[polishgenius]

Gabriele, on 30 November 2016 - 05:18 PM, said:

Baco Xtath, on 28 November 2016 - 06:10 PM, said:

I put down Miles Cameron's Plague of Swords. There's a part where he keeps saying him/her, he or she, and it goes on, and on, even though they establish that it's a woman. After about 30 minutes of listening to it and being very annoyed, I returned the book to audible. It's probably easier to read something like that as I generally don't read word for word but listening to it was excruciating to me. Disappointing as I really enjoyed the series. Could've just been my mood at the time. Sometimes I get annoyed with Peter F. Hamilton for polyps and geneered, (gene + engineered).

I never finished the first book because of that sort of issues. I've read self published books that were better edited than his stuff. Which is a pity because it is the sort of story I usually like. But I can't ignore all those spelling, gender, geography and continuity mistakes; I'm too much of an editor myself. What did the publisher do, except for printing the books?

While there certainly are editing errors in this series, what Baco's talking about isn't one of them. It's about a character whose gender is unclear. And in Cameron's defence, (minor spoilers as it goes but putting them in anyway)

Spoiler

it never actually is completely established that it is a woman, and in fact later it's made fairly clear that the character is, in fact, a sort of magical hermaphrodite that moves between various degrees of masculinity and femininity.

[amphibian]

polishgenius, on 30 November 2016 - 05:28 PM, said:

While there certainly are editing errors in this series, what Baco's talking about isn't one of them. It's about a character whose gender is unclear. And in Cameron's defence, (minor spoilers as it goes but putting them in anyway)

Spoiler

it never actually is completely established that it is a woman, and in fact later it's made fairly clear that the character is, in fact, a sort of magical hermaphrodite that moves between various degrees of masculinity and femininity.

Yep.

Plague of Swords is really good. Probably the best entry in terms of technical writing ability in the series and it's cool to see what was initially a somewhat straightforwards "stop the bad guy" story expand and gain depth. But it's not for everyone.

The indefinite gender character is so natural and fitting that the character is a terrific example of inclusion without being tokenism or standing out as being ill-fitting to the story. Cameron did a great thing in doing what he did there and I'm very sure he's not getting enough praise and publicity for doing it with such style and grace. It's on the level of NK Jemison, basically.

[Andorion]

Reading NK Jemisin's Obelisk Gate. So so good

[EmperorMagus]

Use of Weapons.

10% in. I didn't expect it to be this good.

[QuickTidal]

Finished a few books I had previously started and paused (for whatever reason).

BONE by Jeff Smith - this was amazing. Sunday newspaper cartoon mixed with LOTR. Epic! Long...perhaps a tad overlong...but really solid.

THE WARS OF THE ROSES: BLOODLINE by Conn Iggulden - Not QUITE as good as the previous volume, but pretty close. Second half of the book is much more pacey than the first half which kind of meanders. Looking fwd to the final book in the series RAVENSPUR.

THE WAR OF THE FLOWERS by Tad Williams - Very good. Not a shade on MS&T mind you (which is much more inventive), but quite good in the end. the last two parts in the book were better than the first 3 parts (in which there is a lot of wandering and random events). I liked it. Perhaps not as much as some did, but it's a thoroughly decent read....if not my favourite Williams book.

Will probably bust into some WH40K next....either the next Horus book (EISENSTEIN), or the first of Graham Mcneill's Ultramarine books.

[Mentalist]

A few chapters (about 60pgs) into the "Southern Reach" omnibus by Vandermeer.

Area X is making my skin crawl.

[EmperorMagus]

Mentalist, on 01 December 2016 - 04:54 PM, said:

A few chapters (about 60pgs) into the "Southern Reach" omnibus by Vandermeer.

Area X is making my skin crawl.

You do not want to dream about Area X.

I've mentioned here before that I never have nightmares, because as soon as things start getting weird in my dream a process kick in and I'm like "wait this is too ridiculous, I'm asleep".

After I finished the first book of Southern Reach (is it Authority? can't remember) I actually had a nightmare. Full on sweat making my bed wet waking up in a horrible mood nightmare.

That book is plain ... unpleasant.

Scratch that, the book is awesome. The mood and subject matter are fucking weird and disturbing. The second book is even better than the first.

[Mentalist]

EmperorMagus, on 01 December 2016 - 06:38 PM, said:

Mentalist, on 01 December 2016 - 04:54 PM, said:

A few chapters (about 60pgs) into the "Southern Reach" omnibus by Vandermeer.

Area X is making my skin crawl.

You do not want to dream about Area X.

I've mentioned here before that I never have nightmares, because as soon as things start getting weird in my dream a process kick in and I'm like "wait this is too ridiculous, I'm asleep".

After I finished the first book of Southern Reach (is it Authority? can't remember) I actually had a nightmare. Full on sweat making my bed wet waking up in a horrible mood nightmare.

That book is plain ... unpleasant.

Scratch that, the book is awesome. The mood and subject matter are fucking weird and disturbing. The second book is even better than the first.

Annihilation is bk1

Edit: so you are saying it's NOT a good idea to have that as a bedtime book? (that's generally when I catch up on at-home reading)

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 01 December 2016 - 06:57 PM

[QuickTidal]

Mentalist, on 01 December 2016 - 06:52 PM, said:

EmperorMagus, on 01 December 2016 - 06:38 PM, said:

Mentalist, on 01 December 2016 - 04:54 PM, said:

A few chapters (about 60pgs) into the "Southern Reach" omnibus by Vandermeer.

Area X is making my skin crawl.

You do not want to dream about Area X.

I've mentioned here before that I never have nightmares, because as soon as things start getting weird in my dream a process kick in and I'm like "wait this is too ridiculous, I'm asleep".

After I finished the first book of Southern Reach (is it Authority? can't remember) I actually had a nightmare. Full on sweat making my bed wet waking up in a horrible mood nightmare.

That book is plain ... unpleasant.

Scratch that, the book is awesome. The mood and subject matter are fucking weird and disturbing. The second book is even better than the first.

Annihilation is bk1

Edit: so you are saying it's NOT a good idea to have that as a bedtime book? (that's generally when I catch up on at-home reading)

The entire trilogy is excellent...and what's even better is how different book 2 is from book 1 and it's STILL super creepy!

I don't like any other Vandermeer books, but Southern Reach was incredible.

[polishgenius]

So this week, I read Revenger, Alastair Reynolds doing space pirates. Really rather a lot of fun, although (and I can't believe how crazy this sounds talking about Reynolds) I finished the book wishing he'd explored the big ideas behind it more. Which some people will find to be a strength- he did the opposite of his common problem where he sometimes stops the character arcs and wraps up as soon as he's got his big idea out the way. Anyway, recommended for fans of space pirates, which is presumably everyone.


I also read Vacuum Diagrams by Stephen Baxter, a Xeelee short story collection that's kinda collated by an added bridging narrative into a kinda-sorta-but-not-really novel. An odd idea that doesn't entirely work, since (a) it neccessiated ordering the stories chronologically which might not necessarily have been the best idea because the stories set in any specific timeframe tend to have a similar pattern to them, so it gets repetitive in places and (2) the framing story is a sequel to one of the stories it's framing, which is a bit awkward.
But, in the end, it does come together to deliver the trademark Xeelee Universe MINDFUCKINGBLOWING SCALE(I seriously can't think of anything that comes remotely close), although it does also rather drive home the fact that this setting is really fucking depressing when taken as a whole.

This post has been edited by polishgenius: 01 December 2016 - 11:51 PM

[Andorion]

Briar King, on 01 December 2016 - 11:14 PM, said:

Andorion, on 01 December 2016 - 01:41 AM, said:

Reading NK Jemisin's Obelisk Gate. So so good

I want to try her out one day.

As expected I've only read 8 pgs since Tuesday. FF15 is so much fun.

This is a series you should look at BK. Its one of the more original things I have read recently

[Andorion]

QuickTidal, on 01 December 2016 - 06:59 PM, said:

Mentalist, on 01 December 2016 - 06:52 PM, said:

EmperorMagus, on 01 December 2016 - 06:38 PM, said:

Mentalist, on 01 December 2016 - 04:54 PM, said:

A few chapters (about 60pgs) into the "Southern Reach" omnibus by Vandermeer.

Area X is making my skin crawl.

You do not want to dream about Area X.

I've mentioned here before that I never have nightmares, because as soon as things start getting weird in my dream a process kick in and I'm like "wait this is too ridiculous, I'm asleep".

After I finished the first book of Southern Reach (is it Authority? can't remember) I actually had a nightmare. Full on sweat making my bed wet waking up in a horrible mood nightmare.

That book is plain ... unpleasant.

Scratch that, the book is awesome. The mood and subject matter are fucking weird and disturbing. The second book is even better than the first.

Annihilation is bk1

Edit: so you are saying it's NOT a good idea to have that as a bedtime book? (that's generally when I catch up on at-home reading)

The entire trilogy is excellent...and what's even better is how different book 2 is from book 1 and it's STILL super creepy!

I don't like any other Vandermeer books, but Southern Reach was incredible.

I tried Vandermeer before and I didn't like it, but that was a bad phase when I was bouncing off everything I read.

Where should I start with him?

[Morgoth]

Andorion, on 02 December 2016 - 04:47 AM, said:

QuickTidal, on 01 December 2016 - 06:59 PM, said:

Mentalist, on 01 December 2016 - 06:52 PM, said:

EmperorMagus, on 01 December 2016 - 06:38 PM, said:

Mentalist, on 01 December 2016 - 04:54 PM, said:

A few chapters (about 60pgs) into the "Southern Reach" omnibus by Vandermeer.

Area X is making my skin crawl.

You do not want to dream about Area X.

I've mentioned here before that I never have nightmares, because as soon as things start getting weird in my dream a process kick in and I'm like "wait this is too ridiculous, I'm asleep".

After I finished the first book of Southern Reach (is it Authority? can't remember) I actually had a nightmare. Full on sweat making my bed wet waking up in a horrible mood nightmare.

That book is plain ... unpleasant.

Scratch that, the book is awesome. The mood and subject matter are fucking weird and disturbing. The second book is even better than the first.

Annihilation is bk1

Edit: so you are saying it's NOT a good idea to have that as a bedtime book? (that's generally when I catch up on at-home reading)

The entire trilogy is excellent...and what's even better is how different book 2 is from book 1 and it's STILL super creepy!

I don't like any other Vandermeer books, but Southern Reach was incredible.

I tried Vandermeer before and I didn't like it, but that was a bad phase when I was bouncing off everything I read.

Where should I start with him?

City of Saints and Madmen. It is truly a spectacular book, and followed by Shriek and Finch, perhaps the best trilogy written in the last couple of decades.

[Morgoth]

EmperorMagus, on 01 December 2016 - 05:19 AM, said:

Use of Weapons.

10% in. I didn't expect it to be this good.

My favourite Sci Fi, and probably the only sci fi book to live safely in my top ten of best literary experiences.

[QuickTidal]

Got an early Christmas gift from someone, in the form of B.P.R.D.: 1946-1948 (hardcover), which collects the whole of the post-war series by Mignola, Arcuda, and others.

Starting reading it, and it's (naturally) spectacular. But anything HELLBOY or BPRD related is a win in my book even before reading it.

I just love these stories and art!

[amphibian]

Morgoth, on 02 December 2016 - 11:02 AM, said:

Andorion, on 02 December 2016 - 04:47 AM, said:

QuickTidal, on 01 December 2016 - 06:59 PM, said:

Mentalist, on 01 December 2016 - 06:52 PM, said:

EmperorMagus, on 01 December 2016 - 06:38 PM, said:

Mentalist, on 01 December 2016 - 04:54 PM, said:

A few chapters (about 60pgs) into the "Southern Reach" omnibus by Vandermeer.

Area X is making my skin crawl.

You do not want to dream about Area X.

I've mentioned here before that I never have nightmares, because as soon as things start getting weird in my dream a process kick in and I'm like "wait this is too ridiculous, I'm asleep".

After I finished the first book of Southern Reach (is it Authority? can't remember) I actually had a nightmare. Full on sweat making my bed wet waking up in a horrible mood nightmare.

That book is plain ... unpleasant.

Scratch that, the book is awesome. The mood and subject matter are fucking weird and disturbing. The second book is even better than the first.

Annihilation is bk1

Edit: so you are saying it's NOT a good idea to have that as a bedtime book? (that's generally when I catch up on at-home reading)

The entire trilogy is excellent...and what's even better is how different book 2 is from book 1 and it's STILL super creepy!

I don't like any other Vandermeer books, but Southern Reach was incredible.

I tried Vandermeer before and I didn't like it, but that was a bad phase when I was bouncing off everything I read.

Where should I start with him?

City of Saints and Madmen. It is truly a spectacular book, and followed by Shriek and Finch, perhaps the best trilogy written in the last couple of decades.

I will say that you should be warned that City of Saints and Madmen is an anthology of short stories that add up to truly give you a full picture of what the city of Ambergris is. Then Shriek is a more straightforward diary being commented on by a reader. Finch is a hard boiled detective story. Each of the three different books combines to make a truly great meta story.

I still think starting with the Southern Reach trilogy is better, as it's a gentler introduction to Vandermeer.

[acesn8s]

About 50 pages left in The Red Knight. I've enjoyed it, but I don't think I'm jumping right into book 2.

[worry]

I finished The Gathering Storm. In the Foreword BS claims not to be doing an RJ impression, but he coulda fooled me. It feels pretty much exactly the same, with perhaps somewhat less noodling about. He even added one or two more dozen one-off Aes Sedai names to the roster. That said, it's definitely a lot more focused on the endgame and so far I think he does an admirable job of juggling all the balls RJ set up.

Spoiler

I'm quite sad that my two favorite characters are dead and "dead". I am speaking of course about Verin Sedai and Lews Therin Telamon. In the former case I thought that was actually a pretty perfect culmination of her story, and no less a crafty meaningful sacrifice than I expected. In the latter, the "love" revelation was both as silly as it always is in any story where love is the answer, but also pretty much exactly what had to happen for this mountain of "old school" fantasy. It was inevitable. But I thought Lews was almost always RJ's darkest writing and some of his best, consistently, and Sanderson handled him well too. Gonna miss him!

I can't believe Moiraine isn't back yet. I guess the pace is natural, but I'd hope she had more on-screen time for the big finale. I imagine since the next book is called Towers of Midnight (plural) it's not just a reference to the one in Seanchan. I feel much less confident any action will take place back in Seanchan, even Tuon shoring up her power (though who knows, w/ that Crystal Throne prophecy), so I'm thinking the title is a metaphor for both the Tower of Ghenjei and the Black Tower.

Anyway, overall it was pretty good. The battle of the White Tower was exciting, and I'm wondering what the four Seanchan assassins still left have in store. And speaking of dark writing, the Asha'man laughing at the Aes Sedai at the end of Knife of Dreams was some of RJ's best most ominous writing, so I'm eager to see where that goes.

[worry]

As usual I find Mat to be whiny on the surface, but the situations he gets into pretty interesting.

[End of Disc One]

TGS had probably the best Rand stuff in the series