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You mention the title Cryptonomicon. Can you confirm if the character name Hiro Protagonist is a Lovecraft nod/joke? Edit: There is a character called Y.T. and characters mistakenly call her "Whitey." It got me thinking initials might be a wordplay thing. I get the obvious pun, but I thought there might be a second layer to it (H.P.) Edit 2: there's also a character called L. Bob Rife which rides on a submarine all the time, which I think might be an L. Ron Hubbard reference Whale Vomit fucked around with this message at 04:39 on Sep 1, 2022 |
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Sep 1, 2022 04:28
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Hiro Protagonist is a general storytelling nod/joke. Not sure if/how Lovecraft comes into it.
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Sep 1, 2022 04:30
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HopperUK posted:I don't think insulting all British people is racist, really. But it is a bit lovely to read in a thread that's usually quite kind. It is a bit much from a thread full of Americans, Australians, New Zealanders etc.
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Sep 1, 2022 04:32
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I find arbitrary hatred directed towards the nonspecific people of essentially any first world/colonizer nation very funny, and I cannot explain why. I wouldn't want to see a, for example, Belgian person mercilessly teased but something about the gratuitous hatred of the concept of Belgians just gets my goat
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Sep 1, 2022 04:38
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The idea that David Attenborough hates crabs also makes me laugh a lot tbf
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Sep 1, 2022 04:41
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Don’t waste your energy on the British while Northern Europe is overrun with swarthy Dutchmen.
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Sep 1, 2022 04:44
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Whale Vomit posted:Edit 2: there's also a character called L. Bob Rife which rides on a submarine all the time, which I think might be an L. Ron Hubbard reference e: this was mean, sorry moonmazed fucked around with this message at 05:24 on Sep 1, 2022 |
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Sep 1, 2022 04:50
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Assassin's Apprentice (Farseer #1) by Robin Hobb - $1.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FBFMG6/
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Sep 1, 2022 04:55
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Someone asked Alastair Reynolds about featuring trans characters and he gave an answer that said that he couldn't really write from that perspective authentically. I didn't have the heart to point out that one of his protagonists is literally a man who used to be a woman.
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Sep 1, 2022 05:02
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It is every American's patriotic duty to support Joe Biden's plan for a 74 county Ireland.
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Sep 1, 2022 05:36
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FPyat posted:Someone asked Alastair Reynolds about featuring trans characters and he gave an answer that said that he couldn't really write from that perspective authentically. I didn't have the heart to point out that one of his protagonists is literally a man who used to be a woman. i don't know what the person asking the question wanted then
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Sep 1, 2022 07:03
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General Battuta posted:I find arbitrary hatred directed towards the nonspecific people of essentially any first world/colonizer nation very funny, and I cannot explain why. I wouldn't want to see a, for example, Belgian person mercilessly teased but something about the gratuitous hatred of the concept of Belgians just gets my goat An american going 'god drat the British and their racism!!' is also kinda funny though, just wait until he hears about what they get up to!
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Sep 1, 2022 07:29
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General Battuta posted:I find arbitrary hatred directed towards the nonspecific people of essentially any first world/colonizer nation very funny, and I cannot explain why. I wouldn't want to see a, for example, Belgian person mercilessly teased but something about the gratuitous hatred of the concept of Belgians just gets my goat There's only two things I hate in this world: people who are intolerant of other people's cultures, and the Dutch. FPyat posted:Someone asked Alastair Reynolds about featuring trans characters and he gave an answer that said that he couldn't really write from that perspective authentically. I didn't have the heart to point out that one of his protagonists is literally a man who used to be a woman. Which book was this?
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Sep 1, 2022 07:55
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Larry Parrish posted:i don't know what the person asking the question wanted then It's a Kobayashi Maru question
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Sep 1, 2022 09:28
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I'm also currently struggling through TLTL, it's such a... there's so much fascinating stuff but also it's such a slog to read through individual scenes and get a handle on what the hell is going on that I keep rapidly vacillating back and forth between "I'm going to quit and never read another book in this series" and "I must know what happens next, and forever more". It's also very hard to tell if the main viewpoint character being this weird mystery cypher who seems to just be code-switching randomly meaning I can't get a handle on him is on purpose or bad writing. It feels like it is probably on purpose and might resolve into something, or... not. So hard to tell at 70% of the book.
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Sep 1, 2022 09:38
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freebooter posted:Which book was this?
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Sep 1, 2022 09:48
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Do the sequels to Too Like the Lightning ever get less horny? It was really fun for the first part with the world and intrigue and then it all turned into a sex philosophy cult thing and I noped out pretty quick.
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Sep 1, 2022 09:56
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Mr Hootington posted:There is a native race to the Vampire home planet that is called the Trogs which is short for troglodyte. They are described as subhuman cave dwellers who are short and look similar to Earth native Aboriginals. Near the end of the book the author's main character Harry has come around to liking the hard working Torgs because unlike the native Aboriginals of Western Austrialia the Trogs are willing to learn. It's mentioned in Necroscope 3 that there are "desert Trogs" living in the permanently sunblasted deserts of Sunside. We learn in a later book that they are a race called the Thyre, and it's implied that they're what the Trogs used to be before spending millennia being used as combination cattle and slaves. The Thyre are at least the equal of the Travellers in every way including their thinkers both living and dead; they're only held back scientifically by a lack of raw materials. And they're directly modeled on the Aborigines. I don't know if someone had a word with Lumley, but it felt like an apologetica.
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Sep 1, 2022 10:13
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anilEhilated posted:Do the sequels to Too Like the Lightning ever get less horny? It was really fun for the first part with the world and intrigue and then it all turned into a sex philosophy cult thing and I noped out pretty quick. The second one is tremendously horny, and then the 3rd/4th hardly at all. I feel like it works? It's one of the things that makes that world so compelling to me, the fact that people are generally sexually liberated but also happen to be kinda prudes without realising it.
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Sep 1, 2022 10:20
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Jedit posted:It's mentioned in Necroscope 3 that there are "desert Trogs" living in the permanently sunblasted deserts of Sunside. We learn in a later book that they are a race called the Thyre, and it's implied that they're what the Trogs used to be before spending millennia being used as combination cattle and slaves. The Thyre are at least the equal of the Travellers in every way including their thinkers both living and dead; they're only held back scientifically by a lack of raw materials. And they're directly modeled on the Aborigines. I don't know if someone had a word with Lumley, but it felt like an apologetica. Interesting. There seems to be 2 books left in the mainline series for me to read. Edit: looks like books 4 and 5 are not on Libby or Hoopla. Too bad. Guess that is that. Mr Hootington fucked around with this message at 12:59 on Sep 1, 2022 |
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Sep 1, 2022 12:44
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Lord Bob posted:I'm also currently struggling through TLTL, it's such a... there's so much fascinating stuff but also it's such a slog to read through individual scenes and get a handle on what the hell is going on that I keep rapidly vacillating back and forth between "I'm going to quit and never read another book in this series" and "I must know what happens next, and forever more". Also, the protagonist was a tremendous dickhead and (bringing this back to the earlier discussion) the book had no answer for "why should I be reading The Adventures Of Enormous Dickhead" beyond "to learn some interesting stuff about the setting and about characters who aren't him, eventually, perhaps".
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Sep 1, 2022 12:47
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Hi I'm the guy from a couple weeks back asking/complaining about the wacky prose in Gideon the Ninth. I just finished reading the novel - pretty good, like 3/5 imo. When I asked, people said something like "if you hate the meme-y poo poo, you won't like the book--" well, I never stopped rolling my eyes whenever Gideon made godawful "jokes," or when Muir used the same $10 words over and over, but the story was compelling enough that it didn't turn me off too much. A couple notes that people may or may not agree with: I've taken to (in my head) calling GtN "Redwall for YAs." The protagonist exploring a big, semi-religious building, finds secret areas in the building that feature puzzles and bestow gifts, big climactic battle against invaders (that's a bit of a stretch), protagonist becomes a super special warrior. But it's sad, that's a big difference. Brian Jacques should be proud. Cast of characters definitely could have used some trimming. I really don't feel like we got to know anyone besides the 9th folks and maybe the 6th? In particular the 2nd seem to exist purely to execute one plot point, they feel like a total afterthought. Positive notes: The magic is pretty cool, if a bit obscure. The universe is compellingly sketched out. Muir's quite good at writing action, imo. I'll probably read Harrow, although I hear it's quite different? Confirm/deny?
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Sep 1, 2022 15:03
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Danhenge posted:It is a bit much from a thread full of Americans, Australians, New Zealanders etc. And who invented all of those people hm? That's right.
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Sep 1, 2022 15:06
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smug n stuff posted:I've taken to (in my head) calling GtN "Redwall for YAs." The protagonist exploring a big, semi-religious building, finds secret areas in the building that feature puzzles and bestow gifts, big climactic battle against invaders (that's a bit of a stretch), protagonist becomes a super special warrior. But it's sad, that's a big difference. Brian Jacques should be proud. quote:Positive notes: The magic is pretty cool, if a bit obscure. The universe is compellingly sketched out. Muir's quite good at writing action, imo. I'll probably read Harrow, although I hear it's quite different? Confirm/deny? Harrow is quite different and much more of a headfuck, and I think benefits from being read immediately after Gideon. Go for it.
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Sep 1, 2022 15:11
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ToxicFrog posted:Did we read the same Redwall books? One of my main memories of them is getting really attached to major characters that loving die in the final act. Not in every book, but it happens a bunch. Ah okay that's true, it's been a while. In that case the main difference between GtN and Redwall is that the meals are less compelling in GtN (although, I guess that one that the 5th guys make sounded pretty good, gently caress, they're the same book).
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Sep 1, 2022 15:14
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smug n stuff posted:Ah okay that's true, it's been a while. In that case the main difference between GtN and Redwall is that the meals are less compelling in GtN (although, I guess that one that the 5th guys make sounded pretty good, gently caress, they're the same book). wait, little squeeze packs of flavorless oatmeal is unappetizing to you???
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Sep 1, 2022 15:17
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smug n stuff posted:Ah okay that's true, it's been a while. In that case the main difference between GtN and Redwall is that the meals are less compelling in GtN (although, I guess that one that the 5th guys make sounded pretty good, gently caress, they're the same book).
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Sep 1, 2022 15:23
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Harrow is, at it's heart, actually a book about soup making.
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Sep 1, 2022 16:01
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Keret posted:Harrow is, at it's heart, actually a book about soup making. For all the weird writing quirks, Harrow is really just a stock character.
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Sep 1, 2022 16:05
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Are any of the Brian Herbert Dune books worth reading? Noticed a short story collection at the library that looked interesting, but I don't think I've ever seen anyone say a single good thing about his stuff
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Sep 1, 2022 16:13
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Opopanax posted:Are any of the Brian Herbert Dune books worth reading? Noticed a short story collection at the library that looked interesting, but I don't think I've ever seen anyone say a single good thing about his stuff No. Next question.
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Sep 1, 2022 16:29
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Opopanax posted:Are any of the Brian Herbert Dune books worth reading? Noticed a short story collection at the library that looked interesting, but I don't think I've ever seen anyone say a single good thing about his stuff If you read them I want a detailed review in here, so we can use it as a cautionary tale for others.
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Sep 1, 2022 16:31
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I genuinely don't think I've ever heard a strong positive opinion about the Brian Herbert books - I think the best I can say for them is that if you know enough about the series proper, you can get some entertainment mileage going "lol what the gently caress??" at every batshit decision made in them but that wears thin real fast.
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Sep 1, 2022 16:35
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That's what I thought 
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Sep 1, 2022 16:37
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A Desolation Called Peace (Teixcalaan #2) by Arkady Martine - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QPJHNSM/ Witches Abroad (Discworld #12) by Terry Pratchett - $1.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001AW2OYC/ A Master of Djinn (Dead Djinn) by P Djèlí Clark - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08HKXS84X/ House of Suns by Alistair Reynolds - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0819VSLF9/ Record of a Spaceborn Few (Wayfarers #3) by Becky Chambers - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072BFJCB9/ The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay - $1.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00851M70C/ Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08QGJDSCK/
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Sep 1, 2022 16:39
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General Battuta posted:I find arbitrary hatred directed towards the nonspecific people of essentially any first world/colonizer nation very funny, and I cannot explain why. I wouldn't want to see a, for example, Belgian person mercilessly teased but something about the gratuitous hatred of the concept of Belgians just gets my goat I'm still okay that Douglas Adams had the vilest curse word in his universe be "Belgium." I will say that I figure that in Africa there's still considerable dislike of Belgium and Belgians because Belgian Congo.
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Sep 1, 2022 16:46
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Everyone posted:I'm still okay that Douglas Adams had the vilest curse word in his universe be "Belgium." the radio version used Belgium instead, and then he clearly realized how good that was and swapped it in, like, it's way funnier, but the original joke is a lovely one-liner about the Oscars
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Sep 1, 2022 16:52
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ToxicFrog posted:Also, the protagonist was a tremendous dickhead and (bringing this back to the earlier discussion) the book had no answer for "why should I be reading The Adventures Of Enormous Dickhead" beyond "to learn some interesting stuff about the setting and about characters who aren't him, eventually, perhaps". I can't remember if the passage comes in TLTL or 7S, but Mycroft reflecting on his crimes, his guilt, and the grace extended to him by JEDD and/or God answered that question for me. That he's constructed to be moved by all of the stakes of the book, from his interiority all the way out past the geopolitical to the theological, is what sold me on Terra Ignota, despite its rough spots. But I'm not sure I would have gotten past the first one if I hadn't picked it and 7S up at the same time and had 7S lying in my to-read pile 
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Sep 1, 2022 16:56
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neongrey posted:I genuinely don't think I've ever heard a strong positive opinion about the Brian Herbert books - I think the best I can say for them is that if you know enough about the series proper, you can get some entertainment mileage going "lol what the gently caress??" at every batshit decision made in them but that wears thin real fast. Yeah the stories seem to range from too bland to remember to comically random in a really bad way, but the bigger cautionary warning imo is that even if you're so desperate for more Dune that you'd read the knockoffs, KJA's writing is incredibly boring and uninspired. He's the mass-produced flavorless gruel of genre writing.
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Sep 1, 2022 17:31
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General Battuta posted:The idea that David Attenborough hates crabs also makes me laugh a lot tbf I would like to know more about this.
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