While I wasn't overly impressed with "Armageddon 2419 A.D." (which includes "The Airlords of Han") I think that Limeylongears' description is just a tad harsh.
And about that scene where the Hans try to interrogate Anthony Rogers by making a female Han seduce him, that almost worked. It WOULD have worked, if he hadn't sensed the revulsion for him that she hadn't concealed quite perfectly. I repeat that SHE found HIM repulsive, not vice versa, as Limeylongears implied. (And obviously, Wilma was a girl too.)
As for the racism, the author seemed to try to repent for that at the end of "The Airlords of Han". He wrote that the alien Hans were a menace to all of humanity, including the Mongolians, the first victims of their conquest of the Earth, and Wilma helped them to recover from the war just as she helped everyone else.
Or at least, that's the way I remember the book. I'll admit that it's been many years since I read it.
Into the Black, book one of the Odyssey One series by Evan Currie.
A bit harder than the level of sci-fi than I'm used to. Not too much so though.
While I wasn't overly impressed with "Armageddon 2419 A.D." (which includes "The Airlords of Han") I think that Limeylongears' description is just a tad harsh.
** spoiler omitted **
Or at least, that's the way I remember the book. I'll admit that it's been many years since I read it.
The plot summary shouldn't be taken entirely seriously ;)
I probably am being a bit harsh, as you say, but she only doesn't seduce him because she let the naked horror of her soul creep into her eyes for just one unguarded instant - could mean she found him repulsive, but I interpreted it otherwise - and because of Wilma's faith in him. I now keep picturing the hero as Fred Flintstone, too, which doesn't do much for suspending disbelief, etc (WIIILLMMMAAAA!).No idea it was part of a larger work - that helps to put it in context, though I did still find it to be a bit too much of a 21st-century weapons catalogue for my tastes.
No idea it was part of a larger work...
It is true, though. I always knew I wasn't the only one whose first association with the name Wilma was the Flintstones, which kind of makes all other uses of the name seem silly to me. That includes the Wilma of all the incarnations of the "Buck Rogers" story I've seen - and I've seen quite a few. It even kept me from taking Hurricane Wilma as seriously as I should have.
If I recall correctly (having read this almost a decade ago, if I'm not mistaken), Paolini's Eragon was published largely if not solely because his parents are in the business and got him his big break. Goodness knows he certainly didn't merit it then on his demonstrated talent with that book, "'Cause ... damn."Sounds... lovely. Well, kind of how I felt about seeing Eragon.'Airlords of Han' is turning out to be the first attempt at writing a story by an excitable (and very right-wing) seven year old boy.
** spoiler omitted **
That would make it more comprehensible, yes. Three horrible scenes: Dragon poofing into adult. Eragon saying "We can only be together if I am as powerful as you" to dragon, and dragon melting rock burial mound into glass moments after saying "I can't dothat because my fire isn't hot enough to kill yet..."
Wait, Eragon is Alfie Allen, not the CGI dragon; Like, the dude ride the dragon, and not the dragon? Never mind reading the book, I should probably just watch the movie with the sound on to learn the characters' names. If you interpret that sentence to mean that I was so unimpressed with the visuals of the movie that I neither read the book, nor was even interested enough to turn on the dialog, I will not correct you. ;)
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'Airlords of Han' is turning out to be the first attempt at writing a story by an excitable (and very right-wing) seven year old boy.
** spoiler omitted **
So... basically like 75% of all military sci-fi?
In our current campaign set in Pezzack, "Buck Rogers" is a cleric of Milani and a sympathizing member of the Bellflower Network.
Vive le Pezzack!
I now keep picturing the hero as Fred Flintstone, too, which doesn't do much for suspending disbelief, etc (WIIILLMMMAAAA!).
I've been reading Story Physics, which uses The Hunger Games as an example of outstanding plot construction, so I bought all 3 books in the series and read them yesterday. Though they aren't my favorite books, I can see how the plotting works and works well.That's the problem with them, you can see the cogs and gears poking out all over the place.
And it is so structurally repetitive.
You forgot the heavy-handed foreshadowing and symbolism, because everyone knows you must BEAT YOUNG adults OVER the HEAD with the POINT. I was ready to set Katniss afire meself.
Do you know what happened the last time someone dissed Katniss in this thread?
Well, let's put it this way: Kirth Gersen didn't post for a month.
Vive le Katniss!
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I remember first seeing Eragon on the shelf at a bookstore. I turned and said to Mrs Gersen, "Yeah, the sequel is called Fragon, and the end of the trilogy is Gragon."
And obviously you missed the first 4 books.
I figured there was an initial trilogy, yeah. But, honestly, how lame would it be to name a book Dragon? That's just crazy talk. I'm glad he skipped that letter.
I never read or saw Eragon. The Black Goblin reported that the book was awesome and the movie blew, but I never believed him about the former.
I could easily click on the link for myself, of course, but in order to have something to say (I haven't been reading anything other than commie propaganda for too long, alas. Still have four chapters to go in The Lost World and I haven't even finished the first story in Knights and Knaves--and it's only 19 pages!):
I have picked up quite a few Steven Brust books at various library sales and Goodwill locations over the past couple of years based entirely on your proselytizing, Kirth, but haven't yet read a single one. Where should I start?
I have picked up quite a few Steven Brust books at various library sales and Goodwill locations over the past couple of years based entirely on your proselytizing, Kirth, but haven't yet read a single one. Where should I start?
Dude's a big-time Trotskyist, so I'm kind of surprised you've never read his stuff. Hmmm...
So as not to launch into a large series, I'd start with his independent ones first. Cowboy Feng's Space Bar and Grill would be my #1 pick out of those. That said, literary-wise, The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars is probably better, but nowhere near as fun. People rave about To Reign in Hell, but I was never able to finish it. Agyar is a vampire love story done pretty well, but if you want crazy love-hate stuff, The Incrementalists is very hard to beat.
OK, series-wise, Jhereg was the first Vlad novel published (actually, his first novel published, period), so if you want an easy intro to his usual setting and characters, that's where to go -- although, that said, he learned a lot about writing in the intervening years, so it's not really among his best, literary-wise. Of that series, I loved Jhegaala, Orca, and Athyra the best. In Teckla, Vlad has to deal with a worldwide workers' revolution, so that's always fun for Commie Gobbos, but it won't make any sense at all unless you've read the series up until then.
The Khaavren Romances started off a lot of fun: The Phoenix Guards and Five Hundred Years After, but they're specifically meant for hardcore Dumas fans like me, and not really for a general audience.
Into the Black, book one of the Odyssey One series by Evan Currie.
A bit harder than the level of sci-fi than I'm used to. Not too much so though.
Finished, it was fun. Onto the second of the quartet, The Heart of Matter.
Dude's a big-time Trotskyist, so I'm kind of surprised you've never read his stuff. Hmmm...
Huh. I had no idea.
As it turns out, the only two I can find on my shelves (will have to look through my boxes) are Teckla and Yendi.
[Brust skips McKillip on the to-read list]
Damn, I sure enjoyed McKillip, too.
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'Airlords of Han' had a bit at the end reading
1) Young Thongor, by Lin Carter
2) Opium by Jean Cocteau
3) Voyage to the Moon, by Lucian of Samosata.
1) Young Thongor, by Lin Carter
2) Opium by Jean Cocteau
3) Voyage to the Moon, by Lucian of Samosata.
I am impressed and, dare I say it?, aroused.
"Woah"
"Huh?"
"The goblin is a roused!"
"Huh?"
"Like, woah. The goblin is a roused, man!"
"What's a roused, dude?"
"Uh... Uhhh... I dunno, man"
"Cool"
Thankyou, Col. Oliver North and Ann Coulter.
In other news, 'Opium' is very fun to read and has pictures.
So when I finish the Odyssey One series, I'm thinking of finally - after years of procrastination - diving into the Star Wars EU books. Anyone here have recommendations of where to start, especially for someone who's interested in keeping things (somewhat/mostly) chronological?
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McKillip is one of the best writers -- not just fantasy writers, but writers -- out there, so it's a shame to skip her.
Confession: My comment about skipping McKillip was an (unsuccessful) attempt to gently rib Lord Dice who tried to get me to read her around this time last year.
Although, I do think my next fantasy book is definitely going to be The Princess and the Goblin. I hear it's naughty.
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Y'know Doodles, I hadn't posted anything because I was like, "I've mentioned McKillip to him before, but there's no way he said that specifically just bother me; it's not all about me."
. . .
But goblins fight dirty, and it was about about me.
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Reading for Foner's class has taken up most of my time. I haven't finished either of these because they weren't entirely assigned and I wanted to juggle the assignments better rather than power through. Also suspect future chapters for the class on the war itself.
Inhuman Bondage: The Rise and Fall of Slavery in the New World by David Brion Davis. This book is amazing. It's got everything. Slavery in Africa. Enslavement of Slavs in Spain and Italy. The origins of antiblack racism. The abolitionist movement in the British Empire. Haiti. It's like a candy store but with slavery.
The Republic in Crisis by John Ashworth. Started with grand claims about being a new interpretation that placed slave resistance at the center of the narrative. It hasn't lived up to the hype, though it does have a lot more intellectual history than the standard survey of the same material. It suffers badly from spending more time alluding to events so it can skip ahead to reaction to them rather than explaining what happened, which is fine for me but I suspect would leave readers taking it cold with barely a high school level understanding of the major issues. There's room for books like this, but William W. Freehling did it much better, if in about five times as many pages and without handling the Northern side.
Coming up:
The Counter-Revolution of Slavery: Politics and Ideology in Antebellum South Carolina by Manisha Sinha
The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery by Foner.
Probably not going to buy it:
The Civil War and Reconstruction: A Document Collection. Couldn't order a copy from the local bookstore and Amazon wants quite a lot for a thirteen year old collection of primary sources, some of which I know from lectures that I've read already. I iron-assed my way through the whole damned Appeal of the Independent Democrats, TINY print, and this thing only has an abridgment. If assignments were by document name, I wouldn't even think of getting it.
Need to get back to:
Bleeding Kansas: Contested Liberty in the Civil War Era by Nichole Etcheson.
and it was about about me.
Us solipsists gotta stick together, Dicey!
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Finished 'Opium' and am now onto L. Sprague De Camp's 'The Unbeheaded King', inbetween bites of Medieval Warfare magazine. (Lucian and Thongor are for workday lunchtimes, fnar fnar) I find MW's problem page to be particularly helpful.
"Dear Auntie Jeanne,
My boyfriend wishes me to love him to the full, but I honestly want to be wedded in white. What should I do?
'Worried of Krak De Chevaliers'
Dear 'Worried',
I consulted the Voices, and they told me to tell you:
"Hittim in the b*llocks with a bec de corbin
Hittim in the b*llocks with a bec de corbin
Hittim in the b*llocks with a bec de corbin
Earl-aye in the morning"
But don't hit him too hard, or you may find married life to be a bit of a disappointment.
Yours,
Auntie Jeanne"
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Over the past year or so, I've mentioned in several posts on this thread reading the "Jeeves and Wooster" saga by P. G. Wodehouse. After reading the first 33 short stories and the first 9 novels, I felt that the series was losing it, so instead of proceeding further, I went back to the beginning, re-reading the 33 short stories and starting on the novels.
Well, I was wondering what other good Wodehouse stuff would be fun, so I tried 3 novels not related to the Jeeves stories.
First, I read "The Little Nugget". The first two thirds (or thereabouts) of the novel was fun. Peter Burns was similar to Bertie Wooster in some ways, but his greater physical prowess made for some pretty thrilling action scenes, and I don't normally enjoy scenes like those. The book wound down in the last third, though. You know what I think the problem was?
I think the novel needed a Jeeves.
I'm serious. With only a Jeeves to advise him, Burns might not have...
Next, I tried "Piccadilly Jim", which turned out better. For a while there, it seemed impossible for that mess of subplots to come to a satisfactory conclusion, but somehow, Wodehouse managed to wrap it all up neatly. Well... almost. There were a few little snags. For instance, why did...
But unlike many of the Jeeves books, these other books were leaving me with no desire to read them a second time.
Finally, I had to give "Something New" a second chance, just because, second to Jeeves, Wodehouse's most famous creation is supposed to be Blandings Castle. You may recall, earlier in this thread, I mentioned trying to read it, and not getting very far. I thought that there were too many characters, and I had no idea about which one(s) I was supposed to care. I took a quick glance at the Wikipedia entry and read "The gardens of Blandings Castle are that original garden from which we are all exiled." Well... okay. When I read the Jeeves books, much of the appeal was that I wished I could live a carefree life like Bertie Wooster, with a Jeeves to solve all my problems. Or I might wish I had Jeeves' cleverness. I guess that when reading the Blandings Castle books, I'm supposed to wish, in a similar way, that I could be there at the castle. I'll buy that.
So I started "Something New" all over again, this time managing to get most of the way through the book. Eventually, it became clear that Ashe was supposed to be the main point-of-view character. (That wasn't clear in the beginning, when we see from so many other characters' points of view.) But I still have the same essential complaints: too many characters, and not enough reason to care about any of them.
And how is Blandings Castle supposed to be a paradise?!? The complicated pecking order and rules of etiquette are exactly the kind of garbage in life I read novels to try to escape! That stuff horrified Ashe, too, and the reader is supposed to LIKE this?!? Okay, so Ashe eventually managed by establishing himself as a comedian, but still, I just don't see the appeal of the setting.
So I gave up on "Something New" and resumed my re-reading of the Jeeves material. I'm now 2 pages away from finishing "Right Ho, Jeeves".
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Been a while since I had access to the internet, but I have not been idle. Finished rereading EYE OF THE WORLD (WHEEL OF TIME #1), read HOSTS (REPAIRMAN JACK #5) to rest myself a bit, and dove back into WoT with the second book, THE GREAT HUNT, which I am currently reading.
Rereading wheel of time is an interesting experience. My first read (which stopped somewhere around book #7 because of exhaustion with the never-ending story) I was really young, like 14 years old or something. Back then I remember really sympathizing Rand and his male teenage friends. Their social awkwardness and amazement with the outside world really struck a chord with me back then.
This time around I see them for what they are and for what the author intended them to be - three country oafs fumbling their way through a world that is larger and far more sophisticated than their simple homes. My favorite character this time around is by far Moiraine - her quest to find the young boys and shelter them from the Dark One kept getting more and more complicated throughout the book, and often by elements she couldn't control or - even worse - because the very people she was trying to save were mistrusting her (like when Rand, Mat and Perrin decided not to give her the crucial information that they have been having nightmares). Her mental flexibility and cool resolve were truly impressive.
A side note on Robert Joorden's spoof with presenting women. So the women in WoT are for the most part vocal, proactive and assertive. It seems like every wife, cook or Wisdom has complete dominance over her house-hold, workplace, village, etc. That is not a problem on it's own, of course. The problem is that it seems that even though the men in that world find the women's behavior normal and acceptable, they still relegate those women to a lower class than men. If a man is willing to listen to the opinion of a woman and take her seriously (unlike the sad reality of our own world's dark ages), why is she still part of a lower social class? why is she the cook and not the innkeeper? If the Wisdom can sit in the council, why can't other women? why is there a separate council and women's circle? Had the book shown women to be repressed - similarly to how they were in our world - those things would make sense. But since they are not, it does not make sense for them to not take a more equal part of society.
A weak entry in the Repairman Jack series is still a furiously readable book that I rattled off in a couple of days. I don't like this book much - Jack is less awesome than he was in the previous couple, as he is faced with a problem he really is not equipped to handle - a medical challenge. Both the book's main and side plot ended at the same moment in a disappointing manner that did not seem like a fitting conclusion to either, and rather felt like a rash way to reach the end of the story.
As far as the bigger story goes - with the conflict between the ally and the otherness - it seems that the story is gearing towards severing all of Jack's ties to the everyday world - "A Spear has no Branches" seems to me like a way to say that in order to hone Jack as a perfect weapon, he needs to have no baggage with him. I really hope that does not mean that his entire family and friends get killed, because that will be depressing.
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A book of limericks, called 'There was a young lady...', with quite a few in I've never seen before. However, they've replaced all the rude words with asterisks, so I'm diligently filling them in as I go.
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Currently listening to: Weaveworld by Clive Barker, narrated by Simon Vance (who has a voice I can only describe as smooth auditory butter... I'd like to pay him to narrate my life for me)
Currently reading: Isle of the Dead by Roger Zelazny (I say currently, I mean I literally read the first page about 30 minutes ago while I was waiting to get access to a microwave at work, and will be starting it properly tonight)
Mercedes Lackey just put out a new book that is a sequel to the Collegium series called Closer to Home: Book One of Herald Spy.
I'm afraid I am either a fast reader or just enthusiastic. I will be done with this one soon.
I think I saw a Trek book by David Mack.....
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Reading Egil's Saga out loud to newborn Baby Gersen seems to calm her down a lot, so that's been my only reading for the past couple of days. She became very annoyed when Bard died, and seems none too happy with the death of Thorolf.
Luckily, the genealogies of the people of Iceland put her right to sleep.
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I am thinking of reading Joe Abercrombie's First Law Trilogy has anyone read it? Wondering what people think of it.
Read the first book and really loved it. At first I wasn't too hot on it because it lacks a plot and the setting is the most classic, been-there-done-that fantasy setting you ever heard of. But it's very well written, has awesome action scenes and is often funny. I'd recommend that you give it a try.
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A good week for picking up inexpensive reading material in charity shops:
I Knew a Young Lady Who.. - Yorkshire Cat's Protection League (99p)
Lies of Locke Lamora and A History of Tea - Helping Hands (50p each)
Das Krapital (Roger's Profanisaurus) - British Heart Foundation (£2.50)
The latter is one of my favourite books of all time, being a huge compendium (?) of indecent words, phrases and expressions, very few of which would be at all appropriate for sharing on paizo.com. However, if anybody has ever cried 'Begone, Demon Lord of Karanga!' after disposing of a particularly arduous bowel evacuation, consider yourself congratulated.
I am thinking of reading Joe Abercrombie's First Law Trilogy has anyone read it? Wondering what people think of it.
I highly enjoyed The First Law Trilogy and the two stand-alone follow up books in the same world.
The players of Giles O. Beck and Genny the halfling gunslinger who hates her brother read all those and the one after that and gave them all "thumbs up."
I am thinking of reading Joe Abercrombie's First Law Trilogy has anyone read it? Wondering what people think of it.I highly enjoyed The First Law Trilogy and the two stand-alone follow up books in the same world.
The players of Giles O. Beck and Genny the halfling gunslinger who hates her brother read all those and the one after that and gave them all "thumbs up."
Yup, seconded. I love the trilogy. Haven't read the stand alone books yet, but one of the guys here at work has and says they're great.
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A good week for picking up inexpensive reading material in charity shops:
I Knew a Young Lady Who.. - Yorkshire Cat's Protection League (99p)
Lies of Locke Lamora and A History of Tea - Helping Hands (50p each)
Das Krapital (Roger's Profanisaurus) - British Heart Foundation (£2.50)The latter is one of my favourite books of all time, being a huge compendium (?) of indecent words, phrases and expressions, very few of which would be at all appropriate for sharing on paizo.com. However, if anybody has ever cried 'Begone, Demon Lord of Karanga!' after disposing of a particularly arduous bowel evacuation, consider yourself congratulated.
Ah, Viz! I wonder if that's humour which travels well?
redrum
I've always been fond of a good red rum, yeeessss. Another, bartender!
Been a while since I had access to the internet, but I have not been idle. Finished rereading EYE OF THE WORLD (WHEEL OF TIME #1), read HOSTS (REPAIRMAN JACK #5) to rest myself a bit, and dove back into WoT with the second book, THE GREAT HUNT, which I am currently reading.
** spoiler omitted **...
I'll give you my response to your WoT thoughts. The women are still separate from the men because they want to be separate. They take "women's" jobs because they firmly believe that the men will royally foul things up and destroy things again. The women let the men believe they are in charge because it gives them (the women) that much more control. They work to not destroy the fragile male ego because they've seen what happens when they do. Far from being second class citizens, they are more like the Illuminati of the world, controlling everything from behind the scenes with a light touch.
Just finished The Myth of Sysiphus last night. As with any philosophical work, there were some things worth agreeing with and other things not. It was worth having read just to add another piece to the puzzle.
Moving on now to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
Ah, Viz! I wonder if that's humour which travels well?A good week for picking up inexpensive reading material in charity shops:
I Knew a Young Lady Who.. - Yorkshire Cat's Protection League (99p)
Lies of Locke Lamora and A History of Tea - Helping Hands (50p each)
Das Krapital (Roger's Profanisaurus) - British Heart Foundation (£2.50)The latter is one of my favourite books of all time, being a huge compendium (?) of indecent words, phrases and expressions, very few of which would be at all appropriate for sharing on paizo.com. However, if anybody has ever cried 'Begone, Demon Lord of Karanga!' after disposing of a particularly arduous bowel evacuation, consider yourself congratulated.
Wonder no more - the answer is almost certainly (obviously) 'no' ;)
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I'll give you my response to your WoT thoughts. The women are still separate from the men because they want to be separate. They take "women's" jobs because they firmly believe that the men will royally foul things up and destroy things again. The women let the men believe they are in charge because it gives them (the women) that much more control. They work to not destroy the fragile male ego because they've seen what happens when they do. Far from being second class citizens, they are more like the Illuminati of the world, controlling everything from behind the scenes with a light touch.Been a while since I had access to the internet, but I have not been idle. Finished rereading EYE OF THE WORLD (WHEEL OF TIME #1), read HOSTS (REPAIRMAN JACK #5) to rest myself a bit, and dove back into WoT with the second book, THE GREAT HUNT, which I am currently reading.
** spoiler omitted **...
Unlikely.