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Just finished the 3rd Expanse book & I'm pretty done with them. They felt like basic bro sci-fi from the start but at least the first had some body horror stuff & the conflict between Holden & Miller. Thin, cliche conflict but hey, better than nothing. 2 & 3 feel like more of the same, except the villains all get progressively dumber and stereotypical, plots all get dumber & stereotypical, and Holden is loving unbearable. He's at best a psychopathic rear end in a top hat who can't ever consider the consequences of his own actions, but the story treats him as a naif Mary Sue just trying to do the right thing and making the Hard ChoicesTM. First book felt like ok schlocky space-pulp, but three books of the same thing is too drat much. edit: on a positive note Black Water Sister was great, fantastic, really good.
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Aug 26, 2022 21:32
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Childhood's End by Arthur C Clarke - $1.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XG6MG3Y/ A Perfect Vacuum by Stanislaw Lem - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008FC7TZ4/ Peace on Earth (From the Memoirs of Ijon Tichy #4) by Stanislaw Lem - $1.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008533DBW/ Cross Fire (Exo #1) by Fonda Lee - $1.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0756KV6RR/ World of Trouble (Last Policeman #3) by Ben H Winters - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HXYHVNU/
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Aug 26, 2022 22:36
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idiotsavant posted:Just finished the 3rd Expanse book & I'm pretty done with them. They felt like basic bro sci-fi from the start but at least the first had some body horror stuff & the conflict between Holden & Miller. Thin, cliche conflict but hey, better than nothing. 2 & 3 feel like more of the same, except the villains all get progressively dumber and stereotypical, plots all get dumber & stereotypical, and Holden is loving unbearable. He's at best a psychopathic rear end in a top hat who can't ever consider the consequences of his own actions, but the story treats him as a naif Mary Sue just trying to do the right thing and making the Hard ChoicesTM. Spoilers for somewhere in books 4-7 (I don't remember exactly where lol) Miller comes back as a space ghost (maybe more than once) and it's the best part of whatever book it happens in And speaking of miller, what other books are like a sci-fi mystery novel?
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Aug 26, 2022 22:46
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Altered Carbon 
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Aug 26, 2022 23:14
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VostokProgram posted:And speaking of miller, what other books are like a sci-fi mystery novel? Planetfall by Emma Newman, Dark Orbit by Carolyn Ives Gilman, and Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty immediately come to mind. edit: And obviously Gideon the Ninth if you haven't read that!
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Aug 26, 2022 23:47
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pradmer posted:Cross Fire (Exo #1) by Fonda Lee - $1.99 Correction: Exo #2. I just finished the first one (Exo) after reading through Fonda Lee's Jade City/Green Bone trilogy. I rather liked Green Bone. Solid worldbuilding that unfolds over decades, fleshed-out characters, and plenty of slice-of-life in the mix. The overarching plots are about organized crime families with magic powers, but it's more focused on the characters than the magic. I typically struggle to sympathize with characters in organized crime dramas, but I rarely had that problem here. Exo's pretty good, though the subject matter (human enforcers working for invading alien colonists) feels a bit ill-served by the YA tone. malbogio fucked around with this message at 00:19 on Aug 27, 2022 |
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Aug 27, 2022 00:09
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VostokProgram posted:
Michael mammay - PlanetSide David brin - kiln people Pat cardigan - tea from an empty cup Warren Hammond- Kop series and there's another one about an ocean world Robert J Sawyer - Red planet blues A lee Martinez and Alistair Reynolds have written a few too There's a lot of em, sci fi/cyberpunk meets detective noir was a popular genre in the 90s and early 2000s
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Aug 27, 2022 00:28
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idiotsavant posted:Just finished the 3rd Expanse book & I'm pretty done with them. They felt like basic bro sci-fi from the start but at least the first had some body horror stuff & the conflict between Holden & Miller. Thin, cliche conflict but hey, better than nothing. 2 & 3 feel like more of the same, except the villains all get progressively dumber and stereotypical, plots all get dumber & stereotypical, and Holden is loving unbearable. He's at best a psychopathic rear end in a top hat who can't ever consider the consequences of his own actions, but the story treats him as a naif Mary Sue just trying to do the right thing and making the Hard ChoicesTM. Holden is a OD&D Paladin, engineer guy is the dwarf, pilot love interest is the Elf.
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Aug 27, 2022 00:29
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VostokProgram posted:And speaking of miller, what other books are like a sci-fi mystery novel? Haven't read them in years, but I've got fond memories of Richard Paul Russo's Carlucci books.
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Aug 27, 2022 01:10
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VostokProgram posted:Spoilers for somewhere in books 4-7 (I don't remember exactly where lol) in 3, and hes like yo holden slow your fuckin roll and holdens like what did you say? im golden and can do no wrong? cool i got this oops now thousands more are dead and everyone left wants to kill each other thanks to me, drat, the sacrifices i gotta make its so hard quantumfoam posted:Holden is a OD&D Paladin, engineer guy is the dwarf, pilot love interest is the Elf. idiotsavant fucked around with this message at 01:15 on Aug 27, 2022 |
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Aug 27, 2022 01:12
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like the main reason i'm not gonna bother with books 4+ is that the only thing left is for Holden to travel through the ultimate time-space portal to the end of the universe & finding a big, red button labeled "DONT FUCKIN PUSH YOU GONNA DESTROY ALL FUCKIN EXISTENCE IF YOU DO" & he turns to his totally hot totally brilliant mixed race engineering space babe and hes like... "i love you babe, but i have no choice ITS TEARING ME APART"
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Aug 27, 2022 01:24
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idiotsavant posted:Just finished the 3rd Expanse book & I'm pretty done with them. They felt like basic bro sci-fi from the start but at least the first had some body horror stuff & the conflict between Holden & Miller. Thin, cliche conflict but hey, better than nothing. 2 & 3 feel like more of the same, except the villains all get progressively dumber and stereotypical, plots all get dumber & stereotypical, and Holden is loving unbearable. He's at best a psychopathic rear end in a top hat who can't ever consider the consequences of his own actions, but the story treats him as a naif Mary Sue just trying to do the right thing and making the Hard ChoicesTM. Bloodlines by Chris Wraight is a licensed Warhammer book but I genuinely think it would appeal to someone without previous familiarity with the setting who wanted to read something with a Blade Runner mood.
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Aug 27, 2022 01:58
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idiotsavant posted:like the main reason i'm not gonna bother with books 4+ is that the only thing left is for Holden to travel through the ultimate time-space portal to the end of the universe & finding a big, red button labeled "DONT FUCKIN PUSH YOU GONNA DESTROY ALL FUCKIN EXISTENCE IF YOU DO" & he turns to his totally hot totally brilliant mixed race engineering space babe and hes like... "i love you babe, but i have no choice ITS TEARING ME APART" End of series spoilers this is not far off from what actually happens
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Aug 27, 2022 02:04
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General Battuta posted:End of series spoilers this is not far off from what actually happens holy cow, what a surprise. lol rip noble jimmy holdem, who never let a good man down
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Aug 27, 2022 05:40
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ngl if that's true it has half-convinced me to actually pick those books up again
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Aug 27, 2022 06:10
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Watch the teevee instead, it's better in every way afaict
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Aug 27, 2022 06:47
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sebmojo posted:Watch the teevee instead, it's better in every way afaict For one thing Amos is much more of a character
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Aug 27, 2022 08:13
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VostokProgram posted:And speaking of miller, what other books are like a sci-fi mystery novel? A couple of Aliette de Bodard's novellas are murder mysteries, The Tea Master And The Detective and Seven Of Infinities I think. All her Xuya universe stuff is good IMO.
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Aug 27, 2022 09:12
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tiniestacorn posted:For one thing Amos is much more of a character And it's got Cara Gee being awesome.
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Aug 27, 2022 10:25
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VostokProgram posted:
The Two Georges by Harry Turtledove is a straight up alt history police procedural.
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Aug 27, 2022 10:35
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tiniestacorn posted:
Caves of Steel?
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Aug 27, 2022 10:36
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VostokProgram posted:And speaking of miller, what other books are like a sci-fi mystery novel? I really enjoyed The Gone World by Tom Sweterlitsch. Interesting concept about time travel and murder.
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Aug 27, 2022 10:59
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I just started listening to the audiobook for Master and Commander. Honestly did not expect a 50 year old book about the British Navy to be so charming and funny right off the bat. And the narration is amazing. It's from 1990 or so and it seems to be a little less edited, you can hear the narrator swallowing and clearing his throat occasionally. It makes it feel like some kindly old man sitting and reading me a book.
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Aug 27, 2022 14:01
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I have never listened to an audiobook in my life but I hear such high praise for the Aubrey-Maturin audiobooks that I might drat well listen to them for my inevitable second read through (for the first time round, after beginning the series in 2015 I have one left) and maybe that'll put me onto audiobooks for good
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Aug 27, 2022 14:34
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I just started Master and Commander too, I'm up to chapter 5. Jack is such a dork I love him  .
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Aug 27, 2022 14:45
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Taffy Torpedo posted:I just started Master and Commander too, I'm up to chapter 5. Jack is such a dork I love him Jack's dad jokes and Stephen's inability to remember which bit of a ship makes it go are endlessly charming to me. "Stephen!" cried Jack. "You are come home, I find!" "I am so," Stephen replied affectionately. He prized utterances of this kind in Jack. Stephen's cadence and speech is so distinctly Irish that it was distracting having Paul Bettany in the movie, but only accent-wise. It's really an excellent depiction of those characters aside from that.
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Aug 27, 2022 14:54
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A Proper Uppercut posted:I just started listening to the audiobook for Master and Commander. Honestly did not expect a 50 year old book about the British Navy to be so charming and funny right off the bat. We have a Patrick O' Brian thread! https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3393240&pagenumber=66#lastpost
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Aug 27, 2022 14:57
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Three Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett - $4.49 each Equal Rites (#3) - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000W9393Y/ Mort (#4) - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000W967UQ/ Sourcery (#5) - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000W913S2/
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Aug 27, 2022 17:17
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A Proper Uppercut posted:I just started listening to the audiobook for Master and Commander. Honestly did not expect a 50 year old book about the British Navy to be so charming and funny right off the bat. Yeah, there's a reason why those books are so beloved.
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Aug 27, 2022 19:59
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VostokProgram posted:And speaking of miller, what other books are like a sci-fi mystery novel? Niven has some in the Known Space setting. Gil the ARM is about a cop solving high-tech crimes. Many of the other stories in the setting are scientific mysteries; things like "what killed the crew through an invulnerable hull ?" Niven's weird sex stuff is safely confined to the Ringworld.
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Aug 27, 2022 20:29
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mllaneza posted:Niven has some in the Known Space setting. Gil the ARM is about a cop solving high-tech crimes. Many of the other stories in the setting are scientific mysteries; things like "what killed the crew through an invulnerable hull ?" Niven's weird sex stuff is safely confined to the Ringworld. Actually rishratha makes perfect sense and promotes harmony and tolerance between races (Is there a bb code for a creepy sci-fi writer externalising fetishes?) branedotorg fucked around with this message at 23:10 on Aug 27, 2022 |
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Aug 27, 2022 23:08
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branedotorg posted:Actually rishratha makes perfect sense and promotes harmony and tolerance between races I doubt it, but we could probably rate authors on the Chalker index
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Aug 27, 2022 23:17
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branedotorg posted:Actually rishratha makes perfect sense and promotes harmony and tolerance between races I think it’s covered by  Ironically it’s Niven who sent lawyers after a fanfic writer for human-on-Kzin action.
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Aug 27, 2022 23:21
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I've read two new books to me over the last few days, Shards of Earth and Eyes of the Void by Adrian Tchaikovsky. They strive to be good, old-fashioned space opera, but I feel that while the first book succeeds pretty well the second fell flat. I think Tchiakovsky struggles very much with balancing his desire to write a personal story about a ragtag band of misfits in a dangerous galaxy with his desire to write a grandiose space saga with the fate of the universe at stake. I feel that he pulled off a good balancing act with Shards of Earth and failed in this book, and my instinct for why is that he wrote the big cosmic stuff to be a plot that only one character can interact with. What was mysterious and evocative the first go-around when they were more a looming threat in the background became tedious when it became a central active element of the plot. I also felt that he ended up not really doing much with his future human societies and alien races. They're around and doing stuff, but I feel like you don't get more than a surface level impression of any of them, try as he might to present some interesting conflicts. There's good ideas here, and I feel that Shards of Earth was a good story that balanced the various parts of its drama well, but the second book very much felt like it was just going through the space opera motions.
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Aug 27, 2022 23:33
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https://mobile.twitter.com/sapitosabroso/status/1563659566381924363
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Aug 28, 2022 00:20
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That is the Hound from GoT tv show with a fairy in the style of Berserk
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Aug 28, 2022 00:42
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Vienna Circlejerk posted:Ironically it’s Niven who sent lawyers after a fanfic writer for human-on-Kzin action. Niven: as SF authors, we should be writing about interspecies loving often Niven: no, not like that
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Aug 28, 2022 00:54
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Vienna Circlejerk posted:I think it’s covered by 
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Aug 28, 2022 01:04
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Cythereal posted:I've read two new books to me over the last few days, Shards of Earth and Eyes of the Void by Adrian Tchaikovsky. They strive to be good, old-fashioned space opera, but I feel that while the first book succeeds pretty well the second fell flat. I'm not sure I'd characterize it as going through the motions but I was definitely a little disappointed by the second book. It felt like he'd worked really hard on the characters in the first one and didn't spend as much time on them in the second.
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Aug 28, 2022 03:43
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I just finished A Memory called Empire and it left me cold in a way I wasn't expecting. I think the opening is really strong--the Aztec-inspired space empire is cool, the basic problem of "how do I keep my backwater space station independent of these guys playing Civ 5 on Settler difficulty from stomping all over us" is interesting, the early "the ghost in my head is malfunctioning" complication is a great way to turn up the temperature--but then it feels like it spins its wheels for the rest of the book and things mostly happen around her? Looking back over the last forty or so pages it feels like all the most interesting decisions aren't Mahit's? It's Yskandr who decides to sell the imago technology to the Teixicalaan, and it's Six Direction who offs himself to secure transition of power. Mahit's climactic decision, to return home and preserve some sense of her identity, makes sense, but it doesn't feel like it costs her in the way that really hits me. I was really hoping for something a bit more ambitious when I picked this guy up. I will probably still pick up the second one at some point, but should I adjust my expectations for it to something a little... cozier?
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Aug 28, 2022 04:07
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