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quantumfoam posted:I have no idea what "isekai" is. However here's the full post from SFL Archives 1991 isekai is Japanese for portal fantasy
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Dec 29, 2020 01:25
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quantumfoam posted:I have no idea what "isekai" is. However here's the full post from SFL Archives 1991 A post from when the internet was good!
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Dec 29, 2020 01:39
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quantumfoam posted:the details finally leaking out of how Jerry Pournelle lost his ARPANET access forever. http://www.stormtiger.org/bob/humor/pournell/list.html Christ, what an rear end in a top hat.
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Dec 29, 2020 02:14
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There's been plenty of aliens-visiting-the-earth stories like this: 1. Aliens visit and they're friendly. We exchange knowledge/technology and everybody's the better for it 2. Same as #1 but they have an ulterior motive and end up enslaving and/or eating us and taking all our stuff 3. Like #2 but they aren't friendly at all and get right to the enslaving/eating step. I'm looking for examples of this: 4. Same as #2, but we gently caress them over through a misunderstanding or paranoia or we just want their stuff.
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Dec 29, 2020 03:07
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I have no idea what it was called or who it was by, but it was a story of humanity making first contact with the galactic community, being given access to the galactic library, not getting told about the galactic library's licensing fees so that we rack up a lot of debt in order to bankrupt and enslave us and just as things are looking grim, a rat-like species comes along and offers to sell us their debt which makes no sense at all until humanity looks up the rat people's history and realizes that every species the rat species has owed money too has rapidly gone extinct and then humanity joins with their good rat friends in subtly killing off their money lenders. I think one of the evil species was some kind of sentient corn stalks and they may have featured on the cover.
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Dec 29, 2020 03:21
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pseudorandom name posted:I have no idea what it was called or who it was by, but it was a story of humanity making first contact with the galactic community, being given access to the galactic library, not getting told about the galactic library's licensing fees so that we rack up a lot of debt in order to bankrupt and enslave us and just as things are looking grim, a rat-like species comes along and offers to sell us their debt which makes no sense at all until humanity looks up the rat people's history and realizes that every species the rat species has owed money too has rapidly gone extinct and then humanity joins with their good rat friends in subtly killing off their money lenders. That's Chess With a Dragon by David Gerrold. It has a human playing chess with a dragon on the cover. Pretty decent if short paperback.
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Dec 29, 2020 03:39
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Mister Kingdom posted:There's been plenty of aliens-visiting-the-earth stories like this: Hamilton’s recent series (Salvation Sequence) has a healthy dose of #4. I can’t go into too much detail as it doesn’t really expand until the 4th book is released. I also can’t recommend it because it’s easily his weakest work. *edit* but if it’s your bang, it might be worth a read. Also content: Craig Alanson released his 11th book in the Expeditionary Force series. This is the first where he’s really tying the main series with the Mavericks. It’s clear he’s also starting to get the series towards the end-game for book 15. If you read/listened to some of the early books and enjoyed, the series is maintaining the quality it has throughout. It’s also seriously helped in audio form by R C Bray narration. Pinball Jizzard fucked around with this message at 06:41 on Dec 29, 2020 |
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Dec 29, 2020 06:36
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Mister Kingdom posted:There's been plenty of aliens-visiting-the-earth stories like this: Old Man's War. Humanity goes to the stars, briefly tries diplomacy them gives up on that and goes to war with everyone. Told from the perspective of a soldier in the space infantry.
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Dec 29, 2020 10:42
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quantumfoam posted:I have no idea what "isekai" is. Isekai is the Japanese name for the genre where a normal person is transported to another world. The term became popularized in English SF/F discussion because it so easily describes a common type of story.
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Dec 29, 2020 15:20
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muscles like this! posted:Isekai is the Japanese name for the genre where a normal person is transported to another world. The term became popularized in English SF/F discussion because it so easily describes a common type of story. Stop trying to make “isekai” happen. It’s never going to happen.
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Dec 29, 2020 15:22
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quantumfoam posted:I have no idea what "isekai" is. However here's the full post from SFL Archives 1991 Thanks. I don't think Greg's making a great case, a lot of it's just convention of the genre, and I think he mis-characterizes some of the Ultima 5 stuff.
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Dec 29, 2020 15:30
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Drone Jett posted:Stop trying to make “isekai” happen. It’s never going to happen.
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Dec 29, 2020 19:11
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The Tower of Fools (Hussite #1) by Andrzej Sapkowski - $4.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZZ22J48/ Witcher author. New historical fantasy series? The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DHJT92Q/ The Girl with All the Gifts by MR Carey - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CO7FLFG/ Consider Phlebas (Culture #1) by Iain M Banks - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0013TX6FI/ The Black Prism (Lightbringer #1) by Brent Weeks - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003JTHY76/
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Dec 29, 2020 23:22
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Pinball Jizzard posted:Hamilton’s recent series (Salvation Sequence) has a healthy dose of #4. I can’t go into too much detail as it doesn’t really expand until the 4th book is released. I also can’t recommend it because it’s easily his weakest work. I'm actually on book three right now. It started out as #2, though.
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Dec 30, 2020 01:29
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pradmer posted:The Black Prism (Lightbringer #1) by Brent Weeks - $2.99 Thank you!! I've been waiting to get into this series.
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Dec 30, 2020 02:16
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Mister Kingdom posted:I'm actually on book three right now. It started out as #2, though. My brain wasn’t working. The third book is the final book. The paranoia comes from the saints of salvation being formed based in Zanghari’s long term paranoia about the Olyx not being fully honest. Book 3 is all about how humanity couldn’t have triumphed if not for this paranoia causing the creation of the non-Omnia fighting forces. That said, by book 3 they seem superfluous to the plot and the whole background of each in Book 1 left me confused given their apparent ineffectiveness in ending the threat. My major annoyance (and massive spoiler alert) is leaving the god at the end of time arc alive. Hamilton confirmed he’s going to revisit and address, but it felt like that was the reason for the Olyx being defeated earlier in the piece. A large portion of the book is just setup for future writing that’s unlikely to occur for a few years Pinball Jizzard fucked around with this message at 05:06 on Dec 30, 2020 |
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Dec 30, 2020 05:01
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Never had my life summed up so concisely in a meme before.
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Dec 30, 2020 06:50
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Is there anything to know about reading Foundation? Should I approach the books in written order, or the chronological order starting with the books that were written later? I vaguely remember having read some part of the series as a teenager, but can't remember a whole lot about it. It's a big miss on my list of big Sci Fi series that I've not read though, so I think I should at least give it a chance even though I'm aware that it's probably not going to live up to expectations.
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Dec 30, 2020 13:26
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Major Ryan posted:Is there anything to know about reading Foundation? Should I approach the books in written order, or the chronological order starting with the books that were written later?
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Dec 30, 2020 13:35
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Major Ryan posted:Is there anything to know about reading Foundation? Should I approach the books in written order, or the chronological order starting with the books that were written later? I think the first book in the original trilogy is the dullest because it's just one problem after another popping up and being solved just as the Seldon Plan predicts. It gets more interesting in the second book onward after the Mule shows up.
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Dec 30, 2020 15:17
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Ani posted:I would start with publication order and you can definitely skip anything but the original trilogy if you aren’t feeling it. The original books were written in the 50s and the later ones and prequels were written 30 years later and feel pretty different. Selachian posted:I think the first book in the original trilogy is the dullest because it's just one problem after another popping up and being solved just as the Seldon Plan predicts. It gets more interesting in the second book onward after the Mule shows up. All good, thanks for that. I have a sneaking suspicion that I might have read Prelude back along so entirely possible I've not read any of the main series at all.
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Dec 30, 2020 15:22
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What are people's thoughts on Too Light The Lightning? I just finished it and I think I loved it? It's a big messy book where the overarching narrative barely moves an inch, but it had incredibly rich world building in what I found to be a refreshingly unique setting. It has some of the most vibrant characters in the genre. Each character is loud, unique, and memorable. It actually gave me a Harry Potter vibe in that regard, which is another series that has strong endearing character silhouettes at a glance. Which makes it all the more interesting when TLTL starts doing way more interesting/darker stuff with some of it's characters. After coming off books like The Three Body Problem & Children of Time, the warmth and whimsy of the tone in TLTL was also quite welcome. And again, it's used to great effect, when after the halfway mark the author remains in that same tone while beginning to describe very dark and twisted things. I haven't seen the book mentioned in this thread, but I've only started keeping up with it on the regular 2-3 months ago. What do others think of it? Do the sequels hold up? I just started Seven Surrenders today.
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Dec 30, 2020 15:28
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Megasabin posted:What are people's thoughts on Too Light The Lightning? I feel the exact same way about it. It’s one of the few books I’ve read recently which made me sit up and say “holy poo poo, this is a Work.” I had a similar experience watching Climax by Gaspar Noe recently; it’s weird and uncomfortable and frequently horrible but it’s also so bold and confident and declarative that you can’t help but think you’re actually watching a capital-M Movie instead of a procedural product I found Too Like Too Lightning’s giant cast and openly stated themes of worldwide intrigue and power really inspiring.
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Dec 30, 2020 16:56
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Surrender Surrender Surrender Surrender Surrender Surrender Surrender is just as good, even better; I felt like The Will to Battle dropped off a bit.
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Dec 30, 2020 16:57
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I read the first two and for some reason I never had the urge to read the third. Dead on about the characters though. I read them in late '17 and I could still describe a lot of the characters in detail, along with some of the cool world history. There are books I read early this year that I can't remember poo poo about.
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Dec 30, 2020 17:35
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TheAardvark posted:I read the first two and for some reason I never had the urge to read the third. Big same. Although for me the reason I didn't read the third was because I was not a fan of the big plot moment that happens at the end of the second book.
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Dec 30, 2020 18:03
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Selachian posted:I think the first book in the original trilogy is the dullest because it's just one problem after another popping up and being solved just as the Seldon Plan predicts. It gets more interesting in the second book onward after the Mule shows up.
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Dec 30, 2020 18:03
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Ani posted:I agree with this, though I still think someone who wants to read Foundation should start with the first book. The first book is just a collection of short stories that are Seldon Plan puzzles, which I can see being dull but it's fun if you like that style of old school big idea sci fi. Foundation is one book in three volumes. Nothing in the second or third volume would make sense or have weight without the first.
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Dec 30, 2020 18:21
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Just did some calculations on my SFL Archives project. Have read 18 of the 34 SF-LOVERS mailing list Volumes so far, working on Vol 16b right now. Total word count read so far (not including Vol16b) is: 10,474,544 in 63mb of raw ASCII text files The remaining unread 16 SFL Volumes contain 13,534,015 words in 82mb of raw ASCII text files Also the success of EROTICON SIX in 1991 made someone dream up an even more adult themed SF&F pornographic convention called CONFLAGRATION 1992. The advertisement for CONFLAGRATION 1992 was extremely wtf skeevy on every level, and made me break readthrough kayfabe. {No one under 21 will be admitted to the Northwest's ONLY Adult Science Fiction Convention. IS THAT A SPACESHIP IN YOUR POCKET, OR ARE YOU JUST THINKING ABOUT CONFLAGRATION? For something new and fresh in a Fantasy and Science Fiction Convention, we cordially invite you to attend CONFLAGRATION in June of '92. Our convention will be an SF and Fantasy convention with traditional panel discussions and activities, famous people to talk to and learn from, and a whole bunch of outdoor fun at a gorgeous waterfront resort. CONFLAGRATION will include adult themes, and will be restricted to adults over 21 (photo ID at the door, please). We think you will really enjoy the opportunity of taking a weekend off at one of the nicest getaway spots in the Northwest. Plus you will be able to do it in the company of people who understand and share an important aspect of all of our lives: fandom. Enjoy every aspect of SF and Fantasy without having to look over your shoulder for fear of offending a mundane, or setting off a riot among the kids. Register early, we could be sold out before the convention. Dave and Cindy Ptasnik, co-chairs}
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Dec 31, 2020 03:01
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Megasabin posted:What are people's thoughts on Too Light The Lightning? The messiness is a big reason of why it is so good -- it is exhausting and exhilarating and leaves you with an intense desire to know more but also the worrying suspicion that you are mistaken in liking it. It is one of the best SF works in recent memory. I think.
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Dec 31, 2020 03:19
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It's been quite some time since I read the three that I did so I might be incorrect on some of this. I thought the first one was pretty good. Unique for sure. From time to time I still think about if close-knit groups of people shared big homes like that or if you got to choose a style of governing that suited you would work out nicely in reality. Then I thought the next two weren't as good and the third was just a downright slog for me. And in the 2nd book (I think), I don't like the direction the author headed with the kid. I get why something omnipotence like can be a dead-end, but I thought balancing that with the immaturity of being a child was compelling. But I'd say if you like enormous amounts of academic jacking-off and looooong descriptions of the way environments look KEEP GOING.
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Dec 31, 2020 03:39
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I loved Too Like the Lightning and absolutely couldn't get into Seven Surrenders, though I don't remember why. I tried reading it three separate times and it never grabbed me. That said, I kind of don't care... like there's obviously a bigger story going on that carries through the books, it's your standard sci-fi multi-book series in that way, but I think I was just pretty satisfied with what I got from TLtL even if I didn't have the whole story.
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Dec 31, 2020 03:41
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Circe by Madeline Miller - $4.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074M5TLLJ/ The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E Harrow - $3.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07M77XW56/ The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon - $1.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DDGX4KY/
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Dec 31, 2020 20:28
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Dammit, Anton Strout died yesterday.
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Dec 31, 2020 23:50
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buffalo all day posted:The Folding Knife - selfcontained and on the optimistic side of his work. Bought this on sale when it was recommended earlier in the thread but I've been putting off reading it because...reasons. Anyway, I decided I would finish it before 2020 and... Ccs posted:Yeesh, it's a grim book at the end. This about sums it up. I'm not sure KJ Parker is for me if The Folding Knife is on the optimistic side of his work. That said, I immediately googled around after finishing it and found one of the KJ Parker short stories referenced through the Tor reread: One Little Room an Everywhere (original link is dead so only available on Wayback Machine: https://web.archive.org/web/20161127092524/http://www.nightshadebooks.com/2012/10/22/one-little-room-an-everywhere-k-j-parker/) To my surprise, I enjoyed this short story a lot more than I enjoyed The Folding Knife itself. Maybe I'll try Academic Exercises later. Something funky is going on with Amazon's pricing though, because the hardcover is listed on Amazon.com.au for $2,386.99 
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Jan 1, 2021 02:24
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Leng posted:the hardcover is listed on Amazon.com.au for $2,386.99 Now that's a lot of dollarydoos! I actually bounced off of The Folding Knife a couple weeks ago after I hit about 20% and realized it just wasn't keeping my attention. I'm planning to give it another shot in the future though since I think I just wasn't in the mood at the time. And since Priory of the Orange Tree is on sale again, that reminds me that I also read through it recently. It's sort of stuck in my head because it somehow walked this fine line of being engaging enough that I finished it in barely over a week (despite the 850~ page length) but by the time I was done my thoughts were mostly just "well, that was fine." I know I've seen some people say it's sort of like a book that could have been a trilogy, but it was trimmed down to fit into a single (very long) book, and I think that makes sense with how some of the story beats felt almost too long and others felt really clipped. I'm still sort of baffled by the treatment of one of the main characters who, at least at the start, seems like she'd be more prominently featured (I assumed she'd probably show up about as much as her counterpart character). But she sort of just gets shuffled off to the side pretty quickly and only shows up whenever another terrible thing is about to happen to her. So, despite being pretty critical to the climax of the story, it felt like she had the least page-time of any of the main characters and I'd say was probably the least developed. I also wanted more dragons, I was expecting a lot more to happen with the dragons 
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Jan 1, 2021 03:51
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Leng posted:Bought this on sale when it was recommended earlier in the thread but I've been putting off reading it because...reasons. Anyway, I decided I would finish it before 2020 and... If you enjoyed that short story I suspect you would definitely enjoy Academic Exercises and Parker's other short story collection "The Father of Lies". They're both similar in tone, and not really downers I would say.
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Jan 1, 2021 04:29
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Isekai is what red-blooded Americans call "portal fantasy". Narnia, the Magicians, Thomas Covenant, Heroes Die, Oz, John Carter. etc. The genre sprang out of faerie stories.
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Jan 1, 2021 07:41
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Isekai fiction has some distinct differences from portal fantasy though. Primarily portal fantasy generally uses a framing of at least some sort of two-way travel between the worlds, even if it's just a "get back to earth" end goal. Isekai almost always have the protagonist die and be reincarnated in that world, with no real hope of return, and often no desire to do so because it's some power fantasy for teenagers/depressed otaku where they're the hero now despite being a loser in their previous life or slavery is legal or whatever.
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Jan 1, 2021 08:02
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BananaNutkins posted:Isekai is what red-blooded Americans call "portal fantasy". Narnia, the Magicians, Thomas Covenant, Heroes Die, Oz, John Carter. etc. The genre sprang out of faerie stories. Ooh maybe it’s time for my periodic Heroes Die reread
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Jan 1, 2021 08:16
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