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Aurora is very consistent through a variety of episodes. All the shifts in plot feel very natural and as entertaining as the last. Ship is a fun narrator when not beating me over the head with insights into human communication. That joke works once. Was it ever explained why Freya was so tall? Annihilation is an experiment in how far you can go with a terrible narrator. Ship has more personality than the biologist. The Lovecraft meets Lost vibe is wonderful and I hope the sequels don't get bogged down with the future when the history Area X is much more exciting.
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Sep 9, 2015 04:53
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UltimoDragonQuest posted:Annihilation is an experiment in how far you can go with a terrible narrator. Ship has more personality than the biologist. The Lovecraft meets Lost vibe is wonderful and I hope the sequels don't get bogged down with the future when the history Area X is much more exciting. I suspect that you may not care much for Authority then (I wasn't crazy about it because it focuses heavily on the present day at the Southern Reach) but it gives a lot of solid background info and sets up the third book. I haven't gotten very far in Acceptance but it has some scenes in it from prior to Area X "happening" so I'd say stick it out to the third book and you'll probably be happy. On an unrelated note, I'm sure this is obvious to everyone else who's spent more than a few months on the forum, but I only now realized that spoilers will be readable when you quote a post. Just never encountered that for something where I didn't read the spoilers before responding. I learned something today! And possibly spoiled something from a book I may or may not read someday.
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Sep 9, 2015 06:38
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UltimoDragonQuest posted:Aurora is very consistent through a variety of episodes. All the shifts in plot feel very natural and as entertaining as the last. Ship is a fun narrator when not beating me over the head with insights into human communication. That joke works once. She overheard her mom and dad talking about how dumb she was and the general decline in evolutionary fitness or whatever you want to call it of the entire ship population, I just assumed her freakish height was just another part of that.
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Sep 9, 2015 07:28
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UltimoDragonQuest posted:Annihilation is an experiment in how far you can go with a terrible narrator. Ship has more personality than the biologist. The Lovecraft meets Lost vibe is wonderful and I hope the sequels don't get bogged down with the future when the history Area X is much more exciting.
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Sep 9, 2015 07:31
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Hedrigall posted:I love ship, and I'm enjoying this book much more now. Without spoiling anything, I can tell you that it gets even more badass than that.
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Sep 9, 2015 11:16
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So I was in the bookstore the other day and decided to see if I could find a copy of The Martian to read the first chapter or so and see if it's something I might enjoy. And I did, and it is, but it took me an unreasonably long time to find it, because it was filed under Literature instead of Science Fiction. Does this irritate anyone else? Stuff like The Martian, The Hunger Games, or Harry Potter is lowly genre fiction, relegated to the back of the bookstore and not even worth being spat upon by serious literary critics -- until it becomes hugely popular and made into a major motion picture, at which point it magically becomes "Literature" (or rather, was Literature all along). It makes "there's nothing good in genre fiction" a self-fulfilling prophecy, because as soon as something is widely recognized as good, it's not genre fiction and never was, honest.
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Sep 9, 2015 16:53
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ToxicFrog posted:So I was in the bookstore the other day and decided to see if I could find a copy of The Martian to read the first chapter or so and see if it's something I might enjoy. And I did, and it is, but it took me an unreasonably long time to find it, because it was filed under Literature instead of Science Fiction. Where are you shopping that stock Harry Potter in literature instead of childrens?
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Sep 9, 2015 16:59
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boom boom boom posted:Where are you shopping that stock Harry Potter in literature instead of childrens? To be honest I have no idea where they file Harry Potter, but The Martian and The Hunger Games were both definitely filed in SF when they first came out and in Literature after they became high-profile movie enterprises, and that was the first fantasy series I thought of that also fits this profile. On reflection, The Lord of the Rings might be a better choice, but I'm pretty sure bookstores have been filing that under Literature rather than Fantasy since before I've been reading, so I didn't get to see the transition first-hand. (It's Chapters, or Indigo or whatever it's called now.) ToxicFrog fucked around with this message at 17:09 on Sep 9, 2015 |
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Sep 9, 2015 17:06
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boom boom boom posted:Where are you shopping that stock Harry Potter in literature instead of childrens? I wouldn't call books 6 and 7 children's books tbh, there's some pretty dark and hosed up poo poo in those.
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Sep 9, 2015 17:09
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ToxicFrog posted:So I was in the bookstore the other day and decided to see if I could find a copy of The Martian to read the first chapter or so and see if it's something I might enjoy. And I did, and it is, but it took me an unreasonably long time to find it, because it was filed under Literature instead of Science Fiction. Corporate marketing departments and people who spend a lot of time formulating strong negative opinions on genre fiction are two groups that aren't really worth caring much about on a personal level.
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Sep 9, 2015 17:17
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ToxicFrog posted:Does this irritate anyone else? The move is solely so people who don't read sci-fi but want to read the latest hot thing can find it near the front of the store easily. It really is just marketing. Not to say that isn't important, of course, and that you can't be mad for SF/F being stuffed in the back of most chain bookstores, but, it's not a matter of good, it's a matter of popularity, and that's true for almost all media industries.
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Sep 9, 2015 17:48
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Doesn't bother me half as much as the SF library shelf getting usurped by a million Teenage Vampire Romance Novels.
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Sep 9, 2015 18:14
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ToxicFrog posted:So I was in the bookstore the other day and decided to see if I could find a copy of The Martian to read the first chapter or so and see if it's something I might enjoy. And I did, and it is, but it took me an unreasonably long time to find it, because it was filed under Literature instead of Science Fiction. Last I checked, my local Barnes & Noble is pretty good about putting books where they belong. Lord of the Rings and all that are actually in the SFF section, though the Gormenghast trilogy is also there and I'm not sure if they qualify as fantasy (though they are definitely also Literature).
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Sep 9, 2015 18:37
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ToxicFrog posted:Does this irritate anyone else? Stuff like The Martian, The Hunger Games, or Harry Potter is lowly genre fiction, relegated to the back of the bookstore and not even worth being spat upon by serious literary critics -- until it becomes hugely popular and made into a major motion picture, at which point it magically becomes "Literature" (or rather, was Literature all along). poo poo flows downhill, a lot of sf fans get all testy about getting 'urban fantasy' and 'young adult specfic' in their shelfspace.
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Sep 9, 2015 19:22
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fritz posted:poo poo flows downhill, a lot of sf fans get all testy about getting 'urban fantasy' and 'young adult specfic' in their shelfspace. Science Fiction and Fantasy being put together in bookstores is an affront to God and is the sole reason they are having tough times.
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Sep 9, 2015 20:27
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ToxicFrog posted:To be honest I have no idea where they file Harry Potter, but The Martian and The Hunger Games were both definitely filed in SF when they first came out and in Literature after they became high-profile movie enterprises, and that was the first fantasy series I thought of that also fits this profile. I dunno, I've only ever seen Hunger Games in the YA section.
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Sep 10, 2015 00:31
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fritz posted:poo poo flows downhill, a lot of sf fans get all testy about getting 'urban fantasy' and 'young adult specfic' in their shelfspace. I guess Twilight is technically urban fantasy now that you mention it.
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Sep 10, 2015 01:23
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ToxicFrog posted:So I was in the bookstore the other day and decided to see if I could find a copy of The Martian to read the first chapter or so and see if it's something I might enjoy. And I did, and it is, but it took me an unreasonably long time to find it, because it was filed under Literature instead of Science Fiction. That makes it sound more like the spot on the shelf that they put popular books on.
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Sep 10, 2015 01:37
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Any anger over that sort of stuff always comes across as real dumb to because it always comes off as genre folks having one heck of a persecution complex.
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Sep 10, 2015 01:38
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DeusExMachinima posted:I guess Twilight is technically urban fantasy now that you mention it. I wouldn't call Forks 'urban'.
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Sep 10, 2015 01:53
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less laughter posted:I wouldn't call books 6 and 7 children's books tbh, there's some pretty dark and hosed up poo poo in those. Like camping. Oh god, the camping.
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Sep 10, 2015 02:45
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DeusExMachinima posted:I guess Twilight is technically urban fantasy now that you mention it. "Paranormal Romance", because even urban-fantasy fans need something to look down on.
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Sep 10, 2015 09:26
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Supernatural romances can't be in the Grumpy Goon Rides A Zombie Dinosaur genre, they're too pandering.
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Sep 10, 2015 13:40
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Peel posted:Supernatural romances can't be in the Grumpy Goon Rides A Zombie Dinosaur genre, they're too pandering.
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Sep 10, 2015 14:56
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Peel posted:Supernatural romances can't be in the Grumpy Goon Rides A Zombie Dinosaur genre, they're too pandering. Not Supernatural Romance, Paranormal Romance. It's a real thing, sadly, and the entire subgenre can be summarised as "Intercourse With The Vampire".
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Sep 10, 2015 15:06
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Hey. Sometimes it's a werewolf, or a dragon, or a weredragon. Most of the time it's a fat lady having sex with em though, at least from what I see on amazon. Well, a fat lady or a gay dude.
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Sep 10, 2015 15:15
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I write supernatural bear/dragon shapeshifter has sex with fat woman novels, and trust me, vampires are OUT
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Sep 10, 2015 15:16
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angel opportunity posted:I write supernatural bear/dragon shapeshifter has sex with fat woman novels, and trust me, vampires are OUT They overfilled the market. Stretched it past its limits, finally leaving the customers satiated, jaded, and looking for some strange new fiction. The Slithery D fucked around with this message at 15:27 on Sep 10, 2015 |
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Sep 10, 2015 15:25
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Jedit posted:Not Supernatural Romance, Paranormal Romance. It's a real thing, sadly, and the entire subgenre can be summarised as "Intercourse With The Vampire". what will harry dresden beat up this year??? how badly will peter grant get hosed up? coffeetable fucked around with this message at 15:33 on Sep 10, 2015 |
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Sep 10, 2015 15:29
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Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:Sometimes it's a werewolf, and a dragon, and a weredragon. Some paranormal romance is cool. Some urban fantasy is cool. Some steampunk is cool, if you look hard enough. Genres are marketing. Literature is marketing, at least as a bookstore shelf categorisation.
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Sep 10, 2015 15:30
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The Slithery D posted:They overfilled the market. Stretched it past its limits, finally leaving the customers satiated, jaded, and looking for some strange new fiction. Billionaires. The new Humble Bundle is Neil Gaiman focused and there are some interesting curiosities in it. I didn't know Ghastly Beyond Belief was rare, but it's hilarious, and there's even the Duran Duran book...
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Sep 10, 2015 15:30
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chrisoya posted:Then Hamilton finishes the prologue. Which Hamilton? This seems eerily appropriate to both. I guess Peter would make absolutely sure the weredragon was fifteen years old, though.
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Sep 10, 2015 15:32
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Laurell K. If she'd written Fallen Dragon the protagonist would have hosed every one of those biotech powered armour suits.
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Sep 10, 2015 15:34
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I finished up Aftermath last night, and it was fairly decent. Wasn't as strong an opener to an EU as Heir was, but still, it's an entertaining read. I'd give it 3 stars easy. Downside to it is holy gently caress there are a lot of points of view in the novel and they can all be on different planets, and that kinda fucks with you when you are trying to keep the narrative straight.  SPECULATIONS AHOY!! I did enjoy the possibility that Boba Fett might just be dead, cause the Jawas had some old, acid pitted mandalorian armor, or he might just be the new sheriff dude. So many gay characters though, so many. A couple space lesbians raising a kid, a space lesbian who lost her wife, and a gay dude. ALL ON ONE PLANET. Holy gently caress it's like a gaypocalypse cause I know there are way less than 4 gay people on earth. WHAT SOCIAL AGENDA MUST THE AUTHOR BE PUSHING?!!!??!?!? Stupid_Sexy_Flander fucked around with this message at 15:37 on Sep 10, 2015 |
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Sep 10, 2015 15:34
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Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:Hey.
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Sep 10, 2015 16:15
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What book cause I'm not gonna lie, that sounds like an amazing read.
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Sep 10, 2015 17:00
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Sounds like something Max Gladstone would write, although I don't remember a sex scene in any of that. They're good books, though.
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Sep 10, 2015 17:05
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Peel posted:Supernatural romances can't be in the Grumpy Goon Rides A Zombie Dinosaur genre, they're too pandering. lol
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Sep 10, 2015 17:27
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anilEhilated posted:Sounds like something Max Gladstone would write, although I don't remember a sex scene in any of that. They're good books, though. I think you can end up as a lich in his Choice of the Deathless, but I believe you only get to kiss your romantic interest if you do, since the game ends next.
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Sep 10, 2015 17:38
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DigitalRaven posted:"Paranormal Romance", because even urban-fantasy fans need something to look down on. Oh lol that does sound like something invented for the sake of trashing.
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Sep 10, 2015 17:52
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