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Cheers, thanks ulmont.
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May 6, 2024 20:03
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Returning from my 6 month book hiatus to continue on with Jack Vance's Tales of the Dying Earth Everything has been extremely good, but the ending to The Eyes of the Overworld is one of the funniest things I have ever seen in my life. I cannot gush more about how the punchline was setup and executed. Complete perfection. Over the last few years I've been patching the holes in my fantasy collection, as I missed out on a lot of classics and seminal works. Vance has so far been my favorite out of everything I've caught up on
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May 6, 2024 20:14
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WarpDogs posted:Returning from my 6 month book hiatus to continue on with Jack Vance's Tales of the Dying Earth I just picked up the omnibus collection and I can't get into any of the stories. I knew going in the concept was "so far in the future science is indistinguishable from magic" but I was expecting at least a few hints of the "science" angle of that, but it's really just a pretty boilerplate fantasy. One of the novels starts with wizards arguing with each other about the rules of magic. Why should I care? That said, I'm looking for SF with some really elaborate worldbuilding. Has anyone written another Dune lately? Too Like the Lightning looks like it might scratch that itch, though I'm not sure I'm interested enough in 18th century philosophy. I'm particularly kind of surprised there isn't more climate fiction with really creative settings, like The Windup Girl, which I really enjoyed despite a few issues with the writing style (that really came out in The Water Knife). Any other suggestions?
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May 6, 2024 20:37
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Kestral posted:Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is a thread favorite, and one of my favorites as well, so I figure this might be the place to ask: is the 2015 TV adaptation some kind of weird tonal parody of this book, or have I misinterpreted a book I've read half a dozen times? I finished a reread of it last night and started on the first episode of the show, and I was astonished at how different the tone of the show feels. Scenes that felt deadly serious in the book are played for laughs (I'm thinking particularly of [spoiler]Strange's father trying to murder his servant), and some of the characters don't even seem to resemble their book versions: John Segundus I always read as sober and earnest and probably pretty nerdy, while the show portrays him as bumbling, flustered, and energetic. I thought it sucked at the time, but most people seemed to disagree with me. The gentleman with thistle-down hair was particularly badly handled - Marc Whatsisface being scowly and menacing when the gentleman is supposed to be fey and twee and not someone you take seriously until oh poo poo.
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May 6, 2024 21:18
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They didn't get Reece Shearsmith to play Mr Norrell so who cares what else they did 
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May 6, 2024 21:22
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Runcible Cat posted:Marc Whatsisface being scowly and menacing when the gentleman is supposed to be fey and twee and not someone you take seriously until oh poo poo.
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May 6, 2024 21:35
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I finished The Blade Itself, which was phenomenal, and now I'm trying to decide what to read next. Usually I try to read something else after reading one book in a series so I don't burnout onnit, so I had Revelation Space, A Fire Upon the Deep, and The Way of Kings lined up as possible next books, though I am tempted to go straight into the next First Law book.
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May 6, 2024 22:11
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Runcible Cat posted:I thought it sucked at the time, but most people seemed to disagree with me. The gentleman with thistle-down hair was particularly badly handled - Marc Whatsisface being scowly and menacing when the gentleman is supposed to be fey and twee and not someone you take seriously until oh poo poo. I thought it missed the tone completely and didn't come close to being as good as the book
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May 6, 2024 22:35
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Kestral posted:Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is a thread favorite, and one of my favorites as well, so I figure this might be the place to ask: is the 2015 TV adaptation some kind of weird tonal parody of this book, or have I misinterpreted a book I've read half a dozen times? I finished a reread of it last night and started on the first episode of the show, and I was astonished at how different the tone of the show feels. Scenes that felt deadly serious in the book are played for laughs (I'm thinking particularly of [spoiler]Strange's father trying to murder his servant), and some of the characters don't even seem to resemble their book versions: John Segundus I always read as sober and earnest and probably pretty nerdy, while the show portrays him as bumbling, flustered, and energetic. Runcible Cat posted:I thought it sucked at the time, but most people seemed to disagree with me. The gentleman with thistle-down hair was particularly badly handled - Marc Whatsisface being scowly and menacing when the gentleman is supposed to be fey and twee and not someone you take seriously until oh poo poo. It's been a while since I watched it but I remember thinking it was better than I'd expected it to be. The thing with Regency writing, especially Jane Austen which Clarke is drawing on heavily tonally, is that the tone is nuanced and has multiple layers of irony and meaning depending on the narrator, the speaker, the viewpoint character, the author, etc. There are individual sentences in Austen that have five or six or more layers of meaning and interpretation and each layer is completely different or even antithetical to the others. And film just can't do that in the same way. So what you end up getting in even a good Austen interpretation is at most one or two layers done well, and the rest just . . .missed. Which is pretty much what we got with the JS&MN television adaptation. From what I recall they got a good bit of the humor and some of the horrors of war with the Wellington scenes but missed a lot too. There was a website for the JS&MN book, when it first came out, that had in-character essays about the book. Norrell wrote an essay condemning it because it was a novel and written by a woman; Strange wrote a letter praising it for the same reasons. Both stated that they hadn't actually read it at all. I wish I could find it again but I think it's down now and I'm not sure that wayback machine preserved it.
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May 6, 2024 22:49
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Ramrod Hotshot posted:I just picked up the omnibus collection and I can't get into any of the stories. I knew going in the concept was "so far in the future science is indistinguishable from magic" but I was expecting at least a few hints of the "science" angle of that, but it's really just a pretty boilerplate fantasy. One of the novels starts with wizards arguing with each other about the rules of magic. Why should I care? You got sold a bill of goods (which is common because gently caress everyone seems to emphasise that it's the future for no good purpose), Dying Earth being set in the far future is a mere setting detail, you're not going to find anything scientific or rational here. You're not going to find it in any of Vance's books, even his most explicitly science fiction works, except for maybe Blue Planet (which is his only science puzzle novel). What it isn't is boiler plate fantasy, it's very loving weird and gets weirder the more you read, although it influenced so much that it might seem more normal/traditional than it actually is. Vance is solidly anthropological science fiction, if you're not interested in reading about weird cultures and rituals hosed up by an ambitious outsider then you're not going to have a lot of fun. gently caress lately! You want elaborate, Science Fiction world-building, how about you reading Paul Park's The Starbridge Chronicles or Neverness or Cordwainer Smith's Norstrilia or C J. Cherryh's work or The Jean le Flambeur series by Hannu Rajaniemi or Alistair Reynold's House of Suns or Paul McAuley's Confluence?
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May 6, 2024 23:45
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The Girl with All the Gifts (#1) by MR Carey - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CO7FLFG/ The Hexologists (#1) by Josiah Bancroft - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BRJ5699W/
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May 7, 2024 00:13
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pradmer posted:The Girl with All the Gifts (#1) by MR Carey - $2.99 I remember liking this a bunch
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May 7, 2024 00:25
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Subjunctive posted:I remember liking this a bunch I read it a couple of months ago, it's great. The point of view changes are excellent, each character has a very distinctive voice
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May 7, 2024 00:28
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And it’s a series? Choice.
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May 7, 2024 00:28
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Kestral posted:Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is a thread favorite, and one of my favorites as well, so I figure this might be the place to ask: is the 2015 TV adaptation some kind of weird tonal parody of this book, or have I misinterpreted a book I've read half a dozen times? I finished a reread of it last night and started on the first episode of the show, and I was astonished at how different the tone of the show feels. Scenes that felt deadly serious in the book are played for laughs (I'm thinking particularly of [spoiler]Strange's father trying to murder his servant), and some of the characters don't even seem to resemble their book versions: John Segundus I always read as sober and earnest and probably pretty nerdy, while the show portrays him as bumbling, flustered, and energetic. The book is also a favorite of mine but I watched the miniseries first so I didn't really pick up on the differences on a first watch, and in retrospect I'm fine with what they changed. I think it creates a good contrast between all the characters and scenes. I would say Segundus still comes off as earnest and nerdy in the series, but a bit more excitable. And the Gentleman comes off as more menacing, but I really enjoy that actor's portrayal. They also toned down the magic a lot more in the series compared to what can be accomplished with it in the book, but that's also a matter of vfx budget and scope.
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May 7, 2024 01:17
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Ramrod Hotshot posted:I just picked up the omnibus collection and I can't get into any of the stories. I knew going in the concept was "so far in the future science is indistinguishable from magic" but I was expecting at least a few hints of the "science" angle of that, but it's really just a pretty boilerplate fantasy. One of the novels starts with wizards arguing with each other about the rules of magic. Why should I care? Rest assured it is absolutely not boilerplate, it is in fact very weird and fanciful. If it seems like you've seen this kind of thing before it might be because he was a enormous influence on Gary Gygax and GRRM As fez_machine says, the style is anthropological. It's examining far future humanity and cultures in a time so unfathomably distant that even its ancient history is unrecognizable to us. There are layers upon layers of history with seemingly no connective tissue to our own. But it still scratches that scifi itch because Vance is inviting you to speculate how we get from Point A to Point Z when we have only a fuzzy idea of what happened in Point Y and what might happen in Point B. What's changed about humanity, how & why did it change? And what's stayed the same? None of it is overly serious, but it's earnest and insightful (and frequently very funny) not trying to sell you on a book you don't like, but consider reading the first Cugel book (Eyes of the Overworld) and see what that does for you.
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May 7, 2024 01:37
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Subjunctive posted:And it’s a series? Choice. It's a series in that there are two books. The second book, The Boy on the Bridge, is decent but not quite as good.
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May 7, 2024 02:21
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i read books from three different series before i realized they were all written by MR Carey. the name just rolls off the surface of my smooth brain i guess.
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May 7, 2024 02:32
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MR Carey is helping me find my series.
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May 7, 2024 02:48
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I kind of feel like if you didn't think the wizards bit was funny, you might just not jive with his humor? If the repartee and banter doesn't do it for you, and if you aren't tickled by the bickering pettiness of these masters of reality, then I don't know what you would get out of the rest of Vance. It's like Wodehouse. Yes, it's just posh Englishmen and you certainly don't have any reason to care about their petty grievances. The inconsequential nature of their concerns is part of what makes it funny. Nearly every Vance character is selfish, pompous, and concerned with transparently frivolous self-justification.
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May 7, 2024 02:53
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fez_machine posted:
I’ll give it another shot. But thanks for these suggestions!
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May 7, 2024 03:40
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General Battuta posted:MR Carey is helping me find my series. I appreciate this. I need to try again now that it's all voiced.
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May 7, 2024 03:48
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Got an advanced copy of how to become the dark lord or die trying, I liked it, and it sort of echoed the Harrow books in tone. It's basically a timeloop isekai but 1000 years into the loop, as the protagonist gives up on her quest to stop the BBEG and instead decides to become them.
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May 7, 2024 06:15
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Ramrod Hotshot posted:I’ll give it another shot. But thanks for these suggestions! neverness is basically sci fi dh lawrence, i love it, it's just bonkers over the top. the follow up trilogy is even more so, i liked it a lot more on the second read through.
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May 7, 2024 07:18
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I've been interested in reading Neverness, but I have to admit that reading reviews saying things like "the worst being sentient dolphins performing neurosurgery by ejaculation" always makes me pause and reconsider.
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May 7, 2024 08:19
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NmareBfly posted:Suggestions for good book club fare, on the lighter (or shorter) side? In terms of the genre we've read How to Lose a Time War and the Ted Chiang short stories in addition to Dune but I think the last one only flew because of the movie. I read The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker a while ago and it feels like it could be a pretty good book club kind of book. It explores the early 19th century immigrant experience through Jewish & Arabic/Persian main characters and it feels pretty honest about its treatment of the subject. It was an easy enough read, and I found it really enjoyable but also interesting enough that it could stand up to some book club discussion. Idk that I'd use it for a book club book, but I just finished Starling House by Alix Harrow and really enjoyed it, too. Southern Gothic fantasy. If you squint real, real hard you could maybe call it YA or maybe just call it breezy reading - the plot moves along at a pretty good clip, the main pov is a snappy, cynical 26-yo woman, there's some pathos, some spooky stuff, some making out, etc. It was a fun book.
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May 7, 2024 09:30
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FPyat posted:I've been interested in reading Neverness, but I have to admit that reading reviews saying things like "the worst being sentient dolphins performing neurosurgery by ejaculation" always makes me pause and reconsider. It's not quite like anything else, that's for sure
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May 7, 2024 09:44
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uber_stoat posted:i read books from three different series before i realized they were all written by MR Carey. the name just rolls off the surface of my smooth brain i guess. It probably doesn't help you that he publishes both as MR Carey and Mike Carey, and also co-wrote several books with his wife Linda and daughter Louise.
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May 7, 2024 09:55
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fez_machine posted:You got sold a bill of goods (which is common because gently caress everyone seems to emphasise that it's the future for no good purpose), Dying Earth being set in the far future is a mere setting detail, you're not going to find anything scientific or rational here. I mean in ULAN DHOR ENDS A DREAM in THE DYING EARTH the city of Ampridatvir is specifically a semi-ruin with still-functional technical marvels, including a working air-car and antigrav lifts, that is explicitly meant to be 'not magic', but I guess Clarke's famous quote about tech and magic fits in well here. It's one of the only bits of DE books that does this, though.
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May 7, 2024 10:49
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FPyat posted:I've been interested in reading Neverness, but I have to admit that reading reviews saying things like "the worst being sentient dolphins performing neurosurgery by ejaculation" always makes me pause and reconsider. That reviewer is weak, way worse stuff happens. Also it is SF D. H. Lawrence, but it's also got plenty of Herman Hesse, especially the sequel trilogy. And Dune and Empire Star, of course. Great book, probably the second best sf debut of the decade.
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May 7, 2024 13:19
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Safety Biscuits posted:
What's the first?
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May 7, 2024 15:48
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Uh, the decade in question is the 80s (sorry for being vague) - I was thinking of Neuromancer.
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May 7, 2024 16:47
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New Gareth Hanrahan novel, The Sword Unbound is out. The sequel to his previous book about a hero 20 years after the world was saved. I liked the previous one.
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May 7, 2024 21:00
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I know I'm late to the party but Children of Ruin is so loving good.
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May 7, 2024 22:16
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The latest Tchaikovsky book Alien Clay was OK - interesting set dressing but the story didn't really go anywhere. He's prolific enough that I don't mind that some of his stuff falls in the less memorable pile
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May 7, 2024 22:22
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The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch by Philip K Dick - $1.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005LVR6C8/
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May 7, 2024 23:18
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tildes posted:New Gareth Hanrahan novel, The Sword Unbound is out. The sequel to his previous book about a hero 20 years after the world was saved. I liked the previous one. Oh cool, I liked the first one as well. Going to snap the sequel up.
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May 7, 2024 23:46
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I have a red eye flight across the Atlantic coming up and I need some (maybe literal) airport fiction to keep me from wishing for the sweet release of death as I endure the headache inducing unpleasantness that is modern air travel. I was thinking maybe The Gone World by Tom Sweterlitsch. Any other suggestions?
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May 8, 2024 00:11
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Nuclear Tourist posted:I have a red eye flight across the Atlantic coming up and I need some (maybe literal) airport fiction to keep me from wishing for the sweet release of death as I endure the headache inducing unpleasantness that is modern air travel. I was thinking maybe The Gone World by Tom Sweterlitsch. Any other suggestions? The recently discussed titanium noir by Nick Harkaway might fit.
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May 8, 2024 00:25
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Ahead of Blake Crouch's DARK MATTER tv series coming up, the book I felt would be a good airport/airplane read ; it gallops along without much slowdown but it never makes you think too hard.
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May 8, 2024 00:29
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