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ToxicFrog posted:Looking back at my journal entry for the book, it's because the government tried to force him to do work that would benefit society somewhat rather than just loving everyone else over in order to become rich. I’m repulsed and excited to read this at the same time. It sounds completely up its own rear end in a top hat.
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Feb 10, 2022 15:38
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ToxicFrog posted:Writing that out it actually reminds me a lot of K.J. Parker's Engineer trilogy, although even more unhinged. I think the big difference is that while both Parker and Asher have a protagonist who thinks they're fully justified in their actions, only one of them wants the reader to agree.
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Feb 10, 2022 17:20
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NoneMoreNegative posted:the new TOR 'Best of' anthology is now up as a free legit download
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Feb 10, 2022 18:23
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StrixNebulosa posted:I’m repulsed and excited to read this at the same time. It sounds completely up its own rear end in a top hat. It’s as pleasant to experience as the Daily Mail opinion section
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Feb 10, 2022 18:25
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I asked a similar question over in the general book recommendation thread, but I figured I'd ask here too: what are some fantasy novels that do politics, large-scale war, shifting alliances, betrayal, subterfuge, etc, well? I've been playing Tactics Ogre and want a good fantasy novel that has the same feel as that or Final Fantasy Tactics. I know the plot of both of those get a bit batshit but the initial war for succession and bands of partisans warring for control of territory is really interesting to me. I looked around online for some suggestions but most of the results I found say ASoIaF which I've read, but honestly I think the politics and intrigue are kind of the most hamfisted aspects of GRRM's books. I'd also be okay with historical fiction. The Lions of Al-Rassan, Dune, and the Terra Ignota books were mentioned in the other thread (and some that are more historical fiction), so I've got those on my list already. I know Terra Ignota doesn't precisely fit what I'm looking for but I read Too Like The Lightning when it first came out and I think it's at least in the ballpark of the feel I want.
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Feb 10, 2022 18:31
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MockingQuantum posted:I asked a similar question over in the general book recommendation thread, but I figured I'd ask here too: what are some fantasy novels that do politics, large-scale war, shifting alliances, betrayal, subterfuge, etc, well? I've been playing Tactics Ogre and want a good fantasy novel that has the same feel as that or Final Fantasy Tactics. I know the plot of both of those get a bit batshit but the initial war for succession and bands of partisans warring for control of territory is really interesting to me. I looked around online for some suggestions but most of the results I found say ASoIaF which I've read, but honestly I think the politics and intrigue are kind of the most hamfisted aspects of GRRM's books. I'd also be okay with historical fiction. Meant to add that Bernard Cornwall's The Last Kingdom series (historical fiction) is really good for politics/betrayal/shifting alliances/bands of partisans but is 800s era Britain (so maybe too early for what you're looking for)?
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Feb 10, 2022 18:33
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buffalo all day posted:Meant to add that Bernard Cornwall's The Last Kingdom series (historical fiction) is really good for politics/betrayal/shifting alliances/bands of partisans but is 800s era Britain (so maybe too early for what you're looking for)? Nah that's great too, I mostly just didn't want anything particularly modern. I'll add them to the list, thanks!
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Feb 10, 2022 18:44
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MockingQuantum posted:I asked a similar question over in the general book recommendation thread, but I figured I'd ask here too: what are some fantasy novels that do politics, large-scale war, shifting alliances, betrayal, subterfuge, etc, well? General Batutta’s Baru books may be exactly what you’re looking for.
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Feb 10, 2022 18:56
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Has any read The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson?
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Feb 10, 2022 19:37
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The Diamond Age is really Stephenson, for good and for ill. There are neat ideas in there that get bogged down in explaining the thing I'm interested in to you, at length, and the usual cringy content and bad ideas about people who aren't white beardy hackmaster types. The bit where he explodes the cyberpunk guy because You Didn't Understand Snow Crash, Plebes was pretty good, though.
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Feb 10, 2022 19:46
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MockingQuantum posted:I asked a similar question over in the general book recommendation thread, but I figured I'd ask here too: what are some fantasy novels that do politics, large-scale war, shifting alliances, betrayal, subterfuge, etc, well? I've been playing Tactics Ogre and want a good fantasy novel that has the same feel as that or Final Fantasy Tactics. I know the plot of both of those get a bit batshit but the initial war for succession and bands of partisans warring for control of territory is really interesting to me. I looked around online for some suggestions but most of the results I found say ASoIaF which I've read, but honestly I think the politics and intrigue are kind of the most hamfisted aspects of GRRM's books. I'd also be okay with historical fiction. If you want to go old school, Fletcher Pratt's The Well of the Unicorn. And of course there's always Malazan.
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Feb 10, 2022 19:57
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MockingQuantum posted:I asked a similar question over in the general book recommendation thread, but I figured I'd ask here too: what are some fantasy novels that do politics, large-scale war, shifting alliances, betrayal, subterfuge, etc, well? I've been playing Tactics Ogre and want a good fantasy novel that has the same feel as that or Final Fantasy Tactics. I know the plot of both of those get a bit batshit but the initial war for succession and bands of partisans warring for control of territory is really interesting to me. I looked around online for some suggestions but most of the results I found say ASoIaF which I've read, but honestly I think the politics and intrigue are kind of the most hamfisted aspects of GRRM's books. I'd also be okay with historical fiction. If you ask me, Spellmonger is the king. Be advised, though- this is actually a slice of life series with an overall plot. It's absolutely glacial, proceeding at a fairly realistic pace for a feudal society- they spend years just raising levies and doing preliminary logistics to fight campaigns. But if you wanted to read about a fairly smart and crafty wizard in the right place and the right time to revolutionize society in the face of an extinction war versus goblins and totally-not-Drow, this is the one to read. It's loving awesome. And much like real aristocratic societies, personal relationships between various nobles have massive consequences, so things can change at the drop of a hat.
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Feb 10, 2022 20:13
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I really enjoyed that series, mostly to learn about medieval political structures.
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Feb 10, 2022 20:29
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It's literally a historical fiction and slice of life about the emergence of the bourgeoisie and working class masquerading as a doorstopper fantasy series lol. I love it.
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Feb 10, 2022 20:34
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ToxicFrog posted:Looking back at my journal entry for the book, it's because the government tried to force him to do work that would benefit society somewhat rather than just loving everyone else over in order to become rich. See, even without the badpolitic, if that is an accurate summary then I struggle to believe that someone who could turn out such utter poo poo mid-career is actually capable of writing anything good. But this thread seems be full of recommendations along the lines of 'oh sure his main series is about an 18th c slave owner who is summoned to the future because only his magic sex skills can defeat the aliens, but god drat no one else writes about sentient .53 inch railgun shells in a radar dominated operational setting that also has dragons so guess we're stuck with him'
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Feb 10, 2022 20:50
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Armauk posted:Has any read The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson? The Diamond Age has a lot of good stuff in it, but it's sort of less than the sum of its parts. I'd recommend it anyway.
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Feb 10, 2022 20:54
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Strategic Tea posted:But this thread seems be full of recommendations along the lines of 'oh sure his main series is about an 18th c slave owner who is summoned to the future because only his magic sex skills can defeat the aliens, but god drat no one else writes about sentient .53 inch railgun shells in a radar dominated operational setting that also has dragons so guess we're stuck with him' 
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Feb 10, 2022 21:06
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Strategic Tea posted:See, even without the badpolitic, if that is an accurate summary then I struggle to believe that someone who could turn out such utter poo poo mid-career is actually capable of writing anything good. 
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Feb 10, 2022 21:08
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Oh okay it's not full of them, but it is always fun to see them pop up from time to time
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Feb 10, 2022 21:21
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Strategic Tea posted:See, even without the badpolitic, if that is an accurate summary then I struggle to believe that someone who could turn out such utter poo poo mid-career is actually capable of writing anything good. Off the top of my head that's... Bakker, Turtledove, and Neil Asher. Are there more problematic authors who come up regularly that I'm missing? (Also seriously we don't rec these asses like...at all. Or have I been missing something?)
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Feb 10, 2022 21:21
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Ugh recommend is too strong a word; I walk it back I walk it back!
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Feb 10, 2022 21:26
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StrixNebulosa posted:Turtledove Don't know where you're getting that from, but Harry Turtledove has nothing even remotely like that.
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Feb 10, 2022 21:30
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Gnoman posted:Don't know where you're getting that from, but Harry Turtledove has nothing even remotely like that. Guns of the South not ringing any bells?
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Feb 10, 2022 21:32
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StrixNebulosa posted:Guns of the South not ringing any bells? that one was evil south african racists timetraveling to the past it's totally different
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Feb 10, 2022 21:43
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also has anyone ITT ever recommended the guns of the south
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Feb 10, 2022 21:44
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StrixNebulosa posted:Guns of the South not ringing any bells? I'm quite familiar with it. That's not his "main series", and it isn't a "praise the Confederacy! White supremacy forever!" book. The big thing at the end is the Confederates finding out that their "peculiar institution" is considered an abomination by history and the future world holds them in deep contempt.
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Feb 10, 2022 21:45
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I just found an old pulp copy of Harry Harrison's Deathworld Trilogy. I expected nothing, and yet it's compulsively readable. Do I need to find more from this guy?
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Feb 10, 2022 21:47
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The worst I've ever heard about turtledove is that hes boring which is true of many authors from the same era. I liked reading Asimov but the truth is I enjoying thinking about an idea or two that was presented more than the actual books.
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Feb 10, 2022 22:12
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mdemone posted:I just found an old pulp copy of Harry Harrison's Deathworld Trilogy. I expected nothing, and yet it's compulsively readable. Do I need to find more from this guy? Stainless Steel Rat is archetypal but I read it 25 years ago so no idea if it still holds up The Stars and Stripes books are awful awful alt-history only readable if you like awful alt-history Speaking of that, Turtledove was fine to read in high school and college but he seems to be still doing similar alt-hist books with increasingly less interesting ideas while there is more cool stuff to read out there than ever before
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Feb 10, 2022 22:30
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2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004RD8544/ From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back by Seth Dickinson et al - $1.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089S7FPLB/ Please tell me more General Battuta. There's got to be an interesting story about getting involved in a project like this.
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Feb 10, 2022 23:32
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pradmer posted:From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back by Seth Dickinson et al - $1.99 Clicked for the General B., stayed for the Austin Walker. About the only person who could make me watch The Clone Wars. Hobnob fucked around with this message at 00:00 on Feb 11, 2022 |
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Feb 10, 2022 23:57
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By the way, here's my review of The Diamond Age from a few years back:Silver2195 posted:Just finished The Diamond Age. Not sure how to feel about it. There's a lot of interesting ideas, some great dark humor, and memorable prose. I'm just not sure it holds together as a whole very well. It almost feels like it should have been a trilogy rather than a single book; there's a lot that happens offscreen, there's some subplots that could have used more explanation, and it feels like the stuff about Nell's childhood and Hackworth getting coerced into making lots of copies of the Primer came from a different book from the stuff about the Drummers and the Seed, which in turn felt like a different book from the stuff about Boxer Rebellion 2.0. Some of the stories from the Primer, particularly Dinosaur's, don't even feel like part of the same series. Don't get me wrong, Dinosaur's story is hilarious, but it doesn't have much to so with anything else.
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Feb 11, 2022 00:06
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durtletove
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Feb 11, 2022 00:08
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Larry Parrish posted:If you ask me, Spellmonger is the king. Be advised, though- this is actually a slice of life series with an overall plot. It's absolutely glacial, proceeding at a fairly realistic pace for a feudal society- they spend years just raising levies and doing preliminary logistics to fight campaigns. But if you wanted to read about a fairly smart and crafty wizard in the right place and the right time to revolutionize society in the face of an extinction war versus goblins and totally-not-Drow, this is the one to read. It's loving awesome. And much like real aristocratic societies, personal relationships between various nobles have massive consequences, so things can change at the drop of a hat.
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Feb 11, 2022 00:10
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mdemone posted:I just found an old pulp copy of Harry Harrison's Deathworld Trilogy. I expected nothing, and yet it's compulsively readable. Do I need to find more from this guy? I think the deathworld trilogy is his most readable and fun series but from left field: West of Eden, his what if dinosaurs evolved instead of humans. It's a big sort of terrible but also a bit great. I also have a massive soft spot for his alternative- history Norse series, hammer and the cross but last time it got brought up in here people what all over it so ymv
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Feb 11, 2022 00:14
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branedotorg posted:West of Eden, his what if dinosaurs evolved instead of humans. It's a big sort of terrible but also a bit great. Okay yeah that's my kind of dumb poo poo
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Feb 11, 2022 00:18
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Sailor Viy posted:I know, right? I love the way he will come out with a casual reference to something like a god, spirit or other dimension--stuff that in western fantasy would be "worldbuilding" but with Okri is just part of the texture of the prose. Read the sample on amazon and yeah holy poo poo this is my jam, thank you for the recommendation
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Feb 11, 2022 00:51
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pradmer posted:2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson - $2.99 We didn't get paid but the editors were really cool.
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Feb 11, 2022 01:10
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mdemone posted:I just found an old pulp copy of Harry Harrison's Deathworld Trilogy. I expected nothing, and yet it's compulsively readable. Do I need to find more from this guy? I liked his "The Hammer and the Cross" trilogy a lot way back when I was on a vikings kick
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Feb 11, 2022 01:49
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Strategic Tea posted:But this thread seems be full of recommendations along the lines of 'oh sure his main series is about an 18th c slave owner who is summoned to the future because only his magic sex skills can defeat the aliens, but god drat no one else writes about sentient .53 inch railgun shells in a radar dominated operational setting that also has dragons so guess we're stuck with him' excuse me sir, that's the Mil-SciFi thread
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Feb 11, 2022 01:53
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