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Macdeo Lurjtux posted:I doubt it, she's Australian so I don't think she plays a lot of baseball. She's a kiwi you plonking drongo (glowers introvertedly at u)
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Jan 25, 2024 01:46
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sebmojo posted:She's a kiwi you plonking drongo (glowers introvertedly at u) go eat a weta mate. she's as Australian as Sam Neil, Russel Crowe, Split Enz, Melanie Bracewell and Lorde
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Jan 25, 2024 02:27
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More characters should have forum enemies and grudges, imho. "Sire! The barbarians are at the gate! What are your orders?" *frantic typing, muttering* "listen here you little poo poo..." "SIRE!"
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Jan 25, 2024 03:03
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I've now found the first three of Hugh Cook's Chronicles of an Age of Darkness books in op shops since hearing them talked about in this thread. The first one was excellent, a crying shame it's gone out of print and largely been forgotten. The second was a bit more slight (I think he didn't really want to write it but was encouraged to by the publisher?) but still had a lot of great moments. I loved the protagonist wandering around just trying to survive long enough to lose his virginity. I'm looking forward to the third one... since it's called "The Women and the Warlords" hopefully it will fix the issue of the first two books being total sausage fests.
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Jan 25, 2024 03:38
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shrike82 posted:yeah finished machine vendetta and lol at that ending (or lack thereof)... I've never read a Reynolds book and thought "That was a full ending!"
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Jan 25, 2024 04:00
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Sailor Viy posted:I've now found the first three of Hugh Cook's Chronicles of an Age of Darkness books in op shops since hearing them talked about in this thread. Yeah, his publisher thought The Women and the Warlords was a mistake and told him to penis the series up a bit, so we got a quick slight picaresque as a result. The Women and the Warlords is a definite counterpoint to The Wizards and the Warriors and has a fantastic fight scene and a great protagonist; it's one of the best in the series, I think.
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Jan 25, 2024 05:16
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sebmojo posted:She's a kiwi you plonking drongo (glowers introvertedly at u) If New Zealand was a real place it would appear on maps.
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Jan 25, 2024 05:36
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Macdeo Lurjtux posted:If New Zealand was a real place it would appear on maps. We appear on good maps, because we have taste
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Jan 25, 2024 06:26
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Inexplicable Humblebrag posted:sounds like faint praise - it's not. book good, imo. House of Open Wounds goes way harder and way deeper. I'd read that next if I were you; I'm not, but that's what I did.
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Jan 25, 2024 06:37
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Jesus loving Christ, only 32% in Exordia, why did the publisher sit on this for a goddamn year? Of course anything with publishers I tie back to Prince, where they rejected every last-loving-album in the contract for a decade, and told him they’d keep doing it until he signed an extension.
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Jan 25, 2024 06:41
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There is more going on in the first third of Exordia than in some trilogies I've read. Exordia rules.
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Jan 25, 2024 08:31
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Sailor Viy posted:I've now found the first three of Hugh Cook's Chronicles of an Age of Darkness books in op shops since hearing them talked about in this thread. I really like The Women and The Warlords, especially as it feels like a commentary on George RR Martin's Daenerys/Khaleesi/Mother of Dragons stuff half a decade before Game of Thrones. It doesn't fix the issue of the first two being sausage fest so much as make the issue of them being a sausage fest the entire point.
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Jan 25, 2024 08:39
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FPyat posted:I've never read a Reynolds book and thought "That was a full ending!" Agree with this. I listen/read Reynolds when I want to google when the next in the standalone book is being released. I’m looking at you House of Suns in particular. *edit* I continue the madness that is refreshing myself on the Expeditionary Force series before I listen to book 16. Only 20 hours left of book 13…
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Jan 25, 2024 08:48
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General Battuta posted:The character has forums grudges, not me. poo poo, now I know I'm one of them.
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Jan 25, 2024 09:26
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sebmojo posted:She's a kiwi you plonking drongo (glowers introvertedly at u) Mate, if they are born here or stay here we take credit for em all the same. Edit: beaten.
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Jan 25, 2024 11:51
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mllaneza posted:House of Open Wounds goes way harder and way deeper. I'd read that next if I were you; I'm not, but that's what I did. yeah i'm gonna pick it up presently i think also to note for UK readers and, presumably, anyone with a VPN, City of Last Chances is apparently £1.99 at the mo. it's definitely worth a punt at that price
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Jan 25, 2024 12:58
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Admiralty Flag posted:Tollywood is loving insane, and I mean that as the highest possible compliment. I already had parts 1 & 2 in my to watch list and will make sure they make it there sooner rather than later. I'm catching up on this thread after far too long a break from reading, but in that break I found Tollywood and Kollywood movies to be exceptionally fun. I've added the ones from the thread to my list, so thanks for the suggestions people have recommended! Not quite sci fi but I'd still somewhat call it fantasy in modern day, the lokiverse movies (Kaithi, Vikram, Leo) are ridiculous fun if you enjoy over the top action movies, with only one or two occasional wonderful dance numbers. If you're not sure you're in for all 3 movies, start at Leo and if you enjoy it, watch the others for extra context. Anirudh is a composer I've started following as he's done some incredible work. (Also, nthing the RRR recommendation, it's a wonderful movie.) Back to books, I'm excited about Exordia, I'd forgotten I had it pre-ordered! And all the talk of Cherryh has me ready to jump into those. I bought them ages ago in thread recommendations but I feel I occasionally read too many books to the point that I burn out and need to take a few month break, where I switch to crafts and games. Trying to figure out my limits there because man I love devouring a great sci fi book and being teleported to a totally different reality while I'm there.  Edit: I started on Exordia, I love it. Just what I wanted today 
Injera fucked around with this message at 16:21 on Jan 25, 2024 |
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Jan 25, 2024 15:37
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Yep, also reading and enjoying Exordia. I was worried it would be too grimdark, but, while certainly grim, it doesn't feel gratuitously so? Also, I'm only 10% in, but it's seeming more and more likely that humanity is going to save the universe by having invented the trolly problem. In which case I will laugh, a lot.
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Jan 25, 2024 23:34
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Sailor Viy posted:I've now found the first three of Hugh Cook's Chronicles of an Age of Darkness books in op shops since hearing them talked about in this thread. Yeah I borrowed the 3rd and 4th off a buddy after finding the first couple in shops, ready to go as soon as i finish the current kindle one and looking forward to it. There used to be huge ranks of them at every 2nd hand bookshop in NZ and my eyes glazed over them, so it's a shame I only got to this now.
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Jan 25, 2024 23:39
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I picked up an Andre Norton Witch World omnibus a couple weeks ago after never reading her stuff before because I always thought the covers were cheesy (yes this is not a good way to go about things). Turns out I love her writing and I've now read 5 Witch World books, of which Zarsthor's Bane has been my favorite. Currently looking to read some of her other works but since she was so prolific the choices for what to pick up next are overwhelming - if you're a Norton fan what do you recommend? Alternately are there any books I should avoid?
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Jan 26, 2024 00:53
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fez_machine posted:I really like The Women and The Warlords, especially as it feels like a commentary on George RR Martin's Daenerys/Khaleesi/Mother of Dragons stuff half a decade before Game of Thrones. Yeah, I can see even in the second book that it's not just unreflective male-centric focus; he actually has a pretty sharp satirical eye for what we'd now call "toxic masculinity". The protagonist spends the whole book obsessing over losing his virginity, and when he finally gets laid he's like "Is that it??"
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Jan 26, 2024 03:51
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Rain Brain posted:I picked up an Andre Norton Witch World omnibus a couple weeks ago after never reading her stuff before because I always thought the covers were cheesy (yes this is not a good way to go about things). Turns out I love her writing and I've now read 5 Witch World books, of which Zarsthor's Bane has been my favorite. Currently looking to read some of her other works but since she was so prolific the choices for what to pick up next are overwhelming - if you're a Norton fan what do you recommend? Alternately are there any books I should avoid? I remember liking Cat's Eye a lot
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Jan 26, 2024 06:29
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mllaneza posted:House of Open Wounds goes way harder and way deeper. I'd read that next if I were you; I'm not, but that's what I did. house of open wounds is the first time i've gotten whiplash from a series. it's such a massive shift in tone, setting, vibes, etc, to the point where i wonder why they're in the same series. you could absolutely walk straight into house of open wounds without reading the previous book that's not a bad thing, as such: i finished city of last chances but didn't like it too much. i liked house is open wounds way more
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Jan 26, 2024 10:47
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Rain Brain posted:I picked up an Andre Norton Witch World omnibus a couple weeks ago after never reading her stuff before because I always thought the covers were cheesy (yes this is not a good way to go about things). Turns out I love her writing and I've now read 5 Witch World books, of which Zarsthor's Bane has been my favorite. Currently looking to read some of her other works but since she was so prolific the choices for what to pick up next are overwhelming - if you're a Norton fan what do you recommend? Alternately are there any books I should avoid? I like her Dipple-set SF books - sort of a thematic series rather than an actual one. The Dipple is a refugee camp from a war between galactic governments that's now over, but the inhabitants' homeworlds are now either scorched rock or ceded to the other side. So the only ways out are a) get a job that comes with a subcitizenship (near impossible), b) sign up as contract labour on a colony world and hope to not get worked to death/et by a monster/whatever or c) the Thieves' Guild is always willing to recruit ambitious youngsters. She went back to the setting, but 3 of her earlier books are one each of these - Catseye's protagonist is lucky enough to get a legit job, unfortunately the pet shop he gets a job in has animals a bit more exotic that he realises; Night of Masks' one gets roped into a criminal plot where he's impersonating a diplomat's kid's imaginary friend; and the Janus duology's sells himself into servitude on a planet where (as so very often happens in Norton's SF) nobody checked hard enough that the ancient alien civilisation on it was actually gone. The Zero Stone and sequel are fun too, with an ending so spectacularly stupid I'm sniggering just thinking about it. I deeply regret the lack of further sequels to that; I WANT them. (Not least because I like to read it as alt-universe Green Lantern fanfic.) Breed to Come is post-apocalypse mutant intelligent cats.  Judith Tarr did a full Norton readthrough on Tor.com a while back, though that might be a bit spoilery?
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Jan 26, 2024 12:42
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Thanks for the recommendations Bilirubin and Runcible Cat, sounds like I'll be moving on to the Dipple books once I wrap up Year of the Unicorn.
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Jan 26, 2024 22:09
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Runcible Cat posted:Breed to Come I'm assuming this is not a sex thing, but it does sound like someone touting an OnlyFans.
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Jan 26, 2024 22:34
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I think it usually happens in the reverse order.
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Jan 26, 2024 22:35
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If you want The Coming Race, you gotta Breed to Come
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Jan 26, 2024 23:07
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Gaius Marius posted:I think it usually happens in the reverse order.
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Jan 26, 2024 23:15
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Consider Phlebas (Culture #1) by Iain M Banks - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0013TX6FI/ Italian Folktales by Italo Calvino - $1.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EXBRFXM/
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Jan 26, 2024 23:21
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General Battuta posted:If you want The Coming Race, you gotta Breed to Come 
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Jan 26, 2024 23:31
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redleader posted:house of open wounds is the first time i've gotten whiplash from a series. it's such a massive shift in tone, setting, vibes, etc, to the point where i wonder why they're in the same series. you could absolutely walk straight into house of open wounds without reading the previous book The big weakness of City of Last Chances is that it wasn't about much. It had interesting characters doing interesting things in an interesting setting, but there wasn't a lot of substance to it. No deeper meaning underlying the story, nothing to dig down into. House of Open Wounds has all the interesting stuff, but there's so much more meaning to everything. I wouldn't be at all surprised if House of Open Wounds wasn't conceived of first, and City of Last Chances wasn't a "prequel" to establish the setting and stakes. An appetizer and main course if you will.
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Jan 27, 2024 00:09
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I've barely read any urban fantasy, but The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell is doing a fantastic job of extending mundane chapters to the point that you almost forget there's anything supernatural in the book, and then abruptly shifting into frightening intrusions of the weird.
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Jan 27, 2024 08:27
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mllaneza posted:The big weakness of City of Last Chances is that it wasn't about much. It had interesting characters doing interesting things in an interesting setting, but there wasn't a lot of substance to it. No deeper meaning underlying the story, nothing to dig down into. House of Open Wounds has all the interesting stuff, but there's so much more meaning to everything. AT said that HoOW came from a convention discussion after he'd finished CoLC - I saw that in an interview but have no idea where
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Jan 27, 2024 08:55
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General Battuta posted:Hello thread. My first book in four years is out today. It is called EXORDIA. That looks right up my alley. But I tend to listen to audio books on audible. The amazon store page claims that it's available but I can't find it on the audible app when I searched the title or your name. Does anyone know why that might be? I was able to buy it on the amazon store page and it did get synched, but this is weird and might mean that fewer people will find this audio book.
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Jan 27, 2024 09:57
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cant cook creole bream posted:That looks right up my alley. But I tend to listen to audio books on audible. The amazon store page claims that it's available but I can't find it on the audible app when I searched the title or your name. Does anyone know why that might be? i think this got mentioned before but it seems to be autocorrecting to Exodia. https://www.audible.com/pd/Exordia-...2b-8c8dceb62f2c
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Jan 27, 2024 10:00
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uber_stoat posted:i think this got mentioned before but it seems to be autocorrecting to Exodia. Exordia: The Forbidden Book
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Jan 27, 2024 10:28
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I wish I lived in a world where three stars meant I really liked this, it’s very good and five stars was reserved for, IDK, Ulysses. However, this is the hell world so I slapped a five star review on Amazon to support our goon friend. Hopefully it processes soon enough and lures more people into buying Exordia. Which my phone absolutely wants to correct into Expedia, what the hell. Anyway, I am looking forward to actually enjoying the book as of tonight. Busy day ahead first. Anyone else sick of this scale of 5 stars meaning I liked the thing and every other rating meaning I hated it? I mean, some of my favorite books are three or four stars, I would never rate them five stars…
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Jan 27, 2024 10:52
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Amazon's rating system is predictive, they recommend based on how similar your opinions are to other people, not some bullshit global score.
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Jan 27, 2024 10:56
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branedotorg posted:AT said that HoOW came from a convention discussion after he'd finished CoLC - I saw that in an interview but have no idea where It's in the acknowledgement page at the end of HoOW. There was a convention panel on magical healing in fantasy literature that he credits as inspiring what led to HoOW. I should have mentioned that, it provides a lot of support for my thesis that HoOW was the intended result of the writing exercise that produced both CoLC and HoOW. He describes the panel as happening "years ago", which to me sounds like it pre-dates both books. HoOW is a book that seems like it required a lengthy gestation period, so I'm going with the theory that that panel took place before he started writing either book.
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Jan 27, 2024 11:08
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