i mean, how is a book about the nature of memory not memorable when one of the main plot devices is that __________ has to _____ his ex-girlfriend's ________ in a magic ritual so that he _______ her ____________?
fnarrrrr
honestly though i have no idea what yr on about here so i guess that didn't resonate with me. [checks wpedia] o i get it now. idk maybe it's just hard to emotionally connect with the book when you think the narrator is a douche and his voice is both portentous and naive, not to mention the wilful obscurity that everything is clouded in.
and even for a picaresque i thought there was a lot of slack in the plot, with threads that didnt seem to serve much purpose or to drive the story or develop characters or w/e.
^ This, and also some of the threads you are lead to believe are u+k end up going nowhere - specifically ... yeah we really could do with a spoiler tag. Gonna rot13 this: gur pynj naq gur cryrevarf, gur ynggre bs juvpu ur arire zrrgf naq gur sbezre raqf hc rkcyvpvgyl erirnyrq nf n znpthssva.
So many wtf moments too - the whole section with the two-headed guy.
― ledge, Friday, 12 August 2011 08:38 (twelve years ago) link
ok so regarding your rot13
arire zrrgf gur cryrevarf? jung nobhg plevnpn naq gur cryrevar grag ng gur nezl pnzc?
nobhg gur pynj, gur zntvp srngure cneg va "qhzob" jbexf sbe zr fgvyy. nyfb gur pynj vf abg ragveryl n erq ureevat, vg unf fbzrguvat gb qb jvgu gvzr geniry naq frirevna'f qrfgval nf pbapvyvngbe gung v'z fgvyy jbexvat ba.
― moonship journey to baja, Friday, 12 August 2011 08:43 (twelve years ago) link
i get what you guys are saying. it's a lot of fucking effort to keep up on. this is the first time in a while that i dragged out the reference books (OED first and lexicon urthus later) to help me figure out the plot of a book. but i should also say that it's the first time in a while that intense reading and re-reading has been paid off so much.
― moonship journey to baja, Friday, 12 August 2011 08:47 (twelve years ago) link
naive = but it's a bildungsroman! of course he's naive!
portentous = well, the whole thing is his autobiography of "how my destiny was to save the throne", so of course it's portentous! it's literally about the nature of *signs* and *portents*. he spends the first chapter talking about how a coin he received as a boy symbolizes his entire life!
― moonship journey to baja, Friday, 12 August 2011 08:48 (twelve years ago) link
no, no, i'm sorry, i should shut up, i realize it's not your cup of tea
― moonship journey to baja, Friday, 12 August 2011 08:51 (twelve years ago) link
Bx V sbetrg gur qrgnvyf. Qbrf ur bssre bar bs gur cryrevarf va gur pnzc pynj naq gurl fnl 'jungrire, yby'? Rvgure jnl vg whfg frrzf gb crgre bhg. Rira vs n dhrfg qbrfa'g ghea bhg yvxr gur ureb cynaarq gung fubhyq or na vzcbegnag guvat, n erfbyhgvba, va vgfrys, vafgrnq vg srryf yvxr Jbysr vf onfvpnyyl fnlvat gb gur ernqre 'gung guernq lbh'ir orra sbyybjvat sbe gur jubyr obbx? lrnu vg qvqa'g znggre'. V fnl vg srryf gung jnl, V xabj gur pbapvyvngbe fgvyy nyyrtrqyl unf znwbe vzcbeg vs lbh qryir vagb gur uvqqra gurzrf bs gur obbx - ohg nf sbe gubfr, lrrrrrrnu v ernyyl qba'g tvir n fuvg nobhg nal bs gung. N znwbe cneg bs guvf vf PUEVFGVNA NTRAQN, abguvat vf yvxryl gb ghea zr bss n obbx zber. Juvpu, fher, vf zl ceboyrz, ohg vg frrzf gb zr guvf obbx pna'g or rawblrq ba gur fhesnpr yriry nybar, gurer ner fvzcyl gbb znal dhrfgvbaf naq chmmyrf naq bofphevgvrf.
lol, i feel like i'm in my own crappy sf/f novel, speaking like this.
yeah basically we're just expecting and getting different things out of this; it's not for me but i can see what you could get out of it.
― ledge, Friday, 12 August 2011 09:01 (twelve years ago) link
has anyone else been to the British Library exhibition on SF?
― The New Dirty Vicar, Friday, 19 August 2011 15:49 (twelve years ago) link
No! Maybe i'll try and fit it in tomorrow.
― ledge, Friday, 19 August 2011 15:57 (twelve years ago) link
o damn, i made plans to that fell through and forgot to do anything about it. i am annoyed that i missed george clinton and nona hendryx talking there, too.
― thomp, Friday, 19 August 2011 16:23 (twelve years ago) link
Hey, has anyone else read Jim Butcher's Codex Alera series? To my surprise, it is as engaging as his Harry Dresden novels (if a little heavy-handed at times)
― Rob Based and DJ EZ God (DJP), Friday, 19 August 2011 16:47 (twelve years ago) link
Are the Harry Dresden novels worth it if I have a low tolerance for sexism? I know nothing about them other than they are popular and a friend whose opinion I semi-distrust (due to his high tolerance for sexism) keeps telling me I should read them.
― ilx poster and keen dairy observer (Jenny), Friday, 19 August 2011 19:59 (twelve years ago) link
I don't think they're sexist, or perhaps more accurately I don't think they're problematically sexist.
There are a lot of gender archetype things going on that definitely can scan as sexist, but one thing Butcher does with a good chunk of his cast is to flesh them out and have characters grow across books. It is actually very rare for a book to end without some major change impacting the lives of the main characters.
Really, his biggest weakness is the near-infallibility of Harry and his crew; after about six or seven books it starts to strain credibility a little bit that Harry and his crew can consistently own whatever mystical threat rolls through Chicago. However, Butcher is very smart about he deals with that in how he both adds allies to bolster the "good guys" (note: not all the good guys are actually good guys, which is another interesting thing) and in how the cost paid for each victory escalates. In fact, the most recent books up the scale significantly and really puts the entire cast through the wringer, only to set the stage for a wholly new, semi-terrifying status quo rife with story potential.
Harry as a character is chivalrous to a fault but he also tends to surround himself with awesome, extremely competent allies, both male and female. I think if you go in knowing that some noir stylings are going to occur, you'll be fine.
― Rob Based and DJ EZ God (DJP), Friday, 19 August 2011 20:10 (twelve years ago) link
Awesome. That is a really helpful response. Thank you!
― ilx poster and keen dairy observer (Jenny), Friday, 19 August 2011 20:14 (twelve years ago) link
I went! I didn't have enough time to really get into it. Exhibitions of books aren't very skimmable.
― Also unknown as Zora (Surfing At Work), Friday, 19 August 2011 21:39 (twelve years ago) link
I had to go to it three times to get it all.
― The New Dirty Vicar, Monday, 22 August 2011 09:55 (twelve years ago) link
oh ffs i was up near the euston rd on sat, heading for regents park when it started raining, and i was thinking "what can i do nearby that's indoors?"
― ledge, Monday, 22 August 2011 10:00 (twelve years ago) link
I just downloaded a bunch of free epub books, jumped into one already and wish I were reading it right now:
Blindsight by Peter Watts, which I'm about 2/3 through and there's quite a lot about neurology and math and topics that I don't even know enough about to know what to call them, but I feel like I'm learning shit? Also it's exciting and mysterious. I'm a sucker for plot.
Mars Girl by Jeff Garrity
My Own Kind of Freedom, Steven Brust
Star Dragon, Mike Brotherton
― it's not that print journalists don't have a sense of humour, it's just (Laurel), Monday, 22 August 2011 13:59 (twelve years ago) link
Wikipedia says Blindsight is about "the nature of identity and consciousness." Also it involves explanations of the Chinese Room scenario and other smarty-pants turing/AI stuff.
― it's not that print journalists don't have a sense of humour, it's just (Laurel), Monday, 22 August 2011 14:03 (twelve years ago) link
That could either be right up my street, or the kind of thing I would end up throwing across the room in disgust.
― ledge, Monday, 22 August 2011 14:05 (twelve years ago) link
Where did you get it from? Going on 3 week hol soon, need to gather reading material.
― ledge, Monday, 22 August 2011 14:06 (twelve years ago) link
I don't know where it's from, I use the Aldiko reader for droid phones and when I search for things it just sends me to a "store"? But I only download free books from that "store."
― it's not that print journalists don't have a sense of humour, it's just (Laurel), Monday, 22 August 2011 14:09 (twelve years ago) link
http://www.manybooks.net/titles/wattspother06Blindsight.html
― little mushroom person (abanana), Monday, 22 August 2011 14:24 (twelve years ago) link
great, thanks. think that site might be hidden in my delicious bookmarks somewhere.
― ledge, Monday, 22 August 2011 14:25 (twelve years ago) link
That could either be right up my street, or the kind of thing I would end up throwing across the room in disgust. --ledge
― Viriconium Island Baby (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 22 August 2011 14:34 (twelve years ago) link
if i hate it, you'll buy it? ;)
― ledge, Monday, 22 August 2011 14:35 (twelve years ago) link
my ultimate reaction will probably be "meh, s'ok"
― ledge, Monday, 22 August 2011 14:36 (twelve years ago) link
Um, no:)
― Viriconium Island Baby (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 22 August 2011 14:36 (twelve years ago) link
Blindsight is great, second time round was rewarding too, His Rifters trilogy also available free online is pretty astounding too. He's my favourite modern SF writer.
― AJD, Monday, 22 August 2011 21:17 (twelve years ago) link
Yeah, BLindsight is fantastic. All his novels and almost all of his short stories are downloadable from his website: http://www.rifters.com/real/shorts.htm
If you read Blindsight, the multimedia presentation he did about the vampire science is great fun: http://www.rifters.com/real/progress.htm
― not bulimic, just a cat (James Morrison), Monday, 22 August 2011 23:21 (twelve years ago) link
Hey, has anyone else read Jim Butcher's Codex Alera series?
Read the first and have the second queued up. These were recommended to me before I came across the Dresden stuff (which I quickly devoured), but something in the first chapters of the first book put me off them initially (can't remember what, possibly the slave girl schtick)
― Jaq, Monday, 22 August 2011 23:26 (twelve years ago) link
http://greatsfandf.com/apologia.php
what a peculiar website.
― thomp, Sunday, 28 August 2011 18:17 (twelve years ago) link
peculiar = unreadable?
― Lamp, Sunday, 28 August 2011 18:19 (twelve years ago) link
90% finished with book of the new sun, get ready for the reading club thread
― mr peabody (moonship journey to baja), Sunday, 28 August 2011 18:19 (twelve years ago) link
i would recommend reading that, it is pretty smart
― mr peabody (moonship journey to baja), Sunday, 28 August 2011 18:21 (twelve years ago) link
the sf and f website or new sun?
i think it is definitely unreadable in the sense that it wasn't designed to be read on any monitor that wasn't 4:3 and at most 800x600
― thomp, Sunday, 28 August 2011 18:23 (twelve years ago) link
yeah i meant unreadable in that sense i didnt even try to look @ the words
― Lamp, Sunday, 28 August 2011 18:27 (twelve years ago) link
sf and f website
― mr peabody (moonship journey to baja), Sunday, 28 August 2011 18:28 (twelve years ago) link
i particularly enjoyed his thoughts on setting
bacigalupi's windup girl definitely fits that SF-and-F paradigm we were talking about upstairs a little, where you're all impressed with the author's plotting and world-building, and then some deeply gratuitous and unpleasant sexual thing happens, that makes you distrust everything you had previously thought about the author
― thomp, Wednesday, 31 August 2011 20:26 (twelve years ago) link
I know. I was the most let down by the parts involving the otherwise-nice engineer guy who is clearly Our Hero. Maybe it was supposed to make him "complex" and "flawed" or something but fuck that.
And then the rapey angle that is all the other "sex" in that book. Vom.
― brb recalibrating my check engine light (Laurel), Wednesday, 31 August 2011 20:37 (twelve years ago) link
I probably should have taken the title as a warning instead of skipping over it p much.
― brb recalibrating my check engine light (Laurel), Wednesday, 31 August 2011 20:38 (twelve years ago) link
I was about to say "what are you talking about...?" but then I remembered the whole infiltration ruse
although the way that whole situation played out and what happened with that character subsequently pretty much erases that entire gambit IMO
― beemer douchebag (DJP), Wednesday, 31 August 2011 20:40 (twelve years ago) link
the liveship trilogy ftw, nasty nasty nasty
― Juata Man (darraghmac), Wednesday, 31 August 2011 20:44 (twelve years ago) link
ha yes, those books were some evil shit
too bad Hobb's Forest Mage trilogy was too fucking gross for me to finish, seems like it was being set up for a similar level of heartbreak
― beemer douchebag (DJP), Wednesday, 31 August 2011 20:46 (twelve years ago) link
Yes, agreed! I finished the second one on the weekend. Taking a short break with some steampunk Civil-War-never-ended with zombies Cherie Priest (Dreadnaught), then queuing up the 3rd codex alera.
― Jaq, Wednesday, 31 August 2011 20:48 (twelve years ago) link
will always rep for the farseer trilogy though
― Juata Man (darraghmac), Wednesday, 31 August 2011 20:50 (twelve years ago) link
lol I just blasted through all of the Codex Alera books, am currently on #6
I should really go back and finish off the Black Company books someday
also agree re: Farseer Trilogy
― beemer douchebag (DJP), Wednesday, 31 August 2011 20:53 (twelve years ago) link
what sort of nastiness are you guys talking about?
― mr peabody (moonship journey to baja), Wednesday, 31 August 2011 21:28 (twelve years ago) link
eh
No, i'm gonna decline to answer that tbh.
― Juata Man (darraghmac), Wednesday, 31 August 2011 21:36 (twelve years ago) link
I really recommend reading the trilogy, explaining it spoils the impact a little (actually even hinting at it probably spoils it a little but hey) It's not like super gory or anything like that, more tied into human behavior.
The Forest Mage stuff is gross food porn tho, I don't mind spoiling that at all because it was just nasty.
― beemer douchebag (DJP), Wednesday, 31 August 2011 21:41 (twelve years ago) link