[Whisperzzzzzzz]

Anything that will make me feel like Fitz, Fool, and Nighteyes made me feel? The highs AND the lows.

[Abyss]

From the current Audible 2-4-1 sale i'd like some thoughts on...

Anthony Ryan's THE WOLF'S CALL and THE BLACK SONG

Wesley Chu's THE ART OF PROPHECY?

[Chance]

 Abyss, on 26 July 2023 - 05:10 PM, said:

Anthony Ryan's THE WOLF'S CALL and THE BLACK SONG

Think The Wolf's Call was rather good but The Black Song was a bit of a disappointment.

[amphibian]

 Abyss, on 26 July 2023 - 05:10 PM, said:

From the current Audible 2-4-1 sale i'd like some thoughts on...

Anthony Ryan's THE WOLF'S CALL and THE BLACK SONG

Wesley Chu's THE ART OF PROPHECY?

I think I liked the Ryan books although I had read something kinda similar in the Stavely books. Will have to scan to get a full refresh.

[JPK]

Has anyone had eyes on Todd Lockwood's THE SUMMER DRAGON yet? I know it's a new release, but maybe one of you has seen/heard anything about it?

[Abyss]

People, my Audible walletpocalypse sale cart is full and i need your input re these cheap cheap earbooks series before i pull the trigger... any duds you want to warn me off of?

1. Lost Stars, Jack Campbell

2. The Legend of Eli Monpress, Rachel Aaron

3. Ring-Sworn trilogy, Howards Andrew Jones

4. InCryptid, Seanan McGuire

5. October Daye, Seanan McGuire

6. Shadow Campaigns, Django Wexler

7. Song of the Shattered Sands, Bradley Beaulieu

[Tiste Simeon]

Having read none of them I suggest read whichever one you want to read first. Glad I could help.

[Abyss]

 Tiste Simeon, on 29 November 2023 - 06:33 PM, said:

Having read none of them I suggest read whichever one you want to read first. Glad I could help.

this is exactly the sort of deep helpful insight i am looking for.

[Cyphon]

October Daye I'd thought you've read? Got a load on humble bundle and enjoyed it. Its a long game pay off and some of the writing can be clunky as they fund their voice. There's generally a few books cycle where a revelation makes you rethink your interpretation of previous books which js quite good.

Incrytid I've got too but not have faith in.

[Abyss]

 Azath Vitr (D, on 13 February 2024 - 04:57 PM, said:

 Abyss, on 13 February 2024 - 02:44 PM, said:

 Tsundoku, on 13 February 2024 - 09:34 AM, said:

This is being hailed as one of the best mic drops ever. Easy to see why:

https://twitter.com/...1d993d4c6ea551d

That is very funny.

Sneaky too, bcs massive chunks of the 'Mongol Empire' were empty with ridiculous distances between small towns, or nomadic territories, but i appreciate the shot at Putin's utter garbage about Ukraine.

Mongolia to the rescue! I'm envisioning that gigantic statue of Genghis Khan with tiny, sagging (shirtless) Putin under it (preferably after one of the horse's hooves has stepped on him, now that I think about it...).

Wonder how different the world would be right now if the Mongolian Empire had converted everyone in it to Tibetan Buddhism... and it stuck. Of course, while not Tibetan Buddhist, Myanmar and imperial Japan are obvious examples of how Buddhism doesn't necessarily lead to nonviolence.... If Putin were a 'Buddhist' (Tibetan or otherwise) his iconography would be different but otherwise I don't think all that much would change (to the extent that anything has any essence other than emptiness, and change...).

Has anyone ever seen an SF story where Mongolia ruled the world into the present?
I feel like this should be a thing.

[Whisperzzzzzzz]

 Abyss, on 29 November 2023 - 05:35 PM, said:

People, my Audible walletpocalypse sale cart is full and i need your input re these cheap cheap earbooks series before i pull the trigger... any duds you want to warn me off of?

1. Lost Stars, Jack Campbell

2. The Legend of Eli Monpress, Rachel Aaron

3. Ring-Sworn trilogy, Howards Andrew Jones

4. InCryptid, Seanan McGuire

5. October Daye, Seanan McGuire

6. Shadow Campaigns, Django Wexler

7. Song of the Shattered Sands, Bradley Beaulieu

A little late here, but I really liked Aaron's Eli Monpress books.

[amphibian]

 Abyss, on 13 February 2024 - 05:57 PM, said:

 Azath Vitr (D, on 13 February 2024 - 04:57 PM, said:

 Abyss, on 13 February 2024 - 02:44 PM, said:

 Tsundoku, on 13 February 2024 - 09:34 AM, said:

This is being hailed as one of the best mic drops ever. Easy to see why:

https://twitter.com/...1d993d4c6ea551d

That is very funny.

Sneaky too, bcs massive chunks of the 'Mongol Empire' were empty with ridiculous distances between small towns, or nomadic territories, but i appreciate the shot at Putin's utter garbage about Ukraine.

Mongolia to the rescue! I'm envisioning that gigantic statue of Genghis Khan with tiny, sagging (shirtless) Putin under it (preferably after one of the horse's hooves has stepped on him, now that I think about it...).

Wonder how different the world would be right now if the Mongolian Empire had converted everyone in it to Tibetan Buddhism... and it stuck. Of course, while not Tibetan Buddhist, Myanmar and imperial Japan are obvious examples of how Buddhism doesn't necessarily lead to nonviolence.... If Putin were a 'Buddhist' (Tibetan or otherwise) his iconography would be different but otherwise I don't think all that much would change (to the extent that anything has any essence other than emptiness, and change...).

Has anyone ever seen an SF story where Mongolia ruled the world into the present?
I feel like this should be a thing.

If you squint into the sunlight enough, the schlocky Warhammer 40k books about the White Scars may fit.

Kate Elliot is doing a pretty faithful Alexander the Great in Space series that I like a bunch.

[Whisperzzzzzzz]

Has anyone read... Megan Whalen Turner's The Queen's Thief books?

[JPK]

Have any of you read Helene Wecker's THE HIDDEN PALACE? The is the sequel to THE GOLEM AND THE JINNI. I've been pushing myself on this one and I'm trying to decide if I should dnf this at 30%, which feels odd because I really loved the previous novel.

Spoiler

I'm just having a hard time with how slow this one is moving. I see where it's going with the slice of life aspects as well as the social commentary about gender, but I'm really feeling a lack of any sense of urgency in the novel at all. For the first, you had everything going on with Chava trying to make a life for herself and the Wizard in the background, but this one seems to be really lacking that at this point, instead starting to shift it's focus to a new Golem and Jinni pairing. Does this pick up, or should I expect it to stay on this general path?

This post has been edited by JPK: 08 August 2024 - 06:58 PM

[Abyss]

 JPK, on 08 August 2024 - 06:57 PM, said:

Have any of you read Helene Wecker's THE HIDDEN PALACE? The is the sequel to THE GOLEM AND THE JINNI. I've been pushing myself on this one and I'm trying to decide if I should dnf this at 30%, which feels odd because I really loved the previous novel.

Spoiler

I'm just having a hard time with how slow this one is moving. I see where it's going with the slice of life aspects as well as the social commentary about gender, but I'm really feeling a lack of any sense of urgency in the novel at all. For the first, you had everything going on with Chava trying to make a life for herself and the Wizard in the background, but this one seems to be really lacking that at this point, instead starting to shift it's focus to a new Golem and Jinni pairing. Does this pick up, or should I expect it to stay on this general path?

Nope, am rather curious whether you stick w it.
I found the first one slow as well, but it was a well constructed pace that didn't lose or bore me even if i had to adjust my usual preferences, which, to be fair, was exactly what i was looking for at the time. Maybe just wrong time for this read?

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Have about 4 to 8 hours of listening time left before my Audible Plus $1/month deal ends, trying to decide on one from this list:

Gilgamesh: A New Translation by Stephen Mitchell

The Boys: Volume 1 [Dramatized Adaptation] - I've watched the show but haven't read the comics, hopefully they got somebody who can actually do a decent Scottish accent for Huey - I'm generally adverse to listening to just the first book in a series (if I actually like it) but I might make an exception for this, especially since I imagine the plot will be broadly similar to the show
Zelazny:
The Dream Master
Creatures of Light and Darkness

Fonda Lee:
The Jade Setter of Janloon - prequel to a series I haven't read, but presumably self-contained

Botanical Folk Tales of Britain and Ireland

Bored of the Rings (Harvard Lampoon)

Walking to Aldebaran (Tchaikovsky)

The Cretaceous Past (Cixin Liu)

... any standalone recommendations from the Audible Plus catalog at < 8 hours also welcome...

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 22 September 2024 - 04:02 PM

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Martha Wells - City of Bones (standalone)?

I'm thinking of bailing on (her) Ile-Rien and the Fall of Ile-Rien ("free" or no)... maybe after I finish the first book. Audible Plus also has City of Bones...

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 08 November 2024 - 08:37 PM

[champ]

Any genuinely scary books out there?!

[Macros]

Sword of Truth

[Tsundoku]

champ, on 02 December 2024 - 07:16 PM, said:

Any genuinely scary books out there?!

Macros, on 02 December 2024 - 09:39 PM, said:

Sword of Truth

Twilight.

But seriously, I read Salem's Lot as a ... 19 year old I think, and I made damn sure all the doors and windows were locked and shuttered every night!