- Location
- Toronto, Ontario(occasionally)
The original Web Serial Novel 'The Gods Are Bastards', by D. D. Webb, is possibly on of the better bits of contemporary fantasy fiction out in the world today, and new bonus posts are still being written as of just days ago, meaning that there's likely to be more things to discuss on the subject in coming days.
However a recent conversation with @Crimson Doom has led me to realize that there is not a preexisting place for enthusiasts to discuss this fiction, so I decided to create one.
For those unfamiliar with the Web Novel this is the introduction from Web Fiction Guide:
Wizards, elves and cowboys
It was a land of sword and sorcery, knights and castles, adventure and heroics . . . but that was a thousand years ago. The Gods are Bastards brings high fantasy forward into the Industrial Revolution, to a more complicated and more cynical era.
In the world of Tiraas, an ancient Church is making its final grab for ultimate power, an upstart young University seeks to bring its Enlightenment ethos to the world, and a teetering Empire struggles to balance tradition with progress. Better weapons, magics and technologies have changed the landscape, for better and for worse, and the age of ancient evils and heroic deeds is long over.
So when an ancient evil does rise again and heroes are needed to beat it back, the people of Tiraas must scramble to meet the challenge . . . if they can only stop scheming against each other long enough.
One thing is becoming clear: this time around, the gods will be no help.
you can read it here: Book 1 – Prologue
And here is the Tvtropes page: The Gods Are Bastards (Literature) - TV Tropes
My personal opinion of the work is that it's excellent, I'm essentially a fanboy for it, but due to some stuff in RL my reading was interrupted a bit after the hell portal at the university and I never got back into it, though I am comfortable with spoilers. Yes I am aware that being a huge fan of a piece of fiction while also not quite being able to muster up the motivation to finish it is strange, but it's unlikely to change right this instant.
The story really made an impression on me back then, I thought the world was expansive and portrayed with an eye towards all of the metaphorical 'moving parts' in the background that we weren't directly shown that make it a fleshed out world rather than a limited setting, and managed to be consistently surprising and clever, while working logically within the rules it set for itself and occasionally making me think to myself that I could have seen that plot twist coming, but didn't.
I also liked the conflicts between the characters, and some of Professor Tellwyrn's personal philosophy made a serious impression on me.
Edit: I think if I had to choose, my favorite character would be Bishop Darling, but oddly I like his sections less than the ones following the University kids, if that makes any sense. As if my aggregate like for them is greater than my like for his sections.
If I was rating the story I'd give it a 10/10.
Did you like the story?
Why?
What are your opinions on the characters?
Edit: Do you have a favorite?
How do you think the next scheme pileup(with university kids thrown in or not) will shake out?
Speculate wildly on the mysteries, motivations, histories, and conspiracies in the background.
Ask more questions to the thread to keep the discussion going.
And discuss.
However a recent conversation with @Crimson Doom has led me to realize that there is not a preexisting place for enthusiasts to discuss this fiction, so I decided to create one.
For those unfamiliar with the Web Novel this is the introduction from Web Fiction Guide:
Wizards, elves and cowboys
It was a land of sword and sorcery, knights and castles, adventure and heroics . . . but that was a thousand years ago. The Gods are Bastards brings high fantasy forward into the Industrial Revolution, to a more complicated and more cynical era.
In the world of Tiraas, an ancient Church is making its final grab for ultimate power, an upstart young University seeks to bring its Enlightenment ethos to the world, and a teetering Empire struggles to balance tradition with progress. Better weapons, magics and technologies have changed the landscape, for better and for worse, and the age of ancient evils and heroic deeds is long over.
So when an ancient evil does rise again and heroes are needed to beat it back, the people of Tiraas must scramble to meet the challenge . . . if they can only stop scheming against each other long enough.
One thing is becoming clear: this time around, the gods will be no help.
you can read it here: Book 1 – Prologue
And here is the Tvtropes page: The Gods Are Bastards (Literature) - TV Tropes
My personal opinion of the work is that it's excellent, I'm essentially a fanboy for it, but due to some stuff in RL my reading was interrupted a bit after the hell portal at the university and I never got back into it, though I am comfortable with spoilers. Yes I am aware that being a huge fan of a piece of fiction while also not quite being able to muster up the motivation to finish it is strange, but it's unlikely to change right this instant.
The story really made an impression on me back then, I thought the world was expansive and portrayed with an eye towards all of the metaphorical 'moving parts' in the background that we weren't directly shown that make it a fleshed out world rather than a limited setting, and managed to be consistently surprising and clever, while working logically within the rules it set for itself and occasionally making me think to myself that I could have seen that plot twist coming, but didn't.
I also liked the conflicts between the characters, and some of Professor Tellwyrn's personal philosophy made a serious impression on me.
Edit: I think if I had to choose, my favorite character would be Bishop Darling, but oddly I like his sections less than the ones following the University kids, if that makes any sense. As if my aggregate like for them is greater than my like for his sections.
If I was rating the story I'd give it a 10/10.
Did you like the story?
Why?
What are your opinions on the characters?
Edit: Do you have a favorite?
How do you think the next scheme pileup(with university kids thrown in or not) will shake out?
Speculate wildly on the mysteries, motivations, histories, and conspiracies in the background.
Ask more questions to the thread to keep the discussion going.
And discuss.
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