[Chance]

Going through Three Axes to Fall and yep this series is still awesome in a ridiculous overblown crazy way that just can't be denied.

Jahdu, on 09 December 2022 - 12:48 PM, said:

Just about to start Latro in the Mist by Gene Wolfe... have any of you guys read it?

Like pretty much anything by Gene Wolfe its great, but not the easiest read. If you look back through time here on the forum a lot of people read it well...shit a decade or more ago and most where quite positive I think.

This post has been edited by Chance: 09 December 2022 - 01:00 PM

[Abyss]

Abyss, on 07 December 2022 - 03:36 PM, said:

Chance, on 07 December 2022 - 03:01 PM, said:

...Started up Three Axes to Fall, the Grave of Empires has been excellent entertainment and some of my favorite reads of the last years and had no clue this was out so looking forward to this one.

oh FFS this landed????
do i have to start angsting about this series AGAIN?


....DAMMIT.....

Chance, on 09 December 2022 - 12:59 PM, said:

Going through Three Axes to Fall and yep this series is still awesome in a ridiculous overblown crazy way that just can't be denied.
...

NOT HELPING

[amphibian]

Jahdu, on 09 December 2022 - 12:48 PM, said:

Just about to start Latro in the Mist by Gene Wolfe... have any of you guys read it?

Yes, it's brilliant writing. There's 3 Latro books and I take something different from them each time I go through.

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Almost finished listening to The Grace of Kings. A bit uneven, but for the most part (or at least enough of it) pretty good (world-building, intermittently poetic prose (the incorporation of quotations from canonical Western poetic and philosophical texts might seem jarringly inappropriate in an East Asia inspired setting, and could mislead people into mistaking them for East Asian sources, but it's interesting---and whether or not those quotations or associated concepts have ancient East Asian analogues or not, it is a fantasy setting after all)). The lack of novelistic density of detail over many stretches renders some of the reimaginings of famous Chinese stories a bit dull (... and generally without sufficient recontextualization within the world-building to make up for it---or at least not initially...). The same stories are much more vividly reimagined in other recent fantasy series like The Poppy War and (going by book one, She Who Became the Sun) The Radiant Emperor.

[Tsundoku]

25% into the Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi, previously mentioned somewhere up- or elsethread. Good so far.
Interesting background and worldbuilding without being dense. Straightforward prose, just how I like it.

[Tsundoku]

Tsundoku, on 10 December 2022 - 12:27 PM, said:

25% into the Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi, previously mentioned somewhere up- or elsethread. Good so far.
Interesting background and worldbuilding without being dense. Straightforward prose, just how I like it.

Finished. It is just as described earlier - an enjoyable pop song of a book. Easily consumed, leaves you feeling satisfied, not exhausted.
Highly recommended for an "in between" read, like a palate cleanser.

Eight nuclear-powered behemoths out of ten.

[QuickTidal]

Tsundoku, on 12 December 2022 - 11:22 AM, said:

Tsundoku, on 10 December 2022 - 12:27 PM, said:

25% into the Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi, previously mentioned somewhere up- or elsethread. Good so far.
Interesting background and worldbuilding without being dense. Straightforward prose, just how I like it.

Finished. It is just as described earlier - an enjoyable pop song of a book. Easily consumed, leaves you feeling satisfied, not exhausted.
Highly recommended for an "in between" read, like a palate cleanser.

Eight nuclear-powered behemoths out of ten.

I find his stuff often works as great palate cleansers. Really tight little easy to consume stories.

[QuickTidal]

I have the first two books of Phase 2 of Star Wars: The High Republic ready to go, so I needed to read the last of Phase 1 MIDNIGHT HORIZONS by Daniel Jose Older to dive in. Don't want to get behind in the series in hardcovers.

Anyways MH so far features a couple of my fave HR Jedi, Cohmac Vitus, and everyone's fave padawan bookworm Reath Silas, and a large chunk of the narrative seems to take place on Corellia's capital city (Coronet City; the one from the opening of SOLO)...so that's cool, and I THINK this takes place concurrent with the destruction of Starlight Beacon in the timeline?

Into it.

[Abyss]

QuickTidal, on 12 December 2022 - 01:06 PM, said:

Tsundoku, on 12 December 2022 - 11:22 AM, said:

Tsundoku, on 10 December 2022 - 12:27 PM, said:

25% into the Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi, previously mentioned somewhere up- or elsethread. Good so far.
Interesting background and worldbuilding without being dense. Straightforward prose, just how I like it.

Finished. It is just as described earlier - an enjoyable pop song of a book. Easily consumed, leaves you feeling satisfied, not exhausted.
Highly recommended for an "in between" read, like a palate cleanser.

Eight nuclear-powered behemoths out of ten.

I find his stuff often works as great palate cleansers. Really tight little easy to consume stories.

All accurate. Just a fun, engaging, short read about massive radioactive monsters and the massively underqualified people who love them.

[Abyss]

Abyss, on 07 July 2022 - 04:37 PM, said:

Currently reading something called THE TIDE, it's a books 1-4 earbook i picked up for $1 on a whim during an audible sale, author is Anthony Melchiorri, and apparently the series is ten books.
It's a zombie apocalypse thing. I don't really care for 'normal' zombie apocalypse books because TWD and WWZ pretty much nailed that genre and almost anything else has seemed weak by comparison. I enjoy the HELLDIVERS series because the 'zombies' were screeching flying mutant things plus nuclear war, airships, and skydiving. Amazon reco'd THE TIDE to me because i bought that.

Honestly, i started this expecting to DNF it out of the TRP and move along, but it grew on me (as zombie plagues do) and now 2/4 books in, i'm hooked. The author does two things that really worked for me... 1. his zombies are mutant rage zombies, somewhere between 28 DAYS LATER and HELLDIVERS, and they're changing as the story progresses. This was a thing i liked in the podcast series WE'RE ALIVE too, and Melchiorri does it better and more subtle. We're in the early days of the zombpocalype and the humans are adapting but so are the zombies and it adds a fun element to action scenes when the thing that worked last time doesn't, and 2. the supporting characters... the author does mixed POV, shifting between characters, but what he does really well is show the reader why the POV character cares about the other characters... who are really and genuinely in jeopardy from early on. Despite this being a zombpocalpse in the classic 'all world order has fallen billions are dead' sense, it's easy to be engaged by fairly minor characters, so when they're in danger, it's not 'expendable commando redshirt #12 is eaten to amp up the danger to protag', it's 'HOLY SHIT FRED JUST GOT EATEN'. Zombie stories are notoriously brutal to the supporting cast, it's nice to read one that doesn't just intro and kill them off to raise the appearance of danger.

So i'll be finishing books 3-4 and likely move on to the rest of the series or return to it after a break for something else.

Just Finished books 5 and 6.
So to complete the loop i did finish 3, SALVAGE, and 4, DEADRISE after the above post. Took a break then resumed with 5 IRON WIND and 6 DEAD ASHORE.
Gotta say this is some fun popcorn. Even as the heroes are recovering from the first four books, the author sets up new goals and new threats and some really fun new stabby-zombies (the rage zombies grow bone claws and spines and armor and it gets some really fun descriptions). Credit where due Mechiorri manages to keep amping the threat level with each book and avoids action scenes feeling too similar. A certain number of abandoned warehouses and secret labs are to be expected, but part of the finale of ASHORE is two running battles across Tangier, Morocco and its very well done.


Next up, i'm spoiled for choice but started Tchaikovsky's CHILDREN OF MEMORY ... after the spiders and the octopi i am VERY curious what he does next.

[Tiste Simeon]

Onto the second Peter Grant audiobook, Moon Over Soho. Man this series is so excellent, but you all knew that. Kobna Holbrook Smith is a phenomenal talent and Ben Aaronovitch is a great writer. I love how understated it all is, compared to the more action packed Dresden Files.

[Abyss]

Abyss, on 15 December 2022 - 04:48 PM, said:

...Next up, i'm spoiled for choice but started Tchaikovsky's CHILDREN OF MEMORY ... after the spiders and the octopi i am VERY curious what he does next.

Four chapters in, have met the new thingies and OMG I LOOOOOVE THIS.

[JPK]

Abyss, on 17 December 2022 - 07:08 AM, said:

Abyss, on 15 December 2022 - 04:48 PM, said:

...Next up, i'm spoiled for choice but started Tchaikovsky's CHILDREN OF MEMORY ... after the spiders and the octopi i am VERY curious what he does next.

Four chapters in, have met the new thingies and OMG I LOOOOOVE THIS.

Hold up, I thought this wasn't due out until the end of January. Did Canada get early release again?

[Abyss]

JPK, on 17 December 2022 - 08:55 PM, said:

Abyss, on 17 December 2022 - 07:08 AM, said:

Abyss, on 15 December 2022 - 04:48 PM, said:

...Next up, i'm spoiled for choice but started Tchaikovsky's CHILDREN OF MEMORY ... after the spiders and the octopi i am VERY curious what he does next.

Four chapters in, have met the new thingies and OMG I LOOOOOVE THIS.

Hold up, I thought this wasn't due out until the end of January. Did Canada get early release again?

I hunted down the audiobook voice talent and ate their brains Audible.com got it like a week ago.

[JPK]

Abyss, on 18 December 2022 - 02:59 AM, said:

JPK, on 17 December 2022 - 08:55 PM, said:

Abyss, on 17 December 2022 - 07:08 AM, said:

Abyss, on 15 December 2022 - 04:48 PM, said:

...Next up, i'm spoiled for choice but started Tchaikovsky's CHILDREN OF MEMORY ... after the spiders and the octopi i am VERY curious what he does next.

Four chapters in, have met the new thingies and OMG I LOOOOOVE THIS.

Hold up, I thought this wasn't due out until the end of January. Did Canada get early release again?

I hunted down the audiobook voice talent and ate their brains Audible.com got it like a week ago.

I'm rarely jealous when you get stuff early but you've got me this time. Audible is still showing me a Jan 31st release. Book depository has copies available though, so it looks like the US is just a later release again. Looks like I'll just have to suffer a bit longer.

[Tiste Simeon]

If it helps your jealousy, JPK, I remember Abyss seething with envy when all us Brits got an SE book before the Canadians...

[Abyss]

so much SEETHING
SO SO MUCH

[polishgenius]

The postal workers still hold a minutes silence for the lives lost that day.

[Abyss]

Tiste Simeon, on 18 December 2022 - 09:38 AM, said:

If it helps your jealousy, JPK, I remember Abyss seething with envy when all us Brits got an SE book before the Canadians...

Abyss, on 18 December 2022 - 03:46 PM, said:

so much SEETHING
SO SO MUCH

polishgenius, on 19 December 2022 - 06:01 PM, said:

The postal workers still hold a minutes silence for the lives lost that day.

It was Deutsche Post DHL, and i'll have you know nearly everyone mostly recovered.



...mostly.

[Whisperzzzzzzz]

Children of Ruin