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A Sneaker Broker posted:War, Drama, Action, epicness. Exordia. It's a lot of things, and very good, but a solid chunk of it is nerding out about modern (and invented alien) military hardware and combat.
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Jan 31, 2024 20:30
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A Sneaker Broker posted:War, Drama, Action, epicness. Adrian Tchaikovsky's The Final Architecture trilogy
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Jan 31, 2024 20:32
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The Clap posted:I guess here's where I ask for recommendations along the same vein even though nothing will probably hit quite like Between Two Fires did haha. Kate Heartfield’s Armed in Her Fashion is quite similar in its Boschian influences and whole “devils invade 14th c. Europe” setting. Possibly also Brian Catling’s Hollow, though I haven’t read it.
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Jan 31, 2024 20:42
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Injera posted:I am sad I couldn't find these volumes, I tried! I ended up going with the one below which I do absolutely adore. I usually go ebook as I've moved across the ocean and various other places since, so lugging around a library is kinda expensive... But having this around has made me laugh many times when I see it. Exordia has taken priority for now, but I think chanur is next. Be warned! I owned this very volume many years ago. The story is classic and the Micael Whelan cover art is great, but... There are five novels in the Chanur series. The first and fifth are basically standalone stories; #2 through #4 form a trilogy. This "omnibus" volume collects books 1 through 3. So, the initial standalone, and 2/3 of the next story. Go figure. Yeah, so you're either going to want to track down a singleton edition of "Chanur's Homecoming" (book 4), or whatever the other omnibus was called that collected both #4 and #5.
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Jan 31, 2024 20:55
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The Clap posted:Just finished Between Two Fires last night... I don't have much to say about it that hasn't already been said in this thread other than that I found it very moving. The concept itself was very appealing to me from the jump so I knew I'd like it but I couldn't really prepare myself for how much I'd love it. It doesn't have the same father-and-daughter heart, more of a "god I am hosed up!!!" heart, but ASH A SECRET HISTORY is full of weird cosmic horror stuff in a well researched feudal Europe. CW for sexual assault.
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Jan 31, 2024 20:57
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General Battuta posted:It doesn't have the same father-and-daughter heart, more of a "god I am hosed up!!!" heart, but ASH A SECRET HISTORY is full of weird cosmic horror stuff in a well researched feudal Europe. CW for sexual assault. The cosmic horror elements are very much what I was drawn to in Between Two Fires so this sounds perfect. GhastlyBizness posted:Kate Heartfield’s Armed in Her Fashion is quite similar in its Boschian influences and whole “devils invade 14th c. Europe” setting. Possibly also Brian Catling’s Hollow, though I haven’t read it. And queuing this one up as well for the same reason. Thanks very much y'all, always appreciate the stellar recommendations you're able to come up with.
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Jan 31, 2024 21:16
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Finished Ready Player One. I made the mistake of also buying Ready Player Two. The book did in fact, almost kill my will to read.
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Jan 31, 2024 21:37
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A Sneaker Broker posted:Finished Ready Player One. I made the mistake of also buying Ready Player Two. The book did in fact, almost kill my will to read. At least almost everything else is going to be better in comparison to those!
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Jan 31, 2024 21:53
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DurianGray posted:At least almost everything else is going to be better in comparison to those! Yeah, I'm thrilled I have some books on the way. Sidenote: What makes Barnes & Noble so cocky that they can charge double, if not triple, a book's price compared to BAM or Amazon?
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Jan 31, 2024 22:04
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They don't have Amazon's massive supply chain advantage or pull with publishers.
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Jan 31, 2024 22:10
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the misadventures of this indistinguishable band of urchins just keeps on going, huh. I’m a third of the way through the drat book, can we get back to the interesting stuff fake edit: I’m talking about Nona the ninth
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Feb 1, 2024 02:09
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buffalo all day posted:the misadventures of this indistinguishable band of urchins just keeps on going, huh. I’m a third of the way through the drat book, can we get back to the interesting stuff It does get better soon. But yeah, that part could have done with some punching up. Speaking of parts of books that could have done with punching up, the first 125 pages of Perhaps the Stars...
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Feb 1, 2024 02:17
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buffalo all day posted:the misadventures of this indistinguishable band of urchins just keeps on going, huh. I’m a third of the way through the drat book, can we get back to the interesting stuff This part is a lot more fun on the second read when you have an idea of what's actually going on. But the book definitely does pick up soon!
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Feb 1, 2024 02:21
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General Battuta posted:It doesn't have the same father-and-daughter heart, more of a "god I am hosed up!!!" heart, but ASH A SECRET HISTORY is full of weird cosmic horror stuff in a well researched feudal Europe. CW for sexual assault. That's is indeed a great book, but some dark poo poo goes on, often to the main character.
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Feb 1, 2024 02:23
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The Clap posted:
Take a look at Jesse Bullington’s books.
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Feb 1, 2024 03:02
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Jimbozig posted:Speaking of parts of books that could have done with punching up, the first 125 pages of Perhaps the Stars... Yeah...yeah. The book does improve markedly once it gets past that part but, man.
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Feb 1, 2024 03:09
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The Clap posted:Just finished Between Two Fires last night... I don't have much to say about it that hasn't already been said in this thread other than that I found it very moving. The concept itself was very appealing to me from the jump so I knew I'd like it but I couldn't really prepare myself for how much I'd love it. The manga Berserk, specifically the Golden Age arc which is volumes 3-14. Thats the story arc that keep getting adapted both in the 1997 anime and the movies and the recently released Memorial Edition tv series that recuts and improves upon the movies. An added bonus for me to reading Between Two Fires is it has so many elements from Berserk in it but contained in one book. Badass knight ferrying a defenseless yet mystical individual across an unforgiving landscape, brutal and unnerving fights with demons, former comrades who are now enemies, ravaging plagues, literal depictions of hell. And just a very very very similar tone. But where the golden age arc of Berserk is excellent and can be a stand alone tragedy in itself, it also connects to a much larger story that was cut short when the creator died last year. A friend of his and his former assistants are continuing the story based on his outline but it won't be the same. However its so similar to Between Two Fires that I would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone looking for more of that vibe, plus you get to experience some of the greatest artwork ever in comics. Like this scene of Thomas vs that lion demon is basically this panel from Berserk 
Ccs fucked around with this message at 03:38 on Feb 1, 2024 |
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Feb 1, 2024 03:36
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Groke posted:Be warned! I owned this very volume many years ago. The story is classic and the Micael Whelan cover art is great, but... Ahh! That's great to know before I get to the end of the book and then scramble to find the next one, thanks.  Off to see if any have good covers too 
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Feb 1, 2024 03:47
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StrixNebulosa posted:man, I have bounced off of that book like three different times. It starts good, the writing is really excellent, then we slam directly into our protagonist hanging out with the least trustworthy guys of all time and I just can't proceed. I've just finished the first half / The Shadow of the Torturer and there's no way I'm carrying on past that. It's slow, meandering, doesn't really go anywhere at any point. Most of the characters are hateful, especially the main character Severian. I pretty much forced myself to finish the first book only to find that... nothing really happens at the end anyway. So, nope - onwards to something else for me.
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Feb 1, 2024 08:11
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A Sneaker Broker posted:War, Drama, Action, epicness. The Vorkosigan Saga might be right up your alley. Very well written and full of page turners.
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Feb 1, 2024 08:17
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Major Ryan posted:I've just finished the first half / The Shadow of the Torturer and there's no way I'm carrying on past that. I found SotT felt like playing a tabletop roleplaying session with a DM who didn't have a set story / plan and was just winging it. I liked the writing well enough, very much a 'Vance Dying Earth but make it Grimmer' for me. I mean, Cugel was no angel either, but the humour at least was more overt in JV's books.
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Feb 1, 2024 11:23
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NoneMoreNegative posted:I found SotT felt like playing a tabletop roleplaying session with a DM who didn't have a set story / plan and was just winging it. I liked the writing well enough, very much a 'Vance Dying Earth but make it Grimmer' for me. I mean, Cugel was no angel either, but the humour at least was more overt in JV's books. I regret to inform you that it's even worse than you expect. Story structure that mimics a SotT or JV style picaresque is very much the design goal for a whole bunch of OSR tabletop games.
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Feb 1, 2024 15:36
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A Sneaker Broker posted:Finished Ready Player One. I made the mistake of also buying Ready Player Two. The book did in fact, almost kill my will to read. I'm sorry, I tried to warn you.
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Feb 1, 2024 16:16
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A Sneaker Broker posted:Finished Ready Player One. I made the mistake of also buying Ready Player Two. The book did in fact, almost kill my will to read. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWPMJwHrWFU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMBylNJQEbg
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Feb 1, 2024 16:19
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Yngwie Mangosteen posted:I'm sorry, I tried to warn you. 4 pages into The Way of Kings and it blows RDP out of the water. mystes posted:The only good thing about having read ready player one is that you can now be entertained by the following two youtube videos 
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Feb 1, 2024 17:56
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Demi is so great. I think this is about as mean as he gets.
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Feb 1, 2024 19:28
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Ccs posted:The manga Berserk, specifically the Golden Age arc which is volumes 3-14. Thats the story arc that keep getting adapted both in the 1997 anime and the movies and the recently released Memorial Edition tv series that recuts and improves upon the movies. I did this same Between Two Fires --> Berserk transition, and while the comparison is accurate... Man. Man. That one of the most hosed-up things I've ever read. I got vivid, intrusive flashbacks to some of that imagery for several days after reading it. Absolute nightmare fuel. I can't in good conscience actually recommend people read Berserk, even if it is a masterpiece of horror, because it is just so profoundly awful on so many levels. But if you've got a taste for deeply grotesque and disturbing horror with every possible content warning, plus an unbelievably obnoxious cartoony sidekick for some loving reason, then yeah, Berserk is a natural follow-up to Between Two Fires. All that said, strongly seconding Ash: A Secret History for people who want something that feels sort of like BTF.
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Feb 1, 2024 20:46
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I finished Exordia. What an incredible escalation of violence. I don't think I've ever read an alien invasion or military sci-fi novel that went this hard. ...I'm going to go immanentize my eschaton now.
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Feb 1, 2024 21:06
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A Sneaker Broker posted:4 pages into The Way of Kings and it blows RDP out of the water. Are you just starting on the Cosmere? If so you are welcome to the Sanderson thread, we're very good about spoilers and love first time readers https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3334571&pagenumber=1
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Feb 1, 2024 22:19
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pik_d posted:Are you just starting on the Cosmere? If so you are welcome to the Sanderson thread, we're very good about spoilers and love first time readers Bookmarked. Thank you!
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Feb 1, 2024 22:26
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A Master of Djinn (Dead Djinn) by P Djèlí Clark - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08HKXS84X/ Half Way Home by Hugh Howey - $1.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XL81G6P/ John Dies at the End (#1) by Jason Pargin - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002Q7H7JC/ Pyramids (Discworld #7) by Terry Pratchett - $1.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000W964S6/ Against All Gods (Age of Bronze #1) by Miles Cameron - $0.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09K78SJV3/ The System of the World (Baroque Cycle #3) by Neal Stephenson - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FC292K/ Defending Elysium (Skyward) by Brandon Sanderson - $1.49 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09M3ZV4Y1/ Shadow Speaker (Desert Magician #1) by Nnedi Okorafor - $1.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BX8R81PL/ Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor - $1.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O65X836/ Life After Life (Todd Family #1) by Kate Atkinson - $3.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008TUQ60G/ The Complete Cosmicomics by Italo Calvino - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E9FYU7G/ Fantastic Tales: Visionary and Everyday by Italo Calvino - $3.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E9FYU80/ Solar Lottery by Philip K Dick - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005LVR01K/ Our Friends from Frolix 8 by Philip K Dick - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008P9241G/ The Crack in Space by Philip K Dick - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005LVR6UK/ Lies, Inc by Philip K Dick - $1.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005LVR0AG/ The Adventures of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser Volume One: Swords and Deviltry, Swords Against Death, and Swords in the Mist by Fritz Leiber - $3.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0741VJC4D/ The Adventures of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser Volume Two: Swords Against Wizardry, The Swords of Lankhmar, and Swords and Ice Magic by Fritz Leiber - $3.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07L8WP9LR/ The King Must Die (Theseus #1) by Mary Renault - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DCGJ6UO/ Traitor's Blade (Greatcoats #1) by Sebastien de Castell - $0.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TV2K5NC/ Tyrant's Throne (Greatcoats #4) by Sebastien de Castell - $0.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TS264GD/
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Feb 2, 2024 00:18
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wait wait wait, someone *else* put traitor and tyrant into separate book titles in the same series? How dare they!
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Feb 2, 2024 00:59
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A Sneaker Broker posted:4 pages into The Way of Kings and it blows RDP out of the water. hell yeah, a lot of goons (and other regular nerds) think sanderson is incredibly mid-tier too, so there's a long way up to go in terms of really cool sf/f stuff depending on what you end up liking. And the Cosmere thread mentioned is cool and good.
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Feb 2, 2024 01:24
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silvergoose posted:wait wait wait, someone *else* put traitor and tyrant into separate book titles in the same series? How dare they publish them one year before!
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Feb 2, 2024 03:22
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silvergoose posted:wait wait wait, someone *else* put traitor and tyrant into separate book titles in the same series? How dare they! I'm glad I'm not the only.one to read "The Traitor Anthony Ryan" as the full title. Although honestly this makes the UK retitiling thing make even less sense.
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Feb 2, 2024 04:08
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A Sneaker Broker posted:Yeah, I'm thrilled I have some books on the way. Skimmed the last few pages so maybe someone else said this, but good lord, get a library card. Shits free. And through Libby you can get ebooks. Unrelated book chat: I took a book recommendation from Emily Axford and started The Blacktongue Thief and I’m really enjoying it. It’s funny, I haven’t been vibing with fantasy for a while now but this is really doing it for me.
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Feb 2, 2024 07:09
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Awkward Davies posted:Skimmed the last few pages so maybe someone else said this, but good lord, get a library card. Shits free. And through Libby you can get ebooks. The Hawaii Public Library system is extremely depressing, and one of my 2024 resolutions was to get back to reading, so I might as well start building my collection of books.
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Feb 2, 2024 07:11
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A Sneaker Broker posted:The Hawaii Public Library system is extremely depressing, and one of my 2024 resolutions was to get back to reading, so I might as well start building my collection of books. https://hawaii.overdrive.com/ You can check books out and read them on your phone. Definitely do what you want, but ebooks have massively changed the nature of libraries. When I worked in one, it was one of the main ways we checked out material.
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Feb 2, 2024 08:00
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Yngwie Mangosteen posted:https://hawaii.overdrive.com/ https://hawaii.overdrive.com/media/515229 "Wait time: About 11 weeks"
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Feb 2, 2024 08:15
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NoneMoreNegative posted:I found SotT felt like playing a tabletop roleplaying session with a DM who didn't have a set story / plan and was just winging it. I liked the writing well enough, very much a 'Vance Dying Earth but make it Grimmer' for me. I mean, Cugel was no angel either, but the humour at least was more overt in JV's books. That feels like a good comp, yes - it felt like each chapter was written independently from the last. Obviously that's unfair and there is an overall plot, but with short chapters that basically all end and then... nothing seems to get time to breath before you're off into the next, potentially entirely different thing. And yet even with that flipping, it feels so slow to actually get anywhere!
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Feb 2, 2024 08:16
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