[ SECRET POST #2665 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2665 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 03 pages, 064 secrets from Secret Submission Post #381.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[fscom]

04. http://i60.tinypic.com/2yo5zz7.jpg

[(Anonymous)]

*But that's a no go right there, as it would make all the SJW's idle handed. Tumblr would then implode and possibly suck all the rest of the Interwebz in with it. And then what would you do? Nah, better just enjoy your read.

[(Anonymous)]

They won't like it because it was written a white man!!!! SMASH THE PATRIARCHY!

[(Anonymous)]

Naw, they'll probably find a part in the series where she gets some kind of general help from a man or something! No woman needs help from a man, the life energy flowing from the Goddess' Influence are all women need.

(I have no idea if that actually happens in the book or not)

[feotakahari]

I actually reced this once on Mythic Scribes. Let me dig up my rec:

Overall, The Banned and the Banished is an unusual combination of high and dark fantasy. On the one hand, you've got a clear villain, an epic (some would say over-the-top) struggle for the fate of the world, and an unlikely band of heroes who're not quite sure they're up for all this. On the other hand, the villains and monsters are truly grotesque (one early villainess has the graphically detailed power to birth and unbirth venomous spiders), innocent people often die horribly, and the protagonists themselves often doubt whether they're doing the right thing. It's a surprisingly effective mix, allowing the reader to root for the heroes while providing genuine tension that they might screw up and get themselves or others killed.

Plenty of authors can create good characters. Relatively few authors can, in the span of a single short scene, introduce a new character to the established cast, make that character likable and interesting without overshadowing everyone else, and create reader investment in that character's fate. Of the authors I've read who can pull this off, Clemens is the third-best overall at doing it, the best who writes full-length novels, and the best who works with such a massive cast of characters. No matter what your tastes are, you're bound to find a character or three you'll love and adore, and while not all of them live long enough to get a full character arc, almost all of them are used well. (Only one of my favorites survived to the final battle, but I didn't even mind because they all died in such fitting ways.)

With all that praise, Clemens still has a weakness, and it's a serious one--he's incredibly hamhanded with what emotions he expects you to feel in certain scenes. At times it's like he's sitting right next to you, yelling into your ear "See, this is the sad scene! You're supposed to be sad! Are you sad yet?" Since the characters are so strong, you'll probably feel the expected emotions anyway, but it still gets a bit distracting.

Reading these books is a lot like watching a good Arnold Schwarzenegger movie--they're so hammy and cheesy they should be served on sliced bread, but that doesn't mean they aren't awesome. They'll make you laugh, make you cry, and maybe even make you think a little, and then you'll wipe your eyes, clear your brain, and get back to watching the carnage.

OP

[(Anonymous)]

I love this rec! You describe the series very well! Though I didn't find them that cheesy to be honest, but that might be nostalgia speaking.

[otakugal15]

Those covers look so...90s. The eyes make me think of the....first? second? Megamorph cover...no, the fourth Megamorph book cover!!

/nothing else to say though maybe will check it out

[feotakahari]

Must be a reprint. These are the covers I have:











(Before anyone complains about the cover of book 2, it's a pretty accurate reproduction of how she's described in the book. This is the aforementioned villainess whose power is to give birth to spiders.)

[feotakahari]

Dark fantasy isn't really horror, and it doesn't use the same story structures horror does, but it does borrow a lot of the same tropes. Dragon Age: Origins could be a good point of comparison--it's recognizably part of the fantasy genre, but it's also got stuff like the Broodmothers.

OP

[(Anonymous)]

There are other covers, but those were the covers they were released with in my country. So I decided to stick to that version instead of the slightly more mature ones because I've grown very fond of them! :D

Re: OP

[otakugal15]

Oh, they look fine!! They just make me think of 90s fiction covers, which is not a bad thing. :P

[(Anonymous)]

I have the first three books but haven't read them yet. But honestly, I'm not interested in a fandom that's only interested in what the main character is not for the sj and the feminizm. I've had enough fandom experiences ruined by that shit.

[elaminator]

*adds to list*

[(Anonymous)]

I'm always extremely leery of books authored by men that star female characters...

[feotakahari]

He's pretty light on the whole "male gaze" thing, though he definitely talks more about his beautiful women than his handsome men. Apart from occasional overemphasis on periods, he's basically okay.

[darkmanifest]

To me, the books run into some issues with female characters - not unusual ones, just the regular crap you get with high fantasy. The main female character is physically aged up so her romance with a grown man centuries old when she's chronologically fourteen won't seem as creepy (it still is, though he heroically resists the relationship for the requisite five minutes). The only female villain is motivated by being scorned by a man (ironically the same man the main female character starts banging), and her evil superpower is, of course, being mommy to grotesqueries. There's only three women in the main party, and they never talk to each other. Stuff like that. I still recommend the books, but wouldn't say to expect anything but the typical when it comes to chicks.

[othellia]

Not asking this to be rude, but is there a reason why "wit'ch" has an apostrophe in the middle?

OP

[(Anonymous)]

I'm not sure to be honest. I guess mainly as not to have her labelled as an actual witch? Because while she uses magic she doesn't casts spells or use a wand or anything. She basically doesn't do any traditional witch stuff.

[feotakahari]

James Clemens throws apostrophes everywhere when he wants to mark something as magic. See also: mer'ai (merfolk), skal'tum (demonic winged things that eat people), and d'warves (take a wild guess.)

[(Anonymous)]

This is really stupid and I wish he would stop that because wit'ch something instead of witch something is a stupid title and he probably deserves that his books flop horribly for that reason alone.

Yes, I hate *creative spelling* a lot.

[diet_poison]

these look really cool.

[darkmanifest]

I really liked these books as a teenager, read though them twice (their unique take on elves and mermaids was a lot of fun), but tumblr would tear them apart, I think. The worldbuilding is interesting in some ways (the seagoing people were badass), but still the usual "medieval Europe but with dragons" setup, Elena was cool as a main character but how little control she had over things as a young girl surrounded by grown dudes and destiny was frustrating (plus I got so sick of her relationship with that angsty one-armed douche), and I don't think things like that one Magical Native character with no identity outside of helping the white characters find their way would go over well.

Still, it was a good dark fantasy. Hated the author's other work, though, Godslayer Chronicles, it was like the forebear of Game of Thrones-esque grittiness that plagues the genre today.

[feotakahari]

Who do you mean by Magical Native? (The closest thing that comes to mind is the ex-shapeshifter or the nymph, and they both had a personality.)

Also, Er'ril wasn't THAT bad of a character, at least in comparison to some I've seen. I mean, I've read the Species Imperative series. I have seriously thought "I liked this MMC better when he sparkled in sunlight." Er'ril just can't compete with that.

[darkmanifest]

That very short black-skinned guy from an unnamed distant land who befriended Joach - the one they met on the ship in the second book, name started with an X, who had mysterious powers. Single darkest dude in the series can be summed up as "benign ooga booga man".

Er'ril wasn't an inherently bad character, I don't think, just annoying and hard to sympathize with for me, especially once that storyline with the female spider villain started. He had a good arc and if he hadn't started banging Elena I might have been able to like him.

Oh, nooo, don't tell me Czerneda pulled even worse shit with a main male character. Great, now I can't read Species Imperative, ever. Thanks for the warning, though.