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quantumfoam posted:The Brick Moon, a 1869 scifi novella to my attention. This rang a bell for me and it took awhile to twig it was used as a place name in one of the later Nemesis the Warlock books, a series second only to 'League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' for picking all manner of weird / obscure stuff out of history to use as fluff.  Also the story of the Gothic empire is based on Queen Victoria's reign, which your 1869 novel fits nicely into.
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Jun 14, 2022 03:52
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Just finished my journey through Gene Wolfe's Book of the Short Sun. I feel like a kid who went on a field trip through an avant garde art display exhibited in the basement of CERN with a schitzophrenic teacher who only communicated in Etch-a-Sketch. Well, that's a slight exaggeration but goddamn do I feel like I've got a second reading with a corkboard and some string in my future. It's funny how basic and straightforward Book of the Long Sun feels at the end of it all; those sweet simple times when you were fairly certain you fully understood the identity of your narrator at all times, and his position in space/time. Such simple children we were then. Such pure pleasures and innocent crimes. Back when narrators were only unreliable because they were people with regular person perspectives and not hybrid personality ghost... part alien.. revenant.. dreamlords??? But now it is time to unfurl my brain fist and read something with a name like Laser Platoon or Empire's Eternal Dragon or Detroit Wizard Plumbers or something, goddamn. Anybody got a recommend for something fresh and fun and low-strain?
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Jun 14, 2022 06:26
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Thread favourite / goon-project-made-good The Dawnhounds: A. Is getting a worldwide release tomorrow, and B. just got a super lovely review from Tamsyn Muir. If you read it and liked it when it got self-pubbed in 2019, you should read it again because it's been reworked and expanded, and is now the best version that it's ever been. If you haven't read it, read Tamsyn's review and see if it sounds like your kind of thing. The two best ways I've heard it described are "Jeff Vandemeer with a thick Kiwi accent" or "Discworld Elysium". You can buy it from Amazon or wherever else you buy your books. This isn't an ad, I have no financial stake in this, I'm just super thrilled for Sascha and immensely proud of this book.
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Jun 14, 2022 06:33
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cptn_dr posted:Thread favourite / goon-project-made-good The Dawnhounds: A book so nice I'll buy it twice. Thanks for the heads-up!
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Jun 14, 2022 06:53
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“THE AMERICANS DO NOT NEED TO UNDERSTAND IT; THEY CAN WORK IT OUT VIA CONTEXT CLUES,” I shouted back unhelpfully.
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Jun 14, 2022 07:22
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cptn_dr posted:Thread favourite / goon-project-made-good The Dawnhounds: This describes me! I didn't know it had been reworked so I will definitely be buying it, I already liked it enough back then so I look forward to reading it again!
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Jun 14, 2022 09:16
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Approaching the end of Tchaikovsky's The Doors of Eden and while it's perfectly fine pass-the-time popcorn schlock, having one character say of two other characters' ambiguous relationship "I am shipping the gently caress out of you in my head canon" - like, she says it out loud to one of them, it's actual dialogue - made me want to throw my ereader in the bin out of sheer second-hand embarrassment
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Jun 14, 2022 10:59
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freebooter posted:Approaching the end of Tchaikovsky's The Doors of Eden and while it's perfectly fine pass-the-time popcorn schlock, having one character say of two other characters' ambiguous relationship "I am shipping the gently caress out of you in my head canon" - like, she says it out loud to one of them, it's actual dialogue - made me want to throw my ereader in the bin out of sheer second-hand embarrassment good news, for the same experience you can read anything written or recommended by tamsyn muir
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Jun 14, 2022 11:11
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freebooter posted:Approaching the end of Tchaikovsky's The Doors of Eden and while it's perfectly fine pass-the-time popcorn schlock, having one character say of two other characters' ambiguous relationship "I am shipping the gently caress out of you in my head canon" - like, she says it out loud to one of them, it's actual dialogue - made me want to throw my ereader in the bin out of sheer second-hand embarrassment Look, if you read between the lines of the novels it's obvious that Adrian is a bug-in-a-skin suit ala Men in Black trying their hardest to build a rapport with the humans. That line was probably cringeless in Pheremone-A, it just didn't translate well.
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Jun 14, 2022 11:31
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freebooter posted:Approaching the end of Tchaikovsky's The Doors of Eden and while it's perfectly fine pass-the-time popcorn schlock, having one character say of two other characters' ambiguous relationship "I am shipping the gently caress out of you in my head canon" - like, she says it out loud to one of them, it's actual dialogue - made me want to throw my ereader in the bin out of sheer second-hand embarrassment Just consider it a preview of "Ready Player One: The Next Generation" that comes out in 20 years.
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Jun 14, 2022 11:43
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moonmazed posted:good news, for the same experience you can read anything written or recommended by tamsyn muir You've gone too far
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Jun 14, 2022 11:47
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How are David Eddings "Belgariad" and "Mallorean" series? Are they enjoyable reads?
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Jun 14, 2022 12:41
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Not really, they're completely by-the-numbers fantasy sagas.And they get a whole lot more uncomfortable once you start learning things about the author.
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Jun 14, 2022 12:43
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Mr Hootington posted:How are David Eddings "Belgariad" and "Mallorean" series? Are they enjoyable reads? Written by a man who kept children in literal cages so uh
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Jun 14, 2022 12:43
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StrixNebulosa posted:Written by a man who kept children in literal cages so uh Really? Jesus I had no idea. I just found the books while browsing hoopla. I guess I will try this City of Brass book. Mr Hootington fucked around with this message at 12:53 on Jun 14, 2022 |
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Jun 14, 2022 12:46
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Mr Hootington posted:Really? Jesus I had no idea. I just found the books while browsing hoopla. Yeah the newspaper articles reporting on his trial are graphic and disgusting. It infuriates me that he will probably be remembered for his books.
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Jun 14, 2022 12:52
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StrixNebulosa posted:Written by a man who kept children in literal cages so uh  what the gently caress was up with the sci-fi scene in the 70s. SurreptitiousMuffin fucked around with this message at 12:55 on Jun 14, 2022 |
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Jun 14, 2022 12:52
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StrixNebulosa posted:Written by a man who kept children in literal cages so uh 
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Jun 14, 2022 13:05
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A Proper Uppercut posted:You've gone too far 
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Jun 14, 2022 13:05
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Mr Hootington posted:Really? Jesus I had no idea. I just found the books while browsing hoopla. If you can divorce the author from the work you're in for a treat. Two long series of the most generic and bowdlerised adventure fantasy where the bad guy invariably gets it. The farm was abandoned but they found a slab of bacon hanging in a shed. Aunt Pol cut a flitch and cooked it because she is the best cook. Garion sooked/had a realisation about responsibility/turned into a wolf. Kal Zak was an evil emperor but it turned out he was misunderstood.
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Jun 14, 2022 13:09
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branedotorg posted:If you can divorce the author from the work you're in for a treat. David Eddings in The Elenium posted:‘I just wanted to look at the sea,’ the boy protested. ‘I’ve never seen the sea before.’
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Jun 14, 2022 13:13
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I remember at one point in the Sparhawk novels there's a very heavily jew coded villain too and at one point they piss him off by eating pork on front of him?
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Jun 14, 2022 13:17
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No Dignity posted:I remember at one point in the Sparhawk novels there's a very heavily jew coded villain too and at one point they piss him off by eating pork on front of him? Apart from the specifics of who they worship, the Styrics are literally the Jews of mediaeval Europe. Part of the premise of the books is "what if the Knights Militant really had learned caballistic secrets from the Jews, and the Catholic Church permitted it in defence of the Faith?"
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Jun 14, 2022 13:37
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So city of Brass is urban fantasy? Maybe I should read about what these books are before I use my limited borrows lol
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Jun 14, 2022 14:16
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Metis of the Hallways posted:This describes me! I didn't know it had been reworked so I will definitely be buying it, I already liked it enough back then so I look forward to reading it again! Me too! I actually pre-ordered the new one (in print, I have the original as an ebook) but didn't know if it was different from the first version or not, so that's great to have confirmed. I'll definitely be re-reading it!
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Jun 14, 2022 14:17
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Mr Hootington posted:So city of Brass is urban fantasy? Maybe I should read about what these books are before I use my limited borrows lol Sorry for the double post, but no, not urban fantasy at all. It's set in various parts of, technically, the 1700s Middle East, but with Djinn and Ghouls and that sort of stuff. But it's more set in and around the fictional, magical City of Brass than historical Cairo or anything, from what I remember as least.
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Jun 14, 2022 14:24
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The Belgariad/Mallorean were my gateway fantasy novels that really got me into reading, I'd reread all ten yearly for awhile. I think the writing is prosaic and workman like but the story moves at a pace that keeps it interesting. But with an adult eye? It's a wildly problematic series. Even if you were willing to overlook the "author was bad enough to go to prison for child abuse in the 60s", you got: - It's wildly sexist. Just endless Women belong in the kitchen nonsense. He uses the 3000 year old sorceress who's at least the third most powerful human as a mother figure who basically only does domestic chores. In fact her good end is to get a solid dependable husband she can dedicate her life towards. - The race of Dryads that are exclusively women, kidnap men to use for breeding purposes, and are described as looking like young teens/children. The fated wife of the protagonist is half Dryad and half Roman (every kingdom is nearly 1:1 to a real country/culture), this does not prevent her from described as tiny and "small breasted" all the loving time. - The hero who commits marital rape which is good apparently. The hero who is Gandalf but a sexist prick. The hero who is of the race of shrewd, conniving spies with the hook nose. - The villains of the Belgariad who are 100% coded as Middle Eastern and called the Murgos who are violent, treat women poorly, and follow their god's will blindly. Those things are true of literally all people in this world but the Murgos are eastern and they have "slanted eyes". - The villains of the Mallorean who are 100% coded as Chinese (they are at least somewhat humanized because the Adventure Party spends a lot of time actually living with them but they're still evil easterners).
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Jun 14, 2022 14:48
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DurianGray posted:Sorry for the double post, but no, not urban fantasy at all. It's set in various parts of, technically, the 1700s Middle East, but with Djinn and Ghouls and that sort of stuff. But it's more set in and around the fictional, magical City of Brass than historical Cairo or anything, from what I remember as least. Ok. This raises the chance Ill be able to get into the book.
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Jun 14, 2022 14:48
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cptn_dr posted:Thread favourite / goon-project-made-good The Dawnhounds: Yesss. Getting the backstage dish on how the editing was going on this one makes me so excited to read the new version
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Jun 14, 2022 16:56
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Mr Hootington posted:Ok. This raises the chance Ill be able to get into the book. It was a good one.
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Jun 14, 2022 17:45
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SurreptitiousMuffin posted:what the gently caress was up with the sci-fi scene in the 70s. Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy and The Restaurant At The End Of The Universe That's it, basically. Most everything else is some kind of hosed up. cptn_dr posted:Thread favourite / goon-project-made-good The Dawnhounds:
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Jun 14, 2022 21:27
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cptn_dr posted:Thread favourite / goon-project-made-good The Dawnhounds:
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Jun 14, 2022 22:06
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The Girl with All the Gifts by MR Carey - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CO7FLFG/
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Jun 14, 2022 22:38
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Queer Salutations posted:The Belgariad/Mallorean were my gateway fantasy novels that really got me into reading, I'd reread all ten yearly for awhile. I think the writing is prosaic and workman like but the story moves at a pace that keeps it interesting. But with an adult eye? It's a wildly problematic series. Even if you were willing to overlook the "author was bad enough to go to prison for child abuse in the 60s", you got: Most of that stuff just sailed right past me when I read the series in the 80s and 90s and really liked them, the Mallorean more than the Belgariod because Belgariod felt really "kiddy" and simplistic. I picked up a bunch of Eddings' work and considered myself a big fan but eventually dropped him (long before I knew about the child abuse) because all the "good" characters kind of channeled the snide, "too-clever" aspect of Khelder/Silk while the evil character were so deliberately stupid they came off as pathetic and mentally challenged. One bit you missed: At the end of the saga the Middle-eastern god was now a blond white kid.
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Jun 14, 2022 23:02
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Queer Salutations posted:The Belgariad/Mallorean were my gateway fantasy novels that really got me into reading, I'd reread all ten yearly for awhile. I think the writing is prosaic and workman like but the story moves at a pace that keeps it interesting. But with an adult eye? It's a wildly problematic series. Even if you were willing to overlook the "author was bad enough to go to prison for child abuse in the 60s", you got: IIRC correctly in the Belgariad, the different races were all created by different gods, so its not really murder if you kill someone created by a different god than yours.
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Jun 14, 2022 23:44
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All the YA fantasy from when I was a kid has fallen away until only one really remains mother FUCKIN REDWALL  and I guess lloyd alexander. Copernic fucked around with this message at 00:05 on Jun 15, 2022 |
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Jun 15, 2022 00:02
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Redwall is pretty racist.
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Jun 15, 2022 00:06
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Copernic posted:All the YA fantasy from when I was a kid has fallen away until only one really remains https://www.somethingawful.com/news/bargain-book-bin-3/ ????
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Jun 15, 2022 00:10
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Mr Hootington posted:So city of Brass is urban fantasy? Maybe I should read about what these books are before I use my limited borrows lol ~ish. Closer to paranormal romance. Queer Salutations posted:The Belgariad/Mallorean were my gateway fantasy novels that really got me into reading, I'd reread all ten yearly for awhile. I think the writing is prosaic and workman like but the story moves at a pace that keeps it interesting. But with an adult eye? It's a wildly problematic series. Even if you were willing to overlook the "author was bad enough to go to prison for child abuse in the 60s", you got: Thanks for posting this, people have been yelling about these books a lot lately and I haven't actually read them because they always seemed painfully generic and because, you know, the author. SurreptitiousMuffin posted:Man, I went "I think you're getting him confused with Marion Zimmer Bradley" so I checked and nope this just happened twice I mean, Piers Anthony was a big name author throughout the entirety of the 1980s
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Jun 15, 2022 00:21
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Garth Nix is fine, right? Kids can still read Sabriel?
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Jun 15, 2022 00:25
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