The Gaming Den

Christopher Moore Lamb: the gospel according to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal
Hilarious

ckafrica wrote:Christopher Moore Lamb: the gospel according to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal
Hilarious

Yeah, that's a great book; it's amazing how much research he did just to make a comedy.

Pretty much anything by Moore is worth reading.

I burned through Cory Doctorow's Eastern Standard Tribe today. It's a sci-fi book with an emphasis on copyright law and the changes the Internet will create in society. The EST idea struck me as interesting and somewhat believable, although the synchronization of schedules doesn't seem particularly likely right now. He seems to assume IRC as the primary means of communication in the tribe, which isn't the case now and is unlikely to become the case in the future. The general idea of networks of similar thinkers that loosely support each other is likely, as is their distribution with little regard to time zones, but it won't be as big a deal as he makes it out to be.

IRC is how many large businesses still communicate through chat, because it can be easily piggybacked onto VPN or ssh.

So, yeah, and it was the peak of internet live chat for about ten or twenty years, only breaking up when the control of the backbones passed from highly centralized authorization to private control.

I expect namespace to suffer the same fault eventually.

-Crissa

Okay, I'm going into doomed territory.

I'm going to try to reread the Harry Potter series.

I haven't touched them since I finished the last book in the series (incidentally that was the day the last book came out).

And, well, I was curious to see how the series would read now that I know how everything turns out.

Instead, a comment someone made is altering the experience a little.

Someone made a note that Rowling had never met an adverb she didn't like.

And now I'm see all the "he said darkly" or "she said cheerfully".

It's not Tom Swiftie territory by any means, though.

(Adverbial puns.

Examples:

"There are 12,902 bees" Tom recounted.

"Pass me another shellfish," said Tom crabbily

Or, my favorite...

"I'm into homosexual necrophilia," said Tom in dead earnest.)

Still, I've never noticed how many there were. I mean, I don't pay attention to writing style when I'm reading something. Not often. I'm too busy seeing the book happen in my head.

I actually just got the audio books for the Potter stuff for my commute. Read by Stephen Fry. Man, that guy can voice-act.

I'm almost done with Philosopher's Stone (guess I might as well use the non-American title).

Now that I'm over the adverbs I'm seeing, as expected, a lot of foreshadowing. Some of which I didn't catch despite several reads over the years.

And it's an okay light read still.

Been reading a bunch of library books. Of those I remember, Jane Lindskold's Thirteen Orphans is definitely my favorite. The protagonist is emotional, but not stupid, and the magic system / cosmology is intriguing. I particularly like the explanation for the origin of the alternate dimension several key characters come from.

Maybe it was backlash from the popularity but by the end I just got pissed off at the Harry Potter series, as did most of the people I know. By the 4th or 5th book Harry was being an immature fucktard who expected special behaviour and went into fits of rage when he didn't get his way. Rowling's method of making shit up on the spot instead of making sense and adding things that completely change the world then ignoring them was just stupid and the search for MacGuffins descended into stupidity.

---

I got the Night Angel trilogy out of the library recently. I really liked them: there was an interesting world and there was a reason that the main character became powerful yet didn't solve everything. I also liked that there were consequences to using his power. That really was a bitch. Interestingly, it didn't turn out happily ever after with him and the romantic interest living happily ever after. However I did start getting irritated that one of the characters refused to fucking die already. And the ending with them all singing was a bit weird.

Parthenon wrote:Maybe it was backlash from the popularity but by the end I just got pissed off at the Harry Potter series, as did most of the people I know. By the 4th or 5th book Harry was being an immature fucktard who expected special behaviour and went into fits of rage when he didn't get his way. Rowling's method of making shit up on the spot instead of making sense and adding things that completely change the world then ignoring them was just stupid and the search for MacGuffins descended into stupidity.

The macguffin bullshit was weird but the immature fvcktard-ness was if you look at the trend through the books is Harry growing up. He's being a wangsty teen. It's retarded but that's just Rowling's method of showing it. She could have done it better but that's how it seems she's done it. Really, Rowling says she has the entire thing plotted out from the beginning but she probably only had the first book plotted out. She saw the success and then, maybe, she plotted out everything else except the macguffin books. That was just her being high on the best ganja money can buy and rolled in money. What? She is filthy stinking rich and that book does seem like it was written like someone who had to write a book after a long hiatus when all her other books came in regular intervals. So she smoked expensive ganja and wrote that book.

I can believe she plotted them all out.

Reading through, I'm catching bits of foreshadowing and Chekov's Guns which don't happen until several books later. Sirius Black...The cloak of the Deathly Hallows...She even throws in a thing about Snape seeming like he could read minds. Which it turns out he can at least know what's on someone's mind.

And she set up Voldemort's downfall in book 7, back in book 4.

There's just too much foreshadowing and Chekov's Armory going on for me to believe she made it up as she went along.

Parthenon wrote:Maybe it was backlash from the popularity but by the end I just got pissed off at the Harry Potter series, as did most of the people I know. By the 4th or 5th book Harry was being an immature fucktard who expected special behaviour and went into fits of rage when he didn't get his way.

Maybe it's overdone but puberty does that to some people.

Parthenon wrote:Rowling's method of making shit up on the spot instead of making sense and adding things that completely change the world then ignoring them was just stupid and the search for MacGuffins descended into stupidity.

I hated the Hallows, but loved the Horcruxes myself. Apart from that I didn't come across anything I couldn't block out.

Sure, there are lots of minor issues, but nothing so bad it kills the entire story. (Though I would like to know how the fuck owls and house elves pretty much work "no matter what" and nobody ever figured it out. Oh, and I wouldn't mind seeing a couple less animaguses. Time-turners are bad mojo too, but well, that's time travel for you.)

The horcruxes I'm pretty okay with for the most part. I'd rather there were about 5 of them so that the last book didn't end up hugely rushed, but what I'm really talking about is the three incredibly powerful magic items: the invisibility cloak, the wand and the other thing. Can't remember what it was. Err.... no, can't remember it. But while the invisibility cloak was in the first book and was stated to be an heirloom in the last book it suddenly gets raised to be an Artifact, two more get introduced, found and lost and for some reason Hermione, Snape and fuck knows how many others have seen this cloak and not remarked upon the fact that it is Artifact quality. Just like every now and then she introduces a new magic method and suddenly it was always retroactively there.

And while I understand that Harry was going through puberty and so on, he really needed a good smack upside his head every now and then. He keeps getting special treatment for no reason, expects everyone to listen to him and gets what he wants and then whines about how noone listens to him and treats him badly when they treat him like the rest of the students. Surely after having eight years of being neglected, ignored and hated he would be okay with being treated just like everyone else.

Unless of course Rowling was being clever and making it that he always had an unconscious fear of being neglected again, so after all his special treatment whenever he gets treated normally without realising it he gets anxious about his situation. Explains why he always feels he has to get involved: if he doesn't stand out he could get thrown away again. Also explains why he has to get special treatment: everyone is coddling him because otherwise he ends up rocking back and forth in a corner. Heh. That could be cool if there was any such subplot but unfortunately its only in my imagination in the last 5 minutes.

Hmmm... the whole Voldemort thing as a figment of Harry's imagination because he can't stand not getting attention because he's scared that if noones paying attentions he'll end up back in foster care again.

Parthenon wrote:The horcruxes I'm pretty okay with for the most part. I'd rather there were about 5 of them so that the last book didn't end up hugely rushed, but what I'm really talking about is the three incredibly powerful magic items: the invisibility cloak, the wand and the other thing.

The Hallows

As for Harry's behavior - well, there is more than enough teenagers behaving like him, with less reason. So I find him believable - not perfect of course, but that is fine with me.

Anyways, I agree about the Horcruxes feeling rushed (though there only ever were 6 of them, with 2 of them already destroyed by book 6), but it might have worked out if the book was mainly about them, and not about the Hallows. I would have liked it if, say, Harry and friends figured out Voldemort had arranged for a pattern among his Horcruxes and they were 4 Hogwart's founders artifacts in locations significant to the specific founder, the diary and Harry's scar. That is 3 artifacts to guess, plus one suicide - and that sounds like it would fit into one book.

I just checked Perdido Street Station ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perdido_Street_Station ) out from my local library. It was highly recommended in the write-up for a Doom remix ( http://www.ocremix.org/remix/OCR01865/ ), so I did a very mild amount of background research. What I read sounded interesting, and I am feeling fairly optimistic about the book.

Avoraciopoctules wrote:I just checked Perdido Street Station ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perdido_Street_Station ) out from my local library. It was highly recommended in the write-up for a Doom remix ( http://www.ocremix.org/remix/OCR01865/ ), so I did a very mild amount of background research. What I read sounded interesting, and I am feeling fairly optimistic about the book.

It's a great book, but very depressing. You have been warned.

Well been reading a couple of books recently.

currently reading - Great Illustrated Classics Wizard of Oz - This brings back memories of my childhood. My kid is so into this. I"m trying to find the older versions of these books as the art in the new ones are more bland than the old ones. Example: The Haunted forest in the Oz book in the new illustrated version looks chirpy compared to the gothic one in the old one that was taken out of the drawings from the original by Denslow. My kid rather enjoyed the old spooky drawings. She kept pointing the ghosts and such in the tree structures.

Johannes Cabal the necromancer by Jonathan L Howard -- THe book is the standard trade your soul for secrets business. Well Mr. Cabal has regrets now and he wager against Old Nick to get his soul back. It's a fun read. I finished it in about two-three days even in my doped up state. so probably a quick read for most people. The author co-scripted and was one of the programmers one the Broken Sword series of games which gave me no end of joy because I loved those games which means I need to get those cds out and put them in my scummyvm.

Firethorn by Sarah Micklem - Now this is a strange but cool new book. My wife picked it up because she likes her fantasy strong chicks as she put it at one time or another. Firethorn isn't exactly the definition of the fantasy strong chick but she isn't a weak one either. It's a good book. It takes some cues from historical fiction and the rest from fantasy. It's got a crazy voice if that makes any sense whatsoever. The first 30-40 pages might confuse you a bit because it doesn't give much background but then it picks up pace and keeps the pace.

so... I keep resolving that I need to read discworld books... mostly from reading stuff on TV Tropes... So I've decided that I'm buying at least one with my next check.

problem is... it seems there are so many I have no clue where I should start.

So, where should I start?

I would suggest starting with one of the two most popular series.

The Death series about... uh... Death. He's the grim reaper, but he's actually a really lovable guy. Honest. Lots of thoughts about death, the afterlife, and human nature. The series goes as follows:

Mort -> Reaper Man -> Soul Music -> Hogfather -> Thief of Time

Thief of Time is only tangentially related. Soul Music is the most "meh" of the death series to me, but that's mostly because the huge number of music-related jokes and puns flew over my head. Hogfather and Reaper Man are both fantastic (although Reaper Man has a B-storyline that drags a bit). Mort is really needed to introduce the series, but still good on its own.

The other big series is the guards series. It's about a run-down, ignored city watch composed of drifters, in a city where the thieves guild and assassins guild are perfectly legal. Then suddenly, heroics happen.

Guards! Guards! -> Men At Arms -> Feet of Clay -> Jingo -> The Fifth Elephant -> Night Watch -> Thud!

These are all excellent books. I can't say anything bad about any of them. Guards! Guards! starts out strong, and each book just picks up steam, ending in the awesomeness that is Thud!. These are easily my favorite Discworld books.


Those two series are both great starts. There are a few others, but IMO, none nearly as strong as those two. As for stand-alones and short series...

The book Small Gods is a nice standalone book, requiring no Discworld background. In the disc, the more people who worship a god, the stronger he is... Small Gods is about the great god Om, who has an entire country worshiping him, going down to earth... and finding that only one person TRULY worships him. Instead of the form of a mighty gigantic bull, he is instead a mighty... garden turtle.

Once you've gotten a bit into Discworld, and have a good feel for the setting, I would recommend reading The Truth, about the Discworld's first newspaper. It's one of my favorites, but it requires a bit of understanding about how the setting works.

Similiar to The Truth, Going Postal requires a bit of a background and understanding (I'd recommend reading the guards series up until Feet of Clay, at least, for a bit of background). It's about a con artist pressed into running the abandoned post-office, and competing against the robber barons running the "clacks" towers. It's one of the latest, and easily one of the best Discworld books, widely loved. The follow up, Making Money is good, but lacks the magic of Going Postal.

Finally, here's a chart that's a little out of date (I know it's missing Making Money, not sure what else) that provides a bit of a map. You can ignore the minor connections, but the direct connections should generally be read in order.
http://www.lspace.org/books/reading-ord ... de-1-5.jpg

It's worth noting that the first book published was The Color of Magic, followed by The Light Fantastic, the start of the Rincewind series. While they're a good read, and a bit more "classic fantasy", they're nowhere near as compelling and exciting as the later books. I haven't read enough of the Witches series to really comment on it.

Oh, wow. Yeah. DC's right.

Also, what ever you do, don't read the series in order from start to finish. Pick a subseries and go through that.

For a while, I owned every Discworld book.

The Witch books play with fantasy and a literature quite a bit.

Equal Rites (Optional) --> Wyrd Sisters (Think Macbeth/Hamlet) --> Witches Abroad (Fairy Tales/Stories) --> Lords and Ladies (Midsummer Night's Dream) --> Maskerade (Phantom of the Opera) --> Carpe Jugulum (Horror and Vampires).

There's a followup to the Witch books called the Tiffany Aching series. Wee Free Men --> Hat Full of Sky --> Wintersmith

But I'd honestly recommend Small Gods to start with. I've gotten a few people with that.

Other good ones...

Going Postal
Wee Free Men
Night Watch (Yeah, I know. I've still hooked people with it)

And, well, early on Discworld books were pretty simple and fairly crazy.

Once he got going, he started going into satire and became more sophisticated.

The past few books...it's like Pratchett is trying to develop it as its own now.

Also, for bonus points, true dragons and elves are both evil on Discworld. When they're ON the Discworld, anyway.

Small Gods is the best book I've read, ever.
Mort is very good, both in written novel and graphic novel form.
I've only read Guards! Guards! in graphic novel form and couldn't make heads or tails of WTF happens in the book, except that Vetinari is being awesome (again).
The Last Hero is an illustrated novel, meaning that it's fairly short and expensive.

Speaking of illustrated novels, I would also recommend Gerald Brom's The Plucker, a creepy fairytale that is surprisingly thoughtful, soon to be ruined by the movie adaptation.

---

On Harry Potter: I started reading the series with book 4 and liked it, despite having to hear about the kissing part. The three previous books were not good, and the subsequent three were just awful.
I hoped the series would be something like The Three Investigators do MAGIC! Instead, the world is saved by True Wuv, and the fact that it's "foreshadowed" in the first book is supposed to be a sign of great literary talent. Guess what, it's not. The second problem was the lack of sympathetic characters. When the best-written characters are a fucked-up Nazi agent with daddy issues, an even more fucked-up sadistic woman and an actually decent guy who's already dead when he's first mentioned, the book is going nowhere. Excuse me, but I need some heroes to root for.
Which brings me to the final big complaint. People want to root for the underdog. When the author makes it painfully clear that True Wuv conquers all and leaves radioactive ruins in its wake and the villains are incapable of it, guess who's the underdog?

(Which is sort of ironic, since I can't shut up about how awesome Immortal Defense is, and it ends with the hero kicking the shit out of an elder god/demiplane of destruction with True Wuv and plain stubborness.)

Thanks for the recommendations, guys, I'll have to look for Mort, Guards! Guards! and The Colour of Magic when I get my check. I may well pick up all three...

Eh. I really didn't like Color of Magic. I read the series in all kinds of disorder, so when I got around to reading the early books...It just wasn't that impressive. The sequel, Light Fantastic, is good, though.

I still say Small Gods.

Maxus wrote:I still say Small Gods.

Fourthed.

do you really need an order for Pratchett?