I read the other 2 books in the Way of Shadows trilogy, I enjoyed all 3 greatly. Will probably hunt down other books written by Brent Weeks. The characters were all enjoyable and each with depth, flaws and personalities.
Reading Lost World by Doyle. The style really reads similarly to Robert E Howard. Maybe because the characters are not very multi-facted at all. I don't know if I could write such characters without feeling incredibly hokey.
What books are you reading now?
Moderator: Moderators
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Stahlseele
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- Location: Hamburg, Germany
Just finished STUKA and Feindfahrten, now it's Schicksalsfahrt der Graf Spee(Battle of the River Plate / Pursuit of the Graf Spee) and then Die letzte Fahrt der Bismarck(Sink the Bismarck).
Welcome, to IronHell.
Shrapnel wrote:TFwiki wrote:Soon is the name of the region in the time-domain (familiar to all marketing departments, and to the moderators and staff of Fun Publications) which sees release of all BotCon news, club exclusives, and other fan desirables. Soon is when then will become now.
Peculiar properties of spacetime ensure that the perception of the magnitude of Soon is fluid and dependent, not on an individual's time-reference, but on spatial and cultural location. A marketer generally perceives Soon as a finite, known, yet unspeakable time-interval; to a fan, the interval appears greater, and may in fact approach the infinite, becoming Never. Once the interval has passed, however, a certain time-lensing effect seems to occur, and the time-interval becomes vanishingly small. We therefore see the strange result that the same fragment of spacetime may be observed, in quick succession, as Soon, Never, and All Too Quickly.
I've been reading the Parasol Protectorate books by Gail Carringer (Carriger? Can't quite remember at the moment).
They're good light reading. Victorian steampunk with vampires and werewolves. Can't think of much that can get more trendy than that.
It's handled well, though. The supernatural set are integrated into society--and often are a lot of the high-ups, given how old they can be. It also gives evidence...well, vampires have queens, who rule a hive. The bee metaphor is carried with the human servants of a hive being called drones--it's actually a voluntary arrangement with no mind control or the like. Drones run errands and do things for the vampires on the potential of one day becoming a vampire. Because being undead isn't too much of a crimp in your social acceptability, and has its compensations.
Werewolves have a similar arrangement. Only theirs are called clavigers, and if there's a metaphor there I didn't catch it.
So, on the whole, I grade it a B. It's above-average, and the fact that its setting seems actually viable puts it leaps and bounds over shit like Twilight.
They're good light reading. Victorian steampunk with vampires and werewolves. Can't think of much that can get more trendy than that.
It's handled well, though. The supernatural set are integrated into society--and often are a lot of the high-ups, given how old they can be. It also gives evidence...well, vampires have queens, who rule a hive. The bee metaphor is carried with the human servants of a hive being called drones--it's actually a voluntary arrangement with no mind control or the like. Drones run errands and do things for the vampires on the potential of one day becoming a vampire. Because being undead isn't too much of a crimp in your social acceptability, and has its compensations.
Werewolves have a similar arrangement. Only theirs are called clavigers, and if there's a metaphor there I didn't catch it.
So, on the whole, I grade it a B. It's above-average, and the fact that its setting seems actually viable puts it leaps and bounds over shit like Twilight.
He jumps like a damned dragoon, and charges into battle fighting rather insane monsters with little more than his bare hands and rather nasty spell effects conjured up solely through knowledge and the local plantlife. He unerringly knows where his goal lies, he breathes underwater and is untroubled by space travel, seems to have no limits to his actual endurance and favors killing his enemies by driving both boots square into their skull. His agility is unmatched, and his strength legendary, able to fling about a turtle shell big enough to contain a man with enough force to barrel down a near endless path of unfortunates.
--The horror of Mario
Zak S, Zak Smith, Dndwithpornstars, Zak Sabbath. He is a terrible person and a hack at writing and art. His cultural contributions are less than Justin Bieber's, and he's a shitmuffin. Go go gadget Googlebomb!
--The horror of Mario
Zak S, Zak Smith, Dndwithpornstars, Zak Sabbath. He is a terrible person and a hack at writing and art. His cultural contributions are less than Justin Bieber's, and he's a shitmuffin. Go go gadget Googlebomb!
I'm sloughing through "Kushiel's dart" by Jacqueline Carey. The political intrigue in the first half of the book was spectacular. The mythos is nice because it's just an extension of Europe's different religions and what would happen in a fantasy milieu. I don't know if I'm enthralled enough by the book to go through the remaining 10 or so books in the cycle. Does it get better or is the political intrigue strong in the rest?
Last edited by Cynic on Tue May 03, 2011 4:15 am, edited 2 times in total.
Ancient History wrote:We were working on Street Magic, and Frank asked me if a houngan had run over my dog.
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RobbyPants
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I had mixed feelings on that. It seemed out of character for Batman, because I'm used to him being all stoic, but there did seem to be a couple of pages there where the two of them sort of understood each other.Prak_Anima wrote:The Killing Joke is good. The Joker getting Batman to laugh is always awesome, partially because of how rare it is.RobbyPants wrote:I just read The Killing Joke and liked it.
I read about that. I'm assuming you're talking about Batgirl/Oracle? Also, I heard Joker's origin is semi-cannon, because, even in The Killing Joke, it's debatable if that story is even true:Prak_Anima wrote:It's also cool for being a side book that became canon.
Joker wrote:Sometimes I remember it one way, sometimes another... If I'm going to have a past, I prefer it to be multiple choice!
BATMAN: Cacaphony is a more recent story where the Joker and Batman have "a moment"...almost seeming to continue the conversation that started in THE KILLING JOKE about "why are we still doing this? Can't we all just get along?"RobbyPants wrote:couple of pages there where the two of them sort of understood each other.
Not nearly as good as tKJ, but I liked the story for that conversation near the end.
As a bonus...
the Joker makes reference to his green merkin AND admits to seeing Batman's junk while he's changing clothes.
The most recent Batman film uses elements of this also. Recall that the Joker has different explanations for "how I got these scars."Joker wrote:Sometimes I remember it one way, sometimes another... If I'm going to have a past, I prefer it to be multiple choice!
Game On,
fbmf
Last edited by fbmf on Tue May 03, 2011 3:49 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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RobbyPants
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Yeah, that was one thing I liked when I read it: I immediately thought of Dark Knight. I imagine for people who read the book first, they probably liked that part of the movie for the same reason.fbmf wrote:The most recent Batman film uses elements of this also. Recall that the Joker has different explanations for "how I got these scars."Joker wrote:Sometimes I remember it one way, sometimes another... If I'm going to have a past, I prefer it to be multiple choice!
It's actually possible for both scars stories to be simultaneously true, the father with a knife explaining the straightish cut on one corner of the mouth, the razor blade explaining possible scars on his tongue and the inside of his cheeks and lips alluded to by his mannerisms (mostly the odd noises he makes while talking from time to time, like he's tonguing an old scar in his cheek). It's possible that had he been allowed to finish the third story it would have explained the more hole like scar on the other side of his mouth.
Cuz apparently I gotta break this down for you dense motherfuckers- I'm trans feminine nonbinary. My pronouns are they/them.
Winnah wrote:No, No. 'Prak' is actually a Thri Kreen impersonating a human and roleplaying himself as a D&D character. All hail our hidden insect overlords.
FrankTrollman wrote:In Soviet Russia, cosmic horror is the default state.
You should gain sanity for finding out that the problems of a region are because there are fucking monsters there.
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Stahlseele
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- Joined: Wed Apr 14, 2010 4:51 pm
- Location: Hamburg, Germany
The most likely explanation, that he fucked with the Mafia before and got the sicilian smile/glasgow grin ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasgow_smile ) treatment, was left out for some reason . .
Last edited by Stahlseele on Wed May 04, 2011 5:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
Welcome, to IronHell.
Shrapnel wrote:TFwiki wrote:Soon is the name of the region in the time-domain (familiar to all marketing departments, and to the moderators and staff of Fun Publications) which sees release of all BotCon news, club exclusives, and other fan desirables. Soon is when then will become now.
Peculiar properties of spacetime ensure that the perception of the magnitude of Soon is fluid and dependent, not on an individual's time-reference, but on spatial and cultural location. A marketer generally perceives Soon as a finite, known, yet unspeakable time-interval; to a fan, the interval appears greater, and may in fact approach the infinite, becoming Never. Once the interval has passed, however, a certain time-lensing effect seems to occur, and the time-interval becomes vanishingly small. We therefore see the strange result that the same fragment of spacetime may be observed, in quick succession, as Soon, Never, and All Too Quickly.
Because that's boring, and it's hard for the audience, usually, to imagine someone fucking with the mob as easily and effortlessly as he does in the movie having ever been on the losing side of it?Stahlseele wrote:The most likely explanation, that he fucked with the Mafia before and got the sicilian smile/glasgow grin ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasgow_smile ) treatment, was left out for some reason . .
Cuz apparently I gotta break this down for you dense motherfuckers- I'm trans feminine nonbinary. My pronouns are they/them.
Winnah wrote:No, No. 'Prak' is actually a Thri Kreen impersonating a human and roleplaying himself as a D&D character. All hail our hidden insect overlords.
FrankTrollman wrote:In Soviet Russia, cosmic horror is the default state.
You should gain sanity for finding out that the problems of a region are because there are fucking monsters there.
I'm reading fiction!
I decided to check out The Vampire Diaries for some perverse reason. I'm actually getting into it.
I decided to check out The Vampire Diaries for some perverse reason. I'm actually getting into it.
My son makes me laugh. Maybe he'll make you laugh, too.
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Stahlseele
- King
- Posts: 6017
- Joined: Wed Apr 14, 2010 4:51 pm
- Location: Hamburg, Germany
Call me Ishmael
Welcome, to IronHell.
Shrapnel wrote:TFwiki wrote:Soon is the name of the region in the time-domain (familiar to all marketing departments, and to the moderators and staff of Fun Publications) which sees release of all BotCon news, club exclusives, and other fan desirables. Soon is when then will become now.
Peculiar properties of spacetime ensure that the perception of the magnitude of Soon is fluid and dependent, not on an individual's time-reference, but on spatial and cultural location. A marketer generally perceives Soon as a finite, known, yet unspeakable time-interval; to a fan, the interval appears greater, and may in fact approach the infinite, becoming Never. Once the interval has passed, however, a certain time-lensing effect seems to occur, and the time-interval becomes vanishingly small. We therefore see the strange result that the same fragment of spacetime may be observed, in quick succession, as Soon, Never, and All Too Quickly.
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PoliteNewb
- Duke
- Posts: 1053
- Joined: Fri Jun 19, 2009 1:23 am
- Location: Alaska
- Contact:
Just started "Infernal Devices" by K.W. Jeter; so far it's good, if a bit dense in the language...seriously, this is almost Gene Wolfe style linguistic density.
I've also been reading Akimi Yoshida's "Banana Fish"...just finished vol. 8. In general, I'm enjoying it. It's disturbing on many levels, some of which are definitely intentional, but some of which are not.
I've also been reading Akimi Yoshida's "Banana Fish"...just finished vol. 8. In general, I'm enjoying it. It's disturbing on many levels, some of which are definitely intentional, but some of which are not.
I am judging the philosophies and decisions you have presented in this thread. The ones I have seen look bad, and also appear to be the fruit of a poisonous tree that has produced only madness and will continue to produce only madness.
--AngelFromAnotherPin
believe in one hand and shit in the other and see which ones fills up quicker. it will be the one you are full of, shit.
--Shadzar
--AngelFromAnotherPin
believe in one hand and shit in the other and see which ones fills up quicker. it will be the one you are full of, shit.
--Shadzar
Not really a book, but one of my favorite authors has been doing snippets of a sort-of Regency romance novel.
Only, this is Ursula Vernon. It's a little off-kilter. And involves Irish ninja clans.
http://ursulav.livejournal.com/1450690.html
http://ursulav.livejournal.com/1450753.html
http://ursulav.livejournal.com/1451432.html
Only, this is Ursula Vernon. It's a little off-kilter. And involves Irish ninja clans.
http://ursulav.livejournal.com/1450690.html
http://ursulav.livejournal.com/1450753.html
http://ursulav.livejournal.com/1451432.html
He jumps like a damned dragoon, and charges into battle fighting rather insane monsters with little more than his bare hands and rather nasty spell effects conjured up solely through knowledge and the local plantlife. He unerringly knows where his goal lies, he breathes underwater and is untroubled by space travel, seems to have no limits to his actual endurance and favors killing his enemies by driving both boots square into their skull. His agility is unmatched, and his strength legendary, able to fling about a turtle shell big enough to contain a man with enough force to barrel down a near endless path of unfortunates.
--The horror of Mario
Zak S, Zak Smith, Dndwithpornstars, Zak Sabbath. He is a terrible person and a hack at writing and art. His cultural contributions are less than Justin Bieber's, and he's a shitmuffin. Go go gadget Googlebomb!
--The horror of Mario
Zak S, Zak Smith, Dndwithpornstars, Zak Sabbath. He is a terrible person and a hack at writing and art. His cultural contributions are less than Justin Bieber's, and he's a shitmuffin. Go go gadget Googlebomb!
Heh, yeah, I read a couple of those. It'd be awesome if she did write a regency novel, all the more awesome if she did it as a comic with anthros.Maxus wrote:Not really a book, but one of my favorite authors has been doing snippets of a sort-of Regency romance novel.
Only, this is Ursula Vernon. It's a little off-kilter. And involves Irish ninja clans.
http://ursulav.livejournal.com/1450690.html
http://ursulav.livejournal.com/1450753.html
http://ursulav.livejournal.com/1451432.html
Cuz apparently I gotta break this down for you dense motherfuckers- I'm trans feminine nonbinary. My pronouns are they/them.
Winnah wrote:No, No. 'Prak' is actually a Thri Kreen impersonating a human and roleplaying himself as a D&D character. All hail our hidden insect overlords.
FrankTrollman wrote:In Soviet Russia, cosmic horror is the default state.
You should gain sanity for finding out that the problems of a region are because there are fucking monsters there.
According to her blog a couple years ago, everyone she know is under strict instructions to strangle her to death if she begins to talk about doing another long-running comedic webcomic.Prak_Anima wrote:Heh, yeah, I read a couple of those. It'd be awesome if she did write a regency novel, all the more awesome if she did it as a comic with anthros.Maxus wrote:Not really a book, but one of my favorite authors has been doing snippets of a sort-of Regency romance novel.
Only, this is Ursula Vernon. It's a little off-kilter. And involves Irish ninja clans.
http://ursulav.livejournal.com/1450690.html
http://ursulav.livejournal.com/1450753.html
http://ursulav.livejournal.com/1451432.html
He jumps like a damned dragoon, and charges into battle fighting rather insane monsters with little more than his bare hands and rather nasty spell effects conjured up solely through knowledge and the local plantlife. He unerringly knows where his goal lies, he breathes underwater and is untroubled by space travel, seems to have no limits to his actual endurance and favors killing his enemies by driving both boots square into their skull. His agility is unmatched, and his strength legendary, able to fling about a turtle shell big enough to contain a man with enough force to barrel down a near endless path of unfortunates.
--The horror of Mario
Zak S, Zak Smith, Dndwithpornstars, Zak Sabbath. He is a terrible person and a hack at writing and art. His cultural contributions are less than Justin Bieber's, and he's a shitmuffin. Go go gadget Googlebomb!
--The horror of Mario
Zak S, Zak Smith, Dndwithpornstars, Zak Sabbath. He is a terrible person and a hack at writing and art. His cultural contributions are less than Justin Bieber's, and he's a shitmuffin. Go go gadget Googlebomb!
Oh, yeah, I'm re-reading the Dresden Files while I wait for the next one to come out.
On book 5, Death Masks. The one that introduces the Fallen.
On book 5, Death Masks. The one that introduces the Fallen.
He jumps like a damned dragoon, and charges into battle fighting rather insane monsters with little more than his bare hands and rather nasty spell effects conjured up solely through knowledge and the local plantlife. He unerringly knows where his goal lies, he breathes underwater and is untroubled by space travel, seems to have no limits to his actual endurance and favors killing his enemies by driving both boots square into their skull. His agility is unmatched, and his strength legendary, able to fling about a turtle shell big enough to contain a man with enough force to barrel down a near endless path of unfortunates.
--The horror of Mario
Zak S, Zak Smith, Dndwithpornstars, Zak Sabbath. He is a terrible person and a hack at writing and art. His cultural contributions are less than Justin Bieber's, and he's a shitmuffin. Go go gadget Googlebomb!
--The horror of Mario
Zak S, Zak Smith, Dndwithpornstars, Zak Sabbath. He is a terrible person and a hack at writing and art. His cultural contributions are less than Justin Bieber's, and he's a shitmuffin. Go go gadget Googlebomb!
That reminds me that I need to pick up more of those... and more discworld novels too...Maxus wrote:Oh, yeah, I'm re-reading the Dresden Files while I wait for the next one to come out.
On book 5, Death Masks. The one that introduces the Fallen.
Cuz apparently I gotta break this down for you dense motherfuckers- I'm trans feminine nonbinary. My pronouns are they/them.
Winnah wrote:No, No. 'Prak' is actually a Thri Kreen impersonating a human and roleplaying himself as a D&D character. All hail our hidden insect overlords.
FrankTrollman wrote:In Soviet Russia, cosmic horror is the default state.
You should gain sanity for finding out that the problems of a region are because there are fucking monsters there.
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Gnosticism Is A Hoot
- Knight
- Posts: 322
- Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2009 12:09 pm
- Location: Supramundia
It's the one aspect of the Book of the New Sun that really made me wince.Blicero wrote:This is true.Cynic wrote:I picked up "Home Fires" by Gene Wolfe. I love how the man writes and his creativity. But the man's a raging god damn misogynist.
In other news, I've been reading Reasons and Persons by Derek Parfit recently. It's heavy going, but it's some of the best modern analytic philosophy around.
The soul is the prison of the body.
- Michel Foucault, Discipline & Punish
- Michel Foucault, Discipline & Punish