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pradmer posted:A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic #1) by VE Schwab - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ME0TBFE/ I know these are very booktok but are they any good?
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Aug 15, 2023 18:20
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I've tried to start A Darker Shade of Magic multiple times and just couldn't get into it. Maybe it picks up if you can make it further though.
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Aug 15, 2023 18:29
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Hobnob posted:I know these are very booktok but are they any good? No.
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Aug 15, 2023 18:29
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fermun posted:I am a US citizen and I worked for the Indian Consulate for about 9 months where my job was 6 hours a day processing applications for Overseas Citizen of India documentation and then for 2 hours a day I was required to take off my dress shirt, where I was supposed to wear a heavy metal t-shirt underneath to look like a bouncer, and smoke a nicotine-free vape, wait for a car (driven by a guy from Nepal) to show up, then I'd open up a locked door and transfer 6 locked suitcases to the trunk (it was always 6, sometimes one or two would be clearly empty), hop in, and go to an off-site location where they'd do additional security checks if needed, phone/online customer support, and various other things. I would say maybe half the people working there were not Indian citizens. Neal Stephenson! I like your books but these nano-stories are a lot more manageable.
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Aug 15, 2023 21:06
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Please, Stephenson has never personally done anything as cool as making hot dog soda in his life, let alone smuggled drugs for the CIA.
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Aug 15, 2023 21:50
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grassy gnoll posted:Please, Stephenson has never personally done anything as cool as making hot dog soda in his life, let alone smuggled drugs for the CIA. ferman's job training
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Aug 15, 2023 22:13
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What booze would go with a hot dog soda? Does Absolut make ketchup? I'm usually lurking this thread for recs, but came here to mention a debut novel Shaken Loose. It's a lost souls journey through hell story. I don't know if it's pulitzer material but I blazed through it (pun intended). It ends on a cliff hanger but apparently the sequel comes out next year.
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Aug 15, 2023 22:41
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BetterLekNextTime posted:What booze would go with a hot dog soda? Malört
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Aug 15, 2023 22:43
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BetterLekNextTime posted:What booze would go with a hot dog soda? Does Absolut make ketchup? Heinz and absolut did a pasta sauce colab but you could halve a few good tomatoes, a few squirts of ketchup into a mostly full vodka bottle, lid back on and leave it to steep for 3-5 days, then strain.
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Aug 15, 2023 22:49
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Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08FHBV4ZX/ Quicksilver (Baroque Cycle #1) by Neal Stephenson - $1.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FC1PJI/
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Aug 15, 2023 22:51
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pradmer posted:Quicksilver (Baroque Cycle #1) by Neal Stephenson - $1.99 how is the baroque cycle? Any strong opinions? if it helps I liked Snow Crash and Diamond Age a lot when I was younger but thought both were silly, but fine, when I reread them as an adult, and I absolutely despised Seveneves. I'm not certain I've read any other Stephenson but I do like historical fiction, generally speaking.
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Aug 15, 2023 23:01
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grassy gnoll posted:Please, Stephenson has never personally done anything as cool as making hot dog soda in his life, let alone smuggled drugs for the CIA. yeah fermum is not Neal Stephenson, but they might actually be Tom Waits
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Aug 15, 2023 23:31
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MockingQuantum posted:how is the baroque cycle? Any strong opinions? if it helps I liked Snow Crash and Diamond Age a lot when I was younger but thought both were silly, but fine, when I reread them as an adult, and I absolutely despised Seveneves. I'm not certain I've read any other Stephenson but I do like historical fiction, generally speaking. It's very long, it wanders all over the place, it primarily exists so that Stephenson can infodump at you about all sorts of interesting things and it kind of doesn't have a point but it also contains a lot of fun characters that have all sorts of engaging adventures. It is very obviously an (excessively long) intermediate step between Cryptonomicon and Anathem
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Aug 15, 2023 23:34
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I’m reading Declare by Tim Powers. It’s slow going and a very slow burn with its supernatural elements, but now I’ve gotten to where they show up more frequently. I really like it, well researched spy stuff. I was afraid as more was revealed about the supernatural it would start to feel mundane, but the author is able to maintain the eerie feeling.
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Aug 15, 2023 23:56
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Ccs posted:I’m reading Declare by Tim Powers. It’s slow going and a very slow burn with its supernatural elements, but now I’ve gotten to where they show up more frequently. I really like it, well researched spy stuff. I was afraid as more was revealed about the supernatural it would start to feel mundane, but the author is able to maintain the eerie feeling. Declare rules, if you like it you also get to read the Anubis gates and last call (my favorite). Tim powers kicks rear end
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Aug 15, 2023 23:59
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Bayham Badger posted:Malört This is the Sci-Fi/Fantasy thread, not the Horror thread.
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Aug 16, 2023 00:09
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habeasdorkus posted:This is the Sci-Fi/Fantasy thread, not the Horror thread. Tbf it's a drink only aliens could enjoy
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Aug 16, 2023 00:14
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pseudorandom name posted:It's very long, it wanders all over the place, it primarily exists so that Stephenson can infodump at you about all sorts of interesting things and it kind of doesn't have a point but it also contains a lot of fun characters that have all sorts of engaging adventures. All true. I just listened to the first 'book' of it again and enjoyed it well enough, but its a slow burn. I'm greatly looking forward to the Shaftoe adventures.
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Aug 16, 2023 00:18
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mystes posted:I've tried to start A Darker Shade of Magic multiple times and just couldn't get into it. Maybe it picks up if you can make it further though. Well that seems definitive; thank you.
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Aug 16, 2023 00:18
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MockingQuantum posted:how is the baroque cycle? Any strong opinions? if it helps I liked Snow Crash and Diamond Age a lot when I was younger but thought both were silly, but fine, when I reread them as an adult, and I absolutely despised Seveneves. I'm not certain I've read any other Stephenson but I do like historical fiction, generally speaking. I like it, with the strong caveat that you have to be willing to skim through the aforementioned info dumps, and whatever else you’re not liking. I’ve read the series a couple of times, I think? I think one of the series strengths is the expansiveness of the world, and of course Stephensons creativity in creating bizarre scenarios for his protagonists. It’s grand, it’s sweeping, it’s weird. I would not really call them historical fiction. Historical speculative fiction, maybe? They’re very Stephenson. Like listening to an incredibly knowledgeable friend who has a penchant for the weird, tells a good story, but does have the tendency to go on a bit too long about some stuff they may get interested in along the way. Awkward Davies fucked around with this message at 00:26 on Aug 16, 2023 |
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Aug 16, 2023 00:23
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buffalo all day posted:Declare rules, if you like it you also get to read the Anubis gates and last call (my favorite). Tim powers kicks rear end Exactly my three favorite Tim Powers books as well. The Drawing of the Dark is neat too, but those three rule. I think in the end I liked Declare the most, with the other two close behind, but it's tough. Declare might have been why I adore lowball and split hilo poker games, though.
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Aug 16, 2023 00:33
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MockingQuantum posted:how is the baroque cycle? Any strong opinions? if it helps I liked Snow Crash and Diamond Age a lot when I was younger but thought both were silly, but fine, when I reread them as an adult, and I absolutely despised Seveneves. I'm not certain I've read any other Stephenson but I do like historical fiction, generally speaking.
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Aug 16, 2023 01:05
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I'd put it as worse than Cryptonomicon but that's because I think cn is much better than okay (even accounting for parts aging poorly). Still, a fun enough read and very far ahead of Stephenson's worse books. I think I agree that Anathem is his best and arguably is Literature.
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Aug 16, 2023 01:19
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C.M. Kruger posted:Behold the deep science fiction lore of the Cassava tuber, which has to be soaked in water for 24+ hours. that's mostly low-quality cassava although the stuff sold in America is generally soaked Enough high quality cassava isn't dangerous generally, it's the poor people eating the harvest leavings that routinely die of cyanide poisoning along with their entire family I'm a fan of it even though peeling it is loving annoying, it has the taste and texture of a thoroughly buttered potato while not being full of butter
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Aug 16, 2023 01:27
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it's also called yuca root, Cuban food uses it all the drat time because it's cheap, tasty, and potato-tier calorie dense
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Aug 16, 2023 01:29
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Hobnob posted:I know these are very booktok but are they any good? I've only read the first one but it was decidedly meh and didn't sell me on picking up the others. It's got some interesting concepts but doesn't do anything with them, and the characters are thin and dull. Awkward Davies posted:I like it, with the strong caveat that you have to be willing to skim through the aforementioned info dumps, and whatever else you’re not liking. I’ve read the series a couple of times, I think? I'm not a huge Stephenson fan but I did really like the Baroque Cycle.
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Aug 16, 2023 01:43
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silvergoose posted:Exactly my three favorite Tim Powers books as well. The Drawing of the Dark is neat too, but those three rule. I think in the end I liked Declare the most, with the other two close behind, but it's tough.
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Aug 16, 2023 01:49
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Awkward Davies posted:I like it, with the strong caveat that you have to be willing to skim through the aforementioned info dumps, and whatever else you’re not liking. Inconceivable.
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Aug 16, 2023 02:00
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RDM posted:Seveneves is a dumpster fire end to end but the baroque cycle is ok. It's not as good as Anathem, I'd put it on the level of cryptonomicon. I quite liked the first half of seveneves then stopped so I don't know what the rest is like. The Elon musk insert is hilarious, he's abrasive and dickish but also incredibly brilliant and brave, and ddddddd
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Aug 16, 2023 03:39
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sebmojo posted:I quite liked the first half of seveneves then stopped so I don't know what the rest is like. The Elon musk insert is hilarious, he's abrasive and dickish but also incredibly brilliant and brave, and ddddddd That's the correct way to read seveneves imo. The second half (second third?) is about 90% exposition and maybe 10% story. The world is very interesting, but it felt like he could have explained it in much more interesting ways.
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Aug 16, 2023 03:56
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MockingQuantum posted:how is the baroque cycle? Any strong opinions? if it helps I liked Snow Crash and Diamond Age a lot when I was younger but thought both were silly, but fine, when I reread them as an adult, and I absolutely despised Seveneves. I'm not certain I've read any other Stephenson but I do like historical fiction, generally speaking. I read it years ago and remember it being good, but long as hell for no real reason. There's some interesting historical factoids buried in it. I enjoyed seveneves so I don't know how strong a recommendation I can make to you in particular. Google Jeb Bush posted:I'd put it as worse than Cryptonomicon but that's because I think cn is much better than okay (even accounting for parts aging poorly). I read cryptonomicon very late, after I read baroque cycle, I also really enjoyed it but like.. the ending was sudden and poorly written. The baroque cycle was more polished than that. Like maybe not as fun and entertaining as cryptonomicon but also didn't have this giant flaw in the plot right at the end of the book. Stephenson legitimately improved as an author but a lot of people really bounce off his stuff (I enjoyed REAMDE and fall: dodge in hell and I think there are a ton of people who hate those books)
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Aug 16, 2023 04:18
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Wow you think the second half of the post can’t live up to the first half but somehow it does
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Aug 16, 2023 04:36
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MockingQuantum posted:how is the baroque cycle? Any strong opinions? if it helps I liked Snow Crash and Diamond Age a lot when I was younger but thought both were silly, but fine, when I reread them as an adult, and I absolutely despised Seveneves. I'm not certain I've read any other Stephenson but I do like historical fiction, generally speaking. I remember enjoying the Baroque cycle. Lots of fun anecdotes and interesting bits of history. Lots of facts involves, with some definite and obvious story thrown in. Some parts I really liked, and I'm sure they're all his own tilt on history but I find them comforting (mild thematic and general plot spoilers) I liked the idea that progress improves when there is no strong central authority, you really saw that in the difference between England and France. I also liked the finance history and how gold was used for currency simply because of its density.. I'd like to read it again some day, but who's got that kind of time?
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Aug 16, 2023 04:45
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I’m reading Vernor Vince’s A Deepness in the Sky, which I like, except for everything being MSec and KSec and people saying “meet me here in a couple thousand seconds” Wtf
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Aug 16, 2023 06:06
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Awkward Davies posted:I’m reading Vernor Vince’s A Deepness in the Sky, which I like, except for everything being MSec and KSec and people saying “meet me here in a couple thousand seconds”  well, think about it, if you don't live on a planet and day/night is arbitrary (and conflicts with local time always), decimal time just makes senseafter a few hundred thousand years you might forget your culture pegged t0 to the unix epoch instead of the first moon landing 
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Aug 16, 2023 06:18
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I've always thought Vinge was incredibly prescient about networked surveillance and degraded information archives but those were already irl Internet issues at the time he wrote the Zone series
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Aug 16, 2023 07:51
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If you're in the mood for competence porn, then Project Hail Mary is really good on Audible because the plot has certain sounds being significant. It's no masterpiece, but if you've got a day of mindless chores etc it's a good way to pass the time for sure. Sometimes the brain just wants a burger. Just about to dig into Ambiguity Machines - Vandana Singh. Short sci-fi stories are great for the occasional commute and these come recommended by Ursula K Guin so I'm expecting to have a good time. Ambiguity Machines: and Other stories https://amzn.eu/d/9YTzQNp
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Aug 16, 2023 08:11
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Ninurta posted:A KJ Parker I haven't read, and it sounds like it's right up my alley. I had a great time with this one, but note it's pretty short and tight rather than being a full novel. Looks like there's a new novel series coming in October too: quote:https://www.amazon.com/Saevus-Corax-Gets-Murder-trilogy/dp/0316669040/ Ccs posted:I’m reading Declare by Tim Powers. It’s slow going and a very slow burn with its supernatural elements, but now I’ve gotten to where they show up more frequently. I really like it, well researched spy stuff. I was afraid as more was revealed about the supernatural it would start to feel mundane, but the author is able to maintain the eerie feeling. Just finished this too, and what a delight - I'd heard Tim Powers mentioned as influence on a lot of other things so it definitely felt familiar.
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Aug 16, 2023 08:46
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xiw posted:I had a great time with this one, but note it's pretty short and tight rather than being a full novel. October, November, December? Is that a thing now? Seems like a nice model.
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Aug 16, 2023 09:57
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Seeing some people gush about how Gene Wolfe blew their minds brings back interest in reading The Urth of the New Sun after I failed to finish it. I'll never know get was going through the heads of people who read the original four books and immediately saw them as layered works of genius, but maybe I'll find out a few things about who Severian is. Edit: By the way, has anyone read Stephen King's Fairy Tale? FPyat fucked around with this message at 11:52 on Aug 16, 2023 |
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Aug 16, 2023 10:03
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