[Chance]

Currently re-reading Turn Coat as a preparation for Peace Talk, part of the regular re-read skipping the first two books and blood rites as pretty much unimportant.

Macros, on 22 March 2020 - 09:16 PM, said:

Starting the Library at Mount Char.

Given the let down after the hype on Gideon the Ninth.....

Those two aren't even playing in the same league.

This post has been edited by Chance: 23 March 2020 - 08:40 AM

[QuickTidal]

Needed something lighthearted while in quarantine (while awaiting the last of Sullivan's latest series to drop from kickstarter), so I of course chose Pratchett and THE FIFTH ELEPHANT.

[Macros]

an excellent choice

[QuickTidal]

Macros, on 23 March 2020 - 01:57 PM, said:

an excellent choice

I'm quite enjoying Sgt (That's Captain, and don't you forget it!) Colon descending into madness from being delegated responsibility of an officer.

[Zeto Demerzel]

Mentalist, on 23 March 2020 - 05:10 AM, said:

Finished "Red Tide" .

Now I'm really bummed this series seems to be stuck in publishing hell.

Next I'll probably read another Reynolds... "Terminal World", I guess.

Terminal World is a cool read. I was quite creeped out by:

Spoiler

The Vorgs

[QuickTidal]

I think I'm going to keep reading Pratchett during this pandemic. It helps to keep me sane, and keeps depression at bay. I had a day earlier this week where depression over all this really got me hardcore down...the Discworld floats me out of that.

[Aptorian]

I'm a hundred pages or so into Red Rising by Pierce Brown. This an excellent, light read in troubling times. The writing and story is very YA in design but I feel like it's a cut above the rest.

So far it's setting up to be a kind of Ender's game versus Hunger Games. Only this Enderkatniss hybrid promises a much more vicious comeuppance.

[Tiste Simeon]

Aptorian, on 27 March 2020 - 04:07 PM, said:

I'm a hundred pages or so into Red Rising by Pierce Brown. This an excellent, light read in troubling times. The writing and story is very YA in design but I feel like it's a cut above the rest.

So far it's setting up to be a kind of Ender's game versus Hunger Games. Only this Enderkatniss hybrid promises a much more vicious comeuppance.

Hah. This story will completely surprise you a number of times. I've not enjoyed a series as much as this in a long time!

[Abyss]

Aptorian, on 27 March 2020 - 04:07 PM, said:

I'm a hundred pages or so into Red Rising by Pierce Brown. This an excellent, light read in troubling times. The writing and story is very YA in design but I feel like it's a cut above the rest.

So far it's setting up to be a kind of Ender's game versus Hunger Games. Only this Enderkatniss hybrid promises a much more vicious comeuppance.

"Light". Oh, you poor bastard you have no idea what you're in for...

[Aptorian]

Oh, there's definitely an underlying darkness and promise of violence in the setting and premise, but it's handled in a very YA fashion so far. I wouldn't be surprised if Darrow went full Cain Black Knife at some point. He has that cold intelligence to him.

[End of Disc One]

Aptorian, on 27 March 2020 - 05:39 PM, said:

Oh, there's definitely an underlying darkness and promise of violence in the setting and premise, but it's handled in a very YA fashion so far. I wouldn't be surprised if Darrow went full Cain Black Knife at some point. He has that cold intelligence to him.

I certain you would hate it. Glad you're enjoying it!

I was often reminded of Caine with Darrow's internal monologues.

[Aptorian]

Hmm, right now there's an element of corrupt Harry Potter to the book. I wonder, will Darrow spend the whole book passing his first year of fascism school?

[Tiste Simeon]

Aptorian, on 27 March 2020 - 05:57 PM, said:

Hmm, right now there's an element of corrupt Harry Potter to the book. I wonder, will Darrow spend the whole book passing his first year of fascism school?

Bahaha I thought of Harry Potter too, briefly.

[Aptorian]

I'm waiting for some other shoe to drop about the golds and this future civilization. Any good authoritarian plutocracy needs some kind of external threat, more precisely, something to fight other than itself.

But maybe that's not needed with this blue blood battle royal.

Next thing I'm wondering about is if a carver can make someone like Darrow superhuman, then why not go further? Why not refashion yourself even stronger, more durable, faster, smarter? The highborns ressources must be endless. But maybe that's what the obsidians and whites and other colors are for.

[Cyphon]

Coming up for finishing Rapture by Kameron Hurley. I'm not sure reading this was a wise choice in the decision to complete the trilogy, too grim dark for right now perhaps and has slowed my reading up so this month it will be just this and MoI. Should finish nicely to pick up HoC today/tomorrow.

It is a good trilogy. Vivid and imaginative world building with some of the tropes to good effect. Theres a few dues ex machina in play but I can live with it. There is a risk with these been a travelogue of suffering, but Hurleys approach of dropping you in and expecting you to swim is good. I can see why this won awards but also that it's a first set of novels. Later work of hers has been much slicker, so I'm looking forward to when I next pick up one of hers.

[Aptorian]

I'm struggling with the middle portion of Red Rising. I've got about a hundred and fifty pages to go and I just don't care for the plot.

It's so trite and gimmicky. Like the author said to himself, how do I copy Hunger Games but make it bigger. Only it's too slow and these hundreds of godlings aren't really impressing me with their intelligence or physical prowess.

[Tiste Simeon]

Keep going. Book 2 ramps it up again anyway.

[Aptorian]

Okay in the last hundred pages the book picks back up again, once Darrow learns some humility and starts thinking.

Pax au Telemanus is awesome by the way. Swinging one enemy like a club to beat other enemies is an advanced tactic.

[Tiste Simeon]

Yup great character progression in this book, his struggles with identity feel real.

[End of Disc One]

TELEMANUS!

Goblin is my personal fav though