Finishing the Farseer trilogy gave me a book hangover for nearly 2 months. Robin Hobb might just be my favourite fantasy author. I'm reading Ship of Magic now and loving it, despite missing Fitz and Nighteyes a great deal. Once I'm done this book I'm planning on picking up Stormlight 5 next. The wife and I are gonna be reading that one together and I'm stoked!

 creeping-deth87 wrote:
Finishing the Farseer trilogy gave me a book hangover for nearly 2 months. Robin Hobb might just be my favourite fantasy author. I'm reading Ship of Magic now and loving it, despite missing Fitz and Nighteyes a great deal. Once I'm done this book I'm planning on picking up Stormlight 5 next. The wife and I are gonna be reading that one together and I'm stoked!

Liveships was such a huge departure in both cast and style of writing from the Farseer series; but its utterly awesome. I really love how she was able to create two (in the end closer to three) very distinct fantasy series in a single world and weave them together so that they fit into both a greater narrative that you don't quite realise is happening, but also with each other with subtle ties here and there. It's something you honestly don't get to see from many authors who tend to have a very singular style to the world and way they write about a world and setting.

Just polished off Goth, A History.

Very interesting read overall, perhaps a little heavy on the memoir aspect. But, that is covered in the Afterward. And it’s not pretending to be an absolute authority, so the memoir styling does work.

 A Town Called Malus wrote:

 Lathe Biosas wrote:

 Jadenim wrote:
I’m enjoying re-reading Watership Down; great low fantasy epic.

Oh, and bunnies.

Yes. The book (and film) never to give to young children.

"Sorry Jimmy, but your Uncle is no longer allowed to give you books anymore."

Eh, the book is largely fine I think except for maybe the story of El-Ahrairah and the Black Rabbit that is told before Bigwig goes to Efrafa (also a segment I am always disappointed isn't in the film as it really speaks to the mindset that Bigwig is in going into the mission, that it may cost him everything, and there are also really neat comparisons between the wounds that El-ahrairah suffers to save his people and those suffered by Bigwig at the claws of Woundwort), which I remember being quite chilling when I first read it.

The language of the book can be difficult for particularly young readers so those too young will mostly bounce off it from that angle, I think.

Problem is people see that it has bunnies and assume it is like Peter Rabbit etc. and just a fun adventure when the themes the book is examining are a lot more adult than in your stereotypical "bunny" story.

The film, however, yes. Though it is still one of my favourite animated movies of all time. The artwork for the English countryside in it is gorgeous, with watercolour-esque backgrounds and skies that suit the story so perfectly, something that the more recent CG miniseries absolutely lacked.

I agree, it is genuinely a fantasy epic, heavily influenced by The Odyssey (as in Ancient Greek literature) and people completely miss out on it either because they think “silly kid’s book about bunnies” or they have PTSD from watching the film when they were kids. Also I love all of the rabbit folklore, which I do not believe has made it into any adaptation, other than the origin of Elahrairah.

I decided to pick up book 2, to a great series, written by one of Games Workshops finest writers... and where I get all my knowledge about the Eldar from:

Back to persevering with Daorhord. But it’s quite heavy going, as whilst educational, I’m having to keep looking up the pronounciation of lost Old English letters.

 Jadenim wrote:

I agree, it is genuinely a fantasy epic, heavily influenced by The Odyssey (as in Ancient Greek literature) and people completely miss out on it either because they think “silly kid’s book about bunnies” or they have PTSD from watching the film when they were kids. Also I love all of the rabbit folklore, which I do not believe has made it into any adaptation, other than the origin of Elahrairah.

Yes! The folklore really makes the rabbits feel like a society with history, their own myths, legends. It's also a major part of Dandelion's character in terms of his place within the group, being the storyteller, effectively the keeper of their mythology, their history.

M.A.C.H. 1 and Canon Fodder

Next two 2000ad Ultimate Collection volumes.

M.A.C.H. 1 comes from the very earliest period, appearing in Prog 1. And it’s somewhere between the 6 Million Dollar Man and Captain America. Very episodic, and done by a number of writers and artists. But, it works. Certainly one can understand why it thrilled 2000ad’s first readers, and for a while was more popular than Judge Dredd.

Second volume coming in the next few months, which I greatly look forward to.

Canon Fodder though is more of an oddity. Definite shades of 40K as we know it (combat mental Priest, attempts to kill god, plus Sherlock Holmes), but very much its own thing. Only ran for two stories, but I greatly enjoyed it. Whilst the 90’s was an uncertain time for the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic, it’s the time period I really started reading it.

As Canon Fodder was such a short run, we also get Angel One, a one and done multi-prog story. And it’s kind of cool. There is stuff there to do more with, but definitely one of those oddities quite happy in its singular existence.

Season of the Witch

Another history of Goth. Less autobiographic than Lol Tolhurst’s Goth, A History. So I don’t feel like it’s just the same story in different prose, as Tolhurst’s was through his own lens, and this is of wider scope.

And once I’m done here? Next up on the slate is Dead of Winter, the Demons, Witches and Ghosts of winter, which is arriving in the next hour or two.

Still on the Culture series. At least half way through Excession and I'm still not really sure what it's about... I may take a break from them after this one and do something else...

Something I do want to get on is tracking down copies of the ghost story anthologies I used to read as a kid.

Not Goosebumps, but stuff from the 70’s. The sort I’d randomly find in second hand shops. I’ve got one somewhere, which feels like a good starting point.

I think I know the ones you mean. I think we had a few. Probably still in Mum and Dad's loft...

Edit - after a quick google, was it by any chance the Armada Ghost Books?

https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pe.cgi?23949

Reading some short stories by QNTM. They have a dark Black Mirror quality that makes them hard to read in a row, but his story on MMAcevedo is a must read for anyone interested in mind-uploading in Sci Fi.

The new Murderbot omnibus just arrived, so I’ll start that in a moment. I might read some old Star Trek post-DS9 relaunch novels first since watching Lower Decks put me in a classic Trek mood.

I’m also reading Art Deco: The Interwar Period. It’s a history of that period of architecture which could really use a lot more photos to illustrate what it’s talking about. I have to read the book with my phone set to Google (images) the whole time.

Crispy78 wrote:
Still on the Culture series. At least half way through Excession and I'm still not really sure what it's about... I may take a break from them after this one and do something else...

It comes together at the end. My biggest problem with Excession was remembering which sassy-named ship was saying what during their conversation interludes.

I am studying for a self study course... on food safety! that the exam date is 16 January, not 16 February like I thought is a tad worrying though.

I love endless certifications.

Crispy78 wrote:
I think I know the ones you mean. I think we had a few. Probably still in Mum and Dad's loft...

Edit - after a quick google, was it by any chance the Armada Ghost Books?

https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pe.cgi?23949

That’s the sort of thing! I’ll be squirreling that link and it’s handy dandy ISBNs away for a rainy day.

Actually, whilst we’re at it? I feel whichever genius came up with the ISBN system, and those who got it widespread adoption, deserve a heartfelt All Hail.


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I’ve fond memories of those books, and they’re at least partly responsible for, or an early indulgence in, my passion for Folk Horror.

Just finishing Cassiel's Servant . Joscelin's POV of Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey - a fav of mine..

A good read but the original is of course better

Expanding my appreciation of Folk Horror by reading my way through the various Treasury of Folklore books.

Currently on Woodlands and Forests.

Finished Pacific Crucible, Ian W. Toll's entry into his WW2 Pacific theater trilogy. Lived up to the hype. It starts with a bit of history for every naval faction and notable person, goes into detail about Japan's attacks across the Pacific region and ends with the Battle of Midway, which despite being a resounding US victory, was pretty precarious right up to the end.

Last night I moved on to the second entry, which is called The Conquering Tide. Opens with a history of the Solomon Islands and a British civilian spy who has to flee the invading Japanese who are hunting him by name, due to intercepting his radio messages. He gets pretty despondent about his situation, near starving and worried his local entourage will betray him(some already had) then he sights the American invasion fleet on the horizon, ready to kick off the first Allied land offensive against the Japanese.

Pretty awesome stuff.

One thing that really stuck out to me was how racist beliefs led the West to get completely spanked at the start. From the supposed physical limitations of the Japanese soldier to the perceived flawed and limited engineering prowess of Japanese industries. Meanwhile, the Japanese fielded probably the most disciplined and dynamic soldier, and developed aircraft and weapon systems that far surpassed the Allies in quite a few categories for a good portion of the war. The signs were there, particularly since the Japanese whooped the Russians a few times prior to WW2 kicking off, but no one payed attention.

Dan Carlin gets into it a bit in "Supernova in the East" segment of his Hardcore History podcast, which I think he said was inspired by this trilogy.

I'm 76 pages into Erik Larson's The Splendid and the Vile.

It's pretty interesting about Churchill's first year as Prime Minister.

I just wish Mr. Larson wouldn't diverge into the who was dating who bits.

He strays off topic almost as much as I do.


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What should I read next? Titanicus by Dan Abnett or Priests of Mars by Graham McNeill?

Titanicus is fun. Priests of Mars is the trilogy omnibus, right? It’s also good, but one of those books I would take breaks from periodically to avoid burnout.

I went on a hard-boiled kick a while back, reading everything by Raymond Chandler back-to-back. After a little break, I'm starting up with Dashielle Hammet. I'm about 1/3 of the way through Red Harvest, and it's a blast so far.

 JoshInJapan wrote:
I went on a hard-boiled kick a while back, reading everything by Raymond Chandler back-to-back. After a little break, I'm starting up with Dashielle Hammet. I'm about 1/3 of the way through Red Harvest, and it's a blast so far.

For Dashiell Hammet, grab a copy of the Big Book of the Continental Op.

The Op is my favorite detective, who is based on Hammet's Pinkerton Detective Agency days.
You will never learn the Ops real name, because in those days, the Pinkertons never gave out their real names to clients. The Op will occasionally drop a name, but it's just something he made up on the fly and will never use it again.

The omnibus has every Op short story and both of the novels as they were originally published for the pulps. The later novels were edited.



Automatically Appended Next Post:

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
Titanicus is fun. Priests of Mars is the trilogy omnibus, right? It’s also good, but one of those books I would take breaks from periodically to avoid burnout.

Priests of Mars is just one book, about a Rogue Trader, a Cadian Regiment, the Black Templars, and a Magos' Explorator Fleet headed into Halo Stars, where a previous expedition disappeared a long time ago.

 nels1031 wrote:
Finished Pacific Crucible, Ian W. Toll's entry into his WW2 Pacific theater trilogy. Lived up to the hype. It starts with a bit of history for every naval faction and notable person, goes into detail about Japan's attacks across the Pacific region and ends with the Battle of Midway, which despite being a resounding US victory, was pretty precarious right up to the end.

Last night I moved on to the second entry, which is called The Conquering Tide. Opens with a history of the Solomon Islands and a British civilian spy who has to flee the invading Japanese who are hunting him by name, due to intercepting his radio messages. He gets pretty despondent about his situation, near starving and worried his local entourage will betray him(some already had) then he sights the American invasion fleet on the horizon, ready to kick off the first Allied land offensive against the Japanese.

Pretty awesome stuff.

One thing that really stuck out to me was how racist beliefs led the West to get completely spanked at the start. From the supposed physical limitations of the Japanese soldier to the perceived flawed and limited engineering prowess of Japanese industries. Meanwhile, the Japanese fielded probably the most disciplined and dynamic soldier, and developed aircraft and weapon systems that far surpassed the Allies in quite a few categories for a good portion of the war. The signs were there, particularly since the Japanese whooped the Russians a few times prior to WW2 kicking off, but no one payed attention.

Dan Carlin gets into it a bit in "Supernova in the East" segment of his Hardcore History podcast, which I think he said was inspired by this trilogy.

If you want something hardcore from the other direction;

Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887-1941.

Be prepared for lots of heavy detail about financing, logistics, construction, and the history of debates about practice and theory. Despite the date range, the book pays its heaviest attention to the origins of the Imperial Navy and how it came to be, and then on the Interwar years between WWI and WWII and the thinking processes that would guide the Imperial Navy into many of its decisions up to Pearl Harbor.

There's also Stephen Howarth's Fighting Ships of the Rising Sun: The Drama of the Imperial Japanese Navy, which is one of my favorite histories but is 1) old, and 2) hard to find now since it isn't being printed anymore.

 Lathe Biosas wrote:

 JoshInJapan wrote:
I went on a hard-boiled kick a while back, reading everything by Raymond Chandler back-to-back. After a little break, I'm starting up with Dashielle Hammet. I'm about 1/3 of the way through Red Harvest, and it's a blast so far.

For Dashiell Hammet, grab a copy of the Big Book of the Continental Op.

The Op is my favorite detective, who is based on Hammet's Pinkerton Detective Agency days.
You will never learn the Ops real name, because in those days, the Pinkertons never gave out their real names to clients. The Op will occasionally drop a name, but it's just something he made up on the fly and will never use it again.

The omnibus has every Op short story and both of the novels as they were originally published for the pulps. The later novels were edited.

Thanks, I'll see if I can't track that down.

 JoshInJapan wrote:
I went on a hard-boiled kick a while back, reading everything by Raymond Chandler back-to-back. After a little break, I'm starting up with Dashielle Hammet. I'm about 1/3 of the way through Red Harvest, and it's a blast so far.

How would you compare them to Mike Hammer, or later detectives like Spenser? I love Spencer, but couldn’t make it through a book of Hammer stories.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:

 JoshInJapan wrote:
I went on a hard-boiled kick a while back, reading everything by Raymond Chandler back-to-back. After a little break, I'm starting up with Dashielle Hammet. I'm about 1/3 of the way through Red Harvest, and it's a blast so far.

How would you compare them to Mike Hammer, or later detectives like Spenser? I love Spencer, but couldn’t make it through a book of Hammer stories.

Sadly, I've never read either. I vaguely remember there being a Mike Hammer TV series from the 80's, but apart from Stacy Keach's magnificent 'stache, I have no real memory of, well, anything. I'll add both to my reading list and see how I feel about them.

Just finished Outlier, another entry in my ongoing 2000as Ultimate Collection.

And it’s pretty good. A fair few twists and turns across the three volumes comprising the tale, but it never gets overly convoluted. And a pretty decent ending which whilst new to me, I’m not sure is exactly original in Sci-Fi. But then…what is these days?

 JoshInJapan wrote:

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:

 JoshInJapan wrote:
I went on a hard-boiled kick a while back, reading everything by Raymond Chandler back-to-back. After a little break, I'm starting up with Dashielle Hammet. I'm about 1/3 of the way through Red Harvest, and it's a blast so far.

How would you compare them to Mike Hammer, or later detectives like Spenser? I love Spencer, but couldn’t make it through a book of Hammer stories.

Sadly, I've never read either. I vaguely remember there being a Mike Hammer TV series from the 80's, but apart from Stacy Keach's magnificent 'stache, I have no real memory of, well, anything. I'll add both to my reading list and see how I feel about them.

I rate Spencer as well although as with many long running series the author (Robert B Parker) did get a bit self indulgent in later books so while they're fun they're not as good as the earlier ones

 Lathe Biosas wrote:

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
Titanicus is fun. Priests of Mars is the trilogy omnibus, right? It’s also good, but one of those books I would take breaks from periodically to avoid burnout.

Priests of Mars is just one book, about a Rogue Trader, a Cadian Regiment, the Black Templars, and a Magos' Explorator Fleet headed into Halo Stars, where a previous expedition disappeared a long time ago.

He meant Forges of Mars. That is the omnibus trilogy involving the Mechanicus and was an enjoyable read for those with an interest in that faction, and Priests of Mars was the first novel within that omnibus.

Just started on The Book Of Elsewhere, by China Mieville and Keanu Reeves. It's... interesting. Possibly doesn't help that I've not read BRZRKR.

So far, the writing style is not really gelling with me, as far as I'm concerned it's not measuring up to Mieville's normal standard. I'm slightly reassured though by the precis of the LA Times review on the book's wikipedia entry, which says

While she felt doubtful of the "jerky, staccato style" of the book's opener, she was impressed by the rest of the book's "lush prose and [Miéville] and Reeves' melancholy romp of a narrative".

and I think I am still very much in the opener...

I'm nearly through The City And The City, also by China Mieville. It's the content (the weird bit of the story) that takes getting used to, more than the writing.
I'll look for more by him when I'm done.

Mieville is pretty damn good. Intimidatingly imaginitive. I've read a few of his now - King Rat, Kraken, Embassytown, and Perdido Street Station. I'd recommend all of them.

 ikeulhu wrote:

 Lathe Biosas wrote:

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
Titanicus is fun. Priests of Mars is the trilogy omnibus, right? It’s also good, but one of those books I would take breaks from periodically to avoid burnout.

Priests of Mars is just one book, about a Rogue Trader, a Cadian Regiment, the Black Templars, and a Magos' Explorator Fleet headed into Halo Stars, where a previous expedition disappeared a long time ago.

He meant Forges of Mars. That is the omnibus trilogy involving the Mechanicus and was an enjoyable read for those with an interest in that faction, and Priests of Mars was the first novel within that omnibus.

Oh... No. I fallen into another trilogy?

 Overread wrote:

 creeping-deth87 wrote:
Finishing the Farseer trilogy gave me a book hangover for nearly 2 months. Robin Hobb might just be my favourite fantasy author. I'm reading Ship of Magic now and loving it, despite missing Fitz and Nighteyes a great deal. Once I'm done this book I'm planning on picking up Stormlight 5 next. The wife and I are gonna be reading that one together and I'm stoked!

Liveships was such a huge departure in both cast and style of writing from the Farseer series; but its utterly awesome. I really love how she was able to create two (in the end closer to three) very distinct fantasy series in a single world and weave them together so that they fit into both a greater narrative that you don't quite realise is happening, but also with each other with subtle ties here and there. It's something you honestly don't get to see from many authors who tend to have a very singular style to the world and way they write about a world and setting.

Having now finished the Liveships trilogy, I think Robin Hobb has become my favorite fantasy author. I didn't think it would be possible, but I liked it even more than the Farseer trilogy. Learning about the life cycle of the dragons was so cool, the liveships themselves were so neat, and you really get to learn about the mystery of the Rain Wilds that's only ever hinted at and never explored in Farseer. Captain Kennit has to be one of the best villains I've ever read, if you could even call him that.

I was planning on doing a palate cleanser before diving into the next Elderlings book, but she's got me so hooked I may very well just dive right in. She's an incredible author.

Her first 3 trilogies are utterly awesome!

Soldier's Sone is another one worth a read, not her most popular work and its set in a different world. It's great fun though if a very different slant on things. It actually probably works better read in one big go without big lag-times in between the books.

 OrlandotheTechnicoloured wrote:

 JoshInJapan wrote:

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:

 JoshInJapan wrote:
I went on a hard-boiled kick a while back, reading everything by Raymond Chandler back-to-back. After a little break, I'm starting up with Dashielle Hammet. I'm about 1/3 of the way through Red Harvest, and it's a blast so far.

How would you compare them to Mike Hammer, or later detectives like Spenser? I love Spencer, but couldn’t make it through a book of Hammer stories.

Sadly, I've never read either. I vaguely remember there being a Mike Hammer TV series from the 80's, but apart from Stacy Keach's magnificent 'stache, I have no real memory of, well, anything. I'll add both to my reading list and see how I feel about them.

I rate Spencer as well although as with many long running series the author (Robert B Parker) did get a bit self indulgent in later books so while they're fun they're not as good as the earlier ones

Yeah, that seems to be the trend with long-running series.

I'm about halfway through Red Harvest, it continues to be fun. One thing I'm finding particularly interesting is the choice of booze. Marlowe was always swigging rye, but the Continental Op drinks lots and lots of gin, a drink which Marlowe looks down on. I'm no longer a drinker, and I never got into spirits, so I'm not wholly certain what the hidden meaning of each detective's choice of drink is, but it adds a lot of flavor to the story.

Firstly, gin is often associated with a certain hard-boiled, tough-guy image that aligns with the Op's character as a gritty detective. It reflects the noir atmosphere of the story, where characters often engage in morally ambiguous actions and face the darker sides of human nature.

During the Prohibition era in the United States, gin was a popular choice for illicit drinking because it was relatively easy to produce and transport. As a hard-boiled detective, the Op's preference for gin may have been a nod to his tough, no-nonsense personality and his willingness to operate in the shadows.

Gin was likely chosen for its potency and ability to deliver a quick kick, while being a low-cost "working man's" drink.

Death World by Steve Lyons. It's a pretty good Catachan novel, I really immersed myself in Catachan lore and myth for my army haha

Conquering Tides, Book 2 of Ian W. Toll’s Pacific War trilogy done and done. Another fun read, and a complete tonal shift from the first book, now that Midway turned the tide and the full industrial might of America is brought to bear to devastating effect.

Pretty wild how the Japanese planes known as the “Zero” was the terror of the skies, and then it seemed like it was a glass cannon and started dropping like flies. American innovation(tactics and technology) as well as attrition taking out the best Japanese pilots, meant that the air was starting to belong to America. One air battle had an 11:1 K/D ratio in favor of America.

The change in submarine aggressiveness was also fun to read, and also frustrating as hell. The Naval department in charge of making munitions was extremely stubborn in admitting and fixing torpedoes that were notorious for failure. Pretty much everyone second guessing their ranking officers or getting pulled in different directions with Mcarthur vs. Nimitz. The concept of unified combined armes warfare is starting to coalesce, but its rough going.

Inter-service rivalry was also frustrating. Marines, Army and Navy all beefing with each other, naval ship leaders beefing with naval aviators, High command trying to take resources out of Pacific theater to move towards Europe.

The idea and reality of defeat is starting to bubble up in Japan, but tight censorship, militant repression and oft-times hilarious but dangerous propaganda is keeping a lid on dissent. The suicides of people in Saipan was a horrifying product of that propaganda. I learned about it in 8th grade history, but this book went into gory detail about some instances. Kids playing hot potato in a circle with a live grenade, families taking cyanide pills, or joining bonzai charges with makeshift spears. When the people threw themselves off a cliff en masse, the bodies would be carried out to sea and American ships had to plow through them, with some bodies getting stuck in ship rudders. Divers would then have to clean them out…

Outside of the horrors of war, it was a great read. Wish I had started this trilogy sooner. About to dive right into Book 3 “Twilight of the Gods”. Though I might jump on the new Maleneth novel for a lighter, quicker read.

 Lathe Biosas wrote:
Firstly, gin is often associated with a certain hard-boiled, tough-guy image that aligns with the Op's character as a gritty detective. It reflects the noir atmosphere of the story, where characters often engage in morally ambiguous actions and face the darker sides of human nature.

During the Prohibition era in the United States, gin was a popular choice for illicit drinking because it was relatively easy to produce and transport. As a hard-boiled detective, the Op's preference for gin may have been a nod to his tough, no-nonsense personality and his willingness to operate in the shadows.

Gin was likely chosen for its potency and ability to deliver a quick kick, while being a low-cost "working man's" drink.

Also, if you gather enough? You may summon Donald Cox, The Sweaty Fox.

I went to the local thrift store and got a bag of trashy paperbacks for $1. I literally pulled the books off the shelf at random, so I have no idea what I have. I have not really read a book for fun in a long time. This will help me change that.

First one I started reading was some pot-boiler called The Shadow Box by John Maxim.

After hearing a reference to both the Netflix series and the books it is based on, I picked up Slow Horses. It's a lot of fun so far.

Picked up a couple 40k novels, Blood Gorgons and Death of Antagonis, both about cursed founding chapters.

I finished Blood Gorgons and I really liked it. Characterization was a little light, I think because there wasn't a human storyline, but overall enjoyable. A lot of twists that made sense and upped the ante, a lot of emphasis on how the protag isn't the only one doing stuff, even if the other marines aren't necessarily winning like he is.

The book definitely made the Blood Gorgons seem interesting, if I wanted to build a Chaos army they're a decent pick.

I'm 1/3 of the way through Death of Antagonis and it's decent. It's a little less combat intensive and a little more political tension between a cursed (but loyal) chapter and the other orgs of the Imperium. I do wish the author wasn't so repetitive in describing demons, like I get they're a mass of shifting flesh with eyes and mouths etc etc, but after a while it feels kind of same-y. I think anyone writing demons in 40k should be forced to read Lovecraft, maybe they'll pick up that sometimes less is more.

Starting Mort tonight, the fourth Discworld novel. And probably the point where, being Death heavy, Discworld really starts to get its feet under itself and start taking the shape its famous for.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Starting Mort tonight, the fourth Discworld novel. And probably the point where, being Death heavy, Discworld really starts to get its feet under itself and start taking the shape its famous for.

Agreed and, with the possible exception of Soul Music, the DEATH series is some of Pterry’s deepest, most meaningful work.

I just read Dante which was surprisingly good so then I started The Devastation of Baal because it is sort of like the sequel. Slow start so far but I assume it'll pick up.

Mort and Sourcery down.

Next up is Wyrd Sisters

Whilst I’ve read all of Discworld (barring Shepherd’s Crown, which is reserved for a special occasion, like my deathbed) before, and some of the tales multiple times, this is my first read through in published order.

Knowing what is to come can be a terrible curse of knowledge. But not here. This foreknowledge allows me to better appreciate that PTerry never stopped growing and developing as a writer, and his creations along with him.

I can also recommend the collections, like Dragons of Crumbling Castle, of his super early works. All the charm is there, and they should make solid bed time stories for younger kids.

Honestly whenever anyone asks me about Discworld and a reading order I always say - publication order.

Whilst some might pick their favourites from his strongest works, I think that the entire work itself is ever so much stronger when you read start to finish. You catch all the in-jokes; all the little developments of lore and changes that take place.

You see long term characters and groups change; the peoples adapting and advancing and moving around.


I've got Rising Steam on my "one day one day but its the last" pile and I've not yet read his younger discworld books (really should some day)

Though I do hold my head high as one of the few who read Darkside of the Sun (amazes me how many long term fans of his don't even know the book exists)

What’s remarkable for me is, whilst I’ve some clear favourites and a couple I didn’t especially enjoy (Pyramids, but perhaps a re-read will challenge my current notion, and that is coming up soon), none of his works that I’ve read feel even remotely low effort, phoned in, or contractural obligation.

I'd love to say that I just read some high-brow life changing books... but I've just finished Apocalypse Cow and World War Moo by Michael Logan.

Zombie cows in the UK. 'Nuff Said.

Pyramids A Discworld Novel.

As mentioned above, I’ve read this before, but only the once. And I’ve no real memory of it. But I want to motor through it, as the next volume is Guards Guards, which introduces The Nightwatch, and first to really codify Lord Vetenari.

I finished The Shadowbox and left it for someone else to find and read. My normal method of passing on a paperback. Of note, this is the first book I have purely read for entertainment since.... I honestly can not recall..... It was fine for a paperback thriller from the late 90's.

That brings me to Frederick Forsyth's collection of short works called The Veteran. Pretty by the numbers at this point, but the final novella takes place in my geography which makes it even more fun that usual.

You may recall, I got a stack of random paperbacks at a Thrift Store for a dollar. I am slowly working through them.

Polished off Pyramids last night.

It’s mostly good, but doesn’t quite stick the ending. Lots of big, fun, entertaining ideas which just don’t quite tie together at the last.

Still a fun read, but not PTerry at his best. Still absolutely has its place in a read through of Discworld, as it develops The Assassin’s Guild nicely, in a way which would stick. It’s just that last third feels a bit messier than I’m used to.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Polished off Pyramids last night.

It’s mostly good, but doesn’t quite stick the ending. Lots of big, fun, entertaining ideas which just don’t quite tie together at the last.

Still a fun read, but not PTerry at his best. Still absolutely has its place in a read through of Discworld, as it develops The Assassin’s Guild nicely, in a way which would stick. It’s just that last third feels a bit messier than I’m used to.

It has some really neat maths jokes in that one from what I remember, involving the pyramid builders. And of course "You Bastard"

And so we come to it…

Guards! Guards!

Captain Vimes! Sgt Colon! Nobby Nobbs! Carrot! And Lord Vetenari’s first true manifestation as the glorious Machiavellian bastard.

Easily one of Pterry’s very, very best. And the beginning of the odyssey of The Watch. And indeed one of the finest character development arcs in His Grace, The Duke of Ankh, Commander Sir Samuel "Sam" Vimes.

And I’m just at the part where Sam meets Sybil. The beginning of one the greatest and most realistic love affairs in fictions.

There is a genuine magic about this book. It’s a tale of the fantastic told fantastically.

I’d even go so far as to call it literary perfection.

Just finished Twilight of the Gods : War in the Western Pacific 1944-45 (3 of 3 in the trilogy) by Ian W. Toll

Great read and something that will probably stick with me for a long while.

Have some very strong opinions on the Japanese of this era, and firmly believe they got off light in regards to accountability in some higher up positions who steered their nation during the war. Would’ve liked more rope around necks, particularly at the very top. But the conduct of most of their people in interacting with occupation forces was very heartwarming and a stark contrast to all of the savagery that preceded it.

My one thing that I didn’t like was how abruptly it ended. If you read this trilogy, you go on a journey with some remarkable people, some deeply flawed and others absolute paragons of warfighting generals/admirals. Would’ve liked a bit of what they did after WW2. Probably get tedious, as most would just be career servicemen, but I wanted one last little tidbit/sendoff of Spruance, Nimitz, McArthur etc. Guess I gotta do the homework, now!

Could probably write a small novel in my review, but I’ll stop here. Highly, highly recommend.

Might take the chronological step and search out some novels on the communist take over of China, and/or the Korean War, both of which I’m woefully uninformed of. But I probably need something a bit lighter, more fun in a different genre as a palate cleanse.

And on to Moving Pictures

Another Discworld I’ve only read the once before. Notable for introducing Mustrum Ridcully as the new Archchancellor of Unseen University.

Also Gaspode, the talking dog.

I’m reading the Discworld books to my son just now. Getting toward the end of Sourcery.

In terms of bad stories, I think Lost Continent doesnt really sparkle. Relies too much on hardcore aping of Mad Max and Aussie parody , rather than actually telling a story. However, one dud out of how many is a pretty good score

I'm currently re-reading The Lord of the Rings for the umpteenth time. I never get tired of it! I do always start with The Hobbit first, of course!

 ZergSmasher wrote:
I'm currently re-reading The Lord of the Rings for the umpteenth time. I never get tired of it! I do always start with The Hobbit first, of course!

Do you read the other Tolkien Middle Earth stories too?

 Flinty wrote:
I’m reading the Discworld books to my son just now. Getting toward the end of Sourcery.

In terms of bad stories, I think Lost Continent doesnt really sparkle. Relies too much on hardcore aping of Mad Max and Aussie parody , rather than actually telling a story. However, one dud out of how many is a pretty good score

That one isn’t helped by my general apathy toward Rincewind. But I shall read it as part of this literary odyssey. Because even “not his best” PTerry is significantly better than many other authors.

 Lathe Biosas wrote:

 ZergSmasher wrote:
I'm currently re-reading The Lord of the Rings for the umpteenth time. I never get tired of it! I do always start with The Hobbit first, of course!

Do you read the other Tolkien Middle Earth stories too?

As someone else who also re-reads LotR periodically:

I’ve tried, and read some. Silmarillion a few times.

There are a few issues. One is that they often feel disjointed? They are not nearly as polished as the finished works. Some of them feel like drafts, or alternate universe versions of main books. They might be gems, but unpolished.

The fragmented nature also make it hard for them to set a hook into you. They are scattered snapshots, short tales from the history of Middle Earth. This makes it easy to put the book down, as without a compelling story to keep you going, and quite thick prose, getting through them can be rough.

If someone wants to take a step away from the core books, I [i]would[i] recommend the Silmarillion. It’s dense and it took me a few tries to get through it. But it is also edited and put together into a coherent format. It tells a compelling story, and gets into the history of ME. Lots of cool lore. It is hard to read in places, at times it’s like a history book just data dumping on you. But you will walk away from it with a trove of depth from the universe.

 ZergSmasher wrote:
I'm currently re-reading The Lord of the Rings for the umpteenth time. I never get tired of it! I do always start with The Hobbit first, of course!

I reread LoTR over the winter. I tried, really tried, but once again skipped over all the songs.

After finishing {b]The Veteran[/b] by Frederick Forsythe I picked up the next in my pile of used, thrift store Paperbacks that I randomly grabbed and just started.

Memorial Day by Vince Flynn. This guy was a local so I heard him interviewed a lot on the local radio station before his untimely death. I never really read any of his books though..... until now!

I have just started and this is a National Security pot-boiler of the right-wing persuasion. This thing is powered by the 24 vibe and clear product of the the War on Terror era.

It is not as technically dense as a Clancy book, but so far has no nuance or subtlety to the story, subtext or message. I am honestly pretty disappointed in it so far, but I am only about 30 pages in. I am likely to finish it, but this is no Ken Folliett and Key to Rebecca, and it sure isn't Tom Clancy and The Hunt for Red October. The opening line is so amateurish that I had to read it a few times to believe it.

Dogs of War by Jonathan Maberry. It is the 9th book in the Joe Ledger series, which I discovered because of someone else on this forum (thanks Flinty!). The series is a blending of sci-fi military horror thriller, reminding me of something like the Rogue Warrior or Jack Reacher series mixed with Stephen King. Much of the horror elements tend to be grounded in real world science, but more esoteric aspects are introduced slowly as the series goes on. Some of it can become a bit predictable in the latter books, but I have still been enjoying the interesting mix of ideas enough that I likely will end up reading the entire series.

I’m reading the latest Murderbot Diaries book. It’s light-hearted Sci Fi humor, quite enjoyable.

We’ve been reading the Weird America series to plan road trips. We decided to stop reading the big Weird America book because it got samey and repetitive (so many “The Devil’s _______” sites that are all just bridges). Focusing on a state at a time, Weird Oregon has given us a few good ideas for places to stop.

Atlas Obscura can be a good source of fun stuff too.

Thanks for the suggestion. Is that a website only, or a book, too?

I think they have a book, but the more Up-to-date info is online.

For example, I was on a work trip on the East Coast and used the website to find some fun local history places to visit in my down time.

The Island of Dr Moreau, by HG Wells.

It feels like its written today, and that's how far ahead of his time Wells was. We should be ashamed of how we treat the animal kingdom! Damn us!

 nels1031 wrote:
Just finished Twilight of the Gods : War in the Western Pacific 1944-45 (3 of 3 in the trilogy) by Ian W. Toll

Great read and something that will probably stick with me for a long while.

Have some very strong opinions on the Japanese of this era, and firmly believe they got off light in regards to accountability in some higher up positions who steered their nation during the war. Would’ve liked more rope around necks, particularly at the very top. But the conduct of most of their people in interacting with occupation forces was very heartwarming and a stark contrast to all of the savagery that preceded it.

My one thing that I didn’t like was how abruptly it ended. If you read this trilogy, you go on a journey with some remarkable people, some deeply flawed and others absolute paragons of warfighting generals/admirals. Would’ve liked a bit of what they did after WW2. Probably get tedious, as most would just be career servicemen, but I wanted one last little tidbit/sendoff of Spruance, Nimitz, McArthur etc. Guess I gotta do the homework, now!

Could probably write a small novel in my review, but I’ll stop here. Highly, highly recommend.

Might take the chronological step and search out some novels on the communist take over of China, and/or the Korean War, both of which I’m woefully uninformed of. But I probably need something a bit lighter, more fun in a different genre as a palate cleanse.

Sounds like it was a good companion piece to Dan Carlin's Supernova in the East.

And just polished off Reaper Man

I think this might’ve been my first ever Discworld novel, back in the dim and distant.

A bloody good story by anyone’s standards, with a particularly satisfying ending. And in the history of the evolution of PTerry’s writing, probably his best ending up to that point. It is really pleasing to be able to spot his skill and confidence grow across these early books.

I mean, he was never a bad writer (not even his super early non-Discworld stuff). But there is ongoing development and refinement there to be seen.

Next up, is Witches Abroad

Raided a used bookstore:


1. Big Bad City (An 87th Precinct novel) - Ed McBain

The greatest police procedural novelist ever

2. Enterprise: Daedalus - Dave Stern

3. Star Trek Enterprise: Daedalus's Children - Dave Stern

Parts 1 and 2, I could never find part 1 until yesterday

4. Seven Ancient Wonders - Matthew Reilly

Matt Reilly books are like Michael Crichton novels done by Michael Bay... while Bay was mainlining pure cane sugar.

The Absent Superpower : The Shale Revolution and a World Without America by Peter Zeihan(2016)

A book written by Geopolitical analyst Peter Zeihan, offering the view of an America bent on near isolationism and a willing retreat from prominence on the global stage. Given that this book was written 9-ish+ years ago, there’s a decent amount of prophecy in this tome, given whats happened since the book was started.

It all started with shale oil, basically. The day America started down the path of an oil exporter, rather than mainly an importer, the calculus of the world changed. America (according to the author) didn’t need or want to be the guarantor of world order, as it had been since after WW2 and even moreso after containment made the USSR eat itself. With near total energy independence, it could pick and choose its interests, maybe even be more confrontational or coldly transactional. Sound familiar?

I’ve soured on this author a bit over the years since I read The End of the World Is Just the Beginning (2022) (the followup to this novel, yes, I’m reading in the wrong order >.< ) as he gets quite a few big things wrong from time to time, but its been an interesting and somewhat educational read so far.

So I've got a weird one.

A question came up on a place where I try to answer history questions for peeps, specifically, about whether or not Dracula was inspired by Vlad the Impaler (TLDR; it depends on who you ask). This sent me on a deep dive I was not expecting to go on today, but I've been at it for an hour so you all get to see the toils of my labors!

So, we know from Bram Stoker's notes that he read a history book 'An account of the principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia' by William Wilkinson. I procured a plain text copy of this book via Project Gutenburg (thanks Project Gutenburg!)

Now. I text searched this book to see what I could find that Stoker might have learned in reading it. And I found that this book actually never names Vlad the Impaler. Or father. Or his brothers (maybe?) for that matter. It actually only has a whole whoppy 3 paragraphs and a footnote about the entire family and provides little to no details about their lives.

It gets weird when I get to paragraph 3;

The Wallachians under this Voïvode joined again the Hungarians in 1448, and made war on Turkey; but being totally defeated at the battle of Cossova, in Bulgaria, and finding it no longer possible to make any
stand against the Turks, they submitted again to the annual tribute, which they paid until the year 1460, when the Sultan Mahomet II. being occupied in completing the conquest of the islands in the Archipelago, afforded them a new opportunity of shaking off the yoke. Their Voïvode, also named Dracula[5], did not remain satisfied with mere prudent measures of defence: with an army he crossed the Danube and attacked the few Turkish troops that were stationed in his neighbourhood; but this attempt, like those of his predecessors, was only attended with momentary success. Mahomet having turned his arms against him, drove him back to Wallachia, whither he pursued and defeated him. The Voïvode escaped into Hungary, and the Sultan caused his brother Bladus to be named in his place. He made a treaty with Bladus, by which he bound the Wallachians to perpetual tribute; and laid the foundations of that slavery, from which no efforts have yet had the power of extricating them with any lasting efficacy.

For the life of me, this paragraph is such a god damn bastard. Maybe I've just been staring at it too long trying to figure it out but numerous parts of this paragraph are confusing. First, I'm not entirely sure which 'Dracula' is referred to in this section. I want to say Vlad III from context, but it's also possible it refers to Vlad II, Vlad III's cousin who was in charge after Vlad's dad, also Vlad II, died. The section also seems to confuse whoever it is trying to refer to with Vlad's older brother Micea II who was dead by 1448? I have no idea who Baldus is. Either Vlad the Impaler himself, or his younger brother Radu, or Radu's usurper whose name at lest starts with a B? I don't know enough about Romanian to figure it out.

I kept going but this is literally all the book really contains about the whole of Vlad Impalesworth's family. Three whole paragraphs, and the last paragraph abridges the events of 1448-1460 so damn hard, I can't tell what it's trying to say. It either is just eluding me in this moment, or the writer conflates several different Wallachian rulers and the events of their lives during this period with no clarification, unaided by the unspecifric nature of the name Dracula which could refer to any of them.

To wit, I'm not sure if Stoker even knew who Vlad III was (Vlad III's name doesn't appear in any of Stoker's notes), let alone could be bother to have worked the history of the man into his story.

Reaper Man is my one signed Pratchett. I loves it most dearly.

 Flinty wrote:
Reaper Man is my one signed Pratchett. I loves it most dearly.

So jealous. Reaper Man is one of his very best.

I have a signed Joe Abercrombie - that's my only signed book.

Currently reading "Doom Guy: Life In First Person" by John Romero.

Only two chapters in and it's a bit heavy going, but glad to finally have a copy all the same. I wasn't going to buy it because it has little on his time at Monkeystone, but saw it on the shelf at the mueseum of computing in Cambridge and thought "why not." It was a nice visit and really wanted a momento...

Would have liked the mueseum's Spectrum 48K+, but the life & times of John Romero would suffice!

Ever been browbeaten by others into reading a book?

"I can't believe you've never read..."

"What? I thought you, of all people would have read..."

"I can't talk to you until you've read..."

And so you read this book, and go. Okay. It was a book. Nothing spectacular.

But you're too afraid to offend your friends who've drunk the Kool-aid and signed on to author...

Do you return and say:

A) Wow, I loved the thinly veiled smut disguised as fantasy, with an obviously author as protagonist (who goes on and on about loving porridge and chocolate). I imagine that this overrated tripe is real popular with high school girls - I'm going to assume this was some horrible April Fool's Joke at my expense... You got me!

B) Sorry, this book wasn't my speed.
What did I say or do make you believe that I would enjoy this?

C) I'm sorry, I must've misheard the author's name, because the author I picked up writes horrible garbage. Can you spell the name again for me? Oh its spelled the same? Wow, did you know that your author shares a name with a horrendous author?

D) Meh.

E) Like, Wow! This was the single best thing I've ever read? Ive thrown away all my Tolkien, Abercrombie, Howard, and Sanderson, Since this author has made me rethink what fantasy could be! Oh... There's a whole series? That's amazing! I can't wait to read the next installment!

There is no Option F.

I've also removed the author's name as she is a popular fantasy author, and I've already pissed off enough people this month.

Option F- Never see the people who shamed you into reading the book again by joining the local equivalent of the Peace Corp.

Just be honest.

Literary Works, like Comedy, are inherently subjective when it comes to enjoyment.

You or I not enjoying a given recommendation does not a bad book make. It just wasn’t one you enjoyed.

For instance? I think it’s clear I love Discworld, and I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read by the same author. I also greatly enjoy the Gotrek novels, particularly the Bill King ones.

But if someone isn’t into Fantasy? They’re probably going to struggle with the same.

Never make excuses when it comes to your taste in media.

That kind of happened to me recently with the 3 body problem. A friend at work was raving over it so I picked it up and ended up just skim-reading half of it as I found the delivery unutterably dull and full of itself. As MDG says art is subjective so I felt quite comfortable saying it wasn’t quite my thing. I enjoyed the TV adaptation much more, but even then I don’t think it lives up to the hype.

I was promised fantasy and was given a fifty-shades-of-fantasy romance novel, with a thin veneer of "fantasy" coated on top.

I feel a little duped.

But much like religion and politics, I've discovered that no one wants to hear you say, "You know that series that you loved, and talk about constantly? I read it and think it sucked."

Honesty, is not the best policy, when it comes to beloved books.

 Lathe Biosas wrote:
I was promised fantasy and was given a fifty-shades-of-fantasy romance novel, with a thin veneer of "fantasy" coated on top.

I feel a little duped.

But much like religion and politics, I've discovered that no one wants to hear you say, "You know that series that you loved, and talk about constantly? I read it and think it sucked."

Honesty, is not the best policy, when it comes to beloved books.

LoL, if this happens to be ACOTAR, or something similar, just agree with the things everyone can. Tamlin was such a jerk. And then let them enjoy their fairy smut in peace.

There's a big gap between admitting you love a book, and admitting you love a trashy book.

I fully appreciate that Ciaphas Cain is , at best, pulp fiction, but I find it tremendously entertaining. You have to have a lot of confidence as a reader to admit that you sank hours or more likely days into something that is objectively not great, and loved every minute of it.

 Gitzbitah wrote:

 Lathe Biosas wrote:
I was promised fantasy and was given a fifty-shades-of-fantasy romance novel, with a thin veneer of "fantasy" coated on top.

I feel a little duped.

But much like religion and politics, I've discovered that no one wants to hear you say, "You know that series that you loved, and talk about constantly? I read it and think it sucked."

Honesty, is not the best policy, when it comes to beloved books.

LoL, if this happens to be ACOTAR, or something similar, just agree with the things everyone can. Tamlin was such a jerk. And then let them enjoy their fairy smut in peace.

There's a big gap between admitting you love a book, and admitting you love a trashy book.

I fully appreciate that Ciaphas Cain is , at best, pulp fiction, but I find it tremendously entertaining. You have to have a lot of confidence as a reader to admit that you sank hours or more likely days into something that is objectively not great, and loved every minute of it.

Shhh... It is Sarah J. Maas .

Ciaphas Cain is a damn literary work of genius and I'll not stand for slander. (I'm one that will admit to enjoying every minute of that trashy pulpy amazingness)

Ahhh, but Sandy Mitchell knows Cain reads as trashy pulp. And even better, knew enough about what makes a book trashy pulp to really play with the genre.

I mean…is Cain a genuine coward? Is he suffering impostor syndrome? Or is he a worryingly sane person in an insane galaxy just doing what he thinks will preserve as many Imperial lives as possible, despite the main life he’s concerned with being his own?

So, so many grey areas.

Certainly I’ll always argue he can’t be the coward he believes himself to be, because so many of his miraculous tales of survival come from putting the boot in, but only ever when it’s absolutely necessary. A true coward would just give up and die.

He is an endlessly fascinating character, and it almost gets better as his supporting cast gradually becomes aware of part of the man behind the facade. I will never tire of Amberly Vale's intense hatred of every single additional writer she has to bring in to provide context to Cain's memoirs.

Ok, time to start another reread. I love these books so much!

Lords and Ladies

Discworld odyssey continues. And whilst still a fairly early entry, this tale of the Lancre Witches is right up there with the very best Pterry ever graced us with.

Coming very soon after Witches Abroad, it’s clear that he’d really fallen in love with Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and Magrat, and he’s really exploring literary traditions in folk tales and that,

Absolutely compelling stuff, with a real atmosphere of dread.

In general I think the stories that centre around either the Witches, Death (as a main character) or the Guards are when Discworld is at its strongest.

I’d agree with that. What impresses me most is that in those books, it’s not just say, Granny Weatherwax or Sam Vimes that get character development. All the Witches, all the Watch, and the world all gain greater definition and experience, which carries over to the next book, whether they’re in it or not.

As said earlier, it’s all the more impressive that you can still read the books in any order, and it all still feels fleshed out. So whilst I’m seeing the strong merit of an in-order read through? Anyone can pick up any book and not feel like there are unexplained gaps.

I still couldn’t say whether it’s Granny or Vimes that’s my favourite though.

His ability to not only develop his world, but also most of the individual characters that appear is impressive when you consider that not only does he have a huge roster, but you also don't get "lost".

I've read some stories where part way through you find yourself having to reach into an index at the back just to get a quick reminder who is who.

That’s true. Particularly in fantasy novels with fantasy names.

Not knocking any given writer, but down that road can easily lie confusion, usually in ambush.

As you may recall, I have been reading through a bunch of paperbacks I got for $1 at the thrift store. I read them, and then leave them around town for someone else to pick-up and read.

I just finished Memorial Day by Vince Flynn. It was the worst type of right wing, war-on-terror, tripe. The main character makes Jack Bauer from 24 look reasonable and not a male-fantasy trope at all. Instead of passing this pile-of-right-wing-BS on I threw it into my "to be burned" pile of scrap paper. I don't need anyone in my neck-of-the-woods reading more right-wing claptrap than they all ready do. Mr. Flynn has since died and I hope he rests in peace.

Next up, I have Peter Straub's The Throat. Last time I tried to read a Straub book, I don't think I ever finished. Let's see how I do with this one.

I've discovered you shouldn't pick authors based upon how the author looks, even if they are ridiculously, overly gorgeous.

Case in point: Veronica Roth.

I've read Chosen Ones, Carve the Mark and am finishing up Poster Girl.

Do you have PTSD? Do you want to?

Sheesh. Her books are good, but, wow, everyone is mentally fethed up in her books.

I mean you say don't do it but then you say you enjoyed her books so - it seems to be working for you!

 Overread wrote:
I mean you say don't do it but then you say you enjoyed her books so - it seems to be working for you!

I love her work, it's just that I feel really sad reading them.

Most of her characters really need a hug... and Zoloft and Prozac and Doxipine and...

I only made it through two Peter Straub books, and enough was enough. He’s the kind of writer who makes Stephen King ask, “Whoa buddy, where’s your editor?”

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
I only made it through two Peter Straub books, and enough was enough. He’s the kind of writer who makes Stephen King ask, “Whoa buddy, where’s your editor?”

Then this book's for you!

I read that one and Black House, their other collaboration, and they’re both fine, mid-tier horror/fantasy books that could have shed 50 pages.

That is the one I think I never finished....

I'm working my way through the Complete Works of Dashiell Hammet. I just finished The Glass Key, and am partway through The Thin Man. The former was originally serialized, and in that form the chainsmoking of cigars was probably less jarring than it is in novel form.

I was doing some highbrow stuff (philosophy books to try and help me with the doldrums in work) but I've switched to Gaunt's Ghosts. I always run out of steam around book 8 or so (get sick of a particular character and likeable characters dying off) but I'm determined to make it through to what I've heard are some pretty good books later on. I've also heard the "ending" is shaky but I'm gonna power on through anyway.


I really love the first few books. I know a lot of people say it doesn't get going til Necropolis and it is a banger of a novel, but I really love First and Only too and the Inferno short stories collected in Ghostmaker are all great as well. I bought First and Only when it came out and thought it was about the best thing ever. Inspired me to start kitbashing some Tanith together for games.

 Easy E wrote:
That is the one I think I never finished....

Oh man, you should try Shadowlands.*

*Do not try Shadowlands.

I've been devouring through "the Canvas Falcons" by Stephen Longstreet.

It's certainly a well crafted book, but I think in some places it does show it's age, which is only natural since it was published somewhere in the 1970s (or at least my B&N printing of it has a copyright in the 70s)

The snapshot is this: it's a history book covering the planes and men who flew them during WW1. So, many pages devoted to Anthony Fokker, a short chapter on M. v. Richthofen, and most other participating nations' aces. I'm just now getting to a chapter on Eddie Rickenbacker, America's top ace for the war.

As I said though, I'm rather enjoying it, even if I recognize where it has aged rather poorly. For instance, in the section I read through last night, Longstreet was discussing the Americans entrance and industrial entrance into the war. He has a brief mention of one of the air squadrons had "an American Negro sergeant training men to fly". But then he hand waves away further research with a "to date, I have not been able to find this pilot's name". Now, I don't know if it's 40-50 intervening years, or what sources the author really had available, but I happen to know that that man's name was Eugene Bullard, and in various history circles I frequent, he's kind of a big deal. Big enough of a deal that I'd think that his name could've been found.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:

 Easy E wrote:
That is the one I think I never finished....

Oh man, you should try Shadowlands.

OK. If you think it's good I'll give it a go.

 Ensis Ferrae wrote:
I've been devouring through "the Canvas Falcons" by Stephen Longstreet.

It's certainly a well crafted book, but I think in some places it does show it's age, which is only natural since it was published somewhere in the 1970s (or at least my B&N printing of it has a copyright in the 70s)

The snapshot is this: it's a history book covering the planes and men who flew them during WW1. So, many pages devoted to Anthony Fokker, a short chapter on M. v. Richthofen, and most other participating nations' aces. I'm just now getting to a chapter on Eddie Rickenbacker, America's top ace for the war.

As I said though, I'm rather enjoying it, even if I recognize where it has aged rather poorly. For instance, in the section I read through last night, Longstreet was discussing the Americans entrance and industrial entrance into the war. He has a brief mention of one of the air squadrons had "an American Negro sergeant training men to fly". But then he hand waves away further research with a "to date, I have not been able to find this pilot's name". Now, I don't know if it's 40-50 intervening years, or what sources the author really had available, but I happen to know that that man's name was Eugene Bullard, and in various history circles I frequent, he's kind of a big deal. Big enough of a deal that I'd think that his name could've been found.

I consider books like that need to be remembered, to remind us how far we’ve come as a society, and where we came from.

It’s like 70’s, 80’s and 90’s cop shows and that, which had so much underlying, largely casual, racism, sexism and homophobia. Even nominally “right on” shows reflected it.

And it might be a cop out, I try not to judge the authors or crew too harshly. They’re products of their environment after all.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:

And it might be a cop out, I try not to judge the authors or crew too harshly. They’re products of their environment after all.

Yeah. . . after finishing it last night, I went and looked up the author, and basically what Wikipedia shows and credits as his books, he was NOT a historian. He wrote fiction and nonfiction books (including 2 cookbooks, and one that he heavily plagiarized another novel). And based on reviews of the book I was reading, his "research" basically amounted to 1960s "wikipedia", the person writing the critique basically calls out that his "sources" are common and readily available pieces, nothing actually very deep at all.

Men At Arms

The next Discworld book. Where, just as Lord and Ladies really codified the Lancre Witches, Sir Samuel Vimes & Co really take on a life of their own.

Diversity in the Watch! The Watch beginning to be taken seriously, not least by the Night Watch themselves!

Finished and was blown away by William Gibson's Neuromancer a couple weeks ago, excellent writing, dialogue, concepts, decent pacing, and I like how Will definitely be reading Burning Chrome when I get the chance.

Death World by Steve Lyons is genuinely great! Does it do anything interesting philosophically or ask any interesting questions about the wider 40k setting? Hell no! But it's a great action story, with well-paced moments in-between. I also appreciate how Lyons' is not afraid to his established characters. The story is a little pulpy, but Lyons leans into it, however not to the point of being too silly. Actually presents the Jungles Catachan's face down daily as a convincing threat, rather than just shooting lasguns at trees or some gak. I'll admit it does go by a little fast near the ending and the main character Lorenzo's inner conflict isn't very original, but it makes sense that Catachans would want to prove themselves, and Lyons makes sure to. Overall, I won't spoil it for you, but it's a great 40k book. Respects the reader's intelligence enough to not just be mindless bolter porn or characters yapping to each other for 300 pages. I would recommend it! It's seminal-Catachan fiction and feels a lot more 'boots-on-the ground' compared to other Guard novels that feature Psykers and Tech-Priests and stuff. Good, messy fun.

Gotten back to reading Metro 2033 by Dmitry Glukhovsky (now serving 5 more years in Federal prison for mildly criticising the russian armed forces, yay!) and it's pretty good so far. The intro is quite slow and can drag a bit if you played the game first, I still think the story is a lot better here than the game, it just has to explain small things in detail and then get back to the main plot. That happens a lot. The worldbuilding is interesting though, so what do I have to complain about?

edit: Apparently Glukhovsky does not live in russia, thankfully. Lets hope for the best.

And that’s Men At Arms done and dusted.

I realise that Discworld is a special blend. If it was food, it’s like a really good Steak in a decent, but never too fancy, restaurant, cooked to your preference and with all the trimmings. Yet, at the same time? It’s your favourite comfort food. Perhaps Broth, that only your Granny could make right. And every book you walk away with a metaphorical full belly. It’s at once sophisticated and homely.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
And that’s Men At Arms done and dusted.

I realise that Discworld is a special blend. If it was food, it’s like a really good Steak in a decent, but never too fancy, restaurant, cooked to your preference and with all the trimmings. Yet, at the same time? It’s your favourite comfort food. Perhaps Broth, that only your Granny could make right. And every book you walk away with a metaphorical full belly. It’s at once sophisticated and homely.

Best description I've seen so far, so accurate! The Colour of Magic will always be my favourite, so much magic and memories reading that. Actually describes how I feel towards that book. You've clearly read a lot more of them, which one is your favourite so far?

That’s the trouble. We’re completely spoiled for choice. With the odd exception, it tends to be Whichever One I’m Reading, as they’re that engrossing.

His lack of chapters and the overall pacing also makes them very easy to be "just one more page" books.

On Kindles that also transforms into immediate "just one more book purchase in the series" cycles too

I think my favourite sequence would have to be Ankh Morpork. We see it go from Basic Fantasy City In Roughly Medieval Time, right up to Industrial Revolution. Which is a lot of change over not a lot of in-universe time, but still feels organic, and still powered by Fantasy Tropes.

 bullisariuscowl wrote:
Finished and was blown away by William Gibson's Neuromancer a couple weeks ago, excellent writing, dialogue, concepts, decent pacing, and I like how

Spoiler:

the ending was bittersweet, with Case seeing his Matrix-self more happy than he was. I liked how he threw that gifted shuriken at the screen WMute appeared on. really conveyed his utter exhaustion and rage at being controlled over and over again by forces he couldn't possibly understand, and I like how he doesn't have some grandiose character improvement. It's a lot more grounded for that

Will definitely be reading Burning Chrome when I get the chance.

Gibson generally works in trilogies. Burning Chrome is a selection of short stories (also very much peak cyberpunk and worth reading). But to follow after Neuromancer should be Count Zero Interrupt and then Mona Lisa Overdrive to round out the triptych.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
I think my favourite sequence would have to be Ankh Morpork. We see it go from Basic Fantasy City In Roughly Medieval Time, right up to Industrial Revolution. Which is a lot of change over not a lot of in-universe time, but still feels organic, and still powered by Fantasy Tropes.

It's not just Morpoke either - we see these changes rolling out over the whole world. In a lot of fantasy settings the setting remains fairly static and what changes is the ruling powers; or you follow one major upheaval of change. Discworld goes through a LOT and that honestly makes it feel very real because the real world goes through a lot of changes too. In different places different things change and they have knock on effects.

It's one of the reasons I like to suggest people read it in publication sequence first because you get to spot these little changes in one book that you then see happening in another region of the world in another book around other characters. And yet every so often you'll get moments that remind you that those changes are not like in a video game where they change and are set in stone; you get hints of the past rearing its head all the time here and there. Wizards that need reminding about the importance of the Cheese Trolley least they fall back into their power-hungry internal battling ways

 Nevelon wrote:

 bullisariuscowl wrote:
Finished and was blown away by William Gibson's Neuromancer a couple weeks ago, excellent writing, dialogue, concepts, decent pacing, and I like how

Spoiler:

the ending was bittersweet, with Case seeing his Matrix-self more happy than he was. I liked how he threw that gifted shuriken at the screen WMute appeared on. really conveyed his utter exhaustion and rage at being controlled over and over again by forces he couldn't possibly understand, and I like how he doesn't have some grandiose character improvement. It's a lot more grounded for that

Will definitely be reading Burning Chrome when I get the chance.

Gibson generally works in trilogies. Burning Chrome is a selection of short stories (also very much peak cyberpunk and worth reading). But to follow after Neuromancer should be Count Zero Interrupt and then Mona Lisa Overdrive to round out the triptych.

Yes, you're right there, but I don't think I have the capacity to read a book that large, especially after Metro 2033, a massive novel. Some short stories would be a good way to get back into the Gibson mood, then go on to Count Zero and Mona Lisa Overdrive

I have not read a single Horus Heresy novel, but was given Master of Mankind when I started to buy Custodes.

Do I need any primer to understand what's going on, or is it pretty self explanatory?

 Quixote wrote:
I have not read a single Horus Heresy novel, but was given Master of Mankind when I started to buy Custodes.

Do I need any primer to understand what's going on, or is it pretty self explanatory?

You'll be fine with that one. It's a fairly stand alone book.

Reading The Storm before The Storm by Mike Duncan.

 KamikazeCanuck wrote:
Reading The Storm before The Storm by Mike Duncan.

I read that. PM me if you want to share notes......

 KamikazeCanuck wrote:
Reading The Storm before The Storm by Mike Duncan.

Read that too. Pretty fun read and a great companion to his seminal History of Rome podcast.

and funnily enough, currently reading The Storm Before the Calm: America's Discord, the Coming Crisis of the 2020s, and the Triumph Beyond by George Friedman

Soul Music

Kind of a stand alone in the wider tapestry of Discworld, though it brings in such stalwarts as Colon and Nobby, Death, Dibbler and the Wizards. It also debuts Susan Sto Helit, Death’s grand daughter.

Been a while since I last read this, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. As a music fan with a strong preference for Rock ‘n’ Roll I got so many of the silly little one liners, hidden in general dialogue.

I’d say this is notable for Pterry absolutely nailing the “meta” of the plot. He was an incredibly clever person, and had a knack for getting his point across without preaching or condescending. But in some of the earlier books, he didn’t quite express The Really Big Thoughts effectively. Here? He absolutely did.

My journey through Realm of the Elderlings continues. I am now on The Golden Fool and I'm loving it. Robin Hobb is now 8 books for 8 with me. I'm glad I have so many more of these books to read because I don't want to leave the Six Duchies any time soon.

If it’s not a rude question to someone clearly enjoying a series of books?

What’s the Unique Selling Point(s) for Realm of the Elderlings?

Only I’ve never heard of it before, but if you’re 8 for 8, I’m intrigued.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Soul Music

Kind of a stand alone in the wider tapestry of Discworld, though it brings in such stalwarts as Colon and Nobby, Death, Dibbler and the Wizards. It also debuts Susan Sto Helit, Death’s grand daughter.

Been a while since I last read this, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. As a music fan with a strong preference for Rock ‘n’ Roll I got so many of the silly little one liners, hidden in general dialogue.

I’d say this is notable for Pterry absolutely nailing the “meta” of the plot. He was an incredibly clever person, and had a knack for getting his point across without preaching or condescending. But in some of the earlier books, he didn’t quite express The Really Big Thoughts effectively. Here? He absolutely did.

I've been re-reading the Discworld books every few years since I discovered them at around 14 years old, and I still pick up new things each time. One of the most recent was a little throwaway line from Mustrum Ridcully towards the end of The Last Continent, where the storm is about to break and he says something like "We'd better run, we'd better take cover" - which this time round twigged as a line from Men At Work's 'Land Down Under'. I'm going to be a very sad old man when I finally have no more little references to get.

They’re like the Airplane! films in that regard. The more you watch/read, the more jokes you get or notice for the first time.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
If it’s not a rude question to someone clearly enjoying a series of books?

What’s the Unique Selling Point(s) for Realm of the Elderlings?

Only I’ve never heard of it before, but if you’re 8 for 8, I’m intrigued.

So its a little tricky in that some of the unique parts of latter books mean revealing bit spoilers (which I'm not going to do). Furthermore she actually slips between two different style of writing across the saga she made.

So I'll start by saying she's also one of my favourite authors as well and I'd strongly recommend picking up Assassin's Apprentice and starting at the very beginning of her huge saga she created.

This first trilogy follows a single character for the most part and dips you right into their thoughts as well as their actions. You follow them from youth as they grow up and change; you see every thought and process and you understand them. You also end up wanting to shout at them as they make mistakes and bad choices. Because you can see the inner workings of their thought process you understand why they made the choice even if you totally can see a better one glaring them in the face. Which is to say you get totally wrapped up and drawn into this lead character in a huge way.

The second Trilogy (liveships starting with Ship of Magic) is set in the same world; but features and almost entirely new cast and shifts from single to multi-character focus with several spread out separated storylines each going their own way that weave toward a major ending.




Like I said I don't want to drop spoilers on unique parts as I feel you'll enjoy it more to read but I will say she creates fantastic very realistic feeling characters that she gets fully behind. You really get a deep dive investment into the characters she makes. Meanwhile the way she creates the world setting means that you get a huge number of different perspectives and eventually if you go further into the saga you see how effects in one nation far removed from another have huge impacts on others. You see different peoples; magics; world views; cycles and more.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Crispy78 wrote:

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Soul Music

Kind of a stand alone in the wider tapestry of Discworld, though it brings in such stalwarts as Colon and Nobby, Death, Dibbler and the Wizards. It also debuts Susan Sto Helit, Death’s grand daughter.

Been a while since I last read this, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. As a music fan with a strong preference for Rock ‘n’ Roll I got so many of the silly little one liners, hidden in general dialogue.

I’d say this is notable for Pterry absolutely nailing the “meta” of the plot. He was an incredibly clever person, and had a knack for getting his point across without preaching or condescending. But in some of the earlier books, he didn’t quite express The Really Big Thoughts effectively. Here? He absolutely did.

I've been re-reading the Discworld books every few years since I discovered them at around 14 years old, and I still pick up new things each time. One of the most recent was a little throwaway line from Mustrum Ridcully towards the end of The Last Continent, where the storm is about to break and he says something like "We'd better run, we'd better take cover" - which this time round twigged as a line from Men At Work's 'Land Down Under'. I'm going to be a very sad old man when I finally have no more little references to get.

Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:They’re like the Airplane! films in that regard. The more you watch/read, the more jokes you get or notice for the first time.

I think one of the most amazing things is how he manages to layer his quotes and concepts. You can read his books without any deep understanding of the source material he's basing it on in the real world and the books are funny, engaging, entertaining and you don't feel that you're missing out. HOWEVER if you understand the core subject being focused on you can spot so many real world references, hints and nods that you can appreciate everything on a whole other level. It also never feels "tacky" and that's the real talent I think that many overlook because of how seamlessly he does it.

It also shifts - his very early books were very clearly more a commentary on fantasy at the time than of the real world; then it shifts into real world for the majority; however come nearer the end I feel like there's a sense that Discworld still has those parts but they are a little lesser. I think both as his mind was starting to be eaten horribly away; but also because I think Discworld by that point is so much a mammoth of its own thing that it was taking flight on its own.

Necrophim/Mechatopholes from the 2000ad Ultimate Collection.

And from the penultimate delivery, as around this time next month, I’ll have all 200 issues.

Necrophim is pretty rad, a tale set in Hell, when Lucifer has begun to lose his grip on power, and reality. Deals with a rebellion lead by Uriel. Very satisfying read. All the art is grey shade pencil work, which is right up my alley. Nice and clear too.

Mechastopholes. In which a daemon, kind of bound into a giant mecha, is part ark, part defender of the remains of humanity. Really frustrating this one, as the tale is ace but ended really abruptly. All the more so as it’s not clear why it ended so.

Next up is Harlem Heroes Vol 2, which I’m rather looking forward to.

Also made a start on Interesting Times

I've just finished The Master of Mankind, and really enjoyed it.

This has been my first Horus Heresy novel, and I was wondering if any of the other books in the series were worth hunting down.

(I seriously doubt I will read 60+ novels/audiodramas... )

I have also been working through the Discworld series.

I got part way through as a teen, and then got pretty burnt out on reading (Too many big fantasy epics), so I am determined to get through them all this time!

Finished Nightwatch the other day, it was good but as it mostly focuses on Vimes I really missed having the rest of the Guards characters around.

 Quixote wrote:
I've just finished The Master of Mankind, and really enjoyed it.

This has been my first Horus Heresy novel, and I was wondering if any of the other books in the series were worth hunting down.

(I seriously doubt I will read 60+ novels/audiodramas... )

Here is a nice list from another forum post that is a really good listing of all the choicest parts of the HH series:

 Da Boss wrote:
I made a reading list for Horus Heresy that sorts it into 5 mostly self contained trilogies. So you could read any or all of these that interest you:
Trilogy 1: Horus Rising, False Gods, Galaxy in Flames. First book is really strong, the second two are not great but do set up important plot stuff. Sets the stage and gets the ball rolling.
Trilogy 2: First Heretic, Know No Fear and Betrayer (Optional: Unremembered Empire) All three really good reads, First Heretic is a must read and the rest is about the battle between Loyalist and Traitor forces on the eastern side of the galaxy and how they prevented Earth from being supported.
Trilogy 3: Legion, Praetorian of Dorn, The Solar War. Espionage focused, Alpha Legion sneaking around and Imperial Fists trying to stop them. Introduces the Perpetual plotline, which I don’t like that much, but which does run through the Siege books if you want to read those.
Trilogy 4: A Thousand Sons, Prospero Burns, The Crimson King: Does the Thousand Sons and Space Wolves, and has some important stuff in for the broader plot. Prospero Burns is a better book than the other two but they’re all readable.
Trilogy 5: Scars, Path of Heaven and Master of Mankind: Scars and Path of Heaven are just really good reads, and Master of Mankind is good too and shows you the situation on Earth just before the siege.

I highly recommend the first two "trilogies" listed, and also enjoyed all the others on that list as well. If I was to compose a list of Horus Heresy must reads, it would look very much like the above. Also, if I had to choose one HH book above all the others, it would definitely be First Heretic!

The public library had an omnibus called The Last Phoenix , 1022 pages, containing the novels Fulgrim and Angel Exterminatus, plus a bunch of short stories.

It was the only Horus Heresy novel they had... is it worth a read?

Finally escaped the Last Continent. Definitely Pratchett’s weakest book as it’s just a barely connected string of cliches and smutty double entendres. If there is a wider commentary there I’m not clever enough to see it.

Onward to Reaper man and much better fare

I have a soft spot for Nightwatch as it was the book that cleansed my palate after slogging through the first half of whatever wheel of time book 10 was called before I gave it all up for lost. It was like my brain was on fire after having had it beaten to death with marshmallows by Jordan’s interminable sludge.

Interesting Times

Polished this off yesterday. As with most, if not all, Rincewind tales this is a fine read, but not Pratchett at his best.

Genghiz Cohen, the Silver Horde and Lord Hong are all fun characters to explore, especially Mr Saveloy. But Rincewind never really emerges from being Mr Plot Device.

Which to be fair is kind of the point of Rincewind. He’s someone Things Just Happen To, and never really stop happening to him. That’s the point of him as a character.

But when you compare him to the brilliance of Vimes, Granny, Moist et al? You just get a different and, for me, not as satisfying experience.

Main thing of course is the book is still plenty enjoyable, and shouldn’t be skipped.

 Flinty wrote:
Finally escaped the Last Continent. Definitely Pratchett’s weakest book as it’s just a barely connected string of cliches and smutty double entendres. If there is a wider commentary there I’m not clever enough to see it.

Onward to Reaper man and much better fare

I have a soft spot for Nightwatch as it was the book that cleansed my palate after slogging through the first half of whatever wheel of time book 10 was called before I gave it all up for lost. It was like my brain was on fire after having had it beaten to death with marshmallows by Jordan’s interminable sludge.

Yeah, The Last Continent is a bit of a slog, Pratchett went pretty overboard with tired pop-culture references and Aussie cliches for some reason.
I'm hoping that's not Rincewinds last outing as I really like the character, even though, as Mad Doc points out, he's not a particularly deep one.

You've also reminded me that I need to find out how The Wheel Of Time ended at some point, I think I got book 8 or 9.

Oh Rincewind will turn up again

But not, if memory serves, in a leading role after The Last Continent.

Make sure to get Eric in on the run. I don't think it ever appears in hardback, just graphic novel (and maybe paperback).

[update] It did get hardbacked, in collectors edition: https://www.discworldemporium.com/product/eric-discworld-collector-s-edition/

We are going through in character streams, so we did Eric and Interesting Times en route to Last Continent.

Regarding catching up with wheel of Time, I found it much more enjoyable to read Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series instead. The main plot points of the two series are absolute carbon copies of one another, with only minor deviations. I am assuming that anything substantial I need to know about wheel of Time I can get from Sword of Truth

Its just unfortunate that Sword of Truth got the bargain basement treatment on the telly. Maybe not as basementy as Shanarra, but its not far off.

 Quixote wrote:
The public library had an omnibus called The Last Phoenix , 1022 pages, containing the novels Fulgrim and Angel Exterminatus, plus a bunch of short stories.

It was the only Horus Heresy novel they had... is it worth a read?

Haven't read Angel Exterminatus but I wouldn't start with Fulgrim. It really is Part 5 of the series.

Angel Exterminatus was decent, especially if you have read the 40k novel 'storm of iron' as you see a lot of the main IW's characters from it in their 30k days. Never forgive gw for ignoring those characters when writing rules for heresy iron warriors and making up new ones. Plus you see Fulgrim's apotheosis.

Only because his big robe was in the wash.

Maskerade

Next up in my Discworld voyage. Blending Ankh Morpork with The Lancre Witches, in the crucible of Opera.

Again one of the entries I’ve only read once before, what seems a lifetime ago. But you really can’t go wrong with Granny and Nanny.

There’s almost a confessional tone to the book. With the third Lancre Witch, Magrat, largely removed from the action now she’s Queen, the early part almost reads as Pterry acknowledging the characters of Granny and Nanny need a third.

Which brings us to Agnes Nitt, and indeed Perdita X Dream.

I dare say a lesser writer would’ve simply gone back and brought Magrat back. But not our Pterry. He forges on, finding triumph in an adversity of his own creation.

Anyone read this? It sounds pretty interesting.

No, looks interesting though.

 Lathe Biosas wrote:
Anyone read this? It sounds pretty interesting.

Got it for Christmas, not managed to find the time to do more than flip through it so far though.

The Thief Of Time

Getting a bit further down my Discworld pile.
I think I probably should've read this one before Night Watch as it properly introduces the History Monks, but that didn't seem to cause any issues.

It was a good read, even if I don't particularly like Susan (I'm not sure why, I just find her kind of boring as a character).

Now I've got to try and work out which box the rest of my Discworld books are packed up in.

Needed something trashy for camping last weekend. Picked up Forgotten Ruin by Jason Anspach and Nick Cole. Terrible bullet porn, but the twist is that the Ranger force for which the authors have tremendous hard-ons for have been transported to a wacky D&D fantasy version of Earth, to do battle with the various classic fantasy denizens thereof.

I’m pretty sure I tried to write something like this for a school project when I was 12. The plot armour is tremendous. 200 rangers against about 10,000 assorted orcs, goblins, kobolds, etc. it appears that only bullets are capable of injuring anyone. A sky full of ballistic arrows and spears etc are only capable of landing conveniently nearby the heroic defenders. Utter tosh.


It Definately qualifies as trashy. It’s entertaining enough to finish, but I don’t think I’ll be getting the next one unless the last 3rd of the book can pull something truly stupendous out of a handy cavity.

Dashiell Hammett’s The Dain Curse.

The discussion on Hammett a few pages back convinced me to put the book on my list, and now that I’m reading it I am quite enjoying it. The prose is surprisingly modern for something written in 1928. It feels like it’s moving at a breakneck pace which makes me wonder how much crazier it’s going to get in the next 100 pages or so.

I finished Fever Beach by Carl Hiaasen. The man has a real talent for writing astonishingly stupid redneck villains who meet creative self inflicted demises.

I'm slowly reading through the Infinity Lore book. It's pretty dry and the writing feels a little off, likely due to it being translated from Spanish. But need to research if I'm going to change my novel from my own Sci fi setting into the Infinity universe.

And, as all good things must, we at last come to the end of the 2000AD Ultimate Collection.

Volumes 199 and 200 in my grubby mitts.

The Order

Another one I hated in serial form in the Progs. But it reads much better as a single volume. Good if you like multiverse/time shenanigans and a slice of steam punk, without really being any of those things as such.

Rogue Trooper, Fr1day Vol 3

‘Member when they tried to reboot Rogue Trooper “for the 90’s” and it kinda choked, but then they found a way to fold it all together into something largely satisfying? This is the end of that.

This of course means for the first time since the Judge Dredd Megacollection began in January 2015? I’ll be without my monthly hardback collected volumes.

Upside is across the two collections I’ve now a pretty extensive 290 volumes for my amusement. Maybe I’ll go back and try to read the few I gave up on (CalHab and Dan Dare).

Oh, and I’ve an annual subscription to 2000AD and the Megazine, so it’s not as if I’ll be entirely bereft of Thrill Power. Yet it must be Splundig vur Thrugg to the Ultimate Collection.

In case of accident, I’ll need to think about who gets them in the future.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
Dashiell Hammett’s The Dain Curse.

The discussion on Hammett a few pages back convinced me to put the book on my list, and now that I’m reading it I am quite enjoying it. The prose is surprisingly modern for something written in 1928. It feels like it’s moving at a breakneck pace which makes me wonder how much crazier it’s going to get in the next 100 pages or so.

I've been working my way through my Collected Dashiell Hammet (It's like 9000 e-book pages!), and I remember this one. The hallucinogenic drug trip was truly unexpected in the middle of a hard-boiled detective story.

That took me by surprise, too. And the explanation was a fairly classic Scooby Doo cop out, in a good way.

For a book written almost 100 years ago, it felt like a modern “that escalated quickly” procedural. Diamonds, drugs, cults, adultery, murder, car crashes, an explosion. Jerry Bruckheimer could have co-written it.

Polished off The Hogfather last night.

Sadly, this a book tainted in my mind by the Sky adaptation for telly, which I only saw bits of, and wasn’t at impressed by Mr Teatime in that.

But it is a fun book, with a deep dive into the Discworld’s gods, and how they’re powered by belief, belief which overtime can fundamentally alter them. Old Gods Do New Jobs.

There’s also a significant amount of development given to Hex, the closest thing to a computer on the Disc.

Just reread A Game Of Thrones for the first time in a long long time.

Man, I sure do have new levels of hatred and despair that the show was truly nowhere on level with the book.

Even the start where the royal procession arrives at Winterfell and Cersei is supposed to have a double decker carriage with 40 horses drawing it.
Just the little things that make it so much better.

Jingo

Back to the Watch! You can tell this is a cracker, as I belted through half of it yesterday evening, and I expect to have it finished tonight.

The Watch are such a fantastic group of characters. For an ever expanding group, PTerry still managed to flesh out each and every one over the relevant stories. Not necessarily all equally, but it is there.

Even more impressive is that the likes of Fred and Nobby get character development, but never change. Which is part of their character.

By now, we’ve Humans, Zombies, Gnomes, Golems, Trolls, Dwarfs, a Werewolf and of course Nobby Nobbs, a truly multicultural police force.

Keep talking like that and I'm going to have to embark on another Discworld re-read, and I had other plans for this year!

Shut up and get re-reading you!

 Gert wrote:
Just reread A Game Of Thrones for the first time in a long long time.

Man, I sure do have new levels of hatred and despair that the show was truly nowhere on level with the book.

Even the start where the royal procession arrives at Winterfell and Cersei is supposed to have a double decker carriage with 40 horses drawing it.
Just the little things that make it so much better.

I'm waiting for it to be finished before starting it....so I'll probably never start it.

Jingo finished. Absolute belter, showing The Watch, Willikins and Lord Vetenari at their best.

Next up is The Last Continent. Which I think is our last Rincewindcentric one?

And I’ve just found my copy (the fancy hardbacks) has no ribbon. So I’ll need to dig out a bookmark.

Reading: The Stoic Challenge: A Philosopher's Guide to Becoming Tougher, Calmer, and More Resilient.

While Stoicism isn't my primary philosophy in life, it's good to read the "guys who hate your school of thought," every so often.

While Seneca and Epictetus had some good ideas. They are honestly a lot easier to put into practice if you are not in close proximity to what causes you grief.

The mind as a refuge and fortress that no one can mess with, unless you allow them to is an interesting idea.

 Gert wrote:
Just reread A Game Of Thrones for the first time in a long long time.

Man, I sure do have new levels of hatred and despair that the show was truly nowhere on level with the book.

Even the start where the royal procession arrives at Winterfell and Cersei is supposed to have a double decker carriage with 40 horses drawing it.
Just the little things that make it so much better.

Haven’t read it since the last book came out. Lost interest in the show after a few seasons. I used to love this stuff and would post fan theories on grrm forums circa 2009. Good times.

My vague memories of it is that Martin clearly lost control of his story after book 3 and everything seemed to grind to a halt. He introduced the Viking family on rock island and the other lot in not-Spain further bloating a story that was already creaking at the seams.

More teash Light novels
but light reading before bed is great.

Metro 2033 is getting pretty good so far. I mean, it was already good, but a little rambley. Seeing Artyom finally get to Polis and do what he was tasked doing, as well as more action scenes such as fleeing from mutants take a looooong time to get to, but it's well worth it.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Lathe Biosas wrote:
Reading: The Stoic Challenge: A Philosopher's Guide to Becoming Tougher, Calmer, and More Resilient.

While Stoicism isn't my primary philosophy in life, it's good to read the "guys who hate your school of thought," every so often.

While Seneca and Epictetus had some good ideas. They are honestly a lot easier to put into practice if you are not in close proximity to what causes you grief.

The mind as a refuge and fortress that no one can mess with, unless you allow them to is an interesting idea.

So, what you're saying is...
'An open mind is like a fortress with its gates unbarred and unguarded'
right?

 Lathe Biosas wrote:
Reading: The Stoic Challenge: A Philosopher's Guide to Becoming Tougher, Calmer, and More Resilient.

While Stoicism isn't my primary philosophy in life, it's good to read the "guys who hate your school of thought," every so often.

While Seneca and Epictetus had some good ideas. They are honestly a lot easier to put into practice if you are not in close proximity to what causes you grief.

The mind as a refuge and fortress that no one can mess with, unless you allow them to is an interesting idea.

the problem with stoicism is it can often conflate "Im resilent" with ignoring a problem outright.
Im dealing with a horrible parent at my job, one that left me crying after work, Soticism would say i need to ignore it, when really i need to deal with the problem of a parent waiting outside and taking pictures of my car.

bullisariuscowl wrote:Metro 2033 is getting pretty good so far. I mean, it was already good, but a little rambley. Seeing Artyom finally get to Polis and do what he was tasked doing, as well as more action scenes such as fleeing from mutants take a looooong time to get to, but it's well worth it.

You are spot on. I read Metro 2033 right after reading Roadside Picnic, and remember being kind of frustrated by the slow, slow pace. Having finished it and knowing where the story was headed, I think it could stand up to a re-read. I seem to recall hearing something about a sequel, as well.

 hotsauceman1 wrote:

 Lathe Biosas wrote:
Reading: The Stoic Challenge: A Philosopher's Guide to Becoming Tougher, Calmer, and More Resilient.

While Stoicism isn't my primary philosophy in life, it's good to read the "guys who hate your school of thought," every so often.

While Seneca and Epictetus had some good ideas. They are honestly a lot easier to put into practice if you are not in close proximity to what causes you grief.

The mind as a refuge and fortress that no one can mess with, unless you allow them to is an interesting idea.

the problem with stoicism is it can often conflate "Im resilent" with ignoring a problem outright.
Im dealing with a horrible parent at my job, one that left me crying after work, Soticism would say i need to ignore it, when really i need to deal with the problem of a parent waiting outside and taking pictures of my car.

\

This.

I consider my approach to be stoic.

The loss of my parents sucked, and upset me greatly. But leaning toward stoicism, I recognised that grief is good, but life must still go on. And no amount of upset and crying was going to change facts.

But work wise? Not so much. Kinda. I’ve recently dealt with three or four deeply unpleasant consumers. If I stayed entirely stoic, and just “water off a duck’s back”, they wouldn’t have stopped, and things would continue escalating. So I sought out help from senior department members to put those issues to bed fully. Sure, stoicism helped me leave those issues At Work, and not dwell on them in my own time. But it’s still draining, even though I followed through in the most appropriate way.

Who knows, maybe being contacted by Police under the malicious communications act might shock one of them into being a better human bean?

I am probably biased because as someone watches horror movies of all types, I love The Game at Carousel. An entire story based in playing around the tropes and motifs of horror movies and mystery box fiction, that at least through the first three books manages to be solid enough for what I wanted it to be and I get to have fun guessing along with the main character as he tries to figure out the plot of whatever horror movie scenario he happens to be in.

I like these books. They're definitely not for everyone, probably not even the usual LitRPG sort of people given it's a bit of a weird set up, but it's just a book that's about perfect to entertain me.

Moved on from the Stoicism and moved on to the other major school that was disliked by the Roman Stoics: Epicureanism.

Want to know why the Romans called them hedonists?

Epicurus taught women philosophy.

"Oh no! The horror! You can't teach women philosophy," said the Romans, "The Epicureans must have them for orgies they have in their gardens."

Do you like to read? Do you like to use reason through problems? Do you like to hang out with your friends? Do you believe that if a tree branch falls on someone it's just gakky luck and not the divine will of the gods? You might be an Epicurean.

Right now I'm reading How to be an Epicurean by Catherine Wilson. An attempt to take this classic Greek idea and apply it to the modern world...

The Last Continent

The final Discworld novel to be centred on Rincewind. Better than I remembered, but not as good as The Watch and The Lancre Witches books.

The problem with Rincewind is his natural instinct to a problem is to run away. This kind of makes it tricky to make a story that focuses around him because any challenge that raises his natural insect is to avoid; evade and get away from it.

Most of the other characters will "engage" with things - Rincewind knows of many things and very much wants to get away from them, as quickly as possible.

I think its why he worked well in the very early books because his running-away kind of led you on a tour of the world; but in latter books he kind of gets a bit "stuck" cause we've explored so much through other means that we know that we don't have to run away to see other regions.



At least that's my recollection of him.

He’s also someone that just has Things Happen To Him. Rincewind himself never really has an agency.

But then, rather than poor writing, it’s what he is, and it does serve a purpose, especially for exploring the different lands and cultures of Discworld.

I would be much more interested in the book on Stoicism if it wasn't code for Right-wing Man-O-Sphere Bollocks now.

Edit: Reading about all those classic philosophies sounds really cool though!

Carpe Jugulum

Back to Lancre, Nanny, Granny and Agnes. With Vampires, and our first proper Igor.

Belter of book.

 Easy E wrote:
I would be much more interested in the book on Stoicism if it wasn't code for Right-wing Man-O-Sphere Bollocks now.

Edit: Reading about all those classic philosophies sounds really cool though!

Go read Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (translated by Gregory Hayes).

It's the best translation out there, and gives you the best intro to Stoicism I've seen (and good information on where to find d more).

I read my highlighted copy every day.

Just finished Carpe Jugulum.

Love it overall, but there’s a part where I’ve either just not remembered it as I fell asleep that night, or it feels like there’s a scene or two missing. Specifically between Agnes, Nanny and Magrat heading back to Lancre, and Granny turning up at the castle.

Anyways, minor quibble aside as we crash on to…

The Fifth Elephant

Now I actually re-read this one not terribly long ago, so I know I’m in for a treat. But that’s no reason to break the release order streak, is it?

Reading Stephen King’s Richard Bachman’s The Long Walk. So far so dystopian.


Also, Art Deco Los Angeles. The details of some buildings’ construction read like something out of a fantasy story. Sand from every county, water from every river…

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:



Also, Art Deco Los Angeles. The details of some buildings’ construction read like something out of a fantasy story. Sand from every county, water from every river…

Who’s the author for this one?

Fifth Elephant down. Now on to The Truth, and indeed the second shelf in the bookcase!

Definitely heading into my “most read” territory here, timelines wise. Thankfully, post Last Continent the books are all of excellent quality.

On this re-read of Discworld, I’m still surprised that Piss Harry of Ankh-Morpork didn’t turn up until so relatively late in the day.

Still a belter of a character though. He never really plays a central role anywhere. But he can be read as a manifestation of the Morporkian Entrepreneurial Spirit. Literally turning Muck into Brass with some ecologically friendly Herculean recycling and repurposing.

Bought a biography of Clive Barker today, massive hardback thing that you could kill a small cenobite with. It's making me want to dig out a few of his classics...

The Thief of Time

In which The Auditors of Reality decide time needs to end, and with it all change. Hijinks ensue, and we spend a decent amount of time with Lu-Tze and Miss Susan.

Always remember Rule One!


Automatically Appended Next Post:
The Terminator Omnibus, Vol 2

Second and final of the collected Dark Horse comics. Easily 30 years later, and it still holds up.

As I’ve mithered about in the past, that the Terminator, Predator and Alien franchises floundered on the big screen whilst comics of this quality were regularly churned out really, really irritates me.

Sure, a Comic just doesn’t have the same creative and budgetary constraints as a movie. All you need is an interesting story further exploring the central premise. But to see such interesting ideas generated, and then not adapted elsewhere is incredibly frustrating.

started in on a translation of a serial novel called Corpse Recovery Diver
it starts with a kid who's with his grandparents out in the sticks getting targeted by a water ghost before
the local specialist helps redirect it to the ones who actually wronged it
from there the story so far has been the kid learning more and more about
the supernatural, or the unclean as the story tends to use, while also slowly
showing the kid is less normal then initially expected
the timeframe of the story is nonspecific, but feels like early 80's china, if not
perhaps earlier

Someone earlier in the thread was reading Dashiell Hammett so I picked up a nice faux-leather bound copy of his 5 novels.

So far I've gotten through Red Harvest, The Dain Curse, and The Maltese Falcon. The last is so close to the film beat for beat I wonder if the screenwriter had to do any work at all, aside some cutting some of the longer dialog (for ex. the audience really doesn't need a full description of all the texts and authors Gutman researched to verify the falcon is authentic).

As others said Hammett's writing has good pacing and really feels like a more modern style of writing than expected for the time. I'd highly recommend.

The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents

Discworld addresses the Pied Piper, in the first Discworld novel aimed at younger readers.

It’s a pretty decent, if shortish read. Lots of fun ideas and enjoyable.

Night Watch

This I think was a watershed moment in Discworld’s history. It unites Samuel Vimes, Lu Tze, and, erm…Samuel Vimes. There’s some pretty nasty stuff going on here, and whilst the humour is there it’s more considered and subdued as PTerry tackles some unpleasant themes, including secret police, disappearances and tortured confessions.

A truly phenomenal entry, and one which would see tales set in Ankh Morpork shift gears somewhat. As I’ve said before, this is what makes Discworld so compelling. As PTerry grew as a writer, so did the world, become ever more complex and nuanced.

I am still hammering through that Peter Straub novel.

The guy has some great purple prose, but tends to meander. He has a hard time finding his point and the story is almost "dream-like".

The Wee Free Men

First in the five book Tiffany Aching sequence, and it’s superb. Again it’s aimed at younger readers, but more young adults than children. And still a perfectly good Discworld tale.

More importantly, that series breathes new life into the Lancre Witches. With Granny and Nanny being established as incredibly powerful and highly competent, the pivot to a young Witch of similar potential learning her way by Doing feels like the best way that neck of the Discworld Woods could’ve gone.

I found the ultimate comic book today. The prequel to Section 31!

It's called Emperor Born, and I have no frigging clue what's going on. I am totally lost and don't recognize anyone in it.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
The Wee Free Men

First in the five book Tiffany Aching sequence, and it’s superb. Again it’s aimed at younger readers, but more young adults than children. And still a perfectly good Discworld tale.

More importantly, that series breathes new life into the Lancre Witches. With Granny and Nanny being established as incredibly powerful and highly competent, the pivot to a young Witch of similar potential learning her way by Doing feels like the best way that neck of the Discworld Woods could’ve gone.

I haven't read the Tiffany Aching books. I'm sort of keeping them on standby in case of some sort of life emergency that requires previously-unread Pratchett to cope with it. If I've not read them yet, it's still something I have to look forward to at some point. I'm not ready to have read all of his work yet.

I’ve not read the last one so far for the same reason. But I’m gonna on this run through.

Not to sound too grim, but I’d intended it as mt death bed book. But given my Dad went suddenly and unexpectedly, there’s no guarantee of a death bed.

Crispy78 wrote:

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
The Wee Free Men

First in the five book Tiffany Aching sequence, and it’s superb. Again it’s aimed at younger readers, but more young adults than children. And still a perfectly good Discworld tale.

More importantly, that series breathes new life into the Lancre Witches. With Granny and Nanny being established as incredibly powerful and highly competent, the pivot to a young Witch of similar potential learning her way by Doing feels like the best way that neck of the Discworld Woods could’ve gone.

I haven't read the Tiffany Aching books. I'm sort of keeping them on standby in case of some sort of life emergency that requires previously-unread Pratchett to cope with it. If I've not read them yet, it's still something I have to look forward to at some point. I'm not ready to have read all of his work yet.

I've got those and Rising Steam still on the to-read-pile for similar reasons!

Same here, I just can’t bring myself to read the Shepherd’s Crown despite loving Discworld, too many emotions.

I actually recommend the Tiffany Aching books to people as a good way to start with Discworld, as they’re a bit more accessible and also somewhat standalone.

It’s oddly comforting to know other people have the same high opinion of a book series.

Oh that's reassuring, thought I was being a bit weird. Glad it's not just me!

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
It’s oddly comforting to know other people have the same high opinion of a book series.

One of the reasons I got a second look from my now-Wife, is that I listed on my profile that I had a full set of Pratchett books. As both being fans, that seemed to get me a date

Crispy78 wrote:
Oh that's reassuring, thought I was being a bit weird. Glad it's not just me!

He sold over 100 million books across 43 languages. It would be weird if you never found anyone who liked his work!

 Flinty wrote:

Crispy78 wrote:
Oh that's reassuring, thought I was being a bit weird. Glad it's not just me!

He sold over 100 million books across 43 languages. It would be weird if you never found anyone who liked his work!

He means more about the "not wanting to read the last book/s" part rather than the actual liking of the series itself.

I can also recommend his collections of short stories, like Dragons of Crumbling Castle.

They’re from his earliest days as a writer, but the wit and charm is there.

I still remain one of the few people I know who's read his "Dark side of the Sun" book - which is odd when he even has at least one edition with cover art by the same guy that did the majority of his Discorld cover art (you know the good art not those black minimalist ones)

Monstrous Regiment

A fairly stand alone Discworld novel, but a really fun read. Oh, and William De Worde of The Times.

Vimes, Angua, Reg Shoe and Buggy Swires cameo from the Watch, but the rest is all new characters.

As is often the case with Discworld, complex and nuanced themes are again effortlessly tackled. This time on the futility of war, the flimsiness of gender roles, and even how advances in media changed the public perception of war during the Vietnam Conflict, after a fashion.



Automatically Appended Next Post:
Surely it can’t be long before Discworld novels are added to school curriculua?

I mean, when I was doing my exams, the books were dreary, hand wringing;y worth borefests. Buddy. Empty World. Z for Zachariah. Not books I’d ever choose to read for myself. And not even very good books.

But Discworld? They teach you stuff. Including how to think.

Well, I said to myself there's no way Robin Hobb was going to top the Liveships Traders Trilogy, but now I've finished the Tawny Man Trilogy and the ending left me in tears. I've never had a book hit me like that before. I'm glad I still have 7 books left of Realm of the Elderlings, I expect I'll be devastated when I finally finish.

I'm sensing a book hangover incoming. Gonna need at least a few days to digest that before picking up something else. Someone in my writing group suggested Dragonbone Chair so I might tackle that before getting back to Robin Hobb.

 Overread wrote:

 Flinty wrote:

Crispy78 wrote:
Oh that's reassuring, thought I was being a bit weird. Glad it's not just me!

He sold over 100 million books across 43 languages. It would be weird if you never found anyone who liked his work!

He means more about the "not wanting to read the last book/s" part rather than the actual liking of the series itself.

Apologies! Total misunderstanding!

 Overread wrote:
I still remain one of the few people I know who's read his "Dark side of the Sun" book - which is odd when he even has at least one edition with cover art by the same guy that did the majority of his Discorld cover art (you know the good art not those black minimalist ones)

You can add me to the list.

Actually it's been so long since I read his sci-fi I'm going to have to start them tonight!

A Hat Full of Sky

Second in the Tiffany Aching series, and once again superb. Written at a level younger readers can grasp, but as is typical with PTerry, not by talking down to you.

To be able to concisely set out a message, without dumbing the message down is a real skill.

Last week I finally decided to actually read the comics for Spider-Man since he’s my favorite superhero, but I’ve never actually read any comics of him. I’m on issue 63 right now, and it’s cool to see where a bunch of iconic villains came from, and then also Medusa, or some dude from the jungle with a big animal thing. Can’t wait to read more dumb villains though!

Going Postal

And PTerry ramps it all up another gear. Much like the exact moment Discworld became Discworld, it’s hard to put your finger on exactly when Ankh-Morpork became Ankh-Morpork.

But I’d argue it’s at least as late as this book. We’ve gone from a medieval/renaissance civic hellscape to one paddling in the shallows of the Industrial Revolution.

It also debuts Moist Von Lipwig, the rogue’s rogue and a fascinating character. A dyed in the wool thrill seeker and swindler who, eventually, comes good. After a fashion. Just another absolutely terrific entry in the History of Discworld.

 The_Pilot wrote:
Last week I finally decided to actually read the comics for Spider-Man since he’s my favorite superhero, but I’ve never actually read any comics of him. I’m on issue 63 right now, and it’s cool to see where a bunch of iconic villains came from, and then also Medusa, or some dude from the jungle with a big animal thing. Can’t wait to read more dumb villains though!

Which run though?

 KamikazeCanuck wrote:

 The_Pilot wrote:
Last week I finally decided to actually read the comics for Spider-Man since he’s my favorite superhero, but I’ve never actually read any comics of him. I’m on issue 63 right now, and it’s cool to see where a bunch of iconic villains came from, and then also Medusa, or some dude from the jungle with a big animal thing. Can’t wait to read more dumb villains though!

Which run though?

Just the original comics, the amazing Spider-Man with Stan Lee. I swear, some of these villains make me crack up, they got names like “the schemer” or “man mountain Marko”, like I know it’s mostly a villain of the week kinda deal but still

Edit: holy hell it’s morbius, it’s morbin time

You need to hunt down my favorite issue as a kid... it had everything, including Marvel's best hero ever: Solo (aka James Bourne).

Making a start on Joe Haldeman's The Forever War (I'm trying to make my way through the Sci-Fi and Fantasy Masterwork lists), it's good so far.

I will always be amused by the weird obsession 70's Sci-fi had for compulsory casual sex though.

I have just finished Priory of the Orange Tree. Solid fantasy stuff with good worldbuilding and the themes not diverging into either infantile YA simplifications nor edgy "mature content" stuff, which is welcome.

The plot reminded me of the Kushiel series (which I like very much), being equally divided between intrigue at court with its complicated interdependecies and more action-packed adventure. All in all a very nice holiday read.

Thud!

The book in which, at long last, we finally get to see His Grace, The Duke of Ankh, Commander Sir Samuel “Sam” Vimes…..Go Spare

It’s also an interesting study on multicultural tensions, and how often it’s down to just a mere handful of bad faith actors manipulating things to their own ends and gain.

We also meet Sally for the first time, The Watch’s original Vampire recruit.

I recently read Bury our Bones in the Midnight Soil, by V.E. Schwab.

It's a centuries spanning character study, which presents beautiful imagery and development of characters with a very light plot in the present day. It takes a very long time for the threads to coalesce, and when they do it is messy. It's very atmospheric, but doesn't do much new. If you're a fan of the genre, you'll probably enjoy it.

I have to admit I preferred The Invisible Life of Addie Larue, which went on a really cool adventure with an immortal who couldn't be remembered for more than 20 minutes by anyone. That's a concept I'd never encountered before, and it was executed spectacularly. This one is worth checking out for everyone who likes magical deals and their unforeseen consequences.

 aku-chan wrote:

I will always be amused by the weird obsession 70's Sci-fi had for compulsory casual sex though.

I mean, it does kinda make a bit of sense though. . . when those books were written there were a number of brand new contraceptive options that were quite effective. I've often read in histories of that decade that it was a bit of a "freer" time, and among the corollary reasons for that was those new options. So, it makes sense that an author of the day would want to explore the idea of "what if we had so completely figured all of *this* out to the point where there's zero risk of any unwanted outcome, what would the world and society look like?"

Personally, I am also amused by it, but more because I'm an American, and child of the super conservative 80s, and I find my country's obsession with fleshy organs' existence, and how they MUST be censored out at all turns extremely funny.

 aku-chan wrote:
Making a start on Joe Haldeman's The Forever War (I'm trying to make my way through the Sci-Fi and Fantasy Masterwork lists), it's good so far.

I will always be amused by the weird obsession 70's Sci-fi had for compulsory casual sex though.

Do you have a link to the lists you are using? Kind of curious how many I’ve read already.

Cyel wrote:
I have just finished Priory of the Orange Tree. Solid fantasy stuff with good worldbuilding and the themes not diverging into either infantile YA simplifications nor edgy "mature content" stuff, which is welcome.

The plot reminded me of the Kushiel series (which I like very much), being equally divided between intrigue at court with its complicated interdependecies and more action-packed adventure. All in all a very nice holiday read.

I loved that book! Bit of a rushed ending but the journey there was excellent. She's a really good writer. I also really enjoyed the prequel she did, Day of Fallen Night. Totally different characters, but you get to see the priory at a different stage of its history.

 Lathe Biosas wrote:
You need to hunt down my favorite issue as a kid... it had everything, including Marvel's best hero ever: Solo (aka James Bourne).

I actually have that one!


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 aku-chan wrote:
Making a start on Joe Haldeman's The Forever War (I'm trying to make my way through the Sci-Fi and Fantasy Masterwork lists), it's good so far.

I will always be amused by the weird obsession 70's Sci-fi had for compulsory casual sex though.

Great book. Could totally be adapted to a movie but yeah, they'd want to cut out the sex stuff.

 Lathe Biosas wrote:
You need to hunt down my favorite issue as a kid... it had everything, including Marvel's best hero ever: Solo (aka James Bourne).

I mean, I’m reading it on a pirate site because I don’t feel like paying a million bucks for amazing fantasy 15 and hunting down comics from the 60s, but looking at that picture it looks like issue 367, and I’m on issue 117, so I’ll get there!

 Nevelon wrote:

 aku-chan wrote:
Making a start on Joe Haldeman's The Forever War (I'm trying to make my way through the Sci-Fi and Fantasy Masterwork lists), it's good so far.

I will always be amused by the weird obsession 70's Sci-fi had for compulsory casual sex though.

Do you have a link to the lists you are using? Kind of curious how many I’ve read already.

This is the Sci-fi one:- https://www.worldswithoutend.com/lists_sf_masterworks.asp

And this is the fantasy one (Which, unfortunately, is nowhere near as long):- https://www.worldswithoutend.com/lists_fantasy_masterworks.asp

 aku-chan wrote:

 Nevelon wrote:

 aku-chan wrote:
Making a start on Joe Haldeman's The Forever War (I'm trying to make my way through the Sci-Fi and Fantasy Masterwork lists), it's good so far.

I will always be amused by the weird obsession 70's Sci-fi had for compulsory casual sex though.

Do you have a link to the lists you are using? Kind of curious how many I’ve read already.

This is the Sci-fi one:- https://www.worldswithoutend.com/lists_sf_masterworks.asp

And this is the fantasy one (Which, unfortunately, is nowhere near as long):- https://www.worldswithoutend.com/lists_fantasy_masterworks.asp

Thanks for sharing.

Only about 18 of the Sci-fi, 3 from the fantasy.

Interesting format for a list. It’s a best of list from a particular publishing house, so not comprehensive of the genre, just what they had rights to. Still a reminder that there are a lot of classics out there I’ve not read.

 creeping-deth87 wrote:

Cyel wrote:
I have just finished Priory of the Orange Tree. Solid fantasy stuff with good worldbuilding and the themes not diverging into either infantile YA simplifications nor edgy "mature content" stuff, which is welcome.

The plot reminded me of the Kushiel series (which I like very much), being equally divided between intrigue at court with its complicated interdependecies and more action-packed adventure. All in all a very nice holiday read.

I loved that book! Bit of a rushed ending but the journey there was excellent. She's a really good writer. I also really enjoyed the prequel she did, Day of Fallen Night. Totally different characters, but you get to see the priory at a different stage of its history.

Oh, I didn't know there's a prequel! Thanks for the info, it is on my list now

Cyel wrote:


Oh, I didn't know there's a prequel! Thanks for the info, it is on my list now

No problem!

If you're looking for another suggestion, check out the Realm of the Elderlings series by Robin Hobb. I'm 9 books in and completely mesmerized by her writing.

Robin Hobb is a top writer and her Elderlings world is amazing!

Yeah, The Elderling stuff is fantastic. While I prefer early Fritz it's still just so so good.

Everything wanted to really like a book. Like really, really wanted to enjoy it.

But it just stares at you from the shelf?

You read maybe 64 pages, and you just can't get into it.

Your friends like it. You liked the first one in the series... but this one can't hold your attention.

Jim Butcher's The Olympian Affair is just so heavy... I mean weight wise...

Maybe I'll read more tomorrow.

A genuine question for my fellow Pratchett readers. It’s an honest one, but I’m not sure I can call it an open question, as it is kinda binary. And I really cannot be arsed to proper think about how to word it openly.

So. Here we go.

Had reading Discworld given you pause for thought. And if so, do you consider yourself better for it?

That’s about as open as I can manage right now. Hopefully.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
A genuine question for my fellow Pratchett readers. It’s an honest one, but I’m not sure I can call it an open question, as it is kinda binary. And I really cannot be arsed to proper think about how to word it openly.

So. Here we go.

Had reading Discworld given you pause for thought. And if so, do you consider yourself better for it?

That’s about as open as I can manage right now. Hopefully.

Just so we are on the same page, we both agree that Where's my Cow?is the best Discworld story.

No.

We are not.

You take this seriously.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
No.

We are not.

You take this seriously.

This.

Clearly the real answer is a toss up between "The World of Poo" and "Nanny Ogg's Cookbook"

You take this seriously too, fartknocker.

Otherwise I hope all you books turn into David Walliam’s books.

Yes. It’s that seriously.

Though both books mentioned are good.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
A genuine question for my fellow Pratchett readers. It’s an honest one, but I’m not sure I can call it an open question, as it is kinda binary. And I really cannot be arsed to proper think about how to word it openly.

So. Here we go.

Had reading Discworld given you pause for thought. And if so, do you consider yourself better for it?

That’s about as open as I can manage right now. Hopefully.

Oh god yes. Although having started reading them aged about 14, and re-reading them every couple of years ever since, they're such a big part of my life I couldn't really tell you how I'd have turned out otherwise.

Wintersmith

The third Tiffany Aching novel, where she’s really growing into being a Witch. And they’re really solid Civics Lessons.

Essentially, whilst it’s preferable that you don’t screw up? To screw up is Human. But, when you’re a Witch, and you have their natural power? You put it right. Oh, you can seek advice and help from your friends and other Witches. But you need to be in the driving seat.