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What are you reading? — Page 50

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JadedSkywalker said:

I started reading Brandon Sanderson’s Wheel of Time trilogy, and it immediately dawned on me he doesn’t use the same word style as Robert Jordan I was taken right out of the book.

Not sure if i’ll be able to finish them. He admits in the introduction he wasn’t going to be writing in Jordan’s style.

Sanderson does have a consistent style.

I’m currently reading the Steelheart trilogy after finishing the Mistborn trilogy for the second time and reading the first two books of the Starsight trilogy. After that I’ll be reading Elantris. In his books I’ve found that he never fails to construct decent plots around believable worldbuilding. The characters can sometimes be a bit flat, but it’s not the worst problem in the world.

You probably don’t recognize me because of the red arm.
Episode 9 Rewrite, The Starlight Project (Released!) and ANH Technicolor Project (Released!)

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JadedSkywalker said:

Can someone recommend some science fiction or fantasy?

I haven’t read anything new in a couple decades in these genres beyond GRRM.

Once upon a time i used to read every new book my library brought in. Amazingly i was much more busy back then and still found more time to read than i do now.

Its easy to get comfortable and reread stuff you are familiar with. In Lieu of any such recommendations i’ve began re-reading Mary Stewart’s Merlin Trilogy and Le Morte D’Arthur. I never finished the Winchester version and i figure i might as well finish the second half of that. I’ve read the complete Caxton.

I’m very late to this, but two sci-fi books I read last year I really liked: Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood and The Dispossessed by Ursula K Le Guin. Oryx and Crake (definitely the more well-known of the two) chronicles a man’s life story before and after an apocalypse, heavy on the science and with some of the best worldbuilding in a novel I’ve experienced; it’s also morbid as hell and if you’re desperate to avoid anything that reminds you of the pandemic, I’d maybe give it a miss. The Dispossessed is a sci-fi book that FEELS more like fantasy, at least to me - in fact, I thought it was until Earth is mentioned near the end. In a solar system of two neighbouring, opposing planets, it follows Shevek - a galactically famous physicist - as he becomes the first man to travel to the other planet to spread his theories and open minds. He gets caught up in a political game, and the novel is packed with thoughtful political commentary - but it’s never obtrusive or dull. The Dispossessed is one of my favourite books now. There are other novels set in the same universe, but they’re all distinct and you don’t have to read those to understand this book.

“Remember, the Force will be with you. Always.”

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I dug out my Dolphin Edition of Fellowship of the Ring from 1970 from Ballantine Books. I forgot how long the introduction is. It takes forever even before you get to Bilbo’s birthday party.

I’m rereading because i just watched the first film. Wish there was a facsimile of the first edition text like their is for the Hobbit.

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JadedSkywalker said:

Can someone recommend some science fiction or fantasy?

I haven’t read anything new in a couple decades in these genres beyond GRRM.

Once upon a time i used to read every new book my library brought in. Amazingly i was much more busy back then and still found more time to read than i do now.

Its easy to get comfortable and reread stuff you are familiar with. In Lieu of any such recommendations i’ve began re-reading Mary Stewart’s Merlin Trilogy and Le Morte D’Arthur. I never finished the Winchester version and i figure i might as well finish the second half of that. I’ve read the complete Caxton.

Foundation, Foundation and Empire, Second Foundation - Asimov
Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson
Lost Stars - Claudia Gray
The Expanse Series - James S. A. Corey

I’m currently reading The Expanse books, but I just got a copy of The Three Body Problem - Liu Cixin. Can’t wait to get started on it.

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Huxley, Aldous - Antic Hay

Bored with teaching, Theodore Gumbril resigns from the school in order to …
He’s not quite sure. Money would be nice, more rather than less.
Brainstorm flash, Theodore decides to make and market pneumatic pants, an inflatable bottom for bony arsed wearers.
This is the funniest line in the novel, along with marketing expert who knows every trick to convince distracted buyers that pneumatic pants are must-own accessories!
The novel itself is a prickly experience.
Set after the Great War (never mentioned), the main characters, once Bright Young Things, are aimless and adrift. Nothing seems to engage them.
They are affluent. No need of employment to distract their moods or occupy their time.
By and large, they ridicule and belittle others – friends and associates.
Few characters emerge as sympathetic, nor is there enough “character” in any to admire or despise.

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Spiess, Christian Heinrich - The Dwarf Of Westerbourg

Good knight Rudolph comes into his inheritance, which includes a magical dwarf who has been advising and serving the Westerbourg crest for centuries.
Rudolph is an earnest knight, more concerned with tournaments and conflicts, than romance.
The dwarf, Peter, gradually shifts his eye towards the fairer sex, those of pure innocence.
From then on, Rudolph steps down an ever steepening slope, pursuing and possessing the virtuous.
Maiden after maiden, each displacing the other in terms of unequaled beauty.
Time and again, Rudolph has moral arguments with himself, yet – to be honest dear reader – he has the resolve (and IQ) of a biscuit.
An incredibly funny book, roaring with adventures, swinging from macabre to preposterous.
Influential on Lewis’ “The Monk” and Radcliffe’s “The Mysteries Of Udolpho.”

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I’ve never read that one. I’ve read Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, And Julius Caesar. And Henry the V.

Haven’t read a midsummer nights dream, the tempest, or Macbeth. Yet.

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JadedSkywalker said:

I’ve never read that one. I’ve read Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, And Julius Caesar. And Henry the V.

Haven’t read a midsummer nights dream, the tempest, or Macbeth. Yet.

You should read King Leer

I’m just a simple man trying to make my way in the universe.

Star Wars has 3 eras: The eras are 1977-1983(pre Expanded Universe), (1983-2014) expanded universe, or (2014- now) Disney-bought version. Each are valid.

Important voice tool:
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/1472151/action/topic#1472151

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Just bought Jonathan Rinzler’s definitive books for A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back as they were on sale for Star Wars Day! Super excited to go even deeper into the films and learn a thing or two! Hopefully I can add Return of the Jedi in the not too distant future as well.

“Heroes come in all sizes, and you don’t have to be a giant hero. You can be a very small hero. It’s just as important to understand that accepting self-responsibility for the things you do, having good manners, caring about other people - these are heroic acts. Everybody has the choice of being a hero or not being a hero every day of their lives.” - George Lucas

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The making of Star Wars wouldn’t have been possible without the work of Charley Lippincott and his contemporary interviews which he was never paid royalties for on the sale of that book, not when Lucas owned Lucasfilm and not under Disney. A man written out of the history of Star Wars much like Marcia Lucas and Gary Kurtz.

RIP Charley.

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Curran, Tim - Worm

The first few chapters, we are briefly introduced to the meals … oops … characters.
The small residential burg is shaken by quakes, the ground boils open, and slippery, rank black ooze spreads.
Worse, this occurs within homes, as sinks, drains and toilets belch forth the subterranean vomit.
Mr. Curran has tapped into a childhood fear. Going to the toilet in the middle of the night, when creatures, horrible creatures, wriggle in the shadowy bowl.

Somewhere, James Herbert is going, “Way to go, mate.”

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Crowther, Peter - The Longest Single Note

Generous, very generous collection from Mr. Crow, who bears a hybrid of UK and USA styles.
Most of the stories are very good, honing in on isolated and disenfranchised souls, watching death in action.
“Gallagher’s Arm” is overtly Lovecraftian, in setting, in tone, in subject matter.
In “Home Comforts,” father and daughter drive cross country, post epidemic, scrounging food and fuel where they can, yet ever searching for the villain who traumatized the girl.
“Shatsi” observes the kidnapper, actually cat-napper, a smooth planner who knows the score. A hard boiled alley of the deluded.
“Too Short A Death,” one of the longer tales, is haunting. The reporter (fan) tries to find the obscure poet (Weldon Kees) who had vanished mysteriously.
In “Forest Plains,” a tribal member rolls easy into the sleepy backwater. The town is dying, bypassed by the Inter-State highway. Not that all dead, or dying, are at peace.
Mine is a Cemetery Dance edition, published in the 1990’s, when that publisher boasted an impressive run of authors and titles.

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Just added these books. I’m really looking forward to delving in and gaining a greater cultural understanding of traditions in old Russia through art and folklore. It helps they won’t be misinformed accounts as they were both published in Russia.

“Heroes come in all sizes, and you don’t have to be a giant hero. You can be a very small hero. It’s just as important to understand that accepting self-responsibility for the things you do, having good manners, caring about other people - these are heroic acts. Everybody has the choice of being a hero or not being a hero every day of their lives.” - George Lucas

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McCammon, Robert - The Providence Rider

Recent installment of novels following Matthew Corbett, and direct sequel to Mister Slaughter.
This time out, “problem solver” Corbett was kidnapped by arch nemesis Professor Fell.
Settings shift from New York in Winter, to the high seas of the Atlantic, into Bermuda. Time - 1703 - 1704.
Cutthroats, smugglers, blackmailers, arms peddlers, and the embrace of the octopus, hem Corbett from all sides in Fell’s palace of traps.
As always with McCammon, the book was well crafted, with a wonderful eye for 1704. Queen Anne sat on the English throne, New York was still a colony, recently taken from the Dutch. Slaves and servants were commonplace.
Nice entertaining read, and no, one does not have to read the previous books, of which there are several.

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Bell, Peter - The Light Inaccessible

For the right audience, this collection of short essays is nothing short of magical.
Most of us might visit the Hebrides once, if we are lucky, and pray for passable weather.
Mr. Bell has apparently been there numerous times, and explored near and far.
His essays capture the legends and superstitions. Memorable inhabitants, bitter history (such as the Clearances).
As always, there is a spectacular, if harsh environment. Miserable weather followed by perfection.

Human signposts disappearing into the sands, homes collapsing into the earth, meanwhile reclaimed by wilder animals.
And the light. No one who has ever visited can forget the constant shadings of light and color.
A gorgeous Zagava book, Jonas has also provided stark black and white photographs.

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Howard, John - The Voice Of The Air

Three novellas with architect Dr. Cristian Luca.
One set during “Greater Romania,” after the Great War with rumblings of WWII.
The second is set following the war, a nation behind the Iron Curtain.
The third, much later, finds a nation accustomed to the yoke, beginning to rebuild.
In the second work, Luca protects a time box, a battered biscuit tin, holding treasure.
Faded photos, postcards, torn maps, fragments of correspondence. Each item, carefully pulled out, examined, evokes memories.
Streams course throughout of what is lost, how one adapts, or fans new dreams into flame.
As an architect, Luca is a master of the line, and an adept of the space between the lines.
That, is the powerful magic of the book. The suspension of space.
The first two novellas were originally issued in editions now impossibly rare and priced accordingly.
Egaeus offers those, and the third, in this reasonably priced edition.

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Cantwell, Adam - Urx Quonox

I was unsure what this was about, but bought it on faith (after ascertaining it was not poetry).
Three florid, if harsh, tales of Grasm. Warrior, mercenary, barbarian, freelance blade.
Somewhat in the sword and sorcery genre, though there is little of the latter.
What there is, is frank carnality.
This ain’t Howard, this ain’t Leiber, and it ain’t p.c.
The first tale, “The Monarch In Disarray,” is the longest, and arguably the best.
A well strategized assassination hit. Deep in the bowels of the fortress, where an orgy is ongoing, has been ongoing for days, perhaps weeks.
The scene reeks of sweat, musk and semen, soured perfume and spilled wine.
Once the hour falls, the flash of steel, followed hotly by blood madness.
“Cities Below The Strand” pales in comparison. Too short, barely more than a sketch. To be blunt, it lacks substance.
Better by far, “Scream Of The Blue Jay,” finds Grasm in a prison cell or hospital ward, weak and utterly fatigued.
For better or worse (for Grasm), his hearing works fine, and he endures a nonstop babble from the other man in his chamber.
The man vents a stream, lamenting position lost, seething jealousy, retribution.
One wonders how much is madness, how much is delusion, how much is rage.
All of these are wrought in Cantwell’s rolling style. Two are standout efforts.
Blood and sinew, best suited to palates of tainted tastes.

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Chris Kattan Baby dibt hurt me
Tracey Morgan The new black
Read all 3 artie lange books and Howard stern books this summer already

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Currently reading Ciaran Carson’s translation of the Tain Bo Cuailnge, a book of Irish mythology featuring the legend Cu Chulainn. He does a great job of the translation, despite the experimental poetry which I find frustrating, but ultimately the story isn’t that great. Based off the biggest contrivance in the history of fiction, and dissolves into a repetitive structure of cu chulainn defeating soldiers of the army invading Ulser, overpowered protagonist that he is. It’s not easy to root for him, either. One minute he’s an honourable guy and very friendly, the next he turns into the Irish mythological version of the Incredible Hulk and slaughters a field of men, women, children, horses and dogs for no discernible reason.

“Remember, the Force will be with you. Always.”

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Robbins, Tod - Unholy Tales

Four stories and a novel from the mostly forgotten Browning.
“Spurs” is the most (in)famous tale here, an this was optioned by Universal where Tod Browning fashioned it into Freaks. The story is of a midget and a bareback ride, though Robbins’ original is the more straightforward. While interesting to read, it has none of the shock of the adaptation.
“Silent, White And Beautiful” is narrated by an artist. Sculptor, by training. Decent enough, although sales barely keep him above poverty. A European, he opts to emigrate to America, ignorant that Americans have no taste for artistic endeavor, and certainly no coin to spend. An unsavory tale, this, yet the narrator’s elegant cynicism grows on you.
The main piece, the novel “The Unholy Three,” is the jewel of this collection. This had also been filmed by Browning (in 1925), with Lon Chaney, no less! Later remade as a talkie, Chaney again.
Both versions deviate from the source material, and not in a good way. Neither improve upon the book. For me, both are inferior by comparison.
The books shines the spotlight on two individuals: The young idler, Hector McDonald, who fancies his literary prowess and envisions a glittering career. The other character is the malevolent dwarf, Tweedledee. Equally consumed by ambition and dreams, equally thwarted, Tweedledee’s spirit becomes corrupt, and he declares vengeance upon the world.
Note – This might have made a superior film, but Harry Earles was no Lon Chaney.
Robbins writes with a punchy, vivid style. Not overly florid. His characters, good and bad, breathe and react in recognizable ways. He can also drop clever of phrase, one after another, without going purple.

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Various (Editor: Plöeger, Jonas) - Infra-Noir 2020

I’ve never been keen on chapbooks. I realize many prefer the less durable, highly collectible chapbooks, but I’m not in their company.
This collection contains those one-off runs handmade by Zagava during 2020. (I’m hoping this becomes a tradition.) This is affordable, and is a primer on this press’s aesthete.
D.P. Watt’s “Craft” proves an inspired opener. The portrayed scribe is dedicated; not only in writing his book, but also hand-crafting it, from paper making to bindings. The trick, however, lies in the distribution to an unprepared audience.
Another writer, this one trapped by characters and revisions, haunts the story of “The Idyll Is Over” by Jonathan Wood. (I actually worked with a soul like this, toiling endlessly like Sisyphus.)
Some tales fall into the “unexplained” camp. Not Horror outings, but weird or strange. Reading these is always slightly apprehensive, hoping the author can deliver the ending. There are unresolved endings that are satisfying, and others that simply stop with a dead shrug. The latter is unfortunate, indicating the writer lacks finesse, or quits at a work count.
Not so Mark Samuels’ “Posterity.” The authority on and champion of a deceased writer is determined to buttress his diminishing literary reputation. Not only has she access to his papers, but also keys to his final residence, a retirement community. A place, at once eccentric and grotesque. Fans of another author of the strange might find themselves wondering about similarities.
Reggie Oliver, peerless in many regards, ferries us into the exclusive retreat. The spa for actors and musicians, creative sorts, who need their backbones stiffened. In “The Wet Woman” Oliver mixes theatre gossip, rivalries and revenge with dead wet girls of onryō.
I’ve touched on less than half the stories. There is no need to comment on all.
A satisfying read overall, and worth a place on your shelves or in your travel rucksack.