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Cardiac posted:Seriously, what is the offensive part about this? General Battuta posted:It's about a diminutive Japanese girl (check) who is so subservient she must resist the urge to bow (check) and looks like a porcelain doll (check) and speaks broken English (check) and our fedora-wearing protagonist calls her Mrs. Origami because he doesn't know her real name and that is a Japanese word (I have like four bingos) (the game is creepy racism bingo) coyo7e fucked around with this message at 02:58 on Jun 2, 2014 |
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Jun 2, 2014 02:56
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I'm just starting The Prefect by Alastair Reynolds, which is the only Revelation Space story I haven't read yet (until "The Last Log of the Lachrymosa" comes out later this year!). I know it's set before the main RS storyline, pre-Melding Plague and all, and that it's more of a detective story. However I was wondering if it'll have some of the same creepy, existential dread — and unknowable, scary things lurking in the vastness of space — that the other RS stories have?
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Jun 2, 2014 13:33
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Hedrigall posted:I'm just starting The Prefect by Alastair Reynolds, which is the only Revelation Space story I haven't read yet (until "The Last Log of the Lachrymosa" comes out later this year!). The Prefect's main selling point to me was really fleshing out how Demarchy works and making the Glitter Belt feel like a pretty real place. There are some fairly creepy elements like the lady who has that thing attached to her brain that makes it so she can't sleep. The whole thing takes place in the Glitter Belt though, so you'll miss out on some of the travelling around vastness of space stuff. I remember really liking the book, but Demarchy is also really interesting to me.
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Jun 2, 2014 14:51
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coyo7e posted:How do you have sex with a woman who you just threw out of a window and thought was another person? The girl had fire magic and was the thing that kept the airship from exploding in crazy hydrogen fire and she loved murdering the imperial army because of what they did to her. That and its crazy 1920 Noir and that genre has issues on its own.
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Jun 2, 2014 15:18
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^^^ Was it any good at all?Argali posted:I always see copies of this book, Orcs, in every Barns & Nobles I walk into, and wonder who the hell has actually bought it. quote:"Look at me. Look at the Orc." Then again it's also recommended by a dude who wrote something called, "Snow White and the Seven Samurai" which has got to either be hilariously brilliant, or 
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Jun 2, 2014 16:35
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Eunabomber posted:Guiltily raises hand. I have. It was... fine, from memory. Not exceptional, not awful, antihero fantasy, with some squicky bits thanks to the big bad. The sequel I think I also read and wasn't impressed with.
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Jun 2, 2014 20:26
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I just finished reading The Severed Streets, the new book by Paul Cornell and I literally can't stop laughing at Neil Gaiman being a not insignificant character. I mean he's the one who drops the title in conversation, I just love how ridiculous it is. Book was really good too, the only annoying thing was how much exposition was spent recapping the first book in the beginning.
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Jun 2, 2014 20:30
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Ursus Veritas posted:I just finished reading The Severed Streets, the new book by Paul Cornell and I literally can't stop laughing at Neil Gaiman being a not insignificant character. I mean he's the one who drops the title in conversation, I just love how ridiculous it is. Book was really good too, the only annoying thing was how much exposition was spent recapping the first book in the beginning. Neil Gaiman murders the main protagonist. Yes, you read that right, person who doesn't care about spoilers for a very good new urban-fantasy book.
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Jun 2, 2014 23:06
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Darth Walrus posted:Neil Gaiman murders the main protagonist. Yes, you read that right, person who doesn't care about spoilers for a very good new urban-fantasy book. And it's implied he could be back in future books! It's all just so completely amazing, I couldn't help but laugh everytime he showed up.
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Jun 2, 2014 23:09
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I loved the first book, but I'm not sure what to think of that spoiler.
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Jun 3, 2014 01:21
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systran posted:There are some fairly creepy elements like the lady who has that thing attached to her brain that makes it so she can't sleep. I hardly remember anything of the book but that part really struck me, plus all the ways they try to fix it and eventually do
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Jun 3, 2014 01:43
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Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:It's set in the 20s-30s as a noir steampunk xmen series. Do you mean 'pulp'? Because that's coming across as a lot more Sax Roemer than Dashiel Hammet.
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Jun 3, 2014 02:48
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Ursus Veritas posted:And it's implied he could be back in future books! It's all just so completely amazing, I couldn't help but laugh everytime he showed up. I liked the very first appearance because I thought it was just a throwaway joke, but having it be a major plot point ruined it.
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Jun 3, 2014 04:37
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Man Awake in the Night Land by John C Wright (wah wah I'm a terrible person for reading John C Wright I don't care) loving rules. Really apes the style of the original story well and expands on the setting in cool/interesting ways. And so far (70% through) the setting is even more oppressive and pessimistic.
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Jun 3, 2014 13:33
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Neurosis posted:Man Awake in the Night Land by John C Wright (wah wah I'm a terrible person for reading John C Wright I don't care) loving rules. Really apes the style of the original story well and expands on the setting in cool/interesting ways. And so far (70% through) the setting is even more oppressive and pessimistic. Do you need to read the original first?
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Jun 3, 2014 15:08
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Megazver posted:Do you need to read the original first? You don't need to but the new edition is really good and worth reading first. Also cheaper!
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Jun 3, 2014 15:13
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Less Fat Luke posted:You don't need to but the new edition is really good and worth reading first. Also cheaper! Hmmm. Didn't someone rewrite it recently for the modern reader? How is it? Or am I thinking of something else?
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Jun 3, 2014 15:15
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Ursus Veritas posted:I just finished reading The Severed Streets, the new book by Paul Cornell and I literally can't stop laughing at Neil Gaiman being a not insignificant character. I mean he's the one who drops the title in conversation, I just love how ridiculous it is. Book was really good too, the only annoying thing was how much exposition was spent recapping the first book in the beginning. Neurosis posted:(wah wah I'm a terrible person for reading John C Wright I don't care)
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Jun 3, 2014 15:31
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Megazver posted:Hmmm. Didn't someone rewrite it recently for the modern reader? How is it? Or am I thinking of something else? Yeah, James Stoddard rewrote it. The rewrite is pretty good and enjoyable. There are some times when the heroine of the piece can be a bit obstructively annoying but on the whole I enjoyed the read and I was much impressed by William Hope Hodgson's imagination. I didn't bother with reading the original text because it seems pretty universally agreed that it's extremely stilted and antiquated. Edit: the only dint on the novel's enjoyment was it begins with an introduction to the characters set in the 19th century (one of the premises is reincarnation) which isn't too enamouring, but it's pretty brief. Megazver posted:Do you need to read the original first? I'd strongly recommend it because familiarity with a lot of the concepts is just kind of assumed. For the reasons given above I don't think having to read the original (well, the revised original) is any great chore, though! Apparently there is some site on the internet full of nothing but fan fiction set in the Night Land which has some gems (some are written by Stoddard, for example), but I couldn't comment on how good those are. Cardiovorax posted:God, you are a whiny little bitch. Hahahaha. Neurosis fucked around with this message at 15:55 on Jun 3, 2014 |
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Jun 3, 2014 15:52
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Cardiovorax posted:God, you are a whiny little bitch. Jesus Christ can everyone in here just tone it down a notch. Like have arguments about social politics and stuff just see if you can skip the part where all the participants end up hating each other and doing catty call backs for the next year. Tiny Timbs fucked around with this message at 15:57 on Jun 3, 2014 |
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Jun 3, 2014 15:54
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Cardiovorax posted:What's the justification for him showing up? Using real people in your book is usually a pretty big no-no, I wonder what he thinks about that. Per the afterword, he apparently asked and got permission from the fellow in question ahead of time.
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Jun 3, 2014 16:13
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Cardiovorax posted:What's the justification for him showing up? Using real people in your book is usually a pretty big no-no, I wonder what he thinks about that. I think the justification is they're friends and he thought it was funny, he mentions him in the acknowledgements as having given feedback on several drafts and even dedicated the book to him so I think Neil also probably finds it pretty funny.
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Jun 3, 2014 16:15
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I think it's okay to read authors who are incredibly lovely people as long as you acknowledge they're incredibly lovely people. You don't have to get defensive about it and imply that everyone who thinks they're lovely is an enormous internet baby. (There's an argument to be made that you shouldn't support them economically, I guess, but that gets complicated.) I'm reading Love is the Law by Nick Mamatas. It's written from the perspective of an alienated communist punk rocker 'wizard' in 80s Long Island, and gently caress, it's just way too effective at evoking the setting. Everything about the place and the people in it feels sickening, claustrophobic, and rotten. The wives are on Valium, the husbands are on crack, and everything stinks of stale cigarette butts and urban decay. It's almost a victim of its own success.
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Jun 3, 2014 16:23
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Ursus Veritas posted:I think the justification is they're friends and he thought it was funny, he mentions him in the acknowledgements as having given feedback on several drafts and even dedicated the book to him so I think Neil also probably finds it pretty funny. Yeah, it wouldn't surprise me if they're good buddies. They move in the same literary circles. Kind of reminds me of a hobby of the Weird Tales crowd, who liked to insert each other in their stories and then kill the inserts off gruesomely. When Lovecraft got asked whether it'd be OK for it to be done to him, the writer in question got an enthusiastic affirmative signed by several characters from the Mythos. 
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Jun 3, 2014 17:02
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I was wondering more about the in-story reason, but I guess that explains it.
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Jun 3, 2014 17:09
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Ursus Veritas posted:I think the justification is they're friends and he thought it was funny, he mentions him in the acknowledgements as having given feedback on several drafts and even dedicated the book to him so I think Neil also probably finds it pretty funny. http://www.sfx.co.uk/2014/05/21/guest-blog-paul-cornell-on-neil-gaiman-and-the-severed-streets/
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Jun 3, 2014 17:27
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General Battuta posted:I think it's okay to read authors who are incredibly lovely people as long as you acknowledge they're incredibly lovely people. You don't have to get defensive about it and imply that everyone who thinks they're lovely is an enormous internet baby. (There's an argument to be made that you shouldn't support them economically, I guess, but that gets complicated. I have never investigated the background history of an author I enjoy and the ignorance is truly blissful. GRRM could boil cats alive for all I care. Just keep writing books, you beardy bastard.
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Jun 3, 2014 17:30
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Cardiovorax posted:I was wondering more about the in-story reason, but I guess that explains it. In-story, there's an overlap between London's magical community and its artsy hipster fringe, meaning that a disproportionate number of artists have had contact with the supernatural and some of them go looking for more. Gaiman had the bad luck to be given the second sight by a (possibly) well-meaning fan who thought it would help him with artistic inspiration, went looking for a reason why he started getting all these ghastly hallucinations (because the city is severely hosed up on a supernatural level), and ended up getting dragged into the horrible infighty factional mess that is magical London.
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Jun 3, 2014 17:31
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WastedJoker posted:I have never investigated the background history of an author I enjoy and the ignorance is truly blissful. I have some bad news for you.
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Jun 3, 2014 17:36
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WastedJoker posted:I have never investigated the background history of an author I enjoy and the ignorance is truly blissful. It's okay. He's just a total nerdface. You've probably already deduced it just from having seen him.
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Jun 3, 2014 17:37
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WastedJoker posted:I have never investigated the background history of an author I enjoy and the ignorance is truly blissful. I've got some terrible news e: poo poo
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Jun 3, 2014 18:27
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What?
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Jun 3, 2014 18:31
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WastedJoker posted:What? They are making jokes about how slowly GRRM writes
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Jun 3, 2014 19:05
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Fried Chicken posted:They are making jokes about how slowly GRRM writes Oh! I thought it was about his cat boiling habit.
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Jun 3, 2014 19:56
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Seldom Posts posted:Oh! I thought it was about his cat boiling habit. Well, that too, but...
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Jun 3, 2014 22:36
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Guys.
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Jun 4, 2014 00:33
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WastedJoker posted:Guys.  v ) I've really enjoyed this one so far. The grizzled veteran is pretty grizzled and has some emo background, the world-building is really not pushed in your face - there are like 4 or 5 demihuman races including scaley and furry people who just all roll around in the city together without making too-much of a deal about describing it in super-excruciating expository detail in the first few chapters, and the protagonist really has her own ideas, personality, and only spends about 10-15 chapters being "little girl lost" before she just figures out an angle and begins stepping up to the plate.I'm looking forward to what happens at the end of the book after the first 2/3 having moved forward/matured so much, and I can't even fathom what will happen in the next (3 published so far, but it's planned as a quintet) 4 novels. I hope the author takes some more time to go into exposition on the demihuman races as things go farther in, because it's been sparse enough that I'm mostly just intrigued. coyo7e fucked around with this message at 01:54 on Jun 4, 2014 |
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Jun 4, 2014 01:51
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Kindle tells me I'm 30% into American Gods. I'm finding it to be fairly unengaging. Does it pick up or continue developing at a fairly slow clip?
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Jun 4, 2014 18:59
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holocaust bloopers posted:Kindle tells me I'm 30% into American Gods. I'm finding it to be fairly unengaging. Does it pick up or continue developing at a fairly slow clip? Meh, I remember it being pretty slow.
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Jun 4, 2014 19:08
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holocaust bloopers posted:Kindle tells me I'm 30% into American Gods. I'm finding it to be fairly unengaging. Does it pick up or continue developing at a fairly slow clip?
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Jun 4, 2014 19:09
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