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IShallRiseAgain posted:Are there any steampunk books actually worth reading? I'm not interested in China Mieville's stuff. Anubis Gate by Tim Powers is good, so is Michael Moorcock's work
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Jun 30, 2023 08:22
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I like K. W. Jeter's Infernal Devices, especially since it -- like Moorcock's Oswald Bastable books -- was written long before "steampunk" was a defined genre.
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Jun 30, 2023 12:37
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IShallRiseAgain posted:Are there any steampunk books actually worth reading? I'm not interested in China Mieville's stuff. I liked The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson. The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu is described as “silkpunk”, which is about Asian technological solutions in a medieval Asian cultural context using silk and windmills rather than brass and steam in a Victorian English cultural context. It’s also just an excellent book in an excellent series.
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Jun 30, 2023 12:50
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tuyop posted:The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu is described as “silkpunk”, which is about Asian technological solutions in a medieval Asian cultural context using silk and windmills rather than brass and steam in a Victorian English cultural context. It’s also just an excellent book in an excellent series. That sounds rad. But why is the first thing I think to do with 'steampunk but silk" is "build so many suspension bridges"?
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Jun 30, 2023 13:01
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Ken Liu's short story "The Long Haul From the ANNALS OF TRANSPORTATION, The Pacific Monthly, May 2009" is very good steampunk adjacent fiction You can read it for free here: https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/liu_11_14/
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Jun 30, 2023 14:10
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Magnetic North posted:That sounds rad. But why is the first thing I think to do with 'steampunk but silk" is "build so many suspension bridges"? A reason I love it so much is that the story follows this scientific revolution, but without fossil fuels. So like, an entirely different philosophy (and competing schools of philosophical thought that kind of mirror our own but not) and mythology (the gods are real but are dealing with the main tension of the series themselves: how to wield power justly, so their role in the plot isn't simple) that seamlessly fuels a revolution in ways that make perfect sense within the world he builds. I really can't gush enough about it. Some examples of tech they're working with at the beginning: Undersea tunnels Airships made of bamboo, varnished silk and using geothermal gasses to stay aloft Water-powered workshops "battle kites" Siege engines Eventually there are many other things. Whole extended sections describing how, say, robots could be created. How wind sculptures could be adapted to do work, stuff like that. Further, at each point of discovery, diversity is the key driver of the innovation, including biodiversity. If one character is blinded somehow, their perspective becomes an essential piece of insight into solving a problem. As players are maimed or changed by the events of the plot, their lessons and restrictions fuel further discoveries. Women are key players in all aspects of society (especially the military because they're light and small, perfect for lighter-than-air vehicles), despite a paternalistic and patriarchal social structure at the beginning. I seriously can't speak highly enough of the whole series. I have wept openly and had whole days ruined by twists in the plot and setbacks characters face. I can't help but share quotes with my friends and family because they're inoffensive ways to discuss challenging political ideas. It's just amazing work and I'm so glad I've spent the time with these books.
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Jun 30, 2023 17:22
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I would like to ask for some recommendations. I don't really have a hard genre wish, but ideally something that doesn't take place in the modern world as we know it. Some taste pointers: Loved: Robin Hobb - all series. Joe Abercrombie - all series. Umberto Eco - also everything. Liked: Jim Butcher - I think I've read all of his. Brandon Sanderson - Mistborn and Stormlight Archive. Did not like: Wheel of Time Malazan. Ideal book is listenable during hour-long walks.
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Jul 1, 2023 20:54
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Hawgh posted:I would like to ask for some recommendations. I don't really have a hard genre wish, but ideally something that doesn't take place in the modern world as we know it. Capek.
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Jul 1, 2023 21:03
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A Dead Djinn in Cairo (there are also some short stories in the same series) The gentlemen bastards Rivers of London Azhais fucked around with this message at 21:34 on Jul 1, 2023 |
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Jul 1, 2023 21:30
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I feel like the Craft Sequence books by Max Gladstone might be up your alley but idk if they have audiobook versions. They pretty much have to, right?
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Jul 2, 2023 01:48
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Tamsyn Muir's Locked Tomb series, starting with Gideon the Ninth. I don't do audiobooks myself, but I've heard much praise for Moira Quirk's performance of those. Maybe Yoon Ha Lee's Machineries of Empire, starting with Ninefox Gambit. I'm enjoying that quite a bit right now in between everything else I'm also reading because I have no attention span.
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Jul 2, 2023 02:22
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100 pages into The Alienist on my vacation and it’s great thanks for the Rec!
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Jul 3, 2023 04:31
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mentioned this in the SK thread (related to Carrie a little bit) but for a while i've been searching for like, something with the vibe of a transgressive novel but with women at the center of it instead of men, and crucially, actually good. and not The Bell Jar, cause i've been reading that periodically since high school :p
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Jul 3, 2023 04:45
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landgrabber posted:mentioned this in the SK thread (related to Carrie a little bit) but for a while i've been searching for like, something with the vibe of a transgressive novel but with women at the center of it instead of men, and crucially, actually good. and not The Bell Jar, cause i've been reading that periodically since high school :p Would Living Alone by Stella Benson count?
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Jul 3, 2023 06:17
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landgrabber posted:mentioned this in the SK thread (related to Carrie a little bit) but for a while i've been searching for like, something with the vibe of a transgressive novel but with women at the center of it instead of men, and crucially, actually good. and not The Bell Jar, cause i've been reading that periodically since high school :p Are you familiar with Kathy Acker?
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Jul 3, 2023 10:20
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fez_machine posted:Are you familiar with Kathy Acker? i am not!
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Jul 3, 2023 14:23
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landgrabber posted:i am not! It's a newspaper comic strip.
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Jul 3, 2023 14:29
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3D Megadoodoo posted:It's a newspaper comic strip. Holy poo poo this got me good
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Jul 3, 2023 15:11
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neurotech posted:Holy poo poo this got me good me too
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Jul 3, 2023 15:11
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Thanks for the recommendations!3D Megadoodoo posted:Capek. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karel_%C4%8Capek Any books in particular? Azhais posted:A Dead Djinn in Cairo (there are also some short stories in the same series) I've read the Gentlemen Bastards, but I remember nothing except liking them. And a single scene, that I'm pretty sure was from the first book. Might be time for a reread. Leraika posted:I feel like the Craft Sequence books by Max Gladstone might be up your alley but idk if they have audiobook versions. They pretty much have to, right? Audible only has the sixth book as an audiobook. Which is a ....weird decision. disposablewords posted:Tamsyn Muir's Locked Tomb series, starting with Gideon the Ninth. I don't do audiobooks myself, but I've heard much praise for Moira Quirk's performance of those. I have just gotten Gideon the Ninth. Book is good so far (about 2/15 hours in). Feels like weird court intrigue as experienced by someone with the soul of a burned out retail worker. Again. Thanks for the recommendations, everyone.
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Jul 3, 2023 17:54
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landgrabber posted:mentioned this in the SK thread (related to Carrie a little bit) but for a while i've been searching for like, something with the vibe of a transgressive novel but with women at the center of it instead of men, and crucially, actually good. and not The Bell Jar, cause i've been reading that periodically since high school :p Mrs. Caliban by Rachel Ingalls The Vegetarian by Han Kang The Color Purple by Alice Walker Geek Love by Katherine Dunn Beloved by Toni Morrison Sea Monsters by Chloe Aridjis For Kathy Acker, Blood and Guts in High School is her most popular, but maybe it's too post-modern. Read a sample, you'll know within the first two pages, or by the first drawing of cocks, if you're interested. There's also this convenient list at TransgressiveFiction.info Franchescanado fucked around with this message at 18:46 on Jul 3, 2023 |
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Jul 3, 2023 18:38
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Just finished The Mysterious Affair at Styles as the start of my Agatha Christie journey. Thanks to everyone who allayed my apprehensions about any upsetting content. I really enjoyed it. I liked the prose a little less than Doyle's, though it's her first and I was most recently reading the very last of the Sherlock Holmes works so it is hardly a fair comparison. Also, Hastings is a bit of a knob as compared to stalwart old Watson, though it's clear Christie understands that. However, the wrap-up was exactly what I wanted: it all comes together and I am left wanting to be just that littlest bit more clever. I guess I've got... 38 more books??
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Jul 6, 2023 01:01
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I think Doyle is the better writer and, for short stories in particular, has a style I much prefer, but Christie’s mysteries (fun to say) are much more clever in the crime and solving of it, and while Holmes is a bit of a drama whore in terms of revealing things at the end Christie mastered the “gather all the suspects and confront them” trope that is always so satisfying, and Poirot is an even bigger drama whore than Holmes. His decisions at the end of Peril at End House are hilarious what a guy. Also yeah Watson is a suave, brave, capable partner to Holmes while the entire point of Hastings is for the reading to wince as another masterful Poirot insult goes entirely over his oblivious head. There was some portrayal of Watson back in the early 20th century where he was bumbling that caught on but luckily newer adaptations have gotten back to him being a total badass. I think Kate Beaton did a comic on it…? Finished the Alienist. Super graphic as warned but very satisfying. Rich characters and the mounting tension of the investigation was fantastically done.
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Jul 6, 2023 01:23
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Tom Tucker posted:
She did a couple: New Watson Likes Jam Gay Watson
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Jul 6, 2023 02:28
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Hastings is fun in the Poirot tv show because they give him a new dumb hobby every episode and it's usually somehow relevant
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Jul 6, 2023 02:34
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Leraika posted:Hastings is fun in the Poirot tv show because they give him a new dumb hobby every episode and it's usually somehow relevant David Suchet and Hugh Fraser are treasures and no two actors have ever been better cast. It helps that the characters both have so much more “character” about them to the extent that every Holmes reimagining feels compelled to add their own twist but those two just nailed it the first time making any further attempts pointless.
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Jul 6, 2023 05:04
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Here's another weird one. Does anyone know an excellent manual on English grammar? I'm talking, like, the grade school level stuff of explaining what a participle is and how one diagrams a sentence. I sucked at school, so my writing ability was gained mainly through cultural osmosis. As a result, I sometimes feel like I'm missing bricks in the foundation of my knowledge.
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Jul 6, 2023 12:57
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Tom Tucker posted:Also yeah Watson is a suave, brave, capable partner to Holmes while the entire point of Hastings is for the reading to wince as another masterful Poirot insult goes entirely over his oblivious head. There was some portrayal of Watson back in the early 20th century where he was bumbling that caught on but luckily newer adaptations have gotten back to him being a total badass. I think Kate Beaton did a comic on it…? Yes, I was shocked upon reading the stories because I was aware of the 'foil' relationship as Holmes is smart and Watson is a fool. Rather, he's a very smart man but completely guileless.
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Jul 6, 2023 13:19
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Magnetic North posted:Just finished The Mysterious Affair at Styles as the start of my Agatha Christie journey. Thanks to everyone who allayed my apprehensions about any upsetting content. Watson is a doctor. Hastings is a captain. I think it's clear who's courageous and intelligent, and who's a poo poo idiot.
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Jul 6, 2023 13:29
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Skippy McPants posted:Here's another weird one. Does anyone know an excellent manual on English grammar? I'm talking, like, the grade school level stuff of explaining what a participle is and how one diagrams a sentence. I sucked at school, so my writing ability was gained mainly through cultural osmosis. As a result, I sometimes feel like I'm missing bricks in the foundation of my knowledge. I don't know what grade school is but I think Greenbaum & Quirk's A Student's Grammar of the English Language is easy to approach and starts from the basics. I'd suggest checking it out from the library and at least starting, to see if it works for you. e: Ah, you mean like elementary school. I'd shy away from anything aimed specifically at children because those grammars are likely to be poo poo and in many places just wrong. Greenbaum & Quirk is widely used by people who are learning English as adults, which is kind of sort adjacent to what you're trying to do, so it should suit your needs. 3D Megadoodoo fucked around with this message at 13:42 on Jul 6, 2023 |
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Jul 6, 2023 13:35
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Yeah, I was mostly being flippant when I said grade school. Anything basic and concise would do me fine.
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Jul 6, 2023 14:51
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Skippy McPants posted:Yeah, I was mostly being flippant when I said grade school. Anything basic and concise would do me fine. With grammar you have to choose between concise and easy to understand.
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Jul 6, 2023 15:04
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God, why must English be such a poo poo language?
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Jul 6, 2023 15:32
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Dreyer's English is a worthwhile read, but it's more focused on questions of usage and clarity than basic grammar.
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Jul 6, 2023 15:59
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I like the "Glencoe Language Arts Grammar and Language Workbooks". They have them for each grade and most of my students who need grammar refreshers (ESL or people who just forgot their schooling) really do well with them. I think their grade 9 one is probably a good place to jump off from.
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Jul 6, 2023 19:32
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One of the only textbooks I kept from university was my grammar book, I believe it was Essential English Grammar except now I can't find it. Was definitely a yellow textbook
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Jul 6, 2023 22:10
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Tom Tucker posted:David Suchet and Hugh Fraser are treasures and no two actors have ever been better cast. It helps that the characters both have so much more “character” about them to the extent that every Holmes reimagining feels compelled to add their own twist but those two just nailed it the first time making any further attempts pointless. The Jeremy Brett Holmes adaptations kinda did the same thing. The writers of the Benedict Cumberbatch Sherlock series evem said so, the reason they set everything modern day and remixed all the plots was they felt like Brett had already nailed the classic Holmes so precisely there wasn't a point in doing that kind of thing again.
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Jul 7, 2023 13:14
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:there wasn't a point in doing that kind of thing again. "No point in making a good show, let's make a dogshit one!"
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Jul 7, 2023 14:00
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Also way cheaper and just to hell with writing this glob
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Jul 7, 2023 18:41
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To be fair they were correct: Brett's Holmes is basically perfect and there's no point in remaking it.
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Jul 8, 2023 03:17
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