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Anias posted:Yes. Michelle Sahara West is superb. Her cast novels are great, and urban fantasy adjacent. I'd agree. I love both series.
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Jul 1, 2020 02:27
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ToxicFrog posted:Are those any good? I'm up to book 10 and they're AMAZING(ly indulgent). They slowly morph into more standard fantasy while retaining some urban fantasy trappings and I love them so so much. If you like the first one, keep going. There'll be a dip in quality around book, uh, 3-5 ish? Where it goes from great to good, then it starts ramping up again as the overall plot kicks into high gear. If you don't like the first one, drop it immediately. Also don't judge her other works based on Elantra, they're deliberately written to be... not lighter, but there's only one POV character and it's not as super meaty as her primary stuff is.
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Jul 1, 2020 02:46
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Anias posted:Yes. Michelle Sahara West is superb. Her cast novels are great, and urban fantasy adjacent. Or you could do what I did and read the Hunter's Oath/Death duology first, they're not as good as they're earlier books but they're still really solid and fascinating epic fantasy in only two(!) volumes.
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Jul 1, 2020 02:48
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Speaking of books coming out this year, I’m pretty excited about the next October Daye novel coming out in September.
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Jul 2, 2020 20:52
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DreamingofRoses posted:Speaking of books coming out this year, I’m pretty excited about the next October Daye novel coming out in September. Yeah, the last half of the year looks pretty great for books all around. In addition to October Daye and the two Dresden Files books there's also a Rivers of London short story collection at the end of July, Laundry Files in October, and Alex Verus in November. And, outside of UF, both Harrow the Ninth and The Tyrant Baru Cormorant are dropping in August. I've got a lot of pre-orders out this year.
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Jul 2, 2020 21:19
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I'm looking forward to the new Sandman Slim coming August 25th (Ballistic Kiss).
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Jul 2, 2020 22:16
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There’s also the fourth Stormlight Archive and *cough cough* Cormoran Strike coming out
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Jul 3, 2020 00:10
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Daric posted:There’s also the fourth Stormlight Archive and *cough cough* Cormoran Strike coming out Fourth or Fifth? I thought the fourth was already out. I thought The Silkworm was okay and I think I started Career of Evil (never read The Cuckoos's Calling, but, ultimately, I just didn't care all that much for the series.
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Jul 3, 2020 04:27
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The fourth Stormlight, the fifth Cormoran. I apologize for the confusion.
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Jul 3, 2020 15:20
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Daric posted:The fourth Stormlight, the fifth Cormoran. I apologize for the confusion. No biggie. Figure if they hadn't let it be known that "Robert Gailbraith" was J. K. Rowling's "Richard Bachman" the series probably would have gone mostly unnoticed. Oh, and in this thread's ongoing "Is it Urban Fantasy?" debate/discussion I submit John Whitbourn's BABYLONdon. Set (mostly) in 1780 London during the Gordon Riots, it apparently (I haven't started reading it yet) feature a "The Doctor" figure called the Cavaliere dealing with some kind of weirdness in the midst of all that stuff. So, historicalish, in an urban setting, dealing with fantasy weirdness.
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Jul 3, 2020 16:07
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Whoa! New John Whitbourn! I had totally missed that, much obliged.
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Jul 3, 2020 22:17
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Deptfordx posted:Whoa! New John Whitbourn! Even better, it's New John Whitbourn that John Whitbourn can obtain is his own country instead of begging favors from people going to Canada or New Zealand to get it. Or, like me, being vain/stubborn enough to drop like $70.00 to get a Canadian re-mailing service to ship it to the US. But I damned well got The Age of the Triffids and now I don't know if I'm going to read it or mount it on a wall like a hunting trophy.
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Jul 3, 2020 22:38
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I hadn't heard he'd written a Triffid sequel either. Why is it only available in Canada and New Zealand. Edit: Oh is it some differing country copyright length shananigans? Deptfordx fucked around with this message at 23:59 on Jul 3, 2020 |
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Jul 3, 2020 23:56
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Started the re-read at Grave Peril to avoid the worst excesses of the first two books. Time to first 'young, firm breasts' was page 28.
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Jul 4, 2020 01:49
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RockyB posted:Started the re-read at Grace Peril to avoid the worst excesses of the first two books. I am surprised at his restraint.
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Jul 4, 2020 01:49
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RockyB posted:Started the re-read at Grave Peril to avoid the worst excesses of the first two books. Amazing, I also started my reread there.
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Jul 4, 2020 02:05
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Deptfordx posted:I hadn't heard he'd written a Triffid sequel either. As I understood it, it was copyright shenanigans. And they were so bad that I was talking with Dave Morris about buying a few copies of the book again so that he (Morris) and Whitbourn and close friends of theirs could actually get copies. We were getting into Airmail rates for shipping the things to Great Britain. Fortunately they knew somebody who was traveling to Canada and presumably got copies that way. So, yeah, that was my brush with relatively famous people, I guess. And apparently, it's still not (easily) available outside Canada or New Zealand: https://www.amazon.ca/Age-Triffids-...ps%2C141&sr=8-1 Everyone fucked around with this message at 02:14 on Jul 4, 2020 |
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Jul 4, 2020 02:12
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Beachcomber posted:Amazing, I also started my reread there. The last time I reread the books (which is probably the final time now but oh well) I started at... the book after he finds out Thomas is his brother, I can't remember which one that is. I don't feel like I missed anything important.
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Jul 4, 2020 02:18
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ImpAtom posted:I don't feel like I missed anything important. The same could be said for not reading any Dresden Files books. (USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)
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Jul 4, 2020 02:34
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ImpAtom posted:The last time I reread the books (which is probably the final time now but oh well) I started at... the book after he finds out Thomas is his brother, I can't remember which one that is. I don't feel like I missed anything important. Well you missed the casus belli of the Red Court war The introduction of the faerie courts, including Mab First appearance of the swords Initial appearance of the denarians First appearance of Mouse The best opening and closing lines of the series.
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Jul 4, 2020 02:49
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What’s the best closing?
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Jul 4, 2020 05:25
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"It was no longer a dark and stormy night, and we're all gonna get laid bitches!"
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Jul 4, 2020 08:23
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Anias posted:What’s the best closing? "Why did you buy large breed puppy chow?"
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Jul 4, 2020 09:39
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RockyB posted:Started the re-read at Grave Peril to avoid the worst excesses of the first two books. 
Cicero fucked around with this message at 12:04 on Jul 4, 2020 |
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Jul 4, 2020 11:40
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Cicero posted:Reminds of Straight Holt 
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Jul 4, 2020 11:53
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I’m writing something UF at the moment with a male protagonist. I’ve half a mind to write him the same way the women are written in the Dresden books.
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Jul 4, 2020 12:23
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The_Doctor posted:I’m writing something UF at the moment with a male protagonist. I’ve half a mind to write him the same way the women are written in the Dresden books. You should absolutely do that - for a chapter or two, anyway. Make it some weird dream thing where he's being written (and narrated) that way or something. Kind of a dream take on Stranger Than Fiction. Bonus points if it's some kind of magic vision that's plot-relevant.
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Jul 4, 2020 15:17
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"...he cocked cockily as he dicked down the stairs..."
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Jul 4, 2020 17:25
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"Charlie shivered in the uncommon breeze, causing his nipples to become erect. His moobs pushed pectorally against the cotton of his mottled grey t-shirt."
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Jul 4, 2020 17:38
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write about mythical tanuki in the modern day, spend half a chapter describing how their balls do
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Jul 4, 2020 20:13
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“Heavy, black, and pendulous.”
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Jul 4, 2020 20:46
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The_Doctor posted:“Heavy, black, and pendulous.” rear end in a top hat! 
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Jul 5, 2020 14:55
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ImpAtom posted:The last time I reread the books (which is probably the final time now but oh well) I started at... the book after he finds out Thomas is his brother, I can't remember which one that is. I don't feel like I missed anything important. A lot of the things that used to be considered "a big deal" in the series lose a lot of their impact after reading a couple other books that manage to do similar things without the things that make Dresden hard to read now.
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Jul 7, 2020 11:52
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The second book of Craig Schaefer's Charlie McCabe series dropped today on my Kindle, that was a pleasant surprise. For Urban Fantasy content, the Washington Post had an Opinion piece today about the National Garden of American Heroes that reads like a bunch of adventure seeds for a WoD-lite RPG campaign. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/07/07/midnight-garden-american-heroes/ Two highlights: It is normal if when you leave the garden, you don’t remember the face of the Warrior Against International Socialism. You will see it only once again, at the moment before your death. If the statue of Columbus is there, walk rapidly to the exit of the National Garden of American Heroes. The statue of Columbus is allowed to be there, but it is not supposed to be there. Edit: The article in whole is pasted below. I've opened the site a number of times and it isn't paywalled, not sure it that could be due to a local newspaper I subbed to. “The National Garden should be located on a site of natural beauty that enables visitors to enjoy nature, walk among the statues, and be inspired to learn about great figures of America’s history. The site should be proximate to at least one major population center, and the site should not cause significant disruption to the local community.” — Executive Order on Building and Rebuilding Monuments to American Heroes … and furthermore the National Garden must be opened to public access before July 4, 2026, for no reason, and certainly not to propitiate any sinister forces that need to be propitiated. There is nothing cursed about the National Garden of American Heroes. Do not be concerned! The below warnings are just to ensure that you have a nice time. We do not anticipate any incidents from the National Garden of American Heroes. Warnings To Visitors! • Be sure to enter the National Garden before dusk. Bring a penny from no earlier than 2006, a copy of the Constitution, sturdy shoes and headphones. Come alone. • The entrance to the National Garden of American Heroes is behind the Dolley Madison statue. If Dolley Madison is a painting and not a statue, do not attempt to enter the garden. • The thing that looks like an abstract or modernist rendering of Benjamin Franklin is NOT a statue. The president’s proclamation was careful to specify that all statues in the National Garden would be “lifelike or realistic representations.” Do not look at it. Keep walking. • The low rumbling that comes from the base of Amelia Earhart is normal. (This is #12 on your audio guide.) Only if the low rumbling is accompanied by a faint tapping sound, as if someone is trying to find a way out of a hollow, metal container, should you begin to make your way out of the garden — not hastily, but not haltingly, either, and always keeping Amelia to your left. • If Clara Barton’s jaw unhinges and she begins to speak, plug your ears any way you can. Do not make your way toward Clara Barton, no matter what she says to you. • There is a stone that marks the northwest corner of the National Garden. Familiarize yourself with the location of this stone. Some nights, the stone looks like Daniel Boone, and another garden will appear to extend indefinitely beyond him. Do not walk into that garden, even if it seems to contain Betsy Ross and you have always wanted to see Betsy Ross. You have not always wanted to see Betsy Ross. There is nothing there for you. • It is normal if when you leave the garden, you don’t remember the face of the Warrior Against International Socialism. You will see it only once again, at the moment before your death. • THERE IS ONLY ONE JOHN ADAMS STATUE! If you see the Other John Adams, TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION. Walk as quickly as you can to the sculpture of Antonin Scalia and touch its robe, unless the statue is holding up its hand. If so, turn and make your way to Audie Murphy. Be sure, before you visit the garden, to familiarize yourself with how Audie Murphy should and should not look. Only walk toward Audie Murphy. If you can’t remember Audie Murphy’s face, take the penny from your pocket and look at the head. The head will be Audie Murphy. If there is no head, take the Bill of Rights from your pocket and read it aloud, slowly, however long it is, and whether or not it contains rights that you do not remember. If you come to the Mars resolution, you have gone too far. • Some nights Alexander Hamilton is Lin-Manuel Miranda. It’s fine. • This should go without saying, but Orville and Wilbur Wright should not be holding James Madison three feet aloft with their metal faces distorted into expressions of triumph, but if they are, do not be alarmed. The statue of Booker T. Washington will be along shortly to sort things out. • If you hear the whistle of a lonesome train, run as quickly as you can to the feet of Harriet Beecher Stowe. If you get there before the whistle blows a second time, Stowe will show you America as it ought to be, but if you get there by the third whistle, you will only see America as it is, and the vision will break you. • If the statue of Columbus is there, walk rapidly to the exit of the National Garden of American Heroes. The statue of Columbus is allowed to be there, but it is not supposed to be there. • If you stand too close to Henry Clay, when you try to step away from him, you will be unable to move. There is nothing to do then but to accept your fate. In the morning, the National Garden of American Heroes will contain an unidentified Pioneer. The contents of your pockets will be in a neat pile next to it. All records of your human existence will have vanished — save the hint of a smirk on Henry Clay’s lips. • The site is near only one major population center for a reason. • That is not the Marquis de Lafayette. Ninurta fucked around with this message at 06:40 on Jul 8, 2020 |
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Jul 8, 2020 03:03
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Ninurta posted:It is normal if when you leave the garden, you don’t remember the face of the Warrior Against International Socialism. You will see it only once again, at the moment before your death. drat, I want to subscribe to the Washington Post to just read that piece now. I won't, but I kind of want to. Meanwhile, Holy poo poo, Butcher.com put Chapter 6 up. I figured it was done at Chapter Five, but I guess not. I have to be at work in a little over seven hour and need to get to bed, but, nope, guess I'll read that chapter first. drat you, Butcher. Everyone fucked around with this message at 04:27 on Jul 8, 2020 |
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Jul 8, 2020 04:24
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That WP piece has some extreme Night Vale ‘do not look at the Dog Park’ vibes, and is great.
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Jul 8, 2020 11:15
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I envy the patience required to read a book piecemeal over weeks instead of needing to devour it all at once. It's like eating a sundae one spoonful per day.
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Jul 8, 2020 11:17
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Everyone posted:drat, I want to subscribe to the Washington Post to just read that piece now. I won't, but I kind of want to. What a surprise, more White Court bullshit and cringe writing about how much  So, Ninurta posted:The second book of Craig Schaefer's Charlie McCabe series dropped today on my Kindle, that was a pleasant surprise. I completely missed this series. Holy poo poo that guy is writing all kinds of stuff.
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Jul 8, 2020 15:13
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biracial bear for uncut posted:What a surprise, more White Court bullshit and cringe writing about how much Show us on this anatomically correct doll where
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Jul 8, 2020 15:19
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Please stop bitching about/people bitching about Dresden Files. For anyone who’s been keeping up with October Daye and the synopsis for the new book. I just did a reread. I’m still almost convinced Marcia and Danny are one of the Three or Firstborn. I’m pretty sure that we’re going to see at least Oberon in this upcoming book given the fact that it’s basically about having to fix Simon. Any ideas on how many more books are supposed to be in the series?
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Jul 8, 2020 15:29
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