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I just finished Vita Nostra and it was revealed to me that I am and have always been a verb in the interrogative mood. Wtf
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Jun 8, 2023 06:09
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oh poo poo book 2 got translated
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Jun 8, 2023 06:15
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Ramrod Hotshot posted:Has anyone read the archive undying and would you recommend it? I didn't realize it was out yet — everyone I know who got an early copy really liked it. I haven't read it myself, but there was enough positive noise from people I trust that it's pretty high on my list.
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Jun 8, 2023 06:42
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HopperUK posted:I actually can't stand his stuff but I have an affection for it anyway because it's just Discworld to me. And pretty much every other "humorous" fantasy novel published for a decade or so after Discworld took off. I've got some older books with his cover art on, and it's actually pretty decent before he went into his "everyone and everything is knurled and blobby" period, but I suppose it's unfair to ding a commercial artist for painting what people pay for...
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Jun 8, 2023 09:19
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I respect Kirby, but Paul Kidby is the superior Discworld artist.
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Jun 8, 2023 09:21
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Megazver posted:I respect Kirby, but Paul Kidby is the superior Discworld artist. bzz wrong kIrby defined discworld kidy merely depicted it attractively
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Jun 8, 2023 09:25
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fez_machine posted:bzz wrong Kirby didn't define anything, his covers were generic fantasy art (albeit bespoke). He was doing it before Discworld, he did it after. And he drew Twoflower as literally having four eyes because he somehow missed the joke that the character wears glasses. Paul Kidby is the one who created the definitive Discworld illustrations.
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Jun 8, 2023 09:29
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Jedit posted:Kirby didn't define anything, his covers were generic fantasy art (albeit bespoke). He was doing it before Discworld, he did it after. And he drew Twoflower as literally having four eyes because he somehow missed the joke that the character wears glasses. Paul Kidby is the one who created the definitive Discworld illustrations. Definitive enough that his Death/Rincewind/Twoflower designs got pinched (with acknowledgment) by the recent Amazing Maurice movie (which I heartily recommend).
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Jun 8, 2023 09:36
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pseudorandom name posted:oh poo poo book 2 got translated Yes! I was just looking for something to read. Something about the first one really stayed with me.
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Jun 8, 2023 10:37
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Runcible Cat posted:And pretty much every other "humorous" fantasy novel published for a decade or so after Discworld took off. Given I started this tangent, I wouldn't say I love his work either but it is such an intrinsic part of my reading experience in the 1990s - I can't imagine TP's Strata with another cover, or the majipoor books etc
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Jun 8, 2023 11:24
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Any recommendations of Cthulhu Mythos* stories or novels that are set in, or deal with, the distant future? I'm specifically interested in stuff that's linked to the themes of "The Shadow Out of Time"--the vastness of the future, extinction of humanity, that sort of thing--rather than just a story that has spaceships and also Cthulhu. I recently read "The Discovery of the Ghooric Zone", which absolutely nailed this, and now I want more. *or just Mythos-adjacent
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Jun 8, 2023 11:32
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There's one called The void by Brett Talley that is in the distant future and has spaceships and potentially Cthulhu (haven't read it in a long time and can't remember). Basically when they warp the ship to go ftl, everyone has creepy dreams while in stasis, and then it gets worse, and then poo poo gets real. The obelisk by Ari marmell is basically near future but deals with a massive extinction event and weird creepy obelisks and Boogeymen. Starts with the ISS astronauts waking up and realizing the entire planet is covered in dust and no one is answering comms. Then it gets worse.
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Jun 8, 2023 12:15
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I'm reading Hodgson's The Night Land which is relevant but also a big slog towards the end, so I don't know that I'd recommend it, exactly. The language is also weirdly archaic, not sure if that'll put you off or not. It's public domain in the US!
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Jun 8, 2023 12:32
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pradmer posted:Empire of Sand (Books of Ambha #1) by Tasha Suri - $2.99 That said--if you've read Tasha Suri's later stuff (The Jasmine Throne, The Oleander Sword) this book'll feel like a step down in quality. She definitely got better at both writing a pining romance and at making loving cool worldbuilding choices.
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Jun 8, 2023 13:47
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Sailor Viy posted:Any recommendations of Cthulhu Mythos* stories or novels that are set in, or deal with, the distant future? I'm specifically interested in stuff that's linked to the themes of "The Shadow Out of Time"--the vastness of the future, extinction of humanity, that sort of thing--rather than just a story that has spaceships and also Cthulhu. Sailor Viy posted:Any recommendations of Cthulhu Mythos* stories or novels that are set in, or deal with, the distant future? I'm specifically interested in stuff that's linked to the themes of "The Shadow Out of Time"--the vastness of the future, extinction of humanity, that sort of thing--rather than just a story that has spaceships and also Cthulhu. I’m not sure which side of the “Cthulhu with spaceships” line they fall on but there are a couple of short stories by Elizabeth Bear, one of which is called “Mongoose” that are explicitly Lovecraft in space in a decaying universe
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Jun 8, 2023 15:28
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America got extremely lame cover art so Kidby is the canonical Discworld artist in my mind, due to The Last Hero 
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Jun 8, 2023 16:43
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I am enjoying the new Ann Leckie. The presger translators were some of my favorite parts of the original trilogy and this book heavily focuses on them and they are appropriately weird af
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Jun 9, 2023 19:28
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Is the new Ann Leckie something I'm going to need to remember stuff from the previous books about, or is it reasonably self-contained?
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Jun 9, 2023 20:13
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fritz posted:Is the new Ann Leckie something I'm going to need to remember stuff from the previous books about, or is it reasonably self-contained? It's completely self contained. No crossover characters (at least so far) and it takes place outside Raadch space but the general political situation is where things ended at the closing of the original trilogy with the AIs demanding recognition under the presger treaty and a conclave called as a result which everybody is freaking out about.
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Jun 9, 2023 20:17
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MartingaleJack posted:I just finished Vita Nostra and it was revealed to me that I am and have always been a verb in the interrogative mood. Wtf I finished it as well earlier this week after hearing it be mentioned/recommended several times round these parts. I enjoyed it for the setting and the being a different take on the ‘magic school’ story and the wanting to know wtf is going on and it’s written in a way that I want to keep reading it. On the other hand, by the end I’m still no closer to having any idea wtf is going on, pretty much everyone in it is a dick, and most of the book send to consist of the main character shunning other people and having descriptions of her staring at book pages (other than the exciting interlude where it’s described how she listens to a CD instead). The other characters aren’t wholly meaningful for the plot, or other wise interesting. I ended the book being quite confused about why I’d enjoyed reading it and uncertain whether I can be bothered to read the next instalment of “Sasha attempts to comprehend that which cannot be comprehended”. 8/10 - wtf
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Jun 9, 2023 21:42
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That's actually kinda piqued my interest. How much romance/sex is there in Vita Nostra?
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Jun 9, 2023 21:47
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There is one very brief scene, but it's not gratuitous. I will put down my thoughts on it here in detail once I'm at a computer AND my migraine is gone.
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Jun 10, 2023 01:26
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Zorak of Michigan posted:Vigilance was a ruthless one. Richard Morgan's Market Forces hit me that way. It's not badly written, but the world and the main character's rage at his life spilled over into me. I’m still digesting it, in came out in 2018 but some of the generative AI still was goddamn prescient.
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Jun 10, 2023 03:32
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https://www.amazon.com/dp/1540390918 The Translators by Gord Rollo is on sale for 2.99, or the paperback is under  I love this book. It is batshit insane, amazing, and just overall one of those where you finish it and go "the gently caress?".
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Jun 10, 2023 11:20
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Thanks for the Moorcock recs, everyone. I started Elric of Melnibone and I think this might not be for me. I'll finish it eventually and poke around in some other stuff that was posted.
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Jun 10, 2023 20:07
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Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:https://www.amazon.com/dp/1540390918 Oo this is of interest, I picked it up.
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Jun 10, 2023 20:23
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Anyone read Saint Death's Daughter? Dang this is a weird rear end book, but I think I like it. Gives me kind of Charmed Life vibes but on an altogether more unhinged scale. edit: this post might've been why I added it to my list, heh Danhenge posted:I'm about halfway through Saint Death's Daughter and enjoying it. Sapphic necromancer fiction, but not as internet shitposter as Harrow the Ninth. A little bit more classic fantasy, maybe towards The Goblin Emperor in terms of...feel...? But not as cozy & with the sense that there are actual stakes.
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Jun 10, 2023 23:54
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UwUnabomber posted:Thanks for the Moorcock recs, everyone. I started Elric of Melnibone and I think this might not be for me. I'll finish it eventually and poke around in some other stuff that was posted. Elric of Melnibone is pretty rough, but the quality of Moorcock's writing does improve rapidly through the series.
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Jun 11, 2023 00:10
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silvergoose posted:Anyone read Saint Death's Daughter? Dang this is a weird rear end book, but I think I like it. Gives me kind of Charmed Life vibes but on an altogether more unhinged scale. I liked it! It was a bit more YA-feeling than the Locked Tomb or the Goblin Emperor (in writing style, I mean, I realise both TLT and Goblin Emperor are also about teenagers), but I enjoyed the characters and setting, and its willingness to dive head first into being just kind of unhinged.
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Jun 11, 2023 00:17
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Elric of Melniboné the first book inside the first book in the new Saga series is solid enough. The original short stories of which it is a prequel are better, but it does flesh things out in, to me, a satisfying way. After that it becomes a slog. I'm stuck somewhere in the middle of the second book in the new Saga series, and I'm not sure if I'll ever get back to it. Have buyer's remorse over preordering the three in the series (only to find that there was then yet ANOTHER one coming in).
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Jun 11, 2023 00:29
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cptn_dr posted:I liked it! It was a bit more YA-feeling than the Locked Tomb or the Goblin Emperor (in writing style, I mean, I realise both TLT and Goblin Emperor are also about teenagers), but I enjoyed the characters and setting, and its willingness to dive head first into being just kind of unhinged. Yeah that's kind of what I meant by likening it to Charmed Life, which is a Diana Wynne Jones book about a kid and his older sister who's manipulating him using his magic and trying to run their family when their parents died, etc etc. I'll keep reading, I'm not even that far in, it's just wild and dense.
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Jun 11, 2023 00:30
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silvergoose posted:Yeah that's kind of what I meant by likening it to Charmed Life, which is a Diana Wynne Jones book about a kid and his older sister who's manipulating him using his magic and trying to run their family when their parents died, etc etc. Actually, that's a much better way of putting it — it feels more like young adult literature from before the Twilight/Hunger Games led YA Boom, which I must absolutely stress is a compliment towards the book.
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Jun 11, 2023 00:36
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Ooh, got some interesting news from the Valancourt mailer. First, two books for $2.99 on Amazon (and possibly other places): John Peyton Cooke's Out for Blood Robin Maugham's The Servant And, this is especially for zoux: "We're pleased to announce two new titles we've signed! James Blish's classics Black Easter (1968) and The Day After Judgment (1970) will be joining the Valancourt lineup in 2024! These well regarded horror/fantasy novels have been long out of print, aside from Centipede limited editions, and are quite expensive secondhand. Look for more info on these from us soon."
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Jun 11, 2023 11:51
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All the Seas of the World by Guy Gavriel Kay - $4.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09CYNZLSV/
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Jun 11, 2023 16:22
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D-Pad posted:It's completely self contained. No crossover characters (at least so far) and it takes place outside Raadch space but the general political situation is where things ended at the closing of the original trilogy with the AIs demanding recognition under the presger treaty and a conclave called as a result which everybody is freaking out about. I just finished it and LOVED it. There are some characters from the earlier books that show up in passing or are mentioned, but they aren't major and it's not important if you recognize them or not. The book does a really good job at explaining the entire galaxy situation and also moving past that to actually tell the story that's currently happening. I really loved the Presger Translators in this book, they're so loving cool and weird and gross. silvergoose posted:Anyone read Saint Death's Daughter? Dang this is a weird rear end book, but I think I like it. Gives me kind of Charmed Life vibes but on an altogether more unhinged scale. I read it awhile back and I liked a lot of it, I think it had a really cool world and I definitely want to read any sequels. I feel like there was a real issue with the tone in the later chapters, it felt weird to be reading a kind of goofy climatic battle where the Big Bad is flying around by standing on birds, while also knowing an 8 year old is being tortured horribly off screen.
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Jun 12, 2023 17:56
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Ancillary Justice (Imperial Radch #1) by Ann Leckie - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BAXFDLM/ The City and the City by China Miéville - $4.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001NLKYQ0/ The Once and Future Witches by Alix E Harrow - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085C71YG5/ The Last Policeman series by Ben H Winters - $1.99 each The Last Policeman (#1) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0076Q1GW2/ Countdown City (#2) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B6OV90E/ World of Trouble (#3) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HXYHVNU/
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Jun 12, 2023 22:38
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pradmer posted:The City and the City by China Miéville - $4.99 Edit: Imperial Radch quite good too, but not mind-blowing to me like City and the City. Remulak fucked around with this message at 22:45 on Jun 12, 2023 |
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Jun 12, 2023 22:43
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pradmer posted:Ancillary Justice (Imperial Radch #1) by Ann Leckie - $2.99 Th Imperial Radch series is great, definitely worth a read. It does a good job of capturing culture clashes between some unique scifi cultures, plus the way the spaceship AIs work and the whole Ancillary concept is pretty hosed up in a way that also leans into the idea of "Everyone accepts this awful thing as OK because it's how they've done things for so long, they can't really imagine not doing it that way"
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Jun 12, 2023 22:43
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pradmer posted:Ancillary Justice (Imperial Radch #1) by Ann Leckie - $2.99 The last policeman series is great. Incredible mashup of noir and post apocalyptic delivered in a very grounded way.
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Jun 12, 2023 23:15
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I’ve been thinking about getting Ancillary Justice. Thanks, Pradmer.
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Jun 12, 2023 23:22
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