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Everyone posted:I think if I want to see an extra-legal team deal with weird poo poo, I'll just read Jonathan Maberry's "Joe Ledger" series. I unironically love these books. It's starts as much more competently written Sigma Force style of "black ops deal with ancient and new scientific weirdness that borders on supernatural". And then Dragon Factory happens. And Joe just gets more and more broken and worn down losing touch with his humanity. And he knows it's happening and it scares the poo poo out of him but he keeps on keeping on with the job. I also love his "Werewolf, PI" stories. All his different series and short stories are in the same story universe. Even including the Limbus, Inc stuff. It will be interesting to see when he finally has his modern timeline stuff meet up with his near-future zombie apocalypse stuff. Proteus Jones fucked around with this message at 16:13 on Feb 11, 2020 |
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Feb 11, 2020 16:10
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Proteus Jones posted:I unironically love these books. It's starts as much more competently written Sigma Force style of "black ops deal with ancient and new scientific weirdness that borders on supernatural". And then Dragon Factory happens. And Joe just gets more and more broken and worn down losing touch with his humanity. And he knows it's happening and it scares the poo poo out of him but he keeps on keeping on with the job. I've noticed that Maberry has been making references to Sigma Force and Seal Team 666 among others as existing in his world. I keep wondering if this is someone leading to some huge-rear end multi-author crossover thing. One thing I have noticed with Still of Night is that some of the things that the Joe Ledger in those works refers to seem unlikely to occur. He refers to Sean and his family - and they all died at the the of Rage. He talks about having a child with Junie and she can't have children (obviously with the weirdness involved that's something that could be fixable). Finally, in the main series, Joe (and Church) are actively aware of and looking for Lucifer 113 in order to stop it, while in the Dead of Night/Rot and Ruin stories, Lucifer 113 came out of nowhere. I'm wondering if it'll turn out that the zombie stuff comes from some kind of parallel universe/timeline.
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Feb 12, 2020 03:06
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it's page 325 of peace talks. The climax is here, and the evildoer's plot has come full circle right in the middle of crime-ridden chicago. our heroes have been laid low. the bad guy, let's just go with Sarissa here, is just moments away from laying her hands on <relic not explicitly rooted in abrahamic religions but implied to derive its power from y-hw-h's greatness>. harry is out of juice, he's exhausted after 72 hours straight of spellcasting and backtalking. his dog is also tired. thomas has been written out of the series. murphy is a gimp. Molly is compelled to stay out of the plot to avoid her solving the issue with her superpowers. which minor character will be promoted to the big leagues to save our hero: A. andi B. any other werewolf who i can't remember the name of (billy?) C. A paranet side character D. Elaine S. (chaos option) charity
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Feb 17, 2020 00:48
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Write in: Some mother who "still has it" introduced in the book and promptly fridged in this sequence saving dresden and orphaning her attractive daughter.
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Feb 17, 2020 01:13
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That’s when Murphy gets killed duh
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Feb 17, 2020 07:01
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Up Circle posted:it's page 325 of peace talks. The climax is here, and the evildoer's plot has come full circle right in the middle of crime-ridden chicago. our heroes have been laid low. the bad guy, let's just go with Sarissa here, is just moments away from laying her hands on <relic not explicitly rooted in abrahamic religions but implied to derive its power from y-hw-h's greatness>. harry is out of juice, he's exhausted after 72 hours straight of spellcasting and backtalking. his dog is also tired. thomas has been written out of the series. murphy is a gimp. Molly is compelled to stay out of the plot to avoid her solving the issue with her superpowers. which minor character will be promoted to the big leagues to save our hero: C. The one with the precognition and the purse-dog. Shows up and shoots the villain in the back of the head. EDIT: An even bigger surprise for all involved because I'm pretty sure she got eaten by the depression-vampire.
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Feb 17, 2020 14:33
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Up Circle posted:it's page 325 of peace talks. The climax is here, and the evildoer's plot has come full circle right in the middle of crime-ridden chicago. our heroes have been laid low. the bad guy, let's just go with Sarissa here, is just moments away from laying her hands on <relic not explicitly rooted in abrahamic religions but implied to derive its power from y-hw-h's greatness>. harry is out of juice, he's exhausted after 72 hours straight of spellcasting and backtalking. his dog is also tired. thomas has been written out of the series. murphy is a gimp. Molly is compelled to stay out of the plot to avoid her solving the issue with her superpowers. which minor character will be promoted to the big leagues to save our hero: S. Shag-nasty (from Book 11) comes back, tears the villain apart, slowly for maximum agony, smiles at Harry and says "That is only one of the things that will happen to those you love in repayment for the humiliation you heaped upon me." or S. Eldest Gruff saves Harry and company because Harry owes him a donut.
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Feb 17, 2020 16:07
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Up Circle posted:it's page 325 of peace talks. The climax is here, and the evildoer's plot has come full circle right in the middle of crime-ridden chicago. our heroes have been laid low. the bad guy, let's just go with Sarissa here, is just moments away from laying her hands on <relic not explicitly rooted in abrahamic religions but implied to derive its power from y-hw-h's greatness>. harry is out of juice, he's exhausted after 72 hours straight of spellcasting and backtalking. his dog is also tired. thomas has been written out of the series. murphy is a gimp. Molly is compelled to stay out of the plot to avoid her solving the issue with her superpowers. which minor character will be promoted to the big leagues to save our hero: Polka will never die.
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Feb 17, 2020 16:47
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bobjr posted:That’s when Murphy gets killed duh Peace Talks introduces a character in the vein of Goodman Grey, a Black Court vampire that surprises Harry by not being a ridiculous evil dude who also seems to have some beef with Mavra. Then Murphy dies in the book, and is resurrected as a monstrously strong vampire. Or Kincaid gets iced and Murphy takes his mantle. Anyways, it's going to be the Gatekeeper or Martha Liberty because we've not seen either of them throw down yet, or, comedy option, a bearer of blackened coin who has gone rogue. Still gonna laugh and be salty about Butters getting the drat sword instead of Charity
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Feb 17, 2020 17:02
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Anias posted:Write in: I'm sorry this is already effectively labeled as S. (chaos option) NerdyMcNerdNerd posted:or, comedy option, a bearer of blackened coin who has gone rogue. This almost made the list.
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Feb 17, 2020 19:01
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The Merlin, shortly after revealing the real reason he was a dick to Harry (but has always respected him) was because he cared too much and was ultimately a well intentioned extremist. This will be poignant and Harry will feel conflicted when Merlin heroically sacrifices himself.
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Feb 17, 2020 21:00
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Everyone posted:S. Shag-nasty (from Book 11) comes back, tears the villain apart, slowly for maximum agony, smiles at Harry and says "That is only one of the things that will happen to those you love in repayment for the humiliation you heaped upon me." Eldest Gruff and Harry are even for that, Harry was owed a favor by the Summer Court and he used it to get a donut which Gruff fulfilled. Would still be fun to see Eldest Gruff kick some rear end though.
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Feb 17, 2020 22:12
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Subvisual Haze posted:The Merlin, shortly after revealing the real reason he was a dick to Harry (but has always respected him) was because he cared too much and was ultimately a well intentioned extremist. This will be poignant and Harry will feel conflicted when Merlin heroically sacrifices himself. After the short story with Morgan, I wouldn't be surprised.
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Feb 17, 2020 23:05
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Crossposting my latest read from the library. The Golden City by J. Kathleen Cheney is in theory a very unusual urban fantasy novel: there's not a werewolf or vampire to be seen, the wizard cops are secondary characters, and the whole thing is set in an alternate 1902 Portugal. Unfortunately, once you get past the surface novelty of the setting, The Golden City is a by-the-numbers urban fantasy story filled with stock urban fantasy characters. Cheney suffers from all the usual problems of the genre: regularly breaking the flow of the story to infodump about her setting, supernaturally sexy paranormal races with highly problematic gender and sexual politics (but not to worry, our heroine is not only chaste but implied to be a virgin, not like all the other sirens!), and a depiction of LGBT characters and same-sex attraction that could charitably be described as unfortunate. Not the worst example of the genre I've ever read, and this is apparently Cheney's first full-length novel, so hopefully she'll get better, but unless the alternate 1902 Portugal setting and its love of nobility/commoners intrigue mixed with the urban fantasy elements really intrigues you, I'd give it a pass.
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Feb 17, 2020 23:40
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seaborgium posted:Eldest Gruff and Harry are even for that, Harry was owed a favor by the Summer Court and he used it to get a donut which Gruff fulfilled. Harry's in trouble, Eldest Gruff shows up and kicks rear end, then asks for payment in the form of... a donut.
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Feb 18, 2020 02:40
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I'm looking for recs if anyone has them? No worries if not but I'm in a rut if reading books I've already read and it's a waste Likes: Rivers of London October Daye & the incryptid series Poison City/clockwork city The Verus series Lydford series Felix Castor Some Harmony Black Early Jane Yellowrock (got samey) Early The Hollows (ditto) Some Laundry Series books (too maths/computer focused I skipped so much euclidean this and loving computer nonsense that ) Some Mercy Thompson /Alpha Omega stuff I have a short attention span and I bail real quick when stuff gets samey or when an authors *ticks* start to get hard to ignore. Meh: Faust series Dresden series Sandman Slim (book one LOL male power fantasy,) Fallen London (book one good but odd, book two poo poo the bed, gently caress book three) No ta Neil Gaiman anything Sexy heroines sexing the sexy bad guy (lk Hamilton, Riley the werewolf sex rape nonsense)
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Feb 18, 2020 20:15
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Try Jill Kismet by Lilith Saintcrow. The first one is great.
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Feb 18, 2020 20:22
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I'm maybe a third of the way through the first Felix Castor book and I'm enjoying it a lot. How are the rest of the novels? I'm kind of unsurprised it's hitting the right notes for me given that I liked his run on Hellblazer too, and this feels pretty similar.
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Feb 18, 2020 20:28
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MockingQuantum posted:I'm maybe a third of the way through the first Felix Castor book and I'm enjoying it a lot. How are the rest of the novels? I'm kind of unsurprised it's hitting the right notes for me given that I liked his run on Hellblazer too, and this feels pretty similar. They're pretty good, if a little bleak. I haven't read Hellblazer outside of my exposure to it in BSS though, so I'm not sure how that compares. I mean, I kind of stopped giving a drat about Asmodeus halfway through the series and the solution to dealing with him seems bullshit given everything else that happens in the series but all the other side-plots and things work out nicely.
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Feb 18, 2020 20:35
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MockingQuantum posted:I'm maybe a third of the way through the first Felix Castor book and I'm enjoying it a lot. How are the rest of the novels? I'm kind of unsurprised it's hitting the right notes for me given that I liked his run on Hellblazer too, and this feels pretty similar. I think that they are great. He doesn't fall into the trap of power creep and the whole succubus thing doesn't go where I dreaded it would. A rumoured final book has not materialized, though the ones that exist wrap up the surface level narrative.
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Feb 18, 2020 20:36
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I can't remember the degree of bleakness in Carey's run on Hellblazer in particular, but in general the comic finds and invents new levels of bleakness, it's definitely a trope of the whole run of the comic that terrible things happen to just about everyone at some point.
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Feb 18, 2020 20:36
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MockingQuantum posted:I can't remember the degree of bleakness in Carey's run on Hellblazer in particular, but in general the comic finds and invents new levels of bleakness, it's definitely a trope of the whole run of the comic that terrible things happen to just about everyone at some point. All I'll say is this: When you get to the book where you find out just how hosed up Felix's brother Matt is, it's a serious "Oh, holy poo poo" moment.
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Feb 18, 2020 20:38
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gerg_861 posted:I think that they are great. He doesn't fall into the trap of power creep and the whole succubus thing doesn't go where I dreaded it would. A rumoured final book has not materialized, though the ones that exist wrap up the surface level narrative. Oh that's good to know too, I saw that there were only five books with the last one out in 2009 and was worried the series was unfinished or whatever, since I'm pretty sure it violates the laws of physics to have a UF series that's fewer than a dozen books long.
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Feb 18, 2020 20:43
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StrixNebulosa posted:Try Jill Kismet by Lilith Saintcrow. The first one is great. Thanks, will do!
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Feb 18, 2020 20:46
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gerg_861 posted:I think that they are great. He doesn't fall into the trap of power creep and the whole succubus thing doesn't go where I dreaded it would. A rumoured final book has not materialized, though the ones that exist wrap up the surface level narrative. Agree with all this. I really liked the Castor books, shame there aren't any more but also no drop in quality like other long running series. They are BLEAK but not to the point you (well, I) want to stop reading. Its finely balanced. I've tried other necromancery books and nothing has quite been on it's level. Half made girls by Sam Witt was waaaay too over into southern gothic horror. Stephen Blackmore were just a bit poo poo really
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Feb 18, 2020 20:52
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Sloth Life posted:I'm looking for recs if anyone has them? No worries if not but I'm in a rut if reading books I've already read and it's a waste I don't see The Rook in your list. Most of the thread loved it.
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Feb 18, 2020 20:57
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Sloth Life posted:Agree with all this. I really liked the Castor books, shame there aren't any more but also no drop in quality like other long running series. They are BLEAK but not to the point you (well, I) want to stop reading. Its finely balanced. I've tried other necromancery books and nothing has quite been on it's level. Half made girls by Sam Witt was waaaay too over into southern gothic horror. Stephen Blackmore were just a bit poo poo really Have you read this yet? https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PLSVH61 I wouldn't say it was "great" or whatever, but it's definitely an urban fantasy book series about a necromancer. Some Pinko Commie fucked around with this message at 21:24 on Feb 18, 2020 |
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Feb 18, 2020 21:21
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Xtanstic posted:I don't see The Rook in your list. Most of the thread loved it. Thanks will look into it, thank you too biracial bear for uncut I will try that one too Sorry I can't multiquote
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Feb 18, 2020 21:41
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Sloth Life posted:I'm looking for recs if anyone has them? No worries if not but I'm in a rut if reading books I've already read and it's a waste Midnight Mayor. Three books in the main series, two spinoffs.
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Feb 18, 2020 22:37
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Just finished reading False Value, which if you're not on a stop on the signing tour is out in a week, it's pretty good? If you hate the idea of Peter becoming a father you're going to loathe it though as Beverly and the bump are mentioned regularly, and there are several digressions about becoming a family and foster care (not Peter and Beverley) One thing that's not mentioned in the book but may make a couple of coincidences in the book make sense, New Malden is basically London's Koreatown and - 30+ years ago when I was at primary school at least - had the single biggest concentrated population of Koreans outside Seoul (there are far more Korean-Americans than Korean-British, but they're more spread out)
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Feb 19, 2020 00:06
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I return to the UK next week to pick up my Waterstones version with the short story. I should catch the very last stop on the tour too.
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Feb 19, 2020 00:47
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Sloth Life posted:I'm looking for recs if anyone has them? No worries if not but I'm in a rut if reading books I've already read and it's a waste I don't know if these are exactly "urban fantasy" but they're at least in an adjacent neighborhood. Try a few of Clive Barker's works, especially The Great and Secret Show and Everville. Also Weaveworld.
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Feb 19, 2020 03:32
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MockingQuantum posted:I'm maybe a third of the way through the first Felix Castor book and I'm enjoying it a lot. How are the rest of the novels? I'm kind of unsurprised it's hitting the right notes for me given that I liked his run on Hellblazer too, and this feels pretty similar. Castor's very good, it leans into the Raymond Chandler tone throughout. There's nothing groundbreaking in the plot or setting, but it doesn't need it when the prose is that good. It also does the 'the real monsters are humans' thematic elements well, some of the characters towards the mid/late parts of the series are real pieces of work.
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Feb 19, 2020 06:27
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Everyone posted:I don't know if these are exactly "urban fantasy" but they're at least in an adjacent neighborhood. Try a few of Clive Barker's works, especially The Great and Secret Show and Everville. Also Weaveworld. Funny. I just finished Everville last week, on the heels of The Great and Secret Show (and read Weaveworld last year, to boot). I second this.
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Feb 19, 2020 08:35
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Have you tried the Joe Pitt series? Vampire gangsters, action-focused, really fun. Also, The Kraken by Miéville. anilEhilated fucked around with this message at 20:26 on Feb 19, 2020 |
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Feb 19, 2020 10:39
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The_Doctor posted:I return to the UK next week to pick up my Waterstones version with the short story. I should catch the very last stop on the tour too. The short story is the first one to have nothing to do with the book's plot or regular characters (unless I missed something) it really made me wonder if it's a future set-up or if I missed something.
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Feb 19, 2020 15:59
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I ignored this thread for years because I thought it was just the Jim Butcher/Harry Dresden thread and I punted on Dresden Files hard on account of everyone involved being a complete toolbox. If I greatly enjoyed Libriomancer and The Invisible Library, and loved the concept of Harmony Black and Indexing but thought the execution was merely ok (and had a blast with Stiletto), what should I be looking at next?
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Feb 19, 2020 20:19
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Verus news:Jacka posted:First-round edits on Alex Verus #11, Forged, are done! The first-round edits are the ones where all the significant changes to the book get made. In this case there weren’t any really significant changes, meaning that I was able to finish and send the manuscript off to my publishers in good time. There’ll still be copy-edits and stuff to do, but for the most part, Forged is now in the can, which means I can focus on the final book in the series, Alex Verus #12. Book's coming. 
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Feb 20, 2020 00:42
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ToxicFrog posted:I ignored this thread for years because I thought it was just the Jim Butcher/Harry Dresden thread and I punted on Dresden Files hard on account of everyone involved being a complete toolbox. The Daniel Faust, Revanche Cycle and Wisdom's Grave series. Same author as Harmony Black and much better stories.
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Feb 20, 2020 02:18
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NerdyMcNerdNerd posted:Verus news: my copy of False Value has shipped from Waterstone's.
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Feb 20, 2020 02:36
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