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On June 23 2011 09:07 iko wrote:
That is the most absolute retarded story synopsis I've ever heard.
It just sounds like you've tried to throw in as many catch phrases as you could to appeal to a nerdier audience instead of actually writing an interesting book.
User was temp banned for this post.
temp banned for truth
User was temp banned for this post.
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What happened to susySquark's book review on Amazon? lol.
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On June 23 2011 17:01 lutarez wrote:
What happened to susySquark's book review on Amazon? lol.
Ya, the one I referenced in my comments is most definitely gone. Too bad because it was a really well written, and obviously well thought out critique of the book.
I would encourage whoever wrote it to post it again, and post it here, and also complain to Amazon that they are taking down negative comments. My complaint has already been sent to the site.
Some suspicious stuff there, unless the user was talked into voluntarily removing it on their own, which I guess would be okay.
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the Dagon Knight4001 Posts
The review may have been pulled down because it went up too early to possibly have been based on the finished book (if it only went on sale in the last two days)
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I am cautiously pessimistic. A year seems far too short a time to develop this, and the blurb in the OP seems to contain far more draws to pop factor than genuinely interesting plotting or character development.
It feels very X generic modern battler deals with Y shady organisation based on Z (insert talent relevant to getting relevant niche group interested here) skill.
That said, it could just be a little lack of skill in blurbing, which is in itself not the easiest thing to do. I await the judgement of my peers...
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Am i the only one who liked this? :D
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On June 22 2011 05:04 Odal wrote:
I don't know if any of you have actually read the chapters but.. Practicing for gsl in team games? It's horribly written and it makes me embarrassed to be a member of the starcraft community
Couldn't agree more.
Is this seriously what passes for literature these days?
Utter rubbish.
On June 22 2011 05:04 micronesia wrote:I'll wait. Maybe I'll get a paperback; I'll get The Starcraft Bible also and put it next to The Epic Blog. Any others I'm missing? I want the best bookshelf in esports.
Thanks Micronesia, at least something descent came of this thread.
EDIT: OK, I feel I better qualify my reaction - the plot is woefully generic (come on an FBI plot) - what's wrong with a realist fictional interpretation of SC2 progamership? I mean, from reading TL the lifestyle is incredible, full of passion and drama. The writing style is cliche ridden as well and lacks attention to language. Also, what's with the major inaccuracies in depicting its subject matter and lack of plausibility, where was your research?
I won't apologies for my opinion, I really can't cliche driven narrative at the best of times.
Haters, gonna hate I guess.
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Usually I dislike the hating by the TL Community but I have to agree that this book doesn't seem to offer the "passionate, creative starcraft 2 story" that we all would love to read.
Dont get me wrong, I really appreciate such effort.
But when I read this thread I almost feel betrayed, like somebody just said "Hey, you like starcraft 2. I've written a book that has a starcraft 2 story on it. Now buy it, k?"
The story doesn't even sound interesting(at the first look!), it sounds more like a fantasy GSL and suddenly a player is to be arrested and ... well, thats all(I don't want to spoiler myself anything if it turns out to be a good book so I didn't read through all the example paragraphs)
I mean, whats the point?
Even the advertising is fully based upon the fact that SC2 is in this book - and now we all should buy it? No.
I don't buy keyboards just because they have "starcraft 2" written on them neither do I buy books that have "starcraft 2" in them.
I want quality stories & decent writing / telling styles...but it seems that the author / advertiser doesn't even care about that (at least this is what I get from the OP).
All I read is "starcraft 2!", "starcraft 2" and "day9".
Can someone explain this?
I would love to read a good book featuring such kind of story but I don't want to read just "random blabla" about starcraft 2.
I hope I don't get banned for this as I'm not trolling here or anything, this is my honest view on it and I hope that someone can proof me wrong, I would love to have a good book here.
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aw cool 
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On June 23 2011 22:02 KeksX wrote:I want quality stories & decent writing / telling styles...but it seems that the author / advertiser doesn't even care about that (at least this is what I get from the OP).
All I read is "starcraft 2!", "starcraft 2" and "day9".
Yes, I'm somewhat curious to read the book just so I can get to the description and dialogue of Day9.
Before him stood Sean "Day[9]" Plott, 9 being a number which is higher than 8. Sean towered above him in all his leggy glory, his glasses poised atop the bridge of his nose as is typical of glasses, his voice soothing like a Halls throat lozenge.
"You can do this, Sean," said Sean. "You can be the very best. Like no one ever was."
"But Sean," said Sean, "I have traveled across the land, searching far and wide..."
Sean cut him off. "You're my best friend, Sean. Our courage will pull us through. Now go pwn some noobs, gosu star captain."
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On June 23 2011 22:39 Cel.erity wrote:Show nested quote +On June 23 2011 22:02 KeksX wrote:I want quality stories & decent writing / telling styles...but it seems that the author / advertiser doesn't even care about that (at least this is what I get from the OP).
All I read is "starcraft 2!", "starcraft 2" and "day9". Yes, I'm somewhat curious to read the book just so I can get to the description and dialogue of Day9. Before him stood Sean "Day[9]" Plott, 9 being a number which is higher than 8. Sean towered above him in all his leggy glory, his glasses poised atop the bridge of his nose as is typical of glasses, his voice soothing like a Halls throat lozenge. "You can do this, Sean," said Sean. "You can be the very best. Like no one ever was." "But Sean," said Sean, "I have traveled across the land, searching far and wide..." Sean cut him off. "You're my best friend, Sean. Our courage will pull us through. Now go pwn some noobs, gosu star captain."
Now this is the kind of novel I'd read.
God speed you black emperor.
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On June 23 2011 17:01 lutarez wrote:
What happened to susySquark's book review on Amazon? lol.
I'm guessing it that it might be because susySquark effectively gave his/her impressions of the preview chapters rather than presenting a full review. At least that is a non-shady reason that comes to mind (though I am somewhat surprised that the ratings are all 5 stars now, though they could be well-meaning family members...) . See the following excerpts from the review:
Sean Boxer, as far as the first two chapters go, does not think and is not passionate about anything.
While we don't get a glimpse of it in the sample chapters, I can forgive that for the development that should have been happening.
While I'd love to support endeavors of the Starcraft community, the sample chapters do not give me much faith that my expectations for a good plot or setting will be met.
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On June 23 2011 03:50 MaestroSC wrote:Show nested quote +On June 23 2011 02:21 [F_]aths wrote:
The work is obviously fiction, not a documentary. In a fictional world, a GSL (or GSTL) can conduct team games. Why not make it more interesting and just have the player use his super mind powers to speak through the computer to his units without the use of a keyboard/mouse and he can get actual information/data directly from his units, as well as give orders from inside of his Command Center, while playing chess with Jim Raynor and Sarah Kerrigan? Cause even fictional pieces have to maintain a certain amount of coherency/credibility. Fiction does not mean "anything goes." Don't set your piece in a real world setting, revolving around a real world event, and then be horribly inaccurate with the writing. You cant set a story during the World Cup of Soccer/Football and talk about how it was 35 v 35 on the field. That won't work because Soccer is too widely known.
Star Trek works as science fiction even though warp drive and transporter technology is completely un-scientific.
Starcraft itself works even though mutas flap their wings in space.
One could imagine that a future GSTL league actually conducts 3v3 games. It is very unlikely but not impossible. That is easier for me to swallow than the language of the book (the way many sentences are constructed.)
Lets imagine one would like to try to write a story evolving around the SC scene. When you have the main plot worked out, you probably need to bend some RL facts. As long as the book don't claims to be a documentary-like real description of the actual scene I consider it (while still sub-optimal) okay.
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I hated on this book because sean boxer turned down a co-ed to eat thai food in his bachelor pad.
Sean Plott would have turned down a co-ed to cast a daily.
Boxer would have turned down a co-ed because he has a super hot korean girlfriend.
Sean Boxer does/has neither.
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the Dagon Knight4001 Posts
On June 24 2011 00:53 MaboTofu wrote:
I hated on this book because sean boxer turned down a co-ed to eat thai food in his bachelor pad.
Sean Plott would have turned down a co-ed to cast a daily.
Boxer would have turned down a co-ed because he has a super hot korean girlfriend.
Sean Boxer does/has neither.
Incorrect, sir. The Sean Boxer I envision would not have turned her down...
He would have invited her back to his bachelor pad so that he could stream him getting it on with both his hot korean girlfriend and the nice young lady who met him in the restaurant.
+ Show Spoiler +I should write fanfics professionally.
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I'm having trouble giving an honest response to this without coming off as a dick. Its not that the writing is terrible - there are published works with a similar level of prose. Its not that the concept is too pulpish or seems intended to capitalize on a particular sub-culture, as you can have a good book without great depth or breadth.
Its just that it comes across as... masturbatory. From the first chapter, the main character is a world class Starcraft II player (at least according to the plot summary), a famous novelist and turns down beautiful women as they throw themselves at him. All he needs is a huge dick, a degree from Harvard and MIT and billions of dollars from the inventions he designed while recovering from the wounds that earned him the Medal of Honor.
And "The professionally apathetic barista who slouched behind the register took his money before shuffling over to begin her alchemy on the beans and milk that were her ply and trade" or "People emerged from the void that existed behind his closed eyelids, their conflicts and characteristics wrapped around each of them like cauls" or "Her smooth face, faux-vintage clothes, and haphazardly knitted scarf broadcasted her age well enough that Sean felt confident it would be illegal to serve her alcohol".... that's not good writing, that's what people imagine good writing to be when they are not the ones being subjected to it.
Its like a singer who believes herself to be a diva doing runs and variations demonstrating her great vocal gifts when simply singing the song correctly would create a much better work. You don't have to show off.
Take: "He took atavistic pleasure in imagining her pouting toward his turned back as he left the coffee shop..." You better have a damn good reason for using a word like "atavistic" if you're going to do it. There's few worse habits a writer can fall into than trying to show of vocabulary and not using the word quite right. Perhaps the use was appropriate here... maybe you wanted to emphasize the protagonists sophistication by framing the appeal of the co-ed as primitive and beneath him. But there are enough other examples - "modulated", "defunct", "forthcoming" - of questionably used words that it becomes very distracting.
One more critique is the repetitive sentence construction. "Xing ----, he y'ed" was overused. Its especially questionable in a thriller - past is OK but you're getting into real passive territory here even when your verbs are actually pretty active.
"Turning around, he yanked on the cord that dangled from his window blinds, sending them shooting up to the top of the window in a screaming hurry. ...Grabbing a trashcan from the kitchen, he hefted its bulging bag out of it and replacing it with an empty one. Carrying the can over to his desk, he shot out his arm and swept everything but his laptop into the trash.... After shaking his head like a dog to rid his floppy hair of the rain, he shuffled to the counter and ordered....Sipping the hot coffee, he closed his eyes and slipped backward into the parallel universe he’d begun creating a week ago....She sat backward in her chair, facing him with her arms folded across the top of the backrest. ...She modulated the remainder of her response, striving for the happy medium....He glanced at his watch and leaned down to pack up his laptop, replying as he did,....Tipping her a wink, he said...caught up to him, looking ....lay back and closed his eyes he couldn’t stop his mind from racing through the night’s matches, replaying the mistakes..."
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On June 24 2011 03:04 PantsB wrote:
I'm having trouble giving an honest response to this without coming off as a dick...
You don't come off as a dick. Clearly you spent a lot of time on this.
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im using my first post on this!
sounds really cool i will look forward to reading it
ty for taking my post virginity!
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Even though it's now smaller, the OP is way better now.
Great reaction! That alone will make the decision easier
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EPT
