[Kruppe's snacky cakes]

worrywort, on 20 February 2012 - 07:48 PM, said:

But if you want to know more about his stance -- and maybe you shouldn't, if you don't want your admiration for his writing tainted (I'd still personally recommend Ender's Game to anyone, but it would leave a sour taste in my mouth and I'd rather they bought it used or something) -- here's a few quotes via Wikipedia (with citation):

http://en.wikipedia....d#Homosexuality

I consider myself to be a libertarian on this particular issue, and I'm not particularly a Card fanboy, the Ender books being all that I've really enjoyed. (Granted, I haven't read much else by him.)

Having said that, there's the "he no longer advocates this" caveat in the article. And I just have a hard time believing that science-fictiondom, with its large liberal fanbase/authorship, would tolerate him if his real-life attitude is as outside-the-norm as a couple of quotes makes it sound. But then again, I am way too optimistic, as I've already established in another thread. I may as well play the contrarian and get all of my negs out of the way in one day. (It could be worse. At least I'm not on here giving Goodkind the benefit of the doubt.)

And yes, what I said regarding labels being thrown around loosely is absolutely true (maybe not in this case, but in many cases). I refer you to the entirety of the internet as my source. No wikipedia article required. The internet -- where nuance and context go to die.

Semi-related funny quote regarding the asshat-ery that is the internet:

"We've all heard that a million monkeys banging on a million typewriters will eventually reproduce the entire works of Shakespeare. Now, thanks to the Internet, we know this is not true." -- Robert Wilensky

[Baco Xtath]

Just finished A Betrayal in Winter and I must say that, at first, with the start of A Shadow in Summer, I was a little underwhelmed, being as how this is highly recommended by polishgenius, and he's usually a very good judge of books so my expectations were high. But, half way through the first book, I couldn't put it down. Nothing too complex, just a very original, very well written story. I read both books in under a week (not that they're big books, mind you) and I've now put the next two on hold at the library. Good stuff and thanks for the recommendations.

Also, I've put Proven Guilty and White Night on hold as well. Yeah, I know, next thing I'll be doing is offering to do dirty things to dirty people for the next one, then I'll be sell'n off my shit, sneaking money from the wife's purse, and calling up people I haven't talk to in over a decade.

[worry]

Had the same reaction to that series, but it just gets better and better as you proceed. Abraham writes with such grace and depth and boldness, and sympathy without cheap sentimentality, I grew more and more impressed with each book.

[Dammon]

Finished Stonewielder, which I found a bit slow to get going when compared to most of the other Malazan books but still thoroughly enjoyed, and I am now halfway through Crack'd Pot Trail (and I probably shouldn't have read the passage about dismembering a corpse for eating while I was have much lunch).

Will have to take a trip to the bookstore soon to figure out what I am going to read next.

[Use Of Weapons]

Finished Alex Scarrow's _Time Riders_, a YA SF novel lended to me by a work colleague. Meh. Too simplistic, even for YA -- felt like it was aimed at the younger section of the market.

Next up: _We_ by Yevgeny Zamyatin.

[Abyss]

Baco Xtath, on 21 February 2012 - 02:53 AM, said:

... I've put Proven Guilty and White Night on hold as well. Yeah, I know, next thing I'll be doing is offering to do dirty things to dirty people for the next one, then I'll be sell'n off my shit, sneaking money from the wife's purse, and calling up people I haven't talk to in over a decade.

Call me. We'll work something out.

[QuickTidal]

BABYLON STEEL was decent enough, if a little predictable.

Now into THE SAINT by Dan Abnett, second of the Gaunt's Ghost's Omnibuses (omnibii?) with HONOUR GUARD. Nice to see the Ghost's ranks filled out with new blood. Basically it's just awesome to be back in this world again. Love these books more and more.

[acesn8s]

Finished the Thousandfold Thought. Not a big Kellhus fan, so it was kinda tough to get through. Stepping away from the next trilogy for a while. So I started Altered Carbon.

[Abyss]

Having finished the OST reread, am now deep into (pun intended) Peter Watts' STARFISH. It's the first book in his RIFTERS trilo and fucking brilliant sf mindfuck underwater holyfuckery.

Seriously... this book (and the rst of the series) is available for free... http://rifters.com/ ...and if you're a fan of slow-boil (pun intended) sf with serious psychological angles, this book could not be more worth your time. It's very different from BLINDSIGHT that i know a chunk of the forum has read, but just as clever and in some ways more readable because it spends less time on why the characters are so fucked up and more on how their fuckupedness works when they are turned into amphibious cyborgs living on the absolute bottom of the ocean. On a volcano. Surrounded by massive things that want to eat them.

I can't believe he gives this away for free. I could have paid hb price and felt satisfied and am only 2/3rds thru.

[Salt-Man Z]

I just downloaded all of Watts' books to my Kindle. Have rep.

[Mentalist]

Baco Xtath, on 21 February 2012 - 02:53 AM, said:

Just finished A Betrayal in Winter and I must say that, at first, with the start of A Shadow in Summer, I was a little underwhelmed, being as how this is highly recommended by polishgenius, and he's usually a very good judge of books so my expectations were high. But, half way through the first book, I couldn't put it down. Nothing too complex, just a very original, very well written story. I read both books in under a week (not that they're big books, mind you) and I've now put the next two on hold at the library. Good stuff and thanks for the recommendations.

Also, I've put Proven Guilty and White Night on hold as well. Yeah, I know, next thing I'll be doing is offering to do dirty things to dirty people for the next one, then I'll be sell'n off my shit, sneaking money from the wife's purse, and calling up people I haven't talk to in over a decade.

worrywort, on 21 February 2012 - 03:58 AM, said:

Had the same reaction to that series, but it just gets better and better as you proceed. Abraham writes with such grace and depth and boldness, and sympathy without cheap sentimentality, I grew more and more impressed with each book.

this is funny, because I finished the Long price Quartet yesterday. I read the first 2 books in the fall,t hen put it down after reading the prologue for 3, and only picked it up again a week ago.

Overall, I liked the setting and the andat were novel and nifty concept. The plot in both 2 and 3 was a bit cliched for my tastes, but overall it was well done.
Book 4 blew me away. particularly, the characterization, and the way it melded into the plot. It was horrible. and brilliant, at the same time. I could still see some stuff coming from pages away, but it was so organic, and the action flowed so clearly from what we knew about the characters that I couldn't call it a cliche anymore.

The price of Spring is probably the most "real" work of fantasy i've ever read. I know the word is probably "realistic", but "real" feels better in this sense.
The only real criticism of this amazing ending is the fact that it makes the other 3 books seem as as nothing more than a set-up,

not sure what to read next, tbh. I don't think I ever finished "The last colony", so I may read that.

[worry]

I would say that the "predictability" there is a storytelling device, and a darned effective one. There's a difference between a predictability that just makes things plodding, and one that actually builds dread at the inevitable outcome, like seeing the beginnings of an avalanche before an unsuspecting group of people below. Unpredictability can be a virtue, no doubt, but there's something to be said for expertly pulled off predictability too.

Fully agree with you on "real"ness and characterization, DA really seemed to know these characters, cultures, and settings inside and out.

[polishgenius]

Baco Xtath, on 21 February 2012 - 02:53 AM, said:

Good stuff and thanks for the recommendations.

Good to see my Long Price pimping is having an effect. Abyss, I may need to borrow your hat.

What really made it for me is the prose. Simple, but so much elegance and grace, and it informs the whole rest of the work.

[Mentalist]

.... well, that didn't take long. seems I've put down "The last colony" about 15 pages before it got good.
naturally, just finished reading, and it's 3 AM. again.

the book was great. Scalzi just kept piling stuff up, and then it resolved in an awesome way. "Zoe's tale" added to the "to be purchased soon" list.

now i'm really at a loss what to read next. I could buy some more Asher, re-read the Deepgate books before finally buying "God of Clocks", or read Turtledove's "Darkness" series
there's also Tom LLoyd. I've read the 2 Stormcaller books, and I remember not liking the second one, because it seemed too piled up, and a pale imitation of SE's convergence-style.
but then I've read the blurbs for the further books in the bookstore and found out

Spoiler

that Isaak dies

which would remove my main source of irritation with the series so far. And I've also purchase book 3 at some point, though for the life of me, I don't recall when..

i'm tempted to give the author another try... decisions, decisions.

[QuickTidal]

Mentalist, on 22 February 2012 - 08:04 AM, said:

the book was great. Scalzi just kept piling stuff up, and then it resolved in an awesome way. "Zoe's tale" added to the "to be purchased soon" list.

Be aware that ZOE'S TALE is the exact same story as the one in THE LAST COLONY, simply told from Zoe's POV...it is a good reconstruction of the narrative from an entirely different viewpoint and gets you more into a teenager's head about the whole thing...but don't expect much "new" stuff to be discovered.

It's good...but not really on par with the previous three books.

[Abyss]

Abyss, on 21 February 2012 - 04:56 PM, said:

Having finished the OST reread, am now deep into (pun intended) Peter Watts' STARFISH. It's the first book in his RIFTERS trilo and fucking brilliant sf mindfuck underwater holyfuckery....
...I can't believe he gives this away for free. I could have paid hb price and felt satisfied and am only 2/3rds thru.

Salt-Man Z, on 21 February 2012 - 05:25 PM, said:

I just downloaded all of Watts' books to my Kindle. Have rep.

Am about ten pages from the end. Book takes an odd turn but then ties back to the main story and it's just mindfuck over mindfuck.
Watts has a phenomenal talent, at least in this book, for establishing character traits early and having them pay off later without hamhandedly reminding the reader about them.

Mentalist, on 22 February 2012 - 08:04 AM, said:

...re-read the Deepgate books before finally buying "God of Clocks", ...

Oooo... keep expectations low if you go with that one.

[Fist Gamet]

Abyss, on 21 February 2012 - 04:56 PM, said:

Having finished the OST reread, am now deep into (pun intended) Peter Watts' STARFISH. It's the first book in his RIFTERS trilo and fucking brilliant sf mindfuck underwater holyfuckery.

Seriously... this book (and the rst of the series) is available for free... http://rifters.com/ ...and if you're a fan of slow-boil (pun intended) sf with serious psychological angles, this book could not be more worth your time. It's very different from BLINDSIGHT that i know a chunk of the forum has read, but just as clever and in some ways more readable because it spends less time on why the characters are so fucked up and more on how their fuckupedness works when they are turned into amphibious cyborgs living on the absolute bottom of the ocean. On a volcano. Surrounded by massive things that want to eat them.

I can't believe he gives this away for free. I could have paid hb price and felt satisfied and am only 2/3rds thru.

I have downloaded Starfish so I will give it a try.

Currently having a re-read of TBH and just started The Heroes...lovely

[Ain't_It_Just_]

Just finished Rothfuss' Wise Man's Fear. Terrific book overall, but the whole part about living with the Adem really dragged...and Kvothe's return to the University felt kinda rushed too. But it was still a ripper of a read.

Now I am able to enjoy some of my tasty Dresdencrack, in Ghost Story.

[Morgoth]

Kruppe, on 20 February 2012 - 07:12 PM, said:

Greymanekas, on 19 February 2012 - 09:27 PM, said:

Yeah, Card is kind of a virulently hateful person who is possibly the most homophobic person in America today.

I would want to read some quotes for myself before I made a judgment on that. I know Card is a Mormon, so that might naturally equate to being conservative on matters of sexuality...but homophobia is one of those charges that is thrown around very loosely nowadays...like how you're a racist if you disagree with something Obama does. I would be surprised to learn that Card could maintain a career in the arts...particularly a somewhat naturally liberal one like SF writing...if he was as bad as all that.

In any case, Gauguin was a cad who abandoned his family.

But he painted good.

Can't I just enjoy the painting?

Do you think we would throw around accusations of homophobia simply because Card is a mormon? In instances like this, Google is truly your friend. Instead of making a big show of being critical of sources (yes yes, it`s a good thing. We know) you could easily have done a simply search to discover that yes, Card is a homophobe. It`s not up for dispute.

Also, I find myself bound to point out that if there`s one genre that`s not famous for being liberal it`s sci fi. Fascism seeps through a lot of the classics, something you should be aware of being a fan of Heinlein and all. Heinlein, by the way, is the man who wrote -- amongst other charming gems -- that 9 out of 10 times a woman is at least partially responsible for being raped. Yet Heinlein is spoken of as one of the giants of the genre rather than being viewed with the disgust he quite rightly deserves.

[T77]

I'm about 40% into The Dragon's Path by Daniel Abraham and I am not liking it so far. Does it get any better or should I bail?