[Maark Abbott]

Well once I'm done with Warbreaker (about halfway through it - how is

Spoiler

Denth that High Priest dude?

?) I'm probably moving onto Blackspunk II. From there? Not sure. I have Blackspunk III due to land so probably that. After that I'm sorely tempted by a Night Angel reread.

[Maark Abbott]

My friends! Karty here needs a dose of Bakkake. I have brought them here from yon Anime Thread for such purpose. Ready the Inchoroi!

[acesn8s]

Decided to take a break from William's and picked up Morgan's The Dark Defiles.

[QuickTidal]

Maark, on 09 April 2015 - 06:27 PM, said:

I'm probably moving onto Blackspunk II. From there? Not sure. I have Blackspunk III due to land so probably that.

I'm FAIRLY sure that Blackspunk should be relayed to Bakker himself as a term he should begin using. I nearly spat my water out reading that line Maark, thanks!

[JPK]

Ok QT, I grabbed the first Kate Daniels book due to your pushing the product. I have to say the covers leave me slightly skeptical and I won't be caught dead with them in public.

[amphibian]

The Incredible Kitsu, on 09 April 2015 - 07:34 PM, said:

Ok QT, I grabbed the first Kate Daniels book due to your pushing the product. I have to say the covers leave me slightly skeptical and I won't be caught dead with them in public.

It takes a while for the overarching story to kick in and there is a STRONG flavor of romance novel style wish fulfillment early on.

It gets better and somewhere around the middle, the writers actually start to pick up how combat works in a quasi-realistic way.

Still fairly entertaining and you should enjoy it if you can get past the rocky start.

[QuickTidal]

amphibian, on 09 April 2015 - 07:49 PM, said:

The Incredible Kitsu, on 09 April 2015 - 07:34 PM, said:

Ok QT, I grabbed the first Kate Daniels book due to your pushing the product. I have to say the covers leave me slightly skeptical and I won't be caught dead with them in public.

It takes a while for the overarching story to kick in and there is a STRONG flavor of romance novel style wish fulfillment early on.

It gets better and somewhere around the middle, the writers actually start to pick up how combat works in a quasi-realistic way.

Still fairly entertaining and you should enjoy it if you can get past the rocky start.

Yep, Amph is about right with the above. But yeah, book one is solid, and things only improve from there on out. Book 1 hooked me enough to try book 2, and book 2 sold me totally. By book 3 I was in for them all without question. So yeah a bit of a rocky start (what UrbFant series doesn't have that?), but once it gets going it's damned fine entertainment. Hope you enjoy it!

[stone monkey]

Surely Kateamine would be a better term...? Just a thought

I'm currently rereading Oceanic by Greg Egan. It's his most recent short story collection (that I'm aware of), and contains the awesome "Dark Integers", which is a sequel to the even more awesome "Luminous" (which was the title story of his previous collection; which itself also contains the amazing "Our Lady of Chernobyl"). Egan's a bit of an acquired taste, but if you like Peter Watts' work I suspect you'll dig him.

This post has been edited by stone monkey: 09 April 2015 - 08:32 PM

[JPK]

QuickTidal, on 09 April 2015 - 08:04 PM, said:

amphibian, on 09 April 2015 - 07:49 PM, said:

The Incredible Kitsu, on 09 April 2015 - 07:34 PM, said:

Ok QT, I grabbed the first Kate Daniels book due to your pushing the product. I have to say the covers leave me slightly skeptical and I won't be caught dead with them in public.

It takes a while for the overarching story to kick in and there is a STRONG flavor of romance novel style wish fulfillment early on.

It gets better and somewhere around the middle, the writers actually start to pick up how combat works in a quasi-realistic way.

Still fairly entertaining and you should enjoy it if you can get past the rocky start.

Yep, Amph is about right with the above. But yeah, book one is solid, and things only improve from there on out. Book 1 hooked me enough to try book 2, and book 2 sold me totally. By book 3 I was in for them all without question. So yeah a bit of a rocky start (what UrbFant series doesn't have that?), but once it gets going it's damned fine entertainment. Hope you enjoy it!

All it really comes down to for me is: you guys have good taste. I haven't really been led the wrong way by anything one of the regulars here have strongly recommended yet.

[Maark Abbott]

QuickTidal, on 09 April 2015 - 07:24 PM, said:

Maark, on 09 April 2015 - 06:27 PM, said:

I'm probably moving onto Blackspunk II. From there? Not sure. I have Blackspunk III due to land so probably that.

I'm FAIRLY sure that Blackspunk should be relayed to Bakker himself as a term he should begin using. I nearly spat my water out reading that line Maark, thanks!

I just hope it doesn't land in my hair.

[amphibian]

I read Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor.

It's a very powerful book and quite a good one. Okorafor does several interesting things in it that play strongly with Nigerian mythology - some of which I've read about elsewhere and could glom onto readily and some of which was new to me. Her protagonist, Onyesowu, is a great example of a slightly dim, yet extremely persistent and charismatic person that gets together a band of people who can help her and solves the problem facing the region.

There is quite a bit of interplay between reality - in terms of African wars in the northwest and northeast and in cultural practices all across the world - and the book. There is also a strong flavor of post-apocalyptic life, although there is basically zero yearning to return to the past. Everyone has moved on and life is what it is.

At times, this is a difficult book to read. So difficult that I think a couple things in this book that fix certain problems occur because the author wanted to pull us back from being too strongly affected by those problems. I don't know how I feel about that. This book obviously deserved to win some medals and prizes. But... I don't know if I'm fully up for more from her due to the fixes I mentioned above. I'd rather be depressed than wondering if the fix was organic.

I do like how her teenage characters do what they want particularly in the short term, which isn't always good for the group or for themselves in the long term.

I also finished The Mechanical by Ian Tregillis. Fairly good, strong setting and action scenes, but not the best first installment of a series I've read. It's still full speed Tregillis, so if you've read the Milkweed/Fighting Nazis with Superpowers trilogy or my favorite of his works, Something More Than Night, you'll enjoy this.

[Andorion]

QuickTidal, on 09 April 2015 - 05:22 PM, said:

Kartoolian Spider Squisher, on 09 April 2015 - 05:19 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 09 April 2015 - 01:24 PM, said:

Am now halfway through the latest Kate Daniels book (referred to as Katestasy from here on out...what? Abyss is the only one who can coin an addictive-drug term for a series of books? ) by Ilona Andrews and goddamn this series is just the best since Dresden. I've probably said that before, but from the interesting world building, to compelling characters, to the Buffy-esque dialogue, to the general badassedness of the leads (Kate, Andrea, Curran, Derek...and of course psychopathic dog Grendel) this series is just amazing and addictive. I've only got two books before I'm caught up (plus a side adventure with Andrea and Raphael) though, so I know afterwards I'll go into withdrawal. For those who have yet to take the plunge into this UrbFant amazefest...get on it!

IMHO, the Kate Daniels series is better than Dresden (both in my top 3 UF list) there is also a side story with Dali and Jim that you should read. I think it takes place after book 6.

I saw that...actually I think there are now two Dali and Jim short stories...both characters I enjoy, so I'll deifnitely be reading them.

I'm also going to try out Andrews CLEAN SWEEP series as well.

Clean Sweep as in the Innkeeper Chronicles Book 1 right? Interesting premise, interesting world, but flops a bit on execution IMO.

[Andorion]

amphibian, on 09 April 2015 - 10:26 PM, said:

I read Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor.

It's a very powerful book and quite a good one. Okorafor does several interesting things in it that play strongly with Nigerian mythology - some of which I've read about elsewhere and could glom onto readily and some of which was new to me. Her protagonist, Onyesowu, is a great example of a slightly dim, yet extremely persistent and charismatic person that gets together a band of people who can help her and solves the problem facing the region.

There is quite a bit of interplay between reality - in terms of African wars in the northwest and northeast and in cultural practices all across the world - and the book. There is also a strong flavor of post-apocalyptic life, although there is basically zero yearning to return to the past. Everyone has moved on and life is what it is.

At times, this is a difficult book to read. So difficult that I think a couple things in this book that fix certain problems occur because the author wanted to pull us back from being too strongly affected by those problems. I don't know how I feel about that. This book obviously deserved to win some medals and prizes. But... I don't know if I'm fully up for more from her due to the fixes I mentioned above. I'd rather be depressed than wondering if the fix was organic.

I do like how her teenage characters do what they want particularly in the short term, which isn't always good for the group or for themselves in the long term.

I also finished The Mechanical by Ian Tregillis. Fairly good, strong setting and action scenes, but not the best first installment of a series I've read. It's still full speed Tregillis, so if you've read the Milkweed/Fighting Nazis with Superpowers trilogy or my favorite of his works, Something More Than Night, you'll enjoy this.

Regarding Tregillis, I thought it was an excellent idea, but somewhere around the middle, the book wandered a little bit. But its still a very good book and I am looking forward to the next one

[Maark Abbott]

Maark, on 09 April 2015 - 09:49 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 09 April 2015 - 07:24 PM, said:

Maark, on 09 April 2015 - 06:27 PM, said:

I'm probably moving onto Blackspunk II. From there? Not sure. I have Blackspunk III due to land so probably that.

I'm FAIRLY sure that Blackspunk should be relayed to Bakker himself as a term he should begin using. I nearly spat my water out reading that line Maark, thanks!

I just hope it doesn't land in my hair.

[QuickTidal]

Maark, on 10 April 2015 - 07:01 AM, said:

Maark, on 09 April 2015 - 09:49 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 09 April 2015 - 07:24 PM, said:

Maark, on 09 April 2015 - 06:27 PM, said:

I'm probably moving onto Blackspunk II. From there? Not sure. I have Blackspunk III due to land so probably that.

I'm FAIRLY sure that Blackspunk should be relayed to Bakker himself as a term he should begin using. I nearly spat my water out reading that line Maark, thanks!

I just hope it doesn't land in my hair.

Haha Awesome

[QuickTidal]

Andorion, on 10 April 2015 - 12:54 AM, said:

Clean Sweep as in the Innkeeper Chronicles Book 1 right? Interesting premise, interesting world, but flops a bit on execution IMO.

Yeah? Oh that's too bad.

[Andorion]

QuickTidal, on 10 April 2015 - 09:59 AM, said:

Andorion, on 10 April 2015 - 12:54 AM, said:

Clean Sweep as in the Innkeeper Chronicles Book 1 right? Interesting premise, interesting world, but flops a bit on execution IMO.

Yeah? Oh that's too bad.

There are some genuinely cool elements and some extremely funny moments, but a few things are just too pat and cliched... and compared to Kate Daniels, the protagonist isn't as good. But having said that, I compare everything unfavourably to Kate so maybe you will disagree after you have read it.

[Whisperzzzzzzz]

Started Leckie's Ancillary Justice last night. I'm about halfway through, and I'm really digging the Radch culture. It has a definite alien feel to start, but then reading about it not firsthand but secondhand - through the Justice of Toren's own perspective filter - makes it even more unusual.

Unfortunately, not much has happened storywise - just a lot of setup and explanation - but I'm digging it nonetheless.

[amphibian]

Maark, on 10 April 2015 - 07:01 AM, said:

Followed you.

Blackspunk is a movement in the makings.

[Salt-Man Z]

I've been reading William Shatner's Quest for Tomorrow series, as I felt the need for a bit of popcorn sci-fi. Plus, I was given the first book almost 20 years ago, and just found the third last month to plug the gap in my collection. I finished the second book (out of five), In Alien Hands, last night, and it's a fun series. I'm definitely going to read all five.

But first I've got to to crank through a couple of books I was sent by Skyhorse Publishing. First up will be Dead Boys by Gabriel Squailia. Anyone heard of it?