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It's not just the Hugos. Nerd conventions in general have long had enormous glaring issues with inclusivity, respect, and access for minorities of all sorts. I'm phone posting or I'd link to some of the terrible trouble that, for instance, disabled fans and pros have had participating in cons because the organizers basically laugh off their concerns, or straight-up lie about access accommodations.
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Aug 16, 2017 19:58
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Wheat Loaf posted:The whole "populist vs literary" angle was stupid because they proceeded to nominate the abovementioned John C. Wright, who I've not read myself but from samples seems to have literary pretensions at least. He's hardly Larry Correia's "I blew up the monsters then I kissed the hot girl and it was loving awesome" stuff. Agreed. Following the blogs at the time and as evidenced by the sad/rabid split different people had different goals and angles they were pushing. Some people (cough rabid) mostly just wanted to burn everything down and punish the LEFTISTS!!!!!!!, some just wanted to promote the stuff they liked. Ornamented Death posted:And on the flip side, John Scalzi has won a Best Novel Hugo and he writes sci-fi pulp, basically. Part of the claim was that Scalzi was only winning because right politics, and Tor. Redshirts winning was the proof for many people, because they felt it was super trashy even by their standards (it was).
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Aug 17, 2017 15:26
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ShinsoBEAM! posted:Part of the claim was that Scalzi was only winning because right politics, and Tor. Redshirts winning was the proof for many people, because they felt it was super trashy even by their standards (it was). Hugos historically have been a bit cliquey. Some authors get nominated (Bujold, McGuire, Scalzi) every time they sneeze into a paper tissue. And yeah, Redshirts doesn't deserve an award. It's not a liberal conspiracy or a conspiracy, though, just natural tribal dynamics.
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Aug 17, 2017 15:41
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I read the first Monster Hunter and got halfway through the second before bailing on the series, and that's coming from someone that grew up as a died-in-the-wool Republican gun nut. There's not a lot of series I'd use the word "masturbatory" for, but Monster Hunter is exactly that. The gun nut that joins the secret company that eradicates monsters with big guns and finds himself attracted to a even-more-gun-nut-and-skilled woman who is beyond his reach... And then the whole puppies thing. And his views on women, rape, and self-defense... The list goes on. Which bothered me when I met Correia right after the Sad Puppies thing a few years back. It's annoying when someone who is a top-tier poo poo-heel turns out to be personable, but I guess it's a reminder that rabid prick can come in surprising forms.
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Aug 17, 2017 16:17
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Sounds kinda like how I feel about Adam Baldwin. I can't stand him as a person, especially with his role in pushing gamergate, but damnit he really is great in every role I've seen him in.
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Aug 17, 2017 19:52
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Mortanis posted:I read the first Monster Hunter and got halfway through the second before bailing on the series, and that's coming from someone that grew up as a died-in-the-wool Republican gun nut. There's not a lot of series I'd use the word "masturbatory" for, but Monster Hunter is exactly that. The gun nut that joins the secret company that eradicates monsters with big guns and finds himself attracted to a even-more-gun-nut-and-skilled woman who is beyond his reach... Don't forget the part where they've got nothing but disdain for the government while being utterly dependent on government payouts to stay in business.
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Aug 17, 2017 22:19
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For what is worth I enjoyed the books. They're like fun and dumb action movies. I mean I wouldn't say they're good books but I was entertained.
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Aug 17, 2017 23:59
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It was poo poo to see Jim associated with those whiny Sad Puppy rejects. Skin Game didn't deserve any awards, but it was alright. Maybe Changes, Cold Days, or Turn Coat. He's got some more books to write, maybe he'll still win one. Mortanis posted:I read the first Monster Hunter and got halfway through the second before bailing on the series, and that's coming from someone that grew up as a died-in-the-wool Republican gun nut. There's not a lot of series I'd use the word "masturbatory" for, but Monster Hunter is exactly that. The gun nut that joins the secret company that eradicates monsters with big guns and finds himself attracted to a even-more-gun-nut-and-skilled woman who is beyond his reach... This is kind of why I do some checking whenever someone recommends me a new fantasy or urban fantasy book. Like 90% of them you'll start reading, thinking, "Oh this is OK I guess," and then about twenty pages in the author reaches across the center console and yanks the steering wheel, turning an otherwise enjoyable ride into an end-over-end cartwheel down gently caress-Off Mountain.
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Aug 18, 2017 03:49
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Uhhh, so I'm confused. Why is Jim Butcher producing all these random things, but somehow we still haven't heard any news about Peace Talks?
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Aug 18, 2017 05:20
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Megazver posted:Hugos historically have been a bit cliquey. Some authors get nominated (Bujold, McGuire, Scalzi) every time they sneeze into a paper tissue. And yeah, Redshirts doesn't deserve an award. It's not a liberal conspiracy or a conspiracy, though, just natural tribal dynamics. In Bujold's defense, that's also as often as she puts out a book 
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Aug 18, 2017 06:58
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I don't know that I'd include Bujold on that list. She gets nominated all the time, but she also writes a lot of good books. All of her nominations have deserved it and all of her winners have been solid contenders for the best book out of the nominees. She doesn't have any obvious clunkers like Redshirts on her nomination list.
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Aug 18, 2017 09:55
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Snipee posted:Uhhh, so I'm confused. Why is Jim Butcher producing all these random things, but somehow we still haven't heard any news about Peace Talks? Long story short, he currently has no stable workspace to write in, due to issues with contractors building his house. He's been living with his girlfriend's family in a small house where there's no home office of anything he can use as a workspace
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Aug 18, 2017 09:55
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Mortanis posted:I read the first Monster Hunter and got halfway through the second before bailing on the series, and that's coming from someone that grew up as a died-in-the-wool Republican gun nut. There's not a lot of series I'd use the word "masturbatory" for, but Monster Hunter is exactly that. The gun nut that joins the secret company that eradicates monsters with big guns and finds himself attracted to a even-more-gun-nut-and-skilled woman who is beyond his reach... I haven't read the Monster Hunter series but it's interesting reading this since the Grimnoir books doesn't seem to carry this sort of baggage, save some gun porn. They come across as schlocky - which is fine - but not particularly offensive (and that's coming from someone that grew up as a died-in-the-wool bleeding heart European liberal). Has anyone read the fifth and sixth Monster Hunter books (since they were published after The Grimnoir Chronicles finished) and, if so, has the tone changed at all?
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Aug 18, 2017 10:29
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I read all the Mindspace investigations books. They were pretty good if you're interested in a more realistic depiction of police procedural and day to day investigations, like even more than London Falling. Only, the world is ridiculously against the main character like one of R. Scott Bakker's books turned to 11 and he's incredibly whiny at all times about being the most powerful person in the room and hated and feared because he's a telepath. He absolutely never grows a spine in 4 books and is poo poo on by everyone he works with and for and it's one of those situations where you just want to slap him and say "hey, there are other options and you can move where people aren't assholes, you have OPTIONS" but the his internal monologue is "But I have a FELONY on my record, I can't get hired anywhere else" even though it's made clear that he has this incredibly rare and valuable skill that nearly anyone would overlook almost anything for. I guess the writer's good at writing an ex-addict with self-destructive tendencies but it sure is frustrating to read sometimes. Also he has a partner that he's in love with and includes some truly  relationship tension because of course having sex creates a bond blah blah blah. At least by the third book the author stopped referring to his partner as "beautiful" and "large breasted" in the first sentence of her description.
Bhodi fucked around with this message at 15:34 on Aug 18, 2017 |
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Aug 18, 2017 15:30
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Yeah, I dropped it after a few chapters.
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Aug 18, 2017 16:33
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One thing I did appreciate about Mindspace is that the main villain is Almost Literally Marcone, but unlike Marcone, at least he's actually portrayed as a consistently lovely guy.
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Aug 18, 2017 16:35
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Wheat Loaf posted:One thing I did appreciate about Mindspace is that the main villain is Almost Literally Marcone, but unlike Marcone, at least he's actually portrayed as a consistently lovely guy. But the interesting thing about Marcone is that he isn't a completely lovely guy. Without this he's just your typical Mafia boss, only more clever.
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Aug 18, 2017 16:44
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Decius posted:But the interesting thing about Marcone is that he isn't a completely lovely guy. Without this he's just your typical Mafia boss, only more clever. Sure, but I don't think we're ever really shown Marcone being a particularly bad guy. We get Harry and Murphy talking about how he's one of the worst people in Chicago and one day there'll have to be a reckoning between them, but more often than not he's either a) helping Harry beat the bigger bad guy; or b) risking his own life for children etc. I believe we're meant to see him as the token villain who's on the heroes' side, but he never really comes off as a particularly villainous guy.  I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Marcone leaves the series sacrificing his life to save Maggie Dresden or something like that. I really can't think of what the worst thing Marcone's done in the series is. Wheat Loaf fucked around with this message at 17:07 on Aug 18, 2017 |
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Aug 18, 2017 17:05
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Decius posted:But the interesting thing about Marcone is that he isn't a completely lovely guy. Without this he's just your typical Mafia boss, only more clever. edit: Yeah, that. Wheat Loaf put it better than I could. I mean it's not like it'd be hard to turn Marcone into more of an rear end in a top hat - just have Harry encounter some people who failed to pay for protection or had a relative put into cement shoes or whatever they do in Chicago for fun these days. anilEhilated fucked around with this message at 17:11 on Aug 18, 2017 |
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Aug 18, 2017 17:08
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By the later half of the series I can only guess that Harry hates Marcone because he sees something of himself in him. Murphy? Sure, I can see her motive. But there's no logical reason for Harry to have the level of hate-boner that he does. The idea of a mortal running a mafia that has supernatural dealings is kind of a fun idea.
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Aug 18, 2017 20:05
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Marcone comes across as a bit more sinister in the early books, but he's definitely on the wrong side of the "show, don't tell" equation as far as his villainy goes.
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Aug 18, 2017 20:45
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Marcone is basically Batman if Bruce Wayne wasn't the son of rich parents (and with the "no killing" being specifically limited to children, but holy poo poo don't be someone that harms children where Marcone can get wind of it).
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Aug 18, 2017 23:11
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Where the gently caress is the new book? Butcher has gone GRRM on us.
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Aug 20, 2017 02:40
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Uh well you see he can't write anything because [bullshit excuses]. Based on a q/a session he gave a while back, I think the real reason is that he wants to shoehorn in ways to deal with like 20 different hanging plot threads in Peace Talks, and now he is totally stuck. Also, I imagine writing the books gets harder as you have to shoehorn in new ways for most of Harry's existing powers and allies to be neutralized in order for there to be some degree of tension in the plot
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Aug 20, 2017 02:54
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It mostly comes down to a lack of home, as Jivjov said. Jim has said this on numerous occasions. I know everyone wants to yell "But GRRM!" or some nonsense, but after watching a close friend go through a very, very similar set of circumstances with respect to building a home and dealing with delay after delay, I promise, that poo poo can consume your life. Probably the worst part of the whole thing is that, realistically, there's nothing you can do to the contractors; sure, you can sue them, but they'll just stop all work on your home while the litigation is ongoing.
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Aug 20, 2017 03:37
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Ornamented Death posted:It mostly comes down to a lack of home, as Jivjov said. Jim has said this on numerous occasions. I know everyone wants to yell "But GRRM!" or some nonsense, but after watching a close friend go through a very, very similar set of circumstances with respect to building a home and dealing with delay after delay, I promise, that poo poo can consume your life. Probably the worst part of the whole thing is that, realistically, there's nothing you can do to the contractors; sure, you can sue them, but they'll just stop all work on your home while the litigation is ongoing. Two things. One, rent an apartment instead of living in someone's basement. Two, go to the library, something, instead of working from someone else's home. Of course, what's happened is, he's wrapped up in real life, and the pressure to produce is overwhelmed by the day to day nits.
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Aug 20, 2017 03:43
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torgeaux posted:Two things. One, rent an apartment instead of living in someone's basement. Two, go to the library, something, instead of working from someone else's home. Of course, what's happened is, he's wrapped up in real life, and the pressure to produce is overwhelmed by the day to day nits. He's been pretty clear that these things don't work for him because he needs a space he can feel is his own. I'm sure he tried those things to some extent and they didn't work out, and I won't be so presumptive as to dictate how and where a creative person should create. The book will be out when it's out. And dealing with contractor delays on your new house is a very real life thing to get wrapped up in, so thanks for agreeing with me I guess?
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Aug 20, 2017 03:48
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Isn't he still doing cons and stuff though? If he just doesn't want to write for whatever reason that's cool. It isn't like he owes me or anyone else a drat thing. It is 1,000x easier to make excuses for not writing than it is to sit down and write, I know. I just want Penguin to get off their asses and finish the polish work on Brief Cases.
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Aug 20, 2017 05:16
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Per his forums, he's had seven public events this year, with two more scheduled, which is a fairly full schedule for a year with no new book. That said, he did the same number in 2013, when the bulk of writing on Skin Game likely took place and more than twice that many in 2014 (including a number of international dates) when he was ostensibly writing The Aeronaut's Windlass. Signing tours and cons have traditionally not seemed to slow Jim down much, if at all. As far as Brief Cases, I think the final story to be included in it just came out, so we still have to wait out whatever exclusivity period was in Jim's contract for that one.
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Aug 20, 2017 05:30
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Ornamented Death posted:He's been pretty clear that these things don't work for him because he needs a space he can feel is his own. I'm sure he tried those things to some extent and they didn't work out, and I won't be so presumptive as to dictate how and where a creative person should create. The book will be out when it's out. Sort of agreeing with you. Real life happens. But, if you're even moderately successful, any complaints that revolve around living in someone else's basement just come off as lazy.
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Aug 20, 2017 16:51
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He's living with his fiancee's family. What are they supposed to do, go buy a new house while they wait for construction to finish on the house they already contracted?
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Aug 20, 2017 17:58
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jivjov posted:He's living with his fiancee's family. What are they supposed to do, go buy a new house while they wait for construction to finish on the house they already contracted? No, be a grown up, and rent a place. Or, don't use it as an excuse for not working.
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Aug 20, 2017 18:08
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Edit - Misread your post. But bear in mind Jim has been working, just not at the rate his more...demanding fans want.
Ornamented Death fucked around with this message at 18:25 on Aug 20, 2017 |
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Aug 20, 2017 18:17
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Ornamented Death posted:Edit - Misread your post. But bear in mind Jim has been working, just not at the rate his more...demanding fans want. I know. I'm not actually one of the folks clamoring for him to speed up. Life happens, and like I said, I think his need to push out books is much less, and the mess of his real life is bogging him down. But, man, how can you live in your in-laws basement? Things would have to be pretty dire.
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Aug 20, 2017 18:43
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Have been thinking, did anyone else feel like Hanging Tree a) walked right up to the edge of leaning too heavily into pop culture references; b) and jumped over; or c) didn't at all?
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Aug 20, 2017 18:54
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Why would you rent a place, signing a one-year lease, when you're in the process of building your own home which was supposed to be done months ago. The contractors are the ones taking forever. They've gone way past when they were supposed to be done.
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Aug 20, 2017 18:59
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Daric posted:Why would you rent a place, signing a one-year lease, when you're in the process of building your own home which was supposed to be done months ago. The contractors are the ones taking forever. They've gone way past when they were supposed to be done. Man, this derail just won't quit. You know you can rent month to month, right? Hanging Tree pop culture stuff didn't jump out at me. Got an example?
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Aug 20, 2017 19:01
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Wheat Loaf posted:Have been thinking, did anyone else feel like Hanging Tree a) walked right up to the edge of leaning too heavily into pop culture references; b) and jumped over; or c) didn't at all? Seemed fine to me for something set in a contemporary setting featuring a Midtwenty-ish protagonist and - in this book - a sizeable group of people even younger.
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Aug 20, 2017 19:19
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I'm probably just imagining it. I think Peter is my favourite UF protagonist out of the ones I've read that are listed in the OP. Just about edges out Myfanwy Thomas. (Richard Jeperson is close to the top as well.)
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Aug 20, 2017 19:27
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torgeaux posted:Man, this derail just won't quit. You know you can rent month to month, right? Have you ever built a house before? Because I literally just went through this process. You sign a contract and the builder says "it'll take 3 months" and you say that's fine, we'll just move in with your parents for a few months until it's done. 2.5 months in, the builder says "it's gonna be another month". A month after that, they're still not done. Maybe not even close. But they won't give you a good timeframe because they don't even know at this point. Now you're 6 months into the process, no clue when it'll be finished. Do you really want to go through the process of finding an apartment that'll allow you to rent month to month which is not easy. I'm a realtor and I've seen them offered AFTER a tenant has been in the property for a year but never upfront because what's the incentive for the owner? They get a tenant, go through the whole process of getting them in and then they just leave after a month and now they have to find another tenant. And the entire thing is just stressful in general. The builder will mess things up so you have to constantly go to the property and make sure things are being done correctly. At mine, they put in the wrong sized posts throughout the entire house. So that took a lot of extra time to have them cut them out and replace them. So I can completely understand his predicament. And who wants to go through the process of moving 3 times in a year if you don't have to. He doesn't owe anyone a book though I would love to have the next one. So let him take the time he needs.
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Aug 20, 2017 19:33
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