Way to ruin a book

Discussion in 'Discussion of Published Works' started by Steerpike, Jun 21, 2011.

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  1. digitig

    digitig Contributor Contributor

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    It wouldn't stay gilded for very long, though. It's still ornamental, not something to be used, which it was.[/QUOTE]
     
  2. Unit7

    Unit7 Contributor Contributor

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    [/QUOTE]

    You'd think that actually matter to the Lannisters? It's a show of wealth for them.
     
  3. digitig

    digitig Contributor Contributor

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    Yes, that's why I wouldn't bat an eyelid if it were hanging on a wall.
     
  4. WriterDude

    WriterDude Contributor Contributor

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    Although they are tv-series, both Supernatural and Smallville are pretty bad at stuff like that. Take the finale in Supernatural season three/start of season four as an example:

    After Sam died in the end of season two, Dean made a deal with the crossroad demon to save him. In return, Dean would die one year later - as in the end of season three. So in the season three finale, hellhounds attacked Dean and ended up killing him. And just like that, we had a last scene with Dean stuck in Hell. So how to solve that in season four? They didn't. Season four started with Dean back on earth, alive and kicking. They didn't even try to explain it until well into the season.
     
  5. Ellipse

    Ellipse Contributor Contributor

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    You are forgetting that several of the characters also wore gilded armor. Your reasoning would apply to the armor as well, but they still wore it to more than just tournies.

    And you are also talking about a book series where an ancient race of people apparently used obsidian daggers. Obsidian can be made sharper than a steel sword or dagger, but it is incredibly brittle in comparison.
     
  6. Unit7

    Unit7 Contributor Contributor

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    How much of the information on the obsidian weapons are present in the first book? Because it doesn't become anything important later on.

    They had a great reason for using obsidian rather then other metals though. Then again I guess it would depend on something I am unsure of.

    on whether or not the Others had attacked the Children of the Forest before the Long Night or if the Others first attacked during that time. But it would explain why CotF used obsidian weapons
     
  7. Ellipse

    Ellipse Contributor Contributor

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    A Song of Ice and Fire is just full of mysteries and annoying unsolved riddles that don't make sense. :confused:

    Like obsidian usually forms near volcanic areas. Where did the Children get obsidian from when they are in the frozen north?

    Or things like the Wall. How did humans manage to build an engineering marvel like the Wall, yet they are still stuck in medieval times?

    And if winters last for up to a decade, how do farmers store grain and other goods for so long?:confused:

    Anyway, enough about Martin. :D

    Mercedes Lacky wrote a book (I forget the title) where she had the characters speak the way people actually spoke during medieval times. THe problem with this was it made it very difficult to figure out what the characters were saying. :mad:

    I didn't understand how she expected the reader to follow along, but that was the last book of hers I tried to read.
     
  8. East

    East New Member

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    I remember becoming very annoyed at an author who wrote that the words RED and BEAUTIFUL are the same in the Russian language.

    As a speaker of Russian, I can tell you they are not the same.

    красивый (m.) красивая (f.) - krasivaya - Beautiful

    красный (m.), красная (f.) - kransnaya - Red


    Yes they are similar words, but they are distinct and unique words. Just like RED and READ.

    Funny enough, I remember being annoyed, but I forget completely who the author and what book it was. Such an error in research would have taken about 30 seconds to check in a dictionary or online, and it broke my interest in the book.


    Another mistake I remember was in the first chapter of Fight Club, when Tyler is describing how you can drill holes in the barrel of a hand gun to make a silencer. Well, I doubt there is anyone left alive on earth to verify this. The holes Chuck Palahniuk mistakenly referred to are drilled into the core section of a tube which is then attached to the end of the barrel of a handgun.

    Lazy research.
     
  9. Steerpike

    Steerpike Felis amatus Contributor

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    There is nothing in these two that don't make sense. There are active volcanoes in Antartica and in the arctic ocean. Why would you think volcanoes can't occur in cold regions? Further, the climate in various regions changes over time and obsidian and other volcanic rock can be found in areas where there are no active volcanoes today.

    As for the wall, there is no reason a human society can't lose knowledge, going backwards in that regard over time. It has happened numerous times here on earth, where ancient people built things that couldn't be replicated by their later descendants.
     
  10. Ellipse

    Ellipse Contributor Contributor

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    Yea, but that loss of knowledge usually comes about as a result of the current society collapsing. That hasn't happened, unless you want to count the last rebellion that occurred.

    Or the maesters could be holding out on everyone, which wouldn't surprise me.
     

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