[DelfinoPie]

Originally Posted by Nerina

I never knew any of this.

+1

I read the first two Harry Potter books and couldn't see what people in my class at school were raving about. I read about half of the third one and still couldn't see it so gave up.

The next book I read was "The Rum Diary" by Hunter S. Thompson; a completely different standard of writing.

I'm tempted to read "Enders Game" now

God forbid Rowling misses out on some money

[eaeolian]

Originally Posted by DelfinoPie

I'm tempted to read "Enders Game" now

Do. It's worth it - I don't always like OSC, but that book deserves all its accolades.

[TheMissing]

You mean Harry Potter isn't unique?!

That's not true! That's impossible!

(If anyone has ever seen the worst witch TV series, the similarities in settings are quite obvious)

[Vegetta]

Enders Game = WIN

Unfortunately his subsequent books have been a bit meh

AS for Harry Potter - meh im not impressed - There are much beter novels where children learn magic (Magic of Recluse comes to mind..)

The whole mixing magic with present day schtick is done much much better by Charles DeLint (You all should read trader sometime - the main character Max Trader is a luthier)

I can probably actually name 10 fantasy books off the top of my head that have the disadvantaged kid in a new school-like setting... that all predate harry potter.

Originally Posted by TheMissing

You mean Harry Potter isn't unique?!

That's not true! That's impossible!

(If anyone has ever seen the worst witch TV series, the similarities in settings are quite obvious)

Ive sen the show you aright about the similarities - very close to the same actually

[halsinden]

just out of interest, in a mildly related point...

i've had some really odd things leveled at me whilst being in my band and releasing material to an international market, you know how it is, every musician has some corking after-dinner stories.

one that comes to mind in reading this though is a matter that, i’m very sorry to say, originated from someone who’s actually a friend of mine.

i was told, indirectly, that said friend (also a singer in a similar band) had a particular beef against me and was regularly vocal about it. apparently i ‘stole’ the lyric “your mind’s eye” from him.

we have a lyric in the song ‘straight’ which reads:

“in your mind’s eye am i standing alone?”

the lyric was written by me in early 2005, the music written around 1999 by john and the version with those words on it released in early summer 2005.


the band my friend is in released a song contains a lyric that reads:

“…the mind’s eye”

and, if i remember correctly, was written and self-released around 2003.


according to him (though he’s never said it to my face), this is literally direct plagiarism. what’s perhaps being ignored is that the term ‘the mind’s eye’ has been a philosophical term and theory for… well… who can even say? if we’re talking having used it in music?



this was released back in like ’92 i think. (love that album).

this is also the same person who has apparently said one of our songs of the last album directly ripped off his band in style, as per a tune again on the same release made around 2003. our song that was apparently note-for-note... was written in 1997 by john when it was literally just a one man band.

H

[DevourTheDamned]

"...clearly she needs to visit Oz."

Holy shit...
I just lost so much respect for her and i think ill go read Enders Games now...

wow.

[kristallin]

She's the Metallica of the literary world. Suing her fans FTL

[ElRay]

Originally Posted by DelfinoPie

I'm tempted to read "Enders Game" now

I would, but depending on how you read, you may want to wait until a Friday or Saturday night. I got stuck in a "OK, I really mean it this time; one more chapter and then that's it for tonight." cycle. Next thing I knew, I heard the birds chirping with the sun coming up. So I just decided to finish it. It probably took me ten hours from start to finish.

Card is the kind of author that could write a story about a bunch of folks going to the grocery store to shop for an upcoming BBQ, never actually get to the point where the BBQ starts, and you're absolutely drawn into the story the whole way.

Ray

Originally Posted by Vegetta

Enders Game = WIN

Unfortunately his subsequent books have been a bit meh

In the original telling of that series, there where some that were not up to his usual level. To some, they're better having read Wyrms and some of his earlier work, to other's it's better to have not read them.

Now, in the Ender's Shadow series (he initially retells Ender's Game from Bean's point of view, and then continues to fill in the gaps between Ender's Game and Speaker For The Dead), so far, is really top-notch.

The only book I was a bit disappointed in was Wyrms, mostly because I had Already read the whole Ender's Game series.

Ray

[DelfinoPie]

Originally Posted by ElRay

I would, but depending on how you read, you may want to wait until a Friday or Saturday night. I got stuck in a "OK, I really mean it this time; one more chapter and then that's it for tonight." cycle. Next thing I knew, I heard the birds chirping with the sun coming up. So I just decided to finish it. It probably took me ten hours from start to finish.

Card is the kind of author that could write a story about a bunch of folks going to the grocery store to shop for an upcoming BBQ, never actually get to the point where the BBQ starts, and you're absolutely drawn into the story the whole way.

Ray

Yeah I'm the kind of guy who when he reads a book he will do it front to back in one sitting.

When I was on the night shift at work I read Bret Easton Ellis' entire bibliography in 4 days. I can't stand putting down a book and then picking it back up again because it takes me another 50 or so pages to get thoroughly involved again

[noodles]

^

I polished off that book one Friday night/Saturday morning. I literally could not put it down. Other books in that series range from pretty damn good to pretty damn bad, but Ender's Game is one of the best pieces of science fiction ever.