|
MadDogMike posted:Also they looted their ship
|
#
?
Nov 26, 2018 22:41
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 28, 2024 02:05 |
|
|
Crysis 2 novelization was decent-good. The main issue I had with Peter Watts Freeze-Frame Revolution (after a day of thought and not minutes fresh from finishing it) are: F-FR felt like a 50 page short story bloated up into a novella. Roughly 4 out of every 5 pages could have been dropped. Move the "game night" + "music appreciation club" meta-commentary stuff to the very beginning. Merge Lian and Tarantula Boy into one character, which would allow either the Glade or C4B to be dropped completely. Drop most of the Sunday/Chimp BFF stuff, completely drop the Tribes. Keep Plan B/Graser 172 but remove the message to the hidden superdupersecret human-level AI from the ending. All the "synapse count"/"Chimp's a moron" stuff in F-FR reminded me heavily of Blindsight's "non-sentient intelliences" + natural selection in Blindsight, and the utter wrecking that occured in Blindsight/Echopraxia when that spoilered stuff was let off the hook. Came across this from when I re-read the bit in Blindsight concerning non-sentience + natural selection (bolding in the following quote is mine) quote:"Oh, come on. Society was always pretty-Wait, you’re saying the world’s corporate elite are nonsentient? Enjoyed Martha Well's Ile-Rien universe so much I bought and fully read Death of the Necromancer yesterday. DotN is kinda similar to the first Locke Lamora book, only DotN came out 8 years earlier, and the main characters in DotN are in the middle of a revenge scheme when everything gets sidetracked.
|
|
#
?
Nov 26, 2018 23:45
|
|
|
Arcsech posted:This... explains rather a lot. I kinda liked the first one, but yeah, starting out as a tabletop campaign makes a lot of sense. That's also how the Malazan series started.
|
|
#
?
Nov 27, 2018 01:43
|
|
|
Just gave up on The Dark Lord of Derkholm. The person who recommended it as a swords and sorcery story must have been taking the piss. There's certainly plenty of sorcery, but there are no swords in the first sixth of the book. Nor was there any adventure.
|
|
#
?
Nov 27, 2018 02:24
|
|
|
LLSix posted:Just gave up on The Dark Lord of Derkholm. The person who recommended it as a swords and sorcery story must have been taking the piss. There's certainly plenty of sorcery, but there are no swords in the first sixth of the book. Nor was there any adventure. The heck? The person who recommended it was wrong - it's a great book, but it's primarily a comedy!
|
|
#
?
Nov 27, 2018 02:24
|
|
|
LLSix posted:Just gave up on The Dark Lord of Derkholm. The person who recommended it as a swords and sorcery story must have been taking the piss. There's certainly plenty of sorcery, but there are no swords in the first sixth of the book. Nor was there any adventure. I think its a case of crossed wires-- your post asked for sword & sorcery or feelgood fantasy. Derkholm isn't the former, but pretty firmly fits the latter.
|
|
#
?
Nov 27, 2018 05:44
|
|
|
NoNostalgia4Grover posted:Enjoyed Martha Well's Ile-Rien universe so much I bought and fully read Death of the Necromancer yesterday. DotN is kinda similar to the first Locke Lamora book, only DotN came out 8 years earlier, and the main characters in DotN are in the middle of a revenge scheme when everything gets sidetracked. After some recs in thread, I read this one earlier this month and didn't love it. I found it a bit draggy and a little too nice and neat. It wasn't bad, it just didn't really shine, I thought.
|
|
#
?
Nov 27, 2018 17:08
|
|
|
MockingQuantum posted:I think its a case of crossed wires-- your post asked for sword & sorcery or feelgood fantasy. Derkholm isn't the former, but pretty firmly fits the latter. Yeah, that was me, my bad. It's not sword and sorcery (except to the extent that it's a parody of such), it's feelgood cosy fantasy. Hieronymous Alloy fucked around with this message at 18:01 on Nov 27, 2018 |
|
#
?
Nov 27, 2018 17:21
|
|
|
Ben Nevis posted:After some recs in thread, I read this one earlier this month and didn't love it. I found it a bit draggy and a little too nice and neat. It wasn't bad, it just didn't really shine, I thought. Martha Well's Fall of Ile-Rien series takes place 30 yrs or so after DotN, so all the stuff I'd freshly read from her Wizard Hunters book was matching up nicely. Biggest narrative difference between the first Locke Lamora book + DotN is that one book has 85% of the supporting characters killed off to drive up the stakes with an evil wizard roaming around while the other book has a secondary female lead and a friendly wizard that's incapacitated for 85% of the book. Did the person in this thread doing the Gandalara series readthrough ever finish? Really want to see their take on the ending, or if they've read any of the John Carter of Mars books. First two John Carter of Mars books are probably the "best", after that repetition fatigue will set in for modern day readers. Next book to read: Yoon Ha Lee's Conservation of Shadows story collection soon.
|
|
#
?
Nov 27, 2018 17:59
|
|
|
NoNostalgia4Grover posted:... or if they've read any of the John Carter of Mars books. First two John Carter of Mars books are probably the "best", after that repetition fatigue will set in for modern day readers. I recommend reading the first three (Princess, Gods, Warlord) since Gods of Mars ends on the hangiest of cliffhangers. But you can end there, the other 8(?) are mostly extremely similar stories but with characters who had minor roles in the first three.
|
|
#
?
Nov 27, 2018 18:41
|
|
|
Proteus Jones posted:I recommend reading the first three (Princess, Gods, Warlord) since Gods of Mars ends on the hangiest of cliffhangers. But you can end there, the other 8(?) are mostly extremely similar stories but with characters who had minor roles in the first three. Oh that's valid but Chessmen of Mars is such a wonderful cliche it shouldn't be missed
|
|
#
?
Nov 27, 2018 18:58
|
|
|
Proteus Jones posted:I recommend reading the first three (Princess, Gods, Warlord) since Gods of Mars ends on the hangiest of cliffhangers. But you can end there, the other 8(?) are mostly extremely similar stories but with characters who had minor roles in the first three. Sticking with recommending just the first 2 John Carter of Mars stories, even with the 2nd book ending on a fantasy-genre defining cliffhanger. If you're not sold on the John Carter of Mars series by then, the third book isn't going to make things better. The color coded enemies in the third book are yellow this time and the repetition of recycled plot elements from the first 2 books goes into https://youtu.be/n4ucO4xe28c mode until the series ends. quantumfoam fucked around with this message at 22:13 on Nov 27, 2018 |
|
#
?
Nov 27, 2018 22:03
|
|
|
So the new Baru Cormorant Book reminded me of the Guy Ritchie movies Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch. Except switch incompetent criminals getting in each other's way over heists with generally competent spymasters squabbling over finding a macguffin.
Jack2142 fucked around with this message at 07:24 on Nov 28, 2018 |
|
#
?
Nov 28, 2018 07:20
|
|
|
aw yiss https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1067807131133448192
|
|
#
?
Nov 28, 2018 17:32
|
|
|
Anyone read Michael J Sullivan? I just finished age of myth and I really enjoyed it.
|
|
#
?
Nov 28, 2018 20:40
|
|
|
Alastair Reynolds is probably my favorite sci fi author. Any recommendations that can scratch a similar itch? I've read everything except the blue remembered earth series so far and loved all of it (including Revenger)
|
|
#
?
Nov 29, 2018 01:12
|
|
|
Lowness 72 posted:Alastair Reynolds is probably my favorite sci fi author. Any recommendations that can scratch a similar itch? I've read everything except the blue remembered earth series so far and loved all of it (including Revenger) What do you like about his stuff?
|
|
#
?
Nov 29, 2018 01:15
|
|
|
The first Expanse book was enjoyable. I am going to move onto book 2 despite warnings.
|
|
#
?
Nov 29, 2018 02:19
|
|
|
Caliban's War is pretty good as well, especially as it introduces both Avasarala and Bobbie. I believe most people disliked Abaddon's Gate(#3) and Cibola Burn (#4), but I honestly don't get the hate. #3 is a continuation of the overall story of what's happening with the protomolecule as well as how the different factions in the Solar system are scheming. #4 is more of a standalone story within the Expanse universe where the crew tries to solve a conflict between two parties, but I felt it was absolutely fine. Nemesis Games (#5) is back on track and pretty drat awesome in its scope and how much poo poo is going down all over the place. That's as far as I've gotten, and I'll probably ready Babylon's Ashes (#6) after I've finished what I'm currently reading.
|
|
#
?
Nov 29, 2018 02:43
|
|
|
Fart of Presto posted:Caliban's War is pretty good as well, especially as it introduces both Avasarala and Bobbie. The hate stems from how they're written worse than Harry Potter and feel like the literary equivalent of eating cotton candy. There is nothing to challenge the mind, no grand concepts at play, and John Carter of Mars had more complex plot arcs.
|
|
#
?
Nov 29, 2018 03:32
|
|
|
Speaking as someone who enjoyed the first two books, I think the 3rd book was fine but felt like it was mostly setting up stuff to be resolved in future books (though I'll be honest, I don't remember much of anything about book 3). My problem with book 4 is that it didn't really feel like it forwarded the overarching plot at all, and also felt like it backpedaled on a lot of character development then retreaded the same ground. It was the first of the books that genuinely felt like the writers were treading water because the demand for new books outpaced the ideas they had banked. I don't know that I'd call the books as a whole unreadable or anything, I just think there's so much better sci-fi, even lightweight stuff, that's much more engaging and much better written. edit: like even acknowledging the post above, there are times where I want cotton candy sci fi, but when it's at its worst, The Expanse feels very artificially drawn out, both in terms of word count padding and drawing out story arcs unnecessarily. There's lots of other stuff I'd rather reread if I want something lightweight that respects my time and intelligence a little better. MockingQuantum fucked around with this message at 03:53 on Nov 29, 2018 |
|
#
?
Nov 29, 2018 03:48
|
|
|
MockingQuantum demands only the best cotton candy sci-fi, damnit!
|
|
#
?
Nov 29, 2018 03:59
|
|
|
StrixNebulosa posted:MockingQuantum demands only the best cotton candy sci-fi, damnit! I mean, there's a wide gulf between "breezy, fun book" and "boilerplate crud", even in the muck pits of genre novels. I'm not saying The Expanse is the worst thing in the world and it kicks puppies and killed my dad, but I absolutely believe it's gotten more overhyped than a lot of recent sci-fi hits. Definitely disproportionately to the quality of the books, I'd say.
|
|
#
?
Nov 29, 2018 04:24
|
|
|
Oh. I might like the rest of the books then since I listen to them at work. I've been looking for "cotton candy" sci-fi or fantasy that is 20 to 40 hours long.
|
|
#
?
Nov 29, 2018 05:11
|
|
|
I need a Quantum Thief adaptation. Expanse is ok but way overrated how the heck did they get a show. I wanted to like the show, but it was so clean. The books are always talking about how gross everything is.
|
|
#
?
Nov 29, 2018 05:23
|
|
|
I was just whining about this in the Expanse thread but I just can't understand how the show (and the books, to an extent) make everything so drat boring. You get an entire book set on a crazy alien world full of ancient machinery waking up! And what is it? Everyone goes slowly blind in a sea of mud while patrolling for poison slugs. Even the descent into the protomolecule station in the TV show last season was so  .
|
|
#
?
Nov 29, 2018 05:35
|
|
|
The problem with the expanse was that it started as a planned trilogy and then got famous.
|
|
#
?
Nov 29, 2018 05:53
|
|
|
Dunno if anyone else cares, but the newest Hard Luck Hank book just got released. It's on KU if you wanna grab it.
|
|
#
?
Nov 29, 2018 07:12
|
|
|
Cardiac posted:The problem with the expanse was that it started as a planned trilogy and then got famous. I tweeted about this and the authors quoted me saying it’s not true and had a ton of people dogpile me before I deleted the tweet. I swear I remember this being a planned trilogy at first too.
|
|
#
?
Nov 29, 2018 08:05
|
|
|
Whoever said the expanse was based on a gurps tabletop game was 100% right and I'm amazed it never occurred to me before
|
|
#
?
Nov 29, 2018 08:19
|
|
|
I got around to reading Baru 2 and it's almost endearing, and definitely hilarious, how badly each and every one of the many scheming spies and spymasters presented in the story keep misreading each other, and trying to kill and or avenge one another over these mistakes. And I really enjoyed seeing young Torrinde and Farrier, before they took up their mysterious and important-sounding work names, bumbling around with little Tau-indi trying to figure things out themselves. In a book of charmingly ruthless characters, Tau-indi just sort of slid on in and stole the show by being so sincere, earnest, and wholesome, despite also being a spymaster in their own right. It was a naive hope that they could at least make it to the end safe from harm. And it's a shame, because you get the feeling that despite their conclusions being based on faith and belief, and that faith being more abstract and spiritual than most readers' own probable experiences, they were right. Some guesses: Farrier is a pedo, that's his horrible secret. And he manages to resist his nature through discipline and conditioning, and that's why that's the basis of his Incrastic theory. Torrinde believes in his theory because it's based on what he knows, Farrier believes because it's what he desperately needs to be true. Baru had been split into a mind that was still under Farrier's programming and which kept the POV, and one that was able to see with its own perspective yet is unable to act or sent over any information. One that accurately managed to judge Xate Yawa's fear and slipped some of that info to the POV mind, and even showed awareness during her seizure. The seizure jolted them back into sync but it would be a shame if she were forever torn away from a perspective unshaped by her masters before she even realized what was going on. Also she's only going to have one parent at the end and he's not the one she expected. Tau can free themself from the Cancrioth COME ON TAU I BELIEVE IN YOU
|
|
#
?
Nov 29, 2018 08:36
|
|
|
I like the expanse TV show. The ships look cool and Chrisjen Avaserala is my space mom. Also gormless faces abound.
|
|
#
?
Nov 29, 2018 08:40
|
|
|
Also while Tain Shir might be one-note, I genuinely laughed out loud when she cut a couple of Baru's fingers off. Taught her a lesson indeed. A lesson again demonstrated, near the end.
|
|
#
?
Nov 29, 2018 09:04
|
|
|
jit bull transpile posted:I like the expanse TV show. The ships look cool and Chrisjen Avaserala is my space mom. Also gormless faces abound. The doughy dude with the spy eye in the first season was pretty great
|
|
#
?
Nov 29, 2018 09:05
|
|
|
Rime posted:The hate stems from how they're written worse than Harry Potter and feel like the literary equivalent of eating cotton candy. There is nothing to challenge the mind, no grand concepts at play, and John Carter of Mars had more complex plot arcs. And sometimes you just need that mindless pulp when going to and from work, while sitting in a bus or a train. I still find the series entertaining and if someone read the first book and enjoyed it, why should I not encourage them to continue? It's not like this is John Ringo or sad puppy trash.
|
|
#
?
Nov 29, 2018 12:29
|
|
|
mewse posted:Anyone read Michael J Sullivan? I just finished age of myth and I really enjoyed it. I read The Riyria Revelations Series and enjoyed them.
|
|
#
?
Nov 29, 2018 13:20
|
|
|
Is nobody talking about The Exordia Baru Cormorant, or did I miss the discussion?
|
|
#
?
Nov 29, 2018 14:25
|
|
|
Xarbala posted:Baru had been split into a mind that was still under Farrier's programming and which kept the POV, and one that was able to see with its own perspective yet is unable to act or sent over any information. One that accurately managed to judge Xate Yawa's fear and slipped some of that info to the POV mind, and even showed awareness during her seizure. The seizure jolted them back into sync but it would be a shame if she were forever torn away from a perspective unshaped by her masters before she even realized what was going on. Also she's only going to have one parent at the end and he's not the one she expected. I'm doing my own slow re-read through the book and it's pretty clear that all of the text that's right-aligned is stuff coming from that other non-POV half of Baru because it's in her "blind" half. Related, I just read through the part where Animata is in a restaurant and the man she met is Hesychast, right? He's got "classic features" which are a flat nose and Aminata says his eyes are "perfectly shaped" and I think Baru had noted that he had "classical folds." The man on Lloydsdane is a hygienist, he has Hesychast's perfect physique, which Aminata thinks to herself might have been sculpted by isometric exercises (which came up in an earlier flashback bit). He's scared as hell of Baru, like Hesychast, and just generally seems to know a lot more than some random guy. Is he following the expedition closely? Maybe he and Farrier both are?
|
|
#
?
Nov 29, 2018 15:55
|
|
|
Trampus posted:I read The Riyria Revelations Series and enjoyed them. He doesn't seem very popular eh? You're the only response I've had and he talks about selling books out of his basement on his website..
|
|
#
?
Nov 29, 2018 16:03
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 28, 2024 02:05 |
|
|
mewse posted:He doesn't seem very popular eh? You're the only response I've had and he talks about selling books out of his basement on his website.. I also enjoyed his Riyria series, haven't started his Age Of * series yet since I tend to wait for series to be complete before I start them these days. He is somewhat active on /r/fantasy have seen him pop up in threads discussing other books as well as his own. Expanse talk, I really liked the first season of the show so decided (turns out unwisely) to buy the 5 books that were available at the time, but since the show was still fresh in my mind I waited awhile to start reading them. So finally got around to reading the first book last week and was really underwhelmed, the characters felt rather flat and uninteresting the actors did a good job of making them feel like they had more depth. Didn't really like where the book went with the protomolecule and Miller's character either so don't have much interest in reading the remaining series. I had read some other Daniel Abrahamn books before and had the same issues with them as I did with The Expanse, the show tricked me into thinking the material was more inline with something I would like. That said I'll probably continue to watch the show unless it goes off the rails for me as well. Fried Sushi fucked around with this message at 16:13 on Nov 29, 2018 |
|
#
?
Nov 29, 2018 16:09
|
|
