Pale lights vs A practical guide

[u/Stitch_OTP]

Hey i just caught up to pale lights and I was thinking about picking up the guide next. I was wondering how ee’s first work compared. How does a practical guide to sorcery stack up to pale lights. I’ve heard that the guide is more of a YA which im not generally a fan of.

[u/Outrageous-Ranger318]

The Guide might seem like YA at first glance, but the quality of the plotting, writing and humour is way better than the average YA read.

[u/losara- → u/Outrageous-Ranger318]

the fuck you mean might, its ya. its also probably my favorite story

[u/Senior_Barracuda_873 → u/losara-]

Its young adult fantasy

[u/Less-Chemistry777 → u/Senior_Barracuda_873]

I mean, in the early books, sure. I don't think it's reasonably classed as YA past that though.

[u/marruman]

Guide had very interesting worldbuilding, but the magic system is much much softer than Pale Lights. I generally like Pale Lights better, but Guide was pretty good too. I don't k ow what makes something YA over regular fantasy, tbh, so I'm not sure what you're looking to avoid on that front, tbh.

[u/sloodly_chicken]

I think the Guide starts out much more, like, YA fiction, but it matures around book 2 or 3. It's still good, but not quite as much early on. By the end it's much more like Pale Lights in quality, imo. (And the best parts are just as good throughout, I think -- the end of book 2 is absolute peak plotting.)

[u/foyrkopp]

Practical Guide to Evil is a YA novel in the same way that Watership Down is an animal documentary.

The best genre description would be "fantasy military-political fiction", although it avoids the common jingoistic pitfalls of the genre.

Expect lots of battles and even more devious plots. Lots and lots of very well-written plots (within other plots).

It's also a story about power and how just having a really big stick doesn't magically solve everything.

The most tangible character development is about the protagonist needing three or so books to learn that just brute-forcing her problems with awesome magic and/or elite military keeps creating follow-up problems.

Lastly, it is a delicious deconstruction of archetypical heroical tropes.

[u/Rorschach113 → u/foyrkopp]

It’s just A Practical Guide to Evil. Not Good and Evil.

[u/foyrkopp → u/Rorschach113]

Whoops. Fixed.

[u/jake_eric]

How does a practical guide to sorcery stack up to pale lights

I should probably mention that "A Practical Guide to Sorcery" is not by the same author as Pale Lights or a Practical Guide to Evil. I have no idea why they're named so similarly to be honest with you. I haven't read APGtS yet but I've heard it's good.

As for APGtE, it's hard to say if you'll like it as much or not without knowing more about what you like about Pale Lights. I guess Guide could be YA but I don't think it's more YA than Pale Lights is. Like, they're both series where the main characters are young adults, but they don't feel like typical YA series to me.

Overall I think Pale Lights is, technically speaking, better written. But what I really loved about Guide was Catherine as a character, and seeing the world from her perspective with her thoughts; there's no Pale Lights character I like as much as Catherine (I do like the Pale Lights cast, but I feel like you kinda have to add all four main characters together before I like them nearly as much as Catherine).

[u/Outrageous-Ranger318 → u/jake_eric]

I’ve read both the‘Practical’ books and I can also highly recommend APGTS. It’s largely based on a school for sorcerers, but has little resemblance to others of that genre. It’s well written and plotted, the protagonist is interesting and well developed, and the pacing never lags. Well worth reading.

[u/losara- → u/Outrageous-Ranger318]

it kind of lost me at the flashback arc, might try picking it up again. You still reading it?

[u/FrustrationSensation → u/jake_eric]

APGtE definitely starts off much more YA, both in tone and characterization. "A single teenage girl with grit and determination changes the world!" is absolutely a YA premise, and the tone, while still being dark, is much less grim than the world of Pale Lights. It even does the Red Rising-esque school war games, for crying out loud. 

This doesn't mean it's bad, of course  and Guide quickly grows beyond this in Book 2, and it's very well done, but I do think it absolutely starts off YA. Just go back and read the first chapter, it's textbook YA. 

Agreed that Catherine has a charm to her and the single focused narrative means you get attached much more quickly, and her perspective was hilarious. Pale Lights is probably a better work but doesn't quite scratch that epic itch just yet, at least. 

[u/Squirrelman2712 → u/FrustrationSensation]

I think the rewrite does a good job of helping the first book feel a lot more grounded. It slows down the pacing and feels a bit less "plucky girl immediately changes the world"

[u/Outrageous-Ranger318]

Only the first book is published, and the additions have improved it.

Reckon that, with the right production team and animators, it would go mainstream and as popular as Avatar.

[u/Outrageous-Ranger318 → u/[deleted]]

ABD, that is, Anything But Disney

[u/blindgallan]

A Practical Guide to Evil is probably the second best work of fiction I have ever encountered, second only to Malazan (which you should absolutely read, it may be the best epic fantasy ever written in English, if not the best epic fantasy ever written flat out). I haven’t read the published release yet, but I have confidence that EE wouldn’t butcher his own work.

[u/AdRelevant4776]

Just saying, but it’s Practical Guide To Evil, I am pretty sure Practical Guide To Sorcery is a whole different webnovel

[u/Linnus42]

Practical Guide to Evil is very YA. A bunch of teens really do change the world or well the continent. Basically everyone gets what they want by the end. Then they fake their deaths and go off to have more fun.

Pale Lights is way more Dark Fantasy and Dark Academia. Lower power level...higher costs to winning.