[Abyss]

Tiste Simeon, on 11 August 2025 - 06:11 PM, said:

Abyss, on 11 August 2025 - 05:49 PM, said:

Abyss, on 07 August 2025 - 01:27 PM, said:

...
I may take a break from the series before continuing, Rivers of London are calling me.

Got sidetracked into SURELY YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS: THE TRUE STORY OF AIRPLANE! by Jim Abrahams and the Zucker Bros. The authors narrate the earbook and they brought in a tonne of cast, crew, execs, to tell their stories, and modern comedians and talent to add comments about how they remember seeing the movie for the first time... this is such a glorious nostalgia trip. They spend a chapter explaining how they did 'the shit hits the fan'. A chapter on Kareem Abdul Jabbar. I am near dead from laughing at the commentary around the inflatable auto-pilot.

Dang it I'm nearly ready to start the new Rivers of London book but now I want to listen to this too! I need to stop hanging with you horrible people, I'm trying to cut down dagnabit!

Surely you know that it's free on Spotify!

[Tsundoku]

I didn't know it's free on Spotify, and please stop calling me Shirley.

[QuickTidal]

TheRetiredBridgeburner, on 06 August 2025 - 12:17 PM, said:

We can live in hope

Popping this in spoilers for those who haven't read it and may want to:

Spoiler

There's a passage late on in the book that begins "There came a night of autumn, and when it grew late one came and smote upon the doors of Menegroth, demanding admittance to the King" when the Silmaril is returned to Dior because Beren and Luthien have died, that I'm really fond of. I think it's one of the most lyrical, beautiful bits of prose in the whole thing. Serkis' delivery made me well up, he nails it perfeclty. Same again for the closing bit right at the end after the Fall of Numenor "Thus ends the tales of the Elder Days", somehow he gets all the sadness of the stories into that ending passage. Such an absolute treasure of an audiobook.

Oh man, I always forget how absolutely incredible Chapter 18 is...

Spoiler

It's badass enough that after Morgoth and his orcs essentially annex the entire north of Beleriand, Fingolfin is like "Fuck that noise" and literally goes to Angband and pounds on the door challenging him to single combat AND HOLDS HIS OWN AND WOUNDS Morgoth giving him a permanent limp...but then Tolkien gives me this evocative passage:

Thus died Fingolfin, High King of the Noldor, most proud and valiant of the Elven-kings of old. The Orcs made no boast of that duel at the gate; neither do the Elves sing of it, for their sorrow is too deep. Yet the tale of it is remembered still, for Thorondor King of Eagles brought the tidings to Gondolin, and to Hithlum afar off. And Morgoth took the body of the Elven-king and broke it, and would have cast it to his wolves; but Thorondor came hasting from his eyrie among the peaks of the Crissaegrim, and he stooped upon Morgoth and marred his face. The rushing of the wings of Thorondor was like the noise of the winds of Manwë, and he seized the body in his mighty talons, and soaring suddenly above the darts of the Orcs he bore the King away. And he laid him upon a mountain-top that looked from the north upon the hidden valley of Gondolin; and Turgon coming built a high cairn over his father.

Chefs kiss.

[QuickTidal]

You hippies better be right....I ordered a copy of DUNGEON CRAWLER CARL because I keep seeing people talking about it, here and elsewhere.


I need a palate cleanser book and this seems like it might do justice.

[HoosierDaddy]

It should at least make you laugh a time or two at the beginning. That should carry you through the more "RPG" aspects of the early chapters. While that never goes away, know that as you get to each new book the amount of outright "LEVEL UP!" stuff starts being less prominent.

[QuickTidal]

HoosierDaddy, on 15 August 2025 - 12:30 PM, said:

It should at least make you laugh a time or two at the beginning. That should carry you through the more "RPG" aspects of the early chapters. While that never goes away, know that as you get to each new book the amount of outright "LEVEL UP!" stuff starts being less prominent.

Cool! Should make a good cottage read then.

[JPK]

I'm starting to suspect it's ded-thread time for DCC.

Happy to see you joining us though. I don't think you'll regret this.

[Briar King]

Less than 200 pgs left on Dresden 8 reread. So fun.

[Tsundoku]

Started Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 2 - Carl's Doomsday Scenario.

Very fun, fast reads.

[HoosierDaddy]

 Tsundoku, on 18 August 2025 - 10:31 AM, said:

Started Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 2 - Carl's Doomsday Scenario.

Very fun, fast reads.

Interested on anyone else's thoughts of the universe build that occurs here and when it transitions... because it did transition from light, really fun reading for me... to more at some point.

[JPK]

 HoosierDaddy, on 18 August 2025 - 12:22 PM, said:

 Tsundoku, on 18 August 2025 - 10:31 AM, said:

Started Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 2 - Carl's Doomsday Scenario.

Very fun, fast reads.

Interested on anyone else's thoughts of the universe build that occurs here and when it transitions... because it did transition from light, really fun reading for me... to more at some point.

Keep in mind I'm only through book 5 but:

Spoiler

For me, it was book 3. It starts showing more of the plight of the NPCs with the time loops with the dwarves and elemental. We also get more of the universe building starting regarding the reveal on the map being directly tied to the universal politics. Finally, that's also the book where I feel like the development of the other crawlers starts with Katia and the Daughters and then gets cranked up to 11 in book 4.

Sorry for taking so long to fix the spoiler tag on that. Was getting an error while trying to reach the boards and didn't think it had actually posted.

This post has been edited by JPK: 18 August 2025 - 06:39 PM

[amphibian]

Definitely book 3. Dinniman upgraded as a writer and the initial audience core was firmly along for the ride, so he took way more risks that worked in terms of story.

One of those risks was deepening the stakes to actual emotive stuff. It's not an easy balance to strike and so many people try to cover up a lack of emotions with a joke or comic book movie thing.

This post has been edited by amphibian: 19 August 2025 - 12:50 AM

[Abyss]

Abyss, on 11 August 2025 - 06:22 PM, said:

Tiste Simeon, on 11 August 2025 - 06:11 PM, said:

Abyss, on 11 August 2025 - 05:49 PM, said:

Abyss, on 07 August 2025 - 01:27 PM, said:

...
I may take a break from the series before continuing, Rivers of London are calling me.

Got sidetracked into SURELY YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS: THE TRUE STORY OF AIRPLANE! by Jim Abrahams and the Zucker Bros. The authors narrate the earbook and they brought in a tonne of cast, crew, execs, to tell their stories, and modern comedians and talent to add comments about how they remember seeing the movie for the first time... this is such a glorious nostalgia trip. They spend a chapter explaining how they did 'the shit hits the fan'. A chapter on Kareem Abdul Jabbar. I am near dead from laughing at the commentary around the inflatable auto-pilot.

Dang it I'm nearly ready to start the new Rivers of London book but now I want to listen to this too! I need to stop hanging with you horrible people, I'm trying to cut down dagnabit!

Surely you know that it's free on Spotify!

Tsundoku, on 11 August 2025 - 10:28 PM, said:

I didn't know it's free on Spotify, and please stop calling me Shirley.

Just Finished, great fun read. It's a surprisingly deep dive into early 80s Hollywood, comedy, movies, etc. The sheer level of 'stuff' going on behind the scenes that led to the movie is pretty amazing. And i really, really have to laugh at how in the entire book, there is exactly one, very brief, reference to Airplane 2. It's free on spotify if you have the right membership and fits within the monthly earbook allowance. If you've watched Airplane! and loved it this book is absolutely worth your time.

Now back to The 13th Paladin, bk 7 THE ETERNAL EMPIRE, which, in case you were wondering, in no way resembles some white dude's samurai movie based thinly veiled take on Japan.

[Tsundoku]

On DCC - I noticed the references to "other serious stuff" that is going on out in the wider universe (beyond annihilating whole civilizations for hyuks, I mean) and figured MD would fill it in as we go. Looking forward to it.

[Abyss]

 Abyss, on 19 August 2025 - 04:22 AM, said:

...now back to The 13th Paladin, bk 7 THE ETERNAL EMPIRE, which, in case you were wondering, in no way resembles some white dude's samurai movie based thinly veiled take on Japan.

Snark aside I'm still enjoying this extended run of fairly 'basic' fantasy, and to the author's credit with bk 7, Just Finished, he managed to surprise me a handful of times, take a few dark turns i did not think he had the guts to go for, generate some genuine threat for the supporting cast, write an excellent finale battle, and continue a long game storyline w a developing baddie who is becoming interesting. The supporting cast carry the series at times, and while they mostly started out as archetypes and caricatures, they've developed some depth, evolved a bit, and made the story richer. There's a dwarf character in particular who steals every scene he's in. It's not Malazan, it will never be Malazan, it's not trying to be Malazan, but there's a Prydain/Belgariad/Riftwar feel to this that, while not as effective as quickly as those works were, has drawn me in and kept me around (even if my teeth itch every time time narrator uses 'leaped' and 'dived' instead of 'leapt' and 'dove').

On to bk 8, FATHER OF THE MOUNTAIN. We're going to the Dwarven kingdom, i admit i'm kind of psyched.

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Abyss, on 25 August 2025 - 05:40 AM, said:

my teeth itch every time time narrator uses 'leaped' and 'dived' instead of 'leapt' and 'dove'

Quote

The original past tense of dive is dived; dove developed as an alternate form in the 1800s, probably by analogy with drive and drove. Dove is now more common in English as spoken in North America ("We dove right in"), while dived remains the preferred form elsewhere. As for the past participle form, dived as in "We're not hesitating; we have dived right in," is more common everywhere than dove.

Merriam Webster - quotation: The Language Nerds | Facebook

Quote

However, it seems that the dived-dove distinction used to be something of a dialect marker in America. E. Bagby Atwood's 1953 study A Survey of Verb Forms in the Eastern United States found that dove was chiefly Northeastern, used as the dominant form in New England, Upstate New York, and the Northeast corridor as far south as Wilmington, Delaware. In Central Pennsylvania, northeast Maryland, lowland areas of South Carolina, and a few other pockets, dived and dove were relatively interchangeable. Elsewhere in the Eastern US, presumably, dived was typical, along with more unusual forms like div and duv.*

So what's happened since then? Well, I would hazard to guess that weird, wonderful old dialect forms like "div" and "duv" have waned significantly. But speaking purely from impression, it seems that "dove" has increased exponentially in the sixty years since Atwood's study.

[...] "dived" is almost certainly used by Americans in compounds such as "scuba dived," "sky dived," and "nose dived," (as opposed to the bizarre-sounding "scuba dove," "sky dove," and "nose dove"), which again, would almost certainly make American "dived" usage difficult to assess.

Dived vs. Dove in American Dialects | Dialect Blog

To me, "dived" sounds better and more poetic. That "d" at the end makes it sound a bit like what it represents. Granted, "dove" sounds more French.

Quote

Both [leapt and leaped] are old, and leaped was more common in all varieties of English until about a century ago, when leapt became more common in British English. Today, both forms are frequently used in American and Canadian publications, while publications from outside North America tend to favor leapt.

This ngram, which graphs the occurrence of leaped and leapt in a large number of British texts published from 1800 to 2019, suggests that leapt's prevalence is a rather new development:

[...]

And the corresponding ngram for American texts suggests that leaped still prevails, but not by much:

Leaped vs. leapt - Grammarist

"Leaped" again sounds more like the act of leaping; "leapt" is more abrupt (and also a bit more French-sounding).

Of course it's fine to be enamored of newfangledness and quasi-Frenchification.

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 25 August 2025 - 01:40 PM

[Abyss]

 Azath Vitr (D, on 25 August 2025 - 10:21 AM, said:

 Abyss, on 25 August 2025 - 05:40 AM, said:

my teeth itch every time time narrator uses 'leaped' and 'dived' instead of 'leapt' and 'dove'

Quote

The original past tense of dive is dived; dove developed as an alternate form in the 1800s, probably by analogy with drive and drove. Dove is now more common in English as spoken in North America ("We dove right in"), while dived remains the preferred form elsewhere. As for the past participle form, dived as in "We're not hesitating; we have dived right in," is more common everywhere than dove.

Merriam Webster - quotation: The Language Nerds | Facebook

Quote

However, it seems that the dived-dove distinction used to be something of a dialect marker in America. E. Bagby Atwood's 1953 study A Survey of Verb Forms in the Eastern United States found that dove was chiefly Northeastern, used as the dominant form in New England, Upstate New York, and the Northeast corridor as far south as Wilmington, Delaware. In Central Pennsylvania, northeast Maryland, lowland areas of South Carolina, and a few other pockets, dived and dove were relatively interchangeable. Elsewhere in the Eastern US, presumably, dived was typical, along with more unusual forms like div and duv.*

So what's happened since then? Well, I would hazard to guess that weird, wonderful old dialect forms like "div" and "duv" have waned significantly. But speaking purely from impression, it seems that "dove" has increased exponentially in the sixty years since Atwood's study.

[...] "dived" is almost certainly used by Americans in compounds such as "scuba dived," "sky dived," and "nose dived," (as opposed to the bizarre-sounding "scuba dove," "sky dove," and "nose dove"), which again, would almost certainly make American "dived" usage difficult to assess.

Dived vs. Dove in American Dialects | Dialect Blog

To me, "dived" sounds better and more poetic. That "d" at the end makes it sound a bit like what it represents. Granted, "dove" sounds more French.

Quote

Both [leapt and leaped] are old, and leaped was more common in all varieties of English until about a century ago, when leapt became more common in British English. Today, both forms are frequently used in American and Canadian publications, while publications from outside North America tend to favor leapt.

This ngram, which graphs the occurrence of leaped and leapt in a large number of British texts published from 1800 to 2019, suggests that leapt's prevalence is a rather new development:

[...]

And the corresponding ngram for American texts suggests that leaped still prevails, but not by much:

Leaped vs. leapt - Grammarist

"Leaped" again sounds more like the act of leaping; "leapt" is more abrupt (and also a bit more French-sounding).

Of course it's fine to be enamored of newfangledness and quasi-Frenchification.

go dived off a cliff, Azath, it still makes my teeth itch.

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

Finished The Blade Itself, largely courtesy of our flights to and from Barcelona this weekend.

Proof if it was needed that how you're approached about a book absolutely affects how you then approach said book, because damn it if I'm not all in. Loved it.

Glokta is VILE and absolutely superb.

I also can't stop chuckling to myself whenever Bayaz appears on the page, after saying to Mr NAB that I was enjoying him and him responding with "Oh, Grumpy Gandalf?". Never unseeing that.

Straight on with Before They Are Hanged.

This post has been edited by TheRetiredBridgeburner: 27 August 2025 - 08:38 AM

[pat5150]

Just finished Jim Butcher's Twelve Months.

It is indeed one long interlude that focuses on Harry's physical, psychological, and emotional recovery following the catastrophic events of the Battle of Chicago. Still, Butcher ends the book with a bang that I wasn't expecting at this point in the series!

My review is up in case you're interested:

https://fantasyhotli...lve-months.html

[QuickTidal]

Book 8 in Kristen Britain's Green Rider series FALLING IN A SEA OF STARS comes out in 4 weeks, and it triggered me that I had been putting off reading WINTERLIGHT because I didn't want the book hangover I got from reading MIRROR SIGHT, and FIREBRAND to hit me and make me wait for Book 8....so I'm re-reading FIREBRAND just now....but then I realized I have but have not read THE DREAM GATHERER (short fiction), and SPIRIT OF THE WOOD (young Laren Mapstone novella) both of which can be read after FIREBRAND...so I now have a short anthology, a novella, and a full size 800pg book to read before I can jump into the latest at the end of September.

Sufficed to say this Green Rider fan is eating well at the moment. I know she usually stays locally in Maine near her cabin home, but I would love to see her come to Canada for the new book so I could meet her and tell her what her series meant to me during COVID when I got properly sunk into it.