[QuickTidal]

Finally reading SECRET WARS by Hickman and Ribic (bought the hardcover collection #0-9)

Only 2 issues in (well three including the #0 issue) and I'm pretty much ready to call this the best Comic Event I think I've yet read. It's just so epic, while not losing the character depth and style that I'm so used to with Hickman. Simply incredible.

[Abyss]

Mentalist, on 01 April 2016 - 11:05 AM, said:

Andorion, on 01 April 2016 - 04:08 AM, said:

Abyss, on 01 April 2016 - 04:06 AM, said:

Andorion, on 01 April 2016 - 01:48 AM, said:

Mentalist, on 01 April 2016 - 01:36 AM, said:

Andorion, on 01 April 2016 - 01:22 AM, said:

Mentalist, on 01 April 2016 - 12:21 AM, said:

Ok, holeee shit, Stross just turned it up another 5 notches. Tomorrow when I get home I'm gonna cave and finish it even though it's supposed to be a commute only book.

unless this seriously fucks up the ending, this book is gonna become one of my "everyone should read this NAO" recommendations.

Why aren't more of you people reading "Merchant Princes"???

Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE who likes SE owes it to themselves to at least read the last book in the trilo (of the omnibuses). There's enough background given to fill (most) of the blanks. Not saying the rest isn't good, but this is like going from Book 2-3 of HoC straight to reading DoD + TCG back to back.

To be honest I had no idea Merchant Princes was good. I thought it was some interstellar trade and politics thingy and stuck to his Laundry books.

not "interstellar" Inter-dimensional
with one "dimension" being USA in 2003.

And yeah, there's a ton of politics. But action in spades. Drug trafficking, tech smuggling, revolutions, (did I mention INTERDEMENSIONAL NUKES?), enough plotting and counter-plotting to make your head spin.

Omnibus 1 (each omnibus is 2 volumes from the 6 books it was originally written and published as) is intro first, then action
Omnibus 2 is slower, and a LOT of set up.
Omnibus 3 is (so far) all payoff. Sweet, holyshitdidijustreadthat and ohmygodwhatsnexthowcanthisgetanycrazierohgod, non-stop payoff.

...Looks at post.... looks at TBR....sigh..... clicks the Want To Read button..... sigh

I am never going to finish my TBR am I?

Welcome to my world.

Oh don't you start! We both read the Laundry books, but did you read the Merchant Princes?

I am going to be buried alive under books and (indistinct muttering)

No, he has not. BUT HE SHOULD!

I haven't read MERCHANT yet due to my deep concern that it will be more ACCELERADO Stross (dislike deeply) than LAUNDRY Stross (all the love), but the upthread posts are encouraging.

[amphibian]

amphibian, on 21 March 2016 - 12:45 AM, said:

I'm cogitating on reviews of Lois McMaster Bujold's Chalion series, which I just went through, and the trilogy of the Twelve Fingered Boy books by John Hornor Jacobs, which I finished up two days ago. They'll go up here soon enough.

The Twelve Fingered Boy books (a short trilogy) is spectacular. The young adult angle is there, but Hornor doesn't cut corners or make it cutesy. This is a well developed and moving superhero story that starts out in juvie (juvenile detention) and then moves elsewhere. The enemies and the plot are terrific and I'm hoping JJH gets to be a big author. Picked up Southern Gods, his debut novel, to see what his adult stuff is like.

The Chalion books by Bujold, I liked, but there seems to be something kinda missing from the setting. The stories are good, without having the spark of greatness that let's say the Paksenarrion and subsequent series have.

[amphibian]

Warmaster's Gate: Author finally woke up and realized what was obvious several books ago. The Inapt stories are more fun than the Apt ones.

[Mentalist]

amphibian, on 01 April 2016 - 10:08 PM, said:

Warmaster's Gate: Author finally woke up and realized what was obvious several books ago. The Inapt stories are more fun than the Apt ones.

Not sure if I agree. I thought the Battles for Collegium (all of them) were some of the books' highlights, as was anything related to Solarno.

In other news: 100 pages to go in "The Revolution Trade" and holy fuck. There was a moment (which I assume is the break where the omnibus was originally two books) where things kinda sorta started to slow down a bit, and then Stross jumped yet another shark. Just because he can. I'm not even sure if it's really plot-related, but it just shows how ridiculous the whole big picture situation's getting.

My only concern now is, with only 100 pages to go, how can this possibly end?

[polishgenius]

Isn't jumping the shark bad? If Stross is jumping that many sharks, how is it still good?

[Mentalist]

polishgenius, on 01 April 2016 - 11:12 PM, said:

Isn't jumping the shark bad? If Stross is jumping that many sharks, how is it still good?

The stakes kept going up. and up.

The ending may be found by some to be somewhat anticlimactic, but overall happy. ish.

Kind of like MBotF- in that "these people's story is over, but the world goes on".

The ride is INSANE. And with everything the book's set up it can get away with a "show a little bit, tell even less" ending, because there's enough to fill the blanks.

I think that's the one thing about having everyone and their twice-removed cousin hatching their own well-motivated somewhat thought out plot- when it comes to the ultimate resolution, a few of them will inevitably get foiled and dismissed without much afterthought, just because the plotting puts the plotter in the wrong place at the wrong time in relation to the other plotters.

Still, mind = blown. Especially considering how let down I felt by most of Bk2, this one was SO much fun. like I said, pure payoff, 500 pages of it.

EVERYONE should read this. I dunno about "Accelerando" and Stross' other sci-fi atempts (haven't read him before, except for the Laundry books), but "Merchant Princes" is goood.

[JPK]

I've decided my next audiobook shall be THE LAST KINGDOM by Bernard Cornwell. I think a couple if you on here may have heard of it. (And raved about it enough that I finally decided to take the plunge and jump in.) Uhtred's pov is immediately captivating, and I think I'm going to enjoy the narrator.

[amphibian]

Mentalist, on 01 April 2016 - 10:37 PM, said:

amphibian, on 01 April 2016 - 10:08 PM, said:

Warmaster's Gate: Author finally woke up and realized what was obvious several books ago. The Inapt stories are more fun than the Apt ones.

Not sure if I agree. I thought the Battles for Collegium (all of them) were some of the books' highlights, as was anything related to Solarno.

The problem with the Apt/mechanical sides of the story is that Tchaikovsky funnels them into World War 1 and WW2 rehashing.

The WW rehashing is an overdone, tired genre and restricting the development of tech to those purposes is constrictive and frustrating for me to read. Even with the insect/human hybrids going on and the good aerial battles in Solarno and Collegium, the mechanical stuff doesn't go anywhere for me. It has been done before and better.

Totho dropping out of the story from Khanapes to Seal of the Worm has been a good thing for this reader. If Tchaikovsky was a better tech writer like Charlie Stross, Elizabeth Bear, Peter Watts, or William Gibson, I'd be more interested in this thematic part of the series. It's more about what they do with the tech that makes it fresh than the specific tech they write about.

The arcs following Che, Seda, Tynisa, and the Mantis forests have been interesting because they lead to unique places. They go somewhere new and that drives me onwards into Seal of the Worm.

[amphibian]

Read Neptune's Brood by Stross. It's lovely.

[Stalker]

The Incredible Kitsu said:

1459556051[/url]' post='1227152']
I've decided my next audiobook shall be THE LAST KINGDOM by Bernard Cornwell. I think a couple if you on here may have heard of it. (And raved about it enough that I finally decided to take the plunge and jump in.) Uhtred's pov is immediately captivating, and I think I'm going to enjoy the narrator.

I'm on the third book right now, audio style, and loving it. I get two hours per day with the commute and still find myself listening at night. There are many great characters and the audiobook narrator does a great job bringing them to life. Worth a read, in any format.

[yuna_anomander25]

hello everyone,, it's been ages since i last posted here,, since my new job so it's been slow going for my reading,, this is the books i finished since then,,

The Red Wolf Conspiracy
The Chronicles of the Black Company:
-Shadow Linger
-The White Rose
The Books of the South:
-Shadow Games
-Dreams of Steel
-The Silver Spike (i'm beginning to love this series as much as i love Malazan)
Silverthorn
A Darkness at Sethanon
Salute the Dark
Bauchelain and Korbal Broach:
-The Healthy Dead

i'm on book 3 of my House of Chains re-read
and still stuck on Assassin's Quest

started
Retribution Falls
Orb, Sceptre, Throne (i know, i'm SO VERY LATE)
The Scarab Path
Daughter of the Empire


well,, that's it for today,,

[worry]

Yah that's way down from your usual 90-books-per-month

[Macros]

Half way through book 1 of the Mallorean.

I hate Abyss

[Abyss]

Macros, on 02 April 2016 - 07:05 AM, said:

Half way through book 1 of the Mallorean.

I hate Abyss

Here, this will help.
Help the hate part, I mean....

[Macros]

This amused and depressed me in equal parts.
Im on book 2, taking a break to watch football and drink away the pain

[QuickTidal]

Briar King, on 02 April 2016 - 07:45 PM, said:

Hyperion is giving me fits. His wording is strange and it's throwing me off big time. Fatline, FORCE, All Thing. This is very strange to me and I hope it stops being so or idk if I ll make it 20 pgs before I put it down.

I gave up at pg50. Never went back.

[Mentalist]

amphibian, on 02 April 2016 - 12:22 AM, said:

Mentalist, on 01 April 2016 - 10:37 PM, said:

amphibian, on 01 April 2016 - 10:08 PM, said:

Warmaster's Gate: Author finally woke up and realized what was obvious several books ago. The Inapt stories are more fun than the Apt ones.

Not sure if I agree. I thought the Battles for Collegium (all of them) were some of the books' highlights, as was anything related to Solarno.

The problem with the Apt/mechanical sides of the story is that Tchaikovsky funnels them into World War 1 and WW2 rehashing.

The WW rehashing is an overdone, tired genre and restricting the development of tech to those purposes is constrictive and frustrating for me to read. Even with the insect/human hybrids going on and the good aerial battles in Solarno and Collegium, the mechanical stuff doesn't go anywhere for me. It has been done before and better.

Totho dropping out of the story from Khanapes to Seal of the Worm has been a good thing for this reader. If Tchaikovsky was a better tech writer like Charlie Stross, Elizabeth Bear, Peter Watts, or William Gibson, I'd be more interested in this thematic part of the series. It's more about what they do with the tech that makes it fresh than the specific tech they write about.

The arcs following Che, Seda, Tynisa, and the Mantis forests have been interesting because they lead to unique places. They go somewhere new and that drives me onwards into Seal of the Worm.

Ok, I agree that the World War thing is over-done- especially in the last ark. I've already mentioned that was one of the things I liked the least about "Seal of the worm".

However:
(spoilers for the overall "Shadows of the Apt" series setting:)

Spoiler

But I still think there's a tendency to zone in on it too much. I didn't feel it was a World War rehash until probably the end of "Heirs of the Blade". Certainly for the entire first 4-book ark, I was pretty sure that we were looking at a Greko-Persian context (I mean, there's passage describing the origins of the Empire as "a bunch of marauding, feuding hill tribes united by a single man", which is almost exactly word-for-word what I recall in my Grade 6 history textbook about Cyrus and Ancient Persia. And then you have a loose collection of bickering city-states, one of which has recently adopted democracy, became a center of learning/inclusivity, is trying to forge alliances with its neighbours AND has a firebrand warning about the growing Empire next door? Really, how do NOT see Athens in this?), Gestapo-like Rekef notwithstanding

Tchaikovsky's tech development curve throws the whole thing for a loop (phalanxes with crossbows to tanks and airplanes over less than 5 years), but until "Air War" when he tries to write New Battle for Britain, the context can still be overlooked.
And there's some cool stuff in the first siege of Collegium, where random Beetles come up with new tech, get a one-time use out of it, then its lost again.

Solarno.. I'm guessing it's a personal preference, but I just loved Tale Spins as a kid, it was my favourite Disney show, and Solarno's bunch of maverick pilots, always competing among themselves just had that kind of vibe. Besides, back when first introduced, it's the most hi-tech place in the books, so it stands out, that's its unique point.

Later books diminish this, for sure, and the story takes on too many WW tropes, but for the majority of it, I think the Apt parts are just as good. Unless Totho is on screen, since he ruins almost everything he's around.

Since next on my Moorcock Read is the other half of the "End Of Time" sequences, I read the 3rd story in "Tales from the End of Time" - Ancient Shadows today. Good refresher as to what the denizens of the End of Time are like, and a neat little story about relative morality, conditioning and the Human Condition. Gonna dig into The End of All Songs, the last adventure for Jherek Carnelian and Mrs. Amelia Underwood in the "Dancers at the End of Time" trilo on Monday in my commute.

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 02 May 2016 - 05:11 PM

[Chance]

Finished up The Last Mortal Bond, A Crown for Cold Silver and Burned this week finding them each pretty good in their own way.

The Last Mortal Bond was dramatic, philosophic and made several especially supporting characters shine, a very good ending to a series I've been highly doubtful about occationally during the trip. Still Staverly might have messed up when choosing his main characters who surely grow during the series but are never as good as some of the supporting cast around them especially in this last one.

A Crown for Cold Silver is much like Abercrombie but with a great deal more humor even at its darkest. It also feels very down to earth and dare I say people acting pretty real towards the absurdity of "heroic" actions. Possibly not the best book I've read recently but certainly one of the more entertaining and am looking forward to the next one.

Burned the latest Alex Verus really shakes things up and was way too short ending in a very nice cliffhanger.


Should probably start up the latest Foreigner novel Visitor next in paper form and Annhilaton Score or Those Above for audiobook at work.

[Slow Ben]

Digging into The Spiders War. Hope the series finishes well, i've really enjoyed it up to this point.