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got Jeff Vandermeer's Ambergris collection hardback in the mail today. it continues the tradition of Mr. Vandermeer putting out books so large you could use them to kill a horse.
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Dec 16, 2020 20:46
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I finished The Risen Empire and The Killing of Worlds recently I liked them, but was surprised to see that they were published in 2003, which I take it means that the author has abandoned the series, even though it ends at the onset of the civil war. It's too bad, I feel like the universe could have used a few more books.
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Dec 17, 2020 01:33
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It was originally planned as one book but the publisher split it in two IIRC, which explains the appearance of an incomplete series. It's a bummer because I love those books and wish there were more too. 
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Dec 17, 2020 02:39
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Just finished Baru 2: Masked Boogaloo and I really liked how it ended. I felt that the middle dragged on a bit, but the last...15 or so percent of the book just rolled. Going to immediately start Tyrant and see how it goes.
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Dec 17, 2020 04:27
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wizzardstaff posted:It's a bummer because I love those books and wish there were more too. Agreed! I periodically check in on the author hoping he will write more books similar to this, but no luck. I have the same futile hope for more Bas-Lag books...
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Dec 17, 2020 06:02
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uber_stoat posted:got Jeff Vandermeer's Ambergris collection hardback in the mail today. it continues the tradition of Mr. Vandermeer putting out books so large you could use them to kill a horse. really excited to get this highly recommend for folks that've liked Vandermeer's other stuff, the first in the trilogy is basically him doing Creepy Borges and then the second and third start switching genres rapidly and are wild
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Dec 17, 2020 07:05
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quantumfoam posted:Here's how Simon Hawke got slowly revealed as a sex predator. Well, that sucks. I have the complete Time Wars and I've always liked them as a good bit of pulp even if the last book goes off the rails a bit trying to wrap everything up too quickly. Was there any hint that it was more squicky than just taking advantage of groupies?
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Dec 17, 2020 10:36
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Stuporstar posted:Yeah, some forewarning about the centaur sex chart in Titan etc. might be in order. Pretty much every sff author, especially from back then, has written some questionable poo poo. I think I give Varley a pass because even when he gets onto his, “Post-human sex is gonna be freaky wild, it’ll be great!” thing, he somehow manages to do it in non-creepy ways, unlike pretty much every other sff author. The centaur sex is weird obviously, but it was the fact the Gaea trilogy was so loving boring that was unforgivable for me. I would say it's weird but on the other hand I liked Steel Beach, found The Golden Globe to be one of the best and most engaging scifi novels I ever read, then found Irontown Blues to be really disappointing and boring. And I'm pretty sure those are widely held views. So, hey, every author contains multitudes!
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Dec 17, 2020 11:48
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Jedit posted:Well, that sucks. I have the complete Time Wars and I've always liked them as a good bit of pulp even if the last book goes off the rails a bit trying to wrap everything up too quickly. Was there any hint that it was more squicky than just taking advantage of groupies? For that matter, what was there about David Brin?
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Dec 17, 2020 15:36
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freebooter posted:The centaur sex is weird obviously, but it was the fact the Gaea trilogy was so loving boring that was unforgivable for me. I would say it's weird but on the other hand I liked Steel Beach, found The Golden Globe to be one of the best and most engaging scifi novels I ever read, then found Irontown Blues to be really disappointing and boring. And I'm pretty sure those are widely held views. So, hey, every author contains multitudes! Is it my bad memory or wasn't Irontown supposed to be on Mars and Blues supposed to give us our first real look an Eight worlds Mars? That was my biggest disappointment, though not the only one...
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Dec 17, 2020 22:51
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freebooter posted:The centaur sex is weird obviously, but it was the fact the Gaea trilogy was so loving boring that was unforgivable for me. I would say it's weird but on the other hand I liked Steel Beach, found The Golden Globe to be one of the best and most engaging scifi novels I ever read, then found Irontown Blues to be really disappointing and boring. And I'm pretty sure those are widely held views. So, hey, every author contains multitudes! Yeah, I generally prefer early Varley to late Varley, and his short stories to his novels. I haven’t read Irontown Blues, and haven’t yet read the sequels to Titan. I haven’t yet read Golden Globe either. Steel Beach was great though
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Dec 17, 2020 23:00
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If you liked Steel Beach you will really like Golden Globe. It's the same fascinating universe, but with a tighter plot (an actor/conman trying to make his way from Pluto to Luna for a production of King Lear while being pursued by an unkillable mafia hitman) and one of the most charismatic, likeable first-person POV protagonists I've read in sci-fi.Thranguy posted:Is it my bad memory or wasn't Irontown supposed to be on Mars and Blues supposed to give us our first real look an Eight worlds Mars? That was my biggest disappointment, though not the only one... I think it was always intended to be about a cop on Luna. Which to me, in the world that he's created, sounds like a great idea - but it was just so uneventful.
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Dec 18, 2020 00:43
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freebooter posted:If you liked Steel Beach you will really like Golden Globe. It's the same fascinating universe, but with a tighter plot (an actor/conman trying to make his way from Pluto to Luna for a production of King Lear while being pursued by an unkillable mafia hitman) and one of the most charismatic, likeable first-person POV protagonists I've read in sci-fi. Picaresque first-person protagonists are my favorite kind. Sold It’s funny, I didn’t even realise they were part of a series because Varely seems to have a shared world for all his stories, and I found all my Varley’s in used bookstore or my dad’s sff collection Stuporstar fucked around with this message at 04:23 on Dec 18, 2020 |
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Dec 18, 2020 04:16
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I finished David Drake's The Dragon Lord, his first novel - and I loved it! Here's my review. A good book! A fascinating fusion of sword-and-sorcery story beats and a historical military story. The setting is after/during the Fall of Rome, when Britain is mostly free of Roman influence and the Saxons are trying to establish domination. This is when the original legend of King Arthur sprung up, and he is a central figure in this story, the titular Dragon Lord. In this novel, King Arthur is a club-footed man with a terror of being in battle without his horse, and a tactical and strategic genius who trains his armies and integrates the fighting styles of men from all over Europe and beyond to create a terrifying force that will conquer Britain - and he has eyes on the entire world. Lancelot is a Roman subordinate to him, and there are other familiar names - but none of them are the classic medieval chivalric mold, because this isn't that era. Except, of course, for Merlin. Enter the fantasy element: Arthur wants a dragon, and Merlin can and will provide. Enter our protagonists, our heroes: Mael and Starkad. They're not in the legends, and are a fascinating pair of viewpoint characters. One's an Irishman, the other a Dane, and both are mercenaries who take up work in Arthur's army because the pay is good. They're fantastic at giving us an honest look at how King Arthur works, as well as great characters in their own right. Mael might be a bit of a stereotype - a clever, good man who can mete out violence and survive it - but he works, and has some nuance to him. The plot covers a series of adventures: Mael is sent to Ireland to retrieve a skull for Merlin, so that the dragon can be summoned. Mael and Starkad are sent to assassinate a Saxon warchief for his mythical weapons. Mael and Starkad join Arthur's army for a grand battle with the Saxons. -- And a final one, that shall remain a spoiler. There is a woman, and a believable romance because it's entirely practical. There is magic, but it never drowns out the gritty realism of the setting - even when it goes entirely fantastical. There is violence, and worse - but the author doesn't linger. I'll be upfront with this warning: while it's not graphic, there are mentions of sexual violence in this novel. Soldiers rape and pillage, and the author doesn't whitewash it. Again, though - he doesn't linger. I genuinely loved this novel, and got attached by the end, and I'll be sad that I won't get to see Mael and Starkad again. I also love the mythical echoes surrounding King Arthur and his men. It's a worthy look at where his legend might have come from. Highly recommended if you're interested in either sword-n'-sorcery, military fantasy (the battle is GREAT) and/or this era of British history.
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Dec 18, 2020 15:30
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While trying to decide which David Drake book to read next, I was flipping through my copies of the Hammer's Slammers omnibuses and found this in the final section of v3. It's an obituary for Jim Baen, the creator of Baen Books, and despite its faults it was a force in the industry and a worthy publisher. I can only hope my obituary ends with a line as powerful as the final one here.   
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Dec 18, 2020 17:07
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The lost war: Eidyn book one. bad
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Dec 19, 2020 01:24
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StrixNebulosa posted:I finished David Drake's The Dragon Lord, his first novel - and I loved it! Here's my review. Is this the one where Arthur has a beard because he “won’t let someone get that close to my neck with a blade?” I’ve had that small detail stuck in my mind about some book for 20 years and maybe it’s this one?
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Dec 19, 2020 01:37
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navyjack posted:Is this the one where Arthur has a beard because he “won’t let someone get that close to my neck with a blade?” I’ve had that small detail stuck in my mind about some book for 20 years and maybe it’s this one? Ah, yes, I think I remember that detail! One moment - quote:The king's beard and hair were cut short—hacked short, rather, for he could not bear a blade in another's hand to lie so close to his throat. Perhaps he would have let the hair grow and run across his torso in rich, syrupy waves had he not once seen a man try to dodge back from a dagger point—and find that his enemy gripped a handful of his beard. The king's moustache alone was full. "Can you do it or can you not, wizard?" he demanded. "Can you raise me a dragon?"
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Dec 19, 2020 02:03
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I'd suggest Redliners as your next Drake book. It is entirely self-contained, and uses a lot of the jargon he tends to favor in his sci-fi works. So it is kind of a gentle introduction to his style as well as being quite a decent read in and of itself. The main protagonists are a group of space commandos that have "redlined" - they've seen too much to be fit for combat or civilian life.
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Dec 19, 2020 06:54
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Gnoman posted:I'd suggest Redliners as your next Drake book. It is entirely self-contained, and uses a lot of the jargon he tends to favor in his sci-fi works. So it is kind of a gentle introduction to his style as well as being quite a decent read in and of itself. The main protagonists are a group of space commandos that have "redlined" - they've seen too much to be fit for combat or civilian life. Yeah, good recommendation. Probably my favourite drake book. Military unit too burned out to fight and too damaged to return to civilian life are assigned to be colony guards on a death world.
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Dec 19, 2020 08:46
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I've only read a tiny amount of David Drake, but as milSF authors go he sure never forgot that war actually sucks a lot.
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Dec 19, 2020 17:31
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Redliners is real good and I mean to revisit it - but for now I've settled on his Tom Kelly duology, starting with Skyripper. It's one I've never read before, it's a Tom Clancy-esque technothriller, and so far you can tell it's written by a veteran for veterans, as the main character has some awful Vietnam memories that impact how and why he's agreeing to help get a Russian scientist out of the hold of the USSR. There's also some neat respect for the Vietnamese - he knows the language and corrects a Major on the first-last name swap of another Vietnamese character.
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Dec 19, 2020 17:44
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Groke posted:I've only read a tiny amount of David Drake, but as milSF authors go he sure never forgot that war actually sucks a lot. Drake's a Vietnam veteran, so he learned that lesson the hard way.
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Dec 19, 2020 18:47
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Recliners is apparently also free on the Apple bookstore right now 👍🏻 just picked it up.
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Dec 19, 2020 20:02
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tildes posted:Recliners is apparently also free on the Apple bookstore right now 👍🏻 just picked it up. Amazon kindle store also. "Buy now for free"
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Dec 19, 2020 20:21
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Recliners sounds like a very different sort of novel
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Dec 19, 2020 20:25
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General Battuta posted:Recliners sounds like a very different sort of novel Been sitting here wondering for a while what kind of plot a sci-fi book called Recliners would have. 
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Dec 19, 2020 20:42
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TheAardvark posted:Been sitting here wondering for a while what kind of plot a sci-fi book called Recliners would have. Something laid-back, I suppose.
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Dec 19, 2020 21:24
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What if recliners, but too much? That's how you make a sci fi plot.
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Dec 19, 2020 21:27
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Ah well, im far too lazy a boy to ever write such a thing.
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Dec 19, 2020 21:30
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Three men were swept up by the flabby sofa before anybody turned. God rest them, if there be any rest in the universe. They were Donovan, Guerrera, and Ångstrom. Parker slipped on a throw pillow as the others were plunging over endless vistas of green-trimmed loveseats back to the boat, and Johansen swears he was swallowed up by a recliner which shouldn’t have been there; a recliner which looked comfortably acute, but behaved as if it were impossibly obtuse.
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Dec 19, 2020 21:31
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https://twitter.com/richardcobbett/status/1340405420964372480
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Dec 19, 2020 22:24
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General Battuta posted:What if recliners, but too much? That's how you make a sci fi plot. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXrAK6sUZ_0
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Dec 19, 2020 22:27
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Beat me to it, drat you.
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Dec 19, 2020 22:50
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General Battuta posted:What if recliners, but too much? That's how you make a sci fi plot. . . . I think I've read that story. The chair that was *too* comfortable? Or maybe the Simpsons did it . . . Edit: nope, The Tick https://youtu.be/Ah7GxKHGHPg]
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Dec 19, 2020 23:03
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The Recliner Baru Cormorant
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Dec 19, 2020 23:25
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Recliners Lean in Vain
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Dec 19, 2020 23:35
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Beyond Reclines the Wub
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Dec 19, 2020 23:38
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Recliner, Recliners, Recliner Cubed, Recliner Inclination
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Dec 19, 2020 23:38
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“Recline My rear end,” The Policeman Said
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Dec 19, 2020 23:39
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