tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post3321173560565652232..comments2024-03-18T20:22:06.331-04:00Comments on GROGNARDIA: REVIEW: Throne of the Crescent MoonJames Maliszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-16715360767641463462012-04-11T19:59:11.166-04:002012-04-11T19:59:11.166-04:00Damn. Why doesn't anyone send me Arabian flavo...Damn. Why doesn't anyone send me Arabian flavored fantasy to review? All the novels I get read like Thieves World!<br /><br />And here, my pet D&D project IS inspired by Middle Eastern folklore. Jeez!JBhttp://bxblackrazor.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-85983997552848411392012-04-11T08:24:23.572-04:002012-04-11T08:24:23.572-04:00"Saladin is a gamer..." and maybe it'..."Saladin is a gamer..." and maybe it's just me, but it shows. I took the book out from the library because I had heard good things and was curious. I have only read the first 30 pages or so: this is not nearly enough to offer an opinion on the book, really, so I won't (James' good opinion will probably prompt me to renew the book and continue reading rather than just taking it back as it's due at the end of this week). But I did notice two things: (i) the book did not grab me much, at all, and because I have other things I'm actively reading it's been laying fallow on my reading pile for days, and (ii) I immediately got the impression, within a page or two of the start, that Ahmed was a gamer; something about the prose <i>read</i> like it was written by a gamer.<br /><br />In some cases, I'm not sure that being written by a gamer is a bad thing (viz Erikson, who was a gamer, though I'm not sure the books read like it too much), but for some reason I tend to associate that "this was written by a gamer" feeling with "oh, boy, this book is going to be another clunky dee-and-dee-ish pastiche fantasy, isn't it".<br /><br />If I finish the book, and like it, then I'll probably move to buying it and the rest of the series as they arrive in eBook format. But I have so many books to read from authors that <i>do</i> grab me with their prose, that I'm not sure this will transpire.viktor_haagnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-43962522765004007192012-04-10T21:55:16.411-04:002012-04-10T21:55:16.411-04:00This is my best of 2012 so far, although Joe Aberc...This is my best of 2012 so far, although Joe Abercrombie's Red Country will almost certainly beat it out (Abercrombie can do no wrong in my mind). Not sure if you knew this but Ahmed cut his teeth on poetry and short stories featuring the same characters which kind of puts the short length and fleshing out bits into context.<br /><br />I too particularly enjoyed the characters and Ahmed has a great gift for injecting an Arabic feel into the English language. All in all a wonderful debut.<br /><br />Oddly enough, I saw Abercrombie, Patrick Rothfuss, Brent Weeks and some other fantasy authors being DM'd by Ahmed at a convention. They were playing the classic module B2. Can't remember where I saw the recap of the session but it looked to be quite a good time.Dominiccifaldinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-75713412090550407962012-04-10T20:43:29.203-04:002012-04-10T20:43:29.203-04:00I can't wait for the next volume, either. And...I can't wait for the next volume, either. And even better, Saladin is a gamer, but I think you knew that.Paul Weimerhttp://twitter.com/PrinceJvstinnoreply@blogger.com