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General Battuta posted:I am still vaguely planning to do a "many centuries later" book in Baru's world which is a lesbian Top Gun story about mercenary pilots. And you'd get to see all the downstream effects of Baru's failure or success. 
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Feb 12, 2021 23:44
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General Battuta posted:The draft of the last Baru is a total mess but I’m enjoying finally getting to crash all the model trains into each other. *bing-bong!* This is an announcement from Falcrest Station staff. The train arriving at platforms 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7 is coming in sideways. Thank you.
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Feb 12, 2021 23:46
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Multi Track Drifting!  Or "The Conductor Baru Coromant" Also, just saw this. I know nothing about any of these books, but hey, 18 books for ~20 bucks might be a good deal for someone. https://storybundle.com/scifi Stupid_Sexy_Flander fucked around with this message at 01:03 on Feb 13, 2021 |
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Feb 13, 2021 01:01
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fez_machine posted:McKillip is like the Joanna Newsome of Fantasy. You have to be in the right mindset for her stylistic quirks and thematic concerns but if you are it's all excellent. Yeah, the prose is what got me thinking about Patricia McKillip again; the last couple books I read were modern lit and the gulf between a Helen Oyeyemi or Sally Rooney book and some of the sf I've picked up was ... unfortunate (that said, there are some really great prose stylists in sf and fantasy)
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Feb 13, 2021 01:53
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oh poo poo; I'm super psyched for new baru whenever it appears
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Feb 13, 2021 01:54
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fashionly snort posted:(that said, there are some really great prose stylists in sf and fantasy) Yeah and one of them is in this thread  (I'm excited about baru 4)
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Feb 13, 2021 02:08
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Hah, there’s a fun bit near the of The Necromancers House suggesting all the books he’s written are in the same world. None of them have any relevance to each other but it’s a entertaining Easter egg.
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Feb 13, 2021 02:30
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fashionly snort posted:(that said, there are some really great prose stylists in sf and fantasy) Who are the great prose stylists in genre fiction, in the thread's opinion? It'd be nice to have a list of people to check out whose writing is a cut above. Le Guin is the one that comes immediately to my mind, and Susanna Clarke. Tolkien as well, although I realize that's contentious.
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Feb 13, 2021 07:33
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pradmer posted:The Ambassador's Mission (Traitor Spy #1) by Trudi Canavan - $1.99 The Rogue (Traitor Spy #2) by Trudi Canavan - $7.99 WHY This is just like when I used to go to the book store and they'd only have the second or third book of every trilogy in stock.
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Feb 13, 2021 07:48
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Kestral posted:Who are the great prose stylists in genre fiction, in the thread's opinion? It'd be nice to have a list of people to check out whose writing is a cut above. Le Guin is the one that comes immediately to my mind, and Susanna Clarke. Tolkien as well, although I realize that's contentious. Who am I to judge, and so on and so forth, but I love reading prose written by Le Guin (The Other Wind in particular), Neil Gaiman (Stardust), maybe Guy Gavriel Kay. Clarke and Tolkien both bored me to tears, I'm afraid.
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Feb 13, 2021 07:49
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Kestral posted:Who are the great prose stylists in genre fiction, in the thread's opinion? It'd be nice to have a list of people to check out whose writing is a cut above. Le Guin is the one that comes immediately to my mind, and Susanna Clarke. Tolkien as well, although I realize that's contentious. I think Vonnegut's writing is really next-level. The part in Slaughterhouse Five where the bombs are unmade really stuck with me. E: Also, honorable mention for Richard K. Morgan (the chapter in Altered Carbon where they go partying, in particular). The plots aren't the best, but the style I think is great. QuantumNinja fucked around with this message at 08:01 on Feb 13, 2021 |
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Feb 13, 2021 07:56
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General Battuta posted:
Project Wingwoman: Wings over a Blue Planet
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Feb 13, 2021 07:59
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Kestral posted:Who are the great prose stylists in genre fiction, in the thread's opinion? It'd be nice to have a list of people to check out whose writing is a cut above. Le Guin is the one that comes immediately to my mind, and Susanna Clarke. Tolkien as well, although I realize that's contentious. Le Guin is probably the top option for me, McKillip was mentioned earlier and I agree with whoever said you kind of have to be in the right mindset for her style, but when it hits it really hits. William Gibson, Roger Zelazny, Harlan Ellison, and Catherynne Valente definitely have their moments, Mieville also occasionally has some great prose when he's not neck deep in a thesaurus. Delaney has some incredible bits, but also has some prose that's pretty dense and obscure in a way I can't decide if I enjoy, at least in Dhalgren. Jack Vance has some prose in Dying Earth that ranges from acrobatically silly to really quite poetic and beautiful. I haven't read any Gene Wolfe or John Crowley but they both get mentioned pretty frequently in these kinds of discussions, too. Also I'm gonna say John Gardner counts for the purposes of this discussion because Grendel is great.
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Feb 13, 2021 08:58
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General Battuta posted:I am still vaguely planning to do a "many centuries later" book in Baru's world which is a lesbian Top Gun story about mercenary pilots. And you'd get to see all the downstream effects of Baru's failure or success. I really hope you explore this idea, I think it would be rad. 90s Cringe Rock posted:/r/falcrestbets FAIRER HANDS!
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Feb 13, 2021 09:05
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Kestral posted:Who are the great prose stylists in genre fiction, in the thread's opinion? It'd be nice to have a list of people to check out whose writing is a cut above. Le Guin is the one that comes immediately to my mind, and Susanna Clarke. Tolkien as well, although I realize that's contentious. My list would be: Avram Davidson R. A. Lafferty John Crowley Michael Cisco Lord Dunsany (on a good day, he's so prolific that there's a lot of very ordinary stuff) Jack Vance Brian Evenson Ted Chiang Christine Brooke-Rose Leena Krohn Thomas M. Disch Maureen F. McHugh Robert Aickman Maybe/Variable Paul Park Clark Ashton Smith Samuel R Delany Theodore Sturgeon Roger Zelazny (on a good day) Alfred Bester Tim Powers Michael Moorcock
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Feb 13, 2021 09:39
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fez_machine posted:My list would be: Although he does suffer from the same "this is a genius experiment/this was clearly written to pay the bills" dichotomy Zelazny does.
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Feb 13, 2021 09:53
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Kestral posted:Who are the great prose stylists in genre fiction, in the thread's opinion? It'd be nice to have a list of people to check out whose writing is a cut above. Le Guin is the one that comes immediately to my mind, and Susanna Clarke. Tolkien as well, although I realize that's contentious.
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Feb 13, 2021 11:06
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Kestral posted:Who are the great prose stylists in genre fiction, in the thread's opinion? It'd be nice to have a list of people to check out whose writing is a cut above. Le Guin is the one that comes immediately to my mind, and Susanna Clarke. Tolkien as well, although I realize that's contentious. Ian McDonald would be my go-to guy in SF
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Feb 13, 2021 11:26
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For some reason, the way Calvin is holding the toy train higher than the airplane in that last panel has always stuck with me, probably because that sort of thing is something I absolutely would've done myself at the age I was reading it for the first time. One toy starts high and goes lower, the other starts low and goes higher, woah now my train is farther in the air than my airplane this is so BADASS.General Battuta posted:There actually were trains in the original short story. I took them out because, uh, I dunno. It might've been kind of cool. Maybe I thought it was too steampunk? Or too Bas-lag? General Battuta posted:I think the problem with ending at Book 3 is you end up with the 'answer' to the series being and then Baru ended colonialism with the power of friendship and it's totally great to use the master's tools to disassemble the master's house, works like a charm, don't kick up a fuss or do anything too radical, just collaborate and try to reform the system from within, it takes a reform like no problem. Which I think...misses the problem of empire, a bit; it's not about a secret cabal planning the conquest of the world; it's about these vast stupid greedy processes which resist change specifically because they are producing huge gushing geysers of wealth for the colonisers. Trim is a lovely idea, and in some sense trim did exist in our real world because there was a general recognition that colonisation was a violation of fundamental human dignity, but that wasn't enough to actually stop colonialism until a huge amount of suffering had been inflicted.
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Feb 13, 2021 15:51
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As for great prose stylists in SF: Tanith Lee, if you have a taste for gothic. Among old school guys, Fritz Leiber can be really stylish -- look at his story "Gonna Roll the Bones," for instance. And for even older school, there's James Branch Cabell. fez_machine posted:Michael Moorcock I'm a Moorcock fanboy but honestly, the vast majority of his output is workmanlike at best. He can have moments when he's really trying, though -- I think the opening scenes in The Brothel in Rosenstrasse are amazing, for instance.
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Feb 13, 2021 17:06
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Kestral posted:Who are the great prose stylists in genre fiction, in the thread's opinion? It'd be nice to have a list of people to check out whose writing is a cut above. Le Guin is the one that comes immediately to my mind, and Susanna Clarke. Tolkien as well, although I realize that's contentious. I really like Thomas M Disch had a lovely style
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Feb 14, 2021 00:18
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Kestral posted:Who are the great prose stylists in genre fiction, in the thread's opinion? It'd be nice to have a list of people to check out whose writing is a cut above. Le Guin is the one that comes immediately to my mind, and Susanna Clarke. Tolkien as well, although I realize that's contentious. Nalo Hopkinson immediately comes to mind. Most of that style is patois, but it sings
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Feb 14, 2021 00:33
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CJ Cherryh in some of her books writes just excellent prose. Clear, evocative, sweeps you into the world. I was blown away by Finity's End when I read it. She isn't flashy but she's effortless.
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Feb 14, 2021 01:12
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Elizabeth Knox always has excellent prose. I tend to find her actual books a bit hit or miss, but the writing is always top notch.
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Feb 14, 2021 02:05
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HopperUK posted:CJ Cherryh in some of her books writes just excellent prose. Clear, evocative, sweeps you into the world. I was blown away by Finity's End when I read it. She isn't flashy but she's effortless. Cherry is often mentioned together with Julie Czerneda (or is it the other way?). I always preferred the latter; great worldbuilding, a delightful focus on alien worlds and likeable characters. I don't know much about "style" though.
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Feb 14, 2021 02:22
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The Absolute Book is apparently now available for kindle. It’s $17, which is way more than I usually pay for ebooks, but I’ve heard really good things about this one.
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Feb 14, 2021 02:47
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thotsky posted:Cherry is often mentioned together with Julie Czerneda (or is it the other way?). I always preferred the latter; great worldbuilding, a delightful focus on alien worlds and likeable characters. I don't know much about "style" though. Any recommendations for Czerneda? I've never read her but she sounds up my alley.
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Feb 14, 2021 03:47
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Aardvark! posted:Any recommendations for Czerneda? I've never read her but she sounds up my alley. I think the Web Shifters and Species Imperative trilogies are her best. The former is told from the perspective of a shapeshifting alien that a lot of fans really like. The latter trilogy is more polished, has more politics and some really great twists. Can't go wrong with either one, but Beholder's Eye from the Web Shifters trilogy was the first book I bought with my own money so it has a special place in my heart.
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Feb 14, 2021 04:10
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For prose style in fantasy look to Dunsany. Le Guin has a *really* strong Dunsany influence and admitted as much herself.
Hieronymous Alloy fucked around with this message at 04:42 on Feb 14, 2021 |
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Feb 14, 2021 04:25
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I'm a page late but glad to hear the news about B4ru!
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Feb 14, 2021 05:06
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The lost novel Railroad Baron Baru is going into my all time "what if?".
algebra testes fucked around with this message at 10:35 on Feb 14, 2021 |
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Feb 14, 2021 10:15
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algebra testes posted:The lost novel Railroad Baron Baru is going into my all time "what if?" novel. The Tycoon Baru Cormorant
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Feb 14, 2021 10:24
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The Digital Prophet Baru Cormorant.
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Feb 14, 2021 11:48
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4 Baru 4 Cormorant
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Feb 14, 2021 12:27
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Shadow Captain (The Revenger Series Book 2) by Alastair Reynolds - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CWQN8FQ Bone Silence (The Revenger Series Book 3) by Alastair Reynolds - $3.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0819W4456/ The first book in the trilogy is often on sale. I found the universe, in which they are set, quite interesting. I guess it's sort of YA-ish, but if it is YA, it's the first YA book (Revenger #1) which I have actually finished and enjoyed.
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Feb 14, 2021 13:27
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Ooo thanks for the Czemeda tip! Here's a bit of Dunsany - this website seems to have most of him. It's a particular style and I have a copy of Tales of Wonder here somewhere, and you get like - a chapter of a story, not a whole story. But if you like it, you'll like it a lot, I reckon. https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/dun/tawo/tawo07.htm e: I mean, I love this. Not for everyone maybe but I love this. Lord Dunsany posted:Observant men and women that know their Bond Street well will appreciate my astonishment when in a jewellers' shop I perceived that nobody was furtively watching me. Not only this but when I even picked up a little carved crystal to examine it no shop-assistants crowded round me. I walked the whole length of the shop, still no one politely followed. HopperUK fucked around with this message at 13:48 on Feb 14, 2021 |
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Feb 14, 2021 13:46
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HopperUK posted:Ooo thanks for the Czemeda tip! Me, grabbing Dunsany by the lapels and shaking him: USE MORE loving COMMAS
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Feb 14, 2021 14:50
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A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martin - $2.99 - US Kindle https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07C7BCB88 The Inheritance Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin - $2.99/$2.99/$3.99 - US Kindle https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0771LXBJN
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Feb 14, 2021 17:13
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The Poppy War by RF Kuang - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072L58JW6/ Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00338QF1E/ Caine Black Knife (Acts of Caine #3) by Matthew Stover - $4.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0017SWPW0/ Return to Nevèrÿon: The Complete Series by Samuel R Delany - $3.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075L6ML6L/
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Feb 14, 2021 19:32
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Hubbardologist posted:A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martin - $2.99 - US Kindle We are like two weeks away from the sequel’s release date, so this is a great time to pick this up if you haven’t yet.
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