Sister Nicci

Shaun of the Dead, followed by Resident Evil, and then the original Dawn of the Dead. I've seen the original Night of the Living Dead, its remake, Dawn of the Dead and its remake, Day of the Dead, Return of the Living Dead, Return of the Living Dead Part 2, Return of the Living Dead Part 3, Resident Evil, Resident Evil 2: Apocalypse, Resident Evil 3: Extinction, Shaun of the Dead. That's all I can name off the top of my head.

http://aydee.wordpress.com/2006/12/17/eragon/ http://telpenori.blogspot.com/2007/02/paolini-and-plagiarism_28.html

Alright, I'll buy that.

Amazing movie. Although, after the first time, you begin to think of Ian as a Jedi... One of Liam Neeson's best roles, I think. And, it's no small wonder about the whole Jedi bit, considering the fact that he played Qui-Gon Jin ^.^ And, just watched Troy.

Huh. If it wasn't for the fact that I made 6.3 million off the 500 vyrewatch I cremated, I'd say that it was a waste of time for me to test the rewards; no one's hardly even looked at this topic, and my PM to Codguy has gone ignored and unanswered.

Crank 2: High Voltage.

Alright, cool. Then, I'd have to say these two classics: Vampire Hunter D, and Akira. Then, toss in Iria:Zeiram, along with the OMV of X (haven't had a chance to see the actual series of this one).

Okay, is this referring to anime series, or movies?

Crank.

Alright, cool. ^.^ I've seen more good than bad said about it, so I do believe that I'll at least give it a shot. Also, another good novel (read that as 'novel' and not 'graphic novel') for those whose interest lies in the X-Men Universe: Wolverine: Weapon X by Marc Cerasini. Awesomely well-written, done in such a way that it's medically plausible.

I highly recommend reading Ender's Game, as well as Ender's Shadow. As for the rest of the series... I preferred the Shadow Saga more, as it deals with events on Earth in a much more realistic manner. The Ender Saga goes off into the middle of nowhere, and it gets a little too metaphysical and philosophical for my tastes; still, it was also written rather well. On a side note: I've seen mention of His Dark Materials a couple of times, and I'm curious if it really is a good book; I picked up a copy someone threw away at work, but I haven't had the inclination to actually open the cover just yet.

Taken.

The sound of rain on the windows, along with the steady whirring hum of 80mm fans. >.>

Is Ender's Shadow the start of the Shadow Sage? Yes. Ender's Shadow is essentially a companion novel to Ender's Game; they follow the same story, just from the perspective of a different character. But the books following each is where the split takes place. Ender's Game continues (in the following order) with Ender in Flight (published after the rest of the series), Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, and then Children of the Mind. Ender's Shadow continues (in the following order) with Shadow of the Hegemon, Shadow Puppets, and then Shadow of the Giant. There's also a multitude of short stories Card published in a few sci-fi magazines, I just can't remember what the names of the magazines are. Chronological order of the full Enderverse The Ender Saga is in blue, the Shadow Saga in green. The short stories are in orange... the four short stories squared off in a group just after Ender's Game were compiled/merged into the novel Ender in Flight.

Yes, I have read that whole wreck of a scene, and I don't know what TVTropes is. I haven't read the series, but I know enough about the series otherwise from some other sources, namely friends who obsessed over them and other threads about the series on forums of book series I enjoyed. You read 'a scene', from a book in the series that is arguably (and I agree with this) the worst of the eleven books? And you're basing your opinion of the entire series on that and the opinions of others? I suggest you actually read more than a few hundred pages, perhaps at least the first two books in their entirety, before you say that the whole series is crap. I waited until I got through book five of the abortion known as Harry Potter, in the hopes that it would get better, before I gave my final opinion. I don't know whether to be offended or just laugh. You don't know me, dude. The fact that we're discussing fantasy should preclude anyone even bringing up "no imagination." Really . . . Also, to modify my statement: that's all I remember of the characters, and it's not my job to make them memorable. It's the author's. I said 'implies', not a completely lack thereof. Also, you don't need a broad imagination to read fantasy. Sure, it helps greatly, but it's not a requirement. That's all you remember? And you also go on to say that it has been a while since you've read them? Personally, I thought they were quite memorable. You just described each race in its entirety. You don't see a problem with being able to describe an entire race of people with two universal adjectives? If the characters in the book see a Drasnian, they are suspicious. Sounds like racial profiling to me. That's not each of the Alorn races in their entirety, those are just the duties of those four races, placed upon them by their god and the necessity. Though, I will agree that the series is, in fact, rife with racial profiling; this is evidenced with the way the five Angarak races are viewed, and it's also played upon in the books themselves. This, however, does not make the series 'bad'. For one thing, prophecies suck if handled badly. They take away all tension. Regardless, the prophecy essentially names one person from each race, which ties itself up in the travelogue plot and makes it feel as if anyone at all could have been named as long as they were from the right race. I agree that prophecies can ruin a story; however, I disagree with it being the case in this series. The idea that it makes it feel as if anyone could have been named in the prophecy is another bit of personal preference. Barak was not born as a Clan Chief, he was elevated to that position when Anheg, who was the chief of their clan before him, ascended to the throne; Anheg was also not born as royalty. All the diviners of Ulgoland are elite; not all Ulgos can pass through solid stone. If you'd read Belgarath the Sorcerer, you'd know that the family line of each character was set up (except for Taiba) to be exactly what they are in the rest of the books. On a side note, I will say that Eddings could, indeed, have done a better job writing the books; but The Belgariad was the second through sixth books he'd written and published, pretty much his authorial debut in the genre of fantasy, all in a span of three years. He's entitled to a bit of slack, whereas you're making it seem like he'd written fifty masterpieces and followed them with a pile of crap.

I'm awaiting Speaker for the Dead and Ender's Shadow from my grandparents for my birthday. Both are part of the Ender's Game series by Orson Scott Card. Awesome series, the Enderverse. Speaker for the Dead goes down one line of the story (known as The Ender Saga, with Xenocide and Children of the Mind), and Ender's Shadow takes another (known as the Shadow Saga, with Shadow of the Hegamon, Shadow Puppets, and Shadow of the Giant). Card is currently in the process of writing another book, called Shadows in Flight, that supposedly brings the two split storylines back together.

I'm going to have to strongly disagree with you on the writing level of a book series containing the Chicken that is not a Chicken scene. Did you even read that scene, or are you another person who got their information about the series from the unregulated gag site known as TVTropes? If you had read it, then you'd know that the man who called the creature 'the chicken that is not a chicken' couldn't describe it any other way than that, as he didn't have the words to do so; he was, after all, uneducated in anything more than what pertains to his people. I never saw anything in the characters besides: the sneaky one, the strongman, the Wise Old Mentor, the uppity regal woman (two of those!) etc. The thing that really grinds me about this particular case is that most of them are representatives of their nations, and they could easily be replaced by anyone else of their nationality, because Eddings has profiled them all as having the same characteristics: these guys are sneaky, these guys are strong, etc. Which is not only ridiculous but slightly racist. The only thing that places our characters apart is the fact that they are all royalty. Hey, another cliche. And that's part of the worldbuilding problem. No offense intended with this, but the fact that that's all you saw in the characters implies a somewhat limited imagination on your part. As for the whole racist bit... the only ones that sort of thinking really applies to is the Alorns. And that was done (in the story) deliberately by their god, Belar. Before Aloria was split into the four kingdoms, all Alorns were alike. After the split, the Drasnians became merchants and spies; Chereks became warriors and sailors; Algars became warriors and herdsmen; Rivans became warriors and protectors. The other nations follow the examples set by their respective gods. And about them being easily replaced by others? I have to disagree with that. Apparently, you've forgotten about the Prophecy in the series, where all the main characters are named: Silk, the Guide; Barak, the Dreadful Bear (not royalty); Durnik, the Man with Two Lives (not royalty); Hettar, the Horse Lord (not royalty by blood, but adopted); Lelldorin, the Bowman (not royalty); Mandorallen, the Knight Protector (not royalty); Ce'Nedra, the Queen of the World; Relg, the Blind Man (not royalty); Taiba, the Mother of the Race that Died (not royalty); Errand, the Bearer of the Orb (not royalty). Hmm. It seems as if your 'all royalty' argument doesn't fit.

Sadly not possible. I tried it for an hour thinking "Yes! Only have to do this once" :angry: Dark_Aura is correct. I'd mentioned it above somewhere, but you can get only one piece of the lumberjack clothes per event.

Garion's total idiocy He was an idiot; did you not notice how he was raised? the lack of any characters with dimensions other than stereotypes Huh, not sure what to say in response to that; I saw very little stereotyping, and I thought all the main characters were rather well-developed. the lackluster worldbuilding I rather liked the way the world in the series was built. the travelogue plot This one's merely personal preference; some people like that plot type, others don't.

Ok, I read The Belgariad because so many people on these forums recommend those books (two since the thread has been bumped!) and they suck. Like, almost as much as Eragon. Seriously. You are entitled to your opinion, most certainly, I just don't have to agree with it. ^.^ What about the series did you not find enjoyable?

The Eragon series is nothing more than a massive pile of plagiarism. Paolini did not intend to give credit to any other authors, he claimed everything in his books to be his own original work... until he was confronted. Only then did he give credit where credit was due; and grudgingly, I might add. The only reason Paolini was published in the first place was because his parents started their own publication company just to get his books out on the shelves. I would recommend The Belgariad and The Malloreon series, by David & Leigh Eddings, along with the two companion novels, Belgarath the Sorcerer and Polgara the Sorceress. Also, The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever and The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, by Stephen R. Donaldson. For these ones you'll likely need a thesaurus and a dictionary on-hand, as Donaldson dug back into archaic times for words that haven't been used in hundreds of years. The Sword of Truth series, by Terry Goodkind, is also another amazingly well-written story. The Enderverse is an awesome series as well, by Orson Scott Card.

None of the above.

^.^ Coolness.

Hmm, I'll have to test that out when I get another one.

You can also uncharge it when not on a slayer task.I uncharged a mask in SOS(Stronghold of Security), level 2, on the crawler bugs there(forgot the actual name). Awesomeness. ^.^ That will definitely help with the next one I get.