, it's a brutal, no-holds-barred study of what it really means to be conscious, and the illusions that we all operate under.
* [[Jane Austen]]. Romantic comedy done ''right''.
** ''[[Pride and Prejudice]]'' quickly became one of my favorite books the first time I read it. Although I don't like the plot or characters of ''[[Northanger Abbey (Literature)|Northanger Abbey]]'' as much, the [[Genre Savvy]] narrator's snark, wit, and [[Conversational Troping]] just make it ''so'' enjoyable to read -- I actually fell in love with that book ''purely'' because of the writing style! I didn't care ''what'' she was writing about -- before that, I didn't think it was possible for writing to ''literally'' do that for a book. Yet, I think I found a new Austen favorite this past winter... ''[[Mansfield Park]]''. Why? Because the heroine is the anti-Elizabeth Bennett (physically weak, quiet, depressed, no confidence in herself or her opinions, and madly in love with her love interest from the start), but she's more real and familiar. She's a victim of emotional abuse, starved for parental and familial love, and the damage this causes to one's psyche is not disguised or glossed over ''but'' neither is it dwelled on; the hardships and injustices of her life are actually ''shown'', not told. In spite of all that, she still has the strength to stand her ground when it really counts, which makes her rejection of Henry Crawford far more impressive than Lizzie's rejection of Mr. Collins. Plus, in its comparison of the hardships faced by rich families and poor families, the novel averts the condescending Aesop of "the rich have more money, but no love, thus you're lucky if you're poor and should feel sorry for the rich." No, way! The heroine and the narrator both know that, no matter how many problems the rich have, it's definitely preferable to be rich than poor. Jane Austen, you never cease to amaze me!
** [[Pride and Prejudice]] will always be This Troper's favourite book and Darcy and Elizabeth her favourite couple. Them being verbal sparring partners at first, Darcy's quiet admiration of Elizabeth and suddenly proposing, Darcy then trying to remould his character after getting a good [[What the Hell, Hero?|calling out]] by Elizabeth and then ''her'' finding herself falling in love and the ending they get makes This Troper forget all the prejudice she's ever held against love for a few days after another re-read every time.
** Strangely enough, this troper's favourite novels are [[Emma]] and [[Persuasion]]. I'm absolutely in love with the others, too, but these two show the author at her best: mature, elegant and highly entertaining, presenting the most believable [[Official Couple|love affairs]] of all of her stories.
Line 124:
** You completely neglected to mention that these books are the most awesome and engaging take on ''[[Our Zombies Are Different|zombies in fantasy]]'' '''EVER'''. Step aside, [[Pride and Prejudice And Zombies|Seth Grahame-Smith]]. Garth Nix did it first, and he didn't have to satire anyone else's source material to do it.
* The ''[[Lone Wolf]]'' books are probably the best gamebooks this troper has read. You get a sense of [[Character Development]] from the author as the books go on, but at the same time there's still enough space to let you put your own spin on the character. And the Sommerswerd is just pure, undiluted awesome.
* [[Neil Gaiman]] is a master of creating darkly beautiful and mesmerizing worlds that you'll find yourself wonderfully lost in. It doesn't hurt that he's also got some highly creative ideas and plots to go with them, but his [[Signature Style]] is what makes his stories so engrossing and memorable. I love rereading ''[[Stardust (Literaturenovel)|Stardust]]'' and ''[[Neverwhere]]'', and can appreciate the extensive research and detail poured into ''[[American Gods (Literature)|American Gods]]'' even if the mythology angle didn't click with me as it did for others (if you're a mythology buff, however, you'll have a great time reading it).
** I ''am'' a mythology buff. Holy shit, is ''[[American Gods (Literature)|American Gods]]'' fun for us. Hunting down references and seeing if you can name all the mentioned gods is a heck of a lot of fun.
** ''Murder Mysteries'' will forever be one of this troper's favourite short stories-- or indeed, favourite stories, ever.
*** Seconded. And while we're on the topic of his short story work, ''Forbidden Brides of the Faceless Slaves in the House of the Night of Dread Desire'' is also ungodly awesome.
** It has been briefly mentioned above, but this troper cannot rave enough about ''Neverwhere''. Most people cite ''[[American Gods (Literature)|American Gods]]'' as Gaiman's best book, but I disagree. ''Neverwhere'' may not have the masses of research poured into it, but is amazing in a simpler kind of way, in that the story is just a brilliant kind of awesome.
** ''[[Coraline (Literaturenovel)|Coraline]]'' and ''The Graveyard Book'' are two of the best children's books in recent history--and like all the great children's books, are thoroughly enjoyable no matter how old you are.
** For this troper, it's ''[[American Gods (Literature)|American Gods]]'' for the brain food and mythology-nut in her, and ''[[The Sandman]]'' for her inner writer. "The Sound of Her Wings" is what this troper aspires to write like when she grows up.
* [[Tom Robbins]] mixes absurd silliness with [[Author Filibuster]] and it comes out ''awesome''. ''[[Even Cowgirls Get The Blues]]'' is a work of genius, wonderful start to finish, with the best rants and digressions ever put to paper.
* ''[[Temeraire]]'' is everything this troper loves in stories and more. Dragons, action, logic and physics (sort of) in the dragon designs, historical fantasy, fantastic and memorable characters, and some very genuinely touching or funny moments... Before it gets 100% badass again.
** Seconded, so much. Reading "His Majesty's Dragon" for the first time was like being a child, astonished with the impossible things that could happen in books.
* ''[[Chronicles of Narnia]]''! [[CSC. LewisS. (Creator)Lewis|CS Lewis]] introduced me to fantasy, for which I will always be grateful.
** I wholeheartedly agree. What's great about this series is that, while the Christian messages start to become more evident, the stories could still be told without them. As a child I never saw them and the books were still awesome because of this. Lewis never delves away from the actual plot. Although, those books are good too.
** "Years later, they were so used to quarreling and making up again, they got married so as to go on doing it more conveniently." Why can't more romance be written [[Lemony Narrator|like that]]?
Line 154:
{{quote| To defy the lightnings is to be victorious.}}
* This Troper loves, LOVES Robin Hobb. All of her work, but especially her latest (and seemingly least appreciated) series, the Soldier Son trilogy. It is quite simply one of the most unusual fantasy stories This Troper has read.
* Sometimes you have read the synopsis of a classic, read it and then go "meh". Sometimes you've read the synopsis of a classic, read it, and discover how frickin' beautiful the language itself is. This was This Troper's reaction to Steinbeck's ''[[The Grapes of Wrath (Literature)|The Grapes of Wrath]]''
** And this troper's to ''[[As I Lay Dying]]''. It's like if Finnegan's Wake made sense.
* If your only knowledge of ''[[The Princess Bride (Literaturenovel)|The Princess Bride]]'' comes from the movie, you are missing out! (Not that the movie isn't awesome.)
** This is an example of the tone of the movie being much different than the book, but ''no one cares'', because that is exactly what the author would have wanted. An exact and serious rendition of the book would have defeated its entire purpose.
*** It should be noted that both the book and the screenplay were written by William Goldman, which helps explain why this is one of the best examples of [[Adaptation Distillation]] out there.
Line 170:
** Hell yeah.
** [[Neal Stephenson]] in general is just plain awesome. The best part is, though, that his books work on so many levels. For example, This Troper has read ''[[Cryptonomicon]]'' four times in as many years, and has found something new each time.
* [[Ursula K. Le Guin]]. Her Hainish cycle works are jaw-dropping books of genius. ''The Left Hand of Darkness'' is one of very few science fiction books to explore themes of gender and queerness from a feminist perspective. ''The Dispossessed'' is also a masterpiece of speculative fiction.
** ''Always Coming Home'' may be ''the'' most amazing creative work I have ever been exposed to. Ye gods, the complexity, the detail, the ''reality'' in the fiction...
* ''[[GauntsGaunt's Ghosts]]'' is a series that not only manages to make the [[Redshirt Army|Imperial Guard]] [[Badass Normal|competent, dangerous, and respectable,]] but also brings much-needed humanity to the wild insanity of the ''[[Warhammer 40000]]'' universe. Its funny, its heartrending, its just plain awesome....and unlike other aspects of the fiction, the characers don't need to be space elves, super soldiers, genetically engineered warrior fungi, or deathless automotons to be awesome.
** ''[[Ciaphas Cain]]'', '''[[The Hero|HERO OF THE IMPERIUM!]]''', not only does all of the above, it even adds ''[[Literature/Funny|hilarity]]''.
* [[Winnie the Pooh]] seriously needs a mention on here. They are some of the best stories for young children I have seen, and I still read them even in college. It's hard for me to believe that more people haven't read these books, they're so good.
Line 215:
* George Orwell's [[Nineteen Eighty-Four]] was one of the best things I've read for school. It had meaning AND it was a thriller. Wow.
* ''[[Swallows and Amazons]]''. The whole series. They are VERY old, and not very well known these days, but I thank Arthur Ransome for the presence of his novels in my childhood. These books taught me that yes, it is possible to have an EPIC adventure using the power of imagination. They also taught me that if you suck it up and go outside sometimes, it's very likely that you won't NEED all that imagination to have an epic adventure... just to make it even better. I advise everyone here to look it up. There's a film of the first book, which is also very good, but if you really want a treat, read it.
* Hey, you! You like fantasy, pal? Then let me do you a favor: Go and read the ''[[Fablehaven (Literature)|Fablehaven]]'' series ''right this instant.'' Don't let the [[Non-Indicative Name|cutesy-sounding name]] and [[Covers Always Lie|glittery fairy-laden covers]] put you off. The first book is a cheery, whimsical and oftentimes charmingly silly romp that will make you wish ''your'' grandparents were that cool. And then the later books? They get '''''[[It Got Worse|dark.]]''''' Not only does the series paint a unique view of the traditional [[Fantasy Kitchen Sink]], but the characters are wonderful, the web of constant [[The Mole|turncoats]] and [[Gambit Roulette|chancey plans]] will keep you on your toes--and who knows? You might just come to think of those glittery fairies as occassionally, capably [[Badass]].
* ''[[A Separate Peace]]'' is quite possibly the most moving, beautifully written book of all time. It single-handedly made me a happier, better person. Most people find the ending depressing, but I thought it was uplifting and inspirational. It's also hilarious in a way that's difficult to describe. Everyone should read it!
* I know reading books for school can be really tedious if you just don't want. But nonetheless the standard "world" literature is not around for so long without a reason. Most of those classics are really awesome. Shakespeare. Homer. Milton. This troper would like to give special mention to Goethe's "Faust", the only must read in every German class. It's just crowning and she loves it to bits.
Line 221:
** ''[[Paradise Lost]]'' made me ''cry'', and it is one of only three works of fiction ever to make me do so (yes, yes, I'm a horrible person, moving on). And I don't even normally enjoy/read a) poetry and b) anything that old. I realise Satan is a [[Complete Monster]] but he is. Just. So. Damn. Sympathetic. *sobs*
* David Brin: his Uplift Wars series is one of the best science fiction I've read, and his other stories such as Kiln People and The Postman are also entertaining and thought provoking.
* ''[[Artemis Fowl (Literature)|Artemis Fowl]]''. The books are very original, very funny, very exciting and at times, very moving. What more could I possibly ask for?
** This troper has to add to the appalling lack of love for Artemis Fowl. [[Battle Butler|Butler]]. Full stop. Walking, talking, [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]] and Heartwarming all at once.
*** [[Action Girl|Holly]] [[This Is for Emphasis, Bitch|Fucking]] [[Little Miss Badass|Short]].
Line 230:
** Ah you haven't done it justice. Come on guys, it's [[Sherlock Holmes]]! Holmes with his wit and Watson with his [[Ho Yay|loyalty]], their close close relationship, every time Watson saves Holmes and Holmes shows him a bit more of how much he means to him... This Troper must admit she reads about the three Garridebs just to read the part about 'the depth of loyalty and love that lay behind that cold mask'.
* Speaking of awesome, Mark Twain. ''[[Adventures of Huckleberry Finn]]'', in particular, has all his [[Deadpan Snarker|deadpan hilarity]] on display, yet still immerses the reader in Huck's Mississippi River adventure to the point that the classic line, "All right, then, I'll go to hell," induces spontaneous cheers. The humor is distilled and intensified in his short stories and sketches--don't forget to gasp for air in between laughs.
* I don't understand how anyone can hate ''[[Inheritance Cycle (Literature)|Eragon]]''. [[Cliché Storm]]? [[Tropes Are Not Bad]]! It's really the classic distillation of [[A Boy and His X]] on [[The Hero's Journey]].
** ''Eragon'' was a really awesome book, considering the age of the author at the time. It was the book that completely changed this troper's view of dragons from mindless monsters to wise, human-like beasts. Forget that elf chick, Saphira's the real badass babe in this book. Even ''Eldest'' was really good; it gave a nice break from the action to delve deeper into the characters and the world of Alagaesia.
** The series got even better with Brisingr, where it is incontrevertibly revealed that the elves' Atheism is incorrect. This is anathema to most of this wiki, who hate the series for the crime of being not as good as Discworld.
Line 236:
** THANK! YOU! The Eragon Series were my favorite books growing up. I read them before [[Lot R]] so I didn't catch the similarities, but I did catch some to Star Wars, and it works just as well in Fantasy. My favorite character has always been [[Good Is Not Nice|Eragon]], but [[Badass Normal|Roran]] and Saphira are also awesome. It's truly a great series and I can't wait for the fourth book. Best part, my new kindle solves [[Doorstopper|my only problem with the series]]!
* Margaret George is amazing. So far I've read three of her novels and all of them have left me wanting more. ''Mary, Called Magdalene'' has an interesting spin on the Jesus/Mary Magdalene idea that is more plausible than them having a secret kid but still shows that love could have existed. ''The Memoirs of Cleopatra'' restores the reputation of a queen who's been so long portrayed as nothing but a slut, and shows her as the passionate woman, intelligent leader, and sly politician she really was. ''The Autobiography of Henry VIII'' really seems to capture the Henry of historical record, helping us see his perspective for once on the events that have left him labelled a monster, while the notes by his Fool, Will Somers, add a dry wit and a somewhat more objective perspective on everything.
* On ''[[Twilight (Literaturenovel)|Twilight]]'', I may not go as far as to say that every book is amazing, but I think the reason the Twilight series is so popular (besides legions of fangirls wanting their own "Edward Cullen") is because Meyer took a concept and molded it into her own. Sure, she made the vampires sparkle and turned them from beasts to happy invincible creatures (then again, Anne Rice started this), but you can't deny that she has a entertaining plot. Even with the haters, you will find that they have at least ''one'' favorite character from this series, be it Alice, Jasper, or even James. Meyer's characterization may be off, but she leaves it for the reader to decide, in a way.
** Say what you want about ''[[Twilight (Literaturenovel)|Twilight]]'' - paper thin characters, purple prose, no literary value - it's still ridiculously fun to read in all it's absurd glory.
** As someone who considers them a guilty pleasure more than anything else, this troper WILL say that Meyer is good at creating interesting side characters. I'd read a book completely about what Carlisle and his family get up to when Edward and Bella are away.
*** If by "away" you mean a diferent book where we got ALL the juicy details where Edward finally let go 90 years of sexual abstinence and sexual tension on every position the Kamasutra (or any other book written on history about the subject) portrays and paying up Bella from all the times he couldn't please her like she wanted, on all posible and phisically enhanced ways a vampire can, without neither of them ever getting tired. Then be my guest.
Line 243:
*** Plus... come on! My absolute favourite complaint about the series is that the vampires are "disco balls". Who WOULDN'T want to marry a walking, sentient disco ball?!
** The thing about twilight (for me at least) is this: I know that the books suck. I know that the characters are flat, and that the purple prose doesn't even make sense, and that the plot is not really that interesting, and vampires differ from the accepted image that they have formed today, but... I love the books.
* ''[[The Neverending Story (Literaturenovel)|The Neverending Story]]''. More like the story everyone needs to read at least once in their life. The book ''[[Momo (Literature)|Momo]]'', by the same author, is also simply wonderful.
* ''[[Cold Mountain]]'' is as compelling and epic a Civil War story as ''[[Gone Withwith the Wind]],'' with protagonists that could be cliche, but turn out as anything but. And it was the only novel I have ever read for school that [[Tear Jerker|made me cry.]]
* ''[[The Queens Thief|The Queen's Thief]]'' series by Megan Whalen Turner. Pseudo-history with epic politics, war, romance that by all rights ''should'' be dysfunctional but is instead amazing, and just the slightest hint of magic in the form of a Greek-styled pantheon (but with less dallying and more governing). As someone on the series's page said:
{{quote| It's pretty much agreed on by '''all''' of the fans that everything Gen does qualifies for this. He eats Awesome Flakes for breakfast...in your rafters.}}
** [[The Reveal]] at the end of the first book is also the best {{spoiler|[[Subversion]] of [[Rebellious Princess]]}} EVER.
Line 270:
** Chalion! All of them! I really, really, REALLY want a fourth book, please?
*** Yes! I thought I didn't like Bujold's fantasy at first, then I went back and reread the Chalion series and ''oh my god''. The character development alone makes these books worth reading; the plot is by no means forgettable, but seeing all the main characters grow into their true potential, and even the side characters being well-rounded real people (a common factor in all her books) is where the wow factor is.
* [[PGP. G. Wodehouse (Creator)|PG Wodehouse]]'s books in general, but especially the [[Jeeves and Wooster (Literaturenovel)|Jeeves and Wooster]] books. Whether you see them as bright and sunny like they're portrayed or not, whether the plots are somewhat repetitive or not, you can't pretend they're not some of the funnest, funniest, books around. The scene when Gussie Finknottle gives his speech to the boys' school in 'Very Good, Jeeves' will have you in tears every time you read it. Also, the great relationship between Jeeves & Bertie. You have the genius servant, always ready with a drink and a good quote of poetry to calm his master down and fish him from the soup, and you have the idiotic, but still somehow totally charming, master, who is forever willing to do anything for his friends, no matter how stupid or cruel they can be, and when you have the two of them together, you have two characters who are really devoted to each other in the most awesome way, whether you see them as [[Yaoi Guys]] or just good ol' fashioned [[Heterosexual Life Partners]].
** And don't forget about [[Psmith (Literature)|Psmith]], who is sort of like Jeeves and Bertie put in a blender, and Mike, who is sort of like a teenage Bertie without the aunts.
** Yeah, Wodehouse used pretty much the same plot for almost all of his books. And that's where his brilliance lies - that despite this, every single one of them is interesting and funny.
* ''[[The Road to Mars]]''. I'm tired of being the only person who seems to have read it, so here comes the pimping: It's a book about two comedians traveling through space with their robot, who ''looks like David Bowie'' and is trying to understand comedy. There are plot twists abound. The narrator is a character all on his own. The story is gripping. The characters are entertaining and lovable. ''The author is [[Monty Python|Eric Idle.]]'' Go. Read. It. NOW.
Line 281:
** Hilari Bell's only work of science fiction, A Matter of Profit, is another noteworthy all-around-fun book with surprising depth. It is still one of this troper's absolute favourite novels.
** In fact, everything Hilari Bell ever wrote is awesome. If you haven't read one, go to your local library. If you haven't got a local library, buy one.
* All right, I'm going to shame myself with my own geekery and bring [[Animorphs (Literature)|Animorphs]] into the conversation. The quality in the ghost-written books varied wildly, I spent a lot of time yelling at the characters, and I personally wish the last half of the last book hadn't happened, but at the end of the day, it's a weirdly beautiful investigation of innocence and war and morality and childhood. And it's aimed at twelve-year-olds. (For reference, I was eighteen when I read the books.)
** This Troper was nine when she started and ''loved'' them as a never-ending adventure that put some insight into morality and how minds can work. It's a 62 book long war that is funny, scary, heart-warming and heart-wrenching all at the same time. To the point that I rarely read them anymore because it would just make me cry. {{spoiler|Rachel died after being with me, in a sense, for one year. I'm thirteen and I still cry for her.}} Sorry if I'm being too sentimental.
** Yes yes! I grew up with these and it's what got me into sci-fi. Six friends battle evil by turning into animals, plunging into battles that would horrify anyone, pulling off feats of bravery and daring-do all the while being funny as hell - the humour dark and otherwise is amongst the funniest I've come across before or since.
** That's right, I scrolled down through this whole page to see if this series would be on here. And it is. And I second it. I grew up with these books, too, and the characters feel like friends.
* This troper is disappointed by the lack of Jonathan Lethem here. His incredible futuristic looks at such human staples as drug use and dreams, his constant homages to Philip K. Dick, and his brilliant and heavy use of tropes in new and interesting ways make him an absolutely incredible author. If you haven't read Amnesia Moon or Gun, With Occasional Music then you're missing out.
* ...This unknown tropette is deeply disappointed in all of you. There is a sad, pathetic lack of [[The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Literature)|The Wonderful Wizard of Oz]] on this page. If you've seen the movie, read it. It's just so wonderfully, lovingly written, and one can tell that L. Frank Baum was trying very hard to make a Fairyland that the audience would enjoy (very obvious in the foreword) , and succeeded with that. He also seemed to be enjoying himself as he wrote it. You can see everything the book describes as though you've known it all your life. The illustrations, both in their style and in their color, are fantastic. And the CHARACTERS, good lord, the characters. You ''love'' everyone you're meant to like almost right off the bat. This tropette hasn't read the sequels, and quite frankly, she doesn't want to. She's so completely, utterly satisfied with the current ending that she doesn't ''want'' to hear about Ozma or whatever. She reads it all the time and never gets tired of it. She ''can't'' get tired of it. It's her absolute most favorite book in the world.
** It's a pity you won't read the other books. While the first is excellent, books three, six, and fourteen are pretty much [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|CMoAs]] for Dorothy, Glinda, and Ozma respectively. And some of the most unique ideas come in the later books (like the Glass Cat, who's made of spun glass but is entirely too vain to do anything except preen in front of a mirror all day) and the various towns and civilizations deep in Oz that bring on much of the adventure.
* OK, I'm going to piss off a large portion of this wiki and bring up the [[Anita Blake]] series. Are there a lot of issues with it, especially as Anita becomes a succubus? Yeah, there are. But you know what? I. Don't. Care. Hamilton still managed to create a supernatural world based on our own, where lycanthropes and vampires are just part of life, another issue to be handled by Washington and the cops just like the new budget or a street gang. The LKH world feels like ours, just with a twist. The world ''works'', and as for Anita, call her a [[Canon Sue]]. But if so, she's the only one to show that sometimes that "popularity" goes a little wrong in ways that are truly nightmarish, not "Oh poor me, everyone loves me!" Not to mention, any series that consistently gives a pair of friends enough conversation fodder for hours clearly has a lot in it to talk about (and my friend and I have been theorizing about AB for years). And then there's Edward (alias Death) who is the best thing in the series.
* Last winter, I read ''[[Wuthering Heights (Literaturenovel)|Wuthering Heights]]'', and I loved it. This summer, I read ''[[Jane Eyre]]'', and I loved it. A few weeks ago, I read ''[[The Tenant of Wildfell Hall]]'', and I was aghast. It is the most cruelly underrated novel I have ever come across! Why do I find the most obscure and neglected Bronte novel to be the best and most engaging of the sisters' works?! With no exaggeration, ''The Tenant'' is truly the most gut-wrenching novel I've ever read. It shakes me to my very core in a way no book has ever come close to. Never before have I almost been unable to bear reading a book for its power. It's also only the third book in my life <ref>after ''[[Little Women]]'' and ''[[Cyrano De Bergerac]]''</ref> that actually brought on an unstoppable torrent of tears as I read. The First Feminist Novel desperately [[Needs More Love]], and [[Anne Bronte (Creator)|Anne Bronte]], you'll always have my vote as the best writer in your family.
** Tears up. HOLY CRAP! This troper thought they were the only one who felt that way about this book! Loved Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, planning on reading the rest of Charlotte's stuff and Emily's other novel, but MY GOODNESS, this troper never thought they'd find someone with similar interest in the Brontes on this site. The above statement is So Cool It's Awesome for this troper.
*** Just want to second both your comments. Anne Bronte knew where it was at. So much further along in feminism than her sisters.
* [[The Little Prince|The. Little. Prince.]] Antoine de Saint Exupery was a GENIUS. Not just because he managed to make a story about a World War pilot whose plane goes down in the desert who then meets a boy from outer space who wants the man to draw him a sheep so said sheep will eat tree sprouts but a not a rose COMPLETELY HEARTBREAKING, but also in that he is able to convey [[Growing Up Sucks]] like ''no other''.
* No [[Superhero]] story or comic book in the twentieth century and beyond has been able to recreate the excellency that is ''[[The Scarlet Pimpernel (Literaturenovel)|The Scarlet Pimpernel]]''. For one thing, the eponymous invincible hero is the [[Big Good]], but the ''protagonist'', who [[Character Development|grows and develops]], whom the reader follows and sympathizes with, who undergoes an arduous [[The Hero's Journey|Hero's Journey]] and an awakening and disillusionment just as painful is ''his wife''. For another, the romance and adventure plots are perfectly interwoven and really display that marriage just may be as difficult a task to undertake as saving the world (so to speak). It's also one of those rare works that show how [[Badass]] [[The Power of Love]] can be. Who wins in the end -- Chauvelin, who controls his men so thoroughly with fear that they're scared to death to disobey the [[Exact Words]] of his orders even at the expense of common sense, or the Scarlet Pimpernel, whose 19 devoted followers are willing to die for their beloved leader and proud of it? Exciting, gripping, and impossible to put down until I finished it, ''The Scarlet Pimpernel'' is everything a good <s>adventure novel</s> romance should be.
* [[Matthew Reilly]]'s books are action movies distilled into novels. They move at a hectic pace, his characters have a [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]] daily, and the action scenes would make [[Michael Bay]] drool. They don't even have [[Excuse Plot|Excuse Plots]] - they're well thought-out, complete with believable characters; [[Badass|Schofield]], for example, has a hard time asking a girl out, even though he's fine with driving a plane into a massive elevator shaft. There's the added tension of [[Anyone Can Die]], too. He even manages to pack his books with over-the-top stunts without them getting old - ''Ice Station'' has a thirty-page hovercraft <s>[[Chase Scene]]</s> [[High Speed Battle]], and it never seems to fall into "Just finish it already!"
* I feel it's my duty to spread to the world of Anglophone nerds knowledge of the 16th-century Italian poem "Orlando Furioso" by Ludovico Ariosto. Really, if you like knights-and-wizards fantasy, this is for you; it's a huge, rambling epic with about a million characters and intersecting subplots, which it jumps between at whim. It's like Lord of the Rings, if Tolkien had (a) been a 16th-c. poet, and (b) done a whole lot of crack. It's wonderful. Anyone know a good translation?
Line 299:
* Dune. Because it had gladiatorial battles and political intrigue and people riding giant freakin' SANDWORMS. (This explains a lot about this troper, who thinks Herbert Jr should be skinned with crysknives for what he did to his father's legacy.) The later books were a bit 'meh', but that first one blew me away, a scale of world-building I'd only found with Tolkien and LeGuin before.
* Brian Jacques' [[Redwall]] series. This troper can honestly say that Redwall is the best fantasy series she has ever had the pleasure of reading. She is teased constantly by her parents about how much she loves "her little furry animals with swords and nut bread", but is not bothered by this, considering it's the truth. Each and every one of Jacques' characters is unique in his or her own way, from the warrior mice to the villainous foxes and wildcats. The world is beautifully fleshed out, the plots may be formulaic at times but are nonetheless engaging. [[The Smurfette Principle]] is averted left and right, and most of all the characters and situations are realistic (besides the fact that they're all [[Talking Animal|Talking Animals]]). This troper loves these books and will continue to love them.
** I second the notion. I think it is no exaggeration to claim that Jacques is as great a writer as [[CSC. LewisS. (Creator)Lewis|CS Lewis]] or, dare I say, [[JRRJ. TolkienR. (Creator)R. Tolkien|JRR Tolkien]] himself? Just like Tolkien, Jacques has created a world full of diverse creatures, each with their own cultures and dialects, and like Lewis, Jacques has crafted unique stories and characters that defy expectations. Yes, his books began to get a bit repetitive, but it's worth noting that, in his most recent books, he appears to have noticed this and made pains to avert, subvert, or otherwise avoid the very tropes his works are known for. And the books are better for it.
* [[Stephen King]] is best known for writing terrifying scenes. He's great at that, but not just that. He creates interesting and lovable characters. He describes the events in his stories with a form of realism; he writes about things that don't exist, but you believe that if they existed, that's how people would react to them. He can write funny scenes, tear-jerking scenes, heartwarming scenes. He's just a great writer.
** Seconded. I have read nearly all of Stephen King's books, and I read them young. The characters are moving, tragic, heroic, and human, and the stories blend old and new mythology into a personal epic of love, trust, friendship, and hope in the face of evil.
Line 310:
** Yes, yes, YES. "Here it's safe, here it's warm, here the daisies guard you from every harm..." *fans start to cry* The characters are perfect, and the plot... hard to describe what makes it so awesome.
* ''[[Memoirs of a Geisha]]'' is a book I've read many times. the woes of a young girl being torn from her family and forced into slavery/prostitution and then theres the rich love tale interwoven within the pages and the jump-off the page characters.
* ''[[Flowers for Algernon (Literature)|Flowers for Algernon]]'' Made this troper cry at the end, it touched me in a way that i want to treaure and savor this story for a lifetime
* ''[[Perelandra]]''. Which is ''the'' best book I have ever read. [[CSC. LewisS. (Creator)Lewis|CS Lewis]] took the [[The Bible|story of Eden]], infused it with imagination, shot it into space, and somehow it blossomed into one of the most exquisitely beautiful epics in the English language. Here is the power of myth in modern language with modern characters, yet undiluted by them. The story is such that it only serves to make it more potent. God, the Devil, sin, suffering, redemption, and the purpose of the human race are written in ways that will turn your worldview inside out. Because Lewis knew how to write the scale of the universe that didn't make us smaller, but made ''it'' bigger. And richer, and more complex, and more extraordinary, and absolutely breathtaking. I read it again and again because every time I get to the end, my soul is awake and singing.
* I first saw [[The Man Who Was Thursday]] in a library, and was immediately caught by its charmingly wacky title. (And only by the title, given that I'd never read anything from Chesterton until then.) And my trust has paid off: it was one of the most captivating, beautiful, mesmerizing piece of literature I've ever stumbled upon. It can be read as a fast-paced and highly surreal thriller which never ceases to surprise the reader - and, at the same time, it brings up some of the most disturbing questions about human nature, faith and existence that someone can ask himself. No wonder that Chesterton himself called it a 'nightmare' - but it's a nightmare that I wish to re-live again and again.
** Glad to know I'm not this book's only fan. You should also read Chesterton's ''The Napoleon of Notting Hill''; a very different work but worth reading for pretty much exactly the same reasons as TMMWWT.
Line 327:
* ''[[White Oleander]]'' is my favorite novel. It's realistic fiction, which is not my genre of choice, so how'd it manage that? By being raw and real and having a haunting quality to the writing that stays with you long after you close the book. No one, not even the protagonist, is wholly sympathetic, but they are believable people. Astrid Magnussen is a self-labeled survivalist, and survive she does. Her mother, Ingrid, is fascinating, dangerous, and repulsive all at once, but even she has a moment when you see what good remains in her.
* ''Mogworld'' Oh my god Mogworld. The book is simply brilliant and I broke down laughing at the ending. I declare Croshaw to the second coming of Pratchett.
* ''[[Alice in Wonderland (Literature)|Alice in Wonderland]]''. Seriously, Lewis Carroll is a brilliantly hilarious writer with a witty imagination. The characters, while parodies of Victorian society, have aged well enought enough to garner both entertainment from children and adults alike with their eccentric personalities and entertaining stories. There's a reason why there's been so many adaptations and inspirations coming from these books.
* Holy mother of god, ''[[The Bartimaeus Trilogy]]''. Snappy, witty, stemming from a simple and clever world-building device (what if politicians were magicians?) and creating a world both like and unlike ours. Handles the two (and then three) narrators deftly, never revealing too much or too little, and creates strong, believable voices for each one. Plants multiple [[Chekhov's Gun|Chekhov's guns]] as early as the first book, and does a beautiful job of each book being a satisfying episode within a larger arc. Ranges from absolutely hysterical to frighteningly dark and brutal with ease, and manages to tackle issues of slavery, personhood, and ambition without being heavy-handed. The protagonists are all beautifully grey, they're ''wrong'' a lot of the time, and you still love and root for them. And ''THAT ENDING''. One of the best and most daring {{[[User|Smilingsoprano]] this troper}} has ever read.
* Patrick O'Brian's [[Aubrey-Maturin]] series of books. Although they may be difficult to get into at first, they represent literature at its finest. The characters are unique (some of the most original and stereotype-challenging this troper has ever encountered), realistic, and fleshed-out; Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin themselves are probably the most relentlessly badass fictional people this troper knows, and their loyalty to each other is completely adorable. The writing is incredible, there is plenty of action, drama, intrigue, heartbreak, and humor to be had (this troper literally laughs out loud whenever Aubrey mixes his metaphors, especially if Maturin is there to mischeviously confuse poor Jack further; not to mention Maturin's unrelenting land-lubberness and the endearing patience of the seamen who are constantly pulling him out of the water or catching him when he plunges out of the rigging). The attention to detail and research O'Brian put into the books is mind-blowing; if you're into history and tall ships, particularly the [[Wooden Ships and Iron Men|Napoleonic Wars]] era, you can't miss out on this series. Plus it inspired the devestatingly fantastic movie [[Master and Commander|Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World]].
Line 337:
* Serial Killers' Club is a great work of literature that [[Needs Love]]. The [[Morbid Humor]], and [[Lemony Narrator|Lemony narration]] mix very well.
* Why hasn't Patrick Ness's ''Chaos Walking'' trilogy gotten a mention?! A brilliant, unique take on a dystopian future, with deeply nuanced characters. I've never read a villain quite as fascinating as Mayor Prentiss - his actions are monstrous and manipulative, yet he shows a desperate need for love and you can't help but sympathise just a little with this batshit crazy man.
* ''[[Honor Harrington (Literature)|Honor Harrington]]'':
** I know some people hate the constant interjections of technical minutiae, but I love that Weber actually worked out all the details of how his warships work, and what makes for an advantage in combat, to the point where someone who actually pays attention to all that stuff can reasonably tell ahead of time who is in a good or bad position in any given battle without being told.
** There does tend to be some definite political favouritism from the author in each of the various nations, but there are good and bad people on both sides of the war. I was almost as upset when {{spoiler|Giscard died, leaving Eloise alone}} as I was about {{spoiler|Alistair Mckeon}}, and the former wasn't even that likeable. Even the political views and parties that were originally demonised are starting to get some decent representation (Cathy Montaigne and Michael Oversteegen.)
Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.org/wiki/Special:MobileDiff/892023"