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Black Griffon posted:anyone have thoughts on this? First of a trilogy. Contains next to no military sci-fi-ing or action sequences, and is instead concerned about this group of soldiers stranded on Mars trying to find supply drops. They get involved with the local failed Mars colonies, and wind up in a big mining facility. Finally action happens, but it's confusing and mostly ends in a trippy sequence. This is interspersed with the main character's frame story, as he's telling someone back on Earth about his time on Mars. I liked it, but not enough to read the second book. Not sure if I'd rec it.
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Mar 31, 2020 23:54
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Well, that sounds like the exact opposite of what I wanted. I'll give it a skip. Thanks!
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Mar 31, 2020 23:55
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Black Griffon posted:Well, that sounds like the exact opposite of what I wanted. I'll give it a skip. Thanks! Anytime! I wish Wardogs had a different title and packaging because technically it has space marines and is a war on mars, but it's a Greg Bear novel, and he's determined to do his own thing, for better or for worse. On the topic of a different book, I'm 140 pages into Spirit Gate and it's so good? Depressing as it's about a country in decline, with the local authorities having their power eroded and things going to poo poo, but also really interesting as the world building is great and the characters compelling. Then it hopped focuses to a southern country that's recently been conquered, and about an arranged marriage, and it's fascinating. There's a strong asian feel to all of it, and I want more. Best fantasy things so far: the giant eagles and their partners. The fact that ghosts are straight up real and a nuisance. The occasional mention of how a character is human, at least, implying non-humans. It's also a cool change of pace from my UF reads, as the pacing is - it feels fast, because things are happening - but it's also slow because this is all setup. I'm only 140 pages into a 700+ page book with two equally huge sequels.
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Apr 1, 2020 00:17
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Black Griffon posted:anyone have thoughts on this? I think it would be cool if it was War Bear by Greg Dogs instead.
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Apr 1, 2020 00:22
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City of Bones by Martha Wells is $2.99 right now, https://smile.amazon.com/City-Bones-Martha-Wells-ebook/dp/B002DPV4JG/
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Apr 1, 2020 00:24
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The Readings of the Recluse Michael "Black Griffon" Lastname, in the month of our lord March of TwentyTwenty, Henceforth To Be Known as poo poo Month Well, it was a good month for reading, but a bad month for the world. I started off the month blazing through Infection, Contagion and Pandemic by Scott Sigler. I wanted hollywood action, and that's what I got. Occasionally, what you need more than anything else is cheap, gory bullshit, and Sigler is really good at crafting an engaging cheap, gory story. Infection starts off with the promise of eventually leading up to a pandemic (which I've dared to consider a non-spoiler, considering that's the title of the last book in the series. It has the feel of a directorial debut. A small cast of characters that's obviously part of a bigger whole, a local story with implications for something that needed a bigger budget, and a joy in writing that makes the work enjoyable in turn. Sigler's science-minded chapters about how the eponymous infection takes hold, interspersed with character chapters, give the book an interesting and easy dynamic. Of course, directorial debuts also carry the risk of dumb mistakes and poor craftsmanship. Where Sigler fails is in attempting to torture action out of misogyny and homophobia. As a horror aficionado, I appreciate the value of a good gore-fest and torture sequence, and I abhor a poor try at it. Like it or not, we're primed to react differently to a guy getting his eyes gouged out as opposed to a woman getting abused and fatshamed, ad Sigler doesn't really learn to tow the line until the third book. A full review of each book is not necessary. Sigler escalates and escalates, and each time he does it in a fun, grotesque and engaging way. When the infection is contagious, the larger apparatus of the american military gets involved, when the contagion is a pandemic, every weapon of both science and slaughter is brought out, and each and every escalation is a joy. Clancy-isms and zombie tropes mix in a dumb, wonderful cauldron of blood and pus, and despite my abject hatred of casual f-words and r-words and whatnot, I still enjoyed the books a whole lot (which is why I started reading infection March 1st. and finished Pandemic the 9th). Good poo poo, with caveats. After that came Murderbot #3 and #4 (Rogue Protocol and Exit Strategy) by Martha Wells. I was a big fan of the first two books, and I continue to be a fan of our beloved Murderbot. Wells mixes intrigue and conspiracy, the ruminations of a rampant AI (quasi AI? Who knows, really) and harrowing action in such a good way. Whether it's a hackathon with lethal consequences or the two second battles of massive machines being thrown against each other, it's such a wonderful contrast with the cold, strange but very human narration of the 'bot. Wells highlights the good and bad qualities of humanity through the lens of someone who is torn between resisting and embracing their humanity, and constantly confused by the whole mess. Rogue Protocol does feel a bit rote. At a few points while reading the book, I had the sensation of reading a filler episode of a TV-show, but it's still a good story. #4 dials it up a bunch, and in it, Wells crafts a story that's more interesting, and which feels like it relates to the overarching plot of the series in a better way. Good poo poo, continues to be so. I ended the month with Recursion by Blake Crouch (oh, dear reader, I lie, but if I said I read Recursion in between MrDrBt #3 and #4, as I did, it would make for a poorer narrative). I picked it up on a whim after it got posted as a kindle deal, and I'm always so very happy when a purchase like that turns out good. I'm a sucker for time travel, as I've mentioned before (though there's woefully little queer romance in Recursion, as compared to Time War), and Recursion is such an interesting take on the whole thing, enough that I'd like to plant a seed of doubt in the reader's mind and say outright that it's not necessarily even a time travel story in the eyes of some (though it is, though is it?). Recursion takes joy in exploring the toll of time on relationships, on the psyche and on the world. It's a moving, thrilling study in patience , loss and sorrow, and in the action of watching things unfold while being powerless to stop them. It's one of those books I cannot write too much about for fear of spoiling the details that makes it such a compelling tale. It feels like a very personal story, while being unimaginably big in scope, and I loved every minute of it. The best I can do is recommend it, as I do. Good poo poo. Now then, onto April, which I have preemptively dubbed rear end Month but in a Bad Way.
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Apr 1, 2020 00:29
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A human heart posted:I think it would be cool if it was War Bear by Greg Dogs instead. nice
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Apr 1, 2020 00:30
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Black Griffon posted:Now then, onto April, which I have preemptively dubbed rear end Month but in a Bad Way. So it's Badass month?
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Apr 1, 2020 02:01
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pradmer posted:So it's Badass month? we can only hope, but I have my doubts.
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Apr 1, 2020 02:36
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Black Griffon posted:I ended the month with Recursion by Blake Crouch (oh, dear reader, I lie, but if I said I read Recursion in between MrDrBt #3 and #4, as I did, it would make for a poorer narrative). I picked it up on a whim after it got posted as a kindle deal, and I'm always so very happy when a purchase like that turns out good. I read Dark Matter by this guy and was not a fan. I ended up summarizing the plot to my family while laughing so hard I got tears in my eyes, it was so silly.
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Apr 1, 2020 03:31
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I kinda liked it, but it was weirdly close to another book that came out around the same time called The Fold by Peter Clines. I thought Clines did a better job with the base idea though.
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Apr 1, 2020 06:01
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On http://ebookclub.tor.com/ you can grab The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi for free before 11:59 PM ET, April 1st, 2020 It's the first part of The Interdependency trilogy. The second part, The Consuming Fire, is a Kindle Daily Deal for $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/Consuming-Fire-Interdependency-Book-ebook/dp/B078X255Y1 Book 3, The Last Emperox, is out on April 14. I haven't read these yet, but i generally enjoy John Scalzi books, and usually compare them to Sunday matinee movies: Easy to consume and forgotten quite fast, but fun while being read.
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Apr 1, 2020 15:25
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Are there any fantasy books that are also spy novels? Like wizards having to infiltrate a rival kingdom or something? Also The Collapsing Empire is free this month from Tor. Is it any good? Ccs fucked around with this message at 15:29 on Apr 1, 2020 |
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Apr 1, 2020 15:27
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Ccs posted:Are there any fantasy books that are also spy novels? Like wizards having to infiltrate a rival kingdom or something? The Baru Cormorant series is one to check out.
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Apr 1, 2020 15:29
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Ah already own both of those. Any others?
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Apr 1, 2020 15:29
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Ccs posted:Also The Collapsing Empire is free this month from Tor. Is it any good? It's so thin and threadbare that my time felt thoroughly wasted by the time I was done.
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Apr 1, 2020 15:36
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Ccs posted:Also The Collapsing Empire is free this month from Tor. Is it any good? That's only for today. And it's ok, but for zero dollars I'd say it's worth the price 
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Apr 1, 2020 15:36
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Fart of Presto posted:On http://ebookclub.tor.com/ you can grab The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi for free before 11:59 PM ET, April 1st, 2020 Ccs posted:Are there any fantasy books that are also spy novels? Like wizards having to infiltrate a rival kingdom or something? I've read both of them, and I'm looking forward to the third. They aren't quite as optimistic as the Wayfarer series by Becky Chambers, since a Humanity-ending universe transport device is collapsing/shifting but the second book gave a glimpse of a future for Humanity without the Interdependency. But as noted above they are fun to read and I'd put the amount of enjoyment I got out of those books at close to the same level (with Chambers's books being slightly better to read because I still don't enjoy reading about painful deaths and there is just a bit of existential horror in The Interdependency when detailing what happens to ships that drop out of the Flow). They do have the usual "literally every character is some form of smartass" voice that Scalzi puts into everything, so if you don't like that you won't like those books. If you liked Old Man's War and The Human Division and would rather read about a far-flung space society that isn't perpetually in open war, though, it'll be right up your alley.
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Apr 1, 2020 15:37
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Ccs posted:Are there any fantasy books that are also spy novels? Like wizards having to infiltrate a rival kingdom or something? I haven't read it yet but my friend suggests Priory of the Orange Tree, as at least one of the subplots is a magical person infiltrating a kingdom.
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Apr 1, 2020 17:31
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Fart of Presto posted:On http://ebookclub.tor.com/ you can grab The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi for free before 11:59 PM ET, April 1st, 2020 I usually like Scalzi books and thought the first book was okay but bounced hard off the second one. The end of the first book seemed to setup for some interesting trans-planetary politicking shenanigans but then the second book focused on characters I just didn't care about. Fluffy read for free so why not, but I like his other stuff better.
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Apr 1, 2020 18:12
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Ccs posted:Are there any fantasy books that are also spy novels? Like wizards having to infiltrate a rival kingdom or something? Tim Power's Declare
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Apr 1, 2020 18:28
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StrixNebulosa posted:I haven't read it yet but my friend suggests Priory of the Orange Tree, as at least one of the subplots is a magical person infiltrating a kingdom. This is literally true but it is not at all like a spy novel. The "infiltration" is backstory so basically it's "main character has secret". The book is also real long and real bad.
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Apr 1, 2020 18:33
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Tim Power's Declare This book rules. "City of Stairs" by Robert Jackson Bennett would also fit the bill.
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Apr 1, 2020 18:42
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Any good fantasy novels with a cult plotline that's genuinely kind of weird or unsettling? I'm looking for something that has the ancient, weird feeling of the Dagoth Ur cult scattered around all of Morrowind, I can't really think of another book that does something similar.
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Apr 1, 2020 18:51
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Xtanstic posted:I usually like Scalzi books and thought the first book was okay but bounced hard off the second one. The end of the first book seemed to setup for some interesting trans-planetary politicking shenanigans but then the second book focused on characters I just didn't care about. Fluffy read for free so why not, but I like his other stuff better. Yeah, I think the series suffers from Scalzi being compelled to put some kind of society-ending risk into the plot for some reason rather than just sticking to trans-planetary politicking shenanigans. I still plan to finish it though because it's only intended to be a trilogy. Also if you didn't enjoy the part where Kiva Lagos beat the poo poo out of the Nohamapetan's top lawyer and told her to tell her boss to get the gently caress off the planet and the rant that delivered it, followed by that person immediately getting the gently caress off the planet the next day I don't know what to tell you.
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Apr 1, 2020 18:57
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biracial bear for uncut posted:Also if you didn't enjoy the part where Kiva Lagos beat the poo poo out of the Nohamapetan's top lawyer and told her to tell her boss to get the gently caress off the planet and the rant that delivered it, followed by that person immediately getting the gently caress off the planet the next day I don't know what to tell you. Indeed I did enjoy this
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Apr 1, 2020 19:02
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buffalo all day posted:This is literally true but it is not at all like a spy novel. The "infiltration" is backstory so basically it's "main character has secret". The book is also real long and real bad. Thank God I thought it was just me.
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Apr 1, 2020 19:45
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Sarern posted:Thank God I thought it was just me. The only reason I got as far through it as I did is because I liked the narrator of the audiobook. It really didn't need to be 800 pages or whatever.
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Apr 1, 2020 20:00
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buffalo all day posted:"City of Stairs" by Robert Jackson Bennett would also fit the bill. Good catch, lots of covert stuff in that trilogy. It's also a really good trilogy in general.
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Apr 1, 2020 20:06
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I thought Priory of the Orange Tree was very well received (haven't read it myself). is it one of those "by any metric this is actually bad" books or is it just divisive?
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Apr 1, 2020 21:25
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I'd heard good things about it (non-standard setting, queer romance, neat magic, etc) so I picked up the audiobook, but it managed to make all of those things just interminably boring. The writing was fine, but I was about 10 hours in with another 15 to go and I just didn't care about anything or anyone in it, so I put it down one day and never went back to it.
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Apr 1, 2020 21:52
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Black Griffon posted:I thought Priory of the Orange Tree was very well received (haven't read it myself). is it one of those "by any metric this is actually bad" books or is it just divisive? It's multi-viewpoint doorstopper epic fantasy that doesn't really do anything new or interesting with the formula apart from being slightly gay and only being one book wrong rather than ten. So if you're in the mood for common-or-garden epic fantasy it's a good choice, but if you aren't it won't do anything to change your mind. I enjoyed it but after reading it I think I'm full up on that flavour of fantasy for the next five years or so, and I'm glad it's a stand-alone book.
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Apr 1, 2020 22:32
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Black Griffon posted:I thought Priory of the Orange Tree was very well received (haven't read it myself). is it one of those "by any metric this is actually bad" books or is it just divisive? It's bad. The author is trying to capital-W write, so it's not bad the way Kindle Unlimited self-published stuff is bad, it's just long and boring in a way that a story about good dragons vs evil dragons, magic swords and immortal witches really shouldn't be boring.
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Apr 1, 2020 22:54
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ToxicFrog posted:It's multi-viewpoint doorstopper epic fantasy that doesn't really do anything new or interesting with the formula apart from being slightly gay and only being one book wrong rather than ten. So if you're in the mood for common-or-garden epic fantasy it's a good choice, but if you aren't it won't do anything to change your mind. I enjoyed it but after reading it I think I'm full up on that flavour of fantasy for the next five years or so, and I'm glad it's a stand-alone book. Seconding 'it's ok'. It definitely drags, but it was a-ok as a commute-filler audiobook. I don't think I would have finished it as a book though.
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Apr 1, 2020 23:00
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Ccs posted:Are there any fantasy books that are also spy novels? Like wizards having to infiltrate a rival kingdom or something? You might enjoy The Steerswoman series. It's not exactly what you're looking for, but it's got some elements of that and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Now she just needs to finish the series! 
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Apr 2, 2020 02:03
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I downloaded a sample of The City of Stairs and it seems interesting, I’ll probably buy it. The one thing putting me off is the tense it’s written in. I really cringe when authors write in present tense or second person.
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Apr 2, 2020 02:48
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Ccs posted:I downloaded a sample of The City of Stairs and it seems interesting, I’ll probably buy it. The one thing putting me off is the tense it’s written in. I really cringe when authors write in present tense or second person. As someone who writes in present tense: what about it bothers you?
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Apr 2, 2020 02:51
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Are there any books where present vs. past tense makes a big difference? I suppose first person present could leave you in suspense about the main character's fate, or the opposite for an unreliable narrator. Otherwise I only notice it for a couple pages and then completely forget. Second person on the other hand I think should be used judiciously. It was very well used in Raven Tower, I thought.
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Apr 2, 2020 02:56
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TheAardvark posted:Are there any books where present vs. past tense makes a big difference? I suppose first person present could leave you in suspense about the main character's fate, or the opposite for an unreliable narrator. Otherwise I only notice it for a couple pages and then completely forget. It's pretty significant in The Fifth Season; different viewpoints who are actually the same character at different points in her timeline are distinguished by person and tense.
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Apr 2, 2020 03:06
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!!! I was looking up This Alien Shore to rec it to someone (you should read it, it's amazing) and - IT'S GETTING A SEQUEL! This Virtual Night Expected publication: October 13th 2020 by Daw Books Next to no details in the summary as it's a straight recap of the setting, but I'm excited anyways because god drat, the world-building in it was just tops. quote:Returning to the universe of New York Times Notable book This Alien Shore comes a new space opera from an acknowledged master of science fiction.
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Apr 2, 2020 03:10
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