[HoosierDaddy]

Abyss, on 07 February 2025 - 03:10 PM, said:

HoosierDaddy, on 07 February 2025 - 02:04 PM, said:

Just want to give a final verdict on Dungeon Crawler Carl through Book 7.

It's so good. And I've heard that the audiobooks are even better due to the voice acting.

The LitRPG nature of the series is always present, but it isn't at the forefront after book 3 or so. It provides the foundation for the story and helps provide plot points to move it forward, but in the end it is a much larger story.

It reminds me somewhat of Malazan in that the story and plot are one thing, but the theme is the important part.

It is hilarious though. Great fun. 9 out of 10. Tempted to reread immediately as I know I missed on little details that help make the story even better.

Can't wait for book 8.

godsdammit it's converting malazfans now????

It's so different as to not be comparable really. But there is a lot more than meets the eye at first glance. It definitely hand holds you through the first couple of books, but the universe blooms beautifully.

[JPK]

I've heard that the audiobooks for DCC are particularly good as well

[amphibian]

In terms of currently ongoing web novels, Shadow Slave is legit incredible - even as a fan translated (from Russian, as the author lives in Russia) work.

I've soured on the repetitive video game style leveling up approach in terms of writing, yet Shadow Slave has mostly made it not even matter to me through great writing and fun situations. The battles and world building are phenomenal.

[worry]

Haven't updated in a while (maybe since October it looks like). Sorry if this is a bit long.

• Fever House -- this ended up being pretty decent, but at the time I started it I didn't realize it was the first of a duology. This was a genre mash-up of horror, crime, punk rock nostalgia, and special ops with multiple POVs (but like traditional novel, not like World War Z).
• The Devil By Name -- and this is the sequel. Because of how the first book ended, it narrowed the genre down considerably to what I'll broadly call survival horror. It's not as good as the first one, and it's light on action considering what's going on, but it does have its moments and a pretty good finale.
• Tender is the Flesh -- I did read this, Tiste! Sorry I didn't talk about it sooner. It's only a little over 200 pages and it is (imo) nearly flawless, for what it sets out to do. Which is to say, it's horrifying. I won't spoil anything, but the basic premise is that in a near-future earth, the meat supply has been globally tainted so corporations start turning to raising human livestock for all meat purposes. The main protagonist works at a facility, and is more or less the Winston Smith of the story. It's cliche to compare every 'dystopia' to 1984, and this one isn't necessarily much alike, but the novel is at least similarly interested in 1) how people handle cognitive dissonance through tricks of language; and 2) how just about anything can be normalized. There are three scenes in particular -- two that are tours of what you might call production facilities, and a third I won't spoil, that really paint it perfectly. If you've read 2666, these scenes aren't quite as clinical or lengthy as the section with all the murders, but still had that same queasy feeling. Anyway, among the best things I read last year.
• Uzumaki -- Japanese graphic novel about a town beset by spirals, that I'm sure many of you are familiar with. Quite good! Pretty gnarly!
• Number One Is Walking -- by Steve Martin and a cartoonist friend of his. Unlike traditional memoirs (which he already has), this is mostly stories from his life in movies depicted in comic form. Like from one-panel New Yorker style comics up to several-page comic strip style. It's quick, funny, interesting.
• Legends & Lattes -- yup I read it, only several years after it was in the zeitgeist. An orc (of the big green DnD kind, not the Tolkien kind) decides to retire from adventuring and open a coffee shop. It was okay, which I don't mean as a dig, but it is what it is. Kinda cute, kinda not too deep.
• Mimosa -- a graphic novel about four queer female friends who grow apart for various reasons. It was okay. A lot of the dialogue was on the nose, even if the events were true to life.
• The Road: A Graphic Novel Adaptation -- Pretty good, but I mean without much of McCarthy's narrative language it does lose something. On part with the movie, I'd say.
• The Best We Could Do -- another graphic novel, this one a non-fiction story of the author/artist having her first child (current-day) and interviewing her parents about the family fleeing from Vietnam during the war (depicted in episodic flashback). This was really good. Cool art style with some beautiful moments, and a great way to depict the multiple timelines.
• Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology -- not necessarily always horror, but at least pretty adjacent. You know how these things are, some stories hit more than others, but this was mostly winners. Stephen Graham Jones does the foreword but doesn't have a story in it -- I would say he's the biggest name associated with it, but there are definitely authors here I would follow up on based on their stories.
• Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees -- this is a graphic novel too. The easiest way to describe it, and I'm sure I'm not the first, is Richard Scarry's Busytown meets Dexter. In a town of anthropomorphic animals, a meticulous unsuspected serial killer's whole deal is threatened when a much sloppier killer comes to town. It's pretty good. The art is always on point. The whole thing is played straight.
• The Return of Edan -- the finale of booktuber Philip Chase's epic fantasy trilogy. The second book had a huge climax with some big surprises (to me at least) that left me wondering how a whole third book could come after. Well one did, and it's this one, and it's the longest one. Like the first two, there were things about this book I very much appreciated, and things about it that weren't my cup of tea at all or would consider flaws. So all three were a very mixed bag for me, but getting into why for the third book would necessarily involve spoilers for the first two. I can say pretty cleanly that I never felt like DNF-ing it, always wondered how it would all wrap up, and was mostly satisfied.
• Somna -- the fifth and final graphic novel of this post. This one is a folk horror story set in England I guess during the witch hunt times, and -- unbeknownst to me at the time of purchase -- extremely horny. The protagonist, who is wife to their locality's recently appointed witch hunter, starts having erotic dreams about a mysterious dark entity. Various other goings-on happen in the real world and in her dreams that lead to trouble in the town. I'll leave it at that. Pros: The art is good and atmospheric, the story is predictable but well told, and the horniness of both the author and the artist pervades. Cons: For all the sex and nudity, these cowards did not draw a single demon dong. There's one they might have drawn but in print there is a comic book sound effect -- think ZONK but not as funny -- drawn over it. Anyway, I'm sure glad the age of witch hunts and moral panics is over.
• The Wood at Midwinter -- a short folk tale by Susanna Clarke. It has a nice cover, the story is kinda cute (talking animals!), and the afterword is interesting. But it's very short (like half an hour to read), and you aren't gonna get more than the sum of its parts.

Anyway, I think that's all in the past few months. I'm now reading the complete collection of Bone (that single-volume hardcover one all in color). Finished on section (= six issues), and so far so good! Because it's too big to lug around, I also started Dungeon Crawler Carl thanks to HD's recent raves. I figure it'll be easy reading to fit between or even during other bigger stuff.

The End

[Tiste Simeon]

I'm really glad you enjoyed Tender is the Flesh (as much u as one enjoys such things anyway) as I'm always a bit hesitant to recommend it to people. It's probably the most uncomfortable/disturbed I've ever been reading a book. So good though.

[QuickTidal]

I know Tiste said he DNFed RISE OF THE RANGER by Phillip C. Quaintrell, but I'm nearing the halfway point and I'm enthralled and enjoying. There's so many fun varying fantasy concepts at play: Humans and Elves at either war or distrust of one another verging on war, time travel, rangers, and knights, and Mages, oh my! Many fantasy beasties, kings, queens, and politicking, assassins and assassin-guilds, elf sex, vicious merpeople who demand "human" payment for god knows what purpose as a bargain to give ships better sailing to their destination, ancient ruins, a massive map with a thousand year history, magic weapons, crystals, and other items, well-rounded characters filled with personality.

It's just good, classic fantasy and I'm very much looking forward to finishing it and getting the next book in the series.

[Whisperzzzzzzz]

 QuickTidal, on 10 February 2025 - 03:12 PM, said:

I know Tiste said he DNFed RISE OF THE RANGER by Phillip C. Quaintrell, but I'm nearing the halfway point and I'm enthralled and enjoying. There's so many fun varying fantasy concepts at play: Humans and Elves at either war or distrust of one another verging on war, time travel, rangers, and knights, and Mages, oh my! Many fantasy beasties, kings, queens, and politicking, assassins and assassin-guilds, elf sex, vicious merpeople who demand "human" payment for god knows what purpose as a bargain to give ships better sailing to their destination, ancient ruins, a massive map with a thousand year history, magic weapons, crystals, and other items, well-rounded characters filled with personality.

It's just good, classic fantasy and I'm very much looking forward to finishing it and getting the next book in the series.

I just bought book 1 based on this recommendation.

I'll start it after I finish Peter F. Hamilton's Exodus: The Archimedes Engine.

[Tiste Simeon]

You know, I read that when I had a KU subscription for a sorry while and nothing was really tickling my fancy at the time, so I'd probably be willing to give it another go.

I'm glad you're enjoying it.

[Abyss]

JPK, on 07 February 2025 - 04:21 PM, said:

I've heard that the audiobooks for DCC are particularly good as well

heard same, it's VERY popular among the sf/f earbook socs.

[Abyss]

QuickTidal, on 10 February 2025 - 03:12 PM, said:

...It's just good, classic fantasy and I'm very much looking forward to finishing it and getting the next book in the series.

Same vibe i'm getting from Rachel Aaron's Legends of Eli Monpress bk 1, SPIRIT THIEF. I'm holding opinion til i see whether she can stick the landing, but there's an olde skoole caper fantasy feel to this book that's working for me and I hope will carry fwd into the rest of the series.

[QuickTidal]

Abyss, on 11 February 2025 - 04:23 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 10 February 2025 - 03:12 PM, said:

...It's just good, classic fantasy and I'm very much looking forward to finishing it and getting the next book in the series.

Same vibe i'm getting from Rachel Aaron's Legends of Eli Monpress bk 1, SPIRIT THIEF. I'm holding opinion til i see whether she can stick the landing, but there's an olde skoole caper fantasy feel to this book that's working for me and I hope will carry fwd into the rest of the series.

Ooo, I got the trilogy as a single ebook years ago and just have never jumped into it, let me know how you fare and I'll dive in.

[Abyss]

QuickTidal, on 11 February 2025 - 05:12 PM, said:

Abyss, on 11 February 2025 - 04:23 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 10 February 2025 - 03:12 PM, said:

...It's just good, classic fantasy and I'm very much looking forward to finishing it and getting the next book in the series.

Same vibe i'm getting from Rachel Aaron's Legends of Eli Monpress bk 1, SPIRIT THIEF. I'm holding opinion til i see whether she can stick the landing, but there's an olde skoole caper fantasy feel to this book that's working for me and I hope will carry fwd into the rest of the series.

Ooo, I got the trilogy as a single ebook years ago and just have never jumped into it, let me know how you fare and I'll dive in.

Will do... w an hour left i can say i'm definitely enjoying it.

[Abyss]

Abyss, on 11 February 2025 - 05:19 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 11 February 2025 - 05:12 PM, said:

Abyss, on 11 February 2025 - 04:23 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 10 February 2025 - 03:12 PM, said:

...It's just good, classic fantasy and I'm very much looking forward to finishing it and getting the next book in the series.

Same vibe i'm getting from Rachel Aaron's Legends of Eli Monpress bk 1, SPIRIT THIEF. I'm holding opinion til i see whether she can stick the landing, but there's an olde skoole caper fantasy feel to this book that's working for me and I hope will carry fwd into the rest of the series.

Ooo, I got the trilogy as a single ebook years ago and just have never jumped into it, let me know how you fare and I'll dive in.

Will do... w an hour left i can say i'm definitely enjoying it.

Just Finished SPIRIT THIEF, pleased to say that the author stuck the landing nicely. It's a fun caper story, fast paced, 8ish hrs in earbook. The Author writes a tight little story around a small cast and more or less limited setting - one kingdom one castle - and does a stellar job of dropping in little worldbuilding hints without derailing the story with monologues and infodumps. At the end of the first book, I know relatively little about the world and characters, but i know just enough and i want to know more. The titular Eli Monpress is front and enter but not entirely the focus, his supporting cast get a LOT of time and are, arguably, more interesting than he is. The tropes are all here but the author sets them up with enough hints and nuance that i don't care that a character is yet another talented swordsman with a magic sword, i want to know more about THIS swordsman and THAT sword because there's a wider story behind them that hooked me nicely. I like the magic system the author went with too, i won't spoil but again, it's not that original in concept, but she spins it so nicely i want to read more of her take on it.


It's fun fantasy with an old school feel rooted in classic tropes but playing very effectively with them.

Earbook narrator is Luke Daniels, one of the best.

Moving directly to book 2, SPIRIT REBELLION.

[Whisperzzzzzzz]

Abyss, on 11 February 2025 - 04:23 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 10 February 2025 - 03:12 PM, said:

...It's just good, classic fantasy and I'm very much looking forward to finishing it and getting the next book in the series.

Same vibe i'm getting from Rachel Aaron's Legends of Eli Monpress bk 1, SPIRIT THIEF. I'm holding opinion til i see whether she can stick the landing, but there's an olde skoole caper fantasy feel to this book that's working for me and I hope will carry fwd into the rest of the series.

Oooh, I read the Monpress books a few years ago and am a big fan! Hopefully you continue to enjoy them, especially as the world is fully revealed and the scope increases significantly!

This post has been edited by Whisperzzzzzzz: 12 February 2025 - 05:04 PM

[pat5150]

Just posted my review of Guy Gavriel Kay's Written on the Dark.

Stylistically, GGK's latest is similar to the previous 3 novels he published. Yet after a great start, by the middle part of the book everything begins to meander and lose a bit of focus. It's never dull, mind you, but weighing in at only 265 pages (at least that's the length of the e-ARC I got), Written on the Dark is way too short to allow itself to drift a bit aimlessly the way it does in the last 100 pages or so. Because of that, it just might be Kay's weakest work since The Last Light of the Sun.

You can read my review here.

[Whisperzzzzzzz]

Whisperzzzzzzz, on 10 February 2025 - 08:34 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 10 February 2025 - 03:12 PM, said:

I know Tiste said he DNFed RISE OF THE RANGER by Phillip C. Quaintrell, but I'm nearing the halfway point and I'm enthralled and enjoying. There's so many fun varying fantasy concepts at play: Humans and Elves at either war or distrust of one another verging on war, time travel, rangers, and knights, and Mages, oh my! Many fantasy beasties, kings, queens, and politicking, assassins and assassin-guilds, elf sex, vicious merpeople who demand "human" payment for god knows what purpose as a bargain to give ships better sailing to their destination, ancient ruins, a massive map with a thousand year history, magic weapons, crystals, and other items, well-rounded characters filled with personality.

It's just good, classic fantasy and I'm very much looking forward to finishing it and getting the next book in the series.

I just bought book 1 based on this recommendation.

I'll start it after I finish Peter F. Hamilton's Exodus: The Archimedes Engine.

Hamilton's Exodus: The Archimedes Engine is exactly what you'd expect from him -- in all the best ways. If you like any of Hamilton's previous works, you will like this. Highly recommend.

It's better than a video game universe tie-in has any right to be (joining the ranks of all the other tie-ins that are better than they have any right to be).

My only quibble from the very last page...

Spoiler

three thousand tons of antimatter would only create a 120 teraton explosion, no? Sure, to us that would be end-all-life-on-earth-forever level. But, to Celestials? How is that enough of a threat for humanity to have to hold over their heads? I'm betting it's still part of the setup for whoever is pulling the humans' strings, but still...it seems weak.

This post has been edited by Whisperzzzzzzz: 13 February 2025 - 04:33 AM

[Abyss]

pat5150, on 12 February 2025 - 08:58 PM, said:

Just posted my review of Guy Gavriel Kay's Written on the Dark. ... might be Kay's weakest work since The Last Light of the Sun.

OUCH

[Abyss]

Interrupted Eli Monpress bk 2 for a few episodes of Silt Verses audiorama, and then a spotify freebie caught my eye and i ear'd actor Kal Penn's autobio YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS. I've liked Penn since his Harold n Kumar days, enjoyed him on HOUSE, and was very impressed with THE NAMESAKE. Throw in his time working for Barak Obama and i was hooked. Have to say, his description of the Obama campaigns and time working for the Whte House were particularly poignant with the current state of the White House. How they have gone from that to this current swamp.... it's really kind of sad. His stories about his Hollywood career are pretty amazing, for someone repeatedly told there's no work for Brown people in Hollywood to work his way up. Also, funny. His vignettes and stories about racism and the industry are well told, but also little things like getting to know his co-star John Cho, his friendships w the cast on House, or how angry Michelle Obama was with him because he screwed up his job application.

[Chance]

Finally finished off Winds and Truth and I'm not sure what to think of it. In some ways I think a lot of it should have been cut to make a leaner better book but it is also so much setup that might have a payoff later on. Feels very much like a mid series book instead of the end of an arc, where the cataclysm is basically just a little bit at the end.


Potential mild spoilers about what was good, what should have been good and what should certainly have been cut.

Spoiler

Well it was probably worth it for Shallans showdown with her ghost bloods, Kaladin ending up in the perfect place and Dalinars final scenes. Adolins story had a lot of potential and was overal great but it was just so bloody obvious where it was going and had been for more than a full book by the time it happened that it was a bit less awesome than it should have been. Personally I could have done entirely without Taravagnian pow, most of Szeths backstory and a lot of the dreamquest stuff going on.

This post has been edited by Chance: 25 February 2025 - 05:07 PM

[pat5150]

Just finished Stephen King's Later and it's one of King's best of recent years. Short novels force him to keep a tight focus on the story and the characterization is amazing.