TSF Book Club
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@aucklandwarlord emotional article 😢 I think I'd actually read his book. Sounds like a very optimistic young man.
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@r-l said in TSF Book Club:
@aucklandwarlord emotional article 😢 I think I'd actually read his book. Sounds like a very optimistic young man.
Yeah absolutely. Every time I read the social media commentary of "refugees are coming here and bludging off our system", I cringe. Yes, most require a leg-up because they often come with just the clothes on their back, but once they get it, in my experience, they're more motivated than the average to succeed.
Sadly (but unsurprisingly, given the public interest), the media tends to focus on the ones who do behave badly like that lady who tried to hijack the Air NZ plane, at the expense of not telling stories like this.
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@nzzp said in TSF Book Club:
@r-l if you don't actively hate fantasy, read Patrick Rothfuss. The Name Of The Wind, and The Wise Man's Fear. Outstanding - have reread multiple times, bought copies to loan/gift. Exceptional writing.
Don't do it! He still hasn't written the third book in the trilogy, and you might be waiting for a long time for it. He's too busy doing live stream DnD gaming haha
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@R-L Give The Last Thing He Told Me a go. It's not a great book but it's enjoyable and a page turner.
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@machpants ah now I understand why @nzzp keeps rereading it, so he doesn't forget the story whilst waiting for a third.
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I couldn't find a better thread to post this, but this one seemed most appropriate.
The Order of Adjectives: Why It Matters Where You Put Descriptive Words
If you've ever asked yourself why we English-speakers say 'The big black hairy dog' instead of 'The black hairy big dog,' then this post is for you. Three years ago, New York Times writer Matthew Anderson posted this image on his Twitter feed, a statement by author Mark Forsyth from
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Thomas Covenant Chronicles...
I have a vague memory of reading at least one book, perhaps 2 or 3 - of this when I was a kid
But - recently, figured I'd read the entire thing, make sure I've done it properly.
I started this undertaking with some misgivings - I did recall that the protagonist was unlikeable, to say the least. I did remember one particular act from early on, but couldn't remember how on earth he ever came back from that. (If he does?)
I've now gotten to just past that one vile act, and have started thinking... not just is the protagonist a detestable piece of shit... (not just that act, but his constant fucking whinging or feeling-sorry-for-himself)...
And ignoring the absolute nonsensical premise "I reckon this is a dream. But the only way to wake up from it is probably to forge ahead and act as if it isn't."
But more importantly - the writing is atrocious. I was reading it rather intoxicated last night, and then suddenly stopped - re-read the previous several paragraphs to confirm my suspicion... every single fucking sentence had a metaphor and/or a simile.
Today, I read a chapter while sober - and double-checked. Yep... nearly every sentence had BOTH at least one metaphor AND a simile. Just... what the fuck?
I mean - it's fucking impressive, if the fluffybunny managed to write, what... 10? books - in this style. Fucking impressive. But also - fucking tiresome.Anyway - I'm here to ask the Fern's collective wisdom (at least the nerd part) - do I bother continuing? Or am I just throwing potentially-good reading time after bad?
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@Kruse I fucking hated it. I absolutley loathe books where the protagonist doesn't learn or react in a logical way. Sure if it is some great mental health drama. But TC continually acts dumb, denying what he is in the fantasy world despite recognising it's not the real world. So embrace it you tool, you don't have leprosy in this imaginary/alternative world. And when he finally does, he's back to the real world, and starts again from scratch in book 2. So yeah I sturggled through book 1, and gave up very early into book 2. This is a book series that proves the mantra that hgih brow popular with reviewers really means unwatchable/unreadable shit.
A waste of my time and money. Not many books I don't finish TC 2 was one of the few
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If you havent done any Joe Abecrombie. My personal favorite fantasy writer by a long way.
I read soley fantasy and scifi for the most part.
Abercrombies first law trilogy, followed by 3 stand-alones and a sequel trilogy are all ranging from good to brilliant. First book starts slow though. Some of my favorite characters.
Plot is game of thrones lite, setting is very gloomy and funny. -
Joe Abercrombie, Anthony Ryan, Mark Lawrence - all fucking good recent nerd-fiction.
Unless somebody chimes in and reckons I've made a mistake, I've decided to cancel the 2nd attempt at Thomas Covenant. Gonna reset my brain with some proper trash... Jack Carr looks proper brain-wipe material... and then maybe have a go at a classic or two.
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@Kruse said in TSF Book Club:
Joe Abercrombie, Anthony Ryan, Mark Lawrence - all fucking good recent nerd-fiction.
Unless somebody chimes in and reckons I've made a mistake, I've decided to cancel the 2nd attempt at Thomas Covenant. Gonna reset my brain with some proper trash... Jack Carr looks proper brain-wipe material... and then maybe have a go at a classic or two.
There is something fucking wrong in Stephen Donaldson's head aye.
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@mariner4life said in TSF Book Club:
@Kruse said in TSF Book Club:
Joe Abercrombie, Anthony Ryan, Mark Lawrence - all fucking good recent nerd-fiction.
Unless somebody chimes in and reckons I've made a mistake, I've decided to cancel the 2nd attempt at Thomas Covenant. Gonna reset my brain with some proper trash... Jack Carr looks proper brain-wipe material... and then maybe have a go at a classic or two.
There is something fucking wrong in Stephen Donaldson's head aye.
I prefered his Gap Cycle, but that was still weird as fuck. And sci fi sick!
Anyway, maybe there is hope for A Song of Ice and Fire. In GRRM's latest blog he said about a recently deceased fellow writer
He had been working on a novel called BLACK TRAIN COMING even longer than I have been working on THE WINDS OF WINTER. It would be great if one of his writer friends finishes it for him.
GRRM is on record as saying he will finish the series or it won't get finished. But maybe we'll get a Wheel of Time situation...
The only way I think it will be finished is an excellent writer like Sanderson sorts it and finishes it for him.
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@Kruse I read the first six books when they first came out but didn't even realise that he hadn't written another four.
Fantasy in the 70's didn't have a history of anti-hero's and he did sort of try and address adult themes. My recollection is the first trilogy is a redemption arc and the second one inverts it. He comes back aeons later and is the true believer in a land that is the anti-thesis of everything he 'fought' for in the first three books.
I think I was probably too young to recognise it for the bs it was. I certainly couldn't stomach any of Donaldson's other books that I later tried to read
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I just finished Bravo 3 Zero, by Des Powell (ex SAS) and Damien Lewis
I never realised it existed, but this is related to the more famous, Bravo 2 Zero, in fact, there was a Bravo 1 Zero too that were all sent out on that same night as B20.
Good read, and puts B20 into way more context and how much of a clusterfuck it was sending those patrols out.
Read a few other books by Damien Lewis, mainly in the non-fiction, war genre
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@Nevorian said in TSF Book Club:
Good read for horse fans and even non horse fans, great hard work pays off story about Chris Waller
Never seen a biography on a horse before.
Probably more entertaining than some sports biographies I’ve read to be fair.
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This, and Vol 2, are absolutely top notch. But he's doing a Jordan/Martin time scale on book 3!
Amazon.com: The War in the West - A New History: Volume 1: Germany Ascendant 1939-1941 (War in the West a New History) eBook : Holland, James: Kindle Store