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Bashia Verloren
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Posted - 2008.11.21 15:27:00 -
[1]
ok, I just finished reading this and I'm extremely disappointed with it. While I found it inherently interesting as it was EVE, I found the writing disjointed and hyperbolic, and much worse than I have seen in other Chronicles.
I know it came out months ago and so it's probably already been discussed here ad nauseum, but i was wondering how others felt about it? Admittedly, I'm a pretty critical reader (comes with my job) but I was basically open to being entertained simply due to the source material, and the author still lost me.
My condensed review (which I'm sure you're ALL dying to hear):
Plot: 6/10
Characterisation: 2/10 (generally) 6/10 in one or two cases
Writing: 3/10
Relevance to EVE: 7/10
Editing: 1/10
What did everyone else who read it think? |
Karille
Gallente
Lordless
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Posted - 2008.11.21 15:33:00 -
[2]
I think you should edit your rating. Tony Gonzales looks like a pretty sturdy guy. |
Larg Kellein
Caldari
Agony Unleashed
Agony Empire
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Posted - 2008.11.21 15:37:00 -
[3]
I liked the plot and characters, but the editing and proof reading really let the side down. Too many typos made it look a bit too rushed. |
LordSwift
INTERSTELLAR ENTERPRISE
StarFleet Federation
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Posted - 2008.11.21 15:41:00 -
[4]
 Originally by: Bashia Verloren
Edited by: Bashia Verloren on 21/11/2008 15:38:17
ok, I just finished reading this and I'm extremely disappointed with it. While I found it inherently interesting as it was EVE, I found the writing disjointed and hyperbolic, and much worse than I have seen in other Chronicles.
I know it came out months ago and so it's probably already been discussed here ad nauseum, but i was wondering how others felt about it? Admittedly, I'm a pretty critical reader (comes with my job) but I was basically open to being entertained simply due to the source material, and the author still lost me.
My condensed review (which I'm sure you're ALL dying to hear):
Plot: 6/10
Characterisation: 2/10 (generally) 6/10 in one or two cases
Writing: 3/10
Relevance to EVE: 7/10
Editing: 1/10
Tony Gonzales' Sturdiness: 8/10
What did everyone else who read it think?
I think you need to reread it. It was a great book and so are most of his short stories. Especially "Ruthless" |
Sneeze100
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Posted - 2008.11.21 15:42:00 -
[5]
I thought it was a good read if it was a bit disjointed but for the first novel and i hope he will write a second it was a good effort. But i suppose if you could do better contact ccp and see what yours would read like  theirs a challange for yah lol |
Bashia Verloren
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Posted - 2008.11.21 15:43:00 -
[6]
Originally by: Karille
I think you should edit your rating. Tony Gonzales looks like a pretty sturdy guy.
edited it in the face of potential beatings from TonyG, but that doesn't really change my opinion of his writing. it's not that he's a terrible writer, but given that this is the first EVE novel, i expected something more than an elongated piece of fan fiction.
sorry, TonyG! |
Bashia Verloren
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Posted - 2008.11.21 15:44:00 -
[7]
Originally by: LordSwift
I think you need to reread it. It was a great book and so are most of his short stories. Especially "Ruthless"
Could you define "great"?
I'm not being antagonistic, but "great" seems like a huge stretch for this book. What did you like about it, and what was so impressive to you about it? |
Alt MKII
Caldari
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Posted - 2008.11.21 18:29:00 -
[8]
I personally hated the plot. All races were presented in an uneven way and the Gallente as the good guys.
Most of all I hated the fact that TG had to come up with a overpatriotic/fascist/tyrant type of character(heth) who was manipulated to explain Caldari behaviour. I think TG, having being raised in very western (americanized) society, could not possibly fathom -or write about- a society where the state is above the individual and the best rule. Glimpses of such a society do exist in both Japanese and Greek history so I would expect TG to have researched this better.
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Guttripper
State War Academy
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Posted - 2008.11.21 18:45:00 -
[9]
Perhaps this was answered ages ago or perhaps common knowledge that has escaped me. But was the novel written by Tony then CCP went forth with the expansion _or_ was the expansion plotted by CCP and Tony had to write a novel encompassing all these aspects into a semi-coherent whole story? |
Gone'Postal
Minmatar
Rage of Inferno
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Posted - 2008.11.21 18:47:00 -
[10]
Its one of them books I went through, then shelved.
There was nothing special, Gripping or even unique about it.
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Pesky LaRue
Minmatar
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Posted - 2008.11.21 18:52:00 -
[11]
Originally by: Guttripper
Perhaps this was answered ages ago or perhaps common knowledge that has escaped me. But was the novel written by Tony then CCP went forth with the expansion _or_ was the expansion plotted by CCP and Tony had to write a novel encompassing all these aspects into a semi-coherent whole story?
i believe it was the latter, from what i read in EON - that goes to explain/justify some of the iffyness, as he no doubt had to encompass a bunch of stuff that might not have otherwise been touched, but it doesn't explain his poor writing skills.
also didn't like this book much, but i've slated it enough here so i'm not going to bang on about it again, except to say that like a bunch of people in this thread, it felt amateurish and wasn't a good "first effort" for an EVE novel
roll on #2 :) |
Dirk Magnum
Royal Hiigaran Navy
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Posted - 2008.11.21 18:58:00 -
[12]
Edited by: Dirk Magnum on 21/11/2008 18:58:52
Ghost Recon, Halo... um... Eve, okay those three examples are the only things coming to mind right now of books based on video games. Point is, if you read any book based on any video game, table game, movie, or television show expecting anything other than absolute crap piled by the bucket load on top of the plot contrivance button you're going to be disappointed. Of course there are exceptions to this, and yes there are passable works of literature based on some of these things, but by and large if you can't stomach fan fiction then either don't even bother with the book in the first place, or don't expect much of it. At least you'll be pleasantly surprised if it turns out to be merely mediocre.
That's just my general feelings about novel-length fanfiction, for those who commented on such ITT. I dunno. 
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Hitomi Nakatani
Caldari
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Posted - 2008.11.21 19:01:00 -
[13]
Originally by: Larg Kellein
I liked the plot and characters, but the editing and proof reading really let the side down. Too many typos made it look a bit too rushed.
It should be pointed out that the editing and proofreading errors/typos that slipped through were NOT Tony's fault but in fact the publishers fault. I had the honor of talking to him about the book a game convention, and he was just as disappointed by the printing errors as anyone. :)
I'm about half way through it so far and I'm really liking it. |
Da'iel Zehn
Construct Core Operations
Construct Consortium
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Posted - 2008.11.21 20:27:00 -
[14]
Edited by: Da''iel Zehn on 21/11/2008 20:28:16
I'm currently reading the novel, and I 'like' it. Especially Karsoth and his massive man breasts. I could dive into critical analysis and all that, but I don't feel like it atm.
LOL
Not sure why there always has to be a huge, fat guy that represents greed and corruption. hmm.
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Furb Killer
Gallente
The Scope
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Posted - 2008.11.21 21:03:00 -
[15]
I read the book and i enjoyed it alot, imo it was a great book, one of best books i read. And i have read _many_ books, sci-fi, some fantasy, tom clancy + similar authors, etc. When reading i really wondered what would happen next. I think if i would read it again it would be less good, because its plot is one of its strong points imo, and now i allready know it.
I am not saying it is a good book and everyone who thinks otherwise is wrong. However I have had alot of fun when reading the book and i have read many books to compare it with.
---------------------------------------------
Originally by: Neth'Rae
Military experts are calling this a troll.
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Jart
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Posted - 2008.11.21 21:31:00 -
[16]
Originally by: Dirk Magnum
Point is, if you read any book based on any video game, table game, movie, or television show expecting anything other than absolute crap piled by the bucket load on top of the plot contrivance button you're going to be disappointed.
[/quote
This is exactly what I was expecting, but I thought it was excellent. Amazing scope, storyline, characters etc. Really enjoyed it. I'm hoping another one follows, but it does seem to be a "marmite" book. Hopefully enough people have bought this, so that another heads our way. |
Lysianna
Celestial Janissaries
Curatores Veritatis Alliance
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Posted - 2008.11.21 21:37:00 -
[17]
IÆm not done reading it but I enjoy the book so far. When it comes writing and such, IÆm far from being a scholar so perhaps for me, it works out. I donÆt think Tony did a bad job but the editors should have spent more time with it.
So yes, I personaly love this book and think that itÆs a fun casual read.
________________________________________________
Lysianna Hazumason
Celestial Janissaries
Curatores Veritatis Alliance
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Sevarus James
Minmatar
Meridian Dynamics
Un-Natural Selection
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Posted - 2008.11.21 22:40:00 -
[18]
Got it, read it....sorta' liked it. I'm not blaming TonyG for the story, as it felt as if he were writing 'around' an expansion instead of creating something, BUT.....
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENTCHARACTER DEVELOPMENTCHARACTER DEVELOPMENTCHARACTER DEVELOPMENT!!!!!!!
In my opinion the above capp'd line was sorely missing. There are so many examples of a lack of this that by the end, I cared not a whit about any of em' EXCEPT the kid and the CEO of Ishukone....and guess what happens to them? 
The end of the book felt rushed (moreso than the rest) and the end, (no spoilers) felt vague and tacked on.
After Ruthless and Theodicy, I was expecting sooo much more.
Another gripe for me was that ALL of the events in the book were purely NPC. There was no player action other than side swipes and "winks" talking of the "capsuleers".
We who are the most important part of what EVE-ONLINE is were just a footnote.
Lastly, while the fiction had its 'excuses' for certain game mechanic breaking events, the "terran" angle and the superweapon stuff struck me as completely ludicrous. For a "lost" past that has been forgotten over a HUGE stretch of time, people in this book were really conversant about things that....well, frankly...shouldn't be known or remembered by anyone other than perhaps a few...(say........the JOVE?)
For your space opera fix with CHARACTER DEVLOPMENT and people you give a rats butt about, please see:
Peter F. Hamilton.
No offense to Tony, but he doesn't hold a candle to the above mentioned writer at this point in his career.
Ubuntu 3d Beryl-Linux Desktop+EVE |
Washell Olivaw
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Posted - 2008.11.21 23:15:00 -
[19]
Originally by: Sevarus James
Peter F. Hamilton.
A freaking 3000 pages of SF... to get Al Capone in the story...
That man wrote the most boring books I've ever read. The biggest shame: The SF is decent, it's just the plot that's third rate horror author. And ehm, I've seen more character development in 10 page short stories than 1000 pages of hamilton's bricks.
Originally by: Signature
Everybody has a photographic memory, some people just don't have film.
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Sevarus James
Minmatar
Meridian Dynamics
Un-Natural Selection
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Posted - 2008.11.22 04:17:00 -
[20]
Originally by: Washell Olivaw
Originally by: Sevarus James
Peter F. Hamilton.
A freaking 3000 pages of SF... to get Al Capone in the story...
That man wrote the most boring books I've ever read. The biggest shame: The SF is decent, it's just the plot that's third rate horror author. And ehm, I've seen more character development in 10 page short stories than 1000 pages of hamilton's bricks.
You sir, are in a serious minority in this community when it comes to Mr. Hamilton's "bricks". 
That said, to each his own, AND you didn't comment one bit on the the subject of this thread, which my Hamilton comment was only a counter point to the perceived lack of character development in TonyG's book.
Ubuntu 3d Beryl-Linux Desktop+EVE |
Washell Olivaw
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Posted - 2008.11.22 14:21:00 -
[21]
Originally by: Sevarus James
AND you didn't comment one bit on the the subject of this thread
That would be because I haven't read the book which is the subject of this thread. Can't comment on something I haven't read now can I?
Originally by: Signature
Everybody has a photographic memory, some people just don't have film.
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Mukiri
Minmatar
Tribal Core
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Posted - 2008.11.22 14:31:00 -
[22]
As a person with a degree in Literature I am likely going to be very hard on the book.
The book is not bad, trust me I have read worse. The book reads like a piece of great fan fiction. As a stand alone book I feel it would fall flat and leaves WAY to many things open for a reader that does not understand EVE to figure out. However for it's target audience it is a solid hit and hints at a brighter future.
As an EVE fan I really enjoyed the book over all but would not call it great.
In the end for EVE fans this book is about a 7.5 out olf 10, for people not knowing EVE it is a 3.5 to 4.
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MuffinsRevenger
EmpiresMod
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Posted - 2008.11.22 14:54:00 -
[23]
I enjoyed it actually, mostly becouse of the ocasional description of people other then pod pilots and how they experience the universe, wich i find somewhat intresting |
Rhatar Khurin
Minmatar
Free Ammatar Aid Organisation
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Posted - 2008.11.22 15:47:00 -
[24]
Characters seemed one dimensional, overuse of a disgusting sexual attack and the events seemed to not flow well together.
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Atgone
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Posted - 2008.11.22 17:01:00 -
[25]
Ok read.
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Pesky LaRue
Minmatar
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Posted - 2008.11.22 17:55:00 -
[26]
Originally by: Rhatar Khurin
Characters seemed one dimensional, overuse of a disgusting sexual attack and the events seemed to not flow well together.
completely agree. very sloppy
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