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Has anyone read Jacqueline Carey's Sundering series? I'm wondering if the characters ever grow as the books progresses? I knew I was getting into basically LOTR in reverse and I'm fine with that, if anything the fact Darkhaven isn't more like Mordor is actually disappointing. However what's killing me is the endless fluff (why use 3 words when you could convey the exact same meaning in 30?) and that the primary characters most defining trait is their grievances against the world that drove them to Satoris/Darkhaven. There is only so many times I can hear the thoughts of Tanaros lamenting his wife's infidelity or references to Ushahin's childhood/present state. It feels like Carey made the plot outline and everywhere she left time for character development she just finds new ways to repeat this one thing over and over again.
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Dec 29, 2019 04:58
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FuzzySlippers posted:lol I'm reading Cry Pilot as well and had the same reaction. Thank you any mil scifi author who does training off page. Its just so weird because the CAV stuff is actually kind of interesting but it instead gets completely sidelined after a very short intro and instead the book turns into a paint by numbers boot camp story.
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Dec 29, 2019 05:21
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Yeah the boot camp thing sucks in a lot of books. I think the last one I read I didnt skip over and totally hate was the one from Spellmonger, because while it was a little paint by numbers it was also an insight into a feudal culture's way of generating professional soldiers within a traditional levy and knight system. So it was actually interesting to read instead of dull.
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Dec 29, 2019 08:01
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The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin - $3.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00H25FCSQ/ The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski - $3.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0010SIPT4/ If you want to start the Witcher series.
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Dec 29, 2019 17:56
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It would be hilarious if original Mr. Avasarala came back for season 5.
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Dec 29, 2019 18:47
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Alec Eiffel posted:Are there any worthwhile Star Wars books outside the Thrawn Trilogy? I'm looking for some light reading right now. If you’re a SW nerd they all have something worthwhile about them, no matter how poorly written. Except “Red Harvest”. Do not read that book or you will lose your will to live.
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Dec 29, 2019 19:01
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But do read Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett even though it has nothing to do with Star Wars.
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Dec 29, 2019 19:35
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AngusPodgorny posted:But do read Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett even though it has nothing to do with Star Wars. 1000% agree.
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Dec 29, 2019 20:08
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AngusPodgorny posted:But do read Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett especially because it has nothing to do with Star Wars.
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Dec 29, 2019 20:57
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Finished Jeff Vandermeer's latest Dead Astronauts and it certainly is odd. Definitely one of those "gonna have to reread this to make any sense of it" books. For the most part I liked it. Haven't read Borne so should probably do that now.
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Dec 29, 2019 22:31
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Alec Eiffel posted:Are there any worthwhile Star Wars books outside the Thrawn Trilogy? I'm looking for some light reading right now. "Death Star" isn't bad
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Dec 29, 2019 23:01
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I wrote a thing about the ten best books I read in 2019, at least half of which were SFF: https://grubstreethack.wordpress.com/2019/12/30/top-10-books-of-2019/ Pretty good year on the whole - in the last couple of years I've only read about six or seven books I thought were good enough to bother extolling their virtues.
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Dec 30, 2019 05:11
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my bony fealty posted:Finished Jeff Vandermeer's latest Dead Astronauts and it certainly is odd. Definitely one of those "gonna have to reread this to make any sense of it" books. For the most part I liked it. Haven't read Borne so should probably do that now. Borne is good, better at being Oryx and Crake than Oryx and Crake is. IMO the companion novella, The Strange Bird, is one of his best recent works, though it is relentlessly bleak.
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Dec 30, 2019 07:31
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tiniestacorn posted:Borne is good, better at being Oryx and Crake than Oryx and Crake is. IMO the companion novella, The Strange Bird, is one of his best recent works, though it is relentlessly bleak. i'm re-reading his Ambergris trilogy for the first time and feel obligated to recommend it again. it's just as impressive as the first time through and practically all the people i've talked to that liked Southern Reach/Borne/his short stories didn't know that the older books exist anyone who digs vandermeer, check out City of Saints and Madmen and the sequels Shriek and Finch -- they're far more ambitious in their Borgesian genre-bending (like City is made up of short story length, in-universe scientificish treatises, art reviews, histories, etc), have an incredibly richly drawn setting, and seriously go to some wild places. also each book is incredibly different from the one before it: shriek's a biography and finch is an urban noir. it's also wild that any publisher bought these books in the year 2000 because they're so weird and also they are heavily about post-colonial imperialism and still feel fresh in almost 20 years later (and, as an aside, i'm pretty sure the first is directly responsible for a bunch of poo poo in Fallen London lol) eke out fucked around with this message at 16:42 on Dec 30, 2019 |
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Dec 30, 2019 16:33
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eke out posted:i'm re-reading his Ambergris trilogy for the first time and feel obligated to recommend it again. it's just as impressive as the first time through and practically all the people i've talked to that liked Southern Reach/Borne/his short stories didn't know that the older books exist you could say the same about The Fifth Head of Cerberus and that came out in 1972! I think Vandermeer has acknowledged FHoC as an influence too. I only ever read the Area X books and some short stories before so definitely gonna delve more into his back catalogue. Ambergris looks like the place to start.
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Dec 30, 2019 17:55
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my bony fealty posted:you could say the same about The Fifth Head of Cerberus and that came out in 1972! I think Vandermeer has acknowledged FHoC as an influence too. oh cool, i'm going to check that out. i never read anything from Wolfe except new sun btw i just looked and the opening novella, "Dradin, In Love", is free online. it's a kind of sweaty fever dream about carnivale and it owns. it's also interesting that there's a version of JVDM that went in this more maximalist, china mieville direction he had early on, instead of steadily pruning down his style
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Dec 30, 2019 18:43
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Just finished Raven Tower. I'm wondering if I missed something somewhere: Was there something special about Eolo? There was a reference to him knowing more than he let on about how to communicate with gods, but I didn't find out where he picked that up. Related to Myriad rolling in once everything is settled?
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Dec 30, 2019 19:26
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Finished The Beginning Place by Ursula K. le Guin. A good version of a very old story. Sad, but poignant. Would recommend.
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Dec 30, 2019 22:00
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eke out posted:it's also interesting that there's a version of JVDM that went in this more maximalist, china mieville direction he had early on, instead of steadily pruning down his style Personally, I like where VanderMeer's work is going right now, but I'm glad we still have his earlier stuff to return to, too.
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Dec 31, 2019 06:39
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The Raven Tower is $3.99 for Kindle today on Amazon. Also I finally got around to starting Foundryside and then I finished it, drat, book's great, not a surprise or anything but I enjoyed it a lot.
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Dec 31, 2019 17:04
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I'm reading Bright of the Sky by Kay Kenyon and while I'm digging the setting so far - a future where everyone is guaranteed basic income, food, shelter....god it's a utopia. Ahem. While I'm digging the setting I am not enjoying how all of the pov characters so far think it's demeaning to live on the "dole." Has anyone in here read the rest of the series? Does this get better?
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Dec 31, 2019 18:36
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StrixNebulosa posted:I'm reading Bright of the Sky by Kay Kenyon and while I'm digging the setting so far - a future where everyone is guaranteed basic income, food, shelter....god it's a utopia. Ahem. While I'm digging the setting I am not enjoying how all of the pov characters so far think it's demeaning to live on the "dole."  What kind of person doesn't think it's demeaning to live on the dole?
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Dec 31, 2019 18:39
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Apparatchik Magnet posted:
Poor people, homeless people, anyone who can't afford to keep themselves afloat? Capitalism is hell.
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Dec 31, 2019 18:42
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StrixNebulosa posted:Poor people, homeless people, anyone who can't afford to keep themselves afloat? Capitalism is hell. Apparatchik Magnet, fresh off a probation for being transphobic in this same thread, has more great takes to share with us.
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Dec 31, 2019 18:43
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eke out posted:Apparatchik Magnet, fresh off a probation for being a loving transphobe in this thread, has more great takes to share with us. I bring the fresh breath of baseline human psychology to the fever swamps way out on the bell curve. Consider it a dole of wisdom and common sense to those in intellectual poverty. (USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)
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Dec 31, 2019 18:46
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You should post your hot political takes in C-SPAM, not the scifi thread. 'Omelas' but there's only one job left and everyone fights for it and everyone but the lady who gets it is a big stinky loser on the dole. Harold Fjord fucked around with this message at 19:02 on Dec 31, 2019 |
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Dec 31, 2019 18:56
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Nevvy Z posted:You should post your hotpolitical takes in C-SPAM, not the scifi thread Even the decadent liberals of C-SPAM will have no choice but to acknowledge the logic and reason of his posts.
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Dec 31, 2019 18:58
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Apparatchik Magnet posted:I bring the fresh breath of baseline human psychology to the fever swamps way out on the bell curve. Consider it a dole of wisdom and common sense to those in intellectual poverty. Oh you're one of those. Tell me, do you study The Blade?
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Dec 31, 2019 19:02
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Don't post transphobia. Everyone else, Please let's keep the conversation about books and not about other posters, no matter how satisfying it might be to slap at them. If you see badposts, use the report button. Hieronymous Alloy fucked around with this message at 17:48 on Jan 1, 2020 |
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Dec 31, 2019 19:16
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Right-ho, since my last post ended in failure let's try a different one: I just received the Hierophant's Daughter by MF Sullivan in the mail and in the first few pages it's quite compelling. It's an indie press sci-fi series about... lemme just quote the summary.quote:By 4042 CE, the Hierophant and his Church have risen to political dominance with his cannibalistic army of genetically modified humans: martyrs. In an era when mankind's intergenerational cold wars against their long-lived predators seem close to running hot, the Holy Family is poised on the verge of complete planetary control. It will take a miracle to save humanity from extinction.
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Dec 31, 2019 20:32
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Apparatchik Magnet posted:
its demeaning to have to constantly prove you're looking for a job or that the job you have isnt secretly paying you too much, not to get welfare in the first place. it was like loving christmas whenever the social security office decided that we did in fact not have enough food. gently caress you
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Dec 31, 2019 22:27
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Nevvy Z posted:You should post your hot political takes in C-SPAM, not the scifi thread. i dont think he should post his fascist insanity in the communist forum actually. gag. Anyway, it's a weirdly common theme for UBI to be really suck in sci fi novels. Its probably because most conceptions of why UBI are neccessary come out of capitalist backgrounds. Of course UBI would suck if its just like welfare today but everyone gets it. Of course it would suck if the reason there's UBI is that everyone's job got automated so only the rich people have anything to do and you're stuck sitting at home trying to stretch a static income into including entertainment. Anyway what I'm saying is, it's a failure to imagine anything better than now which is pretty common with liberals of every flavor. Sci fi always has to be 'today, but with space ships' or 'basically mad max but with space ships' Larry Parrish fucked around with this message at 22:31 on Dec 31, 2019 |
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Dec 31, 2019 22:28
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Mack Reynolds handled UBI situations better than anyone else in scifi, literally 60% or more of Mack Reynolds stories revolved around UBI in some form. Unfortunately, Mack Reynolds also portrayed blackface + whiteface cosplay as pivotal events in more than a few of his standalone books.  Last and final thing for Apparatchik Magnet: These are the thread rules for posting in this thread, please give them a read/re-read before posting in this thread again. If you can't follow the thread rules, maybe just stop posting here. === Science Fiction and Fantasy MegaThread 3 Rules -Post your opinion, not somebody else's stale talking points. Noting popular opinions alongside your own is great. -If someone asks for recommendations, pay attention to what they're asking for. -Post about books you're reading or excited about! Mention the author or title so we know what you're talking about. -Include lots of details in your posts to give us something to talk about and give us a taste of what you like. -Don't discuss how bad [insert fantasy or sf writer here]'s sex scenes are. They're awful. We know. And for God's sake don't discuss how good they are either! -Don't recommend David Weber. It always provokes a derail and there is a dedicated thread for that now(Mil-SciFi Thread). Same with Terry Goodkind, and Rothfuss...etc. -We know some Big Name authors are sex predators or worse. That kind of discussion is OK in here; there are no sacred cows. === Back on thread topic: Recently finished the 1968 english language translation of Italo Calvino's COSMICOMICS. Best way to describe this short story collection is from it's book-jacket text, "....an enchanting series of stories about the evolution of the universe. He makes characters out of mathematical formulae and simple cellular structures. They disport themselves among galaxies, experience the solidification of planets, move from aquatic to terrestrial existence, play games with hydrogen atoms, and have a love life." Cosmicomics had the same lightness of tone/mild weirdness as Stanislaw Lem's Cyberiad short stories, so if you enjoyed any of the stories in the Cyberiad (especially the mathematics poem), you will probably enjoy Cosmicomics as well. quantumfoam fucked around with this message at 00:39 on Jan 1, 2020 |
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Jan 1, 2020 00:36
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Larry Parrish posted:gag. Anyway, it's a weirdly common theme for UBI to be really suck in sci fi novels. Its probably because most conceptions of why UBI are neccessary come out of capitalist backgrounds. Of course UBI would suck if its just like welfare today but everyone gets it. Of course it would suck if the reason there's UBI is that everyone's job got automated so only the rich people have anything to do and you're stuck sitting at home trying to stretch a static income into including entertainment. The way the "dole" is set up in Bright in the Sky is that after a near-apocalypse events, megacorps were forced to see that UBI is a good idea and set it up so everyone gets it from what spare wealth the company has. Which is enough for a small apartment and food. Our hero is worried that if he pisses off the megacorp he works for, his middle-aged brother will be knocked back down to the basic welfare with his wife and kid and won't have enough time in his lifespan to find a job that'll get him back up to the comfort he's used to. Another pov character is a lady who is Ambitious and well - "if [employees] failed at the Company, they could find a basic menial job - but most would opt for the dole, the guaranteed BSL - Basic Standard of Living. Just shoot me, Helice thought, if I ever sit drooling in front of a [future TV] screen." Which is to say it's the standard stereotype about people on welfare. They will be comfortable, therefore they will be lazy and watch TV all day. This is bad, for some reason. Whatever. The rest of the book is fairly interesting as a megacorp has found evidence of a parallel dimension and how to access it, which means they're looking at our hero and going "we made a mistake", 'cause he reported going into that dimension ten years ago and losing his family in there, but they thought he was crazy and quietly retired him from piloting starships.
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Jan 1, 2020 00:52
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The Honorverse's main villain nation for the first half of the series are evil because they have welfare. Full stop, that's their entire Villain Reason, that they spend on welfare and thus they are required to constantly conquer to make more money because no state can have welfare without it consuming the entire budget and also it literally makes people bloodthirsty evil monsters to the point that the hereditary politicians fearfully refer to people on welfare as The Mob.
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Jan 1, 2020 01:02
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Kchama posted:The Honorverse's main villain nation for the first half of the series are evil because they have welfare. "The abolishment of the Basic Living Stipend and the Economic Bill of Rights saw the revival of the Havenite industrial infrastructure as the Dolists were required to work for their survival. Axel Lacroix stated that his parents had regained their self-respect. (HH11)" https://honorverse.fandom.com/wiki/Robert_Pierre From the Honorverse wiki entry for one of the leaders of said main villain nation, who was named Rob S. Pierre. 
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Jan 1, 2020 01:16
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All of this has happened before. Hey I should read Cosmicomics! It sounds really cool.
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Jan 1, 2020 01:24
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Also try to find the complete Cosmicomics collection if you can, it's got like 20 more stories
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Jan 1, 2020 01:44
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I don't recall them that well, but I presume all the humans are on some kind of dole in Bank's Culture novels right? It is amusing how vilified the dole is when it seems like the inevitable end point for far future super advanced technology is a bunch of slow awkward fleshy people with nothing much to do. I know it is a minor point in a lot of scifi (Peter Watts comes to mind), but is there a book where the main subject is the existential ennui of living in a machine run paradise and people have to find some purpose when they are cartoonishly incapable of doing anything useful?
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Jan 1, 2020 02:28
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FuzzySlippers posted:I don't recall them that well, but I presume all the humans are on some kind of dole in Bank's Culture novels right? It is amusing how vilified the dole is when it seems like the inevitable end point for far future super advanced technology is a bunch of slow awkward fleshy people with nothing much to do. I know it is a minor point in a lot of scifi (Peter Watts comes to mind), but is there a book where the main subject is the existential ennui of living in a machine run paradise and people have to find some purpose when they are cartoonishly incapable of doing anything useful? IIRC this is the entire point of the opening of Player of Games
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Jan 1, 2020 02:31
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