|
now you can make a thread where despite 'ironically' reading something you spend thousands of hours analysing and discussing it, in no way indicating mental illness, and maybe you can buy an xbox one as well.
|
#
?
Aug 15, 2016 23:49
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 6, 2024 02:02 |
|
|
Neurosis posted:now you can make a thread where despite 'ironically' reading something you spend thousands of hours analysing and discussing it, in no way indicating mental illness, and maybe you can buy an xbox one as well. What does that mean? Anyway, I'm done. This is as far as I made it: quote:Alan nodded, and then Rick continued, “The new nation will be much more than just a tax haven. It would be a proper Christian Libertarian Republic with a truly minimalist government bound to miniscule size by a firmly-worded Constitution that will make it exceedingly difficult to grow -- I’m talking lower-case ‘g’ government. The only legitimate functions of a minarchist government are the protection of Citizens, both born and not yet born, from initiated aggression, where the key forms of aggression in the civil context are theft, coercion, fraud, and breach of contract. Most of the necessities like roads and public utilities would be handled by subscription and paid for by landowners. There would be direct democracy with referendums via the Net, but the Constitution would have inherently strong chains on the government, making it very difficult to ever add to the size and authority of the government. As I envision it, it will take a simple majority of 51% of votes to decrease the size of government, but an 81% majority to expand the government or to in any other way further limit personal liberty, and a 91% majority to alter the core passages of the Constitution.” I broke on page four. I've already returned it to get it out of my Kindle Library.
|
|
#
?
Aug 16, 2016 00:33
|
|
|
 No keep reading. Is there actually a plot or is it all just masturbatory ramblings?
|
|
#
?
Aug 16, 2016 00:47
|
|
|
Hedrigall posted:
I'll boil down the first 4 pages. The "prologue" is a closet-Christian Arab woman waiting with her two daughters (aged 14 and 16) to be picked up by the Caliphate morality police. Because "Christian" or some such. She can't hide because of some sort of mandatory app pre-installed by the world-wide Caliphate on all phones tracks her or something? We're left wondering what happens as we move on to chapter one. The protagonists are in Scotland somewhere meeting clandestinely because they have had enough and are planning to create a new country founded on Christian and libertarian values somewhere (Africa, I guess?). They also have an Israeli woman as part of their cabal that is described as a Sabra more than once (yes, I know what it means, but it was weird). Not sure why she's throwing in with them, it may or may not be explained later. Seriously, if you want to know more, it's on Amazon as a Kindle Unlimited Book.
|
|
#
?
Aug 16, 2016 00:56
|
|
|
flosofl posted:What does that mean? Weirdos on here form little microcosm communities and identities based around how much they hate something but spending hundreds of hours and dollars on the object of their declared ridicule. E.g. the Xbox One thread where several posters ended up buying Xboxes avowedly to see how bad it is. See also Star Citizen and maybe that Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality thread in here.
|
|
#
?
Aug 16, 2016 01:09
|
|
|
flosofl posted:What does that mean? I love the Foucault namedrop, but I think this guy missed the point of Discipline and Punish.
|
|
#
?
Aug 16, 2016 01:14
|
|
|
Neurosis posted:Weirdos on here form little microcosm communities and identities based around how much they hate something but spending hundreds of hours and dollars on the object of their declared ridicule. E.g. the Xbox One thread where several posters ended up buying Xboxes avowedly to see how bad it is. See also Star Citizen and maybe that Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality thread in here. Ah, got it. Yeah, no danger in that. There is no way I want to read more than I have, and I sincerely regret reading what I did. Fortunately, he shouldn't get any revenue since I didn't finish the book.
|
|
#
?
Aug 16, 2016 01:16
|
|
|
flosofl posted:Ah, got it. Fastest gave a thin smile and said, "Clever."
|
|
#
?
Aug 16, 2016 01:31
|
|
|
Isn't Sabra a popular hummus brand?
|
|
#
?
Aug 16, 2016 01:46
|
|
|
holocaust bloopers posted:Isn't Sabra a popular hummus brand? It originally meant someone born in Isreal. (other than it being an actual species of desert cactus)
|
|
#
?
Aug 16, 2016 02:14
|
|
|
flosofl posted:It originally meant someone born in Isreal. (other than it being an actual species of desert cactus)
|
|
#
?
Aug 16, 2016 02:39
|
|
|
Whoever recommended Max Gladstone's Craft Sequence, holy poo poo these books are pure gold.
|
|
#
?
Aug 16, 2016 17:34
|
|
|
Bozart posted:Whoever recommended Max Gladstone's Craft Sequence, holy poo poo these books are pure gold.
|
|
#
?
Aug 16, 2016 17:59
|
|
|
IIRC, the second one is considered the best of the bunch so maybe give that a shot?
|
|
#
?
Aug 16, 2016 19:02
|
|
|
If he didn't like the first one, I wouldn't bother with the others.
|
|
#
?
Aug 16, 2016 19:18
|
|
|
I already finished Obsidian Gate. I didn't like it is much as The Fifth Season, but it definitely fleshes out the world more.
|
|
#
?
Aug 16, 2016 19:38
|
|
|
Paramount just released the full trailer for the Ted Chiang movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFMo3UJ4B4g
|
|
#
?
Aug 16, 2016 21:11
|
|
|
Nakar posted:Do they get better after the first one? Because I thought Three Parts Dead was mediocre. Conceptually alright, paced well enough, but with an insipid setup, a poor resolution, and almost no actual legal work in a book ostensibly about wizard lawyers. Generally, I don't find them to focus that much on the law. Like it's there, and the "soulstuff as a currency" is present in all of them, but many look at the way corporations, banks, and other entities exist in that world, often with analogs to this one. I enjoyed them all, so far, and the 5th is on my reading list to do this week.
|
|
#
?
Aug 16, 2016 21:30
|
|
|
Ben Nevis posted:Generally, I don't find them to focus that much on the law. Like it's there, and the "soulstuff as a currency" is present in all of them, but many look at the way corporations, banks, and other entities exist in that world, often with analogs to this one. I enjoyed them all, so far, and the 5th is on my reading list to do this week. They are more about "Craft is capitalism/neoliberalism and Gods are statism" than law.
|
|
#
?
Aug 16, 2016 21:38
|
|
|
Neurosis posted:Weirdos on here form little microcosm communities and identities based around how much they hate something but spending hundreds of hours and dollars on the object of their declared ridicule. E.g. the Xbox One thread where several posters ended up buying Xboxes avowedly to see how bad it is. See also Star Citizen and maybe that Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality thread in here. Right, it's the people mocking things on Something Awful that are the weirdoes, and not the guy whining about them in unrelated threads.
|
|
#
?
Aug 16, 2016 22:14
|
|
|
Internet Wizard posted:Right, it's the people mocking things on Something Awful that are the weirdoes, and not the guy whining about them in unrelated threads. yeah.
|
|
#
?
Aug 16, 2016 22:37
|
|
|
Starting on Robin Hobb, and from the map in the front Cold River does not flow into Cold Bay, and for some reason this irritates me. Also Ice Town is not on the Icy Shores.
|
|
#
?
Aug 16, 2016 23:37
|
|
|
I finished Chindi which is book 3 in The Academy series by Jack McDevitt. Overall a pretty solid book and a bit better than Deep Six but not as good as The Engines of God. My main gripe with the series as a whole is how predictable and repetitive it gets. Literally every single time they go down to a planet or asteroid or whatever to investigate something it turns into a disaster which they barely manage to escape from. Like every single time. The books will kind of skim over parts like them travelling to a new system but then out of the blue it will start describing them transferring supplies between ships and you know since it's taking the time to describe it shits going to happen. Or like I said before every time they go down to a planet, Hutch will warn them they have to be careful, nobody will listen to her and think she's "too cautious" and then of course everything will go wrong. Other than that though it's been a pretty decent series and I'm probably going to read the 4th. Other posters earlier in the thread said it starts to go downhill from here though.
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2016 00:29
|
|
|
Yes, I agree. You'd think after 30 or so years of that poo poo, they'd start equipping people with body armour at the very least. But no, even after all the well documented horror stories people are still exploring entirely unknown biospheres in their shorts and university branded sweatshirts, and using entirely improvised weapons to defend themselves.
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2016 00:33
|
|
|
Internet Wizard posted:Right, it's the people mocking things on Something Awful that are the weirdoes, and not the guy whining about them in unrelated threads. I read a couple of the mock threads, but yeah there's lots of people that get a little too into it. (That's the way you get the Chris-chan mess).
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2016 00:47
|
|
|
johnsonrod posted:I finished Chindi which is book 3 in The Academy series by Jack McDevitt. Overall a pretty solid book and a bit better than Deep Six but not as good as The Engines of God. My main gripe with the series as a whole is how predictable and repetitive it gets. I read a few books in the Academy series and mostly enjoyed them, but his treatment of female characters felt weird to me. Some of the male characters are obviously written as having pretty outdated views on women, the mega celebrity editor guy especially comes to mind. But even some of the narrative voice parts have a bit of a Heinlein feel to them when it comes to describing women's appearances and their thoughts and motivations. I couldn't quite tell if it's the author's views coming through or meant to be a part of the society he's built, but my guess would have been on the former. Didn't ruin the books for me but it was a little jarring in parts.
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2016 00:56
|
|
|
Internet Wizard posted:Right, it's the people mocking things on Something Awful that are the weirdoes, and not the guy whining about them in unrelated threads. Generally yes, actually
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2016 02:56
|
|
|
tooterfish posted:Yes, I agree. Yeah, exactly. There was a part in Chindi where they're getting ready to land on the angel world and one of the passengers asks why they don't have actual weapons instead of just the laser cutters. Hutch responds something along the lines of "well we've never met anyone yet and we've just never thought we had the need for them." Like seriously? At that point I think Hutch herself had been involved in 5 or 6 expeditions on planets where the local lifeforms attacked them and all they had were the laser cutters. I mean poo poo, just keep a couple of laser rifles or whatever the hell they use in their time on the ship just incase. And the university sweaters..... lol. That seems to be the only top anyone owns. big scary monsters posted:I read a few books in the Academy series and mostly enjoyed them, but his treatment of female characters felt weird to me. Some of the male characters are obviously written as having pretty outdated views on women, the mega celebrity editor guy especially comes to mind. But even some of the narrative voice parts have a bit of a Heinlein feel to them when it comes to describing women's appearances and their thoughts and motivations. I couldn't quite tell if it's the author's views coming through or meant to be a part of the society he's built, but my guess would have been on the former. Didn't ruin the books for me but it was a little jarring in parts. Yeah, I got that vibe too. It was nowhere near as bad as say The Mote in God's eye but there was definitely some old fashioned views on women going on. johnsonrod fucked around with this message at 03:34 on Aug 17, 2016 |
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2016 03:31
|
|
|
less laughter posted:Paramount just released the full trailer for the Ted Chiang movie: I am excited to see where they go with this. One of my favorite short story collections. A friend wrote a book. I'm scared to read it. There's no way it's good but as long as I haven't read it it isn't bad yet. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01K7YSHPI/ref=oh_aui_d_detailpage_o00_?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Harold Fjord fucked around with this message at 04:00 on Aug 17, 2016 |
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2016 03:54
|
|
|
johnsonrod posted:I finished Chindi which is book 3 in The Academy series by Jack McDevitt. Overall a pretty solid book and a bit better than Deep Six but not as good as The Engines of God. My main gripe with the series as a whole is how predictable and repetitive it gets. Sabotaged skimmers and rogue planets are other go-to McDevitt plot devices. He definitely likes to work with a set of plot elements.
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2016 04:05
|
|
|
Nevvy Z posted:A friend wrote a book. I'm scared to read it. There's no way it's good but as long as I haven't read it it isn't bad yet. Allow me to put your mind to rest. It's bad.
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2016 04:10
|
|
|
Nevvy Z posted:A friend wrote a book. I'm scared to read it. There's no way it's good but as long as I haven't read it it isn't bad yet. quote:Fend'ryal pressed another line graph haphazardly drawn in crayon into Jan's hands. "The thing is, polls traditionally under-represent the working class, which will turn out in droves for Romney. It's math Jan! Math!" e: also i'm going to start the obelisk gate soon but i feel like i should finish My Brilliant Friend first
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2016 05:13
|
|
|
New StoryBundle, this time full of Weird West poo poo. I've only read Haxan, which I've loved, and heard of a couple more.
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2016 12:43
|
|
|
johnsonrod posted:Yeah, exactly. McDevitt is ancient, he was born in 1935. I think that kind of explains his politics. He also dislikes Big Government a lot. (I'm not implying a lack of people from his generation with more progressive views.)
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2016 13:42
|
|
|
coyo7e posted:Been reading Allen Steele's Coyote again, forgot how much I liked the series. The political stuff and stuff like "the Starship USS Jesse Helms" is hilarious to me, and it really isn't in your face past the initial opening of the first book.. And since there's a few dozen light years between earth and the planet Coyote, every time there's contact between the two planets, the government has completely flipped around again over the previous 100-200 years so you never know what to expect. There are sequels to Coyote?  I don't remember if it was in this thread or the space opera one, but a while back someone mentioned Helix by Eric Brown, and the premise alone got me to try it. There's a sequel book which isn't that bad but it also doesn't really feel all that necessary - the first book wraps itself up and ends in a good place IMO. The writing isn't stellar, but the guy thinks big, and I am a sucker for that old-school 'big SF' mindset (which is why I will never stop singing the praises of the Troy Rising series even if it is written by John Ringo).
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2016 17:11
|
|
|
I think there's like six or seven books in the Coyote setting. I've only read #1 but I should read more. Reminded me of Brian Aldiss's works for some reason.
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2016 17:22
|
|
|
Antti posted:I think there's like six or seven books in the Coyote setting. I've only read #1 but I should read more. Reminded me of Brian Aldiss's works for some reason. I enjoyed the entire series and Steele has promised a new story in the near future.
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2016 22:17
|
|
|
So it looks like I accidentally bought Obelisk Gate twice, since I got a copy locally a week early and forgot to cancel my preorder for the ebook on Amazon. So I read it all already. Without spoilers, it's... definitely a middle book. Solid as these things go and I pretty much couldn't put it down once I picked it up, but definitely a middle book. Conclusion will be very busy. Looking forward to it. Fifth Season is just a tough act to follow, I think. I do very much enjoy the weird muddling of sf and f elements it's got going on; I feel like that was out of fashion for a while, so it's weirdly nostalgic for me.
|
|
#
?
Aug 18, 2016 00:09
|
|
|
Something I never thought I'd say: Luke Rhinehart has a new SF novel out in September.
|
|
#
?
Aug 18, 2016 00:26
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 6, 2024 02:02 |
|
|
Megazver posted:New StoryBundle, this time full of Weird West poo poo. I've only read Haxan, which I've loved, and heard of a couple more. Any other recommendations for this bundle? Are the bonus books in particular worth getting?
|
|
#
?
Aug 18, 2016 05:14
|
|
