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Gonna say Gideon the Ninth because of all the decay vibes
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May 4, 2020 17:08
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anilEhilated posted:I mean, there's a whole Sanderson thread to poo poo in with passive-aggressive posting... Murderbot 5: The Novel is priced in the US at Kindle: 14$ Hardcover: 22$ Which is reasonable for a 352 page book, imho e: I could insert a rant about how obscenely high hardcover book prices are, and how I wish they'd drop a trade or mass market paperback at the same time, but that's an industry-wide problem that won't be fixed anytime soon because it would deprive the publishers of increased profits.
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May 4, 2020 17:22
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quantumfoam posted:And for pseudanonymous, why do you loathe Sanderson so much? The writing style? The Asimovian output? Sanderson debasing a favorite Intellectual Property? etc? speaking for myself: - completely dead writing style, like reading a walkthrough of a video game. everyone always goes back to the first assassin chapter in TWOK which is basically like describing how to do the castle stealth level. - inept at writing humor, even by the extremely low standards of genre fiction. i read TWOK and the Wit stuff is just embarassing - books that are so long that they keep you from reading not just another good book, but like 2 or 3 other good books. - the most extreme example of setting out rules for your magic in lieu of using imagination, as though having characters rules-lawyer their way to success is appropriate in a fantasy novel
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May 4, 2020 17:28
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Regarding Sanderson: I consider him to be like going to McDonalds. You are not going to get a good burger, but it will be edible and taste the same every time. And since he writes so much, you can get as many of these burgers as you want. Some people love this, some don't, and since I'm not obligated to buy or read him I'm glad he's getting nerds to read, and hopefully opening them up to reading more/better fantasy. Reading this ebook deal: I think it's crashing tor's servers, I cannot get mine without the website dying. Good job, Tor.
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May 4, 2020 17:31
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Schneider Heim posted:Is there an action-fantasy series that would be great reading for a Dark Souls fan? (and yeah, I'm reading Berserk, so it doesn't count) You mean where the main character dies repeatedly and has to try again? There is a web serial that fits that bill with a hilarious bit of power creep at the end, but I'm drawing a blank on books.
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May 4, 2020 17:37
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biracial bear for uncut posted:You mean where the main character dies repeatedly and has to try again? There's the LN version of Re: Zero. Edit: Also All You Need Is Kill. Silver2195 fucked around with this message at 18:01 on May 4, 2020 |
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May 4, 2020 17:57
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biracial bear for uncut posted:You mean where the main character dies repeatedly and has to try again? Gonna throw out Matt Stover's "Heroes Die" for Dark Souls guy. Might be the toughest request for rec since the Pong fan was in here asking for suggestions.
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May 4, 2020 18:02
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Schneider Heim posted:Is there an action-fantasy series that would be great reading for a Dark Souls fan? (and yeah, I'm reading Berserk, so it doesn't count) If it's the complicated-world-that-you-have-to-kinda-figure-out-yourself that you like about Dark Souls, you may like Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun. It's not really action-heavy (definitely not like Berserk), but it does give you that feeling of wandering around, piecing together a world from glimpses. a foolish pianist fucked around with this message at 18:38 on May 4, 2020 |
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May 4, 2020 18:11
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Silver2195 posted:There's the LN version of Re: Zero. Anything that was made into a Tom Cruise movie is automatically forbidden in my reading recommendations. a foolish pianist posted:If it's the complicated-world-that-you-have-to-kinda-figure-out-yourself that you like about Dark Souls, you may like Gene Wolf's Book of the New Sun. It's not really action-heavy (definitely not like Berserk), but it does give you that feeling of wandering around, piecing together a world from glimpses. I feel like House of Leaves might fall into that category too. Some Pinko Commie fucked around with this message at 18:37 on May 4, 2020 |
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May 4, 2020 18:33
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biracial bear for uncut posted:Anything that was made into a Tom Cruise movie is automatically forbidden in my reading recommendations. Why would a bad movie reflect on a book?
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May 4, 2020 19:06
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StrixNebulosa posted:Why would a bad movie reflect on a book? Also, that's actually a pretty decent movie.
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May 4, 2020 19:35
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I picked up some of those discounted books. Harrow the Ninth was fun. It didn't blow me away as I felt the pacing dragged as the characters milled around the house trying to figure out the mystery for a long time before there was any real sense of dread or danger. But it had its good points. I'm reading Ash now. It's an immense book and the alt history sneaks up on your. First characters saying Green Christ, which sounds sorta odd, but then there's a settlement at Carthage and its invading, and then golems and machines talking in people's heads. The framing story is funny as the historian appears to be losing the plot in terms of what is real and fake history, as archeological evidence starts turning up that verifies the fantastical elements of the documents he's translating. Im wondering how much wackier things are going to get.
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May 4, 2020 19:41
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biracial bear for uncut posted:I feel like House of Leaves might fall into that category too. And Malazan.
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May 4, 2020 19:52
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Schneider Heim posted:Is there an action-fantasy series that would be great reading for a Dark Souls fan? (and yeah, I'm reading Berserk, so it doesn't count) I can't explain the crossover appeal very well myself, but my brother's two favorite things in entertainment for the past 10 years are still the Dark Souls/Bloodborne games and the Malazan Book of the Fallen 10 book series by Erikson. He's kind of given up on finding anything he likes as much as those so he mostly just plays his guitar while waiting for releases like Nioh 2 to scratch his itch. I haven't been able to get him to read anything else. Malazan has some action, fun moments and cool concepts and characters. It also kind of buries you in the author's dense RPG setting, he's an anthropologist and archaeologist and puts that to work. Some people bounce off the first book hard but he has a devoted readership. Just to throw some other ideas out there, C.S. Friedman's Coldfire series has a dark fantasy vibe with an unusual party heading into hostile and mostly unknown territory. PC Hodgell's God Stalker book also had a similar feel to me though I haven't read past the first few chapters yet. And finally recent thread favorite Brandon Sanderson's early novel Elantris has a protagonist cursed to basically become undead... unable to die or be killed normally but their bodies don't heal. They are cast out into the ruins of a formerly glorious city.
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May 4, 2020 20:12
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biracial bear for uncut posted:Anything that was made into a Tom Cruise movie is automatically forbidden in my reading recommendations. This is a bad rule because that is a good movie based on a good book.
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May 4, 2020 22:11
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PeterWeller posted:This is a bad rule because that is a good movie based on a good book. Yeah, and if you really hate Tom Cruise you can watch him die over and over again in it.
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May 4, 2020 22:24
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Hobnob posted:Yeah, and if you really hate Tom Cruise you can watch him die over and over again in it. And since he does many of his own stunts, you get to see him experience genuine pain.
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May 4, 2020 22:31
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Ccs posted:I'm reading Ash now. It's an immense book and the alt history sneaks up on your. First characters saying Green Christ, which sounds sorta odd, but then there's a settlement at Carthage and its invading, and then golems and machines talking in people's heads. The framing story is funny as the historian appears to be losing the plot in terms of what is real and fake history, as archeological evidence starts turning up that verifies the fantastical elements of the documents he's translating. Im wondering how much wackier things are going to get. Oh keep going, it's a hell of a ride !
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May 4, 2020 22:50
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The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (Inheritance #1) by NK Jemisin - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002ZDJZO2/ Altered Carbon (Takeshi Kovacs #1) by Richard Morgan - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FBFMZ2/ Dune: Messiah (Dune #2) by Frank Herbert - $1.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0011UGNDG/ Life after Life by Kate Atkinson - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008TUQ60G/
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May 4, 2020 22:55
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The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F. Hamilton I never thought Hamilton was a sex creep but uhh 50% in: Three instances of forced sex, a 18-125 year old sexual relationship, 16 year olds described by how hot they are. Oh and MC fucks at least once a chapter, always another woman and half of them he treats like poo poo.
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May 4, 2020 23:38
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TheAardvark posted:The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F. Hamilton I'm reading this right now as well and it is very rapey e: on the 2nd book rn
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May 4, 2020 23:42
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mewse posted:I'm reading this right now as well and it is very rapey also there was a scene where some random lady on lalonde was like knee deep in an obviously insane murder death scenario and her thought was "If only that darned governor kept a firmer hand." and all i could think was, that's Hamilton messaging about how women just don't know what men are really dealing with. i couldn't get it out of my head
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May 4, 2020 23:56
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Are you reading it because of Sonnie's Edge as well? Because that felt empowering whereas these books feel like white male power fantasy
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May 5, 2020 00:09
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I think there was a sale on it mentioned in the thread recently so when I perused my books it was there. I was in the mood for far sci-fi so there you go.
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May 5, 2020 00:13
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StrixNebulosa posted:Regarding Sanderson: I consider him to be like going to McDonalds. You are not going to get a good burger, but it will be edible and taste the same every time. And since he writes so much, you can get as many of these burgers as you want. Some people love this, some don't, and since I'm not obligated to buy or read him I'm glad he's getting nerds to read, and hopefully opening them up to reading more/better fantasy. They're extending the offer through tomorrow due to high demand crushing their servers.
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May 5, 2020 00:15
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I finally solved the terrible equations needed to get General Battuta's short fiction onto my e-reader and I'm most of the way through "Morrigan in Shadow", and (a) it's really good (b) this is Freespace, isn't it? Oh, the serial numbers have been filed off; the names of people and ships have been changed, and the poor Vasudans don't even get a mention; but the events are the same, and so is the trail of stars despoiled by the Shivans, ending, of course, with Capella. I really need to play Blue Planet.
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May 5, 2020 01:37
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ToxicFrog posted:I really need to play Blue Planet. You really, really do. Anyone who's played FreeSpace needs to play Blue Planet. Bookchat: I've just finished Poul Anderson's The Broken Sword and loved it. Went looking at his Wikipedia entry hoping to find other stuff he'd written that I would enjoy, and was dismayed to find that he was apparently a "right-libertarian" who injected those themes into many of his works. Did he write anything else that wasn't tainted by those politics? Particularly, is Three Hearts and Three Lions free of it? I've been meaning to read that one since finishing Gene Wolfe's Wizard Knight.
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May 5, 2020 02:09
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TheAardvark posted:The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F. Hamilton I just ordered Pandora's Star and I am not thrilled about this!!
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May 5, 2020 02:46
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Hey, let me save you the trouble of reading Peter F. Hamilton: the
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May 5, 2020 03:08
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algebra testes posted:I just ordered Pandora's Star and I am not thrilled about this!! The Commonwealth stories are noticeably less sex-creepy, from what I remember. But my advice is skip the
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May 5, 2020 03:43
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algebra testes posted:I just ordered Pandora's Star and I am not thrilled about this!! Hamilton's Commonwealth Saga (Pandora & Judas Unchained) are probably his best works. Pandora's introduction was fantastic and unlike his other works I think the plot really benefited from behind condensed into a duology rather than a trilogy. It's unfortunate that he decided to double dip with the Void trilogy which takes place 1,000 years later and ruins anything that was interesting in the series.
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May 5, 2020 04:04
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Hobnob posted:The Commonwealth stories are noticeably less sex-creepy, from what I remember. But my advice is skip the Except for the biggest literal cliffhanger I've ever seen.
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May 5, 2020 04:55
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Safety Biscuits posted:Which ones do you read? I'm going to subscribe to Interzone now I realise they do ebook subscriptions. You might also find this amusing, it's Strange Horizon's old list of stuff they don't want to see again: http://strangehorizons.com/submit/fiction-submission-guidelines/stories-weve-seen-too-often/ Haha yes I was trying to find that earlier! I’m subbed to Asimov’s and SF&F atm. I was subbed to Analog but too much of it seemed to be not-actually-stories. I’d be thinking “oh, cool setting, wonder what’ll happen?” and the piece would just end. The ones based on a feeling like puberty/depression metaphors are bad for the same reason: there is nowhere to go narratively because a feeling is not a story, so the protagonist just floats around feeling a bit funny for a while and the piece ends. It gets really frustrating reading things like that. Never tried interzone, maybe I will 
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May 5, 2020 07:49
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Ninurta posted:Hamilton's Commonwealth Saga (Pandora & Judas Unchained) are probably his best works. Pandora's introduction was fantastic and unlike his other works I think the plot really benefited from behind condensed into a duology rather than a trilogy. It's unfortunate that he decided to double dip with the Void trilogy which takes place 1,000 years later and ruins anything that was interesting in the series. And Misspent Youth, which is a prequel.
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May 5, 2020 08:16
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Prism Mirror Lens posted:I was subbed to Analog but too much of it seemed to be not-actually-stories. I’d be thinking “oh, cool setting, wonder what’ll happen?” and the piece would just end. The ones based on a feeling like puberty/depression metaphors are bad for the same reason: there is nowhere to go narratively because a feeling is not a story, so the protagonist just floats around feeling a bit funny for a while and the piece ends. It gets really frustrating reading things like that. Your comments on "puberty/depression metaphors" are bumming me out, but we like what we like, there's no accounting for taste etc. etc., and thankfully there's a lot of good short speculative fiction being published right now, so there's room for a lot of reading interests. Beneath Ceaseless Skies is free and often fairly plotty. Strange Horizons too, for all that is has a lit-adjacent reputation - the fiction editors have a strong preference for stories where things happen. I like a lot of what The Dark, Clarkesworld, Lightspeed/Nightmare, and Apex publish, though ime Clarkesworld emphasizes "stuff happening" maybe less than Lightspeed/Nightmare do, and Apex is closed for the foreseeable future. Fireside, Shimmer, Liminal, and Lackington's are probably not your speed (and Shimmer and Liminal are closed, though their back catalogs are still online), and Uncanny, while often plotty, tends to get a little cute. Fiyah and Omenana have put out a lot of cool stuff in the last couple years. Tor.com has some fun stuff from time to time. Which doesn't begin to cover the short fiction podcasts, like Escape Pod, Podcastle, PseudoPod... Honestly, it's hard to generalize about a lot of these magazines, particularly those with a large editorial staff, because the range of things they publish can vary pretty widely. You might have better luck finding a few authors whose sensibilities work for you and following their careers, or reading around the field until you find a magazine whose output is most up your alley.
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May 5, 2020 08:50
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buffalo all day posted:Gonna throw out Matt Stover's "Heroes Die" for Dark Souls guy. Might be the toughest request for rec since the Pong fan was in here asking for suggestions. That's a good rec. The Sanderson Mobi is 39mb that's mental.
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May 5, 2020 08:52
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tiniestacorn posted:Your comments on "puberty/depression metaphors" are bumming me out, but we like what we like, there's no accounting for taste etc. etc., and thankfully there's a lot of good short speculative fiction being published right now, so there's room for a lot of reading interests. Sorry Because I’m wrong that stories without narrative drive aren’t interesting, or because you enjoy those sorts of topics? I do like things which are not traditional narratives (I wouldn’t say Dhalgren has a strong plot), but in that case they have to have something very interesting going on structurally or linguistically. These metaphor stories don’t have that imo. The narrative structure is a way of interesting a reader in something they otherwise might not care about, and of providing the emotional value of reading (the emotional highs and lows, identification with a character, etc). When the traditional narrative structure is weak or non-existent, and you don’t have an interesting non-traditional structure, then your piece lives or dies based on whether the content is ALREADY interesting or relatable to the reader - in which case you’ve written Milk and Honey... (Which of course lots of people do like and there’s plenty of room on the market for it.)Cheers for the recs. Uncanny I’ve sampled before and was definitely not for me, but I’ll check out some of the others!
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May 5, 2020 10:26
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quantumfoam posted:What elements of the Dark Souls series do you enjoy? Action, fancy weapons and armor, fighting sick rear end foes as a nobody, paradoxically uplifting even if the world is extremely hosed up Thanks for the recs so far, Elantris was my first Sanderson book and loved it, I also thought of The Black Company series but don't know much about it. Lily Catts fucked around with this message at 11:06 on May 5, 2020 |
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May 5, 2020 11:01
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Schneider Heim posted:Action, fancy weapons and armor, fighting sick rear end foes as a nobody, paradoxically uplifting even if the world is extremely hosed up hosed up world and uplifting kind of apply too. e: Also anilEhilated fucked around with this message at 12:35 on May 5, 2020 |
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May 5, 2020 12:29
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pseudanonymous posted:There's nothing wrong with that motivation, but the post was arguing he was some kind of altruist for giving something away that he expects to make him money. Also, his post on Reddit or email or whatever about it (Sanderson's) had the same implicit lie: I want to give away Way of Kings so you have something to read because I'm a nice person. What a loving monster
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May 5, 2020 13:17
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