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Something that always bothered me about the Inhibitor universe The inhibitors' raison detre is to prevent the rise of galaxy spanning civilizations because they would get in the way of a project to shepherd our galaxy through the collision with the Andromeda galaxy in 3 bn years. And if they don't, both galaxies won't be able to support life. But it's a "collision" in name only, more accurately the galaxies are going to pass through one another. I guess gravitational forces could move things around but it's not like every star is going to crash into another one
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Mar 7, 2024 22:41
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DACK FAYDEN posted:every time I read "dune movie" all I can think is "unfilmable"
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Mar 7, 2024 22:57
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The Stars of Legion by Kameron Hurley - $1.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BKR14LA/ This Gulf of Time and Stars (Reunification #1) by Julie E Czerneda - $0.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SI028SG/
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Mar 7, 2024 23:26
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Seconding Busiek's Conan run, really cool and captures that feeling of wonder, Cary Nord's art is great too. Some of the Truman stuff from Dark Horse also looks cool etc, some solid stuff in Conan comics.
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Mar 7, 2024 23:39
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I really liked Becky Cloonan's art for Brian Wood's adaptation of Queen of the Black Coast though I thought the colorist could have been a bit bolder. Somehow missed the fact Busiek had a run, need to get my hands on those asap.
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Mar 8, 2024 03:56
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zoux posted:Something that always bothered me about the Inhibitor universe The inhibitors' raison detre is to prevent the rise of galaxy spanning civilizations because they would get in the way of a project to shepherd our galaxy through the collision with the Andromeda galaxy in 3 bn years. And if they don't, both galaxies won't be able to support life. But it's a "collision" in name only, more accurately the galaxies are going to pass through one another. I guess gravitational forces could move things around but it's not like every star is going to crash into another one It's been a while since I read anything in that series, but wasn't it explained/handwaved as having something to do with the various gas clouds and nebulae in each galaxy colliding? Like, even though they're so diffuse, the relative velocities would heat them up so much they'd start giving off huge amounts of radiation, sterilizing massive regions of space? Or maybe something about the merger of the supermassive black holes causing problems? I could be totally misremembering, though.
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Mar 8, 2024 05:40
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Not to step on Pradmer's toe, but well worth a pickup for 99p until midnight (UK deal, may also be cheap in other countries) Stories of Your Life and Others: Ted Chiang https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stories-Your-Life-Others-Chiang-ebook/dp/B00L2EQODK/
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Mar 8, 2024 12:25
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As long as we're stepping on Pradmer's toes, a bunch of stuff that never goes on Kindle sale is on sale: Vacuum Diagrams by Stephen Baxter for $1.99 (iirc I am not alone in this thread in thinking this is his best work, it's a collection of short stories spanning an entire future history of humanity) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0012095DU Imaginary Magnitude by Stanislaw Lem for $2.99 (a collection of introductions to fictional books) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008533CWM The Star Diaries also by Stanislaw Lem for $3.99 (a bunch of short stories, on the lighter and more comedic side of his oeuvre, I just wanted to say oeuvre) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008R2JCT8 also I love that it's the version with the cover art that I own:  "sigh, I'm in space" I have a big wishlist named "things I own in physical that I want in digital" and nothing on it ever goes on sale and today it had three at once  also seconding that the Ted Chiang collection above is very good and you should grab it if you don't have it
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Mar 8, 2024 13:55
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bagrada posted:Any recommendations for books about exploring underground ruins/empires? The Fade by Chris Wooding might be this, based on the blurb. It's a fantasy set in a subterranean civilisation, but I haven't got around to reading it yet so I don't know how well precisely it fits the bill, or, indeed, if it's actually any good. Someone else here may have read it and could comment?
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Mar 8, 2024 15:18
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The Sweet Hereafter posted:The Fade by Chris Wooding might be this, based on the blurb. It's a fantasy set in a subterranean civilisation, but I haven't got around to reading it yet so I don't know how well precisely it fits the bill, or, indeed, if it's actually any good. Someone else here may have read it and could comment? Cover art is cool and it's currently $1.99 on kindle. Worth a gamble, thanks.
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Mar 8, 2024 15:34
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Haystack posted:12 Miles Below. Tense survival in weird underground post-apocolyptic procgen hell. What's a 'Progression Fantasy Epic'? Is this another term for litRPG?
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Mar 8, 2024 15:50
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Deptfordx posted:What's a 'Progression Fantasy Epic'? Shnakepup posted:It's been a while since I read anything in that series, but wasn't it explained/handwaved as having something to do with the various gas clouds and nebulae in each galaxy colliding? Like, even though they're so diffuse, the relative velocities would heat them up so much they'd start giving off huge amounts of radiation, sterilizing massive regions of space? Or maybe something about the merger of the supermassive black holes causing problems? I could be totally misremembering, though. RDM fucked around with this message at 16:08 on Mar 8, 2024 |
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Mar 8, 2024 16:06
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DACK FAYDEN posted:The Star Diaries also by Stanislaw Lem for $3.99 (a bunch of short stories, on the lighter and more comedic side of his oeuvre, I just wanted to say oeuvre) An amazing explosion of creativity, including two of the best time travel stories there are.
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Mar 8, 2024 16:16
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Speaking of Story of Your Life - Eric Heisserer, who adapted it to the screenplay for Arrival, gave an interview when the movie came out where he mentioned being a Something Awful poster. Wonder if he ever still visits.
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Mar 8, 2024 16:19
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I've been reading Becky Chambers' The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet. I was intrigued by wikipedia saying, "Her work has been alternately criticized and praised for the deliberate, character-driven pacing and lack of the propulsive plots typical of other space opera novels." Which sounds like my jam. I'm a few chapter in and the "character-driven" all feels overblown, in the sense of the actual characterisation. There's a lot of exposition dumping down the lore of the world, then a few words of dialogue. You can see the strings being pulled but because it's not plot driven, yet still making a pretense at "momentum." The characters aren't allowed enjoy anything, or hate anything, or be frightened, or wallow. Maybe she's hinting at deeper things I'm not picking up on, which, fair enough, if that's the case. The characters feel like archetypes rather than people. There's no subtlety to any of them, no tells or insight to be gleaned. It all seems surface level. I think a big problem for something so "character-driven" is the characters aren't allowed spend time with each other. Or explore who they are with other characters. There's still a "propulsion" to it but it's not doing that well either. For something character driven the characters aren't allowed to exist beyong serving a character narrative. There's no Tarantino "Royale With Cheese" moment.
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Mar 8, 2024 16:23
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Mrenda posted:I've been reading Becky Chambers' The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet. I was intrigued by wikipedia saying, "Her work has been alternately criticized and praised for the deliberate, character-driven pacing and lack of the propulsive plots typical of other space opera novels." Which sounds like my jam. This will not improve or get better imo, and is why I always post my lack of enjoyment about her work. Every character is a broad, bland archetype and even the cultures of the aliens are just: pick 1-3 things you'd instantly assume about, say, a lizard species, and dip your toe into that idea. Did you know lizards like it warm  So lizard people like to be touching They also like warm rocks There's just not a lot there.
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Mar 8, 2024 16:30
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DACK FAYDEN posted:As long as we're stepping on Pradmer's toes, a bunch of stuff that never goes on Kindle sale is on sale: Seems to all be US only, sadly.
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Mar 8, 2024 16:37
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Mrenda posted:I've been reading Becky Chambers' The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet. I was intrigued by wikipedia saying, "Her work has been alternately criticized and praised for the deliberate, character-driven pacing and lack of the propulsive plots typical of other space opera novels." Which sounds like my jam.
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Mar 8, 2024 16:52
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Deptfordx posted:What's a 'Progression Fantasy Epic'? From what I can tell "progression fantasy" is litepg but you're filing the numbers off and trying to not be obvious about it. The characters gain power levels but nobody actually says the power level is over 9000. I'm not sure though.
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Mar 8, 2024 16:56
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Yngwie Mangosteen posted:This will not improve or get better imo, and is why I always post my lack of enjoyment about her work. Every character is a broad, bland archetype and even the cultures of the aliens are just: pick 1-3 things you'd instantly assume about, say, a lizard species, and dip your toe into that idea. How would lizards get heat from each other if they're exothermic
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Mar 8, 2024 17:06
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The Sweet Hereafter posted:The Fade by Chris Wooding might be this, based on the blurb. It's a fantasy set in a subterranean civilisation, but I haven't got around to reading it yet so I don't know how well precisely it fits the bill, or, indeed, if it's actually any good. Someone else here may have read it and could comment? I mean, if the criterion is just "set in a subterranean civilization", the Drizzt prequel trilogy is set almost entirely in the Underdark. I'm pretty sure there must be other Forgotten Realms books either set in or involving forays into the Underdark. They're not likely to be particularly high brow, but might scratch the itch.
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Mar 8, 2024 17:08
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zoux posted:How would lizards get heat from each other if they're exothermic You just put more thought into that idea than Chambers put into her whole book.
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Mar 8, 2024 17:18
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zoux posted:How would lizards get heat from each other if they're exothermic they're still warm. it's just zero-sum
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Mar 8, 2024 17:28
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Radiation partially depends on surface area so where they touch is not counted. Thanks for the deals
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Mar 8, 2024 17:37
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Progression fantasy is the fantasy of buying a house, having kids, retiring, etc Getting ahead by working hard…the ultimate secondary world
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Mar 8, 2024 17:55
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Is this showing some scenes from the second book? https://x.com/netflix/status/1765754366479192297?s=46
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Mar 8, 2024 18:03
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Exordia 2 should be progression sci-fi imo. The ship can do magic by uncompressing the space around it, bypassing the laws of physics, and recompressing it again but now they are on a quest for ever expanding processing power which then they can use to do even more ridiculous magic.
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Mar 8, 2024 18:06
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tima posted:Exordia 2 should be progression sci-fi imo. So, Anvil of Stars more or less?
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Mar 8, 2024 18:30
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RDM posted:You might like A Psalm for the Wild-Built a lot more than that book (I did) I'm not willing to buy into Becky Chambers again seeing as I've been so unimpressed by the one I'm reading.
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Mar 8, 2024 18:40
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I finished Exordia a week ago and it compelled me to reread Baru 1 and pick up the next two. I'm halfway through Baru 3 and hitting a thing where every mental image I have of the protagonist is covered in heavy medical bandages and casts. Battuta if you're looking for a book 4 title maybe try The Mummy Baru Cormorant. Hope she finds a good doctor in that one 
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Mar 8, 2024 18:49
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theblackw0lf posted:Is this showing some scenes from the second book? https://x.com/netflix/status/1765754366479192297?s=46 The second book is definitely going to be part of the first season. There's an episode called Wallfacer
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Mar 8, 2024 19:13
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Deptfordx posted:What's a 'Progression Fantasy Epic'? The new UF series by Benedict Jacka was thr first thing I'd read where the author described it as such ("progression fantasy elements"). Essentially the protagonist is a magic item crafter but he needs money and skill to deal with (life under magical capitalism), so over thr course of the first book he works on that and progresses. Honestly it wasn't bad. Of course capitalism would monetize even magic.
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Mar 8, 2024 19:22
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Mrenda posted:I'm not willing to buy into Becky Chambers again seeing as I've been so unimpressed by the one I'm reading. Can't speak for her other stuff but Psalm for the Wild-Built is a completely unchallenging and very sweet (bordering on twee) novella that you can read in an afternoon. It explores a few interesting SciFi ideas in the background of a story about a person feeling a vague sense of malaise and dissatisfaction despite a fairly objectively fulfilling life. If that sounds like her other stuff then yeah, this one isn't for you either. I didn't particularly like it, but that's mostly because I find eco-utopian stuff intensely melancholy and depressing, given the contrast to our current situation. theblackw0lf posted:Is this showing some scenes from the second book? https://x.com/netflix/status/1765754366479192297?s=46 I can't imagine how this would make a satisfying TV show, unless they heavily edit the narrative.
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Mar 8, 2024 19:26
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Mrenda posted:I've been reading Becky Chambers' The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet. I was intrigued by wikipedia saying, "Her work has been alternately criticized and praised for the deliberate, character-driven pacing and lack of the propulsive plots typical of other space opera novels." Which sounds like my jam. Yeah this is why I was never in a hurry to read the rest of them. It’s just cozy in a warm milk kinda way and all your criticisms on the shallowness of the characters is bang on. Also all stories need more Royale with Cheese moments
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Mar 8, 2024 20:13
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Stuporstar posted:Yeah this is why I was never in a hurry to read the rest of them. It’s just cozy in a warm milk kinda way and all your criticisms on the shallowness of the characters is bang on. Yeah, I just read it and while I enjoyed it overall, it feels like Zoomer Ursuka K LeGuin, wherein one describes cultures that don't follow our own conceptualization of sex, gender, and relationships... but in this totally superficial way that doesn't truly explore any conflicts, everyone already is totally cool with it all and it's just implied if not outright stated that any resistance is grossly regressive, and we don't see anyone undergo any real growth. Very cozy. I was hoping to see how the conflict-fueled species would be able to fit into it all but the answer literally was just "LOL guess we'll just banish all of you from our ooen-minded club instead." Which may have been ultimately the only possible solution, but it just underscores how much the book fails to go into any deep thought on the matter. Too bad, the Folio Society limited edition, pricey as it is, would be cool if it were a better book.
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Mar 8, 2024 20:41
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zoux posted:How would lizards get heat from each other if they're exothermic Becky Chambers absolutely does not understand thermodynamics. See also: the ships that grow algae to produce fuel to power the engines that power the lights that grows the algae and the ships powered by their occupants stepping on the pressure plates that line the corridors.
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Mar 8, 2024 20:52
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pseudorandom name posted:Becky Chambers absolutely does not understand thermodynamics. See also: the ships that grow algae to produce fuel to power the engines that power the lights that grows the algae and the ships powered by their occupants stepping on the pressure plates that line the corridors. She actively doesn't want to, I think. Deliberate choice to reject the "hard sf" style. She puts that stuff in to chase away the people who want it, like a soft fluffy pastel version of Eco's monastery door.
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Mar 8, 2024 20:58
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I've never read anything she wrote but I looked at the wiki synopsis of her first novelquote:Fleeing her old life, Rosemary Harper joins the multi-species crew of the Wayfarer as a file clerk, and follows them on their various missions throughout the galaxy. The novel concerns itself with character development rather than adventure. Each member of the crew has a story that unfolds, or a crisis to face. That's, uh, Star Trek.
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Mar 8, 2024 21:26
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zoux posted:I've never read anything she wrote but I looked at the wiki synopsis of her first novel Yes, it's very Star Trek in "everyone is generally a good person trying to their best in a big universe" way. I like them. They are definitely a very specific vibe but they work for me. Ravenfood fucked around with this message at 22:05 on Mar 8, 2024 |
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Mar 8, 2024 21:45
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I'm going to push back on some of the Chambers criticism, I definitely think at least for the 2nd and 3rd Wayfarer books they do have a lot more of an edge and specifically explore some pretty uncomfortable spaces with more rounded characters. Long Way is a bit weaker in those aspects, but it does have some stakes and I think the ending is the most interesting part of the story Space Capitalism fucks everything up and the AI ends up dead for nothing with the second book building directly on that. The fourth is probably the weakest since its just a bunch of people stuck together at a rest stop swapping stories, but I found it interesting and think she tackled some stuff with autonomy pretty well there. Zore fucked around with this message at 21:49 on Mar 8, 2024 |
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Mar 8, 2024 21:46
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