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DreamingofRoses posted:I just started on the InCryptid audiobooks. I’m like a third of the way into the first one and I adore the mice. And then Seanan McGuire loving knocked out of the park. The mice are amazing.
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Dec 1, 2022 01:13
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DreamingofRoses posted:I just started on the InCryptid audiobooks. I’m like a third of the way into the first one and I adore the mice. InCryptid is one of those series' you just can't explain to a friend without making it sound incredibly dumb, but the author pulls it off somehow.
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Dec 1, 2022 01:19
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darthbob88 posted:Quantum of Nightmares . The realistic grocery store horror doesn't extend much beyond management, the rest of the dystopia is stuff that companies wish they could get away with, and misuse of a meat 3D printer. Stross's lovecraftian horrorscape Britain has pretty consistently been about two years ahead of what Tory Britain actually does so I expect people meat made from the 'de-emphasised' in stores sometime in 2023! The whole Laundry files has shifted from a fun urban fantasy/IT crowd mashup to a rage outlet as Stross's seething hatred for the UK establishment boils over from Brexit (2016) onwards and I just don't think it's as good as it was unfortunately. Doesn't mean it's bad tho just different.
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Dec 1, 2022 01:32
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xsf421 posted:InCryptid is one of those series' you just can't explain to a friend without making it sound incredibly dumb, but the author pulls it off somehow. “Yes there are a lot of dance competition scenes in this series, but it WORKS dammit!”
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Dec 1, 2022 01:53
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ToxicFrog posted:I've never even heard of these but they sound like they might be something I'd enjoy, thanks! It's a pretty decent series. I'm currently rereading it because I missed the last three books and am now excited that it's wrapped up. I found the series after seeing the author go viral on Twitter for torturing her cranky neighbor with inflatable dragon decorations one year.
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Dec 1, 2022 02:27
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navyjack posted:HAIL!! Hard agree. Not to say that I don't like the rest of it - my wife and I both enjoy the books a great deal, and it's one of the few series where I read each book as soon as it comes out -- but the mice are the best part.
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Dec 1, 2022 02:46
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ConfusedUs posted:I firmly believe that if the 20 Palaces prequel had come out as the first book in the series, then the series would still be going strong. I took your advice and read the prequel first, then devoured the other 3 I could find I loved it, thank you and everyone who mentioned it.
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Dec 4, 2022 18:27
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Hey sorry to bother you guys, but I'm trying to find my father a book for his birthday/Christmas. He's a giant old nerd and we read vaguely the same genres of nerd books so the pseudo-tradition is he hands everyone else in the family a list of actual books he wants, while I give him the gift of a new book/author he might like because I'm the only person who has a prayer of finding a new book he'd actually enjoy. And this year I am just completely stumped because I haven't been reading as much as I'd like due to life fuckery, so I thought maybe you could help me bounce some ideas off? We're both big ol' Charlie Stross fans and have been reading his stuff since A Colder War was just a blog post, so he's current on that. Harry Connely's 20 Palaces stuff is likewise something he's current on. He did enjoy The Kaiju Preservation Society and likes Scalzi in general. He absolutely despises Harry Dresden. We both liked the first book but once the noir pastiche got set aside for exploring the larger world, he was just over that poo poo. He kind of dislikes series in general unless they have good short game ; lots of "o we'll wrap up this story in the next book" gets him to shut down right quick. Basically, he likes nerd books in general but he's 1) got moderately high standards (and these are gifts so I want them to be good) while also 2) he reads this genre too so I need to find something he hasn't found himself. He's an old, but he's also a math professor at a liberal arts college so he has the kind of politics you'd expect from someone who moves from Seattle to New York by way of Berkley, so anything with too much of a military bent will probably turn him off, but because of fascism and not like violence ; he's down to clown with sword fights and like Richard K. Morgan before he revealed his true TERFy form. Any ideas? Sorry, I know this is vague and rambling ; I'm trying to summarize a moderately complicated man's entire tastes in books. Basically imagine you had a cool nerd dad who's been handing you foundational sci-fi and fantasy all your life and now you're trying to return the favor, keeping in mind he's also capable of using the internet and current with trends.
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Dec 6, 2022 19:52
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Library at Mount Char is a standalone book as far as I can recall, and I enjoyed the bejesus out of it. I also finished Naomi Novik’s Scholomance trilogy recently and have recommended it to other fantasy readers. I went back and re-read both of these after finishing because they both have details that you can miss if you’re not paying attention.
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Dec 6, 2022 20:23
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Grundulum posted:Library at Mount Char is a standalone book as far as I can recall, and I enjoyed the bejesus out of it. I also finished Naomi Novik’s Scholomance trilogy recently and have recommended it to other fantasy readers. I went back and re-read both of these after finishing because they both have details that you can miss if you’re not paying attention. Mount Char we both read and thought was good but forgettable. However, Scholomance is new to me so I double-checked his kindle and he's never heard of Novik it seems. Was a little turned off when I read "magic school", but the summary seems much more engaging than that phrase would lead you to believe. Looks certainly good enough to try. Thanks! That's his birthday down. Christmas still to go if someone's got another idea. (By the way, everyone talks about the effect of December birthdays on the person born then, no one talks about how it's much harder on the ones looking for gifts. Both my parents are absolutely awful to shop for, actively try to prevent people from giving them gifts, and both of them were born in December.)
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Dec 6, 2022 20:32
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Xiahou Dun posted:Hey sorry to bother you guys, but I'm trying to find my father a book for his birthday/Christmas. Library at Mount Char is very good, as mentioned above. Other suggestions: The Rook remains my favorite modern urban fantasy book, and it's frankly not even close. There are two sequels, but all three books are entirely standalone. The first book is far and away the best. The other two are merely very good. The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August doesn't have magic, but is instead the story of a man who re-lives his life over and over and over again. He slowly discovers there are others like him, and not all of them are good people. I love this book and hate everything else the author has written. The Haunted Mesa was written by none other than Louis L'Amour in the mid 80s. It's a very different take on "magic in the real world," and is centered around a lonely mesa and the nearby town in the America Southwest. I enjoy the hell out of this book. It's got a few genuinely creepy scenes, and captures a lonely and otherworldly vibe I have rarely encountered in written works. The book's politics and outlook are old fashioned rather than problematic by today's standards, so it still holds up.
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Dec 6, 2022 20:39
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ConfusedUs posted:Library at Mount Char is very good, as mentioned above. These are both great suggestions. I first read Haunted Mesa back in the 80's and went out and bought a hardback a few years ago and re-read it and it holds up. The other genuinely good new fantasy novel written in the past few years is Between Two Fires by Buehlmann. It's historical fantasy set during the 100 years war. Dads love that poo poo, right? Has he read any Tim Powers? If not, then Declare and Last Call are both worth looking at. Hieronymous Alloy fucked around with this message at 20:43 on Dec 6, 2022 |
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Dec 6, 2022 20:41
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Dude loves Tim Powers. He woke me up to translate the French in On Stranger Tides when I lived in Taiwan because it was apparently that important. He bounced off of Between Two Fires when he borrowed my copy. He's horror tolerant but not a horror fan, if that makes sense. John Langan's The Fisherman is probably the most capital-h Horror he's read at a sitting, and that was because it took place in our home region so we went on a nice little hike finding the river where the fish monsters come out of and stuff. He's always made fun of my "spooky books". The Rook he enjoyed, but I don't think he's had any great desire to follow up with O'Malley. Or at least he hasn't mentioned any. Catherine Webb (Fifteen Lives, under a pseudonym) is a favorite of his already. I don't think I'm gonna break any ground there. But that did remind me that he really loved The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle if that helps. If nothing else maybe someone reading this post hasn't heard of it, and it's a great little locked-room mystery with a cute sci-fi twist, even if the reveal on that twist could've been improved. If I tried to hand him anything by Louis L' Amour he would throw it at my head, by which I mean be vocally appreciative but secretly judge the poo poo me and his failures as a parent. He has some Opinions about L' Amour. I hope this doesn't sound dismissive ; I love the suggestions and appreciate them immensely. The dude is legit very hard to shop for though. You've got the broad strokes of his taste down, now you've joined me in the real problem which is that he's been cranking through 2+ nerd books a week for 60 years.
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Dec 6, 2022 21:09
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ok, has he read Patrick O'Brian if not, tell him it's time to start Buehlmann's other fantasy book is also good but it's very "this is my D&D campaign as a book" which is also more accessible Lies of Locke Lamora? Night in the Lonesome October? Right now my vote is Haunted Mesa anyway and say it's a prank gift Hieronymous Alloy fucked around with this message at 21:20 on Dec 6, 2022 |
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Dec 6, 2022 21:17
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Has he read any Stephen Brust? The Vlad Taltos series (starting with Jhereg) is tonally pretty similar to the Dresden Files. The action is of similar quality, but the characters are ten times better. Brust gives the main character consequences for being a total shitheel that lead to true character growth. They're pretty swords-and-spells magic, though. If he likes the world of the Taltos books and has any interest in actual capital-L Literature, the companion series that starts with The Phoenix Guards is an absolutely spot-on pastiche/satire of Dumas. I re-read them every few years when I'm in the mood for delightfully flowery language. Brust's To Reign In Hell is in a completely different genre, and it's my favorite depiction of the events leading up to the Fall of Satan. It's got an intro by Zelazny (of Lord of Light fame) who says something like "I thought there's no way he could pull this off, and then he did." On the far other end of this, has he read any of the Craft Sequence? The first book is my favorite book about magic laywers.
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Dec 6, 2022 21:20
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Right now my vote is Haunted Mesa anyway and say it's a prank gift DO IT
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Dec 6, 2022 21:20
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Xiahou Dun posted:Dude loves Tim Powers. He woke me up to translate the French in On Stranger Tides when I lived in Taiwan because it was apparently that important. Maybe American Elsewhere by Robert Jackson Bennett?
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Dec 6, 2022 21:28
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Xiahou Dun posted:Hey sorry to bother you guys, but I'm trying to find my father a book for his birthday/Christmas. He may have already read it, but Glenn Cook has an old urban fantasy series called the Garrett Files that might fit the bill. It's a bit of an inversion of the usual Urban Fantasy in that the main character is a normal human PI in a fantasy world. It borrows a lot from the Nero Wolfe mysteries with a heavy set smart person sending Garrett around as the dumbish muscle. It doesn't have an overarching arc, and each novel is a stand alone mystery. Lots of recurring characters and the odd thing mentioned in one novel will become a B-plot later, but no big bad waiting at the end of the series. It is heavily noir influenced written the 80's. So the sexism is there, and there is a fair amount of "and she had legs that went all of the way up" kind of writing. Cook is better at writing female characters than Butcher though so it feels a bit better. He's the same person who wrote the Black Company series, but the Garrett books are much less bleak but still anti-war.
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Dec 6, 2022 21:36
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Thomamelas posted:He may have already read it, but Glenn Cook has an old urban fantasy series called the Garrett Files that might fit the bill. It's a bit of an inversion of the usual Urban Fantasy in that the main character is a normal human PI in a fantasy world. It borrows a lot from the Nero Wolfe mysteries with a heavy set smart person sending Garrett around as the dumbish muscle. It doesn't have an overarching arc, and each novel is a stand alone mystery. Lots of recurring characters and the odd thing mentioned in one novel will become a B-plot later, but no big bad waiting at the end of the series. This is a good rec but the problem with the Garrett Files is that they just make me want to read Nero Wolfe and Wolfe is better.
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Dec 6, 2022 21:51
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Xiahou Dun posted:But that did remind me that he really loved The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle if that helps. If nothing else maybe someone reading this post hasn't heard of it, and it's a great little locked-room mystery with a cute sci-fi twist, even if the reveal on that twist could've been improved. Note (massive spoiler, don't read this if you plan on reading the book): there's zero magic or demons involved, it's just all very contrived.
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Dec 6, 2022 21:53
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O’Brien’s my stuff so he’s read some but he’s not super into historicals. He’s fine with them but learning a bunch of sailboat facts isn’t a draw. Unlike weird space ship stuff which he’ll read loads of so long as it’s accurate and he recreationally got a physics degree, so high bar. Brust he likes some stuff but lacks the rigor he enjoys. He likes science fantasy but you can’t muck about with internal consistency. Garret Files is a good call but older stuff I need to check his office to see if he already read it. If it’s older than 10 years and not a classic it goes to the Math Department Lending Library a.k.a. a bunch of bookshelves he stole and set up in just an unused room. He’s a little more tolerant of sexism than me because old, but the first Dresden Files is getting up there for him. I’ll try to concoct a scheme to get in there this week. Really I think he just wants to play Unknown Armies but is wary of RPGs. Dude can play all of Gloomhaven but just refuses to take the plunge and pretend to be an elf. And he’d smell a tie-in book from space. There are multiple on-going sequences of joke presents in the family, one specifically targeting him* so I’m hesitant to add more. *He likes having calendars around and needs 3-4 a year for various tasks so he always gets at least one joke calendar too. Sexy X where X is increasingly specific professions are common, e.g. my sister found a Sexy Waste Treatment Engineer of the Month calendar that was clearly not for mass market sale but just a thing some dudes made.
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Dec 6, 2022 22:15
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:This is a good rec but the problem with the Garrett Files is that they just make me want to read Nero Wolfe and Wolfe is better. This is true. But sometimes you run out of Wolfe and need a break with re-reading them.
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Dec 6, 2022 22:20
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Xiahou Dun posted:
The sexism in the Garrett files is more the kind of sexism you expect with noir. Dames, every client is super hot, Garrett is easily distracted by a pair of breasts kind of thing. And it almost always leads to Garrett getting an rear end beating for being a sexist idiot. So it feels more authentic to noir than the sexism in Dresden which is more Butcher trying to copy that kind of noir feel but being an rear end and not really having the skill. But it is a series written in the 80's so I just want to give a heads up it's there.
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Dec 6, 2022 22:29
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Thomamelas posted:The sexism in the Garrett files is more the kind of sexism you expect with noir. Dames, every client is super hot, Garrett is easily distracted by a pair of breasts kind of thing. And it almost always leads to Garrett getting an rear end beating for being a sexist idiot. So it feels more authentic to noir than the sexism in Dresden which is more Butcher trying to copy that kind of noir feel but being an rear end and not really having the skill. But it is a series written in the 80's so I just want to give a heads up it's there. Word up. Thanks. It’s the current lead of the pack, but it’s still shaking out so we’ll see. Also what up, nerd, didn’t know you came by this way too. Good to see you.
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Dec 6, 2022 22:51
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Xiahou Dun posted:There are multiple on-going sequences of joke presents in the family, one specifically targeting him* so I’m hesitant to add more. Your family rules. If he hasn't discovered Effin' Birds yet, I highly recommend the coffee table book and/or the calendar.
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Dec 6, 2022 22:53
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Xiahou Dun posted:O’Brien’s my stuff so he’s read some but he’s not super into historicals. He’s fine with them but learning a bunch of sailboat facts isn’t a draw. Unlike weird space ship stuff which he’ll read loads of so long as it’s accurate and he recreationally got a physics degree, so high bar. Has he read any Alastair Reynolds? It’s not urban fantasy, but he’s a former European space agency astrophysicist who writes hard sci fi for space nerds.
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Dec 6, 2022 23:01
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You folks are cool and good and helpful, by the way. I asked a vague question and you'd think the bat signal went up. Very appreciated.anilEhilated posted:The author of 7 1/2 Deaths recently wrote another book, The Devil and the Dark Water. It's a historical mystery set on a merchant ship and it has fantasy/horror overtones; I enjoyed it a lot. Didn't want you to get ignored. While that spoiler is gonna be a deal-breaker for him, it ain't for me so I'm excited to hear it's good. I really loved 7 1/2 and my only problems were with the ending, so that's good news as far as I'm concerned. Spoiler for that book : it would have been so much better if they'd kept the framing sci-fi thing vaguer. That part sucked and was so much less well thought through than the rest of the book. Like if the dude had taken off the plague doctor outfit and it was literally just the Matt Smith-era The Doctor it would've been less silly. Then it gets back to the actual story and it's much better again but gently caress that reveal ugh. Didn't ruin the book but it was really the one bad bite in an otherwise perfect meal. Definitely checking out The Devil and the Dark Water over the holidays for myself. Thanks! ConfusedUs posted:Your family rules. They're a bunch of chill dorks who just want to get poo poo-faced, play boardgames and cook/eat tasty food in the woods. It's a good loving time. We do the whole 12 Days of Christmas but we're all atheists so it's just family and fun instead of Jesus. Good times, would recommend. Also good call on Effin' Birds, although once again we've beaten you to it. Those calendars are in the hopper for his actual ones that he keeps cause he likes them, instead of the ones he puts in a free pile and never knows what happens to them. (Who the hell wants those calendars is a frequent topic of discussion because they never stay in the free pile for more than an hour or two, and it's been going on for at least 10 years now. Someone at that department likes them some man candy and is willing to go with some niche directions to get it.) xsf421 posted:Has he read any Alastair Reynolds? It’s not urban fantasy, but he’s a former European space agency astrophysicist who writes hard sci fi for space nerds. Personal favorite of his, arguably even more than how much he loves Ian M. Banks. If you have others, feel free to toss 'em my way up until you think it's clogging the thread or something. I didn't check the sci-fi thread because he likes his sci-fi diamond hard and it's beyond me. My physics knowledge stops at the undergraduate level because I'm a disappointment and went into non-STEM sciences. Peter Watts is the high bar for crunchy sci fi I'll still read for fun.
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Dec 6, 2022 23:26
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Xiahou Dun posted:Dude loves Tim Powers. He woke me up to translate the French in On Stranger Tides when I lived in Taiwan because it was apparently that important. The Matthew Swift novels. Not available in audible, but Kindle versions. True "urban" fantasy. Edit: did anyone suggest the Ben Aaronovitch books?
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Dec 6, 2022 23:40
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Xiahou Dun posted:Word up. Thanks. It’s the current lead of the pack, but it’s still shaking out so we’ll see. Here I lurk more. And maybe Lois McMaster Bujold's stuff might work. Her Vorkosigan is a series but it's written out of chronological order. And it is military sci-fi. But it's not the Weber/Drake/Flint "here are 30 pages of very detailed specs on this weapon system" it's more military sci-fi mixed with a regency comedy of manners. The books are a lot of fun and the politics shouldn't give him any heartburn.
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Dec 6, 2022 23:49
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torgeaux posted:The Matthew Swift novels. Not available in audible, but Kindle versions. True "urban" fantasy. Matthew Swift is really good and so were the Magicals Anonymous follow-ups. Doc Sidhe is really good as well.
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Dec 7, 2022 00:25
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Everyone posted:
That loving cover lol. Also I know by just sight that the title is not going to get pronounced like the actual Irish.
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Dec 7, 2022 00:31
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Xiahou Dun posted:That loving cover lol.
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Dec 7, 2022 01:49
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wheatpuppy posted:If I recall correctly, it's pronounced "shee" - no idea if that's how the actual Irish would say it. I had completely forgotten this book but I do remember thinking it was pulpy fun. Sort of "if Doctor Strange was a steampunk elf" vibes. O huh. That’d be about right. gently caress me to hell, someone pronounced an Irish spelling. Now let’s just get them to say “geas” correctly. imagine Sean Connery saying “guess”
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Dec 7, 2022 02:15
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Xiahou Dun posted:That loving cover lol. Probably not. And there's a follow-up, Sidhe Devil. wheatpuppy posted:If I recall correctly, it's pronounced "shee" - no idea if that's how the actual Irish would say it. I had completely forgotten this book but I do remember thinking it was pulpy fun. Sort of "if Doctor Strange was a steampunk elf" vibes. More Doc Samson than Doctor Strange, but yeah, pretty much. It's a really fun pulp 20s-30s couple of books
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Dec 7, 2022 03:00
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It's not quite urban fantasy but it's quite good - Nod by Adrian Barnes. Kind of a bit sciency horror? Only suggesting it because a teacher friend of mine really liked it.
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Dec 7, 2022 06:52
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Sloth Life posted:It's not quite urban fantasy but it's quite good - Nod by Adrian Barnes. Kind of a bit sciency horror? Well gently caress. I have no idea if he'll like tthat, but I know I sure as poo poo will. Just bought it for myself. We're book communists so if he wants to read it he'll just steal mine, like so many others before. loving hell, my person, that seems like a mighty fine book you just told me about. Also I'm sufficiently confident that I got him covered I hand-me-downed some suggestions to my sisters. So like, the emergency is behind us now but the dude's (hopefully) gonna keep having birthdays and Christmases* and that's close enough to my wheelhouse that I ain't gonna say no. Thanks again! *Typing that made me really sad. 
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Dec 7, 2022 07:14
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Is Butcher’s kid’s book any good?
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Dec 7, 2022 16:51
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Calidus posted:Is Butcher’s kid’s book any good? Not read it myself but there's some talk about it a page or two back.
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Dec 7, 2022 17:01
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Xiahou Dun posted:Now let’s just get them to say “geas” correctly ...I know this because of a Piers Anthony novel. In my defense, I was 13. *still hides face in shame*
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Dec 7, 2022 18:47
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rndmnmbr posted:...I know this because of a Piers Anthony novel.
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Dec 7, 2022 22:33
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