SF & F Mega-thread: I had to google 'spock pirate depilatory'

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Tiny Timbs: Sep 6, 2008

Better not refer to my post, I never said I hated the book

# ? Feb 1, 2023 20:00

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# ? Jun 1, 2024 03:22

StrixNebulosa: Feb 14, 2012; You cheated not only the game, but yourself.
But most of all, you cheated BABA

Catcher in the Rye: I read it as a teenager and loved it. I've since read it as an adult and I hate it now. Too much teenage whinging for my tastes.

Which is okay! It's okay for people to like books I don't like and vise-versa. Gaius Marius, I wish you'd quit being so judgmental, especially here in the sci-fi/fantasy thread of all places.

# ? Feb 1, 2023 20:05

BlankSystemDaemon: Mar 13, 2009

Books are for reading.

# ? Feb 1, 2023 20:16

Absurd Alhazred: Mar 27, 2010; by Athanatos

Gaius Marius posted:

I said that people who still hated Catcher never got ~~passed~~past their high-school impressions, and multiple people have went back and said that that was true.

-4

# ? Feb 1, 2023 20:17

withak: Jan 15, 2003; Fun Shoe

Absurd Alhazred posted:

The one the actors are suing over, mind.

Fuckin yikes.

# ? Feb 1, 2023 20:31

Copernic: Sep 16, 2006; ...A Champion, who by mettle of his glowing personal charm alone, saved the universe...

how telling that this forum sees nothing but a pompous buffoon. A juvenile understanding by juveniles. This is a pitiful child, warped -- in fact fully created -- by an ever-churning stream of toxic masculinity. To see Zapp Brannigan and hate Zapp Brannigan is to barely see even the velour. Zapp asks much of us, yes, in the way that the screaming infant requires the most love and attention. And that is what differentiates the surface reader from the inner. To see who can reach out with both arms and say shhhh, little child. It is not your fault. It is society's fault.

# ? Feb 1, 2023 20:31

Yaoi Gagarin: Feb 20, 2014

StrixNebulosa posted:

Catcher in the Rye: I read it as a teenager and loved it. I've since read it as an adult and I hate it now. Too much teenage whinging for my tastes.

Which is okay! It's okay for people to like books I don't like and vise-versa. Gaius Marius, I wish you'd quit being so judgmental, especially here in the sci-fi/fantasy thread of all places.

I think back then I liked the book. Maybe I should reread and see if I still would.

Do you folks remember much from books you read 10+ years ago? E.g. in the case of Catcher I remember a few scenes and phrases but not the plot. I wonder if that's normal or I have uniquely bad memory

# ? Feb 1, 2023 20:32

General Battuta: Feb 7, 2011; This is how you communicate with a fellow intelligence: you hurt it, you keep on hurting it, until you can distinguish the posts from the screams.

I can't believe I'm saying this but aside from 'phonies' the one part I remember is the explanation of the title. There's a guy who catches people, in the rye.

# ? Feb 1, 2023 20:34

Gaius Marius: Oct 9, 2012

Bruce Robinson also said he was harassed by Zefferli on the set of Romeo and Juliette, I guess everyone's gonna be seeing the Luhrmann adaption in class now.

# ? Feb 1, 2023 20:36

90s Cringe Rock: Nov 29, 2006

BlankSystemDaemon posted:

Books are for reading.

what the gently caress

# ? Feb 1, 2023 20:40

SimonChris: Apr 24, 2008; The Baron's daughter is missing, and you are the man to find her. No problem. With your inexhaustible arsenal of hard-boiled similes, there is nothing you can't handle.; Grimey Drawer

Everyone posted:

I feel retroactively much creepier now. 17 was bad enough, but 15? Jesus.

Ironically, its actually older than Juliet in the play who "hath not seen the change of fourteen years". Not that this justifies showing her breasts, but Juliet is supposed to be way too young, a detail most adaptations choose to ignore.

# ? Feb 1, 2023 20:46

Brendan Rodgers: Jun 11, 2014

Books are for decor.

# ? Feb 1, 2023 20:50

BlankSystemDaemon: Mar 13, 2009

90s Cringe Rock posted:

what the gently caress

Sorry, I forgot the nms and spoiler tags.

# ? Feb 1, 2023 21:24

DurianGray: Dec 23, 2010; King of Fruits

I've read some really good stuff lately, like Solaris and The Master and Margarita (maybe it's more magical realism, but it felt like fantasy more than not to me).

I'm mostly done with Howls from the Dark Ages (the medieval horror anthology with an intro [but, sadly, no stories by] Christopher Buehlman). It's been scratching that medieval horror itch for me. Only one story has been a clunker for me so far. It's not as good as Between Two Fires (what is?) but if you're looking for some decent medieval horror, I think it's worth checking out. It's even got a few stories not set in Europe which is cool.

# ? Feb 1, 2023 21:52

General Battuta: Feb 7, 2011; This is how you communicate with a fellow intelligence: you hurt it, you keep on hurting it, until you can distinguish the posts from the screams.

I just read The Invincible by Lem. It was pretty good, I loved his style, but it kinda felt like it stopped just when it really got going.

I also read The Master and Margarita recently, the literary plaudits had me expecting very serious Russian literature but there's actually a prolonged shootout between the police and Satan's cat???

e: if you are like me you probably go into the novel thinking that the Master is Satan, but no, he is an unrelated Master and not even evil

# ? Feb 1, 2023 22:01

Ravus Ursus: Mar 30, 2017

Tiny Timbs posted:

Better not refer to my post, I never said I hated the book

Same here. I don't like Holden, and it's not some "oh your don't understand his teenage trauma, you lack empathy." Nah, my dude, I totally get where he's coming from, I still think he's a massive prick.

BlankSystemDaemon posted:

Books are for reading.

Oh poo poo, I've been using them as background zoom meetings.

VostokProgram posted:

I think back then I liked the book. Maybe I should reread and see if I still would.

Do you folks remember much from books you read 10+ years ago? E.g. in the case of Catcher I remember a few scenes and phrases but not the plot. I wonder if that's normal or I have uniquely bad memory

I sometimes reread the last chapter of a book a week later because, once it's finished, it feels like it leaks out of my mind and I can never remember the ending. Some books I can't remember much more than just how I felt, the absolutely middle of the road books I won't remember a drat thing.

One of the benefits is that sometimes I forget sick twists and get to be surprised all over again. This mostly happens with trade back comics tho.

SimonChris posted:

Ironically, its actually older than Juliet in the play who "hath not seen the change of fourteen years". Not that this justifies showing her breasts, but Juliet is supposed to be way too young, a detail most adaptations choose to ignore.

I forget, is the original time setting supposed to be one where they recognized people aren't adults until later, or was marrying off freaking children still the norm? It doesn't make it any better, but it makes me wonder if the 14 years of age is supposed to be an admonishment or a "shes still pure" as a gross as hell selling point.

# ? Feb 1, 2023 22:03

grassy gnoll: Aug 27, 2006; The pawsting business is tough work.

I think it's important to keep in mind that no matter how you feel about its literary merit, Catcher is an unabashed success in getting generations of America's youth interested in the field of murders.

# ? Feb 1, 2023 22:08

Gaius Marius: Oct 9, 2012

General Battuta posted:

I just read The Invincible by Lem. It was pretty good, I loved his style, but it kinda felt like it stopped just when it really got going.

I also read The Master and Margarita recently, the literary plaudits had me expecting very serious Russian literature but there's actually a prolonged shootout between the police and Satan's cat???

e: if you are like me you probably go into the novel thinking that the Master is Satan, but no, he is an unrelated Master and not even evil

Please note that said shootout happens with the Cat on top of a ceiling fan.

It is very serious literature though, given the whole plot line and how it relates to Bulgakov's experience in Stalinist Russia. Heart of the Dog is also quite good and humorous. Famous doctor who gets unreasonable privileges because he operates on the party members bites off more than he can chew when he manages to turn a dog into a man using surgery. Said dog spends all his time getting drunk, begging for food and money, and getting into trouble.

# ? Feb 1, 2023 22:14

SimonChris: Apr 24, 2008; The Baron's daughter is missing, and you are the man to find her. No problem. With your inexhaustible arsenal of hard-boiled similes, there is nothing you can't handle.; Grimey Drawer

Ravus Ursus posted:

I forget, is the original time setting supposed to be one where they recognized people aren't adults until later, or was marrying off freaking children still the norm? It doesn't make it any better, but it makes me wonder if the 14 years of age is supposed to be an admonishment or a "shes still pure" as a gross as hell selling point.

Romeo & Juliet posted:

My child is yet a stranger in the world;
She hath not seen the change of fourteen years.
Let two more summers wither in their pride,
Ere we may think her ripe to be a bride.

# ? Feb 1, 2023 22:16

Alkydere: Jun 7, 2010; Capitol: A building or complex of buildings in which any legislature meets.
Capital: A city designated as a legislative seat by the government or some other authority, often the city in which the government is located; otherwise the most important city within a country or a subdivision of it.

mdemone posted:

oh god I'm so sorry.

Holden is a child who is broken by trauma and will forever be stunted by it, and you can't read the book as an adult without feeling incredible empathy for him. assigning that novel to teenagers and expecting them NOT to try to identify with a teenage protagonist is folly, so of course they're put off by his actions and behaviors which are not at all explicable without understanding the trauma part.

Salinger was probably appalled that it became a book taught to students.

Yeah even teen me picked up that Holden had issues and the whole book was about him and said issues and inability to find a way to deal with said issues. It was a huge part of why I personally didn't enjoy the book. When my teacher asked the class about it I basically told her "It's a story about a guy who severely needs therapy in a time period where he's just going to be told to suppress his feelings and 'take it like a man' as he spirals downward until he dies an early death via suicide or accidental overdose while trying to feel some joy in his life sometime after the book ends. I don't particularly find such stories fun to read."

# ? Feb 1, 2023 22:16

SimonChris: Apr 24, 2008; The Baron's daughter is missing, and you are the man to find her. No problem. With your inexhaustible arsenal of hard-boiled similes, there is nothing you can't handle.; Grimey Drawer

General Battuta posted:

I also read The Master and Margarita recently, the literary plaudits had me expecting very serious Russian literature but there's actually a prolonged shootout between the police and Satan's cat???

War & Peace starts with a group of students getting drunk, tying a police officer to a bear, and chasing it into the Moyka river, so it swims around the river with the policeman on its back. I don't know how Russian literature got this reputation of being all gloomy and serious when it is actually full of goofy slapstick humor.

SimonChris fucked around with this message at 14:25 on Feb 2, 2023

# ? Feb 1, 2023 22:25

Everyone: Sep 6, 2019; by sebmojo

Ravus Ursus posted:

Same here. I don't like Holden, and it's not some "oh your don't understand his teenage trauma, you lack empathy." Nah, my dude, I totally get where he's coming from, I still think he's a massive prick.

Oh poo poo, I've been using them as background zoom meetings.

I sometimes reread the last chapter of a book a week later because, once it's finished, it feels like it leaks out of my mind and I can never remember the ending. Some books I can't remember much more than just how I felt, the absolutely middle of the road books I won't remember a drat thing.

One of the benefits is that sometimes I forget sick twists and get to be surprised all over again. This mostly happens with trade back comics tho.

I forget, is the original time setting supposed to be one where they recognized people aren't adults until later, or was marrying off freaking children still the norm? It doesn't make it any better, but it makes me wonder if the 14 years of age is supposed to be an admonishment or a "shes still pure" as a gross as hell selling point.

The play premiered in 1597. Here in the advanced, enlightened United States of America, we didn't fully restrict work to 16 and older until 1949.

Figure the whole "children are precious innocents who must be protected" is something way more recent than most people think.

I mean, hell, look at the movie that started this discussion. Back in 1968, it showed nudity from a 16 year old boy and a 15 year old girl.

# ? Feb 1, 2023 22:28

Fighting Trousers: May 17, 2011; Does this excite you, girl?

The average age of marriage in Tudor England was late teens/early 20s, so child marriage was not the norm. Juliet being only 14 was a clue to the audience that these were dumbass kids.

# ? Feb 1, 2023 22:38

NikkolasKing: Apr 3, 2010

Everyone posted:

The play premiered in 1597. Here in the advanced, enlightened United States of America, we didn't fully restrict work to 16 and older until 1949.

Figure the whole "children are precious innocents who must be protected" is something way more recent than most people think.

I mean, hell, look at the movie that started this discussion. Back in 1968, it showed nudity from a 16 year old boy and a 15 year old girl.

The history of childhood in Western societies is really fascinating. The entire concept of a "child" has changed so radically in recent times. Would recommend anybody who is interested Children and Childhood in Western Society Since 1500 for a good overview.

# ? Feb 1, 2023 22:42

cptn_dr: Sep 7, 2011; Seven for beauty that blossoms and dies

SimonChris posted:

I don't know how Russian literature got this reputation of being all gloomy and serious when it is actually full of goofy slapstick humor.

lovely ponderous Victorian English translations, I reckon.

# ? Feb 1, 2023 22:50

StrixNebulosa: Feb 14, 2012; You cheated not only the game, but yourself.
But most of all, you cheated BABA

What�s the best historical fantasy that isn�t by GGK?

# ? Feb 1, 2023 22:58

fez_machine: Nov 27, 2004

Copernic posted:

https://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Humorous-Fantasy/zgbs/books/11764648011 alright I checked Humorous Fantasy and it looks like these books are either romantic fantasy, presumably with some quips thrown in, or isekai novels. I have not read the second book here, The City of Dreaming Books, but here is the opening line to sell me on it:

I don't know.

READ THE ZOMANIA BOOKS! ALL OF THEM!

They're modern classics, some of the best fantasy/adventure books ever, read them in publication order starting from Captain Blue Bear. The City of Dreaming Books gets recommended a lot but because I think it ended up on a high school syllabus. But every single book in the series is just overflowing with fun and exciting ideas. If you like The Princess Bride you'll love the Zomania books, especially Rumo. It's a series as much as in love with the city as Pratchett is, though with a very different sensibility.

I cannot overstate how much the series just rockets from one idea to the next.

Funnily enough the author grew tired of the series, wrote an absolutely hostile Return to Oz style sequel to The City of Dreaming Books which mostly recapitulates the story of the novel and spends most of it's time depressive and morose destroying much of what was loved about it and then it ends suddenly with a promised second half (which hasn't eventuated in a decade or so).

Just all timers. Must reads for any serious enjoyer of fantasy.

fez_machine fucked around with this message at 23:03 on Feb 1, 2023

# ? Feb 1, 2023 23:00

Fighting Trousers: May 17, 2011; Does this excite you, girl?

StrixNebulosa posted:

What�s the best historical fantasy that isn�t by GGK?

I'm a big fan of the novels of Judith Merkle Riley, but I acknowledge they'd not be to everyone's taste.

# ? Feb 1, 2023 23:01

Hieronymous Alloy: Jan 30, 2009; Why! Why!! Why must you refuse to accept that Dr. Hieronymous Alloy's Genetically Enhanced Cream Corn Is Superior to the Leading Brand on the Market!?!; Morbid Hound

StrixNebulosa posted:

What’s the best historical fantasy that isn’t by GGK?

Between Two Fires is the copout answer. Strange & Norrell. Farmer Giles of Ham.

Hieronymous Alloy fucked around with this message at 23:05 on Feb 1, 2023

# ? Feb 1, 2023 23:02

HopperUK: Apr 29, 2007; Why would an ambulance be leaving the hospital?

In Shakespeare's time the age of getting married varied considerably based on your social situation. Ordinary working people would get married in their 20s, men a bit older than women. Nobility - and Juliet is a noblewoman - got married much earlier, as their marriages were more political tools than love matches.

# ? Feb 1, 2023 23:06

anilEhilated: Feb 17, 2014; But I say fuck the rain.; Grimey Drawer

StrixNebulosa posted:

What�s the best historical fantasy that isn�t by GGK?

Not sure if I'd call it the best, but The Dragon Waiting by John M. Ford is definitely up there.

# ? Feb 1, 2023 23:08

Ravenfood: Nov 4, 2011

StrixNebulosa posted:

What’s the best historical fantasy that isn’t by GGK?

Strange and Norrell, easily.

# ? Feb 1, 2023 23:23

Poldarn: Feb 18, 2011

StrixNebulosa posted:

What�s the best historical fantasy that isn�t by GGK?

Not precisely fantasy, but Ken Follet's The Pillars of the Earth was pretty enjoyable.

Fake edit: holy poo poo there are three sequels.

# ? Feb 1, 2023 23:26

Harold Fjord: Jan 3, 2004

I quite liked the baroque cycle. I don't know that that counts as fantasy at all but it's certainly historical

# ? Feb 1, 2023 23:29

SimonChris: Apr 24, 2008; The Baron's daughter is missing, and you are the man to find her. No problem. With your inexhaustible arsenal of hard-boiled similes, there is nothing you can't handle.; Grimey Drawer

StrixNebulosa posted:

What’s the best historical fantasy that isn’t by GGK?

Ash: A Secret History.

# ? Feb 1, 2023 23:30

General Battuta: Feb 7, 2011; This is how you communicate with a fellow intelligence: you hurt it, you keep on hurting it, until you can distinguish the posts from the screams.

StrixNebulosa posted:

What�s the best historical fantasy that isn�t by GGK?

Do the Bernard Cornwell Arthur books count?

# ? Feb 1, 2023 23:39

pradmer: Mar 31, 2009; Follow me for more books on special!

Shift (Silo #2) by Hugh Howey - $1.99
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088TDQG67/

The Magic of Recluce (Recluce #1) by LE Modesitt Jr - $3.99
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002GEKJ8G/

Lock In (#1) by John Scalzi - $3.99
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IHCBE1C/

The Collapsing Empire (Interdependency #1) by John Scalzi - $3.99
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01F20E7CO/

Traitor's Blade (Greatcoats #1) by Sebastien de Castell - $0.99
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TV2K5NC/

The Last Policeman series by Ben H Winters
The Last Policeman (#1) - $1.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0076Q1GW2/
Countdown City (#2) - $1.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B6OV90E/
World of Trouble (#3) - $1.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HXYHVNU/

# ? Feb 1, 2023 23:39

branedotorg: Jun 19, 2009

StrixNebulosa posted:

What�s the best historical fantasy that isn�t by GGK?

Christian (Miles) Cameron books are pretty good - very sword fighty and vary between fairly straight historical fiction with fictional protags added up to his red knight series which is very fantasty with knights and dragons etc.

He's a massive re-enacting dork and you can tell from the descriptions so YMMV.

Mary Gentle's Ash is brilliant but pretty full on.

I loved Stephenson's Baroque Cycle when i read them on publication, i re-read them a few months back and TBH i didn't like it anywhere as much, i think his to-clever-by-half plotting and patented exposition dumping impressed me more when i was younger.

# ? Feb 1, 2023 23:56

anilEhilated: Feb 17, 2014; But I say fuck the rain.; Grimey Drawer

SimonChris posted:

Ash: A Secret History.

This is also good but comes with a sizable catalog of rape/child abuse triggers. And they're all frontloaded.

# ? Feb 2, 2023 00:11

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# ? Jun 1, 2024 03:22

DACK FAYDEN: Feb 25, 2013; Bear Witness

pradmer posted:

Shift (Silo #2) by Hugh Howey - $1.99
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088TDQG67/

Oh hey I read the first of these books, it was pretty good if fairly generically postapocalyptic, yeah sure I'll try another

# ? Feb 2, 2023 00:17

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