[Tiste Simeon]

Yeah I think I'm still about 3 books behind on the Saxon Stories I must catch up.

[Aptorian]

Gotta say Rejoice reads like a left wing wet dream about First Contact - I'm sure there's more to come but in the first 150 pages, it's basically one long assault on the ideas of conservatives and the 1%. Seeing as I largely agree with Erikson's points that's fine by me though. His portrait of Trump and American media, media in general, is especially funny. Alternatively he seems to do a charitable representation of Russia and China's leadership.

[Macros]

Because he knows what's good for him, Steve doesn't fancy a state sponsored trip to Siberia

[Maark Abbott]

amphibian, on 27 January 2021 - 02:21 PM, said:

There's a running joke about returning to being monkeys that's often expressed through memes.

So Maark is asking if he should stop with those specific ones with an anti meme.

Embracing anarcho-primitivism does sound a lot more romantic doesn't it

[Aptorian]

Two thirds through Rejoice. Man, those Grey aliens. Fuck those fuckers. The character Samantha August is right, if there's something that will unite mankind, it's the retribution laid upon those creatures.

[Aptorian]

Reading Erikson's version of Trump's White House is making me realize how much I would enjoy a "Yes, Minister" type of satirical book about American politics written by Erikson.

The Tehol and Bugg levels of absurd comedy writes itself.

[Aptorian]

Finished Rejoice. Now I know why the subtitle is "a knife to the heart". Book had me crying for the last 50 pages. There's a lot of hard questions in this book but also a lot of hope. It's uncomfortable thinking about a lot of the problems humanity faces. And we don't have god like AI to save us.

I really hope he writes a sequel, sooner rather than later.

[worry]

It's very bittersweet, like any heartfelt wish that never comes true.

[Aptorian]

Okay, Rejoice was far too bright and hopeful, time to finally start up something more fitting for this Corona winter. Gaunt's Ghosts.

Quote

It is the 41st millennium. For more than a hundred centuries the Emperor has sat immobile on the Golden Throne of Earth. He is the master of mankind by the will of the gods, and master of a million worlds by the might of his inexhaustible armies. He is a rotting carcass writhing invisibly with power from the Dark Age of Technology. He is the Carrion Lord of the Imperium for whom a thousand souls are sacrificed every day, so that he may never truly die.

Yet even in his deathless state, the Emperor continues his eternal vigilance. Mighty battlefleets cross the daemon-infested miasma of the warp, the only route between distant stars, their way lit by the Astronomican, the psychic manifestation of the Emperor’s will. Vast armies give battle in his name on uncounted worlds.

Greatest amongst His soldiers are the Adeptus Astartes, the Space Marines, bio-engineered super-warriors. Their comrades in arms are legion: the Astra Militarum and countless planetary defence forces, the ever-vigilant Inquisition and the tech-priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus to name only a few.

But for all their multitudes, they are barely enough to hold off the ever-present threat from aliens, heretics, mutants – and worse. To be a man in such times is to be one amongst untold billions. It is to live in the cruellest and most bloody regime imaginable.

These are the tales of those times. Forget the power of technology and science, for so much has been forgotten, never to be re-learned. Forget the promise of progress and understanding, for in the grim dark future there is only war. There is no peace amongst the stars, only an eternity of carnage and slaughter, and the laughter of thirsting gods.

I love this introduction to the WH40k universe. It's so damn ridiculous.

[Macros]

Yes, come to the gaunt side

[Macros]

Starting

The Gates of Athens (Athenian book 1) Conn Iggulden as my home read

I'm a fan so looking forward to it

[Maark Abbott]

Aptorian, on 02 February 2021 - 09:19 AM, said:

Finished Rejoice. Now I know why the subtitle is "a knife to the heart". Book had me crying for the last 50 pages. There's a lot of hard questions in this book but also a lot of hope. It's uncomfortable thinking about a lot of the problems humanity faces. And we don't have god like AI to save us.

I really hope he writes a sequel, sooner rather than later.

I took the book as a warning, in terms of the path we're headed down as a species right now, and how blind the majority of us are to the repercussions of that path.

Also Apt if you start enjoying metal boxes I'll slap you and then take away your metuhl bawkses.

[QuickTidal]

Macros, on 02 February 2021 - 08:43 PM, said:

Starting

The Gates of Athens (Athenian book 1) Conn Iggulden as my home read

I'm a fan so looking forward to it

ACK! Let me know how it is. Super excited to get to it myself. I'm using some Bday money to grab it, but won't get to it for a while.

[Tiste Simeon]

Pausing in my reading of the EARTHSEA series in order to read the be Baru Cormorant books. I've got the first two. You guys all hyped it so I'm looking forward to it.

[amphibian]

There's a couple stretches where Dickinson gets a little wild with the writing, but I quite liked the Baru Cormorant trilogy. Some parts were Erikson-like and overall it was a fun story to take in.

[Aptorian]

Finished the first Gaunt's Ghosts novel, First and Only, by Dan Abnett + the short story "Of their lives in the ruins of their cities".

I wasn't hot on Abnetts writing for the first hundred or so pages but the company grows on you as you get to know the soldiers and the intrigue thickens.

I don't think Abnett, at least at this point in his career, is a particularly interesting writer. Good but there's no swagger to the writing and, considering the ridiculous premise of the universe, the actual combat and the threats are pretty vanilla. There's not much creativity, horror or weirdness to the fighting or the environment.

Considering that they're liberating planets controlled by demons you'd think the Ruinous Powers would put a little more effort into their nefarious occupation. Tsk, tsk. The whole book is basically about military corruption with the war as just the table setting.

Definitely into reading more of this though.

Also read The Bosch by Neal Asher. It's a short story set in his Polity universe. Never read any Asher before but I was impressed by this short story.

It's about a sort of nature goddess-like/biotech entity being assaulted by a group of men at a colony and the god taking revenge. It's a straight forward hard sci-fi revenge story and it's cool as hell.

Any of you guys recommend Asher? I can see the first of these Polity novels is Gridlinked from 2001. And there seems to be quite a few of these books.

This post has been edited by Aptorian: 04 February 2021 - 09:27 PM

[Riot]

Neal asher polity books are amazing. Lots of interesting A.I's , creative Aliens, and all the books flow very well together.

[QuickTidal]

Asher is a vehement and assholish climate change denier...which turned me off his fiction. He’s a super prick about it too.

[Chance]

Aptorian, on 04 February 2021 - 09:11 PM, said:

Considering that they're liberating planets controlled by demons you'd think the Ruinous Powers would put a little more effort into their nefarious occupation. Tsk, tsk. The whole book is basically about military corruption with the war as just the table setting.

Definitely into reading more of this though.

It gets weirder and Abnett grows into it, the books have about 20 years between them in real time and Abnett grows as a writer all the time.

There is horror and weirdness a plenty by the end but the books are really Abnett's attempt of writing the Sharp's books in 40k or at least started that way. In some ways Gaunt's Ghosts is probably the most grounded 40k series I've read for full out overblown bizarre you need something else probably the horus heresy series. Gaunt's Ghosts is in my opinion probably the best 40k series because it is a bit more grounded and less of a completely crazy spectacle.

Aptorian, on 04 February 2021 - 09:11 PM, said:

Any of you guys recommend Asher? I can see the first of these Polity novels is Gridlinked from 2001. And there seems to be quite a few of these books.

Asher's polity is probably among the best still expanding SF universes right now. He really has a talent for mayhem and action so they are also usually extremely entertaining if sometimes a bit slow to get going.

This post has been edited by Chance: 05 February 2021 - 05:43 AM

[Aptorian]

Promising praise, I'll check it out eventually. If nothing else I'll brow them from the library.