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I finally started Revenant Gun and I think this whole thing is about climate change but done so broadly and subtly that I sort of love it!
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Aug 12, 2018 15:48
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Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:The rest are pretty good. I remember thinking "HOLY poo poo" at the one with the girl who hosed up making an athame. Yeah, I really like how Ithnalin's Restoration literally happens entirely in the background while that one is happening.
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Aug 12, 2018 15:57
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Just finished reading The Poppy War by RF Kuang. Really good book. Reminds me a lot of The Traitor Baru Cormorant by the end, particularly with the protagonists Genocide on not-Japan and you realise she is too far gone in her actions to step back, that she only has one path left, that of the monster, that of what she was fighting against to begin with. Also touched on a lot of racism, addiction, and the loss of humanity inherent in war and war atrocities. I will highly recommend it.
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Aug 12, 2018 16:19
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Hey what are some good SFF books that have societies or characters or anything modeled on ancient Rome Not that dinosaur pokemon one tho
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Aug 12, 2018 16:47
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my bony fealty posted:Hey what are some good SFF books that have societies or characters or anything modeled on ancient Rome I haven't read these yet, but here's a tor.com article about a series that is basically ancient rome in space fighting aliens from beyond the stars. quote:To start with, there are Romans in space. And there are American marines in space. And in a logical universe they’d be fighting each other, but in the universe they find themselves in they are allied against amazingly horrific FTL tentacled aliens. Now, if that doesn’t already have you sitting up straighter in your chair, these books are probably not for you. But there’s also an awesome narrative element in play in these books, which is what makes me really like them.
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Aug 12, 2018 16:54
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StrixNebulosa posted:I haven't read these yet, but here's a tor.com article about a series that is basically ancient rome in space fighting aliens from beyond the stars. I read these years ago, and I liked them.
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Aug 12, 2018 18:05
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Maybe 40% through The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, kind of disappointed so far. The genre (cozy sci-fi) is right up up my alley, but the writing feels so much like fan fiction it's throwing me for a loop. As soon as they said "uh oh, pirates!" I knew, knew that the only way to solve it was going to be Rosemary's One Actual Skill, so that she can finally be One Of The Crew For Real. Do the sequels improve on the writing quality?
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Aug 12, 2018 18:23
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The sequel is better, and the third book is even better still.
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Aug 12, 2018 18:26
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my bony fealty posted:Hey what are some good SFF books that have societies or characters or anything modeled on ancient Rome I enjoyed Theodore Judson’s The Martian General’s Daughter, which is Marcus Aurelius / Commodus with the names filed off and dumped in a post-Western downfall setting. His Fitzpatrick’s War is the same with Alexander the Great.
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Aug 12, 2018 18:32
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Ammonsa posted:Just finished reading The Poppy War by RF Kuang. Really good book. Reminds me a lot of The Traitor Baru Cormorant by the end, particularly with the protagonists Genocide on not-Japan and you realise she is too far gone in her actions to step back, that she only has one path left, that of the monster, that of what she was fighting against to begin with. Seconding this, book started out extremely generic YA fantasy except for the setting and the protagonist being a girl, but went great and terrible places. Will definitely be getting the sequel.
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Aug 12, 2018 19:23
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my bony fealty posted:Hey what are some good SFF books that have societies or characters or anything modeled on ancient Rome It's technically a historical mystery and not SFF, but if you like Dresden Files, the Marcus Didius Falco series reads very similar to it; snarky, loveable PI solving cases and getting beat up all over the Vespasian-era Roman Empire. As a  option, Greg Keyes actually wrote a couple of Elder Scrolls tie-in novels once.
Megazver fucked around with this message at 19:33 on Aug 12, 2018 |
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Aug 12, 2018 19:27
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I finished The Book of M last night, and chewed on my thoughts a little more. On the one hand, it's a genuinely novel kind of magic (the core idea isn't original, but the way it manifests is) I've never seen before, and the thing giving some hope for the world at the end is interesting. On the other hand, I stopped caring about the plot itself and the characters about halfway through when it stops being primarily a post-apocalyptic story of survival and starts getting weird. Maybe I don't get as much out of it as the author intended because I'm not into Hindu mythology, which plays a big part in the book, but hey it had some creative ideas and that's worth recognizing.
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Aug 12, 2018 20:30
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Cardiac posted:Which means we get to read how Wild Cards fight the UK bureaucracy? Possibly; I haven't read it yet. I do know it's in the vein of the original story collection, covering the first 70 years of Wild Cards in the UK from the virus first appearing in 1948 to the present, and that there's a new Immortal Winston Churchill story.
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Aug 12, 2018 20:57
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papa horny michael posted:Finished up Becky Chambers A Closed and Common Orbit. It had me sobbing. She writes feelings real well. I've just finished up the entire trilogy as well and it blew my mind. It's been a long time since I've read an author that made me want to devour her collected works so quickly. She writes people so well even when some of those people have feathers or are walking? sliding? piles of goo. Anyone got any more recommendations for that kind of I'm not sure how to describe it. Cosy sci-fi?
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Aug 12, 2018 21:11
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navyjack posted:The Recluse books are kinda neat because like, everybody has jobs and lives and families and whatnot. I also like how in his books (maybe less so in Recluce, but more prominent in his Imager stories) magic gets integrated into society so you have people making poo poo with magic and it's important for trade and so on. And if you do like coming of age stories with young men unfairly treated by family/society ending up competent and important because of their magic skill, congratulations, because Modesitt wrote that story about eight times. Eventually you get more interested in the (as stated above, very long-term) backstory of the world than the actual protagonist this time.
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Aug 12, 2018 21:15
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Hobnob posted:I also like how in his books (maybe less so in Recluce, but more prominent in his Imager stories) magic gets integrated into society so you have people making poo poo with magic and it's important for trade and so on. That woodworking part in Magic of Recluce is totally that and I love it.
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Aug 12, 2018 21:49
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my bony fealty posted:Hey what are some good SFF books that have societies or characters or anything modeled on ancient Rome L. Sprague de Camp's Lest Darkness Fall is about a modern archaeologist who travels back to post-Roman Italy (535 AD) and stops the Dark Ages from happening.
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Aug 12, 2018 22:53
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my bony fealty posted:Hey what are some good SFF books that have societies or characters or anything modeled on ancient Rome anilEhilated fucked around with this message at 23:47 on Aug 12, 2018 |
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Aug 12, 2018 23:45
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Jedit posted:Possibly; I haven't read it yet. I do know it's in the vein of the original story collection, covering the first 70 years of Wild Cards in the UK from the virus first appearing in 1948 to the present, and that there's a new Immortal Winston Churchill story. The bureaucracy bit was a joke about Stross' last piece of superhero writing. It featured an over detailed examination of setting up a new department in the MoD to handle superheroes.
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Aug 12, 2018 23:49
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my bony fealty posted:Hey what are some good SFF books that have societies or characters or anything modeled on ancient Rome Gene Wolfe's Latro series.
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Aug 13, 2018 00:29
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Ferrosol posted:I've just finished up the entire trilogy as well and it blew my mind. It's been a long time since I've read an author that made me want to devour her collected works so quickly. She writes people so well even when some of those people have feathers or are walking? sliding? piles of goo. Anyone got any more recommendations for that kind of I'm not sure how to describe it. Cosy sci-fi? No judgment on its quality, but it's children's sci fi. That's the genre.
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Aug 13, 2018 01:42
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pospysyl posted:No judgment on its quality, but it's children's sci fi. That's the genre. Just because a book is "cosy" doesn't make it for children. Children's books typically have children or childlike types (talking animals, whatever) as the protagonists. That's the genre. Megazver posted:I'd be interested in hearing more about this, good sir/madam. I think Ursula K. Le Guin and John Varley offer the best examples, more often in short stories or novellas, But Le Guin in particular has railed against the current trend to claim conflict = plot (and nothing else) and plot = story (and nothing else), because there are far more ways to tell a compelling story than that. I'll see if I can rummage up an exact quote... Edit: Ursula K. Le Guin" posted:Some people interpret story to mean plot. Some reduce story to action. Plot is so much discussed in literature and writing courses, and action is so highly valued, that I want to put in a counterweight opinion. Stuporstar fucked around with this message at 02:33 on Aug 13, 2018 |
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Aug 13, 2018 02:03
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pospysyl posted:No judgment on its quality, but it's children's sci fi. That's the genre. Is it? The cast are adults, it deals a lot with adult anxieties, and it’s franker about heavy/sensitive topics than the children’s fiction I’m familiar with. What’s the last kids’ book you read that had a discussion on the mechanics of interspecies sex, for a start?
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Aug 13, 2018 02:34
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Darth Walrus posted:What’s the last kids’ book you read that had a discussion on the mechanics of interspecies sex, for a start? Stranger in a Strange Land. (Or, more seriously, John Barnes's Heinlein-Juvie-esque series that starts with The Duke of Uranium) (or, less seriously, any Xanth book.)
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Aug 13, 2018 02:43
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Great! Yeah, I just finished Blood of a Dragon and while that was a very satisfying solution to the problem (and one I'm surprised apparently no-one else has thought of), it was kind of a disappointing conclusion to the book, because the main character was a whiny, vindictive, entitled idiot and I was pulling for him to get eaten by dragons basically for the entire book. Teneria's plot thread and her discoveries about the interactions between witchcraft and warlockry was much more appealing to me, and I hope we see more of her.
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Aug 13, 2018 03:09
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Ammonsa posted:Just finished reading The Poppy War by RF Kuang. Really good book. Reminds me a lot of The Traitor Baru Cormorant by the end, particularly with the protagonists Genocide on not-Japan and you realise she is too far gone in her actions to step back, that she only has one path left, that of the monster, that of what she was fighting against to begin with. I'm like seventieth in line for it at the library and I need everyone to hurry up
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Aug 13, 2018 04:04
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Loutre posted:Maybe 40% through The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, kind of disappointed so far. The genre (cozy sci-fi) is right up up my alley, but the writing feels so much like fan fiction it's throwing me for a loop. The sequel revolves entirely around an AI in an artificial body attempting to pass as a human in a society where free AIs are immediately destroyed, so naturally the first thing she does is attempt to get her not even remotely biological skin tattooed by an untrusted stranger. Also her robot body is kinetically recharged, i.e. once she gets the initial bootstrap charge, she recharges her body by her body's own movements. Like I said previously, they're bad books, the only redeeming quality is their warm hug nature. edit: Actually, I should walk this back a bit, the flashbacks of the girl escaping from the Optimized society were actually pretty good. pseudorandom name fucked around with this message at 04:18 on Aug 13, 2018 |
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Aug 13, 2018 04:16
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pseudorandom name posted:The sequel revolves entirely around an AI in an artificial body attempting to pass as a human in a society where free AIs are immediately destroyed, so naturally the first thing she does is attempt to get her not even remotely biological skin tattooed by an untrusted stranger. So, like Murderbot but less professional?
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Aug 13, 2018 04:26
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my bony fealty posted:Hey what are some good SFF books that have societies or characters or anything modeled on ancient Rome The Incorruptibles by John Hornor Jacobs might do it. Not-America is a colony of Not-Rome. Steam engines are actually powered by the heat emitted by trapped demons. The main character is a gunslinger/cowboy who is acting as a guide/guard to a Senator and his family on a steamboat traveling upriver. I thought it was pretty fun.
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Aug 13, 2018 05:49
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ShutteredIn posted:Gene Wolfe's Latro series. Roman protagonist but it takes place in the Persian Greek Wars right after the Battle of Plataea. Basic conceit is like Memento - protagonist has a condition that makes him a palimpsest with memories dying day to day with his character and certain underlying emotional instincts being the things to endure. Oh also because of the head injury he can see and interact with the gods. Draws a lot from Herodotus; is unusual for depictions of the wars because it's not really terribly pro Greek and gets into the nuances of the different Greek city states (definitely anti Spartan). The protagonist is Wolfe's most straight up traditionally heroic ; it is interesting to see how those traits are continually shown and acted out as a habit in a man who has no continuity and whose ability to rely on reason is so impaired. Great stuff (but for maybe Soldier of Sidon which was written years after the first two books). First two are collected as Latro in the Mist. Also re 'cozy' sci fi - I hear the phrase and think of Moorcock's Epic Pooh essay - sci fi that is just comforting lullabies. Which isn't to heap infective on that type of book or people who enjoy it; such things have a place. I'd just hope it isn't all of what someone reads. I think the phrase sounds lame and embarrassing also but that's just a subjective aesthetic thing
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Aug 13, 2018 06:13
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pseudorandom name posted:Also her robot body is kinetically recharged, i.e. once she gets the initial bootstrap charge, she recharges her body by her body's own movements.
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Aug 13, 2018 06:20
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Blood of a Dragon is probably one of the worst, there's one other that's outright bad but I forget the title. Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:The one about the girl with wings was pretty crappy. Taking Flight? I just started that one and my initial reaction is "oh great, it's Blood of a Dragon all over again". I mean, on reflection one of the things I disliked about Blood is not just that the main character is "a whiny, vindictive, entitled idiot" but also that he exhibits zero personal growth or self-reflection over the course of the book. It's too early to tell if that's the case with Taking Flight but it's not looking great so far. Irith the Flyer just showed up and I think I'd much rather read a book from her perspective. I'm wondering if I should just skip it and move on to The Spell of the Black Dagger.
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Aug 13, 2018 15:29
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ToxicFrog posted:Taking Flight? I just started that one and my initial reaction is "oh great, it's Blood of a Dragon all over again". I mean, on reflection one of the things I disliked about Blood is not just that the main character is "a whiny, vindictive, entitled idiot" but also that he exhibits zero personal growth or self-reflection over the course of the book. It's too early to tell if that's the case with Taking Flight but it's not looking great so far. Yeah Taking Flight was the other bad one. I would definitely suggest skipping it.
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Aug 13, 2018 15:34
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Agreed. It's just... bad. Basically, spoilers I haven't read it in a while but from what I remember the whole book is pointless, and sucks. Pretty much on the same level as the dragon's blood one. You will miss literally nothing by skipping the book. Other than a feeling of "god dammit why did I put myself through that".
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Aug 13, 2018 15:41
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pseudorandom name posted:The sequel revolves entirely around an AI in an artificial body attempting to pass as a human in a society where free AIs are immediately destroyed, so naturally the first thing she does is attempt to get her not even remotely biological skin tattooed by an untrusted stranger. The tattoo scenario isn't remotely as simplistic as you're making it out to be. As a marginalized person who is getting used to the idea of being a person in control of her own identity and appearance, she tried to change something about herself. No it wasn't the greatest decision ever, but protagonists who are never wrong aren't much fun. Also, the fact that her skin is modified wouldn't immediately give her away--there are quite a few augmented or otherwise changed people around. The kinetic charge thing also isn't as dumb on its face as you seem to be assuming, but it also isn't an important detail at all. Since the author was examining the life of the independent AI in close detail, the question of 'how does she eat' was going to come up, and a quick sentence in answer was all that was needed. I'm not seeing the "bad" here.
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Aug 13, 2018 15:45
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Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:Agreed. It's just... bad. I mean, I would like to know what Irith's deal is, I'm assuming some combination of Polymorph Self + the usual immortality and eternal youth spells but that doesn't explain why she acts like a teenager despite clearly being an experienced master wizard in her own right. But I guess I could just look her up on the Misenchanted Wiki or something. E: I'm now about a third of the way into The Spell of the Black Dagger -- Tabaea has just killed the warlock and is starting to hear the voice of the Source -- and I think I'm going to need a bigger  for this.
ToxicFrog fucked around with this message at 18:34 on Aug 13, 2018 |
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Aug 13, 2018 16:24
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my bony fealty posted:Hey what are some good SFF books that have societies or characters or anything modeled on ancient Rome 1979's The Far Arena, by Richard Ben Sapir. I really enjoyed it.
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Aug 13, 2018 21:55
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Stuporstar posted:Just because a book is "cosy" doesn't make it for children. Children's books typically have children or childlike types (talking animals, whatever) as the protagonists. That's the genre. That's a pretty limited way of looking at children's literature. Like if you think about it, pretty much all children's books have adult characters in them (parents, caretakers, teachers, you know). Even if you mean that the viewpoint characters are children, there are plenty of easily accessible counterexamples. Hitchhiker's Guide is a YA book where every character's an adult. The Earthsea sequels all have adult characters, and most of a Wizard of Earthsea is about an adult as well. The Hobbit is another example of a children's book about adults. If you want to stray away from literature, nearly all superheroes are adults. Most of the protagonists of Steven Universe are thousands of years old. What defines the genre is the style of the book and certain thematic interests. Stylistically, children's literature features uncomplicated prose and syntax and simple plots (getting from one place to another, escapes, survival, etc.) Characters aren't necessarily without nuance, but they're typically broadly drawn, focusing on individualizing idiosyncrasies. Thematically, children' books often focus on resolving interpersonal relationships. "Getting along" is usually valued highly. In terms of subject matter, children's books can be challenging, especially in sci fi. The Giver, for instance, deals with censorship, the loss of communal memory, euthanasia, and sexual repression. However, the resolutions of these challenges are usually rather conclusive and satisfying. Returning to The Giver, the book ends with the main character making a significant final choice to abandon his society. Like, I used to think that Chambers' books were bad and poorly written, but once you understand that they're meant to be read by all ages, you can forgive some of their limitations.
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Aug 14, 2018 00:00
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Probably relevant to the discussion of Chambers' stuff would be the similar-but-not-quite genre of iyashikei: https://floatingintobliss.wordpress.com/2017/05/27/iyashikei-the-genre-of-healing-an-attempt-at-a-definition/ quote:Let’s start with my definition. Currently I would define iyashikei as: a genre which heals the audience through a heavy focus on atmosphere, usually using the Japanese aesthetic of mono no aware in order to find beauty in any number of mundane situations. Iyashikei series move at a slow, calming pace, forgoing tension whether it be in narrative or comedic form. Iyashikei is ultimately a genre of safety, one that encourages exploration but always within safe bounds. Generally they're mundane (Yurucamp, Non Non Biyori), but sometimes have fantastic elements: Flying Witch is about a young witch moving to the countryside. Aria is about gondoliers in neo-Venice on a terraformed Mars. Hakumei and Mikochi is about two inchling women living in the woods and their various friends such as a weasel construction worker and a "researcher" who lives inside a reanimated turtle skeleton/house boat. YKK is about a android running a coffee shop as the human age quietly ends. Girls Last Tour is about two girls going on a road trip long after the human age violently ended. 90s Cringe Rock posted:That's literally how the human refugee space fleet was powered in Record of a Spaceborn Few, pressure plates in the floors to power the engines. Of course, they got galactic technology after first contact, so they use algae now. Pretty sure she's just saying "the power source is technobabble and the precise way in which it works doesn't matter." I vaguely recall a thing in a old tabletop RPG (Traveller?) where you could get emergency "food" by eating the tanks full of hydrogen-producing algae that ships use to convert water into fuel.
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Aug 14, 2018 02:17
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C.M. Kruger posted:I vaguely recall a thing in a old tabletop RPG (Traveller?) where you could get emergency "food" by eating the tanks full of hydrogen-producing algae that ships use to convert water into fuel. The Traveller RPG is insanely detailed, has always been insanely detailed throughout it's 7 published editions and has the best out-of-context stories. Traveller was one of the first RPG's where it was possible to die during character generation. Traveller allows dice rolls involving up to 10d6 dice (the 10d6 dice roll is called Double Hasty Beyond Impossible ). There was a yearly Traveller RPG tournament called Trillion Credit Squadron that an A.I. submitted fleet design won twice and I can't really do the story justice. Search for "Trillion Credit Squadron" in https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/05/11/how-david-beats-goliath Cozy scifi submission: Until Baen Books claimed prima nocta on Keith Laumer's literary corpus, Laumer's Bolo stories could qualify as cozy scifi where stuff actually happens. Laumer's Bolo stories revolved around sentient battle-tanks that served until death, and sometimes served beyond death. The most cozy scifi Bolo story is "Final Mission".
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Aug 14, 2018 05:41
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