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Writers' Workshop General Chat Thread

Actually, a friend of mine brought the first book and showed me that page.

I've only seen the end of How to Train Your Dragon 2 once, because every other time I get bored and stop watching it. It's so good, it's bad, to me. Also, ever since I became a Cars apologist, I feel awkward thinking about any animated film more "dignified" than Sad Pixar.

How to Train Your Dragon is good, it just never connected with me.
 
I enjoyed Riordan's work but he very much didn't follow the Harry Potter route of scaling the series for the maturity levels of the people growing up with them. So they're probably better binging in the target age group but at some point I just stopped being able to really enjoy it.

I still think it's good for what it is, although I've read some good critiques of the politics of it since then that are also true.
 
I got really obsessed with Percy Jackson for a little while, had to buy the first five books as soon as they were out and then just as quickly brought the next series, but by the time I reached the third one of the Greek/Roman crossover thing I had gotten tired of the formula. They are fun, but the imagination and epic-slightly forced worldbuilding just got really drawn out and the books never offered anything particularly new or interesting.
 
Ana Mardoll's Ramblings: Tropes: The Curse of the Smart Girl

I can't find the other criticisms I've read but they ran the gamut from "'neglectful parents actually really love you' is a bad message," relatively clumsy handling of disability at points (yes, his kid has learning disabilities, but there's still some bad handlings), sexism in the handling of the Aphrodite/Venus kids throughout the series awkward handling of it when he finally got around to queer rep (including a forced outing), benevolent sexism in the handing of Artemis and misandry, etc.

No work will have perfect politics and imperfect politics don't always sink a story, but it does a lot of things wrong, particularly on misogyny, throughout the story.

And also kind of glosses over slavery in the Confederacy which is sort of a big deal.
 
Oh boy we’re talking favorite books

Let me enlighten y’all with a series called Inkheart
 
Agenda said:
‘neglectful parents actually really love you'
Click to expand...
Where are you getting that? That's never been the message. The series makes it pretty clear the Olympians are jerks. The message is that anybody can be the hero. Thus the diverse cast.
 
Yes. I have. And the criticisms there, about how she's only allowed to save the hero, also mostly apply. Less so, but if it takes you eight books to get one of your main character's right you don't get credit.

It's also established repeatedly that most of the gods really do care about their kids but are limited by rules and such. Which isn't something that a kid with an actually neglectful or distant parent needs to hear because they already often have a problem with investing too much of themselves in a relationship where they get nothing back in return.

I won't argue that at least the first five books are bad at what they're trying to do. But I also won't argue that they don't have problematic attitudes woven in and have a handful of shortcomings. Just because it's popular and professionally published doesn't make a work immune to criticism.
 
i don't think i've read a novel voluntarily in several years. i have a bad habit of always treating the author as my own personal enemy whom i can't trust because they might try to influence my thinking. am i paranoid? yes. absolutely. i won't even argue against that.

although typically the problem just ends up being that i consider the writing too pretentious or cringy. i'm extremely critical of strangers, i think as a result of my cripplingly low self-esteem: i must analyze and attack them before they can do so to me. it's instinctual at this point.

but enough negativity: let me tell you about a book called the unknown soldier. it's a finnish classic and for a damn good reason. sadly, any translations will totally lose the element of the different dialects used by the characters, but even in that case it's a great book. great characters, great scenes, super quotable dialogue, humor, heartwrenching sorrow (i cried nonstop for the last 100 pages like holy shit), great anti-war message that isn't forced on you even if it is a message you'd think everyone would agree with by now.
 

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