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pradmer posted:The Fifth Season (Broken Earth #1) by NK Jemisin - $3.99 Always a classic. Gnoman posted:To add to this, the "Session Transcript" aspect declines as the series goes on, because it becomes less of a direct tie-in to the adve tures being pubkished. Unfortunately, you start getting more of the obnoxious aspext of the setting - Kender, Gully Dwarves. Gnomes also show up more, which some people find annoying for some reason. Further to that, the I read the Twins Trilogy recently and it is pretty okay and not as bad as I feared. But Gully Dwarves really do be like that and it sucks. And Kender. Out of all the 80s things I have reread, its definitely the weakest but not like, bad if that makes sense. For the sake of comparison The Black Company books completely hold up in my opinion.
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Jan 3, 2021 01:28
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Just finished the first book in Brent Weeks' Lightbringer and feeling a craving to immediately binge the other 4. I'm such a sucker for unreliable narrators and plot twists.
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Jan 3, 2021 04:30
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I really am at an impasse of what I want to read next. Did a full Sanderson reread and read RoW, read Orcanomics, the Goblin Prince, all of the Baru books. I feel like I want to read a big drat space opera next, but the latest Expanse book isn’t out. I have read some of the Terms of Enlistment series but I can’t remember which one I left off so that’s a bummer.
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Jan 3, 2021 04:39
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rmdx posted:Personally, I read it as "I wrote so much that I was in pain and still wanted to write more". Although for sufferers of chronic pain (which I believe Palmer is), the symptoms are generally worsened by stress. Well if that's what she meant then I take it back, but it struck me more as the very common and very wanky "I *need* to be a writer" declaration.
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Jan 3, 2021 04:49
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KKKLIP ART posted:I really am at an impasse of what I want to read next. Did a full Sanderson reread and read RoW, read Orcanomics, the Goblin Prince, all of the Baru books. I feel like I want to read a big drat space opera next, but the latest Expanse book isn’t out. I have read some of the Terms of Enlistment series but I can’t remember which one I left off so that’s a bummer. Have you read A Memory Called Empire?
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Jan 3, 2021 06:17
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Leng posted:Just finished the first book in Brent Weeks' Lightbringer and feeling a craving to immediately binge the other 4. I'm such a sucker for unreliable narrators and plot twists. If you do, please post your feelings about the resolution.
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Jan 3, 2021 06:22
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Comedy option of Space Team series by Barry Hutchison. 11? books and only one kinda meh one. All available (I believe) on KU.
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Jan 3, 2021 07:47
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Patrick Spens posted:If you do, please post your feelings about the resolution. Give me a few weeks, the books are on their way from the library. So far, the main draw is really the conflict between Gavin/Dazen, plus whatever the hell is going on with Koios and the magic system mysteries. I'm basically glazing over the Joss Whedonesque brand of "feminism" manifest in the form of Karris and hating everything in Kip's chapters because of all the boob stuff. A Strong Female Character who learned to Fight post Rape Fighting in a Torn Sexy Dress TM through Period Pain is... a really good way of declaring both his sexism and his obliviousness to it. Edit: Also calling it now the white luxin knife Kip's mother left him is the title Blinding Knife, so called because it can steal colors from a drafter. Dazen being the super genius superchromat is gonna lose all of the known spectrum by being repeatedly stabbed with it, forcing him to figure out how to use the mythical Outer Spectrum of white, black and those other two things in the appendices with weird spelling, because he's already done it once on screen trying to hold the gate at Garriston. Leng fucked around with this message at 11:54 on Jan 3, 2021 |
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Jan 3, 2021 09:58
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tiniestacorn posted:Have you read A Memory Called Empire? Yes I thought it was great. I am a big fan of politics in my books, which is also why I liked The Goblin Prince and the first 2.5 books of The Collapsing Empire. I am going to read Son of a Lich but still in search of something else. I got an Octavia Butler book for christmas but it seems a bit more serious than what I want to dig into at the moment.
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Jan 3, 2021 15:24
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KKKLIP ART posted:I really am at an impasse of what I want to read next. Did a full Sanderson reread and read RoW, read Orcanomics, the Goblin Prince, all of the Baru books. I feel like I want to read a big drat space opera next, but the latest Expanse book isn’t out. I have read some of the Terms of Enlistment series but I can’t remember which one I left off so that’s a bummer. Have you read The Dagger and The Coin series by Daniel Abraham (who is 1/2 of James S.A. Corey)? It's a five-book fantasy series that is in large part about monetary policy and politics (plus a bunch of other stuff), and it's great. The first book is The Dragon's Path.
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Jan 3, 2021 16:05
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Havent read that but it sounds good!
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Jan 3, 2021 17:34
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Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul (Dirk Gently #2) by Douglas Adams - $1.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AYIDVM2/ The Sheep Look Up by John Brunner - $1.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00J5X5LVQ/
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Jan 3, 2021 19:30
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pradmer posted:Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul (Dirk Gently #2) by Douglas Adams - $1.99 This is a really really good book, better than the hitchhikers guide books, and for what it's worth probably the initial inspiration for American Gods. That being said don't hold Adams to account for Gaiman's sins.
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Jan 3, 2021 20:32
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The Brunner is a classic, too.
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Jan 3, 2021 21:15
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pseudanonymous posted:This is a really really good book, better than the hitchhikers guide books, and for what it's worth probably the initial inspiration for American Gods. That being said don't hold Adams to account for Gaiman's sins. This is indeed a good book. Everything you said after that is nonsense and you should feel shame.
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Jan 3, 2021 21:37
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An excellent anthology of short ff stories by black writers is also on sale right now. I read it years ago and the whole thing is top quality: https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Matter-Century-Speculative-Diaspora-ebook/dp/B00MTXJAF2/
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Jan 3, 2021 22:10
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Remulak posted:Oh man I’m on a KJ Parker roll now. i feel you, this is my reading since someone in this thread pointed me at Prosper's Demon: 
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Jan 3, 2021 22:15
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xiw posted:i feel you, this is my reading since someone in this thread pointed me at Prosper's Demon: How, uh, did you like the Scavenger trilogy? Poldarn fucked around with this message at 23:20 on Jan 3, 2021 |
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Jan 3, 2021 23:16
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quantumfoam posted:I have no idea what "isekai" is. However here's the full post from SFL Archives 1991 It's weird seeing some text written on the day of my birth.
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Jan 4, 2021 00:07
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pseudanonymous posted:This is a really really good book, better than the hitchhikers guide books, and for what it's worth probably the initial inspiration for American Gods. That being said don't hold Adams to account for Gaiman's sins. Also, I don't really understand how the plot works out, unless it's because the record executive offered Dirk "anything you want" and this is binding so that when Dirk says "just to see you dead" this actually happens and isn't just Dirk being rude. I feel like if he actually had the power to do stuff like that Dirk wouldn't have survived, though.
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Jan 4, 2021 01:20
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I finally got my reading brain back after moving house left me with like a month of being unable to read anything more demanding than the lightest and fluffiest of romance manga, and ripped through the remaining ~200 pages of Tyrant Baru in two sittings. Honestly, I spent a lot of both Monster and Tyrant going oh no, oh noooooo but the payoff is absolutely worth it. Those books are so good and the ending of Tyrant was deeply emotionally satisfying in a way the ending of Monster wasn't -- which makes sense, since it is very much one story told in two parts. Also thank you for not killing off Aminata, all my poor gay heart wants is to see her and Baru reconciled and having adventures together. Thanks for the book, General Battuta. I'm sorry that they are so draining to write, but I'm looking forward to the next one. 
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Jan 4, 2021 02:42
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Wait, the author for the Baru series is a goon? That’s wild!
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Jan 4, 2021 02:52
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The next one is actually going pretty well!
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Jan 4, 2021 03:26
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KKKLIP ART posted:I feel like I want to read a big drat space opera next Glen Cook's The Dragon Never Sleeps should do you nicely. The galaxy is an old, settled place. The status quo is defended by the Guardships. vastly powerful warships crewed by endlessly resurrected copies of the original crews (to keep them on-mission). Every so often someone tries to take down the Guardships, the book is about the latest attempt. it's got a huge scope, interesting characters, lots of action, and some great space combat. https://smile.amazon.com/Dragon-Never-Sleeps-Glen-Cook-ebook/dp/B07H46SZGS/ Donaldson's Gap series comes with a pretty hefty content warning, but they're literally Wagner's Ring Cycle operas translated into science fiction. They're very good, but some awful, awful things happen to, or are done by, the characters. It has vividly drawn characters, truly alien aliens, high stakes, lots of action, some great space combat, and a space pirate named Angus Thermopylae. There's a short first novel, and four longer ones. https://smile.amazon.com/Real-Story-into-Conflict-Cycle-ebook/dp/B002SXIEJQ/
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Jan 4, 2021 03:51
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mllaneza posted:Donaldson's Gap series comes with a pretty hefty content warning, but they're literally Wagner's Ring Cycle operas translated into science fiction. They're very good, but some awful, awful things happen to, or are done by, the characters. It has vividly drawn characters, truly alien aliens, high stakes, lots of action, some great space combat, and a space pirate named Angus Thermopylae. There's a short first novel, and four longer ones. How is this compared to his Thomas Covenant stuff? I truly hated that series, given how it loved to open with rape and continue in that vein.
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Jan 4, 2021 04:42
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You want to avoid it, then.
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Jan 4, 2021 04:45
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StrixNebulosa posted:How is this compared to his Thomas Covenant stuff? I truly hated that series, given how it loved to open with rape and continue in that vein. Let's put it this way, if you said "the Stephen Donaldson book with all the rape" then Thomas Covenant would not be the first one I pointed at.
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Jan 4, 2021 05:03
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tiniestacorn posted:Have you read A Memory Called Empire? I've also been starved for books so I'm going to check this out, thank you General Battuta posted:The next one is actually going pretty well! Fair Trade Baru Cormorant
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Jan 4, 2021 05:11
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mllaneza posted:Glen Cook's The Dragon Never Sleeps should do you nicely. The galaxy is an old, settled place. The status quo is defended by the Guardships. vastly powerful warships crewed by endlessly resurrected copies of the original crews (to keep them on-mission). Every so often someone tries to take down the Guardships, the book is about the latest attempt. it's got a huge scope, interesting characters, lots of action, and some great space combat. Both of these sound exactly like what I’m looking for. Who doesn’t love a big drat space opera with politics and clones and all manner of whatnot?
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Jan 4, 2021 05:23
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General Battuta posted:Let's put it this way, if you said "the Stephen Donaldson book with all the rape" then Thomas Covenant would not be the first one I pointed at. This, for certain. I tried to read the gap series and dropped it almost immediately. I’ve read all the covenant books including the new quadrilogy, and while the first books are upsetting only one truly heinous thing is done by the main character that I recall. The rest of the books struggle with that, so it’s never treated as acceptable but it’s still bad.
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Jan 4, 2021 05:24
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Just finished Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson, and I went into it thinking it could never stand up to his Mars trilogy, which is probably my all time favorite sci fi series. It really is very very good for reasons similar to Red Mars and co: the intense details of hard Astro science, the thesis of scientists/engineers/societies forgetting “soft skills” and suffering, the mind boggling scopes and scales involved. It doesn’t quite stick the landing but wow I enjoyed it much better than 2312, which was fun but rather light. It takes the best part of Weir’s The Martian in its engineering/troubleshooting porn, throw in a mix of mommy issues, add a subplot of an AI pondering sentience, and you got a real nice stew going.
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Jan 4, 2021 06:14
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space uncle posted:It doesn’t quite stick the landing but wow I enjoyed it much better than 2312, which was fun but rather light. Oof
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Jan 4, 2021 06:23
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Kazzah posted:Oof Ah no pun intended, seriously. I just think the ending could have used some editing or maybe a 2 book Duology would be nice to tie up some loose ends. And I don’t mean to poo poo on 2312, I think it does a better job with trans characters than any other piece of fiction I’ve read. Despite its massive set pieces and events and solar system hopping the stakes just feel not quite as high as the other two books, you know? It’s more of a whodunnit/love story than anything else. Maybe I owe it another read after finishing Aurora.
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Jan 4, 2021 06:28
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General Battuta posted:Let's put it this way, if you said "the Stephen Donaldson book with all the rape" then Thomas Covenant would not be the first one I pointed at. Yah, the Covenant series has, what, ONE rape? (Haven't read beyond the first trilogy, mind you, the later books could be cover-to-cover rape for all I know.) Liked those books a lot but man, does it have some unpleasant characters.
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Jan 4, 2021 07:45
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Poldarn posted:How, uh, did you like the Scavenger trilogy? Actually only just started them, I grabbed them when someone posted them cheap here but I was still reading the Engineer books at that point.
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Jan 4, 2021 11:23
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Alright, just finished The Blinding Knife. Brent Weeks pretty much went where I thought he would go with the plot and magic system payoffs, though I didn't expect to get a paryl drafter POV so quickly, nor for Dazen to actually kill off his brother (I was thinking he would be released to do some actual Prism work).. The awful Joss Whedonesque stuff continues. Literally every male character can't seem to resist commenting on boobs and nipples in every interaction with a female character. The section he wrote with the Blackguard Archers giving the female trainees The Talk was  . Also he needs some better beta readers to tell him women do not freaking think the way he seems to think we do. Liv's POVs were hell to read in particular.This book felt like a wrap up of the loose ends from Book 1 to gear up for a big finale in Book 3, but I can definitely see why he ended up going to 5 books. Still lots of unanswered questions. Edit: also putting Magic: The Gathering in the universe and having a whole subplot around it made me  the minute it came up.
Leng fucked around with this message at 12:34 on Jan 4, 2021 |
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Jan 4, 2021 12:31
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I can't for the life of me remember what novel that was, but the protagonist was researching elephants and being a great embarrassment to his family's business empire. Then the matriarch died and he gets pulled into the search for the McGuffin she hid. Involves travel in the solar system. Somehow I mixed that up with Robinson's 2312, but that wasn't it, was it?
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Jan 4, 2021 15:23
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genericnick posted:I can't for the life of me remember what novel that was, but the protagonist was researching elephants and being a great embarrassment to his family's business empire. Then the matriarch died and he gets pulled into the search for the McGuffin she hid. Involves travel in the solar system. Somehow I mixed that up with Robinson's 2312, but that wasn't it, was it? Reynolds' Blue Remembered Earth? I kinda bounced off it (despite generally liking Reynolds) so I may be wrong.
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Jan 4, 2021 15:30
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Hobnob posted:Reynolds' Blue Remembered Earth? I kinda bounced off it (despite generally liking Reynolds) so I may be wrong. Yeah that was it, thanks.
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Jan 4, 2021 15:40
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General Battuta posted:Let's put it this way, if you said "the Stephen Donaldson book with all the rape" then Thomas Covenant would not be the first one I pointed at. Good to know, I'll continue to avoid the author. Thanks! ...which makes me sad, I love big weird space opera with weird aliens and stuff.  At least I'll always have Glen Cook and CJ Cherryh.
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Jan 4, 2021 15:49
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