[amphibian]

I've rushed through the first 6 MurderBot stories. They're quite good in a way that I would describe as a steady stream of stories involving a hard boiled detective who is actually an autistic robot figuring out how to simply be.

I do wonder if the story is going to go to a next level in System Collapse or if we'll stay where we are in terms of exploring social structures and deeper thoughts beyond the mysteries of why do the things around MurderBot.

[Tiste Simeon]

 amphibian, on 01 July 2025 - 04:15 AM, said:

I've rushed through the first 6 MurderBot stories. They're quite good in a way that I would describe as a steady stream of stories involving a hard boiled detective who is actually an autistic robot figuring out how to simply be.

I do wonder if the story is going to go to a next level in System Collapse or if we'll stay where we are in terms of exploring social structures and deeper thoughts beyond the mysteries of why do the things around MurderBot.

I haven't read them so I can't tell you how the TV show compares but the TV show is very good!

[QuickTidal]

Re-reading Sebastien De Castell's Greatcoats series. TRAITORS BLADE remains one of the coolest opening novels in a series. I wanted to re-read it because I want to read the sequel series, so I figured it was worthwhile to brush up.

[Macros]

Here's a quandary for the forum.

Have made an agreement with a friend, that I would read the first 2 crown of Thorns and roses books, the trade of was that I could give her 2 books to read.
(She then insisted one was the book I am forever writting(read not))

What books to issue?
Do I go for something epic and classic like magician? straightforward like Legend? Grubby and fun like Low town? Dark and a great into like the Blade itself?

[Tiste Simeon]

 Macros, on 01 July 2025 - 02:29 PM, said:

Here's a quandary for the forum.

Have made an agreement with a friend, that I would read the first 2 crown of Thorns and roses books, the trade of was that I could give her 2 books to read.
(She then insisted one was the book I am forever writting(read not))

What books to issue?
Do I go for something epic and classic like magician? straightforward like Legend? Grubby and fun like Low town? Dark and a great into like the Blade itself?

Deadhouse Gates
Toll the Hounds

Easy!

[Abyss]

Macros, on 01 July 2025 - 02:29 PM, said:

Here's a quandary for the forum.

Have made an agreement with a friend, that I would read the first 2 crown of Thorns and roses books, the trade of was that I could give her 2 books to read.
(She then insisted one was the book I am forever writting(read not))

What books to issue?
Do I go for something epic and classic like magician? straightforward like Legend? Grubby and fun like Low town? Dark and a great into like the Blade itself?

Is this a sex thing?


What's her fantasy go tos? ....more 'Thing of Stuff and Whatevers'?

[QuickTidal]

Macros, on 01 July 2025 - 02:29 PM, said:

Here's a quandary for the forum.

Have made an agreement with a friend, that I would read the first 2 crown of Thorns and roses books, the trade of was that I could give her 2 books to read.
(She then insisted one was the book I am forever writting(read not))

What books to issue?
Do I go for something epic and classic like magician? straightforward like Legend? Grubby and fun like Low town? Dark and a great into like the Blade itself?

If she's into a Court of Thorns and Roses (my wife reads those!), then you should lean that way...not in romance department, but fantasy setting layout department.

I don't know what you have to lend her....what about De Castell's Greatcoats (I'm not just saying that cause I'm re-reading it right now. ? Or how about The LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA...

[Abyss]

Abyss, on 02 July 2025 - 01:29 PM, said:

Macros, on 01 July 2025 - 02:29 PM, said:

Here's a quandary for the forum.

Have made an agreement with a friend, that I would read the first 2 crown of Thorns and roses books, the trade of was that I could give her 2 books to read.
(She then insisted one was the book I am forever writting(read not))

What books to issue?
Do I go for something epic and classic like magician? straightforward like Legend? Grubby and fun like Low town? Dark and a great into like the Blade itself?

Is this a sex thing?


What's her fantasy go tos? ....more 'Thing of Stuff and Whatevers'?

QuickTidal, on 02 July 2025 - 02:29 PM, said:

If she's into a Court of Thorns and Roses (my wife reads those!), then you should lean that way...not in romance department, but fantasy setting layout department.

I don't know what you have to lend her....what about De Castell's Greatcoats (I'm not just saying that cause I'm re-reading it right now. ? Or how about The LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA...

that's a good point, Mac what do you actually have sitting around to offer assuming this is not in fact a sex thing?

[JPK]

Abyss, on 02 July 2025 - 03:54 PM, said:

Abyss, on 02 July 2025 - 01:29 PM, said:

Macros, on 01 July 2025 - 02:29 PM, said:

Here's a quandary for the forum.

Have made an agreement with a friend, that I would read the first 2 crown of Thorns and roses books, the trade of was that I could give her 2 books to read.
(She then insisted one was the book I am forever writting(read not))

What books to issue?
Do I go for something epic and classic like magician? straightforward like Legend? Grubby and fun like Low town? Dark and a great into like the Blade itself?

Is this a sex thing?


What's her fantasy go tos? ....more 'Thing of Stuff and Whatevers'?

QuickTidal, on 02 July 2025 - 02:29 PM, said:

If she's into a Court of Thorns and Roses (my wife reads those!), then you should lean that way...not in romance department, but fantasy setting layout department.

I don't know what you have to lend her....what about De Castell's Greatcoats (I'm not just saying that cause I'm re-reading it right now. ? Or how about The LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA...

that's a good point, Mac what do you actually have sitting around to offer assuming this is not in fact a sex thing?

So I have been known to offer book trades in my social circle as well it is not in fact a sex thing and here are a few of the books that have tended to go over well generally.

THE GOLEM AND THE GINNI by Helene Wecker
THE LIBRARY AT MOUNT CHAR by Scott Hawkins
ANNIHILATION by Jeff VanderMeer
PIRANESI by Susanna Clark

[Tiste Simeon]

I love recommending books but only if it's a sex thing no-one listens to them.

[QuickTidal]

Tiste Simeon, on 02 July 2025 - 06:00 PM, said:

I love recommending books but only if it's a sex thing no-one listens to them.

I usually only recommend SFF books to my sister in law as she's into them....and I've very slowly moved her from not being into epic fantasy at all (she was Urban Fantasy exclusively for so long) into reading some of them...when she jumped into Sarah J Maas bigger epic fantasy series (Crescent City or whatever) all on her own, I know my work was done.


I got her on the Butcher/Dresden train too.


The catch was that for a lot of years I had to loan her my books....I didn't loan my books to people. I told her that, but relented and it's so funny to this day if I lend her a book she keeps it wrapped in cloth (not an exaggeration) to keep it from getting damaged. My rule is now that I won't lend my books to anyone BUT my sister in law, because she treats them better than I treat them.

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 02 July 2025 - 06:18 PM

[Macros]

Her usual thing is like Harlan Coben.

She wants to see what I read, And GreatCloaks book 1 did come into my head.

Library at Mount Char is probably a bit toooo out there, but she did enjoy Neverwhere when they read it for book club.


I'd love to go like Daighter of the empire or something, but I'm always so wrapped up in recommending magician first I don't think I could, ha!

[Abyss]

Meanwhile, in the Department of Just Finished... I was jonesing for something whimsical after THE DEVILS, and a brush through my earbook library/TRP brought me to THE THIRTEENTH PALADIN, by Torsten Weitz, specifically an Audible compilation of books 1-3 of the 13 book series.

It's cheesy and predictable and derivative and just barely original, and i'm thoroughly enjoying it. The narrator Gildart Jackson, just sells it so earnestly that even where i predict what's going to happen, his voices are so well done that i'm still into the story.

There's a chosen one, a crusty old ranger mentor, elves are delicate magical forest dwellers and dwarves are rough underground little people, every female character is graceful and mysterious, the Big Bad is called 'The Adversary' and his borderline idiot servants are 'Dark Ones'... the MC is a plucky village boy torn from obscurity and destined to save the world, FFS the dwarf warrior just used the words "joie de vivre" so apparently someone somewhere in this totally fictional world speaks French.... it's all very very basic but damn if books 1 and 2 didn't yank me right in and hold my attention. Starting bk 3 now.


As a periodic change have also begun the audiodrama 'Bright Sessions'... it's about a psychiatrist who treats 'special' patients, people who have developed special abilities and are messed up because of it... a woman who time travels when she's stressed, a teenage boy who's an empath trying to survive high school... it's well done, the eps - done as the dr's sessions w patients - are short and to-the-point, and an overarching plot is developed without destracting from the indiv storylines of each patient. Worth a listen.

[Whisperzzzzzzz]

Abyss, on 02 July 2025 - 07:09 PM, said:

FFS the dwarf warrior just used the words "joie de vivre" so apparently someone somewhere in this totally fictional world speaks French....

I'm reminded of trying to read The Grace of Kings when one of the characters said that two people should fight "mano a mano". Totally broke any immersion I had.

[polishgenius]

Macros, on 02 July 2025 - 06:49 PM, said:

Her usual thing is like Harlan Coben.

She wants to see what I read, And GreatCloaks book 1 did come into my head.

Library at Mount Char is probably a bit toooo out there, but she did enjoy Neverwhere when they read it for book club.


I'd love to go like Daighter of the empire or something, but I'm always so wrapped up in recommending magician first I don't think I could, ha!

lmao this reminds me of a deal I once made with a chap on an old forum, where I promised to read Harland Coben if he read Malazan.


I got him totally hooked on Malazan, and I still haven't held up my part of the bargain. Maybe I should this week just for peace of mind lol.

[Tiste Simeon]

I read a Coben book one and it was fine. There are better examples of that kind of story out there, and while I remember that I did enjoy it, it was ultimately a bit forgettable.

[Abyss]

Macros, on 02 July 2025 - 06:49 PM, said:

Her usual thing is like Harlan Coben.

She wants to see what I read, And GreatCloaks book 1 did come into my head.

Library at Mount Char is probably a bit toooo out there, but she did enjoy Neverwhere when they read it for book club.


I'd love to go like Daighter of the empire or something, but I'm always so wrapped up in recommending magician first I don't think I could, ha!

Just my $, the Empire trilo reads way better following the rest of Riftwar. Without that a lot of context for the MC's main relationship is missing.

MAGICIAN isn't a bad book, but it's very basic 'farmboys level up' fantasy, near zero female characters of significance,

[Tiste Simeon]

I still need to get a copy of the Empire trilogy.

[QuickTidal]

Got about 100 pages left in re-read of GREATCOATS 1...still a phenomenal book.

After that I'm going to take a side finally in a longtime massive forum dispute...

I know you all know what I'm going to say....

I'm going to finally read TIGANA


And we see if I come down on the side of Abyss and hate it with a visceral fire...OR I like it and side with PG and it will get the double stamp...


Note: I was tweaked to finally pull it out of the TBR as GGK has announced on social media the other day that he's working with a small indie specialty publisher to do an anniversary edition for it with a bunch of cool ass art.

I was like, maybe it's time to choose a faction. I'll be honest, I'm rooting for the double stamp...it's such a rare occurrence and would really send the forum dispute into overdrive.

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 03 July 2025 - 04:59 PM

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

QuickTidal, on 03 July 2025 - 04:58 PM, said:

After that I'm going to take a side finally in a longtime massive forum dispute...

I know you all know what I'm going to say....

I'm going to finally read TIGANA


And we see if I come down on the side of Abyss and hate it with a visceral fire...OR I like it and side with PG and it will get the double stamp...


Note: I was tweaked to finally pull it out of the TBR as GGK has announced on social media the other day that he's working with a small indie specialty publisher to do an anniversary edition for it with a bunch of cool ass art.

I was like, maybe it's time to choose a faction. I'll be honest, I'm rooting for the double stamp...it's such a rare occurrence and would really send the forum dispute into overdrive.

I loved it... when I was twelve.

That's about all I remember about it.