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90s Cringe Rock posted:The UK just needs to make the 5p coin copper and add a £5 coin and make the £1 and £2 coins golden again, none of this gold and silver together nonsense. Then we'd have proper copper, silver & gold in 1, 2 & 5 denominations. Small coin, large coin, polygonal coin in each if we're re-shaping some of them, round off the 20p and swap its size with the 10p. All you need to do is add electrum coins and every D&D nerd in the world will move there.
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Aug 12, 2020 13:42
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Finished Harrow. Confused about Alecto. she was freed because Gideon's blood under Harrows fingernails was enough to undo Dad's ward? where has she been this whole time?
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Aug 12, 2020 13:58
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MockingQuantum posted:The idea of pound coins or similar is apparently so repellent to Americans that we refuse to acknowledge our own dollar coin ever existed. I forget that other countries realized long ago that small-denomination paper money is kind of stupid. Back when I was in my awkward early teens, I visited England (I’m from Texas) and I went to buy something at some tourist trap location but I was a little short. So, noticing a small plastic container with coins (to my mind it was a take a penny leave a penny), I confidently grabbed a couple and handed them over. The way the cashier looked as she declared to the person next to her ‘why’s he’s taking my tips!?!’ Is a shame that haunts me to this day.
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Aug 12, 2020 16:25
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I finally have gotten around to cracking open my copy of K J Parker’s Academic Exercises and I just love his daffy, conversational style of describing the most dreadful atrocities (well, that and his penchant for having people create household items out of the corpses of their loved ones. What’s up with that, anyway?). Highly recommended if you enjoy his style. Bunch of short stories and essays.
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Aug 12, 2020 21:53
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branedotorg posted:The version I have is called Black Man. Ah, that's what it was. The "We genetically engineered the most violent, meanest, most badass people to ever live, and oh btw they are black" was definitely a weird way to go.
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Aug 13, 2020 00:05
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Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:Ah, that's what it was. The "We genetically engineered the most violent, meanest, most badass people to ever live, and oh btw they are black" was definitely a weird way to go. There’s also a semi-sequel in the same universe, Thin Air, about another genetically engineered badass forced to investigate stuff on Mars. But this time it’s a different type of genetically engineered badass.
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Aug 13, 2020 01:32
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Finished reading Algis Budrys's Rogue Moon and John Brunner's The Sheep Look Up. Rogue Moon was a whole lot of build-up to what was ultimately a 4 page walking simulator ending. Way too much of Rogue Moon was devoted to the weird S&M relationship of the death-wish explorer and the emotionally stunted main character scientist-genius. The mechanics of the duplication-transmission device in Rogue Moon got exposition dumped a few times, with each new explanation revealing information the scientist-genius never mentioned earlier due to the implications of full scale usage of the duplication-transmission device. Implications of the duplication-transmission device were only briefly mentioned before Rogue Moon had that 4 page walking simulator ending. The Sheep Look Up was John Brunner doing Stand on Zanibar 2.0, only this time it was about Environmental pollution loving up the world big-time in many many ways. Lots of prescient things and present-day topical things were in Sheep Look Up. The reigning US President that existed to shitpost during press conferences and take vacations in between press-conference shitposting. Corporate pollution. Civil riots. Air pollution, ground water pollution, dead oceans, crop failures. Global pandemics, over-usage of pesticides and antibiotics causing hyper-mutated viruses. Government pollution. Governments and megacorporations in full rear end-covering mode, etc.
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Aug 13, 2020 03:39
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Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:Ah, that's what it was. The "We genetically engineered the most violent, meanest, most badass people to ever live, and oh btw they are black" was definitely a weird way to go. I'm not a huge fan of this particular book, although I know others who like it a lot, but this issue is fundamental to the book and not a side issue - well done or not, a big part of it is about race and gender, and above all identity politics. The parallels between the how race is treated now and genetically engineered people are treated in future is main thrust of the work - the people in the book have supposedly been modified to "pre civilisation" hunter norms, with less empathy and more brutality, but then the rest of the book essentially questions to what degree that is the case vs. people simply seizing on the next 'other' to discriminate against. I lean on the side that he doesn't handle it as well as he could, plus times have changed quite a bit in the last 13 years, but what the book is intended to be about is super clear - the parallels between stereotypes of black men now and how it persists in future with a different ostensible basis. Bearing also in mind the protagonist is British (like the author), and while a lot of it does concern the US, its from an external perspective. I really appreciate the political bent to Richard K Morgan's work and his unremitting assault on capitalism, but the field has changed dramatically over the last decade so I think he's not nearly as exciting an author now as when he first burst onto the scene. I think contextualised for when it popped up, Altered Carbon was an incredible post-cyberpunk work and the two sequels I continue to think are excellent, in different ways. Blamestorm fucked around with this message at 03:59 on Aug 13, 2020 |
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Aug 13, 2020 03:54
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Harold Fjord posted:Finished Harrow. Confused about Alecto. she was freed because Gideon's blood under Harrows fingernails was enough to undo Dad's ward? where has she been this whole time? That was my take... Probably somewhat due to Harrow's skill, but Gideon's blood was the key that allowed her to succeed. I assume she's just been haunting Harrow ever since, presumably after nearly 10000 years in the Tomb she's patient enough to wait for the right opportunity to ... well, I have no idea what...
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Aug 13, 2020 05:05
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Ok I’m getting in to Tyrant right now, and never mind about writing a happy book next time, stick with whatever you want. It’s really good so far. Also the depiction of Baru’s brain injury is great. I really liked the little details like Baru still being able to react to things in her right hand field of vision even if she can’t consciously perceive them which mirror what happens in actual TBI. Super rare to see such a good depiction of neurological disorders. Also, it seems like I should basically assume that in most cases things work more or less like the normal world with some obvious exceptions? E.g. I assume that the Falcresti are wrong about their ideas of inheritance and actually evolution is true? Or are they actually right within the alternate world? E: I know it’s probably unlikely that a third book in a four book series win when the first two didn’t, but I really feel Tyrant should be in the running for some best novel awards. tildes fucked around with this message at 11:26 on Aug 13, 2020 |
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Aug 13, 2020 11:19
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Harrow, chapter 16 or so: drat, Homestar Runner joke.
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Aug 13, 2020 13:50
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I'm really trying to remain open-minded about Harrow but I'm 50%+ through the book and the author appears to have ditched both (a) the compelling plot and (b) all of the compelling characters from the first book (yes, Harrow is here but because of whatever's been done to her she's essentially a completely different character) in favor of having a bunch of annoying people stand around talking about bones. I think the fundamental problem is that all of the new characters are so opaque that it's hard to be interested in any of them.
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Aug 13, 2020 13:57
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I’m 50% into Tyrant. Great so far. Feels like loads has happened even though they haven’t traversed too much if the world yet. Laughed at the description of Falcrest as “The city of bleach and sugar.”
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Aug 13, 2020 14:55
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Ccs posted:I’m 50% into Tyrant. Great so far. loving weird UK release dates 
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Aug 13, 2020 14:56
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team overhead smash posted:loving weird UK release dates I'm really wondering when the Australian release date is. I think it took almost a year for Monster to get released down here, and I'm not sure it's got Ebook availability either, still. I should just order a US copy.
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Aug 13, 2020 15:05
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Luna: New Moon by Ian McDonald - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00V34YJE0/ Saint's Blood (Greatcoats #3) by Sebastien de Castell - $1.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TV2VS7R/ Babel-17 by Samuel R Delany - $1.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HE2JK4Y/
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Aug 13, 2020 16:39
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I just finished The Innkeeper's Song by Peter Beagle. It's early 90s fantasy and sort of an oral history of a big wizard battle, told by people who might fairly be considered pawns on one wizard's side. Most of the action is focused on an inn a bit outside a big trading town. There are secretive women trained by the wizard, a girl raised from the dead, her childhood sweetheart, a stable boy, a fat cantankerous innkeeper, a fox and some assassins. In some ways it's a little dated, mostly with the trend of having a fairly normal seeming setting and the rare atypical creature that's always italicized. That being said, it's refreshingly free of sexual violence and a lot of other grossness. It also came together real well, and was a good story, neither Pollyanna or grimdark. Would recommend.
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Aug 13, 2020 16:43
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buffalo all day posted:I'm really trying to remain open-minded about Harrow but I'm 50%+ through the book and the author appears to have ditched both (a) the compelling plot and (b) all of the compelling characters from the first book (yes, Harrow is here but because of whatever's been done to her she's essentially a completely different character) in favor of having a bunch of annoying people stand around talking about bones. I think the fundamental problem is that all of the new characters are so opaque that it's hard to be interested in any of them. Seems like a lot of people itt are bouncing off Harrow and that's a shame. I agree that it took a bit too long to get to the reveals and meat of what's happening, but I found it incredibly enjoyable just the same. And trying to sort out what the actual gently caress the direction was going to be with the whole "alternate history" was fun to me.
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Aug 13, 2020 17:10
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I'm in the boat that really disliked Harrow until ~60% through then it got much more interesting and readable for me. I probably wouldn't have gotten that far but I couldn't sleep and the power was out so I had nothing better to do. I'm going to reserve judgment on the series until I've read book 3, but I really like the imaginative necromancy and now I need to re-read the Garth Nix books too.
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Aug 13, 2020 17:44
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Quinton posted:That was my take... Probably somewhat due to Harrow's skill, but Gideon's blood was the key that allowed her to succeed. I assume she's just been haunting Harrow ever since, presumably after nearly 10000 years in the Tomb she's patient enough to wait for the right opportunity to ... well, I have no idea what... Ok but is the ghost in the sword Alecto and also the Sleeper or was the Sleeper the ghost of Gideon's mom who went to 9th for reasons. I thought that's who the Sleeper was but then there's two ghosts and I don't think there were two
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Aug 13, 2020 18:38
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Harold Fjord posted:Ok but is the ghost in the sword Alecto and also the Sleeper or was the Sleeper the ghost of Gideon's mom who went to 9th for reasons. I thought that's who the Sleeper was but then there's two ghosts and I don't think there were two The Sleeper is Wake, Gideon's mom and the former leader of the Blood of Eden. She died as described in the previous book, but her ghost hung around, attached first to her bones and later to Gideon's sword. From the sword she was able to attempt to supplant Harrow and animate Cytherea's corpse. The ghost Harrow sees is Alecto. Whether she's an actual ghost or a hallucination is an open question. This was pretty well explained in the book.
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Aug 13, 2020 20:15
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buffalo all day posted:I'm really trying to remain open-minded about Harrow but I'm 50%+ through the book and the author appears to have ditched both (a) the compelling plot and (b) all of the compelling characters from the first book (yes, Harrow is here but because of whatever's been done to her she's essentially a completely different character) in favor of having a bunch of annoying people stand around talking about bones. I think the fundamental problem is that all of the new characters are so opaque that it's hard to be interested in any of them. I was pretty surprised by how much of the cast of Gideon made it back, frankly, considering that basically all of them were dead by the end of it  I liked Harrow fine, for the record. It's a moody psychodrama about Harrow's trauma that takes place mostly in her dreams, and I don't mind that it sidelined plot in order to get that done. Harold Fjord posted:Ok but is the ghost in the sword Alecto and also the Sleeper or was the Sleeper the ghost of Gideon's mom who went to 9th for reasons. I thought that's who the Sleeper was but then there's two ghosts and I don't think there were two The ghost in the sword is the Sleeper is Commander Wake is Gideon's mother is the spirit that was possessing Cytherea's corpse. Alecto is dead girl in the Locked Tomb is the golden-eyed ghost that's haunting Harrow is God's cavalier. Two different ghosts.
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Aug 13, 2020 20:17
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I also finished Tyrant. I loved it. It makes the awfulness of Monster more worthwhile in retrospect. Thinking about it a bit more, There's that running theme in the books about how the Masquerade uses conditioning to convince prisoners they can't ever escape by repeatedly showing them freedom, only to snatch it away. Monster, in many ways, seems similar, with the various cryptarchs constantly undermining each other and betraying one-another, which ensures they can't actually reject or work against the empire, which ends up perpetuating the system. In Tyrant it feels like we're seeing Baru, by being unfettered by these holds, freeing the other cryptarchs by not pursuing her self-interest, and allowing for cooperation between people we suddenly realize are actually human. It was astonishing to see characters like Tain Shir, and Yawa, turned from absolutely monstrous figures into people in their own ways trying to make a positive difference in the world. I need to re-read all the chapters set 23 years ago. I think there's a bunch of interesting backstory on Farrier and Cosgrove and why they ended up eternal foes after going to the Mbo, whereas the three cryptarchs in the present, despite being forced into conflict by much more real threats to things they held dear were able to persevere and break out from control. I'm also not sure what the hint about Stargazer at the end was alluding to. Or who or what on earth Renascent is. For her to know Farrier and Cosgrove's collateral would imply a similar era, and I don't know who that would be.
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Aug 13, 2020 20:22
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Velius posted:
It doesn't seem to be that their eternal foe-ness developed in the Mbo. It was already pretty firmly established in Falcrest, and they went to Mbo to pursue their goal of bringing back some proof that their respective philosophy was the correct one. Baru and her fellow cryptarchs aren't true believers the same way Cosgrade and Farrier were, they all sort of want the empire destroyed, so its easier for them to find commonality.
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Aug 14, 2020 03:50
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For the benefit of the three people in the thread who haven't read Gideon the Ninth yet, Rand Brittain's posted a group read-along/mystery solving thread here: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3936588
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Aug 14, 2020 06:51
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Ah, thank you for posting the link for me! I really look forward to reviving the Whodunnit? readalong and hope people will participate.
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Aug 14, 2020 16:54
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I'm certainly looking forward to reading people's speculations, but I rather suspect most goons that don't mind the genre have read Gideon by now.
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Aug 14, 2020 17:03
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A shout out here to General B and to any UK goons waiting for Baru 3 - it seems that nobody knows of any plans for a physical edition to be released in the UK.
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Aug 14, 2020 17:39
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Baru 3 spoilers I'm 1/3 through and the lobotomy scene with the reveal that Baru has manifested Tain Hu within herself broke my drat heart
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Aug 14, 2020 17:58
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Jedit posted:A shout out here to General B and to any UK goons waiting for Baru 3 - it seems that nobody knows of any plans for a physical edition to be released in the UK.
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Aug 14, 2020 18:13
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Provenance by Ann Leckie - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XW6YTKV/
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Aug 14, 2020 18:18
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90s Cringe Rock posted:This loving island. You leave the EU, you get no Baru.
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Aug 14, 2020 18:26
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Just finished Tyrant. Man, what a book. It’s probably coincidence and doesn’t fit the theme of the book, but it struck me how Baru turns 23 at the end and the events in the Mbo throughout the book were set 23 years ago. I don’t know if she’s the secret daughter or whatever but it felt significant, somehow. And it doesn’t seem Kindalana stayed with her daughter but parted with her immediately after giving birth, given the wording and Abd’s relationship with her. Cosgrad and Farrier are and were my favorites. I love how something so stupid and human as jealousy is influencing an Empire. Trim, baby!!!!
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Aug 14, 2020 19:34
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Ornamented Death posted:You leave the EU, you get no Baru. I voted to keep Baru, gently caress the majority
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Aug 14, 2020 19:40
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Ornamented Death posted:You leave the EU, you get no Baru.
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Aug 14, 2020 19:54
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Farrier and Torrinde WAP discourse
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Aug 14, 2020 20:01
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I also finished Tyrant this afternoon. I really like it. The General notes in the acknowledgements that this book was tough for him to write, which I think is understandable as I found it quite difficult (emotionally) to read at times. It might be some time before we see the next Baru book, and I'm OK with that because we've got is resolution enough for me.
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Aug 14, 2020 20:47
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Finished Tyrant late last night. Really enjoyed it, its a monster of a book, and the amount of knowledge that must have gone into writing convincing naval battles boggles my mind. If I had to critique anything it would be that Baru comes to several convenient revelations in conversations with other characters. She's a savant, but she's primarily trained in Accounting so her revelation about how to break Falcrest with a trade concern and speculative bubble felt well earned. Her other two revelations, about biological purpose/justification for homosexuality and chancing on another method of inheritance that goes against Heychasts' Lamarckian theories came off as a bit too convenient. This book is Baru's story, but it's also an examination of imperialism, genocide, racism, eugenics, economics, and identity. To properly discuss all those things there have to be alternatives presented to the Falcresti way. But placing all those major revelations inside one person risks turning Baru into a cipher for the book's message. The ending was well done, I'm glad we got to see Falcrest and see Baru's alternative take on it through her dream. Farrier's downfall was great, he's such a charming and horrible person. I've compared him a bit to Joe Abercrombie's character Bayaz, but in this case he actually gets comeuppance whereas Bayaz never will. The last chapter was not a particularly strong sequel hook for me. The people the Falcresti force encounters beyond the Mother of Storms do not seem to pose much of a threat, they're just cannibals across an ocean with no apparent means of launching an invasion of the rest of the world. I'm more interested in seeing what is up with Renascent and if the Empire-breaking trade concern will actually function as intended. I also did not expect the final Baru chapter in such a sad book to end with a birthday party. Good job subverting expectations at the last second!
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Aug 14, 2020 23:19
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General Battuta posted:Farrier and Torrinde WAP discourse Torrinde is Ben Shapiro saying "I believe WAP does not meet Incrastic hygiene standards"
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Aug 14, 2020 23:20
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Tyrant ending: I think you’re looking at it backwards. The Taino weren’t a major threat to the Spanish either but the result of their interactions was one of the most appalling genocides in history. There are more kinds of threat than ‘those people might come gently caress us up’ and one of them is ‘what are we going to do to them?’
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Aug 14, 2020 23:27
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