[Macros]

Finished Equal Rites.

A but jarring at the start as Granny didnt seem like Granny, a bit too folksy nearly but by the end she is full force (and one to be reckoned with)

On to Mort!

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

Macros, on 19 July 2026 - 04:50 PM, said:

Finished Equal Rites.

A but jarring at the start as Granny didnt seem like Granny, a bit too folksy nearly but by the end she is full force (and one to be reckoned with)

On to Mort!

Mort was always a favourite!

[QuickTidal]

I started THERE IS NO ANTIMEMETICS DIVISION by qntm (Sam Hughes) and holy shit, what an absolutely gripping read! I heard about it from others and I had it on my kindle from a sale a few weeks back, and decided to check out a chapter and all of the sudden I was three chapters deep and didn't want to stop reading.

[Tiste Simeon]

QuickTidal, on 23 July 2026 - 11:15 AM, said:

I started THERE IS NO ANTIMEMETICS DIVISION by qntm (Sam Hughes) and holy shit, what an absolutely gripping read! I heard about it from others and I had it on my kindle from a sale a few weeks back, and decided to check out a chapter and all of the sudden I was three chapters deep and didn't want to stop reading.

Yeah I was talking about this a couple of months ago it's really good. I'd put it in a similar league to The Library at Mount Char in terms of the atmosphere and the world created and I don't think I've ever read a book so good at building a growing sense of horror throughout it.

[QuickTidal]

Tiste Simeon, on 23 July 2026 - 11:40 AM, said:

QuickTidal, on 23 July 2026 - 11:15 AM, said:

I started THERE IS NO ANTIMEMETICS DIVISION by qntm (Sam Hughes) and holy shit, what an absolutely gripping read! I heard about it from others and I had it on my kindle from a sale a few weeks back, and decided to check out a chapter and all of the sudden I was three chapters deep and didn't want to stop reading.

Yeah I was talking about this a couple of months ago it's really good. I'd put it in a similar league to The Library at Mount Char in terms of the atmosphere and the world created and I don't think I've ever read a book so good at building a growing sense of horror throughout it.

Awesome! Also I looked up the author, he LOOKS like he could be an antimemetic file. LOL

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 23 July 2026 - 11:59 AM

[Abyss]

QuickTidal, on 23 July 2026 - 11:59 AM, said:

Tiste Simeon, on 23 July 2026 - 11:40 AM, said:

QuickTidal, on 23 July 2026 - 11:15 AM, said:

I started THERE IS NO ANTIMEMETICS DIVISION by qntm (Sam Hughes) and holy shit, what an absolutely gripping read! I heard about it from others and I had it on my kindle from a sale a few weeks back, and decided to check out a chapter and all of the sudden I was three chapters deep and didn't want to stop reading.

Yeah I was talking about this a couple of months ago it's really good. I'd put it in a similar league to The Library at Mount Char in terms of the atmosphere and the world created and I don't think I've ever read a book so good at building a growing sense of horror throughout it.

Awesome! Also I looked up the author, he LOOKS like he could be an antimemetic file. LOL

i got the earbook based on your reco Tiste, may need to move it up the virtual stack.

[JPK]

Abyss, on 23 July 2026 - 02:59 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 23 July 2026 - 11:59 AM, said:

Tiste Simeon, on 23 July 2026 - 11:40 AM, said:

QuickTidal, on 23 July 2026 - 11:15 AM, said:

I started THERE IS NO ANTIMEMETICS DIVISION by qntm (Sam Hughes) and holy shit, what an absolutely gripping read! I heard about it from others and I had it on my kindle from a sale a few weeks back, and decided to check out a chapter and all of the sudden I was three chapters deep and didn't want to stop reading.

Yeah I was talking about this a couple of months ago it's really good. I'd put it in a similar league to The Library at Mount Char in terms of the atmosphere and the world created and I don't think I've ever read a book so good at building a growing sense of horror throughout it.

Awesome! Also I looked up the author, he LOOKS like he could be an antimemetic file. LOL

i got the earbook based on your reco Tiste, may need to move it up the virtual stack.

I'll back Tiste's recommendation, it's a good one.

Fyi, Abyss, I went ereader for this one cause there are sections of redacted text that I understand they used a sound for in the audio version that can be pretty grating.

[Tiste Simeon]

Yeah I imagine the audio version might be quite difficult to follow I dunno.

[Abyss]

Abyss, on 09 July 2026 - 04:42 PM, said:

... A random reddit thread gave me A TRADER'S TALES FROM THE GOLDEN AGE OF THE SOLAR CLIPPER by Nathan Lowell. The author did the earbook narration for the series and then posted the chapters as podcasts.

It's a fairly basic premise... young man must leave his home planet, gets a berth on a merchant starship and works his way up the ranks. It might fairly be called 'cozy sf', each chapter is him learning a job, dealing with another crew member, growing as a person. I Just Finished books 1 and 2, QUARTER SHARE and HALF SHARE and am halfway into bk 3 FULL SHARE before there is even anything resembling a 'crisis' or real conflict. Without spoiling, there is near zero action, no marauding space pirates, no hostile aliens, no super-harsh space-wants-to-kill-you (so far). It's simply engaging in a way that works very nicely. The writing has a fwd momentum that walks, near never runs, but never stalls or repeats or circles back either. The protag Ishmael (yes they make all the obvious Moby Dick jokes) is far from flawless or over-the-top, but he's quietly competent and relatable for the most part. I could live w a touch less of his love-life ... to be fair it would be odd for an 18-yr-old male in his situation not to have one... it's that in that area the author skips the learning curve we see in every other respect and jumps between a far more mature perspective and back to uncertain young man in a way that's less believable than virtually everything else in the series so far. I can see where some might cry 'Gary Stu' but i don't think that's fair, the character works, in story, for near everything he gets....

It's a fun light read and if you're looking for that it's worth a try and 'free' is very affordable.

Just Finished FULL SHARE as well as CAPTAIN'S SHARE and am starting OWNER'S SHARE. the 'cozy' description continues to fit but it suits my current brain space (waaaaaay better than Between Two Fires that sits on my phone somewhere around 60% but advancing in tiny increments). CAPTAIN'S actually upped the action element very slightly w some actual jeopardy, but continued the same trend of day-by-day spaceship life and drama being told in a very engaging way. OWNER'S starts w short but clever time jump and drops in some hints that set the stage for the book nicely.

[JPK]

So I'm currently around halfway through Her Lady of Blades which is the second book in Sebastian de Castell's Court of Shadows, which is the sequel series to the Greatcoats books. People, it's really good. To avoid gushing, I'll just say that it's a return to Rijou and the city itself shines and has cemented itself as one of my favorite settings.

[Macros]

I didnt know book one was out!

Wifey... about my birthday coming up....

[JPK]

Macros, on 24 July 2026 - 03:42 PM, said:

I didnt know book one was out!

Wifey... about my birthday coming up....

When I said #2, it's slightly misleading. There's also a "prelude" book out.

0.5 - Crucible of Chaos
1 - Play of Shadows
2 - Our Lady of Blades

[Abyss]

Just Finished 'Trader's Tales from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper' series by Nathan Lowell...

Six books: Quarter Share; Half Share; Full Share; Double Share; Captain's Share; and, Owner's Share...

all in earbook, switching between the podcast version narrated by the author, and the earbook version narrated by Jeffrey Kafer, depending on how many free spotify earbook hours i had available.

I like, but do not love, 'cozy fantasy'. I did not know 'cozy scifi' was a thing but should have expected it to be, and similar to the fantasy version in the right time and brainspace it's kind of exactly what i want to read (hear). Halfway into an especially grimdark read and looking to break up the grim, i saw a mention here of Trader's Tales and gave bk 1 a try - free is free, no reason to hesitate - and ended up pausing my original read to marathon the rest of the series.

Briefly, zero spoilers - Ishmael Wang (yes, 'call him Ishmael') is 18 years old, newly orphaned, and needs a job. He finds a berth on a solar sail freighter and works his way up from crew to captain to full owner of his own ship. Along the way he (and the reader) learns about life on the solar sail spaceships, meets a fun/interesting supporting cast, and gradually grows as a character. I call it 'cozy' because there is a distinct lack of serious conflict in the series. Sure, there are challenges, relationship issues, stress points, moments of danger, but there is never a sense that the MC is genuinely at risk for his life. Failure, disappointment sure, but never grueling screaming death in the Deep Dark. There are no ravening alien bugs or battling fleets or space ninjas or asteroid swarms or even a devouring black hole. Despite the relative lack of any of the classic space threats, Ishmael's story is very engaging, and if the stye works for the reader then his wide eyed trying to learn everything approach carries you along very nicely for the ride to a satisfying conclusion.

I did wish at times there was a slight bit more conflict or risk, but the author's pacing is solid and the story doesn't linger w any one stage or challenge to the point that low-stress becomes boring. The author also does good work w Ish's interpersonal relationships and the supporting cast offer enough distraction and engaging side stories to keep things moving. The author also writes his MC as a bit of a horny guy, albeit a well behaved honourable one, so occasionally his inner monologue 'appreciation' of female characters is a bit much, even as the author tries to balance it by having them be just as low-key horny. It's never over the top or gross, but a few times it read as trying too hard.

It's not hard sf. The nuts and bolts of the ships, the sails, and the wormholes aren't explored in depth. There's a fair amount of technical detail about the ship layouts and operations and such, but the actual way they travel from place to place isn't the focus. It works well enough, the odd description the author did include left me wishing he had gone further w it rather than frustrated.

Both the author and Kafer's narrations are effective, good pacing, clear, distinct enough different voices including female voices, no breathy/swallowing/whatever issues.

I enjoyed the series, it was exactly the kind of read i needed when i needed it and it held my attention right through. If you want more Red Rising, or The Lost Fleet forget it, this isn't for you. If you enjoyed the quiet moments in The Expanse when the crew socialized and planned and ate together, this might be worth some braintime. And just to reiterate, the author's version of the entire series is a free podcast (give or take some ads), so low risk if you decide to try it. I'll be checking out the sequel series in the near future.

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree.

Nice D&D adjacent sort of story about an orc fighter who's had enough of the life and opens a coffee shop. Very "the journey is the friends you make along the way" sort of vibe. It's a light and cosy read when you don't want your brain to work, we both really enjoyed it.

The Unicorn Hunters by Katherine Arden

Arden at her gorgeous best. Thoroughly enjoyed it - I maintain my recommendation from up thread that if you like anything she's written previously, there's no reason you won't enjoy this one too.

This post has been edited by TheRetiredBridgeburner: 31 July 2026 - 12:23 PM

[worry]

I heard The Unicorn Hunters -- while it would be shelved under Historical Fantasy -- has a decent amount of horror to it. Would you say that's the case or am I being hoodwinked?

[Tiste Simeon]

If it's to do with unicorns, you're more likely being hoofwinked just FYI.

This post has been edited by Tiste Simeon: 31 July 2026 - 09:43 PM

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

worry, on 31 July 2026 - 06:20 PM, said:

I heard The Unicorn Hunters -- while it would be shelved under Historical Fantasy -- has a decent amount of horror to it. Would you say that's the case or am I being hoodwinked?

I'd agree, the horror is fantastical in nature but quite a bit of it is very creepy.

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Abyss, on 30 July 2026 - 05:31 PM, said:

Just Finished 'Trader's Tales from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper' series by Nathan Lowell...

This somehow ended up as dark grey text... which I at least find hard to read on a dark grey background. At first it looked completely blank to me. Bit ironic for "Trader's Tales from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper".

But here it is in the standard white:

Quote

Just Finished 'Trader's Tales from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper' series by Nathan Lowell...

Six books: Quarter Share; Half Share; Full Share; Double Share; Captain's Share; and, Owner's Share...

all in earbook, switching between the podcast version narrated by the author, and the earbook version narrated by Jeffrey Kafer, depending on how many free spotify earbook hours i had available.

I like, but do not love, 'cozy fantasy'. I did not know 'cozy scifi' was a thing but should have expected it to be, and similar to the fantasy version in the right time and brainspace it's kind of exactly what i want to read (hear). Halfway into an especially grimdark read and looking to break up the grim, i saw a mention here of Trader's Tales and gave bk 1 a try - free is free, no reason to hesitate - and ended up pausing my original read to marathon the rest of the series.

Briefly, zero spoilers - Ishmael Wang (yes, 'call him Ishmael') is 18 years old, newly orphaned, and needs a job. He finds a berth on a solar sail freighter and works his way up from crew to captain to full owner of his own ship. Along the way he (and the reader) learns about life on the solar sail spaceships, meets a fun/interesting supporting cast, and gradually grows as a character. I call it 'cozy' because there is a distinct lack of serious conflict in the series. Sure, there are challenges, relationship issues, stress points, moments of danger, but there is never a sense that the MC is genuinely at risk for his life. Failure, disappointment sure, but never grueling screaming death in the Deep Dark. There are no ravening alien bugs or battling fleets or space ninjas or asteroid swarms or even a devouring black hole. Despite the relative lack of any of the classic space threats, Ishmael's story is very engaging, and if the stye works for the reader then his wide eyed trying to learn everything approach carries you along very nicely for the ride to a satisfying conclusion.

I did wish at times there was a slight bit more conflict or risk, but the author's pacing is solid and the story doesn't linger w any one stage or challenge to the point that low-stress becomes boring. The author also does good work w Ish's interpersonal relationships and the supporting cast offer enough distraction and engaging side stories to keep things moving. The author also writes his MC as a bit of a horny guy, albeit a well behaved honourable one, so occasionally his inner monologue 'appreciation' of female characters is a bit much, even as the author tries to balance it by having them be just as low-key horny. It's never over the top or gross, but a few times it read as trying too hard.

It's not hard sf. The nuts and bolts of the ships, the sails, and the wormholes aren't explored in depth. There's a fair amount of technical detail about the ship layouts and operations and such, but the actual way they travel from place to place isn't the focus. It works well enough, the odd description the author did include left me wishing he had gone further w it rather than frustrated.

Both the author and Kafer's narrations are effective, good pacing, clear, distinct enough different voices including female voices, no breathy/swallowing/whatever issues.

I enjoyed the series, it was exactly the kind of read i needed when i needed it and it held my attention right through. If you want more Red Rising, or The Lost Fleet forget it, this isn't for you. If you enjoyed the quiet moments in The Expanse when the crew socialized and planned and ate together, this might be worth some braintime. And just to reiterate, the author's version of the entire series is a free podcast (give or take some ads), so low risk if you decide to try it. I'll be checking out the sequel series in the near future.

[Whisperzzzzzzz]

Abyss, on 30 July 2026 - 05:31 PM, said:

Just Finished 'Trader's Tales from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper' series by Nathan Lowell...

Six books: Quarter Share; Half Share; Full Share; Double Share; Captain's Share; and, Owner's Share...

all in earbook, switching between the podcast version narrated by the author, and the earbook version narrated by Jeffrey Kafer, depending on how many free spotify earbook hours i had available.

I like, but do not love, 'cozy fantasy'. I did not know 'cozy scifi' was a thing but should have expected it to be, and similar to the fantasy version in the right time and brainspace it's kind of exactly what i want to read (hear). Halfway into an especially grimdark read and looking to break up the grim, i saw a mention here of Trader's Tales and gave bk 1 a try - free is free, no reason to hesitate - and ended up pausing my original read to marathon the rest of the series.

Briefly, zero spoilers - Ishmael Wang (yes, 'call him Ishmael') is 18 years old, newly orphaned, and needs a job. He finds a berth on a solar sail freighter and works his way up from crew to captain to full owner of his own ship. Along the way he (and the reader) learns about life on the solar sail spaceships, meets a fun/interesting supporting cast, and gradually grows as a character. I call it 'cozy' because there is a distinct lack of serious conflict in the series. Sure, there are challenges, relationship issues, stress points, moments of danger, but there is never a sense that the MC is genuinely at risk for his life. Failure, disappointment sure, but never grueling screaming death in the Deep Dark. There are no ravening alien bugs or battling fleets or space ninjas or asteroid swarms or even a devouring black hole. Despite the relative lack of any of the classic space threats, Ishmael's story is very engaging, and if the stye works for the reader then his wide eyed trying to learn everything approach carries you along very nicely for the ride to a satisfying conclusion.

I did wish at times there was a slight bit more conflict or risk, but the author's pacing is solid and the story doesn't linger w any one stage or challenge to the point that low-stress becomes boring. The author also does good work w Ish's interpersonal relationships and the supporting cast offer enough distraction and engaging side stories to keep things moving. The author also writes his MC as a bit of a horny guy, albeit a well behaved honourable one, so occasionally his inner monologue 'appreciation' of female characters is a bit much, even as the author tries to balance it by having them be just as low-key horny. It's never over the top or gross, but a few times it read as trying too hard.

It's not hard sf. The nuts and bolts of the ships, the sails, and the wormholes aren't explored in depth. There's a fair amount of technical detail about the ship layouts and operations and such, but the actual way they travel from place to place isn't the focus. It works well enough, the odd description the author did include left me wishing he had gone further w it rather than frustrated.

Both the author and Kafer's narrations are effective, good pacing, clear, distinct enough different voices including female voices, no breathy/swallowing/whatever issues.

I enjoyed the series, it was exactly the kind of read i needed when i needed it and it held my attention right through. If you want more Red Rising, or The Lost Fleet forget it, this isn't for you. If you enjoyed the quiet moments in The Expanse when the crew socialized and planned and ate together, this might be worth some braintime. And just to reiterate, the author's version of the entire series is a free podcast (give or take some ads), so low risk if you decide to try it. I'll be checking out the sequel series in the near future.

If you like cozy sci-fi, then have you heard of Becky Chambers?

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

Whisperzzzzzzz, on 03 August 2026 - 11:29 PM, said:

If you like cozy sci-fi, then have you heard of Becky Chambers?

Seconded. She's wonderful.