|
coyo7e posted:His summary I found was like "Avasarala's head of security detail" or something similar, but the only guy I could think of who came close was the lunatic security dude on slug planet. He doesn't seem big and intimidating enough to pull of that guy, although maybe with a poorly-shaven head and some power armor he'd be intimidating. Whatever role he's in I'm sure he'll kick rear end in it though. Oh, no, way different guy. Cotyar's the older bodyguard/security guy with Avasarala and Bobbie on Mao's yacht. He's seriously a minor character in the books. Edit: you're spoiling a pretty huge development there. Probably don't want to do that to the show-only folks.
|
#
?
May 4, 2016 15:31
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 7, 2024 06:53 |
|
|
Spoiler: slug... planet's going to be terribly unwatchable and probably never be shown, except as maybe a one-off episode. It's like one of those "Billy gets the flu" episodes in TV shows where one character gets the sniffles and we all suffer for an hour or two of being terminally bored.
|
|
#
?
May 4, 2016 15:46
|
|
|
coyo7e posted:Spoiler: slug... planet's going to be terribly unwatchable and probably never be shown, except as maybe a one-off episode. It's like one of those "Billy gets the flu" episodes in TV shows where one character gets the sniffles and we all suffer for an hour or two of being terminally bored. The Expanse, Season 4: episode 5 uses entire season's budget for exquisite, detailed recreation of half a planet exploding, leaving all the rest of the episodes with only enough funds to repeat a single exterior establishing shot of crazy alien ruins and have all other scenes in all the episodes take place in brown caves and tunnels. In the latter half of the season they spice up this formula by having the cast bump into furniture repeatedly.
|
|
#
?
May 4, 2016 15:56
|
|
|
Not really sure how much book talk is ok here, so I'll just say Cibola Burn was awful compared to the first 3 books and I'm not sure how they could adapt it as part of the TV series. Starting Nemesis Games now and hoping it's a return to form. Also, I'm curious if there is any logic or explanation for the titles of these novels. I don't recall any characters named Caliban or Abaddon and Cibola Burn just seems like nonsensical gibberish to me. If they've cast Ashur as anybody other than Soren then it seems like a waste of his talents. Hopefully they've beefed up the role of the guy he was cast as. Inspector 34 fucked around with this message at 21:45 on May 4, 2016 |
|
#
?
May 4, 2016 21:38
|
|
|
Inspector 34 posted:Not really sure how much book talk is ok here, so I'll just say Cibola Burn was awful compared to the first 3 books and I'm not sure how they could adapt it as part of the TV series. Starting Nemesis Games now and hoping it's a return to form. I have good news for you. I jumped straight from Caliban's War to Nemesis Games and it's the best of the series. quote:Also, I'm curious if there is any logic or explanation for the titles of these novels. I don't recall any characters named Caliban or Abaddon and Cibola Burn just seems like nonsensical gibberish to me. I think they're just meant to sound cool with some mythological connection thrown in. Leviathan Wakes makes sense since the titular leviathan is the protomolecule. Caliban is from The Tempest, it might be some clever Shakespeare reference I'm not getting. Caliban is also one of the moons of Uranus, which are named after Shakespearean characters. Abaddon is a mythical name from the Bible (like Leviathan). Cibola is one of the Seven Cities of Gold. Babylon is Babylon, and another name that harkens back to the Bible somewhat. Nemesis is the Greek personification of vengeance which makes sense once you read the book.
|
|
#
?
May 4, 2016 21:45
|
|
|
The only book with a name that directly mapped was called Dandelion Sky, but the name was changed before publication. (Massive spoiler) It was named the because that's why the sky looks like in the alien portal nexus, with thousands of gateway rings all in a sphere. But then they ditched the name because they didn't like it and give us the blandest, most generic Abbadon's Gate
|
|
#
?
May 4, 2016 22:45
|
|
|
Antti posted:Caliban is from The Tempest, it might be some clever Shakespeare reference I'm not getting. My understanding: Caliban was a half-human slave whose portrayal centers around his relationship to the controlling Prospero and his (Caliban's) attempts to resist or throw off that control. (So to spell it out, it's an analogue with the protomolecule monster(s), Protogen intending to control & use them for war, and how they evade said control via e.g. getting rid of their failsafe bombs etc.)
|
|
#
?
May 4, 2016 22:47
|
|
|
Antti posted:I have good news for you. I jumped straight from Caliban's War to Nemesis Games and it's the best of the series. Leviathan is Biblically a horrific sea monster in the book of Job: "Nothing on earth is its equal - a creature without fear. It looks down on all that are haughty; it is king over all that are proud.” So the application of that name is obvious. Abaddon in the OT is an synonym for the concept of destruction. In the NT, specifically Revelations, it's personified as an angel and called Destroyer. Given what's on the other side of the gates, the application also makes sense.
|
|
#
?
May 4, 2016 23:06
|
|
|
I've now read the first three books (after being inspired to by the show) and really enjoyed them. So should I just skip Cibola Burn and go straight to book 5 or what?
|
|
#
?
May 8, 2016 11:46
|
|
|
eh, if you liked book 3 might as well read book 4
|
|
#
?
May 8, 2016 11:47
|
|
|
I would agree it's the weakest of the series but I didn't think it was bad. If you appreciate the underlying theme of humans being unable to not gently caress up everything because we can't cooperate in large groups, that's seriously hammered on in book 4. It also has (spoilers only if you haven't read to 3) a lot of neat hints about the civilization that created the protomolecule that I'm betting pay off later
|
|
#
?
May 8, 2016 12:17
|
|
|
Cibola Burn is a lot of fun and, I think, is unfairly maligned. I'd say both AG and CB suffer from the fact that they became book 3 of 6 and book 4 of 9 respectively during their productions. I like CB because it moves away from the politics and the space travel to show the crew completely out of their element, where they can't help each other and where the most powerful guy isn't the one with political friends or a big ship, it's a dude with a gun and the wish to use it.
|
|
|
#
?
May 8, 2016 12:29
|
|
|
Tortolia posted:
Unfuck that situation lickity split.
|
|
#
?
May 8, 2016 12:33
|
|
|
I think a lot of why it gets crap is it's very different than the other four books. It feels like the writers were a little bored and decided to do something else for a book, like Archer Vice.
|
|
#
?
May 8, 2016 12:35
|
|
|
I didn't mind Cibola Burn and I agree with the above posters. It's not the strongest of the series but it's still an entertaining read plus anything to do with ancient exotic alien weaponplanets with passages on the inane details of flora and fauna is cool with me. Nemesis Games does a great job of setting the series back on track anyway.
|
|
#
?
May 8, 2016 12:56
|
|
|
Cibola Burn is neat IMO, but the scope is weirdly small in some ways and I can see how the main drivers of the plot could put some people off. That said I entirely found it reasonable how and why the plot went the way it did, even with the villains being a bit moustache -twirling.
|
|
#
?
May 8, 2016 15:03
|
|
|
CB was ok, but it could've just been a side book about totally different characters and worked just as well if not better. It doesn't feel like a main series book, and the main cast doesn't have to be there for every little thing that happens in the universe.
|
|
#
?
May 8, 2016 17:13
|
|
|
Wasn't cibola burn a side story novella, when did it change to a mainline novel.
|
|
#
?
May 8, 2016 19:41
|
|
|
Wibbleman posted:Wasn't cibola burn a side story novella, when did it change to a mainline novel. When a six book deal turned into a nine book deal.
|
|
#
?
May 8, 2016 20:19
|
|
|
Milky Moor posted:Cibola Burn is a lot of fun and, I think, is unfairly maligned. I'd say both AG and CB suffer from the fact that they became book 3 of 6 and book 4 of 9 respectively during their productions. I like CB because it moves away from the politics and the space travel to show the crew completely out of their element, where they can't help each other and where the most powerful guy isn't the one with political friends or a big ship, it's a dude with a gun and the wish to use it.  I really like it.
|
|
#
?
May 9, 2016 18:37
|
|
|
Pharmaskittle posted:CB was ok, but it could've just been a side book about totally different characters and worked just as well if not better. It doesn't feel like a main series book, and the main cast doesn't have to be there for every little thing that happens in the universe. Yeah, I'll agree with that. Having both Basia and Havelock in the mix was more than enough of a connection to the previous books' casts, if that's required for some reason. I will say I probably judged Cibola Burn a little more harshly than I otherwise would have because of the lovely audiobook narrator. The guy who read the rest of the series was unavailable, and they guy they replaced him with had just the worst instincts.
|
|
#
?
May 9, 2016 19:02
|
|
|
Demiurge4 posted:But Amos is an educated engineer so there are obviously ways for even 'unsanctioned' children to move up. Excluding people from the system would make the whole thing pointless so I'm pretty sure Amos was able to get on basic the moment he approached a government office. This statement is like saying I'm sure any kid can make it out of the hood like (insert rapper or ball player)
|
|
#
?
May 9, 2016 19:17
|
|
|
Inspector 34 posted:Not really sure how much book talk is ok here, so I'll just say Cibola Burn was awful compared to the first 3 books and I'm not sure how they could adapt it as part of the TV series. Starting Nemesis Games now and hoping it's a return to form. Hey Abbadons Gate is equal poo poo to Cibola Burn and yes Nemesis Games is a return to form.
|
|
#
?
May 9, 2016 19:37
|
|
|
Toast Museum posted:I will say I probably judged Cibola Burn a little more harshly than I otherwise would have because of the lovely audiobook narrator. The guy who read the rest of the series was unavailable, and they guy they replaced him with had just the worst instincts. I had to quit listening to it after awhile. I just ended up reading it in my spare time even though I had listened to all the other books.
|
|
#
?
May 9, 2016 20:25
|
|
|
Oh I didn't realise CB had a different narrator. The guy for the first three is really good, granted. I might pick it up for Kindle instead, in that case.
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2016 12:55
|
|
|
gohmak posted:This statement is like saying I'm sure any kid can make it out of the hood like (insert rapper or ball player) They say any unsanctioned kid can walk into a UN office and get on Basic. Whether they'have a hope in hell of getting a job and making actual money on the other hand...
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2016 18:14
|
|
|
gohmak posted:This statement is like saying I'm sure any kid can make it out of the hood like (insert rapper or ball player) My point was that the entire system of basic exists to keep people content, registered and out of trouble. If the fact that you were born illegitimately isolates you from the system then it would never have survived any length of time. Anyone can turn up in an office and say 'I was born in a whorehouse, give me basic'. If they can't the system collapses. I understand Aemos's circumstances and advancement were special but that doesn't make me wrong.
|
|
#
?
May 17, 2016 01:43
|
|
|
Are consuming the audio book version a legit way of consuming a book, or do people only do this to supplement a reading?
|
|
#
?
May 20, 2016 09:56
|
|
|
People do it when they can't read or they are blind.
|
|
#
?
May 20, 2016 10:01
|
|
|
Daktari posted:Are consuming the audio book version a legit way of consuming a book, or do people only do this to supplement a reading? A good narrator adds a lot to a written book, conversely a lovely one can ruin it. Audiobooks are popular with people who otherwise have difficulty making time to read: easy enough to get through a book during your morning commute, whilst out running/doing errands/chores, etc. I used to have a relatively menial data entry job in college and I got through a lot of audiobooks.
|
|
#
?
May 20, 2016 10:28
|
|
|
I usually don't do fiction audiobooks but I listen to a fair number of nonfiction ones. They (and podcasts) are good in the background while playing a turn-based strategy game or city builder or something, or long walks.
|
|
#
?
May 20, 2016 10:49
|
|
|
I spend up to two hours in the car on my workday commute. Audiobooks and podcasts are great car entertainment. It is by no means as quick as reading, but I agree that a good narrator can add a lot to a book.
|
|
#
?
May 20, 2016 11:02
|
|
|
Yeah I love audiobooks for when I'm walking to work or doing housework or even just in bed. I can read and am not blind, but audiobooks own
|
|
#
?
May 20, 2016 11:12
|
|
|
I wasn't trying to be uppety or anything. Maybe I should try it out myself. I thought it was more of a niche thing
|
|
#
?
May 20, 2016 13:09
|
|
|
I just finished reading the books and am pretty impressed in hindsight at how perfect the casting has been for the show. The guy playing Amos deserves some kind of award for pulling off the amicably threatening personality so perfectly.
|
|
#
?
May 20, 2016 13:12
|
|
Der Luftwaffle posted:I just finished reading the books and am pretty impressed in hindsight at how perfect the casting has been for the show. The guy playing Amos deserves some kind of award for pulling off the amicably threatening personality so perfectly. Wes Chatham was a massive Expanse fan prior to being cast, and of Amos in particular, as it turns out.
|
|
|
#
?
May 20, 2016 14:19
|
|
|
Toast Museum posted:I will say I probably judged Cibola Burn a little more harshly than I otherwise would have because of the lovely audiobook narrator. The guy who read the rest of the series was unavailable, and they guy they replaced him with had just the worst instincts. I've been slowly going through the audiobooks over the last few months in preparation for the release of the new book this winter, and holy poo poo is this true. I want to listen to Cibola Burn since I haven't skipped anything else but goddamn everything the narrator does is crap. Crap voices that sound like Hannah Barbera cartoon characters is bad but the worst is his god-awful loving cadence that sounds like a bad stereotype of a native american accent from decades ago. Ugh, total poo poo.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2016 03:33
|
|
|
Der Luftwaffle posted:I just finished reading the books and am pretty impressed in hindsight at how perfect the casting has been for the show. The guy playing Amos deserves some kind of award for pulling off the amicably threatening personality so perfectly. Yeah was great casting on rewatch especially the way Amos drops threats. My fav moment was the ambush scene in which he uses his instincts notice it's a setup.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2016 04:05
|
|
|
Amos doesn't threaten. He just casually states facts.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2016 04:10
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 7, 2024 06:53 |
|
|
How are u posted:the worst is his god-awful loving cadence that sounds like a bad stereotype of a native american accent from decades ago. Holy poo poo, YES. That's exactly what came to mind for me too.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2016 07:10
|
|